mocking bird with big heart cayuse, walla walla, cocopah ... · 1968 – present self determination...

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Charles F. Sams III Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah, Yankton Ecology through the Lens of Native American Racism: A Native Perspective

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Page 1: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Charles F. Sams III Mocking Bird With Big Heart

Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah, Yankton

Ecology through the Lens of Native American Racism:

A Native Perspective

Page 2: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Coyote and The Monster Before Human Time

Be Smart

Be Creative

Use Your Strengths

Band Together

Page 3: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Land Tenure in North America

Land Ownership vs. Land Stewardship

35,000 + years on the land Land Bridge Theory 2 Billion Acres of Land Thousands of

Tribes/Bands/Clans – populations est. 25 to 100 million

When Time Began The Promise & The Law

Page 4: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Coyote and Human Standing Up

Gifts of the Land & 1st People

Covenants/Promises

Stewardship of Resources

Page 5: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

The Indian Experience •Time Immemorial - 1491

•1492–1828 Colonial Period

•1828–1887 Removal, Reservations, and Treaty Period

•1887–1934 Allotment and Assimilation Period

•1934–1945 Indian Reorganization Period

•1945–1968 Termination Period

•1968–Present Self Determination Period

An Imposition of Will Incursion with No Proposals

Page 6: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Pre – 1492 / Pre-Columbian Period

Life on the Columbia Plateau and along the N’Chi Wana

Native People lived in well organized complex societies with their own forms of government

We are seasonal travelers not nomadic. We live a subsistence lifestyle – 16 million salmon return each year Peace – through Kinship War – for territory & resources

Page 7: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Creator’s Gifts

Page 8: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Doctrine of Discovery Papal Bulls

1452 Romanus Pontifex Pope Nicholas V Declares By Divine Intention European Christian countries gain power and rights over indigenous non-Christian people

1493 Inter caetera Pope Alexander VI grants Spain the right to conquer the New World

Page 9: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

1492 – 1828 Colonial Period

European colonies create a dominant presence on East Coast of N. America – Doctrine of Discovery Colonies occupy Native lands they negotiate and sign treaties for land.

1493 Spain claims lands from present day Alaska to Central America. By 1513, this claim is reinforced by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa’s expedition to the Pacific Ocean

1790 Intercourse Act -“no sale of lands made by any Indians, or any nation or tribe of Indians within the United States. . . unless the same shall be made and duly executed at some public treaty, held under the authority of the United States.” In addition, the U.S. acknowledges Tribes as Sovereigns.

River Indians find Chinese goods along Oregon Coast 1792 Robert Gray sails up the Columbia River trading with Indians - 1793

Francisco de Eliza and Juan Martínez y Zayas surveyed the mouth of the Columbia River.

Louisiana Purchase – rights to negotiate for land rights. Lewis & Clark Expedition – Doctrine of Discovery II

Page 10: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Marshall Trilogy

U.S. Supreme Court definitively recognizes the Doctrine of Discovery into American law by the Marshall Trilogy (1823-32); Johnson vs. M’Intosh, Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia and Worcester vs. Georgia – plenary power is bestowed upon the Congress

Outcome: Aboriginal land claims: Aboriginal people had land use rights of occupancy and only the United States government can settle those claims. Tribal Sovereignty: Tribes are similar to sovereign nations with the authority to govern themselves. The source of their authority to govern is ‘inherent,’ meaning that it comes from tribes being self- governing long before explorers and settlers came to the New World. Federal Trust Responsibility: The Federal Government has a responsibility to protect Indian lands and resources, and to provide essential services to Indian people. This comes from the fact that the federal government took away the vast majority of Indian lands, and in return promised to provide these things. The Doctrine is still being practiced today on Indian Nations.

Page 11: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

1828 – 1887 Removal, Reservations, and Treaty Period

Due to burgeoning population on East Coast many Tribes are forced to migrate Westward.

US government aggressively moves to relocate Tribes to reservations.1830 Indian Removal Act relocates many Southern Tribes into the Oklahoma Territory.

Oregon’s Donation Land Law 1850 – retro legalizes land claims beginning in 1843 for White settlers into the Northwest Territory – issues, the U.S. doesn’t own the land, People already live on the lands, etc.

In general, reservations were established by treaties. Tribes trade large tracts of land for continued right of self governance under the protection of the US.

Page 12: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

The Oregon Trail – Manifest Destiny

Page 13: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Treaty of 1855 Cayuse, Umatilla, & Walla Walla Lands

Confederation of: Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla People 6.4 million acres UIR Land Base 1859 Survey - 254,699 acres 1883 Slater & 1885 Dawes Allotment Acts: reduce reservation to 158,000 Restoration: 172,000 Reserved Rights to Hunt, Fish, and

Gather Foods and Medicines at All Usual and Accustomed Stations

My Homelands

Page 14: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

What is a Treaty?

Contract between Sovereigns

United States Constitution authorizes President to enter Treaties on behalf of U.S. subject to Senate confirmation of the treaty

United States Constitution provides that treaties are “the supreme law of the land.” Indians agreed to relinquish lands (cede lands)

U.S. promised to create federally protected Reservations for the Tribes (protect Tribal

lands, people and resources) - Trust responsibilities Indian tribes constitute unique legal entities in the United States. “A treaty is not a grant of rights to Indians but a grant of rights from them, and those

rights not specifically granted are reserved to the Indians.” United States v. Winans, (SCT 1905).

Page 15: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

1887 – 1934 Allotment and Assimilation Period –

Tribes Reserve 138 million acres

Slater and General Allotment Act (Dawes Act) dictates the forced conversion of community held tribal lands into small parcels for individual tribal member ownership

Due to this act over 100 million acres were taken from tribes and given to non-Indian settlers as “surplus” – most given without compensation to Tribal members.

Many of the Indian People along the N’Chi Wana refuse to move to a reservation. There are over a dozen village sites in the Gorge.

Rock Island Dam built 1933 – the N’Chi Wana is being forever changed. An additional 10 million acres were lost from individual Tribal members due to

foreclosures, taxation, and outright greed.

Page 16: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

1934 – 1950 Indian Reorganization Period

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 ends the discredited policy of allotment.

The Act supports Tribes reclaiming their lands and developing / reconstituting Tribal governments.

The forced American values and governance structure often damage traditional values and governance.

1937 Bonneville Dam / 1941 Grand Coulee Dam built. Indians are being removed from villages. Promises of new homes, more salmon.

Page 17: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

CTUIR 1949 Constitution

Created our modern form of government

General Council – voting membership age 18 and older

Board of Trustees – a 9 member governing body, elected by the General Council every two years

New Government charges with upholding the Treaty of 1855.

Legal mechanism to fight U.S. and States regarding fishing, hunting, water rights, etc.

Growing concern regarding overuse of water from Columbia River.

Page 18: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

1950 – 1968 Termination Period

During the 1950’s Congress legislates that federal recognition and assistance to more that 100 tribes should be terminated.

Public Law 280 (passed in 1953) imposed state criminal and civil jurisdiction over tribes in CA, MN, NE, OR, and WS.

Termination created economic disasters for most Tribes, resulting in over 5 million acres of natural resource land being lost to the federal govt or private sales.

Federal Policy emphasized the physical relocation of tribal members from reservations to urban areas.

1957 The Dalles Dam built – Celilo Falls echoes no more. Fish Wars Begin – States attempt to usurp Tribal Rights

Page 19: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

1968 – Present Self Determination Period

Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination era and prompted the development of a policy of self determination and self governance.

1970 President Nixon gave a special speech to Congress on Indian Affairs.

Policies like the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 emerged that favored tribal control over their own destinies.

U.S. vs. Oregon 1969 Belloni decision acknowledged the right of Columbia River Treaty Tribes to fish in the Columbia River with minimal regulation by the government of the United States or local governments – insofar as the regulations do not violate the Treaty. U.S. vs. Washington 1974 Boldt decision reaffirmed the reserved right of American Indian tribes to act as co-managers, alongside the state, of salmon and other fish and to continue to harvest it in accordance with the various Treaties that the United States had signed with the Tribes.

Page 20: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Federal Indian Policy

1633 General Court of Mass. Indian Land Allotment

1754 Albany Congress – Unified Colonial Indian Policy

1763 King George III Proclamation of Indian Land

1778 1st Indian Treaty with U.S. Continental Congress

1789 War Department oversees Indian Affairs 1790 Trade and Intercourse Act 1803 Louisiana Purchase 1820 Federal Gov’t Authorized to hold Trust

funds 1824 War Secretary creates BIA 1830 Indian Removal Acts – multiple 1834 Congress establishes IIM Trusteeship 1843 Intercourse Act – restricts Tribal rights 1858 Land Donation Acts – multiple 1868 Indian Peace Commission negotiates final

treaty with Tribes 1871 Congress passes act to abolish treaty

making with Tribes 1885 Major Crimes Act 1887 Dawes Act

1920 Competency Commission established 1921 Snyder Act 1924 Indian Citizen Act 1924 Indian Health Division established 1934 Howard – Wheeler Act – Indian

Reorganization 1934 Johnson O’Malley Act 1936 Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act 1936 Alaska Native Welfare Act 1946 Indian Claims Commission established 1947 BIA formally established 1952 PL 83-280 1953 Termination Act – HCR 108 1954 IHS transferred to BIA 1964 Economic Opportunity Act 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 1973 Congress repeals Termination Act 1975 PL 93-638 Indian Self Determination /

Education Assistance Act 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act 1988 Indian Gaming Act 1994 Indian Trust Reform Act

Page 21: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

TAMANWIT &

TIICHAM In the Beginning – Our Covenant

Our Land, Our People

Limited Wants, Unlimited Resources

Restoring Our Balance Restoring Our Lands

What you call wilderness, I call home

Treaty of 1855

Ceded 6.5 miilion acres

Reserved land and rights

Fish and clean water for all

Page 22: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Resources

AIRI Press, Indian Tribes as Sovereign Governments: A Source Book on Federal-Tribal History, Law, and Policy. Oakland, CA: American Indian Lawyer Training Program, Inc., 2001

Janet Diehl and Thomas S. Barrett, The Conservation Easement Handbook: Managing Land Conservation and Historic Preservation Easement Programs. San Francisco, CA: Land Trust Alliance and Trust for Public Land, 1988.

Mark Dowie, Conservation Refugees: The Hundred-Year Conflict Between Global Conservation and Native Peoples. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2009.

N. Bruce Duthu, American Indians and the Law. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008. Mark David Spence, Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks. New York,

NY: Oxford Press, 1999. Paul Stuart, Nations Within a Nation: Historical Statistics of American Indians. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987. Alvin M Josephy, Jr. and Marc Jaffe, Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Barry Lopez, The Rediscovery of North America, New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1992. Janet A. McDonnell, The Dispossession of the American Indian, 1887-1934. Bloomington & Indianapolis, IN: Indiana

University Press, 1991. Beth Rose Middleton, Trust in The Land: New Directions in Tribal Conservation. Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona

Press, 2011. Robert J. Miller, Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny.

Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2006. Richmond L. Clow and Imre Sutton, Trusteeship In Change: Toward Tribal Autonomy in Resource Management.

Boulder, CO: University of Colorado, 2001. Gray H. Whaley, Oregon and the Collapse of Illahee: U.S. Empire and the Transformation of an Indigenous World,

1792-1859. Chaphill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2010. Charles F. Wilkinson, Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company,

2005.

Page 23: Mocking Bird With Big Heart Cayuse, Walla Walla, Cocopah ... · 1968 – Present Self Determination Period Tribal government involvements with Congress and federal courts ends termination

Questions?

Contact:

Charles F. Sams III

[email protected]

Or

(503) 545-7668

Celilo Falls - 1947