This is a super complicated and rather grim situation.

The Falls Bar is the sensual epicenter of the casino. The walls around it are fashioned from alternating panels of stone, sheets of water encased in glass, and sheer white curtains. Patrons sprawl on leather divans as barely attired waitresses serve them cocktails. "The girls chosen for the Falls Bar were delighted," says Ward. "Those who didn't make it were devastated." For one thing, when high rollers request the exclusive services of a cocktail waitress, the plum assignments are reserved for members of the Falls Bar crew, who attend to the big spenders in a private salon.

But not all of the Falls Bar women would remain delighted with their position on the pedestal -- or with many other aspects of life at the casino. In a civil lawsuit filed in 2005 with the Placer County Superior Court, Dalton, Ward and five other women -- all former employees of Thunder Valley Casino -- allege gender and age discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and violation of state and federal labor codes by casino management. A casino hostess, Sundi Lyons, claims she was raped by one of the Thunder Valley managers.

The casino and tribe responded in a legal brief that the case should be dismissed because the tribe is immune from civil lawsuits and its "sovereign immunity extends to the casino because it is legally inseparable from the tribe."

This truly highlights the complicated relationship between sovereign Indian nations and US law and how women tend to be the ones that fall between the cracks in a highly political and historically violent relationship. This is similar to our discussion on women in Indian Reservations that are violently attacked by US officials and have no recourse.

Read the article at Salon.