White construction worker sues Colville tribe (He was subjected to racist slurs, harassment)

Oregon Live ^ | May 18, 2006

[Stoat]

White construction worker sues Colville tribe

5/18/2006, 12:00 a.m. PT The Associated Press

 

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A white construction worker is suing two Colville tribal corporations, contending that racial slurs by American Indian co-workers caused him to quit his job.

Tribal attorneys say that Christopher Wright's employer, as a tribal entity, is entitled to sovereign immunity and cannot be sued in state court.

Arguments in the case were heard Tuesday before the state Supreme Court in Olympia. It is the first time in more than 25 years that the high court has heard a tribal sovereign immunity case. A ruling is likely months away.

Wright's case hinges on convincing justices that tribes' immunity unfairly shields tribal for-profit corporations doing off-reservation work.

They "can be just running around the state and just not following the law," said Wright's attorney, Breean Beggs. "They can be polluting, they can be manufacturing products that are dangerous, and you can't do anything about it, under their theory."

Tribal attorneys insist that the Colville corporations are immune to state suits.

Tribal attorney Michael Griffin told the high court that Wright is welcome to file his case in tribal court in Nespelem.

"The tribal court is wide open to litigants like Mr. Wright," said Griffin, a lawyer for the Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp. "If Mr. Wright invokes the jurisdiction of the tribal court, he will be heard."

Beggs said Colville tribal law is unclear about whether a non-Indian can sue the tribe in such a case.

Wright, a pipe layer, took a construction job in Oak Harbor in 2002 replacing a water system at Navy housing on Whidbey Island. His employer was the Colville Tribal Services Corp.

The company is one of 14 business enterprises run by the Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp.

Wright contended that one co-worker "constantly spat on me when I was working in the ditch below him and shouted things at me like 'You're my white bitch.'"

He said two co-workers, without permission, took his Honda for a joyride. Another allegedly called him a "Nazi German bastard" and threatened to kill whites and burn their homes.

He said he repeatedly complained to his boss. Court records show that Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp. officials called one meeting and told workers that racial epithets and harassment wouldn't be tolerated. Wright said the harassment continued.

In February 2003, after eight months on the job, he quit.

In Olympia on Tuesday, several justices seemed leery of trying to find a dividing line between the Colville tribes and their businesses.

"The tribe owns the corporation, controls the corporation, gets the proceeds from the corporation," Justice Richard Sanders told Beggs. "What more do you need?"

Tribal sovereign immunity from lawsuits is well established in federal law. In general, Indian tribes can be sued in local or state courts only when the tribe agrees to the suit or when Congress allows it.

The goal of this longstanding immunity, according to Supreme Court rulings and legal experts, was to protect the tribes from being stripped of their land and other assets.

It's one thing to protect the tribe, Beggs told the high court Tuesday, but it's quite another to protect for-profit corporations they create.

That's a distinction without a difference, the tribal attorneys say.

[Stoat]

Wright contended that one co-worker "constantly spat on me when I was working in the ditch below him and shouted things at me like 'You're my white bitch.'"

He said two co-workers, without permission, took his Honda for a joyride. Another allegedly called him a "Nazi German bastard" and threatened to kill whites and burn their homes.

He said he repeatedly complained to his boss. Court records show that Colville Tribal Enterprise Corp. officials called one meeting and told workers that racial epithets and harassment wouldn't be tolerated. Wright said the harassment continued.

[Tzimisce]

Interesting - they're not denying the charge, they're just saying they can't be sued.

Like the illegal immigrants, they're claiming the laws they don't like shouldn't apply to them.

[Tzimisce]

Interesting - they're not denying the charge, they're just saying they can't be sued.

Like the illegal immigrants, they're claiming the laws they don't like shouldn't apply to them.

[Paleo Conservative]

Well at least they didn't scalp him.

[dhs12345]

Liberals will say that this is justice for all of the years that Indians were persecuted by whites.

The old, worn out, hypocritical liberal rationalization: two wrongs make a right.

[Stoat]

I'll be curious to see whether the theft of the car can be prosecuted as a Hate Crime.....

[Stoat]

Liberals will say that this is justice for all of the years that Indians were persecuted by whites.

If you point out their hypocrisies, you're only going to make them cry.

 

[Stoat]

Well at least they didn't scalp him.

I think that the lawyers have determined that they can get more wampum by draining his bank account instead.

[fhlh]

haha... good luck winning this one.

[goodnesswins]

My first laugh of the day....thanks!

[Abcdefg]

He should give them some "fire water". Whiskey will "f"'em up real good!

[Stoat]

haha... good luck winning this one.

You surely aren't suggesting that The Noble Red Man isn't interested in equal justice for all???

(shocked expression on furry stoat face)

[VeniVidiVici]

If these people work on projects outside the tribe's jurisdiction they damn well ought to be subject to Federal/State/Local law.

[dljordan]

"Wright contended that one co-worker "constantly spat on me when I was working in the ditch below him and shouted things at me like 'You're my white bitch.'"

He would have done that once before he found out who the bitch was.

[dljordan]

"He should give them some "fire water". Whiskey will "f"'em up real good!"

Works on us Irish too.

[Stoat]

(((((Lawgirl Ping)))))

[Stoat]

If these people work on projects outside the tribe's jurisdiction they damn well ought to be subject to Federal/State/Local law.

A fatal flaw in your assessment....you are using logic, reason, and a rational, coherent perspective when considering a matter that involves race and racial politics.

[redpoll]

I've worked with Native Americans much of my adult life. My tribal background is from the Middle East, not North America.

Most of the Native Americans I've met are fine people. They have welcomed me into their community and I work well with them.

However...

The worst cases of racist talk and behavior have also been from the Native people I've lived with. Sadly, I consistently run into Native people who seem to think that their own historical challenges give them permission to attack, demean, insult, and sometimes physically assault non-Native people. I've had a Native kid in my classroom say, out loud, "You know we all hate white people. Why not just admit it?" Some Native parents tell their children that ALL their problems stem from white people - there are some villages here where non-Natives are not physically safe to live.

Like I said, this is not a broad brush to paint Native Americans. It's just personal experience with some people, not all. I've met bigots with ancestries in Europe, Asia, South American, Mexico, and Africa, too.

My gut feeling is that bigotry and racism stem from the whole concept of tribal identity. Tribal identity is the ultimate "us vs. them." It tells me a lot that many Native tribal names translate as "the human beings." The Cheyanne knew there were other tribes out there; their name for themselves tells me a lot about their opinion of their neighbors. "Yup'ik" means "real people." The implication is that the Athabascans up the river just don't meet the "real" test. Along comes people from other parts of the world; the tribal outlook means that they're not "real" people, either.

None of the things in this lawsuit surprise me. I've heard it myself in public schools, so I can imagine how it would be stated at a construction site.

I like my Western outlook where individuals have God-given rights.

[sheik yerbouty]

That was an Italian American who did that ad!

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

No surprise. Here in Green Bay, the Oneida tribe own a casino and give preferential treatment to non-white employees. In fact, black and white employees are passed over in favor of Hmong, Hispanic, and Indians.