Aren’t there more stakeholders in this than the federal government?
The New York Times issues a lament today to the effect of “Poor Wakpa Sica” as they go on at length that, without Tom Daschle, the project has taken a back seat and sits as a half finished monument to government earmarks. (partial hat tip to Mt. Blogmore, as well as another to an observant reader):
This $18 million center, once championed by Tom Daschle, the former South Dakota senator and Senate Democratic leader, was meant to accomplish something unprecedented: lure outside investment to impoverished Indian reservations across the region by creating a court system where outsiders could recoup losses if a business deal went bad.The effort had drawn praise from bankers’ associations, South Dakota’s bar association, the State Chamber of Commerce, the National Congress of American Indians and the 11 chairmen of the Sioux Nation tribes. But along the way, Mr. Daschle lost his seat in the Senate and annual funds for the half-finished project known as the Wakpa Sica (pronounced WALK-paw SHE-cha) Reconciliation Place have dropped precipitously, leaving some here to wonder what, if anything, will come of the place.
and…
“This is a cautionary tale,” said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, which tracks such federal spending and describes the earmarks from the 2005 budget as “out of control,” including $1.3 million for Wakpa Sica. “If you had a more objective funding system — not political patronage — the funding would be consistent, and that’s one of the problems with these things. Live by the earmark, die by the earmark.”
and…
In the late 1990s, a group of American Indians and outside civic and academic leaders approached Mr. Daschle about the center here. In a telephone interview from Washington, where he is now a special policy adviser at a law firm, Mr. Daschle recalled that he viewed it as a way to accomplish many things: to tell the history of American Indians and this country in South Dakota; to further reconciliation with the state’s nine tribes; and, perhaps most uniquely, to create a legal model, a court system and a high court that would make non-Indian businesses more comfortable in Indian Country.
Outside investors often fear that the tribes’ independent legal systems and shifting leadership pose too much risk. Ultimately, the new judicial center was intended to encourage economic development — in the form of investment in business and loans for new enterprises — on reservations, where poverty rates are among the worst in the nation.
You know, somehow I never considered for a moment that empowerment meant “dependency on the federal government to complete the project.” The goal for this project is probably the most important one that could be undertaken for the financial self-sufficiency of the tribes – to help reform their legal systems to mitigate the risk and prejudice that outside investors have in putting money into the reservations. Those investors are gun shy because they typically find the tribal law system a royal pain to navigate, often tinged with mixed success.
So, as opposed to lamenting the loss of the earmarks, I find myself asking “why is it critical for the federal government to intervene?”
This center is critically important to inject capital – and capitalism – into these impoverished areas. So, where are the stakeholders? I would think that in addition to casino expansion to improve their revenues, for the 11 Sioux Tribes that support this center this would be an even more important priority to create the ability for the expansion (and creation) of businesses as a result of outside capital.
And it’s not just the tribes who should be asking themselves this. What about those others who hailed it? I would see this as a prime opportunity to facilitate the creation of a wide open – and largely untapped – market. If the federal government is going to pony up $150,000 this year, where are the members of the bankers’ association, the South Dakota bar association, and the State Chamber of Commerce? Surely between all of those groups, they might be able to at the very least match that?
I think Wapka Sica is important. So important that the stakeholders shouldn’t wait around for the federal government to “make it happen.” Even with the “vaunted” Tom Daschle’s help, I don’t think the tribes can point to much good that’s ever come from the federal government’s promises of economic development help.
Because if they wait for the federal government to make it happen, they may be waiting for a very, very long time.
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Comments
If the tribes are willing to give judicial authority to the court of appeals the state should fund the deal.
Rounds is sitting on about, what? $900 million South Dakota taxpayer dollars? He should put some of it back in play.
This is an important program for the tribes, tribal members, and for the state of SD. It would be a good use of state economic development money. But the tribes should also participate.
For the past 5 years, the governor has prohibited the tribes from expanding their gambling operations, even while allowing growth of Deadwood gambling. The administration could allow additional machines at tribal casinos, thereby giving tribes additional unallocated revenue. The administration could secure tribal committment to allocate X amount of this additional revenue to the Wapka Sica project.
Let the stakeholders participate. Good post.
#3,
Even without any expansion the tribes have to not only participate but become the driving force behind this.
With the increased competition for gambling dollars from a variety of sources, even an expansion of their current operations is no guarantee of a significant increase in revenue. The tribes can’t keep all of their “eggs in the gambling basket”.
1. I wish you would post that on Blogmore, since it is run and populated mostly by liberals and Daschle-lovers, so they can see your comment.
Can’t John Thune use his clout with the administration to get the BIA behind it?
That was the point, right? Replace Daschle’s clout in the Senate with Thune’s clout with the President… So this shouldn’t be a problem…
#7 – That was supposed to be the idea. Instead we replaced Daschle’s clout with a freshman lapdog who the President can safely ignore with no consequences. Seriously, what has Thune done for this state besides Ellsworth?
And since when has Thune ever cared about Tribal issues?
it has nothing to do with Thune….the tribal chairman killed this plan because they didn’t want to lose the ability to control the tribal judiciary. the “judges” on the reservations are non-lawyers who are the buddies of the chairmen. and if they do something the chairman doesn’t like, they are fired.
Idiots like #7 have no idea how it works on the reservations. The only think they can ever think of is “how do we blame this on Republicans?”
I have seen the building. It could be built for 1 million dollars by free enterprise. Where did the other 17 million go?
Does anyone know the square footage of the building?
Well, if I were a conspiracy theorist (like those in the loony left), I would wonder if this story in the NYT was planted to resurrect the Daschle-Thune clout contest, and to keep Daschle in the news for a run for the Senate if Johnson doesn’t run. And by the way, where was Johnson, who owes his 2002 win to the reservations, on this? He weighed in on other stuff during his time out. And #10 raises another point. Neither the MSM nor anybody else will ask any tough questions about tribal finances or procedures for fear being corralled by the PC Police.
Torres #2, there’s 900 million being horded by Rounds? Well I’ll be darned. Where is that, we’d all like to see why Rounds isn’t putting it in play.
Why are the whiners on this thread the exact same sort of bunch that would be demanding we use taxpayer dollars to build an eyesore like that? PS: I guess of the 7 pretty tipi covers, only 4 or 5 made it one year, eh? EH? The place will be a shamble before it’s complete. Although the golfers love to lob a few shots that way.
Since when is it Thune’s fault when the Congress is run by Democrats?
My recollection is that Johnson claim a 500+ vote victory in 2002 because of Native American votes. Now it appears that Johnson has NOT been taking care of South Dakota’s business, not even when it comes to the people that put him in office.
12. The $900 million is in several savings and reserve accounts. That’s pretty much common knowledge. It’s funds from the cement plant sale, budget reserves, stuff like that. It’s an utter waste of SD taxpayer’s money. The state doesn’t need reserves. Those funds should go back to the taxpayers or be put to use for the benefit of the taxpayers.
#1. Have a source for this information:
is that it was THE TRIBES WHO UNDERMINED THE PROJECT because they didn’t want to give judicial authority to the court of appeals to be housed there.
It has the look of boondoggle written all over it no matter who is pushing for it.
Actually reading the story however suggests that most of the comments here are at least partly offbase.
With 40% unemployment on the reservations, at least some of the American Indians would be better off working for nothing and getting some useful construction experience than they are watching TV all day and night.
Gambling should only be done with debit cards that can only be recharged at county treasurers and they would have a tax on the gambler rather than the gambling business. Apply same rule to the tribal casino customers.
How about giving the responsibility for this project, if it is supposed to be so good for the Native Americans, back to them? If they want it, maybe they should join the rest of the United States and live by the same laws as we do. The Indian wars and reservations etc are part of the past. Native Americans are now Americans and should participate in the laws of our nation if they want the goodies from our government. If that were the case, there could be more economic development because investors wouldn’t have to worry about losing their shirts when their businesses inevitably fail.
what the vaunted New York Times hides from the public in this story is that it was THE TRIBES WHO UNDERMINED THE PROJECT because they didn’t want to give judicial authority to the court of appeals to be housed there. the tribal chairman want to keep the power to control tribal “judges.” that’s the scam here. And of course the New York Times, Daschle, and the liberals all fell for it and blame the Republicans for it. Sad, sad, sad