Senate Concurrent Resolution 5 - Introduced SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 5 BY SODDERS and SCHNEIDER A Concurrent Resolution requesting the Congress of 1 the United States to repeal the federal Act of 2 June 30, 1948, that conferred on the State of Iowa 3 jurisdiction over offenses committed by or against 4 Indians on the Meskwaki Settlement. 5 WHEREAS, the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi 6 in Iowa (the Meskwaki) is a federally recognized tribe 7 organized in accordance with Section 16 of the federal 8 Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934, 48 Stat. 9 984, as amended by the federal Act of June 15, 1935, 49 10 Stat. 378, under a Constitution and Bylaws approved by 11 the Secretary of the Interior on December 20, 1937; and 12 WHEREAS, in 1857, the Meskwaki purchased 80 acres 13 in Tama County which was held in trust by the State of 14 Iowa as permitted by then Governor James Grimes and 15 for the next 30 years the Meskwaki governed themselves 16 virtually free from interference from both the federal 17 and state governments; and 18 WHEREAS, the jurisdictional status of the Meskwaki 19 during this period of time was unclear as the tribe was 20 recognized by the federal government but also had a 21 continuing relationship with the State of Iowa due to 22 the Meskwaki’s private ownership of land which was held 23 in trust by the Governor of the State of Iowa; and 24 WHEREAS, in 1895, in order to clear up any 25 ambiguities, the State of Iowa ceded to the federal 26 government all jurisdiction over the Meskwaki with the 27 stipulation that nothing in the transfer of the tribal 28 -1- LSB 2678XS (6) 86 jm/rj 1/ 4

S.C.R. 5 lands would prevent the State of Iowa from exercising 1 jurisdiction over crimes against the laws of Iowa 2 committed either by Indians or others on the Meskwaki 3 Settlement; and 4 WHEREAS, during what is now known as the Indian 5 Termination Era, the United States government tried to 6 end its trusteeship over Indian reservations throughout 7 the country and in part passed the federal Act of June 8 30, 1948, which conferred jurisdiction over criminal 9 offenses committed on the Meskwaki Settlement to the 10 State of Iowa; and 11 WHEREAS, the federal Act of June 30, 1948, was 12 passed at a time when there was a perception that 13 there was lawlessness on the Meskwaki Settlement and 14 an absence of adequate tribal institutions for law 15 enforcement; and 16 WHEREAS, the passage of the federal Act of June 30, 17 1948, provided no federal funding to the State of Iowa 18 to assume this responsibility which has amounted to an 19 unfunded federal mandate and the resulting cost over 20 the years has been unfairly borne by the taxpayers of 21 Tama County; and 22 WHEREAS, in the past 67 years much has changed at 23 the federal, state, and tribal levels in the area of 24 criminal law enforcement and in the development of laws 25 in general on the Meskwaki Settlement; and 26 WHEREAS, the federal Tribal Law and Order Act of 27 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-211, authorized Indian tribes 28 to expand the prosecution and punishment of criminal 29 offenders if certain due process requirements were 30 -2- LSB 2678XS (6) 86 jm/rj 2/ 4

S.C.R. 5 followed; and 1 WHEREAS, Indian tribes have recently achieved more 2 authority to prosecute criminal offenses committed 3 on tribal lands as evidenced by the enactment of the 4 federal Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act 5 of 2013, Pub. L. No. 113-4, which for the first time 6 allowed tribal enforcement over non-natives who commit 7 domestic violence on tribal lands; and 8 WHEREAS, the State of Iowa was the first in the 9 nation to pass Native American grave protection 10 legislation, commonly known as the Iowa Graves 11 Protection Act, 1976 Iowa Acts, ch. 1158, §7, that 12 came into law before the federal version and before 13 the more recent passage of Iowa’s Recognition and 14 Enforcement of Tribal Civil Judgments Act, 2007 Iowa 15 Acts, ch. 192, which followed the development of the 16 Meskwaki Tribal Court System in 2005, with its first 17 case being tried in 2006, and 2003 state legislation, 18 2003 Iowa Acts, ch. 87, recognizing the Meskwaki Tribal 19 Police and allowing them to participate in the Iowa Law 20 Enforcement Academy and to become state certified; and 21 WHEREAS, the Meskwaki has greatly enhanced at 22 its own expense the tribe’s criminal justice system 23 and now provides a fully functioning court system 24 through the establishment of a state certified police 25 force, legally trained and licensed public defenders, 26 prosecutors and judges, and a full-time probation 27 officer, and provides for the publication of its tribal 28 laws; and 29 WHEREAS, the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault 30 -3- LSB 2678XS (6) 86 jm/rj 3/ 4

S.C.R. 5 and the Iowa Coalition against Domestic Violence have 1 noted that the victims of domestic violence on the 2 Meskwaki Settlement prefer that prosecution and other 3 court services be handled by the tribal court of the 4 Meskwaki Settlement; NOW THEREFORE, 5 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF 6 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the Iowa General 7 Assembly urges the members of the United States Senate 8 and the United States House of Representatives to 9 repeal the Act of June 30, 1948, Pub. L. No. 846, 10 62 Stat. 1161, which conferred on the State of Iowa 11 jurisdiction over offenses committed by or against 12 Indians on the Meskwaki Settlement and to take whatever 13 steps are necessary to achieve such a repeal; and 14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That upon passage of this 15 resolution, the Secretary of the Senate shall transmit 16 copies of this resolution to the President of the 17 United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States 18 House of Representatives, and the members of Iowa’s 19 congressional delegation. 20 -4- LSB 2678XS (6) 86 jm/rj 4/ 4