October 12, 1999
Office
of Trust Responsibilities
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Washington DC 20240
1849 C Street NW
Dear Sir/Madam,
We understand that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has proposed new regulations for
the process of taking land into federal trust for the benefit of Indian tribes
under the Code of Federal Regulations title 25 Section 151.
The conversion of fee lands to federal trust is disruptive to
local non-Indian governments and citizens. The change to federal title removes
the land from local tax rolls and creates conflicts with local land use plans,
zoning, and law enforcement.
It
is the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance position that before land can be put into
federal trust for the benefit of Indian Tribes, a determination must be made
whether such an action is precluded by the Indian Claims Commission Act, 60
Stat.1049 (1946). On August 13, 1946, Congress passed the ICCA, creating a
Commission with broad and exclusive jurisdiction to hear claims arising under
treaties, laws, executive orders, takings, and for unfair and dishonorable
dealing. To the extent that the effort to put land into federal trust is based
upon a historical or treaty claim to land, such as a claim that the land should
be within the reservation, or a reservation was unfairly diminished, the ICC
precludes the BIA from considering such a claim under Section 12 of the ICCA,
"No
claim existing before such date (August 13, 1946) but not presented within such
period (five years) may thereafter be submitted to any court or administrative
agency for consideration, nor will such claim thereafter be entertained by the
Congress."
60 Stat. 1049, Section 12 (emphasis added).
Any claim that land should be put in trust status that arises from a claim that
could have been made, or was made, pursuant to the ICCA must be barred from
hearing by the BIA, Specifically, if the claim is based, in whole or in part,
upon treaties, laws, takings, unfair dealings or any other transaction or
occurrence that happened before August 13, 1946, the BIA is precluded by Section
12 of the ICCA from even considering that claim.
Furthermore,
CERA opposes all transfers of fee land to trust status because different land
classifications for different races is inherently racist These different
classifications are a violation of our equal protections under the Fourteenth
Amendment.
If
the Department of Interior persists in attempting to transfer fee land into
trust status the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance requests that:
1.
The BIA must inform state and local governments immediately upon receiving an
application for a fee to trust transfer. The BIA must also hold public meetings
in the county or counties where a fee to trust title change application has been
filed by a tribe. The meetings should take place a minimum of 60 days prior to
any action taken by the BIA on the application.
2. The BIA must be required to explain to local citizens and their local
governments any and all long term economic and social ramifications of putting
the land In trust.
3. All requests for "Land to Trust" status by extinguished Tribes within
disputed extinguished boundaries must be treated as off reservation land.
4. Public meetings must be held to tell private landowners that in this
litigation the state's public interests may not be able to protect private
landowners interests.
5. That landowners be allowed to seek legal counsel and intervene as full
parties to the case at the state's expense.
Federal policies currently deny millions of people living on or near Indian reservations their full constitutional rights. It is therefore CERA's mission to advocate equal protection of the law so that this nation of many cultures may be one people, living under one system of laws.
Sincerely,
Howard B. Hanson
cc:
President William J. Clinton
Vice-President
Albert Gore Jr.
Sec.
of the Interior Bruce Babbitt
Senator Ben Nighthorse
Campbell
Judicial Committees