When a Tribal Entity Becomes a Nation: The Role of Politics in the Shifting Federal Recognition Regulations

Before a tribal entity can exercise the privileges and immunities of external sovereign status, they must first be recognized by the United States. For a variety of reasons, some legitimate tribal entities remain unrecognized today. The Department of the Interior has created a federal acknowledgement process under 25 C.F.R. Part 83, providing a procedure for a petitioning Indian entity to establish federal recognition. Reaching beyond a discussion of the overarching federal acknowledgment process this paper delves into the application of politics on the Department of the Interior’s administrative actions. This article explores how each presidential administration has both shaped and bent the federal recognition regulations to fulfill its political priorities. By merging a quantitative analysis of each administration’s federal recognition record and the political realities that each administration faced, this study provides a rare inquiry into the political nature of the recognition process. First, this article examines the regulatory history of federal recognition, including a detailed discussion of various versions of the regulation and accompanying guidance published by the Department of the Interior (DOI). Then the article provides an overview of how politics play into the regulatory process and the implementation of regulation. Finally, the article re-visits each administration’s actions related to federal recognition, and considers how each administration has utilized these regulations to serve its own political priorities

Ēwe Hānau o ka ʻĀina: A Policy Review Focused on Hawaiʻi’s Public Land Trust

ʻĀina (land) is central to Native Hawaiian culture and ways of life. The illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and annexation to the US resulted in the loss of Hawaiian crown and government land, which was placed in trust for the benefit of the Hawaiian people. These lands, now managed by the State of Hawaiʻi, were reconstituted as the Public Land Trust (PLT) with one of the articulated uses being the betterment of Native Hawaiians. While the Hawaiʻi State Constitution restored Native control over a proportional share of revenue generated from PLT lands, the US Supreme Court removed Native self-determination over the trust by opening its selection of trustees to non-Native Hawaiians. Applying a critical policy lens, this paper explores the rise and end of Native Hawaiian control over their own PLT share. Using the policy surveillance methodology, this study explores the recent expansion of Native Hawaiian consultation law and whether this has restored some self-determination over the Native Hawaiian PLT share, with the study finding that it has not. Thus, while Hawaiʻi’s laws clearly articulate a desire for Hawaiians to control the use of their share of the PLT, Hawaiian control of these resources has eroded, suggesting a need to adopt policies that realign with the original purpose of the PLT

Unsilencing the Echoes of Historical Trauma: A Comparative Analysis

Indigenous communities in North America have distinct colonial histories with their own story of how their ancestors were able to survive the mass effort to take their land, resources, language, culture, and sometimes even their lives. These stories have been passed down orally and through the DNA of the descendants of survivors via epigenetics. The Historical Loss Scale (HLS) and Historical Loss Associated Symptoms Scale (HLASS) are two validated scales that measure historical trauma among Native Americans. However, as different Indigenous communities have different colonial histories, it is critical to ensure that tools used to measure historical trauma are valid for that specific communities. When these scales are applied to Native Hawaiians, these measures may not provide an accurate picture of the historical trauma experienced by Native Hawaiians. As part of the effort to adapt the HLS for Native Hawaiians, we conducted a crosswalk analysis of the HLS and HLASS with a recent study on Native Hawaiian historical trauma (NHHT) to identify areas of overlap and divergence. We found that while there was significant overlap, several areas of divergence emerged likely stemming from the unique colonial histories of different Indigenous communities

Ke ala i ka Mauliola: Native Hawaiian Youth Experiences with Historical Trauma

Native Hawaiians (NH), like other Indigenous peoples, continue to experience the subversive impacts of colonization. The traumatic effects of colonization, especially the forced relocation from land that sustained their life and health, have led to complex, interconnected health disparities seen today. NHs have described a collective feeling of kaumaha (heavy, oppressive sadness) resulting from mass land dispossession, overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, cultural loss, and early loss of loved ones. Although historical trauma is linked to high rates of substance misuse, depression, suicidality, and other mental health disparities in American Indian populations. However, the link between NH historical trauma and health disparities among NHs has been less explored. This qualitative study used Indigenous talk story interviews with 34 NH ʻōpio (youth) and ka lawelawe (service providers) to explore how NH ʻōpio understand and experience historical trauma. Eight themes and 35 sub-themes were identified covering individual, community, and systemic domains representing the first step in addressing NH historical trauma