INDIAN AND INDIGENOUS DEVELOPMENTS

  Steve Sachs, IUPUI

U.S Developments

In the Courts:
--Supreme Court-
--Lower Federal Courts
--State & Local Courts
  Tribal Courts
State, Localities, & Indian Nations
Tribal Developments
Economic Development
Education and Culture Developments

International Developments

 

 

 

U.S. Developments

     The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled, for the first time, in May, in a case involving a casino, that it has jurisdiction over Indian enterprises on reservations, and that federal labor regulations apply on reservations. Many Indian leaders objected that the decision as an improper intrusion on tribal sovereignty. A number of bills have been proposed to have Congress modify or reverse the NLRB’s action. These include H.R. 4680 which would exclude on reservation tribal entities from the NLRB’s jurisdiction, and H.R. 4906 which would exclude all tribally operated entities, including those off reservation, from the labor board’s authority. The issues involve questions of substance (i.e. what should be the rights of employees), jurisdiction or sovereignty (i.e. who should decide the substantive labor relations questions), and political strategy for Indian nations. Particularly in California (where compacts with the state include rights for casino employees to organize, and there are tribal labor relations organizations), Indians have enjoyed strong support from labor and employee rights oriented people and groups on gaming and other issues, who could be alienated if tribes seek total exemption from labor regulation. The Unite-Here union, that brought the NLRB the case that led to its anti-sovereignty ruling, and the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, in September, announced an agreement providing that the tribe would remain neutral during union attempts to organize employees at any casino in which it was involved, while the union stated that it supported the sovereignty of the tribe and its efforts at recognition.

     U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Columbia, Royce Lamberth ruled, August 31, that the Interior Department must provide “full and accurate accounting appraisal of and other relevant information” to Indian beneficiaries prior to transactions related to their trust property. Lambreth said that interior has not historically performed land appraisals or surveys before such sales, making it difficult for Indian people to make informed decisions as to the fair market value of their assets. The order halted planned trust land trades, including the sale of oil rich lands in Oklahoma, which the court found transgressed an earlier ruling against direct communication between the Department and individual plaintiffs. Later, Judge Lamberth angrily reprimanded the Department of the Interior for considering stopping royalty payments to American Indians, as an interpretation of his order not to communicate with individual trust account holders, who are suing Interior for a proper accounting of their trust accounts. Judge Lambreth said that Interior's action, discussed in departmental memos, ”comes across as direct retaliation.” Attorneys for the Department told the court that checks were not, and would not be, stopped. On September 15, The Interior Departmnt asked a three judge Court of Appeals panel to throw out judge Lambeth's September 2003 order disallowing sampling in the settling of the Indian trust fund case, and requiring a detailed accounting of each trust account. For details, go to www.indiantrust.com. The Native American Rights Fund has joined retiring Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell in warning against inappropriate settlements that Congress might attempt to pass. Campbell commented that some Senators fear that the Cobell case will ultimately be too costly, and others, who do not understand it, know it is complicated and want to get it out of the way, NARF Executive Director John Echohawk also stated,  "We are also disappointed that mediation efforts seem to be faltering."

     An official apology for the way the United States and its citizens have mistreated American Indians and the country's other indigenous people began to move through Congress, in May. The apology's author, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan, said. "With the maturity of the sovereign tribes being acknowledged, the opening this fall (on Washington's Mall) of the museum recognizing the contribution of Native Americans, this is a moment that could be used, not to heal all old wounds, but to start building a new relationship." The co-sponsors include the panel's chair, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-CO, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, who is the only American Indian in Congress, and its vice chair, Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii. The bill says the United States "acknowledges years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the United States Government regarding Indian tribes," and "apologizes 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 measure goes on to state, "Nothing in this Joint Resolution authorizes any claim against the United States or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States." Tex Hall, president of the 250-tribe National Congress of American, commented that "Canada has done it, but the United States has never formally apologized for all the atrocities and double-dealing. It's only one small step, but without an apology you can't do the healing, and without the healing, we can't come together as one country. " Others endorsing the resolution's broad thrust include leaders and tribal councils from more than three dozen American Indian tribes and Alaskan Native communities, as well as the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.

     President Bush, in July, Signed a bill to Pay Western Shoshone more than $145 million for Land taken by the U.S. government. Most tribe members favor the settlement, but others, including the Danns, vow to press fight for ancestral territory, and are refusing the payment.

      The Interior Department's Office of Inspector General reported, in September, that an investigation showed that the Schaghituck tribe of Connecticut's recognition case had been properly undertaken, following the established process, with transparency and recourse for aggrieved parties. The report cleared former acting BIA director, and the agency, of allegations of improprieties in the controversial case. Appeals of Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation's recognition, filed by the State of Connecticut and municipalities in June of 2002, are scheduled to be heard by the Interior Board of Indian Appeals this fall.

     Indianz.Com has put on line Bureau of Indian Affairs documents related to the federal recognition process. The Acknowledgment Decision Compilation (ADC) is a record of documents the BIA has on file for dozens of groups that have completed the federal recognition process, receiving a preliminary or final answer to their petition. It contains over 600 MB of documents that were scanned in by the agency's Office of Federal Acknowledgment. Documents in the ADC database covers 1826-2003. An updated database, with decisions on several New England tribes, will be posted when received by Indianz. The ADC does not contain evidence pertaining to each petitioner. That information is found in the Federal Acknowledgment Information Resource (FAIR). The ADC is available at: http://64.62.196.98/adc/adc.html. Initially, the BIA planned to post the recognition compilation online, but still hasn't received approval to restart its web site. The Golden Hill Paugussetts and both bands of the Massachusetts Nipmuc are appealing the BIA's decisions denying those nations federal recognition.

     The Hopi Nation signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Forrest Service, in July, that gives the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office formal consultation authority, under the National Historic Preservation Act, in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. The new Superintendent of the Mt. Rushmore National Monument, Gerard A. Baker, announced, in July, that American Indians will have an increased presence at the monument. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed an agreement with the Confederated Salish and Cootenai Tribes of Montana, for the tribes to undertake some management responsibilities on the National Bison Range, and to take over control of specific properties now managed by the Fish and Wild Life Service on the Flathead Reservation. The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, of Nevada, is asking for a higher level of federal protection for three prehistoric sites in Churchill county by requesting the Bureau of Land Management to designate Sand Mountain Recreation Area, Grimes Point Archeological Area and Stillwater Mountains as areas of critical environmental concern.

     Zuni Pueblo signed a follow up agreement with federal and New Mexico authorities, in July, to complete details of the 2003 Zuni Tribal Water Rights Settlement. The 2003 agreement settles rights to Little Colorado River Water, including providing water to maintain the wetlands at the sacred site of Zuni Heaven.

    Alaska Native leaders from Ketchikan, Metlakatla and Saxman are appealing the Forest Service's decision to allow cutting of about 38 million board feet of timber from 1,800 acres on Gravina Island, saying that the cutting would threaten their subsistence lifestyle. This is the second timber harvest to be approved in a roadless area of the national forest in Alaska, since the rule preventing such logging was lifted by the White House this year.

     In what many observers, including members of congress, see as a strange and unwarranted action to a House vote to review the future costs of National Park Service projects, the agency canceled a $10 million dollar donation from the Oneida Nation of New York for its American Revolution Center at Valley Forge, and an Oneida-Park service, June 22, ceremony marking the gift and the Oneida contribution of 600 bushels of Corn to the starving Continental Army at Valley Forge in the Winter of 1777-1778. Oneida first Citizen Ray Halbritter, commented, that though the nation was disappointed, puzzled and insulted, he hoped that that the contribution might still take place.

     The reauthorization of Indian Healthcare was awaiting action by Congress (H.R. 2440, S. 556) in October, with some chance of being acted upon, as it had passed out of both the House Resources Committee and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson has called for the reauthorization of the act with increased funding. This has been supported by a letter from ten Democratic senators to the President. In recent years, Republicans have blocked a proposed $3.44 billion increase in IHS clinical services. Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, Michael O'Grady, told a Wyoming-Montana Tribal Leaders Conference, in September, not to expect any increased Indian health funding from the Bush administration in the near future.

    The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), this summer, began inviting applications for cooperative agreements to conduct five-year studies in American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) populations to test the effectiveness of behavioral interventions to promote the adoption of healthy lifestyles and/or improve behaviors related to cardiovascular (CV) risk.  A central feature of the project is to develop and test culturally appropriate interventions that could be incorporated into clinical programs of the community health care systems or delivered through public-health approaches in Native communities. 

     The South Dakota U.S. Attorney's Office, said in July, that it would look into complaints that some American Indians were turned away from the polls during the state's special congressional election in June. Federal authorities announced, in July, that they are investigating the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked to build new clinics and rehabilitate existing facilities for American Indian health care in four Western states. Indian Health Service administrators in Phoenix said the investigation centers on whether a former regional official siphoned off a portion of those funds from the patient business office. The Phoenix office serves 150,000 American Indians in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.

      The Tribal Forrest Preservation Act of 2004 (H.R. 3846) became law in June, authorizing the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to enter into agreements or contracts with tribes, to protect tribal forests. The American Indian Probate Reform Act of 2003, amending Indian Land Consolidation Act of 2003, which, earlier, had passed the Senate (S. 1721), passed the House in October and is expected to be signed by the President. The bill is very complex, in dealing with the difficult problem resulting from numerous descendants, several generations in a row, inheriting joint ownership in an allotment, until perhaps hundreds of people have a minute interest in a small piece of land. The act includes provisions that permit owners of "an interest in trust or restricted personal property to devise such an interest to any person or entity:" provide for "partition and purchase of fractional Indian land by eligible Indian tribes;" and streamlines the surface leasing process of co-owned trust parcels by cutting out Secretary of Interior approval. The bill also creates a uniform probate (or inheritance) code where such tribal codes are not in place. Until the law comes into affect, in 18-24 months, a federal buy back of fractional interests will continue, with increased funding (if appropriated).  Congress passed and the President signed a bill changing the name of the foundation supporting the BIA's education programs from the American Indian Education Foundation to the National Fund for Excellence in Indian Education (NFEAIE)

      A compromise was reached in the Senate, in October, under which the Akaka bill (S. 344, H.R. 4282), The Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2004, federally recognizing Native Hawaiians, is to brought to the floor of the Senate for a vote no later than August of 2005. Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, had placed a hold on the Akaka Bill, preventing it from coming to the floor for a vote.  The House passed a Republican sponsored amendment, in October, that would wave federal laws, including The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, for the completion of the last three miles of a security barrier along the Mexican border below San Diego. With 18 tribes in the area, there is a significant chance that sacred sites might be disturbed. The Arizona Water Settlement Act (S. 437) passed the Senate October 10.  The bill settles the long standing claims of the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Gila River Indian Community, among others, as well as giving access to water to the San Xavier Valley Indian Reservation. In addition, the San Carlos Apaches and other tribes are made eligible for funding for negotiations to settle their water rights. The bill also calls for the secretary of the Interior to make a report in 2016 on progress toward the reconciliation of remaining disputed water rights in Arizona. If passed, that measure might help keep pressure on all parties to come to terms.

       Three Indian related measures were unanimously passed by the House Resources Committee on September 15: H.R. 2491, which would correct the boundary of the Colorado River Indian Reservation in Arizona, restoring 16,000 acres of land taken by executive order in 1916; and H.R. 3982 and 4066, approving land swaps between the Paiute Indian Tribe and the City of Richfield and between the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. In addition, The Southern Ute and Colorado Intergovernmental Agreement Act of 3003 (S. 551), ratifying a Colorado-Southern Ute Tribe agreement, authorizing the Southern Ute Tribe to be treated as a state by the Environmental Protection Agency for the purpose of regulating air quality within the boundaries of the reservation on both tribal and non-tribal land, has passed the Senate and was awaiting House action. A scaled back version of Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell’s S. 519, that would authorize a feasibility study for an institutional intertribal mechanism for capital formation and economic development, passed out of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, September 29. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, in July, sent the Tribal Parity Act (S. 1530) and the Indian Gaming regulatory Act Amendment of 2003 (S. 1529) to the full Senate. The Tribal Parity Act would provide an additional payment of $137 million to the Lower Brule tribe and $73 million to the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe (both of South Dakota) to equalize federal damages payments among Missouri River Tribes. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Amendment is intended to limit state tribute payments exacted from tribal casino revenue. The House, in July, passed, the Home Ownership Opportunities for Native Americans Act of 2004 (H. 4471), restoring federal loan guarantees for major housing and infrastructure projects, in Title VI, to 95%, after it had been reduced to $85%. The House passed a bill that would allow members of the Osage Tribe, other than the few who own a share of the tribe's mineral estate, to vote and run for tribal elective office, in June. House-Senate Concurrent Resolution H. 306, honoring the service of Native Americans in the U.S. armed services, passed the House on October 5. In June several bills were passed out of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to the Senate Floor: The Federal Acknowledgement Process Act of 2003 (S. 297), a bill to amend the Indian Self-Determination and education act to provide further self-governance to Indian tribes; The Department of Interior Tribal Self-Governance Act of 2004 (S. 1715), a bill making technical amendments to the Indian Self-determination and Education Assistance Act relating to contract costs and other matters; S. 2777, a bill to amend the Act of November 2, 1966 to allow binding arbitration clauses in all contracts affecting land within the Pima Maricopa Indian Reservation; and S. 2436, a bill to reauthorize the Native American Programs Act of 1974. Acts introduced into either house of Congress are available at: http://capwiz.com/c-span/issues/bills. Once there, select from the drop down menu, either "S" for Senate or "H" for House and type in the Bill Number.

     At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on S 519, The Native American Capitalization and Economic Development Act of 2003, Head of the National Indian Housing Council, Chester Carl, proposed that tribes be able to take land out of trust, changing it to fee land, for business purposes, on the grounds that this would provide more flexibility for tribes in getting loans, investments and contracts. Carl also said that tribes should be encouraged to cultivate human resources and set up more apprenticeships to give young people practical, on the job, training and mentorship so that tribes could learn from successful private businesses.

     In July, the Environmental Protection Agency approved the Hualapai Tribe of Arizona's water quality standards and certification program, making it the third Indian nation in EPA's Pacific Southwest Region to administer its own environmental program under the clean water act. The other tribes are the White Mountain Apache in Arizona and the Hoopa Valley Tribe of Northern California.

     On July 29, the IRS announced a proposed regulation that would have the agency collect taxes on fuel imports, particularly from the St. Regis Mohawks. Moreover the new rules would hold fuel dealers responsible for any unpaid import duties on gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene purchased from unlicensed importers. The St, Regis Mohawks state that requiring them to pay the tax infringes on their sovereignty, The nation reports having collected $1 in "fuel fees" from reservation based importers used to finance government services. Tribal officials say that forcing Mohawk entrepreneurs to pay the IRS the tax would force many out of business, threatening the tribal tax base and its ability to provide matching funds for federal programs.

     The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Arizona State Advisory Committee, in September, heard reports from the Tohono O'odham of abuses by the Boarder Patrol, now part of the Department of Homeland Security, on the nation's lands on both sides of the U.S. Mexican boarder. Tribal members said that they have been denied unrestricted passage of the boarder on their reservation and have suffered verbal and physical abuse and threats from Boarder Patrol agents, creating a climate of fear to the point that many tribal members will not report abuses for fear of reprisals. It was also reported that Border Patrol agents have embedded military issue spikes in tribal roads, causing tire damage.

     The Gallup, NM City Council agreed, in September, to settle a case with the U.S. Department of Justice, involving city discrimination against Native Americans between 1994-2002, by paying $300,000, abiding by a 3 year consent decree and taking steps to make sure that such actions do not reoccur. The city signed a similar consent decree in 1986. The case involves city actions prior to the current mayoral administration, which asserts that it has taken proactive steps to hire Indians in high positions, and has appointed three to top posts since coming to office in 1993, while 39% of city employees are now Native. The Navajo Nation President's Public relations Officer stated, in September, that the allegations involve situations prior to the current city administration with which the Nation enjoys a good relationship. Amnesty International reported, in September, following a series of hearings around the U.S., that racial profiling, including against Indians, is a problem and has increased since 9/11. In one instance in Indian Country, the report indicated that Oklahoma's current laws and procedures provide insufficient coverage to protect minority people, from racial profiling. Numerous instances were reported (See the report of the AI Tulsa hearing in the Spring 2004 issue of IPJ).

     The FBI is leading a recently formed interagency working group to protect tribal casinos from theft \m embezzlement, fraud, organized crime and corrupting influences. The National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) reports that tribal governments invested more than $200 million in regulating their gaming operations 1n 2003, while providing $50 million to states for oversight purposes and $9 million for that purpose to the NIGA,

     The BIA regional Office in South Dakota is overseeing a project, being carried out by Chickasaw Nation Industries of Ada, OK, to buy up small tracts of reservation land at fair market value from multiple willing owners, to be consolidated as tribal land. Through a number of generations of inheritance, many of the plots have more than 1000 owners, making management of royalty payments and other matters extremely expensive.

     The Environmental Working Group released a comprehensive report of oil and gas leases in the West, showing that, as the Bush administration has approved a record number of new drilling permits (e.g., the Bureau of Land Reclamation has increased issuance of drilling permits by 70% since Bush took office), the danger to sacred sites has increased, as has commercial intrusion into pristine lands. The endangered sacred sites include the Navajo place of Origin and two sacred mountains, the Badger-Two Medicine sacred ground of the Blackfeet in Montana, 1000 year old petroglyphs in the Vermillion Basin in Colorado, ancient burial grounds at Book Cliffs, Desolation Canyon and Fisher Towers in Utah. The report states that the drilling on federal land in the West has done little to reduce the U.S. dependence on foreign energy, producing only 53 days of oil consumption and 221 days of gas consumption.

     The U.S. Attorney's Office in Albuquerque, NM has had more than two dozen ancient Indian artifacts illegally taken from federal land returned under an amnesty that ended August 18.

     Tohono O'odham Tribal members Michael Enis and Alicia Childs sang the national anthem in their traditional language in a performance that was broadcast by satellite to the Democratic National Convention, in Boston on July 27. There were a record 87 Indian delegates at the Democratic Convention. The party has a non-official, but prominent, Native American Caucus. Bruce Whalen (Oglala Sioux) and John Gonzales, former governor of San Ildefonso Pueblo and a former president of the National Congress of American Indians, were among the 36 Native delegates at the Republican National Convention, in New York, which also had an Indian caucus, and other native attendees discussing Indian issues.. Both President Bush and John Kerry have met with Indian groups on the campaign trail, and made numerous visits to Indian Country. Both have sought Indian statements of support, as have other candidates for public office, who have generally spent more time an effort speaking with native leaders and people, and discussing native issues with them. The Navajo Nation, for example endorsed Kerry, and both the Democratic and Republican Candidates in a House Race. Both parties have organized in Indian country and bought ads in tribal newspapers, though the Democratic Party organizing is more extensive. The Democrats have long been involved in Indian country, but increasingly so in the last four years. Major Republican organizing is new, as both parties are aware that Indian money and Indian votes have become important in close races, and that with the Presidential race extremely close in several states with large Indian populations, the presidential campaigns have geared up to seek every vote that they can gather.

      Harvey Arden (www.haveyouthought.com) reported in August that the Peace & Freedom Party has nominated Leonard Peltier for President in 2004, and the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in Oslo is seriously considering Leonard's internationally-supported nomination for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate In 2000, there was a national Presidential write-in campaign for Leonard, from which he publicly withdrew in October so that he wouldn't draw votes away from Gore.

     The Native Vote 2004 Campaign, coordinated by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has been very active as a national non-partisan effort to mobilize the American Indian and Alaska Native vote in collaboration with regional organizations, local tribal governments, centers serving the Indian populations of urban centers, and  non-governmental organizations whose focus is on democracy initiatives. The work includes training organizers and organizing. Native Vote is focusing particularly on areas where Native votes are concentrated. The Native electorate rises above 5% in Districts 1 and 7 in Nevada; Districts 1,2, and 3 in New Mexico; Districts 2, 3, and 4 in Oklahoma; and in the At Large Districts in South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota and Alaska. In selected districts, eligible American Indian voters account for more than 20% of the voting population, making them a valuable asset as a voting bloc to politicians in the area. Even in Congressional Districts where Natives do not amount to 5% of the population, they still have the ability to impact local elections as well as national elections by making the Native voice audible on a national stage. The Campaign has worked both to increase Indian voter registration and to encourage turn out at candidate forums and events to raise issues of concern to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and individuals, and encourage candidates to take positions on priority Native concerns. The campaign was also involved in setting up poll watching at significant Indian voting places around the U.S. local tribal leaders were asked to identify polling places where discrimination, intimidation of Indian voters, or irregularities had taken place in recent elections, in order to place observers at the most relevant polling sites.  For a more in-depth explanation of the purpose of the 2004 Native Vote Campaign, go to: http://www.ncai.org/nativevote/documents/optimizing_power.asp, or call NCAI at (202) 466-7767, Or Gyasi Ross at NCAI: gysai_ross@ncai.org. A number of Tribes have also moved to increase voter registration. For example, a task force at the Hopi Nation, in cooperation with the Navajo Nation and the Coconino County registrars Office has been working to increase voter registration on the reservation by 3,000 by November. In another effort to increase participation, the Navajo tribal council election will be held this year on the same day as the U.S. presidential election. Navajo leaders also have raised the idea of declaring Nov. 2 an official reservation holiday so more people can get to the polls.  Voting problems have returned to South Dakota, but this time not concerning Indians. In October, eight Republican Party workers resigned under allegations of fraud, in relation to charges of improper absentee ballot notarization.

     On the occasion of the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian, President Bush announced a Presidential Memorandum ordering federal agencies to respect Tribal Sovereignty. The Senate Democratic leadership hosted a Native American Forum in Washington, DC, following the Opening of the National Museum. September 22, Democratic House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi, in the presence of other Democratic Congressional leaders, announced a new Democratic Party Native American Initiative, "Restoring Our Trust." The initiative pledged to strengthen tribal sovereignty and listed a number of measures in health care, education, housing, transportation and job creation that contrasted with the actions of the Bush administration.

     Senator Kerry spoke with Indian people on whistle stops across New Mexico and Arizona, discussing health care, education and tribal rights. He pledged that he would have an Indian advisor in the White house and see that the head of IHS participates in national health planning. He has announced a plan for the federal government to eliminate health care inequalities faced by native people, that President Bush says is too expensive. Kerry stated, that if elected, "I will uphold the law of the land, and that includes treaties and special relationships that exist between the United States and Indian Nations."

     After the Washington Post published an Indian Health Service memo, in October, that IHS officials refused to allow even nonpartisan get out the vote efforts in its hospitals and clinics (on the grounds that this favored the Democrats), HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson repealed the ban.

     In 2003 and 2004, Wisconsin tribes contributed over $700,000 to the Democratic National Committee to help elect Governor Jim Doyle and defended a law suite brought by the Republican state committee attempting to have gaming compacts signed by Governor Doyle invalidated. The Chickasaw Nation, with a major vote on a state question concerning tribal gambling approaching, has been placing TV adds across Oklahoma in an effort to boost the tribe's economic position. Tribal officials say the advertising is not related to the pending vote.

     Michigan tribes and their members are becoming more involved in politics. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa gave $25,000 to the Democratic National Committee this year and up to $2000 to Republican U.S. Congressmen Dave Camp (MI) and J.D. Hayworth (AZ). Tribal chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum said, in September, “I see a lot more interest. There’s more of our people running for tribal offices, more people registered [to vote] and getting involved in local issues too.

     Leaders of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana say that they plan to sue Washington Lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Public Relations Consultant Mike Scanlon for return of $32 million in lobbying fees. When called to testify about their large lobbying fees by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, in September, Abramroff and Scanlon refused to answer questions, citing the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The main complaint is that the $66 million collected over three years from six Indian nations by the Republican Party connected lobbyists is excessive, though it may not be as much as they would have collected for the same amount of work from large corporations. At least on some matters, the tribes appear to have gotten the work they paid for. Some of that involved attempting to keep other tribes from initiating gaming, and included surveillance of some of their leaders. A bothersome revelation at the Indian Affairs Committee hearing was that in a number of E-mail exchanges Abramoff and Scanlan were contemptuous of their native clients.  For more information on this matter see the Spring issue of IPJ.

     Oklahoma Congressman Brad Carson (Cherokee), is running as the Democrat in a tight race for U.S. Senator. In South Dakota's Congressional race, Native American Terry Begay, running on the Libertarian ticket, could draw enough votes away from tribally favored Democrat Stephanie Herseth, to allow her to be unseated by Republican challenger Larry Diedrich. Kaylin Free, Choctaw, ran for the Democratic nomination in the congressional race in Oklahoma's Second District, but did not win the primary. Chickasaw Billy Running, is running for the Oklahoma House seat in district 42, while Doug Miller Cherokee, a Republican, is running for reelection in Oklahoma House district 46, and Democrat Jason Gildwell, Choctaw, is running in House district 55.  Jennifer Harjo, Creek from Oklahoma, is running for District Attorney in Washington, NC on the Republican ticket. Former Morongo chairwoman Mary Ann Andreas has the Democratic nomination in her bid to become the first American Indian woman elected to the California Assembly. Roy Baldridge, Shawnee, ran for Sheriff of Craig County, OK in the June primary (We do not have the results). Several Navajos are running in this year's elections in New Mexico including: incumbent New Mexico Senators John D. Pinto, running for his 6th term, Leonard Tsosie and Lidio Rainaldi. Many of the candidates in the primary and the election for offices in McKinley and San Juan Counties were Navajos. Eight Navajos filed to run in the primary, in June, for two Apache County, AZ Board of Supervisors seats in the reservation portion if the county.

     Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and other tribal leaders complained, in September, that the remarks, in a town hall meeting by Republican candidate Tom Coburn in the race for the Oklahoma U.S. Senate seat are offensive to Indians. In referring to a treaty, Coburn said, "I mean, this is a joke. It is one thing for us to keep our obligations to recognize Native Americans, but it is a totally different thing for us to allow a primitive agreement with the Native Americans to undermine Oklahoma's future." Coburn later stated, "Probably I didn't use the proper words." "I've always stood for honoring the treaties we have in Oklahoma and I always will."

     The November 2 Ballot in Nebraska includes five gaming measures. Initiative 417 would amend the state constitution to allow initiatives to allow and regulate all types of games of chance. Amendment 3 would directly authorize casinos in no more than two counties, subject to county voter approval. Initiative 419 would allow would allow communities to authorize gambling, setting up a revenue schedule that would tax the first $15 million of gross gaming revenue at 36%, and the rest at 20%. Initiative 420 would authorize a more limited number of casinos and establish a state gambling commission. If a favorable gambling initiative passes, the Winnebago Tribe will seek to open a casino in Emerson There are competing gambling initiatives on the California ballot for November. Proposition 68 would give tribes the choice of paying 25% of slot machine revenues to local governments or having 16 non-Indian card rooms and race tracks in six communities authorized to operate 30,000 slot machines and pay 33% of their revenues to local governments.  However, in late October, supporters of Proposition 68 gave up their campaign, judging that it was going down to defeat. Proposition 70 would allow tribal casinos to operate as full fledged Los Vegas gaming facilities and limit tribal contributions to the state to the state corporate tax rate, which is currently about 8.84% of net revenues. Proposition 70 is supported by the California Nations Indian Gaming association. Governor Schwarzenegger, as part of his deal in obtaining the last round of tribal compacts, publicly opposes both California Referenda. Oklahoma Question 712 would enact a model tribal gambling compact, expanding the type of slot machines available. If at least four tribes accept the contracts, the same types of slot machines could be operated at state licensed race tracks, including those of the Choctaw and Cherokee. Washington State Initiative 892 would allow non-tribal gaming in licensed "charities, restaurants, taverns, bowling allies, horse racing facilities and card rooms." Michigan proposal 04-1 would require state and local approval for any new form of gambling, providing some protection for existing tribal gaming and casinos in Detroit. In Iowa counties have been holding referenda on gambling. So far, the Winnebago, The Omaha and the Meskwaki have such compacts, and three more counties gaming referenda are on the November ballot.

       American Indians and tribal officials in Montana have been expressing opposition to proposed state ballot initiative 147, which would repeal the Montana ban on cyanide leach gold and silver mining.

     Mote than 10,000 native people from throughout the Americas took part in the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian, on the last available building site on the National Mall, in Washington, DC, in September, St least 20,000 people observed the event. The Grand Opening of the 250,000-square-foot Museum was followed by a six-day First Americans Festival. The museum cost $219 million with $119 coming from the federal government,  $10 million each from the Mohegan Tribe, the Oneida Indian Nation and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and $70 million from other tribes, corporations and private donors. On the day of the opening, Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell spoke on the floor of the Senate in full regalia, in honor of the opening, President Bush signed a memorandum on tribal sovereignty and consultation, during a meeting with tribal leaders. One controversy developed over whether it was proper to have a Pipestone installation on the floor of the Museum's atrium. After disusing the issue with elders, who were divided in their own view of the issue, but felt that given the nature of the controversy the Pipe Stone should be removed, the Museum's director ordered it removed.

     A series of stamps and postal cards featuring American Indian artwork was issued by the Postal Service in August.

 

In the Courts

The U.S. Supreme Court

     The U.S. Supreme Court, in September, refused to hear an appeal, letting stand a lower court decision allowing Indian nations to have the exclusive right to operate casinos in California. About 20 states have such arrangements. The high court also refused to hear, and thus let stand, a lower court ruling in Davis v. U.S., 03-1313, barring Black Seminoles from reopening their case claiming that they have been denied services by the Seminole Nation, that they are entitled to as tribal members. The lower court had said that the suit against the U.S. government could only proceed if the Seminole nation was also a defendant, but that is blocked by the tribe's sovereign immunity. The Supreme Court agreed, in June, to hear an appeal from Sherill, NY and New York State of a lower court decision barring taxation of a textile plant and a gas station acquired by the Oneida Nation, within the boundaries of its unsettled land claim.

 

Lower Federal Courts

     The Tenth Circuit court of appeals found that a Flathhead tribal court does not have jurisdiction to hear a law suite brought by a non-tribal member against the Salish and Kootenai Tribe, in a case involving a fatal truck accident on the reservation, as the proper venue is state court,

     The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals over turned a district court decision in ruling that the Prairie Band of Potawatomi has the right to collect its own motor fuel taxes, and does not have to collect or pay equivalent state taxes, at a tribally owned gas station next to the tribal casino. The court stated. “The interests of the nation are particularly strong. Tribes have a recognized interest in raising revenues for essential governmental programs, that interest is strongest when the revenues are derived from value generated on the reservation by activities involving the tribes and when the taxpayer is a recipient of the tribal service”. Most of those purchasing fuel at the gas station are tribal members or tribal casino customers and employees. The cost of the fuel is $.02 cents lower than a most other area motor fuel operations. With the tribe imposing its own tax $.03 cents lower than the state motor fuel tax, The Prairie Band collects $200,000-$300,000 in motor fuel revenues a year.

     A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in September, upheld a lower court's dismissal of a suite brought by the owner of a site considered sacred by the Hopi. The owner attempted to challenge Arizona's refusal to renew a permit to excavate gravel from Woodruff Butte on the grounds that the property had historic and cultural value. The owner argued that the action was an establishment of religion, but the circuit court held that "there is no suggestion that the state defendants favor tribal religion over other religions or that they would not protect sites of historical, cultural and religious importance to other groups. A three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit decided, in July, that a Cherokee state prison inmate, Corneius W. Hoevenaar, does not have a religious right to grow long hair.

     The Ninth Circuit, in July, upheld a lower court decision that 18 Navajo Officers are not entitled to overtime pay for hundreds of hours worked beyond normal working hours.

     A three judge panel of the 9th Circuit ruled for the third time, in June, that before the Makahs can resume whaling, the federal government must conduct a full environmental impact assessment and grant an exception to the Marine Mammals Protection Act.

     A three judge panel of the 4th circuit ruled that members of the Catawba Nation could not bring a challenge in federal court to the legitimacy of the South Carolina nation's leadership, as the tribal constitution provides jurisdiction only in tribal or state court.

     A hearing was held before a three judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals on an appeal by both the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the State of Montana of a 2002
District Court order for a new round of negotiations between the nation and the state, limited to pari-mutual and calcutta betting, on the grounds that the state had bargained in bad faith in the first discussions. The State wishes to have no gambling, while the Arapaho are seeking casino style gambling.

     Russell Means has argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that Navajo Nation Courts have no jurisdiction to try him for assault, as he is a member of another Tribe, and that the Act of Congress recognizing the power of tribal courts to try members of other tribes is unconstitutional, because it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

     U.S. District Court Judge Karen Schreier, at the beginning of October, found the State of South Dakota in violation of Section II of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, in that the 2001 redrawing of state legislative districts, "impermissibly dilutes the Indian vote..... the 2001 plan resulted in unequal electoral opportunity for Indian voters." The court gave the state 45 days in which to submit remedial proposals, regardless of whether the state appeals the decision.

     A U.S. District Court in Syracuse, NY ruled in September that the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma has a historic interest in the historical Seneca Nation and retains an interest in the settlement of the Cayuga land claims case. The court has yet to rule whether the 229 acres in Aurelius, NY that the Seneca-Cayuga own and plan to use for a class II gaming facility is Indian Country, and whether any local government has any regulatory authority in regulating or overseeing construction and operation of such an enterprise. District Court Judge Carlos Muguria ruled, in July, that the Oklahoma Wyandotte claim to thousands of acres in Downtown Kansas City is invalid, because it was filed years too late. In October, District Court judge Julie Robinson ruled that Kansas officials must return slot machines to the Wyandotte, seized in April, but the tribe cannot reopen its casino pending resolution in the federal courts, during which time money seized by the state at the casino will be held by the court.

     A district court judge, in California, held that Madera County could not tax the land on which the Picayune Rancheria has its casino, holding that the county was mistaken that the land did not fall under the criteria for trust land under the 1987 Hardwick decision.

     U.S. District Court Judge Robert E,. Coyle, in Fresno, CA, agreed to hear the case of Roselind Quair and Charlotte Berna, members of the Santa Rosa Rancheria, asserting that their banishment and loss of tribal membership by the tribal government was improper. The judge ruled that the court has jurisdiction under the Indian Civil Rights act to see that the tribe followed due process in deciding on banishment and membership, but would not rule on the substantive issues. The Rancheria, like most California tribes, has no tribal court. Currently there are at least 1160 people contesting denial of membership by California tribes.

     The U.S. District Court in Portland, OR, ruled in July that the Bonneville Power Authority cannot reduce the amount of Columbia River water it would spill over its dams, in August, in order to protect endangered salmon. This was a victory for salmon fishing tribes and the state of Oregon. The State of Washington has joined members of the Coleville confederated Tribes in suing the Canadian mining firm, Teck Comico, Ltd., in Federal District Court in Yakima, WA, to force the firm to clean up years of pollution it dumped into the Columbia River.

     The Seaconke Wampaaoag Tribe argued in federal district court, in September, requesting that its claim be heard to 34 square miles in Rhode Island. The state argued that in an earlier suite by the tribe, in 2003, the court had been correct in dismissing the case as being barred by the time limitation.

     The Klamath, and Modoc tribes and Yahooskin Band Snake Pauite people filed suite, in August, against PacificCorp, a subsidiary of Scottish Power, for $1 billion for loss of their salmon fishery because of the operation of 4 dams on the Klamath River in Southern Oregon.

     An American Indian Inmate is suing the State of Nebraska in Federal District Court contending that Natives in the state penitentiary are being denied religious freedom by not being permitted to meet to practice their native religion, and that the state is in contempt of a 1974 U.S. District Court consent decree guaranteeing Indian prisoners religious freedom.

     The Indian Education Federation brought suite, in August, in the District Court of the District of Columbia, against Interior Secretary Gail Norton, for failure to give Indians hiring preference as required by the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, by hiring a non-Indian in the Trustees Office. The claim is that Norton is limiting preference to certain offices within the newly created Trustees Office, that were transferred from the BIA, and has not granted preference to qualified Indian applicants in other trust office positions. Congress created the Trustees Office to oversee management of Indian trust land and leases.

     Federal prosecutors may bring charges against the non-native founders of the Okleveuh Earthwalks Native American Church in Utah, James and Linda Mooney, for possession of some 12,000 peyote buttons seized by police during a raid in 2000. The Utah Supreme Court ruled unanimously, in June, that non-Native members of the Native American Church could legally use Peyote in religious ceremonies.

     Tribes in the Pacific Northwest have gone back to federal court, with a new approach to the Kennewick Man case, involving an ancient skeleton. Scientists had previously won the right to study the remains, which the court held were too old to be connected to current Indian nations. The tribes are now arguing that cultural traditions and beliefs are sufficient to connect them to the remains. The Gabrieleno Tongva Tribe of California brought suite to stop Playa Capital corporation from developing the Los Angeles area site of Playa vista, or the Village at Playa Vista, following the discovery of large numbers of human remains, indicating a burial site at least several centuries old that the tribe claims are its ancestors, as it lived at that location for at least 6,000 years.

 

State and Local Courts

     The Michigan Supreme Court decided 5-2, July 30, that the state legislature did not violate the Michigan constitution in approving compacts for Casinos, in 1988, with the Pokagan Band of Potawatomi, Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa, the Petoskey, Huron Band of Potawatomi and the Little River Band of Ottawa. A Rhode Island Superior Court, following an advisory opinion from the State Supreme Court, in August, barred a proposition to allow the Narragansett Tribe to have a casino in West Warwick, RI, from being put on the November ballot. A New York State Supreme (trial) Court judge, in June, declared the 1993 compact between the Oneida Indian Nation and the state, that established the billion dollar Turning Stone casino, was illegal, on the grounds that the compact signed by the Governor was not ratified by the state legislature. In previous similar cases, the casinos were allowed to remain open while the legislature ratified the agreement. In June, the New York State Legislature ratified the 11-year old gambling pact between the Mohawk Nation of the Akwesasne Reserve and the state. That could happen again. But in this instance, the Oneida Nation has a land claim against the state that potentially might  threaten to evict 60,000 non-Indian residents of the claimed area. Thus the decision, if it stands, could provide a bargaining chip for the state in negotiations of the claim. However, that bargaining power is limited by the fact that the state would not want the loss of jobs, citizen income and tax revenue that would accompany any shut down of the casino.

     The New Mexico Supreme Court decided in September that the state law requiring first time voters to show identification when they vote only applies to those who registered by mail (and did not show identification to register). This will increase Indian voting in the state, especially on the Navajo reservation, as many Indians do not drive and do not have standard forms of identification. There are similar issues in a number of states, particularly South Dakota, as a result of recent federally mandated state laws to reduce election fraud, that can be applied to make it more difficult for some legitimate voters to cast ballots, or prevent them from doing so entirely.

     The California Tribal Police Chiefs Association brought suite in Riverside county Superior Court, in September, seeking an order authorizing tribal police in the state to have access to the California law enforcement data base, after Cabazon tribal police were denied access to it by the California Attorney General and the Department of Justice.

 

Tribal Courts

     The Hopland Band of Pomo Indians of Caliofonia established its own tribal court, in June, to weigh civil disputes occurring on its Hopland Rancheria, and will use both contemporary and traditional legal methods. For legal disputes best handled in traditional ways, an appointed body of elders known as the Peace Makers Council, will mediate. The Hopeland Band Tribal Court tribe is looking forward to working together with the local California courts on a government-to-government basis. The Meskwaki Nation of Iowa has introduced an independent tribal court to settle civil disputes concerning tribal government, business (including the tribal casino) and contract, family matters, tribal customs and traditions. The step was taken to avoid a repetition of the problems that led to the closing of the tribal casino, causing hundreds of layoffs and millions of dollars in lost revenue, last year, because there was no internal way for the nation to settle a dispute concerning the membership of the tribal council, since it held judicial as well as legislative authority. The Meskwaki court includes a chief justice, three trial justices and a community panel. "Its about applying our traditional values or teachings, even determining what those interests are, and having a court that can render a decision based on those values," said tribal executive director, Larry Lasley." More than half the 564 federally recognized tribes have tribal courts of some kind.

     The Navajo Nation Supreme Court found, in July, that Central Consolidated School District in Shiprock, a state entity, must abide by the specific language of its lease from Navaho Nation, to give hiring preference to Navajos. The Navajo Nation Council approved the Navajo Nation Arbitration Act, in July, allowing reservation civil disputes to be settled quickly, and often without an attorney, but with a right of appeal.

 

States, Localities and Indian Nations

     Proposed California Assembly Bill 974 would amend the Coastal Act to provide greater protection for Native cultural resources and sacred places within California's fragile coastal zone. AB 974 is quite specific about consultation. The bill would amend the Public Resources Code, Section 30244 by adding the following, (a) Where development would adversely impact an archaeological, paleontological or significant Native American cultural resources, identified in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office, Native American Heritage Commission and appropriate local Native Americans all feasible measures shall be taken to avoid impact. (b) An area containing a sacred site identified in consultation with the Native American Heritage Commission and appropriate Native Americans shall be protected against significant disruption. "Significant disruption" is not defined because this has already been defined for the Coastal Act by the courts. The bill defines "appropriate local Native Americans" to mean, a federally recognized Indian Tribe, Rancharia, or Mission Band of Indians or a tribe or band identified on the Native American Contact List maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission. This means that they cannot consult with tribes from out of the area and the bill requires that in each area the affected tribes will be the ones consulted. Second, Tribes define what is sacred. In South Dakota, state legislators were told, July 15, that a committee of tribal and state officials had successfully worked to resolve issues about the use of Bear Butte, a sacred site in Bear Butte State Park.

     The California Senate and Assembly voted, in August, to bar public schools from using Redskins as a team or mascot name. However, in September, the bill was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, on the grounds that, " Existing statute already affords local school boards general control over all aspects of their interscholastic athletic policies, programs, and activities. Decisions regarding athletic team names, nicknames or mascots should be retained at the local level. At a time when we should all be working together to increase the academic achievement of all California's students, adding another non-academic state administrative requirement for schools to comply with takes more focus away from getting kids to learn at the highest levels". The bill would have affected, directly, the four remaining California school districts that retain a redskins name or mascot. It would have been the first state legislation barring Indian mascots and names, though several legislatures have passed resolutions discouraging such practice.

     As of the beginning of June, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had proposed Budget cuts in key Social Services: Health, Mental Health and Substance Abuse programs, including a $1 billion reduction in Medi-Cal, a $2.7 million reduction-to-terminate funding to 36 Indian Health Clinics for culturally-appropriate mental health and substance abuse services, a reduction of $30 million in tribal TANF programs; and a redesign in the Medi-Cal program which will reduce the number of eligible applicants,  reduce the number of services to be provided and increase the financial burden on California's poorest taxpayers. According to Health Policy Analyst, Mark LeBeau, the cuts and redesign will have dire health consequences for Indians in California: Thousands of Indian people will be removed from the system; Many more poor Indian people will have no health insurance coverage; Many more poor Indian women with children, the aged, blind and disabled will not be able to afford the cost of co-pays; Some services Medi-Cal now provides will be terminated; Poor Indian women with children, the aged, blind and disabled may have to reapply for services every six months; Expansion of managed care could disrupt coverage,  Under the $2.7 million reduction-to-terminate funding to 36 Indian Health Clinics for culturally-appropriate mental health and substance abuse services; Many former program clients who are drug addicts and/or alcoholics and have been clean and sober will relapse causing unnecessary hardships to family, community and the State of California; The State of California will have to pay much more than $2.7 Million in FY 04-05 for many former program clients to use hospital care due to drug overdoses, drunken driving crashes, family abuses, accidents, increased numbers of babies born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or other drug related problems, etc.; The State of California will have to pay much more than $2.7 Million in FY 04-05 for many former program clients to use the State Court system and Jail space for addicts and/or alcoholics found guilty for crimes committed under the influence of their addiction; The county mental health and substance abuse programs will not be able to provide adequate assistance to Indian people addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. In protest, Indian tribes, tribal health clinics and their supporters from across California come together on the west steps of the State Capitol, on June 2, to urge California lawmakers, the Governor and the Administration to support the maintenance of state Indian health care services vital to the health and well-being of Indian women, men, elders and children. For more information, contact:  Mark LeBeau (916)929-9761, mark.lebeau@mail.ihs.gov, or James Crouch: (916)929-9761 or Linda Navarro: (916) 929-9761.

     The Governor of Arizona held a Tribal Summit on Higher Education with Indian leaders and people, in September, focusing on ways to increase the number of Indian students going to college, as 3.9% of college students in Arizona are Native, while enough are eligible so that the number could rise to 5.3%, and more could become eligible. The Governor holds tribal summits about every three months. Recent topics have included health care, elementary education and economic development. The Arizona Department of Housing, through the Governor's Tribal Housing Initiative, awarded $500,000, in October, to the Pascua Yaqui Reservation to rehabilitate 19 family homes that have been uninhabitable since 2000. In June, Indian leaders attending the Arizona Indian Town Hall discussed a proposal that the Arizona Attorney General's Office appoint a tribal-state liaison.

     The Chairman of the Vermont governors commission on Native American Affairs, in September, stated that he expected a bipartisan bill to be introduced into the legislature to give the Abenaki Nation state recognition, which might strengthen the tribe's case for federal recognition.

     In September, Arizona passed a law requiring officials to notify tribal members of pending autopsies, and placing a time limit in which bodies that have undergone autopsies must be returned to native families. A Hopi elder commented on the bill, which the nation has promoted, saying, "Arizona is making great strides in recognizing the cultural diversity and sensitive needs of its populace."

     The City of Lake Andres, SD, shortly before local balloting in August, notified residents of some areas, most of whom were American Indians, that they did not live in the city, and could not vote in its elections, although those areas had long been considered parts of the city. The City said that it simply reviewed its boundaries and found some areas popularly thought to be in the city were not actually with its boundaries. Many Indian residents and the American Civil Liberties Union claim the city undertook an illegal action.

     The Arizona Department of Education recently interpreted Arizona Proposition 203, aimed at ending bilingual education for immigrant Children, to also apply to immersion programs on reservations, according to a letter by Mathew B. Ward, published September 28,"

     The Tanana Chiefs Conference sent a memo, in June, to 22 rural health clinics in the Alaska Interior saying that they can only treat beneficiaries of the federal Indian Health Service, except in emergencies. Many of the clinics are in villages in which there are non-native inhabitants, are over 100 miles from the nearest non-native health services, and often accessible only by riverboat or airplane.

     Negotiations broke down between the Cayuga Nation of New York and the state to settle the Cayuga claim to 64,000 acres of former reservation land around Cayuga Lake. The Cayuga announced that they planned to return to court. However, after a September meeting, the mediator in the Oneida claims case stated that progress was being made toward settlement, and that he intended to ask the court for a sixth extension of the negotiating period.

      In a waterfront ceremony of reconciliation, the Mayor of Eureka, CA, on June 26, signed over the deed to 40 acres to the Wiyot tribal chairwoman, where the tribe was massacred at its island village by white intruders 144 years ago. Seattle, WA signed a protocol with Suquamish, Tulalip, Swinomish and Snoqualmie tribes on how the city and the nations will deal with issues of mutual concern, on a government-to-government basis. Last year, the Tlalip Tribe and the City of Everett, WA formed a comprehensive "governmental alliance" to resolve disputes and have effective communication on issues of mutual concern.

     On August 12 the Washington state parks and recreation commission voted unanimously to transfer the 1-acre Old Man House State Park, home of Chief Seattle, to the Suquamish Tribe. The commission's decision was influenced by the Suquamish's agreement  to insure that the park would remain open to the public by waiving the tribe's limited "sovereign immunity" over its ownership of the park.

     The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) took title to a 1,700-hectare ranch, in Range Creek, UT, that is exceedingly rich in undisturbed archaeological sites, in 2001. In 2004 the BLM transferred it to the state of Utah. Researchers are now planning studies and consultations with Native American tribal leaders about any future excavations. Archeologists are excited about what may be found, but some Native Americans in the Range Creek area, including Melvin Brewster, a Northern Piaute with a doctorate in archaeology, are angry that these consultations are coming so late, believing that the BLM had an obligation during the years of federal ownership to consult with tribes about Native American remains and to seek public comment on any plans for the ranch. For now, both Native Americans and scientists are excited about the discoveries expected from the ranch. "I have faith that Utah will lay out a plan to work with all of us," said Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office in Arizona.

     There is concern among Native Hawaiians that Honolulu's mandatory leasehold conversion law, Chapter 38, threatens to erode the Ali'i Trust land assets that provide the revenue to support  vital services for Native children provided for by Queen Lili'uokalani's legacy, and they seek passage of proposed Bill 53. "It is wrong for the City Council to condemn property so that a lessee can get out of their legal contract. A landowner should not be forced to sell their land to another private owner under the disguise of 'public  purpose'.Landowners have a right to keep their land and choose not to sell. For more information go to: http://qlccfriends.com//kupaa/shc/2004/facts/index.htm.

     The Couer d'Alene Tribe of Washington pledged $5 million, in August, for clean up of Couer d'Alene Basin, including Lake, Couer d'Alene, from pollution from mining, contingent on the state and federal governments providing matching funds. The Mattaponi Indian Tribe and environmentalists are concerned that the Virginia resources Commission has issued a permit to the City of Newport News to begin construction of a reservoir, rather than deferring that decision until an eight year study of the river and the species that live in and around it is completed.

     The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (NMMFA), which funded $17.5 million in American Indian housing from 1992-2003, is funding two Low Income Housing Tax Credit projects, building and rehabbing a total of 79 units at Laguna Pueblo. In addition, NMMFA is undertaking a first time leveraging of a tribes HUD money to rehab 20 housing units at Laguna, Tesuque, Picuris and Pojaque pueblos.

     The Chickasaw and Citizen Potawatomi nations of Oklahoma donated a share of the costs of building interstate exits near their casinos, leading the Oklahoma highway department to give those projects top priority. With Oklahoma road maintenance funds down the year, the Sac and Fox Nation's Highway Road and Bridge Program has stepped in with $31.5 million to improve roads bridges on its land, in three counties and four cities for safety and economic development.

     In June, Oklahoma held its annual Sovereignty Symposium, sponsored by the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Indian Law Section of the Oklahoma Bar Association, to discuss Indian law issues, with the Governor and representatives of 37 of Oklahoma's 39 Tribes in attendance.

     Representatives of Navajo Nation, Chihuahua, Mexico, and three U.S. states met, in June, to discuss animal health and livestock identification, amidst outbreaks of botulism among cattle, and agreed to form a regional consortium, that would seek U.S. federal funding.

     New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici and Representative Tom Udall commented in, in September, that the $1.2 billion price tag on the proposed settlement of Navajo Water rights is much more than Congress is likely to appropriate. Santa Fe, NM City councilors, in September, approved a 50 year lease with the Jicarilla Apaches, for the tribe to deliver the city 3,000 acre feet of Rio Grande water a year. In August, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry announced the implementing of a plan to relocate families from the Tar Creek Superfund Site in northeastern Oklahoma, where many members of the Quapaw Tribe live. A member of the Quawpaw Business Committee was appointed, by the governor, to the trust authority overseeing the relocation.

     Southeast State Missouri State University, by unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees, has dropped the "Indians" sports team nickname and mascot that it used for over 80 years. Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington, VT dropped its Indian Mascot.

 

Tribal Developments

     Research on seven Native American tribes, reported on in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the suggests that tribal members who were abused or sent to boarding school as children are more likely to have problems with alcohol later in life. Men were almost twice as likely to abuse alcohol if they had experienced a combination of physical and sexual abuse as children. Women were almost twice as likely to have alcohol problems if they had been sexually abused and attended boarding school. The relationship between being removed to boarding school and drinking has previously been noted by tribal elders, but this is the first medical study to confirm it. The study involved members of tribes in Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Oregon, Maine and Arizona, The percentage of alcohol dependent tribe members varied significantly among tribes, from only 1% to 2% percent in one tribe to 56% of the men in another. Across all the tribes, 30% of the men and18% of the women were diagnosed with some form of alcohol dependence. More than half said that they had at least one parent with alcohol problems. Women who knew more about their tribal languages had a higher risk of alcohol problems, while women who lived close to their tribal communities were less likely to abuse alcohol. However, the same was not the case for men. For more information contact researcher Mary Koss at (520)626-9502 or mpk@u.arizona.edu. Stephen Zuckerman and others, "Health Service Access, Use, and Insurance Coverage Among American  Indians/Alaska Natives and Whites: What Role does the Indian Health  Service Play?" in American Journal of  Public Health, vol. 94, no. 1 (January 2004), finds that 35% of American Indians and Alaskan Natives are uninsured and the problem is worse among  those with low-incomes. The reach of the Indian Health Services (IHS) is limited with less than half of uninsured natives identifying IHS as a source of coverage and care. Native American health centers of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, the Chickasaw Nation and the Choctaw Nation are working with the University of Oklahoma Children's Physicians diabetes Center to test treatment regimes for the growing number of Oklahoma children with type 2 diabetes, with the help of a $1.4 million NIH grant.

     Status of Alaska Natives 2004, prepared for the Alaska Federation of Natives by the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic research, reported that the health, wealth and social condition of Alaska Native has improved steadily since the 1960's, but continues to lag behind that of non-Native Alaskans. For example, while Alaska Native education and employment levels have improved considerably, bringing higher per capita incomes, three times as many native as non-native Alaskans are in poverty. Improved sanitation, housing and medical care in rural Alaska have dramatically enhanced Native health over the last 40 years, never the less life expectancy for Native Alaskans is lower, and the rate of violent death higher, than for non-natives. While Native teenagers are graduating from high school and attending college at record rates, they drop out of high school twice as often as non-natives. 119,000 people claimed native heritage in the 2000 census, 20% of the state population, and the native population is projected to reach 165,000 by the 2020 census. Almost 45% are under 20 years of age. Many Native Alaskans are moving to cities, with 17% more women doing so then men. Less then 50% of Native Alaskans have full time jobs, compared with 73% of non-natives. Native per capita income is rising faster than non-native income, to reach $13,000 a year, currently half of non-native per capita income. The U.S. Census of 2000, for the first time, counted Native Pacific Islanders, indigenous people of U.S. territory from such places as Hawai'i, the Marshall Islands, Guam, and Samoa. Native Pacific Islanders have very low graduation rates and are greatly under represented in higher education. Yet miscalculation prevents them from being eligible for federal native scholarships.

     Agricultural Research Service scientists at the ARS Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center (GFHNRC) in Grand Forks, N.D. have identified several nutritional and physical activity factors that affect chronic health diseases among American Indians. More than 60 percent of the survey participants indicated they had a family member who had been diagnosed with diabetes. Food insecurity was a problem among 26 percent of those surveyed. That meant that during the previous 12 months, they had experienced various degrees of limited or uncertain access to nutritionally adequate and safe foods. Depression-related symptoms were found to be associated with poorer health, less exercise, food insecurity, higher body mass index in females, carbohydrate intake in males and tobacco use. Depression scores were highest among those reporting lower income, more children, and food insecurity. But they were lowest among those reporting a stronger identity with their native culture. The data will be used for designing and implementing effective interventions to improve health and quality of life among American Indians. A more detailed report of this research is in the July issue of Agricultural Research magazine, online at:http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul04/indian0704.htm. For more information contact Rosalie Marion Bliss, Agricultural Research Service, USDA News Service, (301) 504-4318, rbliss@ars.usda.gov.

     "Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States," developed from U.S. Census data, reports that last year 23% of single race native families lived below the poverty line, which is double the national rate. Almost 28% of single race Native Americans were without health insurance, compared with 15.1% of all Americans. Mean Native American Income dropped 1.6% over the last three years to $33.024, while nationally median family income fell .6% to $43,527. Despite ongoing economic development, Native Americans remain at the bottom of every socio-economic indicator.

     Eileen M. Luna-Firebaugh, reports in "Incarcerating Ourselves: Tribal Jails and Corrections," in The Prison Journal, vol. 83,  no. 1 (March 2003), that,  "Many Indian nations are creating and running jails regardless of the  costs, because they have determined that they can provide custodial  services near home communities and with cultural and traditional components that are not met by mainstream facilities. They have also determined that the provision of essential law enforcement and custodial services are opportunities to expand tribal sovereignty in  important ways." However, because the Bush Administration did not budget for three new jails to replace overcrowded and crumbling corrections facilities at Shiprock and Crownpoint, NM and Kayenta, AZ, the Navajo Nation will have to continue to release convicted criminals into the community, often moments after sentencing, The U.S. Attorney's Office in Flagstaff, AZ, commented that, within the current situation, the crime rate on the Navajo Nation is six times the national average. Similarly, when Navajo Nation police catch illegal aliens, they most often have to let them go, because federal authorities usually cannot pick them up quickly, and Navajo Nation does not have the funds to feed them.

     In South Dakota, the law enforcement agencies of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and The Oglala Sioux Tribe received grants totaling $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Program, announced in September. The Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety received a $4.7 million COPS grant, in October, The Pine Ridge Reservation is receiving a new 911 dispatch center, replacing outdated equipment received in the 1970’s. The White Buffalo Calf Woman Society, Inc., of Mission, SD and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe received grants totaling $300,000, in September, for combating domestic violence on the Rosebud reservation. Zuni and Laguna Pueblos received part of a $1.1 million dollar Department of Justice Grant to fight Domestic Violence. Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to suffer domestic violence than members of any other ethnic group. The Region 2 Drug Task Force in Farmington, NM reports that Methamphetamine is outpacing all other drug use on the Navajo Reservation and has become a major problem.

     The First Annual Arizona American Indian Health Conference: 'Tradition, Culture, and Well-being, The Path to Wellness in the New Millennium" took place August 3-5, at the Double Tree La Posada Resort in Phoenix, AZ. For more information contact Sun Health Research Institute, Attn: Minne Jim, B.S.W., 10515 W. Santa Fe Drive Sun City, AZ 85351 (623) 875-6500, minnie.jim@sunhealth. The Arizona Telemedicine Program, Tuba city Regional Health Care Corporation and Tuba City Community Health Representative program, assisted by the Navajo Division of Health, has set up a telemedicine program with closed circuit TV that now allows residents in two Navajo chapters to consult with doctors as far away as Tucson, AZ.

    National Tribal Telecommunications Association President, J.D. Williams told participants at the Federal Communications Commission Indian Telecommunications Initiatives Workshop, in Rapid City, in May, that if tribes want to have decent telephone and internet service, they should either establish their own telecommunications companies or regulatory commissions. Some Navajo Nation residents, who qualify for federal programs for low income people, are receiving cell phones with 300 minutes a month and free 911 service for $1 a month from Cellular One, under a federal subsidy program.

     The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named Nine Mile Canyon in Utah, with 10,000 petroglyphs, to be among the top 11 most endangered historic places in America, because of plans for extensive oil and gas exploration by the Bureau of Land Management. Elsewhere, petroglyphs are also under threat. For example, the City of Albuquerque is including in its current bond issue proposition, on the November ballot, funding for a road through the Petroglyphs National Monument. A Tohono O'odham petroglyph was chiseled out and stolen near the nation's sacred  Baboquivari Mountain.

     AMERIND, a risk management organization composed of 450 tribes, created the Tribal Family Emergency Fund after the forest fires that swept through southern California reservations and continues to help native people who have not recovered from the burn.

     The Catawba Nation of South Carolina, this summer, completed the third stage of its Green Earth housing development, consisting of a 17 apartment building and 48 houses. The work, undertaken by the nation under the Native American Housing and Self Determination Act of 1996, was completed by the nation in several months, as opposed to the several years previously necessary for HUD projects. HUD Grants totaling $2.2 million, to improve housing, were announced, in September, for the Nambe, Jemez, Pojaque, Zia and Santa Clara Pueblos in New Mexico. The Mississippi Choctaw Tribe received a HUD grant of 400,000 which will be supplemented with other funds to build 27 new houses for low income people. The Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota has completed its new $6.1 million North Segment Multi-Purpose Community Center, housing a senior citizens center, a gymnasium for local sports teams, classrooms for struggling students and hydrotherapy pools to treat people with diabetes. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North Dakota has won the Fannie Mae Foundation 'Fulfilling the American Dream Award' for its low income housing tax credit program, which since 2001 has created partnerships to invest more than $18 million to build 192 single family rental homes. Standing Rock still has a waiting list of 300 members for housing. In California, the Tule River Tribe, with 175 people waiting for housing, has purchased an 885 acre ranch on which to build homes. Second hand smoke is a major cancer threat in many native buildings, especially on many reservations where there are no smoking policies. But the substandard housing and inadequate maintenance money, that pervades many reservations, also is a factor, including being subject to mold, which can cause major health problems, even in desert areas. Some native nations have been taking action against mold and other indoor air pollutants, including the Makah in very wet Washington. The Inter Tribal council of Arizona, runs an indoor air quality environmental education program, funded by EPA,

     Despite continuing difficulties for American Indians and Alaska Natives to obtain mortgages, lending to native people in the U.S. for housing increased from $4.5 billion in 2002 to $6.7 Billion in 2003, largely for reasons discussed in early editions of this journal. Yet, data from the Federal Financial Institution Examination Council shows that the number of mortgages to Native Americans fell 5% from 2002-2004, while the number of housing loans to Caucasians and other minorities increased by 11%-18%. Seneca Nation of New York is using part of a $300 bond to create a $10 million tribal mortgage program.

     Following negotiations between the Navajo and Hopi Nations, required by the BIA before Navajo development or property improvement can be undertaken in the "Bennett Freeze Area" of the historic Hopi-Navajo land dispute, 82 Navajo homes in that area are receiving electricity.

     The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Tribal Council voted to ban same sex marriage, in June, following two female tribal members applying for and receiving a marriage license

     The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma voted at a general meeting, in September, to hold a referendum on a new constitution that would replace the current system of government by a business committee, with direct legislative and executive power, that also oversees the tribal court and prosecutor, with a governor, lieutenant governor and legislature. The governor would have veto power and the ability to break ties in the legislature. The new constitution with divided power is intended to address long standing claims of financial corruption in tribal government.

     In April the Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado, which has experimented with various ways of bringing back traditional principles of inclusiveness to build community consensus using contemporarily appropriate means, held its first "open forum" general meeting, with no prior agenda, to allow tribal members to raise concerns with the tribal council as the members saw fit. At various times, the Southern Utes have moved toward inclusiveness by: changing from quarterly to monthly general meetings; having a monthly tribal council meeting at which any tribal member could have an individual meeting with the council to discuss concerns or complaints about tribal services, programs or government; and working with a consensus decision making process, the "Design Team," to build coordination amongst social services with community input.

     The process of decentralization of authority from the Navajo Nation central government to the 110 chapters took a step forward, in October, when the Sweetwater Chapter became the first to have its Local Governance Act Community Land Use Plan approved by the Navajo Nation Council's  Transportation and Community Development Committee. The process is being assisted by the Shiprock Agency Local Government Support Center. Public participation at Navajo Nation is currently reflected in public commentary being called for in the regular evaluation, led by the Navajo Nation's Supreme Court Chief Justice, of 12 judges. In addition, registered Navajo voters living in Albuquerque, Denver, Salt Lake City and Phoenix, can now vote in tribal elections in the cities where they reside. In Phoenix, a Navajo poling station is at the Phoenix Indian Center.

     The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana fired its elections official, July 7, for accepting recall petitions against the Tribal Chair and two other members of the tribal council.

_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_

 

Economic Developments

     Navajo Nation’s Navajo Agricultural Products Industry had a profit of $3.3 million for the fiscal year ending in May, up by $1.4 million from the preceding year. Over all, the 2002-03 Navajo Nation audit showed that oil and gas royalties rose by $4.5 million, over 2001-02, to $21.5 million and coal royalties increased in excess of $12.6 million to $66.4 million, while tax revenue increased from $40.6 million to $58 million, despite a decrease of $5.3 million in the business activity tax, which fell to $16.3 million. During the 2002 fiscal year, the stock market went up, increasing the Navajo Permanent Trust Fund by about $66 million. The Navajo Division of Economic Development, stated in August, that individual incomes on the Navajo Reservation totaled $1. billion, excluding welfare and general assistance payments which add an additional $50 million.

     The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin, and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians of Californaia and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians of California are the majority investors in a joint venture with Donohoe Development Co, and others, to build and run the Marriott Residence Inn, scheduled to open adjacent to the National Museum of the American Indian, in Washington, DC, in January.

     The Governor of Maine, on September 30, announced a plan under which prescription drugs would be imported from Canada by a wholesale distribution center run by the Penobscot Nation, which would make them available to retail drug stores in the state, providing Maine consumers lower prices.

     San Carlos Lake, a reservoir behind Coolidge dam, in June had dropped to 2% of its storage capacity as a result of extreme drought, excessive pumping upstream and a failure to maintain a minimum pool of water. The San Carlos Apaches, whose fishery - and hence economy - will be devastated by a fish kill if a minimum water level is not maintained, have petitioned Interior Secretary Gail Norton and Congress to have Interior, who runs the dam, maintain a minimum pool of 75,000 acre feet at the reservoir. But the dam and reservoir also supply the San Carlos Irrigation project, providing water and electric power to the Gila River Indian Community and other farmers down stream. A delegation of Congressman looking into Indian housing, in May, heard that the San Carlos Apaches suffer from a 76% unemployment rate and a 77% poverty rate. 39% of San Carlos families live in substandard housing and 40% in overcrowded housing. The tribe estimates that 1250 new houses are required to meet housing needs. Infrastructure on the reservation is considerably substandard. The sewage treatment system is so dilapidated that it is causing health risks for neighboring communities. Water storage capacity is 24% under current community needs, and would have to be increased if new housing were to be built. Fire fighting equipment is inadequate. The tribal Chair commented that federal funding related to housing is inadequate, recommending a nationwide 3% increase, as opposed to the $7 million cut in Indian housing proposed by the White House.

     The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, in June, announced a major economic development project that would offer its 450 members, scattered across from Pocatello Idaho to the Salt Lake City area, the opportunity to relocate on 9,000 acres near the Idaho-Utah boarder. The project has a diversified strategy, including building a resort, renewable energy, a power plant, a financial institution, a construction company, a technology facility and a travel plaza, The technology entity, NWB Technology. and the construction company has already won contracts that could lead to federal payments of up to $800 million, if it demonstrate its qualifications for the projects, and the construction entity has a contract to build a water storage facility at Northern Ute. NWB technology, which has a $200 million contract with the Department of the Interior and a $1.2 million contract for translation services with the Department of Justice,, recently won the Best Rural Technology Newcomer Award from the Utah Smart Sites Program, citing the firms DVD creation skills and client relationship management.

     The National Indian Gaming Commission announced, in July, that Indian casino revenue rose $2 billion, or 13.7%, to $16.7 billion from 2002 to 2003 at 330 Casinos operated by 224 Indian nations. The 43 most profitable casinos each produced over $100 million in revenue last year. The 73 least profitable each generated less than $3 million, and the average income of the group was just over $1 million. . The growth rate was 17% in 2001, 14.8% in 2002 and 13.7% last year.  In 2003. for the third straight year, the growth of Indian gaming revenues dropped, Last year, New York State had the largest increase of Indian gaming revenue over the prior year: 119% equaling,  $549 million. Last year California had the most Indian gaming revenue, $4.2 billion, Connecticut was second with $2 billion, and Minnesota third at  $1.4 billion. Revenues from Oklahoma's 73 casinos grew at a record rate of 89.3% from $245.7 million in 2001 to $465.9 million in 2003, as set forth in a report by the Analysis Group. During the second quarter, Arizona Indian casinos $18.2 million to the state in revenue sharing, compared with $14.8 million for the first quarter.

     In Connecticut, Foxwoods Resort Casino reported revenues of $74.6 million for August, with $18.6 million going to the state, while Mohegan Sun casino's slot machines took in $72.4 million, of which $18.1 million went to the city of Hartford.  Funding from gaming is beginning to bring increased services for the Seneca Nation in New York. In June the nation began making home mortgages available to tribal members. Kidney dialysis is now available on reservation. Tribal members willing to return home to practice their professional skills are starting to receive financial support for earning advanced degrees. Private tutoring in reading for young people is starting to be available. Other new or increased social services are on the horizon. The Seminole Nation of Florida reports that the Casinos it opened this year in Tampa and Hollywood, FL are employing 8,000 people, and together with previous tribal gaming are raising what has been an extremely poor tribal membership out of poverty, while considerably helping surrounding low income communities. Currently Seminole tribal members receive $42,000 a year, along with free health care and college tuition, as a result of gaming.

    On July 1, The California Legislature passed, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed, a bill enacting the new state-tribal gaming compacts with the Pala Band of Mission Indians, the Rumsey Band of Wintu, the United Auburn Indian Community, the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay and the Pauma Band of Nission Indians, that will bring the state $1 billion in revenue this year and $200 million a year through 2030, in return for allowing tribes to expand the number of slot machines (for which they will pay a license fee) they operate and maintaining the exclusive right to operate slots. The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians, at the end of August, with the apparent support of Governor Schwarzenegger, appeared cleared to begin building a Casino in San Pablo, CA, ten minutes from down town Oakland and 20 minutes from downtown San Francisco (at least with decent driving conditions. prior to the opening of the casino). The gaming facility is expected to net around $500 million, which would make it the most profitable Indian gaming facility in the state.  The City of Banning, in Riverside County, CA, plans to issue a $145 million bond to pay for the the Cabazon Band of Mission Indian's new casino and hotel, saving the tribe an estimated $25 million over the life of the loan. The IRS has challenged a similar venture, in May, involving Gulf Breeze, FL $345 million bond issue benefiting the Seminole Tribe's casino development. In Oklahoma, the Sac and Fox Nation opened its first casino, in Shawnee, in July, while in the same month the Osage Nation opened its largest casino, at Sand Springs.

     The Oneida Nation of New York opened a new 19 story luxury hotel, on October 1, at its Turning Stone casino. The National Indian Gaming Commission, in August. upheld its earlier decision to require the closing of the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians Shodakai Casino on their rancheria in Mendocino County in northern California, with law suits between the state and the tribe unresolved. However, in August, Federal Circuit Judge Claudia Wilkins allowed the Casino to remain open for an additional 60 days for the tribe to negotiate a compact with the state. The Mohegan Sun Casino, announced in July, that it is investing $6.5 million in a venture by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to build a casino in La Center, WA.

     In Minnesota, where 18 tribes operate gaming facilities, the Leach Lake Band of Ojibwe, with the support of Governor Tim Pawlenty, has joined the Red Earth Nation and the White Earth Reservation in seeking a casino in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, as their home territories are too isolated to draw customers to on reservation enterprises. Governor Pawlenty announced in January that he intends to force the states gaming nations, whose compacts have no expiration date or revenue sharing, back to the bargaining table by threatening to have the legislature allow non-Indian gaming. The Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska and the Kickapoo Nation of Kansas signed an agreement with the Mayor of Kansas City, in July, to develop an 80 acre tract near the Kansas City Speedway for a resort casino-hotel complex. An agreement on a compact for the Casino was reached with Kansas Governor Katleen Sebelius, in October, under which the state projects receiving $40-$50 million a year, The Mohican Gaming Authority has purchased The Downs Racing Inc, a Poconos horse racing facility in Pennsylvania and five off track betting operations.

      The Meskwaki tribe of Iowa and the state have agreed on a new gaming compact to succeed the one that expired in August. The North Dakota legislature is considering legislation to give it a role in the compacting process.

     The Navajo Nation Council, in August, passed a bill authorizing five chapters to having gaming facilities, and then removed what would have been a third referendum on allowing Navajo gaming from the ballot, that it had previously authorized for the upcoming election. The Nation's President then vetoed the bill, and it is not known at this writing if the veto will be overridden. Hopi Nation voters, in May, voted against tribal gaming.

     The Interior Department approved a gaming compact between New Mexico and the Mescalero Apache Tribe, in August, that New Mexico Governor Richardson approved in June, settling a dispute between the tribe and the state. The Jicarilla Apache Nation, of northern New Mexico, opened its Apache Nugget Casino on U.S. 550 in August.

     American Indian leaders spoke on their wish to prevent and cure of gambling addiction at the 18th Annual Conference on Research, Prevention and Treatment of Problem Gambling, in Phoenix, AZ, in June. In Arizona, $759,140 of the money gambling tribes have shared with the state has gone to dealing with problem gambling.

     American Indians work 6% of U.S. farmland, according to data from the 2003 Census of Agriculture. and sold $1.64 billion in agricultural products in 2002, with $781 million in crops and $857 in livestock. The Census identified 42,300 Native American farm operators,,22% of whom live in Oklahoma, 12% in Arizona, 8% in Texas, 7% in New Mexico and 5% in California. About 10% of the agricultural operations were on reservations. 50% of the Indian farmers said that agriculture was their primary operation, compared to 54% of all American agriculturists, while 63% of Indian farm operators have other part time or full time employment, compared to 56% of all U.S. farmers. The Oneida Nation of New York's farming and Black Angus herding is beginning to become profitable, and returning the nation to its agricultural tradition. A routine price adjustment by the BIA has raised grazing fees on the Fort Belknap Reservation, in Montana by 51% to $16 an animal unit a month, the highest in Montana and Wyoming. The increase provides more money for holders of allotments on which grazing takes place, but Indian ranchers complain that the BIA's formula is in error, and is pricing them from grazing on their own reservation (unless there are available leases on tribal land, where the grazing fees are lower). The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe of Minnesota, with collaboration from the state Department of Natural Resources, is applying a $40,000 BIA Circle of Flight Program grant to study how wild rice production can be restored by removing, relocating or modifying the Buckmore Dam at the Outlet of Ogechie Lake.

     The Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma purchased the Newcastle Paper, a weekly newspaper, and the Early Bird Express, a free Newcastle shopper, in June.

     Indigenous Community Enterprises (ICE) has been building new hogans for family housing on the Navajo reservation, under contract with the Navajo Housing Authority. The hogans can be expanded with add-ons on any of their eight sides. The Tlingit Nation of Alaska's, Klukwan, Inc has a subsidiary, Chilkat Cruises operating three Alaskan ferries successfully, carrying more then 6100 passengers in 2003. Two thirds of the employees and half the management team are native.

     The Department of Labor has awarded the Siseton-Wahpeton Oyate Youth Build project a $3 million grant to fund education and work training programs for at risk youth 14-24, as part of its first Youth Offender Demonstration Project with an Indian nation. The Mississippi Choctaw Nation signed a contract, in July, with helicopter manufacturer Agusta Westland to train 500 workers in making wire harnesses for the aerospace industry. S & K Electronics, owned by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana, has gained a $50,000 contract with NASA to produce medical monitors that are worn like a necklace.

     Congressionally funded fish restoration along the Columbia River has assisted, significantly, in vastly increasing the number of returning salmon over the past few years, leading the Nez Perce, Warm Springs, Umatila and Yakama nations, which have done their own fish conservation work, to develop their fishing potential and marketing. Current projections are that increased salmon fishing will greatly improve the economies of the four tribes. The Hopi Nation is exploring developing wind generated electricity, and, possibly later on, solar power from photo voltaic cells, in an effort to attain ecological and economic sustainability. There is a possibility that the nation could become involved in the Sterling Energy wind farm, if that is selected to replace the Mohave Generating station, which uses Hopi coal from Black Mesa and coal slurry water from the N-Aquifer. The Hopi Nation has signed a contract with the Cibola Valley Irrigation and Drainage District, in Southwestern Arizona, to purchase water rights to 6000 acre feet of water for $8.4 million for as yet undefined future economic development.

     The 6th annual Great Plains Regional/Tribal Economic Summit, at Fort Yates, ND, in May, focused on renewable energy development, as an increasing number of tribes are becoming involved in wind energy generation. The Rosebud reservation, in South Dakota, has begun to build wind generators, and the tribal council recently approved building an entire wind turbine electricity farm. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has formed Cherokee ConneX, a high speed wireless provider to serve the greater Tulsa area, with offices in Tulsa. For details call Ron Gates, (918)745-1919, sales@cnxusa.com.

    The Agua Caliente Band of Cahilla Indians, whose reservation encompasses most of downtown Palm Springs, CA, operates a HUBzone and military business project. Self-employed people who live in HUB zones, and businesses 35% or more of whose employees live in a HUBzone, have a preference in competing for U.S. government contracts, and other advantages. The project assists retired military officers start new careers, often in government consulting, and entrepreneurs starting new ventures. All Indian reservations, and some other "historically underutilized areas" for business have been designated HUBzones, but the Agua Caliente's location gives it a unique advantage for capitalizing on its zone.

     Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly operate a Visitors Interpretive Center at the For Corners Monument. The Hualapai Tribe plans to build a skywalk on its reservation that overlooks the Grand Canyon. The Fort Mcdowell Yavapai Nation of Arizona opened its Eagle View RV Resort in October.

     Banks have increasingly been loaning money tribal businesses and ventures, even as a Cambridge study produced last year estimated Indian country purchasing power at $41 billion. A number of problems continue to exist, however, for tribes and tribal members to obtain capital, including the difficulty in securing collateral on trust land and less than excellent credit histories. The Absentee Shawnee Band is becoming the fourth tribe in Oklahoma to enter the banking business, by building a bank, to be completed by the end of the year, out of a desire to help low income tribal members. Hopi Credit Association, which has been providing business and housing loans to tribal members since 1952, may soon offer car loans. The Native American Bank, in recognition of its tangible performance in fulfilling its basic mission, received A Treasury Department Community Development Financial Institutions Fund award of $707,415 for community development.

     The United Tribes University Center, in Bismarck, ND received notice, in September, of a three year grant of more than $325,000 from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration to promote individual and tribal enterprises on reservations in Colorado, North and South Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, Utah and Wyoming.

 

 

Educational and Cultural Developments

     The Alutiiq Museum, in Kodiak, AK, received a $171,000 federal grant to help expand a master-apprentice language program aimed at preserving the Alutiiq language. The money is part of $3.5 million in grants from the Administration for Native Americans to Alaska programs announced, in July, by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. Lake Area Technical Institute and Sisseton-Wahpeton College are collaborating to preserve and teach the Dakotah language. Information gathered by SWC is being used to develop  a multimedia language tutorial. The work of a group of Sto:lo elders, has led to the creation of a Halq'emeylem language program that will enable students to earn a Developmental Standard Teaching Certificate that will allow them to teach the language to others. For more information go to: http://tinyurl.com/6dvcb

     Humboldt State University's American Indian Professional Development certificate programs offer opportunities for community residents to learn skills toward careers in education and health. More details about the American Indian Professional development certificate programs can be found at http//:www.humboldt.edu/~extended/special/AIE.html or by phoning Extended Ed.

     Financial mismanagement, unstable leadership and declining enrollment of American Indian students are threatening the survival of D-Q University, California's only tribal college. The small Yolo County college - which has had three presidents since March - has lost nearly 18 percent of its $1.6 million budget since the Bureau of Indian Affairs pulled roughly $277,000 in funding because D-Q's enrollment of Indian students had plummeted. In separate reports, issued last month, the U.S. Department of Education and a higher education accreditation agency outlined a multitude of other financial and management problems that raise questions about how long D-Q University can remain open and offer two- year degrees. D-Q leaders - current and former - say the key to saving the college will be enlisting broad support in the American Indian community. As of mid August, D-Q's new leaders were writing a new budget, hiring faculty and staff, recruiting students, painting dormitory rooms and planning new programs in anticipation of fall classes beginning on august 23. In August, the U.S Department of education's Tribally Controlled Colleges and University program granted $3.1 million to Blackfoot community College, $1.4 million to Stone Child College on the Rocky Boy Reservation, $1.2 million to Fort Belknap College. The funding to the Montana Indian colleges will be for new projects and construction over several years.

     The University of Minnesota Law School is offering a course, American Indian Law for Tribal Officials and Employees, to help strengthen the infrastructure of local tribal governments by providing a basic education to tribal governmental officials and future tribal leaders on Indian law and other issues relevant to tribal governance. The course, which is geared primarily to non-lawyers, is designed to provide a basic understanding of tribal sovereignty and the complex relationship between tribal governments, tribal members, the United States and state governments from a legal perspective. For information, contact Cheryl Casey, (612) 624-1885, or Professor Kevin Washburn, (612) 624-3869.

     American University offers one semester Washington Internships for Native Students (WINS), including graduate students, to work and study in Washington. The program combines a full-time internship in a Federal Agency with traditional university courses for up to 12 hours credit, fall and spring, and 6 credit hours in the summer. The WINS program sponsorship includes: transportation to and from Washington DC, daily subway fare, full tuition, housing in American University's Tenley Campus dormitories, a meal plan, stipend, as well as planned social and cultural activities and field trips. Applications for the program fall in February for summer. For more information contact Washington Semester American Indian Program, Washington Internships for Native Students (WINS) (800)853-3076, wins@american.edu, www.american.edu/wins.

     In Arizona, the U.S. Department of Education offered grants to improve Indian education to Dine College ($1952,618), Page United School, Page ($338.494) and Singer Community School, Winslow ($479,851), in July. The Chickasaw Foundation awarded 17 college scholarships, totaling over $$26,000, at the 4th annual Chickasaw Foundation Scholarship Reception, in July. The Morongo Tribe, of California, gave out three $10,000 scholarships, in June, for which any California Indian student was eligible to be considered.

     The Future Leaders of Native Nations (FLNN) is a one week Leadership Program designed specifically for American Indian students who will be in grades 8-11 in the fall, held at Camp Conrad Chinock in the San Bernardino Mountains of California. During their time at camp young leaders begin to explore their own leadership potential by participating in workshops and interactive enrichment activities created to empower them. The students are given an opportunity to learn and explore group dynamics, human development, communication skills, organizational development and high school success skills. Each student has an Individual Academic Plan created for him/her. This plan is done for each student's specific high school, so that they are given a clear path to entering college after their high school graduation. For information contact Chris Sandoval: (909) 779-2980, (909) 936-7902, cfstribal@yahoo.com.

     Kentucky's high school dropout rate declined for a third straight year, in 2002-03, for boys and girls alike and for all ethnic groups except American Indians, according to data released by the state Department of Education.

     The Ukiah Unified School District in California last month approved an Indian Education Policy that was developed over a year's time in negotiations between representatives of local tribes and school officials. The policy, endorsed by the Mendocino County Tribal Chairs' Association and several local tribes, acknowledges that federally recognized tribes are sovereign nations and have an inherent authority over the formal education of their members, recognizing the unique government-to-government relationship between tribes and federal and state governments. To support and strengthen educational opportunities for Native American students in the school district, the district will work closely with the tribes to provide programs that will help to support equal access to a quality education for all Native American students. Major areas of concern that are identified in the policy include encouraging parent and family involvement, improving student attendance, and recognition of values, philosophies, expectations and attitudes and their effect on the education of Native Americans. Sealaska Heritage Institute, a private foundation in Juneau, has received a $850,000 federal education grant to work with knowledgeable local Indian education and culture people to develop culturally friendly high school curricula to assist native students in passing Alaska's high school exit exam.

     The American Indian Public Charter School, in Oakland, CA, achieved higher student test scores this spring than any other public school in the city. Forty-one percent of it eighth-graders were proficient in English, compared with 18 percent citywide. In math, 32 percent of the school's eighth-graders met the standard, compared with 8 percent district wide. Principal Ben Chavis downplays computers in favor of talented teachers. Starting teachers at American Indian earn $42,000 a year, while Chavis pays himself a minimal annual salary of $36,000, less than half of what a public school administrator would make. He says, "I hire teachers who are willing to fight for the right of our kids to learn, and I'll fight for them myself,...Most principals are lazy, and when schools aren't performing well, we blame the parents and the kids when we should blame the principal. The principal is the coach.'' Chavis, a former college miler, runs his Oakland school like a head track coach. He honors and rewards students with perfect attendance and displays their names on a big bulletin board in the school's lobby. Those with perfect attendance for the school year are given cash rewards from his pocket. He states, "I think it's easier to work with poor kids, because they are hungry for success, and I want kids who've never had good coaching. I give them the best coaches, the best of everything.'' For more information contact Chip Johnson, 483 Ninth St., Suite 100, Oakland, CA 94607, chjohnson@sfchronicle.com, http://tinyurl.com/3oo5h

Hopi High School at Keams Canyon, AZ boasts an 87% graduation rate, as opposed to 63% for all Indian students, nation wide, and 76% for all Arizona students. This success is attributed partly to the school's teaching the Hopi and Navajo languages, along with cultural teachings and native tradition. Other factors are parent involvement, a 90% teacher retention rate, regular meetings with counselors, after school tutoring with bus service to distant homes, and a Second Chance Program for students who do not complete English on the first attempt. Several programs encourage college attendance, including the offering of some classes with college credit. The Upward Bound program takes students to the Northern Arizona University Campus to meet its students and provide a five week summer session. Ten students attended the Hopi Harvard Summer, in 2003, attending Harvard Medical School classes.

     Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, Experimental Research in Culturally Based Education: An Assessment of Feasibility: Final Paper, prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. (The Laboratory, Portland, Oregon, ,June 2004, found, "Survey results strongly suggest that community involvement is critical and needs to take place early. Not only would the research need support and approval from various community agencies, its design and implementation would also require extensive input from stakeholders. Of particular importance is support and buy-in from tribal councils, school boards, and parents. To that end, we recommend that the process of site selection, as well as designing experimental research include ample opportunities for Native community input and dialogue." The full text can be obtained at:  www.nwrel.org/indianed/cbe/2004.pdf.

     The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, in Oregon, opened their own charter high school, in August. Nixyaawi Community School focuses on project based learning to teach students Indian history, culture and language in the course of studying standard subjects. The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Arizona has opened Salt River High School. The charter school serves almost 300 students, includes Indian studies curricula and requires learning of the O'odham language. Zuni Pueblo and the New Mexico Department of Public Education signed an agreement, under the New Mexico Native Language and Culture Act of 2002, in August, to collaborate in finding qualified teachers of the Zuni language for the Pueblo's schools.

     The Kalespel Tribe of Washington, working with their own version of the Read Right program, which increases young persons’ ability to read, last year, entered a cooperative literacy program with the Cusick school district, nearly half of whose students are Indian. Of the 97 students who received 20 or more hours instruction in the program, during the year, 80% gained two or more grade levels in reading and 24% advanced four or more grade levels. The Navaho and Yupik nations are also employing Read Right with children, and the Kalespel Tribe has used it to help foreign employees at its casino learn English.

     In South Dakota 15% of the public schools rank in the No Child Left Behind "school [needs] improvement" category, and half of these have a predominantly Indian student body. A number of the predominantly Indian schools have improved in test scores, recently. At Walkpala High School, on the Standing Rock Reservation, half the eleventh graders were reading below the basic level in 2003, but all scored in reading at the basic level or higher in 2004. Bennett County schools, with students predominantly from the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations, had two schools that improved sufficiently, last year, to move out of the improvement category: Bennett County Junior and Senior High Schools. Eagle Butte High School showed improvement in reading from 2003-2004 but remained below state criteria in reading and math and in the improvement category. The Wagner School district on the Yankton Reservation, which went through a law suite to include Indians on the board of education, had only its junior high school in the improvement category. Throughout the district Indian reading scores average slightly below those of non-Indians, and the difference is narrowing. Statewide, 9% of native students read at the advanced level, compared to 27% for the state. 45% of Indian students read at the proficient level, compared to 50% of all students. 44% of Indian students read at the basic level, compared to 21% of all students. 2% of Indian students read below the basic level, while less than 1% of all South Dakota students do so. Across South Dakota school attendance rates fell a fraction of a percent from 2003-2004, while graduation rates dropped for all students, but at a higher rate for Indian students: from 84%-77% as opposed to the South Dakota drop from 95.9%-92.3%. Many Indian educators and commentators on education approve that the No Child Left Behind Act provides for school accountability, but complain that the act does not take into account that poverty, cultural difference and having English as a second language affect student performance.

     The Chief Leschi School Family and Child Education (FACE) program in Puyallup, Washington, provides individualized educational opportunities for parents while their young children attend on site preschool classes and undertakes home visits to provide education for families. For more information contact Brenda Johnson: (253)445-6000, X3183, brenda@leschi.bia.edu.  The Second Annual Washington State Tribal Indian Summit was held at the Chief Leschi School. in July, focusing on bridging the academic achievement gap and how to meet the needs of native youth. The Tulalip Tribal Employment Rights Office, in Washington, is offering a pre-apprenticeship construction program. Black Mesa Community School, on the Navajo reservation, is seeing some improvement in teaching and learning thanks to teaming up with Corridor, Inc, a school improvement company. Navajo Nation received a $2.5 million Department of Education grant for the Early Childhood Educators Partnership with Southwest Institute for Families and Children with Special Needs, New Mexico State University and Arizona State University, to provide college level professional development for 160 teachers serving 3000 children. It will also establish community-school-family teams to ensure that children are ready to succeed when they enter school. Albuquerque's KNME TV has received a $745,575 U.S. Department of Education grant to for a Head Start Literacy Initiative with New Mexico Pueblos and tribes to improve early literacy.

     Red Shirt Village on the Pine Ridge Reservation, in South Dakota, has received a new school, replacing four used doublewide trailers serving as classrooms for over 20 years. The new $3.8 million facility will also house a community health service office.

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     The Squaxin Island Tribe, of Washington, is endeavoring to restore the Olympic Oyster to Puget Sound beaches for food and as a cultural revival. Oysters planted two years ago have spawned a successful wild oyster bed.

     Harlan McKosito resigned as host of the radio call in show, Native America Calling, in April, to launch First Americans Cable Entertainment System (FACES), which aims at providing 24 hour, seven day a week Indian programming on cable and satellite television.

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International Indigenous Developments

     150 indigenous delegates from around the globe have been involved in the Tenth United Nations Intercessional Working Group on the draft Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous People. It has been a very slow and difficult process developing the language for the 144 proposed articles, with agreement having been reached on only 4 of them. The United States, England, and a few other states have been very resistant to definite requirements for indigenous peoples rights, at times proposing language saying that “states should respect” a stated right, rather than saying that indigenous people have that right. The chair of the working group has been maneuvering to isolate those states. With the working group scheduled to complete its work by the end of the year, some progress toward resolution of the difficult issues has been made this fall. There is a high likelihood that the working group will ask the Economic and Social Council for an additional year to complete the draft declaration. Indigenous participants in the working group from the United States include the Navajo and Huadenosaunee nations, the Indian Law Resource Center, the International Treaty Council and Amnesty International, This fall, a delegation from the Miami Nation in Indiana attended, hoping to gain international support for gaining federal recognition.

     Survival International reports that Indigenous organizations from around the world have criticized the United Kingdom government’s attempts to block the recognition of their rights at the U.N Working Group sessions. Recent negotiations to finalize a UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples were almost wrecked when the British government attempted to remove all references to ‘collective rights’. For more information, go to: http://www.survival-international.org/news.htm.

     The First Minister's Conference on Health, in Canada, in September, involved a dialogue amongst First Nation leaders and Prime Minister Paul Martin, on his proposal for a $700 million plan to improve Native Canadian Health. A long awaited enquiry into the police killing of unarmed aboriginal activist Dudley George at Ipperwash Provincial Park, in Ontario, began in July.

     The British Columbia Government agreed, in September, to pay Weyeraeuser Co. $32 million (Canadian) in a reallocation of logging rights, as part of a program to make more wood available on the open market and to Indian nations, community forests, wood lots and entrepreneurs, by buying 20% of the logging rights held by major licensees.

     The Aboriginal Pipeline Group, a consortium of Native Canadian leaders and business people have partnered to maximize the economic potential of a proposed natural gas pipeline that could carry a $100,000 million (Cdn.) a year from the Northwest Territory's Mackenzie Gas project. The 760 mile Pipeline is expected to begin pumping from in Inuvik in 2010.

     A nationwide strike paralyzed Guatemala on June 8, demanding an end to the wave of land evictions of predominantly indigenous families, and secondarily protesting a proposed regressive tax and the recent signing of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). More than one hundred indigenous rights groups, women's organizations, human rights groups, campesino organizations, and labor unions organized the 12-hour strike that affected most of the country, also supported by a demonstration at the Guatemalan Embassy in Washington, D.C. The general strike ended peacefully, with the coalition of groups that organized it gaining an agreement with the government, signed by President Oscar Berger and Supreme Court‚s Chief Justice José Rolando Quezada Fernandez. For more information contact Rebecca Brigham, associate of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission and a contributor to the IRCs Americas Program: rbrigham@wesleyan.edu, www.americaspolicy.org, or see her see her article online at: http://tinyurl.com/56u7p

     The Brazilian government, in July, unexpectedly halted the demarcation of the Cachoeira Seca territory belonging to the Arara Indians. The tribe, some of whose members were only contacted in 1987, are fighting for survival against major incursions of loggers, land speculators and settlers who have illegally invaded their territory. In August, two leading indigenous organizations published an open denunciation of the Brazilian government, expressing their grave concern at increasing human rights violations against indigenous peoples and the growing threat to their land rights. They accuse the government of 'closing the door on dialogue with indigenous organizations, and of caving in to political and economic interest groups wishing to exploit the natural resources in indigenous territories. On September 8, several hundred Guarani Kaiowá Indians returned to part of their ancestral territory of Guyraroká in Mato Grosso do Sul state, in their fourth attempt to return to their land, from which they were evicted by cattle ranchers and tea planters in the 1950s. For more information go to:
http://www.survival-international.org/news.htm.

Members of the Xavante Tribe, in Mato Grosso, threatened to forcibly evict settlers from their Maraiwatsede reservtion, if the farmers did not leave by August 11. Some 500 tribal members have been camped out on roads near the reservation for nine months. When the reservation was established in 1998, local farmers and ranchers took possession of large portions of it, and were allowed to remain by a 2001 court decision. The Xavante are awaiting a decision on their appeal. On September 9, Xavante and Timbira tribal members demonstrated at the Brazilian National Congress, emphasizing the importance of preserving the ecosystem of their homeland, the vast savannah of central Brazil. The World Wide Fund for Nature has warned, recently, that increasing farming is threatening numerous ecologically sensitive savannahs in Brazil.

     Indians from across Colombia marched for several days, in September, in protest at the killing of their leaders by all sides in the country's civil war. The largest protest involved more than 40,000 members of the Paez, Guambiano and other tribes marching to the south-western city of Cali.

     Raúl Zibechi, "Worker-Run Factories: From Survival to Economic Solidarity," http://www.americaspolicy.org/citizen-action/series/12-factories.html reports that, in response to neoliberal globalization, workers in about 200 workplaces in Argentina, some 100 in Brazil, and more than 20 in Uruguay, have taken direct control of production and operation, functioning without bosses, and sometimes even without foremen, technicians, or specialists. In Argentina, the movement has invented new forms of marketing. These efforts place a priority on ethical and political criteria on how goods are produced and marketed, as they seek to close the gap between producers and consumers by promoting direct, face-to-face relationships. In many instances, the principles of worker-managed production, responsible consumption, and fair trade form part of the solidarity economy that worker-run enterprises and neighborhood organizations are trying to build to break their dependence on the dominant market.

     A symposium sponsored by NAFTA's Commission on Environmental Cooperation, this summer, brought together a mix of scientists, activists and Indian farmers to discuss findings on the effects and possible risks of the presence of genetically modified (GM) maize in Mexico. The presence of this maize growing in peasants' fields has been documented since 2001, first in rural Oaxaca and more recently in other parts of Mexico. Although the import of genetically modified corn is illegal in Mexico, it first arrived as cattle feed, with some of the seeds germinating. The pollen from genetically modified corn then began to fertilize nearby corn, beginning a spreading contamination, threatening the set of relationships that has enabled Mexican peasant farmers to survive for centuries. Mexico is the global center of origin for maize. Nearly 3.2 million small farmers, most producing on ejido farms, cultivate this basic grain and an estimated 35% of production goes to family consumption. A movement in defense of Maize was launched with a January 2002 First Forum in Defense of Maize in Mexico City. Over 300 people participated, including community authorities from many states, members of non-governmental organizations and citizen groups, academics, local and international researchers, and a few government officials. The objective was to discuss how to defend native corn from gene contamination, evaluate government measures to address the problem, and develop a strategy. Since then, a grassroots movement has grown that includes community workshops, local programs to protect native maize varieties, independent genetic testing, and national and international meetings. The discovery that native maize varieties have been contaminated with GM traits has serious implications for agricultural biodiversity. Maize is the world´s third most important agricultural crop after wheat and rice for farming regions all over the world. For more information see: Carmelo Ruiz Marrero "Biodiversity in Danger: The Genetic Contamination of Mexican Maize," Laura Carlsen, " The Movement to Defend Traditional Maize," The Movement to Defend Traditional Maize," and Ramón Vera Herrera, "The Invisible Movement in Defense of Maize (and the Future)", all at: http://www.americaspolicy.org.

     The 1st Americas Social Forum was held in Quito, Ecuador July 25-30, with over 11,000 people from nearly a thousand registered organizations participating in dozens of seminars, workshops, and panels. The Americas forum follows the pattern initiated by the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. In Hyderabad 2003 the Asian Social Forum drew some 15,000 delegates and European Social Forums--Florence (2002) and Paris (2003)--showed the massive support for alternatives to the current globalization model. The Americas Forum revealed a continent in a state of upheaval. The unifying theme was an active rejection of the neoliberal economic model, marked by critiques of free trade agreements, the World Trade Organization, and the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) by numerous NGOs and broad-based peasant and indigenous movements. A rising critique of U.S. militarization and foreign policy in the Americas was also evident. Farmers' organizations expressed concern about complex issues of patent systems, transnational control, and food sovereignty that is part of their on-the-street militancy. The rights of migrants and communication rights were also discussed. Large contingents of youth and indigenous peoples brought innovative perspectives to discussions and formed the backbone of a huge and animated march through Quito on July 28. At the same time, Indigenous people from 64 nations gathered at the Second Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples of Abaya Yala (the Americas) in Quito in opposition to neoliberal globalization. The summit opposed the free trade agreement being negotiated by the U.S. with Ecuador, Columbia and Peru, demanded that indigenous leaders, held by governments for seeking autonomy and the return of tribal cultural artifacts,  be released, urged governments to allow the free passage of Indian people living in border areas, and called for governments to respect indigenous lands.

     A bill was being debated, in late October, by Paraguay’s Senate, after having passed the lower house, which would provide a safe haven for uncontacted Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians. The measure would expropriate two areas of ancestral Ayoreo territory which are currently in the hands of large landholding companies. Local supporters are appealing for members of the public to write letters in support of the bill. For more details contact Cultural Survival:
http://www.survival-international.org/news.htm.

     Seven Bushman hunters were arrested in Botswana, on July 15, near the resettlement camp of New Xade, in an increasing campaign by the authorities to persecute and punish Bushman hunters who are desperately seeking food to feed their families in the resettlement sites, where they are totally dependent on government handouts of food. The government of Botswana evicted most of the Bushmen from their homes in the reserve in 1997 and 2002. Some 200 are living in the reserve despite the fact the government cut off their water supply. The rest live in two resettlement sites which they call 'places of death'. A Bushman witness told the Botswana High court he preferred death to living in the resettlement site, in a case involving the right of the government to exclude the Bushman from their homeland. For more information contact Miriam Ross: (+44) (0)20 7687 8734, mr@survival-international.org, http://www.survival-international.org/bush_040812.htm.

     Survival International reports that the hunter-gatherer Jarawa tribe of the Andaman Islands is facing widespread theft of the food sources tribal members depend on for their survival. Hundreds of local Indian settlers and Burmese poachers are hunting and fishing along the Andaman Trunk Road and along the coast of the reserve belonging to the 270 Jarawa. For details go to:
http://www.survival-international.org/news.htm

     Survival International reports that the Veddah people of Sri Lanka have appealed to their country's government to allow them to return to their land. One Veddah man told a Survival researcher, 'Living in the jungle, we had everything we needed. We can't get these things here in the village. We want to go back to our jungle.'

     There has been an upsurge in violence against the tribal peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. In August, an 11-month old baby was badly injured during an attack by settlers in which both his parents were killed; no action had been taken against the perpetrators as of mid-September. For more information go to:
http://www.survival-international.org/news.htm

     Survival International reported in late July that 3000 families belonging to the farming Konso people have been moved onto the lowland territory of the cattle-herding Mursi and Bodi peoples in the southwest of the country, as part of the Ethiopian government's plan, backed by the World Bank, to resettle 2.2 million people. For details go to: http://www.survival-international.org/news.htm.

     New Zealand's Parliament passed legislation, in September, dividing half of the rights granted to Maori under New Zealand's fish management quotas among the tribes on the basis of their population and the size of their traditional coastline. The other half will be held and managed by the Waitangi fisheries Commission for the benefit of the tribes. The legislation is intended to settle years of intertribal disputes over fishing rights. New Zealand's first party representing Maoris, the Maori Party, formed to resist the government's plans to nationalize the coast line,  was victories in having Tariana Turia elected in a special election to the North Island seat in Parliament of Te Tai Hauaruru, in July.

     Daly River School, 200 kilometers from Darwin, Australia has been successful by teaching bilingually in English and the Maori language of the area and including Maori culture in the curriculum, The school, founded by Jesuits in the 19th century, is still Catholic but is now run by the Nauiyu Aboriginal community with a teaching force that is mostly Aboriginal. Like most remote Aboriginal schools, few of its children speak English on admission, and many suffer from lack of self-esteem. 20 years ago, the Whitlam Labor government recognized indigenous children's right to learn in their mother tongue, and that they learned more prodigiously in it. Under the reforms, children were taught first in their own language, while also studying English. Thus, Indigenous literacy became a bridge to English literacy. Linguists fluent in local languages were appointed and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers recruited. By 1994, more than 100 had graduated from Batchelor Institute, outside Darwin. The government later backed away from bilingual education, and though returning to it in theory, under funds bilingual programs in the public schools. Thus one needs to go outside the public system to schools like Daly River, to find real successes.

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