Tribes Profitable For Washington Study Tries To Dispel Myth That Reservations Are An Economic Drag

Business flights for Joseph Pakootas go like this: The Colville Confederated Tribes business council chairman grabs a seat and strikes up a conversation. Given the chance, he’ll explain away assumptions about Native Americans, particularly the notion that tribes are a burden on the state.

“They think their tax dollars are supporting the tribes and we’re all on welfare,” Pakootas said Tuesday after speaking at a state tribal summit in Spokane.

He hears similar sentiments from students when he speaks at area schools.

Pakootas educates the people around him. The Colvilles do the same for the surrounding community. Now the state is joining in.

Washington’s 27 Indian tribes contribute $1 billion annually to the state’s economy and the 12 tribes that have gambling businesses raise $440 million in annual revenues, according to a new study.

Tuesday, the governor’s office released a study showing the economic impact of tribal ventures on the state economy.

In 1997, tribe-owned businesses spent $865.8 million for supplies, equipment and services and paid $51.3 million in federal employment/payroll taxes. Another $5.3 million went for state employment/payroll taxes.

“This report dispels the common misperception that Washington’s Indian reservations are an economic drag on the state,” the report says. It was written by Veronica Tiller, a member of the Jacarilla Apache Tribe of New Mexico, with support from Robert Chase of Chase Economics of Tacoma.

The report came about after Gov. Gary Locke met with the state’s tribal leaders in December 1997. They agreed on a joint venture to find out how much money the tribes bring in collectively.

It may be the first study of its kind, in which tribes have worked with state government to produce an agreed-upon financial portrait of tribal communities.

“This report represents a beginning. It gives us a foundation on which to build our ongoing relationship with Washington’s tribal leaders,” Locke said in a statement.

Of the state tribes, 23 out of 27 provided detailed information on official books and records, including tax returns and reports filed with the Internal Revenue Service and with the state.

The Spokane Tribe, as did three others in Western Washington, chose not to participate. When asked to explain officially to the governor’s office, leaders didn’t reply. Pakootas can understand why.

The study’s a good thing in the hands of the public. But in the hands of state officials, it can be another tool to use against the tribes and push cutbacks on tribal health care and housing, Pakootas said.

“We had concerns too,” he said. But the Colvilles had already revealed a lot of this information locally to help bring public opinion around. “We want public support for what we’re doing,” he said.

The study was designed not to reveal an individual tribe’s economic profile. It was broken into regions. The study showed 1997 timber harvests bring in $71.2 million annually. Salmon fishing produces $6.8 million.

Gambling revenues have helped some tribes economically, but the study showed most tribes still lack access to capital investments, markets and skilled labor.

Treaty rights guarantee health and housing services, which are provided by three government offices that work extensively with tribes - the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service and the Office on Indian Education. These agencies collectively spent $160 million in 1997 on wages and other costs, according to the study.

The study showed reservations exist in 21 of 39 counties, on 3.24 million acres of reservation and trust land. Washington has the fifth-highest number of Indians in the country with 91,000.

Most Indians live in King County, but in Eastern Washington, the Indian population accounts for the highest percentage at 2.2 percent. Indians account for 1.6 percent of the state population and their population has grown 16 percent since 1990.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Economic facts Facts from the first joint study between the governor’s office and state tribal leaders on tribes’ economic impact on Washington state: Tribes collectively contribute $1 billion annually to the state’s economy. Tribal enterprises in 1997 spent $866 million for supplies, equipment and services. Tribal governments in 1997 paid an estimated $51 million in federal employment/payroll-related taxes and $5.3 million to the state. Average annual wages for tribal employment amounted to $18,800, 40 percent lower than the statewide average of $32,400. Tribal enterprises have a current combined payroll of $270 million and employ 14,375 people, of whom 40 percent are non-Indian. Tribes earned $71 million from timber harvest and about $7 million from salmon fishing in 1997.