Without Reservation : How a Controversial Indian Tribe Rose to Power and Built the World's Largest Casino
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Author:Jeff Benedict
Release Date:1/7/2001
Reviews:16
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Rating: 4 Every politician and tax-payer should read this book All Reviews
Every US politician and tax-payer should read this book. It is a great example of how the US political system can be manipulated by unscrupulous lawyers. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe was granted Federal Tribal Status, and hence a reservation by pulling the wool over the eyes of Connecticut and Federal politicians asleep at the wheel. They failed to meet many of the required Federal criteria to be recognized as a tribe, especially sound genetic links to the original Pequot Indians, yet they breezed through the process thanks to a bunch of slick lawyers. They didn't stop there either. They continued to manipulate politicians to build a huge casino and basically paid off the state of Connecticut for the license to run slot machines. I know that Native Americans faced many wrong-doings by the US Government over history. If the Mashantucket Pequots were real Indians, I would be happy for them. "Without Reservation" cleary shows that the founders and members of the tribe are NOT real Indians.
Overall I thought the book was excellent and kept the story moving fast. The book also had an updated section on the reaction that author Jeff Benedict received when the book came out, including a 60-minutes investigation. The story isn't done yet either. The Mashantuckets continue to try to expand their ever-growing reservation. I'll be keeping my eyes open for articles in the paper on what happens.
The only negatives about the book were that at times the reader is flooded by extreme legal-ness to the point of confusion, and that the maps describing disputed land could have been a lot better. The pros of this book definitely outweigh the cons though! |
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