Tag: Quinault Indian Nation

Quinault Nation Harvests Razor Clams for Canoe Journey

Quinault Pride Seafood employees collect and weigh razor clams from tribal members during a commercial razor clam dig near Ocean CityD. Preston
Quinault Pride Seafood employees collect and weigh razor clams from tribal members during a commercial razor clam dig near Ocean City
D. Preston

By D. Preston

As featured in the NWIFC News

One of the iconic foods of the Quinault Indian Nation will be available to share with the thousands of people who will gather in Taholah for the 2013 Canoe Journey from Aug. 1 to Aug. 6.Tribal members collected razor clams in several ceremonial digs. The clams were frozen so they can be served during the week-long Canoe Journey celebration.

“I can’t imagine hosting the Canoe Journey without razor clams,” said Lisa Sampson Eastman, who has been digging clams since she was 11 years old. “My sister Sabrina and I learned to dig clams from our dad, Charles Sampson.”

Historically, Quinault tribal members used pliable yew sticks to tease the evasive mollusk from its hole in the sand. Today, tribal members use clam shovels to efficiently harvest for ceremonial, subsistence and commercial uses. As co-manager of the resource, the nation also shares surveying duties with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, protecting razor clams for the future. Surveys of the clam populations are under way now, following the harvest season.

Quinault Pride Seafood purchases the clams from tribal members, providing income for many who are not yet working in seasonal jobs that begin in early summer. The clams are sold for public consumption and bait for fishermen.

Big News from the White House

Source: Quinault Nation

TAHOLAH, WA (6/26/13)–“This is an exciting development in advancing a new era of U.S.-Tribal relations,” exclaimed Fawn Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation and the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians regarding today’s establishment of the White House Council on Native American Affairs by President Barack Obama.

President Obama established the council in an executive order with the stated objective of promoting and sustaining “prosperous and resilient Native American tribal governments” and in recognition of a government-to-government relationship with tribes throughout the country. “This relationship is set forth in the Constitution of the United States, treaties, statutes, Executive Orders, administrative rules and regulations, and judicial decisions. Honoring these relationships and respecting the sovereignty of tribal nations is critical to advancing tribal self-determination and prosperity,” says the executive order.

“This executive order comes from a President who has taken the time to listen to the American Indian people. It is a document that recognizes our history and struggles and acknowledges our interests and objectives. On behalf of the Native people and the tribes I represent in my elected capacities, I thank him for his foresight and the intent of this very important decision,” said Sharp.          The White House Council on Native American Affairs is primarily coordination. But it could benefit Tribes by addressing the chronic problem of tribal government and tribal program underfunding which had ranged from 50 to 80 percent, said Sharp.

Sharp pointed out that the council is to coordinate its policy development through the Domestic Policy Council which tends to create yet another layer of a federal policy process and was more direct through inter-agency collaboration. There does not appear to be a mechanism for direct tribal government engagement with the Council on “tribal specific” policy and the establishment of effective inter-governmental negotiation mechanisms. The new Council appears to be solely concerned with federal funds, but may not address the conveyance of funds through states to Indian governments. Finally, President Sharp pointed out that the new council does not appear to be concerned with urban and rural Indians and Alaskan Natives and Hawaiian natives now constituting more than half of the total native population in the United States.

The Executive Order goes on to say, “As we work together to forge a brighter future for all Americans, we cannot ignore a history of mistreatment and destructive policies that have hurt tribal communities. The United States seeks to continue restoring and healing relations with Native Americans and to strengthen its partnership with tribal governments. Our more recent history demonstrates that tribal self-determination — the ability of tribal governments to determine how to build and sustain their own communities — is necessary for successful and prospering communities. We further recognize that restoring tribal lands through appropriate means helps foster tribal self-determination.”

The Executive Order establishes a national policy to ensure that the Federal Government engages in a true and lasting government-to-government relationship with federally recognized tribes in a more coordinated and effective manner, including by better carrying out its trust responsibilities. This policy is established as a means of promoting and sustaining prosperous and resilient tribal communities. “Greater engagement and meaningful consultation with tribes is of paramount importance in developing any policies affecting tribal nations,” it reads.

Among other policy direction, the order asserts that it is the policy of the United States to promote the development of prosperous and resilient tribal communities by promoting sustainable economic development, greater access to health care, improvement of tribal justice systems, greater educational opportunities and improved protection of tribal lands, natural resources and culture.

The chair of the new council will be the Secretary of Interior and members will include the heads of numerous federal executive departments, agencies and offices. The order lays out funding sources, meeting frequency, processes for making recommendations to the President and various other objectives. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has stated she will announce further details related to council as soon as tomorrow.

The formation of a White House Council on Native American Affairs recalls the Johnson and Nixon Administrations’ Council on Indian Opportunity (1968-1974) which was chaired by the Vice President of the United States, said Sharp. Like the Johnson and Nixon Council the new White House Council is intended to coordinate federal programs and the use of resources to be delivered to tribal communities. Unlike the earlier Council, the new 31 member Council does not have representatives of tribal governments. Unlike the earlier National Council, the White House Council does not have actual broader policy powers since the earlier body actually conducted meetings around the country, had the Vice President as the Chair and included officials from both the US government and tribal governments.

“It is true that the tribes have struggled tremendously through the decades in this country. But from generation to generation we have also proved our resiliency. We have endured much, and even today there are many who fail to understand us. We do appreciate President Obama’s intents and actions. But as we proceed in the improvement of the federal/tribal government-to-government relationship, it is important that tribal leadership be included in the planning and implementation process at every opportunity,” said Sharp.

“The bottom line is that it is no small thing that the president is doing here, just as it is no small thing that he has embraced Indian Country*. Again, I thank him for his wisdom, his heart and his foresight,” said Sharp.

*In May 2008, Barack Obama became the first American presidential candidate to visit the reservation of the Crow Nation. During his trip he was adopted by Hartford (now deceased) and Mary Black Eagle as a member of the nation. Hartford chose the name “Awe Kooda Bilaxpak Kuxshish,” or ”One Who Helps People Throughout This Land” to formally give to Obama, and the President has had the wisdom and sensitivity to embrace his adopted name and family with dignity and respect.
 
White House Council on Native American Affairs Executive Order in full:
 

President Sharp Reacts to Federal IFMAT Report

Quinault Indian Nation

TAHOLAH, WA (6/17/13)— An independent report delivered to the Intertribal Timber Council last week concluded that federal funding levels are lower today than in 1993, leading to reduced tribal staffing levels and disregarding the principles of federal law, according to Fawn Sharp, President of the Quinault Indian Nation and Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians.

The report, the third made since 1993 by the Indian Forest Management Assessment Team (IFMAT), was delivered to the annual ITC symposium hosted by the Menoninee Tribe and Stockbridge Munsee Community in Wisconsin last Tuesday.  The report concluded that federal funding and, consequently, tribal forest staffing levels are far below those of comparable public and private programs. Achieving equitable funding for tribal programs was a primary purpose for the establishment of the Indian Forest Management Assessment Team and the passage of its enabling legislation, the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act (NIFRMA) in 1990.  Still, tribes nationwide have assumed greater leadership roles through self-determination and self-governance.

“The accomplishments of Indian tribes in improving management of our forests, fish, wildlife, and water have truly been impressive.  Tribes have some of the best scientists and natural resource management programs in the country. We have proven that tribal forests can be managed to provide Indian and non-Indian jobs, support tribal and overall economic development, and sustain our fish, wildlife, water, foods, medicines, and cultures. Healthy forests mean healthy waters, air, animals and people. On the Quinault Reservation, we manage for sustainability of the environment, the economy, and our cultures. As stewards of the land, we take our responsibilities seriously, knowing that today’s decisions will affect our people for seven generations,” said Sharp.

The IFMAT Report does, however, show that our forest resources and forestry programs are suffering from the lack of equitable federal funding.  The potential for tribal management to serve as models for sustainable forestry cannot be fulfilled unless the enormous funding disparity between tribal and non-tribal programs is corrected, according to Sharp.

“We build the best teams and the best programs because we know we must care for the land and natural resources to honor Mother Earth. We have always been here and will always be here. We invest in our natural resource programs for the long run—not just for ourselves, but for our children, and the generations to come, tribal and non-tribal alike. We are appalled that the federal government continues to fail to provide the resources needed to fulfill its fiduciary trust responsibilities for management of Indian forests.  The independent, blue ribbon panel of experts of IFMAT concluded that an additional $100 million and 800 staff positions are needed nationwide to meet even minimum requirements.  The federal government promised to help us protect these lands in nation-to-nation treaties.  In the 1970’s, the Quinault people were forced to sue the United States for mismanagement of our forests.  We know the country faces serious fiscal challenges, but that’s not an acceptable excuse.  We are only asking the United States to keep its word and fulfill its treaty and trust obligations,” said Sharp

When NIFRMA passed in 1990, it called for IFMAT reports every 10 years to be delivered to Congress and the Administration. The law declared (1) that the United States has a trust responsibility toward Indian forest lands and (2) that federal investment in Indian forest management is significantly below the level of investment in Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management or private forest land management (25 USC Sec. 3111).

The IFMAT reports are national in scope and focus on: Management practices and funding levels for Indian forest land compared with federal and private forest lands; the health and productivity of Indian forest lands; staffing patterns of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal forestry organizations; timber sale administration procedures, including accountability for proceeds; the potential for reducing BIA rules and regulations consistent with federal trust responsibility; the adequacy of Indian forest land management plans, including their ability to meet tribal needs and priorities; the feasibility of establishing minimum standards for measuring the adequacy of BIA forestry programs in fulfilling trust responsibility and recommendations of reforms and increased funding levels.

In the 49 states outside of Alaska, there are 18 million acres of Indian forests and woodlands on 294 separate Indian reservations. Of this land, nearly 10 million acres are considered commercial woodlands or timberlands. The states of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Minnesota and Wisconsin have the greatest concentration of tribal forests.  IFMAT visited the Quinault, Makah, Tulalip, Yakama, Colville, and Spokane tribes as part of the third assessment of the status of Indian forests and forestry.

 

Tribe closes Lake Quinault to non-tribal fishing

Source: KOMO 4 News

TAHOLAH, Wash. (AP) – The Quinault Indian Nation is closing Lake Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula to non-tribal fishing until further notice.

President Fawn Sharp said Tuesday the emergency measure is aimed at protecting water quality in the tribe-owned lake.

She said tribal leaders are concerned leaky septic tanks owned by non-tribal residents in the area may have caused untreated sewage to get into the lake. The tribe has detected pollution in some areas of the lake and plans to conduct more water quality tests.

Sharp said the tribe plans to monitor any fish caught by tribal members. She said they are also worried about reports of illegal fishing by non-tribal members and docks being built illegally on the lake.

The lake is located on the southwestern edge of Olympic National Park.

Crab research by QIN to shed light on low oxygen events

Is low oxygen in the ocean near Taholah killing off young crab each year, threatening the future of the fishery?

The Quinault Indian Nation proposes to research how low oxygen events may be affecting Dungeness crab populations in their traditional fishing waters. Dungeness crab is important culturally and economically to most western Washington treaty Indian tribes.
The Quinault Indian Nation proposes to research how low oxygen events may be affecting Dungeness crab populations in their traditional fishing waters. Dungeness crab is important culturally and economically to most western Washington treaty Indian tribes.

Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

That’s the question Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) wants to help answer using special equipment to measure the extent and depth of low oxygen events.

QIN has requested a grant to pay for instruments that would measure dissolved oxygen from inside crab pots. “It’s a great way to get them distributed as part of a fisherman’s normal crab pot routine and they can retrieve them once a month for us so we can download the information,” said Joe Schumacker, marine scientist for QIN.

“Right now, all we know is that dead fish and crab have washed up on our shores in varying degrees in the summer for the past few years” Schumacker said. “We have no idea how far the low oxygen zones extend or how long they last. We see a result and we need to define the problem.” There is also no oral history among Quinault people for consecutive seasons of this sort of die-off.

Dungeness crab is a delicacy served in many fine restaurants and a signature Washington state seafood. Not only has it been important to tribes culturally for millennia, it forms the mainstay of the fishing season for many tribal members on the coast and in Puget Sound.

“Crab has always been a cultural resource for us,” said Ed Johnstone, QIN fisheries and ocean policy representative. “Ever since we have been on these shores, the abundant crab and razor clams sustained us along with the greens of the sea.”

QIN has only one measurement of the oxygen problem from a fish kill in 2006 when a QIN fishermen was pulling his cab pots in a line running north and south. “As he headed north toward Taholah, he was getting live crab in his pots until he crossed the Moclips River. Then it was pot after pot of dead crabs until just past the Quinault River. That’s about eight miles,” said Schumacker. One of the things QIN would like to know is if oxygen-poor water is settling over young crabs who take refuge in nearshore areas. “Maybe we’re losing whole age classes sometimes. We just don’t know,” said Schumacker.

The instruments QIN would use cost $8,500 each including annual maintenance that includes calibration. Six devices would allow QIN to minimally cover the nearshore part of their traditional fishing area. The Nation would also test less expensive dissolved oxygen meters that have traditionally been used in freshwater streams, but would need field testing side-by-side with the more expensive meters to evaluate performance in saltwater and ocean depths.

Low oxygen water naturally upwells from deep in the ocean and gets oxygenated at the surface. “Somehow this mixing isn’t occurring during some summers,” Schumacker said. “These events tend to happen when the winds and the ocean go calm.

“There is a lot of research interest in the low oxygen events along the Pacific Coast, but this affects treaty-protected resources and we need a great deal more information for our area to understand the extent of the problem and how we can adaptively manage around it,” Schumacker said.

President of Quinault Nation to attend VAWA signing ceremony

Reported by Indianz.com

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Fawn Sharp, the president of the Quinault Nation of Washington, will attend the signing of S.47, a bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, on Thursday. Sharp was invited to join President Barack Obama for the ceremony. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” she said.

The bill includes landmark provisions that recognize tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians who commit domestic violence offenses. “The very moment that President Obama signs that bill will be one that should be memorialized in history as a turning point in Indian/non-Indian relations in this country,” Sharp said.

American Indian and Alaska Native women suffer from the highest rates of violence, according to government statistics. Most of the perpetrators are non-Indian.

“Our tribal police will be able to arrest, and our tribal courts will be [able] to legally prosecute those who have literally gotten away with murder and rape for years,” Sharp said.

“This is a time to celebrate a hard-earned victory. We are so grateful for those who have helped make this happen—the tribal leaders as well as the congressional leaders and, of course, the President. He stood up for this, strongly and consistently, and I am honored to be able to join him at the signing,” Sharp concluded.

The ceremony is due to take place at the main Interior Department building on Thursday afternoon.