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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1995)
Page 2 October 1, 1995 SMOKE SIGNALS 0, Chairman's Report: Here comes the tax man. ..again! By Mark Mercier Once again, various politicians in Congress are sniffing around for additional revenue to counteract spending cuts and help balance the budget. But the devil, as they say, is in the details. A move is afoot in Washington D.C. in the House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Texas Republican Repre sentative Bill Archer, to place a 34 income tax on all Indian gaming casinos. And if this weren't bad enough, the action comes on the heels of proposed Congressional spending cuts of almost 20 percent in the Bureau of Indian Affairs annual budget for Tribal Priority Allocations. The BIA budget cuts bill will make a separate story in itself, and we will address that in a future Smoke Signals. But the casino tax proposal is being considered at this writing, and action is expected in a very short time frame. During the last week in September, I was in Washington D.C. to meet with many members of Congress and staffers to let them know of our opposition to the gaming tax. There are many reasons why every single Native American in the nation should be concerned about this tax grab, whether their tribe operates a casino or not, not the least of which is that this tax is blatantly unconstitutional. As Alaska Republi can Representative Don Young so eloquently stated in a letter to Chairman Archer: "...it is an accepted fact that Indian tribal governments have the same tax exempt status as do State governments. Indian tribal governments are specifically recognized in the Consti tution and at no point in the history of this nation has the United States ever attempted to tax the tribes themselves precisely because they are governments." Congressman Young goes on to say: "The United States gov ernment does not tax the gaming revenue realized by the state of Texas from the Texas lottery. The sovereign status of the State of Texas has always shielded it from Federal taxation. For that same reason the United States government should not be taxing gaming revenue realized by Indian tribal govern ment." The identical constitutional argument can be presented in the case of the Oregon state lottery, of course, or for that mat ter any state that conducts or sponsors its own lottery or other gaming activity. Tribal lobbyists are aggressively fighting this constitutional action, and, although the bill has already passed the House, we believe we can slow it down or even kill it entirely when it reaches the Senate. We'll have a full report for you in the next Smoke Signals. In the meantime, I urge you to write a short note to the new chairman of the Senate Finance Committee (Packwood's suc cessor) expressing your opposition and outrage at this com pletely unfair and unacceptable infringement on the rights of independent sovereign tribal governments. Chairman Roth's address: The Honorable William V. Roth, Jr. " Chairman, Senate Finance Committee 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 205 10 Members thank Tribal Council for burial help To the Editor: Dear Tribal membership, We're taking the time to thank the membership for sup porting our tribal burial land. On September l, 1995, tribal member Leroy Allen, age 46 was killed in an auto accident in Warm Springs, Oregon. Without the burial funds, the additional burden of burial costs would have only added to the sorrow that our family was already ex periencing. Leroy's family appreciates the work that Tribal Coun cil did by developing a policy and setting up an endow ment fund for burial costs. We also appreciate the coor dination and explanation of death benefits that Margo Mercier did with the funeral director. It eased the burial decision-making process. It is a great support to know that our Tribe is invested in its membership. We are grateful for the forethought and energy that has been contributed to this effort. May the Tribe continue to keep at its center the well-being of its membership, even when death occurs. Thanks to those who traveled to Warm Springs to at tend the funeral and be with us through the days follow ing Leroy's death. It was a great comfort. We appreciate all the kind words and prayers that were spoken. Warm regards from the family of Leroy Allen, Pauline Johnson grandmother, Elmer Tom grandfa ther, Cordelia Kneeland mother, John Allen brother, Stan Kneeland brother, Tim Kneeland brother. Pauline Allen sister, Pat Allen sister, Cheryle Kennedy sister, Cecile Kneeland sister ATNI interim director calls Gorton's article "a distortion" By Tom Hampson Washington Sen. Slade Gorton's recent op-ed article (see page 3) justifying the budge cuts in the Interior Depart ment programs for Indian tribes is a distortion of the cruel est kind. He chastises Tribes for their overreaction to the cuts. He claims that tribes want more than their fair share of the Interior pie while Indians are "getting rich on gam ing". His spin on the numbers "Indian programs took the smallest reduction..." is achieved by offsetting cuts in the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget (26 percent cut) with the Indian Health Service budget (3 percent increase). The Health Service is in the Interior budget, but it is not an Inte rior program. This artfully obscures the significant cut in funds designated to fulfill U.S. trust responsibilities under the treaties between the U.S. and Indian tribes. The money is important, but such a focus cheapens the debate. The threat of budget cuts is not the part of Gorton's perspective that angers and threatens Indian tribes the most. The question being asked by tribes today is, "Does Sen. Gorton's view represent a reemergence of the dark side of this nation's treatment of the first Americans?" A scan of the proposals made in just the last 30 days from the 1 04th Congress would give the most objective observer cause to wonder if the days of the forked-tongue diplomacy were upon us once more. Consider this: Appropriations for the program in the Interior budget that most directly supports the development of tribal gov ernments (B.I.A. Priority Allocations) were cut in the Sen ate version by 32.5 percent compared to the president's budget. Ironically, this program is "revenue sharing" type of funding designed to encourage self-governance (concepts favored by the Republicans and most tribes). Section 1 1 5 of the Interior Appropriations Bill (A Gorton amendment) states that 50 percent of Tribes' Self-Governance funding will be withheld unless they negotiate on water and land rights with nontribal local interests. The proposal is considered blackmail by the tribes and is remi niscent of the big-stick diplomacy used during the 1 9th cen tury treaty negotiations. The House Ways and Means Committee has approved a section of that tax bill that singles out tribes for a 34 per cent tax on gaming revenue, ignoring the opinions of the Departments of Treasury, Interior and Justice that such a tax is illegal and inequitable. Most tribes don't have gam ing. Of those that do, only one percent of them are realiz ing substantial income. And of course, states are not taxed for their gaming revenues. This is just a partial list. As part of the budget-balancing effort, funds dedicated to tribes for social, economic, and educational development are being cut across the board. This is bothersome to tribes, but they have stated they are willing to do their share for budget-balancing. Tribes are not willing to take disproportionate cuts. More important, they point out that many of the funds are not discretionary funding. Most Americans do not understand that these resources are made available to tribes as part of the government's' ongoing obligations under the treaties. The treaties say in essence, "In exchange for your land and your life-styles we shall provide you with resources to go forth and prosper as part of the new America." The tribes utilize these funds as seed capital for their develop ment plans. Tribes want to become self-sufficient. Tribes are feeling that they are now being penalized for finally doing what they were asked to do. When you sum it up, it is easy to see why tribes might come to the conclusion that Congress is saying "Hey, we're tired of paying for these old treaty contracts. You Indians have been getting uppity with your rights assertion and now some of you are getting rich, so it's time to take you down a peg." The founding fathers recognized Indian tribes as sover eign nations in the Constitution. These tribes were the first nations that we conquered. Compared to other adversar ies, we provided little in war reparations. Instead, in the . treaties we agreed to provide certain rights to resources and commitments to assist them to develop in perpetuity. Tribes responded with honor. They served as warriors in our armies. They now offer some of the best hope for many of our distressed rural areas. Even though they have a unique status in our country as sovereign nations, they have become major contributors to our economic and cultural well-being. Let's not turn back the clocks and forsake our honor as a nation over the equiva lent of the price tag of a B-l bomber. reprinted from The Oregonian, September 27 edition. Tom Hampson is the interim executive director of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.
