Tribal casino plan is rejected

Melissa B. Robinson

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Senate on Monday rejected an argument by Connecticut Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman that federal tribal recognition be frozen until the process is reformed.

The Senate voted 80-15 to table a moratorium proposed by the Connecticut senators. The vote essentially killed the plan and shut off further debate.

Lieberman, realizing the proposal would be defeated, said during the debate that concerns about the recognition process will persist as more communities grapple with traffic, strained police and fire services, and other affects from casinos run by federally recognized tribes.

"This is a problem that's not going to go away," he said. "It's going to be felt more and more around the country. Our aspiration is to find common ground (to correct it). Just by having this vote, we have significantly raised awareness of the serious flaws in the recognition process."

Dodd added, "I would strongly urge ... that we do something soon. I regret the Senate failed to act. Clearly the BIA process is out of whack, and I fear that a cloud will continue to hang over the tribal recognition process until it's fixed and confidence is restored."

Even the moratorium's chief opponent, Indian Affairs Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, acknowledged problems in the recognition process.

Congress' investigative arm, the General Accounting Office, found in November 2001 that the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs' recognition process was marred by delays and confusion about the basis of its decision-making.

For instance, while the BIA requires tribes to meet seven criteria for recognition, it can be unclear within the agency how much evidence is necessary for a tribe to meet those criteria, the GAO said.

"It is a scandal at this time," Inouye said about the recognition process, adding that his committee is prepared to consider reforms. Dodd, Lieberman and Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., all have sponsored legislation to change the process.

But Inouye and Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., also cited the sacrifices made by Indians throughout the nation's history, whether through forced relocations that drove them from their land or broken treaties.

"I think the Indians have waited a long time for justice," Inouye said. "This does not bring justice to them."

Inouye said there was still significant disagreement on how the recognition process is flawed, and still more on how to fix it.

Tribes, for instance, complain that recognition decisions, which typically take years and can run into decades, are already too slow, and a moratorium would only exacerbate that problem, he said.

Campbell said 21 tribes and four nationwide organizations wrote to him saying they opposed the moratorium.

Tabling the proposal "is the right thing to do," he said. Even though the BIA's process needs improvement, such a significant policy change shouldn't be enacted in the absence of credible proof of actual fraud, he said.

Even then, it shouldn't come as an attachment to a year-end spending bill, as Dodd and Lieberman proposed, he said.

Campbell suggested that the BIA's research bureau be given increased funding so it could do a better and quicker job with recognition petitions.

Dodd and Lieberman proposed the moratorium after the BIA recognized two Connecticut tribes as one in June.

Specifically, they want more public notification and input in the recognition process and clarification of the criteria and evidence necessary for recognition.

In Connecticut, the recently recognized Eastern Pequots and Paucatuck Eastern Pequots, who share a 225-acre reservation in the southeastern part of the state, plan to open a casino if their recognition becomes final. The state is appealing.

That part of the state is already home to two of the most successful casinos in the world, run by the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Indian tribes. Local officials have complained that their roads and emergency services are overwhelmed.

"This vote is certainly a set back," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. "But there is overwhelming momentum now for reform. Nobody is defending the system as it exists."