TALKING POINTS with U.S. Rep. Tom Cole
by Maya Dollarhide
April 1, 2010
Tribal gaming's man in Congress
Congressman Tom Cole, a fifth-generation Oklahoman
and a member of the Chickasaw Nation, is currently the only Native American in
the U.S. House of Representatives. Well-known for his conservative views, he
was a successful Republican political strategist before being elected to
Congress in 2002 and also holds the distinction of having served as Oklahoma’s
first Republican secretary of state. He is well-known in the Indian community
and in Washington as an advocate of Native rights and of gaming as an engine of
tribal economic development and self-sufficiency. He spoke recently with Casino
Journal writer Maya Dollarhide about Indian gaming, the impact of the National Indian
Gaming Association, and why he believes Oklahoma is better off for its tribal
casinos.
Why are you such an ardent supporter of Indian gaming?
Cole: I’ve seen firsthand how
important gaming can be to tribal economic development, and what it has meant
to the lives of individual Native Americans.
Your
own tribe is in the gaming business, isn’t it?
Cole: Yes. I’m an enrolled member of
the Chickasaw Nation, and gaming has been
a transformative experience for us. It has allowed the tribe to capitalize itself. We reinvest our
earnings, if you will, into other economic
activities. But most importantly, gaming dollars have gone into important things like health care, scholarships, a senior citizens center,
nutrition centers, basically any service you can name, so our casinos have
really materially improved the lives of individual tribal members.
The Chickasaw Nation operates two very popular casinos, the
WinStar World and Riverwind. How would you describe their economic impact?
Cole: Over 80 percent of our employees
are not Chickasaw, and these casinos provide needed jobs and opportunities to a
part of Oklahoma that has been historically depressed, and that’s been true of
the other tribes as well. Again, I see a great deal of good that’s come out of
Indian gaming in Oklahoma.
You’re
the only Native American in Congress.
Cole: That’s
correct. We need to change that.
How would you characterize the U.S. government’s
relationship with Native people? Does our government, from your perspective, do
a good job of supporting tribes’ sovereignty?
Cole: Cole:
It really doesn’t. I think, frankly, it’s always a mixed bag in relation to
Native Americans. The two [political] parties, historically … well, neither one
has been particularly good.
What
about the Obama administration?
Cole: This administration has done much better than others. And
I appreciate some of the efforts that the Obama administration has made with
respect to things like the Cobell [v. Salazar] case. And I think there is a
genuine understanding of sovereignty. That was not true in the Clinton administration.
It was not true in the Bush administration, in my view.
What more needs to be done?
Cole: We still have a lot of problems in Congress. There are a
lot of members who don’t grasp the concept that when they swear alliance to the
Constitution of the United States, they are swearing allegiance to Indian
sovereignty, whether they know it or not, because it is in there. We have to
spend a lot of time educating individual members and different administrations;
we do that on a bipartisan basis. I serve as co-chairman of the Native American
caucus with my good friend Dale Kildee of Michigan, who, of course, was the
principle author of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Protecting sovereignty is
a never-ending struggle. There are always threats to sovereignty, and you have
to confront them each time they rear their head.
Oklahoma being home to so
many Class II gaming machines, how do you feel about a state compact allowing
for Class III games? Do you support it?
Cole: I do. But the problem we’ve had in Oklahoma is, we want to
move towards compacts at our own pace. We have Class II gaming, and there have
been efforts by the previous regime at the National Indian Gaming Commission to
slow down the development of these games and make them far less attractive.
Their own studies show that would cost close to $2 billion and eliminate 7,500
jobs.
Those proposed changes
would have seriously affected gaming in Oklahoma.
Cole: Yes.
Oklahoma has, I think, almost half or a little over half of the Class II games
in the country, so that’s a big issue to us. But in terms of compacting, absolutely, I’m for it. But it
needs to be done obviously at a pace that makes sense from a tribal standpoint.
From
a tribal standpoint, how would you
characterize the relationshsip with the state?
Cole: Our tribes have had a very good
relationship with our state government, and that has not historically been the
case. Our last two governors, from different parties, Frank Keating, a
Republican and Brad Henry, a Democrat, our current governor, have both been
very cooperative with tribes and have worked with them as opposed to against
them. Those relationships have made an enormous difference in tribal economic
development, not only in gaming but across the board.
What
about at the federal level? What are the challenges for Native people when it
comes to dealing with Washington?
Cole: Trust.
The most important relationship any tribe can have is the trust relationship
with the federal government. It needs to be defended and explained on a regular
basis. And the gaming tribes, frankly, are usually bettered positioned to do
that than, sadly, some other tribes which have great needs but limited
resources. I think gaming has given a lot of tribes the resources to begin to
correct the problems, and they can be awfully proud of how they’ve handled
themselves. I always say [Indian gaming] is run like a private business, which
it has to be in order to be successful. But its purposes are public, to improve
the lives and well-being of tribal members and provide opportunities to Indian
people.
It’s
impossible to talk about Washington without mentioning the National Indian
Gaming Association, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. What
has it been like to work with them?
Cole: Oh,
yes, we work with them hand in glove. They just do a tremendous job up here.
What I appreciate about NIGA is that they
play an educational role, and they really do work both sides of the aisle
extremely well. If you are a friend it doesn’t matter if you are a
Republican or a Democrat. If you have questions they are going to work with you to answer those questions
and explain why Indian gaming, arguably, has been the most successful
economic development program for Indian nations
in the history of the country. Here in Washington you need to be able to
convince the doubters, and they do all that very well.
The success of Indian gaming has given tribes a leg up in
the political arena.
Cole: Indian
people have tremendous needs, and the tribes that can afford continuous
representation in Washington can carry the banner on a lot of issues, on
everything from Indian health care to things like the Cobell decision. The
gaming tribes are consistent supporters on things that are good for everybody —
all tribes and all Native Americans, not just good for their individual
members. So I think it is very important that we have tribes that have the
wherewithal to be represented in and be active in Washington. Having Native
Americans here is just so important for advancing the interests of Indian
Country.
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What
do you hope the future will bring for Indian Country?
Cole: I guess,
in a nutshell, it is that I don’t want the first Americans to be the “last”
Americans anymore. Any kind of study you want to look at, whether it is health,
lifespan, educational opportunities or economic opportunities, Native Americans
are usually at the bottom of the list. That is a travesty and a crime.
Biography:
Tom Cole is serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives
as representative for Oklahoma’s 4th Congressional District. He served as
Oklahoma’s secretary of state from 1995 to 1999, when he led the state’s
efforts to secure federal funds in the wake of the Oklahoma City
bombing. A successful Republican political strategist, he founded Cole Hargrave
Snodgrass and Associates and was the firm’s president from 1989 until his
election to Congress in 2002. He has served as executive director and chairman
of the Oklahoma Republican Party and
chief of staff of the Republican National Committee, and in 2007 was elected
chairman of the National Republican
Congressional Committee. He holds a B.A. from Grinnell College in Iowa,
an M.A. from Yale University and a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma.
Maya Dollarhide
dollarhidem@bnpmedia.com
Maya Dollarhide works as a writer and editor for BNP Custom Media. She also covers Indian Country for a variety of publications, including Casino Journal. She can be contacted via e-mail at dollarhidem@bnpmedia.com.
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