News from Inchon Country
Page 9
Spilyay Tymoo
January 31, 2008
Navajo lawmakers to vote on tribal superfimd law
A LBUQUERQUE (A P )_
The U.S. Environm ental Protec
tion Agency cleaned up co n
tam inated soil o n properties
n ear an ab an d o n ed u raniu m
mine in C hurch Rock last year
a fte r N av ajo officials sp e n t
years trying to persuade the fed
eral agency to do so.
Navajo EPA officials hope
that cleaning up such sites w on’t
take as m uch tim e in the fu
ture. T he Tribal Council is to
vote next week on a bill— simi
lar to th e federal S uperfund
law— that w ould allow Navajo
officials to m onitor and remove
all hazardous substances, pollut
an ts an d co n ta m in a n ts th a t
could endanger the health and
safety o f residents.
“This is our approach to pro
vide us with some authority simi
lar to what the state and federal
government have in response to
dealing with hazardous waste,”
said Navajo EPA executive direc
tor Stephen Etsitty.
U.S. EPA officials say the fed
eral government still would work
to clean up sites on the reserva
tion, but the tribal law would al
low the Navajo EPA to identify
and take action on sites that are
not always o f federal interest.
“T here’s So m any sites and
issues to be dealt w ith that ob
viously th e m o re p eople you
have tackling it, bringing tools
to b e a r, th e b e tte r ,” said
M ich ael H in g e rty , d e p u ty
branch chief in the EPA’s O f
fice o f Regional Counsel in San
Francisco. “T h e E PA is only
ever going to be able to get to a
fraction o f the problems. E v
ery bit helps.”
T h e law w o u ld serve th e
same purposes as the federal
Comprehensive Environm ental
R esponse, C om pensation and
L iab ility A ct, k n o w n as th e
S u p e rfu n d law. T h e N avajo
N atio n has ad o p ted a list o f
chemicals the federal govern
m ent uses to determine whether
a site is hazardous and added
petroleum to that list.
“This added flexibility should
help avoid disputes over the
application o f the act to vari
ous and environm ental public
health threats,” th e pro p o sed
tribal law states.
Like the Superfund law, the
tribal legislation places respon
sibility for the cleanup on cur
ren t and past ow ners o f sites
or those w ho arrange for haz
ardous substances to be brought
onto the Navajo N ation.
I f those responsible cannot
immediately be identified, the
tribe w ould use funding gener
ated by a tariff on transporters
o f hazardous waste to clean up
the site and seek reimbursement
w h e n p o s s ib le , said F re id a
W hite, sen io r en v iro n m en tal
specialist for the Navajo EPA.
T he am ount o f the tariff hasn’t
been decided.
It’s also n o t known w hen the
tribe could begin cleaning up
sites.
O f p a rtic u la r in te r e s t to
tribal officials is the cleanup o f
m o re th a n 1,000 ab an d o n ed
uranium mining sites that have
left a legacy o f disease on the
reservation th a t extends over
parts o f N ew Mexico, Arizona
and Utah.
“A lo t o f people have been
a ffe c te d in re s p e c t to th e ir
health,” W hite said.
T he U.S. EPA is working with
the N avajo N ation and a num
ber o f federal agencies to de
velop a 5-year action plan to
address the environm ental ef
fects o f uranium mining on the
reservation.
A sp o k e s w o m a n fo r th e
agency, Wendy Chavez, said the
EPA will test 75 w ater sources
and 100 structures this spring,
and those found to be contam i
n ated will be con sid ered fo r
c le a n u p u n d e r th e fe d e ra l
Superfund program.
Chavez said the agency also
is working w ith tribal officials to
clean up m ining sites ranked
highest for environm ental risk,
sta rtin g w ith th e N o rth e a s t
C hurch Rock Mine near Gallup.
The tribal Superfund measure
is on the council’s agenda for its
winter session, which begins Mon
day in the Navajo capital o f Win
d o w R ock, A riz. D elegates
George Arthur, the chairman o f
the council’s Resources Commit
tee, and Curran Hannon are spon
soring the legislation.
T he council’s Judiciary, Re
sources and Ethics and Rules
co m m ittees have p assed the
m easure, although com m ittee
approval is n o t required for the
bill to reach the full council.
The tribe has been working
on drafting the legislation for
m ore than a decade, and White
said she is hopeful it will pass.
“O h, I know it will,” she said.
“T here’s a need for it.”
Indian leader says Republican meeting chance to open dialogue
H E L E N A , M ont. (AP)—
A tribal chairm an picked to
headline th e M ontana R e
publican Party’s winter m eet
ing says the G O P will have
to w o rk to take A m erican
In d ia n v o te rs aw ay fro m
D em ocrats.
B ut James Steele Jr., chair
m an o f th e C o n fed erated
Salish and K o o ten ai tribal
council, said Democrats can
no longer take the tribal vote
for granted.
Steele is scheduled to speak
at Saturday night’s banquet o f
th e M o n ta n a R ep u b lican
Party’s winter kickoff in Bill
ings. H e said it’s important that Re
publicans are stressing more dia
logue with tribes and their lead
ers.
“I think it’s a realization o f
the im portance o f th e N ative
American vote in the last few
elections, and especially in the
last election,” Steele said. “I
think the D em ocratic Party has
reached o u t to N ative A m eri
cans in a variety o f ways ... that
th e R epublican P arty has n o t
really done.”
M o n tan a G O P C h airm an
E rik Iverson said Republicans
are reaching o u t to voters on
reservations. H e said the Repub
lican Party in the past didn’t try
hard enough to talk to Ameri
can In d ian v o te rs a b o u t th e
party’s message.
“ P a rt o f th e p ro b le m fo r
Republicans is that we just didn’t
show up,” Iverson said.
T h e chairm an was elected
last sum m er w ith vice-chair-
w om an Liane Johnson, a m em
ber o f the Blackeet Tribe.
Iverson said the Republican
fiscal conservative message fea
turing lower taxes will w ork on
reservations like it does every
where else. A nd he said the Re
publican platform can help deal
with problem s on reservations
such as high unemployment.
A t the same time, Steele can
talk to Republicans about the
success he has had in building
coalitions in winning elections,
Iverson said.
“We’ve got to end this era o f
confrontation in Helena, what we
saw from both sides last legisla
tive session,” Iverson said.
D em ocrats said Republicans
will need to deal w ith issues im
portan t to Native Americans if
they h o p e to succeed, rath er
than by opposing initiatives like
Indian Education for All such
as some Republican lawmakers
have in the past.
“We appreciate any support in
carrying the load and being o f
assistance to the Native Ameri
can co m m u n ities,” said A rt
Noonan, executive director o f the
Montana Democratic Party. “We
hope the outreach and sincerity
doesn’t end when chairman Steele
leaves the building.”
Steele said he is n o t partisan.
H e said he has voted for both
Republicans and Democrats.
A nd he believes all elected
leaders can learn from the job
G ov. B ria n S c h w e itz e r has
done in reaching o u t to A m eri
can Indians.
“H e set the bar for political
leaders in M ontana; if you
really w ant to get things done
in M o n ta n a you h av e to
reach out to everyone, and
that includes Indian people in
M ontana,” Steele said.
H e said Republicans are
taking a “step in the right di
rection.”
“B ut you are n o t going to
get Native American people
to overnight start voting for
the Republican candidates,”
Steele said. “It will take time.
“It will take time under
standing the Native A m eri
can issues.”
Flag from American Indian occupation of Alcatraz sold at auction
SAN FR A N C ISC O (AP)—
A flag believed to have flown
w hen a group o f American In
dians occupied Alcatraz nearly
40 years ago sold for $69,000
at an auction Thursday.
The flag was sold to an uni
dentified private collector, said
Bruce M acM akin, senior vice
president o f PBA Galleries in San
Francisco where the flag was sold.
I t w asn’t clear how big a role
the flag had in the 1969 p ro
test. Some participants o f the
occupation said they didn’t re
call the flag and were dismayed
at the idea o f it being sold for
profit.
“I think that’s a stretch, to call
th at historic,” said A dam F ortu
nate Eagle Nordwall, one o f the
organizers o f the 19-m onth oc
cupation.
“W hen I look at the picture
o f that flag, it really doesn’t do
anything to m e as an artist, or
as a Native American. I t really
is n o t symbolic o f the Indian
cause.”
B ut MacMakin said the seller
provided detailed docum enta
tion, including a 1970 p h o to
graph from the San Francisco
Chronicle that showed it flying
on Alcatraz and a snapshot o f
the w om an w ho designed the
flag handing it over to be raised.
“ I t w as ju s t fascin atin g ,”
MacMakin said.
K n o w n to m an y as “T h e
Rock,” hom e to a now-closed
federal penitentiary, A lcatraz
also was the site o f three Ameri
can Indian occupations, the long
est and best-know n o f w hich
began on Nov. 20, 1969, when
organizer Richard Oakes led a
group o f supporters to the is
land.
T he protest got massive at-
tention and drew thousands o f
American Indians from around
the country.
The occupation ended in June
1971, but the m ovem ent it in
spired continued, inspiring a
new era o f A m erican In d ian
activism.
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