The Choctaw Tribe has proved even more productive by another crucial yardstick:  influence peddling in Washington.  How successful is it?  In 1997 the tribe secured its very own special-interest provision hidden in a massive federal spending bill.  And it taps the government fort tens of millions of dollars in federal aid every year, even though the Silver Star rakes in annual profits of about $100 million.

Indian gaming interests have come up with a one-two punch that is helping them get their way with politicians.  Indian constituents, acknowledged as long-suffering victims of ill conceived government policies, often succeed at requesting political favors.  Meanwhile, they or their wealthy backers are dumping money - staggering amounts of it - into political campaigns, lobbying and state ballot initiatives.  This combination has helped create the out of control world of Indian gaming, a world where the leaders of newly wealthy tribes have so much political power that they can flout the rights of neighboring communities, poorer tribes and even some of their own members.  Their political clout also helps them protect a chaotic gaming system that has served them well, one that is characterized by overburdened and underfunded watchdog agencies, a mishmash of regulations and a lack of financial accountability.  As a result, Washington often ignores the needs of Native Americans in distress while assisting those who least need help.

As recently as a decade ago, Indian tribes were barely a blip on the special interest radar screen.  But since 1993, they have contributed $8.6 million to federal candidates.  In the Clinton years, most of the money went to Democrats.  During his second run for office, in 1996, tribes handed out a total of $1.9 million, 86% of it to Democrats.  But with a Republican in the White House, Indian tribes have shifted the target of their largesse.  So far this year, 56% of the $1.4 million they have donated to federal campaigns has gone to the G.O.P.  the tribes have invested even more heavily in lobbying Congress.  In 200-01 they spent $20 million lobbying on such issues as preserving the tax-free status of casinos, expanding gaming operations and protecting Indian sovereign immunity, which allows them ot avoid regulations imposed on other businesses.

No tribe spends more - or more effectively - than Mississippi's Choctaw.  Since 1997 the 8,800 member tribe has distributed some $11 million to Washington lobbying firms.  Most of the money has gone to one of the capital's premier lobbyists, Jack Abramoff, a top Republican Party fund raiser.  It was money well spent.  In the 1997 legislative caper, Thad Cochran, Mississippi's five-term Republican Senator, slipped into a 40,000 word appropriations bill a 19-word sentence that exempts the tribe from oversight by the national Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) the regulatory body created by Congress to oversee Indian gambling.  The sentence also excuses the Choctaw from paying the fees levied on all other indian gaming establishments, which are the NCG's sole source of revenue.  The savings for the tribe amount to about $180,000 a year.  Chochran's provision argues that the tribe was self-regulating effectively.

Meanwhile, government audit reports show that over the past five years, federal agencies have lavished $245 million in aid on the Choctaw.  In 2001 alone - the same year the tribe bought a $4.5 million corporate plane - the Choctaw collected $50.4 million from nearly 70 government programs, including $14.9 million to run their tribal government, $1.3 million for law enforcement and almost $371,000 for food distribution.  It adds up to an average of $5,700 for each member.  In contrast, federal aid for the Navajo Nation, the poorest tribe in America, averaged $900 for each of its 260,000 members.  The Navajo have no casino.