From the Fayetteville Observer via Pechanga:
Bad bet: Tribe gambles its assets on recognition bid.
It appears that Lumbee leaders have decided it’s acceptable to bet a big piece of the tribe’s net worth on one game of chance.
It’s not surprising, though, that many of the people they represent are outraged. They should be.
On March 12, the Lumbee Tribal Council, meeting at a conference in Raleigh, abruptly dumped longtime Lumbee lawyer Arlinda Locklear, who had worked – for free – for more than two decades to achieve full federal recognition for the tribe. Recognition would bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars to the tribe, to improve housing, education and health care, and to create new and better jobs.
The recognition effort has made good progress in the current Congress, winning approval in the House and clearing the Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee. The measure has President Obama’s support and both this state’s senators believe it has a good chance of Senate approval.
That may be out the window now, because the Tribal Council hired a Nevada gaming consultant to take Arlinda Locklear’s place. That means (although the council won’t say as much) that the tribe’s pledge to forsake casino operations, as a condition of recognition, is also out the window. The tribe wouldn’t hire a specialist in casino development if it wasn’t planning to get into the gambling business. That sudden change of course may be enough to kill any chance of Senate approval this year – or any other year.
And then it gets worse.
The Tribal Council’s contract with Lewin International includes penalties of $35 million if the council can’t get the tribe to agree to gambling once federal recognition is in place. If the penalty is assessed, most of the tribe’s assets – including housing and public buildings – could be at risk.
The bulk of the Lumbee population lives in Robeson County, the poorest county in North Carolina. The tribe is in deep need of benefits that would accompany recognition. Gambling an amount that represents something approaching the total assets of the tribe is a stunningly irresponsible tactic.
Thursday night, the council voted to stand by the Lewin International contract, although it was a split vote. But the measure hasn’t yet gained final approval and some tribe members are trying to organize a recall vote against the council members who back the contract.
We don’t know if this would have been the year the tribe finally gained full recognition. But this is certainly as close as the Lumbees have ever come. We hope wisdom prevails and the tribe gets itself back on track, toward recognition and away from this big gamble.
Turtle Talk 