Tribes create jobs and taxes

Washington's 29 tribal governments are creating new economic opportunities on Indian reservations and in nearby communities, and are generating tens of millions of dollars in local and state taxes, according to a leading national economist who has just completed a major, two-year-long profile of the state's Indian economy.

Tribal governments "are building, buying, selling, hiring and investing like never before," reports Jonathan Taylor, an independent economic consultant based in Cambridge, Mass.

Tribes employ thousands of Washingtonians -- mostly non-Indian -- in casinos, non-gaming enterprises and governments, according to Taylor. They buy millions of dollars worth of goods and services from hundreds of private businesses in communities near them and around the state. Those purchases and wages -- in turn -- produce millions of dollars in new business for local companies, and taxes for state and local governments.

About 90 cents of every dollar of payroll and purchasing is spent at private businesses off the reservations, supporting non-Indian jobs and producing taxes for local and state governments in Washington.

The total value-added, multiplier effect of tribal government and enterprise spending within Washington exceeds about $2.2 billion a year. Taylor calculates that sum yields an estimated $141 million in state and local taxes in Washington.

Because tribal enterprises, including casinos, are operated by tribal governments all net income remains with those governments, instead of going to private investors, and is re-invested on the reservation and in nearby communities. Tribal governments use the money to pay for critical services such as health care, education, housing, public safety, environmental protection and economic development.

Tribal government investment is increasing dramatically as income increases from gaming operations and other tribal enterprises.

For example, the Kalispel Tribe increased spending on natural resource management to $3.5 million by 2004 and now invests more than $1 million a year in education.

The members of my tribe, the Jamestown S'Klallam, also are making investments in our community:

When the health care clinic in Sequim faced closure, our tribe stepped in with a plan to take over ownership and keep it open. In 2004, the clinic served more than 6,000 patients, most of them non-tribal members.

We joined together with local, state and federal government agencies -- and local property owners -- to invest more than $6 million in a plan to restore Jimmycomelately Creek, once an important spawning stream for endangered chum salmon.

Bigger tribes are making even larger investments. The Tulalip Tribe's Quil Ceda Village -- a major regional shopping center -- supports more than 2,500 jobs, most of them held by non-Indians. It generates $26 million a year in taxes for local and state governments. A $75 million hotel is under construction. This year, the Tulalip Tribe gave $2.3 million to local charities and law enforcement groups.

Washington's tribes have come a long way, and we are proud of our progress and of our contribution to Washington's economy and tax base. But we still have a long way to go. Personal income earned by Indians still remains less than 60 percent of the all-races average in Washington, and the income of Indians living on reservations is even lower -- less than half the average.

For generations, there were few opportunities for employment on reservations. Because reservation land is held by the federal government in trust for tribes, it was difficult or impossible to attract private investment for economic development. Tribal government gaming is the first economic development tool that has been successful on Indian reservations across Washington and revenue from it is being to finance other investments.

Revenue from tribal government enterprises are being re-invested locally -- providing new business for private companies, generating new tax revenue for local and state government, and helping to create more vibrant communities, especially in rural areas of the state where it is needed the most.

W. Ron Allen is chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and president of the Washington Indian Gaming Association.

Soundoff (Read 10 comments)
Tell us what's on your mind.

Add P-I Opinion headlines to