articles-september 16

U.S. Seeks Looser Rules on Debt to Indians

HOPE YEN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Government lawyers asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to throw out a judge's order that the Interior Department follow strict guidelines in accounting for billions of dollars American Indians claim they are owed, saying the requirements are too burdensome.

At issue is a September 2003 order from U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth that sets a September 2007 deadline to account for the money and forbids use of statistical technique known as "sampling." That poses a problem for the department, which has said that a more comprehensive accounting plan would take 10 years and cost billions. full artilce

Judge: Indian rights violated in redistricting

Terry Woster
twoster@midco.net

published: 9/16/2004

PIERRE - The South Dakota Legislature violated the federal Voting Rights Act by packing Native Americans into a single legislative district in 2001, diluting their power to elect their own candidates, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier gave the Legislature and secretary of state 45 days to file a plan fixing the issue by changing Districts 26 and 27.
"The court concludes that under the totality of the circumstances, the South Dakota 2001 Plan resulted in unequal electoral opportunity for Indian voters," Schreier's decision said. "(The state) must afford Indians in both Districts 26 and 27 a realistic and fair opportunity to elect their preferred candidates." full article

Indian hospital faces criticism
By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer

RAPID CITY - Rapid City's American Indian community blasted Sioux San Hospital administrators, the Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen's Health Board and Aberdeen Area Indian Health Service officials about dwindling services at the Rapid City Indian hospital.

A 25-page budget packet and agenda for a Sioux San update and budget session on Tuesday in Rapid City were largely ignored as Sioux San clients questioned Aberdeen-area and local health administrators about lost representation on health boards, referrals to outside health agencies and generally lackluster care for the 13,000 Indians who live in Rapid City. full article

Samish have trust land once more, and plans for homes near Campbell Lake
By ELAINE WILSON

The Samish Indian Nation will hold trust lands for the first time in almost a century, as soon as the Bureau of Indian Affairs processes paperwork that will put almost 80 acres near Campbell Lake into trust for the tribe.

"This truly is a momentous day for the Samish. It's been 97 years since we've had trust land," said Samish Tribal Chairman Ken Hansen.

Tribal Council members and other well-wishers gathered on Thursday, Sept. 9, when Hansen and Samish Tribal Council Accountant Dee Branson signed papers to initiate the process. To put the land in trust, the title had to be signed over to the BIA - the same agency that dropped the tribe from the list of federally recognized tribes by mistake and fought its reinstatement for almost 30 years. The Samish Tribe was recognized again in 1996. full article

Tribe ready for tenth annual commemorative trek
By Terry Dillman Of the News-Times

History, tradition, and culture will merge this weekend as members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians make the trek to ancestral lands along the Rogue River.

Participants will take to the road for the tenth annual Run to the Rogue Thursday through Saturday, Sept. 16-18. Each year since 1994, tribal members have participated in a relay run/walk that commemorates the removal of Siletz tribal ancestors from their homelands in 1856 and traces in reverse their forced march northward to Siletz.

As a confederation of 27 bands originally ranging from northern California to Washington, the Siletz Tribe has a long and, at times, tragic history. full article

Giago column "racist and divisive"
Letter to the Editor

9/16/2004
It was with a great deal of interest that I read Mr. Giago's racist and
divisive article "The Root of All Evil As The Great Divider" where he
proclaims the Mohican and Pequot leaders to be African American. the
fact of the matter is, yes native people all over the country have
mixed with Europeans and Africans for centuries and this mix is true on
the East coast.

As the initial bands and nations to encounter the Europeans and give
sanctuary to runaway slaves, as well as the first recipients of
concentrated efforts in genocide (physically and administratively) I
would say that we have done an incredible job of holding onto our
traditions and identities. However, Mr. Giago insists on referring to
them as African Americans. Does he do this when talking about the
plethora of Lakota, Apache and Cheyenne folks who are (obviously) of
African Descent? Does he refer to the indians who look white as
European Americans? It seems obvious that Mr. Giago's year at Harvard
did little to expand his knowledge of eastern native history, and
instead chooses to look at us through white man's eyes and concepts of
race and identity. full article

Activists protest carabao culling at Navy base gate

By Natalie J. Quinata
Pacific Daily News;

About a dozen indigenous rights activists protested for the second day yesterday, despite reassurances from the Navy and the Department of Agriculture that the culling of carabaos has stopped.

But the Colonized Chamorro Coalition held yet another peaceful protest, this time in front of the Navy base's main gate, also to drive home a larger cause of advocating for Chamorro rights. The group led a protest Wednesday across the street from the agriculture department in Mangilao.

The protest, coordinated by Rufo Lujan, also reiterated the group's concerns about carabao culling on the Naval Magazine in Santa Rita, although Navy officials and agriculture department Director Paul Bassler have stated that no carabao has been killed for the past 10 months. The Navy and agriculture officials also have said they continue to promote their carabao adoption program through village mayors. Full article

Cordillerans declare autonomy
CPLA prepares for war vs. govt anew
By Florante Solmerin, Northern Luzon Bureau

TABUK, Kalinga—Convinced that the 1987 Mount Data sipat (peace pact) has failed and that the national government has reneged on its vow to liberate the Cordillera people, the Cordillera Bodong (nation) Administration (CBA) declared autonomy of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and ordered the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) to prepare for war.

“The Cordillera Bodong Administration [CBA] which is the revolutionary and tribal system of the government of the Cordillera Tribal Confederation [CTC] and its Cordillera People’s Liberation Army [CPLA], the modern organization of the Cordillera tribal warriors of glorious tradition, now assume the responsibility for self-government and home defense,” stated the “Declaration of Autonomy” that was penned on September 13 by ranking officials of the CBA together with CPLA territorial commanders, a copy of which was obtained by The Manila Times. full article

Do we Really Need to Relearn the Lessons of Japanese American Internment?
by Fred Korematsu
 
In 1942, I was arrested and convicted for being a Japanese American trying to live here in the Bay Area. The day after my arrest a newspaper headline declared, "Jap Spy Arrested in San Leandro."

Of course, I was no spy. The government never charged me with being a spy. I was a U.S. citizen born and raised in Oakland. I even tried to enlist in the Coast Guard (they didn't take me because of my race). But my citizenship and my loyalty did not matter to the federal government. On Feb. 19, 1942, anyone of Japanese heritage was ordered excluded from the West Coast. I was charged and convicted of being a Japanese American living in an area in which all people of my ancestry had been ordered to be interned. full article

US Gives Conflicting Accounts of Rocket Attack

By PATRICK COCKBURN

Baghdad.

The US sought yesterday to defend the two helicopter pilots who fired seven rockets into a crowd on Sunday killing 13 people and wounding 41, saying they had come under "well-aimed ground fire". This is different from the first statement by the US military claiming that they had opened fire with rockets in order to prevent a Bradley fighting vehicle hit by a bomb from being looted of arms and ammunition.

Col Jim McConville, the head of the First Cavalry Division's aviation brigade, said two helicopters armed with heavy machine guns had swooped over a crowd when they were shot at from near the Bradley. Both helicopters then attacked.

The US account of the incident in which Mazen al-Tomeizi, a Palestinian television producer working for al-Arabiya satellite channel was killed, was contradicted by the film taken by his cameraman at the moment the rocket struck. There is no sound of firing from the crowd in the moments before the helicopters attacked. full article