Native Peoples Law Caucus

Judge says woman must be paid damages based on 1868 Sioux treaty

2009-04-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

April 29, 2009

Judge says woman must be paid damages based on 1868 Sioux treaty

Matthew Gruchow
mgruchow@argusleader.com

A Native American woman from Rapid City has won a historic ruling in federal court based on a century-old treaty between the U.S. government and the Oglala Sioux Tribe after she was sexually assaulted by a military recruiter.

The U.S. government will have to pay Lavetta Elk, formerly of Rapid City, nearly $600,000 in damages after she was sexually assaulted by Army recruiter Staff Sgt. Joseph Kopf in his car January 2003, according to court documents. Judge Francis Allegra based the ruling on a “bad men” provision in the April 29, 1868 treaty between the government and the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

That provision of the Fort Laramie Treaty “provides that if ‘bad men’ among the whites commit ‘any wrong’ upon the person or property of any Sioux, the United States will reimburse the injured person for the loss sustained,” according to court documents filed Wednesday.

The judgement against the U.S. government based on the treaty is unprecedented, said Adam Horowitz, Elk’s Miami-based lawyer. It also is a marked change in interpretation of Indian treaties which have historically been construed negatively, he said.

“Never before has this treaty been used to bring such a claim,” Horowitz said. “It creates precedent for Native Americans who belong to tribes with treaties like this in effect.”

Elk, who was 19-years-old at the time of the assault, now is married and lives with her family in California. She could not be reached for comment.

Read more in Thursday's Argus Leader.

ASU's New Indian Legal Research Portal

2009-03-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

ASU Law Library's new Indian Law Research Portal is at http://www.law.asu.edu/indianlawportal
The purpose of the portal is to provide subject materials that support the curriculum of the ASU College of Law Indian Legal Program. It is hoped that the portal will also benefit the Indian legal community by providing links to comprehensive, authoritative, free materials for their use. ASU subscription materials are available for use in the library. ASU Librarians have selected the best resources for you from the thousands available.The portal links to electronic and print resources and brings together in one place many legal and interdisciplinary resources that the University purchases for its students and faculty, including databases, indexes, full text electronic journals, authoritative websites, and print resources. The portal also provides some unique resources created specifically for American Indian law researchers, including a chart on Arizona Tribal Law Sources, compiled legislative histories for selected important laws related to Native Americans, and an historical timeline that links to primary legal documents
If you need assistance in using the portal, check out our guide on How to Use the Indian Law Portal (it is also available as a presentation) or Ask a Librarian for further assistance.

A Congressional Remedy for Oliphant?

2008-07-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

A Congressional Remedy for Oliphant?

Thirty years ago the Supreme Court ruled in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, 435 U.S. 191, 98 S.Ct. 1011, 55 L.Ed.2d 209 (1978) essentially that Native Nations had no jurisdiction over non-Indians who committed crimes on tribal land. Justice Rehnquist wrote the majority opinion which held that Indian tribal courts do not have inherent criminal jurisdiction to try and to punish non-Indians, and hence may not assume such jurisdiction unless specifically authorized to do so by Congress.

This decision arguably left a jurisdictional gap that in many cases has not been adequately filled. Yesterday, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held hearings on a bill designed to give Native American courts and law enforcement broader authority to combat violent and sex-related crimes. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and 12 co-sponsors introduced the Tribal Law and Order Act on Wednesday. Joining Dorgan as co-sponsors to this legislation are Senators Murkowski, Biden, Domenici, Baucus, Bingaman, Lieberman, Kyl, Johnson, Smith, Cantwell, Thune, Tester.

If passed, the bill would give American Indian courts authority to impose stricter sentences, expand the courts' jurisdiction to cover more non-Indian suspects, and provide for additional law enforcement training and federal cooperation in addressing the crimes.In a prepared statement for the hearing, National American Indian Court Judges Association Vice President Roman Duran commented:

"Tribal courts agonize over the very same issues state and federal courts confront in the criminal context, such as, assault and battery, predatory crimes, hate crimes, child sexual abuse, alcohol and substance abuse, gang violence, violence against women, and now methamphetamine along with the social ills that are left in its wake. These courts, however, while striving to address these complex issues with far fewer financial resources than their federal and state counterparts must also 'strive to respond competently and creatively to federal and state pressures coming from the outside, and to cultural values and imperatives from within.' ... Judicial training that addresses the present imperatives posed by the public safety crisis in Indian Country, while also being culturally sensitive, is essential for tribal courts to be effective in deterring crime in their communities."

Jurisdictional Variation in American Indian Criminal Justice: An Argument for Stronger Understanding and Better Methods

Amnesty International Report: MAZE OF INJUSTICE - The failure to protect Indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA

Native Peoples Law Caucus Meeting in Portland

2008-07-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hello NPLCers,
Don't forget to attend our annual meeting in Portland, Oregon. We will be meeting on Sunday, July 13, at 12noon - 1:15pm. We will be meeting in Room E143 at the OCC. Be sure to check out our table in the Exhibit Hall for a copy of this year's newsletter. See you all in Oregon!
Cheers,
Faye Hadley

Scary Dangerous Legislation

2008-04-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

My question to these legislators is - "Where are the Native Americans supposed to go?" Um, I believe that they were here first. Granted, Natives have been determined (by the Supreme Court in Morton v. Mancari) to be a political group not a racial group, but I'm sure that the Native American Law Students Association would be banned along with the Black Law Students Association and the Hispanic Law Students Association and the Asian American Student Association. This is scary stuff! Where in the world do these idiots get their notions of American values?
Cheers,
Faye Hadley

April 18, 2008

Arizona Proposal Would Prohibit Race-Based Student Groups
http://chronicle.com/news/index.php?id=4338&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

An Arizona legislative committee has passed an amendment to a routine homeland-security bill that would prohibit students at the state's public universities and community colleges from organizing groups based on race.

The amendment was approved by the Arizona House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. It still awaits a vote by the state's full House and Senate.

The amendment, introduced by State Rep. Russell K. Pearce, a Republican, would also allow state officials to withhold funds from public schools sponsoring activities that "denigrate American values and the teachings of Western civilization."

The proposal was added to Senate Bill 1108, a measure that has nothing to do with education but was intended to allow designees of mayors and police chiefs to serveon homeland-security advisory councils.

"This bill basically says, 'You're here. Adopt American values,'"State Rep. John Kavanagh, a Republican, told The Arizona Republic."'If you want a different culture, then fine, go back to that culture,'" he said.

—JJ Hermes

'Special master' may determine American Indian payouts

2008-04-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

Mon April 7, 2008
'Special master' may determine American Indian payouts
By Chris Casteel
Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — If a federal judge agrees that the government owes Indian trust account holders billions of dollars, he would then have to determine how the money should be allocated among nearly 300,000 people, their attorney said.

The American Indians suing the government over the way their accounts have been managed asked U.S. District Judge James Robertson to approve $58 billion in "relief" to the trust. According to the plaintiffs, the government benefited improperly by that amount over more than 100 years by not paying out all of the money collected for Indian trust account holders.

But the brief filed last month does not suggest how the money should be distributed. There are about 280,000 American Indians with government-run trust accounts. Most have land-based accounts; they own land and can collect money from leasing it for oil and gas drilling, grazing, mining or other uses.

There are an estimated 53,000 account holders in Oklahoma.

Dennis Gingold, one of the lead attorneys for the Indians in the case, which has been in federal court here for nearly 12 years, said last week, "The allocation issues are determined by the court, not by us."

Gingold said if Robertson decides the government owes money to trust account holders, he may then appoint an expert, or "special master," to make recommendations to him about distributing the money.

"Most courts don't want to be caught up in that kind of detail," Gingold said.

The Interior Department is expected to submit a response this week to the Indians' argument that the government should pay $58 billion in "equitable relief" to the trust account holders.

Complex trustAt a hearing in March, a government attorney argued to Robertson that the case should not involve any financial remedies because the suit filed in 1996 didn't seek damages. Robert E. Kirschman, a Justice Department attorney, said the plaintiffs sought reforms of the system and an accounting of their funds.

Robertson, the second district judge to preside over the case, ruled this year that an accurate accounting would be impossible.

The trust account system was set up in the late 19th century when millions of acres — estimates range from 40 million to 54 million — were allotted in parcels to individual Indians and the government promised to manage the land. Counting land owned by tribes, it is the biggest trust in the United States.

Gingold called it "the most complex trust in the United States" since it involves so many people and so many activities — such as oil and gas drilling — and said it's being run by people with no expertise in trust management.

Two U.S. district judges and the U.S. Court of Appeals here have ruled that the government failed to properly manage the trust.

Since ruling that an accounting was impossible, Robertson, anxious to resolve the controversial and highly contentious case in the next few months, has been looking for a remedy.

Gingold said last week, "Where an accounting is impossible, you're looking at real rough justice."

The government's own figures, he said, show that an average of 65 percent of the money collected for the Indians has been paid out. While holding on to the rest — more than $3 billion — the government has been able to lower its borrowing costs to finance its debt. Spread out over more than 100 years, that has allowed the government to benefit to the tune of $58 billion, the Indians say.

Gingold said he expected the government to argue that Robertson can't award damages against the federal government. But he said the Indians aren't asking for damages.

"We're seeking the benefit the government gained as a result of its breach of trust," Gingold said. "You're not allowed to benefit from your improper accounting."

The Indians are also asking that Robertson return all the land originally in the trust unless the government could prove it was sold at fair market value. Of the original acreage — much of which was in what is now Oklahoma — only about 10 million acres remain.

Gingold said he expects the judge to say that it wasn't practical to try to return land sold to third parties. But he said the judge could look at land that was owned by Indians that is now being used by the government.

Robertson has scheduled a trial for early June on the proposals for resolving the case.

Navajo Nation likely to lose Internet service

2008-04-06T15:58:00.000-07:00

Navajo Nation likely to lose Internet service

Confusion over billing, bid process means tribe's Internet provider not getting paid
Provider OnSat says it's already $4 million in the hole, so it's going to stop service
U.S. agency that administers service wants tribe to show it chose best provider
Many Navajos use tribe's Wi-Fi signal for work, education, officials say

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) -- The thousands of Navajo Nation residents who rely on the Internet to work, study and communicate across their 27,000-square-mile reservation will be out of luck Monday, if their service provider shuts access as planned.

Residents of the Navajo Nation are likely to be without Internet service starting Monday.

"It's going to be a sad day," said Ernest Franklin, director of the tribe's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.

A tribal audit last year revealed that Utah-based provider OnSat Network Communications Inc. may have double-billed the tribe, and it raised questions about how the tribe requested bids for the Internet contract.

Those discoveries led the Universal Service Administration Co., which administers the service under the Federal Communications Commission's E-rate program, to tell the tribe March 28 that it would withhold $2.1 million from OnSat.

Jim Fitting, an attorney for OnSat, said the delay in payment means it can't pay subcontractor SES Americom for satellite time.

"With USAC taking this particular position, it doesn't look like we're going to get paid in the foreseeable future," Fitting said. "We're already $4 million in the hole, so why should we continue doing it?"

Most evenings, when residents get off work, the reservation's chapter houses are closed, but their wireless signals remain live. So it's common to see residents with laptops sitting outside the chapter houses in cars, working away, a local official said.

Through the Washington, D.C.-based USAC, the FCC reimburses 85 percent to 90 percent of the costs for Internet service to 70 of the tribe's 110 chapter houses, which operate like city governments. The Navajo Nation covers the other 10 percent to 15 percent of the cost and offers service inside the chapter house and nearby through Wi-Fi.

The USAC told Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. in a March 28 letter that it is withholding money for OnSat for 2006-07 because of the possible overbilling and because the tribe didn't comply with federal rules that require it to select the most cost-effective service or equipment through a fair, open and competitive bidding process.

The USAC asked the tribe to prove OnSat provided the service it is billing for and has not overbilled.

OnSat won a preliminary injunction last July in Window Rock District Court barring the tribe's auditor from further disseminating the audit, said Fitting, the OnSat lawyer.

"We don't believe this audit is valid," Fitting said.

The Navajo Nation has until May to respond to USAC's letter, and the USAC can release full or partial funding or continue to withhold funding, said spokeswoman Laura Betancourt.
Tribal regulator Franklin said he has given the USAC documents detailing how OnSat was selected and has shown USAC personnel the service operating last year at sites they randomly selected.

"We proved that we are delivering the bandwidth and that we went through the proper procurement system," he said. "We had to dig up all these documents."

OnSat will continue to provide Internet services for the tribe's Division of Public Safety and the Office of the President and Vice President, offices whose satellite service isn't dependent on FCC funding, Fitting said.

Each Navajo chapter received a grant for computers and Internet access from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Native American Access to Technology Program in 2000. But it wasn't possible to establish dial-up access -- or create a wireless grid -- because the reservation largely lacked wired telephone service.

So the tribe's Division of Community Development contracted with OnSat in 2001 to provide satellite Internet service to the chapter houses -- even though satellite Internet technology is costly, slow and unreliable.

The tribe eventually would have stopped using OnSat, Franklin said, but it needed to sustain the satellite connections for at least two years until a wireless grid is completed on the reservation.
"It's not like it's not being used and it's just going to go away," he said. "It's used tremendously by the public. It's just sad that this has to happen."

Navajo President Shirley said reservation residents have come to rely on Internet access to improve their professional and educational lives.

"It would be a very sad day for the children and people of the Navajo Nation if the dark clouds descend, the lights go out, and access is denied to the chapter houses on the reservation, in large part, because USAC has failed to timely fund our application," Shirley said in a December letter to Mel Blackwell, vice president of USAC's Schools and Libraries Division.

Inscription Chapter House community services coordinator Victoria Bydone said she is bracing for a backlash from residents who typically park outside her chapter house in the evening.

"It's going to be unfortunate," she said. "It's not going to be very good."

Australia Apologizes to Aborigines

2008-02-12T15:52:00.000-08:00

Australia apologizes for Aborigines' pain

NEW: PM Kevin Rudd apologizes to thousands of Aborigines
NEW: Rudd: "For the indignity and degradation on a proud people we say sorry"
NEW: Apology included plans to improve education, healthcare for Aborgine children
"I hope this will be a new start -- a new way," says Mike Williams, an Aborigine

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- The Australian government apologized Wednesday for years of "mistreatment" that inflicted "profound grief, suffering and loss" on the country's Aboriginal people.

New Prime Minister Kevin Rudd read the apology Wednesday to Aborigines and the "Stolen Generations" of children who were taken from their families.

"To the mothers and fathers, to the brothers and sisters we say sorry. And for the indignity and degradation on a proud people and a proud culture we say sorry."

For 60 years, until 1970, the Australian government took mixed-race Aboriginal children from their families and put them in dormitories or industrial schools, claiming it was protecting them.

As a result of the policy, "stolen" children lost contact with their families and heritage, received poor education, lived in harsh conditions, and often endured abuse.

"There is nothing I can say today that will take away the pain... Words are not that powerful," Rudd said in the Australian Parliament. Watch Rudd apologize »

He said that the apology was the start of a new approach towards Aborigines which included helping them find their lost families, closing pay gaps and a 17-year difference in life expectancy between Aborigines and white Australians.

He said new policies would be introduced to provide better healthcare and education to Aborigines.

"The mood of the nation is for reconciliation now," Rudd said.

The policy was largely a secret until a decade ago, when a government inquiry and high-profile movie exposed it. That sparked a mass movement, supported by many white Australians, demanding an apology.

Former Prime Minister John Howard refused to offer an apology, saying the current generation should not be held accountable for past misdeeds. He instead issued a statement of regret.

Rudd, who defeated Howard last November, made an apology part of his election campaign. Howard's successor as leader of the Liberal Party, Brendan Nelson, supported the apology Wednesday.

"The apology ... is ... very much just the first step," said a spokeswoman for Jenny Macklin, the minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

"We have serious inequalities between indigenous and nonindigenous Australians. The apology is symbolic, but there's a lot of hard work to be done to reverse those inequalities."

Mary Farrell-Hooker counts herself among the Stolen Generations and is now a spokeswoman for an Aboriginal activist group. The Stolen Generation became Australia's controversy

She is of mixed race and was one of 12 children of alcoholic parents. Her father was in jail for raping her sister when her mother was hospitalized after a suicide attempt.

"The police came to the school and told me they were taking me to the hospital to see my mom," Farrell-Hooker told CNN. "We never went to the hospital."

Instead, Mary, then 12, was taken to a series of foster centers. At one of them, she said, she was repeatedly raped by a white "house father."

"He would actually come into the room and force himself onto me, rape me, molest me," she said.
"If I didn't do what he wanted, he would threaten to do the same to my sister and (threaten to) split us up."

Her parents came to find her, she said, but were repeatedly turned away. She tried to run away but said the police always returned her to her tormentor.

Aboriginal people have been waiting decades for an apology, and the Australian public appear to welcome the government's move, according to CNN's Jacqueline Head in Sydney.

Head said many Australians believe saying sorry is long overdue, but some doubts remain over what it will achieve in the long term -- whether it will help open doors for Aboriginal people seeking rights and compensation or whether it will fail to secure indigenous people a better future.

Some white Australians don't believe the apology will bring about reconciliation.

"I think Australians will be sorry for many generations for offering this apology now," said Piers Akerman, a conservative commentator.

He said Aboriginal compensation claims will now gain new vigor.

To symbolize what the government hopes will be a fresh approach to the future, a group of indigenous Australians performed a traditional welcome ceremony Tuesday of dancing and singing to mark the start of parliament's new session. As the traditional owners of the land which parliament sits on, the performers "welcomed" the lawmakers onto it.

"For thousands of years, our peoples have observed this protocol," said Matilda House, an Aboriginal elder at the ceremony. "It is a good and honest and decent and very human act to reach out to make sure everyone has a place and is welcome."

CNN's Jacqueline Head and Hugh Riminton contributed to this report

All About Kevin Rudd • John Howard

Full text of Australia's apology to Aborigines

Bush Seeks Cuts in Vital Indian Programs

2008-02-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

Bush Seeks to Cut Vital Indian Programs
By Kevin Abourezk

You couldn't hardly have scripted a more insulting response to last week's State of Indian Nations Address.

On Monday, President George W. Bush presented his budget for fiscal year 2009, which begins Oct. 1. In the final budget of his presidency, Bush proposed serious cuts in federal spending to many programs vital to Indian Country.

In his annual address last Thursday, President Joe Garcia of the National Congress of American Indians spoke about the need for economic development, health care reform, public safety funds and education reform for Indian Country.

"Through the eyes of a child, we see too much hurt, and regret, and loss," he said. "But through our own eyes, we can see opportunity, find answers and make lives better."

So it came as a slap in the face when Bush's budget Monday proposed cuts to many Indian programs, including:

• The Bureau of Indian Affairs education construction fund, which would be slashed by $177 million less than Congress appropriated for it this year, if Bush has his way. His budget sets aside just $140 million for that fund.

• The Indian Health Service's Urban Indian Health Program, which serves Indians in South Dakota communities like Sioux Falls and Pierre, would not be funded, and likely be eliminated, under Bush's proposed budget. Congress set aside $35 million for the program this fiscal year.

• The Indian Health Facilities fund, which would see a $22 million decrease under Bush's proposed budget and receive just $362 million for the next fiscal year. That account supports construction, repair and improvement of Indian Health Services facilities.

• Three Department of Justice programs that service Indian Country, which would be zeroed out under Bush's plan. Those programs provide for incarceration on tribal lands, tribal courts and grants for tribes. Congress provided $33 million for the programs for the current fiscal year.

• Two U.S. Department of Education programs that provide financial support to tribal colleges, universities and technical institutes would see none of the more than $30 million that Congress appropriated to them this fiscal year under Bush's budget.

• The Native American Housing Block Grants program, which Congress funded for $681 million this fiscal year, would see $54 million less under the president's budget.

Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., sounded the alarm Monday about Bush's proposed cuts to Indian programs.

"The President's budget ... ignores the treaty and trust responsibility of the federal government," the senator said in a news release. "I will use my seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee to work to restore these programs this year."

While Bush has never been considered a friend to Indian Country, it's difficult to recall a time when the president has so blatantly shown his disdain for Native people as he has in recent weeks.

Coupled with his threatened veto of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act last month, Bush's proposed budget cuts can be seen as nothing less than evidence of an Indian fighter displaying his true nature.

There was one project familiar to Indian people for which Bush proposed increased funding.
Under his budget, the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada would see an additional $108 million in funding for the next fiscal year. Long opposed by tribes, the dump's elevated status in the Bush budget plan further demonstrates the president's lack of sensitivity to tribal concerns.

On the bright side, the president's budget is likely to see drastic changes before both Democratic-controlled Houses of Congress pass it.

And senators and congressional leaders friendly to Indians, like Johnson, already have vowed to seek fewer cuts to much needed social programs.

Kevin Abourezk, Oglala Lakota, is a reporter and editor at the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star. He is a reznet assignment editor and teaches reporting at the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute.

Please, if you live in a state that is having a primary election today - go out and vote!!!

Important Victory in Cobell Litigation

2008-01-31T16:49:00.000-08:00

Judge calls Cobell historical accounting 'impossible'

Yesterday, Judge James Robertson ruled that a government accounting is impossible after hearing arguments in a ten day trial last next October. After 11 years of litigation in the courts and debate in Congress, Judge Robertson on Wednesday declared a historical accounting of the Indian trust "impossible." Robertson took over the case after Judge Royce Lamberth was removed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in July 2006, which said he had lost his objectivity.

The government had asked that Lamberth be replaced after the Judge Lamberth lambasted the Interior Department, writing in a decision that labelled the Department of Interior "is a dinosaur _ the morally and culturally oblivious hand-me-down of a disgracefully racist and imperialist government that should have been buried a century ago."

In his decision, Robertson detailed the extensive background of the case, saying that it would "stretch the limits of understatement" to say the case's history has been exhaustively chronicled in district court. He noted there are 3,504 entries on the case's docket and 10 circuit judges have been engaged in the case. His opinion will have the shorthand of "Cobell XX," he noted.

In a 165-page decision, Judge James Robertson said the Interior Department is "unable to perform an adequate accounting" of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust. The government "has not" and "cannot" cure its breach of trust to hundreds of thousands of Indian beneficiaries who have never been told how much money they are owed for the use of their land, he wrote."

Indeed, it is now clear that completion of the required accounting is an impossible task," said Robertson, who describe the breach of trust as "irreparable."

The upshot of this historic decision is to finally establish a powerful place from which Native plaintiffs may negotiate with the federal government who has been one of the most egregious foot-dragging defendents in the history of all litigation. The Cobell Lawsuit (AKA the Trust Fund Litigation) is a class action lawsuit filed in 1996 by Elouise Cobell on behalf of herself and thousands of other similarly situated Natives across America which asked that the federal government account for all outstanding Individual Indian Money funds that have been "held in trust" or otherwise (mis)managed under the guise of the "Trust Responsibility" established through treaties and other agreements with Indian people.

"This is a great day in Indian Country," Cobell said yesterday. "We've argued for over ten years that the government is unable to fulfill its duty to render an adequate historical accounting, much less redress the historical wrongs heaped upon the individual Indian trust beneficiaries."

"Instead of truthfully seeking to remedy the government's admitted historical mismanagement, the government elected to fight plaintiffs every step of the way," she said. "Judge Robertson has settled the debate in favor of plaintiffs and found that an adequate historical accounting is, in fact, impossible."

The government proposed paying $7 billion partly to settle the Cobell lawsuit in March 2007, but that was rejected by the plaintiffs, who estimate the government's liability could exceed $100 billion. The Interior Department estimates that it has spent $127 million on its accounting in the past five years.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said Wednesday that he hopes the judge's decision is a catalyst for a settlement."Ultimately the question is going to be for the administration and the Justice Department, are they willing to settle for all of these years of mismanagement," he said.

Judge Hits Gov't on Indian Money Delay (Washington Post, January 30, 2008)

For complete access to all of the documents filed in over eleven years of litigation, please visit: Indian Trust: Cobell v. Kempthorne

Pioneer Editorial: Judge gives the Dickens to Interior (Bemidji Pioneer, January 31, 2008)

New Oglala Sioux Nation Web Site Goes Online

2008-01-13T09:52:00.000-08:00

Hello NPLCers,
Here's a new web site that is definitely worth a look: www.oglala-sioux-tribe.org. Check it out and congratulations to the Oglala Sioux Nation for posting this excellent resource.
Cheers,
Faye Hadley

Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse break away from US

2007-12-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

Descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse break away from US
Thu Dec 20, 1:16 AM ET

The Lakota Indians, who gave the world legendary warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, have withdrawn from treaties with the United States, leaders said Wednesday.

"We are no longer citizens of the United States of America and all those who live in the five-state area that encompasses our country are free to join us," long-time Indian rights activist Russell Means told a handful of reporters and a delegation from the Bolivian embassy, gathered in a church in a run-down neighborhood of Washington for a news conference.

A delegation of Lakota leaders delivered a message to the State Department on Monday, announcing they were unilaterally withdrawing from treaties they signed with the federal government of the United States, some of them more than 150 years old.

They also visited the Bolivian, Chilean, South African and Venezuelan embassies, and will continue on their diplomatic mission and take it overseas in the coming weeks and months, they told the news conference.

Lakota country includes parts of the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

The new country would issue its own passports and driving licences, and living there would be tax-free -- provided residents renounce their US citizenship, Means said.

The treaties signed with the United States are merely "worthless words on worthless paper," the Lakota freedom activists say on their website.

The treaties have been "repeatedly violated in order to steal our culture, our land and our ability to maintain our way of life," the reborn freedom movement says.

Withdrawing from the treaties was entirely legal, Means said.

"This is according to the laws of the United States, specifically article six of the constitution," which states that treaties are the supreme law of the land, he said.

"It is also within the laws on treaties passed at the Vienna Convention and put into effect by the US and the rest of the international community in 1980. We are legally within our rights to be free and independent," said Means.

The Lakota relaunched their journey to freedom in 1974, when they drafted a declaration of continuing independence -- an overt play on the title of the United States' Declaration of Independence from England.

Thirty-three years have elapsed since then because "it takes critical mass to combat colonialism and we wanted to make sure that all our ducks were in a row," Means said.
One duck moved into place in September, when the United Nations adopted a non-binding declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples -- despite opposition from the United States, which said it clashed with its own laws.

"We have 33 treaties with the United States that they have not lived by. They continue to take our land, our water, our children," Phyllis Young, who helped organize the first international conference on indigenous rights in Geneva in 1977, told the news conference.

The US "annexation" of native American land has resulted in once proud tribes such as the Lakota becoming mere "facsimiles of white people," said Means.

Oppression at the hands of the US government has taken its toll on the Lakota, whose men have one of the shortest life expectancies -- less than 44 years -- in the world.

Lakota teen suicides are 150 percent above the norm for the United States; infant mortality is five times higher than the US average; and unemployment is rife, according to the Lakota freedom movement's website.

"Our people want to live, not just survive or crawl and be mascots," said Young.
"We are not trying to embarrass the United States. We are here to continue the struggle for our children and grandchildren," she said, predicting that the battle would not be won in her lifetime.

Navajo president published in law review

2007-12-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

For Immediate Release: December 5, 2007
Navajo Nation Office of the President & Vice President
www.opvp.org
Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr.'s, speech published in law review to commemorate founding of Jamestown, Virginia, 400 years ago
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.- Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., has been published in the Richmond Law Review's Jamestown Commemorative issue.
The President's speech, "Native America and the Rule of Law," presented during the University of Richmond School of Law's April 2007 Rule of Law Conference, was published as one of four articles from the four-day conference.
Also published in the same issue was "Global Issues and the Rule of Law" by Lord Chief Justice Nicholas Phillips of Worth Matravers, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales; "Human Rights in China and the Rule of Law" by Xu Wenli, Senior Fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University; and "Social Justice and the Law" by Elaine R. Jones, the former President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP's Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc
As part of a national effort to commemorate the founding of the first permanent English settlement, the University of Richmond School of Law hosts the Rule of Law Conference
Jamestown founded on May 14, 1607. It is located on Jamestown Island in the Virginia Colony. It is commonly regarded as the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts. It became the first capital of the colony for 92 years, until 1699, when it was relocated to Williamsburg.
TO READ THE FULL STORY CLICK HERE
TO READ THE LAW REVIEW CLICK HERE
Navajo Nation Office of the President
George Hardeen,
Communications Director
E-mail: pressoffice@opvp.org
Ofc: 928-871-7917 Cell: 928-309-8532

Native Authors Earn Recognition

2007-11-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

Excellent News - not only did Sherman Alexie win a National Book Award last night in New York City for his young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,
but also N. Scott Momaday is being honored at the White House today. See the following links to read more about both of these amazing Native authors.

2007 National Book Award Winner, Young People's Literature:
Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Little, Brown & Company

Thursday, November 15, 2007
Bush adding to poet's honors
By M.J. Van Deventer
http://newsok.com/article/3169308/?print=1
NewsOK.com - Oklahoma City,OK,USA

Oklahoma Centennial Poet Laureate N. Scott Momaday will receive the National Medal of Arts in a ceremony at the White House today. President Bush announced the 10 recipients for 2007 on Monday.

Momaday is the only Oklahoman and the only author to be honored. The recipients will be honored in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House this morning. President and Mrs. Laura Bush will present the awards.

The National Endowment for the Arts manages the National Medal of Arts nomination process and notified the recipients of their selection to receive the medal, the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence.

"We are delighted that N. Scott Momaday has received this distinguished honor for his contributions to American literature. His books, poetry and memoirs, which so lyrically celebrate Native American culture, have made a historic contribution to our national letters,” NEA chairman Dana Gioia said.

Established by Congress in 1984, the National Medal of Arts goes to recipients based on their contribution to the creation, growth and support of the arts in the United States.

"Scott is one of those rare individuals who belong to Oklahoma and to the world,” said Betty Price, former executive director of the Oklahoma Arts Council. She will attend the ceremony.

"His generous spirit touches our lives — both Indian and non-Indian. He is among the few honored ones who have been named an Official Oklahoma Cultural Treasure. His compositions allow us to see the world through his eyes and have enriched our national culture,” Price said.

Momaday is the third Oklahoman to receive the honor. Ballerina Maria Tallchief and sculptor Allan Houser were previous recipients.

Momaday is a Pulitzer Prize- wining writer who celebrates American Indian art and oral tradition in his novels and essays. A member of the Kiowa tribe, he also is a poet, painter, playwright, photographer, storyteller and professor of English.

Gov. Brad Henry named Momaday the Oklahoma Centennial State Poet Laureate on July 12 at an Oklahoma History Centerceremony.

Momaday, whose first name is Navarre, was born in Lawton on Feb. 27, 1934. Momaday learned the Navajo, Apache and Pueblo Indian cultures of the Southwest while growing up because both his mother and father taught on Indian reservations in Arizona and New Mexico.

After receiving his undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico, Momaday won a poetry fellowship to the creative writing program at Stanford University.

He earned a doctorate in English literature there in 1963, and took a teaching position at the University of California in Santa Barbara.

Of Momaday's books, "The Way To Rainy Mountain," written in 1969, and "The Names,” written in 1976, emphasize the importance of landscape and heritage. His collections of poetry include most recently, "In The Presence Of The Sun,” published in 1992, and "In The Bear's House,” published in 1999. A new collection of poetry is in progress.

Momaday divides his time between Oklahoma City and Santa Fe, N.M., where he is a senior scholar at the School for Advanced Research.

He is the founder and chairman of The Buffalo Trust, a nonprofit foundation for the preservation and restoration of Native American culture, a founding trustee of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington and a founding member of The Stewardship Council of the Autry Center for the American West in Los Angeles.

Vernon Bellecourt Passes

2007-10-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

R.I.P.Vernon Bellecourt

Date: Oct 13, 2007 10:46 PM
AIM Leader Vernon Bellecourt Dies at 75

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vernon Bellecourt, a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement who fought against the use of American Indian nicknames for sports teams, died Saturday his brother said. He was 75.

Bellecourt died at Abbott Northwestern Hospital of complications of pneumonia, according to Clyde Bellecourt, a founding member of the militant American Indian rights group. Just before he was put on the respirator, Vernon Bellecourt joked that the CIA had finally gotten him, his brother said.

"He was willing to put his butt on the line to draw attention to racism in sports," his brother said.

Vernon Bellecourt — whose Objibwe name WaBun-Inini means Man of Dawn — was a member of Minnesota's White Earth band and was an international spokesman for the AIM Grand Governing Council based in Minneapolis.Clyde Bellecourt helped found AIM as a militant group in 1968 and Vernon Bellecourt soon became involved, taking part in the 1973 occupation of the town of Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. He was present only briefly during the 71-day standoff with federal agents, serving mostly as a spokesman and fundraiser, Clyde Bellecourt said.

He was active in the campaign to free AIM activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a shootout in 1975 on the Pine Ridge reservation.He was also involved as a negotiator in AIM's 1972 occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs headquarters in Washington as part of the Trail of Broken Treaties caravan.In recent years, Bellecourt had been active in the fight against American Indian nicknames for sports teams as president of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media.

He was arrested in Cleveland during the 1997 World Series and again in 1998 during protests against the Cleveland Indians' mascot, Chief Wahoo. Charges were dropped the first time and he was never charged in the second case.After Wounded Knee, Vernon Bellecourt became a leader of AIM's work abroad, meeting with presidents such as Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, his brother said. He said they plan to list them as honorary pallbearers.

Clyde Bellecourt said his brother had been in Venezuela about four weeks ago to meet with President Hugo Chavez to discuss Chavez' program for providing heating assistance to American Indian tribes. He fell ill around the time of his return, Clyde Bellecourt said.

*PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FAMILY OF VERNON BELLECOURT*

Vernon Bellecourt (WaBun-Inini)

SERVICES:

MONDAY, October 15, 2007

PMALL NATIONS CHURCH

1515 East 23rd Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota

TUESDAY, October 16, 2007

Circle of Life School, White Earth, Minnesota

WEDNESDAY

Funeral, White Earth, Minnesota

For further information contact Clyde Bellecourt at 612-251-5836

Donations needed and accepted

2007-10-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

American Indian lawsuit sparked by Montana woman being heard
Oct 10, 2007 07:26 AM CDT
Reporting from KPAX in Missoula

Some 11 years ago a woman from Montana sued the federal Interior Department over money owed to Native Americans and over time that suit by Elouise Cobell of Browning became the largest class action ever filed against the U.S. government.

Come Wednesday Cobell will be in a federal courtroom in Washington, D.C. as her case goes to trial for the second time. At issue is whether or nit the government can provide an accounting for money that it held in trust for half a 500,000 people.

Cobell believes that if she wins it could be the key to ending the lawsuit.

"Then we can come up with an amount that is due Indian beneficiaries. Actually it's called the remedy. And then we would be able to come up with a rough justice figure about how much is owed. I think we're a huge step closer to people getting their money."

Cobell and her lawyers believe the government could owe Native Americans hundreds of billions of dollars in principal and interest dating back to the 1800's.

Two years ago Cobell's legal team offered to settle the case for $27 billion.

For a full list of documents that have been produced in this ongoing (since 1996) litigation:
see Indian Trust: Cobell v. Kempthorne

Tribal Defense Attorney Group

2007-10-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

The following message was forwarded to me by Lori Guevara, who serves as a Trustee for the Washington State Bar Association's Indian Law Section. She wanted me to get the word out about this group - so feel free to pass the following information on to whomever may be interested. Thank you.

We are pleased to announce the creation of a new national web page and listserve for attorneys, law students and lay advocates who represent native defendants in criminal proceedings before tribal courts! So far we have over 30 individuals participating from across the county ( i.e. Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Colorado, and Minnesota), which includes public defenders from such tribes as Swinomish, Lummi, Tulalip, Umatilla, Pascua Yaqui, Navajo, Gila River, Tohono O'odham, Southern Ute, Sault Ste Marie, Bay Mills, Mississippi Choctaw and attorneys from Indian legal aid offices that provide criminal representation in tribal courts. We have had discussions concerning such things as the ICRA, mental competency hearings, and funding sources. The web site is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tribaldefenseattorneys/. Because it is a "closed" group, it does required the approval of a moderator to join and have access. We would love to have all tribal public defenders and defense attorneys join us.
Thank you,
Cami

--
Cameron Ann Fraser
Michigan Indian Legal Services
814 S Garfield Avenue, Suite A
Traverse City, MI 49686
(231) 947-0122
cfraser@mils.org

Navajo president addresses crime issues at Native law enforcement conference

2007-10-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release: October 5, 2007
Navajo Nation Office of the President & Vice President
www.opvp.org
Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr., addresses Native crime before National Native American Law Enforcement Assoc. conference
MEMPHIS, Tenn.- Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., has credited the National Native American Law Enforcement Association with helping to elevate the profile of tribal law enforcement agencies and bring greater attention to the needs of tribes nationally.
The President made his comments Tuesday during the opening session of NNALEA's 15th annual training conference here.
Approximately 600 participants attended the conference. Also representing the Navajo Nation was Navajo Division of Public Safety Director Samson Cowboy, Navajo Police Chief Jim Benally and Navajo Nation Emergency Management Incident Commander Johnny Johnson.
NNALEA is a nonprofit organization to promote and foster mutual cooperation between American Indian Law Enforcement Officers/Agents/Personnel, their agencies, tribes, private industry and public.
"In this day and age, it seems every which way we turn our sovereignty as individuals, as families, as communities, as nations is tested by crime," President Shirley said.
TO READ THE FULL STORY CLICK HERE
Audio:
President Shirley 1
President Shirley 2
President Shirley 3
President Shirley 4
Navajo Nation Office of the President
George Hardeen,
Communications Director
E-mail: pressoffice@opvp.org
Ofc: 928-871-7917 Cell: 928-309-8532

A Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act

2007-10-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

BOULDER, CO-NARF is proud to announce the publication of its new "Practical Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act." The Guide, available both on the Internet and in print, is a powerful resource tool for tribal, state and federal entities involved in Indian child custody proceedings. Among the wealth of contents and resources is frequently asked questions with answers falling under 22 topics, including:
Application of the ICWA
Jurisdiction
Who has rights under the Act
Intervention
Role of Tribal Courts
Tribal State Agreements
Foster placement & removal
Resources

The Internet version, available at www.narf.org/icwa, also contains more than 1,000 full-text resources.

The ICWA Practical Guide Project was generously funded by the Administration for Native Americans, with supplemental funding by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and supported by NICWA as a key partner. NARF and an Advisory Board-made up of multi-disciplinary team consisting of members of tribal courts, tribal ICWA departments, state governments, Indian law practitioners, Native non-profit organizations, law firms and urban Indian centers-provided guidance on the comprehensive content of the guide. To order a copy of the Guide, print a free copy, or access the expanded Internet edition, please visit: www.narf.org/icwa.

Carrie Dann to appear live on ArizonaNativeNet

2007-09-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone elder and human rights activist to appear live on ArizonaNativeNet at 3:30 p.m. (PST), Friday, September 28, 2007

The University of Arizona Rogers College of Law Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy (IPLP) Program is pleased to announce an upcoming webcast on ArizonaNativeNet featuring Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone elder and human rights activist. Please tune in to mms://128.196.84.6/aznnlive at 3:30 p.m. (PST) on Friday, September 28, to hear Ms. Dann discuss current environmental threats to Western Shoshone land and the United States' ongoing violation of international law. You will need to have the Windows Media Player, www.windowsmediaplayer.com, to view this webcast. If you are not able to join us for the live webcast, an archive will be available for free at www.arizonanativenet.com.

For over forty years, Carrie Dann (Western Shoshone), along with her sister Mary (now deceased), has been at the forefront of the Western Shoshone Nation's struggle for land rights and sovereignty. They have led a political and legal battle to retain ancestral lands in Nevada, California, Idaho and Utah. Ms. Dann has squared off against international gold mining corporations, the nuclear industry and the U.S. government. The United Nations and the Organization of American States have supported the Dann sisters in their fight to protect Western Shoshone territory. For their courage and perseverance in asserting the rights of Indigenous peoples, the Dann sisters have received numerous awards including the 1993 Alternative Nobel Prize and the International Right Livelihood Award. Ms. Dann is also the subject of countless film documentaries, articles and books, and is considered a living legend in the struggles of Native Americans.

The actions of the United States against the Western Shoshone have been condemned by both the Organization of American States (OAS) Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The IPLP Program, through Professor S. James Anaya, provides legal representation to Carrie Dann before these international institutions. Ms. Dann continues to push for implementation of the Inter-American Commission's decision, appearing before the Commission in March 2007 to urge the United States to comply with the Commission's recommendations and conclusions. The Western Shoshone Defense Project, a non-governmental organization set up to support Carrie Dann and her struggle, is leading the advocacy efforts before CERD. To access the case files and other documents on the CERD and IACHR actions, go to: www.law.arizona.edu/depts/iplp/advocacy/shoshone/index.cfm?page=advoc

Federal Circuit Court Rules in Favor of Navajo Nation

2007-09-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

Court: Navajo Nation owed money for bungled lease
Friday, September 14, 2007

The Interior Department breached its trust to the Navajo Nation and must pay damages for mishandling a coal mining lease, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday. In a unanimous decision, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals said the "undisputed facts" prove Interior breached its fiduciary duties to the largest tribe in the country. Swayed by a lobbyist, the Reagan administration approved a coal mining lease for a less than a "reasonable" royalty rate, the three-judge panel concluded. That action violated common trust law, as well as a "network" of federal laws and regulations aimed at protecting the tribe's coal resources and keeping the tribe informed about its assets, the court said.

"Accordingly, this court holds that the nation has a cognizable money-mandating claim against the United States for the alleged breaches of trust and that the government breached its trust duties," Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa, a Reagan nominee, wrote in the 39-page ruling.

Barring further appeals, the Court of Federal Claims will now determine the damages the government must pay for mishandling the lease. The tribe claims it lost out on at least $600 million in royalties for one of the most valuable coal deposits in the U.S. But a trip to the Supreme Court is possible, a move that would delay resolution of one of the longest-running breach of trust cases in history. The Bush administration already took the Navajo case to the justices and won a ruling in 2003 that limited the tribe's legal maneuvers. In that 6-3 ruling, the high court said the two laws the tribe cited to make its case weren't enough to create a damages-enforceable trust relationship. The justices noted that the Indian Mineral Leasing Act and the Indian Mineral Development Act, in fact, give more power to tribes to exercise self-determination over their trust assets. The Navajo Nation, however, was able to revive its claim by citing other federal laws and regulations that put the government in control. This "network" included the Navajo-Hopi Rehabilitation Act, which the Federal Circuit said imposes a duty on the government to keep the tribe informed about its coal resources and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, which deals with coal mining and contains an Indian lands section. The Federal Circuit also said the government violated its "common law trust duties of care, candor, and loyalty" by approving a lease with a royalty rate that was more favorable to Peabody Coal than to the Navajo Nation. Peabody is the world's largest coal company and has been mining the reservation for decades. When the Bureau of Indian Affairs recommended the tribe receive a 20 percent royalty rate on its coal, Peabody hired a lobbyist who was a "a former aide and friend" to then-Interior Secretary Don Hodel, the court said. After a meeting that was kept secret from the tribe, Hodel told the BIA to stand down from the higher rate and to urge the tribe to negotiate with Peabody. "Facing severe economic pressure," the court said, the tribe was forced to agree to a lease with a 12.5 percent royalty rate. The difference cost the tribe at least $600 million in royalties, according to the lawsuit. Although the actions at issue took place more than 20 years ago, they remain fresh in the minds of many Navajo leaders, who feel betrayed by their trustee. Their feelings worsened when Hodel's previously unknown dealings with the lobbyist came to light through the course of the lawsuit. "I feel like they¹ve been doing an injustice to us all along, and right now we're beginning to call their hand," said President Joe Shirley Jr. Navajo leaders were further dismayed when two of the officials who were involved in the debacle secured top positions in the Bush administration. One was former deputy secretary J. Steven Griles, who oversaw the mining division that supported the higher royalty rate, and who was deposed under oath for the case. Griles, a former lobbyist for the coal industry, eventually pleaded guilty for lying to Congress about his dealings with another lobbyist. He will be serving 10 months in federal prison. The second official was Ross Swimmer, who currently serves as Special Trustee for American Indians and is responsible for ensuring the government meets its trust obligations. He approved the lease with the lower royalty rate without studying the effect it would have on the tribe. Swimmer was also deposed for the case but failed to recall doing so when asked about it during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and during a federal court trial for the Cobell trust fund case. He also told Native reporter Jodi Rave that he couldn't remember whether he was deposed. Separate from the suit against the government, the Navajo Nation is suing Peabody Coal, alleging a violation of federal racketeering laws over the collusion between the lobbyist and Interior. The case remains alive despite Peabody's numerous attempts to have it dismissed or delayed indefinitely. If the tribe wins the suit, it could be entitled to up to three times the damages for the lease. "It's very good to hear that the nation got what it had coming all this time, being neglected and not getting what it's supposed to get," said former President Kelsey Begaye, whose administration filed the Peabody suit.

Federal Circuit Decision:
Navajo Nation v. US (September 13, 2007)

Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Ginsburg] | Dissent [Souter]

Related Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Souter] | Concurrence [Ginsburg] | Dissent [Thomas]

Relevant Links:
Navajo Nation - http://www.navajo.org
Peabody Energy - http://www.peabodyenergy.com

UN Declaration of Indigenous Rights

2007-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a landmark declaration outlining the rights of the world’s estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlawing discrimination against them – a move that followed more than two decades of debate. Unfortunately, there were four votes against this declaration and they are not coincidentally countries with sizeable Indigenous populations. The four countries that voted against the Declaration are Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. What reasons were given by these four nations for casting their votes against a declaration that was supported by 143 Member states?

Well, here is the rather lame excuse from Ambassador John McNee of Canada gave for voting against this land mark Declaration: Canada "had 'significant concerns' about the language in the document." He went on to remark that "the provisions on lands, territories and resources 'are overly broad, unclear and capable of a wide variety of interpretations' and could put into question matters that have been settled by treaty."

Mr. McNee also said that "the provisions on the need for States to obtain free, prior and informed consent before it can act on matters affecting indigenous peoples were unduly restrictive, and he also expressed concern that the Declaration negotiation process over the past year had not been 'open, inclusive or transparent.'" It is more that a little bit ironic that the four countries that have among them over 4 million Indigenous people voted against a non-binding declaration whose primary purpose is the "promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all."

The Declaration does however set a high standard for the treatment of Indigenous people and serves to reinforce "both individual and collective rights; cultural rights and identity; rights to education, health, employment, language, and others. It outlaws discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them. It also ensures their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic, social and cultural development. The Declaration explicitly encourages harmonious and cooperative relations between States and Indigenous Peoples."

Here's a link to the full-text of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Comments welcome!

Herb Yazzie appointed permanent Chief Justice of the Navajo Nation

2007-09-12T14:08:00.001-07:00

For Immediate Release: September 10, 2007
Navajo Nation Office of the President & Vice President
www.opvp.org
Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr., pleased to re-appoint Navajo Chief Justice Herb Yazzie as permanent chief justice
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.- Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., has written to the Honorable Navajo Nation Supreme Court Chief Justice Herb Yazzie to inform him of his re-appointment as permanent chief justice.
"It is a pleasure and honor to appoint you to serve as Chief Justice of the Navajo Nation Supreme Court," the President wrote on Sept. 5. "Your permanent appointment shall become effective upon confirmation by the Navajo Nation Council."
The President said the confirmation of Chief Justice Yazzie could occur during the fall session of the Council.
The Chief Justice is the second Navajo lawyer to serve in the top positions of all three branches of Navajo government after the late Navajo Nation Chief Justice Claudeen Bates-Arthur.
TO READ THE FULL STORY CLICK HERE
Navajo Nation Office of the President
George Hardeen,
Communications Director
E-mail: pressoffice@opvp.org
Ofc: 928-871-7917 Cell: 928-309-8532

Another Blog of Possible Interest

2007-09-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hello NPLCers (& Others),

Just thought some of you all might be interested in reading some posts that I wrote a few weeks ago as I attended INDN's List Campaign Camp and Prez on the Rez.
Please visit the following link to read about an amazing week of Natives and Progressive politics:

http://emailstosms.blogspot.com/2007/08/reflections-on-incredible-week.html#links

http://emailstosms.blogspot.com/2007/08/campaign-camp-prez-on-rez.html#links

http://emailstosms.blogspot.com/2007/08/campaign-camp-day-three.html#links

http://emailstosms.blogspot.com/2007/08/campaign-camp-day-two.html#links

http://emailstosms.blogspot.com/2007/08/campaign-camp-day-one.html#links

Thanks for visiting my blog and if you'd like to check out other posts, please visit:
http://emailstosms.blogspot.com/

Thanks again!
Cheers,
Faye Hadley

The Huntington Free Library Native American Collection

2007-09-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

From the Library's web site: "The Huntington Free Library's Native American Collection was transferred to Cornell University on June 15, 2004 from its former home in the Bronx, New York. One of the largest collections of books and manuscripts of its kind, the Huntington collection contains outstanding materials documenting the history, culture, languages, and arts of the native tribes of both North and South America. Contemporary politics and human rights issues are also important components of the collection."

http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/HFL.html

Navajo President praises water rights report

2007-08-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release: August 27, 2007
Navajo Nation Office of the President & Vice President
www.opvp.org
Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr., praises Arizona Republic for special report spotlighting Navajo water rights, needs
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.- On Sunday and Monday, the Arizona Republic published a two-part, 4,500-word special report titled "Navajo Nation Crisis" about the Navajo Nation's efforts to assert its water rights to bring drinking water to its people.
The paper reports that, if approved by Congress, Navajo settlements would result in the largest Indian water rights settlement in history.
Written by the Republic's water and environment reporter, Shaun McKinnon,the stories begin with a description of an elderly Navajo grandmother who ran out of water and had to endure a weekend without any.
"Ethel Whitehair ran out of water again over the weekend, emptied every bucket and pot, drained the barrels lined up outside her front door," Mr.McKinnon wrote. "The community well was closed until Monday."
"Water from a well at a nearby windmill could supply the sheep, but it was untreated and made Whitehair's skin itch. At another windmill down the road,vandals had torn the cover off the storage tank. Deep inside, a car battery steeped in the soupy dregs, the surface stirred by the bloated bodies of three dead crows.
TO READ THE FULL STORY CLICK HERE
Navajo Nation Office of the President
George Hardeen,
Communications Director
E-mail: pressoffice@opvp.org
Ofc: 928-871-7917 Cell: 928-309-8532