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V. THE NEED FOR FEDERAL LEGISLATION 



As the above discussion reflects, GLIFWC's activities bring together some of the 

 central themes of federal Indian policy - the preservation of historically and culturally 

 significant activities of Indian people, the fulfillment of federal promises made to the tribes 

 by treaty, the protection of significant Indian economic activity, the enhancement of self- 

 government by tribes, the encouragement of tribes working on a government to government 

 basis with states and the United States, and the promotion of educational opportunities for 

 Indian people. Despite the significance of these themes in the natural resources area, there 

 is no overall federal statutory mandate for the protection of tribal natural resources. This 

 means that, for the most part, the protection and management of tribal fish and wildlife 

 resources depends on the initiative of tribes and tribal organizations, and the vagaries of the 

 federal appropriations process. Tribal efforts to regulate their fish, wildlife and gathering 

 rights must be supported and strengthened through federal legislation. From GLIFWC's 

 experience, we would suggest that such legislation should address the following topics, among 

 others: 



1. Express federal recognition of tribal natural resource management authority. 



A point often not understood by the public is that tribal use of natural resources is 

 only part of the overall framework of tribal involvement with those natural resources. Tribes 

 also have the sovereign authority to regulate tribal members in the exercise of their treaty 

 rights, as well as the authority to manage the natural resources subject to tribal member 

 harvest Federal law should clearly acknowledge the primacy of tribal self-regulation of 

 treaty protected natural resources, both on and off the reservation. 



The tribal right to self regulation has been longstanding. For example, the Chippewa 

 wild rice Chief had a traditional role of determining when the wild rice is ready for harvest 

 and where tribal members may harvest it The wild rice Chiefs role has been preserved and 

 is part of modem-day tribal off-reservation conservation codes. In essence, tribes have 

 always been self-regulating in the context of natural resources. But today their ability to 

 preserve this role depends to a considerable degree on the willingness of the United States 

 to recognize and seek to further tribal efforts in this area. 



2. Full tribal participation in decisions affecting tribal natural resources. 



The federal responsibility must go beyond the recognition of the tribal right to self 

 regulate with respect to natural resources. The United States must in addition provide tribes 

 with the opportunity to participate fully with other governments on matters which have a 

 substantial impact on tribal natural resources. The United States must assure the Tribes of 

 full representation and voting status on a government-to-govemment basis on any board or 

 agency which is involved in decisions which affect tribal rights to natural resources. 



GUFWC Tolimony 

 Febnuiy 18, 1993 

 Pa|t7 



