Proposal supports ‘cultural genocide’

LONG ISLAND, N.Y. – Almost 50 years after the termination era ended, a New York state legislator has reintroduced the idea with a recommendation to terminate the Unkechaug Nation.

Sen. Craig M. Johnson, a Democrat who represents Long Island where the Unkechaug and their ancestors have lived since time immemorial, issued the recommendation in a June 11 report called “Executive Refusal: Why the State has Failed to Collect Cigarette Taxes on Native American Reservations.”

Chief Harry Wallace, Unkechaug leader since 1994, said the recommendation is tantamount to advocating “cultural genocide.”

“It’s genocide. It’s cultural genocide. That would be the effect of it.”

Johnson chairs the state Senate’s Standing Committee on Investigations and Government operations, which compiled the report. Ten days after publication, legislators passed a bill to force tribal nations to collect taxes on cigarettes sold to non-tribal members on reservations by requiring all cigarettes sold to Indian reservations to have “an affixed cigarette stamp.”

The 17-page report documents “an investigation in the fall of 2009 to explore the history of the collection of taxes on reservations and ways to bring the state and tribes closer to a solution to this long-standing problem.”

Some of the recommendations to improve tribal-state relations include, among other things, ending the “forbearance policy” that has prevented tax collections from tribal nations; issuing tax exempt coupons for cigarette sales to tribal members; “vigorously” prosecuting those “trafficking” in untaxed cigarettes; and suspending and revoking the licenses of “tax stamping agents,” a category enclosed in unexplained quotation marks, who don’t file timely Jenkins Act reports.

The last recommendation says, “The state should revoke its recognition of the Poospatuck Tribe,” erroneously calling the Unkechaug people (“people from beyond the hill”) by their place name (“the place where tidal waters meet.”)

The 1950s termination era ended the federal government’s trust relationship with a number of tribes, introduced ethnic cleansing – relocation – and other policies meant to strip Indians of their cultural identity while allowing their lands to be sold to the highest bidders.

But this recommendation is different, said Rich Azzopardi, Johnson’s spokesman.

“It’s a different situation because that particular tribe is not recognized by the federal government.”

Azzopardi said that genocide was “obviously” not the intention of the recommendation and “to characterize it as genocide is a mischaracterization. Our recommendations were based on the research and it was based on what members of that nation were accused of by various law enforcement agencies. There have been numerous convictions,” he said, referring obliquely to Rodney Morris, a non-Native owner of a smoke shop on the reservation who was convicted in May of being a major supplier of contraband cigarettes.

Wallace said “a host” of state and federal government documents render Johnson’s recommendation specious.

“They didn’t recognize us; we recognized them! New York state has no recognition power. Our status emanates from colonial treaties that were incorporated into the New York state Constitution. They don’t have the power to not recognize these laws concerning taxation or acknowledgment of the pre-existing status of Indian nations,” said Wallace, who practiced law for more than a dozen years before getting involved in tribal government.

But termination and other anti-Indian laws – no matter how remote they may seem now – resonate dangerously for indigenous peoples who have seen treaties and pledges evaporate on the “trail of broken promises.”

And Unkechaug may be particularly vulnerable as the state’s only remaining Indian nation that is not federally acknowledged since Shinnecock Nation received acknowledgment earlier in June.

“If they can do this to us, they can to do the same to the Senecas and everybody,” Wallace said.

Although Unkechaug is plagued by lawsuits, the nation has a robust tobacco economy which supports around 80 percent of the jobs on the reservation. Of the 450 Unkechaug citizens, around 275 live on the densely populated 55-acre sovereign territory.

But if the bill is enforced, the nation will be put out of business, Wallace said.

The nation is building a new 10,000-square-foot community center, providing college students with scholarships, and undertaking a number of projects and renovations – all based on its tobacco economy.

“All that would come to a screeching halt if the new cigarette tax law takes effect and is effective,” Wallace said.

But he doesn’t think the law would withstand judicial review. Is Unkechaug going to challenge it?

“Do we have a choice?” Wallace asked. “But are the other nations going to stand with us? I don’t know. Where do we stand on this?

“Do we stand united or do we stand isolated? Considering the fact that I haven’t heard one public official from one recognized or unrecognized community voice outrage over this, I would say I’m feeling kind of isolated.”

Johnson is not planning to introduce legislation to revoke the Unkechaug Nation’s recognition, Azzopardi said.

“If true,” Wallace said, “then you have to ask, what was the purpose of the gratuitous recommendation in his report? The only logical answer is that it was intended to intimidate the Unkechaug.”

But Ed Morey, publisher of Long Island Press, had a different theory on his blog.

“Much of the text in the report is written in a decidedly patronizing tone that attempts to assuage the ultimate message to Indian tribes of New York: Pay up or face the consequences. This recommendation (to terminate the Unkechaug) can only be classified in the following categories: A) Stupid B) Ignorant C) Racist D) All of the above.”

The correct answer is D, Morey said.

“Attempting to revoke the status of a nation that predates our own and eradicate an entire race is the type of Machtpolitik that should evoke terror in our society. We should bristle at this type of caustic political language that stokes the fire of hatred and intolerance,” Morey said.

Proposal supports ‘cultural genocide’

By Gale Courey Toensing