Lenape Indians ask Pennsylvania for recognition

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From the Philadelphia Enquirer, Posted on Sun, Feb. 23, 2003

  American Indians look for recognition from Pennsylvania. Some say legal
standing would lead to gaming, but tribes cite other goals.

  By Carrie Budoff Inquirer Staff Writer

  Robert Red Hawk Ruth knows who he is, offering as proof the events in
his life that have defined him:  Manning his first fur trap line, a rite
of passage for young American Indian men. Harvest ceremonies with long
tables of corn on the cob, corn bread, cornmeal. Attending tribal council
meetings, even as a young child.  Ruth, 50, says he was born and raised a
Lenape. So, he asks, how can the state government deny formal recognition
of his Lenape heritage?  For years, the Lenape Nation of Southeastern
Pennsylvania and other American Indian groups have pushed for state
certification, which would give tribes access to scholarships, government
benefits, even a renewed sense of pride.

  Their efforts consistently fail in Harrisburg, primarily because
official state recognition could put a tribe on the path toward
establishing a casino. Ruth, however, says his group is not interested in
gambling, only recognition. Several other groups seeking recognition also
oppose gambling.  American Indians are looking to the new administration
in Harrisburg as a fresh beginning for their cause. Through his spokesman,
Gov. Rendell said he would consider supporting recognition if the bill
prohibited casino gambling.  But with Rendell angling to legalize slot
machines at racetracks, suspicions that American Indians want recognition
as a way to also cash in could stall their efforts again.

  The man who stands firmly in their way is State Rep. Paul I. Clymer,(R.,
Bucks), chairman of the committee that handles recognition issues. Lenape
assurances aside, he fears it is a scheme to parlay state recognition into
federal recognition, which tribes need to open casinos.  "I just have very
uncomfortable feelings that it will be abused," said Clymer, a gambling
foe.  In Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other states, lawmakers are
tiptoeing through a minefield of political, economic and social questions
as they consider tribal recognition.

  "It is the continuation of a long story," said Ruth, chief of the Lenape
Nation's 1,000 members. "We are still continuing a struggle."  Ruth did
not buy into the whole recognition argument - at first.  Advertising his
Indian background went against everything his parents and grandparents
taught him growing up in Blue Bell.  "Don't tell people who you are - for
protection," they implored.  Not only that, Ruth cringed at the idea of
asking the government to validate who he was.

  "The state knows who we are," Ruth said. "Over the years, how many times
have our people had to go to Harrisburg for a plaque dedication or a
ceremony?"  Ruth soon resigned himself to recognition after opposing it
when the tribal council decided about five years ago to pursue it.  "That
is the criteria, I guess, in this day and age for being a Native
American," said Ruth, who co-owns a metal recycling company.  The
government deals with American Indians differently than other groups
because they operated as independent entities when Europeans arrived
centuries ago. That created a history of dealing with tribes as separate
governments, but those relationships hinge on formal recognition, said
Melissa Tatum, codirector of the Native American Law Center at the
University of Tulsa College of Law.

  Pennsylvania is one of 13 states without any recognized tribes, and one
of about a dozen without a commission or office dedicated to American
Indian issues, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The fight for recognition is just as much about the intangible: A simple
acknowledgment that the Lenape marked Pennsylvania far earlier than
William Penn laid claim to it.  "We are asking the governor to recognize
his indigenous people who are the first citizens," said Wayne Standingwolf
Posten, secretary/treasurer of the Lenape Nation and deputy sheriff in
Bucks County. "Pay attention, pay attention to us."  The incentive,
however, does go beyond that.

  Certified tribes could compete for federal housing, education and job
training assistance. In North Carolina, smaller state-recognized tribes
qualify for between $200,000 and $500,000 in government benefits, while
the largest tribe of about 50,000 members collects into the millions, said
Gregory Richardson, executive director of the state's Indian commission.
Recognition could give tribes access to scholarships and allow them to
sell arts and crafts with the "Indian made" label, boosting their value.

  Even one of the Lenape's longtime ambitions - a cultural center to
preserve and teach its heritage - could be within reach, members say.
The gatekeeper is Clymer, a plain-spoken conservative who seems to earn
praise even from the people he has frustrated with his principled stances.
Over the years, he has evolved into a one-man obstacle to tribal
recognition in Pennsylvania as the issue became so intricately enmeshed
nationwide with gambling.

  Clymer chairs the House state government committee, and decides whether
a bill is held captive or pushed to the House floor for a vote. For about
a decade, Clymer always chose the former - more than happy to call
hearings, but never willing to go beyond that.  Any potential benefits to
American Indians are a "secondary"  consideration to the casino threat,
Clymer said.  Clymer references reports of non-Indian investors helping
tribes win federal recognition and build casinos, only to have the
investors walk away with most of the cash and the tribes remain largely
destitute.

  Posten said his group has rebuffed investors in the past.  To assuage
Clymer's fears, the Lenape proposed a compact stating they would never
gamble. Clymer's staff is researching whether it would be binding.  Even
so, Clymer asked, what about other groups? There are more than 18,000
American Indians living in Pennsylvania, according to the 2000 census. His
mind is fresh with examples of Indians whose antigambling rhetoric
disappeared when a casino opportunity came along.

  "If you have people that come knocking on your doors - multimillionaires
who are going to offer you amazing profits - that changes the whole
situation dramatically," Clymer said.  Any state-recognized tribe would
still need federal certification, a process that can stretch on for years
and cost millions of dollars. Recognition at the state level is not among
the seven criteria the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs considers when
deciding what tribes should be federally certified, said Nedra Darling, an
agency spokeswoman. But some believe state recognition would influence the
federal process.  The Lenape moved for federal recognition in 2000, filing
a letter of intent with the agency.

  Clymer's aversion to gambling dates to the early 1980s, when a
Democratic colleague enlisted him to fight a proposal to legalize slot
machines for Pocono resorts. What he concluded after reading mounds of
reports and absorbing hours of testimony was this: Gambling tears up
families, drives people broke, encourages crime, and the state should have
no role in promoting any of it.  "Those social disasters are far greater
than what the benefits would be to the few Native Americans," Clymer said.


  Caught in the crosshairs of the nationwide backlash to Indian gaming is
tribal recognition.  Proponents of recognition see it as an empowerment
tool and disavow the resistance they say hints of discrimination. The
opponents say they must protect the public interest against groups that
may not even be true tribes.  "We have this history with the Lenape, and
that should impel us to at least consider their claims if we consider
ourselves a state that embraces diversity," said Paul C. Rosier, a history
professor at Villanova University who specializes in Indian issues.

  In New Jersey, state officials determined last year that the recognition
its three tribes enjoyed for more than 20 years was just an informal
courtesy. The designation carries no legal weight, said Michael Kinney, a
spokesman for the New Jersey department of state. Tribes in New Jersey
have begun fighting for a more formal recognition.  Members of the Lenape
Nation say they can prove their existence as a continuous group for more
than two centuries.  "Members of our tribe have documentation," Posten
said.  Others are doubtful. Robert Venables, a senior lecturer in Cornell
University's American Indian program, said any group that began
  its push for recognition in recent years should raise suspicions.

  "The name of the game is gambling and people are coming out of the
woodwork who were never Indians before," Venables said.  Suspicions are
heightened now that Pennsylvania, faced with a deficit, wants to expand
gambling to pad state coffers. Indian gaming is surfacing in those
discussions, even though Rendell opposes increased gambling beyond
race-track slots.  Lobbyist Stephen Wojdak said he is representing
developers with ties to American Indians. But Wojdak, who would not name
the Indian group, said he was unaware of the state recognition bills and
did not know whether they needed federal recognition.  Rep. Louise
Williams Bishop, (D., Phila.), introduced a bill last month that would set
up a commission to recognize American Indians. Rep. Dante Santoni, Jr.
(D., Berks), said he also plans to propose a bill.

  Clymer said he would schedule a public hearing.  No matter the outcome
in Harrisburg this year, the Lenape promise to return again.  "Unless we
get some help soon," Ruth said, "so much of the knowledge, the history,
the culture of our people is passing away."

  Contact staff writer Carrie Budoff at 610-313-8211 or
cbudoff at phillynews.com.