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Box 2574 Fido Net 1:352/333 :: :: Olympia, WA 360-786-9629 :: :: 98507-2574 USA The Quarto Mundista BBS :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: DOCUMENT: NCAIPLAN.TXT Tribal/Global Relations Policy & Action Plan for the 80's National Congress of American Indians 37th Annual Convention October 28, 1980 INTERNATIONAL AGENDA 1980 TRIBAL/GLOBAL RELATIONS POLICY & ACTION PLAN FOR THE 80's OCTOBER 28, 1980 INTRODUCTION: In November 1944 representatives from fifty Tribal Governments organized and founded the National Congress of American Indians (N.C.A.I.). The purpose of NCAI spelled out in the founding constitution is to: 1. Preserve Indian cultural values; 2. Seek an equitable adjustment of Indian Affairs 3. Secure and preserve Indian rights under Treaties and Agreements with the United States, 4. Promote the common welfare of the American Indian; and 5. Promote a better understanding of Indians. During the thirty-seven years since its formation, NCAI has pursued these basic purposes. Record of this pursuit is to be found in its policy statements and recommendations, more than 1000 resolutions, testimony before the U.S. Congress, conference reports and memoranda to member Tribal governments. By direct tribal Government actions and actions taken by NCAI in support of the member Tribal Governments tribes within the boundaries of the United States have sought the full implementation of treaties, executive orders and agreements with the United States Government. Such issues as termination, protection of tribal water resources, preservation of tribal self government, the provision of health, education and welfare and self-determination have been, among many specific issues, prominent on NCAI's annual agendas and in special conferences between Tribal Governments. While each individual Tribal Government has maintained its own distinct set of priorities tribal leaders have time-and- time again discovered a common need to pursue joint tribal actions on broad issues that affect the internal security and progress of each of the individual tribes. The goals upon which member Tribal Governments have consistently agreed include the following: 1. The full exercise of Tribal Government legal and political jurisdiction within the geographical boundaries of each tribal territory. 2. The full expression of tribal control over natural resources including, but not limited to water, minerals, timber, fish and wildlife. 3. The full expression of tribal control over health, welfare and social services to ensure that every member of a tribe has full access to health and welfare services. 4. The fulfillment of the United States Government's obligation to preserve and protect the rights and property of Indian Tribes in accordance with its historic trust responsibility. 5. The prevention of U.S. government and State government enchroachments on tribal rights and property. 6. The reacquisition of tribal boundaries and tribal lands. 7. Promote the continued political existence of Indian Tribes as distinct cultural and political communities. To achieve the common goals of member NCAI Tribal Governments the following specific objectives shall be mandated for initiatives within the international community: 1. The development of an NCAI prepared document which identifies international laws, covenants and conventions which support tribal rights and property claims. This document shall be distributed, upon completion (before March of 1981) to each of the member Tribal Governments. 2. Organize and conduct a special conference of member Tribal Governments by June 1981 for the purpose of developing an inter-tribal position paper which lists the political goals of participating Tribal Governments, the legal and political conflicts the tribes have with the United States and the remedies Tribal delegates believe will insure achievement of their goals. This position paper will be transmitted to United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, selected foreign ministries of various governments, the United Nations Human Rights Commission and the World Council of Indigenous peoples with the expressed urging that the recipient encourage the United States Government to make arrangements with the various tribes to fulfill the remedies sought by the tribes. 3. Organize and establish a six member delegation made up of NCAI member Tribal Government officials authorized to represent member tribes and NCAI at the Third General Assembly of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples in Canberra, Australia from April 26th to May 3rd, 1981. The six member delegation is authorized to represent official NCAI and member tribal Government positions at WCIP or other International meetings. 4. Establish within NCAI a special office of Tribal International Relations for the purpose of arranging and implementing communications between member Tribal Governments and the WCIP and other international organizations. 5. Establish a special intertribal commission to undertake an inquiry into the present and future alternatives for political relations between the United States and Indian Tribes. The commission will recommend alternatives to be considered by the various tribes for new legal, political and economic relations with the United States. This commission will begin its work in January 1981 and submit its report to the member tribal governments no later than January 1982. Upon a final decision of the various Tribal governments new negotiations will be sought with the United States President and Secretary of State to formulate an agreement for future relations between the United States and Tribal Governments. 6. Promote and facilitate the development of internationally binding laws which ensure recognition of tribal peoples' permanent sovereignty over their own territories by 1990. 7. Organize and promote supportive action within the United Nations and other international organizations to stop national government policies of genocide and ethnocide against tribal peoples (particularly in South American Countries, Central American Countries and in other countries like Canada, United States and Australia where policies of assimilation and intimidation are dislocating tribal populations and disrupting tribal cultures) 8. Seek international financial support to directly aid and assist individual tribes as they seek to improve the economic conditions within the boundaries of reservations. 9. Promote the development of inter-tribal mutual assistance agreements to maximize inter-tribal support and cooperation in the development of Tribal Government, tribal economies, tribal social and health systems and tribal natural resource development. Such cooperation and mutual aid efforts should include agreements between tribes in Canada and tribes within the United States. To achieve the Purpose, Goals, and Objectives specific tasks have been determined as essential. The following represents a more detailed assessment of planned approaches and methods required to meet the present objectives of the Action Plan: NCAI TASK DESCRIPTION --------------------- TITLE OF ISSUE: DEVELOPMENT OF NCAI DOCUMENT ON TRIBAL INTERNATIONAL STATUS STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE: #1 Development of an NCAI document which identifies international laws, covenants and conventions which support tribal claims by March 1981. PLAN OF ACTION: Indian tribes within the boundaries of the United States have an international identity which has been suppressed as a result of treaty association with the United States. As peoples with territories under the protection of the United States Indian Tribes have been prevented from fully expressing their cultural and political aspirations as distinctly identifiable political communities. That Indian Tribes are associated with the United States by treaties and agreements and they retain their inherent sovereignty cannot be doubted. Though Indian tribes have a relationship to the United States similar to the relationship of other associated territories like the Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico (See diagram 1 on the next page) Indian tribes have been denied this recognition by the United States. The member tribes of NCAI agree to form a special staff taskforce made up of lawyers, technicians and support staff to prepare a detailed document describing the applicability of international laws, covenants and conventions (such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the United Nations Charter and the Declaration on the Emerging International Economic Order) to the achievement of tribal rights and goals. This special taskforce of loaned tribal staff will be placed under the direction of the NCAI President and Executive Committee. The cost for staff and materials will be carried by the contributing tribal governments. TIME TABLE: The Special Staff Task Force will be established no later than December 15, 1980. It will commence working in January and present a final report to the NCAI President by March 15, 1981. Transmission of the document to tribal governments will be completed by April 10, 1981. TITLE OF ISSUE: NCAI SPECIAL CONFERENCE ON TRIBAL POLITICAL GOALS STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE: #2 Organize and conduct a Special NCAI Conference on Tribal Political Goals for the Purpose of developing an inter-tribal position paper which describes the legal and political conflicts the tribes have with the United States, the remedies advocated and the implications of their resolution. This special conference will be conducted in an appropriate location in June 1981. PLAN OF ACTION: In a major effort to build consensus among tribal governments regarding the range of conflicts between themselves and the United States this conference will be designed as a thorough worksession similar to the special conference concerned with S 2010 and the revision of Public Law 280. The point of developing an inter-tribal position paper on tribal political goals is to present tribal government concerns and interests before the international community. It is anticipated that the United States will take tribal concerns more seriously if members of the international community expresses interest and concern about the rights of Indian Tribes in the United States. The NCAI Executive Director will begin preparations for this special conference in November 1980 by preparing a conference narrative and outline for distribution to all member tribal governments. Contained in this narrative will be an expression of the purpose, goal and objectives of the conference. The Executive Director will supplement his staff by requesting and securing loaned tribal staff from member tribal governments to organize the conference. The Executive Director will supervise the development and preparation of a "draft" position paper for review, discussion and modification by participating tribal government delegates. When the conference is completed the Executive Director will prepare the final Position Paper and distribute it to each member tribal government, U.N. Secretary Kurt Waldheim, the UN Human Rights Commission, World Council of Indigenous Peoples, and selected foreign ministries of various governments. This will be completed under the direction and supervision of the President. TIME TABLE: This task will begin in November of 1980 and completed by July 1981. TITLE OF ISSUE: NCAI Delegation the World Council of Indigenous Peoples STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE: #3 Establishment of a formal NCAI Delegation to represent NCAI and its member tribal governments in the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. PLAN OF ACTION: At the Executive Council Meeting of NCAI in January 1981 select and appoint six tribal government officials to serve as the NCAI Delegates to the World Council of Indigenous Peoples. In November of 1980 the Executive Director will send a message to each member tribal government advising them of the pending designation of an NCAI Delegation and further advising the tribal governments about the WCIP, its goals and objectives. Candidates for the posts will be invited to submit resolutions of support from their governments. Once the Delegation is formed it shall work under the supervision of the NCAI Executive Committee. It shall deliver timely reports to NCAI. The Delegation shall represent NCAI at the Third General Assembly of the WCIP in Canberra, Australia and where possible other meetings of the WCIP and other international meetings. The cost for this delegation will be shared among the tribes. TIME TABLE: Beginning in November 1980 the Executive Director will transmit the appropriate messages to member tribal governments. The delegation will be formally established before then end of January 1981. TITLE OF ISSUE: NCAI Special Office of Tribal International Relations STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE: #4 Establish within NCAI a Special Office of Tribal International relations for the purpose of arranging and implementing communications between member tribal governments, NCAI and the WCIP and other international organizations. PLAN OF ACTION: Identify funds in the amount of $50,000 to support the costs of an NCAI staff person who will function as the international relations liaison. One secretarial person should be provided within this office. Funds will be secured from a foundation (Ford Foundation, Mott Foundation or their equivalent) no later than March 1981. In the interim the Executive Director will assign special responsibilities, to staff presently employed. The Office will be formally established in March of 1981. TIME TABLE: November 1980 to March 1981 TITLE OF ISSUE: NCAI Inter-Tribal Commission on Tribal Political Status STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE: #5 Establish an Inter-Tribal Commission on Tribal Political Status to examine alternative relationships between Indian tribes and the United States. PLAN OF ACTION: Indian Tribes do not have a specific political definition of their relationship to the United States. The relationship has been described by lawyers as a Trust Relationship. This relationship does not adequately define whether Indian Tribes are or should be a part of the United States Federation. At present Indian Tribes appear to be associated with the United States but not a part of the U.S. political structure. Tribal governments must determine what their present relationship is with the United States and What it may be in the future. At the NCAI Executive Council Meeting in January 1981 an Inter-Tribal Commission on Tribal Political Status will be formally designated and its specific mandate given. The Commission will be charged with the responsibility of delivering its final report within a specific time limit. It will be authorized to seek aid and assistance from member tribal governments. Five specific tribes will assume repsponsibility for financial and technical assistance to the Commission. TIME TABLE: January 1981 - a time limit set by the Executive Council TITLE OF ISSUE: Promotion of International Laws protecting Tribal Peoples STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE: #6 Promote and facilitate the development of internationally binding laws which ensure recognition of tribal peoples' permanent sovereignty over their own territories. PLAN OF ACTION: The Executive Director and President will direct the NCAI Delegation and the International Liaison in the new office of Tribal International Relations to work with the WCIP Secretariat to determine in what ways NCAI may support this action. TIME TABLE: Immediately TITLE OF ISSUE: NCAI action to support UN Actions concerning Tribal security STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE: #7 Organize and promote supportive action within the the United Nations and other international organizations to stop national government policies of genocide and ethnocide (the destruction of tribal communities). PLAN OF ACTION: Develop broader understanding among member tribal governments about the extent of destruction being done by national governments and wider efforts to communicate how such policies are affecting member tribes. Work through the WCIP Secretariat, TIME TABLE: Begin immediately and continue for the next 10 years TITLE OF ISSUE: International financial assistance to member Tribal Governments STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE: #8 Seek international financial support to directly aid and assist individual tribes as they seek to improve the economic conditions within the boundaries of reservations PLAN OF ACTION: The Executive Director, President and members of the NCAI WCIP Delegation will seek to meet with representatives of the World Council of Churches in New York City and or Geneva, Switzerland, the World Bank and similar international organizations and agencies to identify financial resources which can be directed to individual member tribal governments. Such aid and assistance will be sought in amounts sufficient to meet tribal economic and social needs. TIME TABLE: Begin immediately and continue for the next 10 years TITLE OF ISSUE: Inter-tribal agreements and cooperation STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE: #9 Promote the development of inter- tribal mutual assistance agreements to maximize inter- tribal support and cooperation in the development of Tribal government, tribal economies, tribal social and health systems and tribal natural resources. PLAN OF ACTION: The NCAI Executive Committee will formulate a general strategy to promote intertribal support and cooperation. Tribal resources, if shared in a systematic fashion will increase the political and economic effectiveness of all member tribal governments. Dependence on one another will become a The Executive Director will publish an NCAI document in 1981 which demonstrates how inter-tribal cooperation and support can and will increase the political and economic strength of each member tribal government. Wherever possible NCAI will meet with member tribal governments to encourage the formation of agreements with other tribal governments which share a common need and interest. NCAI will publish a document on existing agreements and treaties between member tribal governments in order to demonstrate the variety and nature of present agreements. TIME TABLE: NCAI will publish its first document on the need for inter-tribal cooperation and support by the Spring of 1981. Publication of the second document will be completed by the Spring of 1982. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- To have a current Center For World Indigenous Studies Publication Catalogue sent to you via e-mail, send a request to jburrows@halcyon.com FTP ftp://ftp.halcyon.com/pub/FWDP/CWIS/cwis-cat.txt Center For World Indigenous Studies P.O. Box 2574 Olympia, WA U.S.A. 98507-2574 BBS: 360-786-9629 FAX: 360-956-1087 OCR Provided by Caere Corporation's OmniPage Professional