Trump's cuts to a key small business program are gutting Native American businesses and the rural towns that rely on them

A female Indigenous Navajo small business owner at work in her jewelry shop. (Credit: 020 Creative via Getty Images)

Near Thackerville, Oklahoma, a town on the Texas border with fewer than 500 residents, what started as a small roadside bingo hall has spent the past 20 years growing into one of the planet’s largest gambling destinations. The WinStar World Casino, fully owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation, is now the cornerstone of Oklahoma’s $10 billion gaming industry, one of the state’s biggest employers and economic engines.

Oklahoma has some 130 casinos owned by Native American nations, but the economic impact of tribal governments spreads far beyond gaming. While WinStar and related entertainment ventures remain the largest single source of revenue for the Chickasaw Nation, the tribe owns more than 100 businesses ranging from banks to manufacturers.