Tribe making good use of casino profits

While some tribes have simply written their members a check from their casino profits, the Tule River Reservation has been wisely reinvesting its profits and much of that reinvestment involves the youth of the reservation.

As detailed in a two-part series by The Recorder, the tribe has spent a lot of money improving educational opportunities for its youth.

Our stories told of the development and enhancements at the Tule River Indian Study Center here in town and the construction of the Towanits Indian Education Center on the reservation where young and old students can improve their educational opportunities and with that, improve their future.

The tribe is also offering numerous scholarships to tribal members to further their education after high school, a program hardly even thought of 30 years ago. Today, there are 85 students from the tribe attending colleges throughout the nation and several hundred have already benefitted.

Another key component of the education of tribal children is tutoring and one-on-one teaching. At both facilities tutors are working with children to improve their classroom skills. At the Study Center, there is a ratio of one teacher for every four students, giving students all the time and attention needed to succeed.

Nearly all of this is the result of the Tribal Council utilizing its profits from Eagle Mountain Casino to benefit not only the tribe today, but for generations to come. It goes hand-in-hand with the tribe’s effort to diversify its economic portfolio by branching out into other business endeavors, such as its purchase of the Oak Pit restaurant on Main Street in downtown Porterville.

It is long been said that our future is with our young people and the Tule River Reservation is doing all it can to ensure that its future is bright with economic development and more importantly, investing in its youth with educational assistance and opportunities.