October 24-28: Leaders empower tribes and individual landowners

A lot is happening this week regarding the empowerment of American Indian landowners whose land is held in trust by the U.S. Interior Department. I’m posting a quick rundown on events happening this week on land issues. Read on for an important deadline coming up regarding the Cobell Trust Land Consolidation Program. — Jodi Rave

• Sharon Red Thunder, executive director of the Indian Land Working Group, was among a handful of people who testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The Indian Land Working Group is currently meeting in Cabazon, Calif., for the 21st Annual Indian Land Consolidation Symposium. Here is the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing video on “The American Indian Probate Reform Act: Empowering Indian Land Owners.”

• The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is hosting the symposium. The ILWG is the only national association dedicated to serving American Indian allottees. A well-rounded slate of speakers is scheduled to speak Oct. 24-28 at the Morongo Casino & Resort. Cris Stainbrook, president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation spoke Monday morning about Indian land consolidation programs. He specifically addressed the land acquisition provision in the Claims Resolution Act of 2010/Cobell settlement.
• Final tribal consultation on Cobell Trust Land Consolidation Program in Rapid City, SD Wed. Oct. 26 – https://t.co/St8e5DX8Final tribal consultation on Cobell Trust Land Consolidation Program in Rapid City, SD Wed. Oct. 26 – https://t.co/St8e5DX8

The Indian Land Tenure Foundation posted this information on the Cobell Trust Land Consolidation Program: The Cobell Trust Land Consolidation Program is part of the $3.4 billion Indian Trust Settlement resulting from the Cobell v. Salazar class action lawsuit. As part of the Settlement, $1.9 billion is earmarked for the development of the Trust Land Consolidation Program, an effort to address the growing problem of fractionated ownership through the consolidation of undivided interests in Indian trust land titles.

Why is action critical now?

Because of the substantial resources involved, this program has the potential to have a huge impact on tribal land management and tribal economies. However, the success of this program depends entirely on how well it responds to the distinct needs and interests of the Indian nations who participate. While the BIA has held several regional consultation meetings to discuss the program with tribal leaders and ostensibly receive feedback, from what we have heard thus far, many of the primary concerns Indian nations have with the program, such as the potential placement of liens on the purchased interests, have not been resolved at the meetings, raising serious concern about how the BIA intends to use these funds and administer this program.

On September 20, 2011 Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) facilitated a meeting of tribal leaders and land staff personnel representing 27 tribes from throughout Indian Country to gather input on the proposed program and develop a set of recommendations to present to the BIA. The comments ILTF developed as a result of this meeting and additional feedback it has since received are provided in the link below.

ILTF is encouraging Indian nations from across the U.S. whose reservations have allotted lands, to consider supporting these recommendations and/or to develop their own positions on this program. Nations are encouraged to copy and paste any portion of ILTF’s comments above to use in their own position papers. Most importantly, ILTF is encouraging Indian nations to make their voices heard, and soon.

The deadline to submit recommendations is November 1, 2011.