Obama Administration Grabs Nation’s Natural Resources and Land through Indian Tribes

Obama Administration Grabs Nation’s Natural Resources and Land through Indian Tribes





The Obama Administration has moved to consolidate power over Indian tribes within the White House while aggressively grabbing land and pursuing energy development on reservations for the purposes of alleviating the suffering of the perpetually poor Indians and helping them achieve the elusive economic parity. Meanwhile, taxpayer dollars are shoveled out the door and more of the nation’s oil rich land and tax base is ushered into Indian Country, allowing energy companies and the industrialists free reign to exploit these resources at a decided tax advantage in private, controlled markets.


Earlier this year, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order to establish a White House Council of Native American Affairs, which tribal leaders “have some problem with” since “tribal representatives have not been invited to have a seat on the Council,” Indian Country Today reported.

Ironically while promising to strength tribal sovereignty – that is, the right of Indian tribes to pursue economic self-determination on their own accord, without having their decisions dictated by Washington, DC — the Council will coordinate policy for the tribes at the highest levels, with Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett assuming front and center at talks.

Others present at the first Council meeting include Domestic Policy Director Cecilia Muñoz, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell, an oil engineer and banker, presides over the Council as Chair and convened the first meeting in July. However, as Indian Country Today reported, the meeting was “closed to the public and press.”

The Executive Order establishes the right of “tribal governments to determine how to build and sustain their own communities” and “foster tribal self-determination” but, and here’s the catch: they must do it through consultation and coordination with the White House and federal agencies. The nascent Council will work through a Domestic Policy Council “across executive departments, agencies, and offices to coordinate development of policy recommendations to support tribal self-government” with a senior level official on hand to perform these functions.
So much for tribal self-determination.

That a great land/oil grab is taking place on Obama’s watch should not come as a surprise given that he appointed a former petroleum engineer for Rainier Bank, Mobil employee, and commercial banker for Washington Mutual as Secretary of Interior. As many tribal members have observed, Jewell is carrying water for the bankers and oil companies throughout Indian Country while giving Natives short shrift.
She has also been a strong proponent of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and overseas energy production on federal land which is overseen by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management.

By some estimates, federally recognized Indian tribes, which Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller established on land rich in oil and minerals, can use fracking to extract hundreds of billions of dollars worth of oil that remains dormant underground.
As Jewell once said, “I’ve fracked wells before…Fracking has been an important tool in the toolbox for oil and gas for over 50 years. And some of the new techniques that are being used actually reduce the amount of foot print on the surface acreage in order to recover oil and gas from a much larger area, so this is an important tool. But it has to be done safely and responsibly. (The Bureau of Land Management) is working on regulations…We have a number of opportunities to continue to develop oil and gas on BLM lands, and we will continue to see that happen.”

This week Jewell launched the 2013 White House Tribal Nations Conference that brought together leaders from the 566 federally recognized Indian tribes to extend the Administration’s control, or “consultation,” with tribal nations on a variety of initiatives, including energy development

To this end, the Administration plans to place more than 500,000 acres of land into trust, essentially removing this territory as a tax base and allowing the industrialists, oil companies, and their associates to drill, mine for minerals, shore up lucrative water rights, and build tax-advantaged businesses, many of which will be established through federal grants, so that the perpetually poor Indians can pursue economic development.

While Indians will undoubtedly receive a modest return for the investment, the spoils will likely be rewarded to the Administration’s corporate cronies who control the tribes through the Tribal Councils.

“Restoring land to tribes is not only important to achieve self-determination, but it can also be a spark for economic development in Indian Country – generating investment, new jobs, and revenues,” Jewell said. “Placing more than 500,000 acres of land in trust over the next three years is unprecedented in modern times, and I’m committed to making it happen.”
The Administration has also endeavored to help ensure that once Indian tribes acquire this land, they (and, by extension, the nation’s industrialists) will be able to hold onto it in perpetuity, essentially allowing the industrial elite to claim it as their own without having to worry about future litigation.

Earlier this month Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn issued a “final rule,” ensuring that the land taken into trust cannot be contested. Essentially the final rule extends the 60-day public comment section for those wishing to contest the land in question. “For such acquisitions, the rule will create a ‘speak now or forever hold your peace moment’ in the land-into-trust process,” Washburn said. “If parties do not appeal the decision within the administrative appeal period, tribes will have the certainty and peace of mind to begin development without fear that the decision will be later overturned.”

Often times, appeals and public comments are ignored, especially when the tribes in question are bankrolled by well heeled special interests and/or represented by powerful lobbyists. In the case of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians (or Gun Lake Tribe), for example, the city of Detroit contested the illegitimacy of this tribe on historic grounds, documenting in public comments that during its federal recognition process, Gun Lake had frequently changed tribal affiliation, did not trace to the historic tribe in question, and amounted to little more than a “social group.”

The tribe was federally recognized despite these glaring issues that normally would have resulted in a denial.

The Obama Administration is further seeking a fix for Salazar v. Carcieri, a U.S. Supreme Court decision that determined that tribes established after the first enrollment period following the creation of the Indian Reorganization Act in the 1930s cannot take land into trust, the first step required for tribes to establish a casino and pursue other forms of economic development.
With the passage of the IRA, Indians were invited to form federally recognized Indian tribes and prove their lineage before they could become tribal members. Since the open enrollment period, illegitimate Indian tribes bursting at the seams with fictitious Indians have cropped up all over the United States seeking to cash in on the bounty available in Indian Country. Established tribes have resented these newcomers, who are competing for scarce resources and moving into markets they forged for their own businesses.

However, casinos and other businesses have proved to be a great boon for the industrialists and have helped capitalize their enterprises, as reflected in the numerous bank accounts tribal members have uncovered between the tribal leaders and private corporations, with tribal profits being redirected into private equity funds and providing capital the mergers and acquisitions departments of the major investment banks.


source:-
http://susanbradfordpress.wordpress.com/2013/11/14/obama-signs-executive-order-to-shore-up-control-of-industrialists-and-elite-bankers-within-indian-country-at-the-white-house/