Ethical Issues in Studying Minorities and Indigenous

Peoples

Eileen Luna-Firebaugh & Kate Spilde, Arizona State University & San Diego State University

November 14, 2010

Public Policy Questions

•  Concerns about impacts on minorities and indigenous peoples mirror larger gaming industry: •  Relationship between tribal gaming industry and a

set of economic or social outcomes, including impact on nearby populations;

•  Impacts on gamblers themselves.

Tribal Community Concerns

•  Research or recovery needs within minority or indigenous communities may not mirror mainstream public policy questions

•  Non-Natives bring intervention frameworks and tools that may not be appropriate or necessary or meaningful

•  Important to look, listen and learn

What we Know

•  Tribal gaming industry has brought income and employment benefits to tribal and non-tribal communities

•  Economic and social indicators reveal improvements in education and family income

•  Poverty and unemployment decrease with the introduction of tribal gaming

References

•  www.policymatters.ucr.edu •  www.ksg.harvard.edu/hpaied •  www.sdsu.edu/htm •  www.indiangaming.org •  www.ncai.org •  www.nigc.gov

kspilde@mail.sdsu.edu

Tribal Community Research Challenges

•  Myths about social costs persist due to perceived lack of transparency and real lack of data

•  Paradox of transparency for tribal governments: •  Releasing tribal or gaming data can improve public

relations and support research/policy analysis •  Tribal resources/rights are more easily targeted

when they are well documented (revenue sharing)

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

•  “Congress finds that -- •  (4) a principle goal of Federal Indian policy is to

promote tribal economic development, tribal self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments”

Need for New Metrics

•  Downstream benefits rarely captured or considered •  Tribal gaming suggests and prompts further

economic development, government innovation and partnership creation

•  Current research methods understate the social and economic benefits because they show up in additional locations and populations, not datasets

•  Many researchers fail to make long-term data commitments to tribal communities.

Need for Collaboration

•  Refrain from imposing outside solutions •  Look for strengths and acknowledge what is

working and offer encouragement •  Stay objective and non-political •  View your work as service and let go of the

notion of “helping” or “fixing” •  Don’t take yourself too seriously

Impact on Gamblers

•  Zitzow, D. (1996) Comparative study of problematic gambling behaviors between American Indian and non-Indian adults in a northern plains reservation.

•  Volberg, R.A. & Abbott, M.W. (1997) Gambling and problem gambling among indigenous peoples.

•  Wardman, D. & el-Guebaly, N. (2001) Problem and Pathological Gambling in North American Aboriginal Populations: A Review of the Empirical Literature.

•  Costello, E.J. (2003) Relationships Between Poverty and Psychopathology : A Natural Experiment .

Challenges

•  SOGS not validated for native/minority communities •  Native urban communities not studied in spite of higher rates of

alcoholism and limited access to services •  Poor generalizability since studies don’t account for community

gambling opportunities •  Tribal community-level factors not included (rate of

unemployment, presence/absence of community resources/social agencies, lack of recreational outlets)

•  Difficult to capture impacts of the stress of reservation life •  Grief from residential/boarding schools poorly understood &

rarely included

Long –Term Commitments

•  One shortcoming of outside efforts has been tendency to exploit the opportunity for personal gain and then abandon the community

•  Learn the language, songs and ceremonies •  Attend community activities and pitch in

however you can •  Include fun and laughter wherever possible

Need for Qualitative Research

•  Fear of approaching tribal governments for permission

•  Focus on long-term commitment to tribal relationship-building not datasets

•  Lack of respect for qualitative work generally, dismissing it as anecdotal, unscientific or biased (“just stories”)

Imperfect Methods

•  Important to continue to pursue research on tribal gaming impacts in spite of imperfect methods

•  Gambling policy continues to evolve in spite of the research limitations

•  Evolving methods and limited datasets can contribute to public policy discussions while being shaped by them.