I was nothing less than disappointed when I read that the Spokane County commissioners are planning an economic summit with area elected leaders, development groups and education leaders, but without a thought given to inviting local tribal government leaders and tribal economic development agencies.

Unfortunately, the commissioners are duplicating a mistake that is made by many county and city governments nationwide in failing to recognize and capitalize on the presence of the economic clout of American Indian tribes who bring millions of dollars into the local economy. I would daresay that the so-called “turnover” effect of the millions of dollars pumped into the local economy by the presence of the Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Kalispell and Colville tribes may be in the area of hundreds of millions of dollars. Spokane’s regional medical community also brings in millions of dollars from tribes in northern and southern Idaho as well as western and central Montana and northeast Oregon.

Fortunately, there are county and city governments around the nation which have recognized that the presence of Indian tribes in their area can complement and augment county and city economic development efforts. Governmental units that have formed partnerships with tribes to access economic development planning and stimulation dollars — rather than compete for such resources — have found the tribes to be willing and astute economic partners. There are also economic development dollars that are available only to tribes but can be used in partnership with state, county and city resources to attract “good paying jobs.”

All too often, because they fear what they don’t understand, county and city governments near Indian tribes view them as competitors or, even worse, as conspirators determined to buy up land and take it out of the tax base. This is a shortsighted attitude that can be destructive when it is exacerbated by so-called land-owners-equality or taxpayer-equality groups who play on the fears of city and county officials.

Witness the recent meetings of the Airway Heights City Council. When the Spokane tribal government requested annexation of its property adjacent to Highway 2, the city manager brought in an anti-tribal government advocate from the Yakima area who proceeded to misinform and spread the venomous taxpayer-equality mantra — that tribes don’t have democratic governments, they tread on everyone else’s rights and they are buying back America.

This rhetoric encouraged outrageous questions and comments from the council and attendees that had nothing to do with annexation. The questions were belittling and insulting to the tribal representatives in attendance. To their credit, they did not respond in kind but, showing great restraint, responded with respectful, rational answers. One city official even asked the tribal representative the origin of his Hispanic surname in a manner that questioned his Indian heritage.

(The tribe withdrew its request shortly after the meeting, even though the council was indicating support.)

In recent meetings of the Airway Heights City Council, public comments were made regarding fears about the prospect of Indian housing being built in Airway Heights and Indian students attending local schools. These comments echo from an era of segregation and disenfranchisement of people of color that we hope is long past.

My wife and I maintain residences in Missoula and Spokane for career reasons. As Indian professionals, we are considering a long-term move to Spokane, as we like the diversity of the area and the commitment to diversity exhibited by some community leaders. It is also a beautiful area and exhibits signs of a progressive attitude despite recent events.

As Doug Banks intimated in a recent Spokesman-Review column, it is the “closet bigots” who are to be feared as much as those who wear their bigotry on their sleeves.

The power of the press to allay fears that trigger bigotry cannot be underestimated. Some of the closet bigots may not even be true bigots and are simply regurgitating culturally ingrained fears that can be dispelled by correct information. The press can be of great service in the enlightenment of the public with regard to why Indian tribes have a right to exist into perpetuity under a different government and different laws, or the press can simply report on the conflicts. I believe that the former is the higher duty of the press.

I hope for Spokane’s sake and the transition of the region’s economy from natural resource exploitation to other industries, that Spokane County and its city governments will start to recognize and respect the surrounding tribal governments and their constituents as economic partners rather than competitors.