Forced Federalism

Forced Federalism
The term "federalism" is used to describe a system of government in which control is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and fundamental political units. Federalism can be seen as a compromise between the extreme concentration of power and a loose confederation of independent states for governing a variety of people, usually in a large stretch of territory. Federalism has the advantage of retaining local pride, traditions and power, while allowing a central government to intervene that can handle common problems. A very specific example of federalism would be the United States freeways. They are owned and operated by the individual states, but the federal government provides funding and sets down elementary guidelines that all states must follow. However, that is only one minor example of how the United States utilizes the concept of federalism.
Forced Federalism takes a critical look at the repetition and history of tribal economic development and gaming in particular, as the solution to the problems overwhelming American Indian communities. The large majority of works in this field hold out increasing economic development as the safeguard of tribal authority. This book examines how state governments have manipulated "rich Indian" images when setting policies targeting native peoples and discusses how indigenous nations have responded politically to these contemporary threats to their nationhood.
The book also demonstrates that long-term solutions to threatening rich Indian discrimination does not arise from matching the lobbying and political behavior of other U.S. citizens, instead the strength comes from within the indigenous nations to protect their sacred homeland and keeping their cultural and political forms of authority. During the era of forced federalism, the nations were obligated to deal with states as equals, which weakened the exclusive and historic relationship with the federal government. The adjustment was unsettled and led to the appeal of rich Indian images by state policymakers that challenge the self-determining authority of indigenous nations. The solutions for dealing with the “rich Indian” racism comes back again to protecting their sacred homeland and keeping their cultural and political forms of authority.
Forced federalism explains how during the era of 1988 to the present, American Indian communities shifted from self-government over all aspects of their nations, to strict administrative control over the formation and operation of education, health care, and many other services on their own territory. To acquire a better understanding of the indigenous ways, case studies, interviews, surveys, opinion polls and data collected from various organizations were conducted and composed. This is the only project of its kind to have examined with this method. From the studies, they had discovered there was a gap between theory and practice when it came to understanding indigenous political performance. From that, the study also showed that indigenous people began to assemble politically: voting more, supporting certain candidates for office, promoting, petitioning, etc. The numbers were outrageous and resources to support elected officials and candidates that claim to be friendly to the Native American attitude of self-determination, gaming and economic development issues, were off the charts.
This relates to our class, Race and Minorities, by going into further detail about the struggles and quarrels of American Indian communities by specifying their challenges and what was done to try to lift the burden. In Forced Federalism, the author discussed the American Indian Movement. How the AIM was not protesting state or federal neglect of constituents. Rather, it was drawing attention to violations by a sovereign nation, the United States, of an international agreement with another sovereign nation, the Oglala Sioux. To reinforce its claim to sovereignty, AIM attempted to present its case before the United Nations, a forum where sovereign nations handle problems with other sovereign nations. In class we went into great detail about how the movement was started in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota with an agenda focusing on leadership, spirituality and independence. The movement was created to focus on the issues Native American communities were facing, such as poverty, harassment and treaty issues.
When I first started reading Forced Federalism, I did not enjoy it what so ever. Readings focused on history don’t particularly catch or draw my attention in, they appear “dry”. Although it was a slow start to the book, the further I read, the more I enjoyed it. Learning about the history and process of tribal economic development was a different and interesting aspect to discover. The government plays an important role in communities and can be intimidating when not following their preferred procedures. The circumstance under which those Indian communities had to conform from self-determination to “forced federalism” stunned me.
The novel, Forced Federalism, was an extreme eye opener for me. If the Indian Nations had chosen to gradually convert to federalism, I would have agreed because it was their choice. The fact the government forced this onto the Indian communities is beside me. However, I do agree with the statements and arguments throughout the novel that argue a moneyed casino culture is not a sustainable indigenous future. When all is said and done and casinos have run their course on the economics of the town, all that will be left is land, language and the relationship of the community. So no matter the race, ethnicity or origin of a town or community, the system of how it should be ruled, should lie within the decision of the people. After all, the individuals that know what is best for the community are the ones that exist withing that community.