Historically, Congress granted specific privileges to Native Americans to help impoverished tribes off the welfare roles. These privileges were never intended to help wealthy tribes avoid the tax roles. We hear a lot of reference to sovereignty when it suits our local Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indian’s agenda.
Native American tribes vote in county, state, and federal elections. They have the privilege to hire lobbyists to work for them in Washington, D.C., and they are able — like all citizens — to make campaign contributions. However, this tribe is expecting special privileges that Santa Barbara County cannot afford — both financially and environmentally.
Chairman Kenneth Kahn recently stated that he is satisfied with the progress of the negotiations of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians with Santa Barbara County regarding development of the 1,400 acres called Camp 4. To the point, Kahn is pleased that the fiscal impacts of development of Camp 4 will burden all citizens of this county, and not the tribe, if this land is annexed into the reservation via the federal “fee to trust” process.