North Dakota Legislature Asks Congress for Power to “Engage” with Indian Nations; Also to Fix “Failed” Reservation System

Here is the website for HCR 3017. The text:

A concurrent resolution urging Congress to modify the Indian reservation system by vesting the states with the ability to engage in relations with Native American tribes and with the responsibility of developing plans to improve the failed Indian reservation system, advance and elevate the quality of life on Indian reservations, promote and increase literacy on Indian reservations, and help Indian reservations to achieve economic stability and independence.

Document here: 17-3014-03000.

Strange for North Dakota to ask permission for what virtually every other state with Indian tribes inside their borders already does. The language on the “failed” reservation system seems like Orwellian-speak for “we can’t make the North Dakota tribes comply with our wishes so give us control over them.” Only a state that has failed in its relationship-building with Indian tribes would ask for this so-called power.