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Left unchallenged, this antiquated
"Traders" language will affect farmers, cattlemen, small
and large businesses, perhaps even landlords - on Indian
reservations...anyone "trading!" The multi-millions
dollars of tax revenue lost to states, will surely
create increases property and other state taxes while
removing state authority over its non-tribal businesses
on reservations. Note that the language proposed
includes "purchasers" on Indian reservations as well.
How is it possible to have America First, with 567
"First" Nations as adversaries to the very country that
subsidizes and sustains them?
This is ugly and requires a nation-wide voice of
opposition. Silence will most certainly drive off the
very people who helped Indian reservations prosper and
thrive. Rather than appreciation for centuries of hard
work and progress that non-Indians have provided to
their reservation neighbors, - this "Traders" beastly
concept, will ultimately bite the very hands that have
fed them for centuries, and have promoted economic
prosperity for tribes and their members.
ADDENDUM:
In a cursory reading of 25 USC 140 - Licensed Indian
Traders (attached) I've learned that this legislation
derives from historic legislation dating back to August
15, 1876 (25
USC 261). Basically, every form of trade is subject to
the sole power of the Commissioner on Indian Affairs;
all "traders" must go through the BIA, and the BIA has
the power to close unlicensed businesses. See:
Licensed Indian Traders 25 USC 140
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§ 140.1 Sole power to appoint. The
Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall have the sole power
and authority to appoint traders to the Indian tribes.
(NOTE: This
“sole power” of the Commissioner of Indians Affairs
derives from 25 U.S.C. 261, passed by Congress on August
15, 1876!!)
25
USC 140.5) Definitions.
“6) Trading means
buying, selling, bartering, renting, leasing, permitting
and any other transaction involving the acquisition of
property or services. (NOTE:
This covers just about every form of commerce
interaction on Indian reservations or within "Indian
country."
§ 140.13 Power to close unlicensed
stores. (Authority
of BIA Commissioner).
This historical legislation was in place
140 years ago before Congress opened up reservations
with the Dawes Act (1887) and Homestead Acts (1904, et
al), long before many states were formed, or towns,
counties established subsequent to the Opened
reservations. It was also nearly 60 years before the
Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) that limits tribal
government constitution's authority to only their
enrolled members and trust properties.
In my view, this entire Act is obsolete
and should be repealed, so it's quite interesting that
Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Tribal Chairman, and Chair of
the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) want to
breathe new, expansive life into it that removes all
state, county, local taxing authority for revenues, from
Indian reservations. It is no coincidence that the first
"Consultation Meeting" for this wicked plan will be on
the Swinomish Reservation, where the NCAI Chair is also
Chair of that tribe.
I've been writing recently about the
intentional "unsettling"
of the West (via water confiscations, federal agency
(EPA, USFW, BLM, etc.) delegation of powers to tribes
over non-members and non-member properties, aboriginal
and time immemorial baloney etc.). Resurrecting
"Traders with Indians" would literally drive off
commerce on Indian reservations, devastate county and
municipal operating budgets, and take multi-billions of
tax revenues relied upon by the host states of these
open reservations.
Perhaps I sound like Chicken Little here,
but I believe an early and head-on public education
process about this national tribal goal, would nip it in
the bud, before it grows unmanageable legs... The
annual operating budgets of almost every tribe in the
country is significantly larger than the annual
operating budgets of host counties and municipalities,
so this qualifies as absolute greed unchecked.
Source: www.indianz.com
Bureau of Indian
Affairs opens consultation on big economic proposal
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
The Bureau
of Indian Affairs isn't
letting the change in administration slow down plans to
address a big taxation issue for tribes. A notice
that will be published in the Federal Register on
Wednesday announces a series of consultations on the Indian
Trader Regulations. Tribes
will be able to use the sessions to address what they
consider to be unfair systems of taxation. Businesses
that set up shop in Indian Country are often forced to
pay taxes to states and local governments. That
deprives tribes of revenues that could be used to
improve services and infrastructure in their
communities. It also creates uncertainty for outside
entities that might otherwise want to bring jobs and
development to reservations.
"Dual taxation of traders and activities conducted by
traders and purchasers can impede a tribe's ability to
attract investment to Indian lands where such investment
and participation are critical to the vitality of tribal
economies," the BIA said last month when it announced
plans to update the rule. "Tribal communities continue
to struggle with unmet needs, such as in their schools
and housing, as well as economic development, to name a
few. Moreover, beyond the operation of their
governments, tribes continually pursue funding for
infrastructure, roads, dams, irrigation systems and
water delivery."
The revenues bypassing Indian Country can be staggering.
In Washington, the Tulalip
Tribes are
losing out on about $40 million a year under a taxation
system that's being challenged in federal court with
the help of the Department
of Justice. In North Dakota, the numbers are
even more outrageous. In the last three years, Mandan,
Hidatsa and Arikara Nation has
been deprived of more than $1 billion due to the way the
state imposes taxes on energy development on the
reservation. "We wish the numbers were only $40
million," Chairman Mark Fox said at a tribal
conferencewhere dual taxation
was discussed. "A billion dollars. Not $40 million. A
billion dollars." The tribe has since threatened
to walk away from
the agreement. The Indian Trader Regulations were first
issued in 1957, at a time when opportunities on
reservations were few. The BIA attempted
a not well-received update in the early 1980s but
tribes have since made great strides in improving their
economies through housing, retail, gaming and other
developments. With President
Donald Trump now
in office, the forthcoming update gives his
administration a huge opportunity to help tribes make
even greater advancements.
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*Elaine Willman is author of Going
To Pieces...the dismantling of the United States of
America, and Slumbering
Thumder...a primer for confronting the spread of federal
Indian policy and tribalism overwhelming America.
Email: toppin@aol.com
Phone: 509-949-8055 |
