To first give you some idea of how these ideas and conclusions developed, I’ll provide you with two letters that appeared in an area newspaper, the Bighorn County News. This is a weekly rural newspaper that serves the Crow Reservation area. First, a letter I wrote that was printed in the July 29, 1992 edition of that newspaper:
To the News:
Recent newspaper stories describe financial problems found by U.S. Inspector General audits regarding slipshod accounting practices and misuse of travel funds under the control of financial manager Bill Benjamin and area director Richard Whitesell. This revelation is simply one more item in BIA’s history of repeated fraud against both U.S. taxpayers and the Indian citizens they supposedly serve in a position of trust.This story begins in 1849, the year BIA took over its role from the U.S. Army, and since then BIA has continued as an exploiter of Indians, doing the bidding of corrupt federal politicians. As compensation for dirty tricks it keeps a bit of the loot for BIA supervisors, with the implied consent of the politicians.
I know this from intimate personal experience. As the first CPA ever employed by BIA in Billings , my audit reports described millions of dollars in cash belonging to tribes and individual Indians [that are simply missing], and similar mischief in irrigation projects. There was fraud or missing money in each operation I was assigned to audit. Bill Benjamin used intimidation to get me to change my audit and “soften” the facts, but I refused to do so and with Whitesell’s approval, I was fired for “insubordination” in 1986.
I spent the next six years on whistleblower appeals through the specified government agencies, which was fruitless, and continued on (without legal help) up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court. All of the agencies and courts sidestepped the Constitution (free speech, etc.,) by refusing to hear the case against the BIA. To do so would attack the political patronage system.
Subsequent investigations and audits fully agreed with the facts reported in my audits, but being correct was not good enough. Although I have written thousands of letters, and the facts have been investigated repeatedly by the Inspector General, a Senate Special Investigative Committee, outside CPAs and the like, the American people just don’t care enough about government corruption or the abuse heaped on Indians to insist on a just solution.
While the taxpayers allow government corruption, BIA will continue to fleece Indians until the last one has nothing left worth stealing. If you gag at this, or object to the lack of free speech for a federal auditor, then write to Senator Daniel Inouye (Select Committee on Indian Affairs), Washington, DC 20510-6450. He personally investigated my case, and calls it an injustice.
ack-ko-shish (Whistler)
David L. Henry, CPA
Billings
Next, a response from another reader that appeared in that same newspaper on August 12, 1992 :
To the News:
I particularly liked Mr. David L. Henry’s letter to the News. The letter shows to what lengths the BIA and other agencies, as well as the courts, will go to cover up their unlawful, unconstitutional activities.Me thinks that Mr. Real Bird was caught up in this web of intrigue as well. And to add insult to injury, the BIA and courts kept Mr. Moran (former superintendent) hidden, supposedly, in Nevada so that he could not be made to testify to the efficacy of what Mr. Real Bird said. The result, of course, was a foregone conclusion; do not pass go, go directly to jail. Mr. Henry is lucky in one respect, and that is that they did not dream up some charge against him, and give him a railroad job too.
In my opinion, the government and its agencies have become so corrupt in most cases, that the situation will soon reach the point of being totally intolerable. (some unrelated comments omitted).
G.L. Clark, Roundup, Montana
It was in early December, 1985 when I rolled into Billings , Montana . Billings is an attractive place, located in the Yellowstone River valley and bordered on the North by stone cliffs that lead to higher elevations. The local people call these cliffs the “rims” or “rimrock.” The city and suburbs are home to about 100,000 people, not really a big-city, but with most of the conveniences you would expect in a larger place. It’s the largest town for hundreds of miles, and serves as the shopping and cultural center for South Central Montana, Northern Wyoming and the Western Dakotas .
After a short stay at a motel in Billings , I found a two bedroom apartment through landlord Dave Selby, who occupied the remainder of the house.
I had a few days before reporting to work, and the time was used to buy some clothing to replace what had been stolen, and to make a quick trip back to Kalispell. I had left my small Scotty camping trailer there when I headed for California , and now had a few days in which to retrieve it.
After the warm climate in California , I was reminded that Montana can be a challenge in the winter. Driving back to Billings from Kalispell, with the Scotty trailer in tow, I hit some “black ice,” as they call it here, and found myself sliding backwards down the highway with the trailer in the lead. When things stopped spinning, the trailer had turned onto it’s side, and the Jeep was stuck in a snow bank, but fortunately right side up. A wrecker came along, and with some help I was back in Billings on the Saturday before reporting to work at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The name “Bureau of Indian Affairs,” or BIA, doesn’t mean much to most people. Those in the Western states have heard the name, but still this is an organization that keeps a very low profile, and for a very practical reason. The work that this Bureau does is nothing to brag about. The Bureau has a very important role in this story, and in the lives of Indians, so you’ll need to know what it is and what it does. You’ll begin to hear some negative things about BIA, because my knowledge is colored by later experience.
I would uncover the largest fraud in Montana in this century, and one of the largest in the history of the United States . It is a fraud that has been kept concealed, and the concealment has allowed it to grow like a colony of termites hidden inside a wall. Like many frauds it is aimed at those with few defenses, in this case at American Indians. The fraud is so large that it spills over to touch the pocket of every taxpayer, including yours and mine.
When I started to work, I was not aware of all that, and I just took for granted that the Bureau of Indian Affairs operated in a way that was supportive of Indians. I was terribly sorry to gradually find out that my assumption was completely wrong.
People like to see the world through rose colored glasses, because reality can be tough to face each day. The fictions that BIA covers itself with have grown to the point of institutional madness. BIA tries to show a healthy face to the world, but the flesh under it’s skin is rotten. BIA is skilled at creating a facade, and the people who make a living by exploiting Indians also cover their deeds with nice words.
They, not Indians, are the beneficiaries of BIA, and this will be obvious before we are done. The word “they” does not represent some vague conspiracy and I’ll describe who these people are as we go along.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is part of the U. S. Department of Interior. The head of BIA is an Assistant Secretary (for Indian Affairs), directly under the Secretary. Both are political appointees, replaced when a new president is elected.
Just below the Assistant Secretary is BIA’s chief career employee, the Director of Operations, who during this period was William Ragsdale.
If this was the Navy, Ragsdale’s job title would be “Chief of Naval Operations,” and it would be filled by a four-star Admiral.
BIA’s career employees either go along with political influence, or else get another job. This is a pyramid shaped hierarchy, military style, which insists on political loyalty. BIA employees devote a lot of time and energy to basic survival in this atmosphere, trying to look good instead of trying to be good. A hierarchy is great for commanding armies, but not the most efficient way to deliver social services, which is a major part of the Bureau’s assignment.
In the past the Assistant Secretary was called a Commissioner, and BIA was (and sometimes is still called) the Indian Service or Indian Bureau. The Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs during my time of employment at BIA was Ross Swimmer.
Swimmer was feared and distrusted by many Indians, although he was a Cherokee. The fact that large numbers of Indians called for Swimmer’s removal from office had no effect on BIA. Turncoats are much in demand, every society has them, and BIA is a place where Indian turncoats control all of the higher jobs in supervision and administration. You’ll see lots of examples of this as the story unfolds.
It is a mistake to think that since roughly 80% of BIA’s personnel are of Indian ancestry, it is a “pro” Indian organization. If you have read about the Jewish holocaust, you know that some of the most brutal treatment came from the “Capos,” or petty officials. They were not Nazis, but were Jewish prisoners who would torment their fellow prisoners for a reduction in the torment and starvation that they in turn were subjected to. The psychology is no different here; Indians are suppressed by BIA Indian employees as well as by non-Indians. BIA employees become organization people, and most do what is required by the organization.
It is nothing new for oppressed people to turn on their own; history is full of such activity. It is a common human failing, not something that just Indians do. Not all BIA employees are turncoats, but it’s difficult to move very far up in BIA without selling out. Indians call these sell-out people “apples,” red on the outside but white just under the skin. Norway had one named Quisling, and it’s a synonym for traitor.
Turncoats, sell-out, apple, Capo or traitor, they are all names that describe a universal human weakness and failing. In human social and political development, in particular in war, it has always been necessary to select leaders, and then to require the followers to be loyal to those leaders, and to who ever wields power. Serfs doffed their hats to the squire and the “gentry,” and all bowed to the prince. To this day the military enforces a caste system, where officers are “gentlemen” and their wives are “ladies,” while the ranks are referred to as enlisted men and their wives.
Our present Indian reservations are not in the same league with concentration camps, but the principal is no different. BIA’s Indian employees do what they are told, or else, like me, they are out of work. BIA serves as a colonial office to exploit Indian land. When Indians object, BIA looks for ways to make them shut up or to punish them. At many reservations, you either work for BIA or suffer extreme poverty. Indians have learned to live with this, and are forgiving of their own people in BIA who often oppress them. At least they bring home a paycheck, and some find work at BIA that does not do any direct damage to Indians.
The fact that many BIA employees are Indian does not make BIA worthy of Indian trust. BIA is a “white man’s” institution. Indians speak of their relationship with BIA as a “love - hate relationship.” They enjoy being special Americans with their own federal agency, but at the same time resent what they see as heavy-handed and irresponsible treatment by BIA, which is a gentle way to describe theft and abuse.
Many Indian people and BIA employees (in private conversation) would tell you that BIA continues the former Army role of suppression, intimidation, and exploitation of Indians and of Indian lands. From my own experience in working for BIA, and subsequent developments and investigations, I agree with them. By the time you get to the end of this book, I believe you will fully understand and accept the negative remarks that I am making here - they will be supported further on in this book.
It’s interesting to take a historical look at the federal administration of Indian affairs and of Indian lands. The history books, records of congressional hearings, BIA’s own records, and my many conversations with well informed Indians, all lead me to this conclusion:
The record of federal administration of Indian affairs and Indian lands is one of repeated fraud, corruption and exploitation, with the direct or implied involvement of federal politicians.
Many Indian people say that those who gain from this exploitation are white land owners and operators, including mineral and timber interests, and the federal politicians who give favors (at Indian and taxpayer expense) as a matter of political patronage, and you will find much supporting evidence in this book. I will try to avoid the trap of saying it’s all a giant conspiracy, because it is more than that. The actual thrust of BIA’s actions are generally local in nature, involving the wishes of the local organized white landowners and those who lease or extract minerals from specific reservation lands. The larger conspiracy, although I’d like to avoid that word, is simply the mind-set or general pattern that exists in politics driven by money. Politicians will do what is wanted by those with the means to buy them, and this is a very profitable, self-serving business, which operates above and beyond the law.
Congress has no direct administrative control over BIA’s daily operations, but makes the laws that govern Indians, reservation lands, and BIA. Congress controls all federal money, which gives it indirect control over BIA, and tied to this is the motive of political patronage - there is a pay-off.
Back in 1911, Indian Commissioner Robert Valentine stated: “Indian affairs are ... a field for the grafter ... the land and the monies of the Indians offer a bait which even the most sated will not refuse.”
In 1969, Senator Edward Kennedy said:
“The BIA is notorious for its resistance to reform, to innovation, and to discharging its responsibilities in a competent and sensitive fashion.”
Here are some of the things I learned about the Bureau that will help you as the story unfolds.
The Bureau started out in 1849, taking over functions previously handled by the United States Army. That year, 1849, should ring some bells, because that’s the year the “gold rush” started. Prospectors were flooding into the Indian lands to dig for gold, and the federal government was looking for new ways to prevent Indians from resisting this most recent invasion of their homelands.
What does this Bureau do? It is the primary federal Government agency that has a responsibility for Indians. The words responsibility and trust always come up when referring to the Federal Government’s relationship with American Indians. The term trustee implies a high degree of responsible care, and BIA is trustee for Indians, as our laws and courts have decided. We’ll say more about what BIA does, but for a minute let’s take a close look at this “trustee” business.
The Supreme Court declared many years ago that the Federal government was exempt from all lawsuits by citizens, using a legal concept or “doctrine” called SovereignImmunity. This came from the old days of kings in England , where the king was not willing to let “his” judges in “his” courts and on “his” payroll, give him a hard time or limit his authority. Serfs and peasants in England had very few rights, and using the king’s courts to make the king behave was unthinkable. What applied to the king applied to the king’s men, so the entire English administration was exempt from lawsuits by the people. No complaints about government administration could be taken to court.
Although many Americans came to this country to escape government by kings, our Supreme Court imported this “common law” feature of feudal England into the United States , simply by edict, and it applies today. Since we don’t have kings, it applies to the President and the President’s men, the entire executive branch of government. It limits the rights of all United States citizens in relationship to government, and since Indians are under tight control by BIA, (part of the executive branch) this “doctrine” is something that they can’t escape.
Over the years the absurdity of the doctrine led to a few exceptions, one being a law called the “Federal Tort Claims Act,” which lists some actions for which the federal government CAN be taken to court. Still, the doctrine of Sovereign Immunity is alive and well, and is the general rule that shields federal agencies from lawsuits. You can see that although BIA holds the power and authority of a trustee, there is no way the beneficiaries (Indians) can hold it responsible for doing an adequate or trustworthy job. This might be news to you, but Indians are painfully aware of this limitation on their rights. It’s a one way street. BIA has power OVER Indians, but can’t be held accountable for what it does TO Indians.
There is no federal law against fraud, if the fraud is done by a federal employee under “the color of his office.” In their private lives, they are subject to state laws, so you’re protected if a federal employee (in his private capacity) does some harm to you. But if that federal employee does something remotely connected to his job, he is fully protected by sovereign immunity, and the person (and his agency or bureau) are untouchable.
Indians have no protection from fraud done by BIA, and as you will see further on, there is no shortage of fraud at BIA.
The result is that the words “trust” and “responsibility” are deceptive. BIA has no liability and can not be taken to court. This produces pretty words and empty promises to cover irresponsible behavior. In Indian eyes, “the whiteman” can feel good about himself while denigrating and stealing from Indians; just one more example (in Indian eyes) of the whiteman’s sickness, endless greed.
This federal Bureau, BIA, performs functions defined by law, which means that Congress is where it all begins. Congress controls the budget that finances BIA, and what BIA does is set by that budget, with specific functions or operations called projects. The budget sets aside money for each project and for general BIA administration.
In this way the budget for the Billings Area Office is produced. The Area Office budget includes the reservations within it’s area, and the dollar amount for each “project” is known at the start of each year. A project can be something like road building, police protection, social services, and the like.
BIA’s responsibilities that are assigned by Congress consist of two types, trust and direct. These are defined by treaty agreements, by past and current federal laws and court cases, and by tradition and common usage. The laws relating to Indians are gathered into one book, and you’ll find that volume in the Code of Federal Regulations, CFR-25. Every BIA employee has a well worn copy of those “rules and regulations,” and Indians have copies of this “BIA Bible” in their tribal offices.
Concerning Federal Government financial accountability, the Constitution (Article I, Section 9, Paragraph 7) requires:
.”.. and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.”
If you would like to see a copy of the financial statements for the Billings Area Office, or any of it’s Indian reservations, you won’t be able to find one. BIA claims that such reports don’t exist.
I can tell you that BIA does keep books, segregated by area office and reservation. I have seen the general ledger (BIA’s “books”), and a copy is available in Billings . The general ledger indicates that BIA “keeps books,” but if you want to understand financial transactions, you need a financial statement. Remember that I’m a CPA and I worked there. With today’s computers, it is a simple matter to order a printout or financial statement by location, but BIA will tell you it can’t produce the reports.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, I tried to get a copy of BIA’s financial statements later, after I had been fired. I had been talking to newspaper reporters (from the Arizona Republic) , a major Phoenix, Arizona, newspaper, who tried to get a copy of BIA’s financial statements, but none of them had any luck.
As an accountant I knew how to describe what I wanted, and I knew the names of BIA personnel and the offices in which the records were kept. It took months, and I wrote to many people at several BIA office. The process wears you down, and there were delays and referrals but not one honest answer.
Months later I received a blurred copy of several pages of numbers. As a CPA I know how to read financial statements, but these figures shed no light on BIA’s activities, so the request was defeated and the time was wasted, like that of the reporters before me. Score zero for the Constitution.
I can tell you that each financial transaction by BIA carries a location code along with the entry, such as C50 for Billings . This is helpful to federal politicians who want to tell taxpayers in their districts how much federal money was spent there, and BIA can and does produce financial reports based on location codes.
BIA spends a lot of time and effort to hide financial information from reporters and critics, and even from it’s own employees. There are no financial statements for reservation employees or even for area office accountants, which is what I had been as a BIA employee. Does BIA defeat the Freedom of Information Act, that was designed to make government accountable? Does it ignore the Constitution? You have some facts about that and can reach your own conclusion.
As a BIA accountant, early in my employment I thought it would be sensible for me to find out what the accounting rules were that BIA was required to follow. The law at that time directed all federal agencies to follow the accounting standards set by the General Accounting Office, known as GAO. These rules were listed in the “GAO Manual for Guidance of Federal Agencies.”
I asked to see the Area Office’s copy of the manual, which should be updated frequently with new changes reproduced and distributed by the Government Printing Office. Most of the accounting employees had never heard of the manual, but finally an older employee recalled that there was a file of GAO Manuals, and located it for me. This was in late December, 1985, and I was amazed to find that the latest update was dated December 24, 1959 , twenty-six years obsolete.
In time this made sense, because BIA accounting completely ignores GAO, and none of the accounting employees knew that there were any rules to follow. BIA’s actual standard was to do whatever it was you did last year, right or wrong. The free subscription to the GAO Manual was allowed to lapse because nobody read it and it was one more useless thing that had to be filed away.
Our historical perception of “Indian Problems” led to changing federal policies in the past, including conquest, mass destruction and relocation, and in recent years the announced federal policy is called “self-determination.” The idea is that tribal government can and should contract (with BIA) to provide governmental services (as defined by Congress) to Indian people directly, rather than have BIA provide those services.
Past treaties and long custom require the Federal Government to pay for tribal services with taxpayer money from the federal budget. When the tribe contracts with BIA to provide these services itself, a contract is entered into and the dollars are transferred from BIA to the tribe. This is not charity, and the few benefits that manage to filter through BIA’s sticky fingers are part of the price for the Indian lands. I suppose you can call this “guilt money,” since all U.S. citizens benefit from the land that was taken from Indian owners, either by force, coerced treaties or land swindles.
Whenever I speak to a classroom or group about BIA or about Indian matters, Indian friends always ask me to please tell the audience that they don’t receive a monthly check from BIA. There are no special federal checks for Indians, simply because they are Indian. Many live in poverty and receive welfare payments, but Indians are treated the same as all other citizens when it comes to welfare.
When there is a check from the federal government, it comes from the individual’s own money. Most often this is from land rents, grazing fees or a share in oil-well royalties, which are collected by BIA before being paid to the individual owner. In the past there was money for old land settlements, but there is NO allowance for simply being Indian. There can also be checks directly from the tribe, which are the equivalent of a corporation dividend. Often there is some tribal land held in common ownership, and rentals or profits are divided up and paid out from time to time to each tribal member.
The self-determination policy is phony. When the elected government (the tribe) passes a law, it must be approved in writing by the BIA Superintendent before it counts. By this means, BIA keeps absolute veto power over self-government and self-determination. By law, any contracts for the hiring of tribal attorneys also require BIA approval. The result is that BIA can (and does) suppress any serious attempt by tribes to bring lawsuits that might embarrass the Federal Government. Congress knows which lawyers they can “trust,” and which contribute to their campaign funds. Lawyers who might serve Indians honestly are never approved.
This is great for BIA. Aggressive attorneys, who might take a strong stand for Indian rights, are not approved. Only politically friendly attorneys can be hired by Indians, so dissent is throttled at the source. This may be news to you, but not to Indians. They are painfully aware that their rights are suppressed from all directions, and that they are a class of people with fewer legal and human rights than any other American citizens.
Self determination and tribal sovereignty will never be a reality while a federal employee, not elected by the tribe, can veto laws passed by Indian representative government. This is an abuse of federal power to suppress democracy; it is tyranny.
Later in this book you will find BIA’s official mission statement. The first item claims that BIA will:
“recognize and preserve the inherent rights of tribal self-government and to strengthen tribal capacity to govern.”
The third mission statement of BIA is to serve as an advocate of sovereignty and rights in dealing with “other government entities” and the private sector.
The contrast between words and reality is obvious. BIA is not an advocate or defender of Indian rights, but was designed from the start to divest Indians of their property.
Indians say “BIA is here to watch us because the federal government does not trust us.” I have heard that said by several different tribal leaders and at more than one reservation. Sometimes a remark is added, “they’re here to see if we are arming ourselves, or preparing to revolt.”
Tribal government is required to account (to BIA) for money received, and to provide an estimate or budget of what will be required during the next accounting period. This requires some accounting work from both parties, and a method to transfer funds from BIA’s bank to the tribal bank account. Here again BIA has the veto to stop anything that Congress (and friends it favors) might not like. It can and does disapprove budgets and it can and does stop the flow of federal funds that were previously approved.
You can’t blame BIA for everything, since it must obey federal politicians. The politicians in turn wish to remain in office and respond to pressure from voters and in particular to the “vote” of money contributed to their campaign funds. Some examples will be described later in this book.
BIA holds title to the reservation lands. It maintains records of Indian land holdings (like county offices do elsewhere), recording transfers, land left by deceased Indians to their heirs, etc. Since the land is held by the Federal Government as trustee, it is exempt from real estate taxes.
Your first thought about this exemption from real estate tax may be that Indians have an unfair advantage. I will tell you that Indians are the poorest identifiable group of people in the United States , and among the poorest on earth.
The trust-land is not available as security for mortgage loans, which makes it nearly impossible for Indians to borrow to construct buildings and improvements on the land. This feature has a negative effect on possible Indian farming and business ventures, but it does protect the land from foreclosures by banks and creditors.
You already know more about BIA than most other Americans, and it will begin to make sense to you as we get deeper into the story. Before we are done I’ll put my own activity into some logical time sequence for you, but the more background you have first, the more sense it will make to you. Next we’ll see what’s concealed behind the door at the Billings Area Office.
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