From The Rapid City Journal:
Acknowledging widespread dissatisfaction with public-safety management on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the Oglala Sioux Tribe Judiciary Committee and other tribal leaders met Thursday with Bureau of Indian Affairs personnel to discuss changes that could put the OST Department of Public Safety under BIA control once again. Continue reading
The report can be found here.
The story from PR Newswire:
WASHINGTON, June 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Smithsonian Institution’s process to repatriate thousands of Native American human remains and funerary objects in its collections is lengthy and resource intensive and it may take several more decades to return items to tribes under its current system, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
This GAO report is the second of a two-part, three-year effort to examine how publicly funded institutions are complying with the two federal laws that direct repatriation to Native Americans. Last year the GAO examined the repatriation work of eight key Federal agencies and the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
First part of article from Bloomberg:
Hecla Mining Co. (HL), the biggest U.S. silver producer, agreed to pay more than $263 million to settle one of the nation’s largest Superfund lawsuits after two decades, according to the Obama administration.
Hecla’s payment, including interest, will be made to the federal government, the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe and the state of Idaho, resolving claims stemming from waste discharged from its mining operations, the U.S. Justice Department said today in an e-mailed statement.
The lawsuit, brought by the American Indian tribe in 1991 and joined by the U.S. five years later, sought money to deal with water and wildlife damage in northern Idaho. The case was one of the biggest pursued under the Superfund law, which seeks to make polluters pay for eliminating environmental hazards.
“This agreement will help pay for the U.S. government’s clean-up activities, secures natural resource damages and will restore critical habitats to fish and wildlife in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin,” Ignacia Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement.
Here is the Hecla Press Release via Businesswire
And here’s the Ninth Circuit Decision: U.S. v. Asarco
Cert was denied (549 U.S. 975) – The Petition for Cert and the Opposition Brief:
From Oregon Live:
SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Senate has voted to temporarily give tribal police officers the same authority as non-tribal officers outside of reservations.
Senators approved the measure on a 19-9 vote on Monday, sending it to the state House. The bill would give tribal officers limited authority off reservations, including the power to continue pursuing suspects who leave tribal land and to take action when a crime is committed in front of them.
They’ll also be allowed to assist non-tribal law enforcement if another agency requests it. Beginning in 2013, tribal officers would have full police authority through 2019.
The Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association opposes the measure because it would give tribal officers authority off the reservation but would continue to restrict authority of non-tribal officers on reservations
The Oregonian’s bill tracker for SB412 is here.
The first part of the article from The Republic:
ANADARKO, Okla. — Supporters of a woman who says she is the rightful governor of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes protested Tuesday outside a regional Bureau of Indian Affairs office in Anadarko, urging the agency to quickly resolve a tribal dispute in her favor.
But a BIA deputy regional director told The Associated Press it’s unlikely the power struggle between former political allies Janice Boswell and Leslie Harjo will be settled soon because the matter is tied up in an appeals process. Boswell has remained in office as governor, even while Harjo maintains that’s now her job and seeks recognition by the BIA.
“We hope that maybe some change or understanding will come about to resolve the dispute within the tribe,” said Terry Bruner, the deputy regional director for Indian services for the BIA’s Southern Plains Region.
The March 28th Interior Board of Indian Appeals Order Vacating Decision and Remanding (referenced in the article) can be found here.
An excerpt from the Times-Standard article:
According to the tribe, the draft legislation — which outlines the transfer of 1,204 acres of Redwood National Park land to the Yurok Tribal Park System — is a part of the tribe’s plans to reclaim ancestral territory. The tribe is scheduled to make a presentation on the matter to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday at 10 a.m.
The draft legislation also asks for an additional 285 acres of public lands and the inclusion of the California Coastal National Monument Redding Rock and would designate a conservation status to the Yurok Experimental Forest — 1,198 acres that are north of the national park land.
In a public meeting in March, tribal leaders spoke about the importance of the lands to the tribe’s culture, traditional hunting and gathering, and ceremonies. Environmentalists in attendance expressed concern over the precedent the legislation could set — transferring already protected land to a sovereign nation — particularly legislation that doesn’t come with a finalized management plan.
Yurok Tribe Policy Analyst Troy Fletcher said last week that the tribe has been working with groups since the meeting to address concerns in order to improve its draft before submitting it for consideration. He said the change in management is not intended to affect public access or the park land’s sustainability.
Turtle Talk 