Do you hear the war cries? As a member of the White Earth Band of Chippewa and managing assets for Native American entities across North America let me say that Native Americans are still getting the short end of every treaty violation. One, the wonderful folks at the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the Department of Interior have "lost" hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars of Native money in the Office of Trust Funds Management, mineral money and royalty money supposedly "managed" by the government for the tribes. If you think they did a good job 40 or 30 or 20 or 10 years ago just look at the billions unaccounted for in Iraq and in the post-Katrina debacle. Two, the government will not change the "reservation" system, hence the forced paternal control of continuing the welfare state in Indian Country. And third, the government will not step in and hold tribes accountable in fiscal matters regarding gaming finances. Millions and millions of dollars have disappeared from Indian casino's, much to the detriment of those Natives who could use the money the most, the generations of children today and the generations of children yet unborn. And lastly, the government still manages billions of dollars of Indian money in the government bond market. Probably the single worst disaster ever perpetrated on Indian tribes. Bonds, not stocks. The lost "opportunity cost" of not having Native money in the equity markets is simply beyond comprehension. The cadence of government drums still beat. The carnage continues.
It is 2006. If not now, when?
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