Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, I am
Caleb H. Johnson, a member of the Hopi Indian Tribe in the State of Arizona. I am now
serving my third (two year) term on the Hopi Tribal Council as a representative from the
village of Kykotsmovi. I was a certified candidate for Chairman of the Tribe in its
election of late 1997.
I am a graduate of UCLA, and also have a Master's Degree from Princeton
Theological Seminary. I have served in the U.S. Army for 28 years, on active duty and in
the reserves, and retired as a full Colonel in 1989 at Fort Huachuca, Arizona with full
military honors.
Before I make my comments, let me make it absolutely clear that I am
not speaking on behalf of the Hopi Tribal Council. Instead, I am here as an individual
citizen of the United States, whose rights of "due process" have been violated
by the Hopi Tribal Court.
I am here to testify to the fact that I have filed a Complaint against
the Hopi Election Board in the U.S. District Court of Arizona for the violation of my
rights under the Civil Rights Act of 1968. My Complaint against the Hopi Election Board
results from their conduct of the previously mentioned Tribal Commission Election. Severe
Irregularities occurred in the conduct of the election ; so severe that I went from being
the leading vote-getter to not even making it in the run-off election. A copy of my
Complaint is attached to my testimony and I request that it be included in the hearing
record.
In discussing my Complaint with my legal counsel, Mr. Richard M.
Grimsrud, I have been advised that it will most likely be dismissed due to the policy of
sovereign immunity claimed by the Hopi Tribal Government. The fact of the matter is, that
if that should occur, than I will have no legal remedy. Despite the fact that the Fifth
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that "no person shall be deprived of
life, liberty, or property without due process of law."
When I was in Vietnam from June 1968 to June 1969, with the 17th Combat
Aviation Group in I Corp, some 400 to 500 military personnel were dying each month
defending the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights. It is rather ironic when I consider my
situation today, that the Indian Civil Rights Act was enacted into law in that same year,
but that I am here today being denied my civil rights some 30 years later. What this
situation tells me is that "something" is absolutely wrong and that
"something" needs to be corrected expeditiously.
I have no knowledge of how Tribal Courts operate in other Indian
tribes, but I do know how it operates in the Hopi Tribe. My Complaint makes it very clear
that the Tribal Court deliberately delayed stamping my Complaint "filed" until
thirty days had passed so that the court would dismiss it as not being filed on a
"timely" basis. I am also very confident the Legal Counsel for the Election
Board will argue before the Federal District Court that my Complaint be dismissed because
of the doctrine of sovereign immunity of the Hopi Tribe, leaving me again without any
legal remedy for the violation of my rights of "due process" under the Indian
Civil Rights Act of 1968.
It is for these reasons that I am here today to support section 7 of
Senator Gorton's legislation, which would waive tribal sovereign immunity so that actions
may be brought in federal court under the Indian Civil Rights Act.
In addition, I would like to make two recommendations for your
consideration. First, I recommend that the word "original" be inserted before
the "jurisdiction" on page 10, line 14 of the bill. Second, I recommend that
this section be enacted into law by the Congress and the President of the United States.
who is my Commander in Chief.
In conclusion, I am deeply grateful to Senator Gorton who made it
possible for me to bring this matter to your attention.
Thank you and God bless the United States.