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February 18, 2011 in Idaho
Tribal policing measure fails
BOISE – After a stormy two-hour debate in which opponents raised fears including the Coeur d’Alene Tribe taking away people’s guns as they pass through the North Idaho reservation, the Idaho House on Thursday rejected the tribe’s policing bill by one vote.
“There are ghosts and goblins out there that people are trying to come up with … that don’t exist,” state Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, told the House as he rebutted claim after claim about the policing bill.
The measure, HB 111, would have allowed tribal police officers to function as police officers under state law if they have all the required training and insurance and cite non-tribal criminals into state court, not tribal court.
“This is a public safety issue,” state Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d’Alene, the bill’s House sponsor, told lawmakers.
The tribe last year dropped proposed legislation when, just as lawmakers were poised to pass it, Benewah County agreed to a cross-deputization agreement. That county had revoked its last such agreement with the tribe in 2007. Then, after the legislative session ended, the county backed out of the agreement.
State Rep. Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, traveled to Benewah County in December to try to broker a deal, and an agreement again was reached – and again the county backed out.
The new bill, HB 111, wouldn’t require the county to be involved.
Since 2007, tribal officers who stop non-tribal members in Benewah County have had to detain them until a county or state officer shows up to take over the arrest; if they don’t show up in time, the suspect goes free.
The tribe has a successful cross-deputization deal with Kootenai County.
Wills, a retired state trooper, said he’s received hundreds of calls and e-mails threatening him and questioning his integrity for backing the bill. “I’ve had threats I’d better never go into the county again,” he said. “I’ve been called all kinds of sundry names.”
Among opponents’ objections were fears that the tribe could draw on its own laws to impose civil penalties on non-Indians – something that already can occur today on the reservation.
“This doesn’t change anything about that,” Wills said. Instead, it addressed criminal violations.
When state Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, tried to suggest that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe will take people’s guns if they come onto the reservation with state concealed-weapons permits, Nonini gave a blistering rebuttal. When the National Rifle Association brought up an “11th hour” concern, Nonini said, the tribal council held an emergency meeting this week and changed its tribal code. But it never would have been an issue in the first place, he and others said.
The bill dealt only with criminal violations by non-tribal members on the reservations, and allowing tribal police to make arrests and take those offenders to the county jail. It didn’t change any provisions of tribal code or alter the tribe’s civil regulations on things like zoning or hunting.
State Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, told the House, “I stand here with a heavy heart today to debate this bill.” He said some have accused people from his county of being racist. “I’ll tell you that’s nothing more than hate speech and that is not true, it is definitely not true. It’s highly offensive to me and to the people of my county,” he said.
Harwood said he opposes the bill because, “This bill will give the power to an entity that is not accountable to the people that it has the power over. That flies right in the face of everything this country’s about, doesn’t it? It sure seems like it to me.”
State Rep. Mack Shirley, R-Rexburg, debating in favor of the bill, told the House, “I’ve grown weary of the arguments I’ve heard about this for the past two or three years. The whole issue is just to provide proper law enforcement within the bounds of the reservation.” He said he found the continuing dispute “baffling,” and said, “I get bothered when I hear that the Indians are a sovereign nation and they already have too many benefits, don’t give them more. I think that’s a poor argument. You know, we’re all Idahoans.”
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Ninch on February 18 at 7:06 a.m.
Ignorant and Ironic… for example ““This bill will give the power to an entity that is not accountable to the people that it has the power over.”
In other words, this guy believes that NON-TRIBAL persons who commit crimes on the Indian reservation should NOT be held accountable for their actions.
Those against may not consider themselves racist against American Indians, but they sure as heck are extreme ethnocentrists, and implied in their opposition is the concept that Native American governments and their law enforcement officers are ‘not civilized’ enough to be given responsibilities to enforce state criminal laws.
Orphan on February 18 at 7:29 a.m.
Ninch I have to disagree. The Indian Tribes are a separate nation and should be treated as such. I personally avoid traveling through Indian land when ever possable.
We are not all Idahoans some are Idahoans and some are Idahoans that are also Indians that have different rules and laws to go by.
Right or wrong things are not equal and giving LE authority to Indian LE will only make thing less equal. I cant build a casino is just one example of how things are not equal.
Scoutster on February 18 at 7:37 a.m.
Orphan..
If they were truly a sovereign nation, there wouldn’t be a debate.
hawken on February 18 at 8:02 a.m.
It’s not even debatable that the Tribes have sovereign status. Nobody would agree with subordinating our sovereign, WA state laws to that of another sovereign state such as Oregon, Utah, Idaho…. on second thought, let’s do subordinate to Idaho.
Ninch on February 18 at 8:05 a.m.
Funny… ‘Orphan’ avoids traveling through “Indian land” whenever possible. What are you afraid of?
BTW: Did you know that anyone owning fee land (as opposed to trust land)…even tribal members… pay property taxes to the county and state? (Ergo not ‘separate.’)
Please do some research because the relationship between sovereign Indian tribes (per U.S. Constitution) and the states is complex.
For example, the federal government specifically wrote laws for allowing Indian casinos but gave states some power (where none existed before) in negotiating over casinos. And in fact, Orphan could build a casino if his state allowed him to do so. Instead, states like Idaho and Washington chose to run lotteries. Other states allow casinos (e.g. Nevada, New Jersey, and more). Thus the idea of “equality” regarding economic enterprises is a red herring debate and irrelevant.
Ninch on February 18 at 8:13 a.m.
States are NOT sovereign according to U.S. Constitution because they are part of a federalist system. Generally, states and tribal governments are essentially equal, but the Constitution (and subsequent federal laws) differentiates.
Note that the failed tribal policing legislation was NOT a subordination of states to tribal, but rather an agreement regarding enforcement of state criminal laws on Indian reservations….i.e. a partnership.
hawken on February 18 at 8:58 a.m.
States’ rights, in U.S. history, is a doctrine based on the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states,
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Yes, the states do have sovereign powers in many, many areas.
Orphan on February 18 at 9:04 a.m.
Ninch
Why would you assume/think that I am afraid of anything.
BTW my daughter is 25% Indian.
Please cite where the constitution says states are not sovereign.
terrymr on February 18 at 9:06 a.m.
It seems that no police agency is accountable to the people anyway - they just sit there and tell us how we’ll be policed.
greenlibertarian on February 18 at 10:09 a.m.
opponents raised fears including the Coeur d’Alene Tribe taking away people’s guns as they pass through the North Idaho reservation
Name one instance where this has occurred.
Fear sells quite well, as does bigotry.
NUMEROUS tribes and counties have cross-deputized police officers with nary a problem.
Tribal police enforcing STATE LAW to non-tribal members in STATE, not Tribal, Courts, are effective all over the place, except it seems, to the racists running Benewah County.
Julia70 on February 18 at 10:12 a.m.
Yep we’ve been fightin’ terrorism since 1492. Native American and proud of it.
Dazzeetrader11 on February 18 at 10:26 a.m.
No they’re sovereign. Issues abound here. The Natives want it both ways. They want to continually be independent but they rely on the “outside reservation” amenities which the non Natives pay for. IE. free ride.’
It seems that whenever a tribe falls short in some area, they demand something and expect the US/States pay for it.
Julia..no offense but I think the Natives tribes fought lots of wars against the other tribes. Spoils went to the “winner” as I recall. This must be the terrorists you refer to?
Not much of an issue in this article. Must be a local skirmish. Cross deputization would end this.
cryssT on February 18 at 10:46 a.m.
we can’t change the past but we should do the right things to make the future better. cross deputization is the correct thing to do. if I break the laws while on First Citizen lands, all that is being asked is the ability to arrest me then and there and then my case goes to state court. Idaho is only for the rights of citizens with money.
SpokaneLiberal on February 18 at 10:59 a.m.
This seems ludicrous to me.
The only change is that if someone commits a state offense on the reservation and they are not from the reservation instead of holding the person until a county deputy arrives - hopefully faster than the expiration of a ticking clock - and transferring them at that time they can drive the person straight to the jail. They already do this in other counties with no problems.
All of the other arguments about benefits they may or may not get from casinos and this or that are meaningless crap. Why should a criminal get to go free if we catch him/her? One day this will come back to bite the people of Benewah County. The Tribal police will stop someone like Charles Manson but because they can’t transport them to the jail they will drive the person to the edge of the reservation and loose him upon the citizens of Benewah County.
Julia70 on February 18 at 11:56 a.m.
Daisy, you are an ignorant racist, you know absolutely nothing about Native American traditions. The whites enslaved the Native Americans forced them onto reservations. Read the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Alexander Dee Brown, you might learn something. I know first hand, My mother was forced into a Indian School run by the BIA, kids were definitely abused and mistreated.
Dazzeetrader11 on February 18 at 12:17 p.m.
You’re typically called a racist when you’re winning an arguement with a liberal with an agenda. Thanks Julia.
FYI Russell Means and Dennis Banks were old friends ( yes friends) of mine.
Been to Wounded Knee South Dakota. No worries, I’m anything but a racist. Facts are facts Julia.
SpokaneLiberal on February 18 at 1:27 p.m.
Daisy Cross Deputization would end this - BUT the locals keep backing out. This would just be an end around that accomplishes the same thing. Why not?
Julia70 on February 18 at 3:25 p.m.
No Daisy, you were not a friend of Russell and Dennis, that’s obvious by your attitude. What argument is it that you are trying to win, obviously you are not education in Native American History.