I’m sharing a link to a document related to environmental justice. Here’s an excerpt from “Crying Earth Rise Up! Oglala Lakota People and Uranium Mining,” edited by Debra White Plume:

The drinking water on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was acknowledged as unfit for human
consumption by the United States government when they funded the Rural Water Project in the late
1980’s. This project’s purpose is to provide drinking water to our people on the Pine Ridge, water from
the Missouri River that will be delivered through a pipeline. So far, pipeline has been laid across hundreds
of miles and millions of dollars have been spent, and still no one on Pine Ridge has received one drop of
Missouri River water.  Endangered water supplies do not need more contamination coming in from new
uranium mines. 
 Do the contaminants in the drinking water on Pine Ridge come from the old abandoned uranium
mines and their waste piles in the Edgemont area? From the uranium mines in Wyoming and Nebraska?
From minerals naturally occurring?  From the Badlands bombing range?  Maybe the answer is “yes” to all
questions.  All drinking water tests and studies conducted during the past 30 years reveal contaminants in
the water. The most recent test results were received the day this paper went to print, showing illegal
levels of radioactive elements in the drinking water, water from wells in the Arikaree Aquifer.
 From the Lakota spiritual point of view, water is our relative, we are obligated to protect our
relative. All of Creation is our relative. Our future generations will be impacted by the effects of uranium
mining, we are obligated to protect them, our coming generations, our relatives, from the impacts of
uranium mining.
 Protection of our coming generations and of water includes stopping any new contaminants from
entering our drinking water and our human bodies.  That is the point where this work of “Crying Earth
Rise Up” begins, to challenge the corporate uranium mines from renewing their existing mining permits,
to challenge the corporations in the process they’ve begun to attain new permits. There are plans for new
mines in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota. This publication also includes information
about the corporations intent to start new uranium mines in the Heart of Everything That Is, the sacred He
Sapa (Black Hills).
 This publication looks at the global view on water, and environmental justice, at what laws
governmental entities on Pine Ridge are creating, at what other native ngo’s and individuals are doing to
protect water, earth, air, land, people, all of Creation. This publication is developed to provide an
overview of the impacts our peoples/nations are facing, what can be done in the “paper warpath”, what
direct actions are being implemented.  We have included links to provide the opportunity for further
research.  This publication is intended to provide the awareness also that there is solidarity among
indigenous peoples everywhere. After all, we all share one Mother, our sacred Mother Earth. 

Jodi Rave

It is a difficult political environment on Capitol Hill, with a number of members focused on re-election politics, not our much needed legislation. Our legislation efforts are complicated by record deficits, a weak national economy, and the requirement that $2 billion of our settlement be paid for through spending or revenue off-sets. This year, most legislation, excluding emergency spending legislation, has designated off-sets which have become very controversial because each political party has its own views on the acceptable off-sets.

Unfortunately, Congress has repeatedly taken our identified off-sets that were deemed widely acceptable to support other bills that were more important to Senate leadership and the administration. And, unfortunately, the administration has been unwilling to designate any of the billions of dollars of unspent economic stimulus funds to ensure passage of our settlement bill. This has forced us to start over repeatedly as our congressional allies have to work even harder to identify other possible acceptable off-sets.

Throughout the session which ended Aug. 5, our attorneys and I continued to work with our allies in the Senate to get attached to a bill the Senate would pass. Before the Senate recessed, leadership brought our case to a vote through a procedure called unanimous consent. This simply means the Senate could pass the bill so long as no senator objects; if anyone objects, the bill does not pass. This measure did not pass as a result of Sen. Barrassos’, R-Wyo., ongoing objection to the settlement.

As I reported in an earlier Ask Elouise letter, Sen. Barrasso hasn’t made a secret of his desire to kill the settlement, going against the will of the tribes in his own state and all but a handful of disgruntled critics. It is becoming more likely that Congress will not pass settlement legislation. Indeed, it is unusual for any settlement or judgment to be conditioned on political acceptance by Congress. The Judgment Fund, a permanently appropriated fund, was created decades ago by Congress to pay for all settlements and judgments against the United States.

It has two purposes: First, to exclude final judgments and settlements against the United States from the uncertainties of the political process, and second, to restore the reputation of the United States, which had become a deadbeat nation. Simply put, politics routinely blocked payment of the government’s debt obligations. Sadly, we seem to be heading that way again. Our settlement agreement was executed Dec. 7, 2009, more than eight months ago, and I know of no reason to believe that our prospects will improve as we get closer to the mid-term elections.

In fact, they are likely to get worse. Nevertheless, after endless hearings and debates in Congress about our case and its settlement, we have gathered a massive amount of support from members of Congress. I am informed that if we ever come to a vote in the Senate that we have sufficient votes to safely beat any filibuster. For this reason, I have carefully considered our options, consulted with scores of beneficiaries, listened to their concerns, and talked to our attorneys before making a decision to extend the agreement for what is likely to be the last time. I’m especially mindful of the fact that the vast majority of beneficiaries want this settlement to work because it is a fair deal. For these reasons, I’ve decided to extend the settlement agreement through Oct. 15, 2010. If you have a question, send an e-mail to: askelouise@cobellsettlement.com.

Thank you and keep your questions coming. – Elouise Cobell Browning, Mont

I’m posting this alphabetical and “unofficial list” of Candidates filed as of Aug. 10, 2010 for Three Affiliated Tribes 2010 Tribal Election. I wish all the candidates a good campaign. Time is running short with about five weeks leading to the election on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. The chairman’s position is open for a new leader as well as three districts on the reservation. It’s an interesting time back at Fort Berthold with all the oil activity on the Bakken Formation. The community and entire reservation is changing with the influx of people from all over the country.

Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation

Here is the

Three Affiliated Tribes candidate list

For the record, here’s the unofficial list:

CHAIRMAN:

Whitney Bell
Roger Bird Bear
Elgin Crows Breast
Delvin Driver
Dennis Fox
Mark Fox
Tex Hall
Marcus Levings
Verdell Smith
RJ Smith
Arne Strahs
Ramona Two Shields
Charlie Vigan
Virgil Wilkinson
Roger Whiteall
Bernadine Young Bird

FOUR BEARS COMMUNITY
Judy Brugh
Cami Thorton

TWIN BUTTES COMMUNITY
Barry Benson
Maynard Demray
Gwen Hoestler
Amy Mossette

PARSHALL COMMUNITY
Clorine Linseth
Mervyn Packineau
Eloise Babe Wells
Myron Tony Foote

Jodi Rave

WASHINGTON — Despite broad support, legislation to finalize $4.6 billion in settlements with black farmers and American Indians stalled in the Senate again Thursday amid partisan bickering.

Lawmakers from both parties say they support resolving the long-standing claims of discrimination and mistreatment by federal agencies. But the funding has been caught up for months in a fight over spending and deficits, with Republicans and Democrats arguing over how to pay for them.

Republicans have repeatedly blocked Democratic proposals and did so again Thursday. This time, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., argued that the settlement in the Indian case needs work and made a counter offer that would change parts of it.

An exasperated Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., responded that it’s not Congress’ role to renegotiate the case, which has been in court for 14 years and which the Obama administration is under a court-ordered deadline to resolve.

“My colleague from Wyoming, I think, wishes he were one of the negotiators,” Dorgan said. “Nobody in Congress was a negotiator … the question is whether we will meet our responsibility.”

In the Indian case, at least 300,000 Native Americans claim they were swindled out of royalties overseen by the Interior Department since 1887 for things like oil, gas, grazing and timber. They would share a $3.4 billion settlement in a class-action lawsuit originally filed in 1996 by Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe from Browning, Mont.

For the black farmers, it is the second round of funding from a class-action lawsuit originally settled in 1999 over allegations of widespread discrimination by local Agriculture Department offices in awarding loans and other aid. It is known as the Pigford case, named after Timothy Pigford, a black farmer from North Carolina who was an original plaintiff.

The government already has paid out more than $1 billion to about 16,000 farmers, with most getting payments of about $50,000. The new money is intended for people – some estimates say 70,000 or 80,000 – who were denied earlier payments because they missed deadlines for filing. The amount of money each would get depends on how many claims are successfully filed.

Passing the funding for the two cases would fulfill a campaign promise by President Barack Obama to resolve long-festering complaints.

John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association, said both parties share the blame of leaving the work undone before the Senate adjourned for it’s month-long August recess.

“It’s just partisan division, one party against another,” he said. “It’s an embarrassment for the American people that they can’t get a bill passed that everybody supports.”

Jodi Rave

Kimberly Teehee, White House policy advisor for Native American affairs

Jodi Rave at University of Montana Law School

After 14 years of litigation, here’s a list of U.S. Interior Department trust obligation violations uncovered as part of the “gross mismanagement” of Indian trust lands. The breaches of trust were cited in the January 2010 amended Cobell vs. Salazar complaint, a class-action suit that led the Obama administration to agree to a settlement in December 2009.  Here’s a link to the Cobell v. Salazar settlement agreement and amended complaint. The amdended complaint to recover restitution and damages and other monetary relief is dated January 2010.

GENERAL NATURE OF THE ACTION (as printed directly from pages 1-4 of the amended complaint, which is attached at the end of the settlement agreement).

 1. This action is brought to redress gross breaches of trust by the United States, acting by and through the Defendants, with respect to the money, land and other natural resource assets of more than 450,000 individual Indians.

2. Involved in this action are accounts commonly referred to as Individual Indian Money (”IIM”) accounts. As is more fully set forth herein below, IIM accounts include money, which is the property of individual Indians, held by the United States as trustee on their behalf. Such accounts at the time of filing this action reflected a balance of more than Four Hundred and Fifty Million Dollars ($450,000,000.00), and more than Two Hundred and Fifty Million Dollars ($250,000,000.00) passes through them each 2 year; the true totals would be far greater than those amounts, but for the breaches of trust herein complained of.

3. Involved as well are funds that were collected or should have been collected by the federal government as trustee for individual Indians (commonly referred to as individual Indian moneys (“IIM”)), and the resources, including land, held in trust for individual Indian trust beneficiaries. Defendants have mismanaged those funds, land, and resources in breach of their trust duties and, thereby, have prevented Plaintiffs from receiving income to which they are entitled.

4. Defendants, the officers charged with carrying out the trust obligations of the United States, and their predecessors, have grossly mismanaged, and continue grossly to mismanage, such trusts and trust assets in at least the following respects, among others: (a) They have failed to keep adequate records and to install an adequate accounting system, including but not limited to their failure to install an adequate accounts receivable system; (b) They have destroyed records bearing upon their breaches of trust; (c) They have failed to account to the trust beneficiaries with respect to their money; (d) They have lost, dissipated, or converted to the United States’ own use the money of the trust beneficiaries; and (e) They either have unlawfully obstructed the appointment of a qualified and competent Special Trustee or unlawfully have prevented the Special Trustee for American Indians, appointed pursuant to the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (“the 1994 Act”), P.L. 103-412, 108 Stat. 4239, codified to 25 U.S.C. §§ 162a(d) and 4001-4061, from carrying out duties and responsibilities conferred upon him by law to correct their unlawful practices and procedures with respect to IIM accounts. (f) They have mismanaged trust funds held or to be held for individual Indians in the following respects:

(1) They have failed to collect or credit funds owed under leases, sales, easements or other transactions, including without limitation, having failed to collect or credit all money due, to audit royalties and to collect interest on late payments; 3 (2) They have failed to invest trust funds; (3) They have underinvested trust funds; (4) They imprudently have mismanaged and invested trust funds; (5) They have made erroneous or improper distributions or disbursements of trust funds, including to the wrong person or account; (6) They have charged excessive or improper administrative fees; (7) They have misappropriated, or failed to take steps to prevent the misappropriation of, trust funds; (8) They have withheld unlawfully the distribution and disbursement of trust funds; (9) They have deposited trust funds above FDIC insurance coverage in accounts in failed depository institutions, resulting in lost principal and interest; (10) They have failed to control, or investigate allegations of theft, embezzlement, misappropriation, fraud, trespass, and other misconduct regarding trust assets and have failed to make restitution or seek compensation for same; (11) They have failed to pay or credit to IIM Accounts accrued interest, including interest on special deposit accounts; (12) They have lost funds and investment securities as well as income or proceeds earned from such funds or securities; (13) They have lost funds through accounting errors; (14) They have failed to deposit or disburse funds in a timely fashion; and (15) They have engaged in conduct of like nature and kind arising out of Defendants’ breaches of trust in connection with mismanagement of IIM Trust funds.

Go the to Cobell v. Salazar settlement agreement and amended complaint for the rest of the story.

Jodi Rave

*Ms. Rave is an Individual Indian Money account holder and landowner on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. She won the University of Nebraska Sorensen Award for her reporting on the Cobell lawsuit as well as the Nebraska Associated Press award for enterprise reporting for her series on the management of Indian lands. Her writings on the Cobell suit are also included in“The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity,” a book based on award-winning journalism stories from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Additionally, Ms. Rave is the first, and only, American Indian woman awarded a Nieman Fellowship for journalism at Harvard University.

Trucks in the Alberta, Canada tar sands

The women of WVE — Women’s Voices of the Earth — passed on this information from their partners at the Indigenous Environmental Network, Northern Rockies Rising Tide, National Wildlife Federation, Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club, UM Climate Action Now, and the No Shipments Network. Here’s what they have to share for people interested in environmental justice:

What: Film viewing and tar sands discussion

When: Wednesday, June 2nd, 6:00 p.m.

Where: Roxy Theater, 718 S. Higgins Av, Missoula, MT

The Alberta Tar Sands constitute the largest portion of U.S. imported oil. They have also been called out in the international community as the most destructive industrial project on the face of the planet. This fall, Missoula could play host to the creation of an industrial shipping corridor that would serve Tar Sands mines for decades to come. Come learn from people with first-hand experience with the Tar Sands operations and their effects on the local communities of northern Alberta. There are many reasons to oppose the proposed corridor, and to be informed of issues across the border is to be more powerful in our fight at home.

Marty Cobenias is a longtime native activist with the Indigenous Environmental Network and currently works out of Minnesota on IEN’s campaign opposing proposed Tar Sands pipelines.

Fort Chipewyan resides just downstream of the Tar Sands mines. The residents of the community, mostly Cree First Nations, Dene First Nations, and Metis people suffer from exceedingly high rates of rare cancers, and have taken a strong stand against the up-river mines.

H2Oil is the internationally acclaimed documentary on the devastating effects of Tar Sands mining on the land and the people, and specifically the challenges that Canada’s First Nations people face in trying to find justice in their struggle against the mines.

For more information, call 406-493-5333.

Jodi Rave

Ricky Martin, Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Clinic/Photo by Jim Craven

A American Indian ceremony, thousands of years old, is being used to help veterans find a path in their recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. The traditional sweat lodge is offered to inpatients three times a month — two ceremonies for men and one for women — and the ritual, historically used by many native cultures before a great undertaking, is proving to be effective therapy, SORCC officials said.

Ricky J. Martin, liaison for American Indian programs at SORCC, said there is a lot of good being done for the body and mind inside the facility’s brick walls, but the chapel and sweat lodge take care of the spirit. And that means the whole person is being taken care of, which is essential to addiction recovery, he said.

Spirituality is an important but elusive element, and Martin believes it is a critical area of need for many veterans.

“Military service, especially during wartime, causes losses of the spirit,” said Martin, “and I often see vets who come here lacking trust. Learning how to trust again is a major impact for the spirit.”

Larry Ramey is a Navy veteran recovering from addiction and the adjustment issues that stem from it. He credits the sweat lodge for much of his success in his two years of sobriety.

As an inpatient in White City, Ramey, who is part Blackfoot, has attended about 25 sweat-lodge ceremonies. Although he has sweated many times before, it was never for the right reasons; spirituality never settled in, he said.

Ramey said the White City lodges have changed his life.

“In recovery, an integral part of it is a higher power, you have to have it,” said Ramey. “This gave me a higher power. It gave me hope in something stronger than myself to stay sober.”

Ramey said the sweat lodges have given him something he could not find in conventional religion.

“With this way, you experience the religion, it’s right there in front of you,” he said, “and that’s what’s so powerful.”

The sweat lodge has been offered at SORCC since 2003. A brochure describes it as a ceremony in which people gather inside a small shelter while red-hot stones, or “grandfathers,” are carried to its center, heating the shelter. The ceremony is in four stages, or “doors,” with each door having a different purpose in the spiritual cycle of the lodge. The first door is the “spirit calling,” the second is for “prayer,” the third is the “doctoring” stage, and the fourth is the “spirit returning.” Each door contributes equally in the self-discovery and spiritual awakening of the participants.

The lodge is conducted by a group of American Indian elders, which is what Martin believes makes the VA lodge special.

“The elders bring forth a place of self-worth, a place where they (the vets) can make rational decisions,” said Martin. “They give these patients something to take with them — respect and honor.”

Richard Ochoa drives over the mountain pass from Klamath County to conduct the VA lodges, which are his “way of life.” Martin said he has never missed a lodge. Ochoa has been the water pourer at the VA for several years, and, although he is not a veteran himself, he enjoys helping the veterans “walk this road.”

“We do this ceremony for spiritual healing, but we are not medicine people or healers,” said the half Klamath, half Yacqui Indian. “All we ask is four days clean and sober.”

While guiding people through the lodge, he pours water over the stones at different times throughout the ceremony, which is all about getting back to the womb of Mother Earth.

“The water I pour is the blood of Mother Earth,” said Ochoa. “The steam cleanses the body and mind. It has different significance for each individual.”

Elder Jim Prevatt, an Army veteran of Shasta descent, believes in the power of the prayers said in the lodge — both for himself and others.

“You think your life is bad, and then you see others that have things 10 times worse,” said Prevatt. “That’s who you pray for, because everything needs to be prayed for. That’s why it’s a good path to walk.”

Prevatt added there are “many different prayers and many different hopes” in each lodge.

Personal empowerment is a key benefit of the lodge, Martin said. He believes the lodge is a continuum that represents the circle of American Indian life and instills trust, honor, respect — “lots of things missing in current society.”

The SORCC sweat lodge is open to inpatients, and, if space is available, to registered outpatients. More lodges will be held in the weeks leading up to the Rogue River Veterans’ Powwow, which is being hosted by the SORCC June 5-6.

F.B. Drake is a freelance writer living in the Rogue Valley. He can be reached at drakerusty@gmail.com.

Trace Wellman was a guest on Tribal Scene Radio.

Jodi Rave

Winona LaDuke of Honor the Earth as well as the Women Donors Network are hosting a cultural exchange and panel discussion on environmental justice concerns in Montana. Here is the Women Donors Network press release announcing all the details.  The environmental tour public invitation begins June 4 on the Blackfeet Reservation with a free concert featuring the Indigo Girls. The group then moves to the Flathead Reservation for a community panel discussion on issues such as the Canadian tar sands.

Eriel Deranger, an Athabasca Chipewyan from Alberta, will discuss the environmental impacts oil sand development has had on indigenous people. The Canadian tar sands is of growing concern in Montana, considering a pipeline and equipment transportation plans underway in the state to help Canada sell and move oil into the United States using Montana roads and byways. The Northern Rockies Rising Tide network has been at the forefront to educate Montana citizens about the Mammoet Kearl trucking operation across the state. Here is a link to the Rising Tide tar sand petition in opposition to moving the the tar sand equipment through the state.

Listen to an interview with LaDuke and the Indigo Girls about the Montana tour on Tribal Scene Radio, May 14 show.

Again, here is the link to press release with details on the  June 4 and June 5 activities being sponsored by the Women Donors Network and Honor the Earth.

Fact Sheet on Honor the Earth and Women Donors Network Community Events:

Friday, June 4
Buffalo Feast and Cultural Exchange
With Blackfeet Confederacy drum group, Jack Gladstone, Indigo Girls& Winona LaDuke
6:00 p.m.
Browning Elementary School,
112 First Ave. Southwest
Browning, Mont. 59417

Saturday, June 5
Environmental Justice Panel
With Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations of Northern Alberta, Rainforest Action Network’s Freedom From Oil Campaigner; Gail Small, Native Action, Executive Director, Francis Auld, CSKT cultural preservation; Rich Janssen, CSKT Acting Director of Natural Resources.
Topics: Alberta tar sands oil, transportation of oil, coal extraction, coal bed methane and the connection between natural resources exploitation and poverty.
Moderated by Winona LaDuke
Short performance by Indigo Girls
1:30 p.m.
Johnny Arlee/Victor Charlo Theatre
Salish Kootenai College
58138 U.S. Highway 93 (theater first turn on right as you enter campus from south)
Pablo, Mont. 59855

For More Information:

Jodi Rave
406-396-8537
jodi.rave@buffalosfire.com

Jodi Rave

• Thomas R. Acevedo, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Derek J. Bailey, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Robin A. Butterfield, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Robert B. Cook, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Deborah Jackson-Dennison, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
• Alyce Spotted Bear, Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education

Here are the bios for the key Indian education administration posts:

Thomas R. Acevedo, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Thomas Acevedo is the CEO for S&K Technologies, Inc. a company wholly owned by the Salish & Kootenai Tribes, of which he is a member. Mr. Acevedo previously served as the Chief of Staff for the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut and the Chief of Staff for the National Indian Gaming Commission. He has served on the boards of several national Indian organizations throughout his career. Mr. Acevedo is a graduate of the University of Montana and of the University of New Mexico School of Law.

Derek J. Bailey, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Derek J. Bailey was sworn in as Tribal Chairman of the Grand Traverse Band on December 11, 2008. Chairman Bailey is the fifth Chairman since the Grand Traverse Band was federally reaffirmed in May 1980, and the youngest in the Tribe’s history. He is currently the Chairman of the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, and most recently selected as the Chairman of CORA (Chippewa/Ottawa Resource Authority). He holds a Master’s degree in Social Work, graduating from Grand Valley State University in 1998.

Robin A. Butterfield, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Robin Butterfield is a Senior Liaison within the Minority Community Outreach Department of the National Education Association. Before working at NEA, Ms Butterfield was the Professional Development Specialist at the Center for School Improvement within the Bureau of Indian Affairs, located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Ms. Butterfield worked at the classroom level in tribal and public schools in Wisconsin; coordinated the Salem-Keizer Indian Education Program at the district level in Oregon; served in the position of Indian Education/Civil Rights Specialist for the Oregon Department of Education for nine years; and worked at two different regional educational technical assistance centers, Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory and the Gonzaga University Indian Education Technical Assistance Center III. She is an enrolled member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska with ancestry from the White Earth Ojibwa Tribe of Minnesota. Ms. Butterfield received her B.A in English/Secondary Education from the University of Puget Sound, her M.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin/Madison, and her Administrative Certification from Portland State University.

Robert B. Cook, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Robert B. Cook is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe (Oglala Lakota) and serves as the Principal of Pine Ridge High School on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Mr. Cook has over twenty years of teaching and administrative experience in American Indian education, serving in both tribal and public schools. He is a member of the Technical Review Panel of the National Indian Education Study, a member of the South Dakota Indian Education Advisory Council and recently completed his term as President of the National Indian Education Association. Mr. Cook graduated from Black Hills State University with a degree in Secondary Education and received his master’s degree in Education Administration from Oglala Lakota College.

Deborah Jackson-Dennison, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Dr. Deborah Jackson-Dennison is the Superintendent of Window Rock Unified School District No. 8 located in the Navajo Indian Nation and is an enrolled member of the Navajo Tribe. She has also served as Superintendent of Schools for Ganado Unified School District No. 20 also located on the Navajo Indian Nation. Dr. Jackson-Dennison has provided over 24 years of service as an educator, 11 as a classroom teacher at both at the high school and college levels, and 13 as a school administrator, including 8 as a school district superintendent. She earned an Associates degree from Dine College in 1981, a B.A. in Education from the University of New Mexico in 1986, and both her Masters and Ed.D. degrees in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Arizona State University in 1997 and 2001.

Alyce Spotted Bear, Appointee for Member, National Advisory Council on Indian Education
Alyce Spotted Bear is an enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. Spotted Bear, a former Tribal Chairman, has worked at all levels of Indian education, including as a teacher, principal, school superintendent, federal programs administrator, and college instructor/administrator. Ms. Spotted Bear is currently the Vice President for Native American Studies at the Fort Berthold Community College in North Dakota. She earned her bachelor and master degrees in education from Dickinson State College, and Pennsylvania State College, respectively, and completed coursework for a Ph.D. in Education at Cornell University.

Special congratulations to Alyce Spotted Bear, my aunt, my inspiration.

Payne Family Native American Center, University of Montana

Here is the shakedown for the day:

The University of Montana will hold several events Thursday, May 13, to celebrate the completion and opening of The Payne Family Native American Center – the first of its kind at any American university. The public is invited to join tribal leaders and community, state and campus representatives for the day’s events, which will include many Native American traditions to honor and dedicate the new center.

From the beginning American Indian people have led the effort to establish the Native American center at UM. A historic sunrise ceremony was held in 2006 to bless the building site – the first time in more than 100 years that all the state’s tribal leaders gathered for a single, unified purpose. Leaders from all Montana tribes also were present at the April 2008 groundbreaking ceremony at UM, and they will return to see the culmination of a project that began with discussions in 2004.
“The Payne Family Native American Center underscores our commitment to serve all Montanans, not just some,” UM President George M. Dennison said. “It also places The University of Montana in a unique leadership position nationally and is a source of tremendous pride for everyone involved.”

The formal dedication ceremony will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the UM Oval directly in front of the center. Seating will be provided. The ceremony will begin with an opening convocation by author and historian Joe Medicine Crow. Speakers will include Native American activist Elouise Cobell, UM Native American studies alumnus Jon Swan and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
Student-led tours of the center will be available from 1 to 4 p.m. and from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The new center will house UM’s Department of Native American Studies, American Indian Student Services and related campus programming. Information about American Indian Student Services and various campus Native American student organizations will be available in the center’s Kyi-Yo Room.

The University also will host a reception for tribal dignitaries, campus partners and donors. Terry Payne, a UM alumnus and Missoula businessman, is the center’s lead donor. Other key donors include First Interstate Bank and the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, a nationally recognized organization headquartered outside Minneapolis. The Native American center also was a top campus priority in UM’s successful “Invest in Discovery” campaign that ended in December 2007.

In addition to the formal dedication ceremony, the following events are free and open to the public May 13:
 8:30 a.m.: “Coming Home” walk from the Adams Center to the center of the Oval. The public is invited to participate in or enjoy the symbolic walk, led by children from Arlee’s Salish language revitalization institute. Representatives from all Montana tribes will participate. A flag song and flag raising ceremony will be held on the Oval.

 10 a.m.: Dedication of the center’s Bonnie HeavyRunner Memorial Gathering Space. HeavyRunner (Blackfeet) received a juris doctor degree from UM in 1988. She served as director of the Native American Studies Program and was instrumental in the creation of the University’s Department of Native American Studies. HeavyRunner lost a long battle with cancer in 1997.

 11 a.m.: An event on the UM Oval to honor the artisans, craftspeople, visionaries, designers and implementers of the fine details of the center.

 11:45 a.m.: Lunch on the Oval, sponsored by UM and the Crow Nation. Prepared by UM Catering Services, the menu will include buffalo soup, vegetarian soup, fry bread, and huckleberry and cherry cobbler. The Crow Nation donated the buffalo.

 1 p.m.: Henry Real Bird, storyteller and Montana poet laureate, will give a presentation on the first floor of the center.

 1-3 p.m.: Students will give academic presentations on the first floor of the center. A documentary by UM’s Indigenous Filmmakers Club will be shown on the center’s second floor.

American Sign Language interpreters and listening devices will be provided during the day’s events, and the parking lot located behind and east of Main Hall has been designated for people who hold a valid disability parking permit. Those who need assistance getting to the seating area on the Oval can call 406-243-6131.
Event organizers recommend using public transportation to get to and from campus if at all possible. For those who need to drive to campus, all parking in lots that require decals on campus will be open to the public, with the exception of Quick Stop, reserved and metered spaces.

For more information, call Linda Juneau, UM tribal liaison, at 406-243-6093 or e-mail linda.juneau@umontana.edu.

Jodi Rave

Denise Juneau in the KBGA studio with Jodi Rave, Tribal Scene Radio

Congratulations to Denise Juneau, a fellow member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, for her most recent recognition. The The Office of Public Instruction just shared this information on Friday:

HELENA – On May 8, 2010, Carroll College will confer an honorary doctorate degree on Montana’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau. At the 2:00 pm ceremony on Saturday, 265 graduates will receive their degrees during Carroll College’s commencement ceremonies, which will occur in the Carroll College PE Center. The Honorary Degree: Doctor of Humane Letters.

“I am honored to receive this distinguished award and look forward to continuing to contribute to the advancement of academic excellence in Montana,” said Juneau.

Denise Juneau was elected in 2008 as the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Ms. Juneau is the first American Indian to be elected to statewide executive office in Montana. Juneau also serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). She graduated from Browning High School, in Browning MT. She then earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English from Montana State University; her Master’s of Education Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education; and her law degree from the University of Montana. Ms. Juneau was selected as the 2009 Educator of the Year by the National Indian Education Association.

Juneau was recently a guest on Tribal Scene Radio. The past programs are online at KBGA. Go to the April 16 show for Denise Juneau Indian education interview.

Jodi Rave

Sharon Clahchischilliage, presidential candidate for Navajo Nation

Sharon Clahchischilliage, executive director of the Navajo Nation Washington Office from May 2003 to May 2010, made a big announcement on Tuesday. She is seeking the presidency of the Navajo Nation, the largest, land-based tribe in the country. She spent the last seven years in Washington, D.C. monitoring and analyzing congressional legislation, disseminating congressional and federal agencies’ information, developing strategies and decisions concerning national policies as well as budgets that affect the Navajo Nation. Her office also assists the Navajo Nation in developing legislative language and testimony. Read more:

Sharon Clahchischilliage announced her candidacy for Navajo Nation President on Tuesday, May 4, 2010.

Sharon is from Gad’iiahi, west of Shiprock, New Mexico. She is a graduate of Navajo Methodist Mission in Farmington. Sharon earned her Bachelor of Science (BSE) in Education from Eastern New Mexico University and a Master of Social Work (MSW) from the University of Pennsylvania. Since then, Sharon has acquired additional training in Guidance Counseling, Special Education and Administrative Education from the University of New Mexico.

She is the daughter of Eleanor and the late Herbert Clah, and granddaughter of two former Navajo Nation Chairmen, Deshna Clahchischilliage (1928-1932) and Sam Ahkeah (1946-1954). She has two adult daughters and two granddaughters.

Sharon is Todik’ozhi, born for Kin l ichii’nii, with maternal lineage to Todich’ii’nii and paternal lineage to Hashk’ahadzohi.

Sharon has extensive experience in the Public Service field. After more than ten years serving as a special education teacher of behaviorally challenged students enrolled in Albuquerque Public Schools, Bernalillo Schools and the Farmington School District.

Sharon was a commissioned corps officer with the elder President George H. Bush administration’s “Points of Light,” Family Center Program located at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, which dealt with substance abuse recovery. While there, Sharon also worked at the Strecker Substance Abuse Unit at the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital. She was later assigned to the Indian Health Service, Albuquerque Service Unit.

During New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson’s administration Sharon worked as a liaison between the Department of Children, Youth and Families and New Mexico tribes with former State Cabinet Secretary Heather Wilson.

Sharon was nominated by former President George W. Bush as Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans (ANA), at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Sharon Clahchischilliage withdrew her nomination to return to New Mexico to run for the Secretary of State position in 2002. Sharon’s platform focused on fair elections for all New Mexicans. While New Mexico chose her opponent in that election, she later agreed to serve as NNWO Executive Director at the request of Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr.
 

Jodi Rave

Amy Stiffarm, AIHEC science competition winner

The Charkootsa News up on the Flathead Reservation in Montana recently made the following announcement:

PABLO — A very talented Salish Kootenai College student Amy Stiffarm placed first in the scientific oral and poster presentation research competitions at the 2010 American Indian Higher Education Consortium conference in Chandler, Ariz. Both competitions are sponsored by the All Nations Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ANLSAMP) Program. Amy’s Poster/Oral presentations were entitled, “Detection of Phage Genes in the Genome of Mycobacterium Smegmatis.” She was a competitor amongst 35 poster and 16 oral research presenters.

Amy is a member of the Gros-Ventre Tribe and currently a sophomore in General Science at SKC. Her research project has taken place on the Flathead Indian Reservation. She began research in November of 2009 and proposes to complete the study by August of 2010. She will graduate this spring with her Associate of General Science degree and proposes to graduate with her bachelor of general science degree from SKC in the spring of 2012. She would like to pursue  a master’s degree in public health in nutritional sciences and plans to earn a doctoral degree in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Washington.

The ANLSAMP Program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and housed at Salish Kootenai College at the Indigenous Math and Science Institute, or IMSI. The goal of ANLSAMP is to double the number of American Indians achieving bachelor’s degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). ANLSAMP has 34 partner institutions including tribal colleges across 13 states. ANLSAMP is the only alliance, which specifically focuses on American Indians, the least represented minority in any of the STEM fields.

For more information in regards to ANLSAMP Sponsored events at AIHEC, contact Zetra Wheeler, ANLSAMP-IMSI Interim Director/Program Manager at Salish Kootenai College. She may be reached at (406) 275-4998 or send an email to zetra_wheeler@skc.edu

Jodi Rave

Fox News just released this story about the Arizona Legislature and a bill passed on Thursday to ban ethnic studies program in the state. A Fox News story says critics argue ethnic studies programs advocate “separatism and racial preferences.”

The bill, which passed 32-26 in the state House, had been approved by the Senate a day earlier. It now goes to Gov. Jan Brewer for her signature.

The new bill would make it illegal for a school district to teach any courses that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment of a particular race or class of people, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or ‘advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.’

The bill stipulates that courses can continue to be taught for Native American pupils in compliance with federal law and does not prohibit English as a second language classes. It also does not prohibit the teaching of the Holocaust or other cases of genocide.

Schools that fail to abide by the law would have state funds withheld.

State Superintendent for Public Instruction Tom Horne called passage in the state House a victory for the principle that education should unite, not divide students of differing backgrounds.

“Traditionally, the American public school system has brought together students from different backgrounds and taught them to be Americans and to treat each other as individuals, and not on the basis of their ethnic backgrounds,” Horne said. “This is consistent with the fundamental American value that we are all individuals, not exemplars of whatever ethnic groups we were born into. Ethnic studies programs teach the opposite, and are designed to promote ethnic chauvinism.”

Horne began fighting in 2007 against the Tucson Unified School District’s program, which he said defied Martin Luther King’s call to judge a person by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Horne claimed the ethnic studies program encourages “ethnic chauvinism,” promotes Latinos to rise up and create a new territory out of the southwestern region of the United States and tries to intimidate conservative teachers in the school system.

But opponents said the bill would prevent teachers from using an academically proven method of educating students about history. They also argued that the Legislature should not be involved in developing school curriculum.

Jodi Rave

Read on.

By Robert Miller

Senator Sam Brownback, R-KS, has been introducing an apology resolution to American Indians in the Senate since 2004. It was nothing more than just a general statement of apology and didn’t create any lawsuit potential nor offer to pay any form of reparations. Still, it took under December 2009 for the resolution to pass.

Then, inexplicably, President Barack Obama signed the Native American Apology Resolution on Dec. 19 as part of a defense appropriations spending bill without telling any Indians or tribal leaders.

I just ran across this January 2010 story in Indian Country Today:

“. . . The resolution originated in Congress and had passed the Senate as stand-alone legislation in the fall. The House ended up adding the resolution to their version of the defense bill in conference.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., originally introduced the measure intending “to officially apologize for the past ill-conceived policies by the U.S. government toward the Native peoples of this land and re-affirm our commitment toward healing our nation’s wounds and working toward establishing better relationships rooted in reconciliation.” His bill passed the Senate in 2008 and 2009.

The version signed by Obama became watered down, not making a direct apology from the government, but rather apologizing “on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native peoples by citizens of the United States.”

The resolution also includes a disclaimer: Nothing in it authorizes or supports any legal claims against the United States, and the resolution does not settle any claims.

Even with the more general language, the apology is historic, but the White House has made no announcements to date about it. Nor has Obama expressed an apology to any tribes or Indian citizens, despite saying on the presidential campaign trail that he thought an apology was warranted.”

” . . . The resolution Obama signed specifically “urges the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the United States against Indian tribes in the history of the United States in order to bring healing to this land.

So, by signing the document as part of the defense spending bill, did Obama fulfill the resolution? Or, does he have an obligation to say the apology out loud and to let tribes know he signed the resolution?”

Jodi Rave

The public is invited to attend the event, organized by the UM Diversity Advisory Council. The site is located near Main Hall on the northeast corner of the Oval. Educator and activist Julie Cajune (Salish) will speak at the ceremony. “Invisible to the eye, but known in memory and heart, are the stories of an old tribal world,” Cajune said. “Who we are collectively as a people, as a diverse society, is the sum of these stories and many others.” Cajune is the administrator of a Kellogg Foundation grant to develop tribal historical materials for Salish Kootenai College. She was named one of “50 visionaries who are changing your world” in 2009 by Utne magazine.

The All People Tree was first dedicated on the Oval in 1996, when UM’s Diversity Advisory Council members led efforts to widen sidewalks near the site and provide a bench where the community and visitors could sit and find solace in the University’s commitment to welcome all to campus. A plaque was placed near the tree that reads: “The All People Tree, a lasting tribute to the many branches of humankind.”

Several other quotes appear on plaques that surround the tree, one of which is very relevant to the efforts of UM Diversity Advisory Council members to support the All People Tree on the Oval: “Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world; indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead (1901-1978). UM’s Diversity Advisory Council, composed of representatives from across campus, works to remove barriers to academic achievement and promote social integration through a supportive campus climate and learning environment.”

Jodi Rave

I still can’t believe that Indian Country let the PACT (Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act) slip by and I still can’t believe that the president signed it without even a mediocre scream from Indian Country. I’m not just talking about it’s impact on the Indian tobacco sales but about it’s impact as precedent by restricting yet another facet of Indian commerce. What will be the next area of Indian commerce that the Congress will decide to restrict? When will Congress stop taking away avenues of commerce on the reservations simply because tribes choose to not tax at the level of the state? Congress is “de facto” taxing Indian commerce into oblivion. Do any of the next generation of Indian attorneys care?

The day after the president signed PACT into law, I sent a message out to the Young Indian Attorneys (YIPs) on the Indian Facebook network. The message essentially asked how this could happen ‘on their watch’. I said ”I didn’t train Indian attorneys for the last 20 years to let stuff like this happen”. Well, I didn’t say “stuff”. The message was the same to my contemporaries. Where were the Indian attorneys and Indian law attorneys when this aberration was making its way through Congress? It seems like only the Seneca Nation of New York was the only one fighting the battle. I’m sure that there were some other tribes that tried to fight it and I’m sure that NCAI may have tried to derail it. However, the attitude seemed to be that “it’s only cigarettes”. Some people also saw it as a health issue and therefore would be good for Indian Country because it would discourage Indians from smoking. (I hope no one in Indian Country bought the justification of keeping money out of the hands of terrorists-what a crock? It was a money grab by the states and Congress carried their water and dumped ours again.) So, is it OK to sacrifice a little piece of sovereignty if the subject of the intrusion on sovereignty is unpopular or looked upon as a vice? What little piece of sovereignty are we going to sacrifice next? How about our power to tax commerce within our territory or our power to enforce TERO within our boundaries and our off-reservation businesses? Maybe we should sit back and let Congress gut the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Hopefully, as pertains to the last two, we’d have the entire alphabet soup of Indian organizations coming down on members of commerce and a president we helped elect. (We were first on the bus but last off when he reached his destination -the White House.) What good are appointments of Indians to mid-level administrative positions when legislation like PACT is signed without a whimper of dissent?

Frankly, I am very disappointed in the younger generation of Indian attorneys. The attitude seems to be ‘if I’m not getting paid for it, why should I care about it’ and ‘the tribe didn’t tell me to get involved in it so I can just ignore it’. I sometimes wonder if we have forgotten that we are legal counsel. We are supposed to counsel our clients about the law and their potential compliance with it or non-compliance. We especially need to counsel our clients about the consequences of proposed laws and regulations, particularly those passed by the two other sovereigns, when there are potential consequences to the tribes, positive or negative. I am especially disappointed in those young Indian atorneys who have the power of large multi-state and international practice law firms behind them. Of course, some may have legitimate concerns about their future in those firms if they do anything they are not going to be paid for as they owe every hour of their workday to the bottom line of the firm. However, one may have to be an advocate for Indian clients, even within the hierarchy of the firm. You need to convince the bosses that something as obscure as “registration of Indian tobacco sales with the state” or “regulation of internet tobacco sales” is an attack on Indian commerce as a whole and not just about whether smoking is good for you or not.

Another item of strictly gratuitous advice; keep your integrity. It is very difficult these days to tell your tribal clients the truth when they may have gotten used to attorneys that tell them what they want to hear. I can’t blame you for being somewhat cynical about telling your Indian clients things they don’t want to hear because one obvious potential consequence is they will fire you and hire someone who will tell them what they want to hear. If you don’t go along to get along you may be relegated to the scrap pile of obscurity. Been there done that. I can tell you that even if you lose out on all the trappings of success, but you have been honest with your clients and yourself, you may end up poor but you’ll have your self-respect. I say this at the risk of sending a mixed message. Yes, one has to make choices and I don’t begrudge anyone making a decision about their career that is weighted toward material wealth in order to take care of your family. However, material or monetary success as an Indian lawyer is not mutually exclusive from the success that comes with integrity. I sometimes wish, if only for a fleeting moment, that I had continued to fight for my clients within my old firm rather than keeping my integrity and stepping away from something I had spent a decade building. I left because it had become about feeding the beast (making money) rather than doing what was best for Indian clients and telling clients what they needed to know versus what they wanted to hear. I went from living in a 6,000 square foot mansion and driving an Escalade ESV to living in a 1,200 square foot Indian Housing unit and driving a five year old Dodge Ram pickup. But you know what, I spend so may beautiful hours with my family that I would have spent on airplanes and in hotel rooms. Poor is a relative term.

My apologies to my daughter, who is a young Indian lawyer, and her contemporaries if I’m being a bit harsh on a seemingly trivial issue. Tribal sovereignty is not trivial. You need to breath, sleep, eat and live tribal sovereignty because it’s your responsibility to perpetuate and enhance it until the day you pass it on to the next generation of Indian attorneys and Indian leaders. If you don’t there may not be much Indian law to practice in 50 years. It’s your duty to see that there is.

Harold Monteau is a Chippewa Cree Attorney and former Chairman of the NIGC. He writes from the Coeur d’Alene Reservation in Idaho and can be reached at hamlaw@live.com or on Facebook.

As a former Kyi-Yo member and as last year’s President of this powwow I felt it necessary to express my support to this year’s committee. It is very unfortunate that this happened and I am sorry for all those who left the powwow feeling cheated and lied to. However, I understand that this year’s Kyi-Yo club is probably dealing with a whole lot more than what any of us are aware of.

Last year as the clubs president I felt that I, along with my fellow officers had been put through more than what anyone should go through. We all signed up for a full time job when we committed ourselves to organizing this event and through all of the hardships that we went through we were very fortunate to have pulled everything off.
As for this year’s new club I’m sure that they learned more about what really happens during this event and I’m sure it was more than anything that they could have imagined. The University’s large campus is very diverse, but when it comes to working with certain individuals you’ll come to find that things are not always what they seem. There are individuals on campus that work with the Kyi-Yo club and yet have no understanding or sensitivity to our Native American culture as one would hope. On the other hand there are people on campus who are working hard on a daily basis to support Native Americans on campus and their cause for such a unique event as the Kyi-Yo powwow. Nonetheless, it seems that the individuals who have the least understanding of Native American culture are those who have the most influence over whether or not the students are able to organize a successful powwow.

Although I do not know everything that led up to this past weekend’s turnout, I do understand that the Kyi-Yo club is dealing with individuals who at one told me that my family would not be allowed to bring in items for our giveaway. Not only did they not understand the reason or concept of “giving away”, but they questioned what items my family would put into the coolers that we would give to the drummers. Of course our coolers were filled with nothing more than sandwiches, chips and water to feed the singers, but the facility had wanted to search these coolers in case there was alcohol in there. It took a lot of explaining by me and other individuals to convince these people that we do not associate drugs or alcohol with things that are sacred to us.

I realize that I may seem to be getting a bit side track from the topic being discussed, but I just wanted to let everyone know that that there are a number of things that could have caused this clubs downfall. The Adams Center administration has the power to take away an underwrite on the gym that could have saved the club 10-15 thousand dollars and they have the power to take away any monies that the club received at the door. It is unfortunate that something like this could happen, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done between the University’s faculty and the Native American students. I realize that a lot of damage has already been done, but please do not put down the students who tried to make this year’s Kyi-Yo powwow a successful event.

I know that there are no real excuses, but please understand that when it comes to “paying out” to the winners of this event that it has been looked down up on by many administrators because of the lack of “accountability” on the students behalf. At one time it was even suggested that the club mail out checks to the winners of this event so that they could be more reliable; it is clear that they have no understanding of how a contest powwow that attracts a lot of people works, but none the less they do not care whether or not families go home feeling cheated and lied to. I hope that people do not boycott this event as it has brought many positive changes to campus and the community and I do look forward to seeing a successful and stronger Kyi-Yo club next year!

Amanda Decker

I want to thank readers for posting their comments. Otherwise, none of us would ever know what really happens behind the scenes at the University of Montana’s Kyi-Yo Powwow. You can read all the comments on the previous Kyi-Yo posts here on this blog page. It seems like a lot of the weight for the powwow is carried on the backs of students. Where is the support? Where is the leadership to ensure these students can succeed in embracing their culture? I suggest readers listen to OPI’s State Superintendent Denise Juneau’s interview on Tribal Scene Radio last week. She said Montana’s higher ed system has failed to put a single dollar into Indian Education for All. When you get to the KBGA Tribal Scene page, listen to the April 16 interview with Juneau.

Jodi Rave

I’ve participated in the two dialogues about the controversial town of Whiteclay, Nebr., during the past two months. I was recently on the Native America Calling Radio show and did an hour-long interview on the town that sells millions of cans per year to the dry Pine Ridge Reservation. Last week, I participated on a panel discussion held at Bellevue University in Nebraska titled: Whiteclay: The Next Generation. 

As is the case with these kinds of events, there are things I wish I had said, or didn’t have time to bring up. This column affords me a second chance. I was quoted in the local media that I thought the prohibition of alcohol policy on Pine Ridge was a “complete failure” and I would like to expand these thoughts. Those who oppose Whiteclay are going up against two powerful “isms” in our society: capitalism and alcoholism.

As long as there is a demand for alcohol, some businessman somewhere is going to step in and make a profit. That’s the way it has been since French and British fur traders first encountered Native people centuries ago.

That’s the way it will be even if crusaders against Whiteclay get their way and close down all four beer sellers. Prohibition on Pine Ridge in reality only bans the legal sale of alcohol on the reservation. It is widely available to anyone who wants it and can pay for it, either through bootleggers, or at nearby South Dakota and Nebraska border towns.

The reservation police I’m sure do their best, but law enforcement can only do so much to stop contraband. That’s not a knock on the tribal police. That’s the case with police everywhere in the world. Prohibition has not had an impact on curtailing alcoholism on Pine Ridge.

The idea has been floated to allow legal sales of alcohol on Pine Ridge and using revenues to fund treatment. It’s an idea worth looking at, because at the end of the day, those profits are going to go somewhere. In early 2004, the tribal council voted not to allow a referendum on lifting the ban move forward. That effectively squelched debate.

OLC Tribal President Theresa Two Bulls was on the panel via remote hook up. I wanted to ask her how she felt about letting a referendum move forward and whether she thought prohibition was having any impact on Pine Ridge alcoholism rates at all, but she had to depart before the end of the panel. I’m hoping she can respond in the Native Sun News, where this blog is printed, in a future issue.

An audience member, a Native American, but not a member of the Oglala tribe, made a plea for self-sufficiency. Paraphrasing: he said the tribe can do without the outside world. It can build a fence around the reservation, “raise its own cattle” etc., and physically keep alcohol out. I interjected and made a point that no physical barrier could ever keep booze off the reservation. If you build a 10-foot high fence around Pine Ridge, someone would come along with an 11-foot ladder and hoist it over. They would build tunnels; they would air drop it in. That speaks to the power of alcoholism. Those who have fallen into this terrible disease are going to get their fix somehow, someway. They will brew their own. They will clean the store shelves of mouthwash. I actually regret taking the time to make these points.

The thought of building a wall around Pine Ridge is so ridiculous, it didn’t warrant any further discussion. What I really should have said is that there are already plenty of invisible walls between the people of Pine Ridge and their white neighbors. We need to be talking about building bridges, and tearing down walls.

Finally, the panel ended before I had a chance to associate myself with the comments made by Winnebego activist Frank LaMere, who has been fighting to close down Whiteclay for more than a decade. He warned that Whiteclay is a “tinderbox,” a festering problem that if left unattended, is going to blow up in the face of Nebraska authorities. Unfortunately, I wholeheartedly agree with his comments.

The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska Border Towns, includes a fairly thorough history of Whiteclay, including the June 26, 1999 protest over the murders of Ronnie Hard Heart and Wallace Black Elk that ended in violence. It also documents several cases over the years of similar incidents, including the title story. These violent events, usually fueled or related to alcohol, seem to strike Sheridan County every 10 to 20 years.

Sadly, the historical record shows that some alcohol-related tragedy is coming down the pike. We can only hope that by building the aforementioned bridges, that things don’t get out of hand.

Stew Magnuson is the author of The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska-Pine Ridge Border Towns.

Jodi Rave

Flagstaff, ARIZ. — An Arizona self-help guru charged with manslaughter in the sweat lodge deaths of three people has been sued by several people who contend they lost out on thousands of dollars paid in advance for self-help seminars that were never conducted.

A lawsuit filed April 2 in Maricopa County Superior Court contends James Arthur Ray and his Carlsbad, Calif.-based company, James Ray International, misled plaintiffs during sales pitches for the events and haven’t responded to calls or letters requesting refunds.

Ray has been named in other civil lawsuits that accuse him and the owners of the retreat where he held a deadly October sweat lodge ceremony of negligence, fraud and other actions. Sweat lodge ceremonies commonly are held by American Indian tribes to cleanse the body.

The lawsuit accuses Ray of breach of contract, consumer fraud and unjust enrichment. It names three plaintiffs but estimates up to 1,000 people are similarly situated.

Susan Smyser of Las Vegas, paid nearly $8,000 for two events; Patricia Franklin of Mesa paid almost $3,350 for two events; and Kim Wilson of Los Angeles paid more than $12,500 for four events, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs contend Ray used prepaid fees to cover past events or fund his own wealth. They also say he lacked the assets or capital to conduct events or refund advanced fees without continued sales and collection of those fees.

A refund policy posted on Ray’s Web site says buyers have three days from the date of a transaction to cancel. Event registration fees then are considered nonrefundable, though the policy doesn’t address what happens when Ray cancels an event. Buyers can make a one-time transfer by paying an additional fee for an event held within a year of the one they initially signed up for, the policy states.

A representative for Ray said his attorneys haven’t reviewed the complaint.

Ray stopped holding events shortly after the two-hour ceremony he led near Sedona in October resulted in the hospitalization of 18 people and the deaths of Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee, and Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn.

Prosecutors have said that Ray recklessly crammed more than 50 people inside the structure. His attorneys have called the deaths a tragic accident, and Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter. His criminal trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 31.

Who will be the next Supreme Court justice? An American Indian has never served on the highest court in the land, but there is a great chance this could change. John EchoHawk is on the list of candidates. He is included in The Nation’s slideshow of nine potential people who could likely be the next justice. The Nation describes EchoHawk as “a legendary lawyer who has run the Native American Rights Fund for more than thirty years, would bring a perspective to the court that has been overlooked for 230 years.”

President Obama is set to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

While I was a journalism student at the University of Colorado in Boulder, I had the privelege of interning at the Native American Rights Fund where EchoHawk was — and still is — the executive director.  He helped found the organization, a pro-Native advocacy law firm. EchoHawk is the older brother of Larry EchoHawk, the current head of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. The brothers are Pawnees from Oklahoma.

EchoHawk is one of the most the level-headed, respected, uncontroversial leaders I’ve seen in the last decade while working as a reporter covering Indian Country. So, will the United States of America finally have an indigenous person on the High Court?

“If you think it’s not important then why has the court been dominated by white men?” said Louis Gray in a column almost one year ago.  ”And only when the political muscles were flexed did the court see an African American and women seated to the court of courts. It’s not unusual for an Indian to be seated, it’s time and it’s right.”

Gray also adds: “EchoHawk is the Cool Hand Luke of big time Indian lawyers. Unshakeable and deliberate in all his decisions, EchoHawk never rattles under the most intense pressure. He is a man who has not served as justice but that is not a prerequisite. In fact some would say he has not record to destroy or to pin him down on. But, he is a first class constitutional lawyer. You can’t debate the Native American in the highest court in the land without understanding the constitution. He has no peer.”

Jodi Rave

The enactment of health care insurance reform raises a thorny (and complicated) question for Indian Country: Should American Indians and Alaska Natives eligible for services in the Indian health system buy their own insurance?

The first answer ought to be a resounding “no.” Clearly the United States has an obligation for health care because of promises made through treaties and statutes. Indeed, the very enactment of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act is a legal restating of this principle. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said it this way on March 26: “This administration is intent on honoring the obligations of our government-to-government relationship with American Indian tribes, including the promise of adequate health care.”

But adequate health care is not an insurance plan; especially when that promise is so limited by money. And there is no possibility that Congress will fully fund the Indian health system anytime soon.

So where does that leave us? The Government Accountability Office said in a 2005 report: “There remain concerns about the extent to which health care services are available—that is, both offered and accessible—to Native Americans served by IHS.” One key issue here is the underfunding of Contract Health Services, money that is used to pay for health care providers outside of the Indian health system. Remember unlike Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, IHS operates on an annual budget instead of an entitlement and it’s a limited source of funds. This budgeting notion will not change with health care reform.

But when private or government insurance money (or third party billing in government-talk) is added into the Indian health system that could improve services for all. The new law opens up all sorts of avenues for tribal and urban Indian clinics to bill insurance plans. Third party billing is supposed to add new money; so current funding shouldn’t be limited by these dollars.

There’s been a lot of talk about a national mandate to buy health insurance under the new law. That’s true. But the issue is far more complicated for Indian Country because there also is a specific exemption from the penalties associated with the mandate. As IHS Director Dr. Yvette Roubideaux recently wrote on her blog: “Health reform just means that in general, American Indians and Alaska Natives can continue to be eligible for and use IHS, Tribal, or urban Indian health programs, but if they want to, they will be able to purchase health insurance through the exchanges, which should have more affordable options. If they don’t want to purchase health insurance, as long as they get their care through our I/T/U system, they won’t have to pay a penalty.”

So should individuals – despite U.S. promises – buy health insurance to pay for care in the Indian health system?

I see several “yes” answers developing.

First, it will be easier for individuals who are eligible for other government programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid to medical services for veterans. Medicaid, the program designed for people on low-income, will enroll single adults for the first time. The glitch here is that states aren’t keen on Medicaid expansion even though there’s a 100 percent match for clients in the Indian health system.

Most tribal governments already offer health insurance for employees and the new law expands the potential for tribes to purchase insurance for tribal members as well (without tax consequences).

Other native people will buy insurance for their families because it unlocks choices. Bringing health insurance into the Indian health system could eliminate some of the delays or denials of care associated with Contract Health.

“We can bill for third party reimbursements and help better fund our health services,” Dr. Roubideaux wrote. “However, they could also choose to leave us and get their healthcare somewhere else. Then we would lose our patients and potential reimbursements.”

Dr. Roubideaux says this is “All the more reason for us to change and improve the IHS, and emphasize customer service! We have to remain competitive and be the first and best choice for our patients.”

I’ve talked to many people who’ve given up on the Indian health system. They say it’s much better for their families to use their private insurance and go elsewhere. I understand that. It’s a choice for every family. But the only way the Indian health system will be better for our children and grandchildren is for us all to stick with it and to add whatever resources we can. Even if that means buying insurance.

Dear Indian Country:

This is the seventh letter in a series of open letters that I’m sending to Indian Country to answer questions you have asked me about settlement of the Cobell class action lawsuit. Prior Ask Elouise letters can be found on the Cobell settlement website:. We also have a “frequently asked questions” section to answer the most common questions we’ve received: http://cobellsettlement.com/press/faq.php. I can’t answer every question, but I will try to answer as many as I can every week.

The most common question I receive every week relates to whether someone is included in this settlement. Unfortunately, I do not have that information. The settlement agreement provides general guidelines (see prior Ask Elouise letters), but I also understand many of you have unique or unusual circumstances which make it unclear whether you are included. For those of you who still have questions, I recommend that you register to receive all Court-ordered communications to ensure you do not miss important information. There is no need to register if you are receiving a quarterly IIM statement. The Court ultimately will determine who is included in this settlement. Registration information can be found at the end of this and every Ask Elouise letter.

I’ve heard that the government and the tribes will receive money under the settlement, is this true? No. I too have heard the rumors that tribes or the government will receive money under this settlement agreement. I can assure you that those rumors are false. Tribes are not members of this class. Only individual Indians are members of the class. Moreover, tribes haven’t provided one penny in support of this case. And, equally importantly, they will have no role with the administration of the scholarship fund. The government will not receive any money under this settlement agreement. However, I should point out that the government may use up to 15% of the $2 billion Land Consolidation fund to pay for its expenses in managing the program. This means that the government may use up to $300 million of the $2 billion to administer the Land Consolidation fund.

What is the status of the settlement? We still await Congressional approval. The settlement requires legislation from Congress to proceed to a fairness hearing before the district court. Unfortunately, it appears increasingly likely that the April 16, 2010 deadline will also pass without the enactment of ratifying legislation authorizing. I hold out some hope that Congress will pass legislation before April 16, 2010, but grow increasingly skeptical. If legislation is not passed before the deadline, I will consult with our attorneys about our options.

If you have a question, send an e-mail to: askelouise@cobellsettlement.com. Otherwise you can send me a letter to the address below. To expedite the processing of your letters our contractor has set up a post office box in Ohio, but I assure you this letter is coming from me and I will see your letters.

(To see the rest of the letter in its entirety, go to the April 5 Ask Elouise Web page.

Ask Elouise
Cobell Settlement
PO Box 9577
Dublin, OH 43017-4877

Thank you and keep your questions coming!

Best wishes

Elouise Cobell

Jodi Rave
Browning, Montana

Wilma Mankiller/Tulsa World

Today in the Tulsa World.
By Tim Stanley

Wilma Mankiller, a onetime Oklahoma farm girl who grew up to become an American Indian activist and the first woman principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, died Tuesday. She was 64.

Mankiller was recently diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer. Services are pending.

Mankiller served as principal chief from 1985 to 1995.

Elected deputy chief in 1983, she became chief two years later when then-Chief Ross Swimmer left to become head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Mankiller was elected chief outright in 1987 and reelected in 1991.

Born in 1945 the sixth of what would be 11 children, Mankiller grew up poor on her family’s farm near Rocky Mountain in Adair County. She credited her father, Charley Mankiller, with enriching her in another way from an early age: Passing on his love for books and reading.

In 1956, the family moved to San Francisco and it was in California that Mankiller began to gain a true sense of her Indian identity.

In the 1960s, she became a political activist and in 1969, when a group of Indians occupied Alcatraz Island to protest U.S. government treatment, Mankiller was with them.

She returned to Oklahoma in the 1970s where she continued to work on behalf of Indians, eventually founding the Cherokee Community Development Department in 1981.

As the department’s director, she helmed several renewal projects, growing in fame within the tribe and beyond.

In 1983, she ran for and was elected deputy chief of the Cherokee Nation, becoming chief with Swimmer’s departure.

Credited with helping change perceptions of women within the male-dominated Cherokee Nation of the day, she was officially elected to the chief post in 1987 and re-elected in 1991 overwhelmingly.

In 1998, President Bill Clinton awarded Mankiller the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

She talked about her life and her accomplishments in her autobiography, “Mankiller: A Chief and Her People.”

For more, read tomorrow’s Tulsa World.

Jodi Rave

Jim Gray, principal chief of the Osage Nation: The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled against the Osage Nation’s contention that it has a federal Indian reservation and therefore its members living and working on the reservation should be exempt from paying state income taxes as defined by federal law.

MultimediaPhoto

view all photos This was a reckless decision. It departed from precedent, established new law based on opinions of a handful of historians and glossed over evidence.

Perhaps worst of all, it adds to the fear and misinformation circulating among some people. My hope here is to be very direct in what our intentions are — and are not.

In 1872, the Osage Nation moved to Oklahoma from Kansas and bought its land, which was established as a federal Indian reservation. The reservation status has never changed. In fact, President George W. Bush reaffirmed the Osage Nation’s reservation status by signing the Osage Reaffirmation Act in 2004.

Congress had specifically, with clear language, disestablished reservations both prior to and after the 1906 Osage Allotment Act, but purposefully chose not to do so in the Osage case. The Oklahoma Tax Commission failed to identify clear language in any act of Congress which supports its “disestablishment by allotment” claim.

There has been much concern among nontribal residents of Osage County about what changes may occur should the Osage Nation win its case. We believe this is due to the lack of understanding and complexity of federal Indian law.

Many nontribal residents fear the Osage Nation will tax landowners and businesses in Osage County. The nation does not have that authority. Federal law prohibits the exercise of any power by Indian governments over non-Indians on or off the reservation unless they enter an agreement with the nation.

Some feel they will be treated unfairly by the Osage Nation if it wins its case. That has not happened and will not happen. Osages and non-Osages have lived and worked together for a century. We depend upon one another, as do the Osage Nation and Osage County governments.

Others are worried that if the Osage Nation exercises its sovereignty, it will have a negative impact on how they are governed. The effects, if any, would be minimal. Multi-governance is nothing new to our society. We all live under federal, state, county and municipal law and we do so without chaos or rebellion.

We will seek reconsideration of this case as we cannot let this decision stand. By creating law and not following precedent, its own and that of the Supreme Court, the 10th Circuit has signaled every tribe with a reservation is at risk.

It is our hope the court will change its decision and follow established federal law. The future of all Indian reservations depends on it. And the state of Oklahoma is counting on millions of dollars in revenue generated by our reservation status. The Osage Nation’s success comes at no one’s expense. When the Osages prosper, Oklahoma prospers.

Jodi Rave

Jodi Rave

As part of the President Obama’s commitment to regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with federally recognized Indian tribes, we are pleased to update you on the implementation of the Presidential Memorandum on Tribal Consultation, which the President signed during the White House Tribal Nations Conference on November 5, 2009. The President directed federal agencies to develop plans to implement Executive Order 13175, “Consultation and Coordination with Tribal Governments.” These plans are to be developed after consultation with Indian tribes and must be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget by February 3, 2010.

Through interagency coordination and other methods, agencies are presently seeking input from tribal leaders. For example, the Department of the Interior initiated a series of consultations starting on December 1, 2009. The Department of Justice is conducting teleconference calls with tribes; please visit their website for a complete schedule of calls. Through national conference calls and in writing, the Department of Homeland Security is requesting tribal input on a draft consultation policy and a plan. The Veteran’s Administration is also requesting written tribal input. The Department of Labor will be hosting two national consultations; more details can be found on their website.

Please communicate with the agencies directly for more information, and please click here if you would like a list of agency contacts.

For general questions, please email GeneralTribalIGA@dsr.eop.gov. We encourage you to participate in these ongoing discussions, and we look forward to working together to strengthen the Nation-to-Nation relationship.

Jodi Rave

Here’s what the dates look like so far:

Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Times: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon/1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Hilton-Anchorage, 500 W 3rd Ave., Anchorage, Alaska, 99501

Location: 907-272-7411

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Times: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon/1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Location: Holiday Inn Portland Airport, 8439 NE Columbia Blvd., Portland, Ore., 97220 503-256-5000

Date: Monday, December 14, 2009

Times: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon/1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Location: The Westin Washington, DC City Center, 1400 M Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C., 20005 202-429-1700

In addition, four meetings are scheduled during January 2010: Tuesday, January 5, Minneapolis, Minn.; Thursday, January 7, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Tuesday, January 12, Phoenix, Ariz.; and Thursday, January 14, Sacramento, Calif. Details on these will be provided when confirmed.

For more information, contact the Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs at 202-208-7163.

That’s all for now folks.

Jodi Rave

New Moon Wolf Pack Auditions from sterlinharjo on Vimeo.

“Today’s report highlights what so many of us at the Department are working to address – the resource and capacity challenges faced by tribal law enforcement in their communities. Many of these issues were raised during the Department’s Tribal Nations Listening Session with the Attorney General. We will continue to work with our tribal partners to address these issues and improve public safety in Indian Country.”

The study can be found at this link.

Jodi Rave

I remember the first time I saw a Sainte-Marie album. It belonged to my aunt Karen. I was visiting her and the adults in the house were excited about the music. I stared at the cover graced by the artist. She was dressed in beads and leather. It was the first time I ever saw an Indian on record cover, yet alone heard one singing on album. Now, after listening to the Democracy Now interview, I’m ever more impressed with Sainte-Marie , a folk icon known around the world.

From the Goodwin interview, words from a love song written by Sainte-Marie:

You’re not a dream

You’re not an angel

You’re a man

And I’m not a queen

I’m a woman

Take my hand

We’ll make a space

in the lives

that we’d planned

And here we’ll stay

Until it’s time

for you to go

Yes, we’re different

Worlds apart

We’re not the same…

Here’s what musician Robbie Robertson had to say about Sainte-Marie’s phenonmenal success: “You have to break through. It isn’t like they got the door wide open and saying, ‘Hey, all you Indians, come on in!’ It isn’t like that in the real world, you know? So this girl had to stand up and, you know, and break through barriers. And I’m very proud that she’s done it.

Sainte-Marie said: “I always thought it was going to be over tomorrow. I never, ever thought that any of my songs would be remembered today or that I’d be sitting here at this age getting ready to go into a concert with the Winnipeg Symphony and visit reserves. But that’s the way that my life has turned out, and I’m very, very grateful for it.”

Jodi Rave

Henrietta Mann, photo by Dick Bancroft

As of Saturday, I had spent four days in Prior Lake, Minn., where more than 300 people had gathered for the Native Peoples Native Homelands Climate Change Workshop II. The milestone event marks a critical moment in the history of Native peoples who are being disporportionately impacted by global warming. The Native Peoples group drafted the Mystic Lake Declaration, a call for the United States to embrace indigenous science and knowledge while looking for global solutions to climate change. Several Native groups here in the United States are preparing to go to the United Nations climate talks in Copenshagen, including the Indigenous Environmental Network. Here is a link to the IEN Red Road to Copenhagen, a good review about climate change concerns. The IEN will take the document to the United Nations climate forum, which is set to begin in two weeks. And here’s an IEN Statement on Kerry Boxer Draft Bill, a bill to address climate change.

While at the conference, I agreed to write a story for Indian Country Today. Here’s the story:

Climate workshop stresses sustainability, indigenous knowledge

Mystic Lake Declaration on its way to Copenhagen forum

By Jodi Rave, Special to Today

Story Published: Nov 25, 2009

(Story Updated: Nov 25, 2009 )

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. – American Indian stalwarts of environmental justice recently met at a national workshop to write a milestone climate change declaration, clearly outlining a course on how to save the planet using indigenous science and knowledge.

Representatives from the White House also participated in the Native Peoples Native Homelands Climate Change Workshop II, a four-day event sponsored by NASA on the homelands of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Minnesota.

“In this Declaration, we invite humanity to join with us to improve our collective human behavior so that we may develop a more sustainable world – a world where the inextricable relationship of biological, and environmental diversity, and cultural diversity is affirmed and protected,” according to the declaration committee members.

The Mystic Lake Declaration was written by the descendents of indigenous peoples of North America who spent the last 14,000 years, and longer, living in a “green economy,” existing in harmony with nature. The declaration will be taken to a key United Nations conference on climate change in Copenhagen, set to begin in two weeks. More than 190 countries will attend the event where world leaders aim to create a global climate pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol, set to expire in 2012.

The declaration was created by tribal college representatives, grassroots organizers and longtime environmentalists, such as Billy Frank Jr., Tom Goldtooth and Winona LaDuke. In all, more than 300 people from across the United States participated in the Native Peoples workshop, which ended Nov. 21 at the Mystic Lake Casino and Conference Center.

The declaration will be taken to the United Nations climate change talks. 

The climate change workshop comes at a time when scientists are warning people that global warming has resulted in the warmest decade on record and is happening much faster than most people realize. Indigenous people around the world, those most dependent upon the natural environment for daily sustenance, are rapidly experiencing the negative impacts of global warming. Conference co-chair Dan Wildcat of Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center refers to global warming as “global burning.”

Robert Zoellick, World Bank chief, said it was critical for indigenous people to be included in climate change talks because they were among groups most affected by global warming, according to AFP, a worldwide news agency.

As the Mystic Lake Declaration was being drafted, representatives from the White House set up a “listening post” at the workshop to hear community leaders talk about how the global climate crisis is affecting their communities. Karen Metchis, senior climate advisor for the Environmental Protection Agency and Maria Blair, White House Council on Environmental Quality, deputy associate director for climate change, will include information from the workshop in a national climate change report due in fall 2010.

Meanwhile, drafters of the Mystic Lake Declaration are calling for “a moratorium on all new exploration for oil, gas, coal and uranium as a first step towards the full phase-out of fossil fuels, without nuclear power, with a just transition to sustainable jobs, energy and environment. We take this position and make this recommendation based on our concern over the disproportionate social, cultural, spiritual, environmental and climate impacts on indigenous peoples, who are the first and the worst affected by the disruption of intact habitats, and the least responsible for such impacts.”

The moratorium calls for stringent and binding emission reduction targets, including reducing carbon emissions for developed countries by no less than 40 percent, preferably 49 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 95 percent by 2050.

During the four days that the Mystic Lake Declaration was being written, workshop participants contributed to the final document through panel discussions and written comments. A core committee worked on the statement from sunrise to late at night.

 Declaration participants agreed to “assume our role in supporting a just transition into a green economy, freeing ourselves from dependence on a carbon-based fossil fuel economy. This transition will be based upon development of an indigenous agricultural economy comprised of traditional food systems, sustainable buildings and infrastructure, clean energy and energy efficiency, and natural resource management systems based upon indigenous science and traditional knowledge.”

The group also stepped forward to challenge climate mitigation solutions that falsely claim to save the environment, including “nuclear energy, large-scale dams, geo-engineering techniques, clean coal technologies, carbon capture and sequestration, bio-fuels, tree plantations, and international market-based mechanisms such as carbon trading and offsets.”

The only real offsets “are those renewable energy developments that actually displace fossil fuel-generated energy. We recommend the United States sign on to the Kyoto Protocol and to the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”

The group agreed the United States and other industrialized countries are too addicted to the high consumption of energy, a path that cannot be sustained by the Earth.

Goldtooth, director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, will distribute the Mystic Lake Declaration at the United Nations climate talks. He will attend the conference with a 25-member delegation of American Indians representing a wide swath across the United States. “One of our goals is to elevate the visibility of Native people,” said Goldtooth. The declaration will “strengthen our voice.”

A common theme that surfaced during the workshop addressed the need to support and include tribal colleges in the ongoing dialogue about global warming. The colleges have scientists, traditional leaders and are a repository for tribal languages where tens of thousands of years of land conservation knowledge survive.

“The languages of indigenous peoples and nations are the repository of thousands of years of ecological knowledge and wisdom,” said Steven Newcomb, author of “Pagans in the Promised Land.” The U.S. government should put as much effort into revitalizing indigenous languages as they put into destroying them, he said.

Wildcat was among the declaration drafters who stressed the need to support and acknowledge the role of tribal colleges in the development of green economies: “We must end the chronic underfunding of our Native educational institutions and ensure adequate funding sources are maintained. We recognize the important role of our Native K-12 schools and tribal colleges and universities that serve as education and training centers.”

The declaration group agreed tribal colleges and students promise to play an important role in adapting to and addressing climate change, clean renewable energy technologies and in building sustainable communities.

Anthony Socci, senior advisor in EPA’s Office of International Affairs, said student work on climate change and adaptation stood out as highlights of the Native Peoples Native Homelands workshop.

“I was also impressed with the weaving of the cultural knowledge into their research,” Socci said. “It impressed me more so because the tribal college students, unlike the land grant colleges, don’t have the same kind of support. They are largely underfunded as a result. It is a remarkable achievement. It makes the work of those doing the teaching look pretty heroic.”

Jodi Rave

Jodi Rave

If anyone would like to read the full text of Obama’s proclamation, here it is.

Are we all in agreement with this narrative? How many Native people actually celebrate the day.

When I was a reporter at the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo., I interviewed several Native students about the holiday. They said they didn’t celebrate it because it wasn’t part of their tradition. As for my experience, most of my Lakota and Mandan and Hidatsa relatives cook a turkey and enjoy the day with friends and family.

Jodi Rave

While at the conference, we heard from young and old alike, all people with like minds who are working to save the planet from further destruction, a climate crisis brought on by the continued use of fossil fuels. One of the people who energized the workshop was Kandi Mossett of the Indigenous Environmental Network. Mossett showed a video of the tar sands in Canada, the world’s largest and dirtiest environmental disaster. As for the tar sands, watch this tar sands blow video and see what our thirst for oil is doing to Mother Earth.

Also, if you want  to read a story on the Mystic Lake Declaration, I have a story on Indian Country Today. It was posted late Friday. I’m planning on a longer story for posting later Monday.

Jodi Rave

Spears just shared some sobering facts about the need to strive for sustainable energy practices in Indian Country. To wit: Reservation homes are 10 times more likely to be without electricity than the rest of the U.S. population.

Jodi Rave

I am sharing a memo from Tribal Leaders. Please consider circulating it to support improving healthcare to Indian peoples.

Forwarded Memo:

Dear Elected Tribal Leaders, Key Staff, Community members, and Program Directors:

We are in the midst of a Partisan Battle to insure that the Provisions and Amendments carried in the Former Indian Health care improvement Act are honored a Treaty Obligations in the Senate Version of Health Reform Legislation.

Now is the time to call and send Letter, faxes, and E-mails to all the Senators especially those on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to assure that our wishes are honored in any Health Care Legislation and assurances that the final Senate-House Agreed upon legislation does not exclude our Needs and authorized Language and eventually appropriations.

We need Thousands of Letters routed to the Senate clearly outling our concerns and Needs.

Thank you for your assistance.

Gordon Belcourt

Executive Director

MT-WY Tribal Leaders Council

406-252-2550

www.mtwytlc.com

——————————————————————————–

And here is a memo from the National Congress of American Indians:

Calls Needed Today

To Include IHCIA in Senate Health Reform Bill

It is critical that your Senators hear from you right away with your message of support that the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) be included in health care reform.

Your Calls Work!

Because of all the calls and letters written to the House, we were successful in including the IHCIA in the House of Representatives Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962). But our work is not over – we have to turn our attention to the Senate.

As the Senate prepares to consider health care legislation, Indian Country needs to ensure it includes reforms for all Americans by including IHCIA. Senators need to hear from Indian Country so they know that there is support to include IHCIA.

By including IHCIA in the Senate, it will help strengthen the chances of the bill during conference between the House and Senate before a final bill is sent to President Obama. It has taken more than 10 years to get to this point, and we are close, but we need your help to reach the finish line.

Action Item:

Call and Write (sample letter) your Senator today urging them to include S. 1790 in the Senate health reform legislation.

Message:

This is the only opportunity to get IHCIA passed this year.

Please support Indian Country’s health care of choice and include S. 1790 in the Senate health bill.

To contact your Senator:

Capital Switchboard: 202.224.3141

Or visit: http://www.senate.gov/

For additional information, please contact Ahniwake Rose, Health Policy Analyst, at 202.466.7767 or arose@ncai.org

A sample letter is attached for your use:

The Honorable ___________

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator _______:

As the Senate prepares to debate health care legislation, on behalf of (insert name of Tribe or Tribal Organization here), we urge you to include the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) in the Senate’s health care reform bill.

The IHCIA is the baseline for all health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Since 1992, when the IHCIA was last overhauled, the American health care system has been revolutionized, but the Indian health care system has not been. It is imperative that the IHCIA be reauthorized to begin to bridge this gap. Including IHCIA in a health care reform bill will modernize the Indian health care system at the same time as Congress is reforming health care for all Americans.

We have been fighting for 10 years to get IHCIA reauthorized – and this is our only chance to get the IHCIA reauthorization through Congress. With your leadership to include IHCIA in comprehensive health care reform, Indian country can realize the critical improvements to health care that we have sought so long to achieve.

So, as the Senate considers health care legislation, I respectfully ask that you support including the IHCIA as part of this legislation. Indian Country needs to be part of comprehensive health care reform. Thank you for your consideration and for all that you have done to promote, advance and strengthen health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

That’s it for now folks.

Thanks.

Jodi Rave