Inside Indian Politics - Raymond Two Hawks Watson

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Raymond Two Hawks Watson, MINDSETTER™

 

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Raymond Two Hawks Watson PHOTO

Indian politics . . .  as usual. I try to keep my commentary focused on positive aspects of my community’s culture, history, and traditions, primarily because I firmly believe that is what is most needed. However, there are certain times, like the present occasion, where I feel compelled to address the proverbial elephant in the room.

 

Two bills related to recognition of Indian tribes were recently introduced into the General Assembly. House Bill 5020  establishes a procedure for Native American tribes to petition the state for recognition. House Bill 5021  would recognize the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe as a Native American Indian tribe. Both bills were introduced by Representative Vella-Wilkinson. and in line with Rhode Island Indian politics, both bills were opposed by the Narragansett Indian Tribe.

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In an undated press release posted on the tribal website the Narragansett Indian Tribe expresses concern that state recognition “should not occur without a thoroughly documented petition by the tribe, or group, that is reviewed by the State of Rhode Island acknowledging that there is adequate historical, anthropological, and genealogical evidence to grant recognition.” The press release further states “Merely having tribal members living in Rhode Island does not meet this test.” citing the presence of Indians in Rhode Island who are from tribes that are not indigenous to Rhode Island as proof positive of the concern.

 

The press release cites the extensive process that the Narragansett Indian Tribe endured to achieve federal acknowledgment and recognition by the United States as an Indian Nation and reiterates that the Narragansett Indian Tribe is the only federally recognized and acknowledged Indian tribe in the State of Rhode Island. The press release further determines that House Bill 5020 more closely mirrors the federal process but that House Bill 5021 falls short of the process used by the Federal government. The press release concludes with quotes from Narragansett Indian Tribe Chief Sachem Anthony Dean Stanton questioning the State’s motive in recognizing a single tribe by legislation while simultaneously considering a bill to establish a recognition process and asserting that Rhode Island has never acknowledged the Narragansett Tribe and has historically opposed the Tribe’s exercise of government powers.

 

For my part, I fully support the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe’s efforts to formalize a relationship with the State of Rhode Island. It is common knowledge among New England Indians that the Seaconke Wampanoag are the lineage of the warriors that fought alongside Pokanoket War Captain Anawon during the King Philips War and who were present when Anawon was forced to surrender to Captain Benjamin Church at Anawon’s Rock in present day Rehoboth, Massachusetts on August 28, 1676. The Seaconke Wampanoag family lines are well documented, and the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe is fully acknowledged and respected as an Indian Tribe by the regional tribal community.

 

I have personally attended, drummed, and danced at the Seaconke Wampanoag powwow on a number of occasions, Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe member Kali Reis is a champion boxer and actor, and Seaconke Wampaonag Tribe Chief Darrel Waldron has provided services to the regional American Indian community for several years in his capacity as Director of the Rhode Island Indian Council (https://turnto10.com/news/local/rhode-island-indian-council-says-community-lacks-visibility-indigenous-people). In short, there is no legitimate basis for questioning whether the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe is an Indian Tribe with substantiated historical and contemporary ties to Rhode Island. If the Seaconke Wampanog Tribe so chooses, the Tribe deserves to be formally recognized by the State of Rhode Island.


For my part, and with all due respect to the Tribe, I disagree with many of the concerns alleged in the Narragansett Indian Tribe’s press release. First, I object to the assertion that the State of Rhode Island is mandated to implement a process mirroring the Federal process when state recognizing an Indian Tribe. A fundamental concept of constitutional law is that the Federal government and the States are separate sovereigns, and that States are not necessarily subject to the policies of the Federal government. Accordingly, as there is no specific mandate that States adopt a process mirroring the Federal process when state recognizing an Indian Tribe, it is improper to assert that the State of Rhode Island is so mandated. This in turn negates the assertion that the State of Rhode Island is prohibited or handicapped from exercising its legislative authority to recognize an Indian Tribe.

 

I am not alone in my assessment. The National Congress of State Legislatures states “State recognized tribes are tribes recognized by individual states, usually through the state legislature or by a state commission or similar organization. Some state-recognized tribes are also federally recognized . . . The main reason tribes petition for state recognition is to have their existence acknowledged and to continue a government-to-government relationship with the state.” (https://www.ncsl.org/quad-caucus/state-tribal-institute-most-frequently-asked-questions).

 

What is clear is that States have autonomy and authority to state recognize Indian Tribes through legislative act, state recognition by legislative act will not infringe upon the rights of a federally recognized Indian Nation, and fundamental purposes of state recognition is to acknowledge the existence of an Indian Tribe and continue a government-to-government relationship with the state. What is not clear is the grounds for asserting that because the Narragansett Indian Tribe was forced to endure the indignity of the federal recognition process to establish a relationship with the United States, every other Tribe with ties to Rhode Island must endure a similarly demeaning process to formalize a relationship with the State of Rhode Island.

 

Second, I object to the assertion that the Narragansett Tribe has never been recognized by the State of Rhode Island. To the contrary, the Narragansett Tribe was recognized by Act of the General Assembly in 1936 through P.L. 1936, ch. 2331 of the Rhode Island General Laws which established Indian Day in the State of Rhode Island in recognition of the several Indian Tribes of Rhode Island, which include the Narragansett, Wampanoag, Nipmuc, Aquedneck and Niantic. The press release should properly state that the Narragansett Indian Tribe has never been recognized by the State of Rhode Island, which is primarily because the Narragansett Indian Tribe was not incorporated until the Rhode Island Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1978. That point aside, it is inaccurate to assert that the State of Rhode Island has never recognized the Narragansett Tribe, and the record should be clarified in this regard.

 

One space I do find grounds for agreement is in questioning the wisdom of the State recognizing only one Tribe by legislative act. This seems like an inherently divisive decision that fails to address the fundamental issue of the State’s need to formalize relationships with the several Indian Tribes of Rhode Island. My personal preference is that the State simply reestablish—by Act—the Rhode Island Commission for Indian Affairs, or some version of it. The Commission was established in 1976 by Executive Order No. 39, existed contemporaneously with the federally recognized Narragansett Indian Tribe, and was not abolished until 1995 by Executive Order No. 95-8. In my humble opinion, re-establishment of a commission seems like a more efficient and less contentious means of addressing the matter; several neighboring states have established commissions, and I would urge the State to do further research in this regard.

 

I’ll share more remarks from the National Congress of State Legislatures to support my perspective. They state, “Many tribes and states are discovering ways to set aside jurisdictional debate in favor of cooperative government-to-government relationships that respect the autonomy of both governments. It is now common for tribes and states to work together to build new structures for communication and cooperation. This collaboration does not mean that either a state or a tribe is giving away jurisdiction or sovereignty.” (https://www.ncsl.org/quad-caucus/state-tribal-collaboration). The National Congress of State Legislatures further states “As Indian tribes improve governmental capacity and more frequent exercise their powers of self-government, tribal and state governments are increasingly finding areas of mutual interest and discovering ways to set aside jurisdictional rivalry in favor of cooperative government-to-government interactions.” 

 

Keywords such as “autonomy” and “self-government” necessarily infer that the State’s relationship with each of the several Indian tribes is specific and individual, and that no Indian Tribe is inherently subject to a relationship established between another Indian Tribe and the State or the United States.

 

In closing, the State of Rhode Island can and should formalize mutually respectful government-to-government relationships with the Indian Tribes it shares historic and contemporary relationships with. Further, the State need not and should not repeat or reinforce divisive practices when establishing such relationships with the Indian Tribes.


Contrary to what some would have you believe; the past does not have to govern the future and the State of Rhode Island need not defer to Indian politics as usual when engaging this very important topic.


My three cents.

 

Raymond Two Hawks Watson, J.D., M.C.P.

Raymond Two Hawks Watson is a civil rights leader in Rhode Island. He has an accomplished career in business. He is the founder of the Providence Cultural Equity Initiative. Watson holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Union College in NY, a Master's Degree in Community Planning from the University of Rhode Island, and a graduate of the Roger Williams University School of Law. Watson is also the recipient of the Rhode Island Foundation’s 2016 Innovation Fellowship.


 

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