Monday, April 5, 2010

"Buffalo Dancer"



The 12 foot tall "Buffalo Dancer" sculpture designed by George Rivera greets guests outside the main Hilton entrance at Buffalo Thunder Resort.  The entire complex of Casino, Hilton Hotel, Homewood Suites, Golf Course, and restaurants is HUGE and quite impressive. The art work which I described on a previous post is very remarkable. I, nonetheless, have mixed feelings about all the Casinos that have sprung up on Native American land, especially in this part of the country. In my humble opinion, even when done in good taste they mar the landscape. From what I've learned, although some tribes have enjoyed significant financial income, not all the Casinos have benefited the Indians or the state coffers as originally planned. Some are not economically solvent and have enormous debts. I often wonder how much gambling addiction and crime result from these establishments? The Native Americans certainly deserve an improved lifestyle from the revenues to redress some of the terrible wrongs of the past.  A true conundrum!

5 comments:

  1. The art work is awesome and the hotel in the background looks like it blends well with the style of the city.

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  2. I like the statue. It has a lot of energy!

    I agree with you on the casinos. We have quite a few in Mississippi, both the "Riverboat" style and on Native American land. I think they are eyesores and are usually located in areas where people of lower income live. Easy money can be very tempting to some, often to the detriment of their families. I am sure there is a better, more productive way to improve the wrongs of the past and give some wealth back to the NA communities.

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  3. The statue is incredible. I really like it.

    I too have mixed feelings about the casinos. Here in Canada there are casinos on First Nations lands. I truly hope they are benefiting from this. I'm not sure if it creates more gambling addicts or not, though.

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