Professor Ray Cross, a nationally known and respected Mandan-Hidatsa attorney, who won a land claim for his tribe, and three Supreme Court Decisions, says in an article on water compacts, "The Crow Water Compact was recently approved by a state special legislative session and it represents a not so good outcome. Both the tribe and state are over-reaching to some extent by subordinating individual allotted reserved water rights. The compact is for 500,000 acre feet for a variety of uses, but it fails to recognize the heavily allotted nature of the Crow Reservation. Most of the tribal water rights have been fragmented into individual allotted water rights [1887 Indian Allotment Act] but the tribal water right describes only the tribally owned water rights, not the allotted water rights. The compact further subordinates the allotted water rights to existing and future potential state water uses. I think that when the compact comes before Congress there will be hard questions about whether it conflicts with the trusteeship duty [of Congress and the President] to the Crow allotted landowners."
Subordination means the Blackfeet water compact places individual reserved allotted trust lands and water rights to an "inferior position" a "lower class" or "rank" occupying a lower position on a recognized scale [Blackfeet Water Compact]. The 1896 Agreement created the boundaries of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation by an Act of Congress, and Article Five exempted the Blackfeet Tribe from the 1887 Indian Allotment Act except by an internal allotment system described in Article Five which allows Blackfeet cattle ranchers a "special treaty right" to graze their cattle herds on tribal grazing lands, timber reserves, and to use the waters in tribal reservoirs for the success of the Blackfeet cattle industry. The ranchers built a cattle industry by 1893 with 500 Blackfeet cattle ranchers, 25,000 cattle, selling hay and beef to the agency, shipping steers to Chicago Stockyards, and living very well on their cattle ranches. It is the only time in Blackfeet history the Indians were self-reliant and successful ranchers. Look at us now-poor and ignored welfare cases. The Blackfeet Reservation was divided into 3,600 individual allotments covering 1,440,000 acres owned by original allottees who were robbed of their hay lands and water courses by the "Forced Fee Patents Cases on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation." Glacier & Pondera County Government officials and Indian agents did a massive land fraud in 1919-1922 when hundreds of Blackfeet trust land allotments were transferred to white ownership in state courts. All illegal of course but left unresolved for a century and soon to be extinguished by the Blackfeet Water Compact if the voters approve it in a tribal referendum required by Congress for final approval. At this point the compact is signed, sealed & delivered to Congress by the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council without any consultation with the tribal members who are now asked to vote blind on a document that will end our treaty rights forever!
I have sent a message to President Obama outlining the rights and laws that protect allotted lands and water rights from border-whites and state law, but we got back-shot by the council who is on the side of the white man against the interests of the Blackfeet allotted landowners by selling reserved water rights owned by the Blackfeet original allottees for a cash payment to the council which will do no good for the people whatsoever!. It is against the law! The "Ancient Indian Land Claims Settlement Act of 1982" disallows any settlement of Indian claims unless; "There is evidence that no fraud or imposition had been practiced upon the Indians from whom the deed was originally purchased" and "The Secretary of the Interior cannot retroactively approve Indian land transfers obtained by fraud." Please help me to stop the compact as it extinguishes our allotted land claims and gives our water rights to the white thieves living in Glacier & Pondera Counties on stolen Blackfeet land allotments. Do we want to approve the compact for white-rule and white landowners operating on void Patent-in-Fee lands in an underground economy draining $850,000,000 profits annually on stolen Blackfeet allotted lands? Shakespeare said, "The evil that men do lives after them." but in our tribal council treachery lives forever! Send a protest to-THEWHITEHOUSE.GOV. TO PRESIDENT OBAMA!!
Bob Juneau Sr. owner of trust lands and reserved water rights on the Blackfeet Reservation
No comments:
Post a Comment