[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 124 (Thursday, September 17, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1750-E1751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       AN AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY

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                          HON. PHILIP M. CRANE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 17, 1998

  Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, one of the saddest chapters in America's 
history is that of

[[Page E1751]]

her Indians. The U.S. government has, over the years, waged wars 
against various tribes, as they forced others to relocate great 
distances from their ancestral lands. In the 20th century, Washington 
made American Indians virtual slaves to the federal welfare system.
  As a student of history with some Cherokee blood in my veins, I have 
had a keen interest in the plight of the American Indian. For that 
reason, I have been very encouraged and impressed with the efforts of 
Chief Phillip Martin of the Mississippi Choctaws. I have had the 
privilege of meeting Chief Martin, who has presided over an economic 
renaissance in his tribe.
  Instead of looking to bureaucrats on the Potomac, the Choctaws looked 
to themselves and took advantage of opportunities in the free market to 
lift themselves out of destitution. Now the reservation is a economic 
dynamo of industrial and commercial enterprises. In fact, the 
reservation is among the top ten employers in the entire state of 
Mississippi.
  I commend to the attention of my colleagues an article from the 
Wednesday, September 16, 1998 edition of the Washington Times entitled 
``Choctaws' climb from despair'' written by Grover Norquist. Mr. 
Norquist describes the achievements of Chief Martin and the Mississippi 
Choctaws which should be a good lesson for not only other Indian tribes 
across the country, but other communities as well.

              [From the Washington Times, Sept. 16, 1998]

                      Choctaw's Climb From Despair

                          (By Grover Norquist)

       Forty years ago, a long forgotten band of Indians, the 
     Mississippi Choctaws, were mired in the deepest of poverty, 
     after 150 years of decline from what was perhaps once the 
     mightiest Indian nation in the South. Unemployment had long 
     stood at about 75 percent, and those who did work were poorly 
     compensated sharecroppers. Life expectancy was only 45 to 50 
     years, and infant mortality was the highest of any population 
     in the United States. Eighty-five percent of Choctaw housing 
     was classified as substandard. Local education stopped at the 
     sixth grade. The only health care was from a nearby federally 
     run hospital. Even in the 1960s, a local newspaper called the 
     Choctaw tribe ``the worst poverty pocket in the poorest state 
     of the union.''
       Then Chief Phillip Martin took over the reigns of 
     leadership for the tribe. Chief Martin's insight was that his 
     people were never going to climb out of this swamp of despair 
     by relying on federal handouts and bureaucrats. He realized 
     instead that their only hope was to turn to the private 
     market economy and earn their own way.
       Remarkably, he understood that what seemed to others like 
     an economically hopeless enclave of despair had much to offer 
     business and industry. The tribe's reservation was 
     effectively an Enterprise Zone, with tribal business exempt 
     from all federal and state taxes, as well as all state 
     regulations and many federal regulations. Moreover, the tribe 
     had a ready and available work force eager to be trained and 
     perform well.
       Through long years of hard work, Chief Martin turned these 
     assets into astounding success. Today, the Choctaws are an 
     economic powerhouse, proprietors of a sprawling, multi-
     enterprise, industrial and commercial empire. They are the 
     largest employer in Neshoba County, and among the 10 largest 
     employers in the state. They now have industrial plants on 
     their reservation under contract with Ford, Chrysler, AT&T, 
     Xerox, Navistar, American Greetings, McDonald's and others. 
     They also now run one of the most successful casinos in the 
     state, the Silver Star, opened just four years ago.
       As a result, average family income has soared from about 
     $2,000 per year 35 years ago to around $24,000 per year 
     today. Unemployment has been all but eliminated, and only 
     about 3 percent of Choctaw tribal members are on welfare. 
     Life expectancy is now 65-70 years, an increase of almost 20 
     years from four decades ago. Infant mortality has now 
     plummeted to below state and national averages.
       The average educational level of adult tribal members has 
     climbed from sixth grade in 1975 to almost 12th grade today. 
     Substandard housing is virtually gone from the reservation, 
     replaced by modern homes. In short, on indicator after 
     indicator, the Chocataws are now approaching middle class 
     American status.
       In leading this long climb from the depths of poverty and 
     despair, Chief Martin has achieved many accomplishments that 
     show he well deserves the Hero of the Taxpayer Award we will 
     happily present to him today:
       He has shown the way for American Indians and tribes across 
     this nation to climb out of government dependency and join in 
     the mainstream American economy.
       He has shown that the Enterprise Zone model of economic 
     development, with greatly reduced tax and regulatory burdens 
     and local control, can work incredibly well in the most 
     difficult of circumstances.
       He has been the leader and innovator in contracting out 
     services and programs from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and 
     Indian Health Service, so that now virtually all Federal 
     Indian programs and services for the Mississippi Choctaws are 
     run by the tribe rather than the federal government. He has 
     consequently shown how the federal role in Indian affairs can 
     be greatly diminished and the role of tribes in running their 
     own affairs greatly increased.
       Even though the tribe is effectively the state and local 
     government for the Mississippi Choctaws and provides all 
     state and local services, Chief Martin runs it and has 
     accomplished all of the above to boot with virtually no 
     tribal taxes.

     

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