The National Congress of American Indians
Resolution #TUL-13-025
TITLE: In Support of the Census Bureau Tribal Boundary and Annexation Survey
WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and
WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Tribal Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS) annually to gather information on the boundaries and official names of federally recognized reservations, trust lands, tribal subdivisions, Hawaiian Homelands, and Alaska Native Regional Corporations; and
WHEREAS, the accurate boundaries ensure data collected and disseminated by the Census Bureau are assigned to the correct geographic area; and
WHEREAS, the Census Bureau mails the Tribal BAS to contacts identified by each federally recognized tribe, and/or the tribal chair.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the NCAI supports the Census Bureau’s work to ensure the maximum tribal involvement through agreeing that tribal housing authorities act as a secondary contact for the Tribal BAS mailings at the discretion of each tribe to authorize tribal housing authorities as the secondary contact for the Tribal BAS survey; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI will encourage tribes to participate in the survey by supporting the efforts of tribal housing authorities in disseminating Tribal BAS outreach and information materials; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.
CERTIFICATION
The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General Assembly at the 2013 Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Cox Business Center from October 13 - 18, 2013 in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a quorum present.
President
ATTEST:
Recording Secretary