Post by Okwes on Apr 1, 2007 22:11:53 GMT -5
Fast Pass for Local Tribe?
The blinders that Congressman Mike Honda continues to wear regarding the
application for federal recognition of sovereignty by one faction of the
bitterly divided Amah Mutsun tribe are distressing.
A portion of the local American Indian tribe - which is beset by
allegations of forged documents and disputes over legitimate membership
and leadership - is waiting in line for a ruling on its application for
sovereignty with lots of other tribes at the backlogged federal Bureau
of Indian Affairs.
Instead of sponsoring legislation that would clean up the mess at the
BIA for all tribes, Honda instead proposes legislation that would allow
the Amah Mutsun to "cut in line" and simply grant them federal
recognition first.
Is that any way to run a country?
No, it's a terrible idea for many reasons.
First, it's patently unfair to allow the tribe to bypass the mandated
process for federal recognition of sovereignty.
It's rarely - if ever - a good idea to pass such narrowly focused
legislation. A prime example is the last Congress' intrusion into the
Terri Schiavo case with legislation that applied only to her.
Second, it's a bad idea because of all the problems swirling around the
tribe.
Much as Honda might wish it were otherwise, he simply cannot divorce the
legitimate questions about fraudulent documents, who should be members
of the Amah Mutsun tribe, and who are the tribe's legitimate leaders,
from the issue of fair recognition.
Finally, as a former Santa Clara County Supervisor, Honda ought to be
uniquely aware of the land-use problems he's creating for the region by
granting the tribe federal recognition of sovereignty without forcing
consultation with those who now sit in his former local government
position. It's amazing how easily he has forgotten his roots. The man
who denied a Japanese developer the opportunity to place a small hotel
on the historic Gilroy Hot Springs site years ago is unfathomably
comfortable with a blanket pass that could mean hundreds of homes.
Fast-pass recognition would allow the tribe - or at least portions of it
- to bypass the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and develop the
bucolic 6,000-acre Sargent Ranch south of Gilroy, which it claims as its
ancestral land, in any way it sees fit.
None of it seems to bother Mike Honda. Too bad. It should.
The blinders that Congressman Mike Honda continues to wear regarding the
application for federal recognition of sovereignty by one faction of the
bitterly divided Amah Mutsun tribe are distressing.
A portion of the local American Indian tribe - which is beset by
allegations of forged documents and disputes over legitimate membership
and leadership - is waiting in line for a ruling on its application for
sovereignty with lots of other tribes at the backlogged federal Bureau
of Indian Affairs.
Instead of sponsoring legislation that would clean up the mess at the
BIA for all tribes, Honda instead proposes legislation that would allow
the Amah Mutsun to "cut in line" and simply grant them federal
recognition first.
Is that any way to run a country?
No, it's a terrible idea for many reasons.
First, it's patently unfair to allow the tribe to bypass the mandated
process for federal recognition of sovereignty.
It's rarely - if ever - a good idea to pass such narrowly focused
legislation. A prime example is the last Congress' intrusion into the
Terri Schiavo case with legislation that applied only to her.
Second, it's a bad idea because of all the problems swirling around the
tribe.
Much as Honda might wish it were otherwise, he simply cannot divorce the
legitimate questions about fraudulent documents, who should be members
of the Amah Mutsun tribe, and who are the tribe's legitimate leaders,
from the issue of fair recognition.
Finally, as a former Santa Clara County Supervisor, Honda ought to be
uniquely aware of the land-use problems he's creating for the region by
granting the tribe federal recognition of sovereignty without forcing
consultation with those who now sit in his former local government
position. It's amazing how easily he has forgotten his roots. The man
who denied a Japanese developer the opportunity to place a small hotel
on the historic Gilroy Hot Springs site years ago is unfathomably
comfortable with a blanket pass that could mean hundreds of homes.
Fast-pass recognition would allow the tribe - or at least portions of it
- to bypass the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and develop the
bucolic 6,000-acre Sargent Ranch south of Gilroy, which it claims as its
ancestral land, in any way it sees fit.
None of it seems to bother Mike Honda. Too bad. It should.