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We are a sovereign people. We define sovereignty as our inherent and supreme power to make our own decisions that effect our social, cultural, political, and economic governance. Sovereignty is the basis upon which our nation is formed and we govern ourselves. Sovereignty is a power established and asserted by the will of the people, and not ultimately contingent upon some other nation granting it to us. Indian tribes were sovereign nations long before Columbus set foot on the shores of "his new world," and long before Lewis and Clark exchanged "peace medals" with our ancestors in the disputed Oregon Country (as England also claimed this area). Our sovereignty as Indian peoples must ultimately be defined, affirmed and asserted by ourselves. To learn more about how we define our sovereignty, go to Warm Springs Documents, then click on the Declaration of Sovereignty link.
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Rudy Clements, Director of Tribal Relations, reflects on tribal sovereignty (that it is above all a "sacred law"), on the relationship the Tribe has with the federal government, on the Treaty of 1855, and on the Tribal Constitution and By-laws. (Interviewed by Rodney Frey, July 2003) |
Nevertheless, how the U.S. government defines its relationship with us does directly affect our sovereignty today. Through treaty obligations, the federal government retains certain "trust responsibilities" over our lives. Such legal duties include protecting Indian lands and natural resources, and providing health and educational services.
One way we express our sovereignty is through our government - the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation. Established in 1937 under a Constitution and By-laws, our Tribal Council is made up of eleven members, including eight elected members who serve three-year terms ( 3 Wasco, 3 Warm Springs, and 2 Paiute) and three tribal chiefs who serve for life (one from each tribe). To read the Constitution and By-laws, see Documents, on the Warm Springs Home Page. Our Tribal Council has ultimate legislative, executive, and judicial responsibility over the lives of the tribal members. Most of the executive duties are delegated to an administrator who oversees all tribal endeavors. Governmental services range from education and health care, to law enforcement and family counseling. The Tribal government has its own Tribal Court to hear and rule on all matters arising under tribal law, adjudicating all civil and criminal cases involving Indians living on the reservation. Oregon State law does not apply to our tribal members on the reservation. Tribal membership is by enrollment and each member has at least one-fourth or more Warm Springs, Wasco or Paiute blood. An adopted member can also be enrolled if he or she is at least one-eighth Indian (from one of our 3 tribes), lives on the reservation for three or more years, and is accepted for membership by popular vote. We assert our sovereignty through the exercise of our government and its many functions.
 | | The community of Warm Springs. |
Another critical way we express our sovereignty is through our business enterprises. In 1938 the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes formally accepted a Corporate Charter from the United States to establish our business enterprises. With these endeavors, such as Warm Springs Power Enterprises and Warm Springs Forest Products Industries, we are better able to realize our self-sufficiency and offer the kinds of services and support for our members we desire. See Preservation: Natural Resources. The federal government has trust and treaty responsibilities to assist in the operations of our tribal government and the services it renders. Nevertheless, a majority of services that are provided to the peoples of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs derive from the tribe's wise use of our natural resources and through our tribal business enterprises. We assert our sovereignty through the preservation and perpetuation of our natural resources.
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Ralph Minnick considers the challenges of paying for tribal government and all its services. Up to 80 percent of the Warm Springs Tribal government's funding comes from the tribe's own natural resources - the Power Enterprises and the Forest Products Industries. (Interviewed by Rodney Frey, June 2003) |
And finally, our sovereignty is realized each time we dance in our powwows, ride in our rodeos, dipnet fish for salmon on the Deschutes or Columbia rivers, share with the elders in the venison from our first deer kill, graduate from high school or college and give that "big hug" to a grandmother, honor our elders and the bitterroot at a Root Feast, weave a coiled cedar-root basket, speak one of our native languages, or even hit "a home run" for our baseball team. We assert our sovereignty through the preservation and perpetuation of our cultural resources.
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Howard Arnett, Tribal Attorney, considers the results and implications of the Treaty of 1855, upon which a sovereign "Indian Homeland" was created, and off-reservation usual and accustomed sites and reserved rights were established for the tribe. (Interviewed by Brigette Whipple, June 2003) |
To continue our discussion of sovereignty and how we are asserting it today, go to Usual and Accustomed: Continuing Rights
To learn more about the principles of tribal sovereignty, go to Principles of Sovereignty, on the Coeur d'Alene module.
© Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs 2003
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