Native Americans

             The federal government has a special responsibility, ethical and legal, to make the American dream accessible to Native Americans.  Unfortunately, the resources that the United States holds in trust for them, financial and otherwise, have been misused and abused.  While many tribes have become energetic participants in the mainstream of American life, the serious social ills afflicting some reservations have been worsened by decades of mismanagement from Washington.  In its place, we offer these guiding principles:

• Tribal governments are best situated to gauge the needs of their communities and members.
  

• Political self-determination and economic self-sufficiency are twin pillars of an effective Indian policy.
  

• Private sector initiatives, rather than public assistance, can best improve material conditions in Indian communities.
  

• High taxes and unreasonable regulations stifle new and expanded businesses and thwart the creation of job opportunities and prosperity.

             We will strengthen Native American self-determination by respecting tribal sovereignty, encouraging economic development on reservations, and working with them to reorganize the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service.  We uphold the unique government-to-government relationship between the tribes and the United States and honor our nation’s trust obligations to them.

            We support efforts to ensure equitable participation in federal programs by Native Americans, Native Alaskans, and Native Hawaiians and to preserve their cultures and languages.

We honor the sovereignty of American Indians and reaffirm our commitment to respectful and meaningful government-to-government relations. We must renew the trust obligations that this Administration has disregarded, and must improve the education, health, and job opportunities for American Indians who too often face terrible poverty.

American Indian Rights