[Marxism] The Sovereignty of Tribal Native Nations [also Geo. Bush tries to discuss sovereignty]

["Hunter Gray" <hunterbadbear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Sovereignty of Tribal Native Nations [also Geo. Bush tries to discuss
sovereignty]

QUICK SKETCH ON TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY: [Hunter Bear]

 A Native  tribal nation, like all nations, has inherent
 sovereignty.  Full sovereignty is the full and ultimate control by  the
 tribal nation of its land, its people, and its affairs.  Much sovereignty
 has been lost -- however temporarily -- by the tribal nations in both the
 U.S. and Canada  but some functional sovereignty does remain.

 Native sovereignty has been badly eroded.  In the United States, the
current situation is referred to as "residual" or "limited sovereignty" -- a
tribal nation has control over some dimensions but not over others. The
fight is always to preserve and to expand sovereignty.  Sovereignty,
obviously, is power -- and protection and security -- and critical to
individual and
societal well-being.

A Federally recognized tribe today in the U.S. has these powers in the
context of "limited" or "residual" sovereignty:

1] Tribes can govern themselves administratively  and judicially -- under
the regulations of the Indian Reorganization Act   [1934] and subject to the
Major Crimes Act  [1885], Public Law 280 [1953] and the Indian Civil Rights
Act [1968.]

2]  Tribes can tax their members and tax outside business enterprises
functioning on the reservation.

3]  Tribes can handle domestic relations.

4]  Tribes can apportion tribal property [e.g., homesites.]

5]  Tribes can regulate inheritance.

6]  Tribes can determine tribal membership.

 Obviously this excludes much from "the full and ultimate control by  the
tribal nation of its land, its people, and its affairs."

As just an example, let's look at the criminal justice situation on a
Federal Indian reservation today:

A tribe CAN arrest and prosecute an Indian who commits misdemeanor crimes
within the boundaries of the reservation.

A tribe CANNOT arrest and prosecute anyone who commits felony crimes on its
reservation.  In the greatest majority of cases, this power is held by the
Federal government under the Major Crimes Act of 1885  -- although a
non-Indian to non-Indian felony on a reservation is turned over to state
officials.  In a small minority of cases, however, Public Law 280 [1953]
gives  all felony jurisdiction to the state.

[PL-280, BTW, was part of the infamous "Termination Package" of the
reactionary 1950s and beyond which included, in addition to 280, formal
efforts to terminate treaty rights -- and although this was kept at arm's
length by most tribes and eventually ended and reversed as policy, played
hell with the Menominee and Klamath and a number of other affected nations.
Termination efforts included, too, the urban relocation scheme which
maneuvered tens of thousands of Native people into the cities with  both
"the stick" and  "pie in the sky" promises and dumped them there sans
Federal Indian benefits.]

In 1978, the US Supreme Court issued the Oliphant decision which prevents
tribes from prosecuting non-Indian offenders on its reservation.
Immediately following this, I had the interesting experience of spending a
day discussing OIiphant and its implications at a  special
workshop for Navajo tribal police at Window Rock. [I handled the Criminal
Justice curriculum at Navajo Community College.] It was clear that massive
confusion was fast developing and that the only immediate solution was
cross-deputization of tribal police by state authorities. [The Navajo Nation
is bigger than the state of West Virginia and, in this case, Arizona, New
Mexico, Colorado, Utah are involved.]  Cross-deputization in Indian country
generally came to pass quickly, enabling a cross-deputized tribal police
officer to arrest a non-Indian on the reservation -- but the non-Indian
would have to be turned over to state or Federal officers. Further, only
rarely was a state cross-deputized tribal officer able to arrest someone on
state jurisdiction.

If this was not confusing enough, the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1990 Duro
decision sought to prevent  a tribe from arresting and prosecuting Indians
of other tribes on its reservation!  This fast-developing and completely
bizarre twist led Congress to forthwith pass special "blocking" legislation
which was made permanent in 1992.  Thus Duro has been effectively nullified.

And the January 21 2004 USSC decision -- Lara -- conclusively invalidated
Duro.   But, unfortunately, it did not touch Oliphant.

This has led a great many of us to call for restoration of full Native civil
and criminal jurisdiction [ jurisdiction over everyone!] on the
reservations.

The completely tangled criminal justice jurisdictional situation on Federal
Indian reservations epitomizes the very complex mess in which most Native
people are caught up today.

Hunter Bear
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Audio: Bush explains meaning of tribal sovereignty
Friday, August 6, 2004

Laughter greeted President George W. Bush today when he explained the
meaning of tribal sovereignty at the UNITY 2004 minority journalists
convention.

Mark Trahant, the editorial page editor of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
and a member of the Shoshone-Bannock Nation of Idaho, asked Bush: "What do
you think tribal sovereignty means in the 21st century and how do we
resolve conflicts between tribes and the federal and state governments?"

Bush's immediate response was: "Tribal sovereignty means that. It's
sovereign," he said. "You're a .. you're a ... you've been given
sovereignty and you're viewed as a sovereign entity," he added.

The remark drew guffaws from the crowd at the Washington, D.C., convention
center, prompting Bush to throw his hand in the air momentarily.

Bush went on to explain the nature of the trust relationship but didn't use
the word trust or the phrase government-to-government.

"Therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is
one between sovereign entities," he said. "Now the federal government has
got a responsibly on matters like education and security to help, and
health care. It's a solemn duty. From this perspective, we must continue to
uphold that duty."

Bush said that "one of the most promising areas of all is to help with
economic development. And that means helping people to understand what it
means to start a business. That's why the Small Business Administration has
increased loans. It means, obviously, encouraging capital flow."

"But none of that will happen unless the education systems flourish and are
strong. That's why I told you that we spent $1.1 billion in reconstruction
of Native American schools," he concluded.


HUNTER GRAY  [HUNTER BEAR]   Micmac /St. Francis Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
www.hunterbear.org
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´
and Ohkwari'

In our Gray Hole, the ghosts often dance in the junipers and sage, on the
game trails, in the tributary canyons with the thick red maples, and on the
high windy ridges -- and they dance from within the very essence of our own
inner being. They do this especially when the bright night moon shines down
on the clean white snow that covers the valley and its surroundings.  Then
it is as bright as day -- but in an always soft and mysterious and
remembering way. [Hunter Bear]



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