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If our ancestors could see us now - Then and Now - tribal casinos - Brief Article

You're born into an Indian family, raised an Indian, live on the reservation, observe and adhere to the customs of your tribe; you even have documentation validating your heritage. So what's the problem? The problem is: It may not be enough to keep you from being booted from your tribe. Casino wealth has unleashed dogs of corruption on Indian reservations. In moves believed to be spurred by greed over casino profits, hundreds of Indians are being kicked out.

In 1988 Congress enacted the Indian gaming regulatory act. It permits Indian tribes to operate class III gaming activities on Indian reservations, with the objectives being: to generate tribal revenues, thereby promoting economic development, tribal self-sufficiency and strong tribal government, and to provide for the general welfare of tribes and their members.

Class III gaming includes: slot machines, casino games, banking card games, dog racing, horse racing, and lotteries. Fewer members equal more money for those remaining on the tribe rosters.

Membership in the tribes are limited to those who are at least one-quarter Indian and whose ancestors are named in selected government records, which are often incomplete. This means that illustrious ancestors and, say, Chippewa blood, may not be enough to keep one on the membership list of their tribe.

It is an increasingly familiar story on Indian reservations across the country; battles over memberships heat up as tribes grow wealthy from gaming revenues.

It is difficult for Indians targeted for expulsion to protect their memberships. Civil rights and recourses afforded Americans are often nonexistent on reservations, where tribal leaders control everything. Tribal political systems allow tribal leaders to withdraw memberships from legitimate descendants with impunity. Since reservations are sovereign nations, they are run as their leaders see fit.

The rules available to fight with are often created by the antogonist themselves-the tribal councils. A tight-knit regime, Indians must argue their cases before committees and people controlled and appointed by the governing board.

The tribal court is the last hope for justice. Once voted out, the only recourse is an appeal to the court which consist of judges hired and fired by the council. Tribal members find themselves spending thousands of dollars in legal fees and genealogy tracings, but after paying for these services, the experts are not allowed in the courtroom, and evidence not already in the hands of the judges the day of the hearing is not permitted. Members are given one hour to plead their cases.

Recordings of the hearings are prohibited, hence there is no evidence that a hearing even took place.

Like a dictatorship

Usually for those facing expulsion, the consequences are costly. In Michigan, on the Isabella reservation, home of the Soaring Eagle Casino, a family of four tribal members would lose $ 130,000 annually-their share of the casino profits. In the eight years since the Michigan Chippewa tribe casino opened in Saginaw, Michigan, gaming renues have turned the once impoverished tribe into one of the nation's wealthiest, with Soaring Eagle Casino grossing $350,000 million in 2000. So, by any measurement, the losses to expelled members are considerable.

Deceased members are even expelled posthumously to make invalid the memberships of many lving descendants. It is a very effective tool used by tribal leaders to revoke the memberships of large numbers of people. It is also the most controversial and difficult to defend. The dead person isn't there to speak for themselves. You can't ask someone deceased to tell about their history. Tribal leaders claim they are just weeding out those who gained membership through error or fraud. "It's like a dictatorship," said one being expelled. "At every turn we are denied due process."

COPYRIGHT 2002 Intertribal Christian Communications
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group