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August 12, 1983 Page 5
Thanks
for
To the Editor,
We would like t take this
time to thank all of the people
who took the time to turn out
for Sammy Allen’s luncheon on
August 1, 1983. Your respect
and support meant alot to her.
Her family would like to
thank the following people:
Carol Allison, Lucinda David
for preparing the salads,
C a ro lin e T o h e t fo r the
support S m ith urges b e tte r
fiscal acco u n tab ility
w o n d e rfu l sp eech and
kindness, Charles Calica for
being there to present her
award from the United States
Achievement Academy and for
the nice letter written to her,
from Sal Sahme, Education
Committee Chariman, and
Zane Jackson, Tribal Council
Chairman.
Thank You,
Kenny and Frances Allen
Parents
Support given for return of land
The Reagan Administration
has announced support for a
bill to transfer title to 25,000
acres of land within Caja del
Rio National Forest to the
Indians of Cochiti Pueblo in
New Mexico.
Interior Assistant Secretary
Ken Smith, testifying before
the House Interior and Insular
Affairs Committee July 26,
said the land had been
frauduently taken from the
Pueblo in the early 19th
century and failure to return it
to its rightful owners would be
a grave injustice.
The land has “considerable
sy m b o lic , re lig io u s a n d
economic significance to the
Pueblo,” Smith said.
Smith said that Interior
Secretary James Watt strongly
supported the bill, H.R. 3259.
He commended W att for
w orking closely w ith the
A dm inistration to initiate
return of the land to the Cochiti
Pueblo.
The Cochiti’s claim to the
land is based on a 1744
purchase of the land from a
Spanish grantee. The Indians
were deprived of the 25,000—
acre tract by a fraudulent
conveyance in 1805. A Spanish
colonial court subsequently
declared this 1805 conveyance
void—but that court order was
lost and the document not
uncovered until 1979. U.S.
courts, in the meantime, had
denied the Cochiti claim,
foreclosing the possibility of
correcting the title through the
court system.
Assistant Secretary Smith, in
a May 13 briefing paper to
Secretary Watt, said: “It is clear
that the loss of this land in the
past has been a grave injustice
to the Pueblo de Cochiti. By the
1848 Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo, the United States was
obligated to respect and protect
vested Indian property rights.
Had the recently-discovered
Spanish Colonial Court decree
been available at the time the
question of the Pueblo’s title
was pending courts of the
United States, the Pueblo’s title
to the Santa Cruz Spring Tract
would almost certainly have
been confirmed.” Smith, in his
testimony pointed out that the
Cochiti claim is unique. “It
represents the only known case
of an Indian tribe pressing for
land restoration on the basis of
a paper title acquired by
purchase.”
The legislation expressly
limits future use of the land to
its present uses and specifically
grants access through the land
to existing recreational areas.
I I 0s
Toe Ness
yjK0s
There was this duck hunter who claimed to be an expert
marksman. One day he took his friend out duck hunting
to prove his fine marksmanship. After some time had
passed they saw this lone duck flying by. He said, “Watch
this,” and takes aim and tires, the duck kept on flying.
Smith identified the kinds of
assistance provided by the BIA
to help tribal governments
develop effective administra
tive systems and avoid the
kinds of problems identified in
the past by the Inspector
General. Included were self-
evaluation process for the
tribes; a project to help small
tribes develop management
capabilities; and a program
to give tribes on-site technical
assistance for their accounting
systems, payrolls and other
administrative functions.
Smith emphasized the need
for a good annual audit for
every tribe. “I know of nò
management tool that is mòre
useful or beneficial.” He said
the audits would help tribes to
identify problems and develop
solutions for them. He added
that they would be useful also
in dealing with Congress and
the Office of Management and
Budget.
The Inspector General’s
office, Smith said, planned to
expend 15 staff years in BY
1984 to audit tribes with
indicated problems.
Sociologist to study Indians
A ccording to available
statistics, Native Americans
have the worst health, poorest
housing, most unemployment,
and least education of any
ethnic group in the United
States today. In the past
Nevada tribe seeking water litigation
On June 30, 1983, the Tribal adjudication and sacrificed
Council of the Pyramid Lake the Tribe’s interests in favor of
Paiute Tribe met with the the Newlands Reclamation
Tribe’s attorneys to discuss the Project.
Following that discussion,
recent decision of the United
States Supreme Court in the the Tribal Council passed a
case of Nevada vs. United resolution reaffirm ing its
States. In th at case, the commitment to doing whatever
Supreme Court held that the is necessary to gain sufficient
Tribe is barred by res judicata T ru ck ee R iv er flow s to
from existing appropriators of Pyramid Lake to maintain the
Truckee River water ev,en lake’s level and to restore the
though the federal government natural spawning of Lahontan
inadequately represented the cutthroat trout and cui-ui in the
Tribe in the Truckee River Truckee River. Included in that
K en S m ith , I n t e r i o r
Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs, today announced a
“major initiative to bring a high
level of fiscal accountability to
both Indian tribes and the
Bureau of Indian Affairs.”
In a letter to tribal leaders
across the nation Smith noted
that he has received more than
150 audit reports from the
Interior Insepctor General in
the past two years which have
identified weaknesses or abuses
in tribal or local BIA financial
management procedures.
“Too often in the past,”
Smith said, “problems in either
th e B u r e a u o r t r i b a l
adm inistrations have been
identified and then, apparently,
ignored. I have advised BIA
officials that I will not tolerate
such non-responses/’
Smith said waste or wrongful
use of federal funds in any
“Bureau or tri bally-operated
program has an impact on all
Indian programs. Pressure is
created to cut back or halt
funding across the board for all
Indian programs.”
In his letter to tribal leaders,
resolution was a direction to
the Tribe’s attorneys to renew
their efforts in all existing
litigation regarding Truckee
River water quantity and
quality and to actively pursue
the possibility of federal
legislation.
F o llo w in g the C o u n cil
meeting, Tribal Chairman Roy
Garcia stated; “We are, of
course, disappointed by the
Supreme Court’s decis'on. We
remain of the belief, however,
that Pyramid Lake is a natural
resource of this nation that
m ust be p reserv ed and
protected for the use and
enjoyment of future genera
tions. The Tribe is proud of the
great progress that v e have
made over the past 10 years and
we will continue to fight in any
way we can to ensure the
survival of Pyramid Lake. In
the end, I am sure that we will
be successful.”
“Oh gee, you’re witnessing a miracle, there flies a dead
duck!” YIKES
reliable data on this most
disadvantaged group among
all American citizens has been
scant. However, University of
M ary lan d so c io lo g ist C.
Matthew Snipp has received a
grant from the Social Science
Research Council which will
soon pro/ide a first-time
opportunity to more accurately
assess the number, as well as
the place, of Native Americans
in contemporary American
society.
Snipp, who is of Oklahoma
C h e ro k e e a n d C h o c ta w
descent, will use 1980 census
data to complete the most
e x te n s iv e d e m o g ra p h ic
analysis ever undertaken on
Native Americans. The results
of Snipp’s work will be
published in a book, Native
Americans: A Contemporary
Assessment, *o be completed
late next year.
In th el9 8 0 census, the U.S.
Census Bureau made an
unprecedented effort to locate
and count American Indians
and Alaskan natives. It also
compiled information from a
special questionnaire admin
istered on reservations and
historic areas in Oklahoma.
This abundant data, which has
never before existed and which
may not be collected again in
the 1990 census, will provide
th e b a s is f o r S n i p p ’s
demographic profile of current
Native Americans and their
position in American life.
The sociologist will examine
the extent to which Native
Americans have continued to
be a distinct and unique
segment of the U.S. population
as well as how similar they are
to the non-Indian population.
He will also explore what
impact the federal government
has had on the Indians.
“ F e d e ra l in te r v e n tio n ,
especially on reservations, is a
pervasive influence on Native
A m erican life,” says the
so c io lo g ist. “ T he fe d e ra l
government’s ' influence on
Native Americans can be
directly observed in housing
quality, access to health care,
patterns of employment, and
schooling.” Snipp’s research is
intended to provide an up-to-
d a te a n a l y s i s o f t h i s
relationship.
Snipp received his Ph.d in
Sociology from the University
of Wisconsin in 1981. He has
been an assistant professor of
Sociology at UMCP since
1981. A specialist in rural
sociology, he has done previous
research on the Chicano labor
force, studied unemployment
of Wisconsin Native Ameri
cans and studied the effects of
energy development on Native
Americans.
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There were these two golfers talking after a good round,
the first asked, “How many strokes did it take you to get
out that last trap?” “Three,” the o th erjep lied. “But I
heard six.” His friend said, “Oh, the other three were
echoes.” YIKES
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There was this young marine recruit who turned his nose
up to the chow and complained to the mess sergeant,
“Don’t I have any choice here?” “Certainly, my boy,”
replied the sergeant. “Take it or leave it.” YIKES
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There was this family who invited the pastor over for a
meal and they asked him to lead in prayer. After a brief
prayer junior said. “You don’t pray so long when you’re
hungry, do you?” YIKES
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