{"id":133768,"date":"2020-04-22T15:14:49","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T22:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=133768"},"modified":"2020-04-22T16:01:08","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T23:01:08","slug":"covid-19-pandemic-is-immediate-threat-to-native-americans-following-casino-shutdowns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/covid-19-pandemic-is-immediate-threat-to-native-americans-following-casino-shutdowns\/","title":{"rendered":"Harvard Says Pandemic Casino Shutdown Is \u2018Immediate Threat\u2019 to Native Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

US tribes urgently need financial help from the federal government after casinos and other money-making operations were abruptly shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Harvard University study. Tribal governments could lose billions of dollars in revenue from closed gaming properties and other former sources, the research adds.<\/p>\n

\"Harvard
Harvard Professor Joseph P. Kalt cautioned government officials about restricting tribes on spending coronavirus aid. (Image: YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The concerns and findings were sent by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last week. He has yet to formally respond.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview, Joseph P. Kalt, co-director of the Harvard project, told Medium<\/em> that the COVID-19 outbreak led to an \u201cabrupt shutdown of most of these tribal enterprises.\u201d The closures impact both the tribes and wider regional economies.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not aware of a single tribal casino, for example, that is open anywhere in the United States,\u201d Kalt said. \u201cTribes have seen their revenues cut to zero, abruptly.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe COVID-19 crisis poses an immediate threat to three decades of improvement in economic conditions across Indian Country,\u201d the letter<\/a> to Mnuchin said.\u00a0\u201cPrior to the total shutdown of their casinos, tribes\u2019 gaming enterprises alone were channeling more than $12.5 billion per year into tribal government programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The need for federal COVID-19 response funds in Indian Country is as \u201curgent as it is overwhelming,\u201d the letter warns. \u201cNo tribal casinos are operating at this time. The same applies to many non-gaming enterprises and many tribal government programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less Than Half of US Tribes Operate Casinos<\/h2>\n

The tribes are dependent on both enterprise and business revenues. “But they aren\u2019t necessarily casino revenues,\u201d Kalt explained to Medium<\/em>. \u201cLess than half of tribes \u2026 own casinos.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to tribal enterprises, both gaming and non-gaming, \u201cmore than half of all the employees of tribes and their enterprises are non-Indian,\u201d Kalt said.<\/p>\n

Based on some preliminary modeling, we estimate that the tribal enterprises plus tribal government operations, in the aggregate, account for the employment of about 1.1 million people, and somewhat over 900,000 of those workers are non-Indians,\u201d Kalt revealed. \u201cWhen the coronavirus choked off these tribal revenues, it choked off wages, benefits, and employment for lots of people both Indian and non-Indian.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The overall $2.2 trillion in relief from the recent Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes some $8 billion<\/a> for tribes.\u00a0Kalt wants that money to get distributed in a way \u201cthat reflects the size of tribes and their economic impact, both on their own reservations, but more broadly in their regions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tribes Self Govern<\/h2>\n

Since the 1970s, tribes have been operating under self-governance and decide how to spend revenue on their own. Tribes are given powers like state or local governments. They spend money on road upkeep, social services, health departments, and wildlife management.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this $8 billion dollars of CARES Act funds, it\u2019ll be important that the federal government not tie tight strings around the decisions tribes make as to how to allocate those funds,\u201d Kalt added. \u201cThe \u2026 federal government needs to take into account \u2026 this policy of self-determination through self-governance, actually is working.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Harvard project said the financial impact from the pandemic threatens about three decades worth of economic development for the tribes, according to a report from the Harvard Crimson<\/em> newspaper.<\/p>\n

Tribal governments typically do not get funds from a local tax base. Instead, they rely on gaming, manufacturing, and tourism to fund tribal programs.<\/p>\n

The tribes and their regions collectively could lose more than $127 billion in yearly spending on goods and services, 1.1 million jobs, and $49.5 billion in wages and benefits for workers, the Harvard researchers say in the letter. An earlier study from Meister Economic Consulting<\/a> said tribal casino closures nationwide put almost 300,000 people out of work and resulted in an economic activity loss of roughly $4.4 billion.<\/p>\n

There are 574 federally recognized tribes in the US. Some tribes have kept employees on the payroll during the initial shutdowns, and many have donated perishable food to the needy. Nationally, tribal gaming operators asked the federal government for an $18 billion<\/a> relief package.<\/p>\n

In 2019, US tribal gaming properties generated $17.7 billion in taxes and other payments to federal, state, and local governments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US tribes urgently need financial help from the federal government after casinos and other money-making operations were abruptly shuttered by the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Harvard University study. Tribal governments could lose billions of dollars in revenue from closed gaming properties and other former sources, the research adds. The concerns and findings were sent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":133772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18456],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCOVID-19 Is \u2018Immediate Threat\u2019 to Tribes Following Casino Shutdowns<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"US tribes urgently need government aid after casinos were shuttered due to coronavirus, a Harvard study said. 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