Native Voter Alerts And Action!
Submitted by Alyssa Macy
Political Director
Center For Civic Participation
Alyssa@ccp.org
1.Trust Reform: Paying the Debt
2. Oppose the Relocation of Dineh (Navajo) peoples
3. Save the Urban Indian Health Program
1. Trust Reform: Paying the Debt
The Associated Press reported on 3/1/2006, that estimates of the money owed for unpaid royalties on oil, gas, timber and other resources from Indian lands range from half a billion dollars to $27.5 billion. Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit over the federal government’s mismanagement of individual Indian Trust Accounts, applauded the continued effort of Congressional leaders to resolve the dispute through legislation.
The tribes' $27.5 billion estimate is based on the presumption that Indians are still owed about a fifth of the $100 billion to $170 billion in royalties they should have received, most of that accrued interest. The government's much lower figure is based on efforts to account for possible errors in collections, deposits and payments.
Selecting an amount for the final debt could ultimately be agreed upon rather than any technical, data-driven fix. During a joint Congressional hearing, the case mediator John Bickerman said that "Ultimately, this is an arbitrary solution. There is no right number.".
"This trust system was imposed on people, we didn't ask for it," said Mike Marchand, the first vice president of Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. "We're doing the best we can to work with the system."
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Based on the recent court successes, the plaintiffs are seeking an initial award to cover the attorney fees. Contact your senator and both of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairs and let them know that the U.S. government must cover the plaintiff fees, and that as a matter of government and trust responsibility doing anything otherwise is not acceptable.
Senators -www.senate.gov
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairs:
Chairman - John McCain (R-AZ)
241 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510
Phone 202-224-2235
FAX 202-228-2862
Vice Chairman -Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
322 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510
Phone 202-224-2551
FAX 202-224-11932.
2. Oppose Relocation of the Dineh
A bill is before Congress that sets a new timetable for the forced relocation of a number of Navajo families on Black Mesa. Senate bill S. 1003 "The Navajo Hopi Land Settlement Act Amendments of 2005" is now on the Senate Calendar and may be passed at anytime without debate or serious consideration unless the public acts now.
The passage of this bill would effectively devastate these traditional communities of Navajo, or Dineh, stripping them of their identity and way of life which is tied into the land itself.
This bill will permanently displace the indigenous families of Big Mountain and surrounding communities on Black Mesa from their ancestral lands and will relieve the federal government of any further responsibility for the relocated people. S. 1003, sponsored by Senator John McCain (R-AZ), comes as Peabody Coal, the world's largest coalcompany, is planning to expand its strip mining of American Indian lands, drawing down a high-quality residential aquifer in the process. Only one thing stands in Peabody's way: indigenous people live on the land belowwhich lies billions of tons of low-sulfur coal.
What you can do:
Contact your Senators and Senator McCain and express your opposition to S. 1003 and Dineh relocation. After passing the earlier relocation act, PL 93-531, in 1974, several Senators expressed misgivings about the law, but not having been informed about the law from constituents and others, it was too late.
Senators
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Representative
www.house.gov/writerep
3. Save the Urban Indian Health Program
President Bush's has proposed elimination of the Urban Indian Health Program within the Indian Health Service. Urban Indian health programs report that such a cut would result in an increase in the health care disparity for American Indians and Alaska Natives and the near annihilation of a body of medical and cultural knowledge addressing the unique cultural and medical needs of the urban Indian population held almost exclusively by these programs.
According to the 2000 Census, over 50% of Americans identifying themselves as of American Indian or Alaska Native heritage live in urban areas. Notably, the Urban Indian Health Program receives only 1% of IHS funding, stretching those dollars to achieve extraordinary results.
Major contentions of the Urban Clinics:
- Urban Indian Health Clinics provide unique and non-duplicable assistance to Urban Indians who face extraordinary barriers to accessing mainstream health care. What Urban Indian health programs offer cannot be effectively replaced by the HRSA’s Health Centers program.
- Urban Indian Health Programs Save Costs and Improve Medical Care by Getting Urban Indians to Seek Medical Attention Earlier. A delay in seeking treatment can easily result in a disease or condition reaching an advanced stage where treatment is more costly and the probability of survival or correction is lower.
- Urban Indian Health Programs Are Better Positioned to Identify Health Issues Particular to the Native Community. The Urban Indian programs are often able to diagnose more quickly and more accurately the needs of the Indian patient, as well as more readily point a patient to the appropriate medical resource to address his or her condition.
- Urban Indian Health Programs Overcome Cultural Barriers. Urban Indian programs not only enjoy the confidence of their clients, but also play a vital role in educating other health care providers in the community to the unique needs and cultural conditions of the urban Indian population.
- Urban Indian Programs Reduce Costs to Other Parts of the Indian Health Service System by Reducing Their Patient Load. Many urban Indians, if they cannot seek medical advice at an Urban Indian program, return to their reservation to access far costlier services.
Congress enshrined its commitment to urban Indians in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act where it provided: “that it is the policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special responsibility and legal obligation to the American Indian people, to meet the national goal of providing the highest possible health status to Indians and urban Indians and to provide all resources necessary to effect that policy.”25 U.S.C. Section 1602(a)(emphasis added).
What you can do:
Please urge Congress to reject the President's proposed cut in the 2007 Budget.
Senators
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Representative
www.house.gov/writerep
For more information:
NCUIH - www.ncuih.org
"We are all struggling to survive as nations, as communities . . .bringing our societies from the past, maintaining those connections intothe future, and being the bridge to the next seven generations"-- Margo Thunderbird, Native Elder
Family, Friends Remember Lori Piestewa
At a sunrise memorial on Thursday, March 23rd honoring Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman killed in combat and the first woman killed in the Iraq War, four former prisoners of war – Jessica Lynch, Joseph Hudson, Shoshana Johnson and Patrick Miller - stood below Piestewa Peak in Phoenix remembering the fallen soldier and their friend.
There was silence as the four special non-Native guests stood before those who had gathered at the ramada to remember Piestewa and all the other veterans who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Piestewa’s father and mother, Percy and Terry, faced the four and told them that we are all one and we thank God for bringing you here.
This ceremony marked the 3rd anniversary of the attack where 11 American soldiers were killed, six were captured and Piestewa died at a Iraqi hospital.. Lynch became a national hero after her dramatic rescue from the hospital by U.S Marines.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
Political Director
Center For Civic Participation
Alyssa@ccp.org
1.Trust Reform: Paying the Debt
2. Oppose the Relocation of Dineh (Navajo) peoples
3. Save the Urban Indian Health Program
1. Trust Reform: Paying the Debt
The Associated Press reported on 3/1/2006, that estimates of the money owed for unpaid royalties on oil, gas, timber and other resources from Indian lands range from half a billion dollars to $27.5 billion. Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit over the federal government’s mismanagement of individual Indian Trust Accounts, applauded the continued effort of Congressional leaders to resolve the dispute through legislation.
The tribes' $27.5 billion estimate is based on the presumption that Indians are still owed about a fifth of the $100 billion to $170 billion in royalties they should have received, most of that accrued interest. The government's much lower figure is based on efforts to account for possible errors in collections, deposits and payments.
Selecting an amount for the final debt could ultimately be agreed upon rather than any technical, data-driven fix. During a joint Congressional hearing, the case mediator John Bickerman said that "Ultimately, this is an arbitrary solution. There is no right number.".
"This trust system was imposed on people, we didn't ask for it," said Mike Marchand, the first vice president of Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. "We're doing the best we can to work with the system."
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Based on the recent court successes, the plaintiffs are seeking an initial award to cover the attorney fees. Contact your senator and both of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairs and let them know that the U.S. government must cover the plaintiff fees, and that as a matter of government and trust responsibility doing anything otherwise is not acceptable.
Senators -www.senate.gov
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairs:
Chairman - John McCain (R-AZ)
241 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510
Phone 202-224-2235
FAX 202-228-2862
Vice Chairman -Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
322 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510
Phone 202-224-2551
FAX 202-224-11932.
2. Oppose Relocation of the Dineh
A bill is before Congress that sets a new timetable for the forced relocation of a number of Navajo families on Black Mesa. Senate bill S. 1003 "The Navajo Hopi Land Settlement Act Amendments of 2005" is now on the Senate Calendar and may be passed at anytime without debate or serious consideration unless the public acts now.
The passage of this bill would effectively devastate these traditional communities of Navajo, or Dineh, stripping them of their identity and way of life which is tied into the land itself.
This bill will permanently displace the indigenous families of Big Mountain and surrounding communities on Black Mesa from their ancestral lands and will relieve the federal government of any further responsibility for the relocated people. S. 1003, sponsored by Senator John McCain (R-AZ), comes as Peabody Coal, the world's largest coalcompany, is planning to expand its strip mining of American Indian lands, drawing down a high-quality residential aquifer in the process. Only one thing stands in Peabody's way: indigenous people live on the land belowwhich lies billions of tons of low-sulfur coal.
What you can do:
Contact your Senators and Senator McCain and express your opposition to S. 1003 and Dineh relocation. After passing the earlier relocation act, PL 93-531, in 1974, several Senators expressed misgivings about the law, but not having been informed about the law from constituents and others, it was too late.
Senators
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Representative
www.house.gov/writerep
3. Save the Urban Indian Health Program
President Bush's has proposed elimination of the Urban Indian Health Program within the Indian Health Service. Urban Indian health programs report that such a cut would result in an increase in the health care disparity for American Indians and Alaska Natives and the near annihilation of a body of medical and cultural knowledge addressing the unique cultural and medical needs of the urban Indian population held almost exclusively by these programs.
According to the 2000 Census, over 50% of Americans identifying themselves as of American Indian or Alaska Native heritage live in urban areas. Notably, the Urban Indian Health Program receives only 1% of IHS funding, stretching those dollars to achieve extraordinary results.
Major contentions of the Urban Clinics:
- Urban Indian Health Clinics provide unique and non-duplicable assistance to Urban Indians who face extraordinary barriers to accessing mainstream health care. What Urban Indian health programs offer cannot be effectively replaced by the HRSA’s Health Centers program.
- Urban Indian Health Programs Save Costs and Improve Medical Care by Getting Urban Indians to Seek Medical Attention Earlier. A delay in seeking treatment can easily result in a disease or condition reaching an advanced stage where treatment is more costly and the probability of survival or correction is lower.
- Urban Indian Health Programs Are Better Positioned to Identify Health Issues Particular to the Native Community. The Urban Indian programs are often able to diagnose more quickly and more accurately the needs of the Indian patient, as well as more readily point a patient to the appropriate medical resource to address his or her condition.
- Urban Indian Health Programs Overcome Cultural Barriers. Urban Indian programs not only enjoy the confidence of their clients, but also play a vital role in educating other health care providers in the community to the unique needs and cultural conditions of the urban Indian population.
- Urban Indian Programs Reduce Costs to Other Parts of the Indian Health Service System by Reducing Their Patient Load. Many urban Indians, if they cannot seek medical advice at an Urban Indian program, return to their reservation to access far costlier services.
Congress enshrined its commitment to urban Indians in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act where it provided: “that it is the policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special responsibility and legal obligation to the American Indian people, to meet the national goal of providing the highest possible health status to Indians and urban Indians and to provide all resources necessary to effect that policy.”25 U.S.C. Section 1602(a)(emphasis added).
What you can do:
Please urge Congress to reject the President's proposed cut in the 2007 Budget.
Senators
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Representative
www.house.gov/writerep
For more information:
NCUIH - www.ncuih.org
"We are all struggling to survive as nations, as communities . . .bringing our societies from the past, maintaining those connections intothe future, and being the bridge to the next seven generations"-- Margo Thunderbird, Native Elder
Family, Friends Remember Lori Piestewa
At a sunrise memorial on Thursday, March 23rd honoring Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman killed in combat and the first woman killed in the Iraq War, four former prisoners of war – Jessica Lynch, Joseph Hudson, Shoshana Johnson and Patrick Miller - stood below Piestewa Peak in Phoenix remembering the fallen soldier and their friend.
There was silence as the four special non-Native guests stood before those who had gathered at the ramada to remember Piestewa and all the other veterans who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Piestewa’s father and mother, Percy and Terry, faced the four and told them that we are all one and we thank God for bringing you here.
This ceremony marked the 3rd anniversary of the attack where 11 American soldiers were killed, six were captured and Piestewa died at a Iraqi hospital.. Lynch became a national hero after her dramatic rescue from the hospital by U.S Marines.
NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.
posted by Bobbie Hart O'Neill @ 4:12 PM
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