Bush '08 Budget Devastating To Indian Country

Submitted by Eleanore Fanire
No funding For Navajo- Gallup Planning, Indian Country, Jails Or Courts

By Kathy Helms – khelms@frontiernet.net - Dine Bureau
WINDOW ROCK -- Zero dollars, zero cents. That's exactly how much funding is proposed in the Bush Administration's $2.9 trillion FY2008 budget for Navajo-Gallup pipeline planning, tribal jails and courts. Bush's budget plan slashes $1.25 billion from Department of Justice-funded tribal programs, eliminating money for tribal jails, grants, and courts.

Members of the Navajo Nation Public Safety Committee went to Washington to lobby for increased funding for Navajo public safety/judicial complexes. Now, it appears the committee will have to lobby extremely har to receive any funding at all.

In addition, no funding was requested for studies associated with the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, according to U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici's office. In FY2006, the project received $479,000.

Chris Gallegos of Domenici's office said, "This is generally yearly funding provided to continue study of the project. I cannot comment as to why the administration did not request funding for FY2008."

Responding to a question about the Navajo-Gallup pipeline during his weekly radio address, Domenici, R-N.M., vowed his support after initially appearing to struggle to remember the name of the water project, which was supplied by the reporter.

"We're going to have a lot of fun in the future here talking about the monies we're going to be working on to get the big payment paid for, so we can get the water in the ... Navajo-Gallup water project," he said.

"I'm going to devote more time and make it a dedication of mine to see if we can get that done. It's going to be hard, but I've decided that it's time to put my muscle behind it and see what we can do."

Domenici said U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has not yet introduced the legislation for the water supply project. "He has an awful lot on his plate. We're going to get that done. I'm not in any way critical. We've been working very hard and working together,which I like very, very much."

Bingaman's office said last week that the senator plans to introduce the legislation in March.

Deep Cuts!
While the president's budget requests funding for some important Indian Country issues, Bingaman said, overall it makes deep cuts to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The budget contains a $16 million increase in funding for the BIA's Safe Indian Communities Initiative, aimed at assisting law enforcement in their efforts to combat methamphetamine abuse. However, if cuts in the DOJ budget are approved, programs to fund jails on tribal lands would be slashed to $0 in FYO8, down from $12 million in FY07.

The Indian Country grant program would be cut to $0 from $4 million in FY07. The tribal courts initiative also would receive zilch, down from $7 million in FY07.

Bush's budget would eliminate the Urban Indian Health program, a $33 million cut, and the Housing Improvement Program, a $19 million cut. Also included is a $24 million cut for Health Care Facilities Construction, a $17.5 million cut for Education Construction, and a $5 million cut for Post-Secondary Scholarships.

"While I welcome the additional resources to combat meth in Indian Country and appreciate the Administration's efforts to raise awareness of this important issue, I am deeply concerned about how other cuts in the budget will adversely impact the ability of tribes to fight crime," Bingaman said.

Domenici said the budget plan is cause for serious concern in New Mexico, as it also means significant reductions for weapons work carried out at Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories.

Critical Reception
U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said, "Implementing the President's budget would prove devastating to the American people. Included are substantial cuts to health care programs, education and the environment which would help fund more of the same Bush tax policies that benefit only those who need it the least," Udall said.

"I am disappointed that he has proposed a plan to once again sell off public lands, to cut the Interior budget by nearly $700 million, and to slash dollars for health care programs -- particularly in rural areas.

"Although the President and I do not have many shared priorities and his new budget request is not surprising, I am nonetheless disappointed in many of the budget items he has outlined for cuts," Udall said.

A senior member of the Senate Budget Committee, Domenici predicted critical congressional review of the budget plan which will be the basis for a FY2008 Budget Resolution and subsequent appropriations measures to fund the government next year.

"The President's FY2008 budget poses some serious concerns, and Congress will have to consider it carefully. It underscores the increasing pressure on our federal budget, and it will not get better easily," he said.

"I'm not happy about this budget's recommendations for the national labs, education and health care," Domenici said. "It is clear that we will have to work hard to make up funding where we think it is most needed."

"I like the budget's overall commitment to basic science and energy independence in the Energy Department budget plan," Domenici said. "But I am seriously concerned with proposed cuts to DOE weapons programs. Under this plan, we face tight budgets for our weapons labs."

DOE proposes spending $1.27 billion at Sandia National Laboratory and $1.83 billion at Los Alamos National Laboratory. That amounts to cuts of about 6 percent for Los Alamos and about 8 percent for Sandia.

Follow The Money!
Comparing the FY2007 budget requests to the FY2008 requests, Domenici said LANL, will see a $61 million cut in advanced computing and a $47 million reduction in Directed Stockpile Work. It would, however, receive a $46 million increase for security upgrades and a $50 million increase, to $140 million, for environmental cleanup activities at Los Alamos. Sandia would see a $42 million cut in advanced computing and $26 million less for Directed Stockpile Work.

The baseline budget for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad is $219.7 million, a $6.4 million increase from the FY2007 budget request. The funding increase will support an increased number of shipments from around the complex, including remote-handled transuranic waste, according to Domenici's office.

At the same time that the Department of Energy plans to increase shipments of high-level radioactive waste through New Mexico to the WIPP, the Bush budget proposes less funding for transportation and only a $1.5 million increase for community support.

The WIPP budget includes $133 million for operations, $32 million for central characterization, $27 million for transportation (down $5.8 million)and $27 million for community support, such as the WIPP Emergency Services Liaison proposed to coordinate community education efforts on the Navajo Nation regarding the waste shipments.

Domenici said the Department of Defense budget recommends $3.7 billion for 20 new F-22s in FY2008, which will replace the F-117 Stealth Fighters that will be retired from Holloman Air Force Base in the new fiscal year.

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Inuit Accuse U.S. Of Destroying Way Of Life With Global Warming

Submitted by WSDP

By Andrew Buncombe, Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk
A delegation of Inuit is to travel to Washington DC to provide first-hand testimony of how global warming is destroying their way of life and to accuse the Bush administration of undermining their human rights.

The delegation, representing Inuit peoples from the US, Canada, Russia and Greenland, will argue that the US's energy policies and its position as the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases is having a devastating effect on their communities. Melting sea ice, rising seas and the impact on the animals they rely on for food threatens their existence.

The Inuit's efforts to force the US to act are part of an unprecedented attempt to link climate change to international human rights laws. They will argue before the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights (ICHR) that the US's behaviour puts it in breach of its obligations.
"The impacts of climate change, caused by acts and omissions by the US, violate the Inuit's fundamental human rights protected by the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and other international instruments," the Inuit argued in a letter to the ICHR.

"Because Inuit culture is inseparable from the condition of their physical surroundings, the widespread environmental upheaval resulting from climate change violates the Inuit's right to practice and enjoy the benefits of their culture."

Indigenous peoples from the Arctic have long argued that global warming was having a dramatic effect on their environment. In 2002, villagers in the remote Alaskan island community of Shishmaref voted to relocate to the mainland because rising sea levels threatened to overwhelm their community.

Data has been gathered to support their claims and scientists have recorded how polar regions are the most vulnerable to climate change. The most recent international Arctic Climate Impact Assessment suggested global warming would see temperatures in the Arctic rise by 4-7C over the next 100 years - about twice the previous average estimated increase.

The delegation to Washington will be led by Sheila Watt-Cloutier, the former chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference who was last week nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking yesterday from Iqaluit in Nunavut, Canada, she said: "For us in the Arctic our entire culture depends on the cold. The problem of climate change is what this is all about. At the same time we will be bringing in lawyers to talk about the link between climate change and human rights."

The invitation for the Inuit to give testimony before the ICHR next month comes just days after the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provided a dire assessment about the threat of climate change. In the Arctic, scientists have estimated that summer sea ice could completely disappear by 2040.

MartinWagner, of the California-based Earthjustice, said: "There can be no question that global warming is a serious threat to human rights in the Arctic and around the world. The ICHR plays an important role in interpreting and defending human rights, and we are encouraged that it has decided to consider the question of global warming."

The ICHR, an arm of the Organisation of American States, can issue findings, recommendations and rulings. It can also refer cases to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica, though the US has always made clear it does not consider itself bound by the court's rulings.

Canada To Monitor Pollution Drifting Westward From China
Submitted by Ann VanWert
By Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun

Canadian scientists are mounting an intercontinental effort to measure China's impact on North America's air quality, proposing to create a network of air-testing stations around the Pacific Rim, including one atop Whistler Mountain. The deadly effects of air pollution on China's own environment are well known.

Cities are often shrouded in toxic clouds poisoning the land and water, and experts believe as many as 400,000 Chinese die prematurely every year due to the country's industrial pollution.

An unknown question, however, is what impact China's economic boom is having on North America when the country's industrial pollution drifts eastward across the Pacific Ocean, reaching the West Coast and later the even more fragile Canadian Arctic.

While recent attention has focused on China's contribution to global warming, scientists are equally concerned about the increasing amounts of trace pollutants and heavy metals that are increasingly being detected on the West Coast.

"Basically, we are lacking a lot of data on this subject," said Hayley Hung, an Environment Canada scientist who is leading the proposal to build an intercontinental testing system.

"We're talking about having stations that would be located in Canada, China, Vietnam, Japan, Russia and the United States to see the impact of pollution in Asia on North America. It's never been done before."

China's clouds of industrial pollution are becoming so large and dense that some are visible to satellites, which have tracked their paths across the Pacific. Last April, for example, a massive cloud from northern China was monitored as it moved across South Korea, the Pacific and eventually reached North America's northwest coast.

Up to now, Canadian scientists have been unable to monitor such events in real time because they lack a system that can take weekly air samples.

The proposed network, which will cost $350,000 to set up, will enable them to collect samples regularly. It will also allow them to measure both the concentrations and the actual intercontinental journey of heavy metals, such as mercury and the so-called "dirty dozen" chemical compounds spewing out of China's coal-powered smokestacks.

The proposal is expected to be approved in the next few weeks by the International Polar Year, a global effort to spur climatic and pollution research. It is expected to be operating within months.

It will also enable scientists to measure any increase in pollutants in the Arctic and identify to what degree a booming Asia is affecting that region. "The Asian Pacific region presently represents the world's fastest growing economy," say the scientists in their proposal.

"It is, thus, important to obtain an estimate of the relative impact of chemical release from this growing giant on the sensitive ecosystem and the health of the people in the Arctic region.

"With limited information on emission and usage of these chemicals in the Asian Pacific region, it has been very difficult, if not impossible, to determine the relative contribution and impact of pollutant release from this region versus those originated from the Eurasian and North American continents in general to the vulnerable Arctic."

What also makes the project notable is that the Chinese government is supporting it. The Harbin Institute of Technology, a leading university in China's industrial northeast, will pay half the costs and share research.

"Remember, China is a major agricultural country," said Hung. "They want to have accurate data about their pollution sources, too. It's important for them to know the extent of their pollution problem."

Another benefit of the multinational air-sampling system is that it will help establish an independent database on pollution sources, said Kevin Telmer, a geochemist at the University of Victoria involved in UN efforts to reduce mercury emissions in developing nations.
mcernetig@png.canwest.com

NAJA ALERTS AND OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

NAJA Deadlines Extended To March 9th
NAJA has extended the deadline for the high school print camp, Project Phoenix, and the college journalism workshops, the Student Projects to March 9.

Students interested in Project Phoenix need to fill out an application, and submit two letters of recommendation and an essay with their application.

Students interested in the Student Projects need to fill out an application, submit a resume and three work samples, among other requirements.To download an application and for more information, go to: <http://www.naja.com/programs/students/>
or call the NAJA office at 605-677-5282.

Submissions For Spring Newsletter - Deadline March 9th
Dear NAJA member,
NAJA is seeking submissions for the spring 2007 newsletter. We're looking for news about members for "Our Members on the Move Section" -- promotions, new jobs, fellowships and internships. We're also seeking news from the individual chapters. And please feel free to submit articles on improving writing and research or cultivating sources to help other journalists.

Stories must be 800 words or less. The deadline is March 9. Also, we're looking for photos from the 22nd Annual Convention in Tulsa for NAJA's annual report. Credit will be given for photos we use.

E-mail submissions to editor@naja.com and place "NAJA Newsletter" or "Annual Report photos" in the subject line.

Utah State University Pow Wow
Submitted by Debra Sillik, American Indian C of C- Nevada

Utah State University 34th Annual “Echoing Traditional Ways” Pow Wow, March 2nd and 3rd..
USU Nelson Fieldhouse,
700 North 800 East
Logan, Utah

Emcee, Alex O Shephard, Southern Paiute/Dine, Cedar City, UT
Arena Director, Nino Reyos, Northern Ute, Laguna Pueblo, Salt lake City, UT
Host Drum, Red Spirit, Fort Duchesne, UT
Spititual Leader, Lacee A. Harris, Northen Paiute, Fort Duchesne, UT
Head Man, James Reeder, Wichita, Logan, UT
Head Woman, Shirley Reeder, Kiowa. Logan, UT

Ulali Trio To Present March 7th Show
Ulali, First Nations Women Acapella Trio will present their show on the campus of Utah State University on March 7.

The concert is sponsored by the USU Women's Center, Multicultural Student Services, Native American Student Council and others. A group of tickets will also be made available for sale at the USU Pow Wow.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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NAJA ALERTS - Every Tuesday when available.

Feds Cancel Divine Strake Explosion

Submitted by WSDP
ASSOCIATED PRESS (online@rgj.com)
February 22, 2007

WASHINGTON - The government said Thursday it is canceling Divine Strake, a controversial non-nuclear explosion in the Nevada desert.

"I have become convinced that it's time to look at alternative methods that obviate the need for this type of large-scale test," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Director James Tegnelia said in a statement.

Divine Strake was planned as a 700-ton test of the nation's ability to defeat underground facilities that produce and store weapons of mass destruction.
But it prompted a lawsuit and widespread opposition in Utah and Nevada, where critics feared it would kick up radioactive material from decades-old experiments.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 22, 2007
Cancellation Of Proposed Divine Strake Experiment

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) has decided to cancel the proposed Divine Strake experiment. “I have become convinced that it’s time to look at alternative methods that obviate the need for this type of large-scale test,” said DTRA Director Dr. James A. Tegnelia. This decision was not based on any technical information that indicates the test would produce harm to workers, the general public, or the environment.

Divine Strake was a scientific experiment designed to significantly advance the nation’s ability to defeat underground facilities that produce and store weapons of mass destruction. The experiment would have entailed detonating a large amount of a common blasting agent over an existing tunnel at the Nevada Test Site. It was to be the largest in a series of experiments that relied on the specific geology at that location.

DTRA will attempt to develop alternative scientific means for obtaining the important data that this experiment would have provided. Such methods to assess capabilities to defeat underground facilities do not currently exist. The agency will develop advanced analysis techniques and conduct confirmatory experiments at a much smaller scale to assist in developing new capabilities to defeat underground facilities.

There is a national consensus on the need to improve conventional capabilities to defeat underground targets that pose a threat to the United States. “DTRA remains committed to help develop non-nuclear means to defeat underground targets. I am optimistic that we will succeed,” said Tegnelia.

Feds Pull Plug On Desert Blast-
'Oh My Gosh! We Matter'!
Submitted by Eleanore Fanire, Mohave Downwinders

By Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune-
WASHINGTON - Divine Strake was promised to blow a hole in the earth and create a mushroom cloud over the Nevada desert.

Instead, it blew open old wounds for Utahns who had been promised Cold War atomic tests would be safe, and the hurt, betrayal and rage that poured out left the Pentagon with little choice but to announce Thursday it was scrapping the test.

Michelle Thomas spent the day in tears. "I've cried all day long. I just can't yet grasp it," said Thomas, a St. George Downwinder who opposed Divine Strake. She has had cancer and suffers an immune deficiency she blames on exposure to radiation.

"I just felt such an overwhelming relief," she said. "You just think, 'Oh my gosh. We matter.' "

The memories of Utahns helped fuel an unprecedented flood of resistance to the test, the ignition of 700 tons of explosives planned for the Nevada Test Site from which radiation spread from atomic tests into Utah and other states downwind.

"This wasn't run-of-the-mill public opposition. This was a heartfelt and broad-based public expression, so much so that it would have been impossible for anyone to neglect," said Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. "I can't remember the last time we had an issue that had this kind of unified public response. . . . Memories are very much alive and well."

More than 500 people turned out to public meetings by federal agencies in Salt Lake City and St. George. More than 10,000 submitted comments regarding the test, the overwhelming majority in opposition. Hundreds more attended public hearings sponsored by the governor, and the Utah Legislature and members of the state's congressional delegation joined the opposition.
"I was amazed at the emotional reaction," said Robert Hager, a Reno lawyer who sued to stop the test on behalf of Nevada Indian tribes and Downwinders. "It brought back the suffering that they experienced in the '50s and '60s like it was happening today and it was incredible to me that these agencies were totally insensitive."

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which was to conduct the blast, assured in repeated studies that the test was safe. If wind did carry radioactive material off the test site, it would be in such small doses that it would not pose a risk to the public.

For Utahns, it was a familiar refrain, and one not to be trusted. "How do you convince people who have been through the hell of the radiation exposure cases that they can rely on the government? I'm not sure you could," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who wrote legislation years ago to compensate Downwinders for their illnesses.

To date, the government has paid 10,696 Downwinder claims.

Expert witnesses in Hager's lawsuit said, if the test went as planned, it could create a new generation of Downwinders. The blast, they said, would spread radioactive debris over hundreds, possibly thousands of miles, causing birth defects and cancer cases in the downwind population.

Had it not been for an off-hand comment in a briefing of reporters, the test may very well have gone ahead without fanfare last June.

"I don't want to sound glib here but it is the first time in Nevada that you'll see a mushroom cloud over Las Vegas since we stopped testing nuclear weapons," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Director James Tegnelia said last March.

When he made the comment, the environmental studies had been done, approval for the test had been given and plans were going ahead to prepare the site for the test. But the "mushroom cloud" image resonated enough to make it into brief stories about the meeting, and the opposition started to build.

Early planning documents also said the test was intended to help "improve the warfighter's confidence in selecting the smallest proper nuclear yield necessary to destroy underground facilities while minimizing collateral damage." The Pentagon later said the reference to nuclear yield was in error, and it would help with conventional weaponry as well.

"From the time last spring when I first learned about the so-called 'Divine Strake' experiment, I have opposed it based on both its purpose and its potential ill effects," said Rep. Jim Matheson, whose own father, former Gov. Scott Matheson, died from cancer as a result of the atomic testing. "The prospect of even a non-nuclear 'mushroom cloud' over the Nevada Test Site brings back bitter memories of how the government lied when it said that there was no danger."

Today, a massive hole, about 32-feet in diameter and 36-feet deep sits on Area 16, where it was waiting to be filled with 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. It's the same explosive combination that blew apart the Oklahoma City federal building, only Divine Strake would have been 280 times larger.

''We really do live in a democracy, where people get to say, to our government, 'No,' '' said Thomas. ''In this case, on this day, the system the way we learned it in school, worked.''

Divine Strake Timeline -
* December 2005: National Nuclear Security Administration finds Divine Strake could be done safely.
* January 2006: NNSA approves test.
* March 2006: Defense Threat Reduction Agency Director James Tegnelia says Divine Strake would create a mushroom cloud over the test site for the first time since the U.S. ceased nuclear tests.
* April 2006: Rep. Jim Matheson and Sen. Orrin Hatch express concerns about the safety of the test and the Winnemucca Indian Colony and a group of Downwinders sue to stop the test.
* June 9, 2006: NNSA withdraws its authorization, pending further environmental studies.
* Dec. 22, 2006: NNSA's revised environmental analysis finds that tiny amounts of radiation could be carried off the site, but didn't pose a health risk. * Jan. 9-11: Public meetings held to provide information.
* Feb. 7: Public comment period on test ends.
* Thursday: DTRA announces cancellation of Divine Strake.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

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NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS - Every Tuesday when available.

Mashpee Wampanoag - A Nation Reborn!

Submitted by Christine Yellowwoman Yazzie
http://krystynmedia.blogspot.com

(BREAKING NEWS: Divine Strake Cancelled!! Effective Feb 22nd , 2007)

From Cape Cod Times – February 16th, ‘07
By Sean Gonsalves
MASHPEE - They've been called everything from the tribe that met the Mayflower to the ''Praying Indians.'' Some have even questioned whether the 1,461 member of the tribe were ''real'' Indians, as if the Wampanoag had been reduced to mere myth.

The U.S. government yesterday declared the Mashpee Wampanoag survivors worthy of recognition as a sovereign Indian nation after four centuries of confronting colonization, criticism and assimilation, and then being slowly squeezed off a rapidly developing corner of Cape Cod.

The long-anticipated, though somewhat anti-climactic decision granting the Mashpee tribe a government-to-government relationship with the United States came from Interior Department Associate Deputy Secretary Jim Cason at 5:09 p.m.

''We give glory to God,'' tribe member Ramona Grant said moments after Cason's call. ''Some of us are still praying Indians.''

Federal recognition is not only a matter of pride for the tribe but also the key to accessing millions of dollars in federal aid for housing, health care and education funds.

On March 31 last year, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or BIA, ruled in a 187-page preliminary report that the Mashpee tribe had met all seven of the government's criteria for federal acknowledgment. No challenges to the BIA's findings were submitted since.

Cason's voice, which delivered the verdict a month earlier than initially expected, could be heard on speaker phone as tribal council officers, tribe members and a crush of news cameras and photographers focused intently and silently on Tribal Council Chairman Glenn Marshall seated next to Chief Vernon ''Silent Drum'' Lopez.

''Based on the evidence available, I have determined the Mashpee exist as an Indian tribe,'' Cason said, as the room erupted in shouts of joy.

Though the atmosphere inside the tribal council office was calm and upbeat before Cason called - in contrast to the nervous excitement of last year's preliminary decision - still tears of joy and sighs of relief came with the official word.

With tears streaming down his face, Marshall told Cason of his appreciation for the BIA staff who reviewed the tribe's petition. And though he said, ''We haven't always seen eye-to-eye,'' Marshall invited BIA staff to the tribe's July powwow.

As Marshall took congratulatory phone calls from Gov. Deval Patrick, followed by Sen. Edward Kennedy and then U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, ecstatic tribe members chanted softly and hugged each as tribal drumming could be heard coming from the heated outdoor tent set up on the grounds outside the tribal council offices.

"Once we got the preliminary recognition, we were pretty sure. We knew we had a good petition,'' Chief Lopez said in between hugs and handshakes.

Former BIA researcher Christine Grabowski, who was hired by the tribe to help strengthen its petition, said yesterday's decision was long overdue.''The history is good; you don't need thousands of pages to know the obvious. They have the documentation, of course, but it should not have taken this long or cost this much,'' Grabowski said.

Starting The Next Chapter
The tribe's sovereign-nation status will become permanent 90 days after the decision is published in the Federal Register. Once that happens the Mashpee Wampanoag will be the 564th federally recognized tribe in the country, the second tribe to be granted sovereign-nation status in the state, and the first to be recognized under the Bush administration.

BIA officials said last year the Mashpee petition was one of the strongest the agency had ever seen - a petition that could not be undermined even by financial disputes among contemporary tribe members. While yesterday's decision may have been anti-climactic for some, that's not to say there weren't worried tribe members, wounded by broken promises of the past.

''I didn't sleep last night,'' Marshall said, between exchanging greetings with other members and sharing stories with the assembled media in the moments before Cason's call. Twenty minutes later, tribal council officers made their way to the stage set up in the tent outside, packed to capacity with hundreds of cheering tribe members and supporters.

''Mashpee will shine tonight. Today is a day for every tribe member,''Marshall said with a strained voice, explaining there were too many people to thank for him to remember every name.''

Although we are newly recognized, we've always been a tribe,'' he said, before asking for a moment of silence for those who didn't live to see the historic day.''We are here to start the next chapter - the chapter that says we will be financially set, and if it takes a casino, we're there,'' Marshall said.

Next, Chief Lopez stepped to the microphone. ''I'm proud to be here today to see our efforts come to fruition. We persevered and here we are today,'' he said

Looking For Land
The tribe's next move will be to apply for tribal lands to be taken into trust by the federal government. The tribe owns about 170 acres in Mashpee and has been eyeing property off-Cape for a tribal office to meet the needs of tribe members who live elsewhere in the state, and possibly to build a resort casino.

Though the tribe's central service area is the south Mashpee region -home to about half the tribe - the Wampanoag's ancestral lands encompass a 50-mile radius that includes the entire Cape, extending as far north as Quincy and as far west as Rhode Island.

The first land priority, tribal leaders have said, is to build housing for tribe members who have not been able to afford to stay in their ancestral homeland. Before land can be taken into trust, however, tribal officials have to submit an application to the Interior Department that includes specific plans on how the tribe proposes to use the land. That process allows for state and local officials to comment.

If the tribe's land trust application is approved, the federal government holds the approved properties in trust on behalf of the tribe, removing those parcels from the tax rolls.

Also, tribal council spokesman Scott Ferson said, tribal leaders, with the financial backing of Detroit casino developer Herb Strather, will pursue plans to build a resort casino in Southeastern Massachusetts similar to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos in Connecticut.

Tribal leaders are being invited to meet with New Bedford city councilors to talk about gaming prospects. Marshall met with Gov. Deval Patrick's staff on Monday to discuss the issue as the governor and lawmakers wrestle with whether to legalize casino development in the commonwealth.

If state lawmakers roll the dice on high-stakes gambling, under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act the Mashpee Wampanoag, as well as its sister tribe on Martha's Vineyard, would have the right to build a casino.

But even if casino legislation passes, the state would have to negotiate a ''gaming compact'' with the Mashpee tribe and/or theWampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), which has sought unsuccessfully to open a casino.

As for the tribe itself, Ferson said, there won't be any noticeable changes in tribal governance.

Mashpee Selectman John Cahalane, who serves on the town's subcommittee on tribal affairs and was on hand for yesterday's announcement, said he looks forward to a mutually beneficial relationship between the town and tribe. ''I think in the long run this will benefit the tribe and the town,''Cahalane said

Sean Gonsalves can be reached at sgonsalves@capecodonline.com.

As mentioned in Krystyn Media http://krystynmedia.blogspot.com/2006_04_09_archive.html
Christine Yellowwoman Yazzie
Los Angeles, California USA
E: krystyn_media@yahoo.comhttp://www.krystynmedia.blogspot.com/

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

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Visit Vietnam Vet. LARRY MITCHELL at http://www.potawatomivet.com and click on his blog at the site.

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS - Every Tuesday when available.

Democratic Presidential Candidates Are Coming To Indian Country!!!

INDN's List Education Fund will launch historic “Prez on the Rez” in Washington, DC, February 26, 2007, 5:00p.m.-7:00p.m.

This August the Democratic candidates for President of the United States will be coming to Indian Country for an unprecedented forum on Indian issues. Prez on the Rez will bring together the Democratic candidates for President to address the future of Indian Country in front of thousands of tribal leaders, elected officials, INDN elected officials, tribal members, and activists. You can learn more by visiting www.prezontherez. org now.

One exciting feature of the website is the ability to submit suggested questions to be asked of the candidates at the forum. We want to ensure tribal leaders and tribal citizens have the chance to ask questions from Indian Country, about the issues that Indian people face.

We expect all the contenders to participate, including: Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, and Christopher Dodd, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, former Sens. John Edwards and Mike Gravel, Govs. Bill Richardson and Tom Vilsack, and Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark.

“With Prez on the Rez we hope to show our Presidential candidates the power of Indians as a voting constituency,” said Kalyn Free, “but also make clear their responsibility as leaders to work with Indian Country to make sure American Indians are a part of the American Dream.”

Prez on the Rez will give American Indians an historic opportunity to engage our national leaders in a conversation on building a more prosperous future for our Indian Nations and for all Americans. The resources, advice, and votes that Indian Nations offer can be leveraged in support of a prosperous Indian Country and the interests of all Americans. And Prez on the Rez offers our leaders the opportunity to join Indian Nations in countering the tragedy of economic inequality and political disenfranchisement by building prosperous communities and by establishing a voice in our democracy.

Prez on the Rez is being hosted by the INDN’s List Education Fund (ILEF), a non-profit organization founded to leverage the power of Indian voters on behalf of causes important to Indian Country and working families everywhere.

“ILEF and Prez on the Rez will dramatically expand the kinds of things we can do for Indians and Indian issues around the country,” said Kalyn Free. “This gives us an opportunity to influence the political debate while the whole nation is watching, and to make sure candidates are responsive to our issues.”

In addition to Prez on the Rez, ILEF will begin the Native American Network (NAN) Project, which will serve as our Indian voter mobilization project, designed not only to help boost voter turnout in Indian Country, but actually translate the power of the ballot box into advocacy for issues important to Indian Country. Simply voting is not enough. It’s time Indian Country took an active role in determining the issues addressed at all levels of government.

Visit www.prezontherez. org regularly for all the latest news.

'Prez On The Rez' - Front Page Story in NM!!
Excitement for Prez on the Rez is percolating throughout Indian Country and beyond. Kalyn Free was interviewed by the Albuquerque Journal, of New Mexico, which ran a feature on the INDN’s List Education Fund and Prez on the Rez on the front page of its Saturday edition. To read the article in its entirety, visit our website here.

The Associated Press ran a wire story on the event, as well, which can be read here.

"I anticipate this is going to be the biggest political event in national American Indian history. Never has this been done before," said Kalyn Free to the Journal. Amanda Cooper, deputy campaign manager for Gov. Bill Richardson’s presidential campaign added, "I think everybody's interested— as they should be.” And Joe Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians, called the event a first. “It’s not like anybody initiated it but ourselves. It means that we’re getting smart and more aggressive in the role we play in this country.”

The attention being drawn by Prez on the Rez reinforces our conviction that this type of event is long overdue. No major presidential campaign event has ever been held in Indian Country, but ILEF will change all that when it brings the contenders for the Democratic nomination to a reservation this August. Not only is a presidential forum for the leaders of our Indian Nations historic both because it is unprecedented but also because of the historic opportunity it presents.

“We believe that Indian Country cannot right the injustices – economic, political and social – that continue to be perpetrated on Indians by our nation’s leaders until we assert ourselves in the political process,” said Kalyn Free. “Presidential candidates can prove their commitment to a prosperous future for all Americans only if they join a conversation with our First Americans.”

Thus far, all of the candidates have expressed an interest in participating in the event, and one, Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa, has already committed to attend. We anticipate several more commitments in the coming days, following the designation of the host site.

The tremendous coverage and support we’ve received so far proves that Prez on the Rez is already a success. We are committed to drawing attention to Indian Country and building the power of Indians as a voting constituency, and Prez on the Rez is a powerful engine driving that attention.

You can be a part of that by spreading the buzz for Prez on the Rez and ILEF – forward our emails to your friends and family, and tell them to subscribe for the latest information.

ILEF will be sharing exciting news over the next few months, which are sure to bring widening attention both to Prez on the Rez and Indian Country.

Be sure to visit our website at www.prezontherez. org and stay tuned to your inbox for the latest news and updates.
Sup port Prez on the Rez now and keep the word going strong.

Republican Newspaper Attacks INDNs List, Again!
February 14, 2007
The Daily Oklahoman, named the worst newspaper in America by the Columbia Journalism Review, has again attacked INDN's List.

On February 13th, the publication's Right-Wing Spin Page, masquerading as a credible Editorial Page, attacked INDN’s List for its unparalleled success in supporting the election of several American Indian Democrats to the Oklahoma Legislature. This is the same editorial board that two years ago, shortly after the birth of INDN's List, took issue with our mission, complaining that "what (Free) learned from her campaign may ultimately increase Native American representation in Congress and state legislatures throughout the land." Imagine that! This country’s original inhabitants participating in state and national politics!

The Oklahoman rightfully points out that all the Native American candidates we endorsed did win and apparently, the Oklahoman just isn't happy about it! In fact, they are so incensed that they refuse to use our name, only referring to us as "A Tulsa-based Indian political advocacy group" or the "aforementioned political group." The "news"paper utilizes the age-old trick of not using the name of an organization you don’t want people to learn more about or support. It’s quite childish behavior for a supposed entity that seeks to report news.

Why go to all these extremes? Honestly, why is the Daily Oklahoman so scared? Are they afraid of American Indians gaining political power in a state with a long history of at best ignoring and at worst trampling on the sovereignty of its Indian Nations, which apparently suits the Daily Oklahoman just fine?

The aforementioned paper's biases are clear in its remark that "This isn't your grandfather's tribe." Well Christy Gaylord, "This isn't your Grandfather's Oklahoma anymore!" Oklahoma is a state where we all determine, together and with our unique histories, what is best for us.

It seems the only campaign this Oklahoma City-based newspaper would like to see Oklahoma Indians involved with is the "Discover Native Oklahoma Campaign,” an effort to draw tourism to our great state.

We know, just like the Daily Oklahoman fears, that in order to make a brighter future for the people we care about -- our children's children -- we must chart a new course and that means having our voices heard in the halls of power, from the courthouse to the statehouse.

And yes, our organization does only support Indians who are Democrats. The reason for that is simple: The Democratic Party shares the same values that American Indians hold so dear - making our elders, our children, those less fortunate, and those who need a helping hand, our priority.

Daily Oklahoman, you may as well go ahead and state it: You don't like INDN's List because our mission is to support American Indian candidates who want to put Oklahoma and America on a new course, a path that no longer tolerates Republican extremism, a path that will roll back the tax breaks for the wealthy, punish corporations who outsource our jobs, and hold accountable anyone who exploits working men and women.

You have made one thing crystal clear: In your eyes, the only Good Indian Politician is a Republican Indian Politician. But, hey, you feel that way about all politicians so none of us should be all that surprised.

Contact Information
email: kalyn@indnslist.org
phone: 918.583.6100
web: http://www.indnslist.org

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

Visit Vietnam Vet. LARRY MITCHELL at http://www.potawatomivet.com and click on his blog at the site.

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS - Every Tuesday when available.

Action Alert For Native Rights And Environmental Justice

Submitted by WSDP
Native Peoples & Environmental Justice Allies to Protest at Bureau ofLand Management Office in Alturas Against Proposed Power Plant at Sacred& Natural Medicine Lake near Mt. Shasta

Tribal Members To Speak On The Situation!
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Protest at High Noon at BLM Office
708 W. 12th St., Alturas

Alturas, CA - Native peoples and their supporters from across the country will gather at the BLM Office on February 20, 2007 at high noon to protest the agency's plans to appeal the 9th Circuit Court ruling on Medicine Lake to the Supreme Court.

The 9th Circuit reversed a lower court decision indicating that the federal agencies neglected their fiduciary responsibilities to the Pit River Nation by violating theNational Environmental Protection and the National Historic Preservation Acts and that the agencies never took the requisite "hard look" at whether the Highlands should be developed for energy at all.

In spite of this ruling and although the federal government promised not to appeal the case, agency officials have recently indicated they will make this attempt. This notice came as no surprise to many Native peoples who are used to government policies and statements shifting like the wind.

Tragically, BLM, California Energy Commission, and Calpine Energy company do not care about preserving the natural and sacred Highlands, as they have been trying to build geothermal power plants there since the 1980's.

These partners want to build geothermal power plants that would:
Require drilling to 9000 feet beneath the surface; require injection and extraction of large amounts of toxins that can cause cancer or birth defects such as arsenic, mercury, and hydrogen sulfide; create a situation for accidental releases of acids and chemicals into the shallow water table or maintenance-related pipeline ruptures and explosions; replace the natural surface environment with toxic slump ponds, roads, pipelines, and cooling towers;

Have the potential to cause earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or avalanches; desecrate this sacred and traditionally important area; likely cause irreversible contamination of the air, water, plants, and wildlife in the region; harness this energy and peddle it as "green energy"; not simply trap steam or mine hot water from natural geysers; and threaten the underlying aquifer - which is California's largest pure spring system and flows into the Fall Riverand joins the Pit River and winds into the Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay.

Native peoples, lawmakers, homeowners, ranchers, fishing enthusiasts, environmentalists and other citizens and surrounding towns have consistently opposed this project. Make no mistake about it; we will nonviolently defend Medicine Lake from any attempts to build power plants in this sacred and natural area. The federal government must bansuch development out of respect for American Indian religious and traditional use rights and to fulfill its fiduciary responsibility to the tribal governments of the area and act in their best interests.

Sponsors of the event include Advocates for the Protection of Sacred Sites, Seventh Generation Fund, International Indian Treaty Council, Indigenous Environmental Network, Citizens of the Pitt River Nation, and Redding Rancheria Cultural Department.

Contact:
Mark LeBeau- (916) 801-4422; James Hayward – (530) 410-2875; Morning Star Gali – (510) 827-6719; Radley Davis – (530) 917-6064; Chris Peters – (707) 825-7640; Jimbo Simmons – (415) 641-4482 ; or Tom Goldtooth – (218) 751-4967.

10,000 Responses To the Divine Strake Test
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Submitted by Eleanore Fanire, Mohave Downwinders
By PATRICE ST. GERMAIN patrices@thespectrum.com

ST. GEORGE, UTAH— It will take the National Nuclear Security Administration/Nevada Site Office at least three to four weeks to go through the 10,000 or so comments the agency received concerning the draft environmental assessment for Divine Strake.

Divine Strake, the name for a 700-ton fuel oil and ammonium nitrate bomb test, is not nuclear, but the site of the proposed test is only a mile away from where nuclear testing was conducted at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War

Last year, the NNSA withdrew its Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) related to the environmental assessment for the test. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency had scheduled the test for June 2 but postponed the test following questions from Congressman Jim Matheson and others over health and safety concerns.

“We’ve never had such a big response to an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement,” Kevin Rohrer, spokesman with NNSA/NSO said.

Nevada's 'Gold Diggers' Mucking Up The Air
Submitted by WSDP

UNR study finds high levels of airborne mercury near mines
By Lisa Mascaro, Las Vegas Sun, Feb. 14th. 2007

WASHINGTON - A UNR study being released today says airborne mercury is present around Nevada's gold mines at much higher levels than previously thought - in some cases on par with the nation's dirtiest industrial plants.

Mercury emitted from mines in Northern Nevada is a growing concern for residents in southern Idaho and Utah who are advised to no longer eat certain fish or fowl.

Although the mining industry says that other sources of the pollutant are largely responsible for those high levels, environmentalists contend that much of it is blown in from the closest source - Nevada's mines.

Those same toxins also settle in Nevada

The URN report obtained by the Sun was conducted by Glenn C. Miller, a natural resource and environmental science professor, and student Patrick Joyce.

The research provides only a brief snapshot of the pollution levels, but environmentalists said the high concentrations call into question the mining companies' data on the amount of mercury emissions coming from their smokestacks.

Dan Randolph, executive director of Great Basin Mine Watch, which is releasing the report jointly with other environmental organizations, said the findings imply that the company reports "are not necessarily accurate."

"What we're calling for is the state to revise its regulations to include more of this type of monitoring," he said. "Ultimately, we want to see the mercury releases reduced, but at the minimum, let's find out the scale of the problem."

A spokesman for the Nevada Mining Association questioned whether the survey is accurate because it was conducted for so little cost. "It can be done cheaply, but what is the degree of confidence in the results?" association President Russ Fields said.

Authors of the UNR report conducted the tests with an off-the-shelf detection device rented for $5,000 a month. They said the Environmental Protection Agency has given high marks to the Zeeman mercury analyzer, which demonstrates that measurements can be taken cheaply and accurately.

Monitoring of Nevada mines began as a voluntary effort in 2001. Mining companies, the state and the EPA agreed to the testing and to steps to reduce mercury emissions after Nevada emerged as a hot spot for the pollutant.

The industry says that emissions were reduced far more than the initial 33 percent goal in the following years.

But last year, the state launched a stepped-up effort, requiring annual reporting from more than 20 Nevada mines. Mines are required to report the level once a year, on each plant's dirtiest emission day. The readings are taken at the smokestacks only.

Saying that more frequent testing would be costly for the industry, the state is using a $360,000 federal grant to search for better ways to measure downwind mercury levels.

Samples for the UNR study were taken standing outside the gates of mines, in parking lots or on access roads last August. The work followed a similar study in 2005 by the Idaho Conservation League.

At three of the 10 mines tested, airborne mercury was at or below the level that occurs naturally in the environment - about 5 nanograms per cubic meter. At four others, the levels were at least several times higher than the 5-nanogram mark. Near active leech heaps, which are not measured under the state program, researchers found levels as high as 60 nanograms.
At three other mines, the levels were sharply higher.

More than a mile away from Newmont Mining's Twin Creeks mine, the readings showed mercury at nearly 700 nanograms - double the federal limits for toxic exposure.

At a parking lot outside Coeur's Rochester mine, mercury was recorded at 2,326 nanograms.
A parking lot at Glamis Gold's Marigold mine registered 3,139 nanograms.

Mike Abbot, a mercury air emissions expert at the U.S. government's Idaho National Lab, said that mercury readings of between 2,000 and 4,000 nanograms, taken near one of the nation's remaining chlor-alkali plants in Louisiana, are among the highest recorded in the United States.

He said a high reading would be "any time you get over 1,000." In his field work, where he measures mercury pollution that is falling on rural Idaho, the most he has ever measured is 160.
Fields said the industry wants to give the new state program a chance. "Let's see how well it does work," Fields said. "The industry isn't going to object to additional testing if it's shown additional testing is needed."

Dante Pistone, a spokesman for the Nevada environmental protection division, said the state does not agree that the mines should conduct more frequent and varied tests.
"We feel comfortable that given the opportunity, these regulations will work," Pistone said. "It's just a matter of giving them time."

Environmentalists have called for quarterly testing at the smokestacks and sporadic testing downwind.

Airborne mercury is among the most toxic forms of the substance because it is inhaled. It can cause memory loss, tremors and other neurological damage. Women can pass along the toxin to a developing fetus, resulting in brain damage, and children are especially susceptible.

Idaho and Utah activists suspect Nevada's mines are responsible for the high levels in its waterways and fish. Justin Hayes, a program director at the Idaho Conservation League, said the mercury readings recorded by UNR suggest that the companies' measurements at the smokestack are too low.

His own report last year set off alarms when he found mercury readings half as high as those in the new report.

"No one imagined you'd see them so high," he said. "The situation is not getting any better over there."

Lisa Mascaro can be reached at (202) 662-7436 or at lisa.mascaro@lasvegassun.com.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

Visit Vietnam Vet. LARRY MITCHELL at http://www.potawatomivet.com and click on his blog at the site.

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS - Every Tuesday when available.

Johnson O'Malley Programs Need Your Help!

Submitted by Debra Sillik, AICC, Nevada

National Indian Education Association
Washington, D.C. February 9th, 2007
Last session, the Congress failed to pass 9 of the 11 appropriations bills, including the Labor, HHS, Education appropriations bill and the Interior appropriations bill, for the fiscal year that began on October 1st.

Instead, as a stop gap measure, the Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) on the final day of last session to continue funding agencies through Feb. 15th at the level that was the lowest of the FY 2007 House-passed, FY 2007 Senate-passed, or previous year’s funding level.

On February 1st, the House passed a new CR that will provide funding for the remainder of FY 2007. The Congress opted to take the CR route given that the President released his FY 2008 budget on February 5th and they are now working on appropriations for FY 2008. The Senate anticipates passing the new CR by the end of this week or early next week before February 15th.

This CR funds most programs at FY 2006 levels with little instruction on how the agencies are required to spend the money. Instead, the new CR allows the agencies and the Office of Management and Budget broad discretion on spending. After the new CR is enacted into law, then the agencies have 30 days to submit their operating plans to Congress which details the levels of funding they are allocating to their programs.

The lack of congressional directives in the new CR could present a concern for programs that the Administration has proposed eliminating or drastically reducing for FY 2007 and/or FY 2008 bec! ause the Administration is not obligated to fund these programs under the new CR. Specifically, the President's FY 2007 budget calls for the elimination of funding for BIA's Johnson O' Malley Grant Program.

NIEA is concerned that the Department of the Interior will reduce or eliminate funding for the JOM program for FY 2007 because the Department requested elimination of JOM in its budget requests for FY 2007 and FY 2008. The TIME IS NOW to advocate for these programs at the Department of Interior

NIEA joined with the National Congress of American Indians and the National Johnson O’Malley Association to request from the Department of Interior full funding the Johnson O’Malley (JOM) program at the FY 2006 level in the remaining months of fiscal year 2007.

All three organizations also joined forces to request from the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the Native American Caucus assistance in ensuring that the Department of Interior provides funding for the Johnson O’Malley (JOM) program within the Bureau of Indian Affairs at least at the FY 2006 level of $16.4 million in the remaining months of fiscal year 2007.

We are now asking for your help in urging the Department of the Interior to fully fund the JOM Program in their operating plan for FY 2007 and to protect this vital program that helps meet the unique and specialized educational needs of that school’s Indian students.

Below is a sample letter that we are asking all schools, tribes, and beneficiaries of Johnson O’Malley Programs to fax to the Department of the Interior (202) 208-5048 and to NIEA at (202)544-7293. Please feel free to contact NIEA at (202)544-7290 if there are any questions.

February _______, 2007
The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne Secretary of the Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240

Re: Johnson O’Malley Act funding under the FY 2007 Continuing Resolution
Dear Secretary Kempthorne:

We write on behalf of the _________________________________ to ask for your support in fully funding the Johnson O’Malley (JOM) program at the FY 2006 level in the remaining months of fiscal year 2007. Supporting JOM is consistent with your Initiative to Improve Indian Education as one of your top 4 priorities for FY 2008.

JOM funding has assisted in meeting the unique educational needs of our students in the following ways:_______(please list example of how you use your JOM funding) (also see paragraph 4 to make sure it is not repetitive and that it is consistent). JOM provides Indian students ages 3 to grade 12 with supplemental educational programs or support so that these students can pursue educational opportunities and attain academic success.

Many Indian children live in rural or remote areas with high rates of poverty and unemployment, and funds from JOM have historically provided basic resources so that Indian students can participate in school like their non-Indian peers, which, in turn, gives them a chance to achieve academically.

As you know, the United States has a unique legal relationship with Indian Tribes as set forth in the U.S. Constitution, treaties, statutes, and court decisions. Congress also recognizes that the United States has an obligation to assure maximum tribal participation in the direction of educational services to make them more responsive to Indian people.

The JOM Act, enacted in 1934, helps meet the Federal government’s trust obligation to Indian Tribes by providing supplemental funds that are used to address the unique educational and cultural needs of Native children attending State public schools.

In addition to assisting our students as described above, tribes and schools commonly use JOM funds to provide Indian students with such items as culturally relevant learning materials, Native language role-modeling, Native youth leadership programs, eyeglasses and contacts, school supplies, scholastic testing fees, sports and band equipment, and many other activities that are not authorized by other federal educational programs.

The JOM program also provides for the maximum participation of tribal governments and the parents of Native students in the utilization of the funds. Under the program, JOM parent organizations work directly with public school districts to develop an education plan that is tailored to meet the unique! and specialized educational needs of that school’s Indian students.

Although the Department of Education provides funding to public schools on or near Indian reservations, in most cases, these funds are utilized for the general operating needs of the school district and are used to benefit Indian and non-Indian children in the district. In addition, as noted above, these programs do not permit funds to be used to meet the unique cultural needs of Native students.

For example, ________________ (If possible, please list an example of an activity or service that JOM funds that Dept. of Education does not fund).

JOM is a critical program for us in helping our Indian students achieve success and we urge you to fully fund the JOM Program in your operating plan for FY 2007. MJOM is a critical program for us in helping our Indian students achieve success and we urge you to fully fund the JOM Program in your operating plan for FY 2007.

Sincerely,
Name
Tribe/School
Address

Copies of the joint letters sent by NIEA, NCAI, and NJOMA may be viewed on NIEA's website at www.niea.org.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

Visit Vietnam Vet. LARRY MITCHELL at http://www.potawatomivet.com and click on his blog at the site.

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS - Every Tuesday when available.

A Divine Strake Trilogy - Utahns Say 'No'!

Submitted by Eleanore Fanire, Mohave Downwinders

UTAH HOUSE COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY OPPOSES NEVADA TEST
February 10th, 2007
A legislative resolution protesting the U.S. government's proposed Divine Strake weapons test in the Nevada desert was approved Friday by the House Government Operations Committee.

SCR5's sponsor, Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake, said the resolution "really professes our opposition as a state legislature."

"This is a tough one for me," said Rep. John Mathis, R-Vernal, who said he is a strong supporter of the military. He explained that his wife's mother was a downwinder and died of cancer.

"I don't believe that young kids should be raised without parents because of risks placed on them by the government knowingly," Mathis said.

The resolution made it out of committee with unanimous support and now awaits consideration on the House floor.
© 2007 Deseret News Publishing Company
http://deseretnews.com/dn/print/1,1442,660194336,00.html


NEWSMAN DEFENDS ON-AIR STRAKE COMMENTS
By Wendy Leonard
Deseret Morning News, February 10th, 2007
A local television news anchor crossed an ethical line when he used a newscast to denounce the federal government's proposed Divine Strake test in Nevada, according to a media ethics expert.

But Terry Wood, a lead evening news anchor for KTVX Ch. 4 News, said Friday that he stands by what he said and does not regret voicing his opinion during the newscast.

Wood traveled to Las Vegas on Tuesday to speak to a spokesman of the Department of Energy and deliver petitions opposing the test. The television station, owned by Clear Channel, had taken an editorial stance opposing the test, in which the Defense Threat Reduction Agency would detonate 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil at the Nevada Test Site, about 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

While in Nevada, Wood delivered several hundred petitions that the station had collected on its Web site. Camera crews filmed the delivery for a segment that appeared later Tuesday on the station's 10 p.m. newscast. During the segment, a Department of Energy spokesman, Darwin Morgan, refused to speak to Wood, calling the television anchorman's actions "advocacy journalism."

Immediately following the segment, Wood added a personal editorial commentary opposing the proposed test. He acknowledged that the energy department spokesman was correct that he and the news program were engaging in "advocacy journalism," although "objectivity is the goal of a good, professional journalist." But he pointed out that he and his children and grandchildren live in Utah, as do those of the news program's other staff members.

"I, too, am willing to put my professional reputation and career of 40 years on the line in taking a stand against Divine Strake," Woods said on-air Tuesday. "It is that important to the health and well-being of our families. I am not willing to obediently accept the Department of Energy's assurance that it will not cause us harm in the years to come. They may be right, but I do not want to take the chance."

"As journalists," Wood said Friday, "we're encouraged to live by our code of ethics, and I checked it, but sometimes there's an issue we have to take a stand on, and this was it," adding that his segment was labeled as a "commentary." The words "commentary" appeared briefly at the beginning of his opinion piece.

However, Allison Barlow Hess, vice president of the Utah chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, said Wood's actions have compromised his credibility as a journalist.

"It probably weakens his journalistic position, and surely he cannot cover this story any more," she said. "It compromises any coverage he could do of the story, and perhaps even that of the station."

Hess, a Weber State University journalism professor who was a reporter for KSL-TV for 12 years, said that editorials have an important place in the news but that they should be kept separate from actual news stories and be delivered by someone other than journalists who provide the daily news.

"Did folks recognize that this was an opinion?" she asked regarding viewers' perceptions of Wood's comment. "If journalists routinely took a position on what they were covering, who would be left to cover the news?"

Wood's actions came after the station had already announced its editorial stance opposing Divine Strake, but the commentary was his idea. He said the written comments he submitted were approved without anyone changing a single word, and time was set aside during the regular evening program for him to express his thoughts.

News director John Fisher said Friday that the station supports Wood and does not plan to take any disciplinary action toward him. "Wood's was an editorial commentary, and it just so happens that his position is primarily shared by the station," Fisher said.

The station's viewers have written more than 400 e-mails about the broadcast, with some praising Wood and only a handful objecting to the way in which the issue has been handled.

"This permanently disqualifies him to report on any policy-related issue in the future and calls into serious question the ethics of his reporting in the past," wrote one viewer, L. Minert.

But Fisher said the news program's staff members would continue to report objectively on the issues surrounding the Divine Strake test.

Wood admitted he took a risk in delivering his own opinion.

"It won't affect my reporting of the issue, and if it affects someone's opinion of me or the news station, then I'm sorry," Wood said.

"I couldn't just sit and read the story night after night," he added. "It was time to make a personal statement, and I did it. I will have to live with the consequences."

The video clip of the news program and Wood's comment may be viewed at: www.abc4.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoID=59263..
E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com

SCIENTISTS CALL STRAKE DANGEROUS
They say blast would stir up radioactive soil
By Joe Bauman
Deseret Morning News, February 10th 2007
The Divine Strake nonnuclear explosion at the Nevada Test Site "would disperse large amounts of radioactive particles into the atmosphere," says a noted pathologist.

Dr. Thomas M. Fasy of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City, comments on the test's potentially harmful effects in a document filed with the National Nuclear Security Administration's Las Vegas office.

The NNSA and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency are planning the detonation of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. The explosion, dubbed Divine Strake, is intended to give a better idea about how to attack underground fortifications of some enemy.

The proposed test has raised concerns among those living downwind because of past nuclear blasts at the test site, particularly in the 1950s and '60s. Many "downwinders" blame such tests for cancers and other diseases suffered over the past half-century. The issue has also elicited comments from scientists on both sides of the controversy, some concerned about particulates raised by such a blast, others doubting the possibility for serious harm.

Critical comments by experts were filed with the NNSA by Robert Hager, a Reno attorney for plaintiffs seeking to halt the test. In a telephone interview, he said he had to file the documents by the end of the environmental assessment comment period, which was this past Wednesday. Otherwise, he would not be able to raise the issues later in his lawsuit.

After the federal government makes a decision on the project, he can convert the experts' comments into legal affidavits, Hager said.

In a transmittal letter to the NNSA, Hager wrote that the explosion "would pose a clear and present threat of irreparable harm" and that if the decision is made to proceed with it, plaintiffs will seek a court injunction.

Fasy added in his written comments that he believes "to a reasonable degree of medical and scientific certainty that the inhalation or ingestion of radionuclides may lead to the development of serious diseases, including various forms of cancer, congenital malformations (birth defects), DNA damage, genetic mutations and sterility....

"Thus, internationally recognized authorities acknowledge that there is no dose of radiation below which a population receiving that dose will not incur an increased risk.... "

Fasy stated that if the explosion happens as planned, "millions of people living downwind of the Nevada Test Site are at risk of inhaling radioactive particles that will be dispersed into the atmosphere."

He said it would be "virtually certain" that such inhalation would result in an increased frequencies of a variety of cancers. "Moreover, the increased risk of developing cancers would be borne disproportionately by the women and children living downwind."

Among others filling comments transmitted by Hager are those by:
• Richard L. Miller of Woodlands, Texas, a certified industrial hygienist and certified safety professional who has worked for the Occupational and Safety Health Administration. He is author of the five-volume "U.S. Atlas of Nuclear Fallout." Miller says the government's revised draft environmental assessment is deficient.

Area 16, where the blast would take place, "has received contamination from above-ground nuclear tests," he wrote.

Federal fallout maps show Area 16 to be "within the contamination zones" of six nuclear blasts between 1955 and 1957. The bombs produced numerous radioactive isotopes that are likely still active, he wrote.

Miller listed 11 different isotopes with half-lives into many thousands of years, including deadly radioactive plutonium.

He added that the assessment does not include an estimate of the amount of small particles, 2.5 microns in size, that would be stirred up. These particles are able to penetrate into the deepest parts of the lungs, he wrote, citing the Environmental Protection Agency.

The government has two different estimates for the possible height of the resulting dust cloud, he said. They are about 8,158 and 9,750 feet above ground level, which is itself at 1,592 feet above sea level.

"If the debris cloud reaches nearly 10,000 feet altitude above the ground .... then it will have exceeded the maximum altitudes achieved by many above-ground nuclear tests," Miller wrote. The debris cloud from one of the tests was tracked to Canada, he added.

There is a significant potential for radioactive particles to be part of the PM2.5 dust lofted by the blast, according to Miller. "If so, these particles can travel for hundreds or thousands of miles with the wind currents and can potentially be inhaled by persons living downwind."

• Michael E. Ketterer, Northern Arizona University. Ketterer wrote that the government did not do sufficient sampling for plutonium contamination at the blast site. "It is likely that the data presented ... underestimate the average activity and/or total quantity of plutonium and definitely understate the activities present in the top 1-2 cm. of the soil."

• Diane M. Stearns, Flagstaff, Ariz., professor of chemistry at Northern Arizona University. She notes that the environmental assessment "now admits ... (that) 'since suspended natural radionuclides and resuspended fallout radionuclides from detonation have potential to be transported off of the NTS by wind, they may contribute radiological dose to the public.'"

The issue, she wrote, is the ability of the planners of the test to properly estimate the amount of radioactive particles and radiation to which nearby residents would be exposed.

She called the environmental assessment's description of those factors as "guestimation."
E-mail: bau@desnews.com

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

Visit Vietnam Vet. LARRY MITCHELL at http://www.potawatomivet.com and click on his blog at the site.

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS - Every Tuesday when available.

Native American Journalists Association Alerts - Plus - Feb 13th Edition

Get Seen: Get Heard: Get Published!
Two NAJA program application deadlines approach:

Project Phoenix (Deadline Feb 16th)
NAJA is accepting applications for Project Phoenix, a weeklong journalism camp that introduces the exciting field of journalism to Native American high school students. Selected from a pool of applicants, 15 to 10 students learn the basics of journalism skills by working with Native and non-Native media professionals in producing one issue of a newspaper called Rising Voices. The project is named after the first Native American newspaper published in North America in 1828, The Cherokee Phoenix. To download an application, go to: http://www.naja.com/programs/students/project-phoenix.

Student Projects (Deadline Feb. 23rd) - New Location!! June 3-10 in Denver, CO
NAJA is accepting applications for the 2007 Student Projects, a weeklong workshop for Native American students majoring in print, radio, television or online journalism. More than 25 Native students from around the country will be accepted for the workshop scheduled June 3-10 in Denver, Colorado. (Not Tulsa, Okla. as originally posted)

NAJA provides a small stipend for the week, and hotel and travel expenses. For more information or download an application, email us at info@naja.com, call us at (605) 677-5282 or go to: http://www.naja.com/programs/students/student_projects.

Internship For High School Journalism Students
Internship opportunities are available with U.S. Senator Harry Reid in Nevada and DC. Interested students should fill out the application on line at:

http://reid.senate.gov/ then click on Services and select Internships.

Shannon Raborn
Southern Nevada Regional Deputy Director for
HARRY REID
United States Senator
333 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Suite 8016
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
(702) 388-5020
(702) 388-5030 Fax

Scripps Howard Foundation Program - Washington - Deadline March 1st
College journalism students are invited to apply for the fall 2007 Scripps Howard Foundation Semester in Washington Program.

Applications must be postmarked by March 1. The program starts Sept. 10 and ends Dec. 14. The stipend is $2,000 for the 14-week program, and we provide free housing in furnished apartments in Northwest Washington near the National Zoo.

Six interns, including one international student, work as reporters for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire in our downtown Washington bureau. Their stories are published on our Web-based wire: http://www.shfwire.com/. Some of their stories go out on the Scripps Howard News Service to its 400 client newspapers.

Students may write for hometown or campus newspapers and get internship or independent study credit while they are here. We tour Washington journalism and government institutions, bring in guest speakers and meet weekly to discuss topical issues in journalism.

The program is open to college juniors and seniors who are studying print or online journalism. It is not open to graduates or graduate students. More details and the application form are on our Web site.

If questions, please call or e-mail - and encourage interested students to do so as well.

Contact:Jody Beck, director
Scripps Howard Foundation
Semester in Washington Program
Scripps Howard Foundation Wire
1090 Vermont Ave. NW, #1000 Washington, D.C. 20005
Phone: (202) 408-2748
Fax: (202) 682-2143
E-mail: beckj@shns.com
Web: www.shfwire.com

Stanley Foundation Supports Working Journalists - Deadline March 1st
Muscatine, Iowa - The Stanley Foundation will provide assistance for print or broadcast journalists interested in reporting on examples of U.S.-led multilateral efforts to strengthen global security and how those efforts have succeeded or failed

Subjects may include, but are not limited to:
. Nuclear nonproliferation
. The U.S. National Counterterrorism Center
. US cooperation/leadership on counterterrorism efforts with global institutions such as the United Nations and NATO
. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's fight against global disease and pandemics
. American philanthropy
. The role of American NGOs operating worldwide

Priority will be given to projects focusing on issues that have not been reported or are underreported and that have a high likelihood of being published/aired and of reaching a mass audience.

The project will provide journalists with travel and research support to complete a specific project of their choice for publication or broadcast. Small stipends and specific expenses will be paid. A total of $25,000 in awards is available during the spring 2007 round; individual awards may vary based on the scope of selected projects.

To be eligible, journalists must be US citizens and/or work for a U.S.-accredited news organization. Applicants must submit a brief summary of their project, a budget outline, and other materials. March 1, is the application deadline for the spring 2007 round of the Stanley Foundation Reporting Project. Awards will be announced in early April.

Winners must complete and place their stories no later than August 31.
For more information and full application instructions, contact:

Loren KellerProgram Officer, Communication and Outreach
The Stanley Foundation
209 Iowa Avenue
Muscatine, IA 5276
Phone: 563-264-1500
Fax: 563-264-6864
E-mail: lkeller@stanleyfoundation.org

National Academies Accepting Nominations For Communication Awards - Deadline April 5th
WASHINGTON -- The National Academies are accepting nominations for the 2007 National Academies Communication Awards for excellence in reporting and communicating science, engineering, and medicine to the public during 2006.

Three $20,000 prizes will be awarded in three categories:
. Book author
. Newspaper, magazine, or online journalist
. TV/radio producer or reporter

Nominations must be completed online no later than April 5. All supporting material must be postmarked by April 7. The winners will be honored at the National Academies' Beckman Center in Irvine, Calif., during the Keck Futures Conference to be held Nov. 15-18.

For information on eligibility, submission requirements, and nomination procedures, visit: <www.keckfutures.org/awards>.

The winners of the Communication Awards will be selected by a panel of 10 judges:
. Don Kennedy (committee chair, and member, National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine) editor-in-chief, Science
. Barbara J. Culliton (member, Institute of Medicine) consulting editor, Health Affairs; journalist; former deputy editor, Nature; and former news editor, Science
. Deborah Blum, professor of journalism, University of Wisconsin-Madison
. David Clark, producer/director, David Clark Inc.
. Robert W. Lucky (member, National Academy of Engineering), retired corporate vice president, research Telcordia Technologies Inc.
. Sherwin B. Nuland, M.D., clinical professor of surgery, Yale School of Medicine; 1994 National Book Award Winner.
. Joe Palca, science correspondent, National Public Radio.
. Cristine Russell, fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University; and president, Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.
. Curt Suplee, science writer and former science editor, The Washington Post
. Dan Vergano, science reporter, USA Today

The awards are one component of the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative, a far-reaching initiative designed to realize the untapped potential of interdisciplinary research. Funded by a $40 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, the initiative sponsors conferences to bring together outstanding scientists, engineers, and medical researchers to pose new questions and share ideas for interdisciplinary research and communication - among researchers in these fields as well as between researchers and the wider public.

More information about the Futures Initiative can be found at:
<http://www.keckfutures.org/>.

The National Academies comprise the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under an 1863 congressional charter.

The W.M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W.M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The Foundation's grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science, and engineering. The Foundation, based in Los Angeles, also maintains a Southern California Grant Program that provides support in the areas of civic and community services with a special emphasis on children.

Pulitzer Center In Reporting - No Deadline
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is offering grants to print and broadcast journalists interested in international reporting

Applications are considered upon receipt for enterprising reporting projects throughout the world, with an emphasis on issues that have gone unreported, under-reported or mis-reported in the mainstream American media. Projects should be as timely and newsworthy as possible.

Print and broadcast journalists can apply for a grant to cover their travel expenses. Grants are usually awarded from $3,000 to $20,000. Journalists on staff at print or broadcast outlets as well as free-lancers are eligible for support, so long as proposed projects include a credible plan for distribution in the American mainstream media.

In its first year, the Center funded 15 projects with reporting from 20 countries. The work has been featured in publications ranging from The New York Times and Los Angeles Times to Newsweek International, the Christian Science Monitor and Foreign Policy.

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an independent division of the World Security Institute. Established in 2006, it is sponsored by the Pulitzer family, with its main goal to raise the standard of reporting on global affairs.

The Center works with journalists on the shaping of projects and on distribution, as part of its efforts to increase the quality and quantity of international reporting in the U.S. media

For more background and project details, visit:
<http://www.pulitzercenter.org/>.

Applications should be submitted by e-mail to:
info@pulitzercenter.org.

Applications should include the following:
. A description of the proposed project, including distribution plan, in 250 words or
. A preliminary budget estimate;
. Curriculum vitae;. Three recent samples of work; (video samples should be sent by mail to below address in DVD format);
. Three professional references.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

Visit Vietnam Vet. LARRY MITCHELL at http://www.potawatomivet.com and click on his blog at the site.

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS - Every Tuesday when available.

Hot Waste Shipments In Navajo's Future?

Submitted by Eleanore Fanire, Mohave County Downwinders

By Kathy Helm - Dine Bureau
khelms@frontiernet.net
WINDOW ROCK -- When the Public Safety Committee heads to Washington, one of the federal agencies it will lobby for funds will be the Department of Energy.

PSC Chairperson Hope MacDonald-LoneTree told the committee this week that there are shipments of high-level nuclear waste proposed for transport on Interstate 40. "That's what is being proposed and that is what they're working on right now," she said

Last year, PSC was given a tour of Yucca Mountain in Nevada, a site slated to be the permanent burial ground for the nation's high-level nuclear waste.

"That's why we have meetings with Department of Energy: to find out what their plans are, what they're doing, how it's going to affect Navajo, what our recommendations are, how we oppose it," MacDonald-LoneTree said.

The Navajo Nation has approved a ban on future uranium mining and processing in Navajo Indian Country.

In a Dec. 21 preliminary draft of Section 180(c) of the Nuclear WastePolicy Act sent to the Navajo Nation, the federal Office of Management and Budget stated that DOE will provide grants and technical assistance to states and tribes affected by the transport of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.

DOE intends to make two grants available to states and tribes affected by the shipments: an assessment and planning grant set at $200,000, and an annual training grant with a base amount of $100,000. Funding beyond the base grants will be according to a needs assessment conducted by the tribe.

Five-Year Notice
OMB said the Department of Energy will notify each eligible state and tribal government through a letter to the governor or tribal leader approximately five years before shipments are scheduled through that jurisdiction. The letter will announce anticipated routes.

Jimson Joe of Navajo Department of Emergency Management said DOE already has given the tribe the requisite five-year notice that "hot" nuclear waste shipments will be moving on I-40.

"They don't have specific days. They just kind of gave us general information," he said.

The Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management has been working on a proposed plan of how it will deal with public notification and what type of precautionary measures it will use in regard to the shipments.

Navajo Nation Council Delegate Lorenzo Curley introduced legislation last October that would have approved a cooperative agreement between the Navajo Nation and DOE's Carlsbad Field Office.

At that time, Curley said the shipments planned for I-40 are so "hot" they have to be handled by machines, rather than people.

The agreement included in the legislation would provide funding for a Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Emergency Services Liaison who would provide community education in 10 Navajo chapters located in Apache and McKinley counties through which the shipments will pass.

Those include Nahata dziil, Houck, and Lupton in Apache County, and Manuelito, Tsayatoh, Red Rock, Church Rock, Iyanbito, Thoreau and Baca in McKinley County.

Through the WIPP liasion's educational efforts, "the members of the ten communities will better understand the effects of hazardous materials and be prepared to respond to incidents that may occur related to the transportation of transuranic waste materials over I-40," according to the statement of work.

Curley's legislation, which has been languishing since it was tabled by the Intergovernmental Relations Committee last year, includes a DOE financial assistance agreement totaling $50,000. However, DOE obligated only $31,250 for the budget period March 1, 2006-Feb. 28, 2007.

The project would continue through Feb. 28, 2011, during which time the Navajo Nation could receive up to $250,000. However, DOE said there is no guarantee that amount will be awarded.

Waste Corridors
On Jan. 16, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency removed one of the final roadblocks to transport of remote-handled transuranic waste by approving preparations at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the source of waste from nuclear weapons work.

Don Hancock of the Southwest Research Information Center in Albuquerque said both Hanford, Wash., and INL have remote-handled (RH) wastes. INL is supposed to be the first DOE site to ship the RH waste, he said.

"However, the transportation route for those wastes is through Utah, Wyoming on I-80, Colorado, and then into New Mexico on I-25 and down US-285.

Hancock said DOE currently does not ship remote-handled waste on I-40. "In fact, those sites are prohibited from shipping on I-40," he said. "There are no remote-handled shipments planned from the west which would come on I-40."

"Idaho says it has 183 RH shipments in the waste stream that it's starting to ship. WIPP hopes to handle about two RH shipments a week, so that's more than a year's worth," he said.

Unforeseen Events
OMB said there may be instances when unforseen events force the closure of a primary or alternate route, requiring shipments to be re-routed to a less prepared or unprepared route.

In instances where re-routing of the shipments is required, DOE will work with the tribe to reach a mutually acceptable solution and will make funds available, if necessary.

DOE also will work with states and tribes on an individual basis to determine whether fees levied on radioactive materials shipments will impact the amount of funds received

Currently, 28 states levy fees on radioactive materials shipments, ranging from $25 to $4,000 on the initial rail cask. No tribes now assess fees on radioactive materials shipments through their reservations.

OMB said that if a tribe does impose a fee, DOE would have to decide whether it was paying twice for some activities if it pays fees and funds to the tribe through Section 180(c), and if so, what it can do to meet its obligations under that section, while complying with applicable tribal laws, and avoiding paying twice for the same service.

Summer Internship Opportunity at Princeton - Deadline - Feb. 15th
If you know a high school journalism student that might be interested in a 10 day learning experience, please pass this along. This opportunity gets missed each year because the word doesn't get out. This is an awesome opportunity that should not be missed due to lack of awareness.

A 10-day all-expenses- paid summer journalism program will be held in August at Princeton University for students from under resourced financial backgrounds. All application materials are available at www.princeton.edu/~sjp. All expenses, including travel costs to and from Princeton , will be paid for.

This will be the sixth year of the program, and if this summer is anything like the last five, it will be a great experience. The last five classes of journalists were taught by writers from The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Miami Herald, and The New Republic; toured The New York Times and ABC News, meeting with editors and producers; attended and covered Yankees, Mets, Jets and Liberty games; and reported, wrote, edited, designed, and produced a 12-page edition of The Princeton Summer Journal on the program's final day.

The program is also designed to give students a taste of what life is like at one of the best colleges in the country - students live on campus and eat in one of the university's cafeterias. Students meet with the Princeton University 's president and the school's dean of admissions - people who are able to offer guidance on the difficult decisions about college that high school students face. The program is staffed by young alumni of Princeton, current Princeton students, and students who attended the program in past summers.

To apply for the program, you must meet the following qualifications:
1) You must be entering your junior or senior year of high school in fall 2007.
2) You must have at least a 3.0 grade point average (out of 4.0).
3) You must have demonstrated an interest in journalism.
4) The combined income of your custodial parent(s)/guardian( s) plus child support payments, if any, must not exceed $45,000.

This program is intended for students from under resourced financial backgrounds. If the combined income of your custodial parent's) / guardian's) plus child support payments, if any, exceeds $45,000 and you still wish to apply, you can attach a note explaining why you believe your family qualifies as financially under resourced

The application must be postmarked by February 15th . More information and the application materials are available on our website at www.princeton.edu/~sjp. Please feel free to direct questions to rinderle@princeton.edu. Please include a phone number and an email address where you can be reached.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

Visit Vietnam Vet. LARRY MITCHELL at http://www.potawatomivet.com and click on his blog at the site.

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS - Every Tuesday when available.