By Web Writer

On June 28-29, 2012, the Tiger Administration’s 2012 Strategic Planning Conference and Tribal Stakeholder’s Meeting was held on the Northeastern State University campus in Tahlequah, OK.  Participants included Muscogee (Creek) Nation elected officials, community leaders, tribal government employees, academics, and community members.  Former OSUIT President Bob Klabenes, Director of Human Development Dr. Wayne Johnson and Ed Mouss gave presentations  to the groups. The following outlines part two of the presentation that was given over two sessions by Ed Mouss.

Water Rights

National Water Rights settlements

• Navajo/Hopi Little Colorado River Water

• Give up Surface Water; Develop Coconino Aquifer

Local Issues

• Navajo President Agreeable to settlement

• Hopi prefer continued Litigation; Quantifiable Water Use Determinable

• Settlement does not guarantee funding

Winters Doctrine

• “Implied reservation of water”

• Congress has the power to reserve water for federal lands, and by implication it exercises the power every time it created an Indian reservation.

• “Rights” arise from land ownership, are not lost due to non-use and may be asserted at any time.

Water Quantity

• Quantity is the amount needed to fulfill the purposes of the reservation. For most tribal water rights, the amount needed is the amount required to irrigate “the practicably irrigable acreage on the reservation.”

• The quantity must be enough to make the tribe economically viable, but not enough to make them rich

• Purposes: (Reasonable Quality of Life sustaining activities) Wildlife, Livestock, Drinking Water, domestic use,Commercial/Industrial Uses

• Tribes have significant Rights in Water

• Problem? Tribal reservations that have been terminated, land that has been allotted to individual tribal members and Indian-country situations where there is jurisdiction over behavior, but there is no remaining land where water could be put to a beneficial use

Reserved Rights

• Federal law supersedes state law when it comes to federally reserved water rights, including those of tribes.

• As a property right, water rights continue until terminated; ie. pass to State jurisdiction

Creek Lands

• Land reserved “in fee” to the Five Nations, not by “ordinary Indian title.”

• Individual allotments “in Fee with Restrictions”; ie. “Restricted Land”.

Economic Development

• Economic Development- Capacity Building

• the Process by which a community, region, state, or nation creates, retains, and reinvests wealth and improves the quality of life

• Industrial Sector Development – ie. Oil and Gas, Retail and Wholesale, aerospace, mfg, etc

• Business Development – Individual business’ in a Sector ie. Reasor’s retail grocer, Mobile

Economic Development Models

Main features of Economic Development. Three models are:

• A model emphasizing physical capital accumulation and technological change;

• A model emphasizing human capital accumulation through schooling; and

• A model emphasizing specialized human capital accumulation through learning-by-doing.

Intellectual Property Case Study

• Researchers at the Creek Nation Public Health Authority created cavity-fillers that kill bacteria and re-grow layers of the tooth

• Grown from nano-size particles of silver and calcium that have a diameter of 1/1000th  as wide as the human hair.

• The Creek Nation’s Government Office of Technology Transfer has patents pending and approval by U.S. Food and Drug Adm.

National Legislation: A Study

“Violence Against Women Act”

• S.1925 would recognize inherent Tribal jurisdiction to protect women from violence inflicted upon them by non-Indian persons

• Only three sovereigns: Tribal, State and Federal. Tribes pre-date the Constitution, and retain certain inherent rights which were never taken away by Congress.

• Supreme Court cannot constitutionally take away tribal powers, only Congress can.

• Warped thinking: A Delegation Federal power

• Senate / House opposition state “subjecting individuals to criminal jurisdiction of a government from which they are excluded”

• Opposition from States and their Attorney’s General

Natural Resource Forest and Woodlands

• 25 USC Sec. 301. “ National Indian Forest Resources Management Act”

• Forest means an ecosystem of at least one acre in size; \’Indian forest land\’ means Indian lands…. that are considered chiefly valuable for the production of forest products or to maintain watershed or other land values enhanced by a forest cover, regardless whether a formal inspection and land classification action has been taken;

Mineral Resource Oil and Gas

• Creek Lands have Oil and Gas resources

• Section 11 of 1947 Act subjected Lands to Oklahoma State Conservation laws

Who Manages My Environment

Fish and Wildlife Management

• Regulatory Hunting / Fishing Season

• Sample Goal: Produce Trophy Whitetail Deer

• Guided Hunts

• Deer / Fish Camps

• Youth Bow hunts

• Bow hunt Camp etc.

Simple Rules and Regulations

• One Camping Per Vehicle Permit covers up to 4 tents or a maximum of 8 people or 1 vehicle, in a campsite. RV\’s towing an unoccupied vehicle is also covered under this permit. Individuals who bike, hike, get bused in, or come as a single person (without vehicle) can purchase an individual Camping Per Person Permit

• Camping: Daily Per Vehicle: $8.00Camping: 30-Day (Monthly) $175.00

P L 109–59—119 STAT. 1937 Transportation Act

SEC. 10211. ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS.

• (a) OKLAHOMA.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency(referred to in this section as the ‘‘Administrator’’) determines that a regulatory program submitted by the State of Oklahoma for approval by the Administrator under a law administered by the Administrator meets applicable requirements of the law, and the Administrator approves the State to administer the State program under the law with respect to areas in the State that are not Indian country, on request of the State, the Administrator shall approve the State to administer the State program in the areas of the State that are in Indian country, without any further demonstration of authority by the State.