Native American Tribes have the sovereign
power to control the employment practices of all employers on their
reservations and to pass the strongest employment/contracting rights
laws in the nation. Whether an employer is mining Tribal resources,
building federally-founded buildings, or running a store, factory
or motel, a Tribal government can use its inherent sovereign powers
to require the maximum employment of Native Americans by all reservation
employers and their unions.
In addition, as citizens of the United States, Native Americans are
protected by all other anti-discrimination laws adopted by Congress
during the past three decades. These sets of rights give Native Americans
the right to claim a fair share of jobs and business opportunities
on their reservations.
The right to Native American preference comes from two major sources.
- Tribal Sovereign Power - As sovereigns, Tribal and Native
Governments have the legal authority to control the employment
practices of all employers operating on their reservations by
enacting and enforcing the strongest employment/contracting Native
American preference laws in the nation.
- Federal Statutes and Contract Law - There are several
Federal laws that impose mandatory Native American preference
on federally funded contracts or grants which have been awarded
for the benefit of Native Americans. Employers who are recipients
of such awards are required by federal as well as contract law
to provide preference to Native Americans in all aspects of employment
and contracting.
There are also several Federal laws which
permit employers operating their business on or near reservations
to voluntarily adopt Native American Preference hiring policies.
Within the past three decades, Native American tribes in the United
States have made tremendous strides in identifying and protecting
the rights, resource, and opportunities of their people. Tribes
are effectively exercising their water, hunting, fishing, and gaming
rights, and maximizing the economic return from their natural and
other resources. Additionally, Tribes are clarifying and defining
the jurisdictional sovereignty of their governments and expanding
the powers of their courts.
This type of effective advocacy is being
brought to the protection and assertion of Native American employment
and contracting rights by over 300 tribes and Alaska Native villages
who have established strong tribal enforcement programs (TERO) with
the first TERO’ started in the seventies.
History shows that only by officially passing a Tribal law imposing
Native American preference requirements and only by establishing
an office within the tribes to enforce the law will Native Americans
benefit from their special rights.
A Vigorous Native American preference program should be the core
of a Tribal employment/contracting program. Passing a law is not
enough; the tribe must develop a comprehensive compliance policy
and enforcement program that includes, for example:
- Laws and guidelines that impose specific requirements on employers
regulating their employment practices and their obligations to
provide preference in recruiting, hiring, training, and promotions
to Native Americans.
- A monitoring system that checks on an employer’s performance
to guarantee that they are in compliance with TERO preference
provisions.
- An enforcement system that imposes fines and other sanctions
on employers who fail to comply with their specific Native American
preference requirements.
To find out more about TERO, please check out TERO
Questions and Answers. |
