District 5: Tribal Politics in The Seattle City Council Race
Debora Juarez. Candidate in District 5. Was interveiwed by Erica Barbett on “C is for Crank.” Sandy Brown, the other caadidate, has criticized Juarez for taking contributions frim tribal groups. She responds: “There are no borders when it comes to Indian country and how this area was established. (The tribes) have sovereignty. When you question [the large amount of money coming in to the Juarez campaign from tribal areas outside Seattle], you’re basically saying that the tribes are outsiders and their money is somehow from outsiders. These are tribes. This is their land. And if people want to label them as outsiders or say it’s money from outside city limits, that it’s ‘outside money,’ I’ll bite. Yes, the tribes want to do business with the city of Seattle. But the tribes have been in this area long before the city sf Seattle and this is their land.“
Candidate Juarez sounds like Sawant. The Brahmin lady form India claims to be a person of color and justifies taking 100s of thousands of dollars, much of it non reportable, from her “Socialist Party” supporters in NY and London or the SEIU because they are “not corporate.”
Justifying money from any group outside her District and even outside Seattle is a bit of a reach. Aside fmr the obvious fact that District5mhas no tangible number of any indigneous people, the only tribe with a lot to do within Seattle is actually now a very effective and profitable corporation. The Muckleshoots have an outsize impact because their treaty rights give them not only the Casino but control over much of our shoreline. In effect they levy a tax on all commercial and recreational use of the waterfront.
Their success does not make the Muckleshoots bad, but their monopoly is NOT reflective of the original peoples. Seattle’s own tribe is now on the Olympic Peninsula (as is his his grave) an, as far as I know the Suquamish people get no income from Seattle .. they do not even have a voice in how his name is used.
The Duwamish are an even more compelling story. They have never been able to get recognized as a tribe even though their tribe includes Seattle’s direct descendants.
Tags: City Elections, politics, Sawantism
Posted 05 Oct 2015 by theaveeditor
in America, The Ave Scene