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More News from Inctian Country
P^ge 11
Spilygy Tymoo
Mgrcb 21, 2012
Wyoming tribe gets rare permit to kill bald eagles Spokane
2 CH EY EN N E, Wyo. (AP) -
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser
vice has taken the unusual step
o f issuing a perm it allowing an
American Indian tribe to kill two
bald eagles for religious pur
poses.
The agency’s decision comes
after the N o rth ern A rapaho
Tribe in Wyoming filed a fed
eral lawsuit last year contend
ing the refusal to issue such per
mits violates tribal m em bers’
religious freedom . A lthough
thousands o f American Indians
apply for eagle feathers and car
casses from a federal repository,
permits allowing the killing of
bald eagles are exceedingly rare,
according to both tribal and le
gal experts on the matter. .
- “I’ve not heard o f a take per
m it for a bald eagle,” Steve
Moore, lawyer with the Native
A m erican R ights F u n d , o r
NARF, in Boulder, Colo.,,said
last week. “I see it and NARF
would see it as a legitimate ex
pression o f sovereignty by the
tribe, and respect for that sov
ereignty by the Fish and Wild
life Service.” :
Federal law prohibits the kill
ing o f bald eagles, the national
bird, in alm ost all cases. The
government keeps eagle feath
ers and body parts in a federal
repository and tribal members
can apply for them for use in
religious ceremonies.
The bald eagle was removed
from the federal list o f threat
ened species in 2007, following
its reclassification in 1995 from
endangered to threatened. How
ever, the species has remained
p ro te c te d u n d e r th e federal
Bald and Golden Eagle Protec
tion Act.
The Fish and Wildlife Service
in 2009 stated in a report that it
had never issued a perm it for
die killing o f bald eagles to that
time. The report states the gov
ernment had issued permits for
the Hopi Tribe in A rizona to take
golden eagles since the mid-
1980s.
Diane Katzenberger, spokes
woman for the Fish and Wild
life Service in Denver, said no
one in the agency was available
w ho cou ld say im m ediately
whether a perm it allowing the
killing o f a live bald eagle had
been issued since 2009.
It’s been nearly three years
since the Arapaho tribe filed an
application for a perm it to kill
eagles, sstid Andy Baldwin, law-
... the federalperm it
will allow the North
ern Arapaho to kill
up to two bald eagles
o ff the reservation.
yer for the tribe, adding that he
believed the N orthern Arapaho
w ould n o t have received the
perm it without going to court.
H e revealed in a legal filing
this week that the federal agency
had issued the perm it on Fri
day.
Federal lawyers filed a status
report in the lawsuit on Tues
day saying th a t th e E astern
Shoshone Tribe had opposed the
killing o f eagles on the W ind
River Indian Reservation, which
the two tribes share in central
Wyoming. The report states that
the federal perm it will allow the
N orthern Arapaho to kill up to
two bald eagles o ff the reser
vation.
A n a tte m p t to reach Jim
Shakespeare, a plaintiff in the
lawsuit and chairm an o f the
N o rth e rn A rap ah o B usiness
Council, for comment on Tues
day was unsuccessful. It was
Elected Navajo leaders removed
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - A
day after voters in one o f the
Navajo Nation’s largest commu
nities approved a local sales tax,
its elected officials rew arded
themselves with thousands o f
dollars in bonus money. The
payments came on the heels of
a Christmas bonus and preceded
bonuses for other projects.
In all, the handful o f officials
th a t serv ed on T uba C ity ’s
Council o f Naat’aani, or coun
cil o f leaders, received m ore
than $80,000 in bonuses from
late 2009 to 2011. As a result,
eth ics cases w ere b ro u g h t
against them by the larger tribal
government, stripping four o f
the five o f their jobs and requir
ing all five pay back the money.
Tribal ethics investigators and
justice officials said elected offi
cials are not supposed to be com
pensated beyond stipends for
meetings and legitimate travel.
Investigators alleged that the of
ficials engaged in favoritism and
put themselves above thé needs
o f the community, where the an
nual per capita income o f $ 15,000
is less than the bonuses paid to
individual leaders.
However, a lawyer for one
o f the deposed officeholders
said the tribal law that gave res-
Leadership Corner
fl message from Rick molitor
Superintendent
ervation communities increased
authority over local finances is
vague and doesn’t prohibit the
payments.
“I don’t agree at all with start
ing with the presumption that
bonus equals bad,” said David
Jo rd an , rep resen tin g council
Vice President Robert Yazzie.
The Tuba City Chapter was
one o f the first to become cer
tified under the trib e’s Local
G overnance Act, which gives
local communities the authority
to issue business and h o m e site
leases, contract with outside at
torneys and develop local ordi
nances.
unclear whether issuing the per
mit will prom pt the tribe to drop
its lawsuit. A federal judge has
scheduled a conference in the
lawsuit for mid-April.
Filed late last year, the law
suit is essentially the continua
tion o f a bitter legal fight that
followed after tribal m em ber
W inslow Friday killed a bald
eagle without a perm it in 2005
for use in his tribe’s Sun Dance.
Friday shot the eagle on the
Wind River Indian Reservation.
William Downes, then a fed
eral judge in Wyoming, dismissed
the charge against Friday in 2006
saying it would have been point
less for him to apply for a per
mit. D ow nes said the federal
government generally refuses to
grant permits to tribal members
to kill eagles even though fed
eral regulations say such permits
should be available.
“A lthough the governm ent
professes respect and accom
modation o f the religious prac
tices o f Native Americans, its
own actions show callous indif
feren ce to su ch p ra c tic e s,”
Downes wrote.
Federal prosecutors appealed
Downes’ decision and a federal
appeals co u rt rein stated the
criminal charge against Friday.
A fter the U.S. Supreme C ourt
ultimately refused to hear his
case, Friday pleaded guilty in
tribal court and was ordered to
pay a fine.
Baldwin said the tribe’s law
suit against the Fish and Wild
life Service was directly related
to the government's prosecution
o f Friday.
“One o f the goals o f the cur
rent suit is to prevent any young
men like Winslow Friday from
being prosecuted in the future
for practicing their traditional
religious ceremonies,” Baldwin
said.
S enior m em b ers o f the
N o rth ern A rapaho Tribe ap
peared at an appeals court hear
ing court in Denver in late 2007
in support o f Friday. Nelson P.
White Sr., then a mem ber o f the
N o rth ern A rapaho B usiness
Council, said after the hearing
that the birds American Indians
receive from a federal deposi
tory, were rotten, or otherwise
unfit for use in religious ceremo
nies. “T h a t’s unacceptable,”
White said after the court hear
ing. “How would a non-Indian
feel if they had to get their Bible
from a repository?” i
Exhibit to mark US-Dakota War
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -
T he M innesota H istorical
S o c ie ty is m a rk in g th e
150th an n iv ersary o f th e
U .S.-D akota War o f 1862
with a new exhibit and other
programs.
The exhibit opens June 30
at th e M inn eso ta H isto ry
Center in St. Paul. Visitors
can view documents, images
and artifacts, and add com
ments about the war’s mean
ing.
The Historical Society also
is launching an interactive
website:
www.usdakotawar.org
The website is featuring oral
histories, photographs, letters,
new spapers and governm ent
documents. Staff are recording
oral histories from elders and set
tler descendants.
In May, the public can listen
to stories told by descendants in
a cellphone tour along the Min
nesota River Valley.
The U.S.-Dakota War broke
out in August 1862, with fight
ing lasting six weeks. Hundreds
o f settlers and soldiers were
killed along with an unknown
num ber o f Dakota.
A New K-8 School in Warm Springs
O ur partnership between the District and the Tribes continues to grow. We are
working together to support the recent M em orandum of Understanding and a
new Interagency Education Agreement that will benefit our children. Both of these
documents are available on the district website at jcsd.kl2.or.us. We are proud of the
progress we are making and hope to share this information with our communities.
Why do we need a new school in Warm Springs?
■ W arm Springs Elementary is currently the oldest operating school building in our
district. It was built in the 1930s and needs major improvements to meet future
safety needs and provide a positive learning environment for our students.
to the guidance and expertise of our dedicated
teaching staff.
How will the cost of the new Warm Springs building be shared between the
Tribes and other residents of Jefferson County?
As you probably know, our district has placed
a school bond on the M ay election ballot. The
school bond is designed to maintain the current
property tax rates while improving our schools.
O ur goal has been to provide community
members with as much information as possible
to help them understand how the school bond
will affect our district if passed by voters. Over
the next few weeks, we will be sharing answers
to some im portant questions we’ve heard from
community members.
■ If passed, the school bond will fund 50% of the cost to build a new K-8 building
and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs will fund the remaining 50% .
This update will provide answers to questions
about the new school building in W arm Springs.
The next update will share information about
proposed auditorium/community performing
arts center. Please feel free to contact me or
any one of our school board members with
questions about the school bond.
Jefferson County School District
f l
How do the Tribes contribute to the overall bond payoff and school
operations?
casino
moving
forward
AIRWAY H EIGH TS,
Wash. ( A P ) A big casino
that the Spokane Tribe of
Indians is proposing has
cleared a major regulatory
hurdle, but the project is
drawing bitter opposition
from a rival trib e and
from some area business
and political leaders.
The Bureau o f Indian
Affairs recently issued a
draft environmental im
pact statement that allows
the Spokane Tribe’s pro
posal to continue moving
forward. The proposal is
opposed by the Kalispel
Tribe o f Indians, who fear
th eir nearby N o rth e rn
Q uest C asino will lose
business to the new com
petitor.
A rea politicians and
b u sin ess lead ers also
w o rry a b o u t th e new
casino’s impact on nearby
Fairchild Air Force Base,
and on the Spokane com
munity.
“We don’t want to be
come Spo-Vegas,” said Irv
Z ak h eim , a b u sin ess
leader w ho co-founded
Citizens Against Casino
Expansion.
“ I t w o u ld e x p a n d
gambling and the p ro b
lems. that come w ith it,
th re a te n F airch ild , A ir
Force Base, harm our lo
cal economy.”
T h e d ra ft e n v ir o n
m e n ta l im p a c t s t a te
m en t is now the subject
o f a 45-day public com
m en t p erio d and w hat
is likely to be a co n te n
tious public hearing On
M arch 26.
Harassment and Bullying
O ur 509-J team believes that every single
child in our school district has a right to be
in school. We have a zero tolerance policy
for any type of verbal, physical or cyber
harassment or bullying. We ask our teachers
and staff to watch for and report disrespectful
behavior and we are asking for parents and
family members to do the same. Bullying
is known to have long-lasting and harmful
effects for everyone involved.
T hat’s why it is so im portant for parents
to let us know immediately if they are
aware of any disrespectful or inappropriate
behavior. The district has specific policies
and procedures to ensure that bullying and
harassment are not tolerated in out schools.
If you would like more information, please
contact our district office at (541)475-6192.
■ The Tribes are one of the largest taxpayers in the district due to their ownership of
Round Butte and Pelton Dams. They also own the land that would house the new
school building. In addition, 509J receives federal dollars in lieu of property taxes.
The district uses that money to support general operating expenses.
Calendar
Who will staff, operate and maintain a K-8 school in Warm Springs?
3/22
JGMS Science Fair; 6-8 p.m.
■ If the school bond passes, existing 509-J staff will become part of the new school.
There is no anticipated increase in district-wide staffing. Students and staff will
move within the district as needed and according to enrollment projections. In
line with the construction phase of the K-8 project, the district will w ork with
students, parents and community members — as well as certificated, classified and
administrator groups — to ensure the best possible outcome.
3/26-3/30
Spring Break
✓
D o n ’t f o r g e t t o V O T E !
445 SE Buff Street, IDadras, OR 97741
a
(541)475-6192
March
April
4/3
Budget W orkshop; 7 p.m.
Support Services Bldg
4/9
School Board Meeting; 7 p.m.
Warm Springs Elememtary
Eibrary