Declaring War on the Indians: The New York Times Editorial About Sen. Slade Gorton

"Senator Slade Gorton has once again declared war on the Indians. Having failed last year to undermine the concept of Indian sovereignty with a sneaky amendment to an appropriations bill, the Washington State Republican has now offered a freestanding bill, erroneously labeled the "American Indian Equal Justice Act," that is a reprise of last year's rider. The bill would, among other things, deprive Indian tribes of their sovereign immunity against civil lawsuits. This would fundamentally alter America's longstanding commitment to self- governance among the nation's 554 tribes, a commitment backed by Federal treaties, statutes and court decisions. Sovereign immunity is essential to self-governance because it protects the public treasury and shields governments from being sued into extinction. Federal, state and local governments, as well as tribal governments, have always been able to claim this prerogative, although they have voluntarily waived it in some circumstances. Without immunity, lawsuits could cripple smaller tribes.

Mr. Gorton's bill would also authorize civil actions against tribes in Federal and state courts rather than in tribal courts. He argues that this merely places disputes in a neutral forum, but in fact this change is an assault on the administration of justice by tribal governments. The bill would also allow states to sue tribes in Federal court for the collection of sales taxes on purchases made by non-Indians on Indian lands. But states are already free to sue individual tribal officers for failure to collect taxes. They can also resolve this issue through tribal-state agreements on tax collection, and more than 200 tribes already have such compacts.

Mr. Gorton's crusade appears based on isolated anecdotes from aggrieved non- Indian plaintiffs. He offers no compelling reason to curtail sovereign immunity or tribal rights. Yet, as noted by Timothy Egan in a recent Times report, Mr. Gorton may gain ground simply because of a public backlash against some tribes that have become more prosperous and politically assertive.

But the fact remains that most tribes are very poor. Eliminating sovereign immunity would further jeopardize their survival and, more broadly, betray the Federal Government's longstanding moral and legal obligations to the tribes."


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