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 health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, in 1942, the United States condemned privately-owned lands and leased tribally owned lands in the northwest portion of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for the United States Air Force to use as a 48 mile long by 12.5 mile wide Aerial Gunnery Range; and
WHEREAS, in the 1960s, the Department of Defense declared the Pine Ridge Aerial Gunnery Range to be surplus to the needs of the United States Government; and
WHEREAS, Congress subsequently passed the Act of August 8, 1968 (82 Stat. 662), which established procedures for returning portions of the Aerial Gunnery Range to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and its members, and adding other portions to the Badlands National Monument established under the Act of March 4, 1929 (45 Stat. 1553); and
WHEREAS, the portion added to the Badlands National Monument consisted of 42,962.77 acres of federally held lands that were not repurchased by the former owners and which were transferred to the Oglala Sioux Tribe in exchange for the grant of a scenic easement to the United States for 80,155.95 acres of tribally owned land that was never condemned but was leased to the United States Government within the Aerial Gunnery Range, making the acreage of the South Unit a total of 12,117.62 acres of tribally-owned land; and
WHEREAS, the National Park Service and Oglala Sioux Tribe entered into a cooperative agreement entitled “Memorandum of Agreement Between The Oglala Sioux Tribe of South Dakota and the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior to Facilitate Establishment, Development, Administration, and Public Use of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Lands, Badlands National Monument,” on January 2, 1976; and
WHEREAS, simultaneous to the execution of the January 2, 1976 Memorandum of Agreement, the Secretary of the Interior transferred ownership of the 42,962.77 acres of federal land in the Badlands National Park to the Oglala Sioux Tribe without mineral rights; and
WHEREAS, the Badlands National Monument was redesignated as the “Badlands National Park” by the Act of November 10, 1978 (92 Stat. 3467); and
WHEREAS, the Oglala Sioux Tribe has successfully co-managed the South Unit of the Badlands National Park with the National Park Service since the execution of the 1976 cooperative agreement; and
WHEREAS, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and National Park Director Jon Jarvis are now recommending the establishment of the first National Tribal Park in the United States in partnership with the Oglala Sioux Tribe that will consist of the present South Unit of the Badlands National Tribal Park; and
WHEREAS, the National Park Services has released the Final General Management Plan/Environment Impact Statement for the South Unit of the Badlands National Park; and
WHEREAS, under the General Management Plan for the National Tribal Park, the National Park Service and Oglala Sioux Tribe will partner to establish a common vision for managing resources and visitor use in the South Unit that will focus on restoring the health and vibrancy of the prairie, enhancing wildlife habitat, expanding bison into the South Unit, providing roads and trails for visitors to experience the natural grandeur of the South Unit, and of the heritage and homeland of the Oglala Sioux people; and
WHEREAS, the National Park Service issued a Record of Decision for the GMP/EIS in May, 2012, and congressional legislation is now necessary before the National Park Service can implement the General Management Plan’s Preferred Management Option, i.e., a National Tribal Park.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the NCAI hereby supports the National Park Service and Oglala Sioux Tribes’ joint efforts to establish a National Tribal Park on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, and urges the United States Congress to approve and authorize the National Tribal Park as the preferred Management Option for the South Unit of Badlands National Park; and
BE IT FURTHER 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 2012 Mid-Year Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at The Cornhusker Hotel from June 17-20, 2012 in Lincoln, Nebraska, with a quorum present.