TITLE: Requesting that the Environmental Protection Agency only approve State Water Quality Standards that Protect the Sustenance Fishing Rights of Tribal Nations
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, tribal nations and governments pre-exist any state; and
WHEREAS, American Indians and Alaskan Natives traditionally relied on a sustenance hunting and fishing lifestyle, and many continue to do so today; and
WHEREAS, most treaties and agreements with tribal nations preserved the sustenance rights of tribal people; and
WHEREAS, because many tribal people continue to rely on sustenance fishing, contamination of waters within Indian lands and states can have significant harmful effects on the health of tribal people and jeopardize tribal cultural survival; and
WHEREAS, as trustee, the federal government is obligated to protect the sustenance hunting and fishing rights of tribal nations; and
WHEREAS, in 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act to restore and maintain the integrity of the country’s waters; and
WHEREAS, the Clean Water Act charges states with setting specific water quality criteria appropriate for their waters and developing pollution control programs to meet them; and
WHEREAS, the EPA is responsible for ensuring that state water quality standards meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act, and is also obligated to ensure that any state water quality standards recognize and protect the sustenance fishing rights of tribal nations; and
WHEREAS, in recent years the EPA consulted with the Department of the Interior to determine the rights of tribal nations that need to be protected by actions of the EPA pursuant to federal environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act; and
WHEREAS, recently the state of Maine requested that the EPA repeal the federally promulgated water quality standards applicable to Maine because such standards recognize the sustenance fishing rights of the tribal nations located within the boundaries of the state.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) urges the EPA to continue recognizing the sustenance fishing rights of tribal nations and ensure that any state water quality standards be at a level that protects such sustenance rights; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI urges the EPA to continue consulting with the Department of the Interior in determining the rights of tribal nations that need to be considered and protected when considering state water quality standards; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI requests that the Department of the Interior, as trustee for tribal nations, reach out to the EPA to provide its expertise on tribal sustenance rights; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NCAI urges Members and Committees of Congress with oversight jurisdiction over the EPA and Department of the Interior to take actions to ensure that the two federal agencies are coordinating with each other to ensure that tribal sustenance rights are considered and recognized by state water quality standards; 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 2017 Midyear Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Mohegan Sun Convention Center, June 12 to June 15, 2017, with a quorum present.