At least 100,000 Indians live in Minnesota, and their status is an important piece of the state’s economic, social and historic fabric. More than idle curiosity drives the questions. Are the stories broadly true? Did casino gambling propel Indians into enviable wealth or at least into solid middle-class prosperity? Did it give Minnesota’s Indians better lives with more control over their economies and their destinies? Did it restore cultural pride and empower their tribal governments to move effectively toward self-determination for a new generation of Indians?
