Anyone who sits through any tribal
council meeting knows well the time and measure of deliberation of
any issue in Indian Country. In South Dakota tribal councils, the
tradition of consensus – even when put against the formalism of
Roberts Rules of Order – tends to give way to all persons with an
opinion on any given matter being discussed.
Too often, as Indian people, we prefer
the romantic notion of swift, decisive action. It comes from our
times of war with the encroaching enemy, be they other tribes or a
growing country of European immigrants. We harken back to the idea
that in order to be Indian, we must act aggressively and without
doubt. True enough, given the mode of war but when it comes to
nation-building, planning and economic development, seemingly endless
meetings and discussions are better advised.
As Red Lake Nation – along with
other tribes across the country – follow the lead of the U.S.
Department of Justice’s implied permission at the close of 2014 to
pursue the cultivation and sale of hemp and marijuana, there are many
questions that need to be asked and real answers given before motions
to legalize should even be made.
Marijuana is not the silver bullet.
The growth and sale of cannabis on Indian reservations are not the
great sustainer we would like them to be. We know this because we
have seen this model before with Indian gaming.
While many in Minnesota and across the
country who did not grow up on the reservation like to point to
financial windfalls and continued profitability of Indian gaming,
those cases are the exception and not the rule. For many tribes, most
of which are out of the way and in the most inaccessible regions of
this country for basic emergency services – a gift from the largess
of the federal government, to be sure – the profitability of gaming
is low. The Native American Rights Fund reports that of the 560
tribal nations, only 224 operate gaming establishments. The National
Indian Gaming Commission in its Gaming Revenue Reports from 2009 to
2013, show that the average of only 26 operations showed revenue in
the $11 million. Split among the citizens of each tribal nations how
they see fit to disperse it, either through per capita payments or
investment in their infrastructures, it is still a long way to go for
most tribes.
That model is most surely what will
come to mind for most tribes that take the time to consider how best
to take advantage of the cannabis free-for-all. For the average
tribal citizen of the average tribal nation, that model has not
worked to directly improve our lives. We do not live luxuriously, we
do not cultivate expensive tastes or hobbies nor do we have the free
time to ponder the philosophies of the world. For those of us who
have been able to leverage what education and working experience we
do have, our lives either dangle below or at the poverty line where
the only luxuries we afford ourselves are reminders of why we work so
hard to be poor: our families, our cultures and our nations.
But to fully dismiss the benefits of
cannabis, whether for consumption or developing hemp products, would
be an equally foolish characterization of the situation. As a raw
material, hemp is cheaper and easier to use in the production of
textiles, building material, paper and fuel. It’s more sustainable
than butchering entire forests and adding to our carbon footprint, as
well.
In order to fully appreciate the
benefits of such commercial ventures, tribes must face the reality of
their national conditions by asking questions and having honest
answers. As tribes, is there the entrepreneurial infrastructure to
support the cultivation, development and distribution of marijuana or
hemp products? Does the tribal government have a role in developing
the business of cannabis or will it allow its citizenry to create
business models and its own industry? Without venturing too far into
any internal politics, how many tribes have financial, legislative
and legal oversight and review to avoid even the potential charges of
criminal intimidation or corruption? If not, do tribes have the legal
and political will to create regulation and prosecute infractions of
those regulations.
In addition, no tribal community is
immune from the trends of the world around them. The tide is turning,
nationally, for the legalization of cannabis. In states like
Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Colorado, marijuana is legal with more
states joining the fray. In a phrase: the doors are opening. How long
until dispensaries and hemp production become national realities? And
at that point, how much business will have been lost by tribes from a
flooded market?
The temptation is to see the immediate
federal decriminalization of marijuana and hemp as a victory for
sovereignty and a money-making opportunity that will fix our
condition because we’ve adopted the notions that sovereignty is doled
out by the federal government and money solves everything. When the
money runs out, however, the next step is what should be of concern
to tribal citizens.