Fact Sheet

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.

1. 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.
2. 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:

1. 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.
2. A monitoring system that checks on an employer’s performance to guarantee that they are in compliance with TERO preference provisions.
3. 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 Frequently Asked Questions.