Good morning!
Lots going on- heard a very upsetting radio report about Uranium- radiation poisioning on the Navajo Rez- and how the Dine people will not relocate to avoid the unavoidable health problems, including cancer- because when the new babies are born, their umbilical chords are buried in the sheep pens...so their people are tied to the land forerver- even if the land is sick & dying & dies with them- sad huh?
Really bums me out- but the upside is FINALLY this is making National headlines and more non natives are reporting on this unexcusable evironmental and human rights genocide that continues on US soil- the past is jepordizing so many futures...and is color blind, but in the meantime, Native american people & leaders & activist are teaming up with neighbors and other non native community members to say enough is enough- THIS IS KILLING US & we are no longer going to be a dumping ground...
*sigh* the EPA has made the Navajo rez a priority BUT there are also other areas that have new threats facing them, like the Yankton Sioux vs the Hog Farm; Yakama reservation vs a new(?) dairy proposal & then old unresolved toxic woes in places like Silver Valley in Idaho- where everyone there has suffered the repercusions of silver poisonings & living with the toxic dirt & possible other environmental concerns die to the silver mines there.
I thought about all this all the way to work today with tears in my eyes- what in the world are we doing to ourselves? Where do we start to work on all this; how do we prioritize; when will the EPA really start to do their job & not backtrack & then take alot of time doing studies, making people come to DC to testify about past bad decisions that have caused illness or death to our US citizens & THEN & only then do they start to do something about it to remedy it.
What ever happened to a spoonful of prevention? Grandmother's old remedy? Caution has been thrown to the wind in the name of progress & corporate greed.
Yes I am ranting & chanting & praying for a quicker wake up by the EPA & the US government regarding all this. Because the consequences are so dire- climate change, global warming, increased health problems= higher health care costs and/or shorter life spans.
Lost hope if nothing really comes from these clean up efforts...lost hope if the EPA does not get to others who have simular concerns.
I say good for Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley! He is a leader I greatly respect for speaking up on behalf of his Dine people.
Alrighty- that is all of the long exhaled activist breath I have for right now....
I wanted to post this rant on my blog today- I am on a roll! :)
Here are some other related news reports:
Navajos spurn uranium mining
By James W. BrosnanWednesday, October 24, 2007
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/oct/24/navajos-spurn-uranium-mining/
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Environment
Navajo Nation Pushes for Uranium Cleanup
by Ted Robbins
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90959034&ft=1&f=1003
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT
Friday, November 9, 2007 Deswood Tome
202-682-7390 or 202-607-5507 (wireless)
Navajo Leads Uranium Roundtable
on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Three members of Congress joined the Navajo Nation yesterday in a discussion on the ban of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation.
“Over a half century ago the United States government faced by the threats of the Cold War began a massive effort to mine and process uranium ore for use in the country’s nuclear weapons programs,” said Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, as he gave his opening statement at the Rayburn House Office building on Capitol Hill. “Much of that uranium was mine on, or near, Navajo lands and much of it extracted and processed with Navajo hands.”
The Uranium Roundtable, held jointly by the Navajo Nation and Congress, was an open discussion for Navajo leadership and community members affected by uranium mining to come together with Congress and federal agencies.
Federal government agencies represented at the Roundtable included the Indian Health Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of Energy.
“Workers, families, and their neighbors suffer increased incidences of cancers and other medical disorders caused by their exposure to uranium,” said President Shirley. “Fathers and sons who went to work in the mins and the processing facilities brought the remnants of uranium in to their homes at the end of the day infecting their families.”
The Roundtable was hosted by Congressman Tom Udall, D-NM-3, who chaired and lead the discussion of the forum.
“We gather today to engage in a discussion of the very serious issues facing the Navajo Nation as a result of uranium development,” said Congressman Udall. “This is an opportunity for all parties to come together to outline specific steps that Congress, federal agencies, and the Navajo Nation can take toward rectifying past wrongs, and creating safer communities in the Navajo Nation.”
Congressmen Jim Matheson, D-UT-2, and Rick Renzi, R-AZ-1, participated in the three hour forum attended by more than 60 people, including many from the Navajo Nation, and the neighboring town of Grants, New Mexico.
During the Roundtable, Congressman Renzi asked Dr. Charles Miller of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about the process of permits for mining uranium on the Navajo Nation.
“Our approach is to carry out the review of the license,” responded Dr. Miller, explaining that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seated with responsibility to conduct a review of granting permits for uranium mining. He further explained that their process does not prohibit the Navajo Nation from enforcing Navajo laws to stop uranium mining.
In 2005, the Navajo Nation Council passed the Diné Natural Resources Protection Act, which places a ban on uranium mining on Navajo lands.
Other Navajo leaders who participated in the Roundtable included Council Delegate Phil Harrison of Red Valley and Cove Chapters. Harrison, a member of the Navajo Nation Council Committee on Natural Resources, spoke on the contamination of uranium mining in Navajo communities.
“We’re talking about a situation that is occurring today in places like Tuba City, and other places throughout Navajo Indian country,” said Harrison. “The experiment on our health and welfare, being conducted with the complicity of the United States government continues.”
Harrison was followed by statements of Steven Etsitty, executive director for Navajo Environmental Protection Agency, Arvin Trujillo, executive director for Navajo Division of Natural Resources, Cora Maxx-Phillips, executive director for Navajo Social Services, Anslem Roanhorse, executive director for Navajo Health.
A major emphasis of the Uranium Roundtable is the ongoing clean up of years of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. Several Navajo mining sites show high levels of contamination to soil and water. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency vowed to test and re-test the Navajo sites but may not be able to respond to testing them all.
Other Navajo community members who participated included Mitchell Capitan, Robert Tohy, and Keith Killian, who represents several Navajo families in claims for compensation.
Congressman Matheson presented a question to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a practice of blending contaminated water with pristine drinking water. The agency responded by saying that the process is used, but that it does not exceed contaminant levels.
“I still remain skeptical,” said Congressman Matheson, who concluded by saying that the follow up to the Uranium Roundtable will include a follow up in December to the health and effects of uranium mining on Navajo lands hearing held in October before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chaired by Henry Waxman, D-CA-30.
In his closing statement President Shirley said, “We should have never had this happen.” The president listed the number of health effects of uranium mining, and emphasized the need for Congress to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.
“The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act needs to be reopened to cover those workers exposed to uranium contamination after 1971, and to abolish the arbitrary geographic limitation that limits the claims of the so called downwinders,” said President Shirley.
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Yakama Reservation vs Dairy Farm
http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=18499.html By Philip Ferolito Hundreds oppose dairy on reservation By PHIL FEROLITO YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC TOPPENISH -- A Sunnyside family's plan to erect a dairy that would hold up to 7,000 cows near a national wildlife refuge on the Yakama reservation is drawing fire from hundreds of residents. About a dozen residents on Tuesday morning submitted to tribal program managers a petition containing more than 470 signatures against the project. The group, composed of tribal and nontribal residents, presented their concerns during a meeting at the tribe's wildlife department in Toppenish. They voiced concern about possible environmental impacts the project could bring and demanded that a moratorium barring any new feedlot or dairy operations on the reservation be followed. "We don't want any more dairies on the reservation," said tribal member Pam Wong. "The people voted for that."Tribal program directors sat mostly quietly and listened to the concerns that stem from the Sytsma family's purchase of 480 acres along Pumphouse Road with the intention of erecting a dairy. The property sits on a hill south of wetlands, a wildlife refuge and Toppenish Creek, where steelhead return. The Sytsma family currently runs a 1,600-cow dairy in Sunnyside, said agronomist Stew Turner, who is working on the proposal on behalf of the Sytsmas. The proposed dairy would be equipped with state-of-the-art technology that would prevent any risks to the environment, Turner said. Though the Sytsmas own the property, the site is located on the reservation, where the tribe has jurisdiction on the use of groundwater. Before the dairy would go in, plans would have to undergo a state Environmental Policy Act review and be permitted by both the county and the tribe. But the group says it's not convinced that environmental rules would be followed and questioned who would monitor the operation. Residents who spoke at Tuesday's meeting expressed fear that the reservation is becoming a new "dumping ground" for such operations. They cited existing high concentrates of nitrate -- commonly produced by feedlots and dairies and fertilizers -- in well water in the area of current feedlot and dairies on the reservation. Resident Laurie Porter said the amount of nitrates in her water is more than twice the amount considered safe to drink. "I'm wondering if someone should come out and test my neighbor's wells," she told the tribal program managers. "I guess my main concern is the health of myself and my neighbors."Wong and several other area residents are embroiled in a lawsuit against a 12,000-cow feedlot near her Harrah home. She said she and her children have been experiencing problems with breathing and diarrhea since the feedlot doubled its size in 2002. Bill Dolsen, president of the company that owns the feedlot, wasn't present at the meeting but contends the operation is following all environmental regulations. Concerns over additional dairies or feedlots coming onto the reservation led to tribal members approving Wong's motion 139-69 earlier this month to bar any new operations. But tribal officials now say her motion was too vague and doesn't call for any moratorium. Tears flowed from Wong's eyes Tuesday as she told program directors that tribal members voted to keep any new operations from the reservation. "I want to know what's making me sick," she said, wiping her tears. "I want to know what's making my children sick."White Swan water program director Marlene White said residential wells have to be dug deeper in the White Swan and Harrah areas because of high concentrations of nitrate. She also said the flies, dust and smell are horrid in the areas near the dairies and feedlots. "It's not fun to live out in that area," she said. Officials with the tribe's Department of Natural Resources are currently researching possible impacts such operations are having on the reservation. Turner, the agronomist, said residents need to be better informed of the Sytsmas' plans, and will have opportunities to weigh in on public comment periods. "I think there are some very ill-informed people who don't have the data and who have a political agenda," he said. (c) 2008 Yakima Herald-Republic. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Yakima Herald-Republic
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Residents Battle Dairy Farm Operation on Yakama Reservation May 28, 2008 by- Shelley Bluejay Pierce http://www.tanasijournal.com/main/index.php?option=com_news_portal&Itemid=333 TOPPENISH, Washington- Yakama tribal and non-Native residents have joined together in protesting a new dairy farm that may house as many as 7,000 cows. Earlier media reports claim that more than 470 signatures on a petition to stop the construction of the dairy farm were submitted to Yakama tribal managers for review. Similar to an ongoing battle on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota against a large commercial hog farm, many tribes are complaining of the new rush to use tribal lands as commercial agriculture business sites. The proposed dairy farm in Washington State is another case of non-Native residents who purchase lands inside the tribal reservation lands or boundaries and due to a lack of zoning restrictions in place, move forward with permitting for large-scale animal production farms. All plans for such operations must be approved through the permitting process by the Environmental Protection Agency and then be approved by the county and tribal leadership. However, residents in these areas are fearful that all environmental rules and regulations will not be followed or adequately monitored. Farm owners continue to insist that their new installations are equipped with state-of-the-art technology that would prevent any risks to the environment.In the case of the property on the Yakama reservation, the family who purchased the 480 acres owns the property while the tribe maintains jurisdiction over the use of the groundwater. Residents in the area are currently involved in a lawsuit targeting a 12,000-cow feedlot that is also located near their homes. Some complaints against that feedlot are respiratory ailments and gastrointestinal complications since the feedlot reportedly doubled in size in 2002. Earlier press reports state that some residents have nitrate levels measuring more than twice the safe drinking water limits. Nitrates are commonly seen as by-products in the areas near feedlots and dairies or in agricultural areas that use large amounts of fertilizers. Nearby the current feedlot and proposed dairy farm on Yakama is the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge. Situated alongside Toppenish Creek, the 1,763-acre wildlife refuge is made up of wetlands and sagebrush uplands serve which serve as nesting grounds for up to 30,000 migratory waterfowl. Various species of raptors, marsh birds, shorebirds and resident songbirds dwell in the area as well. According to the website information for this federally protected refuge, "Toppenish Creek serves an important role as one of the last remaining streams where Columbia River steelhead, one of America's endangered species, still reproduce in good numbers." Residents battling the enormous CAFO style hog farm on the Yankton Reservation have also voiced their concerns over the potential impacts upon the nearby Missouri River. Manure lagoons and various containment methods for these large scale operations are clearly evident in the permitting processes though residents who have had these large commercial operations nearby still reveal water well and surface water contamination.Local property values drop when commercial farms such as the proposed dairy farm on the Yakama reservation as well as the hog farm in Yankton, South Dakota appear in the communities. Air quality, water purity and surface water contaminations have also been heavily documented by environmental agencies and non-profit organizations that monitor these areas of commercial farming. Both the Yakama and Yankton reservation communities are continuing to investigate their options surrounding the allowance for these types of commercial operations in their tribal communities.
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Yankton Sioux Tribe Continues to Fight the Building of Commercial Hog Farm by Shelley Bluejay Pierce May 19, 2008
Yankton Sioux tribal members stand in defiance as the construction equipment moves into a hog farm location near Marty, South Dakota.
MARTY, South Dakota - The Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota is divided into sections consisting of tribal, private, and deeded land. Concerns about a commercial hog farm moving into the area has served to unite, rather than divide tribal members and non-Native residents fighting to save their quality of life. The conflict in this rural location centers around a large CAFO operation (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) which could house an average of 3,350 sows and produce 70,000 pigs or more per year. The hog farm is located near Marty, South Dakota and is only a few miles away from many private homes, tribal facilities and institutions, including a Head Start center, schools, hospital, church, the tribal hall, and the Ihanktowan Community College. Additionally, there are ceremonial sites nearby including Sun Dance grounds and sweat lodges. The hog farm is in the vicinity of the town of Wagner, wetland areas, the Ogallala Aquifer and a creek that eventually feeds into the nearby Missouri River. When construction began in early April, the community attempted to block the completion of the hog farm over concerns of dramatically decreased property values, health and environmental safety issues. The Yankton tribal council passed an exclusion order against Long View Farms, of Hull, Iowa, and asked the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) to confirm its jurisdiction over the road, which would have denied access to the building site. The BIA paid out millions of dollars in federal money since 1994 for road maintenance and added the road to its inventory following a signed agreement between all agencies. However, on May 5, 2008, a commission in Charles Mix County voted to rescind the agreement in response to the BIA's declaration of ownership.
Charles Mix County did not have zoning regulations in place prior to Long View Farms moving into the community. Though the region is zoned for agricultural properties, there have been no restrictions upon what types of operations may take place near the community center. On May 13, 2008, this reporter was contacted by a confidential source that requested assistance in making an offer to current hog farm developer, Mr. Arlan Moss. The out of state source then contacted and offered Mr. Moss 110 acres of agriculturally zoned property in Ward County, Barstow, Texas in exchange for the property Longview Farms is currently building the hog farm on in South Dakota. The 110 acres offered to Mr. Moss is larger than the one inside the Yankton Sioux reservation boundaries. The land in Texas is surrounded by alfalfa and cotton farms whose owners would have need of the fertilizer coming from the hog farm production facility.
Additionally, there is a large community of skilled farm workers in the nearby areas who could provide experienced employees for the hog farm. The road into the 110 acres is currently paved whereas the property in the Yankton area is not. The Texas property offered to Moss is located away from private homes, culturally and environmentally sensitive areas. The confidential source stated that the title-for-title land swap offer was rejected by Arlan Moss. Construction has progressed and the concrete foundations have been placed upon the land in Marty, South Dakota. Several tribal members have been arrested for protesting on the access road area near the hog farm property in recent weeks. Though tribal leaders insist this road is maintained by the BIA, state and local law enforcement agencies have appeared, often times greatly outnumbering the protestors. Jurisdictional questions about which agency is in charge of the access road has failed to halt progression of legal processes against the protestors. The arrests and continuing prosecution against protestors has placed additional strain on a fragile peace between the various factions.
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Silver Valley, Idaho(courtsey of Barbara Miller- Silver Valley Action group)
Fall of 2005: A colleage shares information that he had just attended a Basin Commission mtg. and heard that there were plans to build a toxic waste dump at the Old Mission at Cataldo. I immediately share this information with a CDA Tribal council member, Chuck Matheson who said he was going to look into the matter.
Fall of 2005-April 21, 2007 NOTHING was ever given to the public regarding any kind of plans to build a toxic waste dump at the Old Mission.
April 21, 2007, Spokesman Review runs a small article in the Northwest Section stating that epa/ideq were building a toxic waste repository at the Old Mission.
April 21, 2007 - May 24, 2007 SVCRC, a non-profit organization established to hold EPA accountable for the cleanup of the nations 2nd largest Superfund site investigated every agency and angle to research the facts behind the news of the building of the Old Mission Respository. Barbara Miller who grew up at the Mission and is Director of the SVCRC interviewed affected citizens, agency leaders, tribal members, environmental groups associated and distanced from the site, churches, unions anyone who she could find to find out about the covert activities that were being planned. The research was also conducted by Dr. Bob Colonna and members of SVCRC as well. On many fronts deliberate lies were being told to the public. Specifically from ed moreen, EPA and Lands Council of Spokane Washington and EPA Region Ten Public Relations rep. for the Bunker Hill Superfund site.
May 24, 2007 at a stakeholders mtg. in CDA Idaho where EPA Administrator Elin Miller was present, Rob Hansen, IDEQ rep. for the Bunker Hill site walked into the meeting and told everyone that the Mission was the "only site in 400 that fit the critiria". Even though all the toxic waste is going to be coming from downstream many miles from the Mission Repository even Spokane and further since Idaho has no regulations as to who and what can be dumped in respositories.
June 1, 2007 (approx.) Due to SVCRC getting the real facts out to the public media, churches, emails, our own newsletter IDEQ and EPA decide to give the public a 30% Design Report to comment on which included the location. We were given a deadline of July 6 for public comment. THE FIRST EFFORT ON BEHALF OF THE AGENCIES TO INFORM THE PUBLIC OF THE MISSION DUMP SITE. We believe this effort was done due to the public opposition being voiced once the area learned about the plans to establish the respository.
June 1, 2007 - June 24, 2007 Petitions were circulated and in a short amount of time more than 700 people signed strongly opposing the site, 5 env.groups including the CDA Tribe, Center for Justice, Sierra Club/Eastern Washington chapter, KEA,Kootenai Env. Alliance, SVCRC and the Eastside Highway Dist. wrote strong letters opposing the site. St. Pius church in CDA and an Episcopal church did also to be included in this public comment period that was being forced by affected citizens for the first time. This was the first effort made by EPA/IDEQ to take the issue to the public.
June 25, 2007 - ten days before the public comment period was due to end; EPA and IDEQ gave orders to begin digging up the site. Aug. 2007 - A CDA tribal scientist calls ed moreen/epa project manager to voice the opposition in pursing the site and was told that there would be some kind of a moratorium until Spring of "08".
March 19, 2008 Dr. Colonna SVCRC and members attend a public meeting of the development of the Mission Repository and learn that the agencies were going forward with dumping at the site asap. These same reps. told those present that they had purchased more property in addition to the 20 acres already purchased for $89,000 in the fall of 2006. Dr. Colonna was lambasted, swore at, threatened and ridiculed because he brought forth concerns of the community and all those who signed the petition which is more than 1000 at this time. This is a typical strategy that has gone on within the community for years. The special interests have controlled the cleanup since the site was first designated in 1983. The local newspaper owned by a rich resort developer in CDA continually influences and advises reporters to not write articles, letters to the editor or any other factual information to affected citizens. For more than a hundred years the mining pollution has run rampant in the Silver Valley and downstream to Washington State.
May 7, 2008, the Repository is under water as the location is in a wetland and flood plain which the agencies are fully aware of and where it floods every year without fail. If EPA and IDEQ have their way in a short time they will begin dumping at first more than 600,000 cubic yards to be piled 37-60 feet tall (20 ft. hire than the utility wires that run over the property) clearly visible from I-90 and the steps of the Old Mission.WE MUST STOP THIS, THE MISSION RESPOSITORY IS NON NEGOIABLE.Please sign the online petition at http://www.silvervalleyaction.com/ and get others to do so.SVCRC members are planning a call to action soon to take place at the site to once again send the word out that we do not want this repository to be built!
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Thanks Amanda!
Additional Battles unfolding:
Ardoch Algonquin First Nation
May 15, 2008 – For Immediate Release
Jailed Algonquin Leader Begins Hunger Strike
*Second Algonquin Chief Going to Jail - McGuinty Government Does Nothing***
On February 15, 2008 Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN) Spokesperson Robert Lovelace was sentenced in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Kingston to 6 months in maximum security, plus crippling fines, for peacefully protesting uranium mining in the Ardoch homeland. Chief Paula Sherman was fined $15,000 and given until today to pay the fine, failing which she will be jailed.
On March 17, a Superior Court judge in Thunder Bay sentenced six leaders of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) to six months after they were found in contempt of court in dispute which is virtually identical to that of the Ardoch Algonquins.
The jailing of respected, law-abiding community leaders has had a devastating impact on our communities, particularly on the families of those incarcerated. The indifference shown by the McGuinty government towards the rights of First Nation communities and the imposition of long jail terms and crippling fines in the name of “the rule of law” has further eroded respect for both the legal system and the government of Ontario in the eyes of First Nations people in this province.
The cases of the KI Six and Robert Lovelace are strikingly similar. In both cases Ontario gave approvals to mining companies to conduct aggressive mineral exploration on land claimed by First Nations as their own. In both cases this approval was given without any consultation with affected communities, forcing the First Nations to take action to end the illegal exploration when the government refused to act. In both cases the mining company sought and obtained court injunctions to end the peaceful protests of the First Nations, while lawyers representing Ontario supported the mining industry’s legal manoeuvres at every stage.
For the first month of Bob Lovelace’s incarceration, the government of Ontario said nothing, remaining indifferent to this travesty. Since the jailing of the KI Six, and public outcry which followed, the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Michael Bryant, has told the media that he has “bent over backwards” to try to resolve the disputes which led to the incarceration of seven First Nations leaders from our two communities. He also claims that he wishes to see the incarcerated communities leaders freed from jail.
We want to set the record straight.
In fact, there has been no response from Minister Bryant to any of our proposals for peacefully resolving the dispute. Minister Bryant’s staff also has not responded to several calls and emails seeking a response to our proposals. To put it bluntly, Michael Bryant is a liar.
Bob Lovelace is now entering his fourth month in jail while the KI Six are about to begin their third month of incarceration. They are prisoners of conscience, jailed by the government of Ontario to send a message that the interests of the mining industry will trump Aboriginal rights and the environment of Ontario.
Lovelace, who turned 60 in jail, announced that he will begin a hunger strike tomorrow to press the government to respond to Ardoch’s request for good faith negotiations. “I do not want my children and grandchildren to have to go through what we are going through” he said. “Starting tomorrow I will consume only water in the hopes that our cry for justice will be heard by Mr. McGuinty and Mr. Bryant.”
Chief Paula Sherman said: “I will soon be going to jail because I cannot and will not pay this unjust fine. I am a single mother with three dependents whose only crime is the defense of our land. Like Bob Lovelace and the KI 6, I would rather go to jail than take food out of my children’s mouths or let our land be destroyed .”
Acting Co-Chief Mireille Lapointe added “We are sickened by the hypocrisy of the McGuinty government. While honest, conscientious community leaders languish in their jails for peacefully protecting our land from uranium mining, all these politicians care about is their public image. They are lying when they say they are trying to resolve these disputes. They have done nothing at all and continue to show total indifference. They do not even respond to our letters, calls and emails asking for negotiations, meanwhile claiming they care about us and our land”.
Ardoch and KI remain committed to resolving these disputes peacefully, through negotiations which lead to responsible, cooperative land use planning. We call on all citizens of Ontario to support the unconditional release of our leaders and negotiators by joining us at Queen’s Park on May 26 at the Gathering of Mother Earth’s Protectors.
For more information contact Paula Sherman: (613) 329-3707
Or Chris Reid, lawyer: (416) 629-3117
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Thanks Scott!
Fri, May 23, 2008 at 7:55 AMsubject"Black Hills Sioux claim" issue
May 23 (8 days ago)
In 1834, the Red Lake Ojibwe Indian Nations was ‘awarded’ $134 million dollars by the government for lands taken. By 1998, the award was finally paid and no ‘interest’ was included, as is typical with this type of payment.Since 1980, the Nakota (Nakota, DaNakota, Dakota, and Lakota; misnomer “Sioux”) Nation has been enticed to “sell out” their Black Hills and parts of western South Dakota for $105 million dollars. These lands are part of the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie that was signed by both the U.S. government and the Nakota Nation, through a federal court ruling called the “Black Hills Sioux claim.”Since then, rumors have abounded about “increasing interest” on the money, in government and unscrupulous lawyer attempts to entice and fool the Nakota into recognizing, sanctioning, and accepting the tiny amount. But to sell-out would mean a loss of all rights to those Homelands and a halt to all current Treaty Obligatory Responsibilities such as the inadequately funded Indian Health Service, obligated by the government for illegal occupation of Nakota lands.Nine (9) trillion dollars in Black Hills gold sits as stolen property in Fort Knox Kentucky, while over $6 trillion in other ores and minerals were pilfered from these same Treaty lands. Not to mention the $3 trillion in timber, the $1 trillion in uranium for bombs/nuclear contamination, and the priceless hundreds of trillions worth of pristine underground Oglala Aquifer water, now pipelined out illegally through congressional “water projects” - without one penny to the Nakota owners.Article VI of the U.S. Constitution state, “Treaties made with Indian Nations shall be the supreme law of the land, with the judges in every state bound thereby.” Yet this Treaty remains ignored and violated, not broken, each and every day.The sleazy attempt by one small town South Dakota attorney to entice struggling Dakota Indians with grandiose fantasies of money and “interest” is lowly, even for corrupt lawyering standards. Instead of attempting to leech off of innocent victims, the attorney should go after the Department of Defense, who oversees the Interior Department – who ‘oversees’ “Indians.” They have recently been writing ‘promissory notes’ to Indian Nations, skirting Treaty requirements so that money can instead be funneled over to Halliburton and Exxon Mobil for Iraqi oil theft and occupation.Land is a perpetual asset to the DaNakota Nation. Lease payments charged to the government and its companies, just like Article VI, should be honored. The 1851 Treaty was unanimously agreed upon by all. The only way to abolish it would be for all Nakota to unanimously relinquish it – a feat that could never be accomplished.Obviously, the small town legal assistant does not understand that the Lakota Nation knows the insignificant “award” is more of a “curse” and that “interest” on the pittance is imaginary and non-existent – just like the settlement, itself (except in the minds of the ignorant and misguided).
http://www.1851treaty.com/
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Thanks Tamra!
passing this along from El Brown, Dooda Desert Rock In peace & solidarity,Tamra http://www.ndnnews.com/http://www.protectsacredsites.org/http://www.protectbearbutte.com/ "Providing news and information about Native American Issues & Causes""Helping to make a difference for our people in Indian Country, one day at a time. What will you do today to help make a difference?" "Our sacred lands are all that remain keeping us connected to our place on Mother Earth, to our spirituality, our heritage and our lands; what’s left of them. If they take it all away, what will remain except a vague memory of a past so forgotten?"
From: El Brown Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 2:34 PMSubject: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!
Please share widely............
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMonday, May 5, 2008 Contact: Elouise Brown, Dooda Desert Rock, 505-947-6159 DOODA DESERT ROCK ADVISES SENATE INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ON INDIAN COUNTRY ENERGY POLICY Dooda Desert Rock president Elouise Brown has submitted a statement to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs as a follow-up to its Thursday, May 1, 2008 oversight hearing on Indian Energy Development. While the Committee listened to the views of two tribes, an Alaska organization, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Energy and the Dine Power Authority, it did not have the benefit of the views of individual tribal members on how energy development impacts them. The Dooda Desert Rock testimony focuses on the federal trust responsibility to individual tribal members and cautions that while a new policy to allow tribes to do their own permitting and leasing with energy companies without federal participation may offer advantages, there are serious consequences if that is done without due regard to individual rights. The testimony also clarifies information provided by the Dine Power Authority (DPA), pointing out that, among other things, DPA was not established just for “wholesale energy development,” but specifically to put a coal-fired power plant in the Four Corners Area without regard to the environment or local wishes. While DPA pointed to “thousands” of construction jobs, and while it has made arrangements with New Mexico State schools and San Juan Community College to deal with impacts on infrastructure, it has not made similar arrangements with two Navajo schools to address impacts on them: Shiprock Alternative Schools, Inc. and Dine College. Dooda Desert Rock sees no evidence that addresses infrastructure strains on housing, streets and roads, law enforcement, health care, social services or other local services. While the DPA complained about the delay in granting an air permit for the power plant, it did not mention the fact that the engineering firm that did the environmental impact statement, URS, failed to do an assessment of the cumulative health impact of two existing power plants and evidence of uranium-bearing dust in the air. This assessment is required by a federal policy on environmental justice. The New Mexico Environment Secretary, Ron Curry, told a House committee that Desert Rock would “emit about 12 million tons of carbon dioxide annually,” and Desert Rock faces a potential law that would ban coal-fired power plants unless they can capture and sequester carbon. The DPA testimony talked about the plant doing that, but the reality that such technology is not yet available is pointed out in the Desert Rock Project web page discussion of “Carbon Dioxide Facts.” While the DPA testimony tries to paint the enterprise as being “green,” with the Dine Wind Project, it has more to do with past associations of the power plant’s law firm than any particular benefit to the Navajo Nation. The Dooda statement suggests that the initiative is only a smokescreen to “make the Dine Power Authority’s dirty projects seem more appealing.” Elouise Brown said that “While energy development in Indian Country offers the possibility of responsible development, the problem is that the Navajo Nation has no policy on the human right to development that addresses the needs and concerns of local communities. The Navajo Nation appears to have made commitments for the Dine Wind Project without the prior approval of the Cameron Chapter or arrangements for the benefit of its members. We need to have a discussion about energy policy, but the discussion must not leave out grassroots Navajos, or ignore their wishes.” * * *Elouise BrownPresident, Dooda Desert RockPO Box 7838NewComb, New Mexico 87455 505-947-6159 http://www.dooda-desert-rock.net/ thebrownmachine@hotmail.com
Elouise BrownTreasurer, Hada'asidi (The Vigilant Ones) OrganizationPO Box 4588Window Rock, Arizona 86515 El Brown Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. Independent Associate (505) 947-6159 Toll Free: 1-877-624-0505 E:Mail: el_brown@pre-paidlegal.com www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/el_brown http://www.prepaidlegal.com/
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More alarming news via BlueJay
Radioactive sand coming to Idaho from Kuwaithttp://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/33214American Ecology gets the contract to dispose of material tainted in a fire at a U.S. military base.Nearly 80 rail cars loaded with contaminated sand from Kuwait are headed toward a dump in southwestern Idaho.BY JESSIE BONNER - THE ASSOCIATED PRESSAmerican Ecology Corp. is shipping about 6,700 tons of sand containing traces of depleted uranium and lead to a hazardous waste disposal site 70 miles southeast of Boise. The sand arrived by ship at Longview, Wash., this week and company officials say loads are scheduled to begin arriving in Idaho by rail in two weeks.Transfer of the sand to the United States was first reported this week by The Daily News in Longview.The company has previously disposed of low-level radioactive waste and hazardous materials from U.S. military bases overseas at facilities in Idaho, Nevada and Texas, said American Ecology spokesman Chad Hyslop, who is based in Boise."As you can imagine, the host countries of those bases don't want the waste in their country," Hyslop said.Neither do leaders of the Snake River Alliance, a nuclear watchdog group, who have vowed to monitor the site."Depleted uranium is both a toxic metal and a radioactive substance," said Andrea Shipley, the group's executive director. "That is a concern."The sand coming to Idaho from Camp Doha, a U.S. Army Base in Kuwait, was contaminated with uranium after military vehicles and munitions caught fire during the first Persian Gulf War in 1991.Depleted uranium, twice as dense as lead, has been used as a component in armor plating to protect tanks and for armor-piercing projectiles.The Kuwait Ministry of Defense contracted MKM Engineers Inc. of Stafford, Texas, to package the waste and transport it to the United States. MKM then subcontracted with American Ecology for disposal, Hyslop said.Hyslop would not disclose the value of the contract.American Ecology operates the only commercial hazardous waste disposal site in Idaho on 1,100 acres of land in the Owyhee desert. Disposal operations cover 100 acres in the middle of the property, Hyslop said, and about a third of the material disposed at the Idaho site is from the U.S. military.The company disposed of uranium-contaminated Bradley fighting vehicles there in 2006.All the sand from Kuwait should be in Idaho within 40 days, Hyslop said. Radiation from the uranium in the sand has been measured at about 10 picocuries per gram. The Idaho facility is permitted to accept material with more than 16 times that level, or 169 picocuries per gram.In a letter to Army officials on Sept. 13, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission deemed the radiation levels "unimportant quantities" and approved the plan to dispose the sand in Idaho."We've received tens of thousands of tons from the U.S. military that has higher radioactive levels than this shipment," Hyslop said.Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Director Brian Monson said the company is permitted to receive the material and contacted his office three months ago."They always give us an alert if it's something out of the ordinary," Monson said.The company notified Monson again this week when military officials tested the sand and found traces of lead."It was only until the last hour we realized we might be dealing with a hazardous material," Monson said.The company has said the sand will be tested and treated if needed before it is buried in the dump.Some samples of the sand registered lead levels of 19 parts per million, Hyslop said. He characterized that measurement as "extremely low," but Environmental Protection Agency standards classify anything over five parts per million as hazardous waste.EPA officials say they're not alarmed by the presence of lead because that is one of the materials American Ecology is permitted to handle in Idaho.
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