garden stakes
high stakes florida seminole gaming and sovereignty
in 1979 florida seminoles opened the first tribally operated high stakes bingo hall in north america . at the time their annual budget stood at less than 2 million . by 2006 net income from gaming had surpassed 600 million . this dramatic shift from poverty to relative economic security has created tangible benefits for tribal citizens including employment universal health insurance and social services . renewed political self governance and economic strength have reversed decades of u.s. settler state control . at the same time gaming has brought new dilemmas to reservation communities and triggered outside accusations that seminoles are sacrificing their culture by embracing capitalism . in high stakes jessica r. cattelino tells the story of seminoles complex efforts to maintain politically and culturally distinct values in a time of new prosperity . p cattelino presents a vivid ethnographic account of the history and consequences of seminole gaming . drawing on research conducted with tribal permission she describes casino operations chronicles the everyday life and history of the seminole tribe and shares the insights of individual seminoles . at the same time she unravels the complex connections among cultural difference economic power and political rights . through analyses of seminole housing museum and language programs legal disputes and everyday activities she shows how seminoles use gaming revenue to enact their sovereignty . they do so in part she argues through relations of interdependency with others . high stakes compels rethinking of the conditions of indigeneity the power of money and the meaning of sovereignty .