Lincoln Warhorse has held training sessions with over 100 employees who will be working in their new hotels and casinos in Lincoln, Nebraska, according to local Nebraska media.
From 2017 to 2021, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received at least 200 reports of trafficking in Nebraska each year. Rachael Johnson, Director of Government Affairs for Ho-Chunk, said it aims to help staff be better prepared to identify and stop trafficking.
Johnson said, “As much as we hate to think that human trafficking is happening in our communities, unfortunately it is. And that’s something we take very seriously.”
One expert leading the training was Lynnette Grey Bull, the founder of Not Our Native Daughters, an organization created for raising awareness about missing, exploited and murdered Indigenous women and children.
Grey Bull said that her organization is the first of its kind, putting a focus on helping Indigenous victims and educating on the dangers of human trafficking within tribal communities.
She said, “I am both Lakota and Northern Arapaho. The statistics that hang over my head is I am the most stalked, raped, murdered and sexually assaulted out of every woman in this country.”
Jannette Taylor, President and CEO of the Women’s Center for Advancement, said it works for up to five years on human trafficking cases because it can take so long to get someone out of the system.
Taylor said, “In Omaha, we have the College World Series, we have Berkshire Hathaway, we have all these big events where people from all over come to the city. And trafficking during that time, it just sort of sparks.”
Grey Bull continued, “It’s important that tribal casinos, gaming and hotels get this type of training because it happens in casinos every single day, not just here in Nebraska, but nationwide. These types of trainings are imperative.”
Gaming America recently spoke to Paul Pellizzari, Hard Rock VP of Global Social Responsibility, about anti-human-trafficking initiatives on the GA Huddle.
