Posted: April 09, 2004 - 11:08am EST
by: Jerry Reynolds / Washington D.C. correspondent / Indian Country Today
Distributive justice against Lumbee recognition
Posted:
April
09, 2004 - 11:08am EST
by: Jerry
Reynolds / Washington D.C. correspondent / Indian Country Today
WASHINGTON - By any
standard of abstract justice, the Lumbee of North Carolina answered critics
of their case for full federal recognition at a packed hearing of the Committee
on Resources in the House of Representatives April 1. The occasion was H.R.
898, the Lumbee Recognition Act.
Not
only did the Lumbee refute every argument brought against them on the merits,
but they also had to argue their way into the hearing room. With space limited,
the Eastern Cherokee delegation, principal opponents of full federal recognition
for the Lumbee, hired people to hold them a place in line, according to an attorney
for the Lumbee, Arlinda F. Locklear, and others present at the pre-hearing dispute.
For a while it seemed that the very subjects of the hearing, Lumbee people,
would not be allowed in the room because of overcrowding. But here at least,
justice prevailed and the Capitol Police spent an hour enforcing it.
With
that small struggle for distributive justice won, much larger ones loom for
the Lumbee. From the testimony April 1, H.R. 898 will boil down to a simple
question of distributive justice. As opposed to the body of reasoned argumentation
that determines our view of what is just in the abstract, distributive justice
asks how resources are most fairly distributed. The simple question of distributive
justice in the Lumbee case is this - can Indian country afford the full federal
recognition of 50,000 Lumbee, making it the third-largest tribe in the nation?
The
Eastern Cherokee and their allies in North Carolina think not. They fear the
Lumbee will install a casino along Interstate 95, the primary north-south artery
of the eastern seaboard. An I-95 complex in Robeson County, N.C., home of the
Lumbee, would be within easy reach of Fort Bragg, Raleigh-Durham, Chapel Hill,
Pinehurst, Myrtle Beach, S.C., and South Carolina’s military installations.
Even without the lure of a casino, 39,000 vehicles a day use I-95 in Robeson
County. A casino there is apt to be a billion dollar operation annually, according
to one expert. The Lumbee deny any plans for a casino, but no future federally
recognized council would be bound by the deliberations of its predecessor councils;
and so many consider a Lumbee casino a foregone conclusion if Congress confers
recognition.
"This
is a major concern in my state," said William J. Brooks Jr., president
of the North Carolina Family Policy Council. "North Carolina remains
one of 11 states in the nation without a state lottery, and our citizens and
state lawmakers have traditionally resisted gambling at almost every opportunity.
The only forms of gambling that are legal in North Carolina are bingo, limited
video gambling with no cash payouts, and the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in the
mountains of western North Carolina, which offers only bingo and video-based
machines."
"In
fact, the Cherokee casino … is somewhat difficult to get to, not being on an
interstate or other major highway. Nevertheless, this facility boasts about
3.3 million annual visits, making it the largest private tourist attraction
in North Carolina."
The
council is neutral on full Lumbee federal recognition, Brooks said. It favors
a moratorium on gambling expansion in the United States, and Brooks testified
to that effect at the hearing.
Eastern
Cherokee Chairman Michell Hicks soft-pedaled any concern over a Lumbee threat
to the tribe’s monopoly on North Carolina casino gambling. His concern was with
the federal budget. H.R. 898 "could cost more than 682 million in taxpayer
dollars over four years and further decrease the funds existing tribes and Indians
receive."
United
Southern and Eastern Tribes, a 24-tribe coalition, joined the Eastern Cherokee
in opposition to H.R. 898. Tim Martin, USET executive director, cited a recent
Congressional Budget Office study documenting the adverse budgetary impact a
Lumbee-sized tribe would have on other tribes. Like most tribes east of the
Mississippi River, the USET tribes tend to have small populations and a limited
land base. Like small tribes and many other tribes and tribal organizations
nationwide, the organization has already expressed concerns about cutbacks in
the BIA direct-service budget.
Non-financial
arguments against the Lumbee claim fell by the wayside under questioning from
Lumbee allies on the committee, chiefly Reps. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., and Eni
Faleomavaega, at-large member for American Samoa. (Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C.,
a leading advocate of Lumbee recognition, testified in favor of H.R. 898, but
as a senator in the House forum she could not pose questions.)
The
Lumbee, recognized by the state of North Carolina in 1885, are already a federally
recognized tribe, but the 1956 congressional legislation came without the financial
and other entitlements enjoyed by other federally recognized tribes. The Lumbee
have described themselves under other names than Lumbee, but they have done
so only on the initiative of the Interior Department, according to Locklear.
To
recognize the Lumbee now by an act of Congress would indeed constitute an exception
to the BIA recognition process established in 1978. But how much of an exception
can it be when only 16 tribes have ever been recognized by that process? Martin
admitted under questioning that only six USET tribes have been through the federal
recognition process. Also under questioning, Hicks acknowledged that the Eastern
Cherokee were federally recognized by an act of Congress.
In
any case, the Lumbee are considered worthy of exception due to unique circumstances
- the 1956 legislation that recognized them also barred them from federal benefits,
including the right to seek recognition under the 1978 process. Without any
other way open to them, the Lumbee seek an act of Congress.
An
alternative remedy would be to enact legislation enabling the Lumbee to seek
federal recognition within the system dating from 1978. Charles Taylor, R-N.C.,
the committee chairman, said he will introduce such legislation, despite a companion
hearing March 31 that found tribe after tribe complaining about the red tape,
expense, longevity and arbitrariness of the recognition proceedings. The Lumbee
themselves resist this remedy, contending they’ve proved their case again and
again since 1888, when the tribe first petitioned for federal recognition.
Source: indiancountry.com online Native newspaper
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