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Native American Leaders and Salazar Agree on Priorities
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360usa Joe Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians, set out four major expectations that Native Americans have of the new administration
National Congress of American Indians president Joe Garcia, of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, demonstrated that Indians are not afraid to reach for high symbolism to get their share of the economic and political pie. Before beginning his annual State of Indian Nations speech last week at the National Museum of the American Indian, Garcia helped bless and present the famous Pueblo Lincoln canes, kissing them reverently, as they were handed to him by Marcelino Aquino, the current governor of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo of New Mexico. Presented to the 19 Pueblos in 1863 by then President Abraham Lincoln, the silver headed canes represent the United States' recognition of the Pueblos' land rights, granted to them by the Spanish in 1659. The canes are still an important symbol of office in the pueblos, handed down to each succeeding governor.
In this case, they were a potent, almost stern reminder to President Obama, who often cites Lincoln as an inspiration, that tribal leaders expect him to walk his talk in dealings with Indian country.
During his often-emotional speech, the last of his tenure, Garcia declared the state of Indian nations to be more hopeful than they have ever been. He focused on four main areas.
-- Establishing a place at the table in the country’s economic recovery. Garcia citied the high unemployment rates in Indian country, 22% overall versus the national average of around 7% (during the Great Depression U.S. unemployment was 25%). Garcia pointed out that that the federal government has a more than $50 billion backlog in tribal projects, including road, home, jails and school construction.
-- Addressing the health care crisis in Indian country and the failure of the last Congress to authorize the American Indian Health Care Act. When the federal government fails to honor one of the earliest treaty provisions, Garcia stressed, American Indians have nowhere else to turn for health care.
--Increasing public safety, now almost non-existent on many reservations. Reservation citizens are twice as likely as the average U.S. citizen to fall victim to violent crime. Federal authorities decline to prosecute 65% of reservation crimes due to complex jurisdictional concerns.
-- Providing educational opportunities in Indian country. Native Americans, of all ethnic groups, have the highest high school drop out rate in the country. (In the compromise version of the economic stimulus bill, there were deep funding cuts for education and Head Start programs.)
Although not mentioned in Garcia’s speech, trust reform is also a key issue for Native Americans, the NCAI’s 111th Congress Draft Legislative Priorities listing it as a first-year priority for the new Congress.
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar addressed issues of Indian country before a Senate committee Feb. 12
Trust reform was also on Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s mind when he addressed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs last week. Keenly aware that his two predecessors were found to have been in contempt of court in the Cobell case, he acknowledged American Indians' frustration with the government’s handling of the case. Salazar indicated his desire to bring the litigation to a conclusion but did not mention a timetable.
(Cobell v. Norton is a class-action lawsuit filed on June 10, 1996, in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to force the federal government to account for billions of dollars belonging to approximately 500,000 American Indians and their heirs, and held in trust since the late 19th century.)
Salazar’s priority list for Indian country was amazingly similar to Garcia's. During his first meeting with the Committee on Indian Affairs, Salazar promised that American Indians would have a place at the table in the Obama administration. In response to committee chairman Bryon Dorgan’s frustration with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has not had a permanent leader in three years, Salazar assured him that a candidate has been chosen and is in the vetting process.
Echohawk Law Office Larry Echohawk
(As everyone in Indian country already knows, the candidate for the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs is Larry Echohawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation and brother of John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund and a member of Obama’s Interior transition team. A law professor at Brigham Young University, Larry Echohawk seems to be weathering concerns among many tribal leaders that his previous opposition to Indian gaming makes him a poor candidate to represent Indian sovereignty.)
Secretary Salazar announced the appointment of Indian candidates for Solicitor of the Interior and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. The vetting process is currently underway.
These have not been traditional posts for American Indians in past administrations; in fact, this will be the first time in history that American Indians have held these offices.
Salazar assured the committee, “It is important for me as Secretary of the Interior that the department’s leadership positions reflect the face of America.”
The Obama administration has also appointed Jodi Archambault Gillette, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, as deputy associate director in its intergovernmental affairs office.
Word on the street is that President Obama will appoint at least one more American Indian to a policy-making position within his administration.
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It's awsome to have a compassionate President who truly cares about the Native Americans and their well being. Thank you Obama for having a heart of justice and being a lamp in Native Country. God Bless You......
Native American Priorities
Since 1824, there have been about 37 Presidents, Congresses and DOI Secretary’s who have selected persons highly experienced and educated in public affairs to head the Department of the Interior. What do they know about Indian Affairs? It doesn’t matter because their intentions is not to fix the centuries old broken trust responsibility to American Indians.
Until there is true trust reform that is court tested and agreed upon by the Tribes, Individual Indians and the U.S., the broken trust strategy will continue in this century. Nothing will be accomplished other than a very expensive, BILLIONS of dollars appearance of trust by the DOI.
After other failed attempts of trust reform, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians has proven beyond doubt they have no intentions of fixing the broken trust. They are in contempt of court for fro failure to provide proof of successful reform projects. Instead the lied to the Court, mislead the court, submitted false reports and destroyed Indian trust records for starters. Both BIA and OST have appointed employees who have elevated and orchestrated wasteful years of planned mismanagement.
In 1834 politically appointed employees are still the problem. "If the Indians are exposed to any danger, there is none greater than the residence among them of unprincipled white men." H. R. Rep. No. 474, 23d Cong., 1st Sess., 98 (1834) (letter dated Feb. 10, 1834, from Indian Commissioners to the Secretary of War).
It has been recognized in 1868 that politically appointed employees and a lack of an Indian Trust policy has been the problem. The “Report to the President by the Indian Peace Commission” of 1868 offered their recommendation to the President of the United States: “[p103] 3. That Congress pass an act fixing a day (not later than the 1st of February, 1869) when the offices of all superintendents, agents, and special agents shall be vacated. Such persons as have proved themselves competent and faithful may be reappointed. Those who have proved unfit will find themselves removed without an opportunity to divert attention from their own unworthiness by provisions of party zeal.”
In November of 1921, the Snyder Act combined all treaty rights into one generalization of health, education and welfare. Again, Congress only reacts when incidents like the corrupt Indian Agent ring syndrome receives national attention. Their thinking is that all Indians are alike and across the board legislation fixes all human needs. With ambiguous legislation, deteriorating federal budgets and growth in tribal populations, the federal governments’ Indian problem will get worse.
Our history proves the federal government will do, as they want. There is a governmental “Above the Law” attitude that is detrimental to tribal self-determination. The attitude has been; yes, you can still be Indian but you are going to be “one of us” or else expect termination. It is a silent termination by fewer appropriations in health, education, and welfare, inconsistent policies, corruptible employees, and disorganization of Indian services. Economic embargos have been imposed on us far before they have been placed on Iraq or other nations.
It seems worse now for Indians to find justice and we don’t know if it will improve or get worse in the future. That the U.S. government is in the oldest legal battle regarding how Indians have been treated exposes the corrupt morals and scruples in U.S. domestic policy. Before this nation’s financial meltdown, political actions in providing safety mechanisms to protect the public trust and assets were deregulated. Then they were offered to the highest bidder for corporate profit and political gain. It is the same with Indian Affairs.
Then in September 2002, Judge Lamberth said, “The Department of Interior cannot engage in the type of despicable conduct detailed in this opinion and then argue that the Court should nevertheless not hold the Secretary and Assistant Secretary in civil contempt because it may affect their prospective ability to discharge their fiduciary obligations. The plaintiffs’ lawsuit in general and this contempt trial in particular are predicated on the fact that these defendants have not in the past and are not currently carrying out their fiduciary obligations properly. The defendants’ argument that a contempt citation would somehow further undermine their ability to discharge their fiduciary duties correctly is farcical. The Court has yet to see the Department take any action that would support its contention in this regard. Moreover, by finding the defendants in civil contempt today the Court has not “done the worst” that it can do. Upon a proper motion and for good cause shown, the Court has the power to institute additional (civil or criminal) contempt proceedings in this matter, and, if it appears that the defendants are not performing their fiduciary duties to the best of their ability, the Court can always entertain another motion by plaintiffs to appoint a receiver over the IIM trust. Thus, if individuals at the Department of Interior, including Secretary Norton, feel that as a result of this Court’s ruling they are unable or unwilling to perform their duties to the best of their ability, then they should leave the Department forthwith or at least be reassigned so that they do not work on matters relating to the IIM trust.
In August of 2008 in the Cobell lawsuit, the replacement Judge made a decision to award $455 million but that doesn’t fix anything in trust reform. Most likely, that money will come from Indian affairs budget anyway and will not be new money.
We need protection and we need to make sure we get it. We need protection from our own federal protector. We need a policy that benefits the Indians (Beneficiary) as the U.S. (Trustee) promised. We need an Indian Trust Policy with common law trust standards and with the best beneficiary and wealth management services. After all, it IS our money and land. Without a strong policy, it doesn’t matter who is the Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary. We need to ensure this policy happens no matter who is head of the department.”
So far, this President and political appointees have all recited that “trust reform is the highest priority within the Department” as all others have said before them. I too will pray for this President for the courage in an honest settlement, the creation of an Indian Trust Policy, a federal budget to support this trust and a cleansing of all federal Indian organizations. America needs to know our history, the centuries of corruption, our intentions to correct this and that we can become a Nation-to-Nation partner.
I was not in the Cobell court sessions that started in 1996 but I witnessed many trust reform projects as they were proven wrong by public court investigators. I witnessed Murphy’s law inaction because it was intentional. The U.S. protected the mismanagement of the trust instead of creating, protecting and enforcing this trust for Indian services since 1887. To date, the U.S. still has not created a true Indian Trust Policy that protects our land and all assets from outsiders.
Thomas M. Wabnum
IIMAccountholder@comcast.net
Prairie Band Potawatomi
Former Federal Programs Relocation survivor
Former Indian Boarding School survivor
Former Tribal Councilperson
U.S. Navy Viet Nam Veteran
BIA/OST retired