A press conference on August 30 was held in conjuction with the 46th
Annual Governor's Interstate Indian Council Conference in Wagoner,
Oklahoma. The Five Civilized Tribes and tribes who are members of the
United Indian Nations of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma are meeting August
29 through September 3 to discuss various common issues affecting Indian
tribes. The press conference was to protest the impending federal
budget cuts--over $200 million for Indian Country. It addressed the
need for Indian tribes throught the nation to unite to remind Congress
of the treaties signed in good faith with the U.S. Government.
According to Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Joe
Byrd, if the Bill is passed in its present form, Cherokee Nation's
budget will be reduced by $3.4 million on October 1. "In order for our
Indian nations to survive we have come together as one. We require the
United States Government to honor the first contracts," said Byrd. "The
Cherokee Nation supports the attempt to reduce the size of the federal
government but the cost to achieve this goal should not come at the
expense of one segment of American people."
"The budget cuts proposed by the 104th Congress undermines the trust
relationship and strikes at the very heart of tribal sovereignty," said
Prinicpal Chief of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation Bill Fife. According to
Chief Fife, the federal government proposes to cut funding by 35 to 45
percent and seeks again to terminate tribes as it tried in the 1950s, this
time through appropriations.
Chairman of the Ft. Sill Apache Tribe, Mildred Cleghorn, presented a
brief history of her Chiriacahua Apache tribe and reminded them that the
U.S. Government has entered into many treaties with Indian Nations and
have never kept the promises made in them. She is concerned about the
potential loss of funds for education, health and other services.
"People don't understand what we have gone through in order to live how
we live today," said Cleghorn.
Tribes will continue opposition efforts against budget cuts with a press
conference in Washington D.C. September 11 and will display their unity
the next day by recognizing SEPTEMBER 12 as NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY DAY
which will be followed by a prayer vigil.