Smoke Signals 1 1
MAY 15, 2012
EPA Summit brings Tribal leaders to Grand Ronde
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
This year's EPA Region 10 Tribal
Leaders' Summit, hosted for the
first time by the Grand Ronde Tribe
and held at Spirit Mountain Casino
from April 30 through May 4, took
on an amazing variety of ideas.
These included developing tra
ditional courts to deal with envi
ronmental pollution; providing a
healing conversation for Native
residents of Bristol Bay, Alaska,
threatened with environmental
devastation by a proposed mine;
creating self-sustaining landfills;
asking why oil and gas are so ex
pensive when they are our own
natural resources; and requiring in
surance assessments on ecosystems
before locating energy production
facilities offshore.
Four Washington Treaty Tribes
reported delivering a white paper
to the White House this year, say
ing that Treaty rights are at risk
from habitat loss and the decline
of salmon runs.
Tribal Ceded Lands Manager
Michael Karnosh made a presenta
tion to general conference attend
ees describing Tribal consultation
needs from the Grand Ronde per
spective. 'This enabled federal agency staff
in attendance to learn of Grand
Ronde's consultation rights on its
ceded lands and in all of its usual
and accustomed areas," Karnosh
said, "and also the Tribe's preferred
consultation methods. I made a
lot of good consultation contacts
immediately after that presenta
tion when several agency folks
approached me.
"Post-conference, the Ceded
Lands Program will continue to
push for increased and improved
consultation from governments on
issues of Tribal importance."
Concerns were expressed over
toxins in traditional foods.
Addressed in many ways, one big
concern was how to address the
threat of climate change. Cylvia
Hayes, Oregon's first lady, said
that a sustainable economy will
only be based on a sustainable
environment.
On opening night, the Tribe wel
comed participants with prayer,
song and traditional fare at the
Tribal plankhouse.
"One of the things that really
draws federal agencies and all
humans is the opportunity to ex
perience something so ancient,"
said Sally Thomas, manager of
EPA's Region 10 Tribal Trust &
Assistance Unit. "It speaks to us
on a level that I'm not sure people
can articulate, but it pulls us all in
and pulls us all together."
"It gives context to the whole con
ference," said Brandy Humphreys,
Environmental Resources special
ist for the Tribe's Ceded Lands
Program and this year's summit
coordinator on the Tribal side. "I
remember Sally turned to me during
the ceremony and said, T have goose
bumps.' Well, I've seen it before, and
it gave me goose bumps, too."
"It takes you to a basic place
within us and resonates deeply,"
said Thomas.
In introducing keynote speaker
Oren Lyons, Tribal Council member
Toby McClary called Lyons "a per
fect model" for himself. "I'm honored
to be the one to introduce him."
Lyons is a Faithkeeper and Elder
of the Turtle Clan of the Onondaga
and Seneca Nations of the Iroquois
Confederacy in upstate New York.
He spoke about how late the hour
is to save the Earth from the wide
spread disregard humanity has
shown for the planet.
"The U.S. and China are the
world's main polluters," he said,
"and neither is showing any lead
ership." Specifically, he described Section
322 of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 that included what he called,
"The Halliburton Loophole." It ex
cepted hydro-fracking from the Safe
Drinking Water Act.
"Eighty-five percent of the Con
gress voted for it," he said, includ
ing then-senators Barack Obama
and Hillary Clinton.
As a result of that legislation, he
said, "They can now poison your
wells legally. It can be changed," he
said. "It has to be changed. There
is no alternative to water."
Just then, a baby's cries were
heard. "I Jiear that baby," said
Lyons. "It's talking to every one
of us.
"Basically," he said in his keynote
to a packed lunchtime crowd, "it's
do or die. Don't give up. The game
is not over, but it sure is coming to
the last round. It's going to take
everything we have to survive.
"What is our cause? To think
about the seventh generation com
ing; look out for them and you're
looking out for yourselves, but you'll
need a skin seven spans thick.
"Everyone has a story," he said
his father told him, "and when
somebody asks for your help, you
have to put down your work and
help. Sometimes, you never finish
your own work, and that's how it
should be."
In another session, "Taking the
Sexy Out of Drugs," representa
tives of the Confederated Tribes of
the Colville Reservation, the Tribal
Solid Waste Advisory Network, of
which Tribal member and Tribal
Waste Water Treatment Manager
Lewis Younger is a member, Wash
ington State Patrol and the Yu
kon River Inter-Tribal Watershed
Council took on the case for fighting
drugs on Northwest reservations.
"Marijuana growing operations,"
said Don Hurst, program manager
for Paramilitary Aggroculture on
the Colville Reservation covering
1.4 million acres, "are not hippies
growing pot for personal use. These
are Mexican mercenaries who camp
out for four to five months with
firearms on site and big rewards
for delivering the crop.
"The solid waste generated in
cludes household garbage, agricul
tural (including chemical) garbage
and the remains of marijuana
plants themselves," he said.
In 2009, his group uncovered
21,000 plants in six growing opera
tions at a cost of $11,000. "Native
agriculture is taken out and trees
are pruned up six to eight feet to cre
ate a canopy. Reservoirs are built to
feed miles of irrigation piping."
I
n fey"
Photo by Michelle Alalmo
Oren Lyons, a Native American Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan of the
Onondaga and Saneca Nations of tha Iroquois Confederacy locatad in New
York state, gives tha keynote speech during lunch of the 2012 Environmental
Protection Agency's Region 10 Tribal Leaders' Summit at Spirit Mountain
Casino on Wednesday, May 2.
"You have never met a master
gardener until you meet somebody
growing the best pot on earth,"
said Daniel Brudevold, the Colville
Tribe's Land and Properties man
agement director. Calling current
laws "a failed federal policy," he
said, "The question is how to regu
late the process and clean it up."
"If we lose our parents to meth, we
lose the past; if we lose our significant
others, we lose the present; but if we
lose our kids, we lose our future." said
Washington State Patrol Trooper
Jeff Kershaw, who has responded to
calls about more than 500 meth labs
in his 24 years on the force.
"Thirty-four Tribes in Washing
ton, Oregon and Idaho are deal
ing with meth labs," said Kami
Snowden, executive director of
the Tribal Solid Waste Advisory
Network. "The more we looked into
it, the more we were finding. They
drive onto the reservations, cook
the meth and leave (the dangerous
byproducts) behind.
"Our concern," she said, is "how
do we keep our workers safe?"
"Meth destroys communities and
affects every part of our society,"
said Jon Waterhouse, director of
the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Wa
tershed Council. "We see it and we
ignore it. (Europeans) took away
our language, our lands, our past,
but meth takes away our future.
Actively take this on. Dial 911,
and win."
Approximately 375 federal and
Tribal leaders and staff attended
the summit, said Humphreys.
There are 271 federally-recognized
Tribes in the Northwest region,
which includes Alaska, Washing
ton, Oregon and Idaho.
"It was a dual-conference," she
said. "Monday and Tuesday focused
on leader-to-leader interaction,
while later in the week presenta
tions on technical subjects were
scheduled."
Five topic areas for technical
presentations included solid waste,
toxics, sustainable growth and com
munities, building blocks of Tribal
programs and hot topics.
Dozens of summit attendees took
advantage of the opportunity to see
how Tribal Natural Resources staff
members handle fish monitoring at
the fish weir and habitat restora
tion on Agency Creek.
"The Tribe received a grant to
pay for the vast majority of costs to
host the event," said Humphreys,
"which brought income into the
community. In addition to financial
benefits, many Tribes and agen
cies from across the region were
exposed to Grand Ronde's beauty,
culture, history and artists.
"I was gratified to see great in
volvement by those attending. I'm
hoping that a lot of new partner
ships were developed amongst
Tribes and agencies. I'm also hoping
that federal agencies that haven't
previously built relationships with
Tribes as EPA has, will feel more
comfortable contacting and part
nering with Tribes and will devote
more resources to building these
relationships in the future."