US official: Congress shouldn’t control tribal recognition

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – A Republican proposal allowing Congress to decide whether American Indian tribes deserve federal recognition would add more delays to what was long a broken system, an Obama administration official said Wednesday.

The comments came as a House committee considers legislation to block a recent overhaul of the tribal recognition process. House Republicans contend that the changes finalized by the Interior Department over the summer lowered the standards for recognizing tribes and diminished the role of lawmakers.

There are 566 federally recognized tribes in the U.S., and groups in Louisiana, Michigan, Florida, California and other states want to join their ranks. Some such as Montana’s Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians have waited years or decades for a decision.

Federal acknowledgement allows tribes to be treated largely as their own nations within U.S. borders, with independent governments and legal systems. It also makes tribes eligible for federal housing, medical care and education.

The proposal sponsored by U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah would bring back the worst of the old system, undermining attempts to create a more transparent and efficient process, Interior Department Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn said in remarks prepared for Wednesday delivery.

He said the Republican plan “casts doubt on the status of tribes that have already been recognized by the federal government.”

Bishop, who chairs the House Natural Resources Committee, refuted Washburn’s claims and said any tribes already recognized would not be affected.

“The tribal recognition process has been a mess for decades. The authority to recognize tribes is one that belongs to Congress, not the executive branch,” Bishop said.

Existing tribes with casino operations have aired similar concerns about the recent changes to the process.

The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Montana has taken a two-pronged approach to seeking recognition, pursuing it through the Interior Department and working with Montana’s congressional delegation on legislation to mandate recognition of the tribe and its more than 6,000 enrolled members.

Little Shell Chairman Gerald Gray told The Associated Press on Wednesday that both options should be kept open.

“If it gets bogged down in Interior, tribes shouldn’t have to wait years, Congress should be able to pick it up and move it along faster,” he said. “If Congress is not going to do anything, then (the Interior Department) should be able to do it.”

The tribe petitioned for recognition through the Interior Department in 1978. Gray and other members trace their first attempts to the 1860s, when the related Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians signed a treaty with the U.S. government.

In 1892, when the government created a commission to negotiate land for some Chippewa, Chief Little Shell refused to accept the terms. His people were later carved out of the agreement, and Chief Little Shell’s descendants eventually dispersed to scattered areas across Montana and southern Canada.