Indian casino owner feels Tribal Council isn't listening

Editor,

I am a Salish and Kootenai Tribal member who owns one of the many "Silver Dollar Bars" in Montana. I would like to tell you the tribulations of being a Tribal member in the gaming business on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Ours is an unbalanced relationship where large sums of gaming money disappear into our Tribal budget, while other Tribes use these as dividends for their people. Ours is a relationship of subjugation, where the Tribal government works against its members in order to gain revenue, ever higher salaries, and power for the government.

When the first compact was being negotiated, my brother (who also owns a bar) and I went to the meetings between CSK Tribal authorities and the State representatives. The non-Indian businessman on the reservation had Governor Marc Racicot, the State Attorney General, the Montana Tavern Association, and the Lake County Tavern Association at these meetings protecting their interests. I don't fault the non-Indian businessman for having representation; I am pointing out that, what I thought was my government, overlooked my needs in exchange for a monopoly.

Tribal representatives were there to protect the interests of Tribal government: KwaTaqNuk and future resorts, the larger payouts in Tribal government-owned casinos, the larger numbers of machines allowable (more that 20 per establishment), and the inclusion of Tribal members and trust land located establishments under the tribal government. My brother and I abandoned hope when Governor Racicot, with a sweeping motion of his hand over me and my brother's brown faces, said "… the Tribal Government would have you believe that gaming is the salvation of the Tribes…" We were never allowed to speak. We were told by the tribal attorney, that he represented the men at the table, the tribal council. We were told we would need our own attorneys to represent our needs as Tribal business people. And, so it has been since the signing of the compact.

It has been a number of years since this event, but not much has changed for the tribal gaming businessman. We are under the authority of the tribal government. The tribal government owns the machines; a tribal member is not allowed to own his own machines. When the compact was signed back then, all machines owned by tribal members became illegal, and most, to this day, sit rusting in sheds and garages. The Tribes' attorney tells us that this was the decision by the federal government and the Tribal government didn't have anything to do with this aspect. But, had the Tribal government been invested in these machines, you can bet they would have been sold at auction, or some method would have been devised to recover this equity.

My tribal government takes 58 percent of the machines' take. The individual Tribal member casino owner also pays to the Tribal government numerous fees on top of the 58 percent that the government takes. So, out of my 42 percent I pay $100 per machine, $100 for my business location, $100 for my business name and another $100 for the business if it is incorporated, and these fees are assessed each year.

We also pay $100 for each owner, $100 per employee who attends to tickets from the machines and a hefty fee each year to have the Tribes' gaming financial records audited. How wonderful it would be to go into a monopolized business and have your vendors pick up all costs.

To add insult to injury, our tribal constitution does not allow the Tribal government to assess fees, unless a referendum has been held. Webster says a referendum is a vote by the whole electorate. This has not happened. The Tribal government has the casino owner sign a contract before they get gaming machines that says "you voluntarily pay these fees." No signed contract, no machines. Sounds real voluntary, doesn't it?

The machines are aging and the bill acceptors are slow or don't work at all. The machines' chrome is worn through to the brass below, and often the glass fronts are cracked. The service we receive is sometimes lacking, the techs are under-trained, but that is not their fault. These individuals tell me they would like more training on fixing the aging machines, and to replace aging machines with newer, more attractive games, but the Tribal government won't invest in it. There has been no reinvestment in newer machines, as the Tribe gears up for "Rocket Bingo" and a total gaming monopoly on the reservation.

It should be evident that the Tribal government is only interested in the Tribal government's profit. A Tribal governmental system is basically communistic. This may sound harsh when first hearing it, but it is true. In a Tribal system the government owns the land in common for the people; its primary goal is to perpetuate itself, and it provides labor and organizes social programs for its members. This in itself would not be a problem for most Indian Reservations, but this Reservation was homesteaded, so the law as well as the land ownership, is patchwork.

There are Indian reservations that were not homesteaded that run their government with the people's needs first, and not the Tribal Council and administrations' needs first. There are numerous Indian reservations that return the gambling dollars to the membership in forms of education scholarships, health care and per capita payments. After all, the member is where the money is coming from in the first place.

All people should be allowed to pursue the American dream of building a business, work hard at making it a success, and reap the rewards if successful. The Tribal member gaming businessman not only pays federal taxes, state taxes, county and city taxes (which I grumble about just like you), but I also pay a hefty amount of taxes to the Tribal government for the right to offer gaming in my business. And by hefty sum, I mean I pay almost twice what a non-Indian pays to have the same gaming in their establishment.

I am not anti-Tribal. I enjoy the hunting and recreational benefits my membership affords. I am proud of my Native background and teach the culture to my children and grandchildren. I have endured racism in many forms because of the color of my skin. What I oppose is the current Tribal Council and Tribal administration's attempt to monopolize gaming, particularly when the rest of the State is allowed to participate.

I oppose the current council and administration's efforts to seek all benefits and profits for the Tribal government, even at the sake of threatening private businesses' existence. And, I know, like myself, most Tribal members would like to see these gaming dollars coming back to the people. All these excessive fees and the disproportionate cut I receive would not be such a bitter pill to swallow if I knew the dollars I was earning for the Tribes would return to me, my family, my neighbors, my customers, the Tribal membership. But these dollars are used to build a shrine to the Tribal Council and administration, or disappear into the general fund.

Last election the membership appeared to send a message to the Tribal Council by basically cleaning house. It appears as if that message went unheeded … It looks like we are going to have to wait a year and a half to send the message we thought we had delivered this past election.

C. Douglas Morigeau

St. Ignatius