|
LAW AND THE INDIAN - A STRATEGY FOR CONTROL
This is the third of four articles on California Indians
- by Vernon T. Johnson, California Council of Tribal Governments
Our society has been quick to bury over and ignore the deceptions and attempted genocide of the American and California Indian. The fact that some of us have been able to survive genocide,
death marches and diseases such as syphilis and mumps that were thrust on us by European invaders seems to be a thorn in the sides of federal state and local governments. Indeed, the story of the California Indian
has been buried by our educational system and displaced by the stories of other oppressed peoples including the Afrian-American the Chinese-American, the Japanese-American, the Jewish people and the Latinos. The
myth that the plight of the Indian is over since casinos gross over a billion dollars a year conceals the reality that less than 5% of California's 320,000 Indians derive any benefit from the gaming industry.
Nevertheless, federal, state and county governments have been forced to deal with our existence and much of the legislation illustrates the effort to try to control and ''store'' the Indian
population. The Indian Allotment Act of 1928
reflected the ongoing effort to disregard Indians and their tribal governments. The act attempted to break up tribal governments and nations by distributing their lands to families and individuals.
The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934
accepted the reality that Indian Tribal Governments were needed to provide a way for the federal government to relate with the Indian people. However, while it restored the concept of Indian Nations, it created and imposed the authority of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on all tribal actions.
House Concurrent Resolution 108
once again reflected the interest of the federal government in wiping out the Indian nations and tribal governments. The resolution terminated recognition of Indian nations and withdrew federal support for social service programs provided to the Indian nations under the concept that they were a ''trust'' of the United States. While the resolution and the federal legislation passed to carry out its intentions terminated recognition of tribal governments, its impact over the long run has been to remove the politically weakest tribes from recognition since tribes that could launch a political initiative regained recognition and their former status.
Public Law 83-280 (PL 280)
passed in 1953 and imposed jurisdiction of law enforcement agencies on tribal lands in specified states (including California) for designated criminal and civil issues.
California Indian Rancheria Act
terminated federal recognition of 41 Indian Tribes (rancherias). California Indian tribal lands are primarily divided into small rancherias because miners objected tot he thought of losing exploration rights to large tracts of land. When larger tracts of land given to California Indians laid in the path of miners they were simply confiscated.
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (War on Poverty)
was a dream come true. It allowed Indians to organize, set goals to get out of poverty, and circumvent state efforts to drain the federal resources. It was unfortunately replaced by federal revenue sharing in the Nixon era which re-imposed state authority over federal funding for social service programs.
Indian Child Welfare Act and India Self Determination and Education Assistance Acts of 1978
provided for the development of ''tribal courts'' with authority to protect Indian children. Indian parent groups were given discretion to participate or refuse to participate in federal school programs and tribes were given the discretion to accept federal services or contact with the government to provide their own services.
Excessive regulations that perpetuate bureaucracies in and out of Indian country stifle tribal decision making and promote dependency. Indian people will remain in a dependent
relationship and their poverty will provide evidence of the historic neglect of this nation's original inhabitants so long as government: inhibits the political and economic development of Indian people, deprives Indian
people living on reservations and rancherias access to a quality education, allows state government to largely ignore the cultural and special needs of Indians, and erects bureaucratic barriers to the recognition of
Indian tribes as Indian tribes and Indian people as Indian people.
The dependency instilled in the psyche of Indians as a result of the confiscation of their historical lands, the assaults on
their language, spirituality and culture, the imposition of legislative controls needs to be addressed before California Indians will be able to assume responsibility for their own affairs and become a sovereign and
independent people operating within the borders of the United States. |
