Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 11, 2012)
r 5’ More News from Incti^n Country pageu Blackfeet divided over enrollment proposal G R E A T FALLS, M ont. (AP) — A debate over whether to expand the eligibility re q u irem ents to enroll as a Blackfeet tribal m em ber is dividing the n o rth w estern M ontana reservation. Enrolled members qualify for m ore health and social service benefits, plus they get to vote on tribal matters and hold office within the nation. But on both sides, the bigger question is, whether expand ing enro llm en t will create greater unity or threaten the tribe’s existence. F o r th e p a s t 50 years, Blackfeet tribal eligibility has been determined by whether a person is at least one-quar ter Blackfeet, meaning that at least one grandparent must be a full-blooded Blackfeet. A majority o f federally recog nized tribes use that measure, known as blood quantum,, to determine eligibility, accord ing to the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission. But an organization called B lack fe et E n ro llm e n t A m endm ent Reform is col lecting signatures for a peti tion seeking to change that standard. Its members want enrollm ent eligibility to in clude anyone who has pro o f o f being the child, grandchild or great-grandchild o f an en rolled tribal member. Supporters say the change would lead to more tribal in clusion and unity. Those opposed to the p ro posed lineal descent eligibil ity include m em bers o f the Blackfeet Against O pen E n rollment movement, who say b lo o d q u an tu m sep arates those with a close affiliation to Native American life and cultural values from others with little or no personal con nection to their ancestral heri tage. There are about 105,000people who identified themselves as ‘Tlackfeet In dian” on the 2010 U.S. Census. T h e B lack fe et trib e in 2011 h ad 16,924 en ro lled members, according to tribal enrollm ent office statistics. But there are about 105,000 people who identified them selves as “Blackfeet Indian” on the 2010 U.S. Census. T h e B lackfeet’s original constitution, written in 1935, included a requirem ent that tribal members be at least 1 / 16th Blackfeet. The constitu tion was amended in 1962 to raise th at requirem ent to a quarter. All Blackfeet children liv ing on the reservation prior to Aug, 30, 1962, were also included as tribal members. But in some cases their chil dren do n ot m eet the blood quantum requirement and are excluded from tribal rolls. R obert Hall’s parents are enrolled members but with a 15/64 blood quantum, he is not. H e grew up on the res e rv a tio n , sp eak s th e Blackfeet language and iden tifies with Blackfeet cultural values. Hall said he believes blood quantum system is racist. “We are literally living in a caste system-—people w ith certain'genetic qualities who are denied access to resources b ecau se o f th e ir racial makeup. I f , any other group in America was advocating this type o f racial purity, they would be condemned as rac ists,” Hall said. NY holding on to seized Indian cigarettes ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - N ew York officials are hold ing on to a truckload o f un taxed Indian-made cigarettes they, seized, challenging the recent order o f a state judge who said the state had to give them back. S tate p o lice a n d th e C uom o adm inistration say they are n o t changing their enforcement practices despite the court ruling N ew York A tto rn e y G e n e ra l E ric Schneiderm an has filed an appeal notice that temporarily halts the order o f state Su prem e C o u rt Justice D avid Demarest. D em arest ruled on June 18 that there was no tax due on the 26,000 cartons o f Sig n al-brand cigarettes going from the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation to H CI Distribu to rs, a subdivision o f the W in n eb ag o T ribe o f N e braska, finding no legal basis under current New York tax law o r regulations to hold them. They were taken from a tractor-trailer stopped Jan. 23 at a U.S: B order Patrol checkpoint at Waddington in northern New York. Last November- adminis tration officials said state law subjects unstamped cigarettes to seizure regardless o f the origin or destination. R ich ard A z z o p a rd i, spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo said: “This adminis tration is enforcing the law and we will continue to do so.” R epresentatives o f ciga rette m anufacturers on the Akwesasne Mohawk Reser vation in northern New York, whose businesshas been hurt by seizures this year includ ing some o th er truckloads, m et with administration offi cials last week in Albany but declined afterward to com m ent. N o progress was re ported. H CI sued state police, St. L aw rence C ounty D istrict A ttorney N icole D uve and h e r a ss ista n t, J o n a th a n Becker, arguing it had legally bou g h t the cigarettes from O h se ra se M a n u fa c tu rin g LLC on the Mohawk reser vation and that it had accu rate paperwork that specified its d e s tin a tio n as th e W innebago reserv atio n in Nebraska. State police seized the to bacco., D em arest concluded no taxes were due and said no criminal or civil proceed ings were ever begun, so the cigarettes should be returned. Calls to Duve and Becker were n ot returned. “Here, the New York State Police; at the specific direc tio n o f th e St. L aw ren ce County District Attorney, has seized property owned by the petitioner, w ithout a warrant and w ithout com m encing a crim in al c o m p la in t,” Demarest wrote. H e rejected the state’s argument that the cigarettes needed tax stamps. Under New York law, ciga rettes can be sold to tribe members without the state’s tax o f $4.35 p er pack b u t should be taxed when sold to no n -In d ian s. T h a t has re sulted in a booming discount cigarette business for some tribes who say that as sover eign nations they shouldn't pay state tax at all. The state has renewed en forcem ent efforts following nearly two decades o f failures. R ecent m easures in cluded crackdowns on Internet sales and requiring cigarette whole salers to prepay the sales taxes before supplying réservation sto re s w ith n o n -N a tiv e brands. . So far this year, troopers h av e seized m o re th a n 260,000 c a rto n s j o f unstamped cigarettes. The state D epartm ent o f Taxation and Finance said it h as tak en p o ss e ssio n o f 180,000 cartons this year and has so far returned 108,500. Indian Head Casino ----- Employee of the Month — Tanaya Hunt — I. - ll Tanaya Hunt earned the Indian Head Ca sino Employee of the Month Award for June. Tanaya works in the Cottonwood Restaurant. “She is a very dependable employee with a positive attitude,” said Margie Tuckta, casino Human Resources director. “She is very creative with great suggestions, and is an awesome team player!” Congratulations Tanaya! Guard soldiers study Little Bighorn Battlefield F O R T M E A D E , S.D. (AP) — South D akota N a tional G uard soldiers from the 196th Regiment traveled to the Little Bighorn Battle field near Garryowen, Mont., on July 4 to study the suc cesses and failures o f battle k n o w n as “ C u s te r’s L ast Stand.” The G uard says an analy sis o f b oth sides o f the his toric battle is one o f the m a jor events required for stu dents to graduate from the 58-day comm issioning p ro gram and become 2nd lieu- tenants. • In 1876, Lt. Col. Colonel George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were w iped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the batde. N um erous studies in re cent years have uncovered a g reat deal o f in fo rm atio n about the locations, allowing tactics to be studied, i Sgt. 1st Class Jeff Wall says stu d y in g m ilitary h isto ry teaches junior military lead ers to think in terms o f ter rain and tactics. Monastery closure affecting Indian cultural center M A R V IN , S.D. (AP) - The upcoming closure of the Blue Cloud Abbey monastery in northeast South D akota is leav in g th e fu tu re o f its American Indian Culture Re search Center in doubt. C en ter d irecto r Colleen Cordell says that the planned August closure will also close the center, w hich houses a collection of photographs and artifacts that docum ent the history and culture o f the D akota people. Parade on the Fourth The Warm Springs Fourth of July Parade was one of the bigger ones in recent years, with many tribal organizations and community members joining in. Spilyay photos.
