Spilyay tymoo., March 24, 1978, Image 1

Abourezk Asks For
Gerard's Resignation
Spring has come to the 4-H feed lot with the arrival of 23 calves in the last three weeks. In the evening
the newborns are tagged by Rockin’ 4-H Club members but the peaceful mornings are reserved for a bit
of motherly attention — particularly behind the ears.
CDS Photo
A sequence of events in the who requested that he refrain
southwestern and north central from working.
According to the AIPC Pub­
states has left Indian country
divided over Bureau of Indian lic Information Office, gover­
nors of the 19 Pueblos and other
Affairs policy and leadership.
A letter calling for the tribes in the area had recom­
resignation of BIA head Forrest mended Roland Johnson from
Gerard lies on the desk of the Laguna Pueblo for the direc­
Secretary of Interior Cecil And­ torship and they would not
rus while the office of Albuquer­ support the new appointee.
Mills, a Sioux, agreed not to
que area director Sidney Mills
is being boycotted by local work until the matter was settl­
ed and the Pueblos occupied his
Indians.
Although the incidents are office. However on Friday a
separate, they have arisen from court restraining order was is-
a common sentiment — that suecj to the AIPC and Mills went
Assistant Secretary Gerard has back to work. Council Chairman
not followed through on promis­ Del Lovato announced that al­
es to involve tribes in BIA though his group would honor
the restraining order, they
decision-making.
Not everyone in Indian coun­ would boycott the office and
try agrees, however. The Warm thereby “render it ineffective.”
Lovato referred to Gerard’s
Springs Tribal Council is draft­
ing a letter of support for request for tribal input in the
Gerard and other, tribes are selection of the area director as
reacting similarly, according to Jlwindojv dressing” since the
New Mexico tribes’ suggestion
vice-chairman Delbert Frank.
was not heeded.
Area office-occupied
Gerard’s respohse was that
Tension reached a high point only five tribes had offered their
on Monday, March 13, when Jnput, byt Lovato said the All-In­
Gerard-appointee Sidney Mills dian Pueblo Council had notified
was to report to work as the BIA Gerard by mailgram on Febru­
area director in the Albuquerque ary 17 of their support for
office. He was met by members Johnson.
of the All-Indian Pueblo Council
The Pueblo Council is sched­
uled to appear in court April 6.
High Court Rules Against Tribal Jurisdiction
In a decision which could
have nationwide impact, the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled six to
two on Monday, March 6, that
Indian tribal courts lack the
power to prosecute non-Indians
for crimes committed on reser­
vations.
Reaction to the quick de­
cision was that “it is bad news
for tribal courts.”
The high court ruling over­
turned an appeals court decision
that the Suquamish Indians
could arrest and try non-Indians
who live on its Kitsap Peninsula
reservation at Port Madison.
The case in particular was
one in which the Suquamish
Tribe arrested and moved to
prosecute two non-Indian resi­
dents, Mark D. Oliphant and
Daniel B. Belgarde.
The charge against Oliphant
was that he had assaulted a
tribal officer and resisted arrest
From The Police Department
We have been receiving
prank “emergency” calls over
the C.B. and telephones. When
the ambulance is dispatched for
such calls it is a waste of
officers’ and volunteers’ time as
well as a waste of tribal money.
This could cost lives, too, if a
real emergency occurred while
the ambulance was out on a
prank call.
If you have any information
concerning the source of these
calls, please contact the Tribal
Police at 553-1161 ext. 272 or
553-1171. Your information will
be handled confidentially.
during the Suquamish annual
celebration of Chief Seattle
Days. Belgarde was arrested
following an alleged high-speed
chase along reservation high­
ways which ended in a collision
with a .tribal police car.
Justice William H. Rehn­
quist wrote in his opinion, “The
power of the United States to try
and (to) criminally punish is an
important manifestation of the
power to restrict personal liber­
ty.”
“By submitting to the over­
riding sovereignty of the United
States, Indian Tribes therefore
necessarily give up their power
to try non-Indian citizens of the
United States except in a man­
ner acceptable to Congress.”
The key to the decision was
that since congress had not
acted, tribes could not exercise
jursidiction. The power does not
exist since it is not so stated,
Decorate and Hunt For Eggs
Grade schoolers may want
to set aside two afternoons of
their spring vacation to decorate
and hunt for eggs. Prizes and
hours of fun are in store for kids
preschool through sixth grade.
The Warm Springs commun­
ity Center is holding a Spring
Decorating Contest and Egg
Scramble on Tuesday and Wed­
nesday, March 28 and 29.
Fifth and sixth graders are
invited to try their hand at egg
decorating at 2:00 on Tuesday.
The Community Center will pro­
vide the eggs, colored dye and
felt-tipped pens but any other
materials will have to be pro­
vided by participants. Judging
will be at 4:00 and prizes will be
awarded to each grade in four
divisions: a) most colorful, b)
craziest, c) ugliest, and d) most
original.
reasoned the Court.
But Warm Springs tribal
attorney Dennis Karnopp, who
was disappointed in the decision
and the analysis, feels the high
court reasoned backwards. “It
should be that all powers exist
which are not expressly relin­
quished by treaty-that the power
exists unless otherwise stated,”
he said in a phone interview.
Karnopp said he doesn’t
think the impact here will be as
great as on some other reser­
vations, and he doesn’t see any
immediate problem for the
Warm Springs Reservation.
He did say that zoning, land
use planning and the water code
could be potential areas of con­
cern, but he feels there is a
distinction between regulating
and controlling natural resourc­
es and regulating and controlling
the conduct of persons.
Karnopp’s comments follow­
ed the logic of Justice Thurgood
Marshall who was one of the two
dissenters. In his dissent Justice
Marshall said that because no
treaty or law has withdrawn the
rights of tribes to try and punish
all persons who commit offenses
on reservations, the right-re­
mains “....a necessary aspect of
their retained sovereignty....”
Chief Justice Warren E.
Burger joined Marshall in that
dissent.
In the summation of the re­
versal the opinion stated, “We
At noon on Wednesday the
younger kids will have a chance
to hunt for those eggs, as well as
candy, and three plastic eggs for
which there will be special
prizes. Preschoolers through
fourth graders will hunt in their
own areas. Contestants must
bring their own collecting bags.
Join the Community Center
in its celebration of spring (and
• Continued on Page 4
spring vacation)!
Andrus asked to fire Gerard
While the Pueblos were oc­
cupying the Albuquerque office,
Sen. James Abourezk (D-S.D.)
penned a letter to Secretary of
the Interior Cecil Andrus asking
that he remove Gerard from the
position he has held for less than
a year.
Abourezk who is Chairman
of the Senate Select Subcommit­
tee on Indian Affairs, was criti­
cal of Gerard for his handling of
the Albuquerque appointment,
asking how this squared with
promises made by Andrus and
Continued on Page 5
WEATHER