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News from Indian Country
Page 9
Spilyay Tym oo February 22, 2012
Family, Tulalip tribe feuding over land
SEA TTLE (AP) - To the
Campbell brothers, the 56 acres
o f prime land near the Tulalip
Tribes’ popular casino and out
let mall was a chance for the
family to generate income for
generations to come.
The parcel in the 22,000-acre
Western Washington reservation
had been left behind by their
grandmother, a tribal member
who went by the white name o f
K atrina Jim and had been an
allottee in a land agreem ent
signed by the federal govern
m ent in 1904 — back when the
re s e rv a tio n h ad a b o u t 450
people.
But the Campbells are now
in a dispute over the land with
their own tribe and the federal
governm ent, saying the tribal
council and the U.S. Bureau o f
Indian Affairs purposefully de
valued the land and then offered
a quick, b elow m ark et cash
value to the 50-plus sharehold
ers — and got enough sellers to
gain a majority ownership.
“I ’m a veteran. I’m a senior,”
said 67-year-old Walt Campbell.
“They’re supposed to put us on
a pedestal. I feel uncomfortable
doing this. But something has to
be done. We got railroaded on
this land.”
As for the tribe, what started
with a bingo hall in 1983 devel
oped into a casino, an entertain
m en t cen ter and a 12-story,
370-room hotel and resort along
Interstate 5. The hotel alone cost
$130 million to build.
The tribe also leases land for
a 110-store outiet mall, located
about 45 minutes north o f shop
pers living in the Seatde area and
just 15 minutes from Everett.
The tribe also hosts a H om e
D epot, a Wal-Mart and a soon-
to-open Cabela’s.
In all, the Tulalips have built
at a rapid pace one o f the most
economically successful tribes in
the state. The revenue goes to
benefit the 4,100 m em bers —
2,600 who live within the reser
vation.
“The tribe is prosperous for
its people,” said Les Parks, a
form er tribal council member
and an ally o f the C am pbell
brothers. ‘W e are baffled as to
why the council would want to
oppress an Indian family o f 50-
plus members from earning an
in co m e from th e land th eir
grandm other w anted them to
own.”
The 56 undeveloped acres sit
a few hundred yards from the
oudet mall, where people stream
door to door to buy everything
from clothes to electronics.
Tulalip Tribes chairman Mel
Sheldon said the price paid to
sellers was app ro v ed by the
BIA.
...“T he Tribes paid the BIA ap
proved price to those owners
who wanted to sell,” he said in a
statement. Tribal officials de
clined to comment beyond that.
An inquiry to the Bureau o f
Indians Affairs this past week
was n ot immediately returned.
But the Campbell brothers,
and the 12 other family mem
bers who signed on to a lawsuit,
say they don’t trust the relation
ship between the bureau and the
tribe.
Tribe suing beer companies for alcohol problems
LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) —
A Native American tribe is su
ing some o f the world’s largest
b eer m akers, claim ing they
knowingly contributed to dev
astating alcohol-related problems
on the Pine Ridge Indian Res
ervation in the state o f South
Dakota.
T he Oglala Sioux Tribe o f
South D akota said it is demand
ing $500 million in damages for
the cost o f health care, social
services and child rehabilitation
caused by chronic alcoholism on
the reservation, which encom
passes some o f the m ost impov
erished counties in the United
States.
One in four children born on
the reservation suffer from fe
tal alcohol syndrome or fetal
alcohol spectrum disorder, and
th e average life expectancy is
estim ated betw een 45 and 52
years— the shortest in N o rth
America except for Haiti, ac
cording to the lawsuit. The av
erage American life expectancy
is 77.5 years.
The lawsuit filed in US. Dis
trict C ourt o f N ebraska also
targ ets fo u r b e e r sto re s in
W hiteclay, a N ebraska tow n
near the reservation’s border
that, despite having only about
a dozen residents, sold nearly 5
million cans of beer in 2010,
Tribal leaders and activists
blame the Nebraska businesses
for chronic alcohol abuse and
boódegging on the Pine Ridge
reservation, where all alcohol is
banned. They say m ost o f the
stores’ custom ers come from
the reservation, w hich spans
southw est South D akota and
dips into Nebraska.
“You cannot sell 4.9 million
12-ounce cans o f beer and wash
your hands like Pontius Pilate,
and say we’ve got nothing to do
w ith it being smuggled,” said
Tom White, the tribe’s Omaha-
based attorney.
O w ners o f th e fo u r b eer
stores in Whiteclay were unavail
able o r d eclin ed co m m en t
Thursday w hen contacted by
The Associated Press. A spokes
w om an fo r A nheuser-B usch
InBev Worldwide said she was
not yet aware o f the lawsuit, and
the other four companies being
su ed — SAB M iller, M o lso n
C o o rs B rew ing C om pany,
M lllerC oors LLC and P ab st
B rew ing C om pany— did n o t
immediately return messages.
The lawsuit alleges that the
beer makers and stores sold to
Pine Ridge residents knowing
they would smuggle the alcohol
into the reservation to drink or
resell. The beer makers supplied
the stores w ith “volum es o f
beer far in excess o f an amount
that could be sold in compliance
w ith the laws o f the state o f
Nebraska” and the tribe, tribal
officials allege in the lawsuit.
T h e v a st m ajo rity o f
The lawsuit alleges that
the beer makers and
stores sold to Pine Pddge
residents knowing they
would smuggle the
alcohol into the reserva
tion to drink or resell.
Whiteclay’s beer store custom
ers have no legal place to con
sume alcohol since it’s banned
on Pine Ridge, w hich is just
north, state law prohibits drink
ing outside the stores and the
nearest town that allows alcohol
is more than 20 miles (32 kilo
m eters) so u th , said M ark
Vasina, president o f the group
Nebraskans for Peace.
The Connecticut-sized reser
vation has struggled with alco
holism and poverty for genera
tions, despite an alcohol ban in
place since 1832. Pine Ridge le
galized alcohol in 1970 but re
stored the ban two months later,
and an attem pt to allow it in
2004 died after a public outcry.
T he reservation spans im
poverished areas, including Sh
annon County, South Dakota,
which U.S. census statistics place
as the third-poorest in the U.S.
It has a median household in
com e o f $27,300 an d nearly
half o f the population falls be
low federal poverty standards.
Tribal President John Yellow
Bird Steele said the tribe coun
cil authorized the lawsuit in an
e ffo rt
to
p ro te c t
th è
reservation’s youth.
“Like American parents ev
erywhere, we will do everything
lawful we can to p ro tect the
health, welfare and future o f
our children,” he said.
The tribe views the lawsuit as
a last reso rt after num erous
failed attempts to curb the abuse
th ro u g h p ro tests an d public
pressure on lawmakers, White
added. H e said the tribal counr
cil voted unanim ously about
four months ago to hire his law
firm.
“The illegal sale and trade in
alcohol in Whiteclay is open,
notorious and well documented
by news reports, legislative hear
ings, movies, public protests and
law enforcement activities,” the
lawsuit states. “All o f the above
have resulted in the publication
o f the facts o f the illegal trade
in alcohol and its devastating
effects on the Lakota people,
especially its children, both born
and unborn.”
N ebraska lawmakers have
struggled for years to curb the
problem , and are considering
legislation this year that would
allow the state to limit the types
o f alcohol sold in areas like
Whiteclay, The measure wòuld
require local authorities to ask
the state to designate the area
an “alcohol impact zone.”
Shiprock counselor focuses on tradition
education settin g to a m ore
mainstream environment. For
m erly S h ip ro ck A lte rn a tiv e
Schools, Inc., the school changed
its name in 2007.
“Students here, it seemed like
some o f them had discipline is
sues,” Johnson said. “They were
highly m obile, m oving from
school to school, and they came
here because we were alterna
tive.”
A lth o u g h th e sch o o l has
changed, some students still need
additional support or help work
ing through challenges, Johnson
said. A dm inistrators w orked
closely w ith governing board
member Charley Joe to develop
a job description that captured
the schools’ need for contem
porary counseling and trad i
tional knowledge.
De Vore fit the role, Johnson
said.
“We wanted to find someone
with extensive background in
tradition, someone who knows
the significance o f culture,” he
said. “Mr. D e Vore was very
knowledgeable and had a good
background. He also is fluent in
a SH IPR O C K , N.M. (AP) -
The towering Shiprock pinnacle
is perfecdy framed by a window
in W ilson D e Vore’s modular
classroom tucked behind N orth
west High School.
D e Vore, the first traditional
co u n selo r on th e payroll at
Shiprock A ssociated Schools
Inc., gazes at the famous land
mark when he needs inspiration
or tranquility.
| “I ’m here because I was a
headache to teachers as I was
growing up,” he said during an
interview. “I'm hete to tell the
kids that I ’ve m ade mistakes.
I share as much as I can with
Students to get them to talk,
to help them find their identi
ties.”
S h ip ro c k
A s s o c ia te d
Schools Inc., which comprises
N o rth w est H igh School and
A tsa B iy aazh C o m m u n ity
School, began seeking a tradi
tional counselor several years
ago, Executive D irecto r Leo
Jo hnson said.
Adding the position was part
o f the schools’ effort to change
their image from an alternative
English so he can connect with
the students.”
D e Vore, who started at the
school in Septem ber, quickly
moved from a classroom inside
the high school to a modular
building outside, he said. His tra
ditional singing was disturbing
nearby classes.
D e Vore doesn’t mind. His
new location allows students to
leave th e m ain cam pus an d
make a special visit to his of
fice, a building he describes as
“a place where you can be your
self.”
Inside this building, students
who are referred to D e Vore by
teachers, administrators or other
staff members can talk openly
about challenges.
D e Vore also hosts classes
for groups o f students who he
teaches the fundam entals o f
Dine culture, including the cre
ation story and how youths can
discover identity through tradi
tion.
His sessions don’t take the
place o f the acadetnic Dine lan
guage arid culture classes in the
high school. N either is his role
to convert students to native
religion, he said.
“It’s not conversion but iden
tity,” he said. “It’s asking, “Who
is that brown guy looking back
at me in the mirror? W hat does
it mean to be Dine?”’
Navajo legend
D e Vore, who spends m ost
o f his time with male students
in grades 7 through 12, bases
his lessons on the Hero Twins,
deities in Navajo culture.
The twins, as legend has it,
visited Spider Woman to learn
the identity o f their father. Af
ter learning their father was the
sun, the boys traveled to him,
seeking weapons that would al
low them to defend their people
against the monsters and create
harmony.
O ne
of
th e
tw ins,
M onsterslayer, co nfronts the
negativity in life, D e Vore said.
His brother follows to generate
resolution.
Students are encouraged to
use the story to find resolution
to modern struggles.
Choctaws get $2M for
transportation projects
P H IL A D E L P H IA , Miss.
(AP) — The Mississippi Band o f
Choctaw Indians has received
two federal grants to fund con
struction o f a new transit main
tenance facility.
The tribe was awarded grant
funds totaling $2.1 million.
The tribe will use $192,000
to build a new Regional Vehicle
Maintenance Center. Construc
tion is scheduled to be com
pleted by September 2013.
T h e trib e also w ill use
$120,000 for a new w recker,
$169,000 fo r a new trolley,
$102,284 for two new 17-pas-
senger ADA buses and $185,000
for shop equipment.
T he trib e also receives a
$200,000 U.S. D epartm ent o f
Transportation for the purchase
o f three public transit buses.
C hief Phyliss J. A nderson
says the buses will be used on
new routes to help tribe mem
bers get to nearby colleges.
Okla. AG asks Sup. Ct.
to decide tribal water case
OKLAHOM A CITY (AP) -
O klahom a A ttorney G eneral
Scott Pruitt has asked the state
Supreme C ourt to decide the
rights o f two Oklahoma-based
American Indian tribes to water
in two major streams in their
historic territories in southeast
ern Oklahoma.
Pruitt filed an application on
behalf o f the Oklahoma Water
R esources B oard asking the
state's highest court to assume
jurisdiction over a comprehen
sive stream adjudication o f the
water rights o f the Choctaw and
Chickasaw nations.
The tribes filed a federal law
suit against the state in August.
It seeks an injunction to stop the
board from selling water stor
age rights to Sardis Lake in
southeastern Oklahoma to the
O klahom a City W ater Utility
Trust.
In a statem ent, Gov. Mary
Fallin says her goal is to work
with lawmakers and the tribes
to develop a statew ide w ater
policy.
January winnings drop
for Louisiana casinos
BATON ROU GE, La. (AP)
Last m o n th ’s w innings for
Louisiana’s state-licensed casinos
fell 3.5 percent from January
2011.
The tally for the 13 gambling
B
riverboats, H arrah's land casino
in N ew Orleans arid the four
race track casinos totaled $185.6
million in January. Gamblers lost
$191.3 m illion the previous
January.
The boats won $126.4 mil
lion, H arrah’s won just a shade
un d er $26.9 m illion and the
track casinos took in $32.3 mil
lion.
In D ecem ber 2011, players
left behind $201.9 million.
The figures do n o t include
In d ia n re s e rv a tio n casinos,
which are not required to report
their winnings to the public.
Ore. gold miner gets prison
(AP) — A southern O r
egon gold m iner has been
sentenced to a year in fed
eral prison for illegally min
in g on a salm on stream .
Clifford Tracy o f G old Hill
was sentenced in U.S. District
Court in Medford for failing
to file a plan o f operations
and post a bond before min
ing on federal land that is
critical habitat for salmon.
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