Rep. Martin Heinrich Legislation Supports Native Property Rights

When push comes to shove, property rights form the basis of any truly free society. And, while no single group of people in North America has suffered from a loss of property rights to the extent that Native Americans have, Rep. Martin Heinrich has introduced legislation that represents one small step forward in improving the ability of residents of Indian reservations to buy and sell property. The legislation is described here.

As our friends at the Property & Environment Research Council have pointed out, Native Americans often had strong views on property rights, but these traditions were ignored by the federal government in their creation of the reservation system which made the buying and selling of property extremely difficult. So, while we still have a long way to go before individual property rights are completely restored on tribal lands, Rep. Heinrich should be applauded for working to move things in the right direction.