This essay, the capstone for WR 100, asked students to weigh in on a debate currently confronting U.S. Indigenous communities. In her essay, Danielle Slawny chose the rich topic of casinos run by tribal communities. She researched and analyzed the arguments on both sides before presenting her own nuanced—and yet clear and powerful—point of view.
One of the things I like best about Danielle’s essay is the way she threads the case study of the Seneca Nation throughout her essay: it gives unity to an essay that is chock-full of data on a wide range of subtopics. And yet, Danielle doesn’t let this approach become too rigid; she draws on examples from communities in New Mexico and Wisconsin to amplify and broaden her argument, and as a result, her use of the case study feels natural and unforced. It was a pleasure to think alongside Danielle throughout the drafting process, and her essay’s elegant prose and engaging, complicated ideas make it a pleasure to read again now, many months later.
— MARIE MCDONOUGH
WR 100: Indigenous Culture and Politics of Resistance