Indian casino builders flock to Pombo

By MICHAEL DOYLE
BEE WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON — American Indian tribes have been placing their bets on Tracy Republican Richard Pombo ever since he became chairman of the House Resources Committee.

Today, Pombo's importance in tribal affairs will be on display when his committee considers the land-claim complaints of sev-eral tribes. But well before today's hearing, campaign contributions have underscored Pombo's newfound stature in Indian country.

So far this year, federal records show, 15tribes have contributed $71,000 to Pombo's leadership political action committee. This accounts for three out of every four dollars raised by Pombo's PAC since January and, more broadly, it reflects the growing political clout of tribes.

"It's a way for the tribe to participate in the (political) process," Jacob Coin, communications director for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, said Wednesday.

Based in Highland, about 70 miles east of Los Angeles, the 200 enrolled members of the San Manuel Band maintain what Coin called a "fairly active government affairs effort." They monitor everything from Indian health care to casino regulations, and they make contributions such as the $5,000 sent to Pombo's leadership PAC in January.

Like other lawmakers with leadership PACs, Pombo distributes money among like-minded colleagues and candidates.

All told, a Political Money Line analysis shows, Pombo's campaign and leadership fund-raising committees have collected $221,000 from tribes since 1999. This was more than all but four members of the House and Senate had collected.

"I've made Native American issues a major issue on the committee," Pombo said Wednesday, when asked why the tribal contributions have been increasing. "There are a lot of issues that have been hanging out there a long time."

Pombo said these lingering issues include securing long-sought federal recognition for dozens of tribes, as well as addressing the move of tribal casino operations to offreservation land.

Tribes have become more active

Sometimes, the tribal money has flowed directly, as in this year's contributions that include $2,000 from the Porterville-based Tule River Tribal Council; $5,000 from the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin; and $5,000 from the Mashuntucket Pequot tribe of Connecticut.

"Tribes have gotten much more sophisticated, and we're looking to support people who support our interests," said Dan Little, Washington-based government relations director for the Mashuntucket Pequot tribe. "Mr. Pombo has been a great friend of ours."

William Gollnick, chief of staff for the Oneida, added, "The tribe is involved (with lawmakers) who are very significant."

Other times, contributions come from individuals closely allied with tribes even if they are not themselves American Indian.

"We've seen, in the last 10 years, that tribes have become a lot more active," Pombo said.

One big-name contributor who gave Pombo's PAC $5,000 in 2003, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, is under federal and congressional investigation over his dealings with tribal clients. Abramoff also gave $2,000, the maximum allowed, to Pombo's congressional campaign committee in 2003.

Last year, likewise, records show that two partners in a Michigan firm hoping to help a New York tribe build a new casino contributed $7,000 to Pombo's leadership PAC. The individuals, Marian Ilitch and her husband, Michael Malik, are partners in putting up the money for a casino bid by New York's Shinnecock tribe.

Earlier this week, Malik and Ilitch's son Christopher — also a past contributor to Pombo's leadership group — hosted a fund-raiser for Pombo in Detroit. This week's $5,000-a-head fund-raiser, first reported by the Associated Press, offered donors baseball-themed goodies, including seats for Tuesday night's All-Star Game.

Ilitch, whose family owns the Detroit Tigers and the Little Caesars pizza chain, is also joining with Malik in attempting to build a tribal casino in Barstow. Neither the contributors nor representatives of the Shinnecock tribe are testifying today.

Instead, the hearing will delve into complex and long-running land claims filed by other tribes, which maintain their New York property was illegally seized by U.S. settlers. For some of these tribes, the price for dropping the multimillion-dollar land claims has been a go-ahead to build new casinos.

The tribes don't all agree on the next best step, and any settlement will eventually require legislation passed by Pombo's committee.

"We want to begin to educate members," said Gollnick, of the Oneida Tribe.