Following a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that challenged the Chamorro Land Trust Act as alleged race-based discrimination, a senator suggested seeking a federal designation of indigenous Guam residents as a tribal entity.

Tribal status can be conferred "through treaties, decisions of the U.S. federal court or through an act of Congress," according to the idea's proponent, Sen. Michael San Nicolas.

San Nicolas introduced Resolution 255-34, which seeks action by the U.S. Congress to recognize the indigenous people of Guam as a federally recognized tribe, and the Chamorro Land Trust as federally recognized tribal lands.

'The right thing to do'

"The Chamorro people have been and will forever be the native peoples of Guam," a press release from San Nicolas states. "To secure the proper federal tribal recognition of the Chamorro people and the Chamorro lands so designated by the Chamorro Land Trust is the right thing to do."

The resolution asks Guam Delegate Madeleine Bordallo to introduce legislation granting full recognition of CHamorus as an Indian tribe under federal law. While the government of Guam uses the old "Chamorro" spelling, The Guam Daily Post uses the newly recognized CHamoru.

According to the senator's office, full federal recognition as an Indian tribe "would protect the Chamorro lands and empower the Chamorro people greater than the recognition received by Hawaii under the Hawaii Homes Commission Act of 1921."

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Sept. 29 against the local government, the Chamorro Land Trust Commission and its administrative director for alleged race-based discrimination.

Only individuals identified as "native Chamorros" are eligible for Chamorro Land Trust leases and this qualifies as discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act, according to the Justice Department.

Special recognition

But according to San Nicolas, federal recognition as an Indian tribe would grant CHamorus on Guam special recognition.

"A federally recognized tribe has a government-to-government relationship with the federal government," according to San Nicolas. "Federally recognized tribes are also eligible for funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and are entitled to receive benefits, services and protections because of their special relationship to the United States," his release added.

Moreover, federally recognized tribes are acknowledged to have inherent rights of self-government and this ensures any decision about tribes with regard to property and citizens are made with their consent, the release added.

The Chamorro Land Trust Commission was established in 1974. The commission works similarly to the Hawaii Homes Commission, but unlike the Hawaii commission, the CLTC was not enacted by Congress and does not have federal recognition.

"Furthermore, the Hawaii Homes Commission Act, administered by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), lost the right to administer the lands strictly on a tribal basis, with the Supreme Court ruling in Rice v. Cayetano that a native basis for serving in the OHA is discriminatory," the release from San Nicolas stated.