TBE's plan may include using the provisions of the Jay Treaty to claim free border crossing. If he can get any US entity to recognize him he would be able to cross the border without inspection.
Yes he did try this with the Alleghany Seneca, the Tonawanda Seneca and the Six Nations Confederacy and will get no where with us.
We know that he is not able to get recognition by the US Government because of a previous post by Kosowith:
"It drives me crazy when fakes, or misinformed people make outragious claims, especially when so many legitimate groups/people suffer for this idiocy. I know this is a very long post but to do the subject justice would take several hundred pages and I will spare you that
I’ve been thinking about one of the original posts about that “Tecumseh Brown, et al” and the various responses,indicating that it had recently come to their attention that many of Brown’s claims were false. Forgive me it I am quoting wrong or if I remember the post about the claims that Brown made as those quotes are no longer available on line. And for those in the U.S. please forgive the British spellings, I can’t get my computer to keep its U.S. spellings. Another reason to buy local despite what seems to be a great bargain price.
There seems to be a GREAT deal of misinformation and lack of knowledge about, basic legal concepts, Indian law, the recognition process, and the role and jurisdiction of the UN and world courts are I would like to give a very brief and superficial overview. Please understand that to really understand takes years and years of study and these are ALWAYS shifting sands. What I mean is, law, both in the US and internationally is under constant re-clarification and change. That is how the court system works. This is not a comment on the justice of how this works or not – just how it is done.
First – the process for a North American Indian group living within the boundaries of the United States to attain federal recognition and government to government status. (It is very different in Canada, so I am only looking at the US statues and proceedures)
Application must be made through the BAR (Branch of Acknowledgement and Research) within the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) which is part of the Department of the Interior.
The BAR implements 25 CFR Part 83 – Procedures for Establishing that an American Indian Groups Exists as an Indian Tribe. The BAR consists of approximately eleven (11) staff persons -- professional anthropologists, genealogists and historians -- who evaluate petitions for federal recognition and make recommendations to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs on whether to approve or deny each petition.
Of the over 300 applications received between 1954, when the US began terminating American Indian Nation-US relationships, (terminating tribes) and 2007 only 15 have passed BAR review to proceed onto the next stage, or review by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior. MOST of these are groups that held recognition prior to the Termination Act and immediately upon termination began the process to gain re-recognition. They have the clearest documentation based on the fact that they were recognized prior to 1950. Even for them, as the BAR states, “Exceptional anthropological, genealogical and historical research is required for any consideration.”
Forbidden from application are: associations, organizations, corporations or groups of any character that have been formed in recent times (post 1934 is considered recent by most researchers) Splinter groups, political factions or groups of any nature that separate from the main body of a currently recognized tribe.
Criteria REQUIRED for petition to be accepted for further evaluation: The Assistant Secretary will acknowledge the existence of the petitioner as an Indian tribe if it satisfies all of the following criteria:
a. The petitioner has been identified as an American Indian entity on a continuous basis since 1900.
b. A predominant portion of the petitioning group comprises a distinct community and has existed as a community from historical times until the present. c. The petitioner has maintained political influence or authority over its members as an autonomous entity from historical times until the present.
d. It submits to the BAR a copy of the group's present governing document including its membership criteria which must follow IRA regulations
e. The petitioner's membership consists of individuals who descend from a historical Indian tribe or from historical Indian tribes which combined and functioned as a single autonomous political entity. (It must also submit a copy of each available former list of members based on the group's own criterion).
There are other rules that apply to groups that were terminated, but would not apply to the Erie.
For a good example of how difficult the historic criteria (identified as an American Indian entity on a substantially continuous basis since 1900) is, you can take the example of the followers of Little Shell who were not given land at the same time as Stone Child and Little Bear, even though the Canadian government and the US government have documentation as their being a separate group, their intermarriage, continued relationship with other Chippewa-Cree groups has prohibited them from the final acceptance of the Dept. of Interior. They have state recognition, but so far, not federal. This is the same for almost all of the groups who have reached the final review status.
It is my understanding from what was posted on line and from what I have seen of some of Mr. Brown’s claims on his sites, that they would have difficulty with all of these. Also,
Since the introduction of the American Indian Gaming Act – 12 States have filed suits against the BIA for recognizing groups within their boundaries that they do not want to have gaming establishments. The ruling of the Supreme Court in February 2009 (just last month for this
posting) ruled for Rhode Island and against the Tribes. So, it is getting even more difficult to establish recognition.
So now lets switch to International law – and Mr. Browns ludicrous assertion that he could file some sort of action against the US, the Seneca or anything else.
The International Court of Justice Court or ICJ; (Cour internationale de Justice) is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by member states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international organizations, agencies, and the UN General Assembly.
Not by unrecognized groups within a member state – especially anyone that exists in a member state that sits on the Security Council. (is: the US)
The ICJ should not be confused with the International Criminal Court, which also potentially has some "global" jurisdiction. The United States withdrew from compulsory jurisdiction in 1986, and so accepts the court's jurisdiction only on a case-to-case basis. Chapter XIV of the United Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to enforce World Court rulings, but such enforcement is subject to the veto power of the five permanent members of the Council.(One of which is the US)
In contentious cases (adversial proceedings seeking to settle a dispute), the ICJ produces a binding ruling between states that agree to submit to the ruling of the court. Only nation states may be parties in contentious cases. Individuals, corporations, parts of a federal state, NGOs, and self-determination groups are excluded from direct participation in cases.
Jurisdiction is often a crucial question for the Court in contentious cases. The key principle is that the ICJ has jurisdiction only on the basis of consent.
International Court of Appeals (Also in the Hague) has the jurisdiction over cases in which an entity has already files a suit against a nation-state and has lost. It is similar to the Supreme Court in the US and can only review cases that have passed through all other appeals. (US Supreme Court, North American Appeals Court, Appeals Court of the Americas, etc.) Then and only then will it review. AND – this is again non-binding. A negative judgment only provides negative press.
At this time I won’t even begin to comment on the rather idiotic assertions that he or his group have ANY rights to NAMAI or anything else."
So who is this TBE that he thinks that he can contact our people, our chiefs and leaders threatening the way he does??? He is nothing to us and he can go to hell!! You don't scare us Tecumseh Brown Eagle, aka Abdul Abdulla Shabazz Muhammed Mohammed, James Oliver Johnson 111 , who is African American Muslem and not a NAI!
Oneh
Niiki from Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
