From gars@speakeasy.org Wed Aug 25 23:15:32 2004 Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 15:38:38 -0700 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.035 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 035 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, WOTANGING IKCHE - Lakota - Common News Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2004 nanews.org Aboriginal/AmerIndian Perspective about the First Nations of Turtle Island August 28, 2004 Anishnaabe miini-giizis/berry moon Kiowa aidenguak'o p'a/yellow leaves moon +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; NDNAIM and Iron Natives Mailing Lists; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "Stay off drugs," he said. "Drugs have killed thousands of the five-fingered, intelligent, earth-dwellers called man." __ Joe Shirley Jr., Navajo Nation President +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! First, a quick request: If you are native and have poetry you wish to share with others in this newsletter, please send it to gars@speakeasy.net. When someone sends me an article, poem or opinion piece I assume they have already granted tacit permission for its inclusion in Wotanging Ikche. I had hoped to receive permission to use such a contribution as the editorial for this issue, but that was not to be. Interestingly enough, the very same topic - caring for this land, this Turtle Island - was the focus of last night's talking circle at the U S Prison. There, inmates, many of them incarcerated in concrete and steel boxes for much of their adult life, spoke from the heart about damages visited on this land we were born to. These men, many from reservations that are prisons of another kind, spoke strongly of the need to protect what is left of this Earth Mother we regard ourselves as stewards to. I say, "..what is left of this Earth Mother..." because so much of it has been destroyed by the dominant society. Cyanide, taconite tailings and radioactive tailings are just a few of the thousands of deadly poisons left behind by mining operations that included little or no environmental oversight. The West Virginia mountain landscape has already been defaced by the mining practice of literally blowing the tops of mountains off to get to coal more cheaply (and to be honest, more safely for miners). The practice was halted by the courts, but the current administration has "redefined" environmental regulations in a manner similar to that done to permit roads in untouched forests, so that mining companies can now legally literally blow West Virginia's mountains away. The ruining of mountain vistas that can never be repaired is bad enough - but there are other, less obvious damages. Local folks are living with the particulates in the air and the constant boom of explosives, and they have no recourse to stop it. Worse, the demolition of mountains is literally burying vital streams and watersheds, doing untold damage to the area's water supply. Even now, the Bush administration has made inroads into formerly partially protected natural resources - quick access logging roads and exploration wells in the Artic Natural Wilderness. These are only the beginning unless we make it clear to our lawmakers these careless adventures and are misguided and intolerable. Even a dog won't mess its own nest and we're damn tired of having ours soiled. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) gars@speakeasy.org P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Letter To Our Relations - Black Mold - Politicians show a sad ignorance plagues Indian Housing about Indians - Ketchikan Tribe - COMMENTARY: BIA shakeup opposes logging of Forest clears the way for change - Diabetes: The power of prevention - Little Shell's dreams - U.S.: The Place need strong BIA Leadership where Languages come to die - IRS moves to tax - Ties to the past Fremont Indians Indian Fuel Importers - Judge allows Eastern Pequot - Navajo Water settlement delayed role in Tribe Hearing - Navajos want assurance - Literature Congress will finish NAPI for Native American Children - San Juan Water users - Backdoor approach eyed fail to stop Settlement on Native Hawaiian Bill - Interior may delay - Pipeline Review Panel Oil and Gas Projects Members appointed - Ponca Nation battles - Lawyers praised for support Taiwanese Giant of Native Survivors - Black Mesa Coal Mine - Chre'tien foresaw trouble threatened by Disputes at Ipperwash - Plan to drill on Wind River - Native Prisoner under scrutiny -- Incarceration Pow Wow - MSU launching Program -- Ministry offers Inmates in Indian Legal Issues chance to reconnect to - MSU Tribal Law Tribal Spirituality - Deal to help Crow - Rustywire: Native Born Tribal Home buyers - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Tulalips dissolve - Rustywire Poem: Come My Child Housing Authority - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Letter To Our Relations" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 18:13:07 EDT From: ShadowDancer127@aol.com Subj: Letter To Our Relations >To: gars@nanews.org If Native Americans Don't Do It, Who Will Haku All Is it my imagination, or is it that no one is able to stand back and do a reality check on what is currently happening with not only Our Environment, but Our Mother Earth as well? I have taken that step back many times since 9/11 and have observed that our environment as well as human life has become somewhat EXPENDABLE, and therefore acceptable collateral damage. Though many of My Relations and I continue the good fight to save us from Mother Earth's deterioration, we continue to struggle against our children's covert executioners by allowing the use of pesticides and other pollutants that get either mixed into our waters, dropped from the sky or blown into the air while they are at school or enjoying carefree moments in their playgrounds or backyards. We continue to use gas-guzzling automobiles that send pollution into an ever-increasing gap in the Earth's fragile ozone, and think that parking ships that are three football fields in length, full of an alternative fuel just off our shores, is going to be a viable solution. So which is better: Dealing with the illness or the cure? Especially when the cure has a hell of a side effect if it ignites, which has been the case in at least a couple of places in different parts of the world. The effects of Hiroshima multiplied and the tsunami-type waves produced, in addition to other catastrophic events, is a good opening visual of the possibility forecasted. We continue to compromise our oceans, which are in a fragile state of maintenance from the pollution absorbed from a land whose deluge of poisons have been transported to the waiting arms of streams, rivers and other waterways, then transported to their eventual receptacles: our oceans. Land, water, air; have we become so jaded with all the past and current events of the world that it seems such an insurmountable task to become better stewards of the only world to which we have been entrusted? Are we so set on fulfilling Nostradomic prognostications that we cannot believe it is not yet too late to become our own healers, and therefore ensure our children and their children will see sunsets ablaze with a myriad of colors? It is said that crisis has an element of danger, as well as one of opportunity. We all will proceed to deal with the crisis in our own ways; the danger is that either in attempting shortsighted solutions or in not taking any action at all, we will compromise any feasible resolution. So the opportunity is that we can decide to act, and in the activity serve notice that we are committed to living in a pesticide/pollution free environment... Save Our Oceans, Save Our Mother. Ricardo Melendez (Chumash Nation) Wishtoyo/Ventura Coastkeeper Ventura, CA --------- "RE: Politicians show a sad ignorance about Indians" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:47:59 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: POLITICIAN IGNORANCE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.grandforks.com//9425389.htm COLUMNIST DORREEN YELLOW BIRD: Politicians show a sad ignorance about Indians President Bush may be charismatic, as I said in my previous column . But he doesn't seems to know much about American Indians. That seems short- sighted of the president of the United States. Bush was, after all, speaking at a conference for Journalists of Color (UNITY) in Washington, D.C., a few weeks ago. He should have had good answers for questions that he knew were likely to be asked of him by a panel of Native Americans, Hispanics, blacks and Asians. He has, after all, unlimited staff to write and research for him. Mark Trahant, editorial page editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a member of the Native American Journalists Association, asked the president, "What do you think tribal sovereignty means in the 21st century, and how do we resolve conflicts between tribes and the federal and the state governments?" The president's response was, "Tribal sovereignty means that, it's sovereign. You're a you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity." His response was short and he changed the subject from sovereignty to information about Indian schools. "We've spent $1.l billion in reconstruction of Native American schools," he said. Perhaps politicians' lack of knowledge about American Indians isn't unusual. In my position on the editorial board at the Grand Forks Herald, I've been able to talk with many politicians. I have grown accustomed to hearing poor answers to questions about tribes and Indian issues. Even officials who live in states where there are tribes or large groups of Native Americans don't seem know much about Indian people, tribes or culture. I realize that people sometimes are uncomfortable around some Indian people and some hesitate to venture onto the reservation even when covering stories. Tribal councils are notorious for being standoffish and giving the media a wide berth when the council members should stand up and respond. Yet this can be true of non-Natives in like positions off the reservation. I know our culture is different. I know it's not same as that of mainstream America. But you can't go to one tribe in the southwest, learn about them and then come away as an expert on all Indians. In an Aug. 16 editorial comment in the Duluth News Tribune, Rod Van Mechelen said "American Indians should vote for President Bush because we are a conservative people and he is a conservative choice." Van Mechelen is a member of the Cowlitz tribe, a founding member of the Native American Coalition to Re-elect President Bush and delegate to the 2004 Republican National Convention. My concern is that Van Mechelen's blanket statement implies all Native people are conservative. Here are some of the extreme differences in tribal cultures and land areas: The Navajo Nation in the southwest is different from the Eskimos in Alaska. The Lumbee on the East Coast are different from the Confederated tribes of Siletz on the West Coast, and even the Sahnish in North Dakota are different than the Hidatsa, who live on the same reservation. There are Indian people who are Republicans, but the majority are Democrats. One thing that is true about American Indians: We are many nations and each is unique. Perhaps 100 or 200 years from now, those differences will disappear into a "melting pot," but that isn't true for today. We are about 560 different tribes in this country. We are the first people. Collectively, we are rich in land and mineral resources. We deserve more than a brush-off by the president of the United States and a blank stare when we ask local politicians for answers about the needs of our people. Politicians need to know those answers to basic American Indian questions, just as they know the answers for the rest of the nation. ---- Yellow Bird writes columns Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at 780-1228, (800) 477-6572 extension 228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2004 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: COMMENTARY: BIA shakeup clears the way for change" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:47:59 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA SHAKEUP" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/~displayarticle&article_id=4930 COMMENTARY: BIA shakeup clears the way for change Resignations allows Anderson to staff his agency with supporters WASHINGTON DC Louis Gray August 17, 2004 It would be improper to kick someone while they were down or express some pleasure at the recent changes at the Interior Department. These are, after all, people. Indian people. From Aurene Martin on down, the Interior Department and Bureau of Indian Affairs employees have not embraced the hopeful nature of Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Dave Anderson. He was, after all, the owner of a successful chain of Bar-BQ joints. What could he possibly know about the complex nature of Indian affairs as practiced by BIA experts? Of course, Anderson is much more than that and he has at least put a human face on the normally cold demeanor of the bureaucracy he heads. He has addressed many problems with rapid speed despite the foot-dragging by career bureaucrats bent on running Anderson out of town. With the resignations and new appointments, Anderson can finally change the BIA with people who understand and appreciate the fact that in order to transform the agency dramatically one must be prepared to do things differently. This provides a chance in history to set the BIA on track to change the mentality which has created the accounting mess, schools which don't educate, road programs which do not build roads and self- determination programs that treat tribes with a lack of respect. There is so much wrong with the BIA, and chief among them is attitude. Anderson would seem to be the perfect person to instill hope and enthusiasm into the agency. He has already started the transformation of attitude among some. It will take time to bring others into the fold of positive thinking. Martin is, of course, a person of considerable talent and intellect. She and the others are moving on or switching positions. People like Martin are needed in Indian Country, hopefully she and the others will use their powers for the good of Indian people in the future. Change is never easy, and this case will be no different. But like some distasteful medicine, it is sometimes a neccessary evil to swallow before the healing begins. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Little Shell's dreams need strong BIA Leadership" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OPINION: RECOGNITION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.greatfallstribune.com//20040819/opinion/1075272.html Little Shell's dreams need stronger BIA leadership EDITORIAL August 19, 2004 After a tedious 16-year effort, the federal government approved preliminary recognition for Montana's Little Shell tribe. "It's a glorious, glorious day for the Little Shell tribe," tribal Chairman Tim Zimmerman crowed. "They've signed off on it, and we're finally there." Well, not quite. That happy event was more than four years ago, and the slow wheels of the Bureau of Indian Affairs haven't turned much since then. The Little Shell still aren't federally recognized, and now we expect the increasingly unfair process to be drawn out even longer. That's because the BIA bureaucrat in charge of federal recognition is stepping down - just four months after taking the job. Her predecessor resigned after acknowledging possible conflicts of interest. So for the third time in less than a year, another person steps into the hot seat. And hot it is. Hundreds of tribes are seeking federal recognition. Unlike the Little Shell, which can document more than a century of existence, many of the others have a hard time demonstrating their history as a tribe. But they're trying anyway, because recognition translates into the ability to open casinos. And Indian casinos are very big business. In 2001, for instance, tribal casinos brought in some $12.7 billion in gaming revenue. That's even more than Nevada casinos made that year. With so much at stake, there's a huge lobbying effort on behalf of some "tribes." In Montana, the potential for a big-bucks casino is limited. The roughly 4,000 members of the Little Shell, who live mostly in Great Falls and along the Hi-Line, have more basic needs. Recognition means eligibility for federal assistance with housing, health care and education. Right now, for example, a Little Shell member can't be treated at an Indian Health Service clinic. That would change with federal recognition. The tribe also has about $2.5 million in federal escrow. That money's not available to the Little Shell until recognition is complete. Unfortunately, as Native Americans here want for health care and housing, a few hundred members of the Schaghticoke Tribe of Connecticut sought recognition with the clear intention of establishing a casino. This spring BIA officials granted that recognition - against the advice of their own staff, who found that the tribe did not meet the historical qualifications. Such horror stories are not new. Two years ago, a General Accounting Office report found that the federal recognition process was flawed. "A lack of clear and transparent explanations for their decisions could cast doubt on the objectivity of the decision makers, making it difficult for parties on all sides to understand and accept decisions," the report concluded. The problems persist, made even worse by the revolving door among BIA staff. Until strong leadership emerges at the agency - or Congress steps in - there's not much immediate hope for the Little Shell. Copyright c. 2004 Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: IRS moves to tax Indian Fuel Importers" --------- Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2004 16:09:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IRS ANTI-SOVEREIGNTY MOVE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/index.php?1093010550 IRS moves to tax Indian fuel importers Another attack on tribal sovereignty August 20, 2004 by: Tom Wanamaker / Correspondent / Indian Country Today Barely two months after an assault from the National Labor Relations Board, tribal sovereignty is again under attack, this time by the Internal Revenue Service. In a July 29 statement, the IRS announced its intention to "ensure the collection of the appropriate amount of tax on imported gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene." The announcement made no mention of tribal governments, instead casting the matter as one of tax avoidance. Indian entrepreneurs from the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Seneca Nation in Upstate New York importing fuel into the United States from Canada are among the Indian businessmen who may face difficulties crossing the border in the future. The regulation not only attempts to coerce Indian entrepreneurs to register with IRS, but also seeks to force non- Indian dealers to give up doing business with Indian importers. The temporary regulations issued on July 29 "provide that importers and unregistered dealers are jointly and severally liable for the tax on fuel imported for unregistered dealers," the IRS said. The agency said that current Customs regulations allow it "to collect any tax that is not paid by either the importer or the unregistered dealer by charging the importer's Customs bond." Importers can avoid tax liability "by doing business only with fuel dealers that are registered with the IRS." The agency added that importers may employ a specified certification procedure to verify whether a particular fuel dealer is registered. "As a sovereign tribal government, the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council was never consulted to participate in meaningful discussion with the IRS on the effect of the regulation," the council said in a July 30 press release. "The Tribal Council strongly opposes the implementation of the regulation and is currently pursuing legal remedies to protect tribal businesses that will be affected ... and to safeguard the needed fees they contribute to support essential community services and programs. "The implementation of the regulation is an infringement on our tribal sovereignty and undermines the tribe's ability to effectively govern [its] internal affairs," the release concluded. The tribal council, one of three governing bodies on the American portion of the Akwesasne reserve, is the sole federally recognized Mohawk government. In 2004, it collected some $1 million in "fuel fees" from reservation-based importers, which funded health, education, law enforcement and other tribal governmental services. The council maintains that forcing Mohawk entrepreneurs to pay federal excise taxes will force many to close, threatening both the tribal tax base and the tribe's ability to attract matching federal funds for many programs. The rhetoric of the IRS statement echoes similar language in the May 28 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board. In that instance, NLRB broke three decades of precedent and sought to assert jurisdiction on a "case- by-case basis" in labor disputes involving Indian-owned businesses located on reservation land. "When Americans pay their taxes, they need to know their neighbors and competitors are doing the same," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson in the statement. "Non-registered fuel dealers can expect to see stepped up enforcement of compliance with the laws governing imported fuels." In the "background" section of the proposed regulation, which was issued "without prior notice," IRS said it "has found that abusive situations exist with regard to the entry of taxable fuel into the U.S. For example, some enterers [importers] are not registered and are not paying the tax on their fuel entries. This not only gives non-compliant dealers a competitive advantage over their compliant competitors, but it also deprives the U.S. Treasury of revenue intended for the Highway Trust Fund." ---- Written comments are due at the IRS by Oct. 28. Sometime after that date, the proposed regulations, identical to the temporary ones, will take effect. To view the regulations, visit http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=127748,00.html. Copyright c. 2004 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Navajo Water settlement delayed" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO WATER SETTLEMENT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com//exec/view.cgi?archive=481&num=13426 Navajo water settlement delayed By Jim Snyder/The Daily Times August 19, 2004, Part one of a three part series FARMINGTON - State officials working on the proposed Navajo Nation water rights settlement agreement on the San Juan Basin bowed to political and public pressure Wednesday in a move that could keep the settlement from reaching Congress until at least 2005. Navajo Nation water attorney Stanley Pollack had stated he wanted it to go to Congress in September. The state engineer's office may consider dropping a federal funding request of $372.8 million to complete the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project from the yet-to-be-federally funded $1.1 billion settlement to help lower its overall cost, said attorney John Utton, with the Sheehan, Sheehan and Stelzner law firm of Albuquerque. Furthermore the Interstate Stream Commission tabled a motion to pass the settlement during its meeting Wednesday at the Farmington Civic Center, instead calling for a third draft by the state engineer taking into account further public comments and the possible withdrawal of NIIP funding. The initial draft was made public Dec. 5 following eight years of negotiations between the Navajo Nation and the state engineer's office. A second draft - in which the Navajo Nation agreed not to challenge the Echo Ditch Decree among other changes - was released July 9 following an extended public comment period. Utton, who represents the state engineer's office, said U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., had asked why NIIP funding was being included in the settlement. Domenici and U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., have both publicly stated Congress would have a difficult time passing the settlement due to its excessive cost. "Every time we turn around the cost gets greater and greater," Domenici said Monday. "And I'm not sure that the federal government is going to be able to come up with the money that's going to be required." Bingaman warned Navajo Nation Vice President Frank Dayish Jr. at a water settlement meeting last June in Farmington, "I wouldn't spend the money yet. ... We have a very difficult fiscal situation in Washington." Utton said the state engineer's office would not move on the proposal to remove NIIP funding from the settlement until they heard back from Domenici and Bingaman. A well-known cast of San Juan County residents repeated their concerns about the settlement during the meeting, contributing in part to the ISCs decision to table passing the settlement and calling for a third draft to be written. "It's all about money. It's all about power and it's all about greed at the expense of the little guy," said Mike Sullivan, president of the San Juan County Agriculture Water Users Association about the settlement. The Navajo Nation will use some NIIP water for industrial and municipal purposes - including for a proposed $2 billion, 1,500 megawatt power plant south of Kirtland - once the settlement is passed by Congress. Currently NIIP water can only be used for irrigation. BHP Billiton - where Dayish once worked as a government lobbyist - could double its coal production at Navajo Mine if the power plant was built, provided the settlement is passed and NIIP water becomes available. "We very much support the settlement wholeheartedly," said Attorney Marie O'Brien, with the Modrall Sperling law firm in Albuquerque, representing BHP. "We are looking at marketing provisions within the settlement. We view this as positive for the Navajo Nation," she told ISC members. A further delay, however, could come from the Navajo Council itself once a final draft is passed by the ISC. No water draft has ever gone before the Navajo Nation Council for approval - a necessary prerequisite for it to go to Congress. Council Delegate Ervin Keeswood of Hogback said during a Council special session Aug. 13 in Window Rock, Ariz., the 88-member Council would not simply rubber stamp the settlement as implied by the media. Keeswood opposed the settlement in a paper he wrote last spring citing his displeasure that the Navajo Nation could not move its water across state lines to the Arizona or Utah portions of the reservation without the New Mexico state engineer's approval. The Navajo people also have water rights dating to pre-colonialzation periods and not the treaty of 1868, he added. Other delegates such as Hope MacDonald-Lonetree of Coalmine Canyon and Toh Nanees Dizi near Tuba City, Ariz., have stated on the Council floor they oppose the settlement because Navajos would be required to give up 44 percent of their water rights on the San Juan Basin. "It's not necessarily what's been given up but what's happened in the past," Sullivan said at the Farmington meeting. "We stand to lose the value of that (non-reservation) property, the value of that water right. .. . Why should we be punished for being self sufficient? We have a right to that water through state statute. We have put this water to beneficial use. Some of our families have been here over 100 years." City of Farmington Attorney Jay Burnham added Farmington was concerned about losing 10,000 acre feet of trust water rights per year in the July 9 draft as well as not having enough future water for economic development. Trust rights, held by Farmington, were set aside for residents in the 1948 Echo Ditch Decree. "Some of the language in there is not clear to the city of Farmington," he said. "We're not sure how it applies to trust rights. We might propose there be language changes to address concerns in the next draft." Interstate Stream Commission Chairman Jim Dunlap asked his fellow members what they wanted to do. "My decision ... (it is) appropriate to table it until we make changes and submit them to the Navajo tribe." The other members motioned and voted to do that. Friday: Navajo reaction to NIIP funding and delays Saturday: State judge rules on motions to stop settlement Jim Snyder: jims@daily-times.com Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Navajos want assurance Congress will finish NAPI" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 08:24:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO WATER SETTLEMENT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_13461.shtml Navajos want assurance Congress will finish NAPI By Jim Snyder/The Daily Times August 20, 2004 Part two of a three part series FARMINGTON - Local Navajo Nation Council delegates reacted with dismay Thursday at a proposal to cut $372.8 million to complete the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project from the proposed $1.1 billion Navajo water rights settlement on the San Juan Basin. The move is being considered to lower the settlement's cost and make it more attractive when it goes before Congress for passage. The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project supplies water from Navajo Reservoir to the 65,000-acre Navajo Agricultural Products Industry farm south of Farmington. Federal funding to complete the final 45,000 acres has yet to be paid more than 40 years after Congress authorized the farm. Two delegates spoke out about the potential loss of NIIP funding from the settlement. Navajo Nation Council Delegate Ervin Keeswood of Hogback and Delegate LoRenzo Bates of Upper Fruitland said they would have to have assurances from Congress that federal funding to complete NIIP would be there even if it were pulled from the settlement. "I think if we have that assurance to the Navajo people, the Navajo Council - I'm not saying we would be receptive but we could talk about it, " Keeswood said. He said he was "leery" because Congress has cut funding to NIIP for the past two years. "It seems as though this is a way to short-change the Navajo people," Keeswood said. "NIIP is a vital part to the overall settlement to the basin river." Any move to cut NIIP funding from the settlement would be seen as yet another concession on the part of the Navajos, Bates stated. The first concession was giving up 44 percent of claimed water in return for quantified water rights and money to build water infrastructure. "Navajos have made enough concessions to the settlement," he said. "If there's some assurance from Domenici, Bingaman and Congress as a whole funding will be considered, then yes, taking NIIP out of the settlement could be considered." Bates questioned why NIIP funding in the settlement is now an issue with Domenici nine months after the settlement was first introduced. He called on the Navajo Nation to approve the second draft within 45 days and not wait until the state engineer's third draft. "The Navajo Nation needs to take a position right away," he said. "At some point the nation needs to say `this is it.'" Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. has not formally endorsed the settlement, nor did he mention it in his State of the Navajo Nation address last month to the Navajo Council. "At some point he's got to take a position," Bates said. "It can't always be the Council." Bates took exception to published comments made by Mike Sullivan, president of the San Juan County Water Users Association, during Wednesday's meeting with the Interstate Stream Commission and the state engineer. "Why should we be punished for being self sufficient?" Sullivan said during the meeting. "Maybe he ought to come on Navajo," Bates said. "That's what we're trying to do - become self sufficient." The settlement would quantify Navajo Nation water rights to 56 percent of the water on the San Juan Basin within New Mexico for industrial, municipal and agricultural use. It amounts to 606,000 acre-feet of annual diverted water. The Navajo Nation would receive numerous water infrastructure projects including a Navajo-Gallup pipeline and completion of NIIP in exchange for giving up rights to 44 percent of its water. It would also agree not to challenge the 1948 Echo Ditch Decree which quantified water rights for non-Navajos in the San Juan Basin. During an Interstate Stream Commission meeting Wednesday in Farmington, state engineer attorney John Utton said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., expressed doubts about getting the settlement passed by Congress due to its high cost and questioned why funding for NIIP was included since the creation of NAPI and NIIP was already passed by Congress, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., told the Navajo Nation not to count on the settlement money due to the fiscal situation in Washington during a meeting with Navajo officials last June in Farmington. He did not suggest at the time cutting NIIP from the settlement. The state engineer's office will take no action on whether to drop NIIP from the settlement until they hear from Domenici and Bingaman, Utton added Wednesday. The Interstate Stream Commission listened to public concerns on the settlement before tabling any decision to pass it. The commission then called for a third draft. The state engineer released its first draft Dec. 5 followed by a second draft July 9. A 30-year-old lawsuit filed by the state engineer against the United States seeks to adjudicate all water rights - including the Navajo's water - within New Mexico. A series of hearings involving the suit has been held in District Court in Aztec. The next one is 10 a.m. today. Saturday: State judge rules on motions to stop settlement Jim Snyder: jims@daily-times.com Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: San Juan Water users fail to stop Settlement" --------- Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2004 16:09:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAN JUAN USERS/WATER SETTLEMENT" http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_13495.shtml Judge: Motion hasty; San Juan water users fail to stop settlement By Jim Snyder/The Daily Times August 21, 2004 Part three of a three-part series. AZTEC - District Judge pro tempore Rozier Sanchez called motions to stop the proposed Navajo Nation water rights settlement agreement on the San Juan Basin "premature" Friday, giving everyone in the standing-room-only San Juan County courtroom an idea of what his ruling might be. Following a three-hour hearing, Sanchez said he would not halt the settlement since it was still in negotiations between the State Engineer's Office and the Navajo Nation and a final draft had not been submitted to the court. He added the settlement would move quickly from the current sub-file stage to the inter se agreement stage once it was filed with the court. He then qualified his statements, however, saying, "I'm not saying I'm denying the request." Attorney Gary Horner, a Farmington resident, and San Juan Agricultural Water Users Association attorney Felix Briones, of the Briones Law Firm in Farmington, argued their motions to enjoin, or forbid, the settlement from proceeding, saying the state has not conducted a hydrographic survey to see how much water actually existed nor had it done a practicable irrigation acreage study to determine what land could be irrigated. "When you reject the PIA you reject the concept of future water users," Horner said. He also argued the settlement would cause irrevocable harm to non-Navajo water right holders in San Juan County despite the Navajo Nation agreeing in the second draft not to challenge the 1948 Echo Ditch Decree. Horner added the Bureau of Reclamation had acted as though it owned water rights rather than the actual citizens using the water. The settlement seeks to quantify 606,060 acre feet of diverted water rights annually - 56 percent of the water on the San Juan Basin within New Mexico - to the Navajo Nation. No draft of the settlement - which was introduced Dec. 5 followed by a second draft July 9 - has ever gone before the 88-member Navajo Nation Council for approval. "If (the settlement) is being exceeded to the point of being unreasonable the court can take action," Sanchez said. Richard Cole, an Albuquerque attorney representing Farmington, Bloomfield and Aztec, added the court should grant a motion of discovery, "So that we can all have input into the process." He added they needed documents to understand what was happening in the settlement before it proceeded to the inter se stage. Arguing against Horner and Briones was United States Department of Justice Attorney Bradley Bridgewater, of the Environmental and Natural Resources Division in Denver; state engineer attorney Perry Abernethy of Albuquerque; state engineer attorney John Utton of the Sheehan and Sheehan and Stelzer law firm in Albuquerque and Navajo Nation water attorney Stanley Pollack of Window Rock, Ariz. "There is no settlement (agreement)," Abernethy said in reply to Cole. "These are negotiations. There's no authority for anyone to interfere ... between the Navajo Nation and New Mexico. It would violate separation of powers (for the court to interfere)." Pollack said the Navajo Nation had gone beyond its obligations by holding public hearings on the settlement even though other parties negotiating settlements could do so in private. Horner also argued the court would lose its authority to challenge the settlement once it is passed by Congress. Sanchez disagreed, saying the authority was with the state court. "Whatever Congress does will not interfere with whatever (the state) court does in reference to legislation," Bridgewater added. "Only this court can quantify the water rights of the Navajo Nation," Pollack said. "The agreement is between the Navajo Nation, New Mexico and the United States." He added Congress' role was to only approve the appropriation tied to the settlement. Horner further argued the Navajo Nation was seeking a monopoly of the basin's actual water supply. That would leave non-Navajos no choice but to purchase their water from the Navajo Nation in the future. "Rather than lease the water here they're going to lease the water out- of-state," Horner said. Competing in a water market with California could mean an end to affordable water for non-Navajo communities such as Farmington, he added. "What's going to happen here is the junior (water rights) guy is going to make a deal with the Indians and move to the front of the line," Horner said. He added, as one example of high water prices, the Navajo Nation was planning to sell 4,500 acre feet per year to a proposed power plant south of Kirtland for $2.2 million. Those figures came from the Navajo Nation's Dine' Power Authority during a July Powerpoint presentation to the Burnham Chapter House. "Divide that and that's $500 an acre foot. That's where the market is going," Horner said. The Interstate Stream Commission tabled a motion to pass the settlement during its meeting Wednesday at the Farmington Civic Center, instead calling for a third draft by the state engineer taking into account further public comments and the possible withdrawal of $372.8 million in Navajo Indian Irrigation Project funding from the yet-to-be federally funded $1.1 billion settlement. The State Engineer's Office hopes to have the agreement signed by the 109th Congress in 2006, Utton said. The related New Mexico state engineer versus the United States 30-year lawsuit seeks to adjudicate all water rights - including the Navajo Nation's once the settlement is passed - within New Mexico. That lawsuit is also overseen by Sanchez. Sanchez recognized Horner's right this summer to formally challenge the settlement in court after he obtained a small water right from Carroll Crawford. Jim Snyder: jims@daily-times.com Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Interior may delay Oil and Gas Projects" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:47:59 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BLM CAN DEFER LEASES" http://www.indianz.com/News/2004/003890.asp http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9536-2004Aug17.html Interior May Delay Oil and Gas Projects BLM Officers Can Defer Leases on U.S. Lands While Resource Plans Developed By Juliet Eilperin Washington Post Staff Writer August 18, 2004 Interior Department officials announced this week they will delay some new oil and gas projects on public lands until they can evaluate drilling's effects on wildlife. Some hunters' and anglers' groups hailed the initiative, though several environmentalists said that it meant little in light of the administration's push for energy development on federal property. Assistant Interior Secretary Rebecca Watson told a coalition of conservation groups Saturday that the department had told Bureau of Land Management state and regional officers they have the right to defer leasing if they were in the midst of drafting new resource management plans, which set long-term federal land-use policies. The instruction memorandum, which BLM issued Friday, applies to all 262 million acres it manages. "We're saying: Think smart up front, and defer leasing on these lands until you come up with new plans," Watson said in an interview yesterday. She added that she expects the policy shift will result in "a reduction in the number of leases being issued" in the coming months. Watson said BLM and the Forest Service will also jointly hire a state game and fish biologist in Wyoming to work with federal officials on energy plans and will develop a wildlife monitoring project in Pinedale, Wyo., a major migration corridor that has experienced a drilling boom in recent years. The administration is rewriting 162 management plans, which dictate federal policy on issues from grazing to drilling. Twenty-two of the plans, applying to such states as Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Utah and Wyoming, are time-sensitive and will be completed by 2006, Watson said. In issuing the announcement Monday, Interior included comments from Boone and Crockett Club President Robert Model, a conservation leader who has worked with the White House. "The bottom line is this: This administration, unlike the previous administration, has responded to the concerns of the hunter, sportsman and conservation community in the past three and a half years," Model said in the Interior statement. "Here in Wyoming, positive steps are being made toward the development of energy, but it's being done the right way because this administration is sensitive to the needs and concerns of conservationists." Western environmentalists, however, described the BLM's policy directive as cosmetic. Upper Green River Valley Coalition grass-roots coordinator Linda Baker, whose group monitors the drilling in Pinedale, noted that 75 percent of the available federal land in the area is already leased. "That still isn't balanced management," she said. And Peter Aengst, an energy policy analyst for the Wilderness Society based in Bozeman, Mont., said Watson's announcement "basically doesn't do anything" for Pinedale because leasing has grown so rapidly there. He also said the delays would not kick in until BLM managers had drafted a resource management plan, which could take years. "That's pretty late in the process," Aengst said. Both Bush and Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry have courted the hunting and fishing community, saying they support sporting activities in unspoiled areas. Bush has invited members of the "hook and bullet" crowd to both his ranch in Crawford, Tex., and to the White House, while Kerry has gone hunting on the campaign trail. Watson said the administration remains sympathetic to the need for energy development, and oil and gas officials said yesterday they understand Interior's decision. "We're obviously in a situation where we're faced with these decision conflicts that have to be made," said Lee Fuller, vice president for government relations at the Independent Petroleum Association of America. He said that the move is understandable, but he hopes it will not slow down the final release of land-use plans across the country. "We would like to get there as fast as we can get there," he said. Copyright c. 2004 The Washington Post Company. --------- "RE: Ponca Nation battles Taiwanese Giant" --------- Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 18:42:52 EDT From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Ponca Nation battles Taiwanese giant Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.indiancountry.com/ Ponca Nation battles Taiwanese giant by: Brenda Norrell / Southwest Staff Reporter / Indian Country Today August 17, 2004 WHITE EAGLE, Okla. - Ponca Nation's Dan C. Jones faced off with Taiwanese police and faced arrest and deportation, as he attempted to meet with one of Taiwan's richest and most powerful families, whose carbon black plant is spewing pollution across the Ponca Nation. The tree bark, fence posts, even the squirrels, are coated black around Continental Carbon's production plant. "This Taiwanese company and the state of Oklahoma are using Ponca lands as an environmental dumping ground," said Jones, acting director of the Ponca Tribe's Office of Environmental Management. Jones said Ponca have been a people on this continent for 10,000 years and environmental polluters are threatening to destroy them in less than 100 years. "We have been experiencing the most dangerous toxins produced by mankind." The Interior Department knew the Ponca Nation's soil was being contaminated by carbon black 35 years ago. So what did the Interior do? "The Bureau of Indian Affairs went in and bought the property and gave it to HUD who built Indian homes on it, fully knowing it was contaminated, " Jones said. Driving from the carbon black plant to the Continental Phillips oil refinery five minutes away, Jones explained Ponca is not only powdered in black, but the land is saturated with hydrocarbons from the oil refinery. The streams are polluted and their sacred burial grounds are downwind from Ponca City's waste dump. There are artesian wells where tribal police hold sweatlodge ceremonies with troubled teens. Jones explains that the water is so contaminated, that the Indian Health Service shut down local wells and connected the Ponca Nation to city water, without explanation to the Ponca. Since 1918, the petroleum industry has been saturating the air, water and land here. "We are a people who have been experiencing the petroleum industry longer than anyone else," Jones said. There was a time when the river ran with gasoline. Driving past the Continental Phillips oil refinery, Jones said, "They are on our original jurisdiction. We should be regulating it and taxing it." Across the road from the oil refinery, a hand-written sign is posted on the door of one of the few remaining homes: "Enter at your own risk." "At one time, you could dig a hole in the ground, drop in a match and the ground would catch on fire," Jones said. Stopping at the site of his old elementary school, across the road from the oil refinery, he pointed to the solid brick face of McKinley Elementary, all that remains of his polluted childhood school. "This is like the Hiroshima Monument. This is our Hiroshima." The school and 400 homes were removed because of the ground pollution from petroleum. Huge amounts of hydrocarbons from crude oil were removed - 300,000 barrels of hydrocarbons - but huge mounds of hydrocarbons remain beneath the earth and could shift and be released. A few blocks east of the oil refinery, Jones said, "The people here were probably hit the hardest. This community, Little Dixie, was a thriving black community at one time." Stopping by Big Spring a few blocks away, Jones pointed out the corroded concrete sidewalk and black soupy water running down the concrete footsteps. "The water is so caustic it destroys the concrete." Pointing to a sign above the flowing water, which warns visitors not to drink the water, he said, "This spring was once considered so sacred that even non-Indians came here for this water." Pausing at a trash-strewn creek near the city waste dump polluted from the oil refinery, Jones said, "This is Stink Creek. In the 1950s, the kids found out you could dip dogs in the stream and it would get rid of their fleas. That is how toxic it is. This stream flows into our river and the chemicals have gone down into our water table." At the Ponca's cemetery, known as "The Hill," Jones recalled Ponca history when 2,000 Ponca signed their first treaty with the United States in 1805. At the gravestone of Clyde Warrior on the breezy and grassy hill, Jones remembered Warrior, founder of the National Indian Youth Council. "He asked for a breath of fresh air." Before his death at the age of 28, Warrior marched with Martin Luther King Jr., spoke Ponca with his elders and was so well respected that Marlon Brando would personally come here to pick him up. Jones remembered that Warrior spoke to Indian youths at a time when they were very confused in boarding schools. "The Indian was being taken out of them. It wasn't acceptable to learn Indian ways. His message was, `It's OK to be an Indian.' That was Clyde Warrior's message." Jones, an award-winning film producer who returned home to the Ponca Nation, is creating a script to tell this story, the story of his people and this land, in film. "It is not just one part of our environment that is polluted," he said, pointing out garbage blowing from Ponca City's waste dump across from the cemetery. And it is not just the physical health of the Ponca people that is affected; it is also their emotional health. Heart disease is the number one health problem, followed by depression. "Both are related to the environment," Jones said. Depression for Ponca comes from industry's defilement of sacred Mother Earth. "The basic religious philosophy has to do with the sacredness of the Earth." The cancer rate is on the rise and the International Cancer Institute lists carbon black as a carcinogen. The rare prairie wetland, adjacent to the carbon black factory, is inundated with carbon black. The rest of the Ponca Nation's 101 acres, where they have lived for 135 years between two rivers in northern Oklahoma, is soiled with black. "When I was bringing two scientists over here, a squirrel ran across the road, and he was black," Jones said. In Taiwan, the Koo family keeps its carbon black production plant clean. "It has gardens growing around it," Jones said. But in Oklahoma, on land that was an allotment within the Ponca Nation's original boundaries, the plant is filthy. Some laundromats in the bordertown of Ponca City post signs prohibiting carbon black workers from washing their clothes there. "If that plant had been in Oklahoma City, it would have been shut down a long time ago," said Rick Abraham, environmental consultant to Paper Allied Chemical and Energy (PACE) Labor Union, who traveled with Jones to Taiwan. Abraham and others protested working and environmental conditions at the plant in Oklahoma and carried out a hunger strike. The Oklahoma plant, Continental Carbon, is owned by two parent companies in Taiwan, Taiwan Cement Company and China Synthetic Rubber Company. The Koo family of Taiwan owns both. The product, carbon black, is a reinforcement product in automobile tires and hoses; used as a colorant in printing inks and resins; and is conductivity-imparting filler. With two federal lawsuits already filed against the carbon black company, and another in the process, Abraham said one of the main hurdles to improving conditions at the plant is Oklahoma State's environmental quality board. He said in Oklahoma, like elsewhere in America, industry leaders are being appointed to state environmental boards. "They are stacked with industry, it is all about industry. The environmental board looks out for the company. You have the fox in the henhouse," Abraham said. Jones, and five members of PACE, were hosted by the representatives of the Taiwan Confederated Trade Union in Taiwan. PACE attempted to end the longest worker lock out in American history by a foreign-owned company. A labor issue between the carbon black plant and PACE labor union has locked out workers and lasted for three years, affecting 86 families in the area. While in Taiwan, PACE held a hunger strike, while Jones attempted to meet with the powerful Koo family and ask the owners to clean up the plant in Oklahoma. When Jones and PACE protested across the street from the Taiwan Cement Company, Taiwan police threatened Jones with arrest and deportation. Finally Jones was ushered into a corporate shareholders meeting of the cement company headed by the Koo family. Taiwanese police with riot shields and long sticks surrounded Jones. "My feeling is we are going to get the crap beat out of us, the mood of the police has changed noticeably," Jones wrote in his notes. The Koo family hired professional actors as hecklers and the session resulted in a pushing match and near-brawl in front of where Jones was seated. "The thing that keeps going through my mind is, `My God, I've come to a circus to talk about my sick child.'" At that moment, Jones felt nothing would be accomplished in Taiwan. The stock holders voted not to hear Jones and the Ponca Nation's concerns. Still, the Ponca Nation and PACE had made their mark. Jones did meet with Bruce Linghu Deputy Director General Department of North American Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of China. "He was made aware the plant owned by Continental Carbon in Taiwan is clean and the plant on Old Ponca Jurisdiction is filthy and a major pollutant," Jones wrote in his report to the Ponca Nation when he returned. Jones also met with the chairman of the Labor Insurance Supervisory Commission and informed the commission that the Koo family has been withholding information from stockholders regarding environmental violations in Oklahoma. Further, the labor lockout has meant profit losses and the actions of the Koo Group are hurting the image of Taiwan in America and internationally. The story of the Ponca Nation is the story of Indian country. Describing the pollution and corporate violations on Ponca land as environmental racism, Jones said, "The rich don't have to have it around them, they can send it to the Indians." Copyright c. 2004 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Black Mesa Coal Mine threatened by Disputes" --------- Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 08:44:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PEABODY SHAKES GREED RATTLE" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0817azmine17.html Black Mesa coal mine threatened by disputes Michelle Roberts Rushlo Associated Press August 17, 2004 PHOENIX - Below the wild grasses, topsoil and heavy chunks of rock on Black Mesa sit tons of black coal, a power source for millions of people in the West. For three decades, the Black Mesa mine and the adjoining Kayenta mine, both operated some 300 miles from Phoenix by Peabody Energy, have provided millions of dollars in revenue and hundreds of jobs to the Hopi and Navajo tribes, which have few other economic resources on their remote reservations. But the Black Mesa mine, battered by water, legal and other concerns, now faces a likely shutdown. "It's going to be a very catastrophic effect on the tribe," said Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor Jr. Loss of the mine would cost the tribe about $7.7 million per year. The Hopi Tribe's annual operating budget is about $22 million. "We are very rural. We're very isolated. We don't have a whole lot in the way of economy," Taylor said. The same goes for the Navajos, who get about $25 million annually from Black Mesa, said Deana Jackson, a spokeswoman for Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. The Navajo Nation, the nation's largest Indian tribe, has an annual operating budget of $529 million. That is why Navajo and Hopi officials, along with Peabody and utility providers, are trying to ensure the mining operation continues even as the odds against it mount. The Kayenta mine, which is adjoining but operates differently from Black Mesa, does not face the same difficulties. But if the Black Mesa mine is to continue beyond 2005, it will have to overcome a series of hurdles. Black Mesa is the sole provider of coal to the Mohave Generating Station, a power plant 270 miles away in Laughlin, Nev., managed by Southern California Edison. Black Mesa and Mohave have an exclusive deal with each other. To get the coal from Black Mesa to the generating station, it is crushed to powder, mixed with water and sent through a pipeline straight to the power plant. The transportation system was set up because trucking and rail lines were inefficient, said Peabody spokeswoman Beth Sutton. But the pipeline requires groundwater, roughly 4,000 acre-feet annually. Numerous studies have been done on the effects of mining, and Peabody says mining is having no lasting effect on a vast aquifer in the area. The aquifer is believed to contain 400 million acre-feet across an area the size of Delaware. The tribes, concerned that some natural springs have dried as drought has persisted in the West, have pushed for an end to the use of the current aquifer. Even though Peabody contends that plenty of water is available and drying of the springs is not related to mining, it has agreed to pursue use of another larger aquifer nearby. A preliminary study of the larger aquifer has been done, but a more detailed study was started by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in May. The study is being funded by Edison and the other owners of the Mohave Generating Station. The Reclamation Bureau, which deals mostly with dams and surface water, does not have regulatory authority over the aquifer. Water isn't the only issue involved, however; other problems also threaten the mine's future. The current exclusive agreement between Black Mesa and Mohave is up for renewal after 2005, as is the coal supply agreement with the tribes. And the Mohave Generating Station itself may close about that time. The owners of Mohave, which include Southern California Edison, Salt River Project, Nevada Power Co. and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, agreed in 1999 to install new pollution controls on the plant after being sued by environmentalists. The Grand Canyon Trust, Sierra Club and National Parks and Conservation Association sued in the late 1990s, saying the plant was putting out too many particulates and too much sulfur dioxide. The Mohave owners agreed to install new pollution-control equipment but did not believe they were violating pollution standards, said Gil Alexander, a spokesman for Southern California Edison. Installing the kind of scrubbers required under the agreement takes about three years, and to date, "they've done absolutely nothing," Moore said. Southern California Edison had been planning on selling the plant when the energy crisis hit in 2001. Rolling blackouts struck California businesses and homeowners that summer, and plans to sell the plant, which puts out 1,580 megawatts, or enough energy for about 1.5 million homes, were quashed. Since then, Edison has asked California utility regulators to approve $1 billion in upgrades, including the scrubbers. The California Public Utilities Commission has to make such a determination so that Mohave's owners can seek rate increases or other mechanisms to pay for improvements. The CPUC held hearings in late June and early July on Mohave; a decision is expected later this year. It is likely that Mohave will shut down at the beginning of 2006 to allow installation of new equipment and to finish regulatory paperwork. Copyright c. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2004, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Plan to drill on Wind River under scrutiny" --------- Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 08:44:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GAS WELLS ON THE REZ" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.billingsgazette.com//wyoming/40-reservation-drill.inc Plan to drill on reservation under scrutiny Associated Press August 17, 2004 FORT WASHAKIE (AP) - Some people say 45 days is not enough time to read and respond to more than 1,000 pages of analysis of plans for 147 more gas wells on the Wind River Indian Reservation. "If you want us to give substantive comments, give us time to do that," Laurie Goodman, of Jackson, told U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs officials during a meeting on the proposal Wednesday. "It's just ridiculous to assume that people can do it in 45 days." The 3-inch-thick environmental impact statement is the first for drilling on the reservation. It involves plans by Tom Brown Inc., an Encana subsidiary, to increase its wells in the area from 178 to 325 - the course of action favored by the federal government. Other proposals would boost the number of wells to 485 or 233, or to not drill any more wells. Goodman also criticized land managers for saying the study was developed by a team that included landowners. She said landowners were not involved outside a scoping process two years ago. She said she hoped to put forth an alternative created by landowners. Asked who had written the study, Ray Nation, project leader with the BIA, said his agency is so understaffed it needed to hire a consultant to develop the document. Landowner Bill Garland, whose Five Mile Ranch is in the project area, said he will hire a team to review the document to ensure that it is fair to all sides. "We live here and will live with whatever they do," he said. "This EIS has fallen far short of reaching even rudimentary requirements. I'm going to fork out every dollar I have to make sure we get a good EIS for the future out there." The drilling proposed in the study is expected to take place over 20 to 40 years. Copyright c. 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: MSU launching Program in Indian Legal Issues" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MICHIGAN STATE INDIAN LAW PROGRAM" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/9428313.htm MSU College of Law launching training program in Indian legal issues Associated Press August 18, 2004 EAST LANSING, Mich. - An American Indian law program to be launched this fall at Michigan State University College of Law will train future lawyers in Indian issues ranging from gaming to taxes. The program will provide law students with a more specialized background and let them work with tribal governments on policymaking decisions, research and infrastructure plans. "Many people, including the public and law students and even practicing attorneys, are simply unfamiliar with tribal governments at all except for an occasional casino reference," said assistant professor Donald Laverdure, director of the program. "Because there are 562 federally recognized tribal governments, there's just a massive need for education and understanding of what these other sovereigns are doing," Laverdure told The Detroit News for a Wednesday story. The program's four classes include one in which law students will work with tribal governments on everything from developing tax codes to zoning regulations. Laverdure came to Michigan State a year ago from the University of Wisconsin Law School's Great Lakes Indian Law Center. Born on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, he has served since July 2002 as chief justice of the Crow Nation and is an appellate judge of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. Only 20 law schools nationwide have formal Indian law programs. The only other program offered east of the Mississippi River is at Syracuse University. Fewer than 1 percent of lawyers in the U.S. are American Indian. Michigan alone has 12 federally recognized tribal governments. There is a clear need for lawyers familiar with Indian law issues and able to assist tribal governments, said Matthew Lesky, a third-year Michigan State law student. "Many tribal governments still to this day face many different kinds of financial difficulty or obstacles," said Lesky, who has spent the past two summers working in the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians' legal department. "There's also a lack of really qualified attorneys who know the area well, in terms of interaction with tribal governments and how federal law applies to them and how tribal law and federal law interact with state law." Copyright c. 2004 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2004 Duluth News Tribune. --------- "RE: MSU Tribal Law" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MSU TRIBAL LAW" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=24930 Tribal law By ELIZABETH PIET The State News August 17, 2004 Just like the Michigan government, the 12 federally recognized American Indian tribes in Michigan must tax their citizens, provide services and educate their children. But according to the 1990 U.S. Census data report, the demographic has some of the lowest incomes, highest infant mortality rates, and lowest life expectancies of any ethnic group. "We've worked hard to get ourselves out of this," said Frank Ettawageshik, tribal chairman of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians of Harbor Springs. "The Indian people have been on the losing end of many issues regarding social justice. Ettawageshik said the tribe needs the legal work as they try to improve their quality of life. He says the tribe needs help drafting legislation and working on the legal issues that arise from various economic development centers. "True wealth is safe and secure homes, a strong culture, good health and the ability to pass on to the coming generation," he said. When law classes started Monday, the MSU College of Law began its new American Indian Law Program with the intent to prepare more students to work with and for the tribes and their autonomous legal systems. But to many law students, the concept of separate governments within the same state is a new one. Program director and Professor Donald Laverdure said when he teaches, he often has to start with the basics of American Indian culture. Laverdure is a citizen of the American Indian Crow Nation. "The hardest thing, to be honest, most students don't even know that there are separate sovereign governments," he said. "In a sense we're trying to make up for lost time. In high school and college you learn American history and political science. "There's never a tribal government 101 part of the course." In Michigan, there are 58,479 people of American Indian and Alaskan Native decent, about 0.6 percent of the population, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. It was the stories, memoirs and nonfiction books that drew law junior Kate Fort into American Indian culture when she was a child. Fort does not come from an American Indian background. When Fort enrolled in two beginning American Indian law classes at the MSU College of Law, she found herself intrigued by entirely different legal systems in her own backyard. "It's just fascinating," Fort said. "How do you mesh the two systems in a way that provides the autonomy for the tribes but acknowledges this is the world we live in? "It's a constant conflict." Fort is now part of the American Indian Law Program, which has four classes and a clinic workshop. The program is the only one of its type in Michigan and one of the most comprehensive in the Midwest. Fort said she hopes to eventually work with tribal constitutions and the best ways to govern the citizens. "What makes a good constitution? What makes a bad one?" she said. "How do you bring the modern and the tradition together?" Lawyers who graduate from the program might be able to represent a tribe in interactions with other tribes or the federal government. And the need for more lawyers is there, said Jeff Davis, assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan. In this position, Davis acts as the liaison between the federal government and 11 of Michigan's tribes, works with them to improve their infrastructures and negotiates treaty issues. "We have 12 federally recognized tribes and they extend a lot farther than most people realize," said Davis, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. "We need a lot of education there. They are such complex areas of the law." Davis said he always has difficulties recommending lawyers for individuals looking for someone with American Indian law expertise. "There are just a very limited number of attorneys that I can refer them to at this point in time," he said. But Davis said he expected MSU's program to alleviate some of this problem and have a wider effect on the state by dispelling myths about tribes. Though he had no experience with American Indians at first, third-year law student Matt Lesky moved to Harbor Springs for the summer and took a job with Ettawageshik's Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. "It's one of the few areas of law you get to have a lot of experiences doing things that have a lot of varieties to them," he said. "I might be representing the tribe. On any given day there could be different issues." Lesky said he loves the work and also has learned a lot about the American Indian culture. "In order to be effective as a lawyer for a tribal government you need to understand the people here and where they're coming from," he said. "It's no different if I went to a small town and started practicing law. "You get to know what the social expectations for the community are." Ettawageshik said he is pleased to hear more aspiring lawyers will be studying American Indian law. "We have the same needs as everybody else for attorneys," he said. "We're talking about the improvement in the quality of life." Copyright c. 2004 The State News, Independent Voice of MSU. --------- "RE: Deal to help Crow Tribal Home buyers" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROW REZ HOUSING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com//local/45-tribal-homebuyers.inc Deal to help tribal home buyers By CHELSI MOY Of The Gazette Staff August 18, 2004 Residents of the Crow Reservation will have an easier time owning a home on tribal land thanks to an agreement between the tribe and Fannie Mae that was signed Tuesday in Billings. During a symposium at the Sheraton Hotel, Crow tribal leaders and Fannie Mae officials signed an agreement making it easier for Crow members to purchase a home. It is the 14th such agreement with American Indian tribes, said Ted Chandler, vice president of Fannie Mae's Western Regional Office. Fannie Mae, known formally as the Federal National Mortgage Association, is a privately owned corporation sponsored by the federal government and the largest source of funds for home mortgages. Fannie Mae buys mortgages from lenders, then repackages them and sells to private investors, maintaining lower interest rates for affordable homes. Approximately 70 percent of Americans own a home, Chandler said, while only 30 percent of Native Americans do. This is partly because of high unemployment rates on reservations. Also, the tribal land is owned by the federal government in trust for the tribes and generally can't be used as collateral in case of foreclosure. Shawn Real Bird, the economic development director of the Crow tribe, said he has firsthand knowledge of the problem. "I have to worry about wind coming through the windows and the children getting sick because of the cold," he said. "I have a bachelor's and master's degree and I am a productive member of the Crow tribe, how come my dream of home ownership is not a reality?" Real Bird said there are 12,000 enrolled Crow members, but government housing programs provide only five new houses a year. Relying solely on the government for affordable housing, "one may never own a home because there are 5,000 people on the waiting list and not enough funds to go around," he said. Through the agreement, Fannie Mae will provide necessary financing for first-time homeowners. Fannie Mae will offer flexible down payments as low as $500, Chandler said. In essence, Fannie Mae will help Crow members obtain conventional mortgages by taking on some of the risks of the lenders. The agreement has been in the works for three years, said Mary Lou Affleck, the senior deputy director for Fannie Mae's Montana office. This agreement is also bringing a desire for home-mortgage education. Already, 400 Crow members participated in a weekly financial literacy class that began in April to learn more about home mortgages. "There is such a great demand it's overwhelming," Real Bird said. "This law provides an opportunity for financing and wealth to make dreams of home ownership attainable." Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Tulalips dissolve Housing Authority" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TULALIP HOUSING ISSUES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattletimes.nwsource.com//2002009513_tulalip19n.html Tulalips dissolve housing authority By Emily Heffter Times Snohomish County bureau August 19, 2004 The Tulalip Tribes disbanded their housing authority this week after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said the housing authority has mismanaged more than $6 million in federal funds. Despite administrative assistance and warnings, housing authority commissioners used money intended for low-income housing to buy first- class plane tickets, laptop computers and expensive meals, HUD Assistant Secretary Michael Liu wrote in a letter earlier this month. All the money HUD has issued to the tribes since 1998 is in jeopardy. "This is not an action that we take lightly," said Pam Negri, HUD public affairs officer in Seattle. "We're extremely concerned that funds they have received and future funds are at risk of being mismanaged." Negri said criminal charges are "a possibility." A spokeswoman for the U. S. Attorney's Office in Seattle said none had been filed. Tulalip Tribes General Manager Linda Jones said the tribes are dedicated to resolving the problem. "HUD has raised some serious concerns and issues, " she said, adding the tribes are committed to finishing housing projects that are under way, though she wasn't sure how they would pay for them. The seven-member housing authority Board of Commissioners was led by Verna James. The tribes' board appointed James in June after removing former Chairman Dale Jones. Neither Dale Jones nor James could be reached for comment last night. The tribes have approximately 3,600 members on a reservation near Marysville. The Tulalip Tribes Housing Authority has spent about half the $12 million it has been issued since 1998, when HUD's Indian Housing Block Grant Program began. Besides providing low-income housing to tribal members, the housing authority has built about four houses a year for tribal elders. Although there is $5.7 million left in the Tulalips' block grant "treasury," without an active housing authority the Tulalips can't access the money, Negri said. That leaves several projects in limbo, including an apartment complex for seniors and disabled tribal members and several half-completed houses. Linda Jones and the Tulalip Board of Directors shuttered the housing authority office Tuesday and changed the locks. The tribes dissolved the housing-authority board and laid off several of the agency's employees. Jones said a woman answering the phone at the housing authority office is there only to take care of day-to-day operations. The Aug. 9 letter of intent to impose sanctions gives the tribes 30 days to justify seven years of expenditures. According to the letter, commissioners paid themselves for meetings even when they arrived 15 minutes before the meeting adjourned. They didn't file required audits and reports and deleted at least six months of records from 2000. If the tribes fail to reach an agreement with HUD, the federal agency could force them to repay grant money they already spent, freeze what they have or suspend future annual grants. The Tulalip Housing Authority has been plagued with problems for years. In 1997, The Seattle Times reported that two Tulalip tribal officials used HUD money to build themselves a 5,300-square-foot house. That incident resulted in tougher regulations to prevent abuse of federal housing-assistance money. This month's letter essentially shows that the tribes continue to waste money, according to HUD. Over time, the letter said, HUD has tried to help Tulalip housing staff with administration and accounting. "We have worked with the tribal housing authority for years to try to get this corrected," Negri said. "We just don't feel that they have made significant progress and that the funds are at risk." A HUD report in early 2003 said tribal housing commissioners misused $1. 2 million, spending it on such questionable expenditures as fleece vests, night-vision goggles, a whale-watching cruise and having one of the commissioners' houses painted. The tribes plan to get accountants and auditors to look at all the records. They're scheduling a meeting with federal HUD officials to work out a solution, Tulalip Chairman Stan Jones said. "We're just jumping on this problem right away," Jones said. "I just don't think they've had total expertise or enough people in there." Since 1998, when the Indian Housing Block Grant Program began distributing money to tribes for low-income housing, the Seattle HUD office has issued letters of intent only twice. In 1999, HUD imposed sanctions against the Yakama Indian Nation. About three years ago, it issued a letter of intent to the Puyallup Tribe. The Puyallups agreed to more oversight, and no sanctions were issued, Negri said. Seattle Times staff reporter Bob Young contributed to this report. Emily Heffter: 425-783-0624 or eheffter@seattletimes.com Copyright c. 2004 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: Black Mold plagues Indian Housing" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PINE RIDGE HOUSING" http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/9440447.htm Black mold plagues Indian housing Fifty-five percent of homes on Pine Ridge Reservation infected with types of mold By Shannon Shaw Associated Press Writer August 19, 2004 PINE RIDGE - After living in their Pine Ridge Indian Reservation home for 12 years, Jerome High Horse's family moved out in 2002 because black mold made living conditions unbearable. "It looked like somebody took black paint and started to paint in the corners of the walls and ran it down to the floor," said High Horse. "To breathe in there was like trying to breathe with a trash bag over your head." He attributes the mold to poor construction that led to ventilation problems. Haz-Matters Inc., of Black Hawk, inspected the High Horse home in 2002. Its report says fungal spores in the home exceeded safe levels. The firm's recommendations said the home may be considered uninhabitable, depending on the health and medical conditions of the occupants. On the Pine Ridge Reservation, one of the poorest areas in the nation, the tribal Health and Human Services Department has created a Mold Task Force with a five-year plan to address the problem, but it may be short of money. The task force would like to hire two more inspectors for the reservation, which has 1,650 HUD homes and hundreds more that are outside the HUD program. Fifty-five percent of all homes on the reservation are infected with black mold or other strains of mold, according to the team. Task force inspections indicate that more than half of the infected homes are at level three, the highest level of contamination, said Rick Palmer, a task force member. A level three home has more than 100 square feet of mold. "We can't say we have this under control because we don't," said Jeff McDonald of the Mold Task Force. "What we do have under control is knowing what we have to do about it." The Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act, funded through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, gives tribes money to hire contractors and for maintenance and upkeep, said Donna White, a HUD spokeswoman in Washington D.C. HUD has given $630 million to all tribes through the act, and there should be enough money in the fund to deal with the mold issues, she said. Senators get involved: However, according to a release from Sen. Tom Daschle's office, President Bush plans to cut back the Section 184 and Title VI programs that provide funding for Indian housing. Congress should oppose the president's plan, the senator said. "It's inconceivable that the Bush Administration would consider cutting back funding for tribal housing initiatives at a time of such great need," Daschle said. Funding for Section 184 and Title VI programs, administered through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, need to be increased soon, not cut, he said. Sen. Tim Johnson's office is looking to the Environmental Protection Agency for help, said Julianne Fisher, a spokeswoman in Johnson's office. "We have been following the situation, we've written to HUD," said Fisher. "In general we're working to find the best avenue." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site lists hay fever- like allergic symptoms as one of the health concerns from molds. But people with asthma may have trouble breathing, the CDC says. Severe reactions may include fever and shortness of breath. People with chronic illnesses, such as obstructive lung disease, may develop mold infections in their lungs. Beyond reservations: The mold problem isn't confined to American Indian reservations. The Insurance Information Institute in New York estimated last year that 10,000 mold-related lawsuits are pending in the United States - a 300 percent increase from 1999. Home insurance companies have redefined policies to exclude mold coverage in light of thousands of recent mold damage claims and conflicting opinions from scientists on how serious a threat mold poses for general health. "The mold is everywhere," said Marc Menetrez, an environmental engineer who heads up one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's black mold research teams in North Carolina, "from the desert of Las Vegas to the high humidity conditions of Florida, to the cool areas of Washington state. ... The public needs to be aware of this and the public needs to deal with this quickly." ----- reporter to the agency's Washington office, where no one was available for comment Wednesday. Copyright c. 2004 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2004 American News. --------- "RE: Ketchikan Tribe opposes logging of Forest" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LOGGING" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.adn.com/business/v-printer/story/5440555p-5376983c.html Forest Service OKs logging 1,800 formerly roadless acres on Gravina Island 45 DAYS TO APPEAL: Local Indian group opposes, but feds see creation of 240 jobs. By PAULA DOBBYN Anchorage Daily News August 18, 2004 The U.S. Forest Service has approved a timber sale in a roadless area of the Tongass National Forest. The logging would take place on Gravina Island, across Tongass Narrows from Ketchikan, and would yield 38 million board feet of timber from approximately 1,800 acres. It's the second harvest in a roadless area of a national forest since a Clinton-era rule banning such logging was lifted earlier this year. Last month the Forest Service approved a 665-acre harvest in a roadless area called Threemile on Kuiu Island in Southeast. "Supporting our local communities is an important part of what we do, and offering this timber sale is a way we can accomplish that goal," Tongass supervisor Forrest Cole said. "I'm very concerned about the economic health of Southeast Alaska communities, and my hope is this project will help our local, family-run mills keep operating and create jobs." The Gravina sale could generate nearly 240 jobs, according to the federal agency. It would require the construction of more than 21 miles of road. The public has 45 days to appeal the timber sale. Gravina is a popular spot for hunting, and its proximity to Ketchikan makes it easily accessible to boaters. Locals sometimes refer to the island as a breadbasket for Ketchikan. Environmentalists and some tribal members oppose the sale, saying the logging could harm subsistence resources, such as salmon and deer, as well as recreational opportunities on the island. They're particularly concerned about a spot called Bostwick Inlet. Tongass spokesman Kent Cummins said the Forest Service addressed the concerns by not allowing logging, road construction or the placement of any log dumps close to the inlet. More than 7,000 people commented on the draft plan for the timber sale and asked the Forest Service not to allow logging on Gravina, said Elmer Makua, a council member of the Ketchikan Indian Community, the local tribal government. "Once again the Forest Service has ignored the public and chosen short- term timber extraction to the detriment of protecting all the other uses of this pristine area," Makua said. For information about the Gravina sale, contact Ketchikan-Misty Fiords Ranger District Ranger Jerry Ingersoll at 1-907-225-2148 or jingersoll@fs.fed.us. The mailing address is 3031 Tongass Ave., Ketchikan 99901. ---- The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reporter Paula Dobbyn can be reached at pdobbyn@adn.com or 257-4317. Copyright c. 2004 The Anchorage Daily News (www.adn.com) --------- "RE: Diabetes: The power of prevention" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DIABETES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.navajohopiobserver.com/~S=392&PubID=12926&P=993743 The power of prevention: No more diabetes By Debra Jim Small Steps, Big Rewards Program We have a lot of routines and habits. Some good, some bad. And we all have a few we need to change. But how often do any of us really embrace a change in routine or a change in habit that also empowers our community? Adopting a routine of healthy eating and physical activity to prevent type 2 diabetes is that sort of change, and it offers powerful rewards. As an American Indian, I knew I was at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. My mother had it, her mother had it, and many of my aunts and uncles had it. I knew that I couldn't just sit around waiting for it to happen to me. My job makes it hard to come up with excuses not to be active - I work at the Chickasaw Nation's Carl Albert Indian Health Facility, where American Indians receive medical treatment for illnesses arising largely from unhealthy eating and not enough physical activity. I knew I had to change my eating habits and get moving. But would it do any good? The answer is yes. The good news is that we have the power to improve our health and change our destiny. But it means we have to stick to a new routine - a routine of making healthy living a priority. Two years ago, I started working out, and in the last six months I have even added weight training to my routine. I work out at home with my husband and as a family we encourage each other to do some form of physical activity each day so we can live healthier lives. I'll admit establishing my routine took time. But I found that as I became more committed to myself and physical activity, I became more committed to other routines in my life and accepted them more willingly. It's true what they say about physical activity changing your outlook on life, but what's even more exciting is that routine physical activity can actually change the outcome of our lives by preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes. Recently, I joined the National Diabetes Education Program's Small Steps. Big Rewards. Team to help empower my community to take small steps toward a healthier future. We know that diabetes severely threatens the well- being of the American Indian community. But the good news is that we can educate our loved ones that "We Have the Power to Prevent Diabetes," and we will be taking steps to fight back against this health threat endangering our community. The power is within us to reverse the high incidence of type 2 diabetes in our community. But we must listen to those who have already taken the right path and learn by their example. Then our individual routines can produce a collective good - a healthy and vibrant American Indian and Alaska Native community. For more tips on how you can prevent type 2 diabetes, visit www.gov or call 1-800-438-5383 and ask for the "We Have the Power to Prevent Diabetes" tip sheet. Copyright c. 2004 Navajo-Hopi Observer, Northern Arizona Newspapers, Inc. --------- "RE: U.S.: The Place where Languages come to die" --------- Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 08:44:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAST ACJACHEMEN SPEAKER" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/9413651.htm U.S. considered the place 'where languages come to die' By GWENDOLYN DRISCOLL Orange County Register August 16, 2004 SANTA ANA, Calif. - To become one of the last living speakers of the Acjachemen language, you first have to pass an unusual test. Ka`chi Lobo Golden, the ceremonial teacher and "Revealer" of the San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based Acjachemen tribe, will sit on a hill near her home and "release" your name into the wind. She will wait six days for a response. "If the wind says yes, I will teach." For a tribe such as the Acjachemen, a scattered and as-yet federally unrecognized group of approximately 3,000 Orange County American Indians, such mysticism may seem a lackadaisical response to a pressing dilemma: the extinction of their language. Golden, however, is phlegmatic. "I'm the last Mohican," she said, referring to her status as the last living speaker of the Acjachemen language. "But I come from the knowledge that nothing is ever lost. It just goes into the belly of Earth Mother for a time." Golden instructs a few students every year in the Acjachemen "spiritual" language, a derivative of the Acjachemen common tongue that is used mostly for ceremonial and spiritual purposes. Her efforts, and those of a handful of others within and outside the tribe, may determine the life or death of Orange County's first - and currently smallest - language group. It also illustrates the difficulty of preserving language in a nation that linguists often grimly refer to as the "language cemetery." "The United States is where languages come to die," said Rosemary Feal, Executive Director of the Modern Language Association. "We often see the first generation speaks (a language) but by the third generation their children may know only a few words." Different factors contribute to the loss of languages, including migration, economics and the pressure to fit in, Feal said. In the case of Acjachemen, racist attitudes in existence since the time of first contact - the arrival of the Spanish in California in the 16th century - are responsible for the steady erosion of native language, according to Damien Shilo, chairman of the Acjachemen Nation Tribal Council. In the mid-1800s a bounty encouraged white settlers to hunt and kill American Indians, prompting many Acjachemen people to speak Spanish and adopt Mexican names. California - once one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world - lost up to 70 percent of its native languages in the process. "Your language and your culture had to be pushed underground, because to openly admit that was a death sentence," Shilo said. By the 1980s, as the last native speakers approached their 90s, many tribes launched language revitalization programs to save what remained of Navajo, Comanche, Creek and other native languages. California tribes were aided by the discovery in the Smithsonian Institution of notes and taped recordings of fluent speakers made in the 1930s by famed linguist John Peabody Harrington. But the Acjachemen, embroiled in a decades-long quest for federal recognition and riven by tribal squabbles, say they do not have the resources to devote to learning their mother tongue. "So much energy is taken by this tribe trying to define themselves," said Micael Merrifield, a professor of anthropology at Saddleback College who is writing a book about the tribe. "They don't have time to organize a whole, structured language learning program." A "dead" language may be a liability for the Acjachemen, who currently stand second in line in the arduous process of federal recognition. Some within the tribe say that the lack of a living language makes it easier for the government to deny their existence. Others play down the issue, noting that even federally recognized tribes are struggling to preserve their languages. In the meantime, well-meaning - if not always well-funded or organized - volunteers try to fill the gap. Ka`chi Golden teaches language through traditional song. Kelina Lobo, a University of Arizona graduate student, conducted a statistical comparison between the Acjachemen and the related Luiseno language. She drew on living dictionaries such as Marguerite Lobo, 89, who remembers her mother speaking "Indian." Her brother, Wick, 70, preserves a handwritten "Lobo Lexicon" compiled in 1937 by his late sister, Viola, of 212 phonetically spelled Acjachemen words. "We need to find somebody who can speak it fluently and have classes," said Wick Lobo. "If we can reach a critical mass of speakers, it's conceivable that in the next 20 years, our language will rise again." Copyright c. 2004 Orange County Register. --------- "RE: Ties to the past Fremont Indians" --------- Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 08:52:43 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANCESTORS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.sltrib.com/ci_2397348 Ties to the past Fremont Indians By Greg Lavine and Michael Yount The Salt Lake Tribune August 22, 2004 RANGE CREEK CANYON - Standing 900 feet above the canyon floor, the ancients who once lived in these rugged mountains could gaze down upon the creek that sliced through the area and nearby corn fields. Rock art adorned the cliff walls near a handful of ridge-top pithouses. Hidden granaries protected corn and other foods. From this lookout near a natural stone arch, they could keep an eye on any neighbors or intruders moving through the canyon. More than 1,000 years later, archaeologists discovered the spot while exploring Indian sites scattered throughout hundreds of acres in and around eastern Utah's Range Creek Canyon. They called it the Deluxe Apartment in the Sky, borrowed from the theme song of the 1970s and '80s sitcom "The Jeffersons." "There is not another region in the state of Utah that has the sheer number and density of essentially untouched archaeological sites - in fact, the archaeology of Range Creek Canyon may be unique in the United States," archaeologists wrote in a research proposal for the Book Cliffs site. Hiding beneath the surface of this pristine site - and thousands of others believed to be in the area - are artifacts and clues that could tell new stories about the people archaeologists refer to as the Fremont Indians. Such details could explain more about the Fremonts, who archaeologists believe lived in Utah and the surrounding territory from 500 to 1300. How their culture came into existence, and whether they suddenly vanished eight centuries ago, has been a matter of fierce debate for decades. Some experts wonder whether the Fremont were a cohesive culture or simply an unrelated group of people who just happened to live in the same general area at the same time. "People have argued for 50 years over what is the definition of Fremont," said Renee Barlow, a Salt Lake Community College archaeologist who is investigating Range Creek. Members of the region's American Indian tribes contend their people have always lived in the region. "The area was probably never totally abandoned," said archaeologist Melvin Brewster, a Northern Paiute and tribal historic preservation officer for the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians. Several tribes believe they descended from the Fremont - known to some as Newenucyou or Mookweetch- and should be involved in deciding the future of Range Creek. Of particular importance is the discovery of human remains on federal land in the area. If modern tribes claim cultural affiliation to reclaim those remains, they will have to navigate through the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. The process is already under way for several dozen Fremont remains found in the 1980s at Willard Bay Reservoir, near the Great Salt Lake, and at Steinaker Reservoir near Vernal. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages land near these sites, is reviewing a series of reports ranging from archaeology to oral tradition to determine cultural affiliation. While these reports do not directly relate to the Range Creek remains, found on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property near the old Wilcox ranch, they provide a snapshot of the state of research regarding the Fremont as a whole. One culture or many? Experts generally agree the Fremont farmed their own type of corn, adapted to a shorter growing season, and supplemented their crops with hunting and gathering, Barlow said during a recent archaeology conference held in Bluff. The Fremont used metates, large stones with indentations, for grinding corn and seeds. They created grayware pottery and crafted basketry using a single rod to support the structure and weaving the plant material around the rod. They wore leather moccasins and built homes of stone and wood that were partly underground. They also created unfired clay figurines. But if this were a checklist to be Fremont, not all ancient Utah inhabitants of that era would qualify, Barlow said. Not all Fremont sites, for example, contain clay figurines. To deal with these differences, archaeologists have created five different Fremont variants based on where each group lived. For a time, the Fremont were considered to be a part of the better-known Anasazi culture, found in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and southern Utah. In the 1950s, University of Utah archaeologist Jesse Jennings began chipping the Fremont into their own culture. James Adavasio, a professor at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., is convinced that the Fremont should be considered a cohesive culture based on one tie: baskets. "Some people say, well, if they make a Fremont basket, then are they a Fremont? Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," Adavasio said. It may seem like a simple connection, but the level of intricacy and skill required makes basketry a key signal of shared culture, he said. "It's a fact that no two populations manufacture the same baskets and aren't related," Adavasio said. In addition to the culture debate, several schools of thought about the Fremont's origin have emerged over the decades. Seeds of village life: Some archaeologists say indigenous hunters and gatherers at some point were introduced to maize from the south and quickly saw the benefit of growing their own food supply. Another possibility is that maize-growing male farmers from the south began colonizing Utah, said Steve Simms, an anthropologist at Utah State University, at the Bluff meeting. Along the way, they could have taken wives from the indigenous hunter-gatherer population. Experts contend that with a more or less reliable source of food, constant roaming becomes a thing of the past; a serious time investment is needed to grow crops. "Maize is key for sedentary village life," Claudia Berry, a researcher with Alpine Archaeological Consultants, of Montrose, Colo., said at the Bluff meeting. Berry said a study of remains from Willard Bay and Steinaker reservoirs reveals a heavy dependence on a corn-based diet. With the need to be in one place for extended periods of time, the Fremont built semipermanent pithouses. Moving villages: Richard Talbot, a Brigham Young University archaeologist, said that on the Colorado Plateau, an area that includes Range Creek, most Fremont lived in small clusters. In parts of the Great Basin, other Fremont lived in big villages. Even after investing the time and energy to build stone structures, the Fremont seemed to have remained somewhat mobile. "It's clear that these people were comfortable with periodic abandonment and relocating settlements," Talbot said at the Bluff conference, adding that people might live in one area for a few years at a time. There is also evidence of pithouses in areas where the Fremont might have lived seasonally to take advantage of certain natural resources, he said. At Range Creek, Barlow and company still are investigating details of Fremont life, but early surveys reveal a mix of smaller farmsteads and a few villages. Information still to be analyzed could answer questions about environmental changes toward the end of the Fremont occupation. Many researchers say that after about 1300, archaeological records show few if any signs of the Fremont. Some have said this coincides with a widespread drought that could have driven them away. No mystery: Brewster, the tribal historic preservation officer, criticized many archaeologists for seeing the past through a filter of white history. He argues that too often, archaeologists ignore spiritual beliefs and native perspectives. "They're seeing themselves," Brewster said. "They're not really seeing prehistoric Native Americans." For example, there are some theories that new Indian groups swept into the area and perhaps displaced the Fremont. Brewster said this seems like archaeologists forcing the idea of Manifest Destiny onto Indian history. In any event, questions surrounding the Fremont will become fundamental as tribes and archaeologists strive to determine which, if any, modern Indian groups are culturally linked with the Fremont under NAGPRA standards - and all the while balancing scientific evidence with tribal history and folklore. As archaeologists tease out the history of Range Creek - from the cliff- top Deluxe Apartment in the Sky down to the canyon-bottom corn fields - perhaps the findings will help put some long-standing debates to rest. glavine@sltrib.com; myount@sltrib.com Copyright c. 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune. --------- "RE: Judge allows Eastern Pequot role in Tribe Hearing" --------- Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2004 12:49:13 EDT From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: JUDGE ALLOWS EASTERNS ROLE IN TRIBE HEARING Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.thewesterlysun.com/articles/2004/08/22/news/news4.txt JUDGE ALLOWS EASTERNS ROLE IN TRIBE HEARING By James Schlett - The Sun Staff N. STONINGTON - A Department of the Interior appellate board is allowing the Historic Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation to counterattack state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's criticism of the group in his challenge to the Bureau of Indian Affairs' acknowledgement of a Kent-based tribe. Chief Administrative Justice Steven K. Linscheid of the Interior Board of Indian Appeals said in an Aug. 10 order that the Eastern Pequots should be granted limited amicus curiae, or friend of the court, status in the state's appeal to the Jan. 29 federal recognition of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation. The Eastern Pequots' court standing promotion comes two years after the BIA rejected the North Stonington Indian group's bid to participate in the Schaghticokes' acknowledgement proceedings. Four weeks after Blumenthal filed his appeal to the BIA's Schaghticoke ruling in May, the Eastern Pequots again sought interested party status in the case. The board's decision grants the Eastern Pequots a court standing that falls short of the one they sought. It gives the tribe an Oct. 8 deadline to file a brief rebutting Blumenthal's discrediting comments made in his Schaghticoke appeal about the BIA's acknowledgement of the North Stonington Indian group. An interested party designation would have granted the Eastern Pequots certain court privileges, such as the ability to submit comments in the appeal process and receive court advisories and other information. Linscheid's order instead limits what the Eastern Pequots can comment on. "The tribe is pleased with the result because it gives them what they requested: the opportunity to respond to the state's claims regarding the (Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation) decision," tribe Chairwoman Marcia Flowers said in a prepared statement. The Interior Board of Indian Appeals rejected North Stonington, Preston and Ledyard's June 24 request to make the Eastern Pequots and the towns that joined the recognition debate as amici curiae face the same deadline for filing legal briefs. The tri-town coalition originally stated in its brief that neither party should be granted interested party status. The state and towns face a Sept. 24 deadline for submitting briefs. Thirteen towns and the Housatonic Valley Council of Valley Officials joined Blumenthal's appeal, and more than 17 Connecticut communities joined the case as amici curiae. The Schaghticokes, who have final say in the case, have an Oct. 29 brief deadline, according to Linscheid's order. "I don't like it. They should all go at the same time," said North Stonington First Selectman Nicholas H. Mullane II. Mullane said that by the appellate board not requiring all the parties in the Schaghticoke case to submit comments at the same time, the towns are at a disadvantage by not being able to refute claims made by the Eastern Pequots. The tribes, however, will be in a position to respond to comments made by the towns and state. "It's been the practice that they will distort, exaggerate and misrepresent the facts," Mullane said of the Eastern Pequots. The Eastern Pequots had not planned to join the case, but they chose to do so after seeing how Blumenthal reiterated in the Schaghticoke appeal arguments that he made two years ago in his challenge to federal recognition of the North Stonington Indian group. For again arguing in the Schaghticoke appeal that the BIA "erroneously equated" Connecticut's acknowledgement of both tribes with federal tribal recognition, the Eastern Pequots accused Blumenthal of trying to get another "bite of the apple." "Considering the rather unusual circumstances present here, the board concludes that it would be appropriate to allow (the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation) to participate in these proceedings as an amicus status," Linscheid said in his order. "(The tribe's) participation shall be limited, however, to responding to the specific assertions made by the state in these proceedings concerning (the tribe's) acknowledgement determination." The BIA in June 2002 merged two Indian petitioners - the Paucatuck Eastern Pequots and the Eastern Pequots - into one federally-recognized Historic Eastern Pequot Tribe. Blumenthal and the tri-town coalition challenged that decision in September 2002 and the case is awaiting a hearing from the Interior Board of Indian Appeals. Linscheid noted that the Eastern Pequot appeal "is ripe for the board's consideration," meaning the case is ready for a hearing. Copyright c. 2004 The Westerly Sun. --------- "RE: Literature for Native American Children" --------- Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 08:44:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BOOKS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.ksfy.com/Stories/Story.cfm?SID=883 Literature for Native American Children By: Chris Studer August 17, 2004 Life hasn't been easy on South Dakota's Indian Reservations. Things like alcoholism, poverty, and suicide are always a struggle. But Senator Tim Johnson says something as small as a book could help solve the bigger problems facing Native Americans. Mable Eagle Heart has been a school teacher on the Pine Ridge Reservation for years. She's seen the struggles students and teachers face close up. "Most of the libraries are very small," she said. "The books are very few." Mable says the funds just aren't there to help her people succeed. Especially to help children like her grandaughter Taylor Snowball. That's where Senator Tim Johnson's family comes in. His wife Barbara helped raise $25,000 to get 20,000 books in the hands of Native American kids. "A lot of the schools have children coming from disadvantaged backgrounds," Senator Johnson said. "There's not a lot of books in their homes, and school libraries frankly aren't as good as they ought to be. So this is a huge opportunity to increase the quality of reading opportunities for Native American children all across South Dakota. If we can empower them to take control of their own lives and to be competitive in the job market, that will solve a lot of the other problems," Johnson said. Mable and her granddaughter loaded up 1,000 books at the Lower Brule High School to take back to Pine Ridge. Mable hopes the books will help arm Taylor and other children with knowledge they can use. "I know that's a good start to achievement, having access to the books," Eagle Heart said. "Through books you can gain knowledge, and what more could you ask for?" Scholastic Publishing out of New York partnered with Kids In Disstressed Situations Incorporated, (K.I.D.S.) to supply the books. They'll be spread out to 20 different Native American schools and libraries across the state. Each school will receive about 1,000 books. Copyright c. 2000-2004 KSFY. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Backdoor approach eyed on Native Hawaiian Bill" --------- Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 08:52:43 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVE HAWAIIAN BILL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.mauinews.com/news/story/0822202004_new03.asp Backdoor approach eyed on Native Hawaiian bill By ILIMA LOOMIS and EDWIN TANJI Staff Writers August 22, 2004 WAILUKU - Hawaii senior Sen. Daniel Inouye said last week he and Sen. Daniel Akaka will seek again to insert the Native Hawaiian Recognition Act into an appropriations bill. With the bill, commonly known as the Akaka Bill, stalled by an Arizona senator who has placed a hold on the measure, Inouye said its chance for approval on the current route is "next to nil." But he said Hawaii's delegation would try "the route that's seldom followed" for the bill that would grant federal recognition to Native Hawaiians. That means slipping it in as an amendment into a much-larger appropriations bill and hoping it rides all the way through Congress' review process. It's a technique that some will "frown" on at the Capitol, but if it makes it out of the Senate Appropriations Committee intact, that endorsement will carry some weight with other members of Congress and give it a chance, said Inouye, a ranking member of the committee. It is one of several options the Hawaii delegation has in its efforts to win approval of the bill that has been repeatedly blocked in the Senate. A similar move last year to insert the recognition bill in an appropriations measure was blocked by several Senate opponents including Arizona Republican John McCain. The Akaka Bill has staunch Capitol Hill opponents, some of whom also oppose granting special rights to Native American tribes, Inouye said. The bill's opponents will find ammunition in any argument against it - including Hawaiian sovereignty and independence groups that reject the Akaka Bill because it would acknowledge federal authority over Hawaiians. But Inouye warned that Native Hawaiians programs with combined budgets of more than $150 million could be jeopardized if the Akaka Bill fails, and if critics of those programs renew their arguments that the programs are racially based and unconstitutional. "(The programs) are based on the premise that Native Hawaiians are Native Americans, and, as such, they can receive special treatment," he said. The bill calls for federal authorization to organize a Native Hawaiian government "and to provide for the recognition of the Native Hawaiian government by the United States." Some supporters of Hawaiian sovereignty argue that there is no need to ask the federal government to allow Hawaiians to form their own government and the bill grants to the federal government an authority it does not now have. Conversely, non-Hawaiian opponents - including McCain's Arizona colleague, Sen. Jon Kyl - see the measure as giving an unconstitutional recognition to Hawaiians as a racial group. Kyl has objected to the bill for seeking to reverse the impact of the U. S. Supreme Court decision in Rice v. Cayetano that overturned the Hawaii law providing for Hawaiians-only voting in Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections. There have since been multiple efforts by various groups to invalidate governmental programs providing specifically for Hawaiians through OHA and through the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. In an Associated Press report earlier this month, Kyl said he saw the Akaka Bill as seeking to block federal court scrutiny, opened by the Rice v. Cayetano decision, of government programs that benefit Native Hawaiians as a racial group. He said he doubted that the Supreme Court would find the Akaka Bill constitutional. Both Inouye and Akaka have said they believe the recognition bill will pass constitutional review since it would essentially grant to Native Hawaiians the status already granted to Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Meeting with The Maui News, Inouye remained confident the Akaka Bill is good legislation and a positive step for Hawaii and Hawaiians. "I think the history and the laws are clearly in our favor," he said. Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews.com. Edwin Tanji can be reached at editor@mauinews.com. Copyright c. 2004 The Maui News. --------- "RE: Pipeline Review Panel Members appointed" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 08:19:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PIPELINE REVIEW PANEL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca//View?filename=aug18revpanel18082004 Pipeline review panel members appointed August 18, 2004 YELLOWKNIFE - A former Indian Affairs senior bureaucrat has been tapped to lead the panel overseeing the review of the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline. Robert Hornal served as director of Indian Affairs' Northern Affairs Program in the 1970s. Hornal says the panel will try to remain above the political fray surrounding the pipeline. "I don't think politics has a role in the work of the panel. The panel has a set of terms of reference that require that it look at the environmental and social consequences of this project and we plan to do that," he says. "There may be politics associated with this project, but I think it's outside the mandate of this panel." Hornal now runs a Vancouver-based consulting company. The panel includes four Northwest Territories residents: - Gina Dolphus, of the Native Women's Association, - Barry Greenland, of the Inuvik Gwich'in Band, - Percy Hardisty, a former chief of Wrigley, - Tyson Pertschy, who has worked with the Inuvialuit. The other members are Peter Usher, who was on the panel that reviewed the Voisey Bay nickel project, and National Energy Board member Rowland Harrison. The pipeline review is expected to take 16 months. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Lawyers praised for support of Native Survivors" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:47:59 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCHOOL ABUSE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.theglobeandmail.com//CBASCHOOLS17//?query=aboriginal Lawyers praised for support of native survivors By KIM LUNMAN August 17, 2004 Ray Mason had never taken a bus until one mysteriously pulled up at his door on the Peguis First Nation at dawn to collect the frightened seven- year-old. He still remembers watching his Manitoba reserve disappear in the distance through the rear-view mirror. "My mother was crying and saying, 'I hope he comes back.' The Indian agent said, 'Don't worry; he'll be back.'" Mr. Mason, who is among thousands of survivors of residential schools seeking compensation from the federal government, spent the next 10 years of his life bouncing from one school to another. He was beaten when he spoke his native language instead of English, sometimes with a broken conveyor belt, in a cycle of abuse that continued until he left at 17. "It's a horrible thing," said Mr. Mason, chairman of the Spirit Wind Association representing about 5,000 residential school survivors in Manitoba. "We suffered psychological and mental torture." He commended the Canadian Bar Association yesterday for passing a resolution at its annual meeting in Winnipeg calling on the federal government to compensate all surviving victims of residential schools. As many as 90,000 of the survivors are estimated to be still alive. "The government should realize we were all in it together," said Mr. Mason, 57. "Why does the Canadian government have to take us to court to see what they've done to us?" "We're saying that's not fair," said Darcy Merkur, one of the lawyers representing survivors in a national class action lawsuit involving 19 law firms. "This was institutional child abuse. They were basically scarred for life." Mr. Merkur said former students should be entitled to compensation packages in the range of $20,000 to $40,000. Ottawa apologized six years ago for abuses in the