Smoke Signals February 1990 Page 12
WARRIOR(cont)
had happened yesterday. Even the fog of alcohol cannot
dim that part of your life.
The drums have stopped and you grow silent. I open
my eyes and look at you in wonder. I touch your
shoulder, convincing myself that you are real and not a
dream. Then pointing to the dancers I tell you "You
should not be sitting here. It is out there that you
belong. Dressed in the tradition of your people, "You
shake your head sadly. "But you must," I implore,
"Your heart, your soul are out there, in that circle."
You turn and look at me full now. The painful expres
sion in your eyes is something beyond the description of
words.
The drums have started again, your body picking up
the rhythm, your voice sounding sad: "I have been out
there, taking home many honors, that is past now. Now
I can only watch the others. They must dance for me.
Those drums, they are my religion, they speak the words
of my heart." As you turn away from me, I understand
what it is you are telling me. You do not join the
dancers, because you are a drunk and you are ashamed.
You have betrayed and dishonored your body with
alcohol. But you will not dishonor the sacred circle and
the sound of those drums, the tradition of your people.
So long ago, you cried for your first dead enemy. Now
it is my heart that cries for you, a brave warrior, who
fought with such courage. You won the battle you
fought far away from home but you lost your battle with
alcohol and let it defeat you.
I walk outside into the dark, away from the crowd. I
inhale the cool air of the evening and look at the stars
that have been shining on many generations and wit
nessed many battles, in victory and defeat. With the
sound of the drums still in my heart, I say, "Oh, Great
Spirit, give this old warrior the strength to win just one
more war. Let him defeat alcohol, let him count coup
over the bottle. Let him be strong and proud once
more, so he can join the dancers in the circle where he
belongs.
-Courtesy of the Spilyay Tymoo
GAINESVILLE, flA (NANS) American Indians;
led f6mmm
Russell Means, protested a museum exhibit orj Christo
phcr Columbus her (denouncing it asfracisf M sexist
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display asAhe way ijmMMmWBPM
Means threatened to get a court injunction ft stop the
exhibit if the protesters ar unabltodoP
CONGRESS MULLS OVER
INDIAN RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM
INDIAN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM:
There are now three separate bills before Congress
which would amend the "American Indian Religious
Freedom Act of 1978" (AIRFA). This legislation, which
has been a high priority for FCNL, was introduced
partly in response to recent court cases which did not
uphold Indian religious rights. The most recent such
case was the 1988 Supreme Court decision Lyng, in
which the court held that even though the federal
government's construction of a logging road would
destroy Indian sacred sites, the tribes could not receive
protection from exercising their religious practices, or
punished for such practices.
Action came first on the House side. House Interior
Committee Chairman Udall AZ introduced H.R. 1546,
which would amend AIRFA to provide that, absent a
compelling federal interest, federal lands that have been
used historically by a traditional Indian religion shall not
be managed in a way that will "pose a substantial and
realistic threat" to frustrate Native religious practices.
FCNL supported this legislation.
Then the ranking minority member of the Indian
Affairs Committee, Sen. McCain AZ, introduced S.
1124. This would prohibit federal agency actions that
would "undermine or frustrate" Indian religious tradi
tions; if those actions meet certain criteria, they would
be exempt from the act. At a hearing on S. 1124, tribal
witnesses expressed concern that with the exemptions,
the bill would really not insure protection for sacred
sites.
On November 21, the last day of the fist session, Indian
Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Inouye HI introduced
S.1979. The bill would, among other things, provide
that federal agencies enter into consultation and coop
eration agreements with Native American traditional or
governmental leaders in cases where agency actions
adversely affect Native religious practices. During the
time of the agreement, any adverse land management
activities would be required to cease.
FCNL will watch closely as Congress continues
consideration of these various approaches to amend the
"American Indian Religious Freedom Act" during the
second session.
On November 17, the Special Committee on Investiga
tions released its final report and legislative recommen
dations. While tribal leaders are still reviewing this
report, it is likely that some of its recommendations may
influence the Indian affairs agenda in the second session.
Entitled, "A New Federalism for American Indians,"
the report calls for " a new era of negotiated agreements
between Indian tribes and the United States." It
proposes to end the government's "stifling bureaucratic
presence in Indian country" by bringing tribal govern
ments in to the federalist system.
Under these proposed negotiated agreements, all
federal resources, functions and programs, fully-funded,
as well as the physical assets and land of federal agen
cies, would be transferred to the tribes. The federal
government will agree to provide each tribe with an
annual "Tribal Self-Governance Grant," which would
equal that tribe's fair share of the current federal Indian
budget, based on 1989 population. A Self-Governance
Grant would be a permanent entitlement with an annual
cost-of-living allowance. Each tribal government would
assess its own communities' needs, set priorities, and
design budgets to address those priorities, as state gov
ernments do.
The report proposes the creation of an Office of
Federal-Tribal Relations (OFTR) within the Executive
Office of the President, which will negotiate new
agreements and oversee their implementation. Agree
ments would be signed by the tribal chairman or tribal
representative and the President, and ratified by the
House and Senate. By signing an agreement with the
United States, the tribe will promise to operate in
accordance with a written constitution, and adhere to
comprehensive federal laws prohibiting corruption and
guaranteeing fair elections.
- Courtesy of the Friends Committee on National
Legislation
TRIBES REACT TO
COMMITTEE PROPOSAL
Tribal officials are registering mixed reactions to a
recent proposal that tribes be given the autonomy to run
their own programs.
Lawmakers in Washington say they will hold extensive
hearings this year on the Senate Select Committee's
recommendations for sweeping changes in Indian
programs.
In November, the special investigative committee of
the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs released
a report suggesting that tribes be allowed to govern
themselves if they are willing to meet certain conditions
of the federal government.
The committee proposed that tribes be allowed to
participate in a new system of "self-government" grants "
which would be made to each tribe on the basis of its
population.
The agreements would be voluntary and contingent on
the creation of new governments approved by a majority
of each tribe.
The tribes would have to adopt constitutions that
would ensure that Indian leaders are held accountable
for the funds they handle.
So far, tribes have been cautious about offering full
hearted endorsements of the committee's recommenda
tions. "Some (tribes) can handle it (autonomy)," said Gerald
Anton, president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community. "Others are small and don't have
the capability to administer large amounts of money and
programs (that need to meet the federal guidelines)."
Three prominent tribal chairmen, Roger Jourdain of
the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, Arthur Gahbow,
Chairman of the Mille Lacs Band and Wendell Chino,
president of the Mescalero Apache tribe in New Mexico
issued a joint statement.
They commended the committee for documenting
examples of the federal government's mismanagement
of Indian programs, but criticized the committee's
recommendations as being both naive and shortsighted.
"While these recommendations at first appear to be
intriguing," the chairmen said, "we fear that their
implementation will result in the termination of the
federal trust relationship as we know it.
"In theory, what the Congress says its doing is giving
the tribes more flexibility, but in reality it is eliminating
much of the government's responsibility to protect
Indian tribes," the statement said.
- Courtesy of the American Indian Report