The Plains regional subject files include materials about Native American communities and gaming in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas dating from approximately 1988 to 2008. The materials include socioeconomic reports, tribal-state gaming compacts, regulatory materials, Great Plains Indian Gaming Association materials, journal articles, Native American newspapers, periodicals, informational packets, court opinions, Dr. Spilde’s research photographs, National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) site visit materials, newsletters, memos, National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) correspondence, press releases, fact sheets, video recordings of televised programs, promotional materials, and newspaper articles.

The Plains subseries focuses primarily on Native American gaming and non-gaming topics in Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The materials document a number of Native American nations, particularly the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation; the Standing Rock Nation of North and South Dakota; and the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota).

The Southeast regional subject files include materials about Native American communities and gaming in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee dating from approximately 1992 to 2007. The materials include socioeconomic reports, tribal constitutions, tribal-state gaming compacts, journal articles, court opinions, legal briefs, Dr. Spilde’s research photographs, correspondence, and newspaper articles. The Southeast series focuses primarily on gaming and non-gaming topics for Mississippi and Louisiana. Materials also document Native American communities, particularly the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

The United States subject files include photographs, newspaper articles, and periodicals about national gaming topics dating from approximately 1990 to 2015. The photographs depict numerous Native American casinos and reservations visited by Dr. Spilde on research trips. The newspaper articles cover topics such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, campaign financing, taxes, labor unions, articles about Dr. Spilde, nuclear waste, and other topics. The periodicals include nationally circulating magazines that cover the gaming industry, Native American sociocultural issues, and the hospitality and tourism industries.

The international subject files include materials about gaming and non-gaming topics in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and the Pacific Islands dating from approximately 1991 to 2015. The materials include socioeconomic reports, national surveys, annual reports, Alberta Gaming Research Institute materials, conference materials, maps, brochures, booklets, journal articles, periodicals, promotional materials, photographs, audio recordings, video recordings, and newspaper articles. The international subject files focus primarily on gaming and non-gaming topics in Australia and Canada and provide valuable documentation for national and international comparative research.

The National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) files document NIGA’s efforts to protect Native American rights through policy-making and the regulation of Native American gaming enterprises. The materials date from 1993 to 2014, with the bulk of materials dating from 1997 to 2001. Materials include research and publications, materials about the Enzi Amendment, and materials about gaming classifications collected by Katherine Spilde while she worked for NIGA. Also included are reports, directories, memos, correspondence, press releases, congressional records, testimonies, interviews, notes, journal articles, photographs, video recordings of NIGA hearings, promotional materials, and newspaper articles.

The National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Joint Task Force files (1995-2002) document the task force’s efforts to regulate Native American gaming. The materials in this subseries document institutional and political approaches to Native American gaming and national legislation about Native American sovereignty and civil rights. Materials include socioeconomic reports, correspondence, memos, court opinions, newsletters, periodicals, notes, agendas, press releases, proposals to amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), journal articles, and newspaper articles. The materials document IGRA amendments, the Enzi amendment, and California gaming.

Additional materials relating to NCAI can be found in the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) subject files located in general subject files. Materials directly related to Spilde’s activities as a member of the task force were placed in the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Joint Task Force files. Other materials about NCAI were placed in the NCAI subject files or the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Data Management, Needs Assessment, and Auditing Workgroup files.

The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development (HPAIED) files document the HPAIED’s efforts to research the socioeconomic impacts of Native American gaming from 1990 to 2010, with the bulk of materials dating from 2000 to 2005. The materials in this subseries document Dr. Spilde’s research while working for the HPAIED, offering valuable insight into the administration of the organization. The subseries includes materials collected by Dr. Spilde about HPAIED, the ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ (Cherokee Nation), the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and the Mvskoke (Muscogee [Creek] Nation). Also included are socioeconomic reports, NIGA reports, site visit reports, notes, HPAIED studies, essays, “Honoring Nations” HPAIED awards program materials, Harvard University promotional materials, research proposals, Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association materials, census data, bibliographies, informational booklets and packets, conference materials, and newspaper articles.