Treaty Rights Forecast
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Bush Reopens Treaty Making with Tribes
Move a Reaction to Democrat Indian Initiatives 
"With this softball, I am pitching out a new era of government-to-government relationships with our tribal nations," said President Bush. (AP)
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By Brian Tokes
Tomorrow Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 04, 2001 WASHINGTON, DC, July 3 -- With the Democrats firmly in control of the Senate and heavily courting Indian Country, President Bush today made his own attempt to reach out to tribal leaders and reopened the long suspended practice of treaty making with Indian Nations. "These tribal nations are a force to be reckoned with," said Bush in the rechristened Indian Treaty Room of the White House. "So it is on the eve of Independence Day that I declare this administration intends to restore tribal governments to their rightful place among the governments of this nation and to enable tribal governments, along with state and local governments, to resume control over their own affairs." "They also have natural resources whose rights must be ceded to the United States in order for consumers to avoid blackouts, higher gasoline prices, and to prevent maverick Republican Senator John McCain from ditching the GOP and running against me in 2004," a somber Bush added. The small group of five tribal leaders who gathered with Bush seemed unconcerned with the historic nature of the event, however, as their ancestors had already ceded millions of acres of territory to the United States in the late 1800s. Having been stripped of much of their sovereign rights by Congress and the courts, they had little to offer Bush. "I was worried at first about this treaty business since the government has broken so many promises to my people," said Confederated Chicopee Tribes Chairman Bill "Charles" Manson, whose 11 million acre domain has been whittled down to a mere four square miles in northeastern Oregon. "But since we hardly have any land left and no oil and gas resources on what little remains, I figured this was a win-win for our tribe," he said. Afterwards, Bush and the tribal leaders played an impromptu game of tee ball on the White House lawn. To kick-start a process which ended in 1871, Bush has issued an executive order directing the Department of Interior to open federal funding to Indian law firms throughout the country. The firms' trusted clientele of tribal leaders will make it easier for treaties to be signed, according to government officials. "This public-private partnership is the kind of thing that's good for the environment in the long run," said Secretary of Interior Gale Norton with controversial Acting Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Richard Blumenthal at her side. But critics reeled in horror upon learning that Stepit & Fetchit -- the law firm which former Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover joined just minutes after leaving the Clinton administration -- would now be receiving tax dollars. A group of five Republicans led by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) immediately called for hearings into the matter. "Gover made decisions on behalf of tribes while he was in the Bureau of Indian Affairs," said Wolf. "Now, he's making decisions on behalf of tribes while in private practice. This is wrong and must be stopped." Wolf's objections, however, were discounted by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), who pointed out that it is the job of the Senate, not the House of Representatives, to advise and consent with the President on treaties. [Daschle plans to introduce a bill next week returning the Black Hills to the Lakota Nation, his aides noted.] Interior officials yesterday said the department has no timetable on when Norton and Bureau of Indian Affairs regional chiefs would begin treaty negotiations. But they suggested the administration might start with the tribes seeking federal recognition. "I don't know much about Indians," said spokesperson Mark Pfeifle. "I took geography instead at college. But what I do know is that these tribes need to be acknowledged and their environmental assets assessed as soon as possible."
© 2001-2002 Indian Country Tomorrow
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