DOD & NATIVE AMERICANS

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

From: Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>

DEFENSE AND NATIVE AMERICANS

The RAND Corporation recently published a brief but comprehensive 
review of the obligations of the Department of Defense (DoD), its 
components, and installations to Native Americans, including Native 
Alaskans and Native Hawaiians. Scrupulously documented, "Native 
American Affairs and the Department of Defense," is written for a 
military audience, but it should prove instructive to all stakeholders. 

The RAND report explains the statutory and administrative 
requirements that govern Defense Department relations with Native 
Americans, their environment, and their cultural heritage. It also 
argues that there are additional sound policy reasons for the military to 
respond to Indian needs, including the Army's history in forcing 
Indians onto reservations and the disproportionately high numbers of 
Indians who served in the armed forces in Vietnam, Korea, and World 
War II.

Furthermore, the report explains that while many of the legal 
obligations toward indigenous Americans only apply to federally 
recognized Indian tribes, including Native Alaskan villages, some of 
the legal obligations - and the moral obligations - apply to other 
groups, including what I believe to be the largest single group of 
Native Americans, Native Hawaiians.

The authors recommend five actions to implement President Clinton's 
April 29, 1994 memorandum directing federal agencies to work on a 
government-to-government level with federally recognized Native 
tribes:

1. "DoD and the services should develop a written policy to guide 
DoD installation commanders' and land managers' implementation of 
the President's April 29, 1994 memorandum. In particular, the policy 
should instruct DoD installation commanders and land managers to 
inform the leaders of local federally recognized tribes of their 
commitment to work with such tribes on a 'government-to-
government' basis. The policy should recognize that some non-
federally recognized tribes should receive the same commitment."

2. "To begin developing capabilities for determining which 
nonrecognized tribes have valid claims, histories and maps of prior 
Native American use of DoD agency-administered land should be 
made available. Such maps and histories should also be useful in 
preparing for consultations with recognized tribes and in implementing 
relevant statutes."

3. "DoD installations should designate a coordinator for Native 
American affairs to help retain institutional memory and policy 
expertise. Currently, installations typically rely on the staff 
archaeologist, who may not probe into the policy aspects of Native 
American affairs."

4. "DoD should communicate its intention to develop and implement 
the policies described in the first two [items] above in a highly visible 
and politically symbolic manner...."

5. "In consultation with federally recognized Indian tribes and other 
appropriate Native American groups, the Army historian or a panel of 
military historians should develop materials that will enable DoD 
personnel to understand and respond to questions from both the 
Native American community and the public regarding the army's 
historical role in implementing Congress' 18th and 19th century 
Indian policies."

"Native American Affairs and the Department of Defense," (MR-630-
OSD) by Donald Mitchell and David Rubenson, may be ordered from 
the RAND Corporation Distribution Services: 310/451-7002; fax: 
310/451-6915; Internet: order@rand.org.

Lenny Siegel