U.S. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva wrote an op-ed for the publication Indian Country Today Media Network, where he says Congress hasn’t taken tribal sovereignty seriously, has failed to protect Native American historical treasures—as we are seeing in recent times with Oak Flat—and that, bottom line, Congress needs to regain the tribes’ trust. 

He says these actions are not based on any legitimate political differences, but on an ongoing attitude that Native American history is important only when it’s convenient to Congress. What’s definite is that Congress could care less about the tribes’ economic interests, and “Native American land is held by tribes only through the grace and favor of the federal government,” he adds.

Here’s a couple of paragraphs from the op-ed that was published yesterday:

When President Obama, using the time-honored Antiquities Act signed into law by Teddy Roosevelt, established three new national monuments on July 10 in Nevada, California and Texas, the protection of Native American art and artifacts was among his top priorities. Basin and Range National Monument in southeastern Nevada will protect petroglyph and prehistoric rock art dating back thousands of years. In the conservation community, not to mention the Native American community, this was an occasion to celebrate.

House Republicans, however, were not celebrating. When a reporter asked for his views on the new monuments and pointed out the rich Native American history involved, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop of Utah replied, “Ah, bull crap. That’s not an antiquity.” Earlier that same day, a release from the Chairman stated, “There is nothing that [President] Obama did today that had anything to do with an antiquity.”

This was not an isolated incident. Representative Don Young, who chairs the Committee’s panel on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs, lectured representatives of the Zuni Pueblo and Navajo Nation at a July 15 hearing about accepting whatever decision Congress made on a land dispute at Fort Wingate, New Mexico. “Either you take what we’re going to give you and be happy, or you’re going to lose it,” he told them. “You better be happy with what you’re going to get.”

The op-ed is definitely fueled by the most recent “we-will-screw-you-over” action by Congress, where they reached a hush-hush deal and attached a very disturbing amendment to last year’s National Defense Authorization Act, where they hand over Oak Flat to Resolution Copper—a move approved by Arizona’s U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain, as well as U.S. Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick and Paul Gosar. 

This article appears in Jul 30 – Aug 5, 2015.

I was born and raised in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I moved to Tucson about 10 years ago. Since I was old enough to enjoy reading, I developed an interest in writing, and telling stories through different...

11 replies on “Raúl Grijalva: Congress Must Rebuild Trust With Native American Tribes”

  1. The op-ed is definitely fueled by the most recent “we-will-screw-you-over” action by Congress …

    Now let’s be civil about this.

  2. Tax paying American citizens say Raul Grijalva hasn’t taken American citizenship and the U.S. Constitution seriously, has failed to protect Arizonans and Americans and that, bottom line, Raul Grijalva needs to go away.

  3. Americans don’t trust grijalva after he joined the lying president to screw us over with aca.

    If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. Now we find out that the state run federally funded exchanges are bankrupt and wasted billions.

    Indians get used to it. Real progressive eh?

  4. The Indian problem is like most government programs, wasted. Unfortunatelly, we took away their land, dignity and any hope for a future on the reservations. On the other hand, lack of education, alcohol abuse and poverty, were brought about by themselves. There isn’t any simple solution, only more of the same..

  6. Don Young chairs the Indian affairs committee? They are so screwed. That guy is as corrupt as they come. He will sell out the tribes as fast as he can.

  7. “lack of education, alcohol abuse and poverty, were brought bout by themselves”

    Right, because when you take people’s land, force them into horrible living conditions, ship all their kids off to government schools where they’re beaten and not allowed to speak their own language, they should just pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

  8. The reality is, they are not beaten for speaking their own language. One of my long time friends was raised on a reservation, and spent twenty years with the White Mountain Tribe. His father was the agent at the tribe. He alwasys said, ” Indians pretty much are what they are, they don’t want the White man’s way.” They have more fed. programs and advantages available than any minority group, but still elect the life they live.
    They have had 160 years to change, most don’t want to.

  9. Raul, once again concentrating on people other than his constituents.

    CherryBell Post Office – concentrate on that Raul.

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