February 15, 2005

The resignation of the top American Indian official in Washington is welcome news. And it is an opportunity to get President Bush to finally take Indian country seriously.

Dave Anderson, who is Choctaw and Ojibwe, left the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on Feb. 12. He had not even survived a year as the head of the sole agency responsible for facilitating relations between tribal nations and the federal government.

He should never have accepted the president's appointment in the first place. This successful owner of the Famous Dave's barbecue restaurant chain did not seem to understand key aspects of his job, such as dealing with gaming issues and advocating for critical health, education and other resources for Indians.

Rather than deal with the colossal economic bureaucracy that has made the BIA so despised in Indian country, Anderson preferred to hopscotch around tribal communities delivering speeches on the importance of having a healthy dose of good Indian self-esteem.

A year ago, tribal leaders were naturally puzzled but not entirely surprised when Bush nominated Anderson for the role, a businessman with no solid political and Indian legal experience.

The president paid little, if any, attention to Indian affairs during his first term in office. In fact, he routinely tried to make major cuts in funding to a bureau budget that has always fallen short of meeting tribal needs.

And while addressing a gathering of journalists of color in Washington, D.C., last summer, Bush asserted that sovereignty is something given to tribes by the federal government and not a right.

He should know that the treaties establishing sovereignty were signed between separate tribal nations and Congress.

This year the administration is looking to slash the BIA's budget yet again. The proposed cuts to critical service programs total a $110 million. If Congress does not step in as it has in the past, tribes will see deep cuts in housing, health care and education, including cuts in funding for badly needed school construction. It should be a national disgrace that Indian students attend class in the worst school buildings in the country.

So now that Anderson's ineffectual year has passed, tribes need to pressure this administration to start putting Indian country on its radar screen.

They should insist that this administration schedule a tribal summit. The president should personally invite representatives from Indian nations to Washington to hear tribes' concerns up close.

This country has a history of presidential meetings with tribal leaders. President Clinton, working with BIA director Ada Deer (Menominee), revived the practice during his first term.

But in case this historical protocol to tribes is news to Bush, perhaps someone on his staff should inform him of the following: meeting with leaders of governments also includes meeting with leaders from Indian nations.

Mark Anthony Rolo is a member of the Bad River Band of Ojibwe. He can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.