The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and the City of Sequim are pleased to announce their partnership to connect the Tribal government facilities and businesses in Blyn to the City of Sequim Wastewater Treatment Plant.The project has been under consideration by the Tribe since 2005, when Clallam County Commissioners first approved extension of sewer lines both east and west of the City.
In 2010, the City’s Wastewater and Reclamation facility was expanded to make such extensions possible, and the City Council expressed its goal of becoming a regional service provider and fostering partnerships within the city and the county.
Sequim City Manager Steve Burkett said “We are very excited about this new opportunity to work in partnership with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and utilize the capacity of our Wastewater Treatment Plant to provide service to the region. This agreement will benefit members of the Tribe, City residents, and have a positive impact on the environment.”
In 2011, the Tribe undertook a long-term comprehensive study, its Utility Master Plan, to determine whether to replace Tribal septic systems with an on-site wastewater facility, or to connect to Sequim’s existing utility.
“In the short and long run,” said Tribal COO Annette Nesse, “this plan is more cost-effective and better for the environment. Connecting to the sewer system allows the Tribe to move waste disposal away from the Sequim Bay ecosystem and its precious resources.”
Pumping wastewater away from Sequim Bay to a state-of-the-art facility furthers the Tribe’s support of the Clean Water District and reduction of harmful nutrients to marine waters. In 2006, the Tribe completed the restoration of Jimmycomelately and Dean Creeks in Blyn, to recreate the habitat that has since fostered recovery of the summer chum salmon population. In addition, the Tribe has worked tirelessly to restore the south Sequim Bay habitat to a productive marine environment for natural and farmed shellfish production. All of these efforts, as well as the decision to connect to the Sequim Wastewater facility, are part of the Tribe’s comprehensive plan goal of preserving and protecting treaty rights. This Tribal goal translates to the shared benefit of environmental protection for the entire Clallam County community.
The project – installation of approximately 6.5 miles of pipe – is estimated to cost $8.3 million ($2.3 million less than the projected cost of building an on-site wastewater system), which will be paid for by the Tribe.
The expansion extends outside the city limits, beyond the bounds of the Urban Growth Area onto Tribal reservation lands. The Growth Management Act prohibits any connections to the system along the route. Other properties between Sequim and the Tribal properties will not be allowed to join in.
Although the agreement is between the Tribe and the City of Sequim, Clallam County is involved, and has offered its support.
“This seems like a well-considered decision. In my opinion regionalization of Sequim’s wastewater facilities will have long term benefits for all jurisdictions,” said Bob Martin, Administrative Director of Clallam County Public Works.
The next steps include convening internal Tribal meetings with engineering firm Parametrix to pin down more details of the “Sequim Connection,” and then meet with the City staff to draft a formal agreement before construction begins.
MARYSVILLE – Marysville School District received a bomb threat at approximately 1:45 today at the Marysville-Pilchuck High School according to a release from the district.
A notice to parents states the district has evacuated staff and students to the north lot off of Tomahawk turnpike. Local law enforcement is requesting that vehicles be left on campus.
District buses will pick up students out of the north lot. Special Education Life Skills students will be able to be picked up at the north lot as well.
Student reunification will take place at the church on 51st Avenue and 116th. Students may ride a bus home, get a ride with parent or guardian, or stay on campus at the evacuation site.
Vehicles will be available for pick up once the scene has been released by law enforcement. Families with students enrolled in the district will receive additional school messenger calls notifying them once they are available.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Thursday of last week, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) was elected chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. On Friday, he turned around and took a crap on the majority of his Native American constituents.
Barrasso was elected by his colleagues in the senate last Thursday to take the chairman position of the ever important Senate Indian Affairs Committee formerly occupied by Sen. John Tester (D-Mt). The committee is responsible for reviewing and developing legislation impacting Indian Country and has had its ups and downs. However, the committee has been effective recently in passing bills with strong bipartisan support.
Sen. Tester had been one of the most active chairmen of the committee in recent history but lost the position after Republicans took control of the senate during this fall’s midterm elections. Under Tester’s watch several important pieces of legislation designed to address everything from IRS harassment in Indian Country to those supporting language revitalization efforts were fast tracked for passage.
In a statement Sen. Barrasso said that he looked forward to continuing passing bills on behalf of tribes.
“I’m honored to serve as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. I look forward to working with Vice Chairman Tester and the members on the Committee to pass legislation that helps improve the lives of people across Indian country,” said Sen. Barrasso.
Sen. Barrasso was appointed to the senate in 2007, to fill a seat left vacant by Craig L. Thomas. In 2008 he won a special election for the seat and was reelected to the senate in 2012.
Despite spending nearly a decade serving in Congress, Barrasso, seemingly missed the memo outlining the position of tribes on Keystone XL. While speaking on the Senate floor last Friday, Sen. Barrasso, vowed to pass legislation that would force President Obama’s hand on the highly controversial pipeline.
“Now Republicans are going to show the leadership that the American people have been asking for and that they voted for last November. We’re going to bring a bill to the floor, force the President finally do to do something by putting it on the President’s desk. Democrats have been playing politics with this pipeline bill. The Republican majority will now get it done,” said Sen. Barrasso on the floor of the Senate.
The testimony on the Senate floor comes on the heels of statements clarifying his priorities while head of the Indian Affairs committee.
“As Chairman, I will focus on measures related to jobs, energy and natural resource development, health care, education and tribal self-governance. I will also make it a priority to remove red-tape and bureaucratic barriers to economic growth. Progress on these important issues will go a long way in helping tribal families, communities, and businesses succeed.”
According to Ballotpedia.com Barrasso is likely a sure bet to support legislation reflecting conservative ideas, “Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Barrasso is one of the most reliable Republican votes, meaning he can be considered a safe vote for the Republican Party in Congress.”
The Navy conducts training and testing in a stretch of the Pacific roughly the size of Montana.
It wants to continue and expand its activities in these waters off the West Coast from Washington to Northern California. But first, the Navy must renew its permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The plan calls for detonating explosives, moving vessels, and deploying 700 more sonobuoys per year. And that’s drawing criticism from environmentalists who say the increased use of sonar poses increased risk for whales and other marine mammals.
Sonobouys are three-feet-long cylindrical floats are dropped from aircraft into the water. They use active sonar for the audible clues that can help them locate enemy submarines.
“It’s a critical mission for the Navy to be able to identify and locate submarines and utilizing these types of equipment is how we do that job,” said John Mosher, the environment program manager for the Navy in the Northwest.
The Navy says it keeps a lookout for marine life before conducting tests. It estimates that the added buoys will lead to more than 100,000 potential sonar exposures for marine life.
Mosher acknowledge that “exposure numbers” for marine mammals will increase if the Navy gets its way.
“But I’d like to stress that those exposures are at the low level of behavioral disturbance,” he added. “The animals may hear the device but it’s that simple. No injury, no long-lasting impact whatsoever.”
EarthJustice lawyer Steve Mashuda said increased use of active sonar will disrupt marine mammals’ feeding, breeding and calving.
“It’s behavioral disruption, which doesn’t sound bad until you realize this is happening over and over and over again,” he said.
Mashuda said the Navy is increasing the potential risk to marine mammals without increasing the precautions it’s taking to avoid harming them during testing.
Environmentalists takes particular issue with the Navy’s proposal to conduct tests within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. It’s an area known to be frequented by blue whales, humpback whales, gray whales and endangered orcas.
“We have been saying for a long time that we’re not attempting to stop the Navy from training,” Mashuda said. “But what we are saying is there are areas on the coast, particularly the Washington coast, where we know that there are higher concentrations of marine mammals.
The Navy did not respond to requests to comment about its need to conduct testing exercises in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
Residents of the island communities in Puget Sound report recent increases in loud fighter jets, or “growlers” overhead.
The Navy is expected to release a final environmental review of its proposed marine training and testing activities this summer. The public will have a final chance to comment then.
Sailors unloading sonobouys from a Sea Hawk helicopter. The Navy wants to expand its permit to deploy vessels and sonobouys off the Washington, Oregon and northern California coastline. U.S. Navy
SEATTLE — For the past several years the Navy has been in the process of renewing the permits it needs under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to continue detonating explosives and performing sonar tests and other military activities along a large swath of the Northwest coast, from Northern California to the Canadian border.
Starting Monday, the Navy is asking for public comment on asupplement to its initial environmental impact statement. The supplement includes consideration of an increase in escort vessels and other traffic and anti-submarine warfare training using sonobuoys. Sonobuoys are 3-foot long buoys that are dropped from aircraft into the ocean. The devices use active sonar to detect submarines beneath the surface. The sonar is harmful to whales and dolphins.
Marine mammals like porpoises, gray and fin whales and endangered orcas travel through the Navy’s training range. That’s raised alarm among marine mammal advocates who have voiced concerns about the Navy’s activities. EarthJustice and others conservation groups are opposed to the Navy’s desire to conduct testing and training within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.
The Navy says it will keep a lookout for marine life during the exercises.
The public has until Feb. 2 to submit comments.
Upcoming public meetings:
Tuesday:
Grays Harbor College HUB
1620 Edward P. Smith Drive
Aberdeen, WA 98520
Wednesday:
Isaac Newton Magnet School Gym
825 NE 7th St
Newport, OR
Friday:
Eureka Public Marina, Wharfinger Building, Great Room
1 Marina Way
Eureka, CA 95501
PacifiCorp’s Copco 1 dam on the lower Klamath River is one of four hydro dams that would be removed to facilitate fish passage under the pending Klamath water deal. Amelia Templeton
Supporters of a trio of agreements meant to settle the rancorous water disputes in the Klamath Basin are gearing up to take another run at getting Congressional approval for the deal. A Klamath bill by Oregon’s Democratic senators was not included in a massive funding measure passed in the frantic final hours of the last Congress.
Now – amid signs that support for the agreements is growing, the spotlight is turning toward the region’s Republican congressman.
The failure of the Senate bill that would have implemented the Klamath water agreements left a big question mark: what would happen now?
Among stakeholders in the region, the answer was largely that, somehow or another, the deal would move forward.
“Of course we’re going forward,” said Glen Spain with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, a commercial fishing group.
“There is no alternative on the table other than going back to the kind of chaos we saw a decade ago,” he said.
Farmers and ranchers in the Klamath have waged a long and bitter battle with fishermen and Indian tribes over the region’s scarce water, with periodic irrigation water shut-offs and fish die-offs raising the stakes.
Over the course of years, the three water agreements were hammered out as the various stakeholders eventually negotiated compromises most felt they could live with. One federal official said what finally brought everyone to the table was the realization that “part of something is better than all of nothing.”
,
Now – with three interlocking agreements awaiting Congressional approval – stakeholders say it’s crucial to wrap it up.
“This is how we’re going to have stability in resource management in the Klamath Basin as we move forward,” said Greg Addington, who heads the Klamath Water Users Association. It represents farmers and ranchers on the federal Klamath Irrigation Project. Addington says, at this point, making major changes in the deal isn’t feasible.
“As you look at the complexity of these issues and the work that went into crafting these agreements over the last eight or nine years – we’ve been at this for a while – it just makes you more confident that you’ve really crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s and looked at all the potential solutions,” he said.
In recent months, a growing number of previously-skeptical groups have come to back the water deal, including the Klamath Falls City Council, the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce and the Klamath Cattlemen’s Association.
One key player who hasn’t yet signed on is Republican congressman Greg Walden. The Klamath is in Walden’s district and so far he’s had reservations about the agreements, in particular the part that would remove the four hydropower dams on the Klamath River. The dams have blocked fish passage for more than fifty years.
As more Klamath agriculture groups have swung their support to the deal, they’ve urged Walden to get behind it. But if Walden hopes to substantially change the dam removal part of the deal, Don Gentry, who chairs the Klamath Tribal Council, would beg to differ.
“It’s pretty clear that the parties are all on board that that’s a part of the package and without that dam removal component, the agreements will unravel,” he said.
Gentry says removing the dams is crucial to restoring the endangered fish populations the tribes have a treaty right to.
Just as the new session of the US Senate convened this month, Oregon Democrats Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley re-introduced their Klamath water bill that died last session. Merkley says with the probability of another dry summer approaching, time is running out.
“This has to happen in legislation, to lock in the components as a group,” he said. “And so we could have a major water war or water catastrophe, however you want to put it, for the ranching-farming community if we don’t get this done.”
While there are still parties opposing the agreements – the Klamath County Commission and the Hoopa Indian tribe among them — the success of this effort would seem to hinge on Greg Walden’s support. Walden’s office declined to comment except to say he’s been meeting with stakeholders and “shares a common goal of finding a viable path forward.”
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has been studying issue in B.C. for 2 years
The Inter-American Commission, which is affiliated with the Organization of American States, has issued a report on murdered and missing indigenous women. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)
A report into missing and murdered indigenous women in B.C. is breathing new life into an acrimonious debate between advocates of a public inquiry and the Canadian government, which says it is taking action to address the problem but refuses to call an inquiry.
The report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which is affiliated with the Organization of American States, said it “strongly supports the creation of a national-level action plan or a nationwide inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.”
The report came to several conclusions, including:
The high numbers of missing and murdered aboriginal women in B.C. are concentrated in Prince George and the Downtown Eastside.
The police have “failed to adequately prevent and protect indigenous women and girls from killings and disappearances.”
Multiple policing jurisdictions in B.C. have resulted in “confusion” between the RCMP and Vancouver police.
The report acknowledged the steps already taken by Canadian governments at both the federal and provincial levels to address some of the problems and challenges that indigenous women face.
Last fall, the federal government committed to a five-year plan to address violence against aboriginal women and girls.
Today, the office for Kellie Leitch, the minister for the status of women, said the government was reviewing the report.
“Our government has received the IACHR’s report and is reviewing the report’s findings, comments and recommendations.”
The report’s recommendations include calls for:
Providing a safe public transport option along Highway 16 in Prince George.
Mandatory training for police officers, prosecutors, judges and court personnel “in the causes and consequences of gender-based violence.”
A national plan or public inquiry in consultation with indigenous peoples.
NDP aboriginal affairs critic Jean Crowder said it was “unconscionable” for the government to ignore growing calls for a public inquiry.
“It is time for the prime minister and [Aboriginal Affairs Minister] Bernard Valcourt to stop ignoring the sociological phenomenon of missing and murdered indigenous women and take federal action to address the crisis,” Crowder said in a written statement.
Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett also urged the government to heed the report’s recommendations.
“The prime minister’s shocking indifference to this ongoing tragedy is not only a national disgrace, but an international embarrassment,” Bennett said in a written statement.
The IACHR has been studying the issue for more than two years.
Its investigation was requested by the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) and Feminist Alliance for International Action (FAFIA) in March 2012.
At a press conference in Ottawa to respond to the report, Dawn Harvard of the NWAC called it “truly groundbreaking.”
“This report is the first in-depth examination of the murders and disappearances by an expert human rights body. These women and girls are being stolen from our families, from our communities, and it is time that somebody is taking it seriously,” Harvard said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in reaction to the recent slaying of Tina Fontaine that the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women was not part of a “sociological phenomenon,” but rather a crime and should be treated as such.
Holly Johnson, of the Feminist Alliance for International Action, said the commission has spoken “loudly and clearly.”
“Canadian governments have a lot of work to do,” she said. “Contrary to our prime minister’s assertion, that this is not a sociological phenomenon … [It] goes way beyond policing. Social and economic factors must also be addressed.”
The report includes recommendations on how governments at both the federal and provincial/territorial level can address the situation.
The Conservative government has so far refused calls for a national public inquiry on the issue, saying it is more interested in taking action. Last month, when CBC’s Peter Mansbridge asked the prime minister about launching a public inquiry, Harper said: “It isn’t high on our radar, to be honest.”
“The actions Harper is prepared to engage in are very slim, uncoordinated,” said Sheila Day, chair of the FAFIA human rights committee, at a press conference held by FAFIA and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. Day said the report makes it clear that the consultation and participation of indigenous women and associations is essential.
At the press conference, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said the fundamental issue is racist attitudes toward indigenous women and girls. “We are going to continue to pursue this issue until there is justice,” said Philip.
Canada’s premiers are expected to hold a national roundtable on murdered and missing aboriginal women on Feb. 27 in Ottawa.
Two dancers in regalia work a Native American Professional Parent Resources outreach booth at the 2014 Gathering of Nations powwow in Albuquerque, N.M. | Courtesy Photo
OKLAHOMA CITY – Despite living in a state where Medicaid was not expanded, Oklahoma’s 38 federally recognized tribes have found a way to state tribal liaison, Sally Carter – and she has found her way to them. In this newly created position, Carter is quick to tell you that she considers Oklahoma to have 39 tribes because even though the Euchee are not federally recognized, they are state recognized. Breathlessly, she says she is learning fast.
“I still count them,” she said.
Carter carries Euchee concerns on health matters back to the state capital as part of a new stance where the health decision makers seek to repair a long and tenuous relationship between historical archetypes. When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010, a series of listening sessions between Oklahoma and the tribes occurred at six different tribal jurisdictions across the state to talk about the federal health overhaul. Replete with opening ceremonies and songs, the state was figuratively stretching its hand toward its Native inhabitants.
From these beginnings, Carter takes the message back to the capital that the tribes want to be at the decision-making table with state leaders, including the newly re-elected Republican governor, Mary Fallin.
Carter said the tribes don’t just want to be told about important developments, they want to help shape the direction the state will take on things such as the implementation of the ACA and how to reduce health disparities like high smoking and diabetes rates in their nations.
To date, 1,638 American Indians in Oklahoma have enrolled for federal health insurance through ACA while 13,061 have enrolled nationally, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report. When compared to the 9.1 million estimated Obamacare enrollees, American Indians number roughly 1 percent of all Americans who now have health insurance who had none before.
But that thing that makes Oklahoma’s Indian Country so different—that thing that separates it from other U.S. states with tribes – is that it has no official Indian reservations. A federal land allotment experiment from the 1900s crisscrossed the state’s territory into a veritable smorgasbord of jurisdictions – federal, tribal, municipal, state.
Carter is working on how to stimulate enrollment among Oklahoma tribes.
If the government wants to reach the American Indians here, it’s best to go to each tribe, Carter said. That was a go-to move state health officials embraced as they discussed ACA with the tribes. The things Carter found surprised her although she is an Oklahoma resident and had lived near various tribal jurisdictions for years.
“They are the only (minority) group that has to show their race,” she said, her voice lilting. “I mean, no other group has to do that. They have to prove it with an enrollment card of some kind.”
Official American Indian citizenship is important because the ACA has special provisions that allow Indians to “opt out” of having to enroll in federal health insurance, if they choose. But Indians need to fill out form OMB No. 0938-1190 that officially removes them, officials said. Not doing so will mean an eventual penalty.
“(ACA) is very complex and not one of us would say that we know it all,” Carter said. So the state took the best of what they knew after weeks of training on the health plan to several tribal jurisdictions. When all sides met, Carter said she was schooled. American Indians have strong opinions about the state/ federal government encroaching on their personal privacy and tribal sovereignty with this new federal health insurance.
Because Oklahoma chose not to expand Medicaid, enrolling American Indians in ACA takes a certain degree of cultural finesse and dogged persistence, Carter said. In other tribally populated states, like North Dakota, the move to expand Medicaid fills in where ACA may not be a strong priority, said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-ND. The emphasis is reducing uninsured numbers, she said.
“The State of North Dakota expanded Medicaid, which has helped uninsured, low-income individuals and families, including many Native Americans throughout the state, get access to affordable health care,” Heitkamp said. “ Medicaid expansion is giving families opportunities they didn’t have before to afford to see a doctor regularly and get access to needed medications, while reducing costs for everyone – those with health coverage and those without.”
The Oklahoma tribal liaison added that even while enrollment curiosity abounded, many did not qualify for ACA because they did not file income tax returns. American Indians can enroll in ACA at any time – not just during enrollment periods, but their tax filings allow them also to file the exemption – if they chose to forgo coverage.
American Indians have a higher unemployment rate than other groups–peaking in 2013, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population survey. Indian unemployment rates averaged 11.3 percent compared to 9.1 percent of the mainstream during that time. High unemployment rates among Indians tend to keep more Indians ineligible for ACA enrollment, Carter said.
What has also dampened Oklahoma’s outreach has been a distrustful relationship between the state and tribes—this makes it harder for federal initiatives to come through the front door, said Terry Cline, Oklahoma’s commissioner of health. He points to the good faith of the tribal/state meetings.
“I considered the listening sessions a good start,” he said. An official summary on the sessions reported 193 attendees at the six sessions, several of which Cline attended.
“We held those sessions to have open dialogue,” he said. “What you hear from one tribe might be different from another tribe says.”
As for ACA and tribes, a tribe’s type of relationship with the federal government, either Self-Governance or direct service, dictated outreach approaches because that’s how health dollars are administered by tribes in states, especially in Oklahoma, officials said.
Tribes that operate under provisions of the Indian Self Determination Act might outreach on ACA directly to members in their own tribally run health systems and tribes that are direct service entities may forgo outreach to their local Indian Health Service (IHS) service facility. In both regions, IHS and tribal facilities can accept ACA insurance from patients and lessen the amount of contract (out-of-IHS system) health dollars it spends, officials said.
“Tribes have a lot of interest in ACA,” Carter said. “Tribal leaders and the health department can inspire and direct tribal members to enroll.”
Both of the tribal-to-federal relationships are considered when the state of Oklahoma contacts tribes, and the state tends to follow the federal approach, Carter said. Putting on different hats to deal with different tribes is prudent.
“Tribes need to see people they know and that they can trust who know about American Indian provisions,” she said. “I believe in face-to-face interactions. States usually contact them (tribes) with emails or letters, but a relationship needs to be worked on and allowed to develop.”
Cline said no special state appropriations exist to outreach to tribes for ACA enrollment in Oklahoma but he’s optimistic that other types of federal grants to reduce health disparities will help. The health commissioner said he knows Oklahoma has room for ACA Native growth through grants.
The HHS report points out that Oklahoma has the highest density of Indians among Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) states with 3.5 percent of the population followed by Wyoming, with 3.1 percent. Wyoming’s total Native ACA enrollment stands at 309, the report shows.
At this point, Oklahoma seems to lead the state in the number of Natives it has enrolled, just exceeding figures for California. But as enrollment rolls on, officials expect more American Indians to register. Indian Country (the term used to characterize where a federal-tribal relationship exists) extends beyond Oklahoma.
Other states with significant Native populations include Arizona, California, New Mexico, South Dakota and North Dakota. ACA data gathering for Native numbers is in its infancy, organizers said. They say the goal is to pool their information from various regions (via Indian advocacy agencies) to get a more precise picture of Native ACA enrollment. Due to their smaller population numbers, American Indian statistics are often overlooked, officials said.
Other mainstream entities who track the progress are unclear about just how many have actually signed up for ACA. Michelle McEvoy, vice-president of survey, research and evaluation for the Commonwealth Fund, said that no Native specific information has been garnered by her group.
“Latinos currently represent about 17 percent of the U.S. population, so they have a greater probability of being sampled than American Indians who represent about 1.2 percent of the U.S. population,” she said.
Likewise, the non-profit Enroll America, relies on Native ACA enrollment numbers from federal sources, wrote Jessica McCarron, deputy press secretary, by e-mail.
“We do work with partners at the local level to reach different communities, like Native American groups in certain parts of the country,” McCarron stated. “We work with a few partners who have made outreach to tribal communities a high priority.”
Meanwhile, Carter is optimistic about ACA enrollment and reaching American Indians in Oklahoma.
“(ACA) is bigger than all of us,” she said. “We can’t do this alone; it only happens when the state extends its hands across the table and says we need to do this for all the people.”
– This story was funded by the University of Southern California’s (USC) Annenberg School of Journalism as one project undertaken by the 2014 class of California Endowment Health Journalism Fellows. S.E. Ruckman is writing a three-part series on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Indian country. In addition to mainstream viewpoints, American Indian health advocates and American Indian enrollees are visited to gauge the national health plan’s implementation in Native populations. Fellows’ projects can be found at www.reportingonhealth.org.
NATIVE AMERICAN ACA ENROLLEES STATE ENROLLMENT TOTALS
*Wyoming: 309
*New Mexico: 566
*Oklahoma: 1,635
+California: 1,401
*Arizona: 514
*North Dakota: 82
*South Dakota: 271
TOTAL: 13,061
Sources: (March 2014) *HHS Summary Report; +California Department of Health Care Services
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – Leaders of American Indian tribes in the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains have joined an effort to retain federal protections for grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to decide this year whether it will move to lift protections for the roughly 1,000 grizzlies that scientists say live in the Yellowstone region of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
The campaign to enlist tribal backing for continued protections is being coordinated in large part by wildlife advocates. Organizers say more than two dozen tribes have signed on with resolutions and other declarations of support.
Tribal leaders cited their ancestral connection to the Yellowstone area and the cultural importance of grizzly bears to their people.
“Any move to delist the sacred grizzly bear on this ancestral landscape must involve consultation with the affected Tribal Nations,” wrote Ivan Posey, a member of the Eastern Shoshone and chairman of the Montana Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, in a letter last month.
Lifting protections and allowing state-sponsored hunting “not only represents a threat to tribal sovereignty, but also contravenes the American Indian Religious Freedom Act,” Posey said.
The council includes representatives from 11 tribes.
Tribal leaders from Idaho, South Dakota, North Dakota and Oklahoma have submitted similar letters through an advocacy group known as Guardians of Our Ancestors’ Legacy, or GOAL.
Federal grizzly recovery coordinator Chris Servheen said letters seeking comment were sent in April to four tribes in Wyoming and Idaho but none responded. The four tribes that received the Fish and Wildlife Service letters were identified by the agency’s tribal liaisons as having a direct interest in grizzlies in the Yellowstone region, Servheen said.
“We would welcome their input and ideas, and we asked for the input and ideas,” he said.
Grizzlies received federal protections in the Lower 48 in 1975 after getting wiped out across much of their range. The Yellowstone region is home to one of the largest remaining populations.
The region’s bears temporarily lost protections in 2007 before they were restored by a federal judge. No tribes raised concerns during that time, Servheen said.
Lifting protections would transfer jurisdiction over grizzlies to states that have said they would likely allow some trophy hunting of the animals. Wildlife managers have said hunt quotas would be kept small because of the size of the population and the bears’ low rate of reproduction.
A Ukiah Indian rancheria will soon be the site of what is likely California’s first tribe-sanctioned, large-scale indoor medical marijuana cultivation and distribution operation.
The 250-member Pinoleville Pomo Nation revealed Thursday it has entered into a contract with Colorado-based United Cannabis and Kansas-based FoxBarry Farms to grow thousands of marijuana plants on its 99-acre rancheria just north of Ukiah.
It’s the first of three such operations planned in California by United Cannabis and FoxBarry, a sign that marijuana cultivation is making headway in its voyage from being an illegal backwoods venture to a mainstream business. The locations of the other two have yet to be revealed.
Construction on a 2.5-acre indoor marijuana-growing facility will begin within a month and operations are expected to be underway in February, according to a spokesman for the tribe.
“We are very excited about the relationship with United Cannabis and FoxBarry,” said Michael Canales, president of the tribe’s business board.
FoxBarry Farms, which also invests in and manages tribal casinos, will fund and operate the facility on the rancheria, Canales said. The tribe also owns 100 acres near Ukiah High School but only the rancheria is held in federal trust, which renders it largely free of local regulations. The tribe is seeking trust status for the additional 100 acres, Canales said. It also owns several acres on North State Street, north of Ukiah, where it is planning to build a casino.
No dispensary plans
FoxBarry’s president, Barry Brautman, said he’s not certain how many plants will be grown at the new cannabis facility but expects there to be “thousands” growing year-round.
“We’re harvesting every day. Everything’s on a big rotation,” he said.
The marijuana grown on the rancheria will be distributed only to medical marijuana card-holding members and dispensaries, in keeping with state law, Brautman said.
“Our business model involves doing everything legally and by the book,” he said.
There currently is no plan for a dispensary at the site, Brautman said.
The 110,000-square-foot facility will cost about $10 million to build and will employ 50 to 100 people, most of them local residents, he said.
“There are a lot of people who know what they’re doing in this county” when it comes to marijuana cultivation, Brautman noted.
The workforce also will include security guards to patrol the fenced facility, Brautman said.
The Pinoleville facility will be growing award-winning, brand-name pot developed by United Cannabis, a marijuana research and development company, Brautman said.
“The vast research and science behind their development are what differentiate us from everyone else in this business,” he said.
Deal been in works
United Cannabis and FoxBarry recently entered an agreement under which FoxBarry will exclusively distribute United Cannabis branded marijuana products in California, he said.
The partnership with the tribe follows a U.S. Department of Justice announcement last month that tribes — which are sovereign nations — have the authority to legalize marijuana on lands that are held for them in federal trust. But the deal has been in the works for much longer, about a year, Brautman said.
He said FoxBarry’s attorneys already believed that tribes had the authority to set up such operations. The Justice Department’s statement confirmed their opinions, he said.
“Those laws and interpretations are not new,” Brautman said.
Ukiah Police Chief Chris Dewey said Thursday that he doesn’t know any of the specifics of the project but has some concerns in general about marijuana-growing operations.
“My most important issue would be that we safeguard people. We’ve had a number of home-invasion robberies in our valley,” he noted.
Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman could not be reached Thursday for comment.
