April 9,1982 Page 5
Chavers critical of Smith
by Dean Chavers
President Reagan's Indian
reorganization plan and budget
cuts are m eeting heavy
resistance" in Indian country.
Because of this resistance,
Reagan officials are reportedly
using tactics of questionable
legality to ram rod th eir
changes through.
Ron Andrade, Executive
D irecto r of the N ational
Congress of American Indians,
say s a ll tr ib e s se n d in g
comments to his organization
about the reorganization are
against it.
The proposals, put forth by
Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs Ken Smith, would
eliminate Indians not living on
reservations from eligibility for
services. One Indian official
thinks Smith is deliberately
pitting reservation Indians
a g a in st th o se liv in g off
reservations.
By pitting Indians against
each other, he says, the
administration hopes to have
Indians fighting each other and
not the cutbacks.
The reorganization proposal
would consolidate 12 field
offices of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) into six regional
offices. The budget cuts
amount to about 11 percent—
from $943 million this year to
$849 million for 1983.
S m ith is b a s in g h is
ju s tific a tio n fo r lim itin g
eligibility on the lack of validity
of Indian treaties. A draft
document leaked from the BIA
states “education is not a trust
responsibility.” It goes on to
say the trust responsibility to
In d ia n s o f th e fe d e ra l
government is restricted to
“land, water, minerals, and
other physical resources.”
Smith is tossing the legal
theory the federal government
has maintained for the past two
federal government “term i
nated,” and their reservation
was renam ed M enom inee
County. In a few years, the
tribe was impoverished, their
timber industry was a disaster,
and most of them were on
welfare.
It was only after Congress
intervened and restored the
treaty rights of the tribe, and
removed their vulnerability to
local politicians and busi
nessmen, that their economic
a n d h e a lth c o n d itio n s
improved, he says.
An Indian lobbyist thinks
Smith is causing some of his
own problems. By making
decisions in a vacuum, Smith is
out of touch with Indian
leaders, he says. Smith could
smooth over some of his
problems by meeting with the
leadership of the tribes to
explain his changes in advance,
he adds.
A nother . officials thinks
Smith, is “too much the
e p ito m e o f a b u sin e ss
manager.” Smith is a good
accountant, he says, but a poor
politician.
Smith’s proposals will have
an impact on off-reservation
Indians by the end of this year,
according to Indian leaders. So
far, CETA programs, child
welfare programs, housing,
community health clinics, and
education programs have been
eliminated from the 1983
budgeit re q u e s ts . O th e r
progra ns may follow.
Smith's cutbacks are already
eliminating some of the sources
of Indian resistance. Among
the Indian organizations said
to be on the ropes are the
National Indian Education
A ssociation, the N ational
Indian Health Board, the
A m erican In d ia n N urses
Association, the United Indian
Planners Association, and the
National Tribal Chairmen’s
hundred years—that Indians
are wards of the government—
out the window. In its place, he
is counting on the states to
provide services the federal
government has provided in the
past.
According to Carl Shaw,
chief press spokesman for
Smith, Indians living off
reservation will no longer be
eligible for some BIA services
after 1982.
This type of action was not
expected of Reagan’s chief
Indian spokesman. The former
business manager of the Warm
Springs reservation in Oregon
and a native of that reservation,
Smith presided over the past
two decades of development of
the timber industry at Warm
Springs.
He has come to have a deep
and abiding faith in the spirit of
capitalism and, development.
He thinks Indians should pull
them selves up by th e ir
bootstraps.
The director of another
national Indian organization
thinks Smith is out of touch
with reality. “There are only 36
out of 400 tribes—the members
of CERT (the Council of
Energy Resource Tribes)—
which have enough natural
resources left to su pport
themselves,” he says.
Smith’s thinking, in the face
of the poverty and powerless in
Indian country, is tantamount
to disaster, this executive says.
Tribal leaders have to take the
initiative to keep their people
from being reduced to further
levels of poverty, he asserts.
Another Indian executive
says every effort in the past to
place Indians under state
jurisdiction has resulted in
d i s a s t e r . H e c ite s th e
Menominee Tribe of Wiscon
sin as an example.
The Menominees had their
treaty relationship with the
From the Vehicle Pool
Toe Ness
The vehicle pool wishes to
announce that there is a car
wash rack available to the
public located in the Industrial
site car poof through the hours
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A cost of $1.50 per vehicle
which will be used to cover the'
cost of the soap, scrub brushes
and other necessary supplies.
There was this tourist out boating off the coast of Florida when he
capsized his boat. He could have made it to shore if he would swim
but for fear o f alligators he clung to the boat., After awhile he saw
this beacn comber on shore and shouted to him, “Are there any
alligators here?”T he beach comber, “Naw, there haven’t been any
around tor some time." So he starts swimming to shore and about
half way he shouted to the beach comber, “How’d you get rid of
the gators?” “We didn’t do anything,” the beach comber said.
“The sharks got’ em.” YIKES!!!
Tribal Garage
The Tribal Garage has
reorganized and has increased
the mechanic staff by one to
bring the to ta l of three
mechanics. To do things right
the first time will better serve
you. All w ork is fu lly
guaranteed.
SS SS SS
There was this couple dressing to go out for the evening when the
guy said to his wife, “That sure is a pretty necklace you’re
wearing.” “Yes, isn’t it, darling?” said his wife. “I found it in the
back seat of your car.” YIKES!!!
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CONFUCIUS SAY: “Man who pay too much attention to girls’
figure do not notice she have two faces!” YIKES!!!
SS SS SS
I
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students received citizenship awards fo r the month o f March. The
awards were presented to the students by Bob Finch, Tribal Credit
manager. The awards are given each month to students who have
been selected by the Elementary staff fo r excelling in citizenship.
Association.
By e lim in a tin g u r b a n
Indians arbitrarily, one Indian
le a d e r s a y s , S m ith is
Challenging the right of tribes
to d e te rm in e th e ir own
membership according to the
Martinez decision of the
Supreme Court. This person
thinks Smith leaves himself
vulnerable to lawsuits for his
actions.
A highly placed Indian
policy analyst calls Smith’s
reorganization plan “the most
screwed up mess I have ever
seen.” A ccording to this
official, severance pay for early
retirees, long term leases,
concentration of specialists in
one office, and other features of
the plan, mean it won’t save any
money.
Shaw, Smith’s spokesman,
insists the plan will not only
save the $16 million mandated
by OMB to be cut from the
Indian budget, but will save
another $8 million, for a total
of $24 million.
S m i t h a n d h is t o p
management team are pressing
hard for both the cuts in Indian
programs and the reorganiza
tion of the BIA. And they are
c o n f id e n t b o th w ill be
approved.
In th e m ean tim e, the
suddenness of the moves, and
the secrecy with which they
were made, have left Indian
leaders hanging on the ropes,
waiting for the next punch.
And the changes have left
many Indian leaders wonder
ing about the motivation and
the thinking of the most
controversial head of the
Indian service since John
Collier in the 1930’s. The only
thing many of them are sure of
is that Smith is not on the side
of Indians as Collier was.
PHS no lo n g e r
paying for abortions
R ecent p u b lications of
regulations governing federal
funding for abortions limits
I n d i a n H e a lth S e r v ic e
involvement to only those cases
where the life of the mother
would be endangered if the
fetus were carried to term. IHS
funds may not be used to;
p r o v id e n o n c o n f o r m in g ;
abortion services through the:
direct care system or through
the Contract Health Service
program.
The reregulation became
effective February 26, 1982.
Written certification from a
physician will be necessary to
verify that the situation meets
the life endangerm ent of
m o th e r re q u ire m e n t and
Should be reviewed before
Contract Health monies are
committed.
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There was this guy who was lecturing his son, stressing that we are
here in this world to help others. His son considered this for a
while, then asked, “What are the others here for?” YIKES!!!
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NAME-______________ ___________ ____________________
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CITY----------------------------------- STATE_______
One day the Pastor of the church was showing his little son around
the church yard when they came upon the grave yard. The Pastor
said, “This here is for church members who wish to be buried here
in the church yard.” Off to one side there was group of identical
grave markers of military personnel who were returned to be
buried there. The little boy asked, “What are these graves here?”
The Pastor said, “These are the men who died in service.” The
little boy thought for a while and then asked. “W hat service did
they die in, the early or late service?” YIKES
SS SS SS
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