2010 conference - ethical issues in studying minorities and indigenous peoples (spide)
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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
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.