2006.
American Indian Constitutional Reform and the Rebuilding of Native Nations. University of Texas Press.
Order book linkAbstractSince 1975, when the U.S. government adopted a policy of self-determination for American Indian nations, a large number of the 562 federally recognized nations have seized the opportunity to govern themselves and determine their own economic, political, and cultural futures. As a first and crucial step in this process, many nations are revising constitutions originally developed by the U.S. government to create governmental structures more attuned to native people'sunique cultural and political values. These new constitutions and the governing institutions they create are fostering greater governmental stability and accountability, increasing citizen support of government, and providing a firmer foundation for economic and political development. This book brings together for the first time the writings of tribal reform leaders, academics, and legal practitioners to offer a comprehensive overview of American Indian nations' constitutional reform processes and the rebuilding of native nations. The book is organized in three sections. The first part investigates the historical, cultural, economic, and political motivations behind American Indian nations' recent reform efforts. The second part examines the most significant areas of reform, including criteria for tribal membership/citizenship and the reform of governmental institutions. The book concludes with a discussion of how American Indian nations are navigating the process of reform, including overcoming the politics of reform, maximizing citizen participation, and developing short-term and long-term programs of civic education.
2006.
Tribal Land Title and Records Office | Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.
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For years, limited on-reservation housing options forced citizens of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe to look elsewhere to live. Taking action to solve this problem, the Tribe encouraged private lenders to offer mortgages on trust land and to offer terms and rates similar to those available off the reservation. A critical component of this solution was the creation of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Land Title and Records Office, which keeps all records and verifies all titles pertaining to trust lands, replacing the BIA's much slower and more cumbersome process. As a result, private mortgage lending has increased, there is a housing boom on Saginaw lands, and economic development options that were simply impossible before have emerged. Most importantly, citizens are moving back home.
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Establishing the criteria for citizenship is an inherent right of national governments around the world. This right determines who can be a citizen and how citizenship is transferred through generations. Yet for Indian nations, history complicates efforts to fully exercise sovereignty. Project Tiwahu –Redefining Tigua Citizenship was an Ysleta del Sur Pueblo wide – initiative to reform and self-determine enrollment as an exercise of tribal sovereignty. Reform efforts addressed the hard questions about belonging and built consensus around a new, more inclusive approach to tribal citizenship.
In many parts of the United States, there is a long history of mistrust between Indian nations and neighboring municipalities. Officials lack an understanding of tribal sovereignty and treaty rights, leading to strained or even hostile relationships. In Scott County, tribal and nontribal government officials recognized that by working together they could stretch their scarce resources further, resulting in a win-win for all area communities. The Scott County Association for Leadership and Efficiency, known as SCALE, fosters intergovernmental cooperation and furthers the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s ability to improve its citizens’ quality of life.
In 1958 the California Rancheria Act terminated many California tribes and substantially diminished tribally held trust lands. Re-recognition processes in the 1980s restored many tribes’ political status but little of their land: 8.5 million acres of former Indian land remain alienated. California-based tribes decided to launch a proactive effort to overcome a 20-year fee-to-trust deadlock, and the California Fee-to-Trust Consortium was born. Since its inception, the Consortium has helped to move 15,274 acres into trust status. The average processing time has decreased from ten years to one. The return of lands has brought families back together; provided a foundation upon which to build the structures of governance, commerce, and cultural importance; and given citizens a place to put down roots and grow.
In 2007, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation adopted a new constitution which adopted a three-branch system of government, eliminated Secretarial Elections, and created the Citizen Potawatomi legislature. This 16-member legislative body is deliberately balanced, with eight Oklahoma members elected at large by Oklahoma residents and one member each from the eight legislative districts that comprise the rest of the United States, each representing a roughly equal number of Citizen Potawatomi citizens. The legislature meets virtually and all meetings are streamed and archived on the internet.
At the turn of the 20th century, the U.S. government abolished the 1881 Osage Nation Constitution and imposed rules for land ownership and citizenship. Many Osage citizens were disenfranchised and the Tribal Council was granted only limited powers, leading to years of weak government, corruption, and turmoil. Over 100 years later, the Osage Government Reform Initiative began the task of designing a new government that would better represent and serve all Osages. As a result of the Initiative, the Osage Nation adopted a new constitution in June 2006. Written by the Osage people, it has brought back into the tribal community the thousands of citizens who had once been excluded.
The reservation lands of the Miccosukee Tribe lie largely within the Everglades National Park. Development on these lands is subject to elaborate regulations by a host of federal agencies. This hindered economic development and other uses of their lands by the Miccosukee people, including the building of traditional dwellings and family gardening. Tribal citizens had to negotiate a time-consuming, regulatory maze almost every time they engaged in land-use activities. With the Section 404 Permitting Program, the Tribe set out to streamline the regulatory process and, more importantly, to win for itself a stronger role in regulatory activity. By contracting on-reservation authority from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corp of Engineers to issue land permits, enforce environmental codes, and manage permit violations, the Miccosukee Tribe is not only enabling its citizens to improve their own homes and engage in traditional cultural activities, but it is also expanding the reach of the Tribe's own governmental powers by managing and enforcing permitting through national channels.
The Navajo Nation is the largest coal-producing tribe in the U.S. and, historically, its government has relied on tax and royalty revenue associated with coal production as a primary source of revenue. Today, however, both depletion and a desire to lessen the Nation's dependence on income from non-renewable resources have led the Navajo Nation to consider new ways to generate revenue for governmental operations. In 2002, it began levying the first comprehensive Native nation sales tax on goods and services sold within reservation boundaries. By law, revenue from the tax is earmarked for the Nation's Permanent Trust Fund, land acquisition, and local government, among other uses, before the remainder flows to the nation's General Fund.