Tulalip News

Indian Law Attorneys’ Advice to Tribes: ‘Stay Out of the Courts!’

By Gale Courey Toensing, Indian Country Today Media Network

During a impersonation of President George Bush Sr. on Saturday Night Live some years ago, comedian Dana Carvey made the following joke: “We have learned well the simple lesson of Vietnam: Stay out of Vietnam!”

Indian law experts are giving the same advice about United States courts, but it’s no laughing matter.

At the National Congress of American Indians 70^th Annual Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in October, Richard Guest, the Native American Rights Fund’s lead staff attorney in Washington, sounded the alarm.

Since John Roberts was made chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006, Guest said, “We’ve had one win and nine losses in front of the Roberts court. And our message as we sat in Reno at the mid-year [NCAI] meeting and we‘d just been handed the decision in the Baby Veronica case – that message is still true here today: Stay out of the courts!”

Guest, NARF founder and director John Echohawk, and NCAI general counsel John Dossett have worked together for years on the Tribal Supreme Court Project and updated convention attendees about their current work.

“The federal courts are not your friends anymore,” Guest continued. The majority of judges sitting on the lower federal courts were appointed by Bush II – very conservative, have no understanding of Indian country at all. No interest in your issues. And that can be said of the Roberts court as well. It’s a very difficult place for tribes to secure victories.

The NARF still wins about 50 percent of its cases in federal courts, Guest said, but the challenge is in determining which cases will go up to the U.S. Supreme Court.“There are a lot of cases to keep track of that may be headed toward the Supreme Court and that’s one of the things the Tribal Supreme Court Project does,” Echohawk said. The project works with the tribal parties involved to brief the issues and bring all the experts – Indian law attorneys, Supreme Court practitioners – together in the hope of changing the losing record, he said.

There was no reason for the Supreme Court to grant review in the Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl case, Guest pointed out. Although he did not claim outright that the high court’s decision to grant cert was politically influenced, his descriptions of the powerful players brought in by the plaintiffs suggest that the fix was in for that to happen. “The petitioners secured the assistance of a Supreme Court practitioner, Lisa Blatt, who wrote a brilliant amicus brief. She brought in Paul Clement, the former solicitor general of the United States, along with Gregory Garre, another solicitor general of the U.S. under the Bush administration. And they wrote amicus briefs on behalf of the adoptive couple, on behalf of the baby girl, on behalf of the birth mother, all indicating reasons why the court should grant review.”

Foremost among the amici’s strategies was to use the scare tactic of promoting the idea that the Indian Child Welfare Act, which seeks to protect Indian children by keeping them with Indian families, was unconstitutional – that Indians do not deserve special treatment or protections under federal law, Guest said. “And as soon as they got review granted they backed away from that position. But it was a case that should never have gone to the Supreme Court of the United States. Having those nine justices decide whether Baby Girl belongs with father or with adoptive couple in South Carolina – why is that an issue for the U.S. Supreme Court?”

The same goes for Michigan v. Bay Mills Community, Guest said. The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether a state can challenge a tribe’s right to open a casino in this case, which involves a three-year old conflict over an off reservation tribal casino in northern Michigan. The high court will not rule on whether the off reservation casino is legal; it will decide whether the state has the legal standing to challenge a tribe’s right to open the casino. The ruling can potentially impact tribal sovereignty throughout Indian country and be as devastating as the Supreme Court’s 2009 Carcieri ruling, which limited the U.S. Department of the Interior’s ability to take lands into trust for tribes recognized after 1934, Guest said.

“When you have states or local governments on one side [of a case] and Indian tribes or tribal interests on the other side, [the Supreme Court is] interested,” Guest said. “They’re interested in being able to define what state authority is going to be over Indian activities.”

The Tribal Supreme Court Project attorneys are asking tribes not to file individual briefs in the Bay Mills case but rather to sign on to the project’s amicus brief on the “strength in numbers” theory. For more information contact Guest at Richard.g@narf.org or Dossett at jdossett@ncai.org.

Before Schimmel: The Indian Women Who Became Basketball Champions

Montana State University News ServiceSome of the women from the 1904 Fort Shaw basketball team. Pictured in the front row, are Genie Butch, Belle Johnson, and Emma Sansaver. In the back row, from left, are Nettie Wirth, Katie Snell, Minnie Burton and Sarah Mitchell. — Montana State University News Service
Some of the women from the 1904 Fort Shaw basketball team. Pictured in the front row, are Genie Butch, Belle Johnson, and Emma Sansaver. In the back row, from left, are Nettie Wirth, Katie Snell, Minnie Burton and Sarah Mitchell.

Tip-off to basketball season is right around the corner. Shoni and Jude Schimmel are back at the University of Louisville, poised for another run at the national championships. Two years ago, Tahnee Robinson became the first Native American woman to be drafted by the WNBA and last spring, Angel Goodrich became the second. Indian girls are playing at many schools across the country and basketball reigns supreme throughout Indian country.

But Indian women and basketball are not as new as many think. In 1904 the women’s basketball team at Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School in Montana were world champions.

This arch at the site of the Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School proclaims the team as World Champions. (Jack McNeel)

Basketball was in its infancy, but rez ball was born.

James Naismith invented the game just 13 years earlier, so it truly was a new sport. Even during those 13 years it had evolved to something more resembling the game today. The clock didn’t stop, so the scores were lower and field goals only counted for one point, but the young women ran the full court as they do today. The uniforms could better be described as bloomers and the ball was slightly larger back then.

The History Museum in Great Falls, Montana contains a display of items and photos from the 1904 Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School basketball team including uniforms. (Jack McNeel)

The young women on the Fort Shaw team came from seven tribes throughout Montana and Idaho. Some of the girls had played shinny or double ball, but had likely never played this new sport. Their first game was against a high school boy’s team in Great Falls. The young ladies rode 40 miles in horse drawn wagons to play that game, winning and actually doubling the score of the boy’s team.

That was just the beginning. They beat the men’s teams at the University of Montana and Montana State by scores of 25-1 and 22-0. At halftime they entertained with songs on the mandolin and violin, recited poetry, sang and did Native dances. Teams didn’t want to play them.

A granite monument below the arch contains a photo and the name of each team member along with a steel basketball. (Jack McNeel)

The 1904 World’s Fair was held in St. Louis, Missouri. Fort Shaw Indian School Superintendent Fred C. Campbell arranged for the team and other Fort Shaw students to attend and live in tipis at the Indian Exhibit. They performed dozens of times showing their basketball talent as well as musical talents to raise money for the trip.

Missouri had put together an all-star team—their coach studied Fort Shaw and spent the summer preparing for them. They thought they were ready. It was a best of three series. The score in the first game was 24-2 in favor of Fort Shaw. Missouri requested a several week delay before the second game—the final score of which was 17-6, again in favor of Fort Shaw. They were declared world champions.

Fort Shaw was to close as a boarding school in 1910. The basketball team members went their separate ways, but their story continues to be told. PBS produced a movie called, Playing for the World. In 2004, Happy Jack Feder wrote a book called Shoot, Minnie, Shoot! Another movie was produced with that same title. In 2008, Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith produced another book titled Full-Court Quest: The Girls from Fort Shaw Indian School Basketball Champions of the World.

Paulette Jordan, Coeur d’Alene tribal member, played the role of Minnie Burton in the video. Jordan was a basketball player through four years of college at the University of Washington so the role came naturally. Minnie Burton was also an Idaho resident and a member of the Lemhi Shoshone Tribe.

“There was a lot of pride in playing the role of Minnie,” Jordan said. “I felt a strong relationship to Minnie who was a leader on the team. She was a natural, tall like me, and strong. She was a full-blood Indian. They were not just winners, but gracious about it. They kept winning and every time the hate became less… began transforming into respect. I believe that team had influence on the popularity of basketball into tribal culture that lasts to this day.”

The Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School no longer stands, although a couple of small stone buildings still occupy the site—but the basketball team has not been forgotten. A large steel arch has been erected with the words: 1904 World Champions. Beneath the arch is large granite stone with a steel basketball mounted on top with a photograph of the 10 young women on the team and the names of each player engraved in the stone. It’s a wonderful tribute to an incredible team that shocked the world in 1904.

Angel of the Winds Casino breaks ground on hotel expansion

An artist's rendering of what the new hotel at the Angel of the Winds Casino will look like, once it's complete in 2015.— image credit: Courtesy image. — An artist’s rendering of what the new hotel at the Angel of the Winds Casino will look like, once it’s complete in 2015.
— image credit: Courtesy image.

By Kirk Boxleitner, Arlington Times Reporter

ARLINGTON — Friday, Oct. 25, saw the Angel of the Winds Casino officially break ground on construction of a new $20-million, 125-room, five-story hotel.

“This is the next step in our growth of the Angel of the Winds Casino,” said Koran Andrews, CEO of the Stillaguamish Tribal Enterprise Corporation. “We continue to look at what our guests want, and develop those amenities.”

“We are truly blessed to have an opportunity to add a hotel to our facility, and provide more services to our guests,” Stillaguamish Tribal Chair Shawn Yanity said of the expansion, which will add more than 100,000 square feet to the casino, in the form of not only a new hotel, but also a new gift shop and smoke shop, as well as a porte-cochere to centralize guests’ entrances to the property. “Not only are we growing our tribal economy, but we’re growing the local economy, too, by increasing job opportunities and tourism.”

According to Travis O’Neil, general manager of the Angel of the Winds Casino, planning for the new hotel expansion began roughly 18 months ago, but the possibility of such an expansion was factored into the casino’s plans shortly before its previous expansion six years ago.

“We’ve got a master plan, but we also listen to our guests,” O’Neil said. “We blocked out the space for this sort of expansion, because we always had in mind that the Angel of the Winds Casino would become a destination resort. We might as well reach for the stars. We’ve got a good group of people, who do their best for our guests, and the Stillaguamish Tribe has been willing to support us, so long as they see our accomplishments.”

As far as O’Neil is aware, the Angel of the Winds Casino is one of the last, if not the last, casino on the I-5 corridor to add its own hotel, and he touted the new hotel — which is anticipated to open in the winter or spring of 2015, creating an estimated additional 50 jobs for the local community in the process — as “moderately priced, but not lower-end.”

“The hotel will be just as comfortable and nice as they’ve come to expect from the casino,” O’Neil said. “It promises to be a very good complement to the World’s Friendliest Casino.”

Beyond the jobs that will be created once the new hotel opens, O’Neil also touted the local construction jobs that will be created in the meantime, since he expects that the Bellingham-based Excel Pacific will retain a number of subcontractors, whose employees he believes will likely include more than a few folks from Marysville and Arlington.

“We’ve got other steps in our master plan, but it would be premature to discuss those at this point,” O’Neil said. “For right now, we just want to focus on making this hotel a success, and I just want to thank the Stillaguamish Tribe for the opportunities they’ve given me in this job. Their elders paved the way for this, and they’re supporting it because they’re mindful of leaving something to their future generations. It’s been a blessing to work with them.”

The Angel of the Winds Casino is located three minutes east of I-5 Exit 210 in Arlington.

Historic Haida Gwaii totem raising celebrates protection from logging

By Damien Gillis, October 24, 2013. Source: The Common Sense Canadian

A new video from Parks Canada follows the carving and raising of a 42-foot totem pole on Haida Gwaii this past summer. The first pole raising there in 130 years, it commemorates the 20-year anniversary of the creation of Gwaii Haanas National Park.

The Gwaii Haanas Legacy Pole was raised on August 15, 2013, at Hlk’yah GawGa (Windy Bay) on Lyell Island before a crowd of 400.

“Monumental poles are more than just art. They hold histories, they mark events and they tell stories,” explains artist Jaalen Edenshaw, whose design was chosen by a selection committee made up of a hereditary chief, two Haida citizens, a carver and two Gwaii Haanas staff members. Proposals were submitted without names attached, evaluated solely on their story and design.

In the video, Jaalen shows the different stories carved into the impressive pole, including one which symbolizes the 1980s blockade which protected the region from logging and led to the creation of Gwaii Haanas National Park. Another carved feature recognizes the formative influence of earthquakes on Haida Gwaii, which saw its famed hot springs dry up following seismic activity a year ago.

“The figure is ‘Sacred One Standing and Moving’,” Jaalen explains, “and as he moves, that’s when Haida Gwaii shakes and that’s what causes the earthquakes.”

The pole raising was a team effort, with dozens of Haida people and visitors pulling together on five long lines to erect it and lodge the base of the red cedar pole in a pre-dug hole for stability.

The whole process is captured from a bird’s eye-view via a small go-pro camera placed on top of the pole.

Navajo Energy Policy Legislation Passed and Signed by President

Source: Native News Network

WINDOW ROCK, ARIZONA – On Thursday Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly signed legislation enacting the Navajo Energy Policy of 2013 during a signing ceremony in his office. The policy will allow for the Navajo Nation to have direction and guidance for energy development and other initiatives.

For three years, President Shelly has been advocating to update the Navajo Energy Policy, which was created in 1980.

“I want to thank the Navajo Nation Council for the cooperation and the spirit of working together to pass the energy policy. It’s been a long journey. Much work from both branches of government went into today’s ceremony. Now we can move ahead with our future of renewable and non-renewable energy,”

Navajo Nation President Shelly said before he signed the legislation.

President Shelly also signed legislation allocating about $4.1 million to Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) and a third legislation that changed the operating policies of NTEC.

“This is a great day for the Navajo Nation,”

President Shelly said after he signed the documents.

For three years, President Shelly has been advocating to update the Navajo Energy Policy, which was created in 1980. The Energy Advisory Committee that was chaired by Fred White, Natural Resources division director, created the updated Energy Policy and submitted the policy to the Navajo Council to initiate the legislative process.

“I am happy the Council passed the Energy Policy,”

White said shortly after the legislation passed earlier this week.

Navajo Council Speaker Johnny Naize, who sponsored the bill, called the Energy Policy.

“a basic framework for which our Nation can work with other entities to effectively use our resources for energy development.”

In addition, President Shelly has stated the Energy Policy puts the Navajo Nation in a better position to advocate for funding from federal sources for energy studies, projects and other programs.

The legislation pertaining to NTEC allocated $4.1 million to the company for costs relating to start up and expenses acquired during the due diligence investigation related to the acquisition of the Navajo mine.

The other legislation amends the operating policies for NTEC.

Nike N7 Holiday 2013 Collection: Where Innovation Meets Tradition

By Terri Hansen, Indian Country Today Media Network

A visually stunning Pendleton blanket with a distinctive, contrast-driven look subtly blends black and white to create rich gray tones that appear both heathered and color-blocked throughout the design is the fruit of Nike’s collaboration with Pendleton Woolen Mills.

The Nike N7 Blanket is part of the new Nike N7 Holiday 2013 Collection. A portion of the proceeds from its sales will benefit the American Indian College Fund, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships for American Indian students.

Nike N7 Pendleton blanket (Courtesy Nike)

When sketching out the initial artwork for the blanket, Nike N7 Collection Designer Derek Roberts looked to traditional Native American dress for inspiration, specifically how patterns work together to create a garment. He started at the bottom of the blanket, with a smaller pattern of arrows that repeats and grows in scale towards the center and is a mirror-image pattern from top to bottom.   Roberts also took visual inspiration from Nike Flyknit, with the PWM Nike N7 Blanket’s woven wool fabric mixing to create unique color tones and shapes. Adding a unique twist to the traditional Pendleton Woolen Mills blanket designs that often feature a multitude of colors, Roberts made the decision to use only black and white.

“The goal with the artwork for the Nike N7 Pendleton Woolen Mills (PWM) Blanket was to bridge the gap between heritage-based, traditional style and current trends in a way that would inspire the entire Nike N7 Holiday 2013 collection,” Roberts told Indian Country Today Media Network.

The center of the blanket design prominently features the Nike N7 mark—three arrows pointing back to signify past generations, three arrows pointing forward to signify future generations, and arrows in the center to represent the current generation. The arrows sometimes appearing as triangles or other shapes, convey both movement and balance.   The blanket is reversible for a positive/negative visual effect, with a black base on one side and white on the other, and includes the iconic blue Pendleton Woolen Mills badge with black and cream Nike N7 label. Soft wool is featured on the white side.

The PMW Nike N7 Blanket retails for $298 USD, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the American Indian College Fund, which has been “Educating the Mind and Spirit” of Native people for nearly 25 years, providing an average of 6,000 scholarships annually. The College Fund also supports the nation’s 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities located on or near Indian reservations.

Four other styles in the Nike N7 Holiday 2013 Collection were inspired by the Nike N7 Pendleton Woolen Mills blanket artwork.

The PWM N7 Graphic Tee (Courtesy Nike)

The PWM N7 Windrunner Jacket – Elements from the blanket design inspire the decorative sleeves on the iconic Nike Windrunner Jacket for a neutral yet strong and modern look that is rooted in traditional values. Embroidery stitching is featured on the sleeves and the N7 logo is both inside the jacket and on the chest. The jacket also features reflectivity for visibility. Suggested Retail Price: copy00 USD.

The PWM N7 Graphic Tee – On the men’s and women’s Nike N7 Graphic Tee, the scale of the blanket pattern is exaggerated and placed on the shoulder of the men’s and waist of the women’s tee for a dynamic and distinct look. The white-on-black graphic is comprised of small lines that relate back to the actual fibers of the blanket to create a fade effect. Both tees also include decorative stitching. Suggested Retail Price: $34 USD.

  The PWM N7 Air Force 1 High & PWM N7 Roshe Run – For the men’s Nike N7 Air Force One and women’s Nike N7 Roshe Run, a lighter wool fabric was created by Pendleton Woolen Mills that features a representation of the pattern on the bottom of the blanket. The neutral patterned fabric creates contrast with the solid black upper of both styles. Suggested Retail Price for the PWM N7 Air Force I High: copy35 USD. Suggested Retail Price for the PWM N7 Roshe Run: $85 USD.   The Nike PWM N7 Blanket is available at Nike.com and Pendleton-USA.com.

The PWM N7 Windrunner Jacket, PWM N7 Air Force 1 High and PWM N7 Roshe Run, as well as additional styles from the Nike N7 Holiday 2013 Collection, will be available beginning October 26 at Nike.com, Nike and Foot Locker locations across the United States and Canada. Mercer will also feature the Nike N7 Pendleton Woolen Mill fabric for a limited time as part of its bespoke offerings.

The Nike N7 collection of apparel and footwear supports the N7 Fund and its mission to inspire and enable two million Native American and Aboriginal youth in North American to participate in sport and physical activity. The N7 Collection highlights the N7 philosophy—In every deliberation we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations—and also embodies Nike’s Considered Design ethos to create performance product engineered for superior athletic performance and lower environmental impact.

Since the Nike N7 collection launched in 2009, more than $2 million has been raised for Native American and Aboriginal youth sport programs through the N7 Fund. Nike N7 and the N7 Fund are aligned with Designed to Move, a growing community of public, private and civil sector organizations (including Nike) dedicated to ending the growing epidemic of physical inactivity. For Nike N7 Collection retail locations and for more information about Nike N7, visit NikeN7.com, or follow Nike N7 on Facebook and @NikeN7.

Pendleton is recognized worldwide as a symbol of American heritage, authenticity and craftsmanship. With six generation of family ownership since 1863, the company celebrates 150 years of weaving fabric in the Pacific Northwest in 2013. Inspired by its heritage, the company designs and produces apparel for men and women, blankets, home décor and gifts. Pendleton is available through select retailers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia; Pendleton stores; company catalogs and direct-to-consumer channels including the Pendleton website, http://www.pendleton-usa.com.

‘Dad, Are They Making Fun of Us?’ Being a Parent in the Age of ‘Redskins’

N7Fund.comWilson Pipestem — N7Fund.com
Wilson Pipestem

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Wilson Pipestem is reshaping the ‘R’ word name-change discussion by explaining why tradition should not trump racial sensitivities–especially when it comes to Native youth.

Pipestem, an enrolled member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and an Osage headright holder, joined MSNBC’s UP W/Steve Kornacki to discuss why Dan Snyder, the team’s owner, and Roger Goodell, should take the name-change debate suggestions seriously.

Wilson said that two of his children, in the 5th and 7th grades, came home from school one day and asked a profound question about the team’s name.

“Dad, are they making fun of us?”

As the father of four young kids, he knew it would be a discussion that they had to sit down and talk about.

“When you are an Indian parent and you are trying to teach your kids that it is a good thing to be an Indian and should respect other people who are different than us…and you try to teach them that the ceremonial use of paint, and the use of eagle feathers are sacred; and that these are good things, that it makes it more difficult when these sort of things are a part of a significant institution within our society,” Wilson told the panel on MSNBC.

Jacqueline Pata, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians agrees with Wilson. “The welfare and future of our youth is at stake,” she said in earlier news release. “We are working every day to ensure they are able to grow up and thrive in healthy, supportive communities. Removing these harmful mascots is just one part of our effort to encourage our children to achieve their greatest potential.”

The NCAI recently released a 29-page report that explains, in part, the psychological effects that racial slurs and mascot imagery have on Native children. Wilson did not specifically reference the report, but spoke out as a Native parent.

He also said that the AP’s April poll results, which were flashed across MSNBC’s TV screen, would slight as people are confronted with George Preston Marshall’s racist background and the history behind the slur.

“Ignorance is a very powerful enemy. And it’s particularly powerful for Indian people who are fewer in numbers and many of us live in isolated places,” Wilson said. “But I think what we’re seeing is a moral change, and the public is becoming-the society is just becoming more educated on the issues.”

Ultimately, Wilson, a Native American Civil Rights Lawyer, who lives in Washington, D.C., told the panel that the football team would change its name as they become more educated about the team’s history.

“They will realize that when society is confronted with this truth, there is going to be change… ”

Halloween Fun at Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center, October 27

A fun-filled afternoon of storytelling, film and crafts at the Tulalip Hibulb Cultural Center on Sunday, October 27, 1-3PM. $2.00 discount for anyone in a Halloween costume!

Red Wind Casino Plans $45 Million Expansion

Construction Starts Next Month; Completion Set for December 2014

52686534e0156.image — Expanded casino
An artist’s drawing shows what the Red Wind Casino will look like once a $45 million expansion project is completed. Work is set to begin in November on the project, which will add 42,700 square feet of floor space to the casino, including a non-smoking section. The project will be completed in December 2014.

October 23, 2013 Nisqually Valley News

By Nomee Landis nlandis@yelmonline.com

OLYMPIA, WA – A $45 million expansion of the Nisqually Red Wind Casino will bring 70 new jobs to the area and will continue to fuel a significant economic expansion that has occurred within the Nisqually Indian Tribe in the last year, said Cynthia Iyall, chair of the Nisqually Tribal Council.

Construction is set to begin on the casino expansion project next month and will be completed by December 2014. In all, 42,700 square feet of gaming space will be added to the current 95,000-square-foot structure. A remodeling of the parking structure will add 600 spots. The expanded space will include a smoke-free casino.

Only about 1 percent of the roughly 400 employees at the casino are members of the Nisqually Tribe, Iyall said. Many of the tribe’s 766 members are employed in tribal government positions; there are about 300 such positions.

“We rely on the surrounding community for employment, and it seems to be a good partnership,” Iyall said.

The remodeled and expanded casino will carry on with a natural elements theme begun with the construction of the Tribal Center. That building’s roof is curved to

reflect the back of a fish and the flowing Nisqually River. The old tribal building behind it is being remodeled with a pitched roof, which is reflective of a mountain, Iyall said. The upgraded casino building will incorporate grass-like elements because the Nisqually Tribe’s historic name, Schally-Absch, means people of the river and people of the grass country, Iyall said.

The original casino, which was built in 1997, is the tribe’s economic engine, Iyall said, and revenues from that business have allowed the tribe to expand its economic presence in the region. Four new tribal businesses have opened within the past year alone. The tribe has a new construction company called Nisqually Federal WHH Construction.

The tribe opened a seafood processing plant, called She-nah-num Seafood, in Tumwater about six months ago. Tribal fishermen sell their catch to the plant, which processes it and prepares it for retail sale. Then the seafood is purchased by casinos, buffets and fine-dining restaurants up and down the coast.

The tribe has also opened two convenience stores, the Nisqually Market in Lakewood and the Nisqually Market Express in the Nisqually Valley near Interstate 5. Both of those have opened within the past year, Iyall said.

“We utilize our gaming as a springboard to get into other types of businesses for the tribe,” Iyall said. “It is the engine of our economic development. With a portion of these funds, we have been able to diversify our economy on and off the reservation, strengthening our sovereignty and building the tribe for the future.”

The money generated from those jobs brings security into tribal homes, Iyall said. There are just so many positives from the casino operation, she added, and the expansion will help spur future economic growth.

The casino earnings will also help fuel an upgrade of the convenience store on the reservation, the Rez-Mart. That project will begin soon and will add products and services, including perhaps a post office and office space, Iyall said.

In addition to these projects, the tribe is also extending its wastewater treatment system and is building a public safety complex, according to a statement provided by Iyall.

“The Nisqually Tribe is investing in the future,” Iyall said in that statement. “The tribal council wants to provide long-term opportunities for our members and their families — opportunities for good jobs, good health care, good homes and good education. We especially want to provide quality care for our elders.”

The tribe contributes more than $1 million each year from casino revenues to charitable and nonprofit organizations and local governments that extend the benefits of the operation into the surrounding communities, according to the statement. The current casino boasts three restaurants, 975 video lottery terminals and an assortment of gaming tables.

The tribe’s Medicine Creek Enterprise Corp. manages the casino. That corporation is chaired by John Simmons.

“We’re proud of the casino’s success,” Simmons said in the statement, “and we welcome the opportunity to keep growing, to keep generating income and to benefit our members.”

Korsmo Construction will be the general contractor for the expansion, according to a statement. That is the same company that built the new Tribal Center across the street from the casino. KMB Designs is the architect for the project.

The Myth Of The Casino Cash Cow For Native Americans

Contrary to popular stereotypes about tax-exempt gambling profits on reservations, most Native Americans struggle to make ends meet.

The Fond-Du-Luth Casino in Duluth, Minnesota. (Photo/Michael Hicks via Flickr)

By Katie Lentsch

October 23, 2013 MintPressNews

Today’s casinos of flashing lights and slot machines in smoke-filled rooms attract high rollers and bad losers. Many see casinos as a lucrative business for Native American reservations — but does this myth of money-making match reality?

Twenty-five percent of the U.S. population aged 21 and over visited a casino and participated in gambling in 2010. In that year alone, U.S. casinos enjoyed revenues of $34.6 billion, according to the American Gaming Association.

It’s a common assumption that the gaming industry is a cash cow for Native Americans, especially since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1976 that as part of tribal sovereignty, state tax and regulatory laws do not necessarily apply to Native Americans living on reservations.

Tribal sovereignty refers to tribes’ right to govern themselves, define their own membership, manage property, and regulate tribal business and relations while recognizing a government-to-government relationship with states and the federal government. But despite tribes’ independence and exemptions, the Native American population as a whole comprises the minority living with the largest disparities in health, education and income in the United States.

The unemployment rate on some reservations can reach as high as 75 percent, with nearly 10 percent of all Native families being homeless. For some of those families who do have homes, they may lack electricity or running water, Liberation news reports.

Gaming has helped raise tribal communities out of poverty by providing funds for housing, schools, health care and education, as well as stable jobs for community members, but according to the Native American Rights Fund, of the estimated 560 federally recognized American Indian nations, only 224 are involved in gaming. Tribes who are geographically located on rural, unpopulated land may never take part in the industry, while those who reside near major urban areas benefit the most from gaming operations.

Can tribal sovereignty exist within a city?

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa not only has a casino on its reservation in northern Minnesota, but one that is located 20 miles to the east in downtown Duluth. With the “Fond-du-Luth” casino establishment located outside of the reservation, issues pertaining to tribal sovereignty and gaming revenues are currently being disputed by city leaders.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that because Fond-du-Luth is outside the reservation, a 1994 agreement was enacted, stating that the casino would pay a 19 percent “rent” of its gross income for 25 years and an unspecified rate for the following 25 years to the city in exchange for services. This provided Duluth with around $6 million income annually from the Fond du Lac band, but in 2009, the band stopped paying.

Karen Diver, chairwoman of the Fond du Lac band, said payments were halted when it began questioning the legality of the agreement. After asking the National Indian Gaming Commission to review the 1994 consent agreement, it found the agreement violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which requires tribes to have “sole proprietary interest” for tribal casinos.

The band negotiated a payment-per-services model, covering services like law enforcement and fire protection, but a U.S. District Court judge ruled this month that $10.4 million is owed from the Fond du Lac band’s halted payments from 2009 to 2011, which the band might be able to appeal.

The issues that arose in Duluth were similar to those when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) was onboard for a plan to build casinos under the Seneca Nation in Rochester and other areas upstate.

Initially, like Fond-du-Luth, there was discussion of the state government receiving a negotiated piece of the casino’s gross intake, but the sovereignty issue again posed question.

“How could you put a sovereign nation in the middle of your downtown?” said Lovely Warren, Rochester city council president.

Steve Siegel, formerly of the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Niagara University, told Rochester City Newspaper that most of the time, when a tax-exempt casino is placed on what is claimed to be sovereign land within an urban setting, all of the gain goes to the casino complex.

“Local businesses are devastated because they can’t compete with this massive nontaxable entity,” Siegel said.

Native Americans are still Americans

Although the casino institutions themselves are not federally taxed, in 2006 the IRS issued a bulletin stating that individual Native Americans, especially those living outside of a reservation, are still subject to federal income tax every year.

More than seven in ten Native Americans and Alaska Natives now live in metropolitan areas, and 27 percent live in poverty, according to the Census Bureau.

The bulletin states:

“While there are numerous valid treaties between various Federally Recognized Indian Tribal Governments and the United States government, some of which may contain language providing for narrowly defined tax exemptions, these treaties have limited application to specific tribes … Taxpayers who are affected by such treaty language must be a member of a particular tribe having a treaty and must cite that specific treaty in claiming any exemption. There is no general treaty that is applicable to all Native Americans.”

Even so, many Native American families subject to treaties are still not exempt from taxes. The IGRA has provisions that permit tribes to make per-capita distributions from gaming activities to tribe members and the community. But according to the bulletin, “Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, any distribution of casino gaming proceeds to individual tribe members is also subject to federal income tax.”

Essentially, Native Americans are living in a nation where the majority of its population is struggling to make ends meet. They face taxes and economic strife while trying to support their families. Some may sit more comfortably than others, but the late-night hours from visitors at the slot machines or blackjack tables don’t quite live up to the dream.