From the Editor's Desk: Look before leaping into cannabis

0
4406
views

whats_new_-_walfred_walking_bull.jpgAnyone 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.