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~ Press Release~
Monday, October 15, 2007
Asheville City Councilman and candidate for the 11th
District Congressional seat, Carl Mumpower, has stepped into uncharted waters
by raising concerns that "the Cherokee Tribe is being artificially supported in
creating an "entitlement sanctuary" counterproductive to the common interests
of Western North Carolina." Mumpower
contends that "Recent unreported campaign contributions to politicians
highlight a continuing effort to maintain an unlevel playing field in Cherokee." "The tribe draws dramatic government funds
and benefits while they simultaneously reap the dubious handouts of a tribal gambling
enterprise." "I question the value of government
sponsored gambling of any type - this one creates a country within a country." "Cherokee is a special interest turning into a
selfish interest that, in the midst of all the other "me" interests, is eroding
our common interests." "We are a united
America, or not, and the selective application of special status for one group!
is a
lways done at the expense of others regardless of the money and power spin
that says otherwise." "Having a hospital and a gambling house as our two
biggest employers in WNC does not bode well for our future", says
Mumpower. "Im thinking about obtaining
a fake ID, crossing the Qualla Boundary and seeing if I can join the race to
use versus uplift America."
Mumpower criticizes status of American
Indian tribes
by Jordan Schrader,
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published
October 16, 2007 12:15 am
Congressional candidate Carl
Mumpower, a fierce critic of illegal immigration, on Monday leaped into a
different minefield on the border of politics and race.
The Republican Asheville city
councilman criticized the status of American Indian tribes as sovereign
nati!
ons, sin
gling out the "segregation" of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
within the district he wants to represent.
We have, realistically, a
subsidized country within a country, and its time to help these folks become a
part of America as a whole instead of an isolated special interest," said Mumpower,
who is seeking the Republican nomination to run against freshman U.S. Rep.
Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville.
Mumpower issued a news
release titled "Cherokee Tribal Status Has Become a Corrupted Special
Interest," tying his comments to a Citizen-Times report that showed the Eastern
Band failed to report at least $58,000 in contributions to state candidates
since 2005.
"Recent unreported campaign
contributions to politicians highlight a continuing effort to maintain an
unlevel playing field in Cherokee," Mumpower wrote. "The tribe draws dramatic
government funds and benefits while they simultaneously reap the dubious
handouts of a tribal gambling enterprise."
Mumpower said he didnt
question tribal leaders who said the omission was an oversight.
But he said the Cherokee
should not be able to lobby and give money to candidates while also having tax
exemptions, benefits through the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and legalized
gambling at Harrahs Cherokee Casino.
Principal Chief Michell Hicks
said he would read Mumpowers statement before commenting but didnt return a
phone message later.
The United States recognizes
Indian tribes independent authority, subject to the powers of Congress.
A 1995 Department of Justice
policy on Indian sovereignty states: "In early Indian treaties, the United
States pledged to ‘protect Indian tribes, thereby establishing one of the
bases for the federal trust responsibility in our government-to-government relations
with Indian tribes."
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