Dina Gilio-Whitaker: Tribal nations take their seat in the world

One of the significant trends in the system is in how nations are able to mediate their often very contentious relationships with states, thanks to the ever-increasing demands for democracy and human rights. States are being held accountable by nations who are reclaiming their autonomy, and as a result we are seeing new formulations of nations as international political entities that exceed domestic laws, supported by the international system via human rights instruments like the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and others.

For tribal nation governments this means the emergence of new kinds of arrangements with the US federal government. It increases self-determination and how nations exercise it at every level, from within their communities to their engagement with the United Nations and even in diplomatic relations with states as a process of their political development. We can call this process the practice of “nation-craft” (as opposed to “state-craft”); it was evident this year at the Twelfth Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in May with the statement of 72 Indian nations.

Indians have been taking their concerns to the international arena since at least the 1920s, so Native peoples working within the United Nations is nothing new. What is new is the engagement of tribal governments because up until now it has been primarily through the participation of civil society groups, not governments. It will be necessary and appropriate for Native peoples to continue to work for indigenous rights in the realm of civil society, but it is at the level of tribal government where the advancement of nationhood and political status for indigenous nations will occur.