Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1998)
October 1, 1998 News 3 Last minute Senate bill spells trouble for Tribes By Oscar Johnson, Staff Reporter While national attention remains transfixed on the personal morals of politicians, provisions and new amendments harmful to Indian sov ereignty and well-being await their . fate in Senate debates over next year's federal spending bilL Provisions in the Senate Appropria tions Bill that would wipe out tribal claims on past due federal funds needed to run Indian health, and a rider pinned to the bill singling out the Shakopee Indian nation for ex emption from U.S. obligation to hold land in trust currently hang in the leg islative balance. But one anti-Indian amendment pinned as a "rider" to the 1999 Fis cal Year Senate Appropriations Bill the Enzi-Sessions Gaming amend ment has already made its way through the Senate. The Tort Liabil ity amendment is well on its way also. Following a brief forty-five minute debate, the Senate passed the Enzi Sessions gaming rider on Sept. 15. This amendment to the 1999 Ap propriations Bill gives states the final say in future statetribal gaming com pacts overriding both tribal sover eignty to negotiate with states on equal footing and the federal author ity of the Secretary of Interior to ef fectively mediate and approve such agreements. Native lobbyists say that Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala), who drafted the amendment, are pushing the agenda of the Las Vegas gaming industry to stop the Secretary from putting the 1998 In dian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) into play. The act was designed to settle dis putes and stalemates between states and Tribes over Indian gaming by allowing states to have a role in regu lating gaming in Indian Country with out infringing on Native sovereignty. Under IGRA the Secretary acts as a third-party mediator who approves the compacts. Only those few states who refuse to negotiate in good faith would be affected by IGRA because the Secretary would enter in and ne gotiate on their behalf. A ban preventing the Secretary from approving compacts between states and Tribes is currently in ef fect and due to expire within days. If passed, the Enzi-Sessions amendment would extend the moratorium stall ing IGRA throughout next year. The bill will now move on to a Senate-House Conference Committee to smooth out differences between the House and Senate versions. Since the House version of the bill does not have a similar amendment, tribal lob byists will attempt a last ditch effort to have the amendment defeated dur ing this process. But the attempted legislative massa cre does not stop with Indian gaming. On this same day, Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA), in keeping with his well earned reputation in Indian Country, slipped yet another last minute rider into the 1999 Appro priations Bill. Gorton's Tort Liability amendment flies in the face of U.S. statutes, su preme court decisions, and treaty obligations by attempting to mandate that tribes carry liability insurance to cover accidents that occur on Indian property. The bill ignores that most tribes already have some type of li ability coverage and have additional coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The eight-page rider also aims to penalize tribes statistically the nation's poorest minority to pay the insurance for tribes failing to pro vide proof of coverage. This will take from grossly underfunded Tribal Pri ority Allocation funds used for ser vices such Indian health, education and infrastructure. "The National Congress of Ameri can Indians (NCAI) and hundreds of tribes have worked with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on this issue and support the concept of a careful study to determine if there are any gaps in insurance coverage that need to be remedied," states a recent NCAI legislative report. "Gorton, however, is using this benign issue as a stalking horse for a much more controversial goal," notes the report, "removing tribal court ju risdiction and placing that jurisdiction in the federal courts." September General By Tracy Dugan, Editor The first General Council meeting of the year got underway on Septem ber 13 with a report from Val Sheker, Chair of the Election Board. She spoke about the Council Election (on September 5) and said that there were 1,171 votes this year, another new record. There were 864 absentee votes, 82 walk-ins, and 90 were not counted because no registration was received or on file. The Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Authority (GRTHA) and the Housing staff gave their program report. Bob Watson, GRTHA's Chairman, gave an overview of the housing projects currently being pursued by the Tribe, and programs that will be imple mented in the future, and said that the Tribe is beginning to "fulfill its prom ise to develop our homeland for our people." Grand Meadows is com plete, Elders' Housing is underway, and more single family dwellings will come after that. Watson said that the Tribe's housing program has been chosen to participate in a pilot hous ing project which will be used as a model for the entire country, and that in this area, the Tribe has set some positive examples for other tribes to emulate. "We were one of the first tribes to get its Housing Plan approved," he said. "Many tribes have a long-term goal to move away from government housing and build quality, substantial homes that last for families. Our tribe has already been able to do that." meeting: Progress in Housing Director Linda Layden said that there will be a new Housing Sur vey coming up, where she and her staff will be looking at the rate of homeless tribal members and what can be done to help them find housing. Lonnie Leno's overview on assis tance programs included Emergency Repair, Major Rehabilitation Loans (up to $20,000), and water and sewer upgrading. Bryan Langley outlined the criteria for Down Payment Assistance grants, and encouraged folks to sign up for the program if they have not owned a home within the last three years. Also, the Grand Meadows project was designed for 37 homes, and has not yet reached capacity. Anyone in terested in learning more about the Housing programs or finding out more about Grand Meadows should call the Tribe's Housing department at 1-800-422-0232. Bruce Thomas and Adam Henny gave the Gaming Update, and Tho mas said that October marks the three year anniversary of Spirit Mountain Casino's opening. Look for infor mation about an upcoming anniver sary celebration. Current projects for Spirit Moun tain Development Corporation are: Spirit Mountain Lodge, which will open in December; the retail center in Salem, which will be complete in November; the retail center in Redmond, to be completed in Decem ber; and the Russellville Commons, a housing project in Portland, which Housing programs is scheduled to be completed in Sep tember of 1999. Also, the Tribe has partnered with Hewlett-Packard out of Corvallis to run a small tote cleaning operation near Tangent, Oregon. Several people have been hired, and the equipment will be ready this month. Camille Mercier, Human Re sources Specialist for the Casino said that another Blackjack training school will open in November, and inter ested tribal members should sign -up. Tribal members have first priority in reserving a space in the class.. Several door prizes were given away at the meeting. Cash prizes were won by: Linda Hale, $50; Stanley Jeffers, $50; Val Sheker, $50; and Marlena Lancour, $100. Safeway gift certificates were won by Bryan Langley, June Sherer, and Albert Peters. Ruby Bigoni won the 50-50 drawing for die Elders, which she donated back to the Elders' Committee. ils IM o Ion iUitk (lit fftffltffi Mail theft At first you might not think any thing is wrong. You were expect ing a benefit check, a birthday card, or even the mountain of credit card offers to appear in your mailbox. But nothing was there. For several days, you might think the mail is running late. But later that month you receive a huge bill from a credit card you don't have. Or a bank statement with a large withdrawal you didn't make. You have be come a victim of mail theft. Mail theft is a difficult crime to investigate, as thieves rarely leave physical evidence behind. Law en forcement agencies rely on neigh bors observing activity on their road or street. A majority of the crimes occur on the first and fif teenth of the month, when public assistance, retirement and social security checks are in the mail. All kinds of security documents are vulnerable blank checks can be forged and false signatures can be endorsed. Steps to combat mail theft: Do not place your outgoing mail, especially checks or documents that carry account numbers, in your mailbox. Consider renting a post office box to keep your mail secure. Consider direct deposit for your pay or benefit checks. Promptly remove mail from your roadside box once it's delivered. Form a Neighborhood Watch group in your community to watch for suspicious behavior.
