The Libertarian National Committee is voting on a resolution calling for the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and directing the national organization’s 2028 Platform Committee to consider restoring a similar position when making its platform recommendations.
The idea was proposed in late October, when Region 9 Representative Alex Flores brought attention to remarks by Wab Kinew, the premier of the Canadian province of Manitoba, who called on the Canadian government to abolish the Indian Act during an October 26 meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney and First Nations leaders. Carney reportedly said he is open to the idea.
Canada’s Indian Act defines several aspects of its federal government’s relationship with First Nations people, including legal recognition and governance. While not a direct equivalent, the United States’ own Bureau of Indian Affairs serves a related administrative role, overseeing federal programs and managing lands and resources held in trust for federally recognized tribes.
“Russell Means called for the same thing here in the United States nearly forty years ago,” Flores said, referencing the late Indigenous activist and former American Indian Movement leader who sought the Libertarian Party’s 1988 presidential nomination. “It’s time the Libertarian Party said it again.”
Means unsuccessfully challenged former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas for the Libertarian nomination that election cycle, finishing second at the party’s 1987 national convention. At the time, the Libertarian Party’s national platform included a plank calling for the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and allowing tribal members to determine their own systems of governance; however, that language was later stripped during the 2006 Libertarian National Convention in Portland, Oregon.
Flores proposed that the LNC direct its next Platform Committee to consider restoring the language when preparing recommendations for the 2028 Libertarian National Convention in El Paso, Texas. Following some light editing, his proposal was co-sponsored by several other national committee members, including Vice Chair Amanda Griffiths, qualifying it for a ballot.
In a follow-up message, Flores spoke in defense of his proposal, arguing that the resolution would put the national party on record of supporting the abolition of the bureau and calling for the federal government to honor its existing treaties with Indigenous nations. He also tied its timing to Native American Heritage Month, which runs through November.
Voting on the resolution is underway and will continue through November 13. Approval requires the support of three-fourths of LNC members. The full resolution language is republished below:
Resolution on Abolishing the Bureau of Indian Affairs
WHEREAS Canadian officials have called to abolish the Indian Act, and
WHEREAS Russell Means called for abolishing the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1987, and
WHEREAS the Libertarian Party Platform affirms the right of a people to alter or abolish any government that becomes destructive of their liberty,
RESOLVED, the Libertarian National Committee calls on the United States to follow suit, abolish the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and honor every treaty, and
FURTHER RESOLVED, the Libertarian National Committee recommends the 2028 Platform Committee, once seated, consider a plank calling for the abolition of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
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