“States shall provide effective mechanisms for the prevention of, and redress for:

(

a

) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of theirintegrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities;(

b

) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of theirlands, territories or resources;(

c

) Any form of forced population transfer which has the aim or effect of violating or undermining any of their rights;(

d 

) Any form of forced assimilation or integration;(

e

) Any form of propaganda designed to promote or incite racial or ethnicdiscrimination directed against them.

Moreover, enactment of the proposed actions listed below would go a long way to achieving theends of the Declaration. (Article 38)

 

First and foremost, the State should provide an efficient enforcement mechanism for theredress of alleged violations of the ICRA and other tribal and/or federal laws enacted to protectand preserve the rights of the individual Indian. The mechanism should include de novo reviewby federal courts of tribal court actions, upon the exhaustion of tribal remedies, where violationsof the ICRA are or have been alleged. And, in instances where there is no tribal court,individual(s) alleging violations of the ICRA or other human and civil rights violations shall beallowed to file an action in federal court and the federal court shall have jurisdiction to hear thedispute. Tribal officials, as well as State officials, shall not be allowed to invoke immunity from

 prosecution for alleged rights violations nor shall a tribe’s sovereignty shield its officers,

employees, or agents.The State has previously amended the ICRA, so such action is not unprecedented. TheTribal Law and Order Act of 2010 changed the ICRA to ensure that defendants in criminalproceedings in tribal courts are afforded the same or similar rights and/or privileges as criminaldefendants in the courts of the State. While the rights of criminal defendants were expanded on,

no action was taken by the State to “fix” the flaws of the ICRA which affect the basic human and

civil rights of those victimized as a result of the ICRA.Secondly, State agencies, such as the Department of Justice, the Department of theInterior, and the State Department, shall have the authority and responsibility to investigateand/or prosecute alleged rights violations committed against indigenous people of the State. Atits homepage (www.jostice.gov/otj/civilrights.htm), the Department of Justice Civil RightsDivision clearly states that it does not have the authority to enforce the ICRA. The AIRRO isunaware of any State department or agency which exercises such authority or which will upholdits trust responsibility to protect the rights of the individual Indian.The BIA shall also be required to review and approve or deny any and all actions takenby tribal governments and/or tribal officials which may affect the rights of an individual orgroup. Alleged violations of the ICRA shall require automatic review and the BIA shall havethe authority to over-rule actions taken in violation of the ICRA or other applicable tribal or State