U.S. Bill a direct and profound threat to tribal sovereignty

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Turtle Island Native Network
http://www.turtleisland.org

June 17th, 2012

National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act - "The Secretary of Homeland Security shall have immediate access to any public land managed by the Federal Government . . . for purposes of conducting activities that assist in securing the border."

- The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has issued an "action alert", because the proposed U.S. legislation is "a direct and profound threat to tribal sovereignty". . .
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Urgent Tribal Leader Response Needed on Proposed Anti-Tribal Sovereignty Border Security Bill

The NCAI has learned that The National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (H.R. 1505)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.1505.IH:
is included in a broader parks and recreation bill, H.R. 2578,
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.2578:
"To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act related to a segment of the Lower Merced River", that is scheduled for a House of Representatives floor vote (week of June 17th).

H.R. 1505 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.1505.IH:
is ill-conceived legislation that gives the Secretary of Homeland Security broad authority for road and fence construction; use of patrols, vehicles and aircraft; installation of infrastructure including surveillance equipment and sensors; and, establishing operations bases. The bill applies to "all land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture within 100 miles of the international land borders of the United States..." including presumably Indian reservations which are subject to Interior's jurisdiction.

Dozens of environmental, safety, and cultural and religious protection laws would no longer apply. American Indian tribes view the bill as a direct and profound threat to tribal sovereignty, including protection of sacred places and cultural artifacts. Ranchers, business owners, hunters and conservation groups also oppose the bill.

The legislation is also unnecessary because Indian tribes have been highly successful in cooperating with Homeland Security on border security. NCAI vigorously opposes this legislation and has a resolution to that effect (PDX-11-073).

Take Action

NCAI urges tribal leaders to contact their representatives to express opposition to the anti-tribal sovereignty bill.

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The National Congress of American Indians

Resolution #PDX-11-073

TITLE: Oppose the National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (H.R. 1505)
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, the National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (H.R. 1505) prohibits the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture from impeding, prohibiting or restricting the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security on lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture that are within 100 miles of the international land and maritime borders of the United States; and

WHEREAS, H.R. 1505 authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to have immediate access to public land managed by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture within 100 miles of the international land and maritime borders of the United States for purposes of conducting activities that assist in securing the border; and

WHEREAS, H.R. 1505 enables the Secretary of Homeland Security to have immediate access to these lands for the purpose of maintaining and constructing roads, fences, and infrastructure, and using vehicles to patrol, and setting up monitoring equipment; and

WHEREAS, H.R. 1505 waives the application of thirty six (36) environmental laws on these lands managed by the Interior and Agriculture departments, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act; and

WHEREAS, an amendment to exempt Indian lands from the bill was rejected by the House Committee on Natural Resources; and

WHEREAS, H.R. 1505 uses the terms “federal lands,” “public lands” and “land under the
jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture,” alternatively and
without reference to specific definitions; and

WHEREAS, H.R. 1505 may apply to tribal lands within the 100 mile zone around the
international and maritime borders of the United States; and

WHEREAS, if passed H.R. 1505 may enable the Secretary of Homeland Security to have
immediate access to these tribal lands and engage in the aforementioned activities without the consent of tribal governments and without having to comply with 36 federal or tribal
environmental laws; and

WHEREAS, H.R.1505 is a direct and profound threat to tribal sovereignty, including the
territorial and jurisdictional integrity of tribal lands and the protection of tribal environments,
natural resources, sacred places, cultural activities, subsistence practices and tribal lifeways.

NOW THERFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the NCAI opposes any Congressional
action that would allow federal agencies access to tribal lands without the free prior and informed consent of tribal governments; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI opposes the National Security and Federal
Lands Protection Act (H.R. 1505) and any concurrent or derivative legislation; 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 General Assembly at the 2011 Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland,
Oregon on October 30 – November 4, 2011, with a quorum present.

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Urgent Tribal Leader Response Needed
on Proposed Anti-Tribal Sovereignty Border Security Bill

The NCAI has learned that The National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (H.R. 1505) is included in a broader parks and recreation bill, H.R. 2578, "To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act related to a segment of the Lower Merced River", that is scheduled for a House of Representatives floor vote tomorrow morning.(June 19th, 2012)

H.R. 1505 is ill-conceived legislation that gives the Secretary of Homeland Security broad authority to take control of "all land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture within 100 miles of the international land borders of the United States...", including presumably Indian reservations which are subject to the Department of Interior's jurisdiction.

Rep. Ed Markey is leading the opposition to this bill which is on the House Floor tomorrow. He is holding a press conference tomorrow at 11 a.m. eastern. He only has one tribal letter.

He needs letters or emails of tribal opposition (see below). We are strongly urging you to contact your congressional delegations to oppose H.R. 1505. Please send an e-mail letter to Rep. Markey for use at the press conference at Jennifer.Romero@mail.house.gov.

NCAI Staff Contact: For further information contact John Dossett - jdossett@ncai.org - or Robert Holden - rholden@ncai.org - or call 202.466.7767.


SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Representative _______

On behalf of the _________ Nation I/we are requesting that you oppose The National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (H.R. 1505), "To amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act related to a segment of the Lower Merced River", that is scheduled for a House of Representatives floor vote tomorrow morning. H.R. 1505 is ill-conceived legislation that gives the Secretary of Homeland Security broad authority to take control of "all land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture within 100 miles of the international land borders of the United States...", including presumably Indian reservations which are subject to the Department of Interior's jurisdiction. The bill is a threat to tribal sovereignty as it usurps tribal jurisdiction and also waives compliance by the Secretary of 36 cultural resource and environmental protection laws.

Thank you for your support of the _______ Nation through your strong opposition to H.R. 1505.

Respectfully


Chair/Governor/President

___________ Nation