Here’s how Washington has benefited from the economic resurgence of Tribes
Washington Tribes contributed $5.6 billion in 2020 in gross state product and employed one in every 86 Washingtonians, according to the latest economic and community benefits report from the Washington Indian Gaming Association.
Though Tribes accounted for $6.6 billion in gross state product in 2019 — marking a $1 billion loss during the pandemic — billions of dollars in wages, purchasing power and state and local taxes are also highlighted in the report.
The report, put together by economist Jonathan Taylor, looks at the most currently available data from 23 of the state’s 29 federally recognized Tribes, noting decreases in unemployment and increases in college attainment and income for Washington Natives living on reservations. Taylor’s a senior policy associate at the Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona.
“This report clears up misconceptions about the economic activity and impact of Tribal governments and our enterprises. If you look at a timeline of Indian gaming and rates of unemployment, health care or education, you would see a direct correlation. We also diversify our economies with community health centers, golf, timber, convention halls and music venues,” said Washington Indian Gaming Association Executive Director Rebecca George in an interview with McClatchy.
“Indian gaming is finally moving the needle in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go. The needs of Indian people still remain so acute. Indian gaming and Tribal enterprises help fill in the gap.”
Remaining one of the top ten employers in the state, Tribal government and enterprises including casinos, markets, gas stations and timber account for over 37,000 jobs — meaning Tribes outrank Costco or Walmart in the state. The report estimates 54,000 Washington jobs trace back to Tribes.
“If Tribes were out-of-state corporations bringing this economic activity and public-spiritedness to Washington, legislators would likely offer tax waivers or reductions,” Taylor wrote in the report. “Washington has substantially benefited from the economic and social resurgence in Indian Country and will for years to come.”
The report notes 72% of the employees are not Native, meaning Tribes are providing jobs for surrounding communities.
“We’re rooted here. We’re not a corporation that will pick up and move,” George said.
Taxes and Tribal economies
Washington Tribes paid a total of $1.2 billion in state and local taxes, according to the report.
Two studies cited in the report note Tribal governments face unique challenges, relying on revenue generated by their government-owned enterprises to fund essential services as opposed to taxes.
“We have our own fire and police departments and health services,” George said.
Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Washington law and mutual agreements, Tribes pay at a state and national level for gaming regulation and reimbursement to local governments for community services like government, fire and police; smoking cessation and problem gambling; infrastructure and roads maintenance and additionally, charitable donations, using gaming dollars and fuel and cigarette taxes.
“The costs of Tribal enterprises don’t come at a cost to tax payers,” George said. “There’s this idea that we don’t pay taxes. I think it’s a real misconception. Gaming was really one of the first opportunities we had for access to capital. Gaming dollars is essentially our tax base, 100% of of Tribal enterprise profits are government revenue.”
Gaming revenue is invested into local communities for things such as schools, health care, housing, public safety, natural resources, charities, transportation, environmental restoration and more, George said.
“Reservation land is held in trust by the federal government and there’s little opportunity to develop. Indian gaming generates revenue that is reinvested in Tribal government programs, state and local communities. Billions of dollars in wages and vendor purchases flow off the reservations almost immediately and into the general economy of our state,” she said.
Improving Native lives
Over the past 30 years, Native people living on Washington reservations saw their inflation-adjusted incomes rise 46% and unemployment fall 31% and college attainment increased by 65%, according to the report.
“My dad was chairman of the Tribe. I was 15 when the casino opened and remember the message of the day was jobs, jobs, jobs,” George said. “I didn’t have an understanding of why that was so important, but now I know we had no other jobs. This was some of the first few jobs outside of working for Tribal government that was available to us. These are well-paying jobs with health benefits and career paths to management.”
In 2018, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found only “minor” improvements for Native people in efforts from the federal government.
“Federal funding for Native American programs across the government remains grossly inadequate to meet the most basic needs the federal government is obligated to provide,” the Commission wrote.
Indian healthcare is funded at a fraction of other healthcare programs — nearly 50% of Medicaid in 2017 and a quarter of the U.S. per capita.
“While income on reservations have grown at a more rapid rate than a state citizen, we’re still 50% behind. Being that there’s many health disparities, especially during the pandemic. Health care is a big priority,” she said.
Tribes are also taking a culturally relevant approach to problem gambling, George said.
“We take the health of our community very seriously. We work on multiple fronts to address the needs of those who suffer from gambling addiction. Tribes fund over $3 million a year for prevention, outreach, treatment and self-exclusion programs and support non-profit and government programs to get help to those in need and their families — Native or not,” George said.
Impacts of COVID
Tribes implemented public health mandates and worked with local, state and federal health officials to establish protocols throughout the pandemic. Native communities suffered high transmission rates and losses, causing Tribal governments to close down Tribal casinos, schools and enterprises. Native Americans later became the most vaccinated group in the country, with some Washington Tribes participating in vaccine trials.
“At the onset of the pandemic, Tribal governments tended to the needs of their own reservation populations. We went to great lengths to alleviate the economic fallout of COVID to our communities,” George said.
Before the pandemic, more than 75% of Tribal budgets came from Tribal enterprises including gaming, compared to the 1960s and 1970s, when Tribes were predominantly reliant on federal funding, the report states.
Tribe accounted for $6.6 billion in gross state product in 2019 and $5.6 billion in 2020.
In 2019, only 20% of Tribal budgets came from grants and contracts. This increased to 33% in 2020 as a result of federal relief.
“It remains unclear how persistent this shift in federal funding will be. Still, the data in 2019 corresponds to that of 2017 and earlier, indicating that Tribes were sustaining their fiscal independence before the pandemic,” Taylor wrote.
Though casinos were closed for much of the year, Tribes still paid $26.5 million to the Washington State Gambling Commission in 2020. Despite the pandemic, this was only about $5 million less than the previous year.
“Were it not for COVID-19, Tribes would be an even greater presence, and Tribal resilience promises a complete recovery when it becomes possible,” the report reads.
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Here’s how Washington has benefited from the economic resurgence of Tribes."
