SEPTEMBER 1, 2000
15
Advocates for Elders Target Proposed BIA Regulations
An estimated 2,000 delegates from
throughout Indian Country will con
vene in Duluth, Minnesota, soon for
a conference of the National Indian
Council on Aging, or NICOA. The
theme of the conference will be de
veloping a spiritual message for
America, but some delegates also
hope to send a message to the Bu
reau of Indian Affairs. They are con
cerned about proposed BIA regula
tions governing Individual Indian
Money or IIM accounts, the federal
accounts holding income from indi
vidual Indians' trust lands.
Conference delegate Andrew Jo
seph, a Tribal Elder and director of
the Area Agency on Aging for the
Colville Tribes, fears the regulations
will harm many elderly and disabled
Tribal members. He is especially con
cerned by BIA's plan to require
guardianships of elderly and disabled
Tribal members before the agency
will supervise disbursement of IIM
funds. Supervised accounts are of
ten used by Elders' advocates to pro
tect Elders' money from exploitation,
and to insure necessary expenses are
,paid. Supervision of accounts by the
BIA can also be important because
funds held on deposit in a restricted
IIM account will not count as income
or a resource for federal benefit pro
grams, such as Medicaid and SSI.
"Guardianships are expensive, and
they're disrespectful for many El
ders. It's one thing if a loving family
needs a guardianship order to care
for an incompetent Elder. It's an
other thing to make families get a
guardianship just so BIA will help
manage their money. And in many
cases there is no suitable guardian
available," explains Joseph. "That's
why we get BIA supervision in the
first place. The BIA's ideas just don't
make sense."
Some advocates believe that Inte
rior Secretary Bruce Babbitt is try
ing to drastically limit the BIA's role
in managing trust funds in response
to Cobell v. Babbitt, the nationwide
class action in which Babbitt was
been found in contempt of court over
his agency's failure to keep accurate
records of IIM funds. "It's incredible
that BIA will admit to a court that it
has a trust responsibility to keep bet
ter records of the money, but then
reverse policies that have allowed BIA
to help manage those funds for eld
erly and disabled Tribal members.
What kind of a trustee is that?" ques
tions Dave Baldridge, Executive Di
rector of NICOA.
Advocates for Indian children are
also concerned that the proposed regu
lations, provide inadequate protection
for minors' IIM accounts. "The gov
ernment should set a high standard
for protecting children's trust funds,
to assure they aren't paid out to par
ents or guardians unless the child has
a real, immediate need for the money.
The BIA needs to make sure funds,
are paid to the real custodian for the
child, not to someone who hasn't had
custody for a year," argues Ray E.
Olney, director of Yakama Nation's
children's program, NakNuWeSha.
"Parents should be encouraged to
Advocates also believe that the proposed IIM regulations, before they
are adopted, should be modified to:
Preclude state child support agencies from filing encumbrances on IIM ac
counts; O Preclude the federal agencies from filing claims against IIM funds;
O Require increased funding and training for BIA staff, so that they can appropri
ately supervise IIM accounts for vulnerable Tribal members;
O Preserve funds for "missing" IIM account holders, and increasing efforts to
locate these tens of thousands of Tribal members who have been out of contact
with their Tribe and the BIA;
Restrict the role of state courts in the lives of IIM account holders.
leave children's IIM money in their
accounts, so they'll have it for their
future." Tribal members on Olney's
reservation, represented by Columbia
Legal Services, have prepared a de
tailed analysis of the proposed regu
lations. That analysis is available on
the NICOA website, www.nicoa.org,
under "policy statements."
Robert Shuckahosee and LaDonna
Fowler, co-founders of AIRROW
(American Indian Rehabilitation
Rights Organization of Warriors),
are also opposing the regulations.
Fowler, Chairperson of the National
Congress of American Indians
(NCAI) Sub-Committee on Disabil
ity, is particularly concerned about
Tribal members with alcohol and
drug problems who would lose the
protection of supervised IIM funds,
unless they have a guardian.
AIRROW hopes that IIM account
holders will submit comments by the
October 12 deadline.
Shuckahosee believes that "guar
dianships go against the grain of cul
ture in opening up legal and court sys
tems that may not be necessary." He
also fears that even if the Tribal courts
agree to take jurisdiction over the thou
sands of people who need financial help,
that many of these matters could even
tually end up in the state court and
state administrative systems "when
Tribes cannot handle all of the issues
of guardianship for the disabled." The
proposed regulations would allow the
guardianships to be filed in any court
of "competent jurisdiction."
But the BIA is not waiting for the
new regulations to take effect before
they require guardianship orders.
' NCAI and Tribal representatives re
cently have been informed that the
BIA staff is working on a change to
the BIA handbook which will take
effect within the next 30 days, which
will implement the requirement that
the BIA has to have a court order in
order to supervise an IIM account.
For more information, contact Helen
Spencer at (509) 575-5593 or e-mail:
Helen.SpencerWolumbialegal.org.
r
CHINUK-WAWA CLASS OFFERED
iM
Another multi level three-credit class in chinuk-wawa will be offered in September.
It will be conducted by the Tribe's Language Program and sponsored by the Univer
sity of Oregon. The ten-week course will begin September 25, and will be held on
Monday nights from 6pm - 9pm in the Tribal Governance Center. Individuals inter
ested in applying for this class should contact the Tribe's Language Specialist Tony
Johnson at (503) 879-2084 or email: tony.johnsongrandronde.org
Diabetes and Kidney Disease:
A Guide for American Indians
and Alaska Natives
NEW YORK, NY One in every five American Indians and Alaska Na
tives has diabetes, which is the number of one cause of kidney failure in the
United States today. This high incidence of diabetes causes American Indi
ans and Alaska Natives to develop kidney failure three times more often
than whites, says the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). To help people in
these communities learn more about two of the diseases that disproportion
ately affect them, the NFK has created a new educational brochure, "Diabe
tes and Kidney Disease: A Guide for American Indians and Alaska Natives."
Written in question-and-answer format, "Diabetes and Kidney Disease"
provides important information about the prevention, control and treatment
of both diseases. Readers will learn the symptoms of diabetes, the early
signs of kidney damage and treatment options for kidney failure.
Though all American Indians and Alaska Natives are at increased risk for
developing Type II diabetes, both diabetes and kidney disease can be pre
vented. For a free copy of "Diabetes and Kidney Disease: A Guide for Ameri
can Indians and Alaska Natives," contact the National Kidney Foundation
at (800) 622-9010.
The National Kidney Foundation is the nation's leading voluntary health
agency dedicated to preventing kidney and urinary tract diseases, improv
ing health and well-being of individuals and families affected by these dis
eases, and increasing the availability of all organs for transplantation.
Voc Rehab Monitoring Session
Conference held in Grand Ronde
By Jon George
The Tribe's Vocational Rehabilitation program hosted a monitoring ses
sion conference at Spirit Mountain Casino on August 14-16.
Native American Tribes from around the Northwest who have the privi
lege of acquiring a Native American Rehabilitation Project 121 Grant at
tended the conference. Tribes from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington
State, Oregon, Arizona, and Northern California attended.
The conference was facilitated by Richard Corbridge, Assistant Com
missioner for Region X. The conference was designed to bring the North
west Tribes together to discuss program issues and concern, to improve
rehab projects and to share information between all programs.
The Grand Ronde Vocational Rehabilitation program would like to thank
the Tribal Council for their gracious donation, which allowed us to extend
our hospitality to our guests. The participants were given a tour of our
Tribal facilities and escorted to a trip to the beach in Lincoln City.
We would especially like to extend a sincere thank you to Chairwoman
Kathryn Harrison for taking time out of her busy schedule to address the
conference, and also to Bob Martin for welcoming the Northwest Tribes.
The conference was a huge success and the participants were deeply
appreciative of the way the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde treated
their guests. Photo by Justin Phillips
-o V'47 r'
Participants from Tribes in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon,
Arizona, and Northern California attended a Vocational Rehabilitation moni
toring session conference at Spirit Mountain Casino on August 14-16.