‘I’m tired of being second class’ chief reacts to Biden’s Native American plans
by JOEL VAZQUEZ-JUARBE
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — President Biden is reaffirming his committment to Native American nations.
He made the announcement Wednesday as he hosted the first in person summit on tribal affairs in six years
The government is giving tribes more say in managing tribal lands and awarding millions to tribes severely impacted by climate change.
President Biden said there will now be standards for how federal agencies communicate with Native American tribes when making decisions that impact their sovereignty.
The government also aims to boost purchases of tribal energy and other goods and services.
And while the Biden administration’s steps will support some native tribes, the Waccamaw tribe chief said it’s not helping all of them.
Chief Harold Hancher said the Biden administration’s actions aren’t fair, because they only benefit federally recognized tribes.
He said that the tribe has tried to get recognized for years, but the government’s requirements don’t make it achievable.
It’s not fair, it’s not fair and it needs to change,” Chief Hancher said.
According to Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior, one of the criteria a tribe must meet to be federally recognized is a “continued existence.”
And while Chief Hancher said the tribe’s history goes farther back than the 1600s, there is no written connections to the tribe until around the late 1700s.
He said that’s when his ancestors started writing down their history.
We made that case to the state of South Carolina that we are the remnants of the Waccamaw, but we cannot show an unbroken genealogical tie to a Waccamaw at 1689, because we don’t even know the names of the Waccamaw at 1689. So, their arbitrary rules stop us from becoming federal,” he said.
As a veteran, he said this process makes him feel like his service to the country is not being honored.
I don’t know, I’m just so tired of being second class. I’m not second class when the bullets are flying. I’m right up there with the best,” he said.
And while the Biden Administration pledges to help Native Americans
Chief Hancher said his tribe is left out.
What Biden is doing won’t help me a bit. It won’t help me, it won’t help my mom, it won’t help my dad, it won’t help my children. But he’ll get credit for helping Indians and it’s just not true,” he said.
Chief Hancher said he’s written to multiple presidents and the governor to discuss another solution, but they’ve never responded.
He said that he’d like to get rid of recognition entirely and called that the process is divisive to a community that has already struggled for generations.
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