Update from the Henri Leblanc concerning the Akokisas tribe and what he and other tribal members have worked on for the past twenty years to help their tribe gain sustainability with very definite goals in mind.
The first thing was to achieve a stable tribal group, which is able to work together to get some things done. The second goal was to achieve a track record of good management and financial stability, which would allow us to go to banks, etc. and have them willing to work with us. Another part of the second goal was to achieve an investment portfolio, which would provide for tribal financial needs. A third goal is to create an Indian place in this area where we have some of the things which the Coushatta, Cherokee and others have for their tribes - some tribal benefits.
We began by buying the land on which our monthly stomp dance is held. This was done in the 1990s and we now own that free and clear. Since that time we have put in some improvements on the land so that we may have our monthly dances/meetings there. We have lighting, toilets, a covered space for dining, etc. This is where we meet and hold our meetings. We need to have a communal meeting place and regular meetings if we are to grow as a group on a sustainable basis. It can’t be done out of rented space or public community centers. We need our own space - it is an investment for the tribal group and a place where we can have regular meetings and whatever. We need a heart of our community - a tribal home. We now have this.
We paid for it by fund raising among the people. Each time we had a dance we passed the hat for contributions. We also had some special events to raise money. Over time we were able to save up and buy some land and then to save up and improve that land. We do NOT let people who are not a member of our group go there. In this area, there are many people who would like to derail our efforts. The members of our community have known each other all our lives and can trust each other. Outsiders we don’t know. We have had people sent in by politicians and others to try and lead us in the wrong direction and make problems for us so we have a very tightly closed community. We saw the mistakes Michael Amos made and we do not want that at all. It is better that they know as little as possible about what we do. The only people who are reliable in favor of us is us.
The next step on our list of goals was to acquire some financial stability and management experience. When we had paid off the land the dance ground is on then we turned to investing in small businesses in the Houston area. We now own several small businesses - businesses which make money but are low key and do not attract attention. We have an automobile repair business for example. When we bought it we changed nothing and kept the same name in operations. Only the ownership changed and we took over its management. Now it is staffed by members of the tribe and provides good jobs for some of our people who are qualified mechanics. We have other such small, quiet investments. When these businesses make a profit then it is paid to the tribe who saves and makes other investments. We now have a list of tribal investments. Money from these investments is used to pay the light bill and other expenses of operating the dance ground. Slowly we are increasing the number of small businesses which we own and tribal income.
At our monthly meetings at the dance ground we review our investments and make decisions concerning them. It is a democracy. No one person is doing it all. One of our tribal members is in banking and knows a lot about investments. He makes suggestions but it is the tribal group’s decision as to what we do.
If we are to achieve a goal of maybe a casino or shopping center as a financial source for the tribe then we must be able to have the management skills and financial ability to create that. We can’t just show up at a bank and say we are Indians and they will lend us a billion dollars to build a casino. It doesn’t work like that. However if we have a track record of good management of an assortment of businesses and we already own a lot of property then we can bargain about financing such construction.
We have also bargained with one of the tribes out west who have a successful casino to allow several of our younger members to apprentice with them and learn what they need to know to manage a casino. That tribe has a lot of money and if things work out well we may be able to arrange a loan from them if we ever get to a position where we can build. Meanwhile some of our young ones are living out there and learning about that business. If we ever get recognition and are able to build then we need to have people among us who know how to manage a casino. We also have others working in other industries which we consider potential investments. It takes time for young people to acquire the knowledge needed to manage such things. A few years out west working in a successful casino will give them information on what is to be done. We also have young people “apprenticing” in what it would take to be a property manager of something like a shopping center. We need people who know the investment industry and the real estate industry. While we wait for recognition we are building a financial portfolio and getting some of our young trained.
Another idea which has been kicked around at the dance ground is that we acquire property which we could sell and produce the capital needed to build a casino. If we had properties we could sell then we could pay the bulk of that in cash. Whatever is done - nobody gives things away for free and we will need a substantial investment of money to make such things happen.
A casino or a shopping center under Indian management and with the right tax status would provide a lot of tribal benefits for the people. We have bought land for the stomp dance ground/community center. We would need to acquire a lot more land and declare it Indian land. We have talked a lot at the dance ground about what should be our goals and how these are best accomplished. Michael Amos created a dream in people but he did not give them any work to do towards creating that dream as a reality and he did not include them in the process of making it happen. It can’t be just one guy who does it all and treats the people like they are children by promising them things but not including them in the decisions or the process.
We are trying to create a dream but also to include the people in making it a reality. Everybody work together to make it happen. Everybody’s ideas are welcome. Everybody is in on the discussion and the decision making. The more ideas on the table then the more likely we will come up with good ideas. What businesses do we buy and manage? It is good to have multiple people looking for good investment opportunities and to spread that out all over the Houston area. An auto repair shop in one area and another sort of small business in another and so on. Don’t clump it all together or be obvious or there will be trouble. Keep it quiet.
We don’t do politicians of any kind - not Republican or Democrat. Whatever political ideas individuals have that is on them. As a tribe we favor no party. Getting involved in politics is how Indians get screwed. Look at history. They have done it to us again and again. They do nothing for us but they would be glad to manipulate us, to make problems for us and to interfere in our businesses. Best to keep politicians as far away as possible. If people favor a political party then they need to do that at home and on their own time.
Do you recall Michael Amos going to hearing after hearing always with the promise that recognition would come. They were playing with him. There was no serious intent to ever do that. Always they would promise it the next time but when the next time came it just didn’t happen because they never intended to do that. Recognition will come when we have the numbers of voters who support that idea and the economic strength to get it. It will not come from the good will of some politician who thinks we are ignorant rubes and wants to play head games with us.
You may not be old enough to recall how the Voting Rights Act was passed in Washington DC in 1964. The politicians never intended to sign off on that one. They intended to play with those Black people’s heads and then deny it. It happened when they were forced into a corner and made to sign. Do you recall seeing news clips of the thousands on the mall in Washington DC demanding it? Do you recall that they wrote women’s rights into that bill as a joke trying to make fun of that bill but in the end signed off on that one too even though they never planned to do so. A politician hanging around promising you anything is just trying to screw you over. Build the tribe and acquire some economic base and then go ask. When your tribe owns a whole lot of property and is very numerous - a lot of voters both tribal members and supporters - then you may have better luck. It won’t come out of any politicians good will because they don’t have any.
Do you recall how time and again they made a fool out of Amos. He had no idea what to do at a hearing. He had no idea how to prepare for a hearing or make a case. They were just making a fool of him. You don’t go to a hearing trying to prove up a tribe and take a couple of historians. That proves nothing. You don’t go to a hearing and sit in the audience if you are the chief. You prepare a case and sit at the lawyer’s table and present your case. A case consists of showing solid tribal management - financial records, membership records, tribal council records. A hearing is a legal proceeding - not a clown show. You prove up a tribe the same way that you prove up a corporation - by showing its organizational documents and records of operations. Amos never understood that. They were just making a fool of him in letting him show up with his historians and no case at all. If these politicians were really friendly and ever intended to give him recognition they would have pointed him towards a good lawyer who was able to advise him on what is a hearing and what information he needs to present. Nobody ever did that because they were making a fool of him. Proving with historians that a tribe existed in the past has no bearing on proving up a tribe legally. I told Amos repeatedly that they were making a fool of him and not going to give recognition when he went down there with historians. A hearing is a legal proceeding.
This is another reason why the tribe needs to have strong financial resources and investment income. We need to be able to afford GOOD lawyers - Indian lawyers - when we do things like go to hearings. People who know what a hearing is and how to adequately prepare and present information at a hearing. The Choctaw have some good lawyers. So do the Cherokee. When we are ready then we need to have the financial resources to hire them. And we do need to pay them as that is a lot of work for an attorney to prepare the documentation needed to prove up our tribe at a state hearing or before the BIA. We also need to have and be able to present the documentation - tribal constitution which is actually in use, records of tribal council meetings for the last five years, tribal membership records and documentation, records of tribal finances, records of tribal events, and other documentation. If you had to prove that Exxon exists what documentation would you present - financial records, organization records, records of activities and so forth. You would not send a historian to court to say that he once saw an Exxon service station.
We limit who is able to attend our meetings because we do discuss tribal business, strategies, investments, plans for the future, etc. and only tribal members may attend these meetings and voice an opinion or vote. We don’t let politicians of any kind have access.
Same with religion. Go to church if you will but keep it at home or at church. Don’t bring that to the dance ground or try to impose it at the tribal meeting. We run things like a business. We have had “missionaries” show up at the dance ground. They mostly want to argue and create a disruption. We took a vote and decided to not allow missionaries or politicians to attend. What a tribal member believes is a private matter. If we get involved in that then we have preachers and priests trying to tell us what to do and that is not welcome. They all have a Brooklyn Bridge they would like to sell us and lead us into bankruptcy and the tribe into dissolution. If we would just fight over religion then they could see an end to the “Indian” problem.
We have an assortment of programs for the people. We have monthly pot luck suppers at the dance ground. This brings people together for fun and discussion. Everybody brings a dish and we put them all out on long tables and share. This way it doesn’t cost much to have monthly meetings. After we have potluck supper, then the kids play ball while the adults either clean up after the meal or sit and talk. Later in the evening we have dancing. Dancing usually goes on until after midnight. We don’t dress up in regalia. This is just among us and social. Coming together on a regular basis keeps us close. We also celebrate holidays at the dance ground. We will have both Thanksgiving and Christmas. At Christmas we have a big pot luck dinner and a white elephant gift exchange. Its a game we play and more funny than anything else. One year I got a big box of used men’s ties. The guy who put that into the white elephant exchange had retired from an office job. I have no use for all those ties but another woman made a quilt of them. Our gift exchange is inexpensive - nothing over $10 - and often humorous. The objective is to have inexpensive family entertainment. We will have our usual Christmas party and humorous gift exchange this year again. We will also do a Thanksgiving feast. Everybody will bring something to eat and we will put it all out on the table and share. One of the guys plans to go hunting and bring us a deer. Another member has a frozen turkey she plans to share. We will eat well if everybody puts something out there.
We have activities but no one person is paying for everything. With a pot luck supper everybody who attends brings something. A dance is free as we own the dance ground. Everything is done there by tribal members. We keep it free or cheap for everybody. None of our leaders are shouldering the burden of paying for things.
We also have a tribal arts program where we teach beading, basketry, pottery and other arts/crafts. usually that goes on in summer and is for the kids when they are out of school. Also the senior citizens participate in the arts/crafts program a lot. This is a way of preserving our artistic traditions. We are able to fund the art supplies through monetary grant so the programs are free for tribal members.