Steven Newcomb: US still holds colonial attitude towards tribes

When we pay close attention to the December 16, 2010 State Department position paper, it becomes evident that the U.S.’s goal is to use the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to reinforce the existing and dominating U.S. federal Indian law system. Part of that reinforcement is accomplished by defining federally recognized “tribes” as political possessions of the United States, and by defining Indian people as “Americans,” just Native ones, or “the first Americans.”

A dominating U.S. reality which frames “Indian tribes as U.S. political possessions” is reinforced whenever originally free and still rightfully free Indian nations are referred to as “U.S. tribes.” Such a reality of subjection is also reinforced when the United States uses the phrase “our Nation’s tribes.” Such a colonial use of language by the United States does not demonstrate a desire on the part of the U.S. to end its dominating attitude and behavior toward our original nations and peoples.

On December 2, 2011, a year after he had announced U.S. support for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, President Obama issued Executive Order 13592 on Indian education in which the White House’s colonial attitude toward Indian nations is demonstrated by a key phrase: “our Nation’s tribes.” The apostrophe on the word “Nation’s” is a grammatical indicator of possession. The uppercase ‘N’ on “Nation’s” and the lowercase ‘t’ on “tribes” clearly demonstrates the view that the Obama administration considers Indian nations to be “tribes” that “belong to” the United States in the manner of colonial possessions. “For centuries, the Federal Government’s relationship with these tribes has been guided by a trust responsibility…” Notice the capital “F” and “G” on Federal Government and lowercase “t” on “tribes?” That’s symbolic of the over/under, above/below, up/down dominating political structure of U.S. federal Indian law and policy.