Shutdown of casinos devastating tribal economies
SPOKANE, Wash. — When the Kalispel Tribe of Indians closed its casino as the coronavirus took hold in Washington state, it essentially shut down its economy.
That difficult choice has played out nationwide as some 500 Native American casinos have voluntarily closed during the pandemic, often taking away tribes’ main source of income in an effort to protect people’s health in communities with limited medical resources.
The U.S. government authorized $8 billion for tribes in a coronavirus relief package in March, when most casinos closed, but it’s been slow to distribute the money, deepening the woes on reservations.
“We can’t fund any programs without the casino” — no health care, education, law enforcement or fire protection, said Phil Haugen, chief operating officer of the Kalispel Tribal Economic Authority.
Its Northern Quest Casino near Spokane closed for nearly two months, costing the tribe millions of dollars. But with restrictions starting to loosen nationwide, the casino reopened last week with limits on the number of customers, frequent cleaning, and fewer slot machines and chairs at table games to ensure social distancing.
While other Native Americanowned casinos have reopened or plan to in coming weeks, most are still closed. That’s also forced layoffs and furloughs among the more than 1 million people working for tribes, many of them in casinos.
Furloughed workers are getting by with unemployment benefits and health coverage that many casinos kept in place, said John Delmonte, president of UAW Local 2121, a union representing 1,200 card dealers at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.
“We want to get back to work,” said Delmonte, a casino employee.
On Sunday, Foxwoods released a statement saying the company was temporarily laying off a majority of its workforce without benefits beginning May 31.
It’s not clear when Foxwoods or the Mohegan Sun casino, also in Connecticut, will be back in business. The state plans to start easing coronavirus restrictions on May 20.
In Washington state, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians told members it has enough money only to fund benefits and services through the end of June. The Tacomabased tribe runs two large casinos, where 85% of employees have been laid off or furloughed.
In New Mexico, casinos that provide $820 million in annual revenue to 14 tribes have been shut down.
“I know for a fact that brings into question the economic stability of those tribes that have gaming operations,” said Democratic state Rep. Derrick Lente, a tribal member from the Sandia Pueblo, which has shuttered its casino on the outskirts of Albuquerque.