Tribal Warfare

After being dependent on the federal government until recently, the tribe is now subject to a top-down paternalism that reflects not so much tradition, but a concern that individual members might not be able to handle their newfound prosperity. The Tribal Council owns the homes. The Tribal Council manages the collective investments. The Tribal Council pays out the monthly stipends. And the Tribal Council, says Paula, now “has to make sure that everyone is accountable, that everyone is put on a tribe committee — we need something tangible from them.”

In other words, the council has to find something to do for everyone. Most worrisome, though, are the children. “It’s in high school where we really start to lose them,” Paula says.

It’s been some time, in fact, since any Rumsey member graduated from high school. And no one has ever graduated from college. Now, one of Paula’s six grandchildren, a 15-year-old boy, carries much of the tribe’s hope for the future. Currently enrolled in an expensive East Coast prep school, he might be the first to make it through a university.

With a shrewd and wise granny like Paula, he seems unlikely to fail. But what about everyone else? It’s hard to spend any time with one of the newly rich gambling tribes without wondering if they haven’t been forced to trade one form of public assistance for another, if certainly at a much higher level. And, further, what other options were available? The Indians, at worst, are only playing out the hand dealt them after a 300-year run of some very bad luck.