Auburn man making history in Oklahoma

Auburn’s Finks elected as out-of-state legislator with Citizen Potawatomi Nation

Gus Thomson - Auburn, California Journal Staff Writer

Auburn’s Thom Finks is making history as an elected representative with Oklahoma’s 27,000-member Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Earlier this month, the tribe became the first in the nation to hold a vote to elect legislative representatives from outside the borders of its federally designated jurisdiction.

Finks, the owner of Sundance Computers in Auburn, was elected without opposition for the Northern California-Northern Nevada-Hawaii region. That makes him part of a ground-breaking effort by the Potawatomi tribe to reach out politically to its members outside Oklahoma.

Finks, 59, said that he’ll be representing 3,500 regional tribal members in a position that offers no compensation but plenty of challenges in the health care and medical facilities areas.

The Citizen Potawatomis worked for 15 years to develop a new constitution that would include out-of-state representatives. Members of the tribe have been able to vote by absentee ballot for 20 years and regional meetings are held throughout the U.S. But a nationwide election of legislature members – half are from Oklahoma and half are from outside the state – is unprecedented. “No Indian tribe has ever done this,” Finks said.

Finks has lived in Auburn and operated Sundance Computers for the past 13 years. He grew up in Southern California. His mother had settled there with her family in the 1930s to escape Dust Bowl conditions in Oklahoma. Finks’ grandmother is a full-blooded Citizen Potawatomi.

Finks’ interest in his Indian heritage increased when he was in his thirties and he soon became involved in traditional dancing. “My career was established and I had the time and wherewithal to start investigating,” he said. “What I found was that this tribe is probably one of the most progressive and forward looking, bar none.”

Finks has served the past eight years as regional director for Northern California and Nevada, becoming a well-known and respected leader. Regional meetings of the former tribal leadership group in Northern California have drawn 450 people. Finks said he’s hoping to establish a regional office, although he hasn’t decided on a location in the region.

For legislature meetings, Finks and other representatives will use teleconferencing, with Oklahoma legislators assembled at the new legislative chamber in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Finks points to a tribe that has been ably led over the past three decades by Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett and able to employ business acumen to a point where it owns the largest grocery store in Oklahoma, one of the few five-star golf courses in the state and one of the largest casinos – the 125,000 square-foot FireLake Grand Casino, opened in October 2006. Revenues from businesses last year reached nearly $300 million. “These are entrepreneurs who took absolute spit and did something with it, with minimal assistance over the last 35 years,” Finks said.

Finks’ presence in the new legislature adds respected business experience, said Michael Dodson, director of public information for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. “He brings a lot of years of business experience and has an excellent head on his shoulders,” Dodson added. “Plus, he has a very caring attitude about the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and its members.”

Dodson said entrepreneurship has been a major hallmark of the tribe for centuries. The Potawatomi people owned the first McCormick reaper dealership in the 1800s and were astute traders with the settlers heading west, he said.

Living in Auburn, Finks has watched the growth of the Thunder Valley Casino near Roseville. It’s owned by the 200-member United Auburn Indian Community. “I think it’s great,” he said. “They’re doing a good job and taking care of business – and Placer County is doing well by it.”

People shouldn’t begrudge the profits being made by the Auburn tribe or others, he added. “We’ve had our language, religion, way of life and lands taken away – even our people,” he said. “The only thing we had left was that little thing about gambling.”

Tribes should guard their sovereignty and could use the Potawatomi Nation as a guide, Finks said. “We’ve offered to help other traditional tribes,” he said. “We’ve paid our price.”

The Journal’s Gus Thomson can be reached at  gust@goldcountrymedia.com, or post a comment at auburnjournal.com.