Bryan Newland: Trump administration must explain need for new tribal land rules

Thursday, October 26, 2017  

Why is the Trump administration trying to make it harder for tribes to restore their homelands? Attorney Bryan Newland, a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs during the Obama era, wonders whether a new agenda in Washington, D.C. aims to undermine the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934:

A revisionist view of the IRA may also explain why the Trump Administration is only consulting with western tribes regarding these proposed changes.

The Trump Administration has yet to provide any policy justification for changing the land-into-trust process. The proposed changes were not something Indian country has been demanding. Quite the opposite.

At last week’s meeting of the National Congress of American Indians, some Administration officials tried to sell these changes to tribal leaders as a helpful “streamlining” of the regulatory process. (Only in a George Orwell novel can increasing the number of bureaucratic hurdles be described as “streamlining,” but I digress).

But, earlier this year, Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior James Cason described the need to do more to help local communities that oppose placing lands into trust for Indian tribes.

Before these regulations are officially proposed, the Trump Administration must explain its own understanding of the Indian Reorganization Act, and why these changes are necessary to advance its purpose. Tribal consultation is pointless if tribes don’t first understand the purpose behind this effort.

Read More on the Story:
Bryan Newland: IS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PREPARING TO GUT THE INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT? (Turtle Talk October 26, 2017)

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Top Trump administration official casts doubt on tribal economic development rule (October 24, 2017)
Leader of Bureau of Indian Affairs among witnesses for controversial tribal land bill (October 23, 2017)
'Ominous shadow' of President Trump looms over annual meeting of tribal leaders (October 20, 2017)
House subcommittee takes up controversial American Indian Empowerment Act (October 19, 2017)
Tribes slam Trump administration for adding hurdles to land-into-trust process (October 17, 2017)
Second federal appeals court chimes in with decision favoring tribal homelands (October 12, 2017)
Trump team discourages tribes from seeking land away from their reservations (October 4, 2017)
Bureau of Indian Affairs approves first HEARTH Act regulations of Trump era (September 6, 2017)
Trump administration backs away from yet another pro-tribal legal opinion (July 25, 2017)
Bryan Newland: The #fakenews crisis about the land-into-trust process (July 24, 2017)
Trump team considers 'new' hurdles for off-reservation land applications (July 20, 2017)
President Trump promises 'freedom' for tribes seeking to exploit their resources (June 29, 2017)
Hearing takes a swipe at tribal rights with no tribal leaders present (May 30, 2017)
Secretary Zinke vows support for sovereignty after 'off-ramp' comments about trust lands (May 9, 2017)
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