WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and

WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is the oldest and largest national organization established in 1944 and comprised of representatives of and advocates for national, regional, and local Tribal concerns; and

WHEREAS, the health, safety, welfare, education, economic and employment opportunity, and preservation of cultural and natural resources are primary goals and objectives of NCAI; and,

WHEREAS, the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians were restored to Federal Recognition pursuant to the Tribes’ Restoration Act of October 17, 1984 (Public Law 98-481); and,

WHEREAS, the Tribes’ Restoration Act allows for the establishment of a Reservation; and,

WHEREAS, over the past two decades, similar actions of land restoration have occurred as restitution for the Federal Government’s unjust taking of Tribal lands; and,

WHEREAS, the Tribes originally possessed an aboriginal homeland of 1.6 million acres, in addition to seaways and waterways; and,

WHEREAS, in 1855, a treaty was signed by the Federal Government and the Tribes to allow for the peaceful acquisition and settlement of the Confederated Tribes’ ancestral lands; and,

WHEREAS, the Federal Government never followed through with the treaty or lived up to its terms, and failed to ratify the treaty; and,

WHEREAS, the Federal Government never compensated the Tribes for the loss of the land and resources, and imprisoned tribal members at the Coast Reservation for nineteen years (1856-1875); and,

WHEREAS, upon release from the Coast Reservation, the Tribes were landless and reduced by more than fifty percent in number as a result of starvation, disease, and other hardships endured during confinement; and,

WHEREAS, the establishment and maintenance of tribal ancestral homelands is considered by NCAI to be one essential foundation upon which the preservation of tribal cultural and natural resources is established; and,

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NCAI does hereby support the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians’ Reservation Plan and Forest Land Restoration Proposal.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NCAI does hereby support the introduction and passage of Federal legislation restoring forest land within the aboriginal territories of the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.

The foregoing resolution was adopted at the 2000 Mid-Year Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Centennial Hall in Juneau, Alaska on June 25-28, 2000 with a quorum present.

_____________________________

Susan Masten, President

Juana Majel, Recording Secretary

Adopted by the General Assembly during the 2000 Mid-Year Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Centennial Hall in Juneau, Alaska on June 25-28, 2000.