4 OCTOBER 1, 2002
Smoke Signals
ATM I Conference Tackles Big Issues
Columbia River contamination, trust reform and Elder abuse all part of the 49th
Annual Conference at the Quinault Indian Nation in Washington State.
By Ron Karten
The 49th Annual Conference of
the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest
Indians (ATNI) tackled a host of
issues, including contamination of
the Columbia River, trust fund is
sues, the future of the Grand
Ronde Tribes' Youth Treatment
Facility - Nanitch Sahallie, support
for a Youth Commission that fos
ters Indian kids interested in lead
ership, information to help Tribes
form their own financial institu
tions (many may recall a recent
poll here in Grand Ronde solicit
ing interest in such an institution),
as well as an update on financial
issues at the Bonneville Power Ad
ministration (BPA) and the impli
cations those issues may have for
Tribes.
Regarding Nanitch Sahallie, ac
cording to Tribal Council Coordi
nator Charles Haller II, the group
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agreed to form a consortium to
make sure that Indian youth have
a place for treatment, but the ques
tion remains whether to combine all
available funding and develop a
region-wide program, or for each
Tribe to pull together what fund
ing it can and compete.
Information shared regarding the
development of Tribal financial in
stitutions was preliminary to a full
fledged conference on the subject
scheduled for October, according to
Haller.
While school schedules kept
many Tribes from bringing youth
interested in leadership to the con
ference, CTGR Youth Education
supervisor Lisa Leno reported that
a contingent of 20 students showed
the value of the Youth Commission
project.
Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde (CTGR) were well repre
sented at the weeklong event in
September, including an Elder
Abuse video entitled, Restoring the
Sacred Circle, introduced within
the tape by former CTGR Tribal
Chair Kathryn Harrison. Many
Tribal Council members attended,
in addition to the Tribe's executive
staff as well as Tribal members
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"It's Good TO See YOU" - Tribal Elder and council member Val Grout
extends a greeting to a friend at the 49th Annual Affiliated Tribes of Northwest
Indians Conference in Washington on Wednesday, September 18.
working in Education and Culture.
In all, 265 from ATNI's 54 mem
ber Tribes attended the event
hosted by the Quinault Indian Na
tion at Washington's north coast
Quinault Beach Resort and Casino.
Elections named Ernest L.
Stensgar, Coeur d'Alene Tribe,
president; Mathew Tomaskin,
Yakima Nation, 2nd Vice President;
Norma Jean Louie, Coeur d'Alene
Tribe, Secretary; and Doris J. Milles,
Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs, Assistant Secretary.
Indian Housing Authority Conference Names Tim Holmes Commissioner of the Year
Group also laments HUD tactics and faces up to the issue of mold.
By Ron Karten
September 4-6 marked the first time that the Hous
ing Authority of the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde (CTGR) hosted others from the Northwest
Indian Housing Authorities Association (NIHAA),
according to Executive Director Linda Layden.
"We had the opportunity to show other housing
authorities our campus and the things we have been
doing," she said. The 3-day event drew 25 of 33
members of the NIHAA. "They were really compli
mentary," said Layden.
Business reports during the meeting indicate that
the coming year remains "iffy" with regard to Con
gressional priorities for the group, according to
Brooke Kristovich, chair of NIHAA, because of the
many international and domestic uncertainties at
the top of the current Congressional list.
In addition, differences between NIHAA and the
Seattle-based regional office of the federal Housing
and Urban Development Department (HUD) con
tinue to fester. As Indian housing authorities across
the Northwest chafe under HUD's heavy-handed
oversight of Indian housing authorities, calls for
change by this group apparently await the appoint
ment of a new deputy assistant secretary of the de
partment, according to Kristovich. The position has
been vacant for 1-12 years.
"Each regional office does it its own way," said
Joseph Diehl, NIHAA staffer. "The biggest thing
for us is the philosophy. (We believe that) HUD
should take an overview (of our projects), not check
every receipt."
"This has been a really hot issue for the last six
months to a year," said Layden. The Native Ameri
can Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act
of 1996 (NAHASDA) recognized Tribes as sovereign
nations, according to Layden, but recent HUD over
sight efforts seem to roll back that recognition. In
addition, the extra attention that Indian housing
authorities across the Northwest have had to pay to
HUD's oversight staffers translates into less time
for building houses and managing projects already
completed.
"It takes the housing staff out of the loop," said
Diehl.
The other important issue of the meeting mold
is not much of an issue for CTGR's Housing Au
thority, according to Layden, because Housing Au
thority buildings are all new, and have been de
signed with dehumidifiers to keep mold from get
ting started.
The issue has grown in importance in wet areas
in recent years for three reasons, according to Rich
Prill, a Washington State University extension spe
cialist: first, the health effects of mold in housing
remains unclear, though we are
learning that some people are af
fected more than others, and for
some, the health effects can be dev
astating; second, these ill health
effects are opening up a new front
for lawyers willing to sue housing
authorities to provide remedies,
and third, because insurance com
panies have said that mold is not a
covered problem.
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Family Representation
Nancy Holmes (above) accepts
the Housing Authority's Commis
sioner of the Year Award on be
half of her husband Tim Holmes.
At left, Tim and Nancy's son Joey
Holmes takes part in a drumming
session at the conference dinner.
Tim Holmes: Twice A Star
And speaking of toxins, Housing Authority Commissioner Tim Holmes caught something going around
on September 4, and went home to rest. It was a pity because his son, Joey, was scheduled as one of
four youthful drummers set to entertain at the quarterly meeting of the Northwest Indian Housing
Authorities Association (NIHAA). An equal pity, however, was that he also missed his own election by
the group as Commissioner of the Year. He did not even know that he had been nominated.
"This will make him feel a lot better when I get home," said his wife, Nancy Holmes, staffer for the
Tribe's Housing Authority, in accepting the award for her husband.
"I was totally surprised," Tim Holmes said later. "It was a tremendous honor. Any time any
member of the Tribe is recognized for any of the work they've done, it's a great reflection on the Tribe
as a whole."
In July, Holmes also was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Association of People with
Disabilities (AAPD). The board meets four times a year, according to Holmes, and among his respon
sibilities will be "to serve on one committee of the association, and be an active participant," Holmes
said.
"The importance of AAPD is to raise level of awareness in Indian country of the challenges that their
members with disabilities face," said Holmes.