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Given the limited attention the federal government pays to all tribal issues, frustrations can and do develop among the tribes, although you have to scratch beneath the polite, polished surface of the public positions of many tribal leaders, who prefer to present a unified front for tactical purposes. Tex G. Hall, the chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, explains his rationale for the tribal-unity approach: “We don’t always run things [in American society]. But one of the things in our control is our ability to lead and forge a common voice from within our own nations. That is a hallmark of leadership and one of the basic responsibilities that comes with elected office such as my own.”
The paucity of federal attention to Indian issues is an ongoing concern. “Unfortunately, Indians seem to have always had a problem getting heard on Capitol Hill,” Hall says. “The sad reality is that very few legislators, and certainly not Congress as a whole, have really ever paid attention to the bigger picture. It would be great if we actually had the luxury of being able to pick and choose the battles that we could win. But we really don’t have a sense that we are going to win on any single issue or at any particular time.”
So what’s a tribal leader have to do to get his or her concerns addressed? Forming a coalition has been the preferred answer. There’s the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), which bills itself as “the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization”; the National Indian Health Board (NIHB), which advocates for improved Indian health; United Southern and Eastern Tribes, Inc. (USET); the National Indian Gaming Association, for casino tribes; and many others. Some of these coalitions have had major successes, such as when NCAI, NIHB and others lobbied for reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act last year. At the same time, some tribes have been loath to join this or that coalition because of perceived slights, historical tensions and/or a firm commitment to the principle of tribal sovereignty.
Derek Bailey, the chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, says he finds the various coalitions useful for educating legislators on issues that will affect Indian country on both the micro and macro levels: “Coalition-building amongst tribes, be it regional or for a more defined purpose, definitely assists in promoting any particular agenda,” he says. At the same time, he notes that tribes have historically held differing opinions “and there is a time and place for that, but on larger issues, Indian country’s collective voice is incredibly strong. We have to continue to exercise that voice, be it as a single sovereign nation or as a collective body of sovereign tribal governments.”
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