Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin
EE-BO, I agree with you to an extent. What should Congress do? Can you imagine the backlash, particularly from the incredibly strong NA lobby if the U.S. were to simply repudiate its treaties with the tribes and declare them and their citizens fully subject to the laws of the United States?
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Thank you Kevin, ThetaPrincess and jojapeach for your kind words. I am no expert on this subject- I just see it as a fascinating societal experiment because it really is unprecedented.
Kevin- the answer to your question is economics.
The Civil War was not about slavery- it was about economic power, and the South happened to derive much of its economic power from slaves.
The War on Terror is not about terrorism- it is about global energy supplies for the next 3-4 decades.
The Native American issue is not about the evil white man discriminating against the "real owners" of America- it is about the unsuccessful side in a battle for ownership trying to do all they can to improve their own economic situation independent of American society.
I don't blame the tribes for gouging oil companies for right of way fees, or for building casinos, or for using some "evil white man" sob story to get all the advantages they can.
This is a tough world- and every one of us should be doing everything we can to better ourselves. I use my personal position all the time to gain advantage- and so should anyone else. I may not like what someone does to get ahead, but I respect it because I do the same thing and because I recognize that all of us have to figure out what our advantage is and use it.
I might want to have someone's advantage removed- for example some of what tribes get away with right now as we are discussing- but I won't begrudge individual people using that advantage while they can. Works in reverse too- there are plently of people in the world who think someone like me was born with an unfair advantage.
Understanding that life is NOT fair is key to applauding a person for taking an unfair advantage while personally feeling that such advantage should not be available in the first place.
In any event- Kevin, the answer to your question is economics (I know, repeating myself.)
1. Cities, Counties and States are always on the lookout for new revenue sources via taxation. As the casinos continue to grow, there will be increasing notice given to all that potentially taxable revenue that would be taxable if it were not for special concessions to Native American tribal governments.
2. As energy prices increase, all US citizens are affected- from the guy making $6 an hour driving to work to the CEO of a major manufacturing plant. This creates great political pressure for government intervention, or at the very least- investigation. The right of way fees that Native American tribes collect from companies running oil and gas pipelines over reservation land is not only huge- but those fees are a key example of a cost that does not add any real value to the underlying product and which could be eliminated with some government intervention. There has been increasing publicity in recent years about these right of way agreements, and this does not ultimately work to the benefit of the tribes because the dollar amounts are so absurd that the average person will not accept the tribal position as valid.
3. While most people won't admit it, they really don't care about Native Americans. The pity play is a tug at the heart strings just like GreenPeace using a picture of a blue-eyed baby seal for their posters. One can care deeply about Native American heritage and its place in US history (I count myself in that group) without buying into the pity play. For a very long time, the "pity play" to gain special treatment was based in very real fact. The reservations can be incredibly impoverished places. The head of a family might own 10,000 acres of land- but often there is little that can be done with it to reap income. In the Southwest, those lands are too barren for extensive agricultural endeavors for example. But as the casinos and right of way revenue makes many tribes worth billions of dollars- the average American facing an ever-growing tax burden is not likely to care too much.
These 3 economic factors are what will conspire to fundamentally change the reservation system in our lifetime. It will not be a pretty process, but neither was the European conquest of this land- or for that matter, any aspect of the long term existence of any given society.
What will make #3 especially important is a game of sheer numbers. The Native American lobbies are considerable and wealthy, but they represent a very small number of people who generally have little interest in mainstream American life.
For now, with the sympathy of many US citizens, those lobbies retain a great deal of power- but in the end it is head count that matters. And politicians will not be swayed by those monied interests when the general populace is against them securing continued economic advantage.
And you know what, if the tribal councils who run the casinos really do act in the best interests of the tribes- things won't be so bad after all. The amount of money they are making is more than enough to ensure the survival of the reservations with the land intact. We are not talking about defenseless poor people- but a proud segment of America that has found a way to secure its financial future.
The real debate is whether that newfound wealth and power has now brought the tribes to a point where they should be treated like any other American citizens, and I say the answer to that is "yes".
Hybrid Mode
