American Indian Media: Tribes' Greed Led Them Into Abramoff Scandal

SAN FRANCISCO--American Indian media give little sympathy to tribes involved with Washington, D.C., lobbyists Michael Scanlon and Jack Abramoff, currently under investigation for buying influence in Congress on behalf of clients, including Indian gaming interests.

"There is some suggestion Jack Abramoff victimized unwary tribes and politicians," says former Native American Times editor Louis Gray in a guest editorial in the Oklahoma-based newspaper, "but this is more a case of unbridled greed than people taking advantage of powerless tribes and corrupting innocent politicians."

"It would be easy to play the victim card," Gray writes, "but that would be avoiding the responsibility many tribes had in their unrelenting drive to protect and obtain more gaming opportunities."

The weekly newspaper, distributed in Oklahoma and New Mexico, updates its Web site several times per day. Gray's editorial, headlined, "Abramoff Scandal Is About Players, Not Victims," says gaming created heretofore unknown wealth and jobs among poor Native Americans. "But at what price and when is it enough?" he asks. Gray says that Abramoff and his tribal clients share blame for mismanagement of funds.

More