Smoke Signals July 1989
Page 14
UNACKNOWLEDGED INDIAN TRIBES: Seeking
To Have Their Voices Heard
Suppose your foreparents were members of Indian
Tribes which made treaties of peace and land cession
with the colonial American government during the 18th
century. Later, members of your Tribe were removed
from their homelands to lands west of the Mississippi
that were "unsettled," and less desirable to white
settlers; a remnant of your Tribe, however, remained.
Or, generations ago, all but a handful of your Tribe .
was wiped out by disease and war with white settlers.
The rest, fearing persecution and death upon discovery,
went underground or retreated into the hills or bayous,
there quietly to continue their traditions.
Or, your ancestors in that territory that was later to
become the 31st state, California, signed a treaty with
the United States when the area began to attract non
Indians who were chasing rumors of gold. However, that
treaty, which recognized the relationship between your
ancestors' Tribe and the federal government, was not
ratified by the Senate, but was hidden away in a sealed
place for 50 years.
In each of these cases, the descendent Tribe today is
what is called a "nonrecognized" or "unacknowledged"
Indian Tribe. That is, the federal government docs not
claim a government-to-government relationship with
that Tribe, nor provide federal services in exchange for
lands that were ceded or lost. That Tribe may identify
itself, and be recognized by other communities and even
the state, as Indian, but lack of federal recognition
denies that Indian community full governmental and
political status.
Since 1978, non-recognized Tribes have submitted
petitions to an agency within the Bureau of Indian
Affairs known as the Bureau of Acknowledgement and
Research, and undergone a process known as known as
the federal acknowledgement process (FAP). (The
courts and Congress can also recognize individual Indian
Tribes, and have done so.) FAP petitions provide a
broad array of cultural, political, and other evidence as
proof that an Indian group has continued since earlier
centuries to exist as a political unit, and therefore should
,be recognized as such by the federal government.
However, FAP is notoriously detailed, costly, and slow,
requiring tribes to wait years to have their petitions
processed. Since 1978, 110 Indian groups have submit
ted petitions. Of those, 19 have been completed: eight
petitioners were acknowledged and eleven denied
acknowledgement.
To deal with this need to determine the status of
unacknowledged Indian groups more expeditiously and
more fairly, Sen. Inouye (HI) and eleven other senators
introduced S. 611 in mid-March. This bill would
establish guidelines for extending federal acknowledg
ment to petitioning Indian groups, which would be
carried out be a new federal agency.
At a hearing on S. 611 on May 5, a wide array of views ,
was expressed. A spokesperson for the Bureau of
Indian Affairs noted a concern that under S. 611, all
currently petitioning Indian groups would be "rubber
stamped" for recognition. Several anthropologists,
however, suggested that the petitioners would still be
asked to provide substantial proof that they have
continued to function as a tribe. Several tribal leaders
from recognized tribes expressed the concern that if
more Indians were recognized as a result of S. 611,
federal dollars for services to tribes would have to be
stretched even further; more "new tribes" would divide
up the "budget pie" into smaller pieces. Spokespersons
for several recently recognized and unacknowledged
Tribes supported S. 611 as an effective way to facilitate
the processing of petitions.
In a letted to members of the Senate Select Committee
on Indian Affairs, FCNL expressed support for a fair
process to examine suggested reforms to the federal
acknowledgment system. Indian groups should have the
right to name themselves, and to have federal policy
follow and recognize, rather than itself determine, what
Indian people know to be true: that they identify and
name themselves as an Indian tribe.
INDIAN RELIGIOUS ISSUES: THE TIME HAS
COME
Unlike most American citizens, American Indian and
Alaska Native people do not take for granted one
particular constitutional right: freedom of religious
belief. Native Americans in one western state have been
told by a federal land management agency that during
their summer ceremonies, traditional religious practitio
ners will have access to their sacred area only between
the "off hours of 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m., so that the
ceremonies do not interrupt the flow of tourists.
In late 1987, grave robbers in Kentucky dug up an
estimated 650 burial sites, strewing the ground with
skeletal remains laid to rest centuries ago, and carting
off grave goods. Such activity reveals a total absence of
respect for Indian sensitivities and religious belief. It is
yet to be sufficient to prosecute the ten offenders.
FCNL is pleased to see several measures introduced in
the House of Representatives which deal with protection
of burial sites, reburial of skeletal remains, return of
remains and sacred objects, and amendments to
strengthen the "American Indian Religious Freedom
Act." While the last Congress saw action on these issues
only in the Senate, action this year has occurred only in
the House, though Senate action is anticipated.
REBURIAL
The "Indian Remains Reburial Act," H.R. 1124, was
introduced on February 27 by Rep. Dorgan (ND). This
bill would allow for a two-year study of historical (post
1500 A.D.) Indian skeletal remains by the Smithsonian '
Institution, after which time they would be returned for
reburial to the tribe or Native Hawaiian group from
which they originated.
On March 14, Rep. Bennett (FL) introduced H.R.
1381, the "Native American Burial Site Preservation
Act," which would set civil penalties for the excavation
of an Indian burial site or removal of a grave goods,
unless exempt under state law.
The most comprehensive measure to date is H.R. 1646,
the "Native American Grave and Burial Protection
Act," introduced on March 23 by the Chairman of the
House Committee on Interior, Rep. Udall (AZ) H.R.
1646 would provide a mechanism to accomplish the
return of Indian skeletal remains that are currently
stored n museums and other institutions, provide that
remains disinterred in the future will be disposed of
according to the wishes of the appropriate Indian tribe
or Native community, and clarify tribal ownership of
grave goods and sacred objects found on public and
Indian lands. The Interior Committee may hold a
hearing on H.R. 1646 before summer.
Given the legislative handles before Congress on the
issue of "reburial," and the general public's continuing
education on the subject through articles appearing in
highly visible periodicals, FCNL is hopeful that this is an
issue whose time has come.
INDIAN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AMENDMENTS
On March 21, Rep. Udall introduced amendments to
the "American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978,"
H.R. 1546. This bill would provide that federal lands
historically used by or necessary to a traditional Indian
religion could not be managed in a way that would
"undermine or frustrate" Indian religious practices.
Rep. Udall described the purposes of H.R. 1546 as
giving "American Indians a fighting chance to alter
management of Federal lands which poses a substantial
and realistic threat to the continuing practice or their
religion."
ACTION: Urge your representatives to co-sponsor
these bills, which address issues fundamental to Native
American beliefs and traditions-respect for the dead,
protection of burial sites, return of ceremonial items for
their use in tribal society, and access to traditional sites.
There is a moral obligation to address these issues as a
matter of respect for American Indian, Alaska Native,
and Native Hawaiian peoples, and to insure that they
fully enjoy religious and cultural freedom.
With the passage of these new burial protection laws,
Kansas has joined the ranks of a growing number of
states which have legislated in recent years to protect
the sanctity of Indian graves from unnecessary distur
bances and to prohibit the mistreatment of Indian dead.
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I V off Ul-'
mm i ki
Paul Wliitehead leads eight grade and high school graduates during a pow wow dance in their honor.