The Honorable Joseph R. Biden President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Re: Request for Executive Order Affirming Nation-to-Nation Relations Dear President Biden:
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), respectfully request that you issue an Executive Order Affirming Nation-to-Nation Relations, Permanent Indian Country Homelands, Self Determination and Self-Government, and Pre- Empting Contrary State Law. In the wake of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s Supreme Court victory in McGirt , Oklahoma Governor Stitt initiated a litigation campaign seeking to extend state authority over cases involving Indians in Indian country. In Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta the Supreme Court’s majority opinion noted that absent federal preemption, “a State has jurisdiction over all of its territory, including Indian country.” In reaching its opinion, the Supreme Court ignored the mandate of the 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act, declined to apply the state enabling act, disregarded 200 years of treaties, statutes, and agreements, and cast doubt upon one of the most fundamental Indian law cases— Worcester v. Georgia (1832). The essence of the Castro Huerta decision is the Court failing to treat Indian reservations as self-governing tribal homelands, as promised by treaty, but instead is treating them as lands subject to state jurisdiction because they fall within state boundaries. In response to the Castro-Huerta decision, NCAI and IGA passed identical resolutions (e.g. NCAI Resolution #SAC-22-008, Calling on the President to Issue an Executive Order Affirming the United States of America’s Commitment to Treaties, Indian Sovereignty, Self-Determination, Self- Government, and Territorial Integrity ) The United States Constitution has vested the President with partial authority to manage the government-to-government relationship with Tribal Nations, the NCAI and IGA resolutions then call for the President of the United States to issue an Executive Order affirming Tribal Nation sovereignty, and rights to self-determination, self-government, and territorial integrity. Decisions like Castro-Huerta seek to undermine tribal sovereignty and usurps Congress’s and the President’s authority over Indian affairs in the most effectively destructive way. We welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further and look forward to your reply. Sincerely,
Chairman Ernest L. Stevens, Jr. Indian Gaming Association
President Mark Macarro
National Congress of American Indians
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs