10
S moke S ignals
JANUARY 1, 2019
Civil Rights Commission issues report on federal government’s
failure to adequately fund its Native treaty responsibilities
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
The U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights released a report on the fed-
eral government’s continuing lack
of commitment to fund programs
for Native Americans in December,
calling the current funding “grossly
inadequate” to meet the most basic
needs the federal government is
obligated to provide.
The report, titled “Broken Prom-
ises,” updates the commission’s
2003 report “A Quiet Crisis: Fed-
eral Funding and Unmet Needs in
Indian Country.”
“Unfortunately, the current study
reflects that the efforts undertaken
by the federal government in the
past 15 years have resulted in only
minor improvements, at best, for
the Native population as a whole,”
states the executive summary in-
cluded in “Broken Promises.” “And,
in some respects, the U.S. govern-
ment has backslid in its treatment
of Native Americans.”
Both reports evaluated budgets
and spending of the more than 20
federal agencies that sponsor Na-
tive American programs, and both
reports found the federal govern-
ment sorely lacking in living up to
its trust responsibilities.
In fiscal year 2019, the federal
government requested $20 billion
for programs serving Tribes and
Native American communities,
which was a decrease from fiscal
year 2018’s $22 billion enacted
funding level and a slight increase
from the fiscal year 2017 enacted
funding level of $19.9 billion.
The current report also found
that the overall budget of the In-
dian Health Service meets slightly
more than 50 percent of the health
care needs of Native Americans
who suffer “striking health deficien-
cies and disparities.”
“The crisis the commission found
in 2003 remains, and the federal
government continues to fail to
support adequately the social and
economic well-being of Native
Americans,” says Commission
Chair Catherine E. Lhamon in a
letter addressed to President Don-
ald Trump, Vice President Mike
Pence and outgoing Speaker of the
House Paul Ryan. “Due at least in
part to the failure of the federal
government adequately to address
the well-being of Native Americans
over the last two centuries, Native
Americans continue to rank near
the bottom of all Americans in
health, education and employment
outcomes.”
According to the report, Native
Americans are more likely to live
in poverty, be unemployed, expe-
rience rape or abuse, and be killed
by police than any other ethnic or
racial group. In addition, Native
Americans have 1.6 times the in-
fant mortality rate of non-Hispanic
whites and the life expectancy of
Native peoples is 5.5 years less
than the national average.
The commission’s key findings,
however, did not all revolve around
funding shortfalls. It also found that
federal programs for Native Amer-
icans are sometimes inefficiently
structured and that the federal
government fails to keep accurate,
consistent and comprehensive re-
cords of federal spending on Native
American programs “making moni-
toring of federal spending to meet its
trust responsibility difficult.”
The commission encouraged Con-
gress to honor the federal govern-
ment’s trust obligations outlined in
375 treaties by passing a spending
package that fully addresses the
unmet needs in Indian Country and
targeting the most critical needs for
immediate investment.
“This spending package should
also address the funding necessary
for the buildout of unmet essential
utilities and core infrastructure
needs in Indian Country, such as
electricity, water, telecommunica-
tions and roads,” Lhamon said. “The
federal government should provide
steady, equitable and non-discre-
tionary funding directly to Tribal
nations to support the public safety,
health care, education, housing and
economic development of Native
Tribes and people.”
The U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights is an independent biparti-
san agency established by Congress
in 1957 that is, in part, directed to
study and collect information re-
lating to discrimination or a denial
of equal protection. The update of
“A Quiet Crisis” was requested by
20 members of the U.S. House of
Representatives in May 2015.
In 2016, commission members
visited the Eastern Shoshone and
Northern Arapaho Tribes in Wyo-
ming, the Quinault Reservation in
Washington state, the Standing Rock
Indian Reservation in North Dakota
and the Pine Ridge Reservation in
South Dakota, as well as accepted
comments from Tribes, Tribal lead-
ers and other interested parties.
According to the 2016 American
Community Survey by the U.S.
Census Bureau, 5.5 million peo-
ple identify as Native American
or Alaska Native either alone or
in combination with one or more
other races.
“The United States expects all
nations to live up to their treaty ob-
ligations,” Lhamon said. “It should
live up to its own.”
The full 314-page report, which
addresses criminal justice and pub-
lic safety, health care, education,
housing and economic development
in dedicated chapters, can be found
at the commission’s website at
www.usccr.gov. n
‘It’s been a fantastic experience’
SHO continued
from front page
board member with 17 years. She
resigned after becoming Oregon
governor in 2015.
During its 21-year existence, the
fund has given away $79.28 million
to Oregon nonprofits.
Dozono is a 64-year resident of
Portland and has been married to
wife Loen for 50 years. The couple
has five children and Dozono has
been active much of his life in the
nonprofit sector.
He jokes that giving away “other
peoples’ money” is “the best job he’s
ever had.”
“It’s been a fantastic experience,
but it’s time for me to make room for
a younger person to serve as chair,”
Dozono said after the Community
Fund’s fourth-quarter check dis-
tribution held in the Governance
Center on Wednesday, Dec. 12. “I’ve
really enjoyed working with Tribal
members and trustees to figure out
the grants, and meeting the people
who do all of the nonprofit work.”
Spirit Mountain Community
Fund serves as the philanthropic
arm of the Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde, using 6 percent of
proceeds from Spirit Mountain Ca-
sino to distribute grants to nonprof-
it organizations in 11 northwest
Oregon counties, government agen-
cies in Polk and Yamhill counties,
and the nine federally recognized
Oregon Tribes.
On Wednesday, Dec. 12, Dozono
also enjoyed a lunch in his honor
at Spirit Mountain Casino, shortly
before awarding 27 grants worth
$670,000 during the Community
Fund’s fourth-quarter check pre-
sentation.
Community Fund Executive Di-
rector Mychal Cherry said Dozono
is a natural leader with a great
sense of humor.
“As the newly appointed execu-
tive director almost two years ago,
Sho took me under his wing and
encouraged me to do my best,” she
said. “I appreciated his enthusiasm
and that his heart was always in
the right place.”
Cherry added that Dozono is
passionate about the health and
well-being of Oregonians, and
improving the lives of the disad-
vantaged.
“The staff will be forever grateful
for his 21 years of service and lead-
ership as an ambassador of Spirit
Mountain Community Fund and
Tribe,” she said. “hayu masi, Sho.”
Dozono, a former high school
teacher, is well-known for his sense
of humor and “quizzes” during
Community Fund check presenta-
tions, where he queries recipients
about details of a video highlighting
the Tribe’s history shown before
each event.
“I’ll really miss thanking the
people that do the job on behalf of
all of us,” he said. “I’ve always said,
over and over like a broken record,
that this is the best job I have ever
had. … I won’t go away completely.
I can still be a resource to people
who apply for grants.”
The retired owner of Azumano
Travel and once-mayoral candidate
in Portland has a long history of
community service.
In 1996, he organized a
30,000-person march in support of
Portland Public Schools funding.
He also was a founding member of
the Portland Schools Foundation
in 1994, now All Hands Raised.
Additionally, Dozono was the first
minority chair of the Metropolitan
Chamber of Commerce and also
has served as chair of the Oregon
League of Minority Voters. He was
also a board chair for United Way
and a member of the Japanese
American Citizens League.
Currently, Dozono serves as a
Portland State University trustee
as well as working on the New Port-
lander Policy Commission, which
advised the Portland City Council
on immigrant and refugee issues.
“As chair of the Community Fund
board, I brought the perspective of
being connected with Portland non-
profits and my experience there,”
Dozono said. “The Community
Fund was one of the most import-
ant nonprofits I have worked for
and hopefully I had an impact.”
During the Dec. 12 check pre-
sentation ceremony, that impact
was apparent when Tribal Council
Secretary Jon A. George and Tribal
Lands Department Manager Jan
Looking Wolf Reibach performed
an honor song for Dozono, much to
his surprise.
“That made me feel really emo-
tional,” he said.
Tribal Council member Kathleen
George is also a former director of
the Community Fund and served in
the position for five years. She said
one of Dozono’s biggest accomplish-
ments was working with the board
to seek diversity amongst grant
applicants.
“In addition to considering fund-
ing requests, the board thought
about the bigger picture and saw
the opportunity to direct us to work
with nonprofits to promote equity
and diversity,” George said.
She said one of her favorite as-
pects of working with Dozono is
how involved he was as board chair.
“Sho almost always made it a
point to attend our presentations,”
she said. “That was a wonderful
thing. It’s a brief time that brings
everyone together, a true moment
of community. He was always a big
part of it.”
George said she will miss Dozo-
no’s “quizzes” during check presen-
tations the most.
“He created a fun opportunity to
share important information about
the Tribe,” she said.
Dozono credits Tribal members
for allowing their Tribal Council to
create the fund in 1997.
“They have given away more
than $79 million,” he said. “Serv-
ing for 21 years has really been a
privilege, a pleasure and an honor
for me.” n