Tribal governments, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, are among the top recipients of U.S. cotton subsidies, the Environmental Working Group reported.

Based on national data, the Bureau of Indian Affairs received $15.1 million in subsidies between 1995 and 2003. This made the BIA number 14 on the list of all recipients.

Close behind was the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry, a subsidiary of the Navajo Nation. NAPI received $11.7 million between 1995 and 2003, making it number 19 on the list.

Coming in at 21 was the Colorado River Indian Tribes, which received $11.1 million over the same time period. Ranked at 40, the Gila River Farms, an enterprise of the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, received $7.9 million.

Another top recipient was the Tohono O'odham Farming Authority of the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona. The farm ranked 49 with $7.1 million in subsidies.

Going state by state, tribes were the number 1 recipients in Arizona and New Mexico. Tribes, and the BIA, also ranked high in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, South Dakota and Oklahoma.

The data can be found at http://www.ewg.org/farm

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An End to Days of High Cotton? (The Washington Post 3/8)
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