Tribes' special status a product of law and history

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2006 | by Jim Drinkard

WASHINGTON -- Indian tribes defending their right to give unlimited political campaign contributions say they are treated differently for legitimate reasons dating back to George Washington.

"Tribes are governments, not corporations. They are a completely different animal," says Markham Ericson, a Washington attorney for New York's Oneida tribe.

Tribes are considered "persons" under campaign-finance law. In 2000, the Oneida tribe sought to give more than the total allowed by law for "individuals." Ericson argued to the Federal Election Commission that the limit shouldn't apply; the FEC agreed.

Since then, tribes have become more active givers and are attracting increased scrutiny because of a scandal involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff and tribes with casinos...