Tribal Lands and Their Resources
Many of the Native American tribal lands in the United States own awealth of natural resources, but most tribes have always faced pressure togive up their lands, and in many cases, their lands were simply strippedfrom them without thought or compensation. In the nineteenth century,tribes were simply herded onto reservations, as this writer noted. In the nineteenth century, Americans looked out upon the vast West and its abundant natural resources and saw the possibility of great wealth and opportunity. One obstacle presented itself to national aspirations: the Indian tribes. [...] Federal Indian policy was characterized by one primary goal: pushing aside Indian tribes to facilitate the exploitation of the West's bountiful natural resources"Many tribes never had the opportunity to gain any kind of financial aidfrom the natural resources they had taken for granted for hundreds ofyears, but were suddenly in great demand by a growing nation, and today,some of those tribes are fighting back with lawsuits and reclamation In Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's ancient tribal lands were overrun
For example, "The Hualapai IndianNation and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality recently signedan agreement to protect water quality on and off tribal lands. The Navajos and Utes in the Four Corners region of the Southwest have vastquantities of oil, coal, and natural gas on their reservations. The Coeur d'Alene's situation is not unique, however, because nativetribal lands all across the country are criss-crossed with jurisdictions,and mined with a number of federal laws that take control from the tribes. Thetribes who have lost their natural resources and their native lands to thewhite man's expansion have lost more than money or land, they have losttheir tradition and their culture, and it is a sad testament to the greedof the white man. In 1991, the tribe began their ownrestoration project, and also filed a lawsuit against several miningcompanies which resulted in the largest ever natural resource damage suitin U. In conclusion, tribal lands have always seemed to be "up for grabs"as America moved westward. This is another reason so manynative tribes are now willing to do battle in courtrooms for their naturalresources. Congress has mandated that all tribal lands should be self-governing (Althouse, 2001, p. They have lived off the land for hundredsof years, and so they have a deep love of the natural world and the naturalresources found in their tribal lands.
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Acceptance Essays
