This government is closed to the public

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community excluded members of the press and local government representatives from two recent meetings it hosted on topics that could impact taxpayers.

Swinomish has proposed to amend its tribal constitution in accordance with the tribe’s belief that its reservation should include thousands of acres occupied by two refineries, two car dealerships, many businesses and private homes.

Press was specifically excluded from an event the tribe hosted last Tuesday for property owners in the disputed area.

At the same time, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is considering updating its 1957 “Traders with Indians” rule and held a meeting at the Swinomish Casino & Lodge last Thursday to solicit comments on its rulemaking. But when La Conner Weekly News reporter Maria Matson went to cover that meeting, she was told it was closed to her.

Bureau of Indian Affairs rulemaking is a process that would not normally garner much attention. However, officials from Skagit County and Anacortes and this newspaper are interested in one of the several elements the government is considering — a policy that pertains to taxes paid by businesses on Indian reservations.

Some tribal officials maintain that all taxes generated by non-tribal businesses on Indian land should be paid to the tribe. At the same time, local governments hold that taxes are needed to pay for public services that benefit everyone, including tribes.

County officials have said the tax policy and reservation expansion have the potential to combine into a perfect storm for the county — there is fear that fully one-third of Skagit County’s property tax revenue would be diverted to the tribe. But Swinomish attorney Stephen LeCuyer said there is no way Skagit County would be affected, because under current law, tribes can’t tax privately owned property within their reservation boundaries.

Unlike the retail establishments built on Tulalip tribal land, March’s Point businesses are on land that is privately owned. Tulalip, located near Marysville, has a case in federal court against Snohomish County and the State of Washington in an effort to claim some $40 million in sales taxes generated by Walmart, Home Depot and many other stores and restaurants built in the tribe’s Quil Ceda Village development. That development is on federal land that is held in trust for the tribe.

On Feb. 21, Swinomish hosted a dinner for Fidalgo Island property owners to provide information on the history of the March’s Point area and the tribe’s belief that it was part of their original reservation until the boundary was defined in an executive order by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1873.

The dinner was by invitation only, but not all property owners were invited. Ron Rennebohm, who owns Frontier Ford and 15 acres in the area, said he was not invited. Also not invited were representatives of the Samish Indian Nation, another large landowner in the area.

The last line of the invitation to those who received it stated: “No press is invited or allowed at the event.”

Two days later, Swinomish hosted the first of eight consultation meetings the Bureau of Indian Affairs has scheduled nation-wide on the “Traders with Indians” rule. A press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the agency that oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, stated: “The Department is seeking comments from tribes, states and their agencies and the public.”

This newspaper’s reporter signed in at the meeting and provided her business card. Although she challenged the tribe’s assertion that the meeting was closed based on federal “Sunshine” laws, Swinomish Attorney Stephen LeCuyer told her the meeting was a “government to government” consultation between the federal agency and tribes.

Matson was told to contact Nedra Darling, the public affairs director with the U.S. Department of the Interior. When Matson called Darling, she said she was surprised the public was excluded outright but acknowledged that tribes consider their dealings with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to be “government to government.”

Matson said when she left, about 15 minutes after the meeting was scheduled to start, there were about 20 people in attendance, and she was told later that the attendees represented about eight or nine tribes.

Tom Wooten, chairman of the Samish Indian Nation in Anacortes, said his tribe is careful to foster transparency in its dealings with its neighbors. To help allay landowner fears, Samish sent out a letter to property owners in the March’s Point area. The letter included a map of an 1871 survey, which shows the boundaries of the Swinomish Reservation where they are today.

He said Samish, which was re-recognized by the federal government in 1996, is accustomed to doing meticulous historical research — starting with proving the tribe’s very existence.

Wooten said he believes the evidence does not support the Swinomish claim that its reservation extends past its current boundaries.