American Indian Self-Determination - Native Nations Institute ...

American Indian Self-DeterminationStephen CornellJoseph P. KaltAbstractSince the 1970s, federal American Indian policy in the United States hasbeen aimed at promoting self-determination through self-governanceby federally-recognized tribes. This policy has proven to be the only policythat has worked to make significant progress in reversing otherwisedistressed social, cultural, and economic conditions in Native communities.The policy of self-determination reflects a political equilibriumwhich has held for four decades and which has withstood various shiftsin the party control of Congress and the White House. While Republicanshave provided relatively weak support for social spending on Indianissues when compared to Democrats, both parties’ representativeshave generally been supportive of self-determination and local self-rulefor tribes. Analysis of thousands of sponsorships of federal legislationover 1970-present, however, finds the equilibrium under challenge. Inparticular, since the late 1990s, Republican congressional support forpolicies of self-determination has fallen off sharply and has not returned.This calls into question the sustainability of self-determinationthrough self-governance as a central principle of federal Indian policy.v