1997 FWOC Resolution
No. 19:
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OPPOSITION TO THREATS TO TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY AND
NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS
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F.W.O.C. and other
environmental organizations have enjoyed a long-standing alliance with
Indian tribes, having worked productively together on many issues such
as the protection of ancient forests, salmon and clean water and the
opposition to expansion of hydroelectric and mining projects.
Many tribes, such as the Lummi and Yakama, have well developed and
successful natural resource stewardship programs which are funded
through congressional appropriations.
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Now these relationships
and stewardship programs are being threatened because of the actions of
Senator Slade Gorton (R-WA), who has inserted two riders into the 1998
Interior Appropriations Bill (HR2107), which if enacted would threaten
tribal sovereignty, but also result in severe environmental
damage. Section 120 would require a tribe receiving priority
allocation funds (the 60 self-governance tribes) to waive any claim of
sovereign immunity in civil actions in Federal Courts. Section
118 directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs to develop a new formula for
distribution of those funds on the basis of need, taking into
consideration tribal business revenue.
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This is another attempt by
Senator Gorton to make a major change in Federal Indian Policy with a
rider to an appropriation bill. It is an attack on tribal
sovereignty, self-governance and Native American Rights, that also has
serious environmental consequences. it is an attempt to undermine
tribal economies, pushing them further into poverty and desperate
economic situations. It makes them prey to desperate economic
solutions that are destructive to both human and environmental health
such as over-extraction of resources and providing sites for garbage
landfills and toxic waste repositories on reservation lands.
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The Federation of Western
Outdoor Clubs strongly urges all Senators to oppose Senator Gorton's
riders to the 1998 Interior Appropriations Bill when it comes to a
votes by the full Senate in September of 1997. We also urge
opposition to any further actions to undermine Tribal sovereignty and
Native American Rights.
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F.W.O.C. sent this resolution to the Lummi
Indian Nation. The riders have since been withdrawn.
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