Indian country Archives - Page 9 of 10

Native School Girls Should Not Be for Sale on the Street

By Walter Lamar, Indian Country Today Media Network

As schools across the nation are starting a new academic year, many Native girls wake to thoughts of preparation for time immemorial puberty ceremonies, their first prom and that cute fancy dancer at the annual pow wow. In contrast, the cold, stark reality for a host of other young Native girls is waking in the squalor of a seedy motel room, dank with the smell of stale beer and smoke. Their thoughts focus on the most recent beating and rape, bruises and displaced cartilage, vaginal and anal tears, the intense craving for a drug-induced escape and the powerful desire for someone to care.

As an FBI Agent in 1986 I was assigned to investigate the “Green River Murderer.” In the early 1980s, the violent strangulation deaths of 48 women in the Seattle, Washington area were attributed to a single killer. The murdered women were all alleged to have been involved in the sex trade.

After a period of time with no killings matching the killer’s signature points, I was assigned to look for places in the country where similar killings were occurring. Maybe he was dead, in jail, or killing somewhere else. The surprising results of the canvass were that many areas in the nation were reporting a similar pattern of multiple deaths, just not with such a high death count. Because these women and youths can be disposed of and not missed, people with ill intent view the poor souls engaged in the sex trade as castaways without a footprint. The Green River Murderer was arrested in 2001. When interviewed, he claimed to have killed so many, he could not remember the exact number. Over 70 deaths, a number of whom were Native American, were eventually attributed to his maniacal need to kill. After interviewing more than 50 prostitutes I clearly understood the horrific consequences of human trafficking. Their emotionless, blank stares told the story of their suffering.

Walter Lamar

Buying and selling children shouldn’t even be an issue in 21st century America, but it’s a problem that endangers disaffected youth from coast to coast, and particularly girls from Indian country. Thanks to groundbreaking work in Minnesota, not only is a picture emerging of the systematic victimization of women and children in Indian country, but states, tribes, non-profits and private companies across the U.S. and Canada are taking action to turn this problem around. However, many tribal members are still unaware of—or in denial about—the factors that lead to sex trafficking between their reservations and nearby cities or for those living in the cities.

Sexual exploitation often begins in childhood, which is so awful that the community response is often denial: “Oh no, that’s not happening here, we respect our young ones.” Two out of three child prostitutes interviewed for the Minnesota study had weak ties to family, and about half have run away from foster or group care. Children who grow up in abusive environments are far more likely to run away, to join a gang or to be tempted by promises of drugs, money or security.

Predators seek out runaway or homeless children, and about a third of runaways are forced into sex within days of hitting the streets. Once ensnared in this life, it’s hard to leave. Homelessness, addiction, financial and emotional dependence all combine with fear of being arrested tend to make trafficking victims reluctant to report their abusers, although most dream of escape. Prostitutes are regularly threatened and physically abused, both by pimps and by their customers. The level of violence is such that victims of human trafficking are 40 percent more likely to die of violent causes than other groups.

Although the clearest picture of sexual exploitation of Native youth has emerged from Minnesota, other tribes are also struggling to address sex trafficking. Elders in the Bethel region of Alaska are warning villagers about predators in Anchorage who watch for Native girls at popular teen hangouts and recruit them into prostitution and pornography with promises of an easy lifestyle. Pimps even coerce girls to recruit their friends from their villages. In South Dakota police point to the flow of young girls from the reservations to Sioux City. Liberal Portland, Oregon was shocked to discover the city had become a hub for child exploitation, involving many Native girls who had come to the city in search of a better life.

Law enforcement is reacting by engaging in active investigations and widespread sweeps of child trafficking rings. In July, an FBI sting rescued 105 teens forced into sexual slavery and arrested 150 pimps. In August, agents arrested nine men at the Sturgis motorcycle rally who were pimping girls between 12-15 years of age. Because the Internet enables child trafficking and distribution of child pornography, investigators have had to develop some serious technical expertise. The European approach has been to work with Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to deter the use of their search engines to find child pornography or other images of exploited children. Working across borders, law enforcement agents continue to improve their tools for tracking child predators.

What happens to the teen and child victims of these crimes? Beds in shelters, health care, and legal assistance are usually enough to address a victim’s immediate needs, but equally critical long term needs include housing assistance, education, counseling and possibly drug and alcohol recovery. Sadly, the resources to help victims of child sex trafficking are lacking. Most cases involving underage prostitution result in no services provided to the victim.

Some states, like Minnesota, South Dakota and Oregon, are working to change that by knitting together networks of providers to help these exploited children. Minnesota’s Safe Harbor Initiative increases the opportunities for young people to walk in off the street, a method called “No Wrong Door.” Under new laws in these states, children who have been prostituted cannot be charged with juvenile delinquency and are instead treated as victims of a crime. Child welfare advocates hope that if exploited youth don’t fear criminal prosecution, they will be more likely to report crimes against them.

Meanwhile, finding beds and services for victims identified under the Safe Harbor Initiative has been a challenge. If money were no object, existing networks of service providers could be expanded to accommodate victims of child prostitution. In the real world, reduced federal funding has existing programs on life support.

Concerned adults can raise awareness about what’s happening to our daughters. By writing letters or talking to our tribal governments, we can express support for providing abused and neglected children and teens with services to get them on a healing path, before they turn to the arms of a child trafficker. When endangered children feel like their needs are being heard and addressed, they find the courage and confidence to reject empty promises from pimps, gangs and other predators. If being disassociated from family and having low self-esteem are the symptoms of a girl in trouble, then being cared for by a community may be the ounce of prevention we need.

It is unimaginable to think of those lost spirits who have died under the worst of circumstances and disposed of in some unknown place. Their spirits continue to roam.

A recent Facebook post said, “I’m seeing children who are hungry, lonely and scared, doing their best to take care of each other.” The post went on to say some of our children are witness to things they shouldn’t see and are hurt with nowhere to turn. The post closed with, “We’re failing our most vulnerable.” I say that failure is not permanent, unless we fail to rise up in force to protect our future.

Walter Lamar, Blackfeet/Wichita, is a former FBI special agent, deputy director of BIA law enforcement and is currently president of Lamar Associates. Lamar Associates’ Indian Country Training Division offers culturally appropriate training for Indian country law enforcement and service professionals with both on-site and online courses.

Tony West Addresses Native American Issues Subcommittee

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The following remarks were delivered by Tony West, associate attorney general at the Native American Issues Subcommittee (NAIS) meeting on September 18 in Hood River, Oregon.

Thank you, Karol, for that kind introduction. Karol is one of the leading advocates for tribes at the Department of Justice, and I’m delighted that she has taken the helm at OJP.

Let me thank Tim [Purdon, NAIS Chair] and Sandy [Coats, NAIS Vice Chair] for their very capable leadership of the Native American Issues Subcommittee, and for all they do to coordinate the Department’s efforts with its tribal partners. I also want to thank Amanda [Marshall, USA for the District of Oregon] and the many tribal leaders for hosting us. I’m honored to be here among you. Thanks, too, to Marshall Jarrett for his leadership at the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys and Tracy Toulou for the exceptional work he does as Director of our Office of Tribal Justice. Finally, I extend my appreciation to all the members of the committee for your hard work and commitment to these very important issues.

I’m very pleased to have this chance to meet with the federal and tribal officials responsible for the safety and welfare of Native communities and to talk about ways we can continue working together to strengthen the Justice Department’s work in Indian country. We have made unprecedented strides – and achieved remarkable success – in improving law enforcement and ensuring justice in American Indian and Alaska Native communities, and I want to ensure that we build on our progress.

The progress has been tremendous.

Every U.S. Attorney with jurisdiction in Indian country has now appointed at least one tribal liaison, and we’ve designated a Native American Issues Coordinator to provide advice and assistance to U.S. Attorneys’ Offices on legal and policy issues. We created the Tribal Nations Leadership Council to advise the Attorney General on issues critical to tribal governments. We launched the National Indian Country Training Initiative, which last year trained some 2,500 federal, state, and tribal criminal justice professionals on issues ranging from domestic violence to wildlife and pollution enforcement. We created a Violence Against Women Federal and Tribal Prosecution Task Force and assigned additional federal personnel to investigate and prosecute cases on Indian lands. And we established the Office of Tribal Justice as a permanent component within the Justice Department.

We have also met – and exceeded – our responsibilities under the Tribal Law and Order Act. We published a final rule that authorizes the Department to assume concurrent jurisdiction over certain crimes committed in Public Law 280 states, and we have already exercised that authority. We’re enhancing our efforts to combat sexual assault by expanding support for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners and Sexual Assault Response Teams in Indian country and by establishing a SANE/SART Advisory Committee. We’ve settled long-standing trust litigation and boundary disputes to the benefit of tribes. We’ve worked to protect water rights and natural resources on tribal lands and helped preserve Native cultural and religious practices. We’ve joined with our federal partners to develop, in consultation with tribes, a long-term plan to build and sustain tribal justice systems. And we’re fighting alcohol and substance abuse by coordinating services with the Departments of the Interior and Health and Human Services and by providing assistance to tribes that want to develop action plans to address these issues.

Finally, we’ve vastly expanded and strengthened our outreach to tribes. I have had the honor of joining the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, and many other leaders in the Department at a number of listening sessions and consultations in Indian country. Attorney General Holder approved a policy statement committing the Department to regular and meaningful consultation and collaboration with tribal officials. This policy statement requires the Department to seek tribal input whenever we develop or amend policies, regulations, or legislation that will affect tribes. In addition, staff from across the Justice Department have partnered with their colleagues in the Departments of the Interior, Health and Human Services, HUD, and other agencies to hold tribal justice, safety, and wellness training and technical assistance sessions, where we’ve reached more than 5,500 participants. As a result of this greater coordination and cooperation, we’ve been able to more effectively target our resources to meet the most pressing public safety needs of tribes.

Through our Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, or CTAS as we call it, we’ve revamped and streamlined the process for tribes to tap much-needed federal funding. We’ve heard from tribes that this mechanism has been an important positive step in our relationship with tribes, and we continue to make it a centerpiece of our efforts to support tribal communities.

In fact, today I’m pleased to announce that the Department of Justice is awarding almost 200 new awards totaling more than $90 million under CTAS. These awards bring the total number of grants to tribes over the last four years to almost 1,000, totaling almost $440 million. These grants address an array of tribal justice system issues, from at-risk youth and violence against women to community policing and corrections alternatives, and they give tribes the support they need to keep their communities safe and ensure a just, fair, and effective system for fighting crime.

But there is more we must do. Violence against Native women continues at alarming rates, and children in Indian country encounter violence far too often.

I was proud to witness President Obama sign the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in March. This landmark legislation provides vital protections for all women, but it is especially important for what it does to help ensure the safety of Indian women. Now, thanks to the new law, tribes may exercise jurisdiction over certain crimes committed by non-Indians on their lands. This represents a giant step forward in our ability to hold perpetrators of domestic and dating violence accountable.

And we must do all we can to protect Indian children. More than 60 percent of kids in America encounter some form of violence, crime, or abuse, ranging from brief encounters as witnesses to serious violent episodes as victims. Almost 40 percent are direct victims of two or more violent acts. Tribal communities are no exception to this troubling phenomenon. As one tribal leader said, “For us. . . the question is not who has been exposed to violence, it’s who hasn’t been exposed to violence.”

As part of his Defending Childhood Initiative, Attorney General Holder established a national task force to study this problem and recommend ways to address it. One of the recommendations was the creation of a separate task force devoted specifically to children exposed to violence in Indian country. I’m pleased that work is well under way to stand up this task force, which includes both an advisory committee and a federal working group composed of U.S. Attorneys and other government officials, including our partners at the Department of the Interior, working in Indian country.

We anticipate that the Advisory Committee will convene hearings and listening sessions throughout the country and prioritize consultation with American Indian and Alaska Native youth. Our goal is to develop a national strategy to reduce and mitigate the impact of violence on children in tribal communities.

The Federal Working Group of the Task Force is already hard at work and making real progress. In an effort to ensure that juveniles held in tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs detention facilities are provided adequate and culturally-sensitive educational and counseling services, the working group initiated a close look at existing programs and services. As a result, BIA has ensured that contracts for teachers are secured for detention facilities in Towoac, Colorado, and Northern Cheyenne, Montana. To ensure that Bureau of Prison contract facilities provide culturally appropriate services to tribal youth in detention, the working group completed a survey of programs currently available and is currently analyzing the results to develop best practices to ensure consistency across facilities. These are just a few of many efforts currently underway.

This is my sixth trip to Indian country since joining the Department of Justice as a member of President Obama’s administration in 2009, and my fourth as the Associate Attorney General. Since my first trip to the Navajo Nation, where I met with brave Cold War Warriors, I have traveled from the Crow Nation and Northern Cheyenne in Montana to the Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, Acoma and Laguna Pueblos of the Four Corners. Earlier this month, I visited the Tulalip Tribes in Washington, and I am so pleased to join you today here in Celilo Village.

For me, these visits to Indian country are a great privilege. They are a great privilege for me because they remind me of the rich legacy that First Americans have bestowed upon this country, and that we are a stronger America because of that legacy.

They remind me of the important trust relationship between the United States and tribal nations, and that the struggle for tribal sovereignty and self-determination has too often been waged in the face of disruption and devastation caused by assimilation and termination policies pursued in the not-so-distant past.

The work we’ve done to strengthen public safety in Indian country – and the work we are doing to protect tribal sovereignty – is a collective responsibility, one that we all must share, federal and tribal officials alike. I’m pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish thus far. I believe we have written a great chapter in the story of our government-to-government relationship with tribes. I look forward to working with all of you to continue that story into the next – and even greater – chapter.

Thank you.

Scorched Earth Policy: Indian Country Among Climate Hot Spots

Wildlife Conservation SocietyThe map illustrates the global distribution of the climate stability/ecoregional intactness relationship. Ecoregions with both high climate stability and vegetation intactness are dark grey. Ecoregions with high climate stability but low levels of vegetation intactness are dark orange. Ecoregions with low climate stability but high vegetation intactness are dark green. Ecoregions that have both low climate stability and low levels of vegetation intactness are pale cream. — Wildlife Conservation Society
The map illustrates the global distribution of the climate stability/ecoregional intactness relationship. Ecoregions with both high climate stability and vegetation intactness are dark grey. Ecoregions with high climate stability but low levels of vegetation intactness are dark orange. Ecoregions with low climate stability but high vegetation intactness are dark green. Ecoregions that have both low climate stability and low levels of vegetation intactness are pale cream.

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

Southern and southeastern Asia, western and central Europe, eastern South America and southern Australia are among the regions most vulnerable to climate change on Earth, a new map compiled by the Wildlife Conservation Society shows. But Turtle Island and much of Indian country are not far behind.

This map, unlike previous assessments, factors in the condition of the areas surveyed rather than simply looking at climate change’s effects on landscapes and seascapes. The human activity that has shaped many of these regions already must be factored in, the map’s creators said in a statement, because that helps determine how susceptible the areas will be to the influences of the world’s changing climate.

“We need to realize that climate change is going to impact ecosystems both directly and indirectly in a variety of ways and we can’t keep on assuming that all adaptation actions are suitable everywhere,” said James Watson, who led the study as director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Climate Change Program, in a statement from the WCS on September 17.

“A vulnerability map produced in the study examines the relationship of two metrics: how intact an ecosystem is, and how stable the ecosystem is going to be under predictions of future climate change,” the society said in its statement. “The analysis creates a rating system with four general categories for the world’s terrestrial regions, with management recommendations determined by the combination of factors.”

The dark green areas of the map, which are much of northern Canada, delineate areas of low climate stability but a high rate of intact vegetation, the society said. Wildlife Conservation Society scientists were joined in the map’s creation by researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia and Stanford University in California. The research was published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

One of the goals of compiling the map was to determine the best places to invest conservation resources, the society said. The areas with the most stable climate have the best chance of preserving species if efforts are amped up there, the society said.

“The fact is there is only limited funds out there and we need to start to be clever in our investments in adaptation strategies around the world,” Watson said. “The analysis and map in this study is a means of bringing clarity to complicated decisions on where limited resources will do the most good.”

Science Says ‘Past is Present’ for Traumas Endured in Indian Country

Carol BerryProfessor Emerita Elizabeth Cook-Lynn spoke to attendees at the Pathways to Respecting American Indian Civil Rights conference in Denver, where she presented the keynote address opening the event that drew more than 350 people. Her writing and teaching center on the “cultural, historical, and political survival of Indian Nations” and she believes that “writing is an essential act of survival for contemporary American Indians.” — Carol Berry
Professor Emerita Elizabeth Cook-Lynn spoke to attendees at the Pathways to Respecting American Indian Civil Rights conference in Denver, where she presented the keynote address opening the event that drew more than 350 people. Her writing and teaching center on the “cultural, historical, and political survival of Indian Nations” and she believes that “writing is an essential act of survival for contemporary American Indians.”

Carol Berry, Indian Country Today Media Network

The historical roots of the baffling self-harm that persists in some Indian communities were explored in various workshops at a recent conference, but a contemporary scientific approach to intergenerational trauma was also offered as a way to understand the stubborn effects of violence and other social ills.

Initially, in a keynote address, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, professor emerita and author, discussed a United States history focused on the theft of land, termination and genocide.

Cook-Lynn also described the identity difficulties caused by the 1924 Citizenship Act, which conferred citizenship on Indian people in a strategy that sometimes resulted in “people of color” or “minorities,” rather than citizens of differing tribal nations.

But brain science may help in understanding the current and intergenerational outcomes of the tragedies, said Janine D’Anniballe, a director at Mental Health Partners, Boulder, Colorado. She talked as part of a workshop that was one of a dozen offered at a Pathways to Respecting American Indian Civil Rights conference August 8 in Denver.

“The past is present” neurobiologically, she explained, describing triggers of trauma response that can occur years after the original event.

To oversimplify, trauma registers in the reptilian, or primitive, part of the brain, where changes can take place that may trigger dissociation, high-risk behavior, substance abuse, indiscriminate sexual behavior, avoidance or withdrawal, eating disorders, and other attempts to cope.

Amplified states of panic and terror can be calmed by alcohol and some other drugs, while dissociative “flat” states can be offset by high-risk behavior like fast driving and self-harm, including cutting. These behaviors may work in the short term to “rebalance brain chemistry,” but can be destructive in the long term, she said.

The medical/scientific community has not universally accepted this trauma theory and questions remain, but there is strong interest, she said. Studies are now suggesting that women who have suffered trauma have highly reactive structures in the primitive brain that can be transmitted to unborn children, although research is still underway.

“A safe relationship can be a neurological intervention,” she said, citing one remedy.

The conference was sponsored by local, state and federal agencies, educational institutions, and private businesses.

Want to help revitalize Native food traditions?

Join tribal leaders to learn about policy changes and other strategies that support the People and Land

Participants from the 2012 Our Food is Our Medicine Conference hold up vegetables cooked in a traditional pit oven. Photo courtesy of NWIC

Source: Ryan Key-Wynne, NWIC

Studies show that returning to a more traditional diet can help Native Americans improve health and reduce problems such as diabetes. People from throughout Indian Country have put those findings to work and are contributing to policy changes and strategies that promote access to traditional foods.

Many of these champions for traditional diets will gather at the second annual Our Food is Our Medicine conference, hosted by Northwest Indian College’s Institute of Indigenous Foods & Traditions. The conference brings together tribal leaders and allies, giving them opportunities to teach and learn from each other while initiating ongoing relationships that will benefit all.

“We are very excited to host this gathering, which brings people together to discuss successful models for activating policy change in tribal communities,” said Meghan McCormick, coordinator of the Institute of Indigenous Foods & Traditions, which is a program of NWIC’s Cooperative Extension Department. “While many tribal agencies throughout the United States engage in work related to wellness through traditional plants and foods, there is often little collaboration between these organizations. Most are burdened by incredibly heavy workloads. This gathering will be a platform for people to connect, share ideas, and inspire one another.”

One speaker who is sure to inspire at the conference is Micah McCarty (Makah), the former chairman of the Makah Nation and current chair of the First Stewards Board (among many other leadership roles). McCarty is one of the keynote speakers lined up for the conference. His work in Neah Bay, Washington led to significant headway in strengthening the response to oil spills in coastal waters, helped to protect tribal whaling rights, and fostered strong connections between tribal and non-tribal governments.

In addition to invigorating keynote speakers, the conference will include interactive workshops, plant walks, traditional food sharing, storytelling and cooking demonstrations.

“This year we are focusing on policy in support of the People and the Land,” McCormick. “We will be discussing strategies that will bring traditional foods in tribal programming and how to build partnerships with land holders to sustainably harvest and protect resources”

Some workshops will include:

Tribal Food Sovereignty Projects
Policy in Government Programs
Tribal Food Policy Council
Policy to Improve Access & Protection of Gathering Sites
GMOs
Seed Saving
Composting
Climate Change & Policy
Seaweed Demonstration
Activating your Story

The conference will take place Sept. 11-13 and will be held at Bastyr University, an innovative university focused on natural health education near Seattle, Wash. The registration cost for the conference is $200, day passes are $100.

For more information, contact Meghan McCormick, Institute of Indigenous Foods & Traditions coordinator, at (360) 594-4099 or mmccormick@nwic.edu. To register, visit bit.ly/ofom2013.

Greed, Corruption and Indian Country’s New Welfare States

Leland McGee, Indian Country Today Media Network

Indian country’s pecuniary advancements created by Indian gaming are well documented. Many tribes have taken full advantage of expanding and diversifying business ventures that now represent a sustainable economic base far greater than their initial casino enterprise. Such planning and financial discipline is commendable. Strong tribal leadership and the willingness to do what is in the best interest of the citizenry of those governments is usually the common thread of success for those tribes. Many times, however, decisions made by tribal councils to obtain such successful economic diversity come at a political price: risking their leadership positions by standing up to their constituents and saying no to either initiating per capita payments, or increasing them beyond sensible levels.

Unfortunately, many tribes today have lost that astute fiscal resolve. In its stead, per capita has become something so adverse amongst so many of our people that it now serves to hinder, disrupt and in some instances, even dismantle tribal governments. Disenrollment, political turmoil, government breakdowns, corruption, financial dependency and absolute greed has become the new “norm” for too many gaming tribes. I’ve witnessed more times than I care to admit, general councils literally holding tribal councils political hostage over per capita distributions. Chants of: “either pay us more per capita, or we’ll vote you out and replace you with someone who will” has become commonplace within many tribal communities. Sound familiar?

The truth of the matter is that per capita payments do little to improve our tribal communities, much less peoples’ lives. Yes, we have a sovereign right to establish per capita for our citizens, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s “the right thing to do.” Some of our most formidable leaders during the early years of Indian gaming argued against per capita. They understood that the net gaming profits from our casino operations were the financial gifts born from the struggles to evolve and develop this industry. Gaming was viewed as an important tool to address generational socio-economic disparity throughout Indian country. Gaming revenues were our way of lessening our dependency on federal funding sources, as well as our opportunity to strengthen and improve tribal government operations, which is a true exercise in sovereignty.

Many tribal governments realized that creating a system of per capita payouts to tribal citizens established nothing short of a tribally funded “welfare state.” Tribes that opposed and rejected per capita payments to their citizens early on were, by and large, the ones setting the standard for quality of life improvements within their communities. As a tribal citizen, enjoying this new influx of casino revenue meant that your basic needs in life were provided for, so long as you earned and/or qualified for such assistance. This included housing, education, health care, child care, elder assistance, business start-up assistance and a slew of other programs and services that casino revenues provided.

Today’s trend though seems to be growing more and more negative in regards to per capita outlays. We have families pitted against families fighting over who is and who is not a rightful citizen of their tribal government. Issues that were never in dispute before per capita payments were declared, now grow in volume and intensity. Disenrollment was extremely rare and when exercised, was for actual cause (no Indian blood quantum, dual enrollment, et cetera), not because of greed and corruption over per capita outlays. Such actions only serve to kill our native culture. We lose respect, credibility and support throughout the United States, especially within the federal government, and look absolutely ridiculous in the eyes of the world. A proud people we are not when we allow an infiltration of bad acts and bad actors to operate and control tribal governments, spurred on by overwhelming dictate from tribal citizens demanding more and more “free” money from their tribes.

So, what can be done to reverse this trend? Maybe we begin by nurturing and empowering stronger leadership within our tribal governments. Tribal councils willing to stand in unison against per capita payments, or increases thereto, is a good starting point. Regaining control of tribal finances and putting those dollars to work in other areas are also key goals. Tribes that utilize gaming proceeds to diversify economic portfolios, generate new business ventures, create jobs and grow tribal wealth beyond casino operations, better control per capita greed. Also, lest not forget that in most states, our monopoly over casino-style gaming enterprises is a very fragile one. At any time we can see changes to state gaming laws that allow expansion of casino-style gaming to non-Indian entities in and around population centers, as a way of increasing state tax revenues and thereby devastating a large percentage of Indian gaming as we know it.

Many of us have and will continue to dedicate our lives to prevent such circumstances from occurring. However, we need to do a much better job of perpetuating positive views and opinions in the public domain on how we utilize our gaming revenues. It’s a lot easier arguing protectionism of Indian gaming’s status quo in states around the country struggling to raise more revenues, if we are not constantly lambasted in the press over tribal infighting based on nothing more than greed. Better educating our people as to the pitfalls of per capita dependency is also critical. It’s a tough challenge for any tribal council to face, but in the end such efforts may save a tribal government and the communities it serves. Our fights to secure Indian gaming was to improve government operations, tribal business ventures and overall quality of life for our citizens; not to politically cannibalize ourselves through acts of voracity, corruption and the spread of destructive per capita dependency among our own people.

Leland McGee, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is a principal of the Sequoyah Group, LLC, a native-owned national Indian economic, energy and gaming development consulting firm. He has served in Indian Affairs under both Clinton and Bush Administrations, served under the National Congress of American Indians, directed government affairs for a national Indian law firm, and has served as executive director and tribal administrator for federally recognized tribal governments.

Stakeholders Talk Indian Health Research

More than 350 people attend the summit at the Sanford Center in Sioux Falls to discuss American Indian health research.Credit Kealey Bultena / SDPB — More than 350 people attend the summit at the Sanford Center in Sioux Falls to discuss American Indian health research.
Credit Kealey Bultena / SDPB

KealeyBultena, South Dakota Public Broadcasting

Partners in three states are working with Native American communities to focus on health in Indian country. A federal grant worth more than $13 million establishes a collaboration to research American Indian health in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

Researchers from one dozen health and education organizations meet with members and advocates of America Indian communities. It’s a break on day two of a major health summit in Sioux Falls, and a young woman chats with fellow college students at the conference.

“I’m Courtney Rocke. I’m part of the SURE program, the summer undergraduate research experience,” Rocke says. “I’m from New Mexico; I’m Lakota and Navajo, and I’m majoring in pre-med biology.”

The University of North Dakota junior wants to be an oncologist. She’s particularly interested in cancers found in women.

“Because there’s not a lot of data right now on Native American women and cancer, and that’s a really health disparity,” Rocke says. “The average age on these reservations for Native American women is 30-45, and that’s a really big problem.”

Rocke says her culture ties her to the reservation, which is why she plans on amassing knowledge and skills in higher education to establish her practice on reservations. The future M.D. says discussions surrounding collaborative research for American Indian health inspire her, and one particular speaker unexpectedly piqued her interest.

“I never really thought about public health, but how he spoke and was like ‘We have to change public health now and IHS, and if we’re not going to change it, it’s going to stay forever and people are going to keep getting sicker. Nobody’s going to do anything about it.’ That really touched me, so now I’m looking into public health after my undergrad,” Rocke says.

The breadth of possibilities collaboration offers tribes and non-Native people is unimaginable. That’s according to educator Gene Thin Elk. He’s a Lakota man from Rosebud Sioux Tribe who says all cultures are returning to “indigeniety.” He says that may not be a real word to most people, but it is to Thin Elk.

“It’s this process of indigeniety I talk about,” Thin Elk says. “It’s that there are people actually returning back to common sense, returning back to teachings of the earth, the mother earth.”

“I think this is the time. It should have been the time a long time ago, when our first surgeons and our first MDs from Indian Country came out.” -Courtney Rocke

He says people recognize that embracing the lessons of the past is the way forward. Thin Elk presents at the conference, and his speech examines how tribal nations can be legitimate partners in research to identify health challenges and develop real solutions.

“Research is not new. They used to be able to look out and watch and observe and learn, and as the people observed and learned, to look at it and push in that direction so we can find the things that we need to find out. good, bad or indifferent, and we learn from those,” Thin Elk says.

Thin Elk says he’s been to 454 indigenous nations in the last three decades. His view is that teachings of American Indian culture can benefit people around the globe, but non-Native practices also prove helpful for Native communities. Thin Elk says that symbiosis is desirable – but not at the expense of sovereignty. He notes that protecting intellectual and physical property used in research, elements like genetic codes, blood and tissue samples, is a paramount value.

Russ Zephier from Pine Ridge is a committee member on the Oglala Sioux Tribe Research and Review Board.

“If there’s any individual, group, whatever wants to come onto the Pine Ridge reservation to do research in the health field or whatever it might be in diabetes or heart disease, whatever, they have to come through our board first to get our approval before they can do this,” Zephier says.

That means the Sioux people have standing to allow or disband research, that the committee has a right to know what studies researchers conduct, how they perform those trials, and what the experts find. Zephier says the tribes are open to more collaboration, but money is a significant hurdle in Native health care.

“They have something that they call contract health. If an individual is injured, if they can’t provide that service in Pine Ridge or any of the hospitals on the reservations, then they can send them out to Rapid City or Sioux Falls or wherever, but those funds are limited, so they go on priority stuff,” Zephier says. “If someone has real major issues, then they do it.”

Zephier says he hopes funding issues don’t stand in the way of research and discoveries in mental and physical Native health, particularly incidence of obesity and diabetes.

Native American educator Gene Thin Elk says that’s where the latest generation asserts itself. He says this segment of young people who’ve become educated in health practices possesses the resources for change which spreads up the societal hierarchy.

“We have this generation of elders and traditional healers who are saying, ‘Okay, we’re open to collaboration now and we’re more willing to do that,’ because we have those younger people who can articulate for us and watch out for those things, because they’ve been educated in the process,” Thin Elk says.

“I think this is the time. It should have been the time a long time ago, when our first surgeons and our first MDs from Indian Country came out,” Rocke says. “There’s more now, and it’s growing as time goes on. And we’re learning that everything we were told through assimilation and genocide isn’t true, that we can accomplish whatever we want.”

Pre-med student and Native American woman Courtney Rocke says the new research initiatives offer her cultures a chance at improving health community-wide. She says that’s because people are now actively working to change the situation instead of musing that somebody should.

Health systems, universities, and tribes from three states are part of the Collaborative Research Center for American Indian Health. Specific projects for research in Native American health are currently working through federal approval.

U.S. Chamber Sends Letter in Support of the “Native American Energy Act”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Executive Vice President for Government Affairs Bruce Josten sent a letter to members of the House Committee on Natural Resources in support of H.R. 1548, the “Native American Energy Act.”

As the letter states:

H.R. 1548 would be an important step in furthering efforts by Congress to encourage economic development throughout Indian Country.
It would do so by fostering tribal sovereignty and eliminating cumbersome Federal bureaucratic processes, which we believe to be a sure path to economic growth.
Furthermore, we believe the bill would make further headway towards American energy independence while it would also provide much needed employment to hard-stricken regions of the country.
The U.S. Chamber has recently established the Native American Enterprise Initiative (NAEI) in recognition of the revolution in entrepreneurship occurring amongst the nearly three million people of American Indian and Alaskan Native heritage. Drawing on the Chamber’s record of business advocacy, the NAEI seeks to remove legislative and regulatory roadblocks to their economic success, which H.R. 1548 would do.

DOJ report shows federal prosecutors tackling more criminal cases in Indian Country

The Bismarck Tribune, Tom Stromme/Associated Press - FILE--North Dakota’s U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon speaks during a press conference in Bismarck, N.D., in this May 28, 2013 file photo. — The Bismarck Tribune, Tom Stromme/Associated Press – FILE–North Dakota’s U.S. Attorney Tim Purdon speaks during a press conference in Bismarck, N.D., in this May 28, 2013 file photo.

Source: Washington Post, Associated Press

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — American Indian leaders who have criticized the federal government for years over the way authorities handled major crimes on reservations can mark progress with the release of newly tracked statistics from the U.S. Justice Department.

The number of Indian Country cases charged in federal court has increased by 54 percent between fiscal years 2009 and 2012, from 1,091 cases to 1,677 cases, according to a DOJ report released Thursday.

“They’ve taken their responsibility much more seriously than before,” said Brent Leonhard, an attorney with Umatilla tribe in Oregon.

The report marks the first look at government investigations and prosecutions on tribal lands. It comes as a result of the 2010 Tribal Law and Order Act, which requires the Justice Department to publicly release such figures.

Justice officials acknowledge that their work is far from done, but they say the numbers demonstrate the government’s commitment to combating violent crime on reservations where rates are higher than the national average.

Also, the report shows that prosecutors secured convictions in about two-thirds of nearly 6,000 reservation cases between calendar years 2011 and 2012. Of the 5,985 cases, about one-third were declined for prosecution.

Some others were resolved administratively or sent to another prosecuting authority and didn’t end up in federal court.

The numbers show “that we’re walking the talk at the Department of Justice,” said Tim Purdon, U.S. attorney in North Dakota.

Arizona, home to part of the nation’s largest American Indian reservation, had the highest number of total referrals with more than 2,000, followed by South Dakota with nearly 1,000 and Montana with more than 500.

Purdon leads a subcommittee that reports to Attorney General Eric Holder on American Indian issues. He said federal officials “want to improve public safety” and added that they are working to “remove those most dangerous predators, the most dangerous criminals from Indian Country.”

The federal government and tribes have concurrent jurisdiction in crimes where the suspect and victim are both American Indian, but federal prosecutions carry much stiffer penalties. Among recent U.S. government prosecutions:

— A man was found guilty of sexually abusing a teenager he met while working as a counselor at a summer camp on the Rocky Boy’s reservation in Montana. He was sentenced to more than three years in prison.

— A woman on the Spirit Lake Reservation in North Dakota was convicted of beating her 4-year-old son with a plastic clothes hanger. She was sentenced to seven years in prison.

— A man was sent to prison for 10 years for kicking the woman who was pregnant with his child on the Navajo Nation in Arizona. The unborn child died after suffering a skull fracture and other injuries.

Still, nearly 2,000 cases were declined for prosecution over the two-year span, a matter for which the DOJ has been criticized in the past.

“There are cases that are legitimately declined, and that is appropriate and expected,” said Leonhard, of the Umatilla tribe’s Office of Legal Counsel.

New Food Regulations Should Not Proceed Without Tribal Consultation

Raymond Foxworth, Indian Country Today Media Network

There is a thriving movement in Indian country focused on food sovereignty and increased control of local food systems. Like other assets in Indian country, Native food systems have been colonized, altered and, in some cases, destroyed. Today, many Native communities have taken an active role in reclaiming control of their local food system, taking a deeper examination of where food in their community comes from, looking at dollars that leave the reservation on food products, attempting to increase access to fresh and healthy foods, increase agricultural economic development activities for communities and individuals, and develop tribal policies that promote Native food sovereignty. Despite this thriving movement, however, a new federal law may potentially stall the progress of food systems work occurring in Indian country.

The Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law in January 2011 and is the most sweeping reform in U.S. food safety laws in more than 70 years. The Act will shift federal regulation from simply responding to food contamination to a more concentrated effort at prevention of food contamination in the U.S. food chain. No doubt this well-intentioned law is aimed at limiting instances of food-borne illnesses and disease and also is connected to domestic national security concerns.

For more than two years, the FDA has delayed implementation of this act, extending public comment on numerous occasions, with the most recent extension until September 16, 2013. While they have extended public comment, they have yet to engage or consult Native nations or communities.

The proposed federal regulations should raise concerns for Native nations that have developed agricultural enterprises and supportive infrastructure to support tribal individuals engaged in agricultural activities. The developing regulations of the law, albeit still vague and murky, signal increasing importance on labeling, traceability and food-handling standards, and also increased emphasis on potentially costly licensing and inspection. Language of the law also signals funding to increase the capacity of state regulatory agencies, but does not include capacity development language for tribes. Moreover, the law also calls for increased monitoring, inspection and regulation from state agencies, potentially infringing on tribal sovereignty for those Native nations engaged in agriculture production and distribution.

While the FDA has heard from some small scale farmers and producers, Indian Country has been virtually ignored in the development of these regulations. There is no doubt that food safety is an issue of concern for all Americans, including First Americans. But the creation of such sweeping federal legislation while bypassing normal channels of tribal consultation and input raises numerous concerns for tribes, organizations and individuals doing important work related to food sovereignty and food system control in Indian Country.

It is important that Native communities begin to examine the FSMA and analyze the potential implications and costs for Native communities, businesses and producers. Moreover, tribes should also begin to provide public comment on the Act and also demand tribal consultation.

To learn more about the FMSA and potential implications for Native communities and producers, you can access a recorded webinar hosted by First Nations Development Institute at FirstNations.org/fnk. To learn more about the FSMA, you can visit Fda.gov/FSMA.

Raymond Foxworth, Navajo, is Senior Program Officer at First Nations Development Institute. Raymond oversees the Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (NAFSI), a program that works with Native nations and organizations on issues related to increasing Native food system control.