Quinault Indian Nation POST OFFICE BOX 189 コ TAHOLAH, WASHINGTON 98587 ᄆ TELEPHONE (206) 276-8211 TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH B. DELACRUZ, SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS SELF-GOVERNANCE DEMONSTRATION PROJECT OCTOBER 20, 1993 I appreciate the opportunity to provide testimony at this oversight hearing on the experience and progress of the Self-Governance Demonstration Project. I was honored to testify more than five years ago before this Committee on February 18, 1988 on the Title III "SelfGovernance Demonstration Project" provision under consideration for inclusion with the Indian Self-Determination Act Amendments of 1988. In retrospect, Tribal governments involved in Self-Governance have certainly worked hard to establish positive change in Indian Affairs through this historic, Tribally driven effort. As Chairman Inouye so eloquently concluded at that hearing: I have no way of knowing what the outcome will be. It may be a great success, or it may fail. But as the Vice Chairman indicated, why not try? If we maintain the status quo and insist upon it, that is where we will be: right here. I think it is about time that we took the bold steps, and in taking these steps we may fail. But that is the way we learn. Without question, Self-Governance has been certainly a time of learning and change. The process has been a difficult, yet exciting, journey for the Quinault Indian Nation through the planning, negotiation and implementation stages with the Interior Department. We are definitely on the threshold of a new era in Indian Affairs. By comparison, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service have yet to formally publish their voluminous 400 pages of draft rules and regulations for Titles I and II of P.L. 100-472, the "Indian SelfDetermination Act Amendments of 1988." At the request of frustrated Tribal governments, further Self-Determination Act amendments have been introduced to pressure these Indian Affairs Agencies to change. Through Self-Governance, the Tribal and Congressional "enlightening rod" authorization has effected real change. We believe it is change for the better. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing Page 2 October 20, 1993 I urge you to introduce and support prompt passage of Tribal Self-Governance permanent authorization legislation. The Quinault Indian Nation has been a participant in the SelfGovernance Demonstration Project since the initial authorization in 1988 and is now entering the fourth Fiscal Year of implementation of our Self-Governance Compact. Our experience and progress under Self-Governance clearly has demonstrated the positive results of providing Tribal governments the management decision-making empowerment and administrative authority over Tribal programs, services and development. The Quinault Nation believes the permanent Self-Governance legislation is the cornerstone statute in the development of comprehensive and real government-to-government relationships between Tribal governments and the United States. Although American Indian Tribes are addressed in the U.S. Constitution and our Treaties, Executive Orders and Acts of Congress clearly establish in law our rightful presence, we have struggled with political and economic pressures over the last two centuries by the dominant society to erode, diminish and even extinguish our cultures, languages, reservation land titles and rights to exist as legitimate, independent governments. The sovereign status of Tribal governments is certainly not a new or radical idea, but is clearly embodied in American law. Chief Justice John Marshall in the 1832 Supreme Court decision of Worcester v. Georgia clearly stated the obvious: The Indian Nations had always been considered as distinct, independent Due to convenience and connivance, elements of American society have sought to redefine, subvert and twist the definition of Tribal governments and Tribal rights to our collective disadvantage. The Federal bureaucracy, predominantly through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service, have dominated, controlled and manipulated our lives and government operations to the point that American Indians are the most regulated peoples in America. Other Federal Agencies have sought to redefine our presence to fit uniformity and convenience with labels such as organizations, corporations, associations, constituents or even vendors. On the other side of the definition game, the Office of Management and Budget generally rules that Tribal governments are not included in Congressional assistance legislation intended for the common "State and Local Units of Government and Trust Territories" designation. Through the Tribally driven Self-Governance legislation, Tribes and Congress are finally setting the record straight and forcing the bureaucracies to recognize our government status. We certainly expect this tension of a Federal bureaucracy predisposition to uniformity against the Tribal demand for clear recognition to continue on into the future. But the fundamental principle is established in the Tribal Self-Governance Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing Page 3 October 20, 1993 permanent legislation regarding our unique relationships with the United States and the individual Indian Tribes and our inherent right of Self-Governance. Self-Governance has empowered the government of the Quinault Nation to determine priorities, allocate resources and manage our affairs with minimal Federal intrusion. We have consolidated and expanded education and social services to cost-effectively meet the needs of Tribal members according to their personal situation rather than a superimposed set of rules. Our Tribal justice system has been strengthened to ensure adequate protections and judicial services for our people as the legitimate concern of any government. Funds expended on our forests, fisheries and environment are now effectively coordinated for logical, comprehensive management. More Quinaults are employed now than ever before. More Quinaults are furthering their education and returning home to work for their people. There is no doubt that Self-Governance has benefitted the Quinault Indian people on the Quinault reservation. We have problems, difficulties and challenges facing us that need to be addressed. But the decisions made on priorities and the determination of means and methods to address the future are being made by our people, here at home. SelfGovernance is really the forerunner of the Clinton Administration's "Reinvent Government" plans to streamline the Federal bureaucracy and "Creating a Government that Works Better and Costs Less." I am concerned that the law clearly direct the Federal bureaucracy to deal with our Tribal governments as independent, sovereign governments in the future. The new Indian Affairs foundation must be carefully, methodically and systematically built on the principle of sovereignty. The bureaucratic obstructions and resistance to change is well known as we've struggled to establish Self-Governance. The Clinton Administration will soon understand this Federal tenacity to maintain and expand power and control. The Federal bureaucracy has two centuries of experience and an extensive arsenal of resources available to misinterpret, misunderstand and determine Congressional intent for its own interest. New Federal bureaucracies becoming involved in Self-Governance will employ their own tactics, traps and shallow reasoning to frustrate and subvert SelfGovernance. The provisions for negotiated rule-making in the permanent Self-Governance legislation must be unmistakably clear to a child's level of reasoning that the Federal bureaucracy is negotiating government-to-government, nation to nation. We don't want Congress to micro-manage each Federal bureaucracy with thousands of pages of legislative directives to advance Self-Governance. Therefore, our government role in negotiations between governments needs to be crystal clear so even Federal law-makers can comprehend this basic principle. Hopefully, we can creatively negotiate future rules and regulations to implement policies and procedures that finally make sense and support Tribal government realities. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing Page 4 October 20, 1993 The permanent Self-Governance legislation, as a cornerstone to a new Indian Affairs foundation of government-to-government relationships between individual Indian Tribes and the United States, is a beginning. There will be those detractors in the Congress, Courts and the public arena who will seek to diminish Tribal jurisdiction due to peripheral concerns such as gaming, water rights or the myriad special interest agendas employed against Tribes over the centuries. The Indian Affairs foundation, however, recognizes our rights and responsibilities as independent governments to exist and develop according to our Triballydetermined priorities. In the future, I envision that permanent Self-Governance will involve multiple Federal Departments and Agencies with negotiated agreements over multi-year periods. This permanent Self-Governance statute is a most important first step to an improved future. I have stated many times to many audiences and forums my basic belief: No right is more sacred to a nation, to a people, than the right to freely On behalf of the Quinault Indian Nation, I want to express our deep appreciation for the understanding, support and respect you have shown to Tribal governments in the development of Self-Governance. We strongly encourage immediate introduction and prompt passage of permanent Self-Governance legislation. We look forward to working together with Congress as we enter new frontiers in establishing meaningful government-togovernment relationships between American Indian Tribes and the United States. Thank you. MILLE LACS BAND OJIBWE MILLE LACS BAND OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS Executive Branch of Tribal Government TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE MARGE ANDERSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE BEFORE THE U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS I. INTRODUCTION. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee. My name is Marge Anderson. I am the duly-elected Chief Executive of the Executive Branch of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. I am pleased to be here to discuss Self-Governance issues related to both the Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Department of Health and Human Services/Indian Health Service (IHS). I also want to thank you because over the past five years this Committee has been very helpful to my Tribe in our efforts to get the federal agencies to implement their responsibilities under the Self-Governance Project. I am particularly grateful for what you have done to assist us during this first year of the Clinton Administration when I have tried to get action on Self-Governance issues. At Mille Lacs, we have a great deal riding on the future of Self-Governance. For that reason, I am of the opinion that it will be necessary for Congress to give both BIA and IHS more direct guidance in their implementation of Self-Governance. II. BACKGROUND ON MILLE LACS BAND OF OJIBWE. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is the name used by the Ojibwe People of the Mille Lacs Reservation, located in central Minnesota about 100 miles north of Minneapolis/St. Paul. The Band has approximately 7,500 acres throughout four counties: Pine, Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing. While the main Reservation was established by the Treaty of 1855, it also provides services to outlying Mille Lacs communities off the Reservation. This presents challenge to effective tribal program administration. The Mille Lacs Band has a form of government, which in contrast to the other Bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, has three branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. Years ago we determined that a formal separation of powers was necessary for our successful self-governance and later, for implementation of our Self-Governance Compact. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is a "first-tier" Self-Governance Tribe. We signed our first Compact with the Interior Department in 1990 for fiscal year 1991. On health programs, we were one of the first six Tribes to sign Compacts with IHS in July of this year. HCR 67, Box 194, Onamia, Minnesota 56359 (612) 532-4181 FAX# (612) 532-4209 |