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The Chehalis tribe in Washington state has a plan to create jobs and income. The problem? A racist law of 1834.
ARI SHAPIRO, HTE:
When the Chehalis tribe in Washington state wanted to build their own distillery, they learned that it was illegal to distill alcohol on Native American lands. Darian Woods and Dave Blanchard from our The Indicator podcast report how the tribe reacted to this racist law.
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DARIAN WOODS: Harry Pickernell is the president of the Chehalis tribe in Washington state. But don’t let that lofty title fool you into thinking it’s just some sort of costume.
HARRY PICKERNELL: I’m not the type of president in a suit and tie. If I have a polo shirt, I am dressed.
DAVE BLANCHARD: And a few years ago Harry’s tribe were looking to find a wider range of ways to generate income.
PICKERNELL: One of the things on the whiteboard that popped up was, why not a distillery?
WOODS: The tribal chiefs envisioned a huge restaurant and bar with a distillery at the back. He would serve meals – like fish and chips, Harry’s favorite – all washed down with a cocktail of homemade vodka and whiskey. One day at the tribal headquarters, Chehalis’ lawyer rushed over and said, we have a problem.
PICKERNELL: An old law from 1834 that says distilleries in Indian land are not allowed, and they’ll be destroyed if you build one. So that kind of put an end to everything.
WOODS: So this whole project was meant to create jobs and bring money to the tribe. He was there to fund health, education and cultural services. So it was a real blow to learn that even if this project had the full support of the Chehalis tribe, the federal government would not let them go ahead.
PICKERNELL: It was so paternalistic. And I don’t want – if there’s a better word for racist, there is.
BLANCHARD: Harry’s point of view was that they should fight him. And the other tribal chiefs agreed. So, in early 2018, they were in the DC office of Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, a representative from Southwest Washington.
WOODS: And Jaime was flabbergasted.
JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER: I can’t imagine anyone telling me that, like, you know, 21st century America. Well, sorry, you know, if you’re not on tribal land, you absolutely can do that unless you’re on tribal land.
BLANCHARD: Jaime thought the law was so unfair that they had a good chance of convincing many of his colleagues in Congress to support the repeal. So she said to Harry and the other tribal chiefs, let’s do this. She introduced a bill to get rid of the law.
HERRERA BEUTLER: Yeah, let’s fix it.
BLANCHARD: In April, Jaime had organized a House subcommittee hearing …
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: … And Alaska Native Affairs will come to order.
BLANCHARD: … where she invited Harry to testify.
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PICKERNELL: Southwest Washington has long been an economically depressed area, devoid of businesses and jobs for tribal members.
And I had a polo shirt, and it was my nice polo shirt, so …
WOODS: You know things are serious when he wears the special polo shirt.
PICKERNELL: Absolutely.
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PICKERNELL: The tribe appreciates that the committee has scheduled this hearing and is asking for a quick review of HR 5317.
WOODS: And in December 2018 Harry got a phone call. Donald J. Trump had scribbled his signature using this special Sharpie on the bill. It had been signed into law.
PICKERNELL: Oh, my God, it’s done. We can – we did.
WOODS: So what about a party fish and chips? What happened that night?
PICKERNELL: (Laughs) I think I had a party lemonade back then.
WOODS: In June 2020, the distillery restaurant and bar was opened, with an opening team of around 70 people. It was called the talking cedar.
BLANCHARD: And to Harry, all that – the distillery, the restaurant, changing the law – you know, it wasn’t really about cocktails. It was about sovereignty, with the tribe defining its future and economic prosperity on its own terms.
Dave Blanchard.
WOOD: Darian Woods, NPR News.
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