BY JOHN ECHOHAWK
Many Native Americans were concerned about the candidacy of Donald Trump for president of the United States. He said nothing about Native American issues on the campaign trail. When he was elected president, many Native Americans prepared to work with him and his administration to educate them about Native American issues, but also prepared to fight for indigenous rights if he attacked or failed to protect those rights. With the recent decision by the Trump administration to approve the easement under Lake Oahe for the Dakota Access Pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s reservation, despite the tribe’s opposition, the first fight with the new Trump administration over indigenous rights has begun.
The Bears Ears Inter‐Tribal Coalition, consisting of five tribes – the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Ute Mountain Ute, and Ute – was the primary advocate for the monument because it will help these tribes protect numerous cultural and religious sites on their ancestral lands. However, many of Utah’s political leaders are urging President Trump to rescind the proclamation altogether or drastically reduce the size of the monument.
The Bears Ears Inter‐Tribal Coalition is in the process of trying to secure a meeting with the new Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke. The five tribes in the coalition will be asking the new secretary to support the continued existence of Bears Ears National Monument and to recommend to President Trump that the monument be preserved intact. The coalition believes that the secretary and the president are required to consult with them before they take any action that impacts tribal rights in the monument.
Favorable federal court decisions, like the Standing Rock Sioux are seeking against the Trump administration, have not come easy to tribes in recent years. The Indian self‐determination movement that began in the 1970s was largely fueled by favorable federal court decisions as tribes finally gained access to lawyers who brought forward cases based on treaties and federal statutes. However, as the makeup of the federal courts has changed over recent years, favorable federal court decisions for tribes have become more difficult to achieve, especially in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Even if President Trump does not act against Bears Ears, Congress may consider legislation that would repeal or change the designation of the monument. Over recent years, tribes generally have created bipartisan support for tribal rights. It may be that supporters of tribal rights in the Senate and the House could stop any legislation aimed at eliminating or shrinking the monument based on the adverse impact to tribal ancestral lands.
Conflicts that developed were often settled through treaties as European nations came to understand that indigenous peoples also had nations. Based on this experience, treaty-making and recognition of sovereign Indian tribes found their way into the U.S. Constitution in 1787. There are three levels of government in this country: federal, state, and tribal. Because of the federal‐tribal treaty relationships, there exists a government‐to‐government relationship between the federal government and tribal governments that must be recognized and respected.
Indigenous peoples around the world have been dealing with these same issues over time. In 2007, indigenous peoples were finally successful in convincing the United Nations to adopt the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It basically says that indigenous rights are human rights that are to be respected by all nations around the world. Indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands, cultures, and religions are recognized, as is the right to free, prior, and informed consent before any of their rights can be changed or taken away. The United States signed on to the declaration in 2010.
What does this present moment – with the Standing Rock and Bears Ears issues at the forefront – mean for indigenous rights? It will be a turning point for the newly elected Trump administration, the newly elected 115th Congress, and the federal courts to see if they will recognize and honor treaty rights and the government‐to‐government relationship that exists under U.S. law and international law. In the end, it may well depend on the level of public support for tribal rights – like the great level of public support that has been shown recently for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the Bears Ears Inter‐Tribal Coalition.
John Echohawk, recognized for his leadership in the Indian law field, is the co-founder and executive director of the Native American Rights Fund and a member of the board of trustees of the Grand Canyon Trust.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The views expressed by Advocate contributors are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Grand Canyon Trust.
Also in this issue:
John Leshy on how Utah “land grabbers” misread history, as well as the dictionary. Read now ›