October 29, 2009 in Opinion

Editorial: Tribal recognition process too cumbersome

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Technically, the Little Shell Indian Tribe of Montana asked for federal recognition in 1978, the same year the U.S. Department of Interior adopted regulations governing the Federal Acknowledgement Process.

But tribal elders say their fight to regain status in the U.S. government’s eyes began in 1892, when federal recognition was withdrawn because Chief Little Shell wouldn’t sell reservation land to the government.

Even setting aside the historical record, 31 years is a long time to be left hanging over a question about your status as a sovereign entity – a status 564 tribes now enjoy but hundreds more seek.

The Little Shells’ wait ended Tuesday with Interior’s decision to turn down the tribe’s application for recognition. As a result, some 4,300 scattered members continue to be denied health and housing assistance that is available to Native Americans.

The tribe has two other options. They could challenge the ruling in court, or they could turn to Congress. Like southwest Washington’s Chinook Tribe, which also was turned down by the Department of Interior, the Little Shells are now counting on their state’s congressional delegation to restore their federal standing by law.

That route is not assured of success, and it may not be fast, but it’s likely to be downright swift compared with the Department of Interior’s notoriously plodding process.

It’s been nearly a decade since the U.S. General Accounting Office encouraged the Department of Interior to clarify and expedite the handling of applications for recognition. While the process lists seven criteria to justify recognition, the grounds for determining when they are met are vague enough to lead to conflicting interpretations.

Testifying before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2002, GAO’s director for natural resources and environment, Barry T. Hill, accurately predicted that a lack of uniformity in applying the criteria would lead many tribes to turn to the courts or Congress rather than the regulatory process.

It is past time for the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to address those clarity and uniformity problems and to achieve more urgency in handling applications. The saga of the Little Shells and their lengthy – and continuing – quest to regain the status they lost more than a century ago underscores why.

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Two comments on this story so far. Add yours!

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  Ninch on October 29 at 8:31 a.m.

  Obama should be ashamed that the decision against the Little Shell band happened on his watch… but then again his understanding of American Indian law/regulations is relatively very shallow, especially for being a so-called Constitutional lawyer/scholar. I am sure he is also going to blame Bush for this l(ike he does everything else)… even though this decison was held up for 30 years.

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  Ruebie on October 29 at 11:56 a.m.

  Ninch, it seems that your an Obama hater, Why should he be ashamed of something that has been going on all these years, and how do you know how much knowledge he has about Native law, The only things I've heard him blame Bush for was the huge mistakes Bush made while in office, maybe you haven't heard about the war in Iraq. The blame for the travisty done to the Little Shell should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the people that were appointed to acturally read the information they were given and make a decision based on known information. Not to place themselves in the position of judge, jury, and God almighty.

  So if you want to comment at least know your subject.

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