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Bay Area American Indians Demand Removal of Columbus Statue

SAN FRANCISCO – American Indians and other Indigenous Peoples from the San Francisco Bay Area marched from Washington Square one-quarter mile to near Coit Tower where a statue of Christopher Columbus stands in San Francisco. This after being denied access to Alcatraz Island for the first time in decades.

Owned and operated by the National Park Service, Alcatraz Island is the victim of federal government shutdown, along with other national parks throughout the United States.

On the day others celebrate Christopher Columbus, the San Francisco Bay Area Native community has held Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on Alcatraz Island as an alternative means to draw attention to Indigenous causes.

Yesterday, the protesters marched to the statue to demand that a process begins to have the statute permanently removed.

”Honoring Columbus with a statute is equal to erecting a statue of Hitler in Europe where he left so many victims,”

according to a statement released by AIM-West, one of the organizations that held yesterday’s event.

”Let the healing begin …and celebrate 521 years of Indigenous People’s resistance to colonization throughout the Americas! October 12, also known as Dia De La Raza for millions of Spanish speaking Indigenous people’s of Central and South America, sacred Turtle Island, Abya Yala, declare this day together by shouting, ‘We are still here!’”

reads another portion of AIM-West’s statement.

“It was determined that a process will be initiated to bring to the attention of San Francisco Board of Supervisors to find a resolution that will effectively remove sculptures and symbols that represent and glorify individuals at the expense of indigenous lives and culture,” said Tony Gonzales, director of AIM-West.

8 Tribes That Are Way Ahead of the Climate-Adaptation Curve

By Terri Hansen, ICTMN

Much has been made of the need to develop climate-change-adaptation plans, especially in light of increasingly alarming findings about how swiftly the environment that sustains life as we know it is deteriorating, and how the changes compound one another to quicken the pace overall. Studies, and numerous climate models, and the re-analysis of said studies and climate models, all point to humankind as the main driver of these changes. In all these dire pronouncements and warnings there is one bright spot: It may not be too late to turn the tide and pull Mother Earth back from the brink.

None of this is new to the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island. Besides already understanding much about environmental issues via millennia of historical perspective, Natives are at the forefront of these changes and have been forced to adapt. Combining their preexisting knowledge with their still-keen ability to read environmental signs, these tribes are way ahead of the curve, with climate-change plans either in the making or already in effect.

RELATED: Adapt to Climate Change, Now

1. Swinomish Tribe: From Proclamation to Action

On the southeastern peninsula of Fidalgo Island in Washington State, the Swinomish were the first tribal nation to pass a Climate Change proclamation, which they did in 2007. Since then they have implemented a concrete action plan.

The catalyst came in 2006, when a strong storm surge pushed tides several feet above normal, flooding and damaging reservation property. Heightening awareness of climate change in general, it became the tribe’s impetus for determining appropriate responses. The tribe began a two-year project in 2008, issued an impact report in 2009 and an action plan in 2010, said project coordinator and senior planner Ed Knight. The plan identified a number of proposed “next step” implementation projects, several of them now under way: coastal protection measures, code changes, community health assessment and wildfire protection, among others.

The tribe won funding through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and the Administration for Native Americans to support the $400,000 Swinomish Climate Change Initiative, of which the tribe funded 20 percent. When work began in 2008, most estimates for sea level rise by the end of the century were in the range of one to one-and-a-half feet, with temperature changes ranging from three to five degrees Fahrenheit, said Knight. But those estimates did not take into account major melting in the Arctic, Antarctica and Greenland, he said.

“Now, the latest reports reflect accelerated rates” of sea level rise and temperature increases, Knight said. Those are three to four feet or more, and six to nine degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, by 2100. “We are currently passing 400 ppm of CO2, on track for [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] worst-case scenarios.”

Since the Swinomish started work on climate issues, many tribes across the country have become active on these issues as they also realize the potential impacts to their communities and resources. The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) has been funded over the last few years to conduct climate adaptation training, Knight said, “and probably more than 100 tribes have now received training on this.”

2. Jamestown S’Klallam: Rising Sea Levels and Ocean Acidification

Jamestown S’Klallam tribal citizens live in an ecosystem that has sustained them for thousands of years, on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. Over the past two centuries they have successfully navigated societal changes, all while maintaining a connection to the resource-rich ecosystem of the region. Though they have also adapted to past climate variations, the magnitude and rapid rate of current and projected climate change prompted them to step it up. That became apparent when tribal members noticed ocean acidification in the failure of oyster and shellfish larvae.

The Jamestown S’Klallam are dealing with rising sea levels and ocean acidification. (Photo: ClimateAdaptation.org)

“Everyone who was part of the advisory group all had their personal testimony as to the changes they’d seen,” said Hansi Hals, the tribe’s environmental planning program manager, describing a meeting of a sideline group. “Everybody had something to say.”

Tribal members brought their concerns to the attention of the Natural Resources committee and tribal council three years ago, Hals said. This past summer they released their climate vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan, which identified key tribal resources, outlined the expected impacts from climate change and created adaptation strategies for each resource. It included sea-level-rise maps are for three time frames, near (low), mid-century (medium) and end of century (high).

3. Mescalero Apache: Bolstering Tribal Resilience

Tribal lands of the Mescalero Apache in southwestern New Mexico flank the Sacramento Mountains and border Lincoln National Forest, where increased frequency and intensity of wildfires is due to drought-compromised woodlands. Mike Montoya, director of the Mescalero Apache Tribe’s Fisheries Department, executive director of the Southwest Tribal Fisheries Commission and project leader for the Sovereign Nations Service Corps, a Mescalero-based AmeriCorps program, has observed climate-driven changes to the landscape in his years in natural resource management.

Mescalero Apache Tribe’s holding pond can contain 500,000 gallons of water and nourishes the community garden. (Photo courtesy Mescalero Apache Tribe)

The tribe has undertaken innovative environmental initiatives to help bolster tribal resilience to climate change impacts, Montoya said. One example is a pond constructed for alternative water supply to the fish hatchery in the event of a catastrophic flood event. It holds 500,000 gallons of water from a river 3,600 feet away.

“It’s all gravity fed,” Montoya said. “Now, with the aid of solar powered water pumps, we are able to supply water to our community garden.”

4. Karuk Tribe: Defending the Klamath River

With lands within and around the Klamath River and Six Rivers National Forests in northern California, the Klamath Tribe is implementing parts of its Eco-Cultural Resources Management Draft Plan released in 2010. The plan synthesizes the best available science, locally relevant observations and Traditional Ecological Knowledge to help the Karuk create an integrated approach to addressing natural resource management and confront the potential impacts of climate change.

5. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes: Strategic Planning

Fire management planning on Salish and Kootenai tribal lands in Montana. (Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

These tribes, who live in what is today known as Montana, issued a climate change proclamation in November 2012 and adopted a Climate Change Strategic Plan in 2013. The Tribal Science Council identified climate change and traditional ecological knowledge as the top two priorities for tribes across the nation in June 2011, according to Michael Durglo, the tribe’s division of environmental protection manager and climate change planning coordinator, as well as the National Tribal Science Council’s Region 8 representative.

So did the Inter-Tribal Timber Council, which his brother, Jim Durglo, is involved with. In fall 2012 the confederated tribes received financial support through groups affiliated with the Kresge foundation and from the Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative to develop plans, Michael Durglo said. A year later, in September 2013, the tribes’ Climate Change Strategic Plan was completed and approved by the Tribal Council. Next the tribes will establish a Climate Change Oversight Committee.

“This committee will monitor progress, coordinate funding requests, continue research of [Traditional Ecological Knowledge], incorporate the strategic planning results into other guiding documents such as the Flathead Reservation Comprehensive Resource Management Plan and others, and update the plan on a regular basis based on updated science,” said Michael Durglo.

6. Nez Perce: Preservation Via Carbon Sequestration

More than a decade ago the Nez Perce Tribe, of the Columbia River Plateau in northern Idaho, recognized carbon sequestration on forested lands as a means of preserving natural resources and generating jobs and income, while reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. In the mid to late 1990s the Nez Perce Forestry & Fire Management Division developed a carbon offset strategy to market carbon sequestration credits. The purpose of the afforestation project, about 400 acres in size, was to establish marketable carbon offsets, develop an understanding of potential carbon markets and cover the costs of project implementation and administration.

Nez Perce project before and after. (Photo: NAU ITEP)

As carbon markets soften and actual project development slows, the tribe cites the increased awareness and education of other tribes of the carbon sales process and opportunities for more carbon sequestration projects in Indian country as its biggest accomplishment of the last two years.

Photo: NAU ITEP

7. Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians: Attacking Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This tribe in southern California has taken numerous steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address the impacts of climate change on tribal peoples, land and resources. In 1998 the tribe formed the Santa Ynez Chumash Environmental Office.

“We are also looking into opening a public compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station, replacing our fleet with CNG vehicles, are installing EV charging stations, implementing an innovative home, and building upgrade training program through an EPA Climate Showcase Communities grant,” said Santa Ynez environmental director Joshua Simmons.

SYCEO’s projects are numerous and have had impressive results, including major reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. An example is the Chumash Casino’s implementation of a shuttle bus program that eliminated 800,000 car trips in 2009, replacing them with 66,000 bus trips. The casino is reducing its energy consumption, chemical waste and use of one-use materials. It also has an extensive rainwater and gray water collection and treatment system. Many of these initiatives have economic benefits and provide a model and economic incentive for tribal and non-tribal businesses to implement similar changes.

8. Newtok Village: Ultimate Adaptation Plan—Evacuation

This Native village on the western coast of Alaska is home to some of the U.S.’s first climate refugees. They leapfrogged over mere adaptation-mitigation as sea and river cut through and then eroded the permafrost beneath their village and a 1983 assessment found that the community would be endangered within 25 to 30 years. In 1994 Newtok began work on what then seemed the ultimate adaptation plan: relocation.

The Native Alaskan village of Newtok had to relocate as its shoreline was washed away because of melting permafrost. (Photo: Newtok Planning Group)

They selected Mertarvik nine miles to the south as the relocation site in 1996. Their efforts intensified when a study by the Army Corps of Engineers found that the highest point in the village would be below sea level by 2017. The Newtok community, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations formed the Newtok Planning Group in 2006, but as Newtok’s administrator Stanley Tom searched for funding he struck little pay dirt. Mostly, he hit walls. Now Tom is calling for evacuation, exposing it as the true ultimate in adaptation.

“It’s really happening right now,” He told the Guardian last May. “The village is sinking and flooding and eroding.”

Tom told the British newspaper that he was moving his own belongings to the new, still very sparse village site over the summer–and advised fellow villagers to start doing the same.

The Government Shutdown Hits Indian Country Hard, On Many Fronts

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The government shutdown continues into its third week as funds are drying up for many agencies struggling to remain open. Even with an end potentially in sight, the crisis has proven to be good for some areas of Indian country but has been very bad news for most of it.

The shutdown of non-essential government entities like national parks around the country has helped the tourism business for the Hualapai and Navajo Nation. Both tribes offer attractive alternatives to the Grand Canyon, which is closed. As NPR reports, the Hualapai who owns Grand Canyon West, offers a Plexiglas horseshoe walkway tour of the Canyon. The Navajos offer tours of Antelope Canyon – the often-neglected stepchild of the Grand Canyon.

“Tourism is the backbone of the tribe,” Matthew Putesoy, Havasupai vice chairman told NPR. “We really don’t have any other economic development.”

The lack of economic development is a situation that hurts many tribes. “One of the real casualties is our economic development projects,” Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior, said in a phone interview with Indian Country Today Media Network. “We are working only on matters posing an imminent risk to life and property. I had a tribe that came in and was ready to close on a loan. The loan just needs a review and signature and we’re not able to do that, so that loan is not being funded yet.”

Washburn also mentioned a tribe waiting for a coal mine project review, and another waiting for a renewable energy project approval. “Everything has come to a screeching halt,” he said.

While the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education are running for the most part, social services are operating at minimal staff, according to Washburn. Social services and tribal assistance for heating are two areas of grave concern in Indian country as the harsh winter season approaches.

A New York Times article on October 13 followed Audrey Costa, a Native in Montana who is wondering where the money for the heat will come from. Costa, a mother of three, “relies on lease payments from the Bureau of Indian Affairs” and has yet to see a check since the shutdown.

Costa lives on the Crow Reservation, one of many impoverished Indian tribes that rely heavily on federal dollars according to The Times. The Crow tribe has continued to operate with a skeleton crew.

Skeleton crews are also operating in South Dakota, particularly the Pine Ridge Reservation, which was just hit with an unexpected blizzard. The storm brought 70-mile-per-hour winds and blinding snow, and trapped at least 60,000 cattle throughout Nebraska, Wyoming and South Dakota. The exact number of cattle lost on the Pine Ridge Reservation is unknown, as the slim crew continues to search the almost 3,500 square mile reservation. This job was made even tougher by power outages caused by the storm.

On October 11, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) shared stories of tribal families in North Dakota being put in difficult situations during her speech on the Senate floor. North Dakota was also pounded by the recent snowstorm that hit the plains. “The stories that I heard I want to share with this body today, Mr. President, because they are telling stories about how foolish – how foolish and how dangerous – this government shutdown is to many, many, very, very vulnerable families, particularly vulnerable Native American families.” (Most of the tribes in North Dakota are direct service tribes which rely on the BIA for much of the assistance.)

“Because of the shutdown, BIA Law Enforcement at the Spirit Lake Nation is limited to one officer per shift, in charge of patrolling the 252,000 acre reservation,” Heitkamp said. “And because of the shutdown, when the Sisseton-Wahpeton community recently lost a three month old baby, the mother now has been turned away for burial assistance for her child.”

According to a press release from Heitkamp’s office, the majority of the BIA offices – which provide services to more than 1.7 million American Indians and Alaska Natives from more than 500 recognized tribes – is now shuttered. This means funding has been cut off for foster care payments, nutrition programs, and financial assistance for struggling Native families.

According to Washburn, the BIA has roughly 1,600 employees still working while another 2,500 are furloughed. “Everyone of those 2,500 furloughed employees has an important job serving Indian tribes and they aren’t able to do that right now,” Washburn said.

For the Oglala Sioux and its Pine Ridge Reservation, this shuttering will result in the release of prisoners, hundreds of tribal employees furloughed and a suspension in the heating assistance to elderly tribal members according to The Rapid City Journal.

“It is a devastating situation, not a political debate,” Oglala Sioux President Bryan Brewer said in the statement via The Journal. “Our people suffer the worst poverty in the country. It is unthinkable to have to close programs, stop services and turn people out of their jobs. In an area with 80 percent unemployment, furloughs are a humanitarian disaster.”

Like Brewer, Darrin Old Coyote, Crow tribal chairman, does not agree with the way the shutdown is being handled. “They don’t have a clue what’s going on out here,” Coyote said in The Times of politicians in Washington. He was speaking from his office in Crow Agency, which sits in the shadow of the Little Bighorn battlefield, itself closed because of the shutdown. “It is hurting a lot of people.”

“[The shutdown is] going to be more and more damaging the longer it goes,” Washburn told ICTMN. “And the longer and longer it goes on it will be harder for us to ramp back up…

“We are feeling for everyone out there in Indian country.”

Ballots and local voters’ pamphlets scheduled to be mailed for November 5 General Election.

Source: Snohomish County Auditor’s office

EVERETT – Snohomish County Elections will mail ballots tomorrow to over 412,000 voters for the November 5 General Election. The Snohomish County local voters’ pamphlets will be mailed today one per household. Voters will also receive a pamphlet from the Secretary of State covering statewide ballot measures and advisory votes.

This year’s general election features two statewide initiatives, five advisory votes, three county council positions as well as a number of city, school district, fire district, sewer district and other local district positions. Ballot measures in the City of Lynnwood, the Stanwood-Camano School District and Public Hospital District 1 are also up for voter consideration.

Voters are encouraged to be an informed voter by learning about the races and issues on their ballot, reading and following the ballot instructions, using the write-in line for serious office seekers only, signing their ballot envelope and returning their ballot as soon as practical. These steps will ensure that their ballot can be counted without issue or delay.

First time voters wanting to vote in this election may register in person at the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office through Monday, October 28. In order to register to vote in the state of Washington, a person must:

· be a citizen of the United States;

· have lived in Washington State for at least 30 days;

· be at least 18 years old by Election Day;

· not disqualified due to a court order; and

· not currently under Department of Corrections supervision for a felony conviction.

Snohomish County conducts all of its elections entirely by mail. All eligible voters will be mailed a ballot to their current residential or mailing address beginning October 17.

Voters choosing to return their voted ballot through the mail must ensure that it is postmarked no later than November 5. Voters may return their voted ballot postage free to any one of eleven 24-hour ballot drop box locations in Snohomish County. Ballots can be deposited at these locations any time until 8:00 pm on Election Day, though voters are encouraged to return their ballot as soon as practical to avoid wait times at drop boxes on Election Day.

The eleven 24-hour ballot drop boxes locations are:

Arlington (near library)

135 N Washington Ave, Arlington

Edmonds (near library)

650 Main St, Edmonds

Everett (Courthouse Campus)

Rockefeller Ave and Wall St, Everett

Everett (at McCollum Park)

600 128^th St SE, Everett

Lake Stevens (near the city boat launch)

1800 Main St, Lake Stevens

Lynnwood (in front of City Hall)

19100 44^th Ave, Lynnwood

Marysville (behind Municipal Court)

1015 State Ave, Marysville

Monroe (near Library)

1070 Village Way, Monroe

Mukilteo (near library)

4675 Harbour Pointe Blvd, Mukilteo

Snohomish (near library)

311 Maple Ave, Snohomish

Stanwood (near library)

9701 271^st St NW, Stanwood

More information is listed on the insert delivered with each ballot and can also be found online at www.snoco.org/elections.

Snohomish County Elections will have accessible voting equipment designed for voters with disabilities available in the Auditor’s Office beginning October 16 through November 5 and at the Lynnwood Sno-Isle Library on Monday, November 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Election Day, Tuesday, November 5 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The Lynnwood Sno-Isle Library is located at 19200 44^th Ave, Lynnwood.

The Snohomish County Auditor’s Office is located on the first floor of the Snohomish County Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Everett. Voters may drop their voted ballots at the Auditor’s Office Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The office will have extended hours on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5 from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

Snohomish County Elections may be reached at 425-388-3444.

Cheyenne River Youth Project Fundraiser has Global Reach

Win Handmade “Christmas” Lakota Star Quilt

Source: Native News Network

EAGLE BUTTE, SOUTH DAKOTA – The Cheyenne River Youth Project has just launched its Christmas Star Quilt Raffle, giving members of the public a chance to win the distinctive, queen size Lakota star quilt appropriately named “A Christmas Star.” CRYP’s staff is eager to see where the requests for raffle tickets originate, as the 25-year-old, not-for-profit youth organization’s raffle fundraisers tend to reach far beyond US borders. Previous years’ raffle winners have come from as far away as the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

The quilt above is “Winter on the Plains,” which was raffled off in March

“The best part of these raffles is that they’re international,”

said Julie Garreau, CRYP’s executive director.

“Anyone can buy tickets, whether you live in South Dakota, elsewhere in the United States or in another country.”

The blue and white quilt is hand-crafted by Bonnie LeBeau, an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.

Star quilts originated among the Great Plains nations after European contact. The star pattern evolved from the nations’ original buffalo-robe designs.

“Our people simply adopted the newcomers’ quilting techniques and adapted them to suit our culture,”

said Tammy Eagle Hunter, CRYP’s youth programs director.

“A star quilt is a truly one-of-a-kind item to add to your home or give to a loved one.”

“For this year’s Christmas star quilt raffle, we’re adding an extra challenge,”

she continued.

“We’re hoping to raise $2,500 in honor of CRYP’s 25th anniversary. All proceeds will benefit our youth programming and services.”

Tickets are already on sale and may be purchased until Tuesday, December 24. CRYP will conduct the drawing and announce the winner on Friday, December 27; the organization will then ship the quilt to the winner free of charge.

“There are several ways people can help with the raffle,”

Eagle Hunter said.

“First, buy tickets. They are $1 each or $5 for a six-ticket packet. You also can sell tickets for us, and help spread the word by telling family and friends, sharing information on Facebook and posting on Twitter.”

To purchase tickets go to www.lakotayouth.org.

Simply click the “Donate Now” button on the home page, and put “A Christmas Star” in the notes section when paying with a credit card. Please avoid writing the word “raffle” anywhere in the payment.

Or send cash, checks or money orders by mail to:
Cheyenne River Youth Project
Attn: Christmas Star Quilt
P.O. Box 410
Eagle Butte, SD 57625

To sell tickets, please send an email to Julie Garreau, CRYP’s executive director, at Julie.CRYP@gmail.com. She will send as many tickets as you request; they come in books of six. Once you receive your tickets, along a quilt photo and information sheet, you will be responsible for selling those tickets. All tickets need to be turned in by December 24 so CRYP can conduct the drawing as planned on December 27.

Garreau also noted that buying a raffle ticket can lead to much more.

“One of our raffle winners, Shaun McGirr, ended up traveling to the Cheyenne River reservation to serve as a volunteer during our Christmas Toy Drive,”

Garreau recalled.

“You just never know where your raffle ticket might take you. You might win a star quilt, you might discover a passion for volunteering, you might decide to fulfill a “Dear Santa” letter in our toy drive — but no matter what happens, you know that your contribution makes a real difference in the lives of Cheyenne River’s children.”

To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call 605.964.8200 or visit www.lakotayouth.org.

New Sportfishing Fees Will Help Move Gill Nets Off Columbia River

Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting, October 4, 2013

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on Friday approved new fees for salmon, steelhead and sturgeon fishing in the Columbia River Basin.

The fees are part of Gov. John Kitzhaber’s plan to end non-tribal commercial gill netting in the Columbia River channel. It allows recreational anglers to catch more salmon in the Columbia River channel by moving commercial gill-netters into off-channel areas.

But it also requires recreational anglers to pay a new set of fees – $9.75 a year or a dollar a day. The fees are expected to generate $1 million a year. Most of that money will be used to boost the production of hatchery fish for commercial gill-netters to catch in off-channel areas.

Hobe Kytr of the gill-netting group Salmon for All said that funding won’t make the gill-netters whole once they are barred from fishing on the Columbia River channel.

“If it helps further the concept so we can have something to catch, then I guess that’s fine and dandy,” he said.

But he said the river’s off-channel areas don’t have enough capacity to support the gill-net fishery.

“We have opposed this plan from the get-go,” Kytr said.

Commissioners said they were surprised to learn that the fees would have to apply to sport fishing in tributaries of the Columbia River as well as the main channel. That means people fishing for salmon in the Deschutes River or the John Day or even the Oregon stretch of the Snake River will have to pay the fees as well.

The new fees, known as endorsements, will be required in the rivers outlined in blue.

That was unwelcome news to Commissioner Laura Anderson of Newport. She was the sole board member to vote against the new fees. Anderson said she thought the fees would be limited to sport fishers in the Columbia River channel, or main stem.

“I really don’t feel good about what I feel is a switcheroo,” she said. “I think the intent was for a main stem to main stem commercial-recreational deal.”

Commissioner Bobby Levy asked Oregon Fish and Wildlife Fish Division Administrator Ed Bowles whether the meeting would be packed “with people screaming their heads off” if more recreational anglers knew the fees applied to fisheries in tributaries to the Columbia River and not just the main channel.

Bowles said organized sport fishing groups helped negotiate fees but most of the public is still unaware of them.

“The public blowback is probably still to come,” he said.

Washington state already imposes a surcharge for fishing on the Columbia River.

Inslee Wants To Explore State-Only ‘Cap and Trade’ Scheme

Source: OPB.org

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday laid out his wish list for how he’d like Washington state to combat global warming pollution.

It includes eliminating any electricity generated by coal and putting a statewide cap on greenhouse gas emissions. Legislative Republicans immediately raised concerns.

Back in 2008, the Washington Legislature set ambitious goals for reducing the state’s carbon footprint. But they’re just goals, without enforcement mechanisms. Subsequently, a pact between 11 Western states and provinces to put a price on greenhouse gas emissions fell apart.

Now Inslee chairs a bipartisan legislative work group tasked with recommending policies to achieve the state’s climate goals. He says on its current course the state will fall far short.

“That shows the necessity in my view of having a belt-and-suspenders, economy wide approach to capping emissions in this state,” the Democratic governor said.

By that Inslee means a “carbon cap and trade” system for industrial polluters along with requirements to increase use of alternative fuels in transportation.

Republican legislators flanking the governor at a workgroup meeting weren’t shy about raising the fear that this could drive businesses to leave Washington for less regulated neighboring states.

“How do we address for Washington state going it alone on certain issues in terms of the economic impact to manufacturing, job base and agriculture,” Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, rhetorically asked.

The four legislative members of the work group also offered proposals Monday.

Ericksen talked up nuclear power. Rep. Shelly Short, R-Addy, suggested focusing on energy conservation incentives, especially to increase energy efficiency in buildings. Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Burien, echoed the governor’s call to “transition off fossil fuels” in transportation.

Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, joined Inslee in proposing to wean the state’s electric utilities off of coal-fired generation. The State of Washington has already signed a deal with the energy company TransAlta to phase out the only large coal power plant inside the state’s borders – that located in Centralia. Now the Democratic politicians are targeting what they call “coal-by-wire,” meaning utility purchases of electricity generated from coal at out-of-state power plants. The bipartisan workgroup aims to produce a prioritized set a recommendations by December for how the state can curb carbon emissions in the future.

The goal is the get the state back on track to meet the following targets set by the 2008 Washington Legislature:

By 2020, reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 1990 levels;
By 2035, reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 25% below 1990 levels;
By 2050, reduce overall emissions to 50% below 1990 levels, or 70% below the state’s expected emissions that year if it were to continue with business as usual.

Citizens can offer their two cents for how the state should try to cut global warming pollution at two upcoming public hearings. The first is Wednesday evening in Spokane. A second hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23 at the Seattle waterfront.

This was first reported by the Northwest News Network.

Stevens and Leecy: Establish a Native American Heritage Day

Source: Indianz.com

Ernie Stevens and Kevin Leecy, the chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Indian Gaming Association, call for the creation of Native American Heritage Day:

As the chairman and vice chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, we offer this Columbus Day message on behalf of the 184 tribes that form our organization. Throughout this great and diverse Nation, there are certain holidays that carry more weight for certain segments of our nation than for others. This is true for Indian people as well. There are certain holidays that generate discussion amongst our Tribal citizens and their tribal governments because they speak to our place in the history of this great democracy. Columbus Day is certainly one of those holidays. Indian people have their own governments, cultures, societies, and values that were in place long before we were supposedly “discovered.” Our status as preexisting sovereign nations is acknowledged in the Constitution of the United States in three separate sections. The treaties our ancestors signed with the United States are still in force today and are as the Constitution states: “The supreme law of the land.” Tribes have great respect for the preservation of our roles as separate sovereigns under the Constitution and at the same time Indian people are proud American citizens as shown through our high rates of participation in military service to this nation. Tribes are determined to uphold their rights assured through the treaties with the United States of America and to ensure that our children are provided with accurate historical accounts of our families, societies, governments, and status as separate nations, as well as our true place in world history.

Get the Story:
Ernest L. Stevens Jr. & Kevin Leecy: NIGA Talks About Columbus Day and the History of Indian Country (Indian Country Today 10/14)

Controversial Sports Mascots Not New; Released More Than a Decade Ago, NCAI Says

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

A poster image that went viral because of its controversial references to sports mascots: New York Jews, San Francisco Chinamen and Cleveland Indians, has caused some media confusion.

According to Slate, news media reported that the poster was “new” and was released recently by the National Congress of American Indians because of the Redskins name change controversy.

But an NCAI source told ICTMN that those reports are inaccurate. The poster, shown above, is not a new one. It was originally published and distributed by the NCAI more than a decade ago. The organization said that what’s “new” is that people are finally paying attention to the Redskins controversy and have merely “stumbled upon” the image during their reporting.

The image, as seen above, shows that there is a double standard between the stereotypical Native American mascots like the Cleveland Indians and other racial epithets. The quote on the poster reads, ”No race, creed or religion should endure the ridicule faced by the Native Americans today.”

The NCAI says that they have been working to shed light on offensive and racist sports team mascots for decades. Jacqueline Pata, Executive Director for the NCAI, pointed out that the original poster was developed in the 1990s, but published by the advertising firm Devito/Verdi in 2001.

Pata told Slate magazine, which has denounced the so-called ‘R’ word that “Those kinds of racial images aren’t even acceptable today.” In other words, the ‘racial equality ad” is not something that the organization would have put out recently because of its tendency to offend and be misconstrued as their response to the current name change controversy.

The organization has instead asked the public to focus on its 29-page report called “Ending the Legacy of Racism in Sports & the Era of Harmful ‘Indian’ Sports Mascots.” ICTMN reported that the report was released last week.

Jefferson Keel, the president of the NCAI, has publicly stated that the word Redskins is a racial slur to the Native American community as is very offensive.

“[That name] originated in the bounty paid for Native body parts and human flesh. It does not honor Native people in any way, and has no place in modern American society,” he explained in a news release.

American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association Sets a Full Board of Directors

Source: Native News Network

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO – The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association, AIANTA. secured a full Board of Directors at the 15th Annual American Indian Tourism Conference held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa last month.

AIANTA Pacific Region Board Member Leslie Johnson and At Large Rep James Surveyor

The AIANTA Board of Directors (AIANTA Board) is composed of two representatives from each of the six cultural tourism regions of the country: Alaska, Eastern, Midwest, Pacific, Plains, Southwest and two At Large positions to represent all of Indian country. Each representative is elected by their respective region to serve a three year term and At Large representatives are elected by the entire AIANTA membership. Each member of the AIANTA Board brings a multitude of varied expertise and resources to the national nonprofit organization.

New to the AIANTA Board, James Surveyor, Marketing and Special Events Manager for Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites will represent Indian country At Large. Surveyor is of the Hopi Tribe of northeast Arizona and the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. In addition to this role at Moenkopi Legacy Inn & Suites, Surveyor continues to support the Moenkopi Developers Corporation vision of a better, sustainable, economic future for the Upper Village of Moenkopi and the Hopi reservation.

Leslie Johnson, Squaxin Island Tourism Director was appointed to represent AIANTA’s Pacific Region, a role she previously held. Johnson is a member of the Puyallup Tribe. Additionally, she is the co-chair of Northwest Tribal Tourism, a consortium of 10 tribes along the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas, and tribal representative for the Washington Tourism Alliance.

Also at AITC, Aimee D. Awonohopay was reelected to serve the AIANTA Midwest Region for another term. She is currently an elected official of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin as a St. Croix Tribal Council Member, and is the previous executive director of Native American Tourism of Wisconsin.

AIANTA Board veteran Janeé Doxtator was appointed to serve as the new Eastern Region representative alongside AIANTA President Mary Jane Ferguson. Doxtator previously served as an AIANTA Midwest Region representative and most recently, she served as an AIANTA At Large representative.

AIANTA Vice President Sherry Rupert was reelected to the AIANTA Board as a Southwest Region representative; AIANTA Treasurer Jackie Yellowtail was reelected to the AIANTA Board as a Plains representative; and LaDonna Brave Bull Allard was elected to serve a full three-year term as an AIANTA At Large representative.

AIANTA Board of Directors:

Mary Jane Ferguson, President – Eastern Region
Sherry Rupert, Vice President – Southwest Region
Rachel Moreno, Secretary – Alaska Region
Jackie Yellowtail, Treasurer – Plains Region
Rowena Akana – Pacific Region
LaDonna Brave Bull Allard – At Large
Aimee Awonohopay – Midwest Region
Tony Azure – Alaska Region
Michele Crank – Southwest Region
Janeé Doxtator – Eastern Region
Leslie Johnson – Pacific Region
William Lowe – Plains Region
Kirby Metoxen – Midwest Region
James Surveyor – At Large