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The Gloves Come Off: Civil Rights Suit Filed as Adoption of Veronica Finalized

Suzette Brewer, Indian Country Today Media Network

Before the adoption of Veronica Brown to Matt and Melanie Capobianco was finalized yesterday in a South Carolina courtroom, the Native American Rights Fund made good on its promised Civil Rights litigation, filing a complaint late Tuesday night in federal district court on behalf of the girl’s right to due process in a “meaningful hearing” to determine her best interest. The courts in South Carolina failed to “take into account or require any inquiry” regarding Veronica’s current circumstances before approving the transition plan provided by Matt and Melanie Capobianco of James Island.

Supreme Court Thwarts ICWA Intent in Baby Veronica Case

Anger Erupts Across Indian Country Over Baby Veronica Ruling

Native American Rights Fund: Stop the Forced Removal of Baby Veronica

Additionally, the suit (V.B. v. Daniel E. Martin, Family Court for the Ninth Judicial Circuit) declares that Veronica is a tribal member and remains an “Indian Child” under the Indian Child Welfare Act, and therefore she “possesses a federally protected right” to a best interest hearing under federal law.

Supported by dozens of tribes, civil rights and child welfare groups, adoption advocacy organizations, legal authorities and Native American groups, the complaint seeks federal jurisdiction over the case, as well as an injunction prohibiting South Carolina courts from further proceedings pending a full and “meaningful” best interest hearing.

Angel Smith, an Oklahoma attorney appointed by the Cherokee Nation to represent Veronica as a tribal member, filed the motion on the girl’s behalf.

The Cherokee Nation reacted swiftly to the finalization of the adoption and transition plan in South Carolina.

“Today, a Family Court in South Carolina finalized the adoption of an almost 4-year-old Cherokee child who has been living with her unquestionably fit, loving, biological father and large extended family, for one year and seven months, half a continent away in Oklahoma and Cherokee Nation,” said Chrissi Nimmo, assistant attorney general for the Cherokee Nation. “This decision was made without a hearing to determine what is in Veronica’s current best interests and comes almost two years after the same Family Court found that Dusten Brown was a fit, loving parent and it would be in Veronica’s best interests to be placed with her father. Every parent in America should be terrified.

Dusten Brown is an honorable man and a good father. Cherokee Nation will continue to support Dusten, Veronica and the entire Brown family in their attempt to keep their family whole.”

Dusten Brown, who is currently in training with the National Guard, also issued the following statement:

“Our family is shocked and deeply saddened that the South Carolina Supreme Court has refused to allow Veronica’s best interest to be considered. Even worse, that Court issued an order they acknowledge will cause my daughter to suffer harm. The Court gave its blessing to the transition plan offered by the Capobiancos that says upon transfer to them, Veronica will be ‘fearful, scared, anxious, confused,’” said Brown.

“They say she will likely become quiet and withdrawn and may cry herself to sleep. That the transfer will cause ‘grief’ and ‘loss’ and she will feel ‘rejected’ by me and her family. They say it will leave her with many ‘unanswered questions.’ I will not voluntarily let my child go through that, no parent would. I am her father and it is my job to protect her. My family and I continue to pray that the justice system bring justice to Veronica.”

But legal experts acknowledged that the fight over custody of Veronica is not only not over, but has now moved into a whole new level of litigation. In spite of South Carolina’s ruling yesterday, enforcement in Oklahoma courts will now be the focus of the case.

“Everything will now move to Washington County, Oklahoma, where Veronica now resides,” said a legal scholar who asked for anonymity because of the ongoing litigation. “But it will require a bit of time for any order to be domesticated in that state. You may have an order from South Carolina, but guess what? Veronica’s not in South Carolina. She’s been domiciled in Oklahoma for 19 months and there’s no way a court in Oklahoma is going to approve enforcement of this order without a normal, legal checklist of things that would be required for any other child up that’s been put up for adoption, not to mention a child who is a tribal member and is living with a biological parent.”

For example, the adoption was finalized without a current homestudy or psychological evaluation of any of the parties involved, which legal and child welfare experts say are standard operating procedures.

“It’s called giving ‘full faith and credit’ to another state’s order,” said the expert. “[The legal team] is going to go into court to argue that full faith and credit should not be given to the South Carolina order because the courts there did not follow the law. And Oklahoma, quite frankly, does not have to give full faith and credit if Veronica’s constitutional right to due process has been denied.”

Additionally, observers say that because jurisdiction has been shifted to Oklahoma, the gloves have now come off in a state that was originally founded as “Indian Territory.” With nearly 40 tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma has the second largest American Indian population in the United States. And they have watched the events in Adoptive Couple unfold in South Carolina with growing alarm and disgust.

“How is it that Paul Clement, who wasn’t even a party in this case, walks into the United States Supreme Court and insults every Indian tribe in the country by making this case about blood quantum and fiercely advocating for a ‘best interest’ hearing, only to have it shot down in South Carolina because the judges there think it’s too hard?” asks one Tulsa lawyer who works exclusively in ICWA cases. “It simply boggles the mind that any court would callously disregard the most important party in this case: Veronica herself. The fight is definitely not over.”

Lori Alvino McGill, the attorney for birth mother Christy Maldonado, today dismissed the federal suit to stop the finalization of the adoption as a “publicity stunt,” as tribes across the country continue to unify in support of Veronica and the Indian Child Welfare Act.

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

Meanwhile, on Tuesday the Capobiancos filed their response to Dusten Brown’s request to the U.S. Supreme Court that the South Carolina courts postpone finalization of the adoption until a best interest determination hearing could be held. Chief Justice John Roberts, an adoptive parent himself who sided with the majority against Brown, oversees emergency petitions for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes South Carolina.

Sources in Washington have pointed out that Alvino McGill’s role in Adoptive Couple is more than that of a spokesperson for Christy Maldonado. As it turns out, Chief Justice Roberts and former solicitor general Ted Olson, both of whom sided with the Capobiancos, attended Ms. Alvino McGill’s 2006 wedding to Matthew McGill who, coincidentally, was a clerk for John Roberts in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Therefore, given the cozy nature and small world influence in the Capitol’s legal circles, observers say it was no surprise when Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl was granted petition of certiorari in January.

“Dusten Brown never had a chance,” said the source. “His biggest sin was that he got on the wrong side of the billion dollar U.S. adoption industry and he was winning. [The Supreme Court] knew this when they took cert on this case, otherwise, why would they bother with a custody dispute that should have been nipped in the bud four years ago? And the sad part is that he’s rehabilitated himself in every way in this case. He’s gone to every length to keep his child, he’s done everything asked of him. But it is a system that was stacked against him from the beginning. This is Worcester v. Georgia all over again.”

After the South Carolina court’s ruling finalizing the adoption of his daughter, Dusten Brown made a direct plea to the Capobiancos.

“To Matt and Melanie Capobianco I want to say this: Please, for Veronica’s sake, just stop. Stop, and ask yourself if you really believe this is best for her.”

Connecticut Towns Join Sen. Blumenthal’s Anti-Indian Campaign

Gale Courey Toensing, Indian Country Today Media Network

Connecticut officials have jumped on Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s bandwagon of opposition to the Interior Department’s proposed revisions to the federal recognition regulations.

On June 21, Kevin Washburn, Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, unveiled a red lined “Preliminary Discussion Draft” of potential changes to Interior’s process for federally acknowledging Indian tribes.

Two weeks later Blumenthal organized a meeting in his Connecticut office to rouse local and state officials into fighting the proposed revisions in order to prevent the possible federal acknowledgment of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation (STN), the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation (EPTN), and the Golden Hill Paugusetts. Now those state officials are reaching out to both the federal government and local officials in their efforts to delay and ultimately quash any possibility that those three state-recognized tribes could become federally acknowledged.

On July 22, John Rodolico, Nicholas Mullane and Robert Congdon, respectively, the mayor and first selectmen of the towns of Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston in southeastern Connecticut where the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Mohegan Tribe own and operate Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, wrote to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell complaining about what they claim would be “dramatic consequences for our towns and the state of Connecticut” if the proposed changes were enacted. “Despite the clear effect of the proposal on previously denied and potential future tribal acknowledgment decisions in Connecticut, no meeting has been scheduled anywhere close to our state and a short comment period of only 60 days has been offered,” the elected officials wrote. They did not describe the “dramatic consequences” or the “clear effect” of the proposed revisions on the state, but they asked Jewell to extend the August 16 comment period by 45 days.

Even though Washburn had already announced that Interior would hold both tribal consultations and public comment sessions, the town officials pushed for public comments. “We understand that the announced basis for the release of the preliminary draft is to consult with tribal interests under federal Indian policy. Comments from non-tribal interests are also essential, however. BIA can obtain a full record and be properly advised on the proposal only if it provides sufficient time to review this highly detailed proposal.”

The town officials were an integral part of Blumenthal’s previous organized – and successful – anti-Indian acknowledgment efforts. The former Connecticut attorney general orchestrated a campaign of political opposition that included local, state and federal elected officials and an anti-Indian sovereignty group with a powerful White House-connected lobbyist – Barbour Griffith & Rogers (BGR) – in 2004-2005. After 18 months of relentless lobbying, the BIA in an unprecedented move reversed its Final Determinations and issued Reconsidered Final Determinations (RFD) overturning both the STN and EPTN’s federal acknowledgment. James Cason, Interior’s Associate Deputy Secretary at the time and a non-Indian Bush appointee, issued the RFD.

Ironically, the town officials told Jewell there’s no need to change the regulations. “The current rules have been in effect for over 30 years, and we are aware of no reason to rush through a sweeping revision process such as been proposed in the preliminary discussion draft,” they wrote. These same town officials, however, joined in the chorus of Connecticut official voices that complained that the federal recognition process was “broken” and “tainted by political influence” (even though the Inspector General investigated and found no wrong doing on the part of the tribes or BIA staff) when the EPTN and STN received positive Final Determinations but lauded the regulations and process once the tribes’ acknowledgments were overturned.

Schaghticoke Tribal Nation Chief Richard Velky could not be reached for comment, nor could a spokesperson for the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation. But an STN member close to the chief who asked not to be named said that Blumenthal and the town officials he leads are “up to their same old tricks. They want the extension only so that they can muster up anti-Indian support across the United States to oppose the tribes in Connecticut like they did in 2004 and 2005. They’ve been prepared to oppose the Schaghticokes for the last 200 years. They really don’t need the extra time – all their opposition is already on file with the federal government.”

According to e-mails reviewed by Indian Country Today Media Network, the e-mail to Jewell was written by Don Baur of the firm Perkins Coie, which represented the towns in previously opposing STN and EPTN. The North Stonington selectman sent the letter to several town officials seeking their signatures or suggesting they write their own letters of opposition to the proposed revisions to the Interior secretary.

Enriching journey returns with Paddle to Quinault

Angelo Bruscas/North Coast News Members of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe land their canoe at Damon Point in Ocean Shores July 29.

By Angelo Bruscas, North Coast News

The first landing locally for the Paddle to Quinault 2013 was blessed with calm seas and a light overcast at low tide on Damon Point when five tribal canoes from Southwest Washington and Oregon pulled in for the last leg of their journey to the shores of the Quinault Indian Nation.

Even though Monday’s landing was in Ocean Shores, it technically is on Quinault land, too, with the Ocean Shores RV Park and Marina owned by the host tribe. The site will harbor campers and canoe teams connected to the intertribal journey of nearly 100 canoes that will end this weekend at Point Grenville, south of Taholah. The city of Ocean Shores issued a permit to the RV Park to allow spill-over camping on the other side of Marine View Drive, and many of the teams arrived with large groups of followers and supporters on Monday afternoon.

They were greeted by a Quinault contingent that included Tribal Council members, drummers, pageant royalty and dancers in traditional clothing, along with customary greetings and requests from the canoe teams for permission to come ashore.

“Thank you for sharing what you have, what you have been given by the Great Spirit,” Quinault Tribal Council member Richard Underwood called out in greeting the arriving teams. “We look forward to hearing your songs and your dances and joining in the festivities. On behalf of our royalty here, our Miss Quinault and Miss Teen Quinault, we welcome you to come ashore and share with us your history. We are thankful you made it here safe. Welcome. Come ashore!”

Jeremiah Wallace, 32, skipper of the Cowlitz Tribe canoe, was thankful the team would have a chance to rest up before making the final 30-mile pull to the beach at Point Grenville. The Cowlitz team and canoes from Grand Ronde and Warm Springs had traveled down the Columbia River and up the coast, meeting the Chinook Tribe’s canoes at the mouth of the Columbia, and actually arriving a day earlier than expected.

“We’re pretty happy to be here,” said a hoarse and exhausted Wallace, who now lives in Bellingham. The Cowlitz started at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia and then met the Warm Springs, Grand Ronde and Chinook tribal canoes on the journey down the river into the open ocean, a place where Wallace had never been in the canoe. They also stopped at the Shoalwater Bay Tribe before crossing Grays Harbor on Monday.

The canoes averaged about 22-24 miles a day, and Wallace was sore on his side and his chest from the steering demands on his body. The biggest difficulty other than the normal hardship of pulling a paddle for a couple hundred miles was the fog, and Wallace said the canoes had to follow the lights of a Chinook crab boat and Grand Ronde Zodiac on Monday through the fog.

“This is my first time in the ocean. It was pretty calm out there, but it’s hard when you don’t have any relief pullers. You just have to keep pulling the whole time,” Wallace said.

CULTURAL CELEBRATION

The Paddle to Quinault is not just a canoe journey. It is a cultural celebration with song and dance, a Potlach, a demonstration of the wealth and riches of the community.

“People come from far and near to partake in these festivities that we will be having,” Underwood said as he described the event July 18 for over 400 people gathered at the Ocean Shores Convention Center.

As many as 15,000 people are expected to arrive this weekend as tribes throughout the Northwest journey by canoes up and down the coast, landing at Point Grenville, south of Taholah. There, they will be greeted with a feast and several days of hospitality by the Quinault Nation, which has been spending the past several months making gifts and stocking up on traditional foods, fish and game to feed and present to the incoming crowds.

“We want to show off our wealth, so to speak,” Underwood said at the Canoe Journey 2013 Community Dinner. “And by doing so, we make gifts … and we give those to our friends and relatives and our visitors who have traveled here.”

For those who venture out on the ocean or tribal members who make their way of life on the water, being part of the canoe journey can be a life-changing experience.

“Knowing not only you but 10 other people in that canoe have to work together in order for that canoe to stay true,” Underwood said. “That’s a life lesson.”

The Quinaults helped train other tribes in two sessions in May and June, and their journey can be tracked in real time online at: www.tinyurl.com/K77zryw

As a younger man, Underwood was often told that being on the ocean was part of his heritage. Being part of a canoe team teaches not only how to be self-reliant, but also how to depend on others. It’s a philosophy and way of life that applies to so many other facets of day-to-day living.

“That was something that my grandmother was trying to teach me, and I didn’t get it until the day it was revealed to me that I needed to get into that canoe and learn these ways,” he said.

CANOE JOURNEY

Called “pullers” rather than paddlers or rowers, the canoes are traveling together because of the rugged conditions posed by an ocean-going journey. In 2002, with fog and heavy surf, the Canoe Journey also came to Taholah, only it finished by entering the Quinault River, which proved treacherous for the 45 canoes that arrived. Grenville should be a much more calm landing.

The northern group includes several tribes making the journey down from British Columbia.

Ocean-going canoes from several Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council nations are traveling from Bella Coola, along the west coast of Vancouver Island and through the Salish Sea. Pullers from Sliammon, Snuneymuxw and Malahat will join the Journey as it heads south, meeting their relations from Puget Sound in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The T’Sou-ke First Nation canoe crossed the strait, landing near Port Angeles for the last legs of the voyage, west to Makah and the open Pacific Ocean.

The B.C. connection goes back to 1989 when Quinault elder Emmett Oliver (now 100 years old) and Frank Brown of Bella Bella, B.C. first came up with the idea for the Paddle to Seattle. Nine traditional ocean-going cedar dugout canoes made the journey back then from coastal villages of Northwest Washington and B.C. to help celebrate the Washington Centennial. An added bonus to this year’s Journey will be the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain. The ships were invited by the Quinault to escort canoes along the open coast from Neah Bay.

The theme is “Honoring our Warriors,” and the veterans who have served others.

PADDLE SCHEDULE

Aug. 1: Canoes will leave Queets at about 7 a.m. They’ll arrive at Point Grenville at between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Dinner will be served between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Aug. 3: The totem pole will be put up at 12 p.m.

Aug. 4: Race canoe presentations will be given at high tide.

Colville headquarters collapse after fire

Kaitlin Gillespie, The Spokesman Review

NESPELEM, Wash. – Though black plumes of smoke unfurled from the charred remains of the Colville Reservation’s Headquarters on Monday, tribal members just across the street from the ruins lifted a symbol of hope.

Shawnee BearCub and her family built a teepee in honor of their lost history, providing a place of prayer and safety for members of the tribe.

“It’s resilience in the face of adversity,” BearCub said, hoisting the teepee sticks in the air Monday afternoon.

Fire razed the tribe’s headquarters at 1:15 a.m. Monday. It was the second fire in the past year that leveled an important cultural center. The tribe’s longhouse burned in December when a heater malfunctioned. Religious and cultural items including beaded regalia were lost.

Matt Haney, deputy director for public safety for the tribe, said even though firefighters arrived within minutes, fire had engulfed and destroyed the headquarters.

Investigators have not identified the cause of the blaze yet. The fire continued to smolder Monday afternoon. Colville Tribes Fire Cmdr. Chris McCuen said the entire structure dropped into the basement of the building, making it difficult for investigators to determine an origin or a cause.

Arson crews and tribal police were at the scene, but Haney said it’s too early to determine whether the fire was intentionally lit. Firefighters were able to stop the fire from reaching the nearby U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Firefighters worked to keep the blaze contained well into Monday afternoon and evening. All that remained of the three-story structure was a blackened pit in the ground.

This is the first time since 1975 the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are without a central government office, according to a news release. The building housed the Colville Business Council and other administrative offices, leaving about 40 tribal employees without an office. No one was in the building at the time.

The fire destroyed important documents, as well as many cultural and historical items, Haney said.

“There was so much history stored in the building,” he said.

Ricky Gabriel, a member of the Colville Business Council, said the loss of government documents and computers will impede their ability to operate efficiently and administer services.

“The tribe really feels this right now,” Gabriel said.

Fortunately, many documents were backed up and can be accessed.

The tribe has already found a temporary office at the tribal legal offices.

“We’ve lost two very important structures within the community,” BearCub said.

In spite of the recent losses, BearCub said she’s doing her part, however small, to help the community move on from the tragedies. The teepee has been in her family for generations, and she said it will serve as a place of hope and prayer for those mourning the building.

The teepee represents the cycle of life, she said. Just like the administrative building, it can be taken down, but rebuilt, she said.

“My spirit guides me to do these things,” she said.

The building is a tremendous loss to the community, and council members are upset that the building is gone, Gabriel said. He adds, though, that there’s only one way to move from here: forward.

“The building isn’t alive and doesn’t love,” Gabriel said. “People do.”

Eerie Echoes of Seattle Woodcarver Killing: Toronto Cops Gun Down Teen

Video still/YouTubeToronto police surround, then open fire on, an empty streetcar in which an 18-year-old Syrian boy is brandishing a small knife. Sammy Yatim died of his wounds. — Video still/YouTube
Toronto police surround, then open fire on, an empty streetcar in which an 18-year-old Syrian boy is brandishing a small knife. Sammy Yatim died of his wounds.

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Sammy Yatim moved to Toronto five years ago along with his sister, to live with their father and escape the danger of the escalating civil war in Syria, where average citizens are being slaughtered daily.

But July 26 found the 18-year-old dead, outnumbered and gunned down by police officers after he refused to drop a knife on an empty streetcar. Friends and family are shattered, and hundreds of people filled Toronto’s streets on Monday in a protest march and vigil.

“We are in very, very difficult times,” Yatim’s father, Nabil, told The Star. “He was an average kid, loved by his friends. Now, you have totally different versions coming out.”

The drama aboard the 505 streetcar late Friday night, just before midnight Saturday. According to witnesses, he was holding a knife. Police were summoned, with at least half a dozen converging on the stopped, now-empty streetcar. Witness videos caught the voices of police yelling, “Drop the knife!” while a fainter voice could be heard saying, “He’s the only one in the car.”

The car was indeed empty, but the cops start shooting. They fired nine shots, CTV News reported. Then one boards the car, and the sound of a Tazer can be heard.

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said he wanted answers as well, having viewed the video footage taken by witnesses and posted on social media.

“I am aware of the very serious concerns the public has,” Blair told CTV News. “I know that people are seeking answers as to what occurred, why it happened and if anything could have been done to prevent the tragic death of this young man. I am also seeking answers to these important questions.”

Slain Seattle woodcarver John T. Williams

It was sadly reminicent of the shooting of Native woodcarver John T. Williams in Seattle in 2011. Walking across the street, he was holding a knife, but not near any people. Police told him to drop it, but the hard-of-hearing 50-year-old did not respond. A police officer opened fire.

Be it an 18-year-old Yatim, a 17-year-old Trayvon Martin or a host of others judged on the slightest perceived aberration and issued the death penalty, it was yet another example of how vulnerable the non-white population can be.

Blair said the provincial Special Investigations Unit would conduct a full, objective evaluation, and offered condolences.

“As a father, I can only imagine their terrible grief and their need for answers,” he said of the family.

Lac-Mégantic Rail Tragedy Resonates in Quinault Nation as Victims Are Memorialized

Fire rages the day after a 73-car train carrying crude oil from the Bakken shale of North Dakota to refineries in New Brunswick, Canada, burn after the train got loose and smashed into the town of Lac-Mégantic, killing 47.

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

As hundreds attended a memorial service in Lac-Megantic on Saturday July 27 for the 47 people killed in the train explosion that flattened the center of the 6,000-population town, the horrific accident resonated with a tribe all the way over in the Pacific Northwest.

The Quinault Nation is fighting a plan to transport oil by rail through their territory and across ecologically sensitive areas. Indeed, the July 6 accident in Quebec, in which the brakes failed on a Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway train and it sped downhill from its overnight resting place to derail and slam into the center of the small town, highlighted a drastic increase in rail transport of oil across the U.S. and Canada.

“It could have easily been Hoquiam,” said Fawn Sharp, President of Quinault Indian Nation, in a statement soon after the crash.

About 234,000 carloads of crude oil were moved around the U.S. in 2012, up from 66,000 carloads in 2011 and 9,500 in 2008, USA Today reported. That makes for a more than 2,000 percent increase over four years, the Quinault Nation pointed out in its July 9 statement.

“It is not a matter of ‘if’ these shipments will cause a major spill; it’s a matter of ‘when’,” said Sharp.

The Quinault are battling plans by the Westway Terminal Company out of Louisiana and Texas to build an oil shipping terminal in Grays Harbor with the capacity to store 800,000 barrels of crude. The company expects to transport 10 million barrels of crude through the ecologically sensitive harbor every year, the Quinault said in their statement.

In addition two other facilities to receive crude oil via rail shipments also being proposed in the Grays Harbor area, which includes marine shipping, would create “major environmental risks” to the community and the Quinault.

“The massive train, oil barge and ship traffic this project will bring to Grays Harbor is a tragedy waiting to happen,” Sharp said. “There will be spills and they will harm salmon, shellfish, and aquatic life, trample our treaty rights and cultural historic sites, and tie up traffic for extensive distances.”

Moreover the expansion of the Westway Terminals’ Port of Grays Harbor facility violates treaty rights as well as the tribe’s standards of “good stewardship and common sense,” Sharp said. “The risk is not worth a few more, unsustainable jobs. Far too much is at stake, and there is simply no way oil train proponents can pass the straight face test and tell us that their proposal is safe. Lives are at stake. Fish and wildlife resources. Water quality and much, much more. These are the same type of rail cars that will come pouring through our area, and unquestionably threaten the lives and safety of our people and resources.”

Back in Quebec, the tragedy hit home anew. Nearly 1,000 people crowded into Ste-Agnes Church for the morning Mass presided over by Archbishop Luc Cyr of Sherbrooke, the Associated Press reported. Also attending were Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois and Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche, as well as the Crown representative, Governor-General David Johnston. Maine Governor Paul LePage also attended.

“This has been an emotional day followed by a very emotional period,” Harper said outside the church, according to AP. “It is very difficult to absorb all this when you see all of these families who have been affected.”

Several lawsuits have been filed as a result of the explosion, and both the police and federal transportation safety officials conduct investigations, AP reported.

An Architect of Self-Determination Act Honored by U.S. Senator

Forrest Gerard Senator Henry Jackson and Forrest Gerard 1976

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

On July 24, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, recognized the significant contributions of Forrest Gerard to Indian country in a floor statement to the U.S. Senate. Mr. Gerard joined the staff of Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson (D-WA) in 1971. He was appointed the first Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Gerard, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe, was one of the primary architects of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Act by Senator Jackson in 1973. The Act, which passed Congress in 1974 and was signed by President Gerald Ford in 1975, reversed a policy of termination and assimilation, and launched the era of self-governance and self-determination, which continues to guide federal Indian policy today.

In her statement, Senator Cantwell applauded Gerard for his commitment to tribal sovereignty. “Today we recognize Forrest Gerard for his dedication, intelligence, and persistence, which paved the way for the political achievements that transformed the landscape of Indian affairs,” Cantwell said. “Tribes now have greater autonomy in managing their resources, preserving their cultures, and utilizing their land base.”

Cantwell emphasized Gerard’s role in strengthening the government-to-government relationship between the United States and Indian tribes. Gerard helped promote a shared goal of tribal self-determination and self-governance. Today, Cantwell said, that relationship is a mature one.

“I think we are long overdue in commending Forrest for his pioneering, industrious career as a voice for Indian country,” Cantwell said. “Today we celebrate his leadership in charting a new path for American Indians – a path that won the support of Congress, tribal governments, and the nation.”

Gerard’s service began with the U.S. Army Air Corps as a member of a bomber crew in World War II. After flying 35 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, he became the first member of his family to attend college, receiving a bachelor’s degree from University of Montana in 1949.

Over the next two decades, Gerard worked for the state of Montana, the newly formed Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a legislative liaison officer, and the Director of the Office for Indian Progress in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

Forrest spent the last 30 years advising Indian people on how to effectively participate in developing policy with government leaders and how to be part of the political process.

The full text of Senator Cantwell’s floor statement follows:

Mr. President, on the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act in 1973, I rise to honor a distinguished advocate for Indian country and one of the key architects of the Act, Forrest J. Gerard, and recognize him for a lifetime committed to public service.

Forrest, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe, was the first American Indian to draft and facilitate the passage of Indian legislation through Congress. During the 1970s, Forrest partnered with Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson to dramatically change the United States’ policy on Indian affairs. Together, they ended the policy of termination and assimilation, and launched the era of self-governance and self-determination, which continues to guide federal Indian policy today.

Forrest’s service began with the U.S. Army Air Corps as a member of a bomber crew in World War II. After flying 35 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, he became the first member of his family to attend college, receiving a bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana in 1949.

Over the next two decades, Forrest worked for the state of Montana, the newly formed Indian Health Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a legislative liaison officer, and as the Director of the Office for Indian Progress in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. His goal was to enable future generations of Indian leaders to build healthy and educated communities.

Forrest arrived at the United States Senate in 1971 to work with Senator Jackson, then Chair of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Senator Jackson had become a strong supporter of self-determination, and believed Forrest Gerard, with his significant background with federal agencies and his understanding of the American Indian experience, would bring an important perspective to the debate. Forrest was able to combine significant issue expertise with his solid relationships with tribes to enact meaningful legislation that would alter the course of Indian affairs.

Forrest’s unique skills and relationships played a critical role in producing the landmark Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. With the leadership of Senator Jackson and Forrest Gerard, this critical bill was signed by President Ford in 1975 and remains the basis for federal dealings with tribal governments.

Following the success of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Forrest worked to strengthen tribal governance by helping to pass the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and the Submarginal Lands Act.

As Native American journalist Mark Trahant put it, “Gerard did great work – subtly, without fanfare, and too often without recognition or even thanks. His approach was honesty and directness in dealing with Indian country, and he never wavered in his loyalty to the tribes.”

Today we recognize Forrest Gerard for his dedication, intelligence, and persistence, which paved the way for the political achievements that transformed the landscape of Indian affairs. Tribes now have greater autonomy in managing their resources, preserving their cultures, and utilizing their land base. And the government-to-government relationship between the United States and tribes is now a mature relationship.

Forrest Gerard was honored for his work by the National Congress of American Indians. In 1997 President Jimmy Carter appointed him to be the first Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs. Forrest spent the last 30 years advising Indian people on how to effectively participate in developing policy with government leaders and be part of the political process. Forrest truly has devoted his life to empowering tribal communities.

I think we are long overdue in commending Forrest for his pioneering, industrious career as a voice for Indian country. Today we celebrate his leadership in charting a new path for American Indians – a path that won the support of Congress, tribal governments, and the nation.

Forrest Gerard is a hero among a new generation of great Indian leaders. And his contributions will be remembered forever.

A Senate Committee on Indian Affairs press release.

Fire destroys Colville tribal HQ in Nespelem

Associated Press

NESPELEM, Wash. — Fire has destroyed the administration building for the Colville Indian reservation in Nespelem (nez-PEE’-luhm).

The chairman of the governing business council, Mike Finley, says the three-story building is a total loss.

Finley says there were no known injuries. No one was believed to be in the building when the fire broke out about 1 a.m. Monday, and there’s no indication how it started. It’s not related to a wildfire.

The building housed the business council and support staff for the Confederated Tribes Of The Colville Reservation. Nespelem is about five miles north of Grand Coulee Dam.

Finley says Colville tribal records were lost and services will be affected. The confederation has 12 tribes with 9,470 members and a 1.4 million reservation in northeast Washington.

Cherokee Fire Dancers Leap Into Northern California Blazes

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The Cherokee Nation has sent its elite squad of firefighters to Oregon to help fight wildfires in northern California.

The dozen-member team, the Cherokee Fire Dancers, deployed to the Northwestern state on Tuesday July 23 to “work 16-hour days, hiking up to seven miles per day to cut down timber to create fire breaks to help battle the flames,” the tribe said in a statement.

“It’s a thrill watching a fire as it’s contained and know you’ve helped,” said Danny Maritt, of Tahlequah, who has been a Fire Dancer for 23 years, in the tribe’s statement. “We’re glad we’re out there making a difference.”

Fire Dancers are on call from the U.S. Forestry Department, the tribe said. Their last mission was assisting in cleanup efforts from Superstorm Sandy in New Jersey.

The Fire Dancers have traveled back and forth across the United States since 1988 to help suppress wildfires, earning “an outstanding reputation and the respect of wildland management agencies throughout the United States,” the tribe’s website says.

Information on specific fires that the Cherokee team will help with was not available, but there were several fires burning in northern California earlier in the week. Many have been contained, but others, such as the Aspen fire, were still being suppressed. That was at 2,000 acres in hard-to-access territory in the High Sierra Ranger District of the Sierra National Forest, where it was discovered burning on July 23, according to Inciweb. As of late morning on July 25, the fire had burned about 2,000 acres and remained active.

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.”