Smoke Signals
Judge Asked to Hold Norton in Contempt in Indian Trust Lawsuit
WASHINGTON (AP) - American
Indians who claim they were bilked
of $10 billion in trust funds have
asked a judge to stop the government
from shredding documents and to
find new Interior Secretary Gale
Norton in contempt of court.
The Indians want the records to
reconstruct how much money is miss
ing from trust fund accounts, which
were created to manage royalties
paid for the use of Indian lands.
If the judge grants the motion it
would be the second time Cabinet
officials have been held in contempt
in the class-action lawsuit. The
300,000 plaintiffs want the govern
ment to pay the money back.
Dennis Gingold, a lawyer repre
senting the Indians, said the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA) and its con
tractors have been destroying trust
documents daily in violation of court
orders.
Earlier this year, a court-appointed
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Under Fire Already -
New Secretary of the Interior Gale
Norton, pictured here at the National
Congress of American Indians confer
ence earlier this year in Washington
D.C., is under fire from Native Ameri
cans who want the Bureau of Indian
Affairs held accountable for missing
money from trust land accounts.
Recently investigators found trust fund
documents in a shredder during a
surprise visit to BIA offices.
investigator made a surprise visit to
a BIA document warehouse and
found a trust fund document in a
shredder. BIA officials told him simi
lar documents were shredded every
day.
In 1999, Lamberth held then-Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt and
former. Treasury Secretary Robert
Rubin in contempt for failing to turn
over documents.
At a hearing in April, Lamberth
said he was willing to do it again if
the government didn't cooperate.
The Indian trust accounts stem
from an 1887 federal law that di
vided some reservations into smaller
plots for individual Indians. The gov
ernment holds that land in trust for
the Indians, meaning it cannot be
taxed or sold and the government
must approve any leases.
Many of the tracts are leased for
grazing, logging, mining or oil drill
ing. Fees are supposed to be depos
ited in government accounts and
then paid to Indian landholders.
Since the beginning, however,
those accounts have been misman
aged in almost every way imagin
able, the government acknowledges.
Records for many accounts were
never kept, while documentation for
others was lost or destroyed.
Some of the money was stolen or
used for other federal programs.
Some lease proceeds were never col
lected. Thousands of accounts have
money in them but no names at
tached. On the Net:
Indian account holders:
vwvw.indiantrust.com
Interior Department:
www.doi.goy
Justice Department:
" www.usdoj.gov
Feds Urge Magistrate to Uphold
Kennewick Man Decision
PORTLAND, OR. (AP) - Federal
attorneys asked a U.S. magistrate re
cently to uphold a decision giving an
ancient skeleton known as.
Kennewick Man to five Indian Tribes
in the Columbia River basin.
The lawyers filed a 45-page docu
ment in U.S. District Court, in prepa
ration for a hearing in June on a law
suit brought by scientists seeking to
study the 9,300-year-old remains.
Last year the U.S. Department of
the Interior decided to turn over
Kennewick Man to the Tribes rather
than the scientists, who want to
study the oldest and most complete
skeleton ever found in the Northwest.
The federal attorneys said the "pre
ponderance of evidence" shows that
the remains are culturally affiliated
with the Tribes. They also said the
scientists had no constitutional right
to study the remains., j f.
Eight prominent anthropologists
filed a lawsuit nearly five years ago
against the U.S. Army Corps of En
gineers after the agency indicated it
would give the skeleton to the Tribes
and would not allow a thorough
study.
Leaders of the Yakama, Umatilla,
Nez Perce, Colville and Wanapum
Tribes say the remains are those of
an ancestor and should be turned
over for proper burial. They say a
complete scientific study would be
offensive and disrespectful of their
beliefs.
Tribes Reject Bonneville Power
Administration Plan
PORTLAND, OR. (AP) - In a re
versal of roles, a Bonneville Power
Administration plan to help salmon
by spilling water over two Columbia
River dams has fallen apart after
Tribes refused to support it.
The plan called for a limited spill
in exchange for a Washington pub
lic utility district's promise to supply
power to the region this summer if
water supplies remain low.
Sending water over spillways allows
young salmon to avoid going through
the dams' power-generating turbines,
which can injure or kill them.
The federal salmon recovery plan
requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engi
neers to send miUions of gallons over
spillways each spring and summer.
But this year's dry conditions have
placed those plans in jeopardy. Ear
lier this year, the BPA stopped the pro
gram by declaring a power emergency.
The BPA planned to begin a limited
spill at Bonneville and The Dalles
dams. In exchange, the Grant County
Public Utility District agreed to gener-t
ate extra electricity at its Wanapum
and Priest Rapids dams this summer
by halting or reducing spill and send
ing that water through the turbines.
Tribal officials said the swap would
trade one set of fish for another.
Spilling water over the Grant County
dams helps upriver salmon popula
tions, while spilling water over the
lower river dams primarily would aid
mid-Columbia and Snake River fish.
The Tribes want the BPA to start a
limited spill immediately, with pro
visions to buy electricity on the
wholesale market or buy water from
irrigators.
"They weren't playing fair here,"
said Charles Hudson, a spokesman
for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal
Fish Commission, which represents
four Tribes with treaty rights for
salmon. "Bonneville was attempting
a sleight of hand. They were trying
to swap spill and sell it to the region
as a great fish measure."
Montana officials also opposed the
plan. They don't think any water
should be spilled forfish unless"wa
ter supplies increase.
Drought Draws Illegal Artifact
Hunters to Sacred Indian Sites
COULEE DAM, WA. (AP) For 60 years, Lake Roosevelt has served
as a watery grave for American Indian camps and sacred places that were
flooded during construction of the Grand Coulee Dam.. fl ... ,,. x ,. ,,.
But drought in the Northwest has left lake levels so low, the old sites
have been exposed and are attracting artifact hunters who have been
illegally removing relics, officials say.
Cheryl Grunlose, Manager of the Colville Tribal Museum, is appalled
by the activity.
"How would you feel if it were your ancestry and people were just walk
ing along and picking it up and putting it on their fireplace mantel?" she
asked.
Several Indian settlements, burial grounds and 11 town sites were per
manently flooded in 1941 during construction of the Columbia River dam,
the largest hydroelectric project in the nation. The 130-mile-long Lake
Roosevelt National Recreation Area covers portions of the Colville and
Spokane reservations.
In a typical year, Lake Roosevelt's level may be dropped as much as 100
feet in anticipation of spring runoff from snow packed mountains.
But with the Northwest in its worst drought since 1977, water levels
have been lower longer than usual, exposing remnants of Indian cultural
sites in the muddy lake bottom.
While the recreation area is open to boating and camping, disturbing
artifacts is forbidden. Fines range from $50 to thousands of dollars, de
pending on the circumstances and damage, said Lynne Brougher, chief
of interpretation and education for the recreation area.
Officials say the annual lake draw down periodically attracts artifact
hunters but there has been an increase this spring in people searching
with four-wheel-drive vehicles and metal detectors.
Last year, two people were caught digging for artifacts in the Spokane
arm of the lake, a case now pending in federal court.
No one has been cited this year, but the Park Service and the Spokane
and Colville tribes have increased patrols and are trying to educate people
about the law and cultural sensitivity, Chief Ranger Daniel Mason said.
He said most cases involve people looking for souvenirs rather than traf
ficking in artifacts.
"We explain to them the importance of the artifacts and try to put it in
context: If it was your burial site for your family, would you like people to
come in and dig up whatever is there for their personal consumption?"
Mason said.
Protecting artifacts has been a concern in other states as well.
Last month in South Dakota, the Standing Rock Reservation and Army
Corps of Engineers settled a lawsuit over erosion of Indian graves along
the Missouri River. Remains of descendants of an Indian chief were un
covered when water levels dropped in Lake Oahe. The Tribe sued, saying
poor management of the river left the remains open to looters.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE NET:
COLVILLE CONFEDERATED TRIBES: www.colvilletribes.com
, , v .LAKE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL RECREATION AREA: www.nps.govIaro
GRAND COULEE DAM: www.usbr.govcxJamsdamsgrandcouiee