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    "localId": "1103417",
    "label": "Pine Ridge - Treaty Review Commission",
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    "id": "1103417",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Pine Ridge - Treaty Review Commission",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1103417",
    "collections": [
        "Bradley H. Patterson Files (Ford Administration)",
        "Bradley Patterson's Native American Programs Files"
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    "subjects": [
        "Dakota Indians",
        "Indians of North America"
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    "coverageEndDate": {
        "logicalDate": "1976-09-01",
        "month": 9,
        "year": 1976
    },
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        "logicalDate": "1976-09-01",
        "month": 9,
        "year": 1976
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{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/17/1034/1103417/content/library/document/0142/1103417.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box 5, folder \"Pine Ridge - Treaty Review\nCommission\" of the Bradley H. Patterson Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nDigitized from Box 5 of the Bradley H. Patterson Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nSeptember 10, 1976\nDear Louis:\nSince the President's memorandum of August 26, designating\nme to help in the coordination of Indian policies and programs,\nI have reviewed very carefully the papers and background con-\ncerning the request of the traditional chiefs and headmen for a\n\"Presidential Treaty Review Commission\". I have gone over\nthe notes of our two-day meeting at Harper's Ferry in June\nand the earlier meeting and luncheon we had with Chief Fools\nCrow here at the White House. I have re-read Larry Red Shirt's\nletter of June 14, 1976 where, in the attachment, he indicates\nhe wants the President to \"approve and support the concept of\nthe Presidential Treaty Review Commission\".\nWhat I am still trying to get clear -- and I need your help in\ndoing this -- are specific details about the precise functions\nof such a Commission, its authority, responsibilities, member-\nship, funding, reporting deadline and the proposed procedures\nfor holding sessions.\nI must explain that there are very strict standards for staff\nwork which all modern Presidents impose here within the\nWhite House. Before a Presidential decision is made, a mem-\norandum must go to the President spelling out exactly what is\nbeing requested, the pros and cons of why it is needed, and very\nspecific descriptions of what the President is being asked to\napprove. Laws or other authorities must be indicated to show\nthat the President has the power to take the requested action\nand to show that if he creates some body or institution, even a\ntemporary one, he has the further authority to fund it.\nThis may seem a bit elaborate, but I assure you It is an ess-\nential aspect of the modern Presidency. The Congress, the\nFORD i LIBRARY GERALD\nGeneral Accounting Office or the Courts are very quick to object\nto any Presidential action which is not within the law; President\nFord insists on making sure, ahead of time, that he is never put\nin that position. That means memoranda which are in writing\nand which are prepared with great precision.\n-2-\nMy careful review of your proposal for a \"Presidential\nTreaty Commission\" gives me practically nothing on the basis\nof which to prepare such a memorandum to the President.\nIn addition to the questions raised above, there are others\nwhich come to mind about your proposal: would such a Commission\nfor example, review Indian treaties generally or be limited to\nthe 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty? In either case, what would be\nsuch a Commission's relationship with the elected Tribal leaders,\ngenerally or with those of the Pine Ridge Sioux? What would be\nthe Commission's relationship with Task Fords I of the American\nIndian Policy Review Commission, which currently is reviewing\nall the Indian treaties?\nWhat is lacking in Mr. Red Shirt's letter, and in the letter to\nthe President from the traditional chiefs and headmen of July\n24, 1976, are any specifics of this sert.\nAs you know, Mrs. Kilberg and I have already informed the\ntraditional chiefs at our Harper's Ferry meeting that n Treaty\nReview Commission could not assume a treaty-negotiating role,\nsince that is prescribed by Congress pursuant to 25 USC 71.\nWith respect to implementation, specifically, of the Treaty of\nFort Laramie of 1668, you remember that we have called to\nthe attention of the traditional chiefs and headmen the letter to\nthem from the Assistant to the President of January 8, 1974. This\nletter and its detailed attachment answered a series of fifteen\nquestions which the chiefs propounded about the 1868 Treaty --\npointing out that the United States has \"never disclaimed or\ndeclared invalid the 1868 Treaty as a whole\"- but that \"portions\nhave been modified, revoked, superceded or satisfied: -- in most\ncases by the Congress or the Courts. That letter was an ex-\nhaustive discussion of the Treaty of 1868 and its aftermath (other\nthan the pending Claims Commission action )and I honestly don't\nthink there is anything the Executive Branch can add to it.\nMr. Richard Parsons, I notice, has also responded to the Lakota\nTreaty Council on April 1, 1976 that the President cannot, as\nthey suggested, stop the Indian Claims Commission action with\nrespect to the same Black Hills Case.\nIn view of these facts, my colleagues in the White House and I\nare quite unclear as to what the functions of a Presidential\nTreaty Review Commission would be that have not already been\nhandled In laws in Claims cases or in past correspondence.\nFORD is LIBRARY 077830\n-3-\nThis letter is therefore a request for your assistance; please\nconsult with your associates and respond in writing and in\ndetail about the need, the authority, the make-up, and the\nfunctioning of the proposed Treaty Review Commission. I\nassure you in return that we here, together with the Secretary\nof the Interior and the Attorney General -- who also would\nnaturally be consulted by the President on this matter --\nwill then go over your material carefully and will get a\nPresidential decision, as you have requested.\nSincerely,\nBradley H. Patterson, Jr.\nMr. Louis Bad Wound\nPine Ridge Reservation\nSouth Dakota"
}