Developing an effective approach to strategic planning for native American Indian reservations

Abstract

This article proposes an approach to Native American Indian reservation planning that aligns a tribe's community development objectives with its historical experiences and its political self‐determination aims. The approach incorporates consideration of jurisdictional obstacles that operate in tribal affairs and reflects the planning experiences of the Swinomish Indian Tribe of Washington State. The strategic and adaptive approach evaluates the conditions of past and present events as planning strategies are selected to overcome conflicts in the tribe's future‐planning environment. The approach provides a systematic process for policy development to consider the political variables that simultaneously compete on Native American Indian reservations.

Notes

Nicholas C. Zaferatos is in the Department of Planning and Environmental Policy, Mail Stop 9085, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA. E‐mail: [email protected]. Fax: [phone].

American Indian reservation communities are extremely diverse in terms of their cultures, locat ion and political organisation. Planning strategies appropriate to each tribe must be carefully devised to reflect their unique social objectives and political settings.

Senghass (1988) equates a community's ability to act autonomously by first conceiving an appropriate set of implementation actions and then marshalling resources necessary to carry out the proposed actions.

The Supreme Court recognised the existence of a trust relationship in its earliest decisions interpreting Indian treaties in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (30 U.S. 1, 1831) and Worcester v. Georgia (31 U.S. (6 Pet.) 515. 1832).

Public Law 280 of 1953, 67 Stat. 588, as amended; 18 U.S.C.A. sec. 1162; 25 U.S.C. sec. 1321–1326; 28 U.S.C. sec. 1360.

25 U.S.C. sec. 331–334, 339, 341, 348, 354, 381.

The term ‘incorporation’ refers to the historical processes that severed the reservation territory from exclusive tribal control. The term also describes the manner in which non‐Indian interests have mobilised to resist tribal self‐governance.

The Indian Reorganisation Act of 1934, 25 U.S.C. sec. 461–479.

Federal programmes supported a variety of planning activities with the authorisation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's 701 comprehensive planning and housing construction grants to the tribes. In the early 1970s, the US Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration targeted reservations to help stimulate economic development and employment. The federal self‐governance programmes of the 1990s furthered tribal self‐governance in economic development, land regulation, natural resources management and environmental protection by authorising the delegation of federal programmes to tribes. The emerging tribal self‐governance policy model depicts a development approach that emphasises tribal choices and the expansion of tribal technical capacity—in contrast with earlier technical assistance models that relied primarily on the federal government and the private economy to manage reservation resources.

Washington State's litigation history reveals a history of jurisdictional conflict, including treaty fisheries litigation in United States v. Washington 384 F. Supp. 312, W.D. Wash., 1974, and treaty shellfish litigation in United States v. Washington, sub proceeding no. 89‐3.

Etzioni (1968) describes three forms of social relations: normative relations, utilitarian relations and coercive relations. Normative relations contribute to co‐operation when participants share similar norms and seek common outcomes in the planning process. Utilitarian relations seek to avoid or contain conflict, and focus on achieving complementary interests and mutually acceptable outcomes. Coercive relations often result in conflict when the opposing goals of the participants remain unresolved.

Strategic planning's application to public policy emerged in the 1960s from its development as a corporate decision‐making tool during the preceding decade. The approach, referred to as ‘SWOT’, assesses a community's strengths and weakness as it prepares to adapt strategies in response to identified opportunities and threats that lie within an organisation's planning environment.

California v. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians (1987).

25 U.S.C. sec. 450. Public Law 93‐638.

H.R. 4842, Title II. The preamble to the Act reaffirms Congress's findings that “the tribal right of self‐government flows from the inherent sovereignty of Indian tribes as nations, and the special government‐to‐government relationship” between the federal government and the tribes. The Act provides for the transference of federal trust programmes guaranteed to them in treaties, statutes and other agreements directly to tribal governments and acknowledges the continuing trust responsibility of the federal government.

The “Tribal–Federal Government‐to‐Government Proposal” of 10 June 1993, American Indian Policy Center. Washington, DC.

Notwithstanding that among some tribal nations social and political fragmentation may persist and communities should resolve their internal disputes and provide for the fullest participation of their membership in community decision‐making.

Montana v. United States. 450 U.S. 544, 1981; Brendale v. Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakima Indian Nation. 492 U.S. 408, 106 L. Ed. 2d 343, 109 S. Ct. 2994, 1988.

In general, tribes that can clearly establish a reservation community development policy that preserves both the ‘essential character’ of the reservation and the tribe's political integrity, economic security or the community's health and welfare, as defined in the Montana test, will have a much stronger defence in a jurisdictional dispute.

The tribe's goals, established in the 1970s, sought to develop reservation resources to meet the community's needs for housing, employment, community and spiritual uses while, concurrently, conserving much of the limited land‐base for the benefit of future generations.

Washington State's Executive Indian Policy served to inspire the approach. The policy emerged following the landmark US Supreme Court decision in U.S. v. Washington United States v. Washington (384 F. Supp. 312, W.D. Wash., 1974). In an attempt to reach agreement to implement the fisheries decision, the court mandated that the state and the tribes co‐operate in co‐management of fisheries harvest. The shift in relations between the state and Indian tribes has since extended to include other areas of governmental co‐operation. On 4 August 1989, Washington Governor Gardner and the federally recognised tribes signed the 1989 Centennial Accord to implement a government‐to‐government relationship. The approach resulted in institutional changes that affected political, social and economic relationships between tribes and state governments.

The analysis also examined federal legislation conveying to the states certain powers over Indian reservations. Public Law 280 (67 Stat. 588, 68 Stat. 795, 72 Stat. 545, 18 U.S.C. 1162, 28 U.S.C. 1360, 1953) provided for the assumption of limited authority by the states over the Swinomish Reservation—which was subsequently retroceded. However, zoning and land‐use planning were not enumerated delegations of power under the scope of Public Law 280 (Oliphant v. Schlie, et. al. No. 74‐2154, 9th Cir, August 24, 1976).

This was especially important because the county regulated off‐reservation activities affecting fisheries resources, of vital interest to the tribe's treaty fishing rights.

Coincidentally, on 29 June 1989, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in Brendale v. Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakima Indian Nation. The decision stated that the county, its jurisdictional interest notwithstanding, must consider the tribal interest in its actions affecting the reservation. The opinion encourages co‐ordination between tribes and counties.

This article does not sufficiently examine all aspects of the tribal political organisation. The assessment of a tribe's planning situation is dependent upon both accurate information and the capacity to interpret that information before contingent strategies are selected. Future field research is needed to test the approach advanced in this article and to identify the structural weaknesses within tribal decision‐making organisations that require further development.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nicholas Christos Zaferatos

Nicholas C. Zaferatos is in the Department of Planning and Environmental Policy, Mail Stop 9085, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA. E‐mail: [email protected]. Fax: [phone].