Image provided by: Oregon Historical Society; Portland, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 2012)
Spilyay Tymoo, -Warm Springs, Oregon Government rolls out $1.9 billion Indian land buyback program (AP) — U.S. governm ent officials said last week they are launching a $1.9 billion N a tiv e A m erican lan d buyback program now that a nearly 17-year lawsuit over more than a century’s worth o f mismanaged trust royalties is setded. T he 10-year, $1.9 billion buyback program is the larg est p art o f the $3.4 billion setfiem ent o f a class-action lawsuit filed by Elouise Cobell o f Browning, Mont., in 1996 and finalized last month. Officials with the Interior D epartm ent and Bureau o f Indian Affairs laid o u t the program ’s initial framework in a new s co nference last week in Washington, D.C. The program aims to pur chase individual allotm ents from willing American Indi ans and turn over the con solidated parcels to tribes. P rogram m anager J o h n McClanahan said it could take up to a year before the first land sales are completed, but the goal is to spend m ost o f the money before President Barack O bama’s second term is up in 2017. L an d fractio n atio n was caused by the 1887 Dawes Act, which split tribal lands into individual allotments o f 80- to 160-acre parcels, in m ost cases. T hose allotments w ere inherited by m ultiple heirs with each passing gen eration, and there are now more than 92,000 land tracts with 2.9 million fractional in terests. O f th a t n u m b e r, m o re than 21,200 land tracts have 100 o r m o re o w n ers an d many parcels have thousands o f owners, according to the Interior Department. I U sin g o r leasin g th o se tracts requires approval o f all the owners, so often they sit w ithout being developed. “The scope o f this prob lem in In d ia n C o u n try is amazing,” said Deputy Secre tary o f th e In te rio r D avid Hayes. “T h e buyback p ro gram provides the opportu nity to unlock the benefits o f those lands for the tribes and their members.” McClanahan said 150 res ervations are affected by this fractionation, b ut m ost are in the G reat Plains and Rocky M ountains. N inety percent o f th è fra c tio n a te d lands available to purchase are in 40 lo c a tio n s , but M cC lanahan said the p ro gram will explore land sales beyond those locations. Government officials have been consulting with Indian leaders in preparation to roll out the program once the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the appeals in the Cobell settle ment, which it did Nov. 24. Besides the land buyback, the Cobell setdement will pay out $1.5 billion to two classes o f beneficiaries. Each mem ber o f the first class will be paid $1,000. E ach m em ber o f the second class would be paid $800 plus a share o f the b alance o f th e settlem en t funds as calculated by a for mula based on the activity in their trust accounts. U.S. District Judge Thomas H ogan earlier this m onth au thorized the first ro und o f $1,000 ch eck s to a b o u t 350,000 beneficiaries. Besides the cash buyouts and land buybacks, an edu cation scholarship o f up to $60 million for young Indi ans also will be established under the settlement. Interior Solicitor H ilary T om pkins said a portion o f each land tran sactio n will go to th e scholarship fund. C ongress ap p ro v ed the Cobell settlement in Decem b e r 2010 a n d H o g a n a p proved it after a June 2011 hearing. Hogan said that while the settlement may n ot be as large as some wished, the deal ended the legal deadlock and provided some certainty for the beneficiaries. Cobell died last year o f cancer. Three consultations to so licit tribal comments on the b uyback p ro g ra m ’s in itial framework will be held in the com ing m onths: Jan. 31 in Minneapolis; Feb. 6 in Rapid City, S.D.; and Feb. 14 in Se attle. Hawaii’s Inouye, advocate and war hero, passes (AP) - O n Dec. 7, 1941, high school senior D aniel Inouye knew he and other Japanese-Am ericans w ould face trouble w hen he saw Japanese dive bombers, tor pedo planes and fighters on th e ir way to b o m b P earl H arbor and other O ahu mili tary bases. H e and other Japanese- Americans had wanted des perately to be accepted, fie said, and that m eant going to war. “I felt that there was a need for us to demonstrate that we’re just as good as any- bo d y else,” In o u y e, w ho eventually w ent on to serve 50 years as a U.S. senator fro m H aw aii, o n ce said. “The price was bloody and expensive, but I felt we suc ceeded.” , Inouye, 88, died Decem ber 17 o f respiratory com plications at a Washington- area hospital. As a senator, he became one o f the m ost influential politicians in the country, playing key roles in congressional investigations o f the Watergate and Iran- Contra scandals. H e was the longest serving current sena tor and by far the m ost im portant for his hom e state o f Hawaii. “Tonight, our country has lost a true A m erican hero w ith th e p assin g o f Sen. D aniel Inouye,” President B arack O b am a said in a statem ent Monday. “ I t was his incredible bravery during World War II — including one heroic effort that cost him his a rm b u t e a rn e d h im th e Medal o f H onor — that made D anny h o t just a colleague and a mentor, but someone revered by all o f us lucky enough to know him.” Inouye turned toward life as a p o litic ia n a fte r his dreams , o f becpm ing ai,sur geon becam e im possible in World War II. H e lost his right arm in a firefight with Ger mans in Italy in 1945. Inouye’s platoon came un der fire and Inouye was shot in the stomach as he tried to draw a grenade. H e didn’t stop, crawling up a hillside, taking out two machine gun emplacements and grabbing a grenade to throw at a third. T hat’s when an enemy rifle grenade exploded near his' right elbow, shot by a G er man roughly 10 yards away. H e searched for the gre nade, then found it clenched in his rig h t hand, his arm shredded and dangling from his body. “T h e fingers so m eh o w froze over the grenade, so I just had to pry it out,” Inouye said in recounting the m o m ent in the 2004 book “Be yond Glory: Medal o f H onor Heroes in Their Own Words” by Larry Smith. ‘W h en I pulled it out, the lever sn ap p ed o p en and I knew I had five seconds, so I flipped it into the German's Rush to cash checks collapses S.D. hank floor L O W E R B R U L E , S.D. (AP) — Officials say the floor o f a b a n k o n th e L o w er Brule Indian Reservation in central S outh D akota co l lapsed after tribal mem bers rushed to business to cash about $6 million in trust setde m ent checks. T h e flo o r o f b an k dropped 2 feet. N o one was injured but the bank is closed indefinitely. T h e L ow er B rule Tribe began issuing $750 checks to about 3,800 members on as part o f a setdem ent with the federal governm ent over the abuse and m ish an d lin g o f tribal assets. The Crow Creek Tribe in n earb y F o r t T h o m p s o n started issuing $800 checks to about 4,000 tribal m em bers on Monday. Tribal officials say banks in C ham berlain and Pierre will have to be used until a b a n k re su m e s serv ice in Lower Brule. Page 5 December 26, 2012 Bill would recognize Native Hawaiians (AP) — Retiring Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka is urg ing his colleagues to pass legislation that would fed erally recognize N ative Hawaiians in h o nor o f the late-Sen j Daniel Inouye. F or years, Akaka and Inouyp worked to pass the bill, which would allow for Native Hawaiians to form a federally recognized gov ernment. Efforts to get the bill to the Senate floor for a vote have consistently been blocked. Akaka said face as he was trying to re load,” he said. “And it hit the target.” In 2000, w hen then-Presi- den t Bill C linton belatedly p re s e n te d In o u y e a n d 21 other Asian-American World W ar II v ete ra n s w ith th e Medal o f H onor, Clinton re counted that Inouye’s father believed their family owed an unrepayable debt to America. “I f I may say so, sir, more th a n a h a lf c en tu ry later, A m erica ow es an unrepayable debt to you and your colleagues,” Clinton said. Inouye became a senator in January 1963. As president pro tem pore o f the Senate, he was third in the line o f presidential succession. H e critics have mis-character- ized what the bill would do. H e says the measure is about simple justice, fair ness and doing the right thing. ,,. Akaka.inyoked Inouye's name Thursday in asking his colleagues to pass the bill. In o u y e w as in th e midst o f serving his ninth term in the Senate when he died Monday. A lask a Sen. L isa Murkowski also spoke in favor o f the bill's passage. broke racial barriers on Capi tol Hill as the first Japanese- American to serve in C on gress. Less th an an h o u r after Inouye’s passing, Senate Ma jority Leader Harry Reid an nounced Inouye’s death to a s tu n n e d ch am b er. “ O u r frien d D an iel In o u y e has died,” Reid said somberly. S ho ck ed m em b ers o f th e Senate stood in the aisles or slumped in their chairs. H e was elec ted to th e H ouse in 1959, the year H a waii became a state. H e won election to th e Senate three years later and served there longer than anyone in Ameri can h isto ry ex cep t R o b ert Byrd o f West Virginia. Judge denies Northern Arapaho eagle request C H E Y E N N E , Wyo. (AP) — A federal judge has denied a request from the N o rth ern Arapaho Tribe to reconsider his recent ruling th at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acted p ro p erly in b arrin g th e trib e fro m k illin g b ald eagles for religious p u r poses on the W ind River Indian Reservation. Judge Alan B. Johnson o f Cheyenne entered an order denying the tribe’s request to reconsider his N o vem ber ruling. T he Fish and W ddlife Service earlier this year granted th e N o rth ern A rapaho Tribe the nation’s first perm it allowing the kill ing o f up to two mature bald eagles a year for use in the tribe’s annual Sun Dance. The perm it specified that the tribe couldn’t kill the eagles on the reservation it shares with the Eastern Shoshone Tribe be cause o f that tribe’s opposi tion to killing eagles. Tribal Council Agenda Monday, Jan. 7 9 a.m. - Bureau of Indian Affairs update with John Halliday, BIA superinten dent. 10 - Office of Special Trustee update with Charles Jackson, fiduciary trust officer. 10:30 - Realty items with Lyle Fox, Realty officer, BIA. 1:30 p.m. - Legislative update conference call. 2:30 - Tribal attorney up date. Thursday, Jan. 17 - Com m u n ity m e e tin g in Simnasho, starting at 6 p.m. Topic: K-8 school design. Tuesday, Jan. 8 9 a.m. - Telecom update with Jeff Anspach, Ventures manager. 1:30 p.m . - W arm Springs Forest Products In dustry board meeting with W S F P I c h a ir M ich a e l Clements and board. Pro posed resolution and 10- year plan. Tuesday, Jan. 22 9 a.m. - Solar/wind power discussion with S-T. 1:30 p.m. - Motor sports/ Raceway update with Kahseuss Jackson, eco nomic development coordi nator. 3:30 - Travel Center up date with Kahseuss Jack- son. Wednesday-Friday, Jan. 9-11 - Fish and W ildlife Committee retreat at Kah- Nee-Ta. Wednesday, Jan. 23 9 a.m. - M inors’ Trust Fund with S-T. T h u rs d a y , J a n . 10 - Sidwalter meeting. Dinner at 6 p.m., meeting at 7. Top ics: M otor sports, senior pension. Monday, Jan. 14 9 a.m. - Appeals Court, Judicial Nominating Com mittee with S-T Calica. 1:30 p.m. - Legislative update conference call. 2:30 - Minors’ trust with S-T. Tuesday, Jan. 15 9 a.m . - E n te rp ris e boards, chairmen reports, with S-T. 2:30 p.m. - George Miller, Corps of Engineers, with S- T. M o n day and Tuesday, Jan. 14-15-Oregon Tribes M em orandum o f U nder standing work group (drug and alcohol abuse preven tion). Wednesday, Jan. 16 - Or egon Gaming Alliance meet ing. Thursday-Friday, Jan. 17- 18 - Oregon Tribes meeting. Monday, Jan. 21 9:30 a.m. - Secretary- Treasurer update with S-T. 10 - Chief Operations Of ficer update with COO Ur bana Ross. 11 a.m. - Draft resolu tions with S-T. 1:30 p.m. - Legislative update conference call. 2 :3 0 -Enrollments. Thursday-Friday, Jan. 24- 25. Tribal Council workshop on 2013-14 tribal budgets. Monday-Thursday, Jan. 28-31 - Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Confer ence. Monday-Tuesday, Jan. 28- 29 - National Native Ameri can 8(a) Conference. (Notes: Agenda subject to change at Tribal Council discretion. All draft resolutions are to be submitted to the Sec- retary-Treasurer's Office for review to ensure the lan guage and format are cor rect, and typos corrected, before it is subm itted to Tribal Council. This helps with the process and turn around time of the resolu tions. Please cc a copy to Laurain Hintsala, via email, at the Tribal Council Office. Presenters, please sub mit 14 copies to the Tribal Council Office two days prior to your presentation. This will allow the Tribal Council mem bers tim e to review your handout. Thank you.) Council (Continued from page 1) A raceway update, and travel center update, are on the January 22 C oun cil agenda. T he raceway idea may be put to a ref e re n d u m as early as spring. T he travel center is a p rio rity p ro je c t o f tribal economic develop m ent c o o rd in a to r K ahseuss Jackson. T he center would be a source o f new employment, and revenue in the form o f the state gas-tax rebate to the tribes. The Warm Springs For est Products Industries is on the January 8 Council agenda. WSFPI presented a 10-year plan o f opera tion earlier this m onth, b ut there are some ques tions that remain. H ow to fund the needed im prove m ents is an issue, for in stance. Also, the future opera tion o f the mill w ould re quire tim ber from off-res- e rv a tio n fo re s t lan d . There has been no infor m ation presented on how this w ould be achieved, said C o u n cilm an Raymond Tsumpti. A p u b lic m eetin g at Simnasho is planned for the evening o f January 17. This is for discussion o f th e d esig n o f th e k-8 school. A meeting at Sidwalter on the evening o f Jan u ary 10 is for discussion o f the m otorsports park idea, and the senior p ension fund. Tribal Council Chair m an B uck S m ith su g gested that Council needs to evaluate the condition o f the tribal enterprises. Council should meet with th e b o a rd ch airs fro m Power and Water, Indian H ead and K ah-N ee-T a, and Warm Springs Forest P ro d u c ts In d u s trie s , C h a irm a n S m ith su g gested. Council then set January 15 for this m eet ing I f you are interested in advertising in the Spilyay Tymoo, call Yvonne at 541-553-2210. Or email her at yvonne.iverson@wstribes.org
