I am Native American, specifically affiliated with the Northern Arapahoe. My tribe is located on the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming.

I can't think of anything more annoying or degrading than a huge billboard sign with the allusion of ladies gambling and a huge caption over it reading, "Are You a Dreamcatcher?"

Amazingly, this eyesore of a sign can be viewed right before one takes a little journey on Highway 49, into a beautiful, quaint valley with a historic significance all its own. I suppose the only more annoying thing would be a Home Depot plopped within the view shed of historic Jackson.

The popping up of American Indian casinos all over the nation is causing a slow, inevitable death of real Native American culture and tradition-a tragedy, for sure, almost as tragic as the genocide of Native Americans themselves. Quite frankly, I wish more cared. Billboard signs like these don't help.

What is a dreamcatcher? The legend varies among tribes, but basically, a decor representing the falling of dreams caught into a web made from deergut (and sage, in the case of my tribe) catches the bad dreams and allows only the good dreams to flow through to the tendrils and beads that hang above the sleeping child below. Charms are often woven into the webs to "distract" or filter out nightmares. Both of my children were given dreamcatchers in their childhoods, and my son was once given a large Sacred Hoop for his birthday-meaningful traditions that, I hope, would remind them of their Northern Arapahoe heritage from time to time.

I'm not saying that I'm against Native Americans having their casinos. Even my own tribe has a bingo hall soon-to-be casino, too. What I am saying is that those who own and run these casinos should stop and think about what they are using as their marketing ploys. Using and abusing elements of Native history and traditions that many in our dwindling tribes still hold sacred is not only ridiculously cheesy, it's just plain disrespectful and damaging to the depiction of our rich heritage. Besides, did Miwuks, who from what I understand were basically harvesters of acorns, even use dreamcatchers? And if not, do they even care or respect the other tribes that did make them with their own hands and give them to their children?

Are you a dreamcatcher? No, you aren't. Be smart enough to know that when you walk through these casinos, the aura and atmosphere isn't about educating folks about the history and heritage of whatever tribe is running the joint. It's not about improving the lives of those who live on rancherias or reservations, since in all reality, not much has changed as far as vice and crime goes. It's plainly about the flow of money and where it's going. I've often wondered if there are any Natives with a conscience that sit in the marketing departments of these casinos. Still waiting...

In the mean time, I just simply ask that these casinos' marketing campaigns reflect otherwise, so that when my children are asked, "Do you know what a dreamcatcher is?" they don't say, "Yeah, it's some kind of membership at the local Indian casino."