Oklahoma, Here We Come!

We’re off to Ada, Oklahoma, to deliver the 2006 Lou Watkins Endowed Lectureship at East Central University. It’s an honor and a privilege to be asked to speak to an audience who undoubtedly is well versed in the complexities of Indian gaming law and policy.

Our talk will be based on our book, Indian Gaming and Tribal Sovereignty: The Casino Compromise. After talking about how we grappled with how best to provide a comprehensive yet readable account of the rise of the Indian gaming industry and the difficult legal and political it presents, we’ll use the frameworks for law and policy reform we suggest at the close of the book to make some concrete suggestions. We’ll then discuss Class II gaming (bingo) versus Class III gaming (casino-style) in light of those frameworks. Oklahoma has been a big Class II state.

We’ll also get a chance to speak with a media and politics course about popular culture and Indian gaming –- that is, how tribal gaming and tribes are portrayed on TV shows like the Simpsons, South Park, and the Sopranos, and how those images reflect common themes about Indian gaming used in the mass media and by policymakers. We’ll get to speak with East Central University students about a key question: How is Indian gaming law and policy a reflection of symbolic politics?

Looking forward to an interesting and informative time in Ada!