The Common Sense of Anti-Indian Racism: Reactions to Mashantucket Pequot Success in Gaming and Acknowledgment

Anti-Indian racism, as typified by anticasino backlash, is a part of the "common sense" of race relations in the United States, which increasingly impacts federal administrative procedures used to acknowledge the existence of tribal status. Using ethnographic and archival research, this ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Law & social inquiry 2006-06, Vol.31 (2), p.313-341
Main Author: Cramer, Renee Ann
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acknowledgments
American Indians
Archival Research
Casinos
Common sense
Cultural identity
Ethnic Identity
Legitimation
Native Americans
Race
Race relations
Racial identity
Racial Relations
Racism
Social identity
Social law
Treaty lands
Tribal land
United States of America
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Summary:Anti-Indian racism, as typified by anticasino backlash, is a part of the "common sense" of race relations in the United States, which increasingly impacts federal administrative procedures used to acknowledge the existence of tribal status. Using ethnographic and archival research, this article shows that the backlash over Mashantucket Pequot recognition and casino success has taken the form, primarily, of racialized attacks on the Mashantucket Pequots Indian identity. It argues that such backlash carries over to impact groups who seek recognition of their tribal status, and the legitimation that such recognition might bring to their identity. Examining the colonial legacies of anti-Indian racism shows us that such racial antagonism in the United States is nothing new. However, understanding the contexts within which its recent resurgence has occurred may help bring fairness to the acknowledgment process, and may further illuminate intersections of common sense racism and legal spheres in American life.
ISSN:0897-6546
1747-4469
1545-696X
DOI:10.1111/j.1747-4469.2006.00013.x