Title: Tribal Self-Determination: Creating Bridges and Barriers with Native
Americans
by Patrick Schulman
Keywords: Native Americans, European Americans, Federal Government, SelfDetermination, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Congress of American Indians
Description: Relations between European Americans (via the Federal government)
and Native American tribes have been tenuous—especially since the advent of the
self-determination process for tribal recognition. The Federal Government’s Bureau
of Indian Affairs has made the recognition process incredibly costly and timeconsuming, forcing many Indian tribes to wait years to receive tribal recognition
and the valuable federal funds associated with it.
Key Points:
Historically, the Native American people have had difficulties with the Federal
government, particularly with regards to representation.
Since the 1960’s the Federal government set up a program of “Self-Determination”
with the goal of officially recognizing Native tribes and granting them financial
resources.
The government agency that oversees the self-determination program, the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, has been controversial regarding its application process for Indian
tribes.
The application process for Native American tribes is extraordinarily lengthy and
difficult, prohibiting certain tribes from applying for recognition, and with it, federal aid.
Brief:
Perhaps it is due to the small size of the Native American population (who
make up around 2% of the U.S. population1), but one rarely hears of Native
American protests or even sees Native American pundits on the news. It is no
surprise to any student of American history that the relationship between
white/European Americans has been tenuous at best. In this issue brief I will briefly
outline the history between European Americans and Native Americans—focusing
on the barriers that were developed and accentuated between the two groups
during the early years of the American republic. Next, I will discuss the more recent
political developments that attempt to create bridges between the two groups. My
issue brief will primarily be composed of a discussion of the topic of selfdetermination. The self-determination application process is so expensive and
requires such extensive documentation from Native tribes that several groups have
remained unrecognized by the federal government. Due to this lack of recognition,
these groups do not receive federal funding and other vital resources.
1
"United State Census Bureau." 1 Jan. 2014. Web.
<http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html>.
http://wamu.org/news/13/05/24/six_virginia_tribes_seek_federal_recognition
From the beginning, the United States government (composed mostly of
white/European Americans) espoused the principle that peaceful relations should
be maintained with the Native American population. Indeed, in 1787 Congress
officially declared that “peace with the Indians, provided it could be obtained and
preserved consistently with the justice and dignity of the nation” should be the
national policy.2 Perhaps what I found most revealing about this statement is the
ambiguity of the word “dignity.” If the government felt that the “dignity” of the
nation was compromised through peaceful relations it could cease such peaceful
relations.
In the decades following this statement by Congress, “the colonists conducted
search and destroy raids on Indian settlements. They burned Indian villages and
their corn crops (ironic, in that the English were often starving).”3 The animosity
between whites and Native Americans would continue to grow for several decades
as the goal of the white American government became increasingly clear. Thomas
Jefferson, in a letter to James Madison, called for the creation of an “empire for
liberty.”4 This seemingly innocuous political statement marked the beginning of the
systematic mistreatment of the Native American population by white Americans. In
order to create a true American empire than spanned to the Pacific Ocean, the
United States would need to populate the rest of the nation. This, of course, required
the continued destruction of Indian lands and the expansion of slavery. Following
Jefferson’s administration, the institutionalized destruction of Indian lands began in
earnest. Most notable is perhaps The Removal Act of 1830—instituted by Andrew
Jackson. In addition to appropriating Native American lands by military means, the
2
"Relations with Native Americans." The Library of Congress: American Memory. Web.
<http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental/natamer.html>.
3"Colonial Settlement: 1600s-1763." Virginia's Early Relations with Native Americans. Web.
<http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/ti
meline/colonial/indians/>.
4 "Thomas Jefferson: The West." Library of Congress. Web.
<http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jeffwest.html>.
white European population also “intentionally exposed” smallpox to the Native
American population.5
Given this long and tenuous history, it is perhaps not surprising that
white/European Americans would eventually attempt to improve relations with
Native Americans. This attempt would ultimately take the form of selfdetermination. At its origins, this policy had three main goals. These were chiefly,
“1) tribal self-rule 2) cultural survival and 3) economic development.”6 Under this
policy Native American tribes would receive government funding to promote their
tribal economic development as well as their cultural identity. Indeed, “under Nixon,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs began to make contracts with tribal governments and
communities for the tribal control of federal services and programs….many tribes
found they were able to administer social and economic programs in ways that
would more accurately meet the needs of their communities.”7
http://roundhousetalk.com/2014/02/21/local-tribes-share-their-struggle-for-federal-recognition-in-panel-discussionsaturday/
The amicable policy of self-determination, therefore, appeared to be the
solution to creating a bridge between White/European Americans (and the U.S.
government in general) and Native Americans. However, this policy has
encountered several notable difficulties. The primary problem with selfdetermination is the process that the Native American tribes need to go through in
order to receive official recognition. This process is complex, costly and
extraordinarily difficult. In order to receive the economic benefits of recognition,
Tribes must “produce mountains of documentation, including anthropological data
and genealogies from the mid-1800’s, phone records, and guest lists from annual
5
"Native American Genocide Still Haunts United States." An End to Intolerance. Web.
<http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-1997/native-americans.html>.
6
7
Ibid.
Ibid.
tribal picnics and funerals.”8 The issue arises with tribes that are unable to produce
these records. Indeed, the BIA is not lenient in recognizing Indian tribes. “To date,
the BIA has rejected 13 recognition applications while approving only eight.
Seventy-two other ‘unrecognized’ tribes have been waiting up to 13 years for a
decision on whether, in the eyes of the government, they exist.”9 What originally
appeared to be a bridge between the U.S. government (and white/European
Americans) and Native Americans has become, to many, a large barrier.
Relevant Websites to Visit For More Information:
A 54 page GAO (U.S. Government Accountability Office) report on improvements
needed in the Tribal Recognition Process.
http://www.gao.gov/assets/240/232806.pdf
For a General Overview on the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs:
http://www.bia.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/OFA/
For a General Overview of the history of Indian tribal recognition:
http://faculty.smu.edu/twalker/samrcook.htm
A helpful Washington Post article describing potential future changes to the federal
tribal recognition process:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bureau-of-indian-affairs-proposesrevising-rules-for-recognizing-native-american-tribes/2014/05/25/ac43af16e43a-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html
A website outlining some of the many difficulties of tribal recognition:
http://www.uanativenet.com/sites/default/files/Federal%20Recognition_0.pdf
Works Cited:
"United State Census Bureau." 1 Jan. 2014. Web.
<http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html>.
"Relations with Native Americans." The Library of Congress: American Memory. Web.
<http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/continental/natamer.html>.
8
Giese, Paula. "Tribes Forced to Prove Existence." Manataka American Indian Council.
Web. <http://www.manataka.org/page240.html>.
9
Ibid.
"Colonial Settlement: 1600s-1763." Virginia's Early Relations with Native Americans. Web.
<http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/ti
meline/colonial/indians/>.
"Thomas Jefferson: The West." Library of Congress. Web.
<http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jeffwest.html>.
"Native American Genocide Still Haunts United States." An End to Intolerance. Web.
<http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-1997/native-americans.html>.
Cook, Sam. "What Is Indian Self-Determination." Web.
<http://faculty.smu.edu/twalker/samrcook.htm>.
Giese, Paula. "Tribes Forced to Prove Existence." Manataka American Indian Council. Web.
<http://www.manataka.org/page240.html>.