Elaine
Devary Willman, MPA is the author of
Going To Pieces…the dismantling the
United States of America, first
published in 2005. The book reports on
first person visits and experiences of
tribal members and citizens residing on
or near seventeen Indian reservations
during her extensive road trip across
the country from Washington State to New
York State. Willman’s book is selling
faster now in 2015 and 2016 than when
initially published because the fears
expressed in the book are now America’s
reality.
In March 2016
Elaine published her second
Book Slumbering Thunder… a primer for
confronting the spread of federal Indian
policy and tribalism overwhelming
America. This is a lay person's
reference manual designed to increase
the understanding of the basics of
federal Indian policy, including tools
to challenge federal and tribal
government overreach.
Subsequent to her
two year attendance at Ventura College
of Law, Ms. Willman received a Masters
degree in Public Administration from Cal
State University in 1991, and has
obtained 96 credits towards her doctoral
work in public policy. Having lived in
Western States for over thirty years,
and within two Indian reservations for
more than twenty years, Ms. Willman has
extensive knowledge about federal Indian
policy, land use status within Indian
reservations, dual-jurisdiction and
Constitutional conflicts that impact the
rights and lives of tribal members as
well as other American citizens.
Ms. Willman’s mother and grandmother
were enrolled Cherokee members; her
spouse is of Shoshone ancestry, and is a
direct descendant of Sacajawea. She
served as National Chair of Citizens
Equal Rights Alliance (CERA) from 2001 –
2007 and remains an active CERA Board
Member. Mrs. Willman has blended her
local land use and strategic planning
expertise with federal Indian policy to
inform and engage counties, towns and
citizens that are co-located within or
near federally recognized Indian
reservations.
From 2008 until
June 2015 Ms. Willman served the Village
of Hobart, Wisconsin, as their Director
of Community Development and Tribal
Affairs. Having made several trips to
Montana to study and oppose the CSKT
Water Compact, Ms. Willman determined to
move her household and business to
Ronan, Montana in July 2015 to address
the current and long-term impacts of
federal and tribal government over-reach
in Western Montana.
Two of her
recent articles were recently published
in Western Ag Reporter, and because of
the second article, she was recently
given a monthly column in
Newswithviews.com.
CERF/CERA believes and defends the constitutional rights of Indians
and non-Indians. Our mission is to change federal Indian policies
that threaten or restrict the individual rights of all citizens
living on or near Indian reservations. We do not tolerate racial
prejudice of any kind. We do not knowingly associate with anyone who
discriminates based on race. http://citizensalliance.org/
Rights
of Indians and Non-Indians
CERF/CERA believes
and defends the constitutional rights of Indians and non-Indians.
Our mission is to change federal Indian policies that threaten or
restrict the individual rights of all citizens living on or near
Indian reservations. We do not tolerate racial prejudice of any
kind. We do not knowingly associate with anyone who discriminates
based on race.
http://citizensalliance.org/
American
Tribal Tyranny:
...how federal Indian policy secretly monies up elected
officials forcing American taxpayers to fund all annual
operating needs of the Bureau of Indian Affairs...
Are
you a community leader or landowner on an Indian reservation having
difficulty finding information on federal Indian policy decisions
that affect your county, town or private land?
Slumbering Thunder
provides informational strength and reference for a basic knowledge
of government decisions affecting your life, the lives of struggling
tribal families, and the future of your state, and our country.
The federal Executive Branch and federal agencies are using 566
tribal governments and Indian reservations in 43 states as launch
pads to expand tribal authority over non-tribal citizens. The rapid
spread of tribalism is erasing state authority over its natural
resources, and protections of property rights and citizens.
American taxpayers in metropolitan areas may also be shocked to know
the direct impacts upon all Americans, even those living far distant
from reservations. This book addresses a bottomless-pit of annual
trillions of taxpayer dollars keeping tribal families in apartheid
and continual poverty.
Slumbering Thunder will give you decision-making tools, model
letters, and commentaries about your protections, rights of local
governments and states when
experiencing federal and tribal government intrusions.
Warpath:
Obama’s
Indian
Policy
Threatens
All
Americans,
Both Tribal
and
Non-tribal
Citizens
Written by
Elaine
Willman
"I
do
solemnly
swear
that I
will
support,
protect
and
defend
the
Constitution
of the
United
States,
and the
Constitution
of the
State of
Montana,
and that
I will
discharge
the
duties
of my
office
with
fidelity
(so help
me
God)."
A profound and
menacing
revolution is
underway in each
of the 39 states
of the United
States of
America that
host one or more
federally
recognized
Indian tribes.
Flying
completely under
the radar of the
vast majority of
Americans,
federal Indian
policies of the
Obama
administration
are subverting
our
constitutional
order and
successfully
transferring
vast land
holdings and
natural
resources to
corrupt,
federally
controlled
tribal
governments.
This stealth
agenda is
replacing the
authority and
obligations of
the various
state
governments to
protect the
lives, rights,
property, and
natural
resources of
their citizens
by illegally and
immorally
transferring
that authority
to select tribal
governments.
This is being
done with the
full support of
state governors,
attorneys
general, and
state
legislators, in
blatant
violation of
their oaths of
office. Many of
these officials
are going along
with this agenda
either because
they are
receiving
sizable
donations from
tribe-related
entities
(“bribes from
the tribes”), or
because they
fear being
labeled “racist”
or “anti-Indian”
by the Indian
activists and
their
“progressive”
allies in the
controlled major
media.
The Obama
administration
is intentionally
reversing
history and
unsettling the
West, using
Indian
reservations and
tribal
governments as
launch pads. It
is doing this
with the full
support of a
majority of
state executive
and legislative
representatives,
regardless of
their political
party
affiliations.
The horrendous
consequences of
this political
path are
alarming, to say
the least, not
only for
Americans living
in the 39 states
directly
affected, but
for our entire
country. While
farmers,
ranchers, and
other rural
citizens and
small towns are
the frontline
targets of this
stealth agenda,
it will
dramatically
impact all
Americans. Urban
Americans should
also be alarmed
by this agenda
because it
confronts us all
with a steadily
escalating tax
burden, and most
particularly
because it
threatens our
nation’s water
and food
supplies, by
placing them in
a stranglehold
held by dozens
of federal
agencies (EPA,
BLM, USFS, etc.)
and tribal
governments that
have already
demonstrated
their hostility
to liberty and
constitutionally
limited
government.
Tragically,
among the most
seriously harmed
victims in this
federal
government/tribal
government
collusion are
the vast
majority of
tribal families
that, for the
most part, are
still living in
poverty and
squalor.
Meanwhile,
tribal leaders,
the Indian
lobbyist
industry, and
their paid
politicians
pocket not only
huge casino
profits, but
also the
unaudited rivers
of cash provided
by the U.S.
taxpayers via
the
ever-expanding
proliferation of
federal
programs. The
politicians,
tribal leaders,
and their
propagandists
adroitly exploit
the sympathies
of decent
Americans and
manipulate their
feelings of
guilt over past
wrongs (both
real and
fictional)
against the
Indian tribes.
But their real
goal is building
their own wealth
and power, not
alleviating the
plight of the
tribal members.
To illustrate
the theses in
the statements
above, I have
narrowed the
discussion to
four
Northwestern
states: Idaho,
Montana, Oregon,
and Washington.
Statistics in
the table below
set the
framework that
suggests that 3
percent of the
population
within these
states (Native
Americans) are
more
substantially
served by
federal and
state elected
officials than
the other 97
percent of the
citizens
(non-tribal
members),
businesses and
landowners:
tribalpopulations.001
The oath of
office at the
beginning of
this article is
from the State
of Montana but
is similar to
oaths of office
in other states.
The oath is
important
because, first,
it is intended
as a solemn
oath, and
second, it
speaks to the
constitutional
protective
duties, both
federal and
state, that
federal Indian
policy
threatens. For
example, tribal
sovereignty,
federally
recognized
Indian tribes,
and tribal
governance over
lands within the
United States
were never
contemplated nor
incorporated
within the four
corners of the
U.S.
Constitution,
nor state
constitutions,
but now the
tribes are
considered to
have powers over
federal and
state
governments, and
the citizens
they represent.
Politics and
perception have
created the
perilous false
reality that
tribal
sovereignty is
superior to the
sovereignty of
states. The
current White
House has
pounded that
perception into
the psyche of
legislators in
all states that
host tribes. Of
course, enormous
tribal campaign
contributions
and a fear of
being called
racist if one
declines a
tribal whim have
facilitated this
false perception
as well.
The framers of
our U.S.
Constitution
prioritized
sovereignty in a
manner not
previously known
in governments.
The prioritized
sovereignty
“tree” of the
Constitution
goes like this:
1. Individual
citizen
sovereignty
(popular
sovereignty, We
The People).
2. Sovereignty
of States
(Founders in 13
states formed
the federal
government).
3. Sovereignty
of Federal
Government
(limited,
enumerated
powers).
The origin of
tribal
sovereignty is
murky, but the
federal “trust”
relationship of
the federal
government over
tribes was
created by the
U.S. Supreme
Court in the
famous "Marshall
Trilogy" cases
of the High
Court from 1823
to 1830. These
cases declared
Indian tribes to
be
quasi-dependent
nations, subject
to a “trust
relationship,” a
federal
fiduciary
obligation to
protect the
“dependent
wards” of the
federal
government. We
must remember,
however, as will
be discussed
later in this
piece, that
“what the U.S.
Supreme Court
giveth, the
Supreme Court
can taketh away”
— and it’s
getting closer.
As an example of
the overpowering
influence of
tribes in the
Northwest, the
Columbia River
Watershed
Management Plan
is a good place
to start. The
watershed is a
broad base of
tributaries and
streams feeding
into the
Columbia from
all four states
in the
Northwest. The
management board
that serves as
an advisory
group directing
the management
of this federal
watershed plan
is composed of
one
representative
from each state,
and one from
each tribe. That
means there are
four
representatives
from the four
states, and 53
representatives
from the tribes.
Imagine the
influence that
state voices
have on such a
lopsided board.
Add major court
cases that have
provided tribes
with half the
fish (Boldt
Decision of
1974), the
Salmon Recovery
Project, the
Endangered
Species Act, and
Treaty Rights,
and the tribes'
influence is
apparent.
Unquenchable
desires of a
large chorus of
tribal
government
demands upon
host states are
endless and,
thus far,
unstoppable.
Similar
federally
sanctioned
entities and
policies have
created a
stranglehold on
water, natural
resources,
hunting,
fishing,
tourism, and
recreation in
Idaho, Oregon,
and Montana, as
well.
Demonstrating
how much the
field leans one
way is this:
Facilitating
tribal policy in
state capitols
includes the
rightful
opportunity for
tribal members
as full American
citizens, to
serve in elected
office, although
non-tribal
persons may not
participate in
tribal
governments.
The true
beginning of the
replacement of
State
sovereignty with
tribal
sovereignty can
be credited to a
Washington State
governor who
executed the
1989 Centennial
Accord honoring
the 100th
anniversary of
Washington
State. That was
the benign
intent. The
precedent-setting
hidden agenda
was that 1989
was only one
year after the
Indian Gaming
Reorganization
Act of 1988,
quickly
enriching
tribes.
Washington’s
Centennial
Accord created a
state “trust”
relationship
with Indian
tribes where
none existed for
any state
previously. This
Centennial
Accord required
a tribal office
in every state
office and
required
consultation
with tribes for
every move the
state wanted to
make thereafter.
It also began
the
double-dipping
of tribes,
receiving
federal
subsidies and
state tax
dollars, too.
With burgeoning
tax-exempt
gaming revenues
available,
tribes have
larger annual
operating
budgets than the
combined budgets
of multiple host
counties within
a reservation
boundary.
The Centennial
Accord has been
replicated by
legislatures in
many of 39
states that are
host to Indian
reservations and
tribal
governments.
This is just a
cursory
discussion of
how a mere 3
percent Native
American
population in
four
Northwestern
states wields
escalating power
over the quality
of life,
taxation
increases,
limited hunting,
fishing, and
recreational
opportunities of
97 percent of
these states’
populations. As
more and more
taxable parcels
are removed from
state property
tax rolls and
placed into
tax-exempt
“trust” for a
tribe, taxes
shift upward for
97 percent of
the population.
States cannot
expand their
land base;
tribal
governments can,
and do at
escalating
levels. The
current federal
administration
is delegating
its federal
authority to
tribal
governments,
giving
governance over
non-tribal
persons and
properties,
something
disallowed under
the Indian
Reorganization
Act of 1934,
landmark Supreme
Court cases, and
federal, state,
and tribal
constitutions.
The White House
has also
determined that
our national
power and energy
grid that serves
all Americans is
good “economic
development” for
privately
governing Indian
tribes. It
should be noted
that
self-governing
tribes have no
obligation to
the country’s
national or
public safety or
to non-tribal
persons and
properties.
Tribal sovereign
immunity from
litigation
protects tribal
governments from
accountability
for any harm
that may be done
when operating
critical
components of
the nation’s
public utility
power grid.
Now, Montana’s
Senator Steve
Daines has also
proposed S. 3014
to turn national
forest
management over
to tribes with
any cultural
interest or
connectivity.
Our mountainous
forests are the
high sources of
the nation’s
waters that give
life, power, and
energy to our
country’s
economic
stability. This
is the federal
government’s
strategy to
avoid
accountability
to Western State
legislators
insisting that
appropriate
federal lands be
constitutionally
“disposed” back
to states for
management, as
was done in the
Eastern States
upon their
statehood.
For years only a
few federal
agencies served
tribal
governments such
as the Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA),
Health and Human
Services (DHHS),
and Department
of Education
(DOE). The
Centennial
Accord of
Washington
State, however,
became the model
for President
Clinton’s
Executive Order
13084 signed in
May 1998,
establishing a
tribal office in
every single
federal agency
and demanding
continuous
consultation
with tribes,
along with
inclusion in
some 29 federal
agency budgets.
Subsequent
presidents have
continued this
Executive Order,
including
Obama’s similar
Executive Order
13175, updated
in 2009. The
quick math:
multiply 567
tribes times 29
federal agencies
annually funding
tribes, which
also receive
state
tax-dollars and
billions in
tax-exempt
gaming revenue.
These cumulative
annual dollars
are likely
equivalent to
the annual
federal Defense
Budget but have
never, ever been
audited. Federal
and state
taxpayers are
providing annual
multi-billions
to less than 2
percent of
America’s
population.
Nothing to see
here — just
unaccountable
billions every
year. No wonder
there is a
perception of
tribal
sovereignty’s
superiority over
states. These
“quasi-dependent
wards of the
federal
government”
("Marshall
Trilogy," 1823)
have been
entirely funded
by federal and
state elected
officials who
have created
massive tribal
funded programs
that have not
improved the
quality of life
for tribal
families on
Indian
reservations in
nearly two
centuries. In
return, these
same elected
officials are
the recipients
of much largesse
from tribes.
Oaths of office
are quickly
ignored or
forgotten when
replaced by
money and
political power.
It’s a vicious
circle —
Congress
provides tribes
with tax-exempt
gaming revenue,
federal
subsidies for
all basic needs
of the tribe,
and in return,
tribes kick back
large money to
political
parties,
incumbents, or
candidates that
will carry their
water. The
losers are the
annually
shrinking state
revenues and an
ever-shifting
burden on
taxpayers, who
must fund both
their state and
this monstrous
federal Indian
policy game. The
other tragic
losers are
enrolled tribal
members who have
none of the
provisions of
the Bill of
Rights, civil
rights, or
parental rights
over enrollable
tribal children,
ages 18 and
under — yes,
Congress gave
tribal
governments full
parental control
over tribal
children under
the Indian Child
Welfare Act in
1978.
How and when was
this financial
vicious circle
created? Tribal
governments are
the only
American
governments that
may write checks
to political
parties,
incumbents, or
candidates. This
tribal
government perk
to directly
participate in
campaign
financing came
from a
three-person
unelected
Federal Election
Commission (FEC)
in May of 2000,
just before the
Bush/Gore
election. The
Commission’s
Advisory Opinion
No. 2000-05 to
the Oneida
Nation of New
York deemed the
Oneida tribe to
be a government
for purpose of
subsidies and
governance, but
a “person” for
purpose of
participating in
federal and
state elections
financing. No
court or
congressional
act created this
atrocity. Major
tribal money
thereafter
rolled into both
Bush/Gore
Presidential
campaigns, and
has continued
ever since in
federal and
state elections
across the
country.
A mere FEC
“Advisory
Opinion” by
three unelected
federal
bureaucrats
granted to one
tribe, quickly
became the law
of the land,
rolling out
across the
country. All 567
tribes may act
similarly in the
country’s
elections.
I have dubbed
these elected
officials who
are benefitting
from tribal
political
dollars
“coin-operated,”
and they have a
substantial
voice in
Olympia, Salem,
Boise, and
Helena.
Naturally, these
are also the
elected
incumbents least
likely to put a
halt to tribal
government
funding of
candidates and
elections — in
Congress and
state capitols.
For far too many
elected
officials at
high and lower
levels,
appeasing tribes
in exchange for
cash is their
political bread
’n butter,
leading to
longevity in
office if
allegiance to
the donor is
maintained.
So is there an
answer to this
corruption? Yes,
there is one
remaining entity
relatively
unaffected by
the “Indian
industry,” an
entity that has
been overturning
the federal
overreach and
the
unprecedented
expansion of
tribalism
replacing our
constitutional
government and
state
sovereignty. It
is the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Since 2000, the
U.S. Supreme
Court has issued
dozens of
rulings to
affirm the 10th
Amendment and
state
sovereignty, to
declare
unanimously that
states own their
navigable waters
and the soils
beneath them, to
provide
individual
citizens with
standing to sue
a tribal
government or
tribal official,
and many other
legal tools. The
problem?
Governors,
attorneys
general,
legislators,
counties, and
towns are not
picking up these
legal tools and
fighting back
for their states
and their
citizenry, for
all the reasons
described above.
Private citizens
can, and do
utilize many
powerful new
rulings, but few
have the
financial
resources to
endure the
necessary
battle.
Very recently,
Justice Clarence
Thomas put a
powerful
challenge out to
his colleagues
on the bench,
and to Congress.
Here are his
clear words:
Congress'
purported
[alleged]
Plenary
Power
[all-encompassing]
over
Indian
tribes
rests
on
even
shakier
foundations.
No
enumerated
power
—
not
Congress’
power
to
“regulate
Commerce
...
with
Indian
Tribes,”
not
the
Senate’s
role
in
approving
treaties,
nor
anything
else
—
gives
Congress
such
sweeping
authority....
And,
until
the
Court
rejects
the
fiction
that
Congress
possesses
plenary
power
over
Indian
affairs,
our
precedents
will
continue
to
be
based
on
the
paternalistic
theory
that
Congress
must
assume
all-encompassing
control
over
the
"remnants
of a
race"
for
its
own
good.
[U.S.
v.
Bryant,
No.
15-420,
U.S.
Supreme
Court,
06-13-2016]
If Justice
Thomas is
correct that
Congress lacks
plenary power
over tribal
governments,
then Congress
may not delegate
to federal
agencies that
which Congress
does not have.
So where is the
constitutional
authority of the
secretary of
interior, the
Bureau of Indian
Affairs, EPA,
etc.?
Tragically,
tribal
governments are
the willing
pawns and
recipients of
this costly
apartheid
system, but the
system is
entirely and
only created by
federal and
state elected
officials who
have seemingly
switched their
allegiance from
the states to
tribal
governments.
The more
informed that
taxpayers and
leaders become
about the
erosion of
constitutional
and civil rights
protections, the
sooner we can
recruit public
servants who
will abide by
the solemn oaths
they take,
winnowing out
the
“coin-operated”
gang that
continues to
feed at the
public trough.
Elected
officials take
no oath to serve
tribal
governments, but
of course they
serve all
individual
American
Indians. Perhaps
one day the oath
of office taken
by those we
elect to serve
all Americans
will again be
vigorously
followed and
revered. First,
Americans surely
should
appreciate and
value the
abundant efforts
made over
centuries on
their behalf,
and join with
all Americans as
One Nation,
United. Oaths
matter. If not,
then 98.8
percent of
America’s
population
remains
completely
uninformed
indentured
servants to 1.2
percent of our
country’s
population,
involuntarily
funding
unconstitutional
federal Indian
policy.
If the current
scheme of
federal Indian
tribal policy is
not reversed,
the first states
to succumb to
this escalating
political,
jurisdictional,
and fiscal
program — this
intentional
takedown of
state
sovereignty by
federal and
state elected
officials — will
be the four
states of the
Great Northwest.
We must not let
that happen.
Elaine Devary
Willman MPA,
authored her
first book,
Going to Pieces:
The Dismantling
of the United
States of
America, in
2005. Her latest
book, Slumbering
Thunder: A
Primer for
Confronting the
Spread of
Federal Indian
Policy and
Tribalism
Overwhelming
America,
released this
year, is a
compilation of
Willman’s work
reflecting
experience,
projects, and
commentaries
covering over 25
years of
research
specific to
federal Indian
policy
government
decisions. Her
mother and
grandmother were
enrolled
Cherokee members
and her husband
is of Shoshone
ancestry and a
direct
descendant of
Sacajawea.
Willman has
lived on three
Indian
reservations for
more than 25
years, and is a
recognized
expert on
federal and
tribal
government
decisions, land
use status
within Indian
reservations,
dual-jurisdictions,
and
constitutional
conflicts that
impact the
rights and lives
of tribal
members as well
as other
American
citizens. From
2008 until 2015,
Willman served
the Village of
Hobart,
Wisconsin, as
the Director of
Community
Development and
Tribal Affairs.
She currently
resides on the
Flathead Indian
Reservation in
western Montana.