Indian Preference Expanded

The U.S. Department of Interior must give preference to qualified Indians for all positions within the Department of Interior that relate to the provision of services to American Indians, not just the Bureau of Indian Affairs, according to a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Indian Educators Federation v. Kempthorne (Civil No. 04-01215). The Indian Educators Federation argued that Section 12 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 mandates employment preference for American Indians employed in any position in the Department of Interior that directly and primarily relates to the provision of services to American Indians. In ruling for the organization, the court examined the Interior Department’s historical interpretation of Section 12 and the meaning of the term “Indian Office,” as used in the act. Though acknowledging that the term is ambiguous in the Act, the court determined that the ambiguity should be “construed liberally to favor the Indians.”