A Letter from the Publisher

Vol. 1, Issue 39 April 16, 2014 A Letter from the Publisher Shekóli. Last week we applauded Jon Tester (D-Montna) the Native people have said this is righting a historical for standing out on the Senate floor and being recog- wrong and we’ve always owned the land,” said Eastern nized as a friend of Indian country. Tester is an example Shoshone Business Council Chairman Darwin St. Clair, of an informed and rational leader, one who recognizes Jr., “which I would agree with since we’ve been here since the needs of interdependent communities and the ben- time immemorial.” efits of strengthening each and every one of them. It has always been a strong hope of Indian Country that The state has sought to overturn or limit the impact of if enough officials paid heed to men like Tester, and the EPA decision in federal court, but recently Sen. Mike were educated on the legally binding contracts known Enzi (R-Wyoming) introduced a bill to the Senate that as treaties and the fundamental rights of Indian nations looks to use the powers of Congress to tilt the scales out- as sovereign entities, then both the U.S. and Native Na- side the courtroom. As ICTMN’S article elaborates, Enzi’s tions would benefit. However, there are sometimes larger bill says it will “clarify the boundaries of the Wind River forces to overcome than the lack of communication—the worst ob- Indian Reservation” by adhering to the boundaries used since 1905. stacle being people who don’t care enough to learn about Native Critics of Enzi say he is being shortsighted and not truly serving state rights, but simply want them cleared out of the way. interests. “There is no effort to do anything that is beneficial for our tribal nations, “ says Fremont County Commissioner Keja White- An interesting situation arose recently in what is now known as the man. “Which is unfortunate because if native people were more state of Wyoming, and serves as the background to the more topical prosperous Fremont County and Wyoming would benefit. There is a news elements in this week’s feature, “Wyoming Senator Drafts Bill continuous effort to “fight” tribes by our own elected officials.” ‘To Clarify’ Reservation Borders.” Simply put, the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribal Nations wanted to address air pollu- It is a simple truth. As Native people, we are tied to the land. When tion on the Wind River Reservation, and were in the process of we prosper, the land prospers—and so does everyone else living on it. working with the Environmental Protection Agency on expanding the reservations network of air monitors. But first, the EPA needed NΛ ki� wa, to establish the scope of land over which the Arapaho and Shoshone had jurisdiction—and the federal agency determined that the city of Riverton was within the reservation, and not without. This decision flew in the face of local governmental interpretation of a 1905 pact that had allowed settlers to move into native land. Naturally, the EPA did not get any argument from Indian officials. “Most of Ray Halbritter Table of Contents 2 commentAry 11 Week in Photos 4 News 12 trAdewinds clAssiFieds 7 A smuggler’s worst 13 weB, events, letters nightmAre 9 First nAtions Save First 14 cArtoon, news Alerts Foods 15 Upcoming Pow wows 10 rethink wind river’s cneel Borders 16 the Big Picture m 11 ck A J IndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork.com April 16, 2014 2 COMMENTARY The Stranglehold on Native ment not only through the boilerplate Our poverty is accentuated by the con- Governance constitutions that they adopted, but also spicuous wealth of our neighbors. We are Dino Gilio-Whitaker, Colville, a research through their emphasis on economics alienated by a system of greed not of our associate at the Center for World Indig- and land ownership. Those constitutions making. enous Studies, traces faults in the current were not rooted in indigenous traditions The capitalist system is the business tribal system to capitalism in general: and worldviews but the worldviews of approach to life, not a Mitakuye Oyasin Capitalism as a way of life was imposed the Euro-American system that imposed (“we are all related”) approach to life, the as a civilizing technique of the coloniz- itself and its values on private property, way we were taught by our elders. It was ing American government, especially rugged individualism and selfishness. perhaps inevitable and beyond our con- during the eras of assimilation and the The result is an uncomfortable di- trol that we would get swept up into the Indian Reorganization Act. The goals of chotomy, ever present in the way Indi- capitalist paradigm. But now the limits to self-government under the IRA were en- ans must negotiate their worlds today. capitalism are painfully obvious. My hope visioned primarily as a business creation Like the poorest people in the poorest is that we will look back and see the eco- and management regime. Tribal govern- countries of the world, we all want the nomic system that drives us now as just ments were organized as corporations. good life we see other Americans enjoy- a phase of development the human race When the tribal governments were cre- ing. In some ways the pressure is more passed through to reach a more just and ated they mirrored the American govern- pronounced because it is so in our face. equitable society. http://bit.ly/Q5dkCo 0 A Tale of Dueling Budgets But if you look at the total package of search at NIH, primary care services ICTMN contributor Mark Trahant spending, then Indian-related programs provided at community health centers, points up the conflicting claims about the would be hit hard in a Ryan budget. Just mental health and substance abuse ser- federal FY 2015 budget proposed by Rep. consider Medicaid. This is a part of the vices at SAMSHA, comprehensive health Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and the House’s Indian health budget that is increasing, care provided by the Indian Health Ser- Democratic alternative: but Ryan’s budget calls for $2.7 trillion vice, and other vital public health pro- House Democrats said Ryan’s last bud- in cuts to Medicaid and subsidies to help grams,” the Democratic plan says. “In get—similar in nature to this one—would low- and moderate-income people buy contrast, the Republican budget cuts this have reduced spending for the Bureau of private insurance. Also, the Ryan plan category of funding by more than twice Indian Affairs by $375 million and the shifts Medicaid spending into state block as much as it would be cut if the seques- Indian Health Service by $637 million. grants, making it even less accessible to ter went into effect and stayed in effect However Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma) tribal programs. for 10 years.” said the assessment was wrong: “This The Democrats, on the other hand, These dueling budgets, these different idea that a Ryan budget means cuts in support an increase in Medicaid spend- approaches to governing, are the frame- Indian programs is simply not true. We ing, encouraging states to expand eligi- work for the November elections. The only have evidence that while it lowers overall bility. “Our budget preserves non-defense problem is that those who want budgets government spending, it also allows us to discretionary spending, the category of cut dramatically, the Tea Party folks, will re-prioritize where the money goes.” funding that supports biomedical re- turn out and vote. http://bit.ly/OKty2B 0 Lessons Learned on Capitol being of our children, elders and Tribal that few bills are introduced, passed and Hill leaders. To that end, I offer two insights signed into law during one session of After serving as staff director and chief for strategic advocacy success: Congress. Instead, just like our ancestors counsel for Senate Committee on Indian • Use the Indian Affairs Committee’s we must persist and persevere. Our sur- Affairs Chairman Daniel Akaka (D- vast legislative record to achieve today’s vival depends on it. Hawaii), Attorney Loretta A. Tuell, Nez goals. Why start over? For example, • Build nonpartisan support. “Today’s Perce, was barred by ethics rules from hav- during the 112th Congress, Chairman enemies can be tomorrow’s friends,” goes ing any advocacy contact with senators or Akaka created a dynamic record on a the adage. The current political climate staff members for a year. A year later, she host of priorities, like the “Carcieri fi x ”, underscores the need to build non-par- is now free to make these observations: federal recognition and Internet gaming. tisan support in Indian affairs. It is not I believe it is critical that all the “col- The facts, figures, and impacts devel- self-evident to Democrats, Republicans lective voices” within Indian country oped from written and oral testimony at and Independents that they have a consti- are joined together. My vision was to hearings, mark-ups and filed reports are tutional duty and a trust responsibility to strengthen tribal sovereignty; to protect strategic weapons to be used as catalysts Native Americans. Non-partisan support and grow our homelands and resources; for action. Don’t reinvent the wheel, but should be built with mutual respect and to safeguard our Native identity, culture try to strengthen the existing record to education. Don’t let ignorance be an ex- and tradition; and to advance the well propel forward movement. Keep in mind cuse. http://bit.ly/1hUXeFX 0 IndianCountryTodayMediaNetwork.com April 16, 2014 31st AN INTERNATIONAL WORLD CELEBRATION APRIL 24-26, 2014 ALBUQUERQUE, NM NORTH AMERICA’S BIGGEST POWWOW www.

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