Street Roots • July 29-August 4, 2016
INDIGENOUS, from page 9
must go before it’s gone. And, if someone’s
getting in the way of that glorious mission to
get that gold or that oil or that molybdenum,
well, they need to be neutralized. That’s
pretty much all there is to it.
Our own resources are extremely limited,
so we can’t do as much as we should be
doing, but we’re
telling every story
"We're telling
that we can with the
every
story
goal of educating the
that
we
can
public and providing
journalistic support to with the goal
the frontlines that
of educating
others ignore.
the public
Somebody’s gotta do
and providing
it.
S.Q.: What can
people do to help?
journalistic
support to fife
frontlines that
others ignore.
Somebody's
gotta do it.
J.S.: Aside from
educating ourselves,
it would be great if
we all became more
active in our own
JOHN AHN*
SCHERTOW
communities and in
solidarity with all
indigenous peoples. Clicking “like” on
Facebook or signing an online petition, while
admirable, doesn’t accomplish anything on
the ground. We need to go to protests,
volunteer our time, donate strategically -
when we can afford to donate - to those who
need it, host film screenings, start our own
debate clubs, confront racism when we
encounter it, and do anything else that might
make a real difference in the world.
S.Q.: What are some of the challenges at IC?
J.S.: Funding has been a massive
challenge for us. Despite the fact that we
run circles around many other media outlets
in terms of scope, we’ve never been able to
secure a single grant or get support from
any private foundation in Canada or the U.S.
We’ve also had a big problem finding
trustworthy volunteers to help share the
burden, so to speak. Plus, journalists aren’t
usually willing to work for free, so we’re
forced to skip a lot of important stories.
S.Q.: Are you currently recruiting more
writers? Where do you need them the most?
J.S.: We’re always looking for more
writers, no matter where they are in the
world. They just have to be cool with the fact
that we are not your average media outlet.
We are ethical to the core, we deeply respect
those we work with, we don’t abuse words
and we don’t compromise.
S.Q.: What’s next for IC?
J.S.: We’ve got tons of great stuff going
on. We’re working with the Indigenous
Governance Program (IGOV) at the
University of Victoria to publish a magazine
called “Everyday Acts of Resurgence.” We’re
developing an online cultural exchange to
support indigenous youth on reserve. We’re
designing an online “indigenous journalism”
course and an “ethical journalist” checklist.
We’re also searching frantically for
operational funds so that we can carry this
work forward, start paying our staff, expand
our coverage and fairly compensate our
contributors. We got a lot of work ahead of
us.
News
Page 11
WATER FEUD, from page 10
have historically known - and currently
know - this land as their usual and
accustomed grounds for hunting, fishing
and gathering.”
On June 22 seven companies,
representing half of the Lower Willamette
Group, filed a legal dispute with the EPA,
challenging the projected cost of their
clean-up plan.
Since the plan was announced the
Portland Business Alliance has also
launched a website, “Healthy River
Healthy Economy,” that warns “an overly
expensive cleanup could hurt small
businesses and cost hundreds of jobs each
year,” based on a 2012 economic impact
study.
However, a 2012 economic analysis by
ECOnorthwest showed that fixing the
Willamette would actually stimulate the
local economy, as it would force giant
companies like Exxon and Shell to spend
millions of dollars in Portland that would
not otherwise be spent here at all.
According to their analysis, that money
would also re-circulate as Superfund
employees and their suppliers spend their
income in the local economy. On the
whole, the study predicted that a $573
million clean up would produce $980
million in spending in the Portland area,
and would employ about 1,000 people
over seven years.
The preferred alternative of Yakama
Nation and its allies - a modified Option G
— has a cost about
Yakama leaders traveled to Washington D.C. earlier this week to argue their treaty rights
with EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, third from left. Pictured, left to right: Davis
Washines, Yakama Nation General Council chairman, Delano Saluskin, Yakama Nation
Tribal Council vice-chairman, Gina McCarthy, Gerald Lewis, Yakama Nation Tribal
Council’s Fish and Wildlife committee chairman, and Virgil Lewis, Yakama Nation
Tribal Council’s Law and Order committee chairman.
the plan is the consideration of local
acceptance, which includes both the
community and the local government. So
the city has a formal role to play in either
agreeing or disagreeing with the plan.”
The city of .
Portland has a
three times as
standing policy of
high, with
consulting with local
commensurate
"Fishing isn't just a right on
Native American
benefits for job
tribes on a
paper
for
us,
it's
a
part
of
who
growth, local
govemment-to-
we are and how we live. This
spending, and tax
plan does not go far enough to government basis
revenue.
before taking any
Compared to
protect the waters and fish, and action that could
other
therefore violates the treaty
impact them - a
infrastructure
that reserves our right to a
policy implemented
projects, that cost
in 2012 through the
meaningful fishery where we
does not seem
now defunct Office
can harvest healthy fish that
extraordinarily
are safe to eat. Our expectation of Healthy Working
high. In 2011, the
Rivers, which was
City of Portland
is that the EPA will revise this eliminated when
completed the “Big plan to protect our people, our
Charlie Hales took
Pipe Project”,
fish, and our way of life/'
office as mayor. The
spending $1.4
mayor
’s office is
-
VIRGIL
LEWIS
billion on a sewer
YAKAMA TRIBAL COUNCIL currently hiring a
system upgrade so
liaison to coordinate
that less raw
this consultation.
sewage would get
During last year’s
dumped into the
conflict
over a
Willamette River. Option G, the one
proposed propane export terminal at the
option that would protect the human
Port of Portland, renowned indigenous
rights of all river users, costs roughly the
legal scholar Walter Echo-Hawk spoke to
same amount.
members of the Planning and
Bob Sallinger of the Portland Audubon
Sustainability Commission at PSU’s
Society, says city officials have simply
gotten too cozy with the Lower Willamette Native American Student Center about
why and how the city should continue to
Group and are not demanding that
consult with tribes.
polluters pay for a clean river in the same
Echo-Hawk’s 2013 book “In The Light
way that taxpayers have paid for The Big
of Justice,” explains how these
Pipe project.
government duties dovetail with
The city is a member of the Lower
international human rights treaties like
Willamette Group and has been identified
the Universal Declaration on Human
as among the potentially responsible
Rights and the 2007 U.N. Declaration on
parties.
“The city has a very, very pivotal role to the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which
the U.S. has supported since 2010. This
play in what kind of plan is adopted,” said
Sallinger. “Part of the adoption criteria for declaration, he writes, creates new legal
obligations for states while clarifying the
meaning and interpretation of treaty
rights in a manner favorable to indigenous
nations. For instance, Articles 20, 28 and
32 of the Indigenous Rights Declaration
require that governments provide redress
for “harm to subsistence rights, lands,
territories and resources.” Specific
provisions of this declaration, Echo-Hawk
writes, “can be enforced by courts to the
extent they reflect customary
international law or existing treaty
obligations.”
He concludes: “Just as modern nations
have renounced torture, genocide, piracy,
slavery, and cruel and unusual punishment
in the world today, the human rights of
indigenous peoples will be restored by
nations primarily because it is the right
thing to do in the post-colonial age.”
“Fishing isn’t just a right on paper for
us, it’s a part of who we are and how we
live” says Virgil Lewis, a member of the
Yakama Tribal Council. “This plan does
not go far enough to protect the waters
and fish, and therefore violates the treaty
that reserves our right to a meaningful
fishery where we can harvest healthy fish
that are safe to eat. Our expectation is
that the EPA will revise this plan to
protect our people, our fish and our way
of life. In doing so, the general population
of the region will also benefit as will the
economy.”
NAYA’s Roben White argues that the
city should formally request an additional
120 days of public comments so that
NAYA and other communities have time
to fully respond to the problems in the
EPA’s plan and involve both youth and
elders who want to be part of the river’s
restoration.
“The city has an obligation to do what’s
right here,” White says. “We’re just trying
to live the American dream and eat food
that doesn’t poison us.”