The Continuing Saga of Indian Land Claims

There is little doubt that Indian communities, recognized and unrecognized, will continue to assert claims to traditional lands. After all, this nation, whether begrudgingly or benignly, did open the door to tribal quests for restoration of and recompense for lost lands. Evidence indicates that not all aboriginal territory constitutes irredeemable America, despite decades of litigation. Moreover, decisions of the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) and the courts have not conclusively extinguished every acre of original or recognized title lands-for example, treaty rights to hunt and fish on so called extinguished lands survive in various parts of Indian Country. As long as there is a public domain, many observers contend, it will represent territory that at least western tribes can look to for legitimate redress. Of the more than 500,000 acres that have been reconveyed-Blue Lake to the Taos and extensive plateau lands adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park to the Havasupai, to name a few-most acreage has come from the public domain. In fact, it would be well-founded to argue that there may be sufficient grounds to reopen some of the claims cases heard and decided by the ICC.\nFor some time now, Indians and their champions have addressed the issues surrounding land restorations. Kirke Kickingbird and Karen Ducheneaux reminded us in 1973 that the Trail of Broken Treaties, which took place in fall 1972, had advocated a permanent land base for Indian communities. They shared the contention that the tribes needed a total of 110 million acres-"simply a formula attempting to restore the ratio of Indians-to-acreage that existed in 1887.”

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