Begs clarification

I don’t wish to initiate a “letter to the editor” debate, but Ms. Shimeall’s response (Weekly News 3/23) to my and Mr. O’Donnell’s recent letters begs clarification.

First, she asserts that living in Shelter Bay (SB) on leased “Swinomish land” is possible because the tribe generously “granted us the privilege”.

The fact is, anyone living on leased land in SB does so purely because of a business deal Axel Osberg/Osberg Construction Co. negotiated with the tribe in 1968 - the master lease - which is up for renewal in 2044. Osberg did all of the initial development work that is today’s SB; the tribe contributed nothing. Individual lot sub-leases are not administered by the tribe, but by SB Co.

Second, there is also some apparent confusion or implication that SB residents are living on land that is not “solely part of the US.” Reservation land, whether leased or not, is very much a part of US territory. Legally and technically, all reservation land is federal land held in trust for recognized Indian tribes because they are still considered “wards of the state.”

All reservation lands are managed by the US Dept. of Interior through its agency, the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Mr. O’Donnell and I were specifically addressing “use and occupation” (property) taxes levied by the tribe, their origination as a consequence of the 9th Circuit’s “Great Wolf Lodge” decision, subsequently their “good will” distribution of funds to some but not all taxing districts and the inequities that creates.

No, a renter/lessee does not presume to tell a landlord “how to use their income” derived from rent payments, but one cannot conflate “rent” with “property taxes” nor “income” with “tax revenue”. There is a world of difference!

There are numerous other points of contention that could be raised to “educate” the un- or misinformed about...e.g., that the Point Elliott Treaty was an “allocation treaty” granting land areas within reservation boundaries to named individuals which allowed them the right to sell such land, hence the existence of fee-simple properties including Eagles Nest and Division One of SB. Or inequities relating to Indian citizenship or the dubious concept of tribal “sovereignty” and other anomalies...but that is for another day.

Elliot Bruce

La Conner