Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D., Tim Giago Column Story-Date: 05:16 p.m. PST Monday , March 2, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------ Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D., Tim Giago Column By Tim Giago, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Mar. 2--EDITOR'S NOTE: The following Notes from Indian Country column is the last in a four part series on the economics of sovereignty for tribal nations. Indian tribes must be very aware of the governmental agencies that would assume limited or total jurisdiction over tribal sovereignty. For instance, how much authority should the U.S. Labor Department have over a sovereign tribal government? Can the Labor Department impose some of its ridiculous labor laws without knowing the culture, spirituality or the traditions of the Indian nation? How much authority does the Internal Revenue Service have over Indian nations? How about the Environmental Protection Agency? How about the Immigration Service? Or for that matter, how much authority should the U.S. Department of the Interior have over the sovereign Indian nations? Should the United States government be allowed to violate its treaty agreements with the Indian nations by forcing them to sign gaming compacts with the various state governments? How fair is this to the tribes of Utah who will never get a gaming compact signed because of the religion of the majority of its legislators? What about the FBI? The Justice Department? The U.S. Marshall Service? Let me conclude by encouraging my readers to avail themselves of the materials I have used to prepare this column. The Community Reinvestment pamphlet can be acquired by calling Ms. Sharon Blevins at 1-800-333-1010. I'll end with comments from a speech given by Ray Halbritter of the Oneida Nation of New York. Ray said: "We have empowered ourselves in a way that cannot be denied and in a way that allows us to do things for our people that we have been unable to do for centuries. We are not dependent upon the federal government, the state government, the counties, towns or cities, churches, charities nor any other entity. I believe that such empowerment is more than just a statement of sovereignty, it is sovereignty, and we have established that sovereignty without waiting or depending on other people to define what that term means. Whatever the international legal definition, whatever the pronouncements of the Supreme Court, sovereignty to us is the power to act by ourselves, for ourselves. Whether or not the United States likes it, and whether other Indian nations agree or disagree, we as a people have exercised our power and are taking care of ourselves in a manner that has not been achieved in centuries. "The greatest of accomplishment of all is intangible. It is the renewed self-esteem of our people and the renewed hope that has accompanied new opportunity. This is the result of real, practical economic sovereignty according to our definition and under our control. Even if resources were made available to us by grants or charity, it is immeasurably more satisfying to have achieved all of this from our own effort and hard work. "All of these fine developments and possessions mean very little if they do not provide a pathway for the survival of our people, helping them to believe in themselves while retaining their culture and way of life. We are simply caretakers of the present who bear a great responsibility for the future generations. The final answer to these questions of our existence thus resides within our own hearts." Strong words. I will conclude, my friends, by saying that all of the things that will make our nations great, all of the things that will make us a sovereign people, rests in the hands of the people and in their ability to choose strong, honest and industrious leadership that will take us into the 21st century. Without strong leadership we will be like a ship without a rudder. The key to our survival is in the hands of our leaders as it has been for always. ----- Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ ----- (c) 1998, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------