U.S. Government Grants to Native Americans
Uploaded by jetzzz on Oct 26, 2011
This paper discusses some of the issues surrounding the grant process with regard to Native Americans. It also discusses Native American issues with regard to politics and legislation.
U.S. Government Grants to Native Americans
I Introduction
The history of the U.S. government’s involvement with the indigenous people of the nation is a sorry one indeed. In the push West, an entire culture was destroyed, and the survivors herded onto reservations, where many continue to live in poverty.
The government, which assumed the attitude of a caretaker toward the Native Americans long ago, continues this support through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of the Interior.
This paper considers the case of “Alexander Eaglefly”, who is the Chief of the “Mohave Desert Indian Tribe”, and who has just received a grant from “Joe Lackluster,” the bureau chief of the local Interior Department office; the grant is in the amount of $128,500. We’ll answer the following questions: What was the process by which Mr. Eaglefly received the grant? What is the power the Congress used to issue it; i.e., what are the legislative issues behind funding the grant? What impact would party politics have on the process? What is the power of oversight? Which PACs and SIGS might have been involved in this issue, and how? How could the President have used his executive power in this situation? And finally, how might the judiciary become involved?
II The Process of Receiving the Grant
In the last 200 years, Congress has passed more legislation dealing with Native Americans than with any other group. The primary responsibility for Indian affairs rests with the Department of the Interior (DOI); specifically the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The responsibility and authority for managing funds held in trust for Indian Tribes and individuals, which was a primary function of the BIA, was transferred to the Office of Special Trustee for American Indians in 1996. (“Bureau of Indian Affairs,” PG). (Note that the government continues to hold money “in trust” for the Indians. In effect, the Indians cannot determine their own future.)
The vast majority of Native Americans live in extreme poverty, usually on the money doled out by the government; they remain largely unassimilated into mainstream American life. “The BIA provides services directly or through contracts, grants [my emphasis], or compacts to 554 Tribes with diverse needs,...