Alaska Inter-Tribal Council : Advocating for Alaska Tribal Governments

RESOLUTION 2007-12-06
TITLE: Expressing Solidarity and Support for the Self-Determination Rights of
Native Hawaiians

WHEREAS, the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council is a statewide consortium of federally recognized tribes in Alaska, which share a common bond with unique cultures, languages, spirituality and traditional values; and

WHEREAS, the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council (AI-TC) was established in 1992 and is charged to advocate for, protect, defend, and enhance the inherent rights of tribes in Alaska; and

WHEREAS, Alaska Inter-Tribal Council has adopted numerous positions supporting the sovereignty of the indigenous peoples of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, legislation titled “The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act” has been introduced in both houses of the United States Congress legislation to address the legal and political status of the indigenous peoples of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, successive revisions of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act contain language which may pose a threat to tribal sovereignty throughout Indian Country, including the following: 1) three-party negotiations between the Federal, State and Native Hawaiian governments [Section 8(a)(1)], and 2) the inability of the Native Hawaiian entity to sue the federal government for breach of trust, land claims, resource protections claims, an accounting, declaratory relief, or recovery and compensation for lands once held by Native Hawaiians [Section 8(c)(2)]; and

WHEREAS, the indigenous peoples of Hawaii never directly or indirectly ceded their inherent sovereignty or rights to full self-determination; and

WHEREAS, public hearings on the current version of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act have not been held within the Hawaiian archipelago; and

WHEREAS, the standing policy of Alaska Inter-Tribal Council is to support federal recognition for all native nations, which may contradict the autonomous aspirations and aims of the affected nation; and

WHEREAS, the Native Hawaiian people are divided on the question of federal recognition and have not been fully consulted through local public hearings on their viewpoints concerning the bill; and

WHEREAS, self-determination is recognized as a fundamental human right, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and its recent Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and

WHEREAS, the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, other national civil rights organizations, and elected officials have acted with honorable and good intent in promoting the sovereignty and human rights of Native Hawaiian people and all indigenous peoples of the United States; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Alaska Inter-Tribal Council adopt a neutral position on the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act and treat it as an internal matter of the Native Hawaiian people, subject to the principles of self-determination and non-interference; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Alaska Inter-Tribal Council adopts a policy of general support for the self-determination of the Native Hawaiian people, in whatever form and character said people deem right and just; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the staff of the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council shall conduct a legal analysis of the current version of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization to ascertain possible legal impacts on tribal sovereignty; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Alaska Inter-Tribal Council does hereby call upon the leadership of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate to immediately convene fair and open public hearings on all major islands of the Hawaiian archipelago, for the purpose of ascertaining the will of its indigenous peoples regarding any legislation affecting their political and legal status, including but not limited to the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of Alaska Inter-Tribal Council.

CERTIFICATION

The foregoing resolution was adopted at the 2007 Annual Convention of the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, held at the Millennium Alaskan Hotel, in Anchorage, Alaska on December 4, 2007 with a quorum present.