Tribes Across Indian Country Reject Administration

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Tribes Across Indian Country Reject Administration's Proposed Amendments to Senate Bill 1439


PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Tribes across Indian Country
including the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, the United South
Eastern Tribes and the Great Plains Chairman's Association are outraged at
the Bush Administration proposed amendments to Senate Bill 1439 'The Indian
Trust Reform Act'. The three Regions comprised of over 80 Indian tribes
joined forces for Trust Reform legislation when the Interior Department
began using funds appropriated to fulfill tribal trust management duties to
defend itself from the Cobell lawsuit.
ATNI President Ernest Stensgar said, "Where is the dialogue? Where is
the respect to Indian Country?"
ATNI Member Tribe, the Quinault Nation Chair Fawn Sharp said, "We are
appalled that although S.1439 has been available for comment for over a
year, the Administration has decided to wait until the last moment to bring
forward proposals that would absolve the United States of its trust
responsibilities and treaty obligations with Indian Nations and
fundamentally alter the nature of federal-Indian relationships."
The provisions include:

1) Land Fractionation -- Consolidate all 128,000 individual Indian
allotments into ownership of no more than 10 individuals PER TRACT of
land within 10 years.

2) Beneficiary-Managed Trust -- Transitions of all individual Indian and
tribal land to a beneficiary-managed trust system within 10 years.
(i.e., privatize the federal trust responsibility)

3) Resolution of Tribal Claims Related to the Mismanagement of Trust
Funds, Lands and Resources.

4) Limitation on Liability of the United States During and After
Transition Period.
The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently recognized that, "In many acts
of Congress and numerous decisions of this Court, it (the United States
Government) has charged itself with moral obligations of the highest
responsibility and trust toward the Indian nations." (Seminole Nation vs.
U.S., 1942). This trust duty is rooted in land cessions made by the Indian
tribes and expressed in treaties, statues and agreements over the course of
more than 200 years of dealings. These cessions of many millions of acres
were conditioned upon an understanding that the federal government, in
exchange for freeing up vast amounts of territory for settlement by
non-Indians, would safeguard the autonomy of the tribes by protecting their
retained lands and territories. In its most basic terms, this "deal" or
contract with the Indian tribes is fulfilled in the terms of the U.S. Trust
Responsibility. If the Congress were to approve the Bush Administration's
proposals to "privatize" Indian trust lands and relieve the U.S. of any
legal liabilities for the management and protection of trust assets, the
U.S. would be violating the most fundamental terms of this historic
agreement.
Chairman Harold Frazier of the Great Plains Tribes made this statement
during the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs meeting in Rapid City, S.D.
on October 25, 2006. "The Administration continues to try to punish our
Tribal Nations for the individual Indians who stood up and made the federal
government accountable in Cobell. How can this Administration seek to end
the trust responsibility which the government has never fulfilled? How can
they seek to include Tribal claims in the settlement when we do not yet
know the extent of those claims? The federal government created these
problems; they should admit their shame and embarrassment and seek to
finally fulfill their responsibilities, not end those responsibilities.
People at the local level have the solutions, our voices need to be heard
and our leadership respected. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe opposes this
shameful attempt at termination."
There will be a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Tribal Consultation
Meeting on Friday, November 3, 2006, 10:00 a.m. at the Federal
Building/BPA, 911 N.E. 11th Ave., Portland, Oregon. The ATNI Member Tribes
as well as any other interested Tribes will have the opportunity to voice
their positions about these proposed provisions for Senate Bill 1439.
PRESS CONFERENCE

Who: ATNI Tribal Leaders and Other Interested Tribes

What: The Indian Trust Reform Act and the Proposed Provisions

Where: The Federal Building/Bonneville Power Administration, 911 N.E.
11th Ave., Portland, Oregon.

When: Friday, November 3, 2006 at 2:00 p.m.

Why: The Tribal leadership would like to inform the general public
about what the Bush Administration is attempting to do in regards
to the U.S. Government trust relationship and its
responsibilities to the Tribes that could negatively impact
future generations throughout Indian Country.
For additional information, please contact Lyn Dennis, ATNI Executive
Director at [phone] or [phone] or A.Gay Kingman, Consultant,
Great Plains Chairman's Association.