And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Wed, 02 Jun 1999 00:20:16 -0500 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Article on Potawatomi in Kansas Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" http://cjonline.com/stories/060199/kan_tags.shtml ------------------------------------------------------------------------ David Danielson cleaned off a tribal license plate at the Potawatomi Tribal headquarters last month near Mayetta. Danielson is the tribal registrar of motor vehicles and the designer of the tag. The Associated Press ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Potawatomi gamble on tribal rights License plate flap all about sovereignty, tribe says. By CARL MANNING The Associated Press MAYETTA -- For the Prairie Band Potawatomi Indians, plans to issue tribal nation license plates for their vehicles are more about sovereignty than a chance to sport a colorful tag. As some tribal council members see it, the tag flap is just another case of government disregarding their reservation in Jackson County as a sovereign nation. "We have been trying to get an agreement for three years with the state, but when we meet, we get a lot of rhetoric and no action," said Mamie Rupniki, chairwoman of the seven-member tribal council. "Our tags are as legal as anybody else's," Rupniki said. "This is one more function in our sovereign status. The state doesn't want to recognize our sovereignty." Rupniki said the 121-square-mile reservation is exempt from state control under the federal act making Kansas a state in 1861 -- plus volumes of federal laws, court decisions and treaties over the years. The Potawatomi has called Kansas home since the 1830s, after being forced to leave its homelands in the Great Lakes area. In area and population, the Potawatomi is the largest of the four tribes with reservations in Kansas. The others are the Sac and Fox, Kickapoo and Iowa tribes. Rupniki said Indians have learned firsthand over the years that what government says and what government does aren't always the same. "The government has made treaties with other countries," she said, "but the ones with the tribes are the only ones they have changed." Rupniki said the tribe isn't trying to cause trouble. "We are just trying to get along, trying to work with the state and county," she said. "Historically, the tribe has been friendly. Guess that is why we are on reservations." Rupniki said the tribe's computer system for motor vehicle registrations will be in service this year. "It is going forward regardless," she said. "Once we get established, others will follow." The Department of Revenue is in charge of issuing Kansas plates and carrying out state tax policy. Spokeswoman Angela Goering said the agency has tried to work with the tribe. "At this time, we aren't allowed by state law to recognize their tags," Goering said. "We haven't been given direction by anybody to recognize those tags. Otherwise, we would do it." The Potawatomi -- whose name means "people of the place of the fire" -- feels it has pushed the tag issue as best it can in the hopes of getting a test case in court. Recently, a tribal member has driven state highways in a car with the tribal tag. It has black numbers on yellow background, and on the left side is the tribe's logo, a multicolored shield. At the top is "Prairie Band" and the at the bottom is "Potawatomi" in black. Even with a stop at the Jackson County sheriff's office, the driver couldn't get someone to write a ticket for displaying the tribal tag. "We were trying to get a ticket, but they have refused to give us a ticket. We want a test case," said David Danielson, the tribe's motor vehicle registrar, who designed the tag. Danielson said the plates cost $25 a year and are available only to tribal members living on the reservation and keeping their vehicles there. He said the tribe has 2,000 plates stored in boxes in his office. Potawatomi plates are legal in Minnesota, he said, which should make them legal in Kansas. The state Supreme Court ruled this year that tribal tags recognized by other states can be recognized by Kansas. Even so, he added, "We can't issue them for fear of getting in trouble." Tribal attorney David Prager III agreed, saying, "As a practical matter, you could end up with a lot of people arrested and in trouble." Prager said the Potawatomi may go to court to resolve the matter. He said the first principle of Indian law is that tribes are independent entities with sovereign powers of self-government. "We have tried to work out an agreement, but they refuse to do anything to move in the tribe's direction," Prager said. "We are going to have to go (to court) each time, until they realize what state laws are preempted by the federal government." Tribal tags isn't the only Indian sovereignty issue, nor the Potawatomi the only tribe involved. The Potawatomi filed a federal lawsuit to keep the state from collecting motor fuels tax from a filling station the tribe plans to operate on its land. The tribe imposes a tax on fuel to pay for road and bridge maintenance on the reservation. "Indian nations have a fundamental right to tax and receive revenue," Prager said. "The problem is when state taxes interfere with that fundamental right in the form of double taxation." But revenue spokeswoman Goering said, "This is not something that any decision has been made about yet. If we would be taxing the fuel, it would be on the distributors, not the tribe." Last year, the Sac and Fox, Kickapoo and Iowa got a federal court order to prevent the state from collecting the fuels tax from the distributor on fuel they planned to sell. The state's appeal of that order is pending. Also, the Kickapoo last month got a temporary order from a federal judge barring Brown County officials from going on their reservation to serve civil court papers or to repossess vehicles. "It's time for them to respect tribal sovereignty," Prager said, "and not try to erode away every tribal power." Key dates in history of Prairie Band Potawatomi Indian tribe: 1400s: First migration to Michigan's lower peninsula. According to tribal tradition, the Potawatomi, Odawas and Ojibwas were a single tribe. 1634: First known contact by Potawatomi with white people. 1776: Potawatomi at first stayed neutral in Revolutionary War but later allied with British in a losing battle. 1830: Indian Removal Act becomes government policy, depriving Potawatomi of additional land through the treaty. 1833: Potawatomi relinquish homeland in Great Lakes area; tribe splinters with some moving west, others going to Canada and some finding refuge in nearby forests. 1837: Potawatomi divide into two groups; one in Council Bluffs, Iowa, area; the other in Linn County, Kan. 1846: Treaty reunites two Potawatomi groups; one on the Kansas River and the other in present day Jackson County. 1854: Kansas-Nebraska Act opened tribal land to settlers. 1861: Kansas Territory Enabling Act passed, creating state and stipulating no state jurisdiction over Indians. 1861: New treaty initiated; tribe in Linn County became U.S. citizens; other group, Prairie Band Potawatomi, retained common land and followed traditional ways. 1867: Treaty of 1861 revised; two new tribes formed; Prairie Band kept 77,358 acres in Jackson County. 1887: Dawes Act passed, forcing Indians to surrender additional land; government started assimilating Indians into white culture. 1924: Enactment of Indian Citizenship Act, granting voting rights and U.S. citizenship to all Indians. 1988: National Indian Gaming Act passed. 1995: Legislature approves tribal-state compact allowing the four tribes in Kansas to operate casinos. 1998: Potawatomi opens permanent casino. Source: The Prairie Band Potawatomi, "Chapters in Time." Copyright 1999 The Topeka Capital-Journal Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&