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JUNE 14, 2000

No, Kevin Gover did not tell all on his Tuesday, June 13, appearance on Native American Calling. Maybe he's saving it for a book.

But the Pawnee lawyer who is currently on his way out of office, did address some of the issues currently facing Indian Country and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

We've included some of his more relevant comments on federal recognition, gaming, treaty rights, and law enforcement for you to enjoy and ponder.

On the first clean audit in BIA history:
"Up to now, the Bureau has never gotten an unqualified audit opinion opinion and this year it looks like we will. We are very pleased about that...When we can get a clean audit and tell Congress we're doing a good job with your money, then they're more likely to give us more. Of that money, 90-some percent ends up in Indian communities on reservations."

On law enforcement and crime in Indian Country:
"We will have almost doubled the BIA law enforcement budget. [From $77 million in 1997 to an expected $140 million in 2000.] When you put more officers in the field...you make more arrests on more crimes. So, the statistics do not reflect that crime is diminishing in Indian Country. We're putting more officers on the street, better uniformed, better equipped better trained, which will reduce the risk of crime and especially violent crime in our communities."

On violence against Indian women:
"On one reservation, 10 percent of the adult men are on probation for having beaten their wives or their children. [According to Gover, statistic unconfirmed.] This kind of stuff has got to stop. If we're not able to stop it any other way, we're going to stop it by arresting these guys and putting them in prison."

Why the BIA wants out of recognition:
"Since gaming became a major industry in Indian Country, the resources behind these petitions [for recognition] have become extraordinary. The amount of information the Bureau receives has gone up. At the same time, the staff has been cut almost in half by Congress. Our capabilities to deal with it have gone down. This issue has outgrown us. Given other needs in Indian Country, its never going to become a priority. Its time to let someone else try to do it."

On Eastern Tribes:
"I've learned a lot about Eastern communities both before and during my time here. What you really see are communities that have struggled against all odds to maintain themselves as some kind of Indian community. The live culture no longer exists in the form it did in 1600, but on the other hand, they have suffered from 350 years of occupation by a dominant non-Indian society. The fact that they think of themselves as Indian, organize themselves, and relate to one another as Indian people is quite extraordinary to me. I disagree with Sherman Alexie and Tim Giago as to the nature of these communities."

more Gover comments
Read more in Part II of Gover fields questions.