American Indian Leaders Meet to Define Sovereignty Story-Date: 09:41 a.m. PST Sunday , November 30, 1997 ------------------------------------------------------------ American Indian Leaders Meet to Define Sovereignty By Valerie Taliman, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News ISLETA PUEBLO, N.M.--Dec. 1--For the second time in as many weeks, Native leaders from throughout the Southwest gathered to set the stage for a national debate that will define Indian sovereignty. More than 30 presidents, chairmen and governors of Indian nations and pueblos attended last week's meeting, which was a follow-up to a Nov. 7-8 sovereignty summit held on the Navajo Nation. The first of the meetings was held in a traditional Navajo hogan in Window Rock, the Navajo capital. President Albert Hale called on his peers to begin formally defining a word that he says is often misunderstood and used without real understanding of what sovereignty means. "As a lawyer, I often hear the word defined by federal Indian law, but that's not a Native perspective," said Mr. Hale to about 25 American Indian leaders from Arizona and New Mexico who sat on the dirt floor of the hogan. To explain how sovereignty has been "defined" for American Indians by outside interests, Mr. Hale took a pouch of corn pollen from his basket of sacred paraphernalia. "The limits on our sovereignty are as though we were told we can only use one item from our medicine basket, but we cannot use anything else in it," he said. "The federal government says `Only we can tell you what you can do.' "They say we cannot walk on our lands unless they give us permission. They say we cannot breathe the air and drink the water, unless they give us permission. Is our sovereignty what the Anglo people tell us it is? Or is it something else -- what we define it to be. "Water, fire, earth and air, these are the elements that sustain us and help to define our sovereignty," he added. "If we don't define our sovereignty, someone else will." Ivan Makil, president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa community, said, "Until now, sovereignty has always been inherent in our nations and we've never had to describe it. We've always had our sovereignty." But with recent legislation introduced by Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., to enact means testing for treaty obligations and a waiver of sovereign immunity, tribes have suddenly had to lobby Congress with explanations for what sovereignty truly means. The discussion on sovereignty centered on two issues, the right of American Indians to have their own forms of government, and the right to have authority over anyone who comes onto Indian lands. Ironically, only two weeks after the Navajo summit, Rep. Bill Redmond, R-N.M., announced his intention to introduce the Indian Sovereignty Definition Act of 1998. Mr. Redmond represents a district with a large Navajo population; the congressional seat was vacated by Bill Richardson when he was appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. However, after meeting with Mr. Hale last week, Mr. Redmond agreed to hold off on any proposed legislation until after Indian leaders sit down with him to share their definition of sovereignty. At the conclusion of the first meeting, leaders agreed that a unified lobbying effort is needed to reflect the government-to government relationship. They agreed upon a statement of principles that reads, in part: "The nations represented here shall be allied Indian Nations. The allied nations shall respect the territorial integrity of each other's country and shall respect the conditions each sets for entry into that country. The allied nations shall periodically meet and consult concerning matters affecting one or all of the nations, and shall endeavor with all good faith to resolve any disagreements amicably and without force or external influence or compulsion. "The allied nations shall respect the traditions and laws of each other." They also agreed to hold a second meeting at Isleta Pueblo to continue discussions and begin developing new treaties between Indian nations that strengthen their alliance and solidarity. During the National Congress of American Indians conference in Santa Fe, Mr. Hale met with more than 25 other American Indian leaders including Chief Joe Byrd of the Cherokee Nation, President Ivan Makil, Salt River Pima Maricopa, Chairman Brian Wallace of the Washoe Tribe, Chairman Apesanahkwat of the Menominee Nation, Gov. Bill Anoatubby of the Chickasaw Nation, and Perry Beaver of the Muscogee Nation to enlist their support and ideas. Gov. Fred Lujan of Isleta Pueblo hosted the second meeting on Nov. 21. His community, 15 miles south of Albuquerque, N.M., is threatened by the city's growth and accompanying pollution. "Sovereignty is the protection of our rights, resources and culture," Gov. Lujan said. "I like the idea of a united front when it comes to protecting our sovereignty." At the Isleta meeting, attended by 30 Southwest Indian leaders, the group agreed that Mr. Hale, assisted by All-Indian Pueblo Council Chairman Roy Bernal, would be responsible for drafting a definition of sovereignty with the input of as many American Indian leaders as possible. "Outsiders have been trying to define our sovereignty for us. The result is that a slow erosion of our sovereignty has taken place over the years. That is why we must undertake this effort ourselves, the first time Native Americans have chosen to clearly define our own sovereignty." The draft definition will be reviewed at a third meeting to be held mid-December on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. In addition, the two leaders will draft a treaty of cooperation among the Southwest Indian Nations and a statement of support for Mescalero Apache Chairman Wendell Chino who is challenging the authority of New Mexico to tax Indian casinos based on Indian nations' sovereign right to be exempt from taxation. "Our governments are older than the U.S. government and our way of life is much older than the U.S." The newly formed alliance of tribes is also planning a unified effort for lobbying and promoting the government-to-government relationship to ensure sending a unified message to Congress. ----- Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------