Indian Trust Land Should be Under tribal Control not the BIA's Control

American Indian tribes fought hard more than 100 years ago to retain their homelands, only to lose most of them and be moved onto land-based reservations. From the late 19th century, ''Indian land'' was controlled not by the tribes or individuals, but by the federal government. American Indians were not believed capable 120 years ago of handling their own affairs, managing their lands or developing them to achieve economic benefits through agriculture. Now an idea has emerged that could at least return the land held in trust to the tribes. The idea was conceived by Lance Morgan, CEO of Ho-Chunk, Inc., who spent a few months with the BIA as a contract employee in economic development. He found that the BIA spends so much time on trust land issues that it could be economically beneficial to the government and tribes if the trust land was returned to tribal control. Morgan's idea for the BIA and Department of Interior: get out of the trust land business. Reverse the racist beliefs of the 19th century and put trust in the tribes and individuals to manage their own business and their own land. Morgan's plan would put the tribes and individuals in charge of the land that is now held in trust by the federal government and get Interior out of the trust land business altogether. This, he said, could create wealth for tribes and individuals, allow American Indians to manage their own businesses and place tribes on an equal basis with other governments. [more]