Tribe a Step Closer to Recognition by U.S. Agency

WASHINGTON —  The San Francisco Bay area’s Muwekma Ohlone Indians are one step closer to victory in their long-running battle to gain federal recognition.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina has given the Bureau of Indian Affairs until July 28 to schedule completion of its review of the tribe’s membership and history.

The bureau examines genealogical, historical and legal records of tribes seeking recognition. Tribes must document that they are distinct and have been represented by continuing governments throughout their history. But the process is widely criticized: Tribes occasionally wait as long as 25 years for decisions. Even the bureau has acknowledged that a quicker system could be implemented.

The Muwekma case provides another example in the current debate in Congress over whether to remove recognition responsibilities from the bureau, which has a backlog of 200 cases and completes an average of 1.3 a year. Critics complain that the standards are subjective and ambiguous.

“The burden of proof is so enormous on the tribes,” said San Jose State lecturer Alan Leventhal. “It shouldn’t take more than 30 days to read the materials and 60 days to make a decision. Twenty years is an absurdity.”

Leventhal helped Muwekma Ohlone tribal members trace their history and compile 4,000 pages of genealogical records and other documents dating to 1773.

The tribe sued in December, asking Urbina to force the bureau to decide the case within a year on the basis of the tribe’s petition, which was filed in 1995.

Urbina, who called delays “extensive and unacceptable,” refused to set a deadline for a bureau answer because of concerns that the case could hurt other tribes awaiting recognition. His 22-page ruling, based on written arguments without a hearing, was filed June 30 and announced Friday by the tribe.

Because complaints about the recognition process have circulated for years, Muwekma members hope the decision will provide ammunition to take the review process away from the bureau.

“I hope this helps members of Congress recognize the baptism in hell that the tribes have to go through,” said Rosemary Cambra, chairwoman of the Muwekma tribal council. “We have to keep in mind that justice delayed is justice denied.”