Economic Impact of the OTOE-MISSOURIA TRIBE of Oklahoma Jonathan B. Taylor JULY 2019 The Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians (“Otoe-Missouria Tribe,” “Otoe-Missouria,” “Tribe”) funded this study under a contract with the Taylor Policy Group, Inc. The views expressed in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the institutions with which he is affiliated. Unless otherwise indicated, Otoe-Missouria provided the material herein. Design by Amy Besaw Medford. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. 2019 The Taylor Policy Group Otoe-Missouria Tribe Taylor Policy Group, Inc. 8151 Highway US-177 1070 Iyannough Rd., Ste. 315 Red Rock, OK 74651 Hyannis, MA 02601 ii Taylor 2019 Findings in Brief The Otoe-Missouria Tribe produces public goods and services for its citizens. It is investing in a diversified economy, teaching children, providing clean water, and building housing. Its work improving the lives of Otoe-Missouria Indians directly benefits the people of Oklahoma, too. jobs In 2017, Otoe-Missouria paid The Tribe’s total employment At the 7 Clans Casinos, tribal more than $45 million in compen- ranks it third in Kay and Noble members are employed through- sation to nearly 992 Indian and Counties, and the majority of its out operations. All the senior non-Indian employees across Oklahoma and Kansas payroll management is Otoe-Missouria government, casino, lending, and was paid in zip codes below those with the exception of a Muskogee other enterprises. states’ median. (Creek) CEO. growth Otoe-Missouria’s biggest busi- Otoe-Missouria’s annual total Income per person reported by nesses are exporters: 99 percent of contribution to the Oklahoma and American Indians in the Otoe- lending revenue and 67 percent of Kansas economies is $156 million Missouria OTSA grew 86% from the casino revenue is from outside dollars (measured in value added) 1989 through 2017, far outpacing Oklahoma; 65 percent of casino and 1,705 jobs, the vast majority income growth for all people in the payroll was paid to Oklahomans. of which takes place in Oklahoma. US (9%) and Oklahoma (12.5%). investment A tribal assistance program The Tribe built a $4.4 million The Tribe supports career-fo- recently helped 19 tribal families water treatment plant, tripling cused training for Native and transition from renting to owning capacity and securing adequate non-Native students at the their homes. Another program water quality and quantity for Pioneer Technology Center in helps eligible buyers cover down all residents in Otoe-Missouria Ponca City and supplements payment or closing costs. Housing and the Frontier School. federal college scholarships. benefits The Tribe pays Oklahoma an On top of that, Otoe-Missouria The combined $7.7 million “exclusivity fee” ($1.98M in 2017) economic activity generated Oklahoma fiscal benefit compares and an oversight assessment of more than $5.7 million in sales, in size with the sales tax exemp- $35,000 annually to reimburse income, and social insurance tax tions for rural electric coops and for the activities of the Gaming revenue for Oklahoma state and churches, but the Tribe received Compliance Unit. local governments. no abatement, exemption, or other tax expenditure to produce it. Otoe-Missouria Impact iii CONTENTS Findings in Brief .......................................................... iii Sovereignty & Economic Impact ......................................1 Government ................................................................7 Enterprise ................................................................. 11 Economic Impact ......................................................... 14 Fiscal Impacts ............................................................ 16 Net Benefits .............................................................. 19 Conclusion ............................................................... 21 About Jonathan Taylor, Appendix, Notes Acknowledgment ....................................................22 References ................................................................23 iv Taylor 2019 Sovereignty & Economic Impact The Otoe-Missouria Tribe’s enduring nature as a government determines its economic impact on Oklahoma today. Though they pre-date Oklahoma state- hood, the essential attributes of Otoe-Missouria self-government—especially responsibility to its people and authority to make policy and regulate activ- ity—give it the incentive and capacity to cause economic growth. For the better part of half a century, if not longer, public-spirited and farsighted Otoe-Missouria leaders have put in place the laws, institutions, companies, and people to make economic growth happen. The resulting growth benefits Otoe-Missouria citizens and citizens of the State of Oklahoma—as will be shown in this report. Otoe-Missouria Impact 1 BRIEF HISTORY Otoe and Missouria oral histories begin in the region north of the Great Lakes. By around 1680, Europeans recorded the tribes in distinct areas of the mid-continent.1 Subsequent warfare, smallpox, cholera, and settler encroachment put pressure on Otoe and Missouria demography (repeatedly decimating the Missouria population) and forced geographic and economic change on the tribes. By the time Lewis and Clark met with them in 1804 at Council Bluffs (the Corps of Discovery’s first Indian council), the two tribes were living together in villages on the Platte River near the confluence of the Elkhorn [2]. A sequence of treaties—whose sheer number (1817, 1825, 1830, 1833, 1836, 1854) testifies to their protective futility—had the effect of moving the tribes south and west. In the 1854 treaty, the tribes ceded the remaining 3,125 square miles west of the Missouri River, reserving 250 for themselves in the Big Blue River valley. Grasshoppers, drought, Sioux raiding, settler squatting, and outright theft weakened the tribal economy, bringing hunger, illness, and death [2]. Life on the Big Blue Reservation was hard. The tribe was not allowed to hunt for buffalo. The government encouraged a shift from a migratory lifestyle to an agrarian one without consideration of long-established tradition or social structure. For years the tribe watched as acre by acre of their land was sold off by the govern- ment to non-Indians. They suffered as treaties were broken and food, medicine, livestock and basic essentials were not delivered as prom- ised. Sickness was rampant, children starved, and the mortality rate climbed higher year after year. [4] In the hope of securing a sustainable economy in the Indian Territory, the tribes narrowly voted to sell a portion of the Big Blue Reservation in 1876 and began migrating. In 1881, Congress legislated the sale of the remainder and the creation of the 202-square-mile Red Rock Reservation in what is today Noble and Pawnee Counties, Oklahoma [2]. Superscripted numbers refer to Notes containing substantive discussion on p. 22; bracketed numbers refer to References on pp. 23–24. 2 Taylor 2019 . R s e m a J Mis sis s i p p i R . We are not children. R x i o We are men. r C t n i a . Territories of the Otoe and Missouria S R r a d . e R B C a late-1600 to present i ippew g d h I never thought I would S e C .R i o R u a x w R e . p p i h M C M iss in is n s be treated so when eso i ta p R p . i R. Otoe Minnesota late 1th–early 1th I made the Treaty. centuries C e d Medicine Horse (Otoe), 1873 a E r . R W D F . e o a s r p key k Tur C M s responding to the federal commissioner D i r p e o e i e i s M n k n o i i e n c e South Dakota s o B s n R i R trying to take his land [3] g . R S . i o u x R . I N o M . w i N W s . R a so R R io h . uri a . R R d c Iowa b i . te y o D r o a l o e r F n s a R R M . oi M n R e . El s p R k i x H s ou o u R N. L s . r o n o i R u S . Cessions of r i e l R t t . i M L Otoe, Missouria, Iowa, idd le Loup R S . Omaha, Sac. & Fox S k u nk . R R . r e y Otoe-Missouria o cessions of 133 & 154 B S. Loup R. D e R T es Platt h M Skunk o oi R. m n . e L . R p s oup R R s Council a Bluffs o R a n n . t n R t o P . la o b t b a t a n e n R. h B h s s i i i g N C B N . l . h u E a th th r e W i t R early 1 –mid 19 o n . R . N centuries o Nebraska d P a w l M a t a i t s y e s R R o . u r . i R . G R. Li lue R. r blican Big Blue eservation,ttle B 154 and epu R R Republican R. Missouria th th reek on R. ceded ceded late 1 –early 1 C ork Solom ver N. F ea 16 11 centuries B Solom on R. S. Fork Solomon R. uri R K R. so . ansas Mis Saline R. Missouri R. Smo ky H ill R. Cy Des gne ais s Mar C R . ge ot R Os a to d n oo N w e Arka V o ns er s as d h R. Kansas ig o r i R e R. s . tle Osag it . R L R . e ad n o c s a G rk Fo e ag s O Cim a a Chik sk r i r a o Me R n dic .