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MARCH 26, 2001

In a March 25 front page article, The Boston Globe reports that the Bureau of Indian Affairs "quietly reversed" its own staff recommendations and extended federal recognition to three tribes in the final days of the Clinton administration.

But the decisions to recognize the Nipmuc Nation of Massachusetts, the Chinook Nation of Washington, and the Duwamish Tribe of Washington were hardly as stealth-like as even Globe reporter Sean Murphy would like to admit. To a reader unfamiliar with the tribe's bids to gain recognition, Murphy's article might be a revelation. To anyone else with knowledge of decisions which have been pending at the BIA for years, however, the article is quite a stretch.

Murphy himself covered the pending decisions of two Nipmuc bands for The Globe. As early as December 2000, soon after he authored a number of articles in the paper's series on Indian gaming -- a series criticized by tribal leaders -- Murphy began covering the Nipmuc tribe.

In January, he did report that only one band of the fractionated tribe were extended preliminary recognition. Yet he never reported both were on the BIA's active list -- and thus ready for a decision -- for several years, having filed jointly for recognition in 1981.

In yesterday's article, Murphy again left out other key facts which might lead readers to conclude the decisions weren't as rushed as he would paint them. He doesn't report that the Nipmuc decision was actually completed in late November and it was held back for internal review within the Department of Interior for nearly two months before being made public on January 19, the last full day of the Clinton administration.

Murphy's accounting of the Chinook decision also suffers from selective reporting. After receiving a negative final determination in 1997 by then Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada Deer, the tribe appealed to have their case re-opened and an amended decision had been pending on their case since 1998. Murphy leaves this out of his article.

Murphy also doesn't report that former Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover invited tribal leaders and tribal members to Washington, DC, well in advance of issuing the decision on January 3, his last day in office. The BIA released photos and a press report on the event, which was open to the public.

But anyone with a web browser can find this history -- including the negative determination -- on the BIA's Internet site. A simple check with The Federal Register, which Murphy himself references in the article, would have also provided a broader picture of the Chinook case.

Instead, what Murphy writes about the Chinook's nearly 7 decade struggle to gain recognition is summarized in a single sentence: "In fact, the Globe has learned, on Jan. 3, Gover's last day in office, he rejected findings by government researchers that the Chinook tribe of Washington state did not qualify for recognition."

Regarding the Duwamish, Murphy omits that the BIA was in the process of completing a new finding on the tribe after Deer issued a negative final determination in 1996, which the tribe subsequently appealed. All petitioning groups have the right to appeal any decisions made by the BIA, either to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals or the District Court for the District of Columbia.

The article goes on to report that tribes affected by last minute decisions of the BIA contributed "heavily" to the campaign to elect Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). However, in light of $29 million the former First Lady spent on her own campaign, Murphy's example of a $1,000 donation made by Paucatuck Eastern Pequot Chief James Cunha to Clinton can hardly be considered heavy.

And since $1,000 is the legalized "hard-money" limit an individual can contribute to a candidate per campaign, Cunha's contribution is one which even campaign finance reform strongholds like Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Paul Wellstone (R-Minn.), both members of the Indian Affairs Committee and tribal advocates, would not point out as extraordinary or worthy of scrutiny.

With regards to the Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe, Murphy says former Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Anderson took the "unprecedented" step of re-opening the state-recognized tribe's case after the tribe was denied turned down for federal recognition.

Had Murphy presented a different account of the Duwamish and Chinook histories or provided additional reporting on the pending appeals of the Shohomish Tribe of Washington or the United Houma Nation of Louisiana -- all of whom were denied recognition but have a legal right to challenge the decisions -- its unclear how readers might accept any of his assessments.

Get the Globe Article:
Indians given a parting boost (The Boston Globe 3/25)

Related Stories:
Chinook Nation eager to tell story (The Talking Circle 3/2)
Duwamish Tribe receives recognition (Tribal Law 01/22)
Nipmuc Nation granted recognition (Tribal Law 01/22)
Gover reverses Chinook decision (Tribal Law 1/4)