Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker, LLP - Trust Reform Materials

Trust Reform Materials

Trust Reform Legislation

In light of the strong interest of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA) in developing trust reform legislation this Congress, several of our tribal clients have asked HSDW to develop a draft legislative proposal to advance tribal discussion on this critical issue.
The legislation presented by HSDW clients builds the concepts developed by the Northwest Tribes and California Trust Reform Consortium Tribes ("the NW proposal"). The NW proposal was presented to the SCIA as a proposed bill with the testimony of the Lummi Tribe on March 9, 2005. The NW proposal incorporates many of the concepts that tribal advocates have identified as key elements necessary to address the Department of the Interior's (DOI) deficiencies in managing the trust responsibility to Indian tribes (and to individual Indians).
The proposal presented by HSDW clients adopts the core provisions of the NW proposal and adds additional terms to reflect the wide interests of tribes – which are geographically diverse, whose trust assets involve differing types and quantities of resources, and who choose to manage those trust assets in distinct ways (through direct service, self-determination contracts, or pursuant to self-governance agreements). An objective of the proposal is to develop a flexible tribal alternative to the "one size fits all" approach that the Secretary of the Interior has promoted.
We have had preliminary discussions with the SCIA's Majority General Counsel and Majority Staff Director, who understand that the proposal is a "work in progress." Accordingly, we welcome comments on the proposal. Note, however, that comments should also be sent to the Tribal Workgroup on Trust Reform Legislation, which is coordinating efforts on this issue. Comments on the draft may be sent to

trustreform@hsdwdc.com

Comparison of the Tribal Work Group Trust Principles with S. 1439
(Dated: 08-17-2005)
(Adobe Acrobat© format)

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