Nerditorial: The Illusion of Sovereignty

On Saturday, April 6th there will be a conference about Federal Indian Policy held by a group called CERA.

CERA stands for Citizens Equal Rights Alliance... which sounds pretty good on its own.

Upon closer inspection, however, it is a group that appears to be concern trolling about how good tribes have things today.

I downloaded the podcast of the March 30, 2013 Wealth Wake-Up program on KGMI to hear what I expected to be an epic series of synaptic misfires... and I was not disappointed.

Those of you who are unwilling or unable to spend the 30 bucks to attend the conference at the Lakeway Inn can get a preview of coming attractions from this podcast and the transcripts from that podcast below...

Donahue: now... let's talk a little about equal rights... talk about prejudices... where do we... you keep mentioning Indian rights. Let's talk about how this applies to... the conference and say... what the definition is for non-whites, for example, or whites that are, say, on an Indian reservation... what are we talking about here?

Williams: Well... this... I call it an illusion... a Federal judge calls it an illusion also... but... this illusion of tribal sovereignty... and some of the laws that have been created, exempting them from labor laws... or shoreline management... or Growth Management Act... it.. ends up... that they are able to violate the civil rights of their tribal members... this disenrollment, recently, at the Lummi Reservation could be an example...

Donahue: ...Nooksack?... you mean? ...

Williams: Excuse me... yes at the Nooksack... these people are disenrolled... they can't go to the State court, or the Federal court... and appeal the decision... the have to go back to the Tribal court... the people that disenrolled them... and made the rules... are their only recourse... For instance, if someone out there at the Nooksack Reservation is fired for one reason or another... they can't go to State court or Federal court and sue for unlawful termination... labor laws don't apply out on that reservation... they're not protected by the civil rights aspects of our Constitution.

Donahue: ...We're talking about things that... the... reservations are exempt from... things like Shoreline Management Act... and property taxes...

[Crosstalk]

Donahue and Williams (in unison): ...Property Taxes!...

Williams: ...Property tax is an interesting thing... you see... the... treaties... the Stevens Treaties... the Point Elliot Treaty... they were designed to bring the tribes under governance authority of... Washington State. And... in 2003, I believe it was... 2004, pardon me... the Washington State Legislature passed a law exempting tribal land from taxation... and that's because they realized that... tribes are really under governance authority of Washington State... and... reservations like the Lummi Reservation... it's not a trust reservation... it was actually fee land... if you look at the original deed... it's restricted fee property... public domain property... and it should not be tax exempt... Washington passed a special law to make sure that tribal land was tax exempt to cover that... that's our legislators, I think, letting us down there

Quick. Somebody call a WHAAA-mbulance.

The transcript doesn't convey the whiny, pouty tone of the interview. But it's there.

I don't pretend to enjoy any expertise in tribal law, but I did bother looking at the Washington State Constitution after listening to this podcast...

Article XXVI (26) Compact With United States
...
Second. That the people inhabiting this state do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying with the boundaries of this state, and to all lands lying within said limits owned or held by any Indian or Indian tribes;

Now, my untrained understanding of this clause of the State Constitution leaves me with the impression that Washington Territory gave up any legal claim to tribal land once it became Washington State.

And it is also my untrained understanding that tribes such as the Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Tribe are recognized as sovereign nations by the United States in a manifestly legally binding and non-illusory manner.

But wait... there's more...

Donahue: We've seen a series of Governors not really enforcing the rules and regulations... at least, as we interpret them...

Williams: Yeah... like the tribal gaming compacts... I think Washington State is the only... well, there is an impact to the State by tribes and casinos... and it costs us money... we build roads... we build sidewalks... we provide infrastructure to those casinos... yet... our Governors in negotiating the compacts for those... gaming compacts with the tribes... we do no revenue sharing with the tribes... I believe we are the only state in the Union that does that... I don't know why our Washington Governors haven't helped recoup  some of the costs that we incur...

The big mean tribes won't share any of there casino proceeds with the State. Bummer.

This injustice shall not...stand?

The Anakin Skywalker level of whiny tantrum throwing continues...

Williams: ...they get the privilege of participating in our government... and voting in our elections... and, in some cases, voting for the policies that won't affect them... but it will affect us... and I don't think that's fair, I think they... should be citizens... they are citizens... and everything should be fair... we should all play by the same rules...

[crosstalk]

Donahue: ...I think it has also been a matter of public record that they have dumped millions of dollars into a number of political campaigns here in the last several years... because of the profits they are getting from their casinos and things like that... so they become very active in supporting political campaigns... but really... ...it's totally against us...

That's right... the privilege of participating in our government.

Here are some earlier examples of tribal members getting the privilege of participating in our government...

The Trail of Tears...

And the Wounded Knee Massacre...

In addition to the palpable presence of whining and self-pity you can hear , there is also a blissful and conspicuous lack of irony as well.

And while Tribal members are, in fact, United States citizens... it is apparently some form of unfairness and injustice that those tribal members should exercise their prerogative as US citizens to vote and petition their government in their own enlightened self-interest. Huh.

A few more excerpts, just for the sake of rounding out this article...

Williams: the Centennial Accord... was... really started us off... granting privileges and governance authority... and rights to tribes... where they... don't exist... it... created this... facade of sovereignty...

Again with this argument that tribal nations enjoy no legal sovereignty. Perhaps if CERA believes hard enough and claps loud enough it will become true.

Williams: ...that Lummi Ferry... they're going to talk about at the conference a little, too... the treaty itself says that we have easements through, over, across the reservation property... we have easements to that ferry dock... that was... built by the State... and... I don't know why we're paying for a lease on property that we have in easement...

I actually had the nerve to be surprised that the Gooseberry Point Ferry terminal came up during this interview. Consider me humbled.

If your blood pressure is inadequately high, attend the CERA Conference on Saturday, April 6th at the Lakeway Inn.