A Native American tribe in Kansas is facing criticism from other tribal groups after its economic development subsidiary secured a $29.9m federal contract from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to design potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.
The development entity of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation signed the contract to design the detention facilities in October, leading to criticism that the tribal group, which was uprooted from the Great Lakes region to reservation lands north of Topeka, Kansas, in the 1830s, was itself benefiting from forced removals under the Trump administration.
In a video statement released on Friday, tribal chair Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick confirmed that KPB Services – a subsidiary of Prairie Band LLC, the nation’s economic arm – had signed the contract and apologized for the “concern, frustration and confusion” it had caused. “Right now, we are looking at all options concerning exiting this contract. We met with legal counsel immediately, and the process is still under way,” he said.
“We know our Indian reservations were the government’s first attempts at detention centers,” Rupnick added. “So we must ask ourselves why we would ever participate in something that mirrors the harm and trauma once done to our people.”
The statement came after the 4,500-member tribe said it had fired the economic development leaders who brokered the deal. “We are known across the nation now as traitors and treasonous to another race of people,” Ray Rice, a 74-year-old who said he and other tribal members were blindsided by the deal, told the Associated Press.
Carole Cadue-Blackwood, who has Prairie Band Potawatomi ancestry and is an enrolled member of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, hopes the contract dies. She has been part of the fight against an ICE detention center opening in Leavenworth, Kansas, and works for a social service agency for Native Americans.
“I’m in just utter disbelief that this has happened,” she said.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and Prairie Band LLC had acknowledged that the DHS contract “does not align” with its principles and they would “ensure all future engagements align clearly with our values and mission”.
Questions are also being raised about why the Potawatomi’s development subsidy was selected for a sizable government contract without having to compete for the work. Sole-source contracts above $30m require additional justification under federal contracting rules.
KPB Services was registered in April by Prairie Band LLC executive vice-president Ernest Woodward, a former naval officer and member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma who describes himself as the “go-to” adviser for tribes and affiliated companies seeking to land federal contracts.
The company has reportedly positioned itself to pursue government contracts, Native News Online reported. Other tribal groups, including Alaska Native corporations, have also held contracts worth millions, including detention facility operations, guard services and border patrol support.
Earlier this year, the Guardian reported that the Nana
Regional Corporation, one of 13 regional Alaskan Native corporations, had been contracted through a subsidiary to run detention facilities at the Guantánamo Bay naval base in Cuba.
Native American corporations also staff or support ICE detention facilities near Miami, in upstate New York, in El Paso, Texas, and in San Pedro, California, according the website Turtle Talk. An LLC owned by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama also has a multimillion-dollar contract with ICE to provide support to a detention facility in Alabama.
A Tribal Resources Guide published by the DHS describes tribal nations as “critical partners in our homeland security efforts, and DHS’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs promotes an integrated national approach to homeland security by coordinating and advancing federal interaction with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments”.
The arrangements bring important revenue to Native American tribes that are under increased economic pressure because of decreased federal funding, reduced reservation visitors, high inflation and competition from online gambling.
But the economic opportunities presented to tribes don’t always align with cultural values. Native Americans have also been detained by ICE during immigration sweeps, including last month when actor Elaine Miles said she was stopped by ICE agents who alleged her ID from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon “looked fake”.
In January, the Navajo Nation president, Buu Nygren, said his office had received reports that tribal members had had “negative, and sometimes traumatizing, experiences with federal agents targeting undocumented immigrants in the south-west”.
Nygren advised Navajo people to carry state-issued identification, such as a driver’s license, other picture identification or a so-called certificate of Indian blood (CIB). “It’s best to be prepared,” he said. “Having your state ID is crucial, and if you possess a CIB, it can provide an additional layer of reassurance.”
In his statement, Rupnick said the Prairie Band Potawatomi’s development company risked losing future government contracts by withdrawing from the agreement with the DHS, but it was a necessary measure.
“Those who are veterans, like myself, understand that working with the government sometimes puts you in positions that go against your values,” Rupnick said. “Our LLC works with the government too, but unlike the military, we can say no. Saying no comes with consequences, including the potential for fewer future contracts, but our values must guide us first and foremost.”
The Associated Press contributed reporting
