Should Indian Country reconsider Gorton?

FROM THE ARCHIVE

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JULY 25, 2000

An guest column published today in The Seattle Times by Tom Keefe, who lives on the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho with his wife, a tribal member, says that Indian Country needs to reconsider its views of Senator Slade Gorton (R-Wash).

Keefe says his meetings with Senator Slade Gorton (R-Wash) have shown that the senator is committed and compassionate to tribes. Instead of focusing limited resources on fighting Gorton's re-election campaign, he wants tribal leaders to take a "close look" at Gorton's record.

Keefe cites several examples, including Gorton finding federal funding to rebuild a school on the reservation destroyed by a flood in 1996. He also cites Gorton's recent commitment to education in the recent appropriations for the Department of Interior.

He also said Gorton supported Title V Indian Health Care funding for urban Indians when others wanted to cut it. He said Gorton recognized that health care as required by treaties and other federal obligations does not stop at the reservation boundary.

In a recent column, Mark Trahant of The Seattle Times said Gorton supports sovereignty, except under certain conditions.

"In his view of the world, a tribe is little more than a private country club for its members," writes Trahant. "According to him, tribes should have authority only over their own people and the land they still own, and should be subject to state oversight on fishing, hunting or gambling."

Gorton recently responded to a Washington State Republican Party resolution which called for the termination of "non-republican" tribal governments. He said the resolution wouldn't ever result in any legislation introduced or passed by Congress.

Get Keefe's Column:
Tom Keefe: Slade Gorton: a different view (The Seattle Times 7/25)