Officials call for overhaul of tribal recognition process

Lolita C. Baldor

Thursday, May 12, 2005 | 9:14 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The thirst for lucrative Indian casinos can taint the tribal recognition process, which is too slow and costly, state and federal officials told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee Wednesday.

And the panel's chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., signaled a greater willingness to tackle reform of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' recognition process.

"The role that gaming and its non-tribal backers have played in the recognition process has increased perceptions that it is unfair if not corrupt," said McCain, adding that it is up to Congress to ensure the BIA is performing correctly. "I anticipate that, informed by this and past hearings, this committee will begin looking at ways to fix the process."

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the state's congressional delegation have been vigorously urging federal officials to improve the tribal recognition process.

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., said efforts to pass legislation reforming the process may be more successful this year because of McCain's new position as the panel's chairman.

"He has a history of being a reformer," Dodd said. "If you had to pick one senator who would be willing to take on entrenched interests, he may be as good as it gets."

Mary Kendall, the Interior Department's deputy inspector general, said the inspector general's office is more closely watching lobbying by gaming interests that might affect the BIA.

"This murky underbelly is fraught with potential for abuse, including inappropriate lobbying activities and unsavory characters gaining an illicit foothold in Indian gaming operations," she told the committee.

She also said her office is conducting an "exhaustive investigation" into questionable documents that were submitted on behalf of the Massachusetts-based Webster and Dudley Nipmuc bands of Indians. The documents include a letter on Interior Department letterhead that offered details and strategy advice to the tribe, but may have been a fake.

The Nipmucs have appealed the BIA's rejection of their recognition petition, and that is pending before the Interior Board of Indian Appeals.

Connecticut lawmakers blasted the BIA's process, saying it has been corrupted by billion dollar gambling interests.

The process, Rell told the committee, "is fatally flawed. It is inconsistent and often illogical. It is replete with conflicts of interest and disdain for adherence to the letter and spirit of the law."

Connecticut officials urged support for legislation that would require all tribes seeking recognition meet all seven criteria outlined by the BIA, and prohibit BIA officials from leaving their bureau job and immediately going to work as a lobbyist for Indian interests.

"We're not here on an anti-Indian mission," Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., testified. "This is a situation that cries out for reform in everybody's interests."

And Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., urged the committee to support her legislation that would overturn the BIA's decision to grant the Kent, Conn.-based Schaghticokes recognition.

Schaghticoke Chief Richard Velky agreed the "badly broken process" needs to be reformed so the country can live up to its commitment to Indian people. But he also challenged lawmakers to present proof of corruption in the Schaghticokes' petition.

He told the committee that while gaming has triggered animosity in the state, his tribe's recognition would last "far beyond the life of any gaming operation."

Federal recognition gives tribes the right to receive federal assistance for housing, health care and other services.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said many of the petitions for recognition were filed long before Congress passed legislation allowing tribes to set up casinos.

"The federal acknowledgment process is all about recognition of sovereignty of nations that were here long before the immigrants came to the shores," Inouye said. "It is not about gaming."