Native Voice One

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Tax Reform

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House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate leaders announce their framework for Tax Reform. (Photo: Speaker.Gov)

The Senate has given up on destroying Medicaid and much of the health care system and it’s now focused on restructuring federal taxes.

This is Trahant Reports.

So how does Indian Country fit into a tax framework? The larger issue of tax reform and its impact on Native Americans is a complicated question, one that starts with the definition of “taxes.” Most so-called middle-income wage earners pay income taxes. But roughly one-third of all wage earners do not pay income taxes — and that would include a lot of tribal citizens, especially those living in tribal nations. There are nearly 150 million tax returns filed every year and 36 million of those end up paying no tax at all. Another 16 million had taxable income but didn’t pay anything because of tax credits, deductions and other adjustments.

Many of Indian Country’s working class especially benefit from one such credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit. This is a successful program that returns real cash to some 7 million families; a paid bonus, of sorts, for working.

I looked at the counties with significant Native American population and there is some fascinating data from the Internal Revenue Service, based on 2015 tax returns.

In Oglala Lakota County, for example, some 2,010 taxpayers out of 3,980 collected an average of $3,020 from the Earned Income Tax Credit. The bulk of that was collected by families earning less than $25,000.

The Earned Income Tax Credit is also critical to many Navajo families. In Apache County, Arizona, that includes a large portion of the Navajo Nation, and some 27,172 people take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit. And, like Pine Ridge, most earn under $25,000 a year, but the amounts are significantly more, an average return of a little more than $4,000.

There are similar numbers in the Bethel Census Area of Alaska. Nearly 2,400 people claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit and most of the workers earned under $25,000 and averaged a refundable return of $2,738.

My point here is that this one policy that is essential to Indian Country because it benefits so many people who have jobs yet barely earn a living wage.

No matter how you look at the data, Indian Country has a stake in the debate ahead.

I am Mark Trahant.

Responding to the Opioid Drug Crisis in MN American Indian Communities

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Addiction to opioid pain killers and heroin is a daunting challenge to many Natives. In 2015, Minnesota had more American Indians dying from overdoses than any other state. That same year, nearly 70% of pregnant Native women gave birth to babies with opioids in their systems.

There’s a call for a culturally specific response base on traditional teachings and ceremonies, and a different urgent call for medically assisted treatment. In the end, healing from historical trauma is the path forward. Join us as we explore these issues in Minnesota’s Indian country in this special report from Minnesota Native News brought to you by Native Voice One.

Responding to the Opioid Drug Crisis in MN American Indian Communities

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Addiction to opioid pain killers and heroin is a daunting challenge to many Natives. In 2015, Minnesota had more American Indians dying from overdoses than any other state. That same year, nearly 70% of pregnant Native women gave birth to babies with opioids in their systems.

There’s a call for a culturally specific response base on traditional teachings and ceremonies, and a different urgent call for medically assisted treatment. In the end, healing from historical trauma is the path forward. Join us as we explore these issues in Minnesota’s Indian country in this special report from Minnesota Native News brought to you by Native Voice One.

Rocking the Boat: the Story of Changing Race Relations in Bemidji, Minnesota

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Predominantly white towns that border large American Indian reservations can be racially charged places. It is difficult for residents to face the historical atrocities and heal as a community. In a small city in Minnesota’s north woods, Natives and their non-Native allies have been working for 50 years to do just that. Join us as we hear their stories in the documentary Rocking the Boat: the Story of Changing Race Relations in Bemidji, Minnesota. It’s a special report from Minnesota Native News brought to you by Native Voice One.

Rocking the Boat: the Story of Changing Race Relations in Bemidji, Minnesota

By

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Predominantly white towns that border large American Indian reservations can be racially charged places. It is difficult for residents to face the historical atrocities and heal as a community. In a small city in Minnesota’s north woods, Natives and their non-Native allies have been working for 50 years to do just that. Join us as we hear their stories in the documentary Rocking the Boat: the Story of Changing Race Relations in Bemidji, Minnesota. It’s a special report from Minnesota Native News brought to you by Native Voice One.

Trahant Reports – Native journalist arrest puts the First Amendment on trial

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A Native American journalist is arrested while covering Standing Rock.

This is Trahant Reports.

There is an idea in law enforcement called the “thin blue line.” It basically means that police work together. A call goes out from Morton County and, right or wrong, law enforcement from around the country provides back up.

You would think journalism would be like that, too.

When one journalist is threatened, we all are. We cannot do our jobs when we worry about being injured or worse. And when a journalist is arrested? Well, everyone who claims the First Amendment as a framework should object loudly.

Last Wednesday Jenni Monet was arrested near Cannonball, North Dakota. She was interviewing water protectors who were setting up a new camp near the Dakota Access Pipeline route on treaty lands of the Great Sioux Nation. Law enforcement from Morton County surrounded the camp and captured everyone within the circle. A press release from the sheriff’s Department puts it this way: “Approximately 76 members of a rogue group of protestors were arrested.” Most were charged with criminal trespassing and inciting a riot.

As was Jenni Monet.

She is facing serious charges and the judicial process will go forward. The truth will come out.

But this story is about the failure of journalism institutions.

The Native press and the institutions that carry her work had Monet’s back. That includes Indian Country Media Network, Yes! Magazine, and the Center for Investigative Reporting. The Lost Angeles Times has now weighed in with its own story written by Sandy Tolan who’s done some great reporting from Standing Rock.

But in North Dakota you would not know this arrest happened. The press is silent.

After her release from jail, Monet wrote for Indian Country Media Network, “When Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman was charged with the same allegations I now face—criminal trespassing and rioting—her message to the world embraced the First Amendment. ‘There’s a reason why journalism is explicitly protected by the U.S. Constitution,’ she said before a crowd gathered in front of the Morton County courthouse. “Because we’re supposed to be the check and balance on power.”

The funny thing is that journalism institutions were not quick to embrace Goodman either. I have talked to many journalists who see her as an “other” because she practices a different kind of journalism than they do.

Monet’s brand of journalism is rooted in facts and good reporting. She talks to everyone on all sides of the story, including the Morton County Sheriff and North Dakota’s new governor. She also has street cred … and knows how to tell a story.

So if we ever need journalism institutions to rally, it’s now. It’s not Jenni Monet who will be on trial. It’s the First Amendment. Journalism is not a crime. I am Mark Trahant.

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