A Native American Dream The Pequots and Foxwoods casino (documentary)

The Pequots are a good example of positive discrimination in the United States. Thanks to a directive from the US government aiming at the economic development of Native American minorities, the Pequots, a tribe which had almost died out, are rediscovering their history and culture and educating other people about them.

This documentary focuses on the incredible development of the Mashantucket Pequot Native American tribe, decimated in 1637 at the time of the Mystic fort massacre. By the 1960s, there were just three Pequot women living on the reservation land in Connecticut, but they were determined to keep the land for the tribe, and make it a living reservation again. They slowly found descendants who had forgotten their origins but would be willing to build up a new Pequot-centered community. The Foxwoods casino complex has brought success and prosperity to the reservation. The tribe now has approximately 500 members.

Foxwoods is the biggest casino in the world. It has got the largest number of slot machines and it is also a huge leisure complex with hotels, a mall and other shopping facilities, 2 golf courses …
50,000 visitors go to Foxwoods every weekend. They come from big cities like Boston or New York. The Pequots have even thought of a high speed ferry link from New York because “the less time gamblers spend on the road, the more time and money they spend in the casino.”

If more than 12,000 people work in Foxwoods not all of them are shareholders. Indeed, only Pequots can be shareholders in the casino. Other people can only work there as employees and receive a salary but have no share in the profits. Bruce MacDonald, the manager of media relations for example is only an employee, whereas his new assistant, Thomas Reed, is a tribe member and therefore a shareholder. Shareholders receive dividends of about 5000 dollars per month.

As the casino is rich, as Tom puts it,