Tribal sovereignty and the power of Tribes to determine their own futures have certainly diminished since the founding of this country. We are now seeing, however, a surging movement towards the concept of Tribal sovereignty and self-determination which has general political support. This augurs well for those Tribes who will take advantage of the opportunities they now have to improve their posture as sovereign nations and to get about the business of governing. Tribes can best accomplish this through separation of powers: the legislative branch establishing policies through legislative enactments; the executive branch implementing and enforcing these policies with a professional staff operating under a Tribal management system; and an independent judiciary interpreting the laws of the Tribe. For those who choose this route, the future is bright and the opportunities for the exercise of Tribal sovereignty and self-determination better than at any other time in recent history.

The Necessity for Unity

In looking towards this bright future, however, Tribes must concern themselves with the plethora of Indian organizations speaking for the Indian community. Indian leadership should think of developing a dependable Indian voice in order to ensure a clear and constant statement of the Indian position. Failure to develop this dependable Indian voice would inevitably contribute to duplication and emissions in programming efforts. Eventually, because of the diffusion of effort over the wide area which is represented by the profusion of Indian organizations and programs, the Federal Government and the community in general might despair of the resolution of specific problems.

Recognizing this problem, the National Tribal Chairmen's Associa

tion attempted to assume the role of spokesman in its Proposition
Paper of February 9, 1974. The position of the Association, as stated
in Article I, "Delivery of Services to Indian Tribal Members," is:

It is apparent to the National Tribal Chairmen's Asso-
ciation that an ever-increasing number of organizations
are being funded to provide services on an unprecedented
scale to Indians. This distorts those resources and
causes duplication of services. These programs must be
brought into focus and managed to maximize benefits to
Indian people. The National Tribal Chairmen's Associa-
tion supports sincere efforts to assist Indian people in
both the Indian communities and in the urban areas, but
there needs to be coordination with elected Indian offi-
cials and Tribal Governments of all of the proposals
being funded in the name of Indians.

The Domestic Council, created in the Office of the President, attempted to approach this problem through the creation of a Domestic Council Committee on Indian Affairs, under the co-chairmanship of the Secretary of the Interior, who was to appoint an Interior Advisory Committee, and the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, who was to appoint an HEW Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee for Interior was to be appointed from the federally recognized Tribes while the Advisory Committee for HEW was to be appointed to provide representation for urban and rural Indians who were from non-federally recognized Tribes. There was great opposition by the federally recognized Tribes to this suggestion for two basic reasons: (1) Equal status was accorded to non-federally recognized Tribes in determining future national policies of Congress; and (2) The non-federally recognized members would be given priority access to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare with its huge funding capability for a broad spectrum of

programs. It was further argued that, with the Federal Government assuming responsibility for funding programs for the non-federally recognized Indians, there would be a further dilution of funding resources which had, in the past, been available for Indian programs on Indian Reservations.

Nevertheless, and despite these very real divisions, some serious thought must be given by the Indian leadership to the development of a dependable unified Indian voice. This could be accomplished through an organization representing all of the national Indian organizations • which now purport to speak for the Indian community, whether in general or specific areas. An organization of this sort could well play a vital role in the development of Indian Self-Determination. A suggested out

line for such an organization follows.

A National American Indian Council should be created as the parent national organization. It should contain five main divisions:

(1) A Tribal Government Council, to be represented by the National Tribal Chairmen's Association and its Board of Directors, and to include:

(a) A Tribal Services Corporation with contracting responsibilities; (b) A Trust Advisory Committee;

(c) Tribal Governments;

(d) Band Analysis

(e) A National Indian Resources Board;

(f) An Association of American Indian Traditional and Cultural Activities; and, possibly,

(g) Any other organization whose characteristics fit those designated for this category.

(2) A Tribal Judicial Council, to be governed by a Board of Directors elected by the relevant member organizations, and to include:

(a) The National American Indian Court Judges Association;

(b) The American Indian Law Center;

(c) The American Indian Lawyers Association;

(d) The Native American Rights Fund;

(e) The Institute for the Development of Indian Law;

(f) The National Indian Lawyer Training Program;

(g) The American Indian Law Students Association; and, possibly,

(h) Any other organizations which fit the characteristics designated for organizations of this category.

(3) A National Indian Political Council, to be represented by the National Congress of American Indians and its Board of Directors, and to include: (a) A National Indian Legislative Committee;

(b) Canadian-American Indian Relations;

(c) United Nations Relations; and, possibly,

(d) Other relevant organizations and interests.

(4) An Indian Service and Economic Council, to be governed by a Board of Directors elected by the member organizations, which would include:

(a) The National Indian Education Association;

(b) The National Coalition of Indian Controlled School Boards;

(c) The National Indian Health Board;

(d) The National Indian Safety Council;

(e) The National Indian Housing Directors Association;

(f) The American Indian Activities Association;

(g) The American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame;

(h) The American Indian Press Association;
(i) The Association of Indian Board of Regents;

(j) The National Indian Alcohol and Drug Abuse Committee;

(k) The National American Indian Livestock Association; and,

possibly,

(1) Other organizations which fit the characteristics designated
for this category.

(5) An Affiliated Indian Council, to be governed by a Board of Directors elected by the member organizations, which would include:

(a) The National Indian Youth Council;

(b) The Alaska Federation of Natives;

(c) A Coalition of Eastern Native Americans; and, possibly,

(d) Other organizations which fit into this particular category. Further admissions to the respective Councils and to the National Indian Council would be upon application and approval thereof after the initial organizational meeting of the National Indian Council.

The National Indian Council would be organized at an initial organizational meeting, at which time it would develop its corporate structure and elect its governing body. The governing body would consist of Directors elected by the five divisions and a President, Vice-President, and SecretaryTreasurer. Prior to this development it would be necessary for the Tribal Judicial Council, the Indian Service and Economic Council, and the Independent Indian Council to organize their own corporate structures and to elect their governing bodies. It would also be necessary for the National Congress of American Indians and the National Tribal Chairmen's Association to take any action required by their by-laws to establish themselves as

the National Indian Political Council and as the Tribal Government Council, respectively.