http://www.startribune.com/562/story/304641.html

Melanie Benjamin: It's a lobbying scandal, America, not an 'Indian' one

Yet some will try to shift the blame onto tribes instead of getting
Congress to enact meaningful campaign finance reform.

Melanie Benjamin
Published: March 14, 2006

Most Americans were shocked when the scandal involving lobbyist Jack
Abramoff began to unfold.

Indian people weren't all that surprised.

A small group of businessmen hatches a scheme to steal from Indian tribes,
employing lies, deception, and even bribing members of Congress. The cast
of characters may have changed, but there's nothing new or ingenious about
the plot.

Yet some are clamoring to blame the very people who were most victimized.
Certain editorial boards have portrayed this mess as an "Indian" scandal
rather than what it is: a lobbying scandal. Legislative proposals are
circulating that would restrict or ban all tribal political giving. One
commentator in the Wall Street Journal even called for reservations to be
done away with.

A few anxious politicians have hopped aboard that wagon train in a
transparent attempt to disguise their own misdeeds and portray themselves
as the victims of Indian money, although there is no evidence that even one
tribe did anything wrong. In a tradition as old as America itself, some in
Congress now vow to punish and "reform" the Indians.

Some tribal leaders fear the Abramoff scandal might mean that our political
participation could, once again, be limited, if not by legislation, then by
public perception. In a town obsessed with appearances, some in Congress
may turn the other way when they see Indians coming. That would be a shame,
because Congress is a lifeline for the majority of the 562 Indian tribes
across the country.

Most tribes are poor, and we must have the right to fully represent our
interests through the political process. The small number of tribes that
can afford lobbyists frequently advocate for the health, housing, education
and rights of the 2 million Indian people who can't afford to play the
Washington game.

Some politicians and journalists have referred to an Indian "loophole" in
political giving. Don't be fooled by that Beltway spin; there is no
loophole. The FEC has clearly ruled that tribes are unincorporated
entities, and they are treated as such. We have no unique rights when it
comes to lobbying -- we follow the same rules as other unincorporated
entities.

Those who allege that tribal giving is "out of control" are silent when it
comes to industries that have given much more. In the 2004 election cycle,
total tribal contributions were $7.2 million -- that's less than one-third
of 1 percent of total contributions nationwide.

In that same cycle, the oil and gas industry contributed $50.2 million, the
securities and investment industry spent $89.9 million, and the health care
and pharmaceutical industries spent more than $800 million on lobbying,
contributions, and state and federal elections. Where is the outcry about
these big spenders?

Indians were the last group of Americans to become enfranchised with full
citizenship, not obtaining the right to vote until 1924. Absent the ability
to fully participate in the political process, many tribes like the Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe were helplessly pillaged by timber, minerals, mining
and agricultural barons while members of Congress looked the other way.

Tribes support lobbying reform and transparency. Trust me, when Congress
finally gets serious about campaign finance reform, we will be among the
first to applaud. I don't know one tribal leader who likes to make
political donations or write out checks to lobbyists. If organizations and
other governments would cease attacking our rights, perhaps we wouldn't
need lobbyists.

Abramoff called Indians "troglodytes" and "morons" behind their backs.
Let's not add injury to his insults by allowing Congress to penalize the
Indian tribes and announce they've "reformed."

It's the cowboys you need to keep an eye on, America, not the Indians.

Melanie Benjamin is chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Indians.