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Looking Back to the Future of VAWA: Suzan Shown Harjo: “Congress, Make the Streets Safe for Indian Women, Too”

Prior to President Obama signing the Tribal Law and Order Act into law in 2010, Lisa Marie Iyotte delivered an emotional introduction, describing how she had been raped and assaulted on the Rosebud Reservation while her two small children hid. When she broke down, Obama stepped over to comfort her. Now, Obama can move to Stop the Violence Against Women by signing the VAWA reauthorization into law.

Indian Country Today Media Network Staff

In one of her columns for Indian Country Today, Suzan Shown Harjo wrote: “Only the reinstatement of tribal jurisdiction and remedies has a chance of reversing the epidemic levels of violence against Native women.” That commentary was published April 29, 2005.

Today, after years of struggle, tribal advocates are celebrating Congress passing the VAWA reauthorization, with tribal provisions. The act is now heading to President Obama for his signature.

Harjo, Cheyenne and & Hodulgee Muscogee, is an award-winning columnist and a poet, writer, curator and policy advocate, who has helped Native Peoples to protect sacred places and recover more than one million acres of land, is president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C. She’s also still regularly contributing to this publication.

The spotlight on the VAWA reauthorization, with tribal provisions, was magnified by Harjo’s 2005 ICT column, and it roused both regional and national mainstream media from their collective slumber concerning this crucial matter. There is something to the old saying “the pen is mightier than the sword.”

In light of the recent action on VAWA, and the impending action by Obama, it seems like an ideal time to revisit Harjo’s column, titled “Congress Make the Streets Safe for Indian Women, too.” Here is that work, in full.

Congress, Make the Streets Safe for Indian Women, Too, April 29, 2005

The streets of Indian country aren’t safe for American Indian and Alaska Native women.

Nearly 90 percent of the perpetrators of violent crimes against Native women are non-Indians—60 percent are white men—and Native nations can’t touch them.

Congress created this haven for non-Indian criminals on reservations and it’s up to Congress to fix it. The 109th Congress has a chance to do that very thing this year, when it considers reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.

VAWA 2005 is being drafted now to address the deplorable situation of women in American, where physical abuse is a feature of one-quarter of all marriages and where one-third of women who are treated in emergency rooms are victims of domestic violence.

While Native women also sustain injuries in abusive relationships, most of the men who assault Native women are strangers or acquaintances (80 percent), rather than intimate partners or family members (20 percent), according to a U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics report, American Indians and Crime (1992-2002), issued in December 2004.

This statistical profile and a raft of other studies, including the 2000 National Violence Against Women Survey, report that:

● American Indian and Alaska Native women are more than twice as likely to be victims of violent crime than other women in America.

● American Indian and Alaska Native women suffer sexual assaults at a rate of more than three times that of women of other races.

● more than one in three American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped during her lifetime.

● the rate of violent crime experienced by American Indian women is nearly 50 percent higher than that reported by black males, the second highest gender/race category victimized by violent crime.

Most violent crimes are committed intra-racially, as with white-on-white crime. This is not the pattern in Indian country, where 88 percent of the perpetrators of violent crime against Indians are non-Indians.

Why can’t Indian governments punish these violent non-Indians and why should Congress step in? It’s a long, complex history, but the short answer is that the federal government made this jurisdictional mess and should take every opportunity to clean it up.

Over a century ago in the name of “Indian civilization,” the federal government criminalized tribal traditions and took control of the reservations. When the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government did not have jurisdiction over Indian murders of Indians, Congress enacted the Major Crimes Act, authorizing federal jurisdiction over murder and other serious offenses involving Indian people.

Congress expanded federal jurisdiction, effectively restricting tribal authorities, under the Assimilative Crimes Act and myriad gaming, environmental, repatriation, arts and other laws.

Tribal jurisdiction and remedies were limited under the federal tribal termination policy. Starting in the 1940s, Congress gave selected states certain criminal and civil authorities over Indian offenses. In the 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act, Congress restricted the sentencing authority of tribal courts to one-year imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. The Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that Indian tribes cannot prosecute non-Indians in criminal matters.

That brings us to the present situation where Native nations cannot punish non-Indians who harm Indian women in Indian territory, or can only give them a slap on the wrist.

There are many reasons that the federal and state governments aren’t doing a better job at bringing these bad men to justice. Basically, it comes down to geography and connectedness. The federal and state agents don’t live where the crimes are being committed and the victims aren’t their neighbors.

Only the reinstatement of tribal jurisdiction and remedies has a chance of reversing the epidemic levels of violence against Native women.

In VAWA 2005, Congress can address the jurisdictional void that prevents Indian tribes from prosecuting non-Indians perpetrating these crimes.

VAWA was signed into law in 1994 and reauthorized in 2000. VAWA 2000 mandates that protection orders from one tribe or state be afforded full faith and credit in outside jurisdictions. It also clarifies that Indian tribes have full civil jurisdiction to enforce protection orders, including authority to enforce any orders through civil contempt proceedings, exclusion of violators from Indian lands and other “appropriate mechanisms.”

Some states do not comply with the federal mandate and exhibit hostility toward affording full faith and credit to protection orders issued by tribal courts. Alaska’s executive branch has challenged a state judge’s decision allowing enforcement of a banishment order issued by the Native Village of Perryville. The Minnesota Supreme Court in 2003 rejected a proposed statewide court rule for the consistent enforcement of all tribal court orders.

Advocates are working with legislators and staffers on the reauthorization of VAWA, which is set to expire this September. Advocates in Indian country would do well to work (and work fast) with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Judiciary Committees to develop a bill that could stand alone or be folded into VAWA 2005.

A meaningful VAWA provision for Indian country would restore tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians in the area of violent crime against women. Proponents should be prepared for the inevitable discussion about review of tribal court decisions and opt-in/opt-out mechanisms.

At the very least, Congress should provide necessary funding to study full faith and credit implementation problems, in particular with regard to tribal domestic violence protection orders, and should withhold certain federal monies (unrelated to domestic violence prevention and response) from states that refuse to comply with VAWA’s full faith and credit mandate.

VAWA’s effect in Indian country would be strengthened by provisions ensuring tribal law enforcement officers’ access to national databases that track criminal history; a national database of tribal protection orders and tribal adult sex offenders to track serial offenders who travel between different Indian nations; an increase in funding for tribal governments and programs providing infrastructure and services to survivors of rape, stalking and domestic and dating violence; and a Tribal Division within the Office on Violence Against Women to act as the liaison to tribal governments on issues unique to Indian nations and Indian women.

Congress can continue with the same jurisdictional system that devalues Native women and handicaps Native nations, or it can fill the jurisdictional void with something that might just work.

If Congress fails to act, the reservation streets will remain safe for violent non-Indians and the Indian women and their children and grandchildren will suffer. How is that good for anyone but the bad people?

Senator Murray’s Statement on VAWA Victory

500+ days after VAWA authorization expired, Senator Murray helps push House Leadership to finally pass the Senate’s bipartisan, inclusive bill

Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray released the following statement after House Republican leadership finally allowed the Senate’s bipartisan, inclusive Violence Against Women Act to be voted on in the House. The bill, which Murray cosponsored, passed by a vote of 286-138. Passage comes over 500 days after the bill’s authorization expired in late 2011. Since that time Murray has helped lead efforts in Congress to reauthorize an inclusive bill that expands VAWA’s protections to cover more women in at-risk communities.

“This is a long delayed, hard won, and badly needed victory for millions of women, especially those who were told that they weren’t worthy of VAWA’s protections. It means that finally, after over 16 months of struggle, tribal women, the LGBT community, immigrants, and women on college campuses will have the tools and resources this life-saving bill provides.

“There is absolutely no reason that it should have taken this long for the House leadership to come around on a bill that had overwhelming bipartisan support. But passage today is a validation of what we’ve been saying since this bill expired in 2011 – VAWA has never been, and should never be, a partisan bill. That is why I applaud moderate Republican voices in the House who stood up to their leadership to demand a vote on the Senate bill.

“Throughout this process – often through tears – countless women had the courage to come forward and tell painful stories about why this bill was so vital to them. By stepping out of the shadows, they reinforced that they were more than statistics, and they forced those who stood in opposition to this bill to face up to the reality that who a person loves, where they live, or their immigration status should never determine whether they are protected from violence.

“I want to especially thank Deborah Parker of the Tulalip Tribe in my home state. Deborah has been by my side time and again in this effort and repeatedly told her deeply personal story of the violence and abuse women face on tribal lands to illustrate a tremendous unmet need. Along with Deborah, I know that advocates across the country are breathing a sigh of relief today knowing that we finally got this done.

“I’m proud to join the President, the Vice President, Senator Leahy, and the coalition of women’s groups, law enforcement, clergy members, educators, and concerned citizens who’ve repeatedly stood strong to make this moment possible. For nearly two decades VAWA has allowed women to escape lives afflicted by violence and abuse. It’s been one of the privileges of my career to stand strong over the past year and a half to ensure that VAWA’s protections are expanded to include more women.”

Cobell Deadline March 1 for Trust Administration Class Payments

Rob Capriccioso of ICTMN

February 27, 2013

The second Cobell settlement deadline is approaching on March 1. Indian class members must have submitted their applications for the second payments of the settlement, the trust administration class payments, by that date.

“Any claim forms must be postmarked by March 1, 2013,” according to a notice posted on indiantrust.com, the website established by the Cobell lawyers. Claim forms can be found on the site.

In December, historical accounting class payments of $1,000 started going out to beneficiaries who had registered their correct addresses with the federal government, the Cobell lawyers and/or the Garden City Group, the settlement administration company managing the two-part settlement payments process at the direction of the overseeing court.

Some of these payments were sent to wrong addresses, so it is important to contact the Garden City Group to be sure that correct information is in place for the second payment, officials with the National Congress of Americans (NCAI) said during a January conference call with tribal representatives regarding the process.

The number for the Garden City Group is 1-800-961-6109, and their e-mail is info@IndianTrust.com .

NCAI officials estimated that most beneficiaries would receive about $800 under this second payment process, but some could receive more. The calculation is based on the level of activity in beneficiaries’ Indian Money (IIM) accounts, held with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

The Garden City Group is expected to calculate the amount of the second payments, and the Cobell lawyers expect the payments to be sent by fall. Some $265 million of the $3.4 billion overall settlement has been released to date, according to the lawyers. Of that, $1.9 billion was released to the U.S. Department of the Interior to run a land-consolidation program over the next 10 years. Approximately $100 million was scheduled in to be divvied among the lawyers in the case. Some lawyers continue to battle over their share, according to court documents and press accounts. Lead lawyer Dennis Gingold left the case in December.

On December 17, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia appointed Judge Richard A. Levie to become a special master during the payments process. Levie will oversee appeals of payments and other issues surrounding them. Appeals questions should be directed to the Garden City Group.

House Passes Violence Against Women Act

NCAI Praises Passage of Protections for All Women; Tribal Courts Gain Jurisdiction over Non-Indian Domestic Violence Perpetrators

Bill represents major advance for public safety in Indian Country; Legislation headed to President for Signature

By Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Washington, DC – Today, in a historic vote the House of Representatives passed S.47, the Senate reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), sending the legislation with the tribal provisions supported by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law. NCAI is praising the efforts of the House and the Senate to reauthorize VAWA and the bipartisan support of the Senate version of the legislation in both chambers with resounding votes of 286 – 138 in the House and 78-22 vote in the Senate earlier this month.

“It is with a glad heart and soaring spirit that I celebrate the passage of VAWA. Today the drum of justice beats loud in Indian Country in celebration of the reauthorization of VAWA and we stand in unity with all of our partners and leaders who were unrelenting in support of protections for all women, including Native women,” said Juana Majel Dixon, First Vice President of NCAI, and co-chair of NCAI’s Task Force on Violence Against Women. Juana Majel serves as a Traditional Councilwoman Pauma Band of Mission Indians located within the state of California. “500 plus days is too long to not have a bill for all women in America. For an unimaginable length of time those who have terrorized our women in our most sacred places, in our relationships, in our homes, and on our land, have gone unprosecuted. Now that time has come to an end and justice and security will flourish in these specific instances. We celebrate the protections for all women included in VAWA, including those for Immigrant and LGBT women,” added Juana Majel.

“With this authority, comes a serious responsibility and tribal courts will administer justice with the same level of impartiality that any defendant is afforded in state and federal courts,” said Jefferson Keel, the President of NCAI and Lt. Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, speaking about implementation of the new law. “We have strong tribal courts systems that protect public safety. The law respects tribal sovereignty, and also requires that our courts respect the due process rights of all defendants. My hope is that this new law is rarely used. Our goal isn’t to put people in jail. It is to create an effective deterrent so that our people can lead safe lives in our communities and nations.”

The constitutionally sound tribal jurisdiction provisions in VAWA authorize tribal governments to prosecute non-Indian defendants involved in intimate relationships with Native women and who assault these victims on tribal land. Current federal laws do not authorize tribal law enforcement or tribal courts to pursue any form of prosecution or justice against these perpetrators.

“There were at least five things that came together: an enormous grassroots effort from Indian country; the coalition of the National Task Force to End Domestic Violence; statistics so we could finally show the problem; steadfast leadership from the Department of Justice; and incredible support from so many Members of Congress both Republicans and Democrats,” said Terri Henry, Council Member at Eastern Cherokee and Co-Chair of the NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women spoke of the large collective effort that led to the passage of the Senate version of VAWA. “We really want to thank everyone for their hard work. Now we are going to use this tool to protect Native women from violence.”

“Women and men – Native and non-Native, Senators and Representatives from all backgrounds, and tribal leaders from across Indian Country have all spoken that these injustices must not continue. We intend to keep speaking from our heart and with the law by our side,” added NCAI’s First Vice President Juana Majel Dixon. “We are thankful that there are strong leaders in both the House and Senate that have stood for the protections of Native women, regardless of party politics.”

“Today marks not the end of our efforts at NCAI to combat domestic violence issues that Indian Country faces but an important step along the way. We will remain as dedicated as we have been since we began addressing this issue as an organization. There have been many members of Congress who have stood with tribal nations throughout this effort and they have stayed true to the constitution, to the trust responsibility, and to the truth that tribal nations are the best to address our situations at the local level. Today we advance the protections tribal nations can provide all people, Native and non-Native,” said Jacqueline Pata, Executive Director of NCAI.

Findings show that 34% of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped in their lifetimes* and 39% of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be subjected to violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes**. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46% of people living on reservations in 2010 were non-Natives (single race) and 59% of American Indian women in 2010 were married to non-Native men***.

The NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women was established in 2000 and has been working for thirteen years to protect the lives of Native American women and create more secure tribal communities

Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2000). Findings from the National Violence against Women Survey.

** Centers for Disease Control. (2008). Adverse health conditions and health risk behaviors associated with intimate partner violence.

***US Census Bureau, Census 2010.

About The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI):

Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. For more information visit www.ncai.org

‘Green’ strategists hired by coal companies to push train proposals

A coal train moves through Seattle en route to Vancouver, B.C. Efforts to bring coal terminals to Washington and Oregon have enlisted some lobbyists and public-relations firms long connected with environmental causes. Photo: Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times

Several prominent local strategists with “green” reputations are now pushing a set of controversial proposals to make the Pacific Northwest the continent’s biggest coal exporter.

By Brian M. Rosenthal, Seattle Times

As executive director of Washington Conservation Voters, Bruce Gryniewski helped shape the organization into one of the state’s most influential environmental groups.

Five years after leaving for a consulting firm, Gryniewski has resurfaced as a player in one of the biggest environmental battles in the Pacific Northwest in decades.

Only now he’s working for the other side.

“Our firm has a passion for growing the Northwest economy,” said Gryniewski, explaining his work in support of a proposed new coal port in Longview. He added, “I don’t believe in this eco-McCarthyism view that if you work for coal, you can’t do anything good in the world.”

Gryniewski is among a group of local strategists with “green” reputations hired by coal companies to build support for the Longview facility and four other proposed ports in Washington and Oregon that would ship Rocky Mountain coal to Asia.

The proposals — which would bring hundreds of union-wage jobs and, at least temporarily, hundreds of millions of tons of coal to the Pacific Northwest — have cheered job-hungry workers but enraged environmentalists who are now hoping to use the debate to highlight the harmful effects of global warming.

As the proposals begin a yearslong approval process, the strategists are crafting advertisements, handling media relations, lobbying public officials and getting people to come to hearings or write letters to the editor.

Their firms were described in a recent report by the Sightline Institute, a prominent coal opponent. They include several that are well-known in Democratic circles in Seattle and Portland: Nyhus Communications, Edelman, Berk, ECONorthwest and Smith & Stark Strategic Solutions.

The unusual dynamic has caused a few awkward interactions between traditional allies now turned adversaries, some state lawmakers say. Others argue that the situation illustrates a divide between the union and environmental wings of the Democratic Party.

In interviews, representatives from several of the firms argued the new jobs for the region would outweigh negative consequences from the coal, which they said Asian countries would get from somewhere anyway.

“I think it’s an oversimplification to say that if you don’t meet that demand, it will disappear,” said Lauri Hennessey, a vice president at Edelman who has worked at the Environmental Protection Agency. “The more you dig into the whole complicated issue, I feel very, very proud about being involved.”

As for personal relationships, Hennessey said she believes “it’s very possible to disagree with someone and still respect them.”

But some environmental leaders said reconciliation will be difficult this time simply because of the stakes of the fight.

“This isn’t like being on different sides of a primary or something like that,” said Brendon Cechovic, who now serves in Gryniewski’s old role at Washington Conservation Voters. “This is a completely unprecedented proposal in our state’s history. This is a big deal.”

Port proposals

The “unprecedented proposal” is actually five separate proposals of coal-shipping plans. Each involves different companies and is operating on different timelines.

In Washington, Peabody Energy and SSA Marine want to build the Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point near Ferndale to ship 48 million tons each year, and Ambre Energy and Arch Coal are hoping to construct the Millennium Bulk Terminal in Longview to ship 44 million tons.

The other three, all smaller, would be in Oregon.

If all five are built, they would ship nearly 150 million tons of coal to China and other Asian countries — making the Pacific Northwest the largest exporter of the fossil fuel in North America.

There now are only two coal berths on the West Coast: in Alaska and southern British Columbia.

The scramble to increase exports stems from rising demand in Asia and declining American reliance on coal power.

But before construction, each proposal must pass a review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Ecology and county governments.

Those agencies haven’t even decided the scope of the reviews.

Supporters hope to limit the reviews to the economic and environmental effects on the immediate areas. Opponents want to include factors such as how mile-long trains hauling the coal westward would affect life in towns along the route and how burning coal affects the Earth — which would offer a platform to call attention to harmful effects of climate change.

Public input is part of the process. So supporters are focused on getting as many people on board as possible.

Public relations

That’s the job of the communications firms.

Gryniewski’s firm, Gallatin Public Affairs, is doing public relations for the Longview project. The firm’s point person is Aaron Toso, a former spokesman for then-Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Hennessey’s firm, Edelman, is the voice behind the Alliance for Northwest Jobs and Exports, a coalition of pro-export unions.

Nyhus is involved with another coalition, Move Forward Washington.

“We’re proud of our environmental commitment — the work we’ve done for a variety of sustainable enterprises, from clean technology to green buildings,” said Roger Nyhus, who served as a spokesman for then-Gov. Gary Locke. “I don’t see that being inconsistent with the work that we’re doing here.”

Smith & Stark has done public relations for the project near Ferndale in Whatcom County. Gary Smith said he is personally involved with several environmental groups but doesn’t often represent them professionally.

And ECONorthwest and Berk, which traditionally analyze projects on behalf of environmental groups and municipal governments, each did an analysis of an export proposal paid for by the coal companies.

Strategic hiring

Opponents, who themselves are well-funded and organized, speculated that the coal companies intentionally hired strategists with green reputations.

“If you’ve fought shoulder to shoulder with someone for years on similar causes, it might make your voice carry more weight,” said state Rep. Jeff Morris, a Mount Vernon Democrat whose district is near Ferndale.

Indeed, Gryniewski’s bio on Gallatin’s website highlights his tenure at Washington Conservation Voters and notes that he brings “practical relationships and public policy knowledge to help business interests navigate the often-challenging political and regulatory environment in the Pacific Northwest.”

The coal companies disputed the opponents’ theory.

In a statement, Millennium CEO Ken Miller said his firm chose Gallatin because it is “a bipartisan firm with a successful track record working with brownfield-redevelopment sites and experience permitting large infrastructure projects.”

Regardless of the reason for the hires, state Rep. Reuven Carlyle said he is “deeply disappointed” in the traditionally green strategists now working for the coal companies.

But then the Seattle Democrat paused and said he doesn’t take it personally.

“It’s just one of those realities when hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake,” he said. “This is the gig, and the game we’re in.”

40 Years Later, Wounded Knee is Still Fresh in Our Minds

Laura Waterman Wittstock, Indian Country Today Media Network

Hundreds of travelers left their home areas from points all over the United States and Canada last weekend to meet in the tiny village of Wounded Knee, South Dakota. There, they will observe the 40^th anniversary of one of the most unusual military undertakings the United States has ever engaged in—or we could say entangled in—during the 20^th century. Wounded Knee is located in the southwestern corner of the 11,000 square mile Pine Ridge reservation.

According to then Senator James Abourezk, when the American Indian Movement arrived in Wounded Knee on February 27, 1973, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and federal marshals were already there on alert for armed activity on the Pine Ridge Reservation. The marshals were there in the event of a civil disturbance that might occur during a possible attempt to impeach the tribal chairman.

There were many issues on the table but two that emerged at the top of the list were the torture death of Raymond Yellow Thunder, which took place in Gordon, Nebraska. Yellow Thunder was from Kyle on the reservation. AIM leaders were incensed at the brutal death and what appeared to be a lack of concern for the victim. The other issue was Pine Ridge tribal chairman Richard (Dick) Wilson’s presumed disrespect of traditional Lakota culture. So strong was the sentiment that Gladys Bissonette and others formed the new organization OSCRO: the Oglala Sioux Civil Rights Organization.

According to AIM’s national chairman Clyde H. Bellecourt, it seemed that as soon as a meeting with OSCRO and traditional leaders got underway, word of the movement of FBI and federal marshals toward Wounded Knee was taking place and a defense perimeter was needed. By the next morning, an armed standoff began to take shape. There were three governmental groups lined up: Dick Wilson’s GOONS, the federal marshals, and the FBI. The federal group brushed aside Wilson’s government and took over the tribal offices with its only telephone, which made reporters on the scene wait in line for their turn to call in stories.

Newspapers across the country blared headlines about the “occupation of Wounded Knee.” At that time the name “Wounded Knee” was also part of the name of an American best seller by librarian Dee Brown, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. The book title was taken from the poem, “American Names” by Stephen Vincent Benet, and a strong sense of American romanticism attached itself to what was happening at Wounded Knee. Of course distance added much to the élan presumed to be part of the takeover, but a close up showed unarmed women and little children becoming increasingly pinned down with little prospect for food and the daily necessities of life. February was cold and March was no warmer. Blanketed Indians were photographed moving around the compound and it could be seen in Kevin McKiernan’s photographs that nearby cattle were being sacrificed for food.

With little time to plan, all action was about response and reaction. Help poured in as Indians from all over the U.S. came to help, as did Vietnam Vets and the traditional government of the Haudenosaunee of the Six Nations in Iroquoia.

Negotiations began to end the standoff and secure direct communication between the traditional chiefs and the U.S. government. Representatives of the Richard M. Nixon administration, primarily Assistant U.S. Attorneys General Kent Frizzell, were sent to secure a peace. Presumably, an internal fight over how much violence to use against the occupiers was underway, but the president did not want dead unarmed civilians to be among the casualties.

Some help was less evident, such as that of screen star Marlon Brando, who helped the negotiations through support of the work of Hank Adams. These were pre mobile phone and pre Internet days. Official government papers had to be typed out and signed. At one point, between May 3 and 5, Adams was in the process of delivering a letter with terms to the chiefs and it had been decided that the letter would be delivered at the reservation border. The chiefs, headmen and their interpreters numbering 100 feared breaking the government seal until they could carry the letter into Wounded Knee, Adams writes in the Hank Adams Reader.

The invisible hand and pocketbook of Brando helped bring the negotiations to a successful conclusion on the weekend of May 5-6, 1973, and arms were laid down. The Sioux National Anthem filled the air with a heart-filling swell of notes at sunrise on May 8 and around 125 Wounded Knee defenders surrendered to federal authorities in three predetermined groups. Federal authorities then overran the village, searching for arms and explosives. Returning residents were searched. No arms or explosives were found and the marshals went to their cars and drove out of Pine Ridge.

Laura Waterman Wittstock’s book with Dick Bancroft’s photographs, We Are Still Here: A Photographic History of the American Indian Movement, will be released in May, 2013.

Help is always needed at Tulalip Church of God food bank

By Monica Brown, Tulalip News Writer

TULALIP, Wash.-

The many food donations recenlty recieved being boxed ready to go. — The many food donations recently received being boxed ready to go.

Volunteers at the Tulalip Church of God food bank are happy to say that they help feed families of Snohomish County. Food bank volunteer Tamara Morden says, “We help feed about 150 -200 families every two weeks, so about 400 a month”. The food bank receives regular donations from people in the community and local businesses such as Safeway, Winco, and Northwest Harvest. While they did very well with donations this last, they received extra donations from First Nation Ministry of Portland of 2,000 lbs. of potatoes and two palettes of juice. And they are always in need of more donations of non-perishable foods.

The food bank has been in operation for seventeen years and was started by Marge Williams in order to serve the community west of Interstate 5. Once the food bank began receiving donations from Northwest Harvest they became available to all residents of Snohomish County.

Tamara has lived on the Tulalip Reservation since she was born. She began attending the Church of God in her youth and eventually began volunteering her time at the food bank. With the help of volunteers Tamara manages to keep the food bank going and while working a full-time job.

Food Bank volunteers; Delores Williams, Frances Morden, W. Jake Price and Tamara Morden on the far right.

“Louie Pablo picks up supplies and I’m very, very grateful for him doing that,” Tamara says. W. Jake Price is her biggest help; Jake has been helping at the Food Bank since Marge ran it, “He’s always here every day of donations,” explains Tamara.

The food bank hands out donations on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month from 10:30am -4:00pm and receives the donations the day before they hand out the donations, the second and fourth Monday of every month. Volunteers are always welcome, currently more help is needed to pick up donations from local businesses for the food bank.

If you would like to help, stop by the Tulalip Church of God (the red church) on the second or fourth Mondays and Tuesdays of each month to volunteer.

Tulalip Church of God

1330 Marine Dr NE

Tulalip, WA 98271

(360) 653-7876

Beloved Native American murals at Wilson-Pacific may disappear

Seattle Public Schools wants to preserve the five large murals of Native Americans painted on the Wilson-Pacific campus, which is scheduled for demolition. But the artist says he no longer wants to give the district his permission.

Posting of the modified page, February 24, 2013 at 10:24 PM

By Linda Shaw

Seattle Times education reporter

Two side-by-side portraits of Chief Seattle and Chief Joseph can be seen for blocks around North Seattle’s Wilson-Pacific school, an aging set of buildings now used for offices and programs, including one that historically has served Native American students.

Painted in black, white and gray, the murals each soar 25 feet high, with Chief Seattle, in his older years, sitting in a chair looking off to one side, and Chief Joseph, in his prime, staring straight ahead.

Andrew Morrison, an artist who grew up in the Seattle area, painted the murals and three others on the Wilson-Pacific campus over a period of about seven years, populating the school’s dull, beige walls with images of friends, acquaintances and a Haida mythical figure along with the two iconic chiefs.

The murals have become a touchstone for the surrounding Licton Springs neighborhood and the Native American community in Seattle, which has strong ties to the area because of the Native American programs at the school and nearby Licton Springs, once a tribal gathering place.

Now the murals’ fate is in limbo, as Seattle Public Schools, with the passage of a capital levy earlier this month, plans to tear down Wilson-Pacific and replace it with two new schools.

District officials hope to preserve all five murals by taking digital photographs of them, then reproducing them at the new school buildings. They have asked for Morrison’s permission and offered to pay the costs and give Morrison a seat on the school’s design committee, which would decide where the reproductions would be placed.

Morrison, 31, said he considered the officials’ offer and, last month, asked them to put their proposals in writing, which they did. But a week ago Sunday, standing in front of the two chiefs in a light rain, he said that after a lot of reflection, he’s decided he won’t give his permission for the district to reproduce his work.

He repeatedly congratulated the district for the passage of the levy, which he opposed. But Morrison said he’s lost trust in the district, in part because no school official approached him about saving the murals until he started showing up at public meetings about the levy. He also said he’s talked with four different officials, and has no confidence they won’t simply continue to pass him along.

“For many reasons,” he said, “it’s in my best interests to step away.”

A labor of love

Morrison, a member of the Apache and Haida tribes, created the first mural in 2001, a portrait of a Blackfeet friend from Canada.

Morrison didn’t attend the Indian Heritage Middle College, the district’s nearly 40-year-old program that has been at Wilson-Pacific since 1989. But he has volunteered at the school and has visited the campus for powwows, dinners, basketball tournaments and other events as long as he can remember.

Neighbors around Wilson-Pacific held a block party when that first mural was finished, and Morrison said that helped inspire him to keep going, even though he has received no pay for any of them.

He finished the second mural — images of friends and relatives wearing tribal regalia — on Sept. 11, 2001, just after the news that two airplanes had flown into the twin towers in New York City. He remembers Indian Heritage students and teachers coming out on the playground, surprised but happy to see something positive on that difficult day.

He finished the last two murals — Chief Joseph and the one with the Haida mythical figure — in 2007.

Morrison’s work also can be seen in Chicago, Portland, Alaska and Idaho as well as many places in Washington state, including the Snoqualmie Casino, El Centro de La Raza and Edmonds Community College.

“Cultural continuity”

During the levy campaign, a number of people urged the district to renovate Wilson-Pacific rather than replace it, and to revitalize the Indian Heritage program, which has dwindled in size and also has an uncertain future. The program’s supporters wanted the murals saved, too.

The murals “are an affirmation of our identity,” said Sarah Sense-Wilson, who chairs the Urban Native Education Alliance and helps coordinate the Clear Sky Native Youth Council, which also meets at the school. Destroying them, she said, “destroys the site’s cultural continuity.”

Bethany Elliott, a 17-year-old member of the council, said she often thinks of the murals as a source of inspiration when she writes poetry.

Still, both of them say they stand by Morrison’s decision to withhold his permission to save them.

Dr. Kelvin Frank, executive director of the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, said he supports whatever Morrison decides, too, even though he also values the murals at Wilson-Pacific and the one Morrison created for United Indians at the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in Discovery Park.

“As American Indians, very seldom do we see this type of work being displayed in urban settings,” Frank said. “When we do, we take it to heart.”

Some of the neighbors who live around Wilson-Pacific helped Morrison get a grant to help pay for the materials for the Chief Joseph portrait.

Morrison is proud of how the murals have raised awareness of Native American history, and says they’ve been one key to his artistic success. He said he went to great lengths to try to find common ground with the district, but didn’t feel those efforts were returned.

District officials say they thought they were on good terms with Morrison, and hope he’ll change his mind.

“It is our desire to save his work,” said Lucy Morello, director of capital projects.

Still, she said, they don’t want to go forward, even if they could, without his cooperation.

Morrison hasn’t told the district that he doesn’t want the murals reproduced, Morello said. She hopes that’s a sign that there’s still a chance they can work together.

There’s time, she says, because the construction of the new schools won’t start for several years.

Linda Shaw: 206-464-2359 or lshaw@seattletimes.com. On Twitter: @LShawST

View Article and photos of Mural paintings here.

Skokomish Tribe sues state over hunting rights

Christopher Dunagan | Kitsap Sun – February 20, 2013

SKOKOMISH — A federal lawsuit involving the rights of Indian tribes to hunt game on “open and unclaimed lands” has been filed by the Skokomish Tribe against the state of Washington.

The lawsuit claims that actions by state agencies and officials have denied tribal members access to their legitimate hunting areas. Furthermore, state officials have imposed civil and criminal sanctions on tribal members and promoted a “discriminatory scheme” of hunting regulations that favor non-Indians, the suit says.

The Skokomish Tribe’s lawsuit could open the door to long-awaited litigation that could define the extent of treaty rights related to hunting animals and gathering roots and berries by Native Americans across Washington state.

Listed as defendants in the case are state officials who oversee the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife and Attorney General’s Office. Also listed are the county prosecutors in Mason, Kitsap, Jefferson, Grays Harbor, Clallam and Thurston counties, who are charged with prosecuting hunting violations.

The lawsuit asks the federal court to define the extent of the tribe’s hunting and gathering rights, identify the territory where the tribe may operate, confirm the tribe’s “exclusive and co-concurrent management authority” and declare a tribal allocation for game, roots and berries.

The tribe also seeks an injunction to prevent state officials from interfering with tribal rights to hunt and gather roots and berries.

Assistant Attorney General Joe Shorin, assigned as lead attorney for the state, said he and his colleagues are evaluating the tribe’s legal complaint and will file an answer with U.S. District Court in Tacoma.

“It is too early to say what, if any, precedent this case will have,” Shorin said. “There has not been a lot of litigation regarding these hunting and gathering issues. Part of that may be that the parties have been working together fairly effectively.”

In response to questions, Joseph Pavel, vice chairman of the Skokomish Tribal Council, said tribal officials are preparing a written statement.

A landmark 1974 ruling by U.S. District Judge George Boldt and following court decisions held that treaties signed in the 1850s guaranteed tribes the right to take half the harvestable fish and shellfish, with some exceptions. Tribal fishing areas have been approved by the courts, though some areas are still in litigation.

As a result of those rulings, Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted a policy in 1988 calling for negotiations with various tribes to resolve hunting issues. Tribes typically set hunting rules for their own members and coordinate with state officials on management plans for specific populations, including six identified elk herds. But the courts have never delved into hunting rights to the extent they have for fish and shellfish.

The 1855 Treaty of Point No Point preserves the “privilege of hunting and gathering roots and berries on open and unclaimed lands.” That treaty — signed by representatives of the Skokomish, S’Klallam and Chimakum people — ceded to the United States tribal lands around Hood Canal and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

In its lawsuit, the Skokomish Tribe contests state maps that purport to identify those ceded lands, as well as a Washington State Supreme Court ruling that limits “open and unclaimed lands” to those not in private ownership.

The lawsuit argues that state Supreme Court cases fail to define the extent of the hunting and gathering rights of the Skokomish Tribe. That lack of definition has caused state officials to “unlawfully interfere with plaintiff Skokomish Tribe’s privilege of hunting and gathering on open and unclaimed lands as guaranteed by Article 4 of the Treaty of Point No Point …

“This unlawful interference … resulted and continues to result in denial of lawful access to plaintiff Skokomish Indian Tribe’s territory and use of resources located thereon.”

The tribe’s lawsuit lays out an extensive history of hunting before the treaties were signed. The Skokomish Tribe, which includes the successor of the Twana people, ranged throughout the Hood Canal region and lived in nine communities, mostly at the mouths of rivers.

Tribal members took sea mammals, including porpoises, seals, sea lions and whales; waterfowl, including geese, brant and duck; and land game, including elk, bear, deer, beaver, mountain beaver and muskrat, according to the lawsuit. Tribal people also gathered plants, including the roots of ferns and other plants, as well as a wide variety of berries.

State could lose millions if feds don’t reach budget deal

Washington state would see federal funding cut for everything for teacher’s aides for disabled kids to immunizations if Congress can’t reach a budget agreement.

By Lynda V. Mapes and Sanjay Bhatt, Seattle Times staff reporters

From fewer immunizations to classrooms without teachers aides for children with disabilities, Washington state could feel the reduction of millions of dollars of federal aid if Congress can’t reach a budget compromise, a White House report released Sunday says.

Unless Congress acts by Friday, a series of automatic budget cuts, called sequestration in D.C. budget-speak, will take effect, adding up to $85 billion nationally over the course of the remaining fiscal year, through September.

The Senate is to consider bills this week that would avoid the cuts. Meanwhile, the White House on Sunday released the list of potential budget reductions, state by state, as part of its stepped-up campaign to prod Congress to act.

Some state agencies that rely heavily on federal funding would be particularly hard hit.

“My budget is 53 percent federal, and the amount of state and local dollars has also declined,” Mary Selecky, secretary of the state Department of Health, said Sunday.

The cuts would mean a more than 8 percent reduction in her agency’s funding, or $22 million in a department that has already seen a 38 percent cut in state money over the past six years, Selecky said.

Under an analysis prepared by her agency, about half of the new round of federal cuts would come out of food and nutrition programs for infants and pregnant women.

Cuts in federal immunization funding could also mean that 4,451 fewer kids receive vaccinations. Other core services, from breast- and cervical-cancer screening to inspections of health-care facilities and drinking-water protection, would be reduced.

Selecky said public-health budgets are already so tight that further reductions would put people’s health at risk. “Bugs don’t know boundaries, and they don’t know political parties, or that our budget is tight,” she said.

Other reductions in Washington state outlined by the White House include:

• $11.6 million for primary and secondary education, putting 160 teacher and aide jobs at risk. An $11.3 million reduction would jeopardize the jobs of 140 teachers, aides and staff working with children with disabilities.

In addition, around 440 fewer low-income students would receive aid to help them finance the costs of college, and about 1,000 children would be cut from Head Start and Early Head Start services.

• $3.3 million to help ensure clean water and air, and to prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste. In addition, Washington could lose $924,000 in grants for fish and wildlife protection.

• Furloughs for 29,000 civilian Department of Defense workers that would reduce gross pay by
$173.4 million. Army base operation funding would be cut $124 million.

• About $271,000 in grants that support law enforcement, courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, and crime victim and witness initiatives.

• $661,000 for job-search assistance, referral and placement. Up to 800 disadvantaged and poor children could lose access to child care, and $1 million could be lost for meals to seniors.

Not mentioned by the White House was money to clean up the Hanford nuclear reservation, where last week six tanks holding radioactive material were found to be leaking. The budget cuts could lead to up to 1,000 cleanup workers facing furloughs of up to six weeks, the state says.

“Our concern is anything that slows down cleanup,” said Dieter Bohrmann, spokesman for the nuclear-waste program at the state Department of Ecology. “We need to keep progressing and avoid further delays, especially with the news of additional leaking tanks.”

The list from the White House includes other possible cuts nationally, including reductions for health research through the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, as well as cuts in aviation safety, air traffic control and security. The White House did not say how those cuts would affect the state.

The looming cuts are the result of failed attempts by Congress and President Obama to tame the federal budget deficit, beginning back in 2011. The automatic cuts now facing the country are just the start of more than $1 trillion in across-the-board reductions that would be imposed on domestic and military spending over the next 10 years.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABC’s “This Week” that the worst of the cuts could be alleviated with some flexibility. “We can get all through this,” he said. “The best way to do it is just allow flexibility.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney has insisted for weeks that the agencies have no flexibility. Administration officials did not respond to questions Sunday about whether they would support a change in law to gain flexibility.

Some analysts outside government said they are optimistic a compromise budget solution would be reached before long, mitigating or at least redirecting the cuts.

“My suspicion is this is a game of poker. People in Congress will step up to the plate,” Anthony Chan, chief economist for JPMorgan Chase’s wealth-management service, said in an interview Friday.

He’s not worried if Congress can’t reach a deal right away. “It’s not the end of the world if it takes a couple weeks, a couple months,” he said.

The combination of sequestration, higher payroll taxes and the “fiscal-cliff” deal reached by Congress late last year will shave
1.5 percentage point off the U.S. economy’s growth in 2013, Chan said, but that’s not reason for panic.

The important thing, he said, is for Congress to reach a deal that will eliminate the pall of uncertainty looming over American businesses and holding back their decisions to invest and hire.

Even if the spending cuts produce short-term job losses, the Seattle metro area is outperforming the national average in job growth, Chan said. The area saw 2.9 percent annual job growth in 2012, compared with
1.6 percent nationally.

Construction, manufacturing and the leisure-and-hospitality industries were responsible for a huge part of the area’s job growth. Chan said those numbers, along with a rebound in housing values here and nationally, indicate the nation’s economy is coming back.