Dear
Mark,
Were you surprised when the Navajo Indians recently
voted against casino gambling on their reservation?
I thought that every tribe wants casino gaming.
Why didn’t the Navajos jump on the wagon train
(pardon the pun). Brady M.
If you
believe in the Navajo legend, of The Gambler, you
would know that gambling has a deep cultural resonance
for the Navajo. Their oral tradition has many stories
warning against the dangers of overindulging in gambling.
Also, tribal president Albert Hales opposed the measure
because federal law requires the Navajos to negotiate
a casino agreement with the states. Hale believes
that such an agreement erodes the tribe’s status
as a sovereign nation.
Plus, the tribe
voted against casino gambling on their reservation
just three years ago. So, Brady, for the above
reasons, particularly the traditional myth of
an out-of-control gambler who goes out and wins—and
then loses—everything, I was not surprised
by the Navajo’s rejection of casino gambling.
As legend has it, the tale begins when the Spirit
of the Sun, a gambler himself, wants a large piece
of turquoise held by a Pueblo tribe. The sun sends
his son, The Gambler, to Earth to wager for the
invaluable sea-green stone. The Gambler is unbeatable.
He wins the rain, snow, plants and flowers, and
everything else in sight, leaving the tribe impoverished.
Eventually The Gambler wins the turquoise but
wants to gamble against his father for it. So
the Spirit of the Sun teaches his other offspring
how to gamble and win the turquoise back from
his brother. The second son is victorious and
ultimately he shoots The Gambler into the sky
with his large bow.
So, Brady, you decide. Was it being at the states’
mercy, a rebuff three years earlier, or folklore
that tells its people to be very cautious when
it comes to gambling? Myself, I believe in ni’hwiilbiihi,
“the one that wins the people.”
