Republican congressional proposals to sell off huge swaths of public land for housing could threaten tribal nations’ constitutional and treaty rights to access hunting and fishing grounds, as well as their cultural and ceremonial sites, experts say.
The latest proposed text, obtained by E&E News, from the Senate Committee on Natural and Energy Resources would allow the sale of Bureau of Land Management lands within 5 miles of a “population center.” A previous version included Forest Service lands, and federal lands within reservation boundaries. The legislation would also conflict with current procedures that allow tribes to obtain nearby public lands at no or low cost, instead requiring that such lands be purchased at “fair market value.”
“This is a frontal assault on tribal treaty rights and the exercise of those,” said Cris Stainbrook, Oglala Lakota and CEO of Indian Land Capital Company, which assists tribal nations in regaining land.
The proposed legislation — which has not yet passed out of committee — repeatedly puts states and local governments ahead of tribal nations. For example, the bill gives state and local governments the “right of first refusal” when land is put up for sale but denies tribes that same right. The bill would also prioritize land nominated for sale by states and local governments but not land that is nominated by tribes. While the legislation does include a requirement to consult with tribes as well as with states or local governments affected by land sales, it’s not clear how such proposals would be weighed should they conflict with one another. The state of Montana and federally protected lands are exempt, though tribal nations do not appear to have been consulted on the legislation.