Qualifications for Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs

There may always be a disputed argument about what Tribal members are looking for in a Secretary for Bureau of Indian Affairs. There are how many hundreds of languages between us? It is no wonder then that we all have specific issues. We all have different ways of saying things, and that is why it is believeable that a culturally-based, land-based tribal member is more capable of understanding what all the needs of tribal members are.

A large-land-based tribal member will advocate for issues which will exceed the needs and expectations of a non-large-land-based tribal member. A non-land based tribal member will advocate (generally) far short of what land-based tribal members need and expect.

In a local language here in the Northwest, the word for "Sunday" for a particular tribe directly translates to the "day when the flag is flown on the staff." Our language comes from our culture, and we continue that relationship from living on the land. The less assimilated a leader is, the more willing the entire tribal population will be to accept them. It is extremely hard to lie when you speak a Tribal Language because our words are so specific for each language. That attribute is what is needed in a leader who will stand before the Federal Government as the Federal Government itself attempts (or fails) to fulfill the promises made to each of our ancestors so long ago.

The short and dirty list of what may be a starting point for selecting an Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs:

• from a large-land based tribe
• proven track record of actually taking action in advocacy for all tribes (if they have been derided in OST/BIA circles, then it's a sure bet they're in)
• Have experience or can clearly demonstrate a knowledge of the problems tribes have in the land areas of contracted trust services, (surveys, appraisals, wills, probate training)
• Can clearly demonstrate ethics characteristics which will aid in restoring the current lack of trust in the Office of Special Trustee
• Ability to address the needs of a budget which has clearly been lacking in actually providing trust responsibility services
• Is able to make a statement about what sovereignty really means, to which a majority of Indians who still practice it can agree
  
• Can take the hard stance on the part of Native Americans in restoring the land base, by signing the pending Land-Into Trust packets (including those which have been waiting for 20 years)
• Can work through a quagmire of Federal inefficiency and clear all pending probates which are several years old
• Will agree that all federal documents related to Tribes, are jointly owned by the Tribes and the Federal Government. The current policy regarding documents in the Interior makes no such stipulation. The Federal government may have legal title to those documents, but the Tribes have Beneficiary Title which must be honored. We have agreements in black and white, so let's all take a look at them. I believe that even President Barack Obama could agree to some more transparency from the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Office of Special Trustee.
  

You may not find this leader, at the top of any agency or at the top of any tribe, so the best of prayers goes out to those involved in the vetting process. We should all pray for them. It's a prayer for all of us. We all want a good and virtuous relationship. Nobody wakes up thinking "I wonder what we can argue about today." We should wake up looking forward to working with each other, for working toward a good relationship that will last beyond the memory of all the bad things that have happened in the last few generations.