The RESOURCE SENTINEL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2003
There's
a civil rights nightmare waiting to happen with Senator Inouye's S578 amendment
to the Homeland Security Bill.
It
would deprive several million people, some of whom live near – and others that
legally own property in – "Indian Country" of their constitutional
rights, under the guise of making Indian Tribes a part of Homeland Security
because some reservation land is on U.S. borders.
Originally
the "Hicks Fix" movement headed by Inouye had crafted a bill known as
TGEEI (Tribal Governance and Economic Enhancement Initiative.) Its goal was to
use new legislation to overturn several Supreme Court decisions which have gone
against tribes and clarified their limited sovereignty. It was named for the
case of Nevada vs. Hicks in which the State of Nevada won a jurisdictional
dispute with the Fallon Shoshone tribe involving the right to pursue a criminal
onto reservation land. The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in favor of the State of
Nevada, which has inspired Inouye, and tribes with abundant money from casinos
that can use an unconstitutional tribal loophole Senator McCain created in his
recent Campaign Finance Reform bill to craft legislation to gain more
jurisdiction and take away the constitutional rights of non-tribal members
living on their own deeded land in what is called "Indian Country".
A
stealth bill.
If
the bill stood alone, it wouldn't stand a chance. But, as an amendment to the
urgent, lengthy and complex Homeland Security legislation the bill's supporters
evidently feel they have a better chance. And they do, unless enough people
point out the racial tyranny and civil rights atrocities this legislation would
enact.
The
Hicks Fix would fix things all right.
It would fix
things so
that several million non-tribal-member (non-Indian) property owners who live on
or have a business in or near "Indian Country" would fall subject to
tribal, not state and federal, jurisdiction for most regulatory, civil and
criminal matters. (More than half the people on reservations in 15 states are
non-Indians and non-tribal members.)
It would fix
things
so that tribal members who benefit from a welfare state will now have
“sovereign powers” which Webster defines as: “Supreme in power; possessing
supreme dominion or jurisdiction; royal; free of outside influence or control;
as a sovereign nation; having power and importance”. What a clever scheme to
take away every other citizen’s
14th Amendment civil and constitutional rights.
It would fix
things
so non-Indians could be arrested, jailed and tried by a government not bound by
the U.S. Constitution.
It would fix
things
so
non-Indian residents could not vote or run for office because of their ethnic
background.
It
would fix things so non-Indians could be taxed without a voice in
government.
(Didn't we fight a war about that once?)
It would fix
things
so building codes and land use zoning, would be set by an unconstitutional, un-republican
form of government where non-Indian citizens who
owned property and operated businesses had no voice or vote.
It would fix things so
there would be dual governmental bodies attempting to manage
the hunting and fishing resources everywhere. Allowing tribal citizens the right
to commercially gillnet the public fisheries resources, resulting in a social
and economic mess. Minnesota’s Lake Mille Lacs is a prime example. Sportfishing
tourism is being devastated by lower harvest quotas while taxpayers are stuck
paying for both governing bodies.
Times
of war and national threat can sometimes pressure our legislators to deny
citizens their civil and constitutional rights. Amendment S578 would create 550
tribal governments with jurisdiction over anyone, Indian or non-Indian, within
the boundaries of Indian Country. Isn't one Constitution, one government and one
set of laws enough for this nation? Are we one nation under God, or 550 separate
nations under the Department
of the Interior?
Please
help us expose and defeat this outrageous legislation.
Contact: Howard B. Hanson
612-868-3148