VII.THE
FAILURE OF THE UNITED STATES TO UPHOLD THE RIGHTS OF AMERICAN INDIANS,
ALASKA NATIVES
AND OTHER
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
prepared
by
Indian
Law Resource Center
The
era of racial and colonial subjugation has never really ended for American
Indians, Alaska Natives and other indigenous peoples of the world.Most
indigenous peoples still live under the threat of having their lands taken
or despoiled; of having their means of livelihood subverted; of forcible
relocation; of being poisoned or killed because of the toxic contamination
of their resources; of being deprived of their languages and traditions;
and of violence directed at them as individuals and as peoples.Almost
everywhere, indigenous peoples are the poorest of the poor. The international
community is becoming increasingly aware of these problems and abuses,
and significant advances are being made in the development of international
law on indigenous rights.There is
still too little attention paid, however, to the continuing wrongs against
indigenous peoples that are condoned and encouraged under the laws and
policies of individual countries, including the United States.
Fortunately,
there has been progress in the United States law in protecting indigenous
peoples against the most extreme, genocidal acts that they long suffered.A
small number of Native American tribes and nations have achieved economic
security.Unfortunately, that progress
is very incomplete and spotty, and racism remains deeply embedded in the
laws and policies that the United States applies to indigenous peoples.In
the United States today, indigenous peoples can be unilaterally deprived
of their lands and resources without due process of law and without compensation;
indigenous governments can be terminated or stripped of their rightful
authority at the whim of the Federal Government; treaties may be arbitrarily
abrogated; and the religious freedom and cultural integrity of indigenous
peoples goes virtually unprotected and frequently are violated.In
other words, United States law can readily be used as a weapon against
indigenous peoples.A very recent
example of this threat was a resolution passed by the Washington State
Republican Party to terminate tribal governments.The
objective of the resolution’s sponsors was to encourage the next President
to initiate another era of forced assimilation.Although
the resolution was repudiated after indigenous leaders and their supporters
mounted a successful public campaign against it, it was a stark reminder
that United States law still permits the Federal Government to disestablish
tribes and tribal governments.
Similarly,
the property rights of indigenous peoples and the integrity of indigenous
lands are not guaranteed under United States law.The
longest occupants of this country have the least right to their land.The
federal courts recently upheld the Tee-Hit-Ton case --
a Supreme Court decision setting forth the doctrine that the United States
can take aboriginal Indian lands without due process and without compensation.No
other community and no other racial group faces such insecurity in their
property and such discriminatory treatment in the protection of their property
rights.
Indigenous
tribes and nations struggle to survive and meet their daily needs.In
the United States, they suffer grave economic, social and political deprivation.The
1998 Report of the President’s Initiative on Race, Changing America,
concluded, “On virtually every indicator of social or economic progress,
the indigenous people of the United States continue to suffer disproportionately
in relation to any other group.They
have the lowest family incomes, the lowest percentage of people ages twenty-five
to thirty-four who receive a college degree, the highest unemployment rates,
the highest percentage of people living below the poverty level, the highest
accidental death rate, and the highest suicide rate.…They
have become America’s most invisible minority.”
The
pervasive adverse effects of discrimination against American Indians is
further underscored in a 1999 investigative report by the U.S. Department
of Justice, American Indians and Crime, which concluded that American
Indians are the victims of violent crimes at more than twice the rate of
all United States residents.The
report found that both male and female American Indians experience violent
crime at higher rates than people of other races, and are more likely to
experience interracial violence
