NOT
APPLICABLE
II. SEARCHING FOR PEACE ANCESTORS .I
P. 20 P. 11
P. 18
What Happened During Colonization
Government to Government
An Aggreement
P. 10 Who Are the Ancestors
n
ABOUT
RESOURCES
P. 27 Removal to Reservation
P. 29 A Government's Responsability
P.30 The Sequester
P. 28 Making Things Right
P. 19 The Impact of the Federal Sequester
THE ALLIED .III
P. 20 Education
P. 21 Employment
P. 22 Health
CONSEQUENCES.V
VI. FULFILLMENT
ABOUT
NA
ABOUT
When signing documents we use the term NA- not applicable to indicate when specific information doesn't apply to us. For the book's title, the term NA is used in context to represent the status of Native Americans with the United States government, " not applicable". Native Americans have faced a lifelong struggle to be recognized under the treaties they once signed; an exchange of land for federal funds protections. Having those funds reduced by the government, at the present moment, not only threatens promises previously made by the U.S but also the legacy of the first Americans.
STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK The book is separated into six sections that each share a specific moment in the history of the uprising civilization. Each section explains who the Native Americans are (the Ancestors of the United States), and their current socio-economic issues. As one reads further in the book, one is able to find different symbols; these symbols represent the early cave paintings and their cultural representations. Symbols can be found at the start of every section, not only bringing forward the layout of every page but also adding meaning and an explanation to the trajectory of the stories in the content.
SYMBOLS
Men
Women
The following symbols are used to represent the union of Native Americans as a community; man and woman joined together as one. It also represents the acknowledgement of a race as humanity and as a whole.
ANCESTORS
10 . 12 .
WHO ARE THE ANCESTORS
WHAT HAPPENED DURING COLONIZATION
THE ANCESTORS / 10
WHO ARE
THE
ANCESTORS
Natives Americans also known as American Indians are the first people to live in the New World. They lived in peace and prosperity until the
In 1492, when Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to find a shorter route to India. He landed on an island near the American coast
15th century when Europeans arrived on the shores of North America.
he thought he had reached his destination. Since they had no immunity to these strange diseases, thousands began to die from things such as measles and chicken pox. In addition, the Europeans began to take over the land and set up farms and homes there.
"THE FIRST PEOPLE TO LIVE IN THE NEW WORLD" While at one point in time, Native Americans were a very populous group of people, today they only account for 1.4 percent of the United States population. Most of those who claim to be Native American live on designated Indian reservations.
WHAT HAPPENED
DURING
COLONIZATION
When first Europeans arrivedand settled, there were thousand of tribes and bands of indigenous peoples. From a Native American
Some Indian communities were approached with respect, for many indigenous nations, however, the first impressions of Europeans were
Their number was reduced due to foreign diseases, wars and containment of government. The tribes that remained formed relationships with
perspective, the initial intentions of Europeans were not always immediately clear.
characterized by violent acts.
WERE NOT ALWAYS
the U.S government. In 1778, the U.S federal Government tried to come to an agreement with the Native Americans tribes by negotiating treaties. The treaties negotiated became formal agreements between two sovereign nations; a government to government
CLEAR"
relation.
"THE INITIAL INTENTIONS OF EUROPEANS
THE ANCESTORS / 12
SYMBOLS
Peace
Government
The symbols of Peace and Government are used to represent the assimilation of two distinct civilizations as they meet. They symbolize two civilizations in search of a mutual agreement, and the acknowledgment of each Government.
SEARCHING FOR PEACE
II.
18 . 20 .
AN AGREEMENT
GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT
SEARCHING FOR PEACE / 18
AN
AGREEMENT
The Congress's treaties with Native Americans were negotiated by the executive branch on behalf of the president and ratified bythe U.S.
Most often, part of the land would be "reserved" exclusively for the tribe's use. The obvious effect of the treaty process was to speed the transfer of Indian
In 1834, Congress established an agency as an assistant to the treaties called The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). BIA is responsible
Senate. The native tribes would give up their rightsto hunt and live on huge parcels of land that they had in exchange for trade goods, yearly cash annuity payments, and assurances that no further demands would be made on them.
land to European settlers.
for the administration and management of land held in trust by the United States for the Native Americans.
"NATIVES TRIBES WOULD GIVE UP THEIR RIGHTS TO HUNT AND LIVE ON HUGE PARCELS OF LAND"
GOVERNMENT GOVERNMENT TO
A federally recognized tribe is recognized as having a government-to-government relationship with the United States, with the responsibilities, powers, limitations, and obligations attached to that designation. The Congress designed a tribal soverignty between both governments.
"THE RIGHT OF FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES TO GOVERN THEMSELVES" Tribal sovereignty describes the right of federally recognized tribes to govern themselves , and are entitled to receive federal benefits, services, and protections because of the treaty with the United States. These treaties makes them eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
SEARCHING FOR PEACE / 20
Under the treaties signed by the ancestors, federal fund payments get disbursed to the tribes as part of the land held in trust. The treaties allowed Natives Americans the right to form its own government, adjudicate legal cases within its borders, levy taxes within its borders, establish its membership, and decide its own future fate, with the federal government responsibility to protect tribal lands, assets, resources and treaty rights.
SYMBOLS
Hunt
THE ALLIED
Good
Bad
The following symbols are a representation of the consequences of having a strong and weak Government. The strong Government suppresses the power of the non-voiced Government. It shows the reality of the minority being unrepresented, and its main privileges being taken away by a superior authority.
27 . 29 .
REMOVAL TO RESERVATION
RESPONSABILITY/ THE SEQUESTER
THE ALLIED / 26
REMOVAL TO
RESERVATION
In the United States there are three types of reserved federal lands: military, public, and Indian. A federal Indian reservation is an area of land reserved for a tribe or tribes under treaty with the United States, and where the federal government holds title to the land in trust on behalf of the tribe.
During the nineteenth century, movement of Indian Reservations was followed by the breaking up of tribal land holdings and distribution of individual allotments to tribal members, with the separated lands becoming available for settlement by non-Indians. Approximately 56.2 million acres are held in trust by the United States for various Indian tribes.
"APPROXIMATELY 56.2 MILLION ACRES ARE HELD IN TRUST BY THE UNITED STATES"
Foremost among the responsibilities historically delegated to the BIA is the duty to manage Indian lands and funds, often thought of as the essence of the federal trust responsibility to Indians. Although its roots are in the United States Constitution, the federal trust responsibility has been developed and defined through a series of opinions by the United States Supreme Court.
A GOVERNMENTS
RESPONSABILITY
The underpinning of federal spending in Indian Country is based in the treaties that tribes’ ancestors signed with the US government. At its most basic level, the economic success of the United States is built upon the land and natural resources that originally belonged to tribal nations.
THE ALLIED/ 28
In exchange for land, the United States agreed to protect tribal treaty rights, lands, and resources, including provision of certain services for American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages, which is known as the Federal Indian Trust Responsibility.
THE
SEQUESTER
After the recession of 2011, Congress passed a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, a fund sequestration on all federal budget including for tribal programs. The sequester reductions and other cuts to tribal programs undermine Indian treaty rights and obligations – treaties which were ratified under the Constitution and considered the “supreme law of the land.”
The underpinning of federal spending in Indian Country is based in the treaties that tribes’ ancestors signed with the US government. Indiscriminate cuts sacrifice not only these trust obligations, it also thwarts the ability of tribes to promote economic growth, or plan for the future of Native children and coming generations.
SYMBOLS
Storm
River
The symbols of Storm and river are used to represent a problem and the consequences that it causes. In this case, it shows how the Native Americans Federal Fund cut will damage the present and future of an unrepresented civilization.
CONSEQUENCES
IV.
34 . 36 . 38 . 40 .
THE IMPACT OF FEDERAL SEQUESTER EDUCATION EMPLOYMENT HEALTH
CONSEQUENCES / 34
THE IMPACT OF
FEDERAL Fullfilment of many of these duties and obligations resides in the discretionary portion of the federal budget, which will be impacted severely by the 2013 sequester and expected reductions due to the Budget Control Act caps. Already law enforcement, education, health care, to name just a few, have been historically underfunded and have failed to meet the needs of tribal citizens.
SEQUESTER The Commission also reported a finding by the Congressional Research Service that, when adjusting for inflation between 1975 and 2000, Indian programs at the DOI experienced a yearly appropriations decline of $6 million, leaving unfunded $7.4 billion in unmet needs among Native Americans in 2000.
As a result, according to the Commission, “Native Americans continue to rank at or near the bottom of nearly every social, health, and economic indicator,” as compared to other groups in American society. Native Americans suffer “higher rates of poverty, lower educational achievement, more substandard housing, and higher rates of disease and illness.”
CONSEQUENCES / 36
EDUCATION Federal dollars help pay for education in Indian Country — a major function that makes up a basic building block of the economy. A majority of Native students attend public schools. The impact of sequestration will vary district to district and state to state for school districts.
government contributing between 10 to 20 percent. However, schools on Indian reservations and military bases are ontax-exempt land. Unable to raise funds from taxes, Indian reservation and military schools depend more heavily on federal aid.
Federal revenues vary in proportion for overall school operating budgets. Those districts where the federal revenues are a larger portion of their overall operating budget will feel a deeper impact. Across the nation, federal dollars represented 12.3 percent of school revenues in FY10, on average. In most school districts, education is funded largely by state and local governments, with the federal
In addition to funds for poor and disabled children, schools on federal land also receive Impact Aid, intended to make up for the lack of property-tax revenue. Many of these schools are counting on those funds to meet the basic needs of students and to pay teacher salaries this spring, potentially forcing districts to make wrenching, mid-year adjustments. In New Mexico
for example, the Gallup McKinley County Public Schools would lose about $2 million of the funds from Impact Aid, which could affect as many as 6,700 students who live on tribal lands. Impact Aid funds make up 35 percent of that district’s total budget.
"FEDERAL DOLLARS HELP PAY FOR EDUCATION IN INDIAN COUNTRY"
CONSEQUENCES / 38
HEALTH Sequester reductions for FY 2014 in the Department of the Interior mean tribes would lose almost $130 million, impacting areas such as human services, law enforcement, schools, economic development, and natural resources. These reductions impact the core of tribal governmental services for tribal citizens.
In the Indian Health Service, sequestration is estimated to result in about 3,000 fewer inpatient admissions and 804,000 fewer outpatient visits provided in IHS and tribal hospitals and clinics. IHS may lack resources to pay for staffing and operations of !ve health care facilities that tribes have built with their own resources, with a total investment of almost $200 million.
""IHS LACKS RESOURCES TO PAY FOR STAFFING AND OPERATIONS." All other federal programs that serve the health of our nation’s populations with the highest need, such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Veterans Administration, will be exempt from funding reductions. But not the Indian Health Service. IHS should be exempt as well.
CONSEQUENCES / 40
EMPLOYMENT The existence of available jobs on the reservations is low, forcing unemployment of 35% to 85% (varies by reservation). At the same time, many Native
Most jobs on the reservations are tribal, government, or state jobs – with restrictive budgets and historic budget cuts that limit opportunities for
Many of the health, education, and social services in Indian Country receive federal funds, including through the Indian Health Service, Bureau of
Americans who do work full�time (on or off of the reservation) still fall below poverty level. It is not for lack of exuberance or effort on the part of Native Americans that these conditions arise.
growth. A history of oppression also limits the possibilities that reservations can envision for themselves as a whole.
Indian Education, Impact Aid and through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Many of the hardest working folks are Native American. Rather, big business is reluctant to invest in small, remote, and rugged reservation communities, which would help create jobs.
Sequester reductions in FY 2013 and beyond will likely affect employment in Indian Country more harshly. A third of Native people are employed in education, health care, and social services delivery.
The second largest sector employing Indian Country is public administration. One out of five employed American Indians on tribal lands works in public administration, compared to one out of 20 for the entire country.
SYMBOLS
Happiness Happiness is the primary outcome when seeking a solution to a problem. In the book's case it is to give voice to an underrepresented minority as the Native Americans, while having the United States Government achieve its minimal needs.
FULFILLMENT
V.
46.
MAKING THINGS RIGHT
FULFILLMENT / 46
MAKING THINGS
RIGHT
Reductions in funding to meet trust obligations to tribal nations – public safety, education, health care, social services, and tribal governmental services – are reductions to “high powered” spending for local economies, which will impede economic recovery in addition to causing increased poverty and hardship for Indian Country.
The stakes are high for tribal governmental services and programs in the federal budget that support the trust responsibility, only some of which are highlighted here, and trust obligations should be protected from further reductions. Tribal programs, as part of the discretionary budget, have already done their part to reduce the deficit through the bipartisan Budget Control Act.
---
"TRIBAL PROGRAMS, AS PART OF THE DISCRETIONARY BUDGET HAVE ALREADY DONE THEIR PART TO REDUCE THE DEFICIT" Continued cuts will have severe consequences for every tribal citizen. Tribes urge the President and Congress to uphold the solemn promises of the trust responsibility throughout the federal budget in FY 2014 and future years.
RESOURCES An adaptation from the National Congress of American Indians' publication "Honor the Promises the Tribal Nations in the Federal Budget." 22 Apr. 2013. National Congress of American Indians' publication- NCAI
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