Resolution #ECWS-16-004
TITLE: Urging the President and U.S. Senate to Move Quickly to Nominate a Highly-Qualified Individual to Serve on the Supreme Court
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, there is a Nation-to-Nation relationship between the federal government and the Indian tribes that is founded in the U.S. Constitution, the Treaties and the Federal Trust Relationship; and
WHEREAS, Indian tribes are affected by the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, to a greater degree than almost any other group and many issues of daily life on Indian reservations are matters of federal statutes and federal common law; and
WHEREAS, a prolonged vacancy on the Supreme Court has the potential to delay decisions in several critically important Indian law cases that are pending before the Court; and
WHEREAS, the current makeup of the Supreme Court has become somewhat homogenous with every Justice attending law school at either Harvard or Yale and spending their careers in the elite legal institutions of the Eastern corridor; and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court must interpret the law for all of us, including Indian tribes, the West, and rural areas; and
WHEREAS, tribes have witnessed the negative impact a lack of judicial diversity and knowledge of federal Indian law among the federal judiciary have on tribal sovereignty and the ability of tribes to self-govern; and
WHEREAS, the Supreme Court has grown increasingly disinterested in the consequences of its decision on Indian tribes and the daily lives of Indian people in diminishment of tribal sovereignty, public safety and health on Indian reservations, tribal economic development, generation of tax revenue, and protection of tribal cultures and religions.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) calls on President Obama and the U.S. Senate to move expeditiously to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities to fill the current vacancy on the Supreme Court so that the important work of the Court can continue without interruption; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NCAI requests that the President consider nominating a highly-qualified Native American, like U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa, to serve on the Supreme Court; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, NCAI urges the President and the Senate to give serious consideration to whether any potential nominee understands the fundamental principles of inherent tribal sovereignty and the federal trust responsibility; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI urges the Senate Judiciary Committee to include in its confirmation proceedings a public discussion of the U.S. Constitution and its relationship to tribal self-government; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI urges all of the Justices of the United States Supreme Court to increase their understanding of Indian tribal governments, to engage in visits to Indian reservations and discussions with tribal judges and elected tribal leaders, and to support the principles of respect for tribal self-government and deference to the political branches and intergovernmental comity in determining the course of the federal-tribal relationship and the scope of recognized tribal authority; and
BE IT FINALLY 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 Executive Committee at the 2016 Executive Winter Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Capitol Hilton, Washington D.C. February 22-25, 2016, with a quorum present.