Indian Nations and National Spiritual Assemblies

1. Question to the Universal House of Justice

2. Response from the Universal House of Justice

Your email message of 13 January 2002 has been warmly received at the Bahá'í World Centre, and we can reply as follows.

The Universal House of Justice was touched by the spirit of love and devotion expressed in your letter and has noted your suggestion that it consider officially recognizing native American reservations as sovereign states. In response to a similar recommendation, the following was provided on behalf of the House of Justice:

...Clearly, this recommendation was prompted by a conscientious desire, inspired by basic Bahá'í principles, to assist the downtrodden to rise to the full realization of their rights and responsibilities as human beings. Indeed, the purpose of the coming of Bahá'u'lláh is to lift the yoke of oppression from his loved ones, to liberate all the people of the world, and to provide the means for their abiding happiness. In this regard, the Tablets of the Divine Plan addressed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to North America make it clear that the destiny of the native Americans as an illumined and fulfilled people is linked to the quality of their response to the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. The primary obligation of the American Bahá'ís must therefore be to see that the Divine Message is effectively delivered to the native peoples. In their effort, the friends must be certain to demonstrate through their attitude, actions and words the genuineness of their belief in the Faith's central principle, namely, the oneness of humankind.

The friends will, too, want to assist in ways that are appropriate and practical towards resolving the complex issues confronting the native peoples. But since these issues, like tribal governance, sovereignty and local self-determination, are frequently entangled in political contention, the friends must guard against such entanglements lest the character and purpose of the Faith be jeopardized. Sovereignty, for instance, is essentially a political matter, as it is concerned with claims to political autonomy and its far-reaching implications. While American Indian tribes may justifiably be regarded as nations, they are not nation states within the Federation of the United States of America. Determining questions of sovereignty is the prerogative of established political authorities....