SEC. 3. All property, both real and personal, of the wife owned and claimed by her before marriage, and that acquired afterwards by gift, devise or descent, shall be her separate property. And laws shall be passed more clearly defining the rights of the wife, in relation, as well as to her separate property as that held in common with her husband. Laws shall also be passed providing for the registration of the wife's separate property. SEC. 4. Divorces from the bonds of matrimony shall not be granted, but in cases provided for by law, by suit in the District Court of this Nation. SEC. 5. The Legislature shall determine the number of Annuity Captains, as well as to prescribe the mode and manner they shall be chosen, to superintend the payments of Chickasaw annuities. SEC. 6. Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office or place of honor or profit, under the authority of this Nation; who, shall be convicted of having given or offered any bribe to procure his election or appointment. Laws shall be made to exclude from office and from suffrage, and provide for the mode and manner of punishing those who may hereafter be convicted of bribery, perjury, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. SEC. 7. That every white person, who having married a Chickasaw Indian, or who has been adopted by the legislative authorities of said Nation shall be entitled to all the rights, privileges and immunities guaranteed to them only by the thirty eighth Article of the Treaty of 1866, with the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians. SEC. 8. No person, but a citizen, shall hold any office of profit created, or which may hereafter be created, under this Constitution; and no citizen shall fill more than one office at the same time. SEC. 9. No retrospective payments shall be made out of the Chickasaw monies, to any person herein adopted, or which may hereafter be adopted under this Constitution. SEC. 10. The Legislature shall have power, by law, to admit or adopt, as citizens of this Nation, such persons as may be acceptable to the people at large. SEC. 11. Whenever two-thirds of both branches of the Legislature deem it necessary, they may propose amendments to this Constitution; and if two-thirds of both branches of the succeeding Legislature approve such amendments, they shall be engrafted to, and form a part of this Constitution. SEC. 12. The Legislature shall provide for the election of all officers necessary to carry into effect the general and specific powers of the several courts of this Nation, not otherwise provided for in this Constitution. SEC. 13. The Legislature shall prescribe the manner of making marriage lawful. SEC. 14. The Legislature shall limit the annual rate of interest on writing obligations for the payment of money. SEC. 15. All general elections by the people for officers under this Constitution shall be held on the second Wednesday in August, in each year. The Legislature shall prescribe the manner of conducting said elections. SEC. 16. That no inconvenience may arise from the political separation between the Choctaws and Chickasaws, it is hereby declared, that all rights, privileges, and immunities of citizens secured under the "5th Article of the Treaty of June 22, 1855," to all Choctaws who are now, or may hereafter become residents within the limits of the Chickasaw Nations, are fully recognized and protected. And all the rights of property acquired by virtue of the Constitution and laws of the Choctaw Nation, shall remain precisely in the same situation they were before the adoption of this Constitution. SEC. 17. The Legislature shall provide for the confinement of convicts, or persons accused of crime, previous to trial. Also the manner of punishment for all crimes and misdemeanors committed against the laws of this Nation. SEC. 18. The oath of office may be administered by any Judge of this Nation. SEC. 19. All rights and powers not herein granted or expressed, are reserved unto the people; and any law that may be passed contrary to the provisions of this Constitution shall be null and void. PUBLIC EDUCATION SECTION 1. A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of this Nation to make suitable provisions for the support and maintenance of Public Schools. SEC. 2. A Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be elected by joint vote of both Houses of the Legislature, who shall keep his office at the seat of government, and shall hold his office for the term of four years from the date of his election, whose duties shall be prescribed by law, and shall receive such compensation as the Legislature may direct. SEC. 3. The Legislature shall encourage, by all suitable means, the promotion of intellectual, scientific, moral and agricultural improvement, and such other means as shall be inviolably appropriated to the support of general education throughout this Nation. SEC. 4. All contracts which may be made and entered into between the Board of Trustees of Public Schools, and that of the Teachers shall be binding; subject, however, to the approval or disapproval of the Legislature. Done in Convention at Camp Harris, this sixteenth day of August 1867. President. THOMAS DREUNEN, Secretaries. Chairman ABOUREZK. Do you have a Choctaw constitution, Mr. Sam? Mr. SAM. Yes; we have one. We would also like to submit a detailed statement at a later time. Chairman ABOUREZK. Yes, the record will be held open for 10 days. [Subsequent to the hearing, Mr. Sam submitted the following material:] 93-643 - 77 - 5 Senator James Abourezk Chairman Select Committee on Indian Affairs United States Senate Washington, D.C. Chairman Abourezk: The enclosed information expands upon the testimony given before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs on May 25, 1977. Because neither I nor the Choctaw General Council presently have the resources available to file a legal brief regarding the Principal Chief's lack of authority to seek, to enter into, or to conclude negotiations on behalf of the Choctaw Nation without legislative authorization by the Choctaw General Council, we have stated the major issues and summarized the most important factors which have led us to the present position. When the Choctaw Nation received the land which includes the Arkansas River bed in exchange for its holdings east of the Mississippi River, it was a sovereign entity with a tripartite division of authority modeled after the institutional structure of the United States. A Choctaw Nation Constitution existed which evidenced the fundamental premises of Choctaw political activity and which established the parameters of legitimate activity by tribal authorities. Unless the actions of the Principal Chief were done in conformity with the Constitution, any agreements made were void and not binding upon the Choctaw Nation as an entity. In The Choctaw Constitution (see Appendix A) remains effective as the governing expression of tribal authority. Since the Choctaw tribal government must operate in conformity with its Constitution, the Principal Chief is barred from seeking a settlement agreement unless he is authorized by constitutionally mandated sources. testimony before the Committee we established that the controlling sections of the Constitution forbade such actions. We stated "Article VII section 11 of the Choctaw Constitution confirms the Council's inherent legislative power while Article V sections 7 and 8 require the Chief to act pursuant to legislative authorization only. He has no authority to enter such agreements without legislative directive and Article II section 2 prohibits executive usurpation of legislative powers." These constitutional provisions of the Choctaw Nation must be honored if the relations between the United States and the Choctaw Nation are to rest upon principled action rather than mere political or economic expediency. Despite persistent bureaucratic attempts to undercut the Choctaw Nation's General Council, the Council's authorization remains an indispensable precedent for legitimate executive action. Under an almost identical factual and statutory background, the federal court in Harjo v Kleppe 420 F Supp 1110 (see Appendix B) held that the Creek National Council was a required partner in tribal affairs and the Principal Chief of the Creek Nation was not the sole embodiment of Creek tribal government. The court ordered that specific steps be taken to restore the tribal government to operation under its constitutional design. In its 1976 Annual Report, the Solicitor's Office in the Department of the Interior recognizes the Choctaw and Chickasaw as being similarly situated (see Appendix C). The past bureaucratic practice of dealing only with the Principal Chief is no longer legally acceptable. Consequently, it would be most inappropriate for the United States Congress to enact Senate Bill 660. There is evidence that the citizens of the Choctaw Nation support the revitalization of Choctaw constitutional processes. For example, there is a perception that one person should not be in a position to unilaterally determine the fate of a whole people. This concern is particularly appropriate in the present controversy since the judicious management, sale or lease of the Arkansas Riverbed resources may well be the pivotal event in determining the Tribe's long range capacities for satisfying the needs of its populace. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has sought to perpetuate the myth that the Principal Chief is the only party with which it must deal. This view is erroneous in light of Hario v Kleppe, past congressional action (see Appendix D, section 28), present congressional policy of encouraging Indian self-determination, and the wishes of the Choctaw General Council. Furthermore, two relevant petitions are presently being circulated in the Choctaw Nation. The first petition seeks the election of officers under the Choctaw Nation's Constitution and Interior's recognition of the Constitution as the controlling document for Choctaw governmental organization. (see Appendix E). The second demands that no action be taken on the Arkansas Riverbed legislation until the General Council is properly informed about the studies and has an opportunity to decide what actions, if any, the Tribe should take (see Appendix F). Although the present controversy should be properly decided on constitutional terms alone, these petitions indicate that there is local support for the constitutional issues. Since the primary issue involved is the constitutional authority of the Choctaw Principal Chief to act in the present circumstances, shortcomings of the Arkansas River studies will not be dealt with at the present time. The major problem is that the studies are exceedingly conservative in asserting tribal ownership of marginal lands along the river. One review indicates that the Tribes may possibly own as much as 5,000-6,000 more acres than the studies indicate. If true, the Tribes are in an extremely disadvantageous negotiating position and the figures mentioned may be grossly inadequate. In any case, the General Council should be the body which determines the relative merits of relinquishing claims to the additional acreages rather than have them conceded without sufficient consideration. Preliminary review indicates that the oil and gas estimates may be unrealistically low. Confirmation of the evaluation for oil and gas resources is needed before any final settlement agreement is possible. Of particular concern is the possibility that significant resources may exist which have not yet been proven and, therefore, have not been included in the valuation figures. The above problems are merely indicative of the concerns we have about the studies. Since the Choctaw General Council has had no role in formulating the study proposals or in approving/rejecting the findings, there is no reliable manner by which shortcomings may be identified or tribal interests safeguarded. A sale or long term lease agreement by the Principal Chief under such circumstances may well constitute irresponsible action which is not in the best interests of the Choctaw Nation. We appreciate the opportunity to express our views to the Committee and urge that the Committee delay action until the conditions outlined in our testimony are met. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely yours, Jimmy Son Jimmy Sam |