I have zero interest in talking politics with someone who publicly and on paper denounces the Point No Point Treaty of 1855. Councilmember Lowe has not properly tracked all the money siphoned to the tribes through traditional non-tribal sources and agencies. The BIA obviously does not provide them all the funds they get now. The U. S Department of Commerce has long funded the tribes. That will most likely stop. County tax payers paid 1 million to match that grant. They paid 5 million for the re-compete grant. No Viki Lowe will not tell the real story about how the tribe ,county and cities joined an international charter to re-negotiate a treaty without authority from Congress, to bogart our local economy. Apparently something they all feel righteous about since we are such terrible colonizers. But they always hoped they could hide everything over at SERN and NODC. That did not happen it all got out. Now they have to own up to the treaty malfeasance the last 14 years.
As Vicki Lowe stated the tribes fund their projects "through a mix of federal grants and economic development". Federal grants ? So the citizen tax payer pays for grants to the tribes and then pays more taxes to cover the taxes the tribes do not pay. Fairness, equity, equality and equal are noticeably absent from that scenario. Jim Stoffer has it spot on with "can a community truly work together when not everyone is subject to the same rules?" The indigenous peoples who were wrongly treated and their abusers NO LONGER LIVE. Entertaining special and unique ancestry rights above all others is not compatible with equality. If USA tribes seek sovereignty, they must be treated the same as all other sovereign nations. It is the BOTH AND that is not working. Become friends and neighbors; not friends and neighbors with rights and privileges above all other occupants of this land.
I did not steal my land, I bought it, with blood, sweat, and tears (and smiles too). Now the "governments" want me to pay "rent" (tax) to stay on my property. I am paying more and more every year and receiving less and less in return. So who is stealing who's property? I, as well as the rule writers, pledge allegiance to ONE NATION. I was born in this country, the United States of America, and am thankful to enjoy the benefits and obligations that attach to that citizenship, as should all people fortunate enough to enjoy the same, equally not equitably.
Yeah, soon the property tax alone will price us out and we'll have no choice but to sell and move. When that happens, we'll own nothing and be happy, I'm told.
There are several great responses here to which I fully agree. Probably with a much better understanding than I have. So my response and/or question may seem ignorant to which I apologize. I'm not clear on how the business structure works. So she was saying, as an example, because they stepped up and opened a business when the community was in need they are now free of things like having to pay property taxes etc? If so, I'm a bit confused. When anyone opens a business here, are they not bringing to the community something of need? From the initial idea they have to find a location and then getting an immense loan to fund such business for years to come, they are still responsible for any and all taxes and expenses they go with having such business. I think that whatever so called treaty was signed centuries ago it was insanely written. I just can't understand why anyone would write some contact if such magnitude with an indefinite clause to it which means it can and will be exploited indefinitely. But it seems to be what it is and nothing can be done about it. Yes such clear and awesome posts like this can draw attention to and point out significant issues such as this along with I'm pretty sure many other issues In sure they tribes with forever exploit but the question is, is this only a means of venting the obvious? Because of such idiotic contracts, treaties or whatever being written, other than venting, is there anything they anyone can really do about it?
Wouldn't it be fantastic to have your business except from those tax burdens? Instead, more and more taxes, licenses, permits and fees are stacked on every year, cutting into the profitability of every business. The last 30 years have hollowed out the middle class, largely due to exporting manufacturing to China. The globalists and communists who call themselves Democrats have now turned their focus inward, and are currently working to bankrupt everyone who owns property or runs a business. Well, everyone except the tribes, that is. Its smooth sailing for them!
I think I understand your statement, but please consider becoming involved somehow. I don't see anything that this man can do as being lasting unless Congress passes a law. As such, becoming involved leads to local changes for balance.
Agreed, MK, involvement in some capacity is absolutely imperitive. Our Republic has been established via independents working for a common goal. Our adversaries are well-versed, organized, and "liberally"-funded to assure our acquiesence to their demands.
I saw a documentary narrated by Obama. He emphasized actually what you're referring to. Forget about Big Brother and focus on your own local and state level issues. But when you have beliefs like this that was recently a part of another post . "Constructing 45 homes would be a boom for the local economy. Electricians, street graders, surveyors, plumbers, concrete workers, and land surveyors would all get a bite of the apple — a big part of the Opportunity Fund’s criteria for selecting recipients. Habitat’s programs “create jobs, wages, tax revenue, and business activities in the communities where Habitat works" then you can attend all the local meetings you want and scream from the highest mountain and nothing will change. To many people swallow this toxic Kool aid and there's nothing that can be done. These are nothing more than temporary objectives that will have indefinite consequences and devastating effects on our community that the blind don't see and the rich don't give a damn about.
A housing program subject to racial disparity...on purpose to change the entire make up of a community without jobs for the people to work at. Just a program to sit in.
I do understand your assertion, Brad. The current scenario has happened before, with some who are weaker than others "jumping ship" when the sea gets rough, just enough to cause a serious list to port. Our Republic and all it represents, requires ongoing, preventive maintenance, and management of weights and balance to ensure our integrity and to prevent insideous cancers from eroding our foundation.
Well that's a valid viewpoint to a degree. That's exactly why after 45 years of voting for and supporting what was once the Democratic Party and has now changed to the Extreme Liberal Party, I cast my vote for him too. However, you have to remember what his primary objective is. To get as much stuff as possible down to the individual state levels so they can deal with whatever insanity issues they have without government intervention. Basically saying that We the people have to take control of the insanity within our state. The entire West Coast is cocooned in extreme liberal insanity which unfortunately in most cases, he has no control over.
Jim Stoffer is a colossal meddler from elsewhere. Not only did he protect pedos while on the Sequim School Board, he has now involved himself with education at a regional level, ESD 114. Brace yourselves.
You got my curiosity up...they started posting "grant & contract revenue" in 2012, so I don't know what it was before that. But, I looked at those reports and from 2012 through 2024 (minus 2021 which isn't posted), that revenue adds up to $129,360,220. Whether or not that includes everything, I'm not sure.
The total amount on my initial post is for grants and contracts only (I don't know if that includes BIA, I do know they get regular scheduled payments but don't know from who).
Total revenue for 2024 alone was $85,877,685. Aside from grants and contracts of $18,734,282 there are 7 more line items adding to the total:
Indirect revenue $2,731,241
Dividends $5,610,000
Terminal allocation agreements (I don't know what this is) $3,733,176
Taxes $5,041,932
Charges for Services/340B (340B lets them pay less for drugs) $47,224,427
The 574 tribes split 2.9 billion this year. That is what went to the BIA. That comes out to around 4 million per tribe. I am told they use that money to pay off politicos.
I am not knocking their medical clinic as it is well run and has a very good staff (minimal turnover compared to OMC), but we are all footing the bill for their profits there as well. Has anyone noticed there are pretty much no longer any private practice physicians in Sequim. Now we can get our care from massive big box facilities like OMC and Jamestown who all receive extra funding. OMC gets to charge more and gets facility use fees. Jamestown receive even more funding per patient through cost-based reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid for services provided as a specially designated rural health clinic (essentially getting double the payment for the same services). Someday both those extra revenue streams may dry up, then the house of cards might fall down as we all know our healthcare system is unsustainable as it continues to such on the tit of our federal deficit.
There's an advantage the Clinic has when attached to the tribe, and as such could be argued why OMC is having some of their challenges. It can't be ruled out, because it's real.
Has anyone looked at whether the tribe is getting medical reimbursement at JST clinic from BIA just for native americans or for natives AND anyone else? I worked in medical care on a native american reservation and the BIA funded the clinic/hospital. I wonder what the reimbursement/payment situation is here in Sequim.
In a conversation with my now retired doctor he informed me that the tribal clinics were always reimbursed more from Medicare and and for some medical care TWICE as much.Could some explain to me why.Thank you.
Yes I believe Tribes should be offered certain tax exemptions due to stolen land but a business that sells marijuana needs to pay Taxes as well as gas stations and casinos. I can see medical being tax exempt and property taxes as well. It high time we all pay our way!
No one stole anything. Conquered is the correct term. The same thing tribes did to each other for thousands of years, we just did so more effectively, with better technology and grit. We should never apolgoize for that. It's easy to forget because we live in a time of such great abundance, but things weren't always so easy. Our ancestors bled and died for a better future. The tribes should asymilate. We should have never allowed this "nation inside a nation" insanity in the first place.
My family history includes being burnt out of home and scalped by local Indians. I guess I'm supposed to ask for reparations from this tribe, across the country and across the centuries from the guilty tribe.
Stolen land sounds like a trigger to me. The tribes got a 1.9 billion dollar settlement in 2016 and they got millions per year given to the BIA. They are making their claims of stolen land based on the original treaty which they now have abandoned and renegotiated, hence the "we live on ancestral lands" and are "guests." Guests don't have land to have stolen. I was that way too once(Sympathetic) but it started to add up. If you can't include the truth in your assessment that land was stolen you are not being complete or fair. If anyone owes them anything its the corporations and colleges. Homeowners are a convenient target for communists. Tribes are a few letters away from of communist government. (Communal) They took the liberal bait at the NGO and now they have a broken treaty to go along with your broken relationship that "stole.'
Anyone who receives benefit from any services or products renderd, no matter the provider entity, should contiribute to the costs thereof. No one stole anything from anyone, any more than earned values are being usurped (stolen) by government of various levels.
You know, I didn't have a problem with the Tribe until they forced the MAT clinic down our throats. OK, so far, my biggest fears of it attracting hundreds of addict vagrants to the area has not materialized, but the amount they milk the federal government for each treatment is ripping off the taxpayers, in my opinion. I don't recall the details, but they milk Medicaid something like $400 for every treatment, while all the other MAT clinics in P.A. charge a small fraction of that. I may be wrong-- this is from memory, and I've mostly forgotten about it. But....
The Towne road debacle where they intentionally breeched the levee prematurely has caused me great ire against the Tribe. And, I suspect that their "wetlands restoration" was intended to flood 3 Crabs so they could acquire more land for pennies on the dollar. And, their owning Ozias through big contributions MAINLY pisses me off against Ozias, but that doesn't let the Tribe off the hook for doing so.
The main problem I have with the Tribe is that they do what's best for the Tribe even if it's the worst for the rest of us. On one hand, if they were impoverished, one could understand this. But their income is much greater than most of ours, and they have no regard for anyone but themselves. Rather than choosing actions that better the entire community, they do what's best for them, with no regard for the consequences. And yes, all these salmon projects and dam removals that they push for are not necessary if they didn't decimate the salmon by skirting the rules that apply to everyone else. We're limited to 2 salmon/day, with a hook and line, while they're unlimited and fish with nets. That's 2 fish for us and 200,000 for them. Then WE get stuck with the tax bill to restore the salmon and habitat.
So, the Tribe is not on my favorites list, to put it mildly.
Americans have a history and so does the JSK. They fought their own native peoples and so did Americans….No One Important you are so right the disparity is mind boggling especially when it comes down to fish….water, what about air?
Climate alarmism is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on humanity. Governments use it as an excuse to tax us and restrict our rights. If the Tribe is involved in any of this BS, they can go to hell!
Vicki has forgotten where she lives, who she has worked with! That she is working for a man who was incapable of managing his own household… that ended in tragedy and demise… what can you possibly expect to happen here …. The clinic can’t keep doctors or employees … where there is little to know EDUCATION… and poor PAY… paltry benifits… where the TRIBES fingers go you get half baked results! Unless it’s a maker and profit shaker… then still it gets ruined.
I don’t care if they provide a rehab center they are the drug dealer and disease maker… wave a flag look at me I did good to didn’t I ???? There are to many people that lie dead and dying waving that flag…. Your words are empty Vicky Lowe like spent can of beans… I see in my recycling bin!!!
I believe that the Watchdog only scratched the surface of the main problem with the Lowe-Stoffer line of argument. Yes, Jamestown is a government. And yes, as a government, Jamestown does good things for the people. The problem with Jamestown as government, it is free to pick and choose which good works it decides to do. State, county, tax districts and local governments have no such choice. Sidewalks, roads, sewers, infrastructure must all be provided and paid for. Under this services Aegis, Jamestown is free to cherry pick those projects which happen to have a healthy Federal subsidy. Jamestown needs to pay for that infrastructure umbrella, just like every other American corporation. Nice trip guys but your argument comes up lite.
Jamestown does good things for the people, when it benefits them somehow. Their decisions are business based which is different from a government based decision.
Lowe wants to shame you into silence. Disagree with her twisted view of reality, and it's YOU who are devisive... Well Lowe, you are transparently pandering to the Tribe with faulty reasoning.
Many good writers among this group. Thank you to all of you ! I've never lived anywhere that put a local Tribe on such a pedestal as JKT enjoys. They are a very small tribe and only about half of them live in this county. Yet, they are tax exempt in nearly every way. They and their local partners give lip service to all the good they provide but their focus is doing what brings them tax free profits and not paying property tax. The math is staggering and can't continue without real economic damage (hurt) to those who pay for all of it. There is no solution to our county fiscal issues except that everyone who lives here, owns homes here, operates a business here, has to share in the cost of county/city services. Getting grants from Indian Affairs or Dept of Commerce (federal tax payer funds) and using our county services does not exempt the tribe from paying a fair share. What they own here doesn't change any of that financial responsibility.
Is there a reason why the 5 Native American tribes can’t support each other to lift their people out of poverty?
They could build them homes, feed them, provide daycare, educate & employ them?
Or do the tribes want to collect money from their investments with help from tax payer money to reinvest in the tribal corporation & say, “We need help for our people, look how poor they are, they need help”? Is this how the tax payer money keeps rolling in for their corporate, scratch that, poverty needs?
The only 'reason' I can see is as you suggest, JKT is doing what is best for JKT having joined hands with local NGOs our County Commissioners. The way federal level grants have passed through to Native American Tribes is really adding to the poverty issues, many of which are much worse that we see here. Reservation tribes are given more than non-reservation tribes, and given with almost no oversight of how the money is spent. Usually the Chief receives the money and the Chief and his Councilmen control the money and the imbalance between how they can afford to live is significantly better then regular tribe members. It's sad and has been going on for decades and we as tax paying citizens are contributing to the poverty mess. I keep hoping DOGE will do a serious dig into this.
Answer to the last question in the article is NO. We cannot all live as equal partners when we do not all play by the same rules.
Ms. Lowe calls us "divisive" if we don't agree with HER. Not hardly. It is not right, nor fair. While I understand everything is not fair, my property taxes tell me I will not be here much longer. My taxes go up and up, while the Tribe gets more and more assets and less and less fee's. It is ridiculous for anyone to think they won an argument by calling those that do not agree with them, divisive. I'm not sure we will ever see the democrats and liberals in this state say enough is enough.
The Single Audit Act of 1984 with amendments in 1996 mandates that all non-federal entities including tribes that spend over $750,000 in federal financial assistance undergo an annual audit.
The audits are designed to ensure that federal funds are used appropriately, efficiently, and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Such tribal audits cover financial statements, compliance with laws and regulations, and the effective use of resources.
The Division of Internal Evaluation and Assessment (DIEA) within the Bureau of Indian Affairs provides guidance and oversight for audits of tribal contractors and grantees, conducting internal audits, investigations, and reviews to ensure program effectiveness and resource protection.
The public typically receives results of Single Audit Act reports, including those from the BIA's Division of Internal Evaluation and Assessment (DIEA), through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC). The FAC is the primary repository for these reports. If a specific report isn't publicly available on the FAC, the public can request a copy from the organization's Federal cognizant or oversight agency.
I have zero interest in talking politics with someone who publicly and on paper denounces the Point No Point Treaty of 1855. Councilmember Lowe has not properly tracked all the money siphoned to the tribes through traditional non-tribal sources and agencies. The BIA obviously does not provide them all the funds they get now. The U. S Department of Commerce has long funded the tribes. That will most likely stop. County tax payers paid 1 million to match that grant. They paid 5 million for the re-compete grant. No Viki Lowe will not tell the real story about how the tribe ,county and cities joined an international charter to re-negotiate a treaty without authority from Congress, to bogart our local economy. Apparently something they all feel righteous about since we are such terrible colonizers. But they always hoped they could hide everything over at SERN and NODC. That did not happen it all got out. Now they have to own up to the treaty malfeasance the last 14 years.
Which is why the tribes have remained steadfast and loyal to the elected Democrat officials. Its a profitable arrangement!
But without a treaty there is no "Boldt." Funny how there is a treaty when they need fish or a fish culvert...
Viki, Carr and Stoffer can speak into the federal court microphone, when they ask them about how colonizers are now "guests."
As Vicki Lowe stated the tribes fund their projects "through a mix of federal grants and economic development". Federal grants ? So the citizen tax payer pays for grants to the tribes and then pays more taxes to cover the taxes the tribes do not pay. Fairness, equity, equality and equal are noticeably absent from that scenario. Jim Stoffer has it spot on with "can a community truly work together when not everyone is subject to the same rules?" The indigenous peoples who were wrongly treated and their abusers NO LONGER LIVE. Entertaining special and unique ancestry rights above all others is not compatible with equality. If USA tribes seek sovereignty, they must be treated the same as all other sovereign nations. It is the BOTH AND that is not working. Become friends and neighbors; not friends and neighbors with rights and privileges above all other occupants of this land.
I did not steal my land, I bought it, with blood, sweat, and tears (and smiles too). Now the "governments" want me to pay "rent" (tax) to stay on my property. I am paying more and more every year and receiving less and less in return. So who is stealing who's property? I, as well as the rule writers, pledge allegiance to ONE NATION. I was born in this country, the United States of America, and am thankful to enjoy the benefits and obligations that attach to that citizenship, as should all people fortunate enough to enjoy the same, equally not equitably.
Yeah, soon the property tax alone will price us out and we'll have no choice but to sell and move. When that happens, we'll own nothing and be happy, I'm told.
To whom will you sell? Who will be able to afford to buy your property?
I'll tell you won't be able to afford it: working class Americans. You can deduce what individuals or corporations would be able to afford it.
That's 'their' plan.
Good thing we're not our bodies!😊
There are several great responses here to which I fully agree. Probably with a much better understanding than I have. So my response and/or question may seem ignorant to which I apologize. I'm not clear on how the business structure works. So she was saying, as an example, because they stepped up and opened a business when the community was in need they are now free of things like having to pay property taxes etc? If so, I'm a bit confused. When anyone opens a business here, are they not bringing to the community something of need? From the initial idea they have to find a location and then getting an immense loan to fund such business for years to come, they are still responsible for any and all taxes and expenses they go with having such business. I think that whatever so called treaty was signed centuries ago it was insanely written. I just can't understand why anyone would write some contact if such magnitude with an indefinite clause to it which means it can and will be exploited indefinitely. But it seems to be what it is and nothing can be done about it. Yes such clear and awesome posts like this can draw attention to and point out significant issues such as this along with I'm pretty sure many other issues In sure they tribes with forever exploit but the question is, is this only a means of venting the obvious? Because of such idiotic contracts, treaties or whatever being written, other than venting, is there anything they anyone can really do about it?
Off the top of my head because of how reasonable your post is.
Run for public office and be a sane voice of reason that represents every citizen equally and does not yield to special interests.
Wouldn't it be fantastic to have your business except from those tax burdens? Instead, more and more taxes, licenses, permits and fees are stacked on every year, cutting into the profitability of every business. The last 30 years have hollowed out the middle class, largely due to exporting manufacturing to China. The globalists and communists who call themselves Democrats have now turned their focus inward, and are currently working to bankrupt everyone who owns property or runs a business. Well, everyone except the tribes, that is. Its smooth sailing for them!
I voted for the man that I think will soon take care of this nonsense.
He is just consumed with fixing other broken pieces at the moment.
I think I understand your statement, but please consider becoming involved somehow. I don't see anything that this man can do as being lasting unless Congress passes a law. As such, becoming involved leads to local changes for balance.
Agreed, MK, involvement in some capacity is absolutely imperitive. Our Republic has been established via independents working for a common goal. Our adversaries are well-versed, organized, and "liberally"-funded to assure our acquiesence to their demands.
I apologize for my typos. I think I need to visit an optometrist. Very frustrating.
I saw a documentary narrated by Obama. He emphasized actually what you're referring to. Forget about Big Brother and focus on your own local and state level issues. But when you have beliefs like this that was recently a part of another post . "Constructing 45 homes would be a boom for the local economy. Electricians, street graders, surveyors, plumbers, concrete workers, and land surveyors would all get a bite of the apple — a big part of the Opportunity Fund’s criteria for selecting recipients. Habitat’s programs “create jobs, wages, tax revenue, and business activities in the communities where Habitat works" then you can attend all the local meetings you want and scream from the highest mountain and nothing will change. To many people swallow this toxic Kool aid and there's nothing that can be done. These are nothing more than temporary objectives that will have indefinite consequences and devastating effects on our community that the blind don't see and the rich don't give a damn about.
A housing program subject to racial disparity...on purpose to change the entire make up of a community without jobs for the people to work at. Just a program to sit in.
I do understand your assertion, Brad. The current scenario has happened before, with some who are weaker than others "jumping ship" when the sea gets rough, just enough to cause a serious list to port. Our Republic and all it represents, requires ongoing, preventive maintenance, and management of weights and balance to ensure our integrity and to prevent insideous cancers from eroding our foundation.
Well that's a valid viewpoint to a degree. That's exactly why after 45 years of voting for and supporting what was once the Democratic Party and has now changed to the Extreme Liberal Party, I cast my vote for him too. However, you have to remember what his primary objective is. To get as much stuff as possible down to the individual state levels so they can deal with whatever insanity issues they have without government intervention. Basically saying that We the people have to take control of the insanity within our state. The entire West Coast is cocooned in extreme liberal insanity which unfortunately in most cases, he has no control over.
Yes. Shut down the BIA and stop the double down. If that contribution is going to be ignored and under appreciated, time to shut the agency down.
Jim Stoffer is a colossal meddler from elsewhere. Not only did he protect pedos while on the Sequim School Board, he has now involved himself with education at a regional level, ESD 114. Brace yourselves.
Evil😱
Anyone know the total annual Federal subsidy, from all sources, to the JKT?
You got my curiosity up...they started posting "grant & contract revenue" in 2012, so I don't know what it was before that. But, I looked at those reports and from 2012 through 2024 (minus 2021 which isn't posted), that revenue adds up to $129,360,220. Whether or not that includes everything, I'm not sure.
You need to tell us to sit down before you post a number like that. My flabber just got gasted.
Sorry, I'll remember that next time :)
$216,000 per member?
Eye opening, isn't it.
There is revenue from JKT and there are BIA payouts.
The total amount on my initial post is for grants and contracts only (I don't know if that includes BIA, I do know they get regular scheduled payments but don't know from who).
Total revenue for 2024 alone was $85,877,685. Aside from grants and contracts of $18,734,282 there are 7 more line items adding to the total:
Indirect revenue $2,731,241
Dividends $5,610,000
Terminal allocation agreements (I don't know what this is) $3,733,176
Taxes $5,041,932
Charges for Services/340B (340B lets them pay less for drugs) $47,224,427
Sales $672,411
Other $2,130,217
The 574 tribes split 2.9 billion this year. That is what went to the BIA. That comes out to around 4 million per tribe. I am told they use that money to pay off politicos.
I am not knocking their medical clinic as it is well run and has a very good staff (minimal turnover compared to OMC), but we are all footing the bill for their profits there as well. Has anyone noticed there are pretty much no longer any private practice physicians in Sequim. Now we can get our care from massive big box facilities like OMC and Jamestown who all receive extra funding. OMC gets to charge more and gets facility use fees. Jamestown receive even more funding per patient through cost-based reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid for services provided as a specially designated rural health clinic (essentially getting double the payment for the same services). Someday both those extra revenue streams may dry up, then the house of cards might fall down as we all know our healthcare system is unsustainable as it continues to such on the tit of our federal deficit.
There's an advantage the Clinic has when attached to the tribe, and as such could be argued why OMC is having some of their challenges. It can't be ruled out, because it's real.
Has anyone looked at whether the tribe is getting medical reimbursement at JST clinic from BIA just for native americans or for natives AND anyone else? I worked in medical care on a native american reservation and the BIA funded the clinic/hospital. I wonder what the reimbursement/payment situation is here in Sequim.
And when a monopoly (the JKT Clinic) denies service, there is very little left to choose from.
Dying is an evermore palatable concept.
Also what 'they' have planned for many of us anyway and inevitable for all.🤪
In a conversation with my now retired doctor he informed me that the tribal clinics were always reimbursed more from Medicare and and for some medical care TWICE as much.Could some explain to me why.Thank you.
Ponzi schemes are popular because they are profitable until they collapse.💰🧐
Yes I believe Tribes should be offered certain tax exemptions due to stolen land but a business that sells marijuana needs to pay Taxes as well as gas stations and casinos. I can see medical being tax exempt and property taxes as well. It high time we all pay our way!
No one stole anything. Conquered is the correct term. The same thing tribes did to each other for thousands of years, we just did so more effectively, with better technology and grit. We should never apolgoize for that. It's easy to forget because we live in a time of such great abundance, but things weren't always so easy. Our ancestors bled and died for a better future. The tribes should asymilate. We should have never allowed this "nation inside a nation" insanity in the first place.
Ditto…..thank you
My family history includes being burnt out of home and scalped by local Indians. I guess I'm supposed to ask for reparations from this tribe, across the country and across the centuries from the guilty tribe.
Sounds like a white trashy thing to say!
Stolen land sounds like a trigger to me. The tribes got a 1.9 billion dollar settlement in 2016 and they got millions per year given to the BIA. They are making their claims of stolen land based on the original treaty which they now have abandoned and renegotiated, hence the "we live on ancestral lands" and are "guests." Guests don't have land to have stolen. I was that way too once(Sympathetic) but it started to add up. If you can't include the truth in your assessment that land was stolen you are not being complete or fair. If anyone owes them anything its the corporations and colleges. Homeowners are a convenient target for communists. Tribes are a few letters away from of communist government. (Communal) They took the liberal bait at the NGO and now they have a broken treaty to go along with your broken relationship that "stole.'
Anyone who receives benefit from any services or products renderd, no matter the provider entity, should contiribute to the costs thereof. No one stole anything from anyone, any more than earned values are being usurped (stolen) by government of various levels.
It wasn't stolen.
There were too few of them left to hold out against an overwhelming force.
They were vanquished and do not deserve 'reparations' any more than we do for our mistreatment by 'the crown'.
This is life on Earth and it ain't pretty. Never has been.
We can do everything 'right' and every few thousand years a cataclysmic event occurs that sets us back to the Stone Age. Say la vie.🥸
You know, I didn't have a problem with the Tribe until they forced the MAT clinic down our throats. OK, so far, my biggest fears of it attracting hundreds of addict vagrants to the area has not materialized, but the amount they milk the federal government for each treatment is ripping off the taxpayers, in my opinion. I don't recall the details, but they milk Medicaid something like $400 for every treatment, while all the other MAT clinics in P.A. charge a small fraction of that. I may be wrong-- this is from memory, and I've mostly forgotten about it. But....
The Towne road debacle where they intentionally breeched the levee prematurely has caused me great ire against the Tribe. And, I suspect that their "wetlands restoration" was intended to flood 3 Crabs so they could acquire more land for pennies on the dollar. And, their owning Ozias through big contributions MAINLY pisses me off against Ozias, but that doesn't let the Tribe off the hook for doing so.
The main problem I have with the Tribe is that they do what's best for the Tribe even if it's the worst for the rest of us. On one hand, if they were impoverished, one could understand this. But their income is much greater than most of ours, and they have no regard for anyone but themselves. Rather than choosing actions that better the entire community, they do what's best for them, with no regard for the consequences. And yes, all these salmon projects and dam removals that they push for are not necessary if they didn't decimate the salmon by skirting the rules that apply to everyone else. We're limited to 2 salmon/day, with a hook and line, while they're unlimited and fish with nets. That's 2 fish for us and 200,000 for them. Then WE get stuck with the tax bill to restore the salmon and habitat.
So, the Tribe is not on my favorites list, to put it mildly.
Americans have a history and so does the JSK. They fought their own native peoples and so did Americans….No One Important you are so right the disparity is mind boggling especially when it comes down to fish….water, what about air?
Climate alarmism is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on humanity. Governments use it as an excuse to tax us and restrict our rights. If the Tribe is involved in any of this BS, they can go to hell!
"Almost 90% of CCA-funded projects in Washington don’t reduce carbon emissions"
https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_5c1270c4-f91c-11ef-8f88-0b9b529e3f03.html
How you managed to write that without mentioning her massive conflict of interest is impressive.
Vicki has forgotten where she lives, who she has worked with! That she is working for a man who was incapable of managing his own household… that ended in tragedy and demise… what can you possibly expect to happen here …. The clinic can’t keep doctors or employees … where there is little to know EDUCATION… and poor PAY… paltry benifits… where the TRIBES fingers go you get half baked results! Unless it’s a maker and profit shaker… then still it gets ruined.
I don’t care if they provide a rehab center they are the drug dealer and disease maker… wave a flag look at me I did good to didn’t I ???? There are to many people that lie dead and dying waving that flag…. Your words are empty Vicky Lowe like spent can of beans… I see in my recycling bin!!!
I believe that the Watchdog only scratched the surface of the main problem with the Lowe-Stoffer line of argument. Yes, Jamestown is a government. And yes, as a government, Jamestown does good things for the people. The problem with Jamestown as government, it is free to pick and choose which good works it decides to do. State, county, tax districts and local governments have no such choice. Sidewalks, roads, sewers, infrastructure must all be provided and paid for. Under this services Aegis, Jamestown is free to cherry pick those projects which happen to have a healthy Federal subsidy. Jamestown needs to pay for that infrastructure umbrella, just like every other American corporation. Nice trip guys but your argument comes up lite.
Jamestown does good things for the people, when it benefits them somehow. Their decisions are business based which is different from a government based decision.
They are a corporation first and a government second. Corporations must pay taxes for the infrastructure upon which they build.
Lowe wants to shame you into silence. Disagree with her twisted view of reality, and it's YOU who are devisive... Well Lowe, you are transparently pandering to the Tribe with faulty reasoning.
She is the tribe.
Many good writers among this group. Thank you to all of you ! I've never lived anywhere that put a local Tribe on such a pedestal as JKT enjoys. They are a very small tribe and only about half of them live in this county. Yet, they are tax exempt in nearly every way. They and their local partners give lip service to all the good they provide but their focus is doing what brings them tax free profits and not paying property tax. The math is staggering and can't continue without real economic damage (hurt) to those who pay for all of it. There is no solution to our county fiscal issues except that everyone who lives here, owns homes here, operates a business here, has to share in the cost of county/city services. Getting grants from Indian Affairs or Dept of Commerce (federal tax payer funds) and using our county services does not exempt the tribe from paying a fair share. What they own here doesn't change any of that financial responsibility.
Is there a reason why the 5 Native American tribes can’t support each other to lift their people out of poverty?
They could build them homes, feed them, provide daycare, educate & employ them?
Or do the tribes want to collect money from their investments with help from tax payer money to reinvest in the tribal corporation & say, “We need help for our people, look how poor they are, they need help”? Is this how the tax payer money keeps rolling in for their corporate, scratch that, poverty needs?
The only 'reason' I can see is as you suggest, JKT is doing what is best for JKT having joined hands with local NGOs our County Commissioners. The way federal level grants have passed through to Native American Tribes is really adding to the poverty issues, many of which are much worse that we see here. Reservation tribes are given more than non-reservation tribes, and given with almost no oversight of how the money is spent. Usually the Chief receives the money and the Chief and his Councilmen control the money and the imbalance between how they can afford to live is significantly better then regular tribe members. It's sad and has been going on for decades and we as tax paying citizens are contributing to the poverty mess. I keep hoping DOGE will do a serious dig into this.
Answer to the last question in the article is NO. We cannot all live as equal partners when we do not all play by the same rules.
Ms. Lowe calls us "divisive" if we don't agree with HER. Not hardly. It is not right, nor fair. While I understand everything is not fair, my property taxes tell me I will not be here much longer. My taxes go up and up, while the Tribe gets more and more assets and less and less fee's. It is ridiculous for anyone to think they won an argument by calling those that do not agree with them, divisive. I'm not sure we will ever see the democrats and liberals in this state say enough is enough.
The Single Audit Act of 1984 with amendments in 1996 mandates that all non-federal entities including tribes that spend over $750,000 in federal financial assistance undergo an annual audit.
The audits are designed to ensure that federal funds are used appropriately, efficiently, and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Such tribal audits cover financial statements, compliance with laws and regulations, and the effective use of resources.
The Division of Internal Evaluation and Assessment (DIEA) within the Bureau of Indian Affairs provides guidance and oversight for audits of tribal contractors and grantees, conducting internal audits, investigations, and reviews to ensure program effectiveness and resource protection.
The public typically receives results of Single Audit Act reports, including those from the BIA's Division of Internal Evaluation and Assessment (DIEA), through the Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC). The FAC is the primary repository for these reports. If a specific report isn't publicly available on the FAC, the public can request a copy from the organization's Federal cognizant or oversight agency.