Oneida Nation officials apologized for entering into contracts with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency after facing backlash from tribal members for the business ventures.
In a Jan. 2 video broadcast on social media, Oneida Chairman Tehassi Hill said he and the rest of the tribal council weren’t aware until Dec. 29 of the contracts between ICE and the tribe’s subsidiary Oneida Engineering, Science and Construction Group.
“I was very upset when I learned about this,” Hill said in the video broadcast.
Hill said the business venture with ICE does not align with the tribe’s values and the Oneida Nation Business Committee would have never entertained the idea. He added that the tribe’s business committee does not engage in the day-to-day decisions of its corporations, but only provides high-level oversight. The Oneida ESC and some of the tribe’s other business entities are kept separate from tribal government to help insulate the tribe from any potential litigation.
Jeff House, CEO of Oneida ESC, also apologized for approving the contracts with ICE, saying it was a mistake.
House said the Dec. 26 contract with ICE was for inspecting facilities and ensuring they are up to code and provide humane standards.
He said he doesn’t approve of what ICE is doing, but he thought the contract would ensure immigrants were being treated properly.
The Federal Procurement Data System, an online database of federal contracts, shows Oneida-Stantec JV LLC (OESC Group) was awarded a $2.6 million contract by ICE on Sept. 19 and a $3.7 million contract by ICE on Dec. 26. The information was first reported by Fox 11 News in Green Bay.
House said he is focused on canceling the Dec. 26 contract as well as gathering more information on the September contract. The contracts are engineering and technical services and for maintenance of government facilities.
A similar situation of a tribal nation facing the ire of Indian Country after it entered into a contract with ICE occurred in December with the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas.
Dallas Goldtooth, a popular Indian Country actor, comedian and activist, spoke out against the nearly $30 million contract.
“This is a clear example of where economic development without any base values grounded in Indigenous philosophy and human dignity leads you into some dark places,” he wrote on social media about the issue.
In response, Prairie Band officials fired the senior members of the tribe’s LLC, which made the contract with ICE. Potawatomi tribal officials later announced they were able to cancel the contract with ICE.
House said he was aware of the Prairie Band situation, but he believes that tribe’s contract was for building a detention facility on or near the reservation, whereas the Oneida contracts were only for inspections.
Oneida officials have faced vocal opposition from hundreds of tribal members after news of the contracts broke.
“This reflects a clear misalignment with the values I expect our elected officials to uphold,” posted tribal member and former Oneida Nation attorney Rebecca Webster on social media. “This is mind boggling that anyone thought this was a good idea.”
Others posted in reply that ICE is targeting mostly Indigenous people from Turtle Island (North America) who happen to be from Mexico or Central America.
There have been incidents in which ICE briefly detained tribal members of reservations in the U.S. in apparent cases of racial profiling. These incidents have drawn a lot of ire from Indian Country because the ones being arrested have ancestors who were among the first people in what is now the U.S., going back at least 10,000 years. ICE agents, on the other hand, typically have ancestors who have been here only a few generations.
Hill said the Oneida Business Committee also passed a resolution in response to the situation to clarify the tribe’s position.
“Passing this resolution is an initial step to implementing clarity about the Nation’s expectations that our employees, representatives, businesses and tribal corporations align with our core values,” Hill said in a statement.
“The Oneida Business Committee will consider other appropriate steps needs to prevent future misalignment with balanced measure using our ‘Good Mind Principles’.”
On Friday afternoon, the Oneida Business Committee fired the OESC’s board of managers and installed Debra Powless as an interim manager. Powless is the Oneida Nation’s director of commerce development.
Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at [email protected] or 815-260-2262. Follow him on X at @vaisvilas_frank.
