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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.