Volume 6, Fall 2000

It's Time for Permanent Representation for California Indians in Washington, D.C.

A message from Patricia Dixon, Chair of the CILS Board of Trustees.

As the Chair of the CILS Board of Trustees, I would like to personally invite you to join us on California Indian Day as CILS holds its fifth annual Awards Banquet and celebrates over a third of a century of remarkable achievement.

Since its creation in 1967 by California Indian leaders and public interest attorneys, CILS has played a central role in securing the full sovereignty of California Tribes, protecting the special rights of California Indians, and creating national and regional organizations such as the Native American Rights Fund, Indian Dispute Resolution Services, D-Q University and the National Association of Indian Legal Services. Of course, CILS has provided legal services to almost every Tribe in California and tens of thousands of Indian families and individuals.

With the support of California Tribes, individual donors, corporations and foundations, we are proud to have achieved this level of accomplishment despite the fact that government funding for legal services has dropped by 75 percent since CILS was founded. CILS now employs more than twenty-seven advocates in five offices throughout California, making us better equipped than ever to represent the interests of California Indians.

The legal needs of California Indians and Tribes, which have always been profoundly complex, have become even more complicated. While litigating to seek redress for past wrongs and secure the rights of California Indians continues to be a critical part of what CILS does, it is increasingly true that California Indians need representation in the halls of Congress.

Decisions are being made daily in D.C. that have a profound effect on the lives of California Indians. Our communities are routinely denied funding and services that are made available to other states. These decisions are not made out of malice, but because there is an incomplete understanding of the unique status of California Indians and Tribes. The CILS Board of Trustees believes it is now time to correct this situation by opening a D.C. CILS office. This office, which will be staffed by attorneys who have spent decades working for our Tribes and communities, will provide all California Indians with access to experienced legislative advocates and office space from which to coordinate California Indian legislative activities.

While this ambitious undertaking requires significant additional support for CILS from the California Indian community, we know the return on this investment will be many times the initial cost. For example, over the last 33 years, the total cost of operating CILS has been roughly $50 million (approximately $8 million of which has come from Tribal and community support). However, the benefit to our community in terms of increased government spending on California Indians due to lawsuits brought by CILS now exceeds $1.5 billion. Meanwhile, no one can put a price on the value of the more than 30 Tribes that now have federal recognition due to the efforts of CILS, the tens of thousands of acres that have been placed in trust, the thousands of Indian kids who have been able to grow up Indian, or the right of California Indians to make their own laws and live by them.

We believe there is no limit to the benefits that will flow from establishing a California Indian legislative center in Washington, D.C. By our most conservative estimates, we anticipate that within a year or two of establishing this office, the benefits to our community will far exceed the annual cost of maintaining the office. The time to act is now, and once again, on behalf of the Board and Staff of CILS, I hope you will attend our fifth annual Awards Banquet to celebrate a third of a century of success and join us as we begin a new era that will lead to a dramatic improvement in the lives of our communities, our Tribes and our families.