An important date on tribal calendars
POINT OF VIEW | ANNIVERSARY OF SELF-DETERMINATION ACT
Each year as Americans, we celebrate the July 4, 1776, adoption of the Declaration of Independence. It’s a day to honor an enduring symbol of our nation’s freedom from British rule.
Nearly 200 years later, a pivotal and in many ways parallel document was signed into law. It declared the independence of tribal governments from federal control, reversing the U.S. government’s longheld Indian policy of forced dependence. It is the Indian Self-determination Act of 1975 that we commemorate on Jan. 4.
In 1970, President Richard Nixon set forth a new direction for Indian policy, one that flatly rejected the idea that tribal governments should be forcibly terminated. In his July 8 special message to Congress, he pointed to “the centuries of injustice” American Indians had endured, including being denied control of our own destiny.
Nixon noted the strong moral and legal obligations the federal government holds toward Indian peoples based on history. He was also a practical man: He saw that the U.S. government’s ability to manage Indian affairs had failed consistently and miserably.
The result of the 1970 address began the “historic step forward in Indian policy” that Nixon envisioned. Five years later, Congress passed the legislation. It followed more than a decade of change influenced by American Indian activism, the civil rights movement and grassroots political groups.
In the 37 years since that signing, tribal governments have dramatically regained strength — politically, economically and culturally. We firmly advocate self-sufficiency as a tenet of independence, having shifted significant responsibility for the health and welfare of our citizens away from federal and state budgets. This is of great value to all Americans.
Like many tribal governments today, the Chickasaw Nation is a highly diversified economic force, creating jobs by the thousands for all Americans, not just native citizens. Headquartered in Ada, we operate 16 divisions and employ over 11,000. One robust industry, hospitality/ tourism, represents a return to our roots east of the Mississippi River, where Chickasaws operated dozens of prosperous inns and ferries along the busy Natchez Trace (first known as the Chickasaw Trace) until our forced removal to Indian Territory in 1837.
We are also patriots who take great pride in being citizens of the United States, having served as soldiers since George Washington was in office. Prior to that, Chickasaw warriors played a major role in protecting British colonists in South Carolina and Georgia, and the trading paths they shared.
The pivotal change American Indians celebrate today occurred without the benefit of much media attention. Perhaps broad public awareness was lost in the tide of events following Nixon’s departure from office. But he stood up for the people he called “the first Americans.” So, we salute Richard Nixon — called by many “the Native American’s Lincoln” — and his wisdom. We will also remember his birthday on Jan. 9, along with his high ideals for America’s relationship with its native peoples.
POSSIBLE RUNNING MATE FOR MITT ROMNEY?