NATION: US Government Subjugation of Indian Tribes Must Stop!

Casinos have brought some positive financial results to a small number of Indian tribes. However, most tribes remain poor - indeed, the poorest by far of all the ethnic groups in America. For more information on this subject, click on this US News and World Report article from November 2014. Here is a quote from this article:

“American Indians suffer from a variety of problems somewhat similar to African Americans,” says Algernon Austin, author of a 2013 Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report on Native American unemployment. “You have lower levels of education [and] continued racial discrimination in the labor market. Some of my work for EPI showed that … improving education attainment of American Indians would likely produce a significant increase in their employment rates.”

Many of us remain convinced that it is the intention of U. S. Government policy to weaken tribal sovereignty and diminish their economic independence. Here's more proof of that belief: In 2004, in a case involving the San Manual Band of Mission Indians, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) reversed 70 years of prior rulings and held that tribal governments - UNLIKE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS - were subject to the NLRB. This ruling meant that tribal businesses would be regulated like private businesses - a clear blow to tribal sovereignty.

Above: Blog posts are boring without photos! Above is Mark and I with one of our Supai Tribe member friends, during a recent visit. The Supai Tribe has managed to preserve it's tribal language and runs a wonderful tourist business at their Grand Canyon National Park tribal reservation location. They still have their challenges, but have a history for fighting for control of their native tribal lands. You can read more about visiting by clicking here.

Enter the "Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act" (TLSA), which passed the US House of Representatives on November 17, 2015. The bill is now before the US Senate. The TLSA recognizes the exclusive authority of the tribal governments to regulate labor relations within their territories in the same manner as federal and state governments. I believe that the TLSA deserves our support, because it would restore this aspect of tribal sovereignty and put more money in the hands of the tribes themselves. Tribes have the right to regulate labor relations within their own territories, in my opinion.

Above: Rare Saline Valley Petroglyphs depicting condors, but often referred to as "Thunderbird Petroglyphs". Please respect all native American cultural sites.

How did this end up in Tim Waag's blog? Many of you do not know that I am both an amateur historian and archeologist, as well as a supporter of the economic and cultural survival of our Native American Tribes (focusing primarily on tribes in California). When raising my (now grown) children, we visited all 21 California Missions. During that amazing historical journey, we discovered that the mission era, in most ways, brought forth the beginning of the end for California Indian tribes associated with the missions. Since then, I have shared a great concern for the health of the tribal economies, as well as the preservation of their culture - something that was severely damaged by white Europeans. 

You can read more about how to support the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act in an article by W. Ron Allen (chairman/CEO of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe in Sequim, Washington), and Arian Melendez (chairman of the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony of Nevada) by clicking here.  

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