The New Buffalo

A groundbreaking inside history of how tribal gaming reshaped Native America-and the one man who helped ignite the movement.In The New Buffalo, readers are taken deep inside the tumultuous rise of Indian gaming, following Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux leader Leonard Prescott, whose fight for sovereignty and economic independence changed the course of tribal history. From poverty on a small Minnesota reservation to congressional battles in Washington, Prescott’s journey intersects with the creation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the birth of the National Indian Gaming Association, and the explosive growth of casinos such as Mystic Lake.This powerful narrative exposes:The brutal enrollment battles that divided the tribe and tested its ConstitutionThe corruption and mismanagement threatening early gaming operations nationwideThe federal government’s failures to uphold treaty obligations and trust responsibilitiesThe national consequences as states like Wisconsin and Connecticut weaponized tribal divisionsThe spiritual resurgence symbolized by the prophecy of the White Buffalo, reborn as modern economic sovereigntyDrawing on thousands of archival documents, federal records, court decisions, and firsthand testimony, The New Buffalo offers the most authoritative account to date of the origins of tribal gaming and the struggle for Native self-determination.This book reveals the extraordinary true story behind America’s most misunderstood industry-and the Native nations who reclaimed their future.