The following is a joint statement for the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs by Lacy H. Thornburg, the Attorney General of the State of North Carolina, and Jonathan L. Taylor, the Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina, concerning H.R. 498, an act to clarify and strengthen the authority for Department of Interior law enforcement services in Indian country. Lacy H. Thornburg has served as the duly elected Attorney General of the State of North Carolina since January 1985. Prior to his election as Attorney General, he served for sixteen years as the Resident Superior Court Judge of the state judicial district which includes the Indian country of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Jonathan L. Taylor has served as the duly elected Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, having served in that office since October 1987. Prior to his election as Principal Chief he served for sixteen years on the Tribal Council of the Eastern Band, including eight years as Chairman. Law enforcement in Indian Country is a complex issue due to legal jurisdiction constraints where crimes involving Indians are within the federal and tribal systems and crimes involving only non-Indians are within the respective state systems. A frequent solution to this problem has been cross-deputization of federal and tribal officers by the State and state officers by the Department of Interior and the federally recognized tribes. Under the existing federal law, it is less than clear what authority these cross-deputization arrangements confer. North Carolina has only one federally recognized tribe with an existing reservation within its boundaries, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. In 1987, the General Assembly of North Carolina enacted Chapter 427 of the Session Laws of North Carolina to confer state arrest powers over non-Indians in Indian Country upon police officers of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Further, this legislation exempted a special officer or deputy special officer of the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs from the prohibition against dual office holding under state law. This legislation clarified many legal issues concerning our cross-deputization arrangements in Indian Country under state law. A copy of this ratified legislation is attached hereto and incorporated herein. In summary, this legislation extended state status similar to a municipal police department to police officers of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians within Indian Country. To our knowledge, this legislation is the first state law addressing this problem to be enacted in the United States. HR-498 by providing in Section 5 for agreements between Federal, State, and tribal governments provides an ideal companion piece of legislation at the federal level to Chapter 427 of the North Carolina Session Laws. In this respect, HR-498 could not have come at a better time. State, tribal and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies in North Carolina are in the process of forming a multi-agency narcotics enforcement task force in the area of western North Carolina around and including the Indian Country of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Funding for this task force has already been secured by a grant from the Governor's Crime Commission of North Carolina. The speedy enactment of HR-498 would clarify federal law in a manner which permits the extension of the benefits of that task force to the Indian Country of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians at the tribe's request to an extent never before possible. The Eastern Band does have reservations about the advisability or necessity of removing the position of criminal investigator from eligibility for contracting under the Indian Self-Determination Act. The Eastern Band is currently proposing such contractual arrangements and believes this would provide more efficient service on the Cherokee Indian Reservation. The Eastern Band also believes that the present provisions in the act which would remove the direct supervision of such investigative personnel from the Agency Superintendent would diminish rather than enhance the effective operation of such personnel. The Eastern Band's experience with the BIA's administrative and bureaucratic inefficiency lead it to believe that local and direct supervision is vastly superior, in efforts to insure prompt and professional services, than review by an Area Office or the Central Office, both of which are in Washington. The jurisdictional complexities in Indian country are best dealt with on the local and immediate level. The Attorney General of North Carolina takes no position with respect to the federal tribal administrative arrangements addressed in H.R. 498, but recognizes that the proposed legislation as a whole represents a vast improvement upon the current conditions. We jointly commend the members of the Congress of the United States for their consideration of legislation improving the ability of Federal, State, local and tribal governments to cooperate in the protection of all our mutual citizens. LEONARD HASKIE INTERIM CHAIRMAN THE NAVAJO TRIBAL COUNCIL THE NAVAJO NATION July 19, 1989 IRVING BILLY INTERIM VICE CHAIRMAN THE NAVAJO TRIBAL COUNCIL Honorable Members of the Senate The Navajo Nation is at a critical stage in the definition of our law enforcement jurisdiction. The far-reaching effects of the intelligent exercise of our sovereign powers have become very apparent in Navajoland in past six months. Perhaps more importantly, our Nation has evidenced that its system can work. Due process, equal protection and cultural preservation have been observed and tested. Due to the media attention afforded us, the world has been granted the opportunity to watch our Nation at a time of controversy. Our own people have benefitted by the opportunity to learn about and take to heart the workings of our government. We see room for improvement but feel a confidence that the system is viable. The legislation which is before you represents a giant step backwards in the evolution of the sovereign powers of the Navajo Nation. Sovereignty is not only an attribute of a Nation of independence, but also a process which it must follow. enforcement by a Nation of its laws signifies a commitment to those laws. The The Navajo Nation has suffered the efforts outside agencies attempting to address our unique law enforcement concerns. We are convinced that given ample opportunity to serve our own people we will surpass these prior attempts. We look forward to continuing the development of our law enforcement program and coordinating with the United States Attorneys in the investigation and prosecution of serious crimes in our land. The passage of the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act is a damaging and unnecessary and radical department from the Indian SelfDetermination Act and the 1988 amendments to the Act. The Navajo Nation stands in opposition to any legislation which threatens decreases the right of tribes to exercise our sovereign powers. We trust that when you consider the proposed Act, you bear our interests and rights in mind. Thank you. or will Sincerely, Leonard Haskie Interim Chairman The Navajo Tribal Council IH: phm Post Office Box 308 Window Rock, Navajo Nation (Arizona) 86515• (602) 871-4941 |