On May 12, 1992, the FBI raided the Fort McDowell Casino in Arizona, putting 300 slot machines in moving vans. Tribe members fought back, blocking the vans from leaving the casino parking lot. The casino began as a bingo hall in 1984 as a way to better life for community members after decades of federal underfunding. Before it offered slot machines and bingo to customers, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation was mired in poverty. Tribal members grew up in homes with dirt floors and without running water or electricity. The passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988 gave the small tribe and many others in the United States the means to kickstart plans for infrastructure, social services and jobs. The showdown between the tiny Arizona tribe and the U.S. government was a turning point in the history of Indian Country and tribal sovereignty, paving the way for the growth of Indian gaming as an economic driver. At the time of the raid, the tribe was earning $3.4 million a month from the machines, which provided revenues for new homes, health care, jobs, elder services and other community needs. Read more about the Fort McDowell Casino by clicking the link in our bio! 📸 : Michael Ging, Suzanne Star and Victoria Buckner, The Republic; Paul Connors, Associated Press