Broken
The Fayetteville Observer reports on recent Congressional hearings of the process of federal recognition. As a member of a non-FRIT community, I'd heard most of it before. But it was hard to see it all laid out in black and white:
Goins made his comments to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. He suggested that an independent commission determine whether tribes receive recognition.Goins was one of four American Indian leaders who testified before the committee about problems in the recognition process. Federal status could mean millions of dollars in federal aid for housing, education, health care and economic development.
Tribal leaders from the Muscogee Nation of Florida, Little Shelf Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana and the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians described the process as cumbersome and expensive.
There is a 15-year backlog in the bureau for processing petitions for federal recognition. More than 300 tribes have sent letters of intent or petitions for the status. Two of the tribal leaders who addressed the committee said their tribes have been waiting more than 30 years.
The process usually takes 25 months.
North Dakota Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan, the committee chairman, said the backlog is a strong indicator that the process needs to be revised. For tribes to wait nearly 30 years is not fair and is not acceptable, he said.
"Someone is bleeding this process dry, and the process is not working for a lot of folks who deserve federal recognition," Dorgan said.
The recognition process has evolved into a lengthy and costly process that requires substantial research and documentation, he said.
Since the burea'’s inception in 1978, only 16 tribes have been recognized through the administrative process. Twenty-eight tribes have received the status through Congress, Dorgan said.
Only sixteen tribes in nearly thirty years.
I plan on reading the whole transcript after the LSAT next week.
