Tribal Government Final Review
Energy corporations, the State, & other interests
After oil was discovered in Alaska, who else put pressure on Congress to finally recognize and settle Alaskan Native's land claims?
Outside interests such as BIA, federal agencies, state & corporate interests interfere with Tribal Council legitimacy, representation, & stability Viewpoint that tribal government as having poor administration capabilities: incompetent, constant criticism of tribal government as ineffective, weak, wasteful, inefficient, & maybe even corrupt & criminal Concern that adopting non-Indian judicial procedures has supplanted the remaining traditional dispute-resolution mechanisms.
Describe some of the internal problems that confront tribal governments today.
Council of Elders, Tribal Chief, Religious Leader, Warrior Societies, Public scorn, loss or restriction of privileges (no pipe or dancing), payment of restitution to injured party, or banishment in extreme cases ; Forgiveness & promote harmony
Describe some other ways in which tribes resolve disputes and serve as mediators.
Federal government increasingly scrutinizing tribes and imposed restrictions on the actions of tribal gov'ts toward reservation residents- based on the Bill of Rights and 14th Amendment. But was a serious impact on sovereignty
Explain why the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA) was passed by Congress in 1968.
Minimum age: 18-21 yrs. Must be a tribal member No felonies No indebtedness to the tribe No education, occupational, or experiential required
Generally, what are the qualifications for any tribal council member?
Mitchell offended Dr. Annie Wauneka, but a district court ruled in his favor saying his banishment by the Navajo violated his rights to freedom of speech ad due process of law, all prohibited by Title II of ICRA. But he left the area
How did Theodore R. Mitchell come to the be banished from the Navajo reservation under Article 2 of the Treaty of 1868?
Community Action Program to provide some employment service House Improvement Child development (Head Start) Community development (VISTA) Manpower development training Economic development (Resort & Ski Lodge)
How did the Mescalero Apache tribe of New Mexico use its $120,600 grant from the office of Economic Opportunity to help tribal members in 1963?
17,000, walked 800 miles, estm. 8,100 Cherokee died from starvation, illness, freezing temps, trauma
How many Cherokee were force-marched from their homelands to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) on the infamous "Trail of Tears" in 1838-39? How many miles did they walk? How many died and of what?
President Governor Chairman Spokesman Chief Principal Chief
Name all the different types of executive positions in Indian Country?
Supreme Court Peacemaker Court Council of Elders Tribal Courts Court of Appeals Criminal Tribal Courts
Name all the different types of judicial courts of Indian Country
Tribal Council Business Councils Legislatures Board of Directors Board of Trustees Executive Committees Councils Tribal Committees
Name all the different types of legislative bodies that presently represent Indian Country
Violence Against Women Act
Name the 2013 Act that sets up conditions limiting Tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians
Servants
Native leaders were the _______________ of the people and an individual was not placed in a leadership position unless that person had demonstrated over and over again that he or she has the spiritual and physical well-being of the rest of the tribe at heart.
People
Political actions were carried out with spiritual guidance. Sovereignty, the intangible bond that binds a people together with their environment, was vested in the community- the ____________ not the leaders?
A majority vote of the adult members of the tribe and approval by Sec. of the Interior
Sec. 16 of the IRA provided for written tribal constitutions, but had to have the approval by which 2 authorities before implementation?
All eligible Indian voters who opted not to vote would be counted as being in favor adopting the act
The IRA tribal elections were slanted in favor of acceptance rather than rejection. How did the Solicitor General's opinion influence the numbers of Indian voting for acceptance?
False (out of 258 tribal elections, only 181 tribes voted for it & tribes rejected the IRA)
True or False : Every single Indian tribe eagerly voted to accept the terms and benefits of the IRA.
False
True or False: All Alaskan Native Corporations were successful and made all shareholders rich.
True
True or False: Because tribal courts were established during times of colonial imposition by the federal gov't and must continually build legitimacy within the tribe both among tribal members and with the Tribal Councils.
True
True or False: If the tribe accepted the IRA most tribal council ordinances or resolutions are subject to the review of the Sec. of the Interior?
True
True or False: In the past the main role of tribal govt was more judicial than legislative in nature since they tried to maintain harmony & balance by resolving disputes
False, BIA provided many tribal constitutions (Appendix C for sample)
True or False: Indian tribes wrote their own tribal Constitutions by themselves, reflecting their needs, tribal culture, & had provisions for decision making. The BIA nor the Sec. of the Interior never interfered in the process.
True
True or False: Most Tribal Councils have the power to est. a judicial system to maintain law and order
False, Termination of tribes- 1950's, poverty, poor education, abysmal health conditions, etc.
True or False: The 1950-1960's were a time of prosperity, high employment, improved education, health and welfare for most Indian tribes across the nation as a result of Termination Era and the IRA.
True
True or False: The Navajo Nation Council meetings require the presence of a federal official, so the Supt. Sits next to the President during council meetings
False
True or False: The Navajo Nation voted to accept the IRA
False, 20
True or False: There are no traditional Indian courts in operation today.
False
True or False: Tribal Courts are courts of record and have to write down all opinions for building up tribal codes
Dollar General v. MS Band of Choctaw 2016
What Supreme Court case upheld Tribal Court authority to adjudicate civil tort claims against non-Indians in contractual relations with tribes?
Traditional Courts Courts of Indian Offenses (CFR- Code of Federal Regulations) Tribal (IRA) Courts
What are the 3 types of legal institutions that compose the present Indian judicial system?
The Area Redevelopment Act Economic Opportunity Act Great society social welfare programs- all part of federal government's "War on Poverty" National Civil Rights Movement Red Power activism
What brought about a great change for tribes in the 1960's, in that they became direct sponsors for federal funded programs and for the first time had money and were not beholding to the BIA, tribes could set their own priorities, and could hire supervise or fire their own people
Diseases, trade goods, religious conversion, liquor, and competitions among Europeans, states, & US governments
What changes did the Cherokee have to adapt to when the Europeans, traders, missionaries came, and later state governments were formed?
Establish Regional & Village Business Corporations
What did ANCSA require to do to handle the money ($962 million in compensation) and the land maintenance (44 million acres)?
Economic Opportunity Act- tribes became eligible for programs
What did Congress rename the Area Redevelopment Act in 1964? How did this act improve economic development for Indian people?
Owned slaves, running mills, trading stores, taverns, ferry services & turnpikes
What did the Cherokee mixed-blood elites adopt from the white culture that brought them economic profits?
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971
What does ANCSA stand for?
Great Binding Law of the Great Law of Peace
What does the League of Iroquois call their Constitution?
Termination
What is the threat that Tribal governments face today due to unrelenting pressure by the federal government to always modify their institutions?
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA) or (Wheeler-Howard Act)
What is the title of the Act of Congress that stopped allotment of reservations, provide for acquisition of lands, permitted tribes to organize into business corporations, establish a system of financial credit, college education and technical training, Indian preference in employment in the BIA, and authority for tribal governments under prescribed conditions?
Pueblo, NM - Religious Courts Navajo Nation & Iroquois - Peacemaker Courts NW Tribes - small Courts based on unwritten traditions
What kinds of courts does the following tribes operate?
To be fluent in the Navajo language
What was a requirement for candidates running for President of the Navajo Nation in 2014 and was challenged in 2015, leading to a referendum that loosened that requirement beginning in the 2018 election?
Indian Tribal Justice Act
What was passed by Congress in Dec. of 1993 that granted gov't assistance for the development of tribal justice systems? ( money to improve system)
Indian Self-Determination & Education Assistance Act * Tribal Councils could contract to perform services that were being provided by the Dept. of Interior and Health & Human Services *Power struggle, Tribal Nations were still under excessive federal regulations
What was the next major law passed by Congress in 1975 that assumed that Tribal Councils knew what was best as to what their problems were? And what kinds of problems arose between Tribal Councils and the federal governments over how to allocate resources?
Metal-tipped canes inscribed with the Spanish cross
What were bestowed upon the Pueblo governors as symbols of their positions under the Spanish form of governance?
To educate and disciplinary. To promote acculturation of Indians by education them in Euro-American legal & cultural values & norms
What were the primary purposes of CFR courts?
To eradicate traditional religious practices and so on
What were the real goals of the federal government when they imposed a Court of Indian Offenses tribunal, made up of the Indian Agent and 3 Blackfeet in the 1860's?
Indians of Oklahoma & Alaska Natives
Which 2 groups of Indians were initially excluded from provisions of the IRA?
Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968
Which Congressional act imposed parts of the U.S. Bill of Rights upon tribal court proceedings and provided litigants with a means to challenge tribal court decisions in federal courts through the writ of habeas corpus?
Navajo, largest reservation- 88 member council until 2010. Organized by districts, date back to when reservation was divided into land management areas by agriculture & soil conservation agents in 1030's
Which Indian nation has the largest number of members in their council and why? How many?
Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, Eagle Butte, SD
Which Indian tribe was reported by Mamie Mizen, a professional staff member of the Senate Appropriations Committee as having 97% of its occupied housing as deficient dilapidated and a 75% unemployment rate in 1963?
Religious Clause. Indictment by a grand jury. Restricting quartering of troops in homes. May discriminate in voting on account of race. Do not have to convene jury in civil trials. Do not have to issue grand jury indictments. Do not have to appoint counsel for poor defendants
Which part of the U.S. Bill of Rights was intentionally not incorporated into the Indian Civil Rights Act
Fort Peck- Assiniboine & Yanktonai Sioux
Which reservation was established by Congress in 1888 in northeast MT & for which two Indian tribes?
Blackfeet of MT
Which tribe was pressured by Indian Agents to develop Western-style governments but continued to rely upon their natural leaders by electing them to government positions?
Wilma Mankiller, when Ross Swimmer, her predecessor became the assist. Sec. of Indian Affairs, Mankiller was re-elected twice
Who became the first female Cherokee chief in 1985? How did she remain in that position during 1987 & 1991?
Benjamin Franklin
Who tried to convince the colonist to adopt the Albany Plan in 1754, a political union based on the model of the League of Iroquois?
The BIA or approval of the Sec. of the Interior
Who was authorized to approve or reject any of the following: Amendments to Tribal Constitutions, hiring legal counsel, Veto of tribal resolutions on land use, civil and criminal codes, levying assessments on non-members trading or residing on the res., Regulating inheritance, Appoint guardians for minors, Excluding individuals from the reservation.
Theodore R. Mitchell- Dine development director & Dr. Annie Wauneka- Navajo Nation's Advisory committee woman
Who were the main participants in a federal district court case which pitted the DNA, a non-profit legal services corp. against a tribal government over a school issue and a power struggle?
President Peter MacDonald - re-elected 4 times, charged by fed gov't with embezzlement and jailed. Navajo Tribal council pardoned him in 1995, stating nothing could have been true and re-establishing the Navajo concept of "hozhonji," the Beauty Way, and the need to forgive and ask forgiveness
Why did the Navajo Nation amend their Tribal Code in 1989 and abolish the position of Tribal Chairman and replace it with President and Speaker of the Council?
Women
_________________ influenced the family network, the center of aboriginal social life and political organization and thus few were elected or chosen to serve as political leaders, but there was significant cultural variation in gender roles of various indigenous groups.
