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‘Alive’ Director: Blackfeet Thought Rez Drug Abuse Story ‘Needed to Be Told”

By Vincent Schilling, Indian Country Today Media Network

The music video for Chase & Status’ dance track “Alive,” directed by Welsh filmmaker Josh Cole, has inspired a tremendous reaction from Indian country. Just read through the comments on the ICTMN facebook page and you’ll get the picture — some viewers have praised the clip for its tale of drug abuse on the rez and spiritual redemption, while others feel it’s exploitative and disrespectful of the ceremonies it depicts. The video, which shows dramatized drug use, crime and ceremony, was shot on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Cole has received considerable attention in Indian Country.

Cole filmed the video on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana, and worked with Blackfeet tribal members during the course of its creation. On the day of the video release, ICTMN reached out to Cole to get his thoughts on some of the questions and comments coming from the Native community on social media.

Concerned he might be misrepresented, Cole requested that ICTMN could present his words in their entirety. He provided links to some other videos he has made which we have chosen to embed in the text of the story. Cole’s answers to our questions are as follows:

How did you first come up with this concept of using a Native Reservation story for this video?

As a reformed drug addict I follow stories around the world where the worst drug abuse is common. It’s my mission with my career to try to steer people into recovery as a thanks to those that helped me with my own addiction. As such I was shooting a story about a reformed Hispanic gangster turned graffiti artist in LA and I met a Native American rapper who grew up on a reservation.

I was shocked to hear stories about the reservations — in Europe there is no concept generally about contemporary Native Americans. I then started researching and put together a story based on the stuff I was told about. I decided I would really like to tell Europe how difficult it is for Native Americans in modern America because most people have no idea who they are. All my work is about the beauty that comes from hardship and I wanted to tell the story of the spiritual awakening of a drug addict in a Native American community.

How did you explain this concept to the Blackfeet community?

Several members of The Crazy Dogs Society in Browning are reformed alcoholics, I showed them my script and they really connected to it. They explained that it was basically their own story and also that they regularly help those with addictions through ceremony. I told them that I would like to make it something they would be proud of, that told the story properly, so we had a few days discussing my script and changing it to make it more realistic.

During this time I met several community leaders including many people on the Tribal Council including the Cultural Attaché of the Blackfeet Nation. Every time we met anyone we explained what we wanted to do in great detail and then each person was emailed a copy of the script. We explained the story dozens of times and the Tribal Council gave us their blessing and also gave us a shooting permit to shoot anywhere in Blackfeet territory. The community basically backed the project and we were repeatedly told by various people how much they thought this story needed to be told. I feel I could return there any time with my head held high. I’m also told the film has been very well received by people living not only on the Blackfeet Reservation but also on other reservations. You can see this by reading the comments under the video on Youtube. I should also say that this was a very low budget production — we were all working 20+ hour days to make it work and everybody involved really believed in the project. It still moves me when I think how much the people of Browning came together to help with this production.

What were the reactions about filming a “ceremony?”

I was extremely sensitive when talking to the Crazy Dogs about the ceremonies and always said that we could shoot an alternative scene. They spent a day or so discussing it with all members and they decided collectively they wanted the scene to be in the film. They felt like they wanted it to be shown and I gave them many opportunities to make sure they were happy. It meant a lot to me that they wanted to show this to the world. They told me that they wanted to use the video to help to heal the youth of the Blackfeet Nation. I should also say we didn’t film an actual ceremony — both the sweat lodge scene and the Sundance scene were mock ceremonies set up by the Crazy Dogs themselves to their exact specifications. I had no control whatsoever over the look or sequence of the scene, nor did I want it. I also had no interest in filming an actual ceremony — at every step of the process I was led by the advice of the Crazy Dogs and I am ever grateful for that and I feel no guilt in portraying this as I was led by a much greater knowledge than my own as I am with most of my work.

What were the reactions about this young man turning toward good then becoming a “martyr” as you put it?

I felt that the film needed an emotional finish. When people are moved they remember what they have seen. Plus it actually is somewhat of a happy ending because he is reunited with his girlfriend in the afterlife. There’s also a message in there about the way your past follows you — that no matter how much you reform you can’t always avoid who you were before. I have lost many many friends to the illness of addiction and this is often my experience.

What is the song about without the benefit of a video connected to it?

It’s a gospel track I’m told. You’d have to ask the artist but I interpreted them as lyrics about recovery. Check them out here: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/chasestatus/alive.html

What was the message you hoped to share?

It’s a very simple message about the dangers of drugs. I nearly died myself through drug abuse and most of my narrative work contains these themes. It’s also a call to addicts to reform before it’s too late and to lead a more spiritual life.

Many native people are concerned about using Native Americans in a romantic way as a form of poverty porn or sensationalism, what is your response?

I strive against this type of imagery myself and I don’t think my work inspires pity at all. Everywhere I shoot I work very closely with the actual community to tell their story in the most authentic and meaningful way possible. Everywhere I’ve ever shot I can go back to and work again. I’m about to return to Ethiopia in January to work with the same community I shot with 2 years ago to produce a similar piece highlighting the plight of prostitutes in the capital and the beauty of the Rastafarian religion there. My extensive work in Africa generally shows very positive images and the energy of the slums:

The same with my film in the Philippines which shows positivity despite hardship- the true spirit of the country:

My work with the gypsy communities in the UK and Eastern Europe spans 10 years and tries to offer more positive images of this misunderstood people:

I also believe that my portrayal of Browning is not negative. It is ultimately a story of redemption and shows the elders of the community coming around the boy to heal him. If you don’t show the darkness in a realistic way the young people I’m trying to reach will not take it seriously. However, there is an element of drama to all my work as I want all my work to reach the masses – but it is always subverted as I believe I have done here. You have to remember that in the States the concept of Native Americans living in severe poverty is old news but in Europe people have no idea. None! I think this is something people here should know about. So this video serves a dual purpose – to show Europeans some of the conditions on reservations and also to give a Native community an opportunity to show both its darkness and its beauty.

There were social media interactions between yourself and others regarding the cavalry – what happened there?

I had been staying in Browning for a week or so meeting members of the community and my crew who are mainly from Wales arrived to shoot. I posted a picture on Instagram and stupidly wrote “The Welsh Cavalry arrive in Montana” which is a common phrase in the UK similar to “reinforcements have arrived”. When I was attacked on twitter by a number of activists somebody found the tweet and tried to spread the word that I was being racist. A shame really but I understand — in hindsight I should have realized the implications of using the word “cavalry” but it certainly wasn’t meant in a negative or humorous way at all.

Any last remarks?

Just want to thank again the Blackfeet Nation and the Crazy Dogs Society for all the love we were shown.

National Chief Atleo Attends Nelson Mandela Services in South Africa

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo is among the official delegates from Canada attending services for Nelson Mandela.

He, along with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and 18 other political leaders including premiers and members of Parliament, are en route to South Africa for the memorial service to be held in Johannesburg on December 10, as well as Mandela’s lying in state in Pretoria on December 11.

The human-rights icon died on December 5 at age 95. He had served both in prison, for 27 years, and as president, for four, as the country began dismantling the system of segregation known as Apartheid. Known as Madiba by his people, the son from a line of hereditary Thembu chiefs spent most of his life fighting discrimination and racism, and championing human rights.

“The life, work and spirit of Nelson Mandela—or Madiba, as he was called by his people—was deeply connected to First Nations in Canada not only as a fellow indigenous leader but also because of his incredible struggle for justice and reconciliation that resonates so deeply with the struggle and aspirations of our peoples,” Atleo said in a statement on December 8, upon the delegation’s departure. “Our traditions call upon us to always be mindful of the importance of such commemoration, celebration and respect to be shown to the family and to the people united in marking this loss. I will travel to South Africa as a humble representative of our indigenous traditions to pay our respects and to stand in honor of this great leader and inspiration for Indigenous peoples and for the world.”

Also part of the delegation are Northwest Territories Premier Bob McLeod and Yukon Premier Darrell Pasloski. The NW territories will lower their flags to half-mast from sunrise to sunset on Wednesday.

“Much will be said about the character, influence and strength of Nelson Mandela in the coming days,” McLeod said in a statement. “This is an opportunity to reflect on our own experience and those around us who have carried great personal burdens. Our experiences in the North, particularly those related to residential schools, require strength and a true spirit of reconciliation for all northerners. I will be taking this week to reflect on how we can continue to work together to reconcile our past and our differences as we move forward.”

Alberta Premier Alison Redford, who worked with him as a young lawyer during the 1990s as part of a team that was laying the groundwork for a post-Apartheid South Africa, is also part of the delegation.

“Nelson Mandela was a towering icon, a giant of a man and an enormously inspiring individual who courageously spent his life fighting racism, oppression, and injustice,” she said in a statement upon his passing. “He used his days walking this earth to bring freedom, equality and human rights to his people, his country and to the world.”

Redford’s grief, both personal and professional, echoed the appeal that Mandela held for Natives and non-Natives alike.

“I will always remember him as a dignified and kind man with a sparkle in his eye, who used humor to diffuse tense situations,” she said. “He taught me that the best advice comes from people who have been working in the trenches, and that leaders have to sacrifice. I remember his wisdom, his optimism and his patience. He knew that no matter what he had accomplished that there was always another challenge ahead of him and another hill to climb, and that his work was never done until he breathed his last breath.”

DOJ Official Inspires Action at First Hearing on Effect of Exposure to Violence on Native Children

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, FileIn this Feb. 5, 2013 file photo, U.S. Associate Attorney General Tony West gestures during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. West is scheduled to be in Bismarck, N.D. on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, to talks about plans for a national task force to examine the impact of exposure to violence on American Indian and Alaska Native children. — AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File
In this Feb. 5, 2013 file photo, U.S. Associate Attorney General Tony West gestures during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. West is scheduled to be in Bismarck, N.D. on Monday, Dec. 9, 2013, to talks about plans for a national task force to examine the impact of exposure to violence on American Indian and Alaska Native children.

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

“One of the reasons why it’s important for me to go to Indian country periodically is to remind myself that people living there do not give up. And if they’re not giving up, we’re not giving up,” U.S. Associate Attorney General Tony West, the department’s third-highest official, told the Associated Press.

The first public hearing of the advisory committee of the 12-member Task Force on American Indian and Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence was held Monday, December 9 in Bismarck, North Dakota. The task force is divided into two tiers: a federal working group comprised of U.S. attorneys and officials from federal Interior and Justice departments, and an advisory committee of experts on Native American studies, child health and trauma and child welfare and law. The committee makes policy recommendations to Attorney General Eric Holder.

UND Law Expert to Participate in Task Force to Examine Impact of Violence on Native Children

After graciously thanking all of his colleagues and others instrumental in making the Task Force a reality, West expressed deep appreciation to the Task Force Advisory Committee’s two co-chairs, former U.S. Sen. Dorgan and Iroquois composer and singer Joanne Shenandoah.

“As everyone in this room knows, Senator Dorgan has been a champion of North Dakota’s tribes during his entire career, including his 30 years in Congress. His commitment to children in tribal nations is unparalleled,” West said. “Likewise, Ms. Shenandoah is a highly respected and deservedly celebrated artist who has used her talent to call attention to the plight of children in Indian country. We are very fortunate to have them at the helm of this group and leading this effort, and I’m thankful, too, to the other members of the committee for their commitment and expertise.”

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Below is an except of West’s prepared remarks at the hearing:

“Fifty years ago Attorney General Robert Kennedy came here to Bismarck and spoke of the “tragic irony” of First Americans living in the freest country in the world yet imprisoned by conditions of poverty and deprivation — conditions not found in the natural order of things but manmade, imposed and perpetuated by bigotry and greed and violence.

And Attorney General Kennedy spoke of our responsibility to reverse that historical tide, so that the light of freedom, just dawning, he said, in his own lifetime, might fully shine on his children.

And so we’ve come here to Bismarck, a half-century later, to help fulfill that pledge, and to reaffirm a promise we must make to all of our children: that their safety and well-being is our highest priority; that they are sacred beings, gifts from the Creator to be cherished, cared for, and protected.

Because the simple, sad fact is that too many of our American Indian and Alaska Native children still suffer or witness violence in Indian country. Too many see family members or friends fall victim to violence; and too many are victims themselves.

And the impact this has on lives both young and old cannot be overstated. It tears at the fabric of family and community; it disrupts the present and too often darkens the future. The scars of violence can run deep and have impacts that can seep from one generation into the next.

We know from our own research at the Justice Department that a majority of America’s children—more than 60 percent—are exposed to some form of violence, crime, or abuse, ranging from brief encounters as witnesses to serious violent episodes as victims.

We know that, tragically, almost 40 percent are direct victims of two or more violent acts.

Often this violence occurs in the place where our children should feel the safest: at home. While domestic violence plagues many communities across the country, research shows that rates of domestic violence against Native women are among the highest in the entire United States.

And while we don’t know how many American Indian and Alaska Native children witness this kind of violence; or how many are removed from their homes and experience disruption in their lives as a result; or how many end up continuing the cycle by hurting others; we do know that the impact of on our kids having been exposed to violence can be serious, ranging from poor academic performance and drug and alcohol abuse to long-term psychological harm or even criminal behavior later in life.

But we also know something else: We know that we need not accept these outcomes as inevitable, because our young people are resilient and can return to living normal, healthy lives, as long as they have the benefit of proper intervention.

So as we listen to the testimony today, let us look for new ways in which we can engage all community members — tribal and spiritual leaders; elders and parents; teachers and coaches; and, importantly, young people themselves — let us all be enlisted to address this critical issue, because it is a challenge that requires no less.

Today’s hearing is an important step in that direction, and it’s a natural extension of work the Obama Administration has pursued to fulfill this nation’s trust responsibility and address the challenges that American Indian and Alaska Native communities face.

It grows out of the work that Attorney General Holder began three years ago with a new initiative he called “Defending Childhood.” The goal of Defending Childhood was to improve our knowledge about what works to reduce children’s exposure to violence and how to lessen the long-term adverse impacts of that exposure when it does occur.

And as part of that effort, as many of you know, the Attorney General appointed a national Task Force to identify ways to reduce children’s exposure to violence and to recommend policy changes at the federal level to meet that goal.

We’re implementing one of those recommendations this morning: a special effort aimed at examining and addressing the exposure of American Indian and Alaska Native children to violence, in ways that recognize the unique government-to-government relationship between sovereign tribal nations and the United States.

There are two parts to this special task force: a Federal Working Group comprised of high-ranking federal officials who work with tribal communities everyday; and an Advisory Committee made of up experts with insights into children’s exposure to violence in native communities.

Now, the Federal Working Group was formed because we know there are things we can do now—things that need not wait for more study—that can have a direct and immediate impact in kids’ lives right now.

So officials from the Departments of Justice, the Interior, and Health and Human Services with proven dedication and experience in Indian country have come together as part of this Federal Working Group to do just that.

And already, they are making a difference. Here’s one example. About a year ago, I traveled to the Ute Mountain Ute and Northern Cheyenne reservations. And among the places I visited were the detention centers, where both adults and juveniles are held.

Now it’s always tragic whenever a young person is locked up; but that tragedy is compounded when that child is warehoused without any assistance that can help prevent that child from future incarceration. And in these two facilities, kids weren’t getting access to adequate educational programming or counseling.

So the Federal Working Group came together and tackled this issue, cutting through the red tape and working together such that contracts are now being secured for teachers who will provide culturally-sensitive educational and counseling services to native youths held in those BIA detention facilities at both Ute Mountain Ute and Northern Cheyenne.

Now, in addition to addressing those immediate issues, we must also develop a strategic approach to the long-term issues of violence that affect children in Indian country. So we’ve augmented the work of the Federal Working Group with an Advisory Committee of experts who have dedicated themselves to improving the lives of children in native communities.

Over the next year, the Advisory Committee will travel the country, holding hearings and listening sessions. They will comb through the research and consult with others to help us paint a clearer picture of the incidence of violence among native children, and help identify ways to prevent it.

And next fall, the Advisory Committee’s work will culminate in a final report—a strategic plan of action that will guide practitioners and policymakers at all levels. And, like the work of the Defending Childhood Task Force, the recommendations of the Advisory Committee will not sit on some shelf collecting dust; as the Attorney General said in his greeting this morning, your work will serve as a blueprint that will guide us into the future.

So this is our charge and our challenge. Today represents an early and important step in protecting American Indian and Alaska Native children. No one here expects this work to be easy, or that the efforts we embark on here will lead to a panacea. But it is an investment—an investment in our children; in the future of sovereign tribal nations on this continent; an investment we fail to make at our own peril, and one whose return will be measured not in dollars and cents, but in the young smiles you create; the doors of hope you will open; the futures you will shape; and the lives you will change.

Thank you for commitment to this work.”

Sonic Sign in Missouri Declares ‘KC Chiefs Will Scalp the Redskins’

Vincent Schilling, Indian Country Today Media Network

12/8/13

This morning a Sonic Drive-In Restaurant in Belton, Missouri displayed a street sign emblazoned with the following phrase: “KC CHIEFS” WILL SCALP THE REDSKINS FEED THEM WHISKEY SEND – 2 – RESERVATION. Within a few minutes of the sign being displayed, social media erupted against it and the restaurant’s phones were overloaded with complaints.

This sign appeared this morning outside a Sonic Drive-In Restaurant in Belton, MissouriCody Blackbird — This sign appeared this morning outside a Sonic Drive-In Restaurant in Belton, Missouri
*Cody Blackbird*

According to Cody Blackbird, who manages theNative Citizen News Networkon Facebook and posted the picture to his page, the sign was ridiculous. “I saw the sign and was like, ‘what the hell?’ how can a fast food chain put something like this outside their doors?”

Blackbird said he called the restaurant and spoke to the owner, Robert Stone.

Blackbird said he was not allowed to speak to the press, but he did say the employees who were responsible for the sign were a minimum wage cook, and an employee that didn’t know any better and was sent home crying.

“I explained the importance of negative stereotypes to the guy,” Blackbird said. “He seems like he cared about the issue and the owner said, ‘We wouldn’t even have this problem if the damn name of the team wasn’t the Washington Redskins.’”

Patrick Lenow, the vice president of public relations for Sonic Corp. issued the following statement in regard to the sign:

An independent franchise owner allowed two sets of remarks to be posted on a message board outside his restaurant. The remarks were wrong, offensive and unacceptable. His passion for his hometown football team and a reputation for creative remarks on his message board resulted in a lapse in judgment and he regrets allowing the remarks to be posted. The owner has reinforced with his employees the boundaries of what is acceptable and unacceptable. On behalf of the franchise owner and our entire brand we apologize for the offensive remarks.

6 Questions With USDA’s Kunesh & the Need for Tribes to Use Programs

Brenda Austin, ICTMN

Patrice Kunesh is the Deputy Under Secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development (USDA-RD). She began her tenure at the USDA on May 22, 2013, and among her many responsibilities are the oversight of Operations and Management, the Office of Civil Rights and she also works with the state directors.

According to a USDA press release, during fiscal year 2013, Rural Development’s electric programs invested a historic high of $275 million for new and improved electric infrastructure to more than 80,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives. That total includes a loan for copy67 million to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority in Arizona. Through their Community Facilities program, Rural Development invested copy14 million this year in 73 loans and grants, representing a 600 percent increase over FY 2012. Of that funding, $3 million (24 grants) was provided to tribal colleges and universities. Rural Development also made their largest single investment to a tribe this year to help the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians finance a new healthcare facility in the form of a $40 million direct loan and a copy0 million loan guarantee.

Deputy Under Secretary Kunesh recently spoke with Indian Country Today Media Network about Rural Development’s program assistance to American Indian tribes, goals for 2014 and her own interest in Indian country.

With your background in tribal law, governance and economic development, what made you want to make the leap to USDA Rural Development?

It was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. I was teaching at the University of South Dakota School of Law and received a call from the White House asking if I would consider coming to Washington D.C. and working on behalf of Indian Affairs in the Solicitors Office at the Department of the Interior (DOI).

Then around the election I received another call from the White House saying that I have done good work for the Administration and would I consider branching out. They asked me where might I go and the USDA was at the top of my list.

In the back of my mind I have always had great admiration and appreciation for USDA. As a young mother of two little ones I had received food stamps for a number of years. I also was a recipient of WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) vouchers. I lived in public housing and went to public health clinics. It was a precarious time for me. I was able to continue my education and earn a college degree because I had food stamps.

Rural Development is about serving rural America, and Indian country is synonymous with rural America. And the needs of rural America are synonymous with the needs of Indian country.

USDA Rural Development has invested in tribal infrastructure, housing, education and health, both in grant funding and loans. Is there anything that tribe’s can or should be doing to take advantage of what Rural Development has to offer?

I don’t think tribes are doing enough. Tribes don’t know generally what we can do in terms of our programs and in terms of housing, business and utility infrastructure.

One of the things I am doing with my colleagues in Natural Resource Conservation Services, the Farm Service, the Office of Tribal Relations and our Food and Nutrition Services is to spread the word wherever we possibly can. So as busy as this week was with our observances of Native American Heritage Month and the White House Tribal Leader Summit we are working with other federal agencies such as the Departments of Energy, Commerce and the U.S. Treasury, as well as the Department of the Interior, to let tribes know there is a whole host of support that we can provide to them that they may not realize is available to them.

To my great surprise and tremendous appreciation I find that Rural Development alone last year invested $660 million in Indian country. That is tribal colleges and tribal schools, health clinics and an abundance of housing that we have built on Indian reservations.

But more than the investments that Rural Development has made in terms of funding, we have really forged wonderful relationships with Indian tribes. And much of this work in the field has taken many years of developing the trust, rapport and respect of tribal leaders, and to help provide the technical assistance tribes may need to get the grant or loan application in to be awarded these funds.

What are your goals for working with tribes in 2014?

In 2014 we are going to be trying to establish significantly more partnerships across the federal government and with tribes. Our top priority right now is that we need Congress to provide a comprehensive multi-year Food, Farm and Jobs Bill as soon as possible so we can ensure for all Americans, as well as tribal governments, that Congress is committed to supporting rural America and Indian country.

We need to put nutritious food on the table in Indian country and we need to invest in good food for tribal youth in schools. We need to continue improving infrastructure in tribal communities and that goes well beyond community centers and clinics – it’s about growing local and regional food systems to feed Indian people. It’s about reviving traditional foods that tribes have historically cultivated. It’s educating Native students at every level. So we have tremendous goals both in Rural Development and throughout the USDA.

With the current state of our economy, under funded health care and the effects of sequestration on tribal governments and employees, what relationship would you like to see this year between Rural Development and tribal nations?

We can only do this work in partnership – and the partnership between the federal government and Indian tribes is really based on a legal obligation, and I would say a moral obligation. This partnership has been our purpose since we participated in the first White House Tribal Nations Conference in 2009, but it goes beyond that in terms of trust responsibility and a trust relationship that drives us to work with tribes across the nation.

This year president Obama established the White House Council on Native American Affairs and that is to further expand the federal tribal collaboration and understanding. We are proud of our results thus far. I think we have stepped up to provide a coordinated response to many of the needs in Indian country.

We also have to recognize that our veterans have served our nation with great pride and are part of the picture here too. Native American veterans have served in greater percentage per population than any other segment of the population. We truly see that as remarkable, but also an opportunity for us to give back to them to support them and to include them in our work in very meaningful ways.

Do you believe current funding for Rural Development is at a level that can meet the needs of American Indian and Alaskan Native programs?

Definitely no. The budget is not sufficient to meet the needs in Indian country, but it’s not sufficient to meet the needs in rural America either. Rural America is the heart of the United States and the work that rural America does drives the U.S. economy in terms of feeding us and supporting all the things that we need in the U.S. and is so incredibly important. The budget is not sufficient and we really do need to look at funding levels that truly are reflective of the contributions that rural America makes and what we can provide to enhance that as well.

You are invested in Native communities and are personally of American Indian descent, did you grow up in a rural environment knowing your tribal culture and traditions?

My mother was a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and her father was born on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota and grew up on the Standing Rock Reservation. My grandfather left the reservation due to the harsh conditions at the time in the early 1900s.

I grew up in Minnesota knowing and feeling very grateful for our Indian family on the reservation. My father worked for Indian tribes through the Youth Conservation Corp and we participated in more of the Ojibwe culture at the time then the Lakota or Sioux communities. At that time it was the American Indian movement and a lot of Indian people were very concerned about how we were going to maintain cohesive coherent cultural ways and build strong tribal governments. And I think it was from that work and from hearing my mother talk about growing up on the reservation that I decided this is what I want to do with my life. I decided I wanted to do what I can to improve and secure the wellbeing of Indian children. That is how I started my work and that’s how I think of my work right now – through the lens of child wellbeing.

Native-owned AMERIND Risk Advises on Holiday Road and Fire Safety

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Hitting the road this holiday? In some areas, winter weather means snow, sleet and ice that can lead to slower traffic, hazardous road conditions and unseen dangers. Are you prepared? According to a recent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) survey, 52 percent of people reported having supplies set aside for use in a disaster.

If your travel needs call for driving in wintry weather, prepare your car for the trip by updating your vehicle emergency kit with:

•   Booster cables;
•   Blankets, hats, socks, and mittens;
•   Road salt or sand; and
•   A fluorescent distress flag.

While on the road, follow these driving techniques to ensure you reach your destination safely:

•   Decrease your speed and leave plenty of room to stop;
•   Break gently to avoid skidding;
•   Do not use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads; and
•   Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to others.

Road conditions can change quickly! Should disaster strike when traveling, use the Disaster Reporter feature on the FEMA app to send photos of your location for first responders and response teams to view. You can also keep up with weather forecasts using your NOAA weather radio to plan ahead! Remember safety first. If weather conditions are too severe, it’s best not to drive.

Holiday Fire Safety

Each year fires occurring during the holiday season injure 2,600 individuals and cause over $930 million in damage in the United States. By following some of the outlined precautionary tips, individuals can greatly reduce their chances of becoming a holiday fire casualty.

Preventing Christmas Tree Fires:

•   Select fresh trees –Choose a green tree with a sticky trunk and tight needles.
•   Care for your tree – Keep it away from heat sources, and keep the tree stand filled with water. Take your tree down after two weeks.
•   Dispose of your tree at the recyclers –Never put the tree or branches in the fireplace or woodstove.

Holiday Lights Safety:

•   Maintain your lights –Inspect the lights, wires, sockets for wear and tear.
•   Electrical Outlets –Don’t overload outlets or stretch lights to reach outlets.
•   Periodically check the lights; they should not be warm to the touch.
•   Turn the lights off when you’re not at home and before going to bed.

AMERIND Risk provides property, liability, and workers’ compensation insurance, for tribes, tribal governments, businesses and individual property coverage. AMERIND Risk’s purpose is to create affordable and sustainable insurance products and services for Indian Country. AMERIND Risk – the only 100% Native American owned and operated insurance provider in Indian country—”Tribes Protecting Tribes.”

AMERIND Risk Management: Raising the Roof in Indian Country

Winona LaDuke: Keep USDA Out of Our Kitchens

By Tanya H. Lee, ICTMN

Native American author, educator, activist, mother and grandmother Winona LaDuke, Anishinaabekwe, is calling on tribes to relocalize food and energy production as a means of both reducing CO2 emissions and of asserting tribes’ inherent right to live in accordance with their own precepts of the sacredness of Mother Earth and responsibility to future generations.

She said during a recent presentation on climate change at Harvard University, “We essentially need tribal food and energy policies that reflect sustainability. Tribes [as sovereign nations] have jurisdiction over food from seed to table and we need to take it or else USDA will take it…. The last thing you want is USDA telling you how to cook your hominy, that you can’t use ashes in it …. I am the world-renowned, or reservation-wide renowned, beaver tamale queen. So who’s going to come to my house and [inspect the beaver]? I don’t want USDA in my food. I want us to exercise control over our food and not have them saying we can’t eat what we traditionally eat.”

LaDuke was talking about tribal food sovereignty.

Winona LaDuke of White Earth, Jackie Francke of First Nations Development Institute and Julie Garreau, executive director of the Cheyenne River Youth Project, at the first meeting of the NAFSA founding council. (Courtesy First Nations Development Institute)

Neither the United States Department of Agriculture nor the Food and Drug Administration is likely to turn up in your family’s kitchen, but federal policies have a lot to say about what food products are allowed to get into that kitchen in the first place. Antibiotics and growth hormones in the meat supply, vast harvests of corn, rice or wheat cultivated from the same genetic stock, genetically modified organisms—be they corn or soy or fish–and preservatives added to food during processing are primarily under the control of the USDA and FDA. As are the regulations about what foods can be served by tribes at day care centers, schools and senior centers, not to mention those on how food intended for commercial markets must be grown and processed.

Of particular concern right now is the 2011 federal Food Safety Modernization Act, which increases regulation and oversight of food production in an effort to prevent contamination. If the rules pertaining to the law are not changed in response to public comments, some of the federal government’s regulatory and inspection responsibilities will devolve to state governments, a direct threat to tribal sovereignty, according to First Nations Community Development Institute Senior Program Officer Raymond Foxworth, Navajo. “The [historic] loss of food system control in Indian Country is highly correlated with things like the loss of land, the loss of some aspects of culture related to agricultural processes, and … some pretty negative health statistics [including obesity, diabetes and lifespan]. It’s our belief that food sovereignty is one solution to combat some of these negative effects, be it the negative health statistics, the loss of culture or the loss of land.”

Harley Coriz, director of the Santo Domingo Senior Center, inside of the center’s new greenhouse. (Courtesy First Nations Development Institute)

The institute has been instrumental in establishing the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance under its Native American Food System Initiative. The alliance will be a national organization focused on networking, best practices and policy issues. The founding members of NAFSA “have been working on trying to pressure the FDA into initiating tribal consultations related to FSMA.”

The alliance, in the works for more than a decade, recently got start-up funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. FNCDI contracted with the Taos County Economic Development Corp. to coordinate its establishment. Directors Pati Martinson and Terrie Bad Hand convened a group of 16 people who have been working on food systems at the grassroots level to form a founding council. That group had its first face-to-face meeting in October.

Among the founding council members is Dana Eldridge, Navajo, formerly on the staff at Diné College and now an independent consultant and would-be farmer, who has done extensive work in analyzing food systems for the Navajo Nation. One of her main concerns is genetically modified organisms. GMOs, she says, threaten both the ownership of Native seeds and the spiritual aspects of food. “Corn is very sacred to us—it’s our most sacred plant. We pray with corn pollen–in our Creation story we’re made of corn—so what does it mean that this plant has been turned into something that actively harms people?”

Children at the Akwesasne Freedom School in New York near the Canadian border work in the their gardens in a farm-to-school project led by Kanenhi:io Ionkwaiontonhake. Much of the food grown in the gardens goes directly to the school for meals. Two teachers even instruct the older kids in the pre-K through grade 8 school in how to can and store their food, according to Elvera Sargent, Mohawk, who has been at the school since 1995 and who is a member of the NAFSA founding council. (Courtesy Akwesasne Freedom School)

Eldridge says food sovereignty is also important because it is a way to begin to address the trauma colonization has inflicted on Native people. “What I’ve learned during this food research is you can’t produce food by yourself. You need people, you need family, you need community and relationships, so a lot of it is about rebuilding community and reconnecting with the land and I think that’s a very important healing process for our people.”

The Taos County Economic Development Corp. has found that one way to keep USDA and FDA out of your kitchen is to invite them in. When regulators amped up their enforcement of regulations in relation to Native commercial food enterprises in northern New Mexico, TCEDC built a 5,000-square-food commercial kitchen where people could process their crops and learn directly from USDA inspectors what the regulations were. Says Martinson, “The food center was our way of modeling and bringing forward local healthy food through helping those people become actual businesses and entrepreneurs.” In 2006, TCEDC added a mobile slaughtering unit. Housed in a tractor trailer truck, the MSU travels out to small ranches where USDA inspectors oversee the slaughter of livestock—”bison, beef, sheep, goats and the occasional yak,” says Bad Hand–intended for commercial sale. The meat is then brought back to the center for cutting and packaging, again under federal oversight.

There is an irony to all this federal oversight of food production in sovereign Native nations, says Martinson. Traditional Native food growing, harvesting and processing principles kept people healthy for millennia before USDA even existed. The food contamination that FSMA is intended to prevent is a consequence of the industrialization of food production. “All these scares that you hear about, e. coli or salmonella making people really sick, if you trace those back, they come from huge packing plants, from industry.

A young girl at Cochiti Youth Experience (at Cochiti Pueblo) working in the garden. (Courtesy First Nations Development Institute)

“One of the things that I think Native people recognize and have passed down culturally is that you need to have human beings within food production ecosystems for all of those reasons—safety, quality, a relationship with your food. The principles of safe food are indigenous and inherent in Native communities,” Martinson says.

The answer to “What’s for dinner?” has profound implications for the well-being of Native American tribes. Tribal food sovereignty could mean the difference between continuing to retain (or regain) language, land, religious precepts, traditional lifeways and physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health or losing them.

Three Horseback Journeys Trace Paths of Imminent Pipeline Destruction

Suze LeonHorseback riders traveled along three proposed pipeline routes to show the terrain they would traverse and the lives they'd put at risk. — Suze Leon
Horseback riders traveled along three proposed pipeline routes to show the terrain they would traverse and the lives they’d put at risk.

Winona LaDuke, Indian Country Today Media Network

There’s a beauty in the breath of horses, fall mornings’ breath seen in the air, and the smell and sound of horses. We rode horses from the Headwaters of the Mississippi along the proposed route of a new oil pipeline that would cross the reservation. It was the third of a series of rides on oil pipeline routes.

The rides were sponsored by Honor the Earth, along with the Horse Spirit Society, Owe Aku and the White Earth Land Recovery Project. Those rides took us on the Alberta Clipper proposed expansion route (from Superior, Wisconsin, to the Red Lake Reservation), and to the proposed Keystone XL route in the Dakotas, where riders from White Earth Reservation joined with the Lakota to ride between Wanbli and Takini or Bridger on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Then we came home, to our own reservation, where a new pipeline is proposed to cut near our largest wild rice lake.

“We are not protesters, we’re protectors,” said Michael Dahl, leader of the third ride. That is true.

Michael Dahl, leader of the third ride. (Photo: Suze Leon)

We called this the triple crown of pipeline rides. What’s at stake is a lot of water and a lot of risk. In the Dakotas it is a land without a single pipeline across it and one large aquifer, the Oglala.

“We can buy bottled water, and drink it, “ Percy White Plume pointed out. “The buffalo and horses cannot.”

This is a good point. So it was that 15 riders braved some harrowing terrain, a land littered with 100,000 dead cattle from a freak September blizzard, (frozen dead on the sides of roads, gullies and the like) and rode the proposed Keystone XL route.

In Minnesota it is wild rice, water and oil. The Enbridge pipeline corporation is proposing to both expand a present oil sands pipeline, the Alberta Clipper, doubling its capacity and making it the largest tar sands pipeline in the U.S. That has its own risks—such as those of carrying dilbit, a highly corrosive substance, in a pipeline that is monitored remotely from Edmonton, Alberta. Enbridge also wants to construct a 610-mile pipeline from near Tioga , North Dakota, to Superior, Wisconsin. This is the same oil as the 800,000 gallons that devastated a Tioga farm field in North Dakota in early October. That pipeline was six inches in diameter; the proposed pipeline is 30. The proposed Sandpiper pipeline would carry 375,000 barrels of oil and cross through the White Earth reservation and the 1855 treaty area.

Enbridge is facing some obstacles.

“This is land that has been in my family for decades. It is prime Red River valley agriculture land. It was handed down to me by my mother and father when they passed away, and I’m intending to hand it down to my children when I pass away…. My wife and I have … told our children that we will pass this on. Of course, if 225,000 barrels of oil bursts through this thing, that certainly is the end of this family legacy. —James Botsford, North Dakota landowner and Winnebago Supreme Court Judge in Enbridge Sandpiper right of way

The Enbridge North Dakota company asked Botsford if they could survey his land.

“I told Enbridge … I am not going to give you permission,” Botsford said. “You are going to have to take it.”

So Enbridge filed a restraining order against Botsford, “denying me the private use of my own land,” he said. In fact, Enbridge told the court, “Unless defendant is restrained and enjoined from preventing or interfering with access to the property … Enbridge will be irreparably harmed.”

Enbridge told Botsford that the company’s rights trumped his rights. Enbridge seems pretty comfortable with that position, particularly ever since the Canadian corporation magically became a North Dakota utility. This metamorphosis allows the corporation to have eminent domain rights within the state. That occurred a decade ago and has served Enbridge well.

The company, however, has not been so lucky everywhere. In June 2013 the British Columbia government denied Enbridge permits for the Northern Gateway pipeline, citing environmental, safety and economic concerns about the corporation. That was in addition to massive opposition by First Nations. In Minnesota, Enbridge needs to get 2,000 rights of way for its pipeline proposal, and a certificate of need approved at the Public Utilities Commission. Those are all being challenged.

Spills

“Farmer Steven Jensen said the smell of sweet light crude oil wafted on his (rural Tioga) farm for four days before he discovered the leak, leading to questions about why the spill wasn’t detected sooner.” —Reuters on the 865,000-gallon spill in North Dakota in October 2013

Right now most of the oil moving in this country, from the Bakken fields, basically the Ft. Berthold reservation, goes by rail. That’s up to 380,000 rail cars projected to move this year. That is perhaps why Warren Buffett purchased the Burlington Northern Railroad; because he saw that the money was in the landlocked oil. The problem is that the oil is moving faster than regulation, with safety especially lagging as companies seek to extract as quickly as possible, before rules are imposed.

This past summer, four square blocks of the town of Lac Megantic, Quebec, blew up as a train’s braking systems failed. The train was carrying Bakken oil. Forty-three people were virtually vaporized in an explosion that baffled Canadian authorities. They had never seen anything like it.

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

Bakken oil, the stuff they want to put in the Sandpiper line, seems to be very volatile, sort of like a bomb in a pipeline. Which seems a bit worrisome. It’s even more worrisome given that the North Dakota accident (the 835,000-gallon spill) was attributed to lightning. Now, I’m not sure, but I think that lightning and an extremely volatile substance may be a very bad idea in a pipeline. That is the Sandpiper line.

The Sandpiper pipeline proposal.

The other Minnesota line—the Alberta Clipper—holds 440,000 barrels per day of tar sands oil. The Enbridge proposed expansion to 880,000 barrels per day would make that the largest tar sands pipeline.

Tar sands oil is both controversial for its origin and controversial for its transport and increased risk. Meanwhile the Keystone XL pipeline is facing huge opposition from farmers, ranchers, environmentalists and the Lakota Nation. In mid-November, Cheyenne River reservation leaders sent TransCanada’s representatives off the reservation, in an abrupt meeting.

Enter the Pig

Enbridge’s pipelines are largely monitored by the company. That is, if you don’t count the 135 federal inspectors who are responsible for 2.5 million miles of pipeline. Those inspectors, working for the U.S. Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHSMA), were on furlough when the 835,000-gallon Tioga spill happened, but it didn’t matter because remediation was in company hands.

It turns out there’s a piece of equipment called a “pig” (a pipeline inspection gauge actually), which goes through the lines to check them for structural problems. Sort of like a pipeline colonoscopy. This pig hasn’t worked out too well, it seems.

According to Enbridge’s company data, between 1999 and 2010, across all of the company’s operations, there were 804 oil spills that released 161,475 barrels (approximately 6.8 million gallons) of hydrocarbons into the environment. This amounts to approximately half of the oil that spilled from the oil tanker Exxon Valdez after it struck a rock in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in 1988. The single largest pipeline oil spill in U.S. history was the Kalamazoo spill, which was an Enbridge line.

“Federal regulators are investigating the 2010 rupture of Line 6B, part of the Enbridge-operated Lakehead pipeline system,” Michigan lawmakers testified. “The National Transportation Safety Board found Enbridge knew of a defect on the pipeline five years before it burst open and spilled around 20,000 barrels of oil into southern Michigan waters.”

So maybe the pig was mute. I don’t know. What I do know is that there are a lot of pipelines, and no one seems to be monitoring them.

In 2012 the PHSMA ordered Enbridge to submit plans to improve the safety of the entire Lakeland System. Meanwhile, Canada’s National Energy Board has stated that Enbridge is not complying with safety standards at 117 of its pumping stations. The board is analyzing concerns and solutions.

New Project/New Plan

Enbridge’s pipeline wish list, some of it granted.

Pipeline safety is increasingly under scrutiny, even as it becomes more mechanized. The pipeline safety system itself, however, is not local.

“This line—the Sandpiper line—the plan is that it will be operated from the control center in Estevan, Saskatchewan, … northwest of Minot, across the Canadian border,” Greg Sheline of Enbridge explained. From there, “that information gets reported back to the control center, so that the operators can monitor the operation.”

This of course does not sit well with those whose lives depend on the vigilance of this remote, robotic system.

“We don’t know if any of those lines will hold, and Enbridge has not proven itself to be a safe part of our environment,” said Dahl. “Our lakes and wild rice beds will be here forever, but if there’s an oil spill they will be destroyed, and Enbridge will not be here. They are a 50-year-old Canadian corporation, and we are a people who have lived here for ten thousand years.”

Enbridge’s expansions are intended to feed into a set of pipelines in the Great Lakes region. The Minnesota lines are intended to snake through and around tribal reservations and wild rice beds to a refinery in Superior, Wisconsin. From there Enbridge hopes to ship forth that oil, through pipelines, to a proposed 17 refinery expansions.

Many of these pipelines are more than 50 years old, including a precarious link in the straights of Mackinac. That link in particular is making a lot of people nervous. An underwater spill in the straights would, according to scientists, spill a million gallons before it could be stopped.

The Certificate of Need, or Was It Greed?

The expansion is predicated on “need,” or a certificate of need. In Enbridge’s application before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, access to a stable supply of oil is the primary measure of need.

Need is subjective. It turns out that the world’s largest oil reserves are in the western hemisphere, in Venezuela—followed by Saudi Arabia—and then the Alberta tar sands. Venezuela is a country that has demanded a fair price for oil and has used that oil to develop its infrastructure. If there were such thing as an example of “fair trade” oil, this would be it.

In fact, a good chunk of Venezuelan crude has historically come back to tribal reservations. More than 223 of them have benefited from Venezuelan petroleum company Citgo’s largesse in communities that suffer from fuel poverty. As that country’s exports to the U.S. decline, this will likely be affected. In turn American corporations, driven by some hostile historic foreign policy, do not, it seems, want to pay a fair price for oil from that country. Hugo Chavez should rest in peace.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in February 2013 Venezuelan crude oil and byproduct shipments to the U.S. dropped by 33 percent from 2012 levels. These sales had been paid in cash, so the loss deprives Venezuela of cash flow.

The interests of greed are large. The Koch brothers (two of the wealthiest Americans, worth $36 billion apiece) make much of their money on the oil market (a.k.a. derivatives) and have some very large interests in the Keystone XL pipeline. The brothers also own Minnesota’s Flint Hills refinery, which processes 25 percent of Canada’s tar sands oil in the U.S. They may profit considerably if a certificate of need is awarded for all these pipelines. Or as investigative reporter Greg Palast explains, “Koch brothers could save two billion dollars a year if they can replace Venezuelan heavy crude with Canadian tar sands—one of the dirtiest sources of carbon emissions on the planet.”

This past fall Venezuela faced serious economic woes from a loss of oil exports. Instead of developing a country, it seems that Suncor, Exxon, Mobil, Tesoro and Enbridge are facilitating the long-term destruction of Native territories from the Upper Missouri to the Athabasca River. There is, in short, no shortage of western hemispheric oil. There is only the greed-driven destruction of territories and communities whose people will neither benefit, nor control the process.

I’m done riding pipelines for the winter, I think. And I, like my fellow Mississippi Band of Anishinaabe members, intend to stay here, in our homeland at the headwaters. I am pretty sure we aren’t interested in sharing that with an oil company.

I’m off the horse, but I’m not done talking about pipelines. In the meantime, our horses are going to hope there’s water to drink and that their hooves will touch land not tainted with oil.

Northwest Tribe Opposes Coal Terminal, But How Hard Will They Fight It?

Credit KUOW Photo/Ashley AhearnTribal treaty fishing rights give Washington tribes the opportunity to weigh in on, and even block, projects that could impact their fishing grounds. — Credit KUOW Photo/Ashley Ahearn
Tribal treaty fishing rights give Washington tribes the opportunity to weigh in on, and even block, projects that could impact their fishing grounds.

By Ashley Ahearn, KUOW.org

Dozens of crab pot buoys dot the waters around Lummi tribal member Jay Julius’ fishing boat as he points the bow towards Cherry Point – a spit of land that juts into northern Puget Sound near Bellingham, Wash.

It’s a spot that would be an ideal location to build a coal terminal, according to SSA Marine, one of two companies that hopes to build a terminal here. If the company has its way, up to 48 million tons of coal could move through these waters each year aboard more than 450 large ships bound for the Asian market.

SSA Marine has its eye on Cherry Point because it’s surrounded by deep water with quick access to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean.

But if the Lummi and other tribes exercise their fishing rights, there may not be any coal ships servicing American terminals in these frigid Northwest waters.

“I think they’re quite disgusting,” Julius said when asked how he feels about the terminal backers’ efforts to make inroads with the Lummi. “It’s nothing new, the way they’re trying to infiltrate our nation, contaminate it, use people.”

Credit KUOW Photo/Ashley Ahearn

Aboard a Lummi fishing boat just south of the Canadian border near Cherry Point.

‘People Of The Sea’

One out of every ten members of the Lummi Nation has a fishing license. Ancestors of the Lummi, or “People of the Sea” as they are known, and other Salish Sea peoples have fished the waters surrounding Cherry Point for more than 3,000 years. Today Lummi tribal officials are sounding the alarm about the impacts the Gateway Pacific Terminal could have on the tribe’s halibut, shrimp, shellfish and salmon fishery, which is worth a combined $15 million annually.

Tribal treaty fishing rights could play a major role in the review process for the Gateway Pacific Terminal. According to the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, nine tribes’ treaty fishing grounds would be impacted by the Gateway Pacific Terminal and the vessel traffic it would draw.

In the mid-1800s, tribes in this region signed treaties with the federal government, ceding millions of acres of their land. Native American populations plummeted and the survivors were relegated to reservations.

They insisted on reserving the right to continue to fish in their usual and accustomed fishing areas. It is an extremely important part of the treaty.

The tribal leaders of the time did a smart thing, said Tim Brewer, a lawyer with the Tulalip tribe in northwestern Washington: “They insisted on reserving the right to continue to fish in their usual and accustomed fishing areas. It is an extremely important part of the treaty.”

But those fishing rights weren’t enforced in Washington until the Boldt Decision, a landmark court decision in 1974 that reaffirmed tribal fishing rights established more than a century before.

“If a project is going to impair access to a fishing ground and that impairment is significant that project cannot move forward without violating the treaty right,” Brewer said.

Since the Boldt Decision, tribes have been fighting for their treaty rights.

In 1992, the Lummi stopped a net pen fish farm that was proposed for the waters off of Lummi Island by a company called Northwest Sea Farms.

Learn more: Attend a Dec. 6 Town Hall Seattle discussion with KUOW/EarthFix reporter Ashley Ahearn.

But agreements have been made in other situations. The Elliott Bay Marina, the largest, privately-owned marina on the West Coast, was built in 1991 within the fishing area of the Muckleshoot tribe. It took 10 years of environmental review. The Muckleshoot fought the project but ultimately came to an agreement with marina supporters.

When Dwight Jones, general manager of the Elliott Bay Marina, was asked if he had any advice for companies that want to build coal terminals in the Northwest, he laughed.

“I’d say good luck,” Jones said. “There will be a lot of costs and chances are the tribes will probably negotiate a settlement that works well for them and it will not be cheap.”

Jones said the owners of Elliott Bay Marina paid the Muckleshoot more than $1 million up front and for the next 100 years will give the tribe 8 percent of their gross annual revenue.

“Anyone who’s in business can tell you that 8 percent of your gross revenues is a huge number,” he said. “It really affects your viability as a business.”

Credit KUOW Photo/Ashley Ahearn

A gathering of coal export opponents last summer at Cherry Point. The event was part of an anti-coal totem pole journey led by the Lummi Nation. Its tribal members fish at Cherry Point.

Starting Negotiations

SSA Marine and Pacific International Terminals – the companies that want to build the terminal at Cherry Point – have lawyers and staff members working to negotiate with the Lummi to build the terminal. The companies declined repeated requests for interviews.

Last summer, Julius and the rest of the Lummi tribal council sent a letter opposing the coal terminal to the US Army Corps of Engineers. The federal agency will have final say over the key permits for the coal terminal.

In the letter the Lummi lay out their argument, which centers around threats to treaty fishing rights and the tribe’s cultural and spiritual heritage at Cherry Point.

But there’s a line at the end of the letter, which legal experts and the Army Corps of Engineers say leaves the door open for continuing negotiation on the Gateway Pacific Terminal: “These comments in no way waive any future opportunity to participate in government-to-government consultation regarding the proposed projects.”

This is the second installment of a two-part series. Read part one here.

Read more environmental coverage at EarthFix.

38th District Rep John McCoy transitions to senate

By Niki Cleary, Tulalip News

A Tulalip Tribal member and Washington State Legislator, John McCoy has had a significant impact on the reservation simply by being successful. He was elected to serve in the House of Representatives in 2003, and was one of two Native American Representatives in Washington State. On November 27^th, 2013, McCoy was unanimously selected by the Snohomish County Council to fill a Senate position left vacant by Senator Nick Harper’s resignation.

“John has always been a mover and shaker,” said Tulalip Chairman Mel Sheldon. “He’s helped change the way the legislature views Native Americans and has paved the way for our young men and women to follow in his footsteps. He’s brought hope that in the near future we’ll see the face of state politics change to reflect importance of tribes, both as economic drivers in the state and as an important part of the history and culture of this land.”

His resonance with tribes is part of what got McCoy elected, but what’s kept him in office, and made him the frontrunner for the senate seat is his dedication to the everyman.

“My priorities haven’t changed,” said John. “My priorities have always been elders, children and the working adult. During this last interim I worked a lot on migrant, low income and mental health housing. I’ll continue that work. There are dental access issues that I’ll be working on.

“I’ll continue working hard for the 38^th Legislative District, Snohomish County and Washington State as a whole,” continued McCoy. “WSU (Washington State University) is coming to Everett, so that’s another thing I’ll be working on. There are some environmental things I’ll be working on. Again, whatever is best for the district, the county and the state, it’s the same stuff, different chamber.”

Tulalip Board of Director and Business Committee Chairman Glen Gobin described McCoy’s appointment by saying McCoy is simply the best man for the job.

“Congratulations to John,” said Gobin. “John has stayed very active and involved, not just the legislative district he is elected to, but all across the state as well as this nation. John also has served, unofficially, as an ambassador for Washington State Tribes, helping to educate those he serves with, and his constituency, about Native American issues as well as misperceptions about Native Americans. John’s commitment to serve the people is reflected in the vote from the Snohomish County Council. I am proud of John. He is well suited to do the work that is needed, and I know well he will do a great job.”

For those who haven’t thought about State governance since high school civics class, McCoy described the differences between the House of Representatives and the State Senate.

“There aren’t as many senators. Each district has two representatives and one senator, 98 representatives and 49 senators,” he explained. “The representatives serve two-year terms and senators serve four-year terms. The house side gets through processes faster, the senate is designed to be more constrained. The Washington State Legislative House cranks out between 3,000 and 5,000 bills a session. Consequently, some are good and some are not. The Senate is more pragmatic and selective, they work the issues more. That’s by design.”

That pragmatism is a good fit for McCoy who believes his popularity in politics are a result of being honest and caring, but blunt.

“I don’t beat around the bush,” said McCoy, “I had a couple meetings this morning with some folks who wanted money. I said, ‘I support your issues, but I don’t know that we can get you money this year.’ It’s about being up front with people and letting them know where you stand. I can’t make everybody happy, but at least they can understand why I can’t make them happy. They generally feel good as long as they know where they stand.”

When the term for his Senate seat ends, McCoy plans to run for election.

“This is a natural step for me,” he said.