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Quinaults ask reversal of sovereignty status for Cowlitz
PORTLAND, OR. (AP) - The
Quinault Indian Nation has asked the
federal Interior Board of Indian Ap
peals to reconsider the government's
decision to recognize the Cowlitz In
dian Tribe of Longview, Washington,
as a sovereign Tribal nation.
The appeal delays implementation
of a Feb. 14 decision by U.S. Assis
tant Interior Secretary Kevin Gover
to extend to the Cowlitz Tribe the
rights and privileges shared by the
556 federally recognized Tribes in the
United States.
The recognition process interests
some Oregon Tribes, including the
Grand Ronde. The Cowlitz, if recog
nized, could build a casino within an
hour's drive of Portland and compete
with Oregon Tribal casinos.
The Cowlitz Tribe has been seek
ing recognition for the past 25 years
through the U.S. Bureau of Indian
Affairs. Three years ago, the bureau
found in the Cowlitz' favor. Then in
February, the bureau made its final
determination, again in favor of the
Cowlitz.
But the Quinault, located in West
ern Washington and whose members
include individuals from seven his
toric Tribes, including the Cowlitz, re
cently asked a three-member panel
to review the evidence in the case.
An attorney for the Quinault ar
gues that a re-analysis of the evi
dence, among other things, would
likely show the Upper and Lower
Cowlitz bands ceased to exist as func
tioning Tribal entities in the late 19th
century.
Cowlitz representatives say the
appeal is an attempt to block Cowlitz
claims to lands on the Quinault's
richly timbered 200,000-plus-acre
coastal reservation in Western
Washington.
Cowlitz attorney Dennis Whittlesey
says the Quinault recently offered to
drop its opposition if the Cowlitz would
give up its interests and rights in the
Quinault Reservation.
The history of the Quinault Reser
vation, and the Cowlitz claims, goes
back to 19th century federal policy
toward Western Washington Tribes
and subsequent treaties and federal
court decisions.
Beckham says the Cowlitz are one
of eight Tribes whose members have
allotments parcels of land held in
trust on the Quinault Reservation.
Beckham said the Quinault Reser
vation originally was established af
ter the 1855 Treaty of Olympia,
signed by the Quinault and Quileute
Tribes.
The Cowlitz were never forced to
live on the reservation, but some were
given allotments on the reservation,
particularly in the 1930s, after res
ervation timberlands were opened up
for allotment.
Beckham says 16 percent of the
Quinault's reservation is held in trust
by the federal government for mem
bers of the Cowlitz. Whittlesey says
the Tribe will assert jurisdiction over
those lands when the Tribe is recog
nized. Federally recognized Tribes are
considered sovereign nations, depen
dent on the federal government, with
the right to govern their own citizens,
to exercise jurisdiction on reservation
lands, and they are eligible for fed
eral health, economic, education,
housing and other assistance.
A year after Makah hunt, students work on whale's legacy
NEAH BAY, WA. (AP) - A year
after the Makah Indians reclaimed
their centuries-old whaling tradition,
high school students are about half
way through an effort to ensure the
first whale a permanent place in
Tribal history.
Students in shop teacher Bill
Monette's carpentry class at Neah Bay
School are preparing the skeleton for
display at the Makah Museum.
"It's THE whale. It's special," says
Jessie Giovane, 17, a senior who has
put in many hours on the project.
When they're finished, the whale's
bones will be suspended from the mu
seum ceiling, floating above a display
of dugout canoes.
Before last spring, it had been 70
years since the Makah killed a whale.
Hunting stopped in the 1920s after
gray-whale populations were deci
mated by commercial whaling. .
After grays were taken off the En
dangered Species List in 1994, the
Tribe moved to resume whale hunts
guaranteed under their 1855 treaty.
The move brought high-profile op
position from environmental groups,
but a novice crew in a 32-foot cedar
canoe finally made a kill on May 17,
1999.
Hundreds of Makah watched the
pursuit on live television and waited
hours in the rain as the 31-foot gray
whale was towed home to welcom
ing prayers and cheers.
The skeleton project began once the
whale was removed from the beach
and its meat and blubber were dis
tributed among Tribal members.
"It's a good chance for us to be in
volved in the history," said Dan
DePoe, 17, a senior who says the
hunt not only brought the commu
nity together but "brought other
Tribes together with us."
Those who oppose the Tribal whal
ing "don't understand fully," Monette
said. "Everything in that whale was
used, even the bones."
Now that the communal first hunt
is over, whaling is up to Makah fami
lies, the traditional way. Six have
expressed interest, and one group
has received two 10-day whaling per
mits this spring from the Tribal whal
ing commission. Whalers this spring
have thrown their harpoons at sev
eral grays but missed.
vvneii tney re iimsnea, me wnaie s dui a novice crew in a az-ioot ceaar nunt not only brought the commu- eral grays but missed.
High school drops nickname after pressure to drop "Redskins'
CANAJOHARIE, NY (AP) A Smith, who is part Cherokee and was offensive to Native Americans. was on athletic uniforms, hi
community upset that its school
board dropped the nickname
"Redskins" a year ago has decided to
have no mascot.
Students and residents in the
Canajoharie Central School District
voted that they would rather have
no name for their teams.
"It'll just be simplified," said Cathy
originally wanted to keep the
Redskins name.
"I think that 'no mascot' lends dig
nity. I like it," said Marcia Velicky,
who helped organize the vote.
"No mascot" was the top choice of
10 names, which included Castle
guards, Pioneers and Cougars.
The school board decided Redskins
Many residents in the rural area
46 miles northwest of Albany criti
cized the school board for throw
ing out the Redskins name a year
ago without notice that they were
considering a change. As a result,
the committee was formed. For
years, the name and the logo of an
American Indian in full headdress
was on athletic uniforms, high
school T-shirts, jackets and other
items.
If the school board goes along with
the vote, high school sports teams will
feature CHS on their jerseys, while
the middle school will use CMS and
CES for the elementary school.
Many students from kindergarten
through 12th grade cast ballots.
Tribe, state and local governments
to share $1.8 million in grants
SEATTLE, WA. (AP) Contaminated "brownfields" in Washington are
the target of $1.8 million in grants announced by the federal Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). The grant money will be divided among the Colville
Tribe of Northern Washington, Kitsap County, the City of Tacoma and the
state Department of Community Trade and Economic Development.
The federal program has made grants for tens of millions of dollars to cities
nationwide to clean up the brownfields.
Brownfields are mostly abandoned and former industrial properties that
are polluted, but not severely enough to qualify for the EPA superfund list.
The trade department will receive the largest portion of the money: $1.2
million for a revolving loan fund for locally organized redevelopment projects.
Two-thirds of the money will go to projects in the Seattle-Tacoma area, and
the rest will be available for projects elsewhere in Washington which "have
landfills, (former) industrial property, fish and food processors and mill sites
that need to be returned to productive use," the EPA said in a press release.
Tacoma will receive $200,000 to train 45 low-income students to be environ
mental technicians and work on redevelopment projects in the Nalley Valley.
The Colville Tribe will receive $200,000 for cleanup of former Bureau of
Indian Affairs and Indian Health Services sites on the reservation, both of
which have unspecified contamination.
Kitsap County will receive $200,000 for redevelopment and another $50,000
in "greenspace" funding.
Clarification of Native American
lands held in trust
SPOKANE, WA. - The Risk Man
agement Agency's Office in Spokane
recently clarified the definition of
Native American lands held in trust
by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
and Tribal governing bodies who wish
to purchase USDA federally subsi
dized crop insurance products.
Native American land is frequently
held in trust by the BIA or a Tribal
governing body and leased to opera
tors. Applications for insurance for
Native American land held in trust
by the BIA or Tribal Governing body
are handled similar to other trusts.
Councils can be issued crop insurance
contracts in the BIA or Tribal
Council's name to insure their share
ofa crop farmed by a tenant. The
name of the trust is the name insured.
Often BIA trusts are referred to as
allotments, identify an allotment
number. BIA or Tribal governing
body leases this land by allotment,
which is a portion of land owned by
an entire Tribe or a portion of mem
bers within a Tribe. A seperate in
surance policy is required for each
allotment with different owners.
All of the crop insurance regula
tions and procedures concerning
Catastrophic Risk Protection (CAT),
Limited, Additional and revenue
policy coverage apply to the insur
ance of these contracts. All other
Native American entities will be in
sured as applicable (i.e., individuals,
partnerships, joint operations, etc.)
Native American farmers who need
more information about crop insur
ance products should contact a crop
insurance agent. A listing is avail
able at USDA Service Centers or at
www.rma.usda.govtoolsagents.