September 8, 1972
Page 29899
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator METCALF in sponsoring an amendment to the Federal revenue-sharing bill, H.R. 14370, to assure the allocation of such funds to American Indian tribes.
My own State of Maine has two Indian tribes, the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot Tribes, which should be permitted to benefit from the much-needed fiscal relief provided by this bill. The two tribes, living on three reservations, carry out many governmental responsibilities – such as excise tax collection, administration of schools, law enforcement, and housing – carried out by non-Indian communities. It would be unfortunate, indeed, if the tribes were not to be treated in the same manner as Congress intends for other units of local government.
Moreover, Maine's Indian tribes continue to suffer from a particularly burdensome form of administrative discrimination at the hands of Federal agencies. Because the U.S. Department of the Interior has not yet acknowledged the same trust responsibility for the Penobscots and Passamaquoddies that it exercises with respect to Federal Indian reservations, all but a few Federal agencies choose not to treat Maine's Indians on a par with Indians located in other parts of the country. The failure of the Federal Government to acknowledge its obligation has been challenged in the courts, but a resolution will not be achieved in the near future.
I am, therefore, pleased that this amendment will apply equally to all Indian tribes which perform governmental functions, regardless of their present status with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.