February 22, 2021: By Dorothy Alther, CILS Executive Director

The federal government defines a “tribe” as “a designated group with whom the federal government has established some kind of political relationship or recognition.” Federal recognition entitles tribes to federal benefits, services, provides governmental immunity from unconsented lawsuits, to establish and be governed by their own laws, and to come within federal statutes that protect tribal resources. How and why countless tribes in California are “unrecognized” is beyond the scope of this paper but is a topic for a later date.

There are two paths to federal recognition: filing a petition with the Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA) or seeking congressional recognition through legislation, both paths are time-consuming and expensive.

The OFA is housed within the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the petitioning process and recognition criteria is set forth under federal regulations found at 25 C.F.R. Part 83, recently amended in 2015. There are seven criteria that an unrecognized tribe must meet to have a successful petition:

The Bishop office has been working with the Mono Lake Tribe on challenging a proposed housing development in Lee Vining, CA. The Tribe is concerned with the destruction of traditional trails and areas where Cry Day ceremonies were held as late as 1988. The case involves AB 52 consultation and CEQA. The Final EIR has been approved, and we are currently awaiting the project's approval by the County Board of Supervisors.

The Escondido office worked with a Tribe to support the parents of two infants who had a history of drug problems and domestic violence that brought them under state dependency court jurisdiction. With the help of the Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Services and the Tribe, parents took full advantage of the services and resources offered to them, achieved sobriety, secured stable housing, and successfully reunified with their children. State dependency cases are meant to last up to twelve months but parents’ unstable housing situation and the pandemic extended the time under court jurisdiction. In fact, at one point the parties were prepared to close the case but the mother asked that it remain open a little while longer as she believed she benefited from DCFS and Tribal support. The Tribe believed this request showed remarkable maturity and self-awareness. All concerned were extremely pleased with the outcome.

U.S. v. Cooley Amicus Brief

The Supreme Court accepted cert. in the U.S. v. Cooley case out of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. At issue is the inherent authority of tribal law enforcement officers over non-Indians stopped on a ROW within the boundaries of the reservation who are suspected of committing a tribal, state, or federal crime. CILS, in partnership with the private law firm Jenner & Block LLP, filed an amicus brief on behalf of the California Tribal Chief of Police Association on January 15, 2021, and oral argument is scheduled for March 23, 2021.

House of Representative Jay Obernolte (Rep. Dist. 8) is the successor to Rep. Cook, who had introduced the Tribe’s Recognition Bill. We are working with Obernotle’s new staff to get the bill reintroduced.

CILS is also trying to get a Democratic Representative to co-sponsor the bill. The Mono Lake Indian Community was featured on the LA Times’ front page last week, and we hope that the attention will motivate CA congressional representatives to support the bill.