Monday, April 29, 2002
Indian tribes playing bigger role in politics
By DOUG ABRAHMS
Gannett News Service
WASHINGTON -- Armed with growing revenue from tribal casinos, American Indians are focusing on a handful of key Senate races, giving the minority group a rare political opportunity to tip the balance of power on Capitol Hill come November.
Tribes from Connecticut, California and New York already have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates since the 2000 election, and have spread the money around to both major parties.
American Indians also plan to put their money to use influencing races outside of tribal regions and in aggressive get-out-the-vote drives in states with a large Indian population. One such state is South Dakota, where Democrat incumbent Sen. Tim Johnson and Republican Rep. John Thune are locked in a dead heat in a state where American Indians make up about 8 percent of the population.
"It is interesting and ironic that some of the most impoverished and powerless people in South Dakota may determine in this 2002 election cycle who controls the U.S. Senate," said Frank LaMere, a Winnebago tribal member who heads the Native American Caucus for the Democratic National Committee. "That is how important the 2002 election cycle is for native people."
Other Senate races where American Indians could play a large role include:
Montana, where American Indians comprise 6 percent of the population. Democrats plan intense voter registration drives to help re-elect Democrat Sen. Max Baucus. American Indians also support Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., although the group makes up only about 1 percent of the state's population.
Texas, where American Indians oppose the Republican candidate for Senate, state Attorney General John Cornyn, whom the tribes blame for trying to close down tribal casinos in El Paso and eastern Texas. They make up less than 1 percent of Texas' population, but tribes from across the country are expected to financially support Ron Kirk, Cornyn's Democratic opponent.
Few voters
A big question remains whether American Indian voters will go to the polls, a criticism that tribal leaders readily acknowledge.
"We do not have the numbers of the Hispanic community or the African-American community," said Tom Rodgers, an adviser to the National Indian Gaming Association. "But we can tap into organized money. That is precisely what we are doing."
The money comes from the lucrative casinos that ballooned during the 1990s. Last year, those casinos generated $10.6 billion in revenues.
Paralleling the growth of the tribal casinos were campaign contributions to federal political candidates. Tribal donations grew to $3 million during the 2000 election, up from a meager $2,000 in 1990, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.
The current election cycle shows no sign of a slowdown. The Mashantucket Pequots have given $110,000 to candidates since Jan. 1, 2001, followed by $65,000 from the Mississippi Band of Choctaws and $60,000 from the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians outside of Palm Springs, Calif.
Tribes generally support Democrats but donate to both political parties, especially incumbents, along with candidates running for state offices. In California alone, eight tribes have contributed $2.3 million to state candidates since the beginning of 2001, according to secretary of state filings.
"They've very quickly learned the system of American politics," said William Eadington, who heads the University of Nevada at Reno's Institute for the Study of Gambling. "Their contributions are more linked to their economic interests."
Casinos defended
With the health of their casinos as their greatest source of income, tribal leaders are quick to defend any legislative effort to keep them from staying in business.
"Tribes don't have tax bases," said Ivan Makil, president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopas in Scottsdale, Ariz. "Basically, gaming revenues have been sort of a tax base for them."
That's why so many American Indians are outraged at Texas Attorney General Cornyn's actions to sue the Tigua Indians for operating a casino. A federal court shut down the casino in February, putting about 800 people out of work.
Whether the issue galvanizes tribes outside of Texas into giving money and support to Ron Kirk -- the former Dallas mayor who is running against Cornyn for Senate -- has yet to be seen.
"It hasn't resonated like Slade Gorton in Washington (state)," said Victor Rocha, a Pechanga tribe member who runs a Web site dedicated to American Indian news, referring to the incumbent senator's defeat in 2000. The Democratic challenger, Sen. Maria Cantwell, narrowly won.
American Indians poured money into ads opposing Gorton because they were not happy with his support for cutting federal funds for Indian health care and schools, and restricting Indian fishing rights.
The success in Washington is a model that American Indians hope to copy in South Dakota, Montana and other states.