Updated 5:32 p.m.
WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the House committee in charge of Indian
affairs has called for a federal investigation of this week's Narragansett
Indian smoke shop incident.
Televised images of the violent confrontation between members of the
Narragansett tribe and Rhode Island State Police officers ``have
outraged Native American leaders nationwide, who have expressed strong
concerns that the civil rights of Native Americans, and the sovereign
rights of the Narragansett Tribe, may have been violated,'' Rep. Richard
W. Pombo, R-Cal., wrote in a letter to Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft late
last night.
Pombo, who is chairman of the House Resources Committee, said he was
aware of an investigation at the state level.
But, he said, "While this is a commendable step, due to the lengthy
history of disputes between the Narragansett Tribe and the state, the
complexity of the issues involved with the intersection of state and
tribal law enforcement authority, and the high level of emotion
currently running in Rhode Island, I believe that this review by itself
is insufficient.''
"Only the United States government,'' said Pombo, "will be seen as
providing a fair and objective review of this incident and the
surrounding controversies over the tribal tobacco store.''
Pombo also appeared to take a position against the state's decision to
raid the allegedly unlawful smoke shop on tribal landsin Charlestown on
Monday.
He acknowledged that the legal questions about the business are
"serious, complex and legitimate.'' But he added, "the place to resolve
these questions is in a court of law, not in an aggressive raid that
risks violent confrontation on tribal land where tribal members, state
and tribal law enforcement officers, and innocent bystanders are all put
needlessly in harm's way.''
The video and photographic news images of the raid "conjure up memories
of incidents from decades ago, in a troubling time for our country, that
no American should wish to see happen again,'' Pombo said.
Representatives of the state and tribe are scheduled to meet with a
federal court judge on Monday afternoon, after both sides filed court
complaints and requests for temporary restraining orders aimed at
deciding whether the shop should be allowed to re-open.
The discussion was moved to that venue after the state filed in Superior
Court in Washington County; the tribe filed its papers in U.S. District
Court, Providence.
Pombo's committee spokesman, Brian Kennedy, said the chairman does not
necessarily want the federal investigation to replace of supplant any
state-level inquiries.
"But a lot of these guys say, `We're going to launch an investigation,'
'' Kennedy said, referring to state and local officials. "That's great
to say in front of a microphone.
"Well, OK, show us the teeth,'' he said. "We need a federal
investigation to determine whether the Narragansett Tribe's members had
their constitutional or civil rights violated.''
Governor Carcieri, who decided to send in State Police to conduct the
raid, has ordered both an internal police inquiry into Monday's incident
and an outside investigation.
Mike Healy, a spokesman for state Atty. Gen. Patrick Lynch, said it was
premature to say if a federal investigation was a good idea. Healy said
the attorney general's office had questions about who would conduct such
a probe and what its scope would be.
Two members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation endorsed Pombo's
call for a federal probe, noting the tribe's relationship with the
federal government.
"...A federal, third-party inquiry would serve to further validate any
findings uncovered by the state investigations so as to quash any
potential accusations that a state body does not have the necessary
objectivity to conduct such an investigation," said Rep. Patrick
Kennedy, D-R.I.
"I believe it would be helpful to have an additional objective review of
the events in question," said Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I.
But Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., said a federal probe may not be needed
because there is already a state investigation, and efforts are being
made to settle the matter.
He added that any request for a federal inquiry should come from those
directly involved in the issue.
-- With reports from The Associated Press
