Natives protest at Congress.

Wind Speaker, March, 1997 by Hayes, R. John

WASHINGTON, D.C.

In a "Rally for Indian Sovereignty," Native American leaders gathered in Washington to protest what they called "proposals that seriously threaten the constitutionally mandated trust relationship between Indian tribes and the U.S. government." The rally was sparked by the attachment of a rider to a 1997 appropriations bill by Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island, which violated the sovereignty of the Narragansett Indian Tribe from the same state.

"Senator Chafee, at the eleventh hour, bypassed the authorizing committee, without a public hearing, with no floor debate, without our consent, with no input from us, behind closed doors, attached a non-germane rider which holds that our Federal trust lands are not `Indian lands' for purposes...

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