U.S. Reviewing Current Policy on Indigenous Peoples - On January 18, 2001 after more than a year of delicate negotiations between tribal leaders and the Department of State, Justice, and Interior, as well as the National Security Council, the United States took the position that "Indigenous peoples have a right of internal self-determination."

Through a Presidential memorandum the U.S. delegations to the UN Commission on Human Rights, the Working Group for the UN Draft Declaration on Indigenous Rights, and the Organization of American States were directed to support the use of "Indigenous peoples." The memorandum defines Indigenous peoples right to self-determination as:

"by virtue of that right, they may negotiate their political status within the framework of the existing nation-state and are free to pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. Indigenous peoples, in exercising their right of internal self-determination, have the internal right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their local affairs., including determination of membership, culture, language, religion, education, information, media, health, housing, employment, social welfare, maintenance of community safety, family relations, economic activities, lands and resources management, environment and entry by non-members, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous functions."

This policy is a substantial step forward from the previous U.S. policy that was taken at the Americas Preparatory Conference for the World Conference Against Racism in Santiago Chile, December 2000 (See Broadcast #313). At the Preparatory Conference, the U.S. agreed to use the term peoples with the "s" but attached a caveat stating its use "shall not be construed as having any implications as regards the rights which may attach to the term under international law..." Throughout negotiations the State Department continued to have concerns over the use of peoples and there are now internal efforts to roll back the current policy. NCAI is working aggressively to bring attention to this matter and gather tribal and Congressional support for the current U.S. policy. A draft letter of support for use by tribal governments will soon be forthcoming.

Background: International law has recognized for decades that "peoples" have the right to self-determination. Unfortunately, the United States, as represented by the State Department, historically has asserted that international law does not accord indigenous groups the right to self-determination and thus has refused to use "peoples" with an "s". The United States has two concerns with the term "peoples." First, in their interpretation of "peoples" they believe it gives the right to separate or secede from the rest of society. Second, is their opposition to recognizing group rights. For more information on the current policy contact Victoria Wright, NCAI Legislative Associate at (202) 466-7767.

Tribal Comments Sought on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Proposal To Create Database of Official Insignia - On January 9, 2001 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a Federal Register notice seeking comments on a proposal to create and maintain a database of official tribal insignia.

The Trademark Law Treaty Implementation Act, (P.L. 105-330) requires the USPTO to study issues surrounding the protection of the official insignia of federally and state-recognized tribes. One of the recommendations included in this 1999 report was the creation of a comprehensive database of official insignia.

The purpose of the database is to establish, for informational purposes, a consolidated, searchable source of reference material. Inclusion of official insignia in this database will ensure that USPTO's trademark examining attorneys will find and consider the official insignia before making a determination of registrability. The database also will be available to the general public via the USPTO website (http://www.uspto.gov).

Inclusion of an official insignia in the database will not be the equivalent of registering it as a trademark and will not create any legal presumption, validity, or priority. This is in direct contrast to recommendations by tribal leaders and to the protection provided to the insignia of state, municipal, and foreign governments.

A non-federally recognized tribe also would be required to submit either a document issued by a state official that shows the tribe is state-recognized or a citation to a state statute that designates it as a state-recognized tribe.

The comment deadline is February 8, 2001. If comments on the proposed method for creating the database include a better suggestion for creating and maintaining the database, the USPTO will publish a new proposal. Otherwise, it will publish an announcement that finalizes the procedures described at "http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/sol/notices/estdatabase.pdf".

For further information, contact NCAI at (202) 466-7767.