APRIL 13,£i9 7 9 P A G E 7 - '
ATNI Spring Conference Close-ups
Jurisdiction and Sovereignty:
Limitations on a tribe’s jur
isdiction over those within reser
vation boundaries became a sore
topic at the Affiliated Tribes’
spring conference. Only months
before, the Yakima lost a court
case challenging the State’s part
ial criminal jurisdiction on the
reservation under Public Law
280. And just days before the
conference, three tribal police
were shot in a tavern incident
while responding to a call that
was technically outside their
jurisdiction.
But delegate Roger Jim said
his tribe was not about to remain
a loser. “The court reaffirmed
the state’s responsibility in eight
points of law,” said Jim . And the
Yakima Tribe is going to hold the
state to that responsibility.
Jim described a pilot effort
called the Unified Service Pro
ject, whereby the Yakima Tribe
would provide law enforcement
services for the whole reserva
tion under contract with the
State. Yakima has a large en
forcement program and the state
apparently has no funds for a
reservation patrol, noted Jim, so
the Unified Service Project
would fill the gap in services as
well as prove Yakima’s commit
ment to protecting life and
property on the reservation.
Jim recommended that des
pite P.L. 280, tribes moved
toward improving law and order
programs on their reservations.
According to Sho-Ban attor
ney Larry Echohawk, the rea
soning behind the passage of
P.L. 280 in 1953 was the inade
quacy of law enforcement sys
tems on reservations. “That
reason no longer exists,” said
Echohawk, but the reservation
programs will have difficulty
making further improvements
while states continue to exercise
jurisdiction.
A panel on law and order
took up on this theme, stressing
the importance of improving the
image of tribal courts. Sho-Ban
associate judge Clyde Hall des
cribed his tribe’s efforts to
update its law and order code
and turn the “trouble court” into
a respected reservation justice
system. Tribal Courts are weak
ened by the fact that not only off-
reservation agencies fail to re
cognize them but Tribal mem
bers themselves view them neg
atively.
Sho-Ban prosecutor Blaine
Edmo was optimistic about the
future of Tribal courts as long as
training and education were
emphasized, tribal members
prepared for legal careers, and
judicial powers kept separate
from executive.
Sho-Ban councilman Ber
nard Eschief name two prere
quisites for a tribe’s effective
assumption of full jurisdiction on
reservations. First, a tribe must
be recognized as a government
Backlash Bugaboos Are
Keys to Tribal Strength
with sovereign powers. And se
cond, Indians and non-Indians
both must be educated in the
area of federal Indian law.
Sovereignty proved to be a
catchword for the conference, a
rallying point for those asserting
treaty rights and pushing for
economic and social develop
ment. Sovereignty was also re
cognized as perhaps the most
troublesome ingredient of the
backlash problem. The status of
Indians was created by the
Federal government, often de
ceitfully, observed Roger Jim,
and then never explained ade
quately to citizens. Such mis
understanding has resulted in
the negative reaction of non-
Indians to the Indian assertion of
rights, as evidenced by groups
like the Interstate Congress of
Equal Rights and Responsibili
ties (ICERR).
Although a member of
ICERR was not on the backlash
panel, conferees heard from a
private citizen who received
ICERR assistance in his land
dispute with the Yakima Tribe.
As a deeded landholder on the
checkerboarded Yakima Reser
vation, the man felt he should
have free access to his land and
the right to develop it as he saw
fit, despite a new Yakima zoning
ordinance. The result has been a
lawsuit with which ICERR is
assisting. “ ICERR is not anti-
Indian,” he said, “I t’s made up
of people who have had problems
similar to mine.”
Both he and Jim recognized
that this was just one of many
equally awkward arrangements
created by Congress when it
allowed for the purchase and
settlement of reservation lands
by non-Indians.
Tribal sovereignty was fur
ther challenged when delegates
received word that H.R. 9950, the
Omnibus Indian Jurisdiction Bill,
fathered by Lloyd Meeds in 1977,
had been reintroduced by Rep.
Arlan Strangeland (Minnesota).
In an explanatory letter to his
“direct conflict between Indian
tribal aspirations and constitu
tionally protected rights of non-
Indians.”
His bill would guarantee a
tribe civil jurisdiction over its
members but not over non-mem
bers on the reservation. H.R.
9950 is, in Strangelands words, a
“middle ground” approach to
resolving the “confusing and
complex area of law (that) has
developed regarding Indian
affairs.”
Indian tribes see it
dangerous threat to their sover-
Tribal delegate Gene Greene listened closely to ATNI
discussions.
Spilyay Tymoo Photo by CDS
Room For Improvement In Tribal-Local Government Relations
Improved communication
with local governments was a
thread running through the
spring conference of the Affili
ated Tribes of Northwest In
dians. Due to the location of the
conference, participants gained
insight into the local problems
and successes of such relations.
The panel portion of the
conference opened with a discus
sion of state-tribal relations led
by Dan Emborg, assistant to the
Governor of Idaho. “We in the
state of Idaho are very proud of
the Shoshone-Bannock people,”
said Emborg. “What they have is
the result of hard work. They are
citizens of our state and we want
to provide the best that we
have.”
Emborg went on to cite the
“considerable activity” in the
Governor’s office with regard to
human services and the encour
agement of economic develop
ment. The Governor’s office has
a new tribal liaison and an Indian
graduate student working on
economic development matters.
Although the governor has
gone on record' as supporting
treaty rights (“They are law” )
and the Indians have done a
“superb job” of preventing tense
relations, according to Emborg,
there are improvements needed
in communication. Three propo
sals have been considered re
cently, he explained. First, the
tribes have recommended the
hiring of a liaison who is Indian,
unlike the new liaison who has
Indians added to her already
large responsibility in the area of
human rights advocacy. A se
cond plan favored by the Lieu
tenant Governor and the Nez
Perce tribe is a legislative
committee similar to Oregon’s
Commission on Indian Services.
A third alternative, not popular
among anyone other than local
governments, is a governor-ap
pointed committee made of rep
resentatives of local govern
ments.
Emborg pointed to progress
in the last several years in state-
tribal relations, resulting in a
degree of informal cooperation.
The relationship needs to be
formalized, said Emborg, so that
the participation of the five
tribes in decision-making will
continue.
State legislator Is Merrill
told the conference that he had
recommended legislation estab
lishing a special state committee
for Indian affairs. Merrill, who
also manages the Ft. Hall Trad
ing Post, said the committee
would most likely hold hearings
at each reservation to identify
the differing needs and issues of
Idaho’s Indians.
Bannock County Commis
sioner Seth Neibauer attended
all three days of the conference
and relieved some of the fear he
had felt upon accepting the
invitation. “Some of the speech
es were scary,” he admitted, but
he found that people were gener
ally “friendly.”
Constitutional rights that In
dians and non-Indians have in
common can result in conflict,
said Neibauer, who cited three
ways to resolve disputes: by
Congressional action, in the
courts, or through local agree
ments. The ambiguous definition
of “sovereignty” must be resolv
ed in Congress, he feels, but
Communication can be improved
on a local level. Currently hard
feelings exist because a minority
of non-Indian landowners on the
Ft. Hall Reservation are not
represented on the Ft. Hall Land
Use Planning Commission, ex
plained a local. Meetings are
open to visitors, said Neibauer,
but more formal participation
and communication is being
sought by such groups as the
Idaho Association of Counties.
Tribes look for greater
trust commitment
For most Indians, the gov
ernment’s continued exercise of
its trust responsibility is the
launch pad for self-determina
tion. As ever, delegates to the
affiliated tribes spring confer
ence were concerned about the
government’s commitment to
that trust.
Special guest speaker Leo
Krulitz, solicitor for the Depart
ment of Interior, announced the
drafting of an official statement
on trust that is now being
circulated among Indian lead
ers. Originating from the Attor
ney General’s office, the state
ment formally recognizes the
Warm Springs Chief Amos Simtustus spoke of ATNI as the strongest of special relationship. that exists
Indian organizations.
Spilyay Tymoo Photo by CDS between the federal government
and Indian tribes.
Krulitz described Attorney
General Bell and the Interior as.
having “one voice” on Indian
issues. Bell’s statement, which
some Indian leaders feared
would limit as well as clarify the
government’s role as trustee,
spells out the ‘legally enforce
able obligation” of the govern
ment to perform a guardian
function and support the laws
enacted by Congress for Indian
tribes.
In addition Bell did not see a
conflict between the govern
ment’s special duties to Indian
tribes and its responsibility to
other American citizens.
Krulitz later noted that al
though Indian tribes enjoy sover
eignty, it is a dependent status
totally within the descretion of
Congress and without constitu
tional protection. “My serious
concern is that . . . Congress, to
correct the excesses (increased
demands from Indians) may
throw out the baby with the
bath.”
The solicitor suggested that
tribes watch for warning signals
of a changing climate such as the
introduction of anti-Indian legis
lation, adverse court decisions
and the loss of friends in Con
gress. Some methods of assert
ing sovereignty could increase
hostility, said Krulitz, and tribes
must use sensitivity and creativi
ty in their efforts to exereise
their rights.