Church Rock: Radioactive Spill Disaster

by: StuartH

Wed Jul 15, 2009 at 16:01:12 PM PDT

Behind an earthen pond dam, ninety million gallons of liquid radioactive waste, and eleven hundred tons of solid mill wastes were sitting in a pond waiting for evaporation to leave behind solids.  Suddenly, the dam gave way and the waters burst through, flowing out across the red land, and down the washes to permanently contaminate the Rio Puerco, known to traditional Dine' as To' Nizhoni (beautiful water.)  This may look like a large dry wash to people passing over it at 80 miles an hour on the interstate.  There is water mostly when there are thunderstorms in the watershed or when the winter snow melts up in the mountains.  There are not a lot of people living out here.  You can see a long way when the interstate tops a rise, and you can see a great empty distance with long train tracks.  When the freight trains come through, they bear logos like MAERSK, China Shipping, Costco.  Consumer goods bound for the big box stores elsewhere.  

Rez charter school wishlist: calculators

by: urtica

Fri Feb 27, 2009 at 00:10:00 AM PST

Klamath River Early College of the Redwoods is a public charter school in the Yurok Indian Nation within Northern California.

With Native American Indians having some of the highest dropout rates, Gevena Wiki founded Klamath River Early College of the Redwoods, or KRECR (pronounced "krek-er") to provide a culturally relevant program for tribal high school students in 2005. Since then, KRECR students have surpassed other local schools on high school exit exam scores.

However, KRECR students currently have no scientific calculators. My husband took down a stack of regular calculators today, left over from his business, but we don't have, and can't afford, the scientific calculators the kids need. So he set up an Amazon.com wishlist account that will deliver scientific calculators directly to KRECR. The address for the school is included, in case you happen to have an old scientific calculator collecting dust and want it put to good use.

More about KRECR below...

SHOSHONE-BANNOCK TRIBES Support Larry EchoHawk for Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs

by: ndncrowdog

Fri Jan 30, 2009 at 22:19:22 PM PST

January 22, 2009

To Tribal Leaders:

We were disappointed and surprised to read a recent statement by Scott Crowell criticizing Larry EchoHawk as a possible choice for the next Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. Mr. Crowell formerly represented the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes on gaming matters but no longer represents the Tribes, and he does not speak for the Tribes. His statement contains a number of factual and legal misstatements that need to be corrected. To be clear, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes fully support Larry EchoHawk and have full confidence in his strong commitment to Tribal sovereignty and Indian interests, including economic development through gaming enterprises.

Larry began representing the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in 1977 and served for nearly nine years as the Tribes' chief general legal counsel. At that time, he was one of the first ever Native American lawyers entrusted with the responsibility as the primary attorney for a large Indian tribe. He provided diligent and faithful service during these years. During his time as Tribal Attorney, he also served two terms in the Idaho legislature and worked hand-in-hand with Tribal leaders in Idaho to advance tribal interests. It was during his time in the legislature that positive laws respecting tribal sovereignty were passed for the first time in Idaho history, and Larry played a significant role in their passage. These laws include the State-Tribal Relations Act, the Tribal tobacco sales tax exemption, the Indian Antiquities and Burial Site Protection Act, and the amendment to the State Joint Powers Act to authorize state agencies to enter into agreements with Tribal governments, to name a few. Much of this was brought about due to Larry's efforts to help create a State Indian Affairs Committee.

He ended his position as the Tribes' general legal counsel in 1986 on good terms with the Tribes to become the prosecuting attorney for Bannock County, Idaho's fourth largest county that borders the Fort Hall Reservation. While he served as prosecutor, he demonstrated a continual respect for tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction by deferring cases to the Tribes that could have been prosecuted under Public 280. In 1990 he was elected as Idaho's Attorney General, and became the first Native American in United States history to be elected to a state-wide constitutional political office. As Attorney General, he supported legislation and efforts to protect native religious freedoms, salmon treaty fishing rights, and other legal matters impacting tribal sovereignty. While Attorney General, Larry also lead efforts to improve state-tribal relations through the Conference of Western Attorneys General.

In response to Mr. Crowell's statement on Larry EchoHawk's position relating to Indian gaming, the record should be clear that Larry EchoHawk supports the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and recognizes that it is the responsibility of the Assistant Secretary to faithfully execute the law. The EchoHawk law firm, which includes Larry's sons Paul EchoHawk and Mark EchoHawk, has provided nearly ten years of legal services to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and continue to provide excellent legal services. They have worked on a number of important issues for the Tribes, including gaming matters. Specifically, Mark EchoHawk recently served for six months as the Interim Executive Director for the Fort Hall Casino. We are confident that Larry's possible service as Assistant Secretary would be beneficial to Tribal interests, including the continued development of Indian gaming enterprises.

Mr. Crowell's statement misstates the law and facts related to Larry EchoHawk's role in the 1992 Idaho constitutional amendment. First, Crowell wrongly stated that Larry called the special legislative session. In fact, only the Governor has the authority to call a special legislative session in Idaho. Idaho Const. Art. IV, Sec. 9. The determination to call a special session in 1992 was made by the governor alone. Crowell's statement also is misleading in that it suggests that Larry personally supported restricting Indian gaming or had a policy-making role in the matter. Both of these suggestions are false and misleading. The fact is that the state attorney general is the chief legal officer for the state and is charged with specific legal duties as directed by the Idaho law. See Idaho Code 67-1401. The law is clear that the state attorney general has the primary obligation to enforce state laws and cannot act as a litigant or exercise any broader power than that granted by the constitution and legislature. The attorney general is required to take an oath that they will "support the Constitution of the United States, and Constitution of the State of Idaho, and that [they] will faithfully discharge the duties of attorney general to the best of [their] ability." This includes an obligation to perform all legal services for the state and to represent the state in all tribunals and provide unbiased legal advice to the legislature and governor when requested. The attorney general is not a lawmaker or a policy maker. Although Larry EchoHawk clearly has a long and proven track record of advancing tribal sovereignty, his legal and ethical duty as Idaho's attorney general was to provide legal advice to the governor and legislature. He did this according to his oath of office, and he did not advocate against Indian gaming specifically at any time. Contrary to Mr. Crowell's statement, Larry EchoHawk's law firm has provided years of exceptional legal services to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, including work to further advance the Tribes' profitable gaming interests. It is simply unfair and disingenuous to suggest that performing his duty as attorney general shows a lack of commitment to Indian interests and tribal sovereignty in the face of Larry's long and distinguished career working for Indian people.

In sum, we are proud to hear of Larry EchoHawk's possible appointment as the next Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs. We are confident that he will do an outstanding job in continuing his efforts to advance Tribal sovereignty and economic self-sufficiency. We urge Tribal leaders to join us in supporting Larry for this important position for Indian Country.

Sincerely,

Alonzo Coby, Chairman
Fort Hall Business Council
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes

Source: Pechanga.net  http://216.109.157.86/press_re...

Pretty Bird Woman House Update: Why Isn't Anything Easy in Indian Country?

by: betsyny

Thu Jan 10, 2008 at 10:20:52 AM PST

I want to update everyone who has been involved in the Pretty Bird Woman House fundraiser on the situation with the house purchase.

After you read this you might also ask: Why isn't anything easy in Indian Country?

While we were running this fundraiser, the City Council of McLaughlin, which exists as a separate entity within the boundaries of the Standing Rock Reservation, passed an ordinance requiring that any nonprofit wishing to establish a boardinghouse or shelter in a residential area get the approval of the City Council first.

This means that  even though Pretty Bird Woman House could have closed on the house on January 4th, they had to wait for a Council meeting on January 7th.

Everyone was certain that after hearing about the shelter, the City Council would just say "of course you can" to their request.

Not so.