“More than 3,300 unemployed workers ran out of unemployment benefits last month.”
By RACHEL LA CORTE — Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington gained 4,000 jobs in February and unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.5 percent, new numbers released Wednesday show.
Economists with the state Employment Security Department said that overall, the state has added about 65,000 jobs over the past year, regaining about 70 percent of the more than 200,000 jobs lost during the recession.
“February was relatively uneventful,” department economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman said in a prepared news release. “The job growth was close to the monthly average for the past year, with no big surprises.”
The unemployment rate in Washington state in February 2012 was 8.4 percent.
Map and Date from Washington State Employment Security Department
Industries that saw the most growth included education and health services, up 3,000 jobs, manufacturing, up 2,900 and professional and business services, which gained 1,200 jobs.
Construction saw a loss of 3,600 jobs, leisure and hospitality, was down 1,100 and transportation, warehousing and utilities lost 400.
Earlier this month, state economists reported that new numbers showed the state gained 24,100 jobs for the month of January, a number they expected would later be revised down. But Wednesday’s report revised that number up to 24,200 jobs.
The national unemployment rate for February was 7.7 percent.
An estimated 259,100 people in Washington were unemployed and looking for work in February, including nearly 140,000 who claimed unemployment benefits.
More than 3,300 unemployed workers ran out of unemployment benefits last month. A total of 132,165 people have exhausted their benefits since extended benefits were activated in July 2008
COOS BAY — The chairman of the Confederated Tribes said its proposed acquisition of more than 14,000 acres of federal timberlands will ultimately benefit Oregon timber counties.
The tribe could be the recipient of 14,500 acres of federal timberlands under a proposed transfer circulated for discussion this month by Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Bob Garcia, chairman of the tribal council for the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, said its goal is long-term stewardship of culturally important lands.
“We believe our active management will put more people on the ground than are currently there,” Garcia said. “We’re talking more foresters, more biologists, people working on stream restorations.”
None of the lands under consideration for transfer are currently impacted by a federal injunction to protect marbled murrelet populations. “Our attempt was to try to find lands that were non-controversial.”
The chairman said the timberlands will be managed under a very similar model to that currently used in the status quo — including the completion of environmental impact statements.
“We’re talking about lands going from the Bureau of Land management to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, still within the federal government.”
One initial concern, raised by Association of O&C Counties President Doug Robertson, was that O&C counties would lose timberlands, potentially harming county revenue.
The lands in question currently fall under the O&C Act of 1937, which set aside millions of acres of timber land for economic activity in 18 Oregon counties. The act covers land reclaimed by the government in 1916 after the Oregon & California Railroad Company violated the terms of a federal grant.
In a statement Wednesday, Sen. Wyden committed to a no-net-loss policy regarding O&C lands, saying the total acreage will remain the same under any tribal land conveyance legislation
The difference, Garcia said, is that the land will receive much more active management under tribal control than it does under current federal forest planning. And that means more jobs.
The chairman said he believes the tribes and the O&C counties ultimately have similar intentions.
“We’re talking about how we can put people to work and how we can make Oregon counties prosper,” he said. “Tribal control is local control.”
Reporter Thomas Moriarty can be reached at 541-269-1222, ext. 240, or by email at thomas.moriarty@theworldlink.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty.
“Appropriation of cultural Regalia, such as the war bonnet …causes sacred objects to lose their power when they are represented out of context,” wrote Luger in his artist statement.
By Marianne Combs
When Dyani White Hawk Polk asked a group of artists for work for her exhibition “Make it Pop,” she was looking for contemporary pieces responding to issues of the day.
“We’ve had somber exhibits, politically driven, fine art,” says White Hawk Polk, sitting at her desk in All My Relations Gallery. “I wanted this to feel more playful and cutting edge, something that really speaks to our youth and people interested in pop culture as well as fine art lovers.”
White Hawk Polk got what she was looking for; the colorful show reflects and comments on popular culture in a number of ways. Interestingly, two artists – Frank Buffalo Hyde and Cannupa Hanska Luger – chose to focus on an issue that has many Native Americans upset: the appropriation of Native Regalia by popular culture – in particular, the headdress.
“In-Appropriate 3,” a painting by Frank Buffalo Hyde responding to the use of a Native American headdress and jewelry on a Victoria’s Secret model at a fashion show held on November 7, 2012.
White Hawk Polk says she wasn’t surprised.
“It’s always been an issue,” reflects White Hawk Polk. “It’s always been there, but this past year, year and a half, it’s just been prolific.”
Native Americans belong to many different tribes spread across Native North America. But the headdress, or war bonnet, is a universal symbol of great spiritual importance worn only by highly respected individuals.
OLYMPIA – State shellfish managers have approved a four-day razor clam dig starting March 28 and scheduled tentative dates for additional openings in April.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) approved the late-March dig after marine toxin test showed the clams are safe to eat.
Twin Harbors beach will be open for morning razor clam digging March 28-31.
Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks will be open to digging March 29-30.
No digging will be allowed at any beach after noon. The schedule, along with morning low tides, is:
March 28, Thurs., 7:57 a.m., -0.3 ft., Twin Harbors
March 29, Fri., 8:40 a.m., -0.6 ft., Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis, Mocrocks
March 30, Sat., 9:26 a.m., -0.7 ft., Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis, Mocrocks
By law, clam diggers are limited to 15 razor clams per day, and are required to keep the first 15 clams they dig. Each digger’s clams must be kept in a separate container.
All diggers age 15 or older must have an applicable 2012-13 fishing license to harvest razor clams on any beach. Licenses, ranging from a three-day razor clam license to an annual combination fishing license, are available on WDFW’s website at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov and from license vendors around the state.
Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager, reminds diggers they will need to purchase a 2013-14 license to participate in the April openings, since current fishing licenses expire at midnight March 31. Licenses are available online (https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/), by phone (1-866-320-9933) and from license dealers around the state.
Tentative opening dates in April, along with morning low tides, are:
April 9, Tues., 6:39 a.m., 0.0 ft., Twin Harbors
April 10, Wed., 7:19 a.m., -0.3 ft., Twin Harbors
April 11, Thurs., 7:57 a.m., -0.4 ft., Twin Harbors
April 12, Fri., 8:34 a.m., -0.4 ft., Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks
April 13, Sat., 9:11 a.m., -0.2, ft., Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks
April 14, Sun., 9:49 a.m., +0.1, ft., Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks
April 24, Wed., 6:10 a.m., -0.3 ft., Twin Harbors
April 25, Thurs., 6:54 a.m., -1.0 ft., Twin Harbors
April 26, Fri., 7:38 a.m., -1.5 ft., Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks
April 27, Sat., 8:24 a.m., -1.7 ft., Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks
April 28, Sun., 9:11 a.m., -1.7 ft., Twin Harbors, Long Beach, Copalis and Mocrocks
April 29, Mon., 10:01 a.m., -1.5 ft., Twin Harbors, Long Beach and Mocrocks
April 30, Tues., 10:55 a.m., -1.0 ft., Twin Harbors
Razor clams are coastal shellfish, known for their rarity and their meaty contents. Found in the sand of the intertidal coastal beaches, they can be harvested in several ways.
The best way to start is to get to the beach is early in the morning, so you can follow the tide out. First, look for a “clam show.” At the edge of the surf line, there will be small dimples or holes in the wet sand as the water ebbs. It’s where the clam has stuck its neck out and tried to dig to go back to the sea. As soon as you see the telltale hole, start quickly with one of these methods:
Tools you will need gloves (razor clams are so named because of the sharp edges of their shells), ice chest, clam gun or tube (for1st way), clam shovel or other sharp curved, narrow bladed shovel (for 2nd way) and table salt (for 3rd way). Although, the tools will majorly depend on how you are catching clams.
Ways to Catch Razor Clams:
1. With a Tube or “Clam Gun”
The tube, or “clam gun,” you need for razor clams is about 2-3 feet long and 4 inches in diameter, with a ½ inch hole at the top. Stainless steel or metal will work best for digging in wet sand. The best idea is to just go to a fishing supply store and get a clam gun, but if you have something similar it could work just as well. A clam gun has a T-shaped top so you don’t have to try and cover it with your fingers while digging.
When you spot a clam show, place the tube around it, with the hole in the center and work the tube down into the sand at least 2 feet. Then cover the hole at the top and remove the tube. Empty the tube onto the beach and take the clam or clams out and put it in your ice chest. Clam guns can be difficult to use on rocky or pebble-filled beaches.
2. Dig With a Clam Shovel
Once you locate the holes in the sand, dig quickly with a clam shovel. Go straight down about 3-6 inches from the center of the clam show. Place the back of the shovel facing the hole and begin removing sand. Don’t curve it toward the center of the hole because you risk cutting the clam off at the neck or breaking the shell. Keep scooping straight down until you expose the clam. Then reach in and carefully grab it by the neck or shell and place it in your ice chest.
3. Salt Them Out
Razor clams are extremely sensitive to salinity. One way to reduce your effort and have the clams come to you is to use table salt. As soon as you see the show, when it is open widest, pour salt into the hole. The clam should emerge in order to escape the salt and then just catch it and place it in your ice chest.
Be sure to check fishing rules and seasons with the Department of Fish and Wildlife (1-866-880-5431). There’s a limit on how many clams you can harvest at one time. So be very careful when digging, especially with the clam shovel. The clams are fairly delicate and break easily. Clams with broken shells will die, but they will also count for your total, so don’t discount the broken ones. They can still be eaten, just harder to clean.
A group of U.S. House members has offered a bill that would prohibit the term “Redskins” from being trademarked, as the debate over the NFL team’s name expands from the legal system and the court of public opinion to Capitol Hill.
Del. Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa) has authored the Non-Disparagement of American Indians in Trademark Registrations Act of 2013, which would cancel all existing federal trademarks using “Redskins” to refer to Native Americans and prohibit future trademarks as well. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) — a critic of the team’s name — is an original co-sponsor, along with Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Karen Bass (D-Calif.).
A Redskins spokesman said the team had no comment on the bill.
There is no guarantee that the measure will even receive a committee hearing in the House, much less a vote. But it comes at a sensitive time: Earlier this month in Alexandria, a three-judge panel on the federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board heard arguments over whether the term Redskins should be considered a slur and therefore not worthy of trademark protection.
It could be a year, the Associated Press reported, before the judges issue a ruling in the case, which stems from a petition by five Native Americans. And even if the Redskins lost their trademark, they wouldn’t necessarily have to change their name. But it would be easier for other businesses and people to cut into the franchise’s profits by selling paraphernalia with the name on it.
Critics of the team’s name also spoke up during a forum last month at the National Museum of the American Indian, saying that the term is demeaning, and dismissing the franchise’s argument that the word is meant to honor Native Americans rather than disparage them.
For her part, Norton recently told the Hill newspaper that the Redskins “should consider” a new moniker. “I am a fan of the Redskins. I’m just not a fan of their name,” she said.
District Mayor Vincent Gray has also weighed in on the subject, albeit carefully.
“I would love to be able to sit down with the team … and see if a change should be made,” Gray said in January, though he later clarified that he simply meant the subject would likely be discussed if the Redskins were to move back to the RFK Stadium site, which is on federal land.
Four members of the Nooksack Indian Tribe have filed a lawsuit in tribal court hoping to overturn a tribal council action stripping them and 302 other people of tribal membership.
Published: March 19, 2013
By JOHN STARK — THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
The Nooksacks, headquartered in Deming, operate two Whatcom County casinos and have about 2,000 members, according to information on the tribal website. If the council’s Feb. 12, 2013, action stands, the tribe would lose about 15 percent of its membership, including two members of the current eight-member tribal council. Those who are stricken from tribal membership rolls would lose access to tribal housing and health care benefits, as well as tribal fishing rights.
Tribal Chairman Bob Kelly has not responded to a request for comment.
The lawsuit asks the tribal court to issue an immediate stay to block the disenrollment of tribal members, pending full court review of the issues. The four plaintiffs are Sonia Lomeli, Terry St. Germain, Norma Aldredge and Raeanna Rabang.
In a press release from Moreno Peralta, one of the 306 who is acting as spokesman, Peralta said the disenrollment that he and others face is “simply a matter of tribal family politics and vengeance” being carried out by Kelly and his supporters
.Among those facing loss of tribal membership is former tribal chairman Narz Cunanan. Kelly unseated Cunanan in a 2010 tribal election.
The move to disenroll 306 people affects primarily the members of the Rabang, Rapada, and Narte-Gladstone families. Peralta charged that the disenrollment was motivated by the fact that the families are also part Filipino.”It is racism and cultural genocide that we are facing,” Peralta said in the press release.
But another Nooksack member, Bernita Madera, scoffed at the idea that the move to disenroll is based on anti-Filipino sentiment.
Madera said she and many other Nooksacks have Filipino ancestors, but they also have solid credentials qualifying them for membership in the Nooksack tribe. Those now facing disenrollment do not, she contended.
“We can show our Nooksack lineage,” Madera said. “We have our family tree. They don’t.”
Madera, who is not a member of the tribal council, said Kelly and other council members have been advised by a tribal attorney not to comment to media.
Kelly’s action against the 306 has widespread support among other tribal members, Madera said.
The dispute over the tribal identity of the 306 people is a new eruption of a dispute that has been smoldering since at least the year 2000. At that time, several members of the Rabang family were facing federal prosecution for drug-smuggling offenses. Other tribal members contended that the Rabang family and its allies had infiltrated the tribe by exploiting a lax enrollment process, taking over tribal government and using it as a front for illegal activity. But nothing came of those accusations.
The tribal court lawsuit, provided by the plaintiffs, delves into the complex legal issue of who is entitled to membership in the tribe. According to the lawsuit, the tribal constitution specifies that anyone with one-fourth Indian blood and any degree of Nooksack tribal ancestry is eligible for membership.
The lawsuit contends that tribal council members relied on an unconstitutional tribal ordinance stating that enrollment is open only to those who are descendants of people who got part of an original allotment of Indian land, or descendants of those who were on a tribal census from 1942.
The lawsuit states that the tribal council passed a resolution declaring the enrollments of the 306 to be “erroneous,” because those enrollments were based on descent from Annie James George and Andrew James, who were not on the census and not among the original recipients of tribal land allotments.
This too is a long-running dispute. As far back as 1996, tribal officials were consulting with an attorney about possible disenrollment of the descendants of Annie George, according to a letter from the attorney to the tribe. The Bellingham Herald recently obtained a copy of that letter.
The tribal council approved the resolution to disenroll those whose membership was based solely on descent from George and James after a seven-hour closed session held Feb. 12 without the participation of council members Rudy St. Germain and Michelle Roberts, according to plaintiffs. St. Germain and Roberts are among the 306 faced with loss of tribal status.
Two days later, the council began sending “notice of intent to disenroll” letters to those affected.
On March 6, tribal chairman Kelly sent letters to all tribal members providing his view of the matter. Kelly’s letter, provided by plaintiffs, says the 306 affected tribal members will have 30 days to appeal to tribal council and provide evidence of their eligibility for membership.
“Those who do not respond will be automatically disenrolled,”
Kelly’s letter states. “They will no longer be qualified for tribal housing, medical facilities, treaty-protected fishing or hunting rights, or any other rights reserved to Nooksack tribal members.”Kelly’s letter also states, “Obviously, we do not take this duty lightly, nor do we assume the responsibility with any sense of joy. Many of the more than 300 people who will be affected by this action are individuals you may know. You might attend meetings or socialize with them. Your children might go to school with them.”
Madera said she and other tribe members have already organized a recall petition against St. Germain and Roberts, paying the $500 petition filing fee in both cases and gathering the required minimum of 126 signatures.
As she understands it, the petition now empowers the tribal council to remove the two from the council if they choose to do so.
Reach John Stark at 360-715-2274 or john.stark@bellinghamherald.com. Read his politics blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/politics or follow him on Twitter at @bhamheraldpolitics.
Jurors in Minneapolis convicted three men of drug and gun charges Tuesday in a racketeering case targeting the Native Mob, a notoriously violent gang that started in prison and spread through Indian Country in the Upper Midwest.
So far 30 people have been convicted of crimes in an investigation that dates back to 2004. Jurors returned a mixed verdict against the three men who went to trial Jan. 22, finding two guilty on some charges but not others, and one guilty of all charges.
“The Native Mob has been a real detriment to Native American communities of Minnesota. Their game plan is to promote fear; that is the base of their power. And I think their power is diminished by this jury’s verdict,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Schleicher.
Schleicher said the effect of having numerous fellow Native Mob members testify in open court against the men is bound to make other gang members pause and realize “that they can’t trust their co-conspirators.”
Attorney Thomas Shiah was left wondering how the jury could convict his client, William Earl Morris, 25, of attempted murder and related gun charges in support of racketeering, but find him not guilty of the racketeering conspiracy itself. Morris, who is already serving a 200-month sentence in state prison on the attempted murder charge, denies being a member of the Native Mob.
“I think it creates a significant issue on appeal,” Shiah said outside of court. “I’m very happy with the not guilty verdict.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Winter said he disagrees about the Morris verdict. “They did convict him of a very egregious crime in the aid of a criminal racketeering enterprise,” Winter said. “There’s no legal inconsistency in the verdict.”
Wakinyon Wakan McArthur, 34, a former leader of the group, was convicted of racketeering conspiracy and five gun and drug charges involving cocaine and cocaine base. But jurors found him not guilty of attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and using a firearm in a crime of violence.
Anthony Francis Cree, 26, was found guilty of all charges: racketeering conspiracy, and five gun and drug charges, including attempted murder.
Jurors sat through a grueling seven-week trial involving 900 exhibits and more than 250 witnesses, including many Native Mob members who have pleaded guilty or hoped to avoid criminal charges by testifying.
Jurors found the men not guilty of selling heroin, methamphetamine and oxycodone as part of the racketeering conspiracy, but found enough evidence to convict McArthur and Cree on cocaine and crack charges.
McArthur’s attorney, Frederick Goetz, praised the jurors as “conscientious and hardworking from the beginning.” He said their not-guilty verdicts should substantially reduce the amount of prison time McArthur will face when he comes up before Judge John Tunheim for sentencing, likely several months from now.
Goetz noted that the jurors found that the racketeering conspiracy involved a relatively small amount of drugs — less than 17 pounds of cocaine and less than 10 pounds of cocaine base. The Native Mob, he said, is not like La Cosa Nostra. Goetz says he expects his client will appeal.
Praise for verdicts
Federal prosecutors said they were pleased with the verdicts, which could result in sentences of 20 years to life in prison for each man. The outcome reflects the seriousness of the Native Mob’s racketeering activities and the havoc the gang has caused from south Minneapolis to reservations in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Federal prosecutors describe the Native Mob as a criminal organization that dealt drugs and spread fear, attacking rivals and informants who threatened its business.
The defense attorneys argued that the organization existed primarily to protect its members, and that any crimes they committed were random, spontaneous acts committed by violent individuals who were twisted by poverty, drug and alcohol abuse.
In the end, both sides agreed that trial proved one thing: Poverty, drugs, alcohol abuse and violence have devastated the lives of far too many Native Americans.
Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s are among those who won’t sell the engineered salmon despite an FDA finding that it would be as safe to eat as conventional salmon.
By Andrew Pollack, The New York Times
Several supermarket chains have pledged not to sell what could become the first genetically modified animal to reach the nation’s dinner plates — a salmon engineered to grow about twice as fast as normal.
The supermarkets — including Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe’s and Aldi — stated their policies in response to a campaign by consumer and environmental groups opposed to the fish. The groups are expected to announce the chains’ policies Wednesday. The supermarket chains have 2,000 stores in all, with 1,200 of them belonging to Aldi, which has outlets stretching from Kansas and Texas to the East Coast.
“Our current definition of sustainable seafood specifies the exclusion of genetically modified organisms,” a spokeswoman for Aldi said in a statement that also said the policy might evolve over time.
She said the company would not comment further.
The salmon is now awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration, which in December concluded that the fish would have “no significant impact” on the environment and would be as safe to eat as conventional salmon. The agency is accepting public comments on its findings until April 26.
Under existing FDA policies, the salmon, if approved, would probably not be labeled as genetically engineered. The agency has said that use of genetic engineering per se does not change a food materially.
The campaign by the environmental and consumer groups suggests that the salmon could have trouble winning acceptance in the market, assuming consumers could identify it.
“Consumers do not want to eat genetically engineered fish, and stores are starting to pick up on it,” said Eric Hoffman, food and technology policy campaigner for Friends of the Earth, one of the 30 organizations that sent letters to retailers asking them to promise not to carry the salmon.
Other organizations involved include the Center for Food Safety and Consumers Union.
Still, the 2,000 stores covered by the pledges so far represent only a small fraction of the estimated 36,500 U.S. supermarkets, and some already had policies against genetically engineered seafood. Whole Foods, which recently announced that all genetically engineered food sold in its stores would have to be labeled by 2018, caters to consumers more likely than most to pay higher prices to avoid genetically modified ingredients.
Hoffman said he was confident that other grocers, including some more mainstream ones, would sign on.
“We haven’t heard any solid noes from anyone,” he said.
Ronald L. Stotish, chief executive of AquaBounty Technologies, which developed the salmon, said of the pledges: “I would be disappointed, but it’s their right. No one will ever be forced to purchase our products.”
But he added, “We think we have a safe and healthy product that we hope will be given a chance to be fairly judged by consumers.”
The fish, the AquAdvantage salmon, is a farmed Atlantic salmon that contains a growth hormone gene from the chinook salmon and a genetic switch from the ocean pout that keeps the transplanted gene continuously active. The salmon can grow to market weight in as little as half the time required by other farmed Atlantic salmon, AquaBounty says.
Critics say that the fish has not been tested adequately for safety and that it might outcompete wild salmon for food or mates should it ever escape. AquaBounty says its fish are sterilized and would be grown in inland tanks, with little chance of escape.
The groups against the fish say that Marsh Supermarkets, with about 90 stores in Ohio and Indiana, and PCC Natural Markets, with nine stores in Washington state, had also agreed not to carry the genetically modified salmon. Marsh did not return calls seeking verification.
AquaBounty, which is based in Maynard, Mass., has been close to running out of money. Friday, shareholders approved the sale of new shares worth $6 million, which the company has said would be enough to keep it afloat for at least another year.
Most of the new shares are being acquired by the Intrexon Corp., bringing its stake in AquaBounty to 53.8 percent. Intrexon specializes in synthetic biology, an advanced form of genetic engineering, and is controlled by Randal J. Kirk, a biotechnology entrepreneur.
Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press. Pope Francis gives the thumbs up to the crowd as he arrives in St. Peter’s Square for his inauguration Mass at the Vatican on Tuesday.
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis laid out the priorities of his pontificate during his installation Mass on Tuesday, urging the princes, presidents, sheiks and thousands of ordinary people attending to protect the environment, the weakest and the poorest and to let tenderness “open up a horizon of hope.”
It was a message Francis has hinted at in his first week as pontiff, when his gestures of simplicity often spoke louder than his words. But on a day when he had the world’s economic, political and religious leadership sitting before him on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica for the official start of his papacy, Francis made his point clear.
“Please,” he told them. “Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.”
The Argentine native is the first pope from Latin America and the first named for the 13th-century friar St. Francis of Assisi, whose life’s work was to care for nature, the poor and most disadvantaged.
The Vatican said between 150,000-200,000 people attended the Mass, held under bright blue skies after days of chilly rain and featuring flag-waving fans from around the world.
In Buenos Aires, thousands of people packed the central Plaza di Mayo square to watch the ceremony on giant TV screens, erupting in joy when Francis called them from Rome, his words broadcast over loudspeakers.
“I want to ask a favor,” Francis told them. “I want to ask you to walk together, and take care of one another. … And don’t forget that this bishop who is far away loves you very much. Pray for me.”
Back in Rome, Francis was interrupted by applause several times during his homily, including when he urged the faithful not to allow “omens of destruction,” hatred, envy and pride to “defile our lives.”
Francis said the role of the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics is to open his arms and protect all of humanity, but “especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison.”
“Today amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others,” he said. “To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope, it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds.”
After the celebrations die down, Francis has his work cut out for him as he confronts a church in crisis: Retired Pope Benedict XVI spent eight years trying to reverse the decline of Christianity in Europe, without much success.
While growing in Africa and Asia, the Catholic Church has been stained in Europe, Australia and the Americas by sexual abuse scandals. Closer to home, Francis is facing serious management shortcomings in a Vatican bureaucracy in dire need of reform.
Francis hasn’t offered any hint of how he might tackle those greater problems, focusing instead on crowd-pleasing messages and gestures that signal a total shift in priority and personality from his German theologian predecessor.
On Wednesday, Francis may give a hint about his ecumenical intentions, as he holds an audience with Christian delegations who attended his installation. On Friday, he will put his foreign policy chops on display in an address to the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See.
Saturday he calls on Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat south of Rome, and Sunday celebrates Palm Sunday Mass, another major celebration in St. Peter’s Square.
He then presides over all the rites of Holy Week, capped by Easter Sunday Mass on March 31, when Christians mark the resurrection of Christ, an evocative start to a pontificate.
Francis, 76, thrilled the crowd at the start of the Mass by taking a long round-about through the sun-drenched piazza, shouting “Ciao!” at well-wishers and kissing babies handed up to him.
At one point, as he neared a group of people in wheelchairs, he signaled for the jeep to stop, hopped off, and went to bless a disabled man held up to the barricade by an aide and kiss him on his forehead. It was a gesture from a man whose short papacy so far is becoming defined by such spontaneous forays into the crowd that seem to surprise and concern his security guards.
“I like him because he loves the poor,” said 7-year-old Pietro Loretti, who attended the Mass from Barletta in southern Italy. Another child in the crowd, 9-year-old Benedetta Vergetti from Cervetri near Rome, also skipped school to attend.
“I like him because he’s sweet like my Dad.”
The blue and white flags from Argentina fluttered above the crowd, which Italian media initially estimated could reach 1 million. Civil protection crews closed the main streets leading to the square to traffic and set up barricades for nearly a mile (two kilometers) along the route to try to control the masses and allow official delegations through.
At the start of the Mass, Francis received a gold-plated silver fisherman’s ring symbolizing the papacy and a woolen stole symbolizing his role as shepherd of his flock. The ring was something of a hand-me-down, first offered to Pope Paul VI, the pope who presided over the latter half of the Second Vatican Council, the meetings that brought the Church into the modern world.
Francis also received vows of obedience from a half-dozen cardinals — a potent symbol given Benedict XVI is still alive and was reportedly watching the proceedings on TV.
A cardinal intoned the rite of inauguration, saying: “The Good Shepherd charged Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep; today you succeed him as the bishop of this church.”
Some 132 official delegations attended, including more than a half-dozen heads of state from Latin America, a sign of the significance of the election for the region. Francis’s determination that his pontificate would be focused on the poor has resonance in a poverty-stricken region that counts 40 percent of the world’s Catholics.
In the VIP section was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, Taiwanese President Ying-Jeou Ma, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, Prince Albert of Monaco and Bahrain Prince Sheik Abdullah bin Haman bin Isa Alkhalifa, among others. All told, six sovereign rulers, 31 heads of state, three princes and 11 heads of government were attending, the Vatican said.
Francis directed his homily to them, saying: “We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!”
After the Mass, Francis stood in a receiving line for nearly two hours to greet each of the government delegations in St. Peter’s Basilica, chatting warmly and animatedly with each one, kissing the few youngsters who came along with their parents and occasionally blessing a rosary given to him. Unlike his predecessors, he did so in just his white cassock, not the red cape.
Among the religious VIPs attending was the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew I, who became the first patriarch from the Istanbul-based church to attend a papal investiture since the two branches of Christianity split nearly 1,000 years ago. Also attending for the first time was the chief rabbi of Rome. Their presence underscores the broad hopes for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue in this new papacy given Francis’ own work for improved relations.
In a gesture to Christians in the East, the pope prayed with Eastern rite Catholic patriarchs and archbishops before the tomb of St. Peter at the start of the Mass and the Gospel was chanted in Greek rather than the traditional Latin.
But it is Francis’ history of living with the poor and working for them while archbishop of Buenos Aires that seems to have resonated with ordinary Catholics who say they are hopeful that Francis can inspire a new generation of faithful who have fallen away from the church.
“As an Argentine, he was our cardinal. It’s a great joy for us,” said Edoardo Fernandez Mendia, from the Argentine Pampas who was in the crowd. “I would have never imagined that it was going to be him.”
Recalling another great moment in Argentine history, when soccer great Diego Maradona scored an improbable goal in the 1986 World Cup, he said: “And for the second time, the Hand of God came to Argentina.”
By Jessica Danforth, Indian Country Today Media Network
“The beginning of sexually transmitted infections laying siege upon Indigenous peoples’ self-determination occurred when Columbus’s syphilis infected crew sexually terrorized Indigenous women over 500 years ago. HIV has become the latest procession of this colonial legacy, linking violence to infection. Today, the responsibility of defending our self-determination against ongoing colonialism is an active right of Native peoples, but one that includes a call for accountability of non-Natives to claim. National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is therefore a time when the gravity of this story and the strength of our efforts toward healing & health is most appropriate when observed by Natives and non-Natives alike.” —INSPIRE HIV Prevention, Initiative of Native Sisters Preventing Infectious Risks through Empowerment
2011 National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day red balloon release on the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona. (National Native American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Facebook)
Awareness days exist for many issues these days—for different types of cancers, to bullying, even bird-feeding and fair trade. While awareness and information sharing are important tenants of social change, what do these days really mean on the ground? How do we concretely effect change in one day alone?
Jessica Danforth, executive director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network
This was a recent conversation we had at the Native Youth Sexual Health Network prior to National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 20. In any given week our staff and youth leaders are working front-line in Indigenous communities throughout North America and it’s usually a time of the year we get more requests to speak to the realities of HIV and AIDS in our communities. And again, while this is critical and a great opportunity, we recently reflected on how far-reaching the issues of HIV/AIDS are to not just do prevention messaging but to specifically address historical traumas while not being solely relegated to deficit or disease control models of doing things. A common saying we have at NYSHN is that as Indigenous peoples or youth we aren’t “at risk” all alone, which is how we often have to read about ourselves. Colonization, racism, and not having access to culturally safe care are what actually put our lives at risk.
So what’s the importance of having a conversation like this on an awareness day to effect change? Krysta Williams, our advocacy and outreach coordinator, shared her perspective:
“The day is still important not only because of the issues of stigma and discrimination still faced by people living with HIV but because we are at a point where things will stay the same—annual events that talk about stats—or they will radically shift with the leadership of young Native people who are calling for more than just awareness. Every workshop we do we get more questions, they want to hear what else can be done, more than just knowing the facts but what are our options after diagnosis, how to improve quality of life and generally a big WHY about discrimination and stigma, even in the face of knowing the facts and having access to treatment.
“We are also seeing that it’s us as communities, nations and families that need to take charge—not the law, or mainstream public health or the AIDS industrial complex—but us. We aren’t waiting for a magical solution but actively making the real change of moving towards doing things our way, treating people with respect and love.”
I remember finding out when the first National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day happened and how appreciative I felt that there was finally a day where we could actually speak to what is specifically happening in our own Native communities—rather than being pressured to again join the line of “high risk statistic populations”. I spoke to Robert Foley, president and CEO of the National Native American HIV/AIDS Prevention Center, about the significance of the history of when the awareness day started:
“The first National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was held on March 20, 2007, and was a collaborative effort between the National Native American HIV/AIDS Prevention Center, Colorado State University Commitment to Action for 7th-Generation Awareness & Education: HIV/AIDS Prevention Project (CA7AE: HAPP), and the Inter-tribal Council of Arizona with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It takes place on the first day of spring each year as it was believed that this day best exemplifies the ceremonies that occurred on the Spring Equinox for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian peoples—celebrations of growth, rebirth, healing and rejuvenation. The day was created in order to draw attention to the impact that HIV is having on Native people, and create an opportunity to commit resources and energy to ending this epidemic—both from the community side and the government side.
At the time when National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day was created, there were other national awareness days that had been diffused, and they have been shown to be an effective method to highlight the epidemic in certain communities. The National Native American HIV/AIDS Prevention Center, Colorado State University and the Inter-tribal Council of Arizona wanted to ensure that Native communities received the benefit of these efforts and the government contribute resources to make it happen. They created the day, but the real efforts were to lobby the CDC to recognize it, support it and dedicate monies to support the creation and diffusion of Native Awareness Day materials.”
I think it’s this history in lobbying and advocacy it took to create National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day in the first place that we can rally around this coming March 20 and build our collective strength from the ground up. More than just another awareness day, it’s a time of the year to make the realities of HIV/AIDS real for everyone, not just because of heightened statistics or risks but because our youth are asking us to remember the possibilities for change this day can have if we do make it real. As Shea Norris, member of the National Native HIV/AIDS Youth Council (NNYC-HIV) told me:
“I think part of the day represents being seen—within our communities, tribes, nations and internationally—as Native peoples. It’s a day to remember community members that have been lost and look forward to educating our peoples. It’s also to open discussions and reduce stigmas, taboos, and stereotypes. What I hope this day brings is awareness for not just anybody but for the youth, to give them as much knowledge as possible so that they can take the next step and educate their peers so that their peers can educate the next generation.”
Jessica Danforth is the founder and executive director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network.
