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NCAI President Kefferson Keel: "Our people are suffering, but our spirit is not broken."Reznet photo by Victor Merina

NCAI Urges 7 Actions in State of the Nations

By Victor Merina, Reznet special projects editor

WASHINGTON - On the day after the State of the Union address, the top official of the National Congress of American Indians presented his "State of the Nations" vision and outlined both a warm message of hope and some cold reality for those in Indian Country.

NCAI President Jefferson Keel, a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma, told a gathering of tribal leaders in Washington and an unseen audience watching and listening on a live webcast that the last year has been a hopeful one for Natives.

"In that spirit, I am pleased to report that the state of Indian Nations is strong - and we are growing stronger every day," Keel said. "At the same time, we have much work to do, and now is the time to take action."

The NCAI leader, who heads an organization that represents many of the 564 federally acknowledged tribes as well as some lacking federal recognition, applauded President Obama for giving Native Americans "a place at the table" during his first year in office.

7 Steps Address Many Inequities

At the same time, Keel said the Obama administration must push ahead in the next 12 months and take seven "transformative actions" that would help those in Indian Country. They include reducing the backlog of land transactions, reforming crime prevention on Indian reservations, enforcing equal financial footing for tribal governments and supporting a "tribal youth wellness" initiative.

He also said federal officials must ensure the equitable distribution of funds to tribal governments, including exempting tribal government services from the discretionary spending freezes Obama has proposed for most domestic programs in his State of the Union address.

Keel also said the administration should improve the coordination among federal agencies to address trial infrastructure and natural resources. Lastly, the administration should support a legislative fix for a recent Supreme Court decision - known as the Carcieri decision - that tribal leaders believe hinders tribal governments from developing their lands.

"These seven actions will have a real and immediate effect on improving life in Indian communities," Keel said. "At this time next year, I hope to report on seven clear successes."

Unemployment as High as 50 Percent

In addition to his wish list, the NCAI president zeroed on the soaring unemployment rate among Natives, which he called "one of the most egregious and under-reported crises in Indian Country.""

During his State of the Union speech, Obama acknowledged the pain Americans are facing with unemployment surpassing the U.S. rate of 10 percent. But Keel told the crowd of tribal leaders that on Indian reservations and in Alaska Native villages, the unemployment rate stands stubbornly above 50 percent - and has for decades.

"For most Americans, going up to 10 percent unemployment has been a crisis of historic proportions," Keel said. "For Indians, coming down to 10 percent unemployment requires a recovery of historic proportions."

Stimulus Package Working Slowly

Keel expressed hope those numbers are changing and lauded the $787 billion economic stimulus package - or American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - for earmarking more than $3 billion for specific tribal programs with a similar amount available in other general programs.

When asked if the stimulus package is working, Keel said "absolutely" even though he acknowledged a large portion of the funds remain in the pipeline.

"It's going to take some time to really look and see what the true measures are in terms of success," he said, "but it can't hurt ... because they do allow tribes to use them to revitalize their own economy."

But not every tribe has benefitted from stimulus dollars.

"We haven't had that much luck," said Bill Martin, president of the Central Council of Tlingit Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. "We've made all kinds of applications. It's not for lack of trying, but we really didn't get much in the way of stimulus funds."

Seeks Obama Followup on Court Decisions

In underscoring an increased standing for Natives, Keel cited the proposed settlement of the Cobell lawsuit. He viewed the apparent end of the landmark suit over the federal government's failure to account for Indian trust funds as signs of a growing recognition of tribal sovereignty. He also spoke of the first annual White House Tribal Nations Conference that Obama convened last November and the opening of a new Embassy of Tribal Nations as further, hopeful steps of progress.

But Keel also peppered his speech with statistics that he maintained reflect the grim realities many Natives face. They included statistics that show 12 percent of tribal homes lack access to safe drinking water or basic sanitation, compared to less than 1 percent nationwide. He also pointed to disproportionately high rates of drug trafficking, domestic violence and sexual assaults on Indian lands.

Keel drew applause when he told his audience that while Natives have endured centuries of neglect and abuse, they remain determined to be self-reliant. "Our people are suffering," he said, "but our spirit is not broken."

On the key issue of restoring tribal lands, Keel said the vast majority of reservations are affected by the land loss, and he blamed one federal agency for the much of the problem. "The most significant obstacle that Indian tribes face in restoring and consolidating their lands is simply inaction and delay at the Department of the Interior," he said.

After listening to Keel's speech, Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk said "the system of taking land into trust is broken. It's too slow."

But he added that his agency is working to alleviate the backlog and has established a process to do just that. "Our policy is to be aggressive in trying to restore lands to Indian tribes," Echo Hawk said. "Through that process, we've got to fix it to make sure it works."

The transcript and the seven actions are posted on the NCAI Web site. The webcast is to be made available, too.

 

Victor Merina, senior correspondent and special projects editor for Reznet, is in Washington reporting on Native issues and the federal economic stimulus package as part of a New America Media fellowship.