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Flailing Grade: Indian Education Goes From Bold Plans to ‘Just Hang On’

Rob Capriccioso, Indian Country Today Media Network

At the beginning of the Obama administration, there was major hope from Indian education advocates that Native-friendly policies could be enacted that would shift the federal focus from rigid criteria-based testing to making sure Indian students were actually succeeding in culturally relevant ways. After five years, hopes have waned, and protecting the status quo has become the next best option.

In 2009, the first year of President Barack Obama’s two terms, Natives had just experienced a tough 8-year stretch under the George W. Bush administration’s famous No Child Left Behind regime, where federal dollars were spent beefing up testing standards, and states—not tribes—were charged with leading the efforts.

Native culture, learning methods, and tribal language development were largely not on the minds of federal policy makers when the law was passed, nor on the minds of many state officials who had to implement the plan. Major opportunities to address the needs of Indian children were missed, lamented a plethora of tribal advocates. Test scores, some which showed Indian students scoring very low on the new standardized testing, soon proved that something was amiss.

With Bush gone and the No Child Left Behind Act, otherwise known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), coming up for reauthorization, Indian educators worked feverishly in the early Obama years to ensure their goals were met. Congressional briefings were held, White House connections were established, and Indian advocacy organizations got their messages out to the major education players.

There were early successes. Arne Duncan, the sole education secretary under the Obama administration to date, made contact, and he continues to do some major outreach to tribes to better understand their concerns. William Mendoza was appointed director of White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education in late-2011, and he has since admitted that federal bureaucracy has been too siloed in addressing Indian education needs—that there needs to be greater coordination between tribes and the Departments of the Interior and Education and Health and Human Services (a point Indian educators have long been making).

But the successes have been small, funding cuts have occurred under federal sequestration, and the ESEA has still not been reauthorized. Gridlock in Congress is one reason. Another, education experts from both political parties agree, is because Obama issued waivers to some of the parts of the Bush program that state educators disliked most, so a push for major reform ended up being sidelined.

“It’s been a recipe for protecting the status quo—that hasn’t been a great thing for Native students,” said Quinton Roman Nose, director of the Tribal Education Departments National Assembly.

“The reauthorization of the ESEA is way past due because the Obama administration has had problems building a consensus to get it done,” he assessed.

“Frustrated” is the best word to describe Native educators who have concurrently been forced to fend off further cuts proposed by Congress, Roman Nose said.

For instance, last week Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) received credit for amending H.R. 5, the Student Success Act, to prevent major reduction in funds and initiatives for American Indian and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students. RELATED: Critical, Last-Minute Save For Indian Education

It was a success that leaders with the National Indian Education Association were forced to grit their teeth through. While celebrating the fact that more money wasn’t taken away, NIEA President Heather Shotton noted in a statement that the organization “does have strong concerns about H.R. 5 overall because it does not include our education priorities.” Those education priorities include strengthening tribal participation in education, preserving and revitalizing Native languages, providing tribes with access to the student records of tribal citizens, encouraging tribal-state partnerships, and equitably funding the Bureau of Indian Education. In other words, the same priorities that haven’t been acted on for years.

NIEA also wanted to make clear that it was not Young alone who protected Indian education. “[T]he story behind the passage of the amendment is one that really includes the work of Native organizations such as NIEA and tribes, who worked tirelessly for its passage,” said spokesman RiShawn Biddle, noting also that the amendment was offered by Young, as well as Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI), and Betty McCollum (D-MN).

No matter who received the credit, a cut was avoided, but how to move forward to get the real priorities addressed?

The message, for now, seems to be the same as it was at the beginning of Obama’s tenure: “We look forward to working with all congressional leaders, as well as with the Obama administration, on crafting a new version of the No Child Left Behind Act/Elementary and Secondary Education Act that advances equity for our American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children,” Shotton said in a statement. RELATED: No Child Left Behind Act: A Bust in Indian Country

Custer Had It Coming! Native American T-Shirts with Some Attitude

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Everyone knows the famous Homeland Security t-shirt — it’s a picture of Geronimo and three other Natives with the tagline “Fighting terrorism since 1492” — but it’s just one of many sly shirts that we’ve spotted on in-the-know Natives. In a way, wearing your tribal heritage — and the legacy of injustice toward your people — on your sleeve keeps history alive in our increasingly ahistorical age. There is irreverence here, and even jokes — but the humor packs the punch of truth.

Below are links to the sites that furnished the images in this gallery.

The Original Founding Fathers (Tam’s Treasures)
Of Course You Can Trust The Government (The Yankee Dingo on Zazzle)
Insurgents (Demockratees)
My Heroes Have Always Killed Cowboys (coumrk on Zazzle)
Fuck Columbus and the Ship He Came in On (Demockratees)
Frybread Power (ZsTees on Zazzle)
Custer Had It Coming (BAN T-shirts)
Hero (Demockratees)
I Heart Rez Boys (Cheef Culture)
Retire Indian Masocts (Demockratees)
Illegal Immigration Started in 1492 (BAN T-shirts)
Chief Joseph: Disobey (Libertymaniacs on Zazzle)
Caucasians (Shelf Life Clothing)
I was Here First (Cheef Culture)
CUSTER PWN3D!!! (Demockratees)
American Indian Movement (Under the Red Sun on Skreened)
Where was the INS in 1492 (WhiteTiger LLC on Zazzle)
Holocaust Denier (Unifikation on Zazzle)

Indian Arts Organization Seeks to Help Artists with Parkinson’s Disease

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Mary Lee Prescott is an elder member of the Oneida Indian Nation of Wisconsin who has pursued her passion for art since childhood, whether through painting, jewelry-making, or doll-making. Yet, in recent years, Mary has been struggling with the onset of Parkinson’s Disease, which has limited her ability to do art.

In 2013, Mary enrolled in non-contact boxing program offered by the Indianapolis, Indiana-based Rock Steady Boxing Inc., designed to addess the symptoms of Parkinson’s.

Mary is one of more than 2,600 Native Americans in the U.S. diagnosed with Parkinson’s, according to a federal study published in 2012 by a group of U.S. government health researchers. Another finding in the study was that little if any research has been conducted to identify the extent of Parkinson’s in Indian country, whether it is highlighting key risk factors for the disease unique to Native Americans, or the extent of complementary or alternative therapies available in the public health care system in Indian country, where resources in many cases have been relatively limited.

To address this situation for all American Indians, the Woodlands Tribal Artists Association—a Native American nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote a renaissance in eastern woodland Indian art and crafts—is rolling out an Artists Overcoming Parkinson’s Disease project. A goal of the project is to promote health research and education designed to help Native American artists and others effectively cope with Parkinson’s, so as to help them maintain a robust quality of life. The project seeks the participation of Federally recognized Indian Tribes, urban Indian communities, a university to assist with the research and educational components, and others with a stake in addressing Parkinson’s Disease in Indian Country and beyond. As soon as enough funds would be raised to support the project, it is anticipated the project would initially last 12 months.

For more information and to support the project, visit www.razoo.com/story/artistsovercomingparkinsons.

Groom retires from Tulalip Tribal Police

Kirk BoxleitnerTulalip Tribal Police Officer Larry Groom meets with the kids of the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club one last time, one day before stepping down from the force on July 26. — Kirk Boxleitner
Tulalip Tribal Police Officer Larry Groom meets with the kids of the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club one last time, one day before stepping down from the force on July 26.

Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe

TULALIP — For two years after his ailing health forced him to retire from his full-time duties as the School Resource Officer for the Tulalip Tribal Police Department and the Marysville School District, Larry Groom was still able to put in part-time hours in his former position, but on Friday, July 26, he left the job for good due to his worsening condition.

“The very next week after I’d retired, Jay asked me if I’d come back on a part-time basis,” Groom said of Jay Goss, who was the chief of the Tulalip Tribal Police Department at the time. “After the first month, I went from five to four days a week. A while after that, I was working three days a week, then eventually two, and for the last several months, I’ve only been able to work two half-days each week. It’s just gotten harder and harder.”

Groom was diagnosed three years ago with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease,” but he found the strength to keep going from his desire to continue his nearly 40-year career in law enforcement, as well as his love of the many children he’s befriended in his role. And for a while after his retirement, the deterioration of his health leveled off, but his latest six-month medical checkup confirmed that his illness had grown more severe recently.

“When I was originally diagnosed, one lung was already gone and the other was only functioning at 36 percent,” Groom said. “I’ve had aches and pains throughout, but I’ve lost even more of my remaining lung function lately. I have a machine at night that works like the reverse of a sleep apnea machine, to help pull the air out of my lungs so that they can open up and inhale more air. When I’m not on the job, I walk with a cane or a walker, or I get around on a scooter, which helps with my back and legs, since they’re getting weaker.”

Still, Groom is able to look back fondly on a law enforcement career that’s included stints as the chief of police of two cities, as well as working with federal investigations, customs and the DEA. None of that, however, is what he’ll miss the most after he turns in his uniform and equipment.

“What I’ll miss the most is the kids,” said Groom, who’s mentored countless children over the decades, many of them now adults with children of their own. “The Tulalip Indian Reservation has become my home. They’ve accepted me very well, in spite of my being an ugly old white guy,” he laughed.

Tulalip Tribal member Patrick Reeves was still a teenager when he first met Groom seven years ago.

“He came up to me and asked me to join the Police Explorers, and we’ve kept in touch ever since,” said Reeves, who now has a daughter and works in maintenance for the Tulalip Tribes. “That academy was hard, but Larry kept me in. He was always there for me. If I was having hard times, he’d stop by or bring me lunch. He’s just a really good guy. No matter what you’re going through, he’ll be there to help you any way he can.”

“I just want to thank this community for trusting me with their children,” said Groom, who still hopes to continue serving as the Tulalip Tribal Police Department’s chaplain. “And I want to thank the Marysville School District for allowing me to work with them as their School Resource Officer.”

Baby Veronica’s Birth Mother Files Suit, Claims ICWA Unconstitutional

Suzette Brewer, Indian Country Today Media Network

On Thursday, the day after the South Carolina Supreme Court denied an appeal filed by Dusten Brown and the Cherokee Nation to consider a “best interest determination” hearing, Veronica’s birth mother filed yet another suit in South Carolina federal court claiming that placement preferences for Indian families violates equal protection provisions because the law uses “race” as a factor in custodial placement.

Supreme Court Thwarts ICWA Intent in Baby Veronica Case

But legal experts across the country have questioned the validity of the lawsuit because of the sovereign immunity of the United States and tribes from being sued without their permission.

“Frankly, it’s frivolous and without merit,” said one legal expert who works exclusively on Supreme Court cases. “This birth mother cannot show that there has been ‘controversy’ or that there is some ‘injury’ by the placement preference of Indian children with their own families and tribes. So most likely this case will be dismissed on jurisprudential grounds by the Department of Justice.”

J. Eric Reed, a Dallas-based attorney who has practiced law as a tribal prosecutor and also as a special assistant United States attorney for the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation, points to the extensive legislative history of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and the sound reasoning for its existence. Reed has extensive experience in matters related to ICWA, tribal sovereignty and international indigenous human rights.

“The constitutional questions surrounding every aspect of the Indian Child Welfare Act were vigorously debated by Congress, which enacted this legislation to protect the ultimate health and welfare of all indigenous children in the United States. Those hearings uncovered a very tragic reality in the systematic abusive child welfare practices toward Indians in state courts that resulted in the separation of great numbers of Indian children from their families and tribes through a variety of adoption or foster care placements, which are almost always in non-Indian homes,” said Reed, who is a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

There are overwhelming examples, statistical data, and expert testimony documenting the evidence of these practices resulting in the wholesale removal of children from their tribal home and identity. The adoptive and foster care system operates much like the human trafficking version of ‘puppy mills’ where getting custody of a child results in increased funding for the foster operator. And private adoption agencies with wealthy clients are also in a position to entice the purchase of a child from the pregnant mother who may be in poverty. This often happens without proper notice to the Tribes or the fathers, who don’t get a hearing on the matter.”

For example, according to the Lakota People’s Law Project, nearly 750 Indian children are seized by the South Dakota Child Protective Services each year. Indian children comprise only 13.4 percent of the total population of children in South Dakota; and yet they account for a whopping 52.3 percent of the foster and adoptive placements in that state.

In March of this year, three Indian parents and two tribes represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and attorney Dana Hanna of Rapid City, filed a class action lawsuit (Oglala Sioux Tribe v. Van Hunnik) in the U.S. District Court for South Dakota. For decades, the suit alleges, Indian parents and families were denied due process in being separated from their children under the 14th amendment, as well as hundreds of ICWA violations.

Even as the parties prepare for the upcoming trial, it should be noted that the impact of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl is already being felt in Indian country. Last week, another unwed putative father in South Dakota had his parental rights terminated because of the decision.

Therefore, many legal experts, including Reed, see a troubling pattern emerging in both Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl and in the systematic seizure of Indian children from reservations across the country. Because of the recent crackdown on American adoptions by Russia and other countries, they say the U.S. adoption industry has turned toward vulnerable women in this country who may be swayed by perks, such as new cars, gifts and financial compensation in return for their unwanted children. By attempting to invalidate all or parts of ICWA, the U.S. adoption industry has a vested stake in providing children and babies to infertile couples, who are equally vulnerable to less-than-savory adoption agencies, who charge up to $8,000 per couple for a listing on their websites.

As the extraordinary drama in Baby Girl continues to unfold, legal scholars agree that while Maldonado’s suit in South Carolina against the United States and the Cherokee Nation may not get much traction in court, it reveals yet another strike at tribal sovereignty in America.

“It’s not going to fly,” said Reed. “And honestly, this case is a perfect example of exactly why the Indian Child Welfare Act was needed in the first place.”

Lovick addresses Marysville Tulalip Chamber

Kirk BoxleitnerSnohomish County Executive John Lovick addresses the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce during its Business Before Hours on July 26. — Kirk Boxleitner
Snohomish County Executive John Lovick addresses the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce during its Business Before Hours on July 26.

Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe

TULALIP — “Jobs, jobs, jobs” was how John Lovick described his focus to the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce on Friday, July 26, but during the Chamber’s Business Before Hours meeting that morning, the recently appointed Snohomish County Executive also recalled examples of leadership from his own life, as he told the Chamber members that they were the leaders of their community.

“I never in a million years thought I’d be the County Executive,” said Lovick, who cited the significant legacies that his predecessors have established in that role. “I’m not Willis Tucker, or Bob Drewel, or Aaron Reardon, but I will do my absolute best for you. Snohomish County is a tremendously great place to live, work and play, and it has become home to me. Everything in the world that you could want is right here.”

Rather than referring to the unemployment rate, Lovick noted that the county has an employment rate of 95.3 percent, and while he deemed this a statistic to be proud of, he also pledged to personally promote more jobs for county citizens.

“We have a right to be happy with where we are, but we shouldn’t be pleased until everyone who wants a job in this county has one,” Lovick said. “We should be talking about jobs every single day. We can’t expect others to support us if we don’t do it ourselves.”

After praising Marysville Police Chief Rick Smith during his opening remarks, Lovick went on to commend the dedication and talent of all the city and county officials in Snohomish County, describing its city councils in particular as “the foot-soldiers of democracy.”

Not only did Lovick pledge that the Snohomish County Executive’s Office would operate with integrity, but the former County Sheriff and Washington State Patrol trooper also offered examples of what he saw as demonstrations of integrity from his past, including his run for the Mill Creek City Council in 1993.

“I was only 22 years removed from growing up in segregated Louisiana, and I didn’t see a lot of people here who looked like me,” said Lovick, whose son wanted him to run for office in Mill Creek. “But my son said that he’d never heard me say that he couldn’t do anything he set out to do, which shows that kids actually listen to what you tell them. So I filed for the Mill Creek City Council Position 2 seat, and I went door-to-door to every house in town, five times each. By the fourth time, one man told me that he’d already voted for me and asked me not to come back,” he laughed.

Lovick went on to win 65 percent of the vote in that race, which he deemed pretty good for a man who had never planned to be a politician before then.

“I talk to young people all the time, and tell them to dream beyond what they believe they can do,” Lovick said. “I don’t think most people fail because they set their goals too high.”

After he was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard, Lovick’s next goal was to become a state trooper, which was no mean feat given that, in his estimation, academy classes back then only accepted one black cadet each. However, in the mid-1970s, Lovick beat the odds by being one of three black cadets in his academy class of 35.

“That was one of the best classes in the history of that academy,” Lovick said, touting the number of his fellow cadets who went on to high-profile roles in law enforcement. Their instructor, Jerry Baxter, asked all three black cadets to stand, and defended their worthiness to wear the uniform to their classmates. “Years later, when I asked him about it, he explained his actions with the words ‘integrity’ and ‘cowardice.’ He’d seen previous cadets come and go, and he knew they were qualified, but he’d done nothing when he heard people talking about them. To his mind, someone had to protect the integrity of the process.”

Within his first 53 days as County Executive, Lovick has sought to uphold this standard of integrity by telling his office staff that, “If you see that we’re doing something improperly, or if I ask you to do anything illegal, unethical or immoral, you have my permission to go to the next level to report it.”

Lovick deemed the leadership of the Chamber members in attendance to be at least as important as his own to the well-being of the county as a whole.

“All of you are leaders, or you wouldn’t be in this room,” Lovick said. “And your leadership attracts jobs. We want businesses to want to relocate here and stay here.”

Contact Marysville Globe Reporter Kirk Boxleitner at kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com or 360-659-1300 Ext. 5052.

Boy finds wedding ring, hopes to find the owner

Eric Stevick, The Herald

TULALIP —

was rummaging through the rocks and sand looking for creatures when his eyes happened on something shiny earlier this week.

It was one of those wonderfully warm sunny days of summer, idyllic conditions for a 10-year-old boy with plenty of time and curiosity.

Caleb found his spot to explore along the 3,300-foot shoreline that entices beachcombers to Kayak Point Park.

It was low tide, all that much better for poking around for sea critters and Caleb was near some pilings.

“I thought it was a fish hook,” the soon-to-be fifth-grader said of the gleam that caught his eye.

Upon closer inspection, the object was smooth and round.

“He came running to me and said, ‘Look what I found,'” his mother, Jackie Goulet said.

Caleb had recovered not only a ring, but a symbol of love.

He and his mother brought it to the attention of park maintenance workers or WSU Beach Watchers near the ranger station.

The boy and mom were told a man had been looking for a lost ring the day before near the boat launch. He was about to celebrate his 44th wedding anniversary and was hoping to find the ring before the momentous date.

Snohomish County Parks operations supervisor Rich Patton said parks employees have little information about the man who lost his ring, except that he had trouble launching his boat and may have lost the ring at that time.

Now, Caleb is hoping to reunite the man with his ring.

“I was really excited to find the ring and I was really excited he would be happy to get it back,” he said.

How excited is Caleb? On a scale of one to 10, this drama ranks a nine in his book.

Jackie Goulet said there are some distinguishing features to the ring that only the owner would know about.

She has taken out a lost-and-found ad on Craigslist: http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/laf/3957638868.html

It reads:

Found Wedding Ring at Kayak Point

My son was digging for creatures and found a men’s wedding ring. One of the Beach Watchers told me that the owner was looking for it yesterday. If you are the owner, please contact me AND be prepared to describe it. I hope I get it back to the right person.

For Canada and First Nations, it’s time to end the experiments

Shawn Atleo(Vince Fedoroff/THE CANADIAN PRESS / WHITEHORSE STAR) — Shawn Atleo
(Vince Fedoroff/THE CANADIAN PRESS / WHITEHORSE STAR)

By SHAWN ATLEO

The Globe and Mail | July 25, 2013

Recent reports about the Canadian government’s experiments on hungry, impoverished First Nations children in residential schools have sent a shock wave through the country.

My reaction was deeply personal. My father attended one of the schools where these experiments took place. My family and countless others were treated like lab rats, some even being deprived of necessary nutrition and health care so researchers could establish a “baseline” to measure the effects of food and diet.

First Nations, while condemning the government’s callous disregard for the welfare of children, were perhaps the only ones not completely surprised. The experiments are part of a long, sad pattern of federal policy that stretches through residential schools, forced relocations and the ultimate social experiment, the Indian Act, which overnight tried to displace ways of life that had been in place for generations. All of these experiments are abject failures.

It’s time to end the experiments. Canada must start working with us to honour the promises our ancestors made in treaties and other agreements, to give life to our rights as recognized by Canadian courts and relinquish the chokehold of colonial control over our communities.

As I said on the day this report came to light: Canada, this is your history. We must confront the ugly truths and move forward together. And there is a way forward that requires a dedicated commitment across three key areas: respect, fairness and reconciliation.

Respect requires that Canada work with First Nations to give life to our rights, title and treaties. This requires true partnership. The government must stop making decisions for us and start working with us. First Nations want control over the decisions that affect their lives, to shape their own policies and institutions. They are putting ideas on the table and driving solutions.

We see this clearly in the commitment and clarion call for First Nations control of First Nations education. We reject unilaterally imposed legislation. We will exercise our right to create our own systems that are sustainable, that support our children’s success and value our languages and cultures. This is already happening in Nova Scotia, Alberta, B.C. and elsewhere – First Nations working together and pooling expertise to achieve graduation rates that exceed provincial norms. This is success we must support. It must be not the exception, but our collective expectation and commitment.

Fairness requires that we end the unequal funding that condemns too many of our people to a daily struggle to survive. The experiments on our children did not make us poor. Rather, the government experimented on our children because they were poor, an impoverished population suffering from malnutrition and deprivation. But like so much else, poverty was imposed on us. The research notes that government systematically cut back relief payments to First Nations throughout the Depression era. Non-indigenous Canadians received relief at a rate two and three times higher than First Nations. At the onset of the Second World War, relief was cut again and we were further deprived.

This is still happening. Funding for First Nations – for many of the same things Canadians expect, such as schools and infrastructure – has been capped at a 2-per-cent increase, per year, for 17 years, despite the fact that our population has boomed and inflation outpaces this amount. Provinces enjoy transfers closer to 6 per cent, and these are guaranteed.

Escaping the poverty trap requires fairness, an investment now so we can build stable communities today and stronger nations tomorrow. Research shows that healthy First Nations can contribute hundreds of billions to the economy, while saving more than a $100-billion in costs connected to poverty. Why would we not support this approach?

Finally, the way forward requires reconciliation. This means truth telling, and it requires deliberate and clear action. The government must come forward and disclose all documentation on residential schools to the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The government must be open and transparent in accounting for its spending on First Nations and the billion dollars that is poured into the bureaucracy each year. The government must stop stalling and release all documents related to its unequal funding of First Nations child welfare, the subject of a current complaint before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. It also means action to advance reconciliation through recognizing our inherent rights and responsibilities and clear commitment to honouring and implementing treaties and agreements forged between the Crown and First Nations.

Canadians are rightfully shocked by these revelations. It shakes the core of their belief in Canada as a fair and just nation. It’s time to be honest about our history. We can’t change the past but we must commit to change the present and work together to create a better, brighter and just future.

Feds hear about Indian tribe recognition proposal

Maura Sullivan, secretary for the Central Band of Chumash Nation, speaks about the proposed changes to federal acknowledgment regulations for Native American tribes Thursday in Solvang. — Maura Sullivan, secretary for the Central Band of Chumash Nation, speaks about the proposed changes to federal acknowledgment regulations for Native.American tribes Thursday in Solvang. Daniel Dreifuss/Staff

Federal officials heard testimony Thursday in Solvang on proposed changes to the process for Native American tribes to get recognized, a procedure speakers described as expensive, lengthy and burdensome.

July 26, 2013 LompocRecord.com

Julian J. Ramos/jramos@lompocrecord.com

In June, the Department of the Interior (DOI) released a draft of potential changes to its Part 83 process for acknowledging certain groups as American Indian tribes granted a government-to-government relationship with the United States.

At the moment, the U.S. has 566 federally recognized tribes, of which 17 have been recognized through Part 83. California has 109 federally recognized Indian tribes with between 70 and 80 seeking federal recognition.

The draft proposal, the subject of two sessions Thursday at Hotel Corque, is meant to give tribes and the public an early opportunity to provide input on potential changes to the Part 83 process.

Proposed revisions are intended to improve transparency, timeliness, efficiency, flexibility and integrity in the acknowledgment process, according to the DOI.

However, critics of the proposed rules are calling them the “Patchak patch,” a reference to Supreme Court decision last year in favor of David Patchak, a Michigan man who challenged the way the government takes land into trust for tribes.

They say the proposed rules are meant to drastically limit the uncertainties created by the Patchak decision by adding administrative barriers for potential litigants and rushing fee-to-trust acquisitions, which removes land from local jurisdiction and makes it part of an Indian reservation, under tribal authority.

Larry Roberts, deputy assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, said the presentation during the afternoon public meeting was the same delivered during the morning tribal consultation session.

The public session Thursday afternoon drew between 60 and 70 attendees, including Solvang Mayor Jim Richardson, in the ballroom of the hotel, which is owned by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.

Roberta Cortero of the Central Band of Chumash Nation speaks her concerns about the proposed changes to federal acknowledgment regulations for Native American tribes Thursday In Solvang. Daniel Dreifuss/Staff

Many of the speakers represented California tribes seeking recognition, a process they described as cumbersome, costly and very time consuming, or as Mona Olivas Tucker, tribal chairwoman of the Yak Tityu Tityu Northern Chumash in San Luis Obispo County, put it, something she doesn’t expect to be completed in her lifetime.

Valentin Lopez, tribal chairman of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band of Coastanoan/Ohlone Indians in the San Juan Bautista area, said the acknowledgment process is getting more and more difficult, is too lengthy, should be moved out of the hands of the DOI Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the burden of proof for recognition should revert to the BIA from tribes.

Michael Cordero, tribal chairman of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, said criteria changes could make it easier to be recognized and tribes, such as his, could benefit from the acknowledgment.

A “Letter of Intent,” which begins the acknowledgment petition process, has been submitted for the tribe, he said.

During a break, Cordero said the session had been helpful in clarifying some issues on the process and requirements.

Across San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation has about 2,500 enrolled members, Cordero said.

Under the proposal, reviews of a petitioner’s community and political authority — criteria for acknowledgment — would “begin with the year 1934 to align with the government’s negation of allotment and assimilation policies and eliminate the requirement that an external entity identify the group as Indian since 1900,” according to the DOI.

No More Slots attorney Jim Marino asked why 1934 is being used in the criteria. He represents several groups against more Indian gaming and land acquisition through the fee-to-trust process, which removes land from local jurisdiction and makes it part of an Indian reservation under tribal authority.

The 1934 Indian Reorganization Act represented a “dramatic” shift in federal policy toward self determination for tribes and the use of that year as a benchmark is meant to reflect that change, Roberts said.

To block attempts to annex property into the Santa Ynez Reservation, opponents of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians have questioned whether it’s legally a tribal government and thus able to take land into trust via the fee-to-trust process.

The battle centers on Chumash efforts to annex almost 7 acres they own across Highway 246 from the tribe’s Santa Ynez casino.

Members of Preservation of Los Olivos (POLO) and Preservation of Santa Ynez (POSY) have presented documentation to the Bureau of Indian Affairs the groups believe prove the Chumash were not under federal jurisdiction in 1934, and do not qualify to take any land into trust.

By contrast, the Chumash tribe logo and flag says “Federally Recognized Tribe since 1901.”

Due to POLO’s continuing litigation, the group has been advised not to comment on the proposed rule change, POLO president Kathy Cleary said.

Other plans by the Chumash to annex property into the reservation, notably 1,400 acres they own about 2 miles east of the casino and an additional 5.8 acres in the casino area along Highway 246, have also been met with opposition.

Sam Cohen, legal and government affairs specialist for the Chumash, said the proposal is not applicable to the local tribe.

“The Department of the Interior has started to initiate the process of reviewing revisions to the federal acknowledgment regulations for Native American tribes that hope to be federally recognized,” he said in a statement. “Since the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians was federally recognized in 1901, the revisions don’t apply to the Santa Ynez Chumash tribe.”

Transcripts from both sessions will be available at www.bia.gov, officials said.

The discussion draft is available for review at www.bia.gov/whoweare/as-ia/consultation.

Interior officials will accept written comments on the draft until Aug. 16 by email to consultation@bia.gov or by mail to Elizabeth Appel, Office of Regulatory Affairs & Collaborative Action, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, NW, MS 4141, Washington, DC 20240.

Amendment makes it easier to process Cobell claims

By Alastair Lee Bitsoi
Navajo Times

FARMINGTON, July 25, 2013

Navajo allottees in New Mexico can now submit their Bureau of Indian Affairs probate document or state-issued small estate affidavit as a way to receive trust settlement claims from the class action suit Cobell vs. Salazar.

On July 16, Richard Levy, who was appointed by Judge Thomas F. Hogan as special master overseeing the Cobell payments, made an amendment to the class action suit, which had been in litigation between Elouise Cobell and the federal government for years.

Cobell (Blackfeet) had filed the largest class action suit against the federal government, on behalf of 500,000 holders of individual Indian trust accounts, for mismanaging and failing to account for billions of dollars in Indian assets it held in trust over the last century.

In 2010, the federal government approved a settlement worth $3.4 billion for the trust case, with the money being divvied up to compensate individual account holders, buy back lands and restore them back to tribal nations, and set up a $60 million scholarship fund.

Levy’s July 16 amendment allows for the BIA probate and small estate affidavit forms to serve as conduits to expedite payments to beneficiaries, both Individual Indian Money class account holders and trust administration class holders of the suit.

“This should help,” said David Smith, attorney with the Cobell class action suit, in a July 18 interview with the Navajo Times at the Farmington Civic Center.

Smith, along with Garden City Group CEO Jennifer Keough and Ervin Chavez, president of the association of Navajo allottees known as Shi Shi Keyah, saw more than 800 people turn out for meetings in Twin Lakes and Farmington last week. The meetings were a chance for Navajo allottees to hear updates on the Cobell case and the status of payments from the Garden City Group, the firm charged with administering settlement claims for the 500,000 Native American allottees.

Initially, the court had only allowed state and tribal probate forms to be used for allotment settlement claims, which only processed about 88 percent of them, Chavez said.

Chavez, who filed a friend of the court brief in the Cobell case on behalf of Navajo allottees, said that Levy’s amendment only helps allottees, most of whom already have the BIA probate documents in hand to process for their claims.

“The judge accepted that amendment to the settlement and that’s going to help a lot of families get money from the settlement,” he said.

With the special master’s amendment, Smith is hoping the 7,409 Navajo people whose whereabouts are unknown to the BIA get processed for payment. It’s also a way for heirs to process through the probate system to acquire payments of their deceased relatives.

One of the 800 people to show up at the GCG meeting on July 18 was 31-year-old Tim Beyale of Nageezi, N.M. He has allotments near Nageezi, N.M and Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Beyale didn’t know if it was worth pursuing his claim through the Garden City Group, mostly because the $1,000 payment from his late father’s allotment would be split among his siblings and a stepmother he learned about at the time of his father’s death. The payment from his own allotment, he said, added up to a “Chiclet” amount.

The Garden City Group was on hand with computer booths and staff helping Navajo allottees like Beyale process their claims. Booths were also set up at the Twin Lakes Chapter meeting on July 17 for allottees from that region of the reservation.

For LaVone Royston, the amendment allows for her to fill out a small estate affidavit to expedite payments from her late mother’s allotments as well as mineral payments from oil companies that drill on the allotments.

“Her estate is still going through the probate process,” Royston said, which is due in part to the original terms of the Cobell settlement.

Royston, who is an accountant, attended the meeting in Farmington to also find out why the documents her mother used to receive from the oil companies ceased coming when she died in 2011.

“Since she passed away, I can’t get anything,” she said.

What Royston did learn, however, from GCG is that she can’t have access to her mom’s financial records because the land acquisition is still in probate and a federal privacy act prevents heirs from accessing that information until they get the probate document.

According to Chavez, the Navajo Area BIA office told allottees in Twin Lakes they were backlogged with probate cases for the next 13 years. Crownpoint District Judge Irene Toledo also attended the meeting in Twin Lakes to get clarity on the settlement and reportedly told Chavez, Smith and GCG officials most of her cases are tribal probate ones.

But with the option of filing a small estate affidavit with a New Mexico county, Royston is hopeful to process through the probate system more quickly.

“I am going to file,” she said. “I can do it a lot faster and don’t have to wait for a BIA hearing.”

The first round of payments was distributed in 2012 to Individual Indian Money Account holders, who held an account from October 25, 1994 to Sept. 30, 2009. These beneficiaries are also known as individuals of the historical accounting portion of the settlement. They each received a $1,000 payment.

Smith anticipates the second round of payments to be released this fall to those allottees who didn’t process through during the first round of payments. These allottees are known as the “trust administration” class, with an open account from 1985 to Sept. 30, 2009. The second round of payments will be no less than $800 for some allotees, Smith said.

Delores Hesuse, on behalf of her late father, Henry Hesuse, who founded the Shi Shi Keyah group, said she was glad that Judge Hogan agreed to the amendment in the suit.

From her experience and what she’s seen with other allottees, they would spend over a month within the legal system to get their land probated with the original terms of the case.

“I finally got what the Garden City Group and Cobell lawyers were saying,” she said. “Everybody was lost within our system. They only knew of the federal probate.”

Information: contact the Garden City Group at 888-404-8013 or visit www.indiantrust.com.

Contact Alastair L. Bitsoi at 928-871-1141 or by email at abitsoi@navajotimes.com.