Title: In Support of Adequate Federal Funding To Settle Long- Standing Indian Water Rights Claims of The Gila River Indian Community

 

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 preservation, protection, and development of Indian water resources is of paramount importance to the continued vitality of reservation economies, to the preservation of Indian cultural and religious practices, and to ensure that the next seven generations will inherit sustainable homelands; and

WHEREAS, the Federal government has not provided sufficient funds to adequately protect Indian Tribes’ rights to water and to develop water resources to provide sustainable homelands for our people; and

WHEREAS, ongoing water rights negotiations have faltered and stalled due to the ongoing failure of the United States Government to make a strong and lasting commitment to secure Indian water rights by not aggressively pursuing settlement negotiations, by failing to commit appropriate resources to water rights settlement negotiations and litigation, and by failing to increase funding for the development of water resources on Indian reservations; and

WHEREAS, the Federal government has not provided sufficient resources to adequately compensate Indian Tribes for waters illegally diverted and appropriated from Indian reservation lands and has required Indian water rights settlements to be funded out of the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget; and

WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians strongly opposes the practice of funding Indian water rights settlements of the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget in order to repay past damages for the illegal appropriation of Indian water; and

WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians recognizes that the obligations of the Federal government are not limited to the Bureau of Indian Affairs but extend to the entire federal government and the obligation to fund Indian water settlements must be shouldered by the entire Federal government; and

WHEREAS, in several recent Indian water rights settlement negotiations, members of Congress have advocated for the imposition on the placement of lands acquired by Indian tribes into trust and requiring such lands to be subject to State jurisdiction and regulation; and

WHEREAS, it is most important that the Gila River Indian Community and other Indian tribes retain regulatory control and jurisdiction over newly acquired lands so as to preserve sovereign immunity, to foster self-government and to advance the principles of Indian self-determination.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NCAI does hereby strongly urge Congress and the Administration to develop a mechanism to fund Indian Water Rights Settlements through a mechanism similar to the Department of Treasury Judgment Fund;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI strongly urges the Administration and the Congress to actively oppose and reject efforts to restrict the placement of lands acquired by tribal governments into trust and efforts to impose state regulation and jurisdiction on such lands;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI strongly urges the Administration and the Congress to increase the amount of funds budgeted for Water Resource Management and Water Rights Negotiations/Litigation in the Bureau of Indian Affairs Budget for Fiscal Year 2001;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI strongly supports the Gila River Community’s efforts to settle its Water Rights Claims; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NCAI urges the Administration and the Congress to recognize and reaffirm that the United States trust responsibilities and obligations to fund Indian Water Rights Settlements extends to all agencies and departments of the Federal government.

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.