Arizona Water Settlements Act | White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights | Native American Public Safety and Health | Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act | Fort McDowell Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Revision Act of 2006 | Indian Arts and Crafts Act | Native American Programs
The enactment of the Arizona Water Settlements Act capped 15 years of hard work by dozens of parties in Arizona that worked together to resolve amicably a long list of disputes. This bill, which I sponsored and which became law in December of 2004, settles the water-rights claims of the Gila River Indian Community and the Tohono O’odham Nation.
“It didn’t come easy. Years of
negotiation turned into decades. There were so many pieces that
had to mesh that frustration levels ebbed and flowed. Through
it all, the interests stayed at the table to work out a fair
and just settlement of Native American claims, and no one was
more integral to the final package than Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl.”
Editorial, the Arizona Republic, November 21, 2004
The legislation provides significant funding to enable both tribes to build water infrastructure to meet the needs of their reservations. In fact, all tribes in Arizona that can utilize Central Arizona Project water will benefit from the new law, since it creates a fund to pay the yearly operation and maintenance costs for the water delivered to tribes through 2045. The law also sets aside more than $250 million to settle tribal water-rights claims in the future.
The Act enables Indian tribes to use water rights that thus far have existed only on paper. In addition, it brings long-sought certainty to cities and communities as they plan their growth and development. The law also resolves a long-standing dispute between the state of Arizona and the federal government over nearly $2 billion in repayments for construction of the Central Arizona Project. Consequently, all of the people of Arizona will benefit from the legislation.
The settlement marks a milestone in Arizona’s history and could ultimately prove as important to the state’s future as the authorization of the Central Arizona Project itself.
Last year, I introduced the White Mountain Apache Tribe Rural Water System Loan Authorization Act. The bill, which became law in October 2008, authorizes a federal loan to the White Mountain Apache Tribe for the planning, engineering, and design of the Miner Flat Project – a vital drinking water project on the tribe’s reservation.
The White Mountain Apache Tribe derives the bulk of its drinking water supply from a small well field in eastern Arizona, but well production has decreased significantly in recent years, resulting in drinking water shortages on the reservation. To solve the immediate problem and ensure adequate drinking water supplies for a growing population over the long-term, the Tribe has proposed building a new dam and reservoir, a project known as Miner Flat.
The loan authorized by the 2008 legislation will help expedite planning and design of the Miner Flat project and ultimately reduce its construction costs. In so doing, it will also reduce the cost of a comprehensive settlement of the tribe’s water rights claims. I introduced legislation this year to ratify such a settlement. The bill, the White Mountain Apache Tribe Water Rights Quantification Act of 2009, is the product of nearly three years of negotiation and hard work by the settlement parties.
Based on the U.S. Constitution, treaties with Indian tribes, and federal statutes, the United States has assumed a trust responsibility for the provision of public safety and health care to Indian people. The Native American population, however, is facing a public safety and health crisis due, in large part, to insufficient federal funding.
Recognizing this fact, in July 2008, I authored a measure with Senator John Thune that authorized (1) $750 million for law enforcement in Indian Country, (2) $250 million for Indian health care, including contract health services, Indian health facilities, and domestic and community sanitation facilities, and (3) $1 billion for water supply projects that are part of Indian water settlements approved by Congress. Congress adopted the measure as an amendment to a foreign aid bill, known as the PEPFAR reauthorization bill, which later became law on July 30, 2008.
Legislation I introduced to settle the Zuni Tribe’s claims to water on its religious lands in northeastern Arizona became law in June of 2003. The settlement honors the Zunis’ religious beliefs, resolves its long-standing claims, and protects rural communities’ access to water. By resolving this decades-long dispute, the law saves all parties – including the tribe and the state of Arizona – the expense of a protracted legal battle.
The law settles competing water-rights claims by small, non-Indian communities, and the Zuni Indian Tribe with respect to “the Zuni Heaven Reservation” created by Congress in 1984. Since the late 19th century, communities upstream from the Reservation had fully appropriated all the water available, leading to conflicting claims.
To avoid litigation, all of the parties involved – including the federal government and the state of Arizona – sought a legislative settlement that provided the Zuni Tribe with the financial resources to acquire water rights in the Little Colorado River basin and restore the riparian environment that existed previously on the Zuni Reservation. In return, the Zuni agreed to waive future claims to water rights, accept current water uses by non-Indians, and recognize many future water uses by local water users and communities.
A total of $26.5 million is being used to settle claims, implement the agreement, and restore Zuni Reservation land. The bulk of that money – $19.25 million – comes from the federal government.
I sponsored legislation with Senator McCain in 2006 that forgave a federal long-term, no-interest loan made to the Ft. McDowell Yavapai Nation. In return, the U.S. government was relieved of the obligation to conduct environmental mitigation on the Nation’s reservation, as otherwise required by the Fort McDowell Indian Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990.
The settlement revision act, which was signed into law in November 2006, brings to a close the
final stages of implementation of the tribe’s important water settlement. It also shows how the federal government and Native American tribes can work together to reach a solution that benefits both parties.
In 1990, while serving in the House of Representatives, then-Congressman Ben Nighthorse Campbell and I sponsored the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. The Act prohibits misrepresentation in the marketing of Indian arts and crafts within the United States. It is a truth-in-advertising law that provides criminal and civil penalties for marketing products as “Indian-made” when such products are not, in fact, made by Indians, as defined by the Act. The law is intended both to protect unsuspecting buyers from fraudulent works, as well as Indian artisans, craftspeople, and tribes.
The kinds of products that are copied by non-Indians vary from region to region, but some of the copies of traditional items include Indian-style jewelry, pottery, baskets, carved stone fetishes, woven rugs, kachina dolls, and clothing. Misrepresentation of products can result in civil penalties or criminal penalties of up to a $250,000 fine or a five-year prison term, or both. If a business violates the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, it can face civil penalties or be prosecuted and fined up to $1 million. The Indian Arts and Crafts Board at the U.S. Department of the Interior has primary enforcement authority.
Late last year, the Senate approved a bill I coauthored with Senator McCain that would strengthen the investigative and enforcement authorities of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990. The legislation would expand the investigative authority under the original act by allowing other federal law enforcement entities, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Law Enforcement, and the FBI, to investigate cases of misrepresentation and work with Department of Justice attorneys to prosecute the cases. Congress adjourned before the House of Representatives could take action on the bill. Consequently, I have joined Senator McCain in reintroducing the legislation this year.
Protecting Yourself from Unscrupulous Marketers
To avoid purchasing misrepresented Indian arts and crafts, consumers should buy from a reputable dealer and ask the dealer for written verification that the item is an authentic Indian art or craftwork. Legitimate dealers are aware that, in light of the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, they should have such documentation available.
If you purchase an art or craft product represented as Indian-made, and find that it is not, take the following steps:
First, contact the dealer and request a refund. If the dealer does not comply, handle this as you would a consumer-fraud complaint by contacting your local Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, and local District Attorney’s office.
Second, file a complaint with the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, a separate agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior created to implement and enforce the Act. A letter of complaint should include the following information: who sold the item to you (include the name, address, and telephone number of the seller); a description of the art or craftwork; how the item was offered for sale (include as much detail as possible); and what representations were made about the item (include claims that it was made by a member of a specific tribe, or statements about its authenticity). Please include copies of any other documentation, such as advertisements, catalogues, business cards, photos, or brochures. Do not send the arts and crafts products themselves.
You can contact the board at:
Indian Arts and Crafts Board
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW, MS-2058-MIB
Washington, D.C. 20240
E-mail: iacb@ios.doi.gov
Telephone: (202) 208-3773
Toll Free: (888) ART-FAKE
Fax: (202) 208-5196
For information about the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, click here or visit the Consumer Protection Center of my web site.
In recognition of the federal government’s trust responsibility to Native Americans, I helped to secure federal funding for projects that Indian tribes in Arizona considered critical for improving their quality of life in the areas of health care, education, water, and environmental management, including the following:
For Fiscal Year 2008:
• $94,000 for the San Carlos Apache Tribe Methamphetamine Enforcement and Clean-Up Initiative;
• $94,000 for the San Carlos Apache Tribe for a law enforcement technology grant; and
• $197,000 for the San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District to design and construct various projects in connection with the Gila River Indian Water Settlement.
For Fiscal Year 2006:
• $5,444,000 to complete the implementation of the Zuni Water Settlement;
• $3,878,000 for a health center in Kayenta;
• $6,139,000 for an Indian health center on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation;
• $8 million for the Indian Medical Center in Phoenix; and
• Nearly $2 billion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to support Tribally Controlled Community Colleges, other education grants, and law enforcement.
For Fiscal Year 2005:
• $1 million for planning and design of the San Carlos and Kayenta health-care clinics;
• $4 million for design of the southeast and southwest clinics of the Phoenix Indian Medical Center;
• $19.4 million for the Red Mesa Health Center; and
• $14 million for the Zuni Tribe Water Rights Development Fund to be used consistent with the underlying authorizing legislation.
The FY2005 spending legislation also included a provision I authored to include Tohono O’odham Community College among those tribal colleges that may obtain federal funds under the Tribally Controlled Colleges Act – an important benchmark for the college as it arrives on the tribal higher education scene.
