I hate to say it, but I suspect much of which is "currently traditional" in Native American groups is also sometimes a romanticized view of their ancestors. Not like that's any different from any other ethnic group.

I won't debate that point, but I will say this much. At least enough of the elders were left to gather quite a bit, but sifting real from unreal would be nearly impossible. But, enough to rebuild a great deal.

And even if they had a collective nebulous idea of property years ago, they're fast learners,

Not that hard to read the handwriting on the wall Tom, it was either do that or watch what little culture we had left get eradicated away by modern society. Some of the most depressed areas in the US are on the Res. Rosebud is a horrible example of this.

Long story short, many tribal governing bodies spent a lot of time, effort and cash trying to attract some sort of low impact industry to their local, with limited, or no success. The BIA wasn't going to help, of all the hidebound beauracracies within Fedgov, they're probably the worst. (Which gives us the lawsuit over their decades long mishandling of accounts supposed to be handled for individual tribal members. Losses due to mismanagement or outright fraud may be in the billions. The popular slang term for the BIA among many is Boss Indians Around. Another subject that can get me going on something terrible.)

Some sort of cash flow had to be generated, first it was bingo and smokeshops, now it's high stakes casinos. Most see tham as a short term industry, when the states figured out how much cash can be skimmed off in the form of taxes and fees they passed some sort of legislation permitting gambling in some manner or another. Even the Okies got in on highballing, permitting gambling at the three horse racing venues in the state. This from a state that wouldn't allow liquor by the drink until the 70's.