Inside the Seminoles’ ascension from poverty to profit

The last three decades have seen the Seminole Tribe of Florida ascend from extreme poverty to substantial wealth thanks to their lucrative Indian gaming endeavors. A South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation found that, while this wealth is shared throughout the tribe, a “a handful of tribal leaders have especially benefited, steering millions of the tribe’s money and business to themselves, their families and their friends.” As a sovereign nation, the Seminole’s are not obligated to open their records, but the Sun-Sentinel obtained thousands of pages of documents and conducted extensive interviews providing a rare glimpse inside the tribe.