CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
On July 3, I, together with other
tribal chairmen from across the country,
was invited to the White House to begin
the commemoration of Lewis & Clark’s
journey across the country.
First Lady Laura Bush welcomed
the guests to the White House with a
very nice reception. Sam Penny,
chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe, gave
a moving speech about the role that the
Nez Perce played in the expedition.
The commemoration of the
expedition is expected to draw millions
of tourists to the landmark trail left
by Lewis & Clark. President Bush
closed the ceremony with remarks
about the expedition and expressed
his support for Indian education in
general and specifically for tribal
community colleges.
Once again, anti-Indian, anti-Indian
gaming, and anti-tribal sovereignty
forces have reared their ugly, collective
heads in the U.S. Congress. This time,
it’s Rep. Frank Wolf of Virgiriia who,
along with 13 co-sponsors, introduced
H.R. 2244, an amendment to the
FY Interior Appropriations bill that
would establish a Commission on
Native American Policy to study issues
relating to Indian gaming. The problem
'
Chairman Delores Pigsley
is that right from the start, the bill has
serious flaws.
Arizona Rep. J.D. Hayworth, a
Republican, and Rep. Dale Kildee, a
Democrat from Michigan, pointed out
to the House Appropriations Committee
that the amendment violates its own
House rule that relates to legislating on
appropriations. They urged “the
committee to uphold the integrity of the
authorizing committee by not allowing
legislative language into the Interior
appropriations bill.”
If passed, the amendment would
establish a Commission on Native
American Policy. The fact is that the
federal government in 1996 established
the National Gaming Impact Study
Commission (NGISC) with an
appropriation of $5 million. The
commission was charged with
conducting a comprehensive gambling
study, a large part of which involved the
impact of Indian gaming on Indian and
non-Indian communities.
As Reps. Hayworth and Kildee
pointed out to the committee, the
NGISC report found that “gambling
revenues have proven to be a very
important source of funding for many
tribal governments,” just as the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act intended.
Rep. Wolf seems to have an
unfounded and stubborn belief that
organized crime has infiltrated Indian
gaming. Reps. Hayworth and Kildee
reminded the committee that just last
year, the Justice Department’s Office of
Inspector General - in consultation with
the Criminal Division, the FBI, and the
Office of Tribal Justice - sent a memo
to Rep. Wolf stating that there was a
“lack of evidence to conclude that
involvement of organized crime into
Indian gaming operations has
occurred.” Bruce Ohr, the chief of the
Answers to Questions About New Computers
'
As was published in the July
agreements, and mortgage documents.
be distributed on a first-come,
issue of Siletz News, the tribe is
Only one original application per
first-served basis.
purchasing 1,000 computers to
household will be accepted.
In September, the tribe will
distribute to tribal members. An
Tribal member children who live in
notify by letter those tribal
application form was published
non-Indian custodial parent or guardian
members who will receive a
in the July issue of Nesika Illahee,
households should contact Darlene
computer. The computers will be
the tribe’s confidential quarterly
Carkhuff at 1-800-922-1399, ext. 201, or
distributed by the company
newsletter.
541-444-8201 for an application form.
selected direct to the household.
many
Applications are due
questions about applying to receive
at the close of business on
a computer and about how they will
Aug. 16, 2002. Based on
be distributed.
the number of applications
We
have
received
Here are some answers.
received, a determination
You must complete the entire
will be made on how to
application form. Verification of
distribute the computers. If
your physical address must
we receive more than
application.
1,000 requests, a drawing
accompany
your
Acceptable verification includes
utility
bills,
lease
or
rental
will be held.
Computers will not
Dept, of Justice's Organized Crime and
Racketeering Section, confirmed this
report in a letter to the Senate Indian
Affairs Committee.
Obviously, Rep. Wolf and his
cohorts refuse to accept the truth.-
Another issue involves Rep. Bob
Goodlatte of Virginia’s Internet Gaming
Bill, H.R. 3215, which as amended
retains provisions that would unfairly
limit tribal Internet gaming to “Indian
lands” in the same state.
As Ernest Stevens, chairman of the
National Indian Gaming Association,
stated in his June 10,2002, letter to the
House Judiciary Committee, the bill
would “actually infringe on existing
tribal rights by amending the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act to outlaw
existing linked bingo and other games
between tribes in different states.” Our
tribe, as well as other Oregon tribes and
gaming tribes nationwide, would be
adversely affected by the bill.
Although anti-Indian forces
continue to be active, we must keep
in mind the positive efforts being
made in Congress by Republicans
and Democrats alike. The Tribal
Government Tax Fairness Act of 2002,
introduced on June 6, 2002, by Rep.
Phil Crane of Illinois, a Republican,
exemplifies just such an effort.
Rep. Crane’s bill would rectify an
error made by the Supreme Court on
Nov. 17,2001, in Chickasaw Nation vs.
United States. In that case, the Supreme
Court ruled that tribal governments are
not exempt from the federal wagering
excise tax even though IGRA states
otherwise. Rep. Crane’s bill would
exempt tribes from the federal wagering
excise tax in addition to other federal
taxes from which tribes are already
exempt. His bill addresses the Supreme
Court’s error and would treat Indian
tribes the same as state governments for
purposes of federal wagering taxes.
The importance of this bill is not
only specifically about exempting tribes
from the federal wagering excise tax, it
also acknowledges the principle of
respect for Indian tribes as governments
no less than state governments.
The pending bills aren’t done deals.
There is a need to continue to advocate
for or against them as appropriate and
to • .ure they represent the tribes’
interests in the end. I will report on the
status of these bills inf upcoming issues
of Siletz News.
August 2002
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Siletz News
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