UCLA

The Navajo Nation has enacted many forms of economic development, but none have successfully cured the economic and social problems. Some forms like resource extraction have delivered needed employment to the Navajo people, but have brought social ills to the Navajo people. While gaming was legalized easily by many Native American nations after the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, the Navajo Nation struggled with it. After two failed referendums in 1994 and 1997, Navajo voters via referendum approved gaming operations by a large margin in the 2004 referendum. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, I seek to understand the causes for the dramatic shift in the Navajo Nation tribal citizens’ perceptions and support of tribal gaming in just ten years.