By
Darrel Smith
The author is a reservation resident. He is the Editor of CERA NEWS and
Treasurer of Citizens Equal Rights Foundation (CERF).
Congress may expand this country’s most extreme experiment in affirmative action. Companion bills would give controlling groups on reservations the “inherent” independent supremacy to establish whatever form of government, constitution and court system they choose (Sec.2). This drastic affirmative action proposal will also result in racial tyranny, subjecting non-Indians to the same loss of constitutional rights currently experienced by Indians on reservations. The members of Congress who are sponsoring S.578 and H.R. 2242 want to extend the present discrimination against Indians to all persons who may come into contact with tribal authority. They propose subjecting everyone on the reservation (plus “any person, activity or event having sufficient contacts” with a reservation or a tribal member) to the criminal and civil laws of whatever “form of government” and court system tribes choose (Sec. 13). Other sections of these bills would give tribal governments authority equal to states under the Homeland Security Act of 2002 without the safeguards of either our federal or state constitutions.
Over 440,000 non-Indians live on reservations in this country and over 3,300,000 non-Indians live on some classification of “Indian land.” Who knows how many millions have “sufficient contacts” with a reservation or tribal member to be forced under tribal jurisdiction by these bills (see articles under “Reservation Demographics and Trends” in the “Major Issues” section of our web site).
Participation in tribal government is limited to Indians who are tribal members. Thus, non-members would not have a right to vote or participate in the government that makes, judges and enforces the laws, regulations and taxes that would control their families, property, businesses and communities. The U.S. Constitution, its Bill of Rights and its Fourteenth Amendment equal protection guarantees do not bind tribal governments. Tribes can, and do, legally discriminate against both members and nonmembers and are protected from legal challenges by their “sovereign immunity.” Tribal governments would apparently replace or control thousands of state and local government entities on reservations. The bills are a deliberate attempt to overturn a whole series of Supreme Court decisions limiting tribal authority.
These bills are not the passing thought of some rogue Congressman. Senators Campbell and Inouye, the chairmen and ranking minority member, of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, along with others, sponsored S. 578 in the Senate. Twenty-eight Representatives sponsored H.R. 2242 in the House. Key members of the tribal establishment, including the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and tribal chairmen and their attorneys, have been planning and meeting for over a year to formulate and introduce this type of legislation. These bills are an expression of their agenda and have the impressive political support of the national tribal establishment with their casino-enriched campaign and lobbying millions.
S. 578 and H.R. 2242 directly threaten millions of non-members who either live on reservations, or have “sufficient contacts” with a reservation or tribal member, to come under tribal jurisdiction. The bills would annul our right to vote and terminate our constitutional protections. Our families are threatened, our property values damaged and our communities disrupted. Can you think of a more breathtaking example of racial tyranny against American citizens in this country? If these bills pass, hopefully, the Supreme Court will continue to limit this extreme form of affirmative action and group rights, and protect individual human rights.
You can view these bills by going to our web site at:
www.citizensalliance.org and then clicking on “Legal Issues,” and “Thomas Legislative Information” in the “Legal Links” section. Please contact your Senators and Representatives at 202-224-3121.