Projects
American Indian Community Data Profile, 2002
Namadji Youth and Elders Project Report, 2001
Forum Reports
1997 Fall: Tribal Sovereignty and
American Indian Leadership
1996 Fall: Tribal Governments: What will they look like in the year 2010?
1996 Spring: The Threatened State of Tribal Sovereignty
Understanding tribal sovereignty key to good public policy
Executive summary by John Poupart, President
We are pleased to report on the successful 1995 Spring Forum on Tribal
Sovereignty. The forum was attended by more than 200 people throughout
the United States including Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, representing
a diversity of ethnicity and walks of life. In attendance were attorneys,
social service delivery personnel, reservation and urban individuals,
foundation staff, and college and law students. An invitation was extended
to every member of the state legislature.
The forum and its outcomes have multiple uses. Its primary purpose was to emphasize the fact that Indian tribes do, indeed, possess sovereign status. A second purpose is to distribute forum findings to policy-makers. This will serve as a catalyst to educate and improve knowledge of the sovereign status of Indians in contemporary society. Finally, the AIRPI will use the forum outcomes to assemble strategies for its development and research projects.
Contemporary public policy issues involving American Indians are receiving more publicity than ever before. In view of this publicity and the public comments made by policy-makers, it is evident there is a dearth of education on Indian law and policy. With this in mind, the American Indian Research and Policy Institute sponsored this forum with three particular areas of interest in mind: the environment, sovereign immunity and repatriation. The mission of the American Indian Research and Policy Institute is to better inform the public of the unique legal and political status of American Indians. It follows then, that the purpose of the Spring Forum was to provide fundamental information for understanding the level of sovereignty possessed by American Indian tribes and their constituents.
Far too often policy-makers (mostly non-Indian) find themselves involved in issues affecting Indian tribes or individuals. Too late, they discover the knowledge they possess on Indian matters is lacking. Or, worse yet, they realize their position on a particular Indian issue is substantively and legally weak, and any public statements made thereafter are just as weak. From then on discussions seem to deteriorate. But, who shoulders the burden for this breakdown in communications? Unfortunately, it is the American Indian communities whom policy-makers are trying to help.
To correct for this failure, the forum made a serious and conscious effort to promote an intelligent discussion on the merits of tribal sovereignty. It was hoped that policy-makers and segments of the Indian community, too, would become more knowledgeable about the sovereign status of American Indian tribes. The ultimate goal is to see a reduction in conflicts that have a tendency to occur during public policy debates involving American Indian interests.
For example, lack of a simple, common understanding about the concept of tribal sovereignty still exists. During the forum, there was confusion over whether sovereignty is held by an Indian individual or held exclusively by his or her tribe.
Those who came to the forum expecting a glossing over of Indian topics were more than likely disappointed. In today's world of Dances with Wolves and Pochahontas images about Indians, it is difficult to educate the wider public and have them accept American Indians as they really are. Many non-Indians still prefer seeing American Indians as Americans saw them in the nineteenth century-as caricatures of the past, not as real people.
Given the current stereotypical images that perpetuate Indians as living in the past, it might be difficult to shift gears and deal with factual, substantive Indian issues like those presented at the forum. If Indian issues are to be dealt with from a doctrine of fairness, then the concept of tribal sovereignty must be included. To do otherwise, will guarantee we will repeat the failures of the past.
American Indians face a major challenge to their political, social and economic well-being. Non-Indians, even after more than 500 years of interaction with Indians, still find it difficult to understand and in some cases accept the fact that tribal sovereignty exists. Failure to correct this is harmful. American Indians face numerous societal problems because public policy and its negative effects continue. American Indians will continue to bear the burden of bad public policy developed by policy-makers who remain ignorant of the sovereign status of American Indian tribes.
A major effort must be made to educate non-Indian policy-makers. The forum was a good place to begin and laid a foundation for future disclosure. It provided an excellent opportunity to open discussions surrounding sovereignty and its impact on contemporary issues.
Workshops and presentations were offered in three particular areas of tribal sovereignty: repatriation, sovereign immunity and environmental justice. Well-qualified presenters started each workshop with a short summary and introduction to the topic. This was followed by open discussion among workshop attendees, and a report was made back to the larger group.
Vine Deloria Jr., forum keynote speaker, called attention to the varying aspects of tribal sovereignty and how important it is for policy-makers to heed the advice of local Indian communities. His three-part presentation asked the forum audience to consider sovereignty from an internal, an external and from a property rights dimension.
Evaluations forms completed by forum attendees gave evidence that this forum was the most successful to date. (On a scale of 1-5, the evaluations averaged 4.) The forum met every expectation of its planners. The outcome of the forum, which is determined largely by the quality of written comments obtained from the evaluation forms, provides useful information to guide future activities of the Institute.
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Tuesday November 1, 2005