> Excerpt from the May 24, 1996 issue of Native American Press/Ojibwe News
> article by Gary Blair--"Corruption has deep roots in White Earth"
>
> Calls to the PRESS (re: upcoming MCT elections in June)...one caller said
> they received an absentee ballot for a family member who has been dead for
> over five years. Another voter reported being turned down for a ballot
> because they were testifying for the prosecution...
Sad to see that things are the same all over. But might I add another
reason for this loss of our traditional governments: the good old BIA.
Where does the local BIA stand in all of this- with the people or the
tribal leaders? This is a rhetorical question; I already can guess the
answer.
Our leader of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Hollis E. Roberts, was
indicted by a federal grand jury in June 1995 for raping female employees,
members of the tribe. When brought to trial in Muskogee Federal Court, his
lawyers endangered the sovereignty of many tribes by trying to argue that
the tribal complex held in trust by the BIA where the acts occurred did not
meet the definition of "Indian Land." Yet our tribal council voted
unanimously to pay for the Chief's defense, saying that the indictement was
an affront to tribal sovereignty. It would seem our "leaders" have learned
well from their masters. The BIA stands by and allows it to happen.
Well, here is one thought I would like to pass on to other tribes about a
case currently in our tribal court, that might help others fight the BIA
and corrupt tribal officials. On September 4, 1995, my wife and three
other people were arrested by tribal police for passing out literature on
tribal grounds critical of the Chief. One was man beaten by the police,
two of the arrested were grandmothers (one wrestled to the ground by
"brave" tribal officers). They were hauled before the judge in the Court
of Indian Offenses of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a supposed Court of
Federal Review (or CFR court, run by the BIA). The police are funded by a
grant from the BIA, and their civil and criminal powers and laws are
derived from the CFR court. This court was contracted from the Muskogee
BIA area office under PL93-638 by the Choctaw Nation about three years ago.
Many of the Indian Court systems in the State of Oklahoma, and I assume
elsewhere in the U.S., are likewise contracted and funded.
We found that the "good old boys" at the BIA and our own "good old boys" in
the tribal government might have made one fatal error, though. A caveat of
Constitutional law states that all powers of a constitutional government
are derived from the people through the constitution (9th grade civics).
That means that a tribal government if formed under a constitution has no
inherent power other than those powers specifically granted by the people
in the constitution. In 1982 the people of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
were specifically asked if they wanted a tribal court system with civil,
criminal, and probate jurisdiction and they said NO. So where does the
current tribal government derive the power to contract the CFR Court from
the BIA an assume these powers?
The BIA response is that they are deeply concerned and are compiling an
administrative record. For what? Because they realize that in approving
the contracting of a CFR court, they have denied the basic civil rights of
those people. To put it simply, they are looking at a one million dollar
civil rights lawsuit in this case. The interesting thing is, in
researching this phenomena of the BIA giving civil and criminal power to
tribal governments, we find that other tribes (such as the Cherokees in
North Carolina, for example) have CFR courts, yet their constitution does
not give their government that power! The BIA, through ignorance or evil
intent, has allowed CFR courts to be contracted to tribal governments with
no legitimate power to contract those services, against the specific will
of the people in constitutions approved by the BIA, and allowed these
courts to arrest, try, convict, imprison, award custody, etc.- all
illegally!
I first encourage all Indian citizens to review their tribal constitutions,
and see if the tribal government was given these powers by the people. If
not, then if your tribal leadership is using the CFR court they administer
to bully and harass the citizens in submission, then sue the BIA for this
affront to your sovereignty! We plan to. For more information on our
fight, Scott Morrison and Doug Dry have compiled records of various
official documents so that all interested Choctaw citizens and other Indian
people can read for themselves what is going on. They are available for the
cost of copying. Contact them directly at PO Box 637, Wilburton, OK 74578
if interested in obtaining copies of these documents.
BIA Complaint on the Unconstitutionality of the Court of Indian Offenses of
the Choctaw Nation (CFR Court) with supporting documents. 52 pages, $3.62
I hope these can help you strike back against the corrupt tribal officials
and their BIA masters who support them. Demand accountability by both the
BIA and our leaders.