N A T I O N A L C O N G R E S S O F A M E R I C A N I N D I A N S

The National Congress of American Indians Resolution #PHX-08-049

TITLE: Public Law 280

WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians E XE CU T IV E C OMMITTEE of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and PRESIDENT Joe A. Garcia purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent Ohkay Owingeh (Pueblo of San Juan) sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and

FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are Jefferson Keel Chickasaw Nation entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public

RECORDING SECRETARY toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, W. Ron Allen Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby

TREASURER establish and submit the following resolution; and gaiashkibos Lac Court Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was RE G ION A L V ICE -PRESIDENTS established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American ALASKA Mike Williams Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and Yupiaq

EASTERN OKLAHOMA Joe Grayson, Jr. WHEREAS, in 1953, Congress passed Public Law 83-280, commonly known Cherokee Nation as Public Law 280, which authorized six states (Alaska, California, Minnesota, GREAT PLAINS Ron His Horse Is Thunder Nebraska, Oregon, and Wisconsin) to exercise certain criminal and civil adjudicative Standing Rock Sioux Tribe jurisdiction in Indian country, and eliminated much of the federal Indian country MIDWEST Robert Chicks criminal jurisdiction in those states; and Stockbridge-Munsee

NORTHEAST Randy Noka WHEREAS, Public Law 280 also authorized other states to assume similar Narragansett

NORTHWEST jurisdiction; and Ernie Stensgar Coeur d’Alene Tribe

PACIFIC WHEREAS, states have assumed Public Law 280 jurisdiction without the Juana Majel Pauma-Yuima Band of Mission Indians consent of the Indian tribes affected and without regard to the practices and precedent

ROCKY MOUNTAIN of government-to-government consultation; and Willie Sharp, Jr. Blackfeet Tribe

SOUTHEAST WHEREAS, the nonconsensual imposition of state jurisdiction violated treaty Archie Lynch Haliwa-Saponi rights of some of the affected Indian nations and demonstrated disrespect for the

SOUTHERN PLAINS sovereignty of all affected Indian nations; and Darrell Flyingman Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes

SOUTHWEST WHEREAS, Public Law 280 also reflected an abdication of the federal trust Derek Valdo Pueblo of Acoma responsibility toward affected Indian nations; and

WESTERN Alvin Moyle Fallon Paiute-Shoshone WHEREAS, Congress amended Public Law 280 in 1968 to require that all

future assertions of state jurisdiction occur only with the consent of the relevant Indian EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Jacqueline Johnson nations, but Congress did not retroactively require consent for previously authorized Tlingit

state jurisdiction under Public Law 280; and NCAI HEADQUARTERS 1301 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036 202.466.7767 202.466.7797 fax www.ncai.org

NCAI 2008 Annual Session Resolution PHX-08-049

WHEREAS, federal reports and scholarly research have demonstrated considerable dissatisfaction with state jurisdiction on the part of Indian nations, especially in states and counties where it has been difficult to establish cooperative relations between state and tribal law enforcement and criminal justice agencies; and

WHEREAS, Indian nations’ concerns about Public Law 280 have included lack of adequate state and local law enforcement response to on-reservation crime, disrespect for tribal authorities, and culturally insensitive and discriminatory administration of criminal justice; and

WHEREAS, in some cases, county sheriffs, district attorneys, and other judicial officials in Public Law 280 jurisdictions have been less communicative with tribal governments than with those in non-Public Law 280 jurisdictions, which has led to inadequate and inconsistent interaction between them; and

WHEREAS, in some cases, county sheriffs, district attorneys, and other judicial officials in Public Law 280 jurisdictions have a modest level of understanding of Public Law 280 and that information about Public Law 280 and the existence of tribal jurisdiction is inadequately addressed by law enforcement officials when preparing officers who will work on Indian reservations; and

WHEREAS, Congress also amended Public Law 280 in 1968 to allow states to return or “retrocede” jurisdiction back to the federal government, but did not allow Indian nations to initiate and conclude the retrocession process directly with the federal government; and

WHEREAS, the termination policy that inspired Public Law 280 was officially rejected by President Nixon in 1970, and prevailing federal Indian policy supports tribal self- determination; and

WHEREAS, continued state jurisdiction under Public Law 280 without tribal consent directly contradicts currently prevailing federal Indian policy favoring tribal self-determination; and WHEREAS, many Indian nations believe that they can provide more effective law enforcement when criminal activity has occurred or presents a threat than that which is currently provided by local law enforcement under Public Law 280; and

WHEREAS, since 1968, six Indian nations in the original six Public Law 280 states have been the subjects of retrocession, and 24 Indian nations in the optional Public Law 280 states have been the subjects of retrocession; and

WHEREAS, Indian nations that seek retrocession are required, at considerable time and expense, to work with their state governments and obtain state approval before their request can be reviewed by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior; and

WHEREAS, several Indian nations have initiated the retrocession process at the state level, only to be unable to secure the agreement of their state governments to support retrocession initiatives; and

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WHEREAS, Indian nations in Public Law 280 jurisdictions have been provided substantially lower amounts of support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs for tribal law enforcement and tribal courts than Indian nations not subject to Public Law 280, and consequently the Public Law 280 tribes are far less likely to have their own police departments and court systems, and would likely require technical assistance and support from the federal government in order to successfully assume criminal and civil adjudicative jurisdiction following retrocession; and

WHEREAS, beginning in the 1990s, the United States Department of Justice, through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, has been supplying financial support and technical assistance to Indian nations for development and enhancement of their police departments and court systems; and

WHEREAS, under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, 25 U.S.C. § 1918, Indian nations subject to state Public Law 280 jurisdiction have been authorized to unilaterally reassume exclusive jurisdiction over certain Indian child welfare matters, subject to approval of a petition for reassumption by the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and

WHEREAS, under 25 U.S.C. § 1918, the Bureau of Indian Affairs is to consider the feasibility of the Indian nation’s plan for exercising exclusive child welfare jurisdiction, and must provide technical assistance to the petitioning Indian nation if the petition is disapproved; and

WHEREAS, 25 U.S.C. § 1918 acknowledges that its provisions provide for partial “retrocession” of states’ Public Law 280 jurisdiction; and

WHEREAS, on July 23, 2008, Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman, Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) introduced the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008, S. 3320, co-sponsored by twelve other Senators representing both political parties, a bill intended to “boost law enforcement efforts by providing tools to tribal justice officials to fight crime in their own communities, improving coordination between law enforcement agencies, and increasing accountability standards;” and

WHEREAS, the sponsors of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008, S. 3320, acknowledge that crime rates are unacceptably high in Indian country, and that the federal government has a moral and trust responsibility “to protect the public safety and ensure safe and secure communities” for Indian nations; and

WHEREAS, the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008, S. 3320, provides financial and other incentives for increased cooperation between Indian nations’ and state and local governments with respect to law enforcement and criminal justice; and

WHEREAS, the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008, S. 3320, provides for restoration of federal criminal jurisdiction for Public Law 280 reservations upon tribal initiative, but does not currently provide for tribally initiated retrocession; and

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WHEREAS, some Indian nations in Public Law 280 jurisdictions are better situated than others to seek state approval for retrocession and the lack of federal funding and tribal infrastructure present severe obstacles to those Indian nations that would otherwise seek retrocession.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the NCAI does hereby support the efforts of tribes subject to Public Law 280 to build capacity in the area of law enforcement and criminal justice and remove impediments to Self-Determination; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI does hereby support the current provisions of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008, S. 3320, as introduced in the 110th Congress or any future legislation of similar intent containing such principles, that promote cooperation between the law enforcement and criminal justice institutions of Indian nations and state and local governments, as well as the provision empowering Indian nations to request restoration of federal criminal and civil adjudicative jurisdiction over Public Law 280 reservations, villages and lands held in trust by the Federal government; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI does hereby encourage Congress to convene field hearings on Public Law 280 and supports amendment of the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2008, S. 3320, as introduced in the 110th Congress or any future legislation of similar intent containing such principles, to include a provision for initiation of the Public Law 280 retrocession process by individual Indian nations, as well as a provision for federal technical assistance and support from the Department of Justice as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs to enable such Indian nations to carry out effective law enforcement and criminal justice activities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI does hereby support the passage of federal legislation, with appropriate additional federal funding, that will enable Indian nations to initiate the retrocession of all or part of Public Law 280 jurisdiction over their reservation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI supports encouraging county sheriffs, district attorneys, and other court officials in Public Law 280 jurisdictions, through state and federal legislation, to communicate regularly with local tribal governments to better understand the needs, priorities and concerns of the Indian tribe and also supports the appointment of a government-to-government liaison within the local law enforcement office who will be responsible for communicating with those tribal governments; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI supports establishing federal and state governmental mechanisms for ensuring accountability of the services provided to Indian nations and of the funds allocated to Public Law 280 states, including implementation of independent audit systems; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI supports enhanced training for law enforcement, which includes information on the policies and legislative history of Public Law 280, the scope of state jurisdictions, and existence of tribal jurisdiction in states with Public Law 280 jurisdiction; and

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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI supports increased Federal funding for existing and anticipated tribal law enforcement and judicial services and infrastructure; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.

CERTIFICATION

The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General Assembly at the 2008 Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona on October 19-24, 2008, with a quorum present.

President ATTEST:

Recording Secretary

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