A Matter Of Artifacts

For the Standing Rock Sioux, water is not the only issue

Bottom Line: The argument that the Dakota Access pipeline will not endanger sacred sites is far from over.

One Standing Rock official believes that the pipeline site should now be considered a crime scene.

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

The construction of the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) did not destroy sites sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Nor do sacred sites exist within the disputed 1.36-mile corridor located on Cannonball Ranch, recently purchased by Dakota Access LLC.

That was the conclusion of archaeologists from the North Dakota Historical Society. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe, however, disagrees. Indeed, they say, Historical Society representatives have not dealt honestly with the tribe on the matter.

“I was invited to a meeting on September 23 with the Morton County Sheriff, the State Historical Society and other members of the task force investigating this issue where I thought we would discuss plans to visit the site,” said Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Historic Preservation Officer John Eagle. “At that meeting, I was told [by sheriff’s officials] that archaeologists were already at the location and that I would not be allowed access.”

Indeed, DAPL officials had specified that they would allow an archaeological inspection of the pipeline easement only under the condition that no Standing Rock tribal officials were included.

Tribal leaders insist that the area contains dozens of burials, stone rings, effigies and other culturally significant features. On September 2 Tim Mentz, former Standing Rock THPO, filed survey papers detailing locations of these features in federal court. Mentz’s family owns a business that does archaeological and tribal identification survey work; he conducted the survey on the disputed land with permission of the Cannonball Ranch owners weeks before Dakota Access LLC purchased the land on September 20. Prior to that date, the company had purchased use of an easement from the ranch owners in order to conduct pipeline construction.

On September 3, the day after the tribe filed papers, including Mentz’s survey, DAPL workers bulldozed piles of earth over the area containing archaeological evidence, Eagle said. The corridor, he believes, should now be considered a crime scene.

Although the Morton Country Sheriff’s Department says it has encouraged Dakota Access officials to allow tribal access to the site during the archaeological inspection, they consider the matter closed.

“Jon Eagle’s input was incredibly valuable to the taskforce in gaining an understanding of his opinion regarding the area,” said Morton County Sheriff spokesperson Rob Keller. “However, Morton County is relying on the expertise of the State Archeologists who surveyed the property and have made a determination that no human remains or significant sites were found in the pipeline corridor.”

Morton County sheriffs cite a memo and report issued September 22 by Paul R. Picha, Chief Archaeologist with the State Historical Society of North Dakota. It describes a pedestrian inventory (cultural resources survey) in which seven Society archaeologists surveyed the corridor at seven-meter spacing intervals, inspecting the surface and the sides of the soil berms that had been dug out to make a trench for the pipeline. The survey indicates that archaeologists found no evidence of human bones or burials.

The Sheriffs Office invited Eagle on September 26 to discuss the completed state survey. He insists that the soil berms created by pipeline construction have destroyed and covered the artifacts and other evidence. Dakota Access denies the company destroyed any cultural sites, according to Forum News Service.

However, Eagle countered, North Dakota Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Fern Swenson has presented images of the group’s findings during the September 26 meeting that clearly showed how the soil covered half of a stone feature.

DAPL representatives did not respond to e-mailed questions from ICTMN; Kim Johndal, spokesperson for the Historical Society, did not respond to a telephone request for information.

The current conflicts, some tribal representatives believe, actually augur well for their claims that the area is a site of cultural importance. “We are receiving public support from heavy hitters in the museum, historical and archaeology community,” Eagle said.

The Natural History Museum, a mobile and pop-up institution, has initiated a sign-on letter campaign. It asks archaeologists, anthropologists, historians and museum workers to call on the federal government to include proper consultation with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in cultural and environmental surveys and impact statements regarding construction of the pipeline.

“We join the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in denouncing the recent destruction of ancient burial sites, places of prayer and other significant cultural artifacts sacred to the Lakota and Dakota people,” the letter states.

So far nearly 1,300 people have signed the appeal. They include Richard W. Lariviere, president and chief executive of the Field Museum in Chicago, and Brenda Toineeta Pipestem, chairwoman of the board of the National Museum of the American Indian. http://bit.ly/2dV41WQ

Challenges Of A Nation

‘We, as Navajo people, have the power to change our lives’

On the job 16 months, Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez has his hands full.

Alysa Landry

Editor’s Note: Navajo Vice President Jonathan Nez took office in May 2015 after a tumultuous election that resulted in court hearings, disqualified candidates and an unprecedented debate over the importance of speaking the Navajo language.

Nez and running mate Russell Begaye won their bid for office in a delayed election and took the oath as the Navajo Nation faced some of the most complicated issues in its history. During his short tenure in office, Nez already has contended with police-involved shootings, border town violence, lawsuits against the federal government and long-standing disputes over land and water rights.

A marathon runner who hails from Shonto, Arizona, Nez advocates for education, local empowerment and enhanced sovereignty. Sixteen months into his term, he sat down for a candid interview with ICTMN.

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It’s been more than seven years since President Obama repealed the Bennett Freeze. What does the thaw look like on the Navajo Nation?

There are still so many regulations we have to deal with, but the overall master plan is being developed for that area. A lot of our people got relocated out of there and many of them have yet to be compensated. We need the federal government to honor its promise to provide resources to those people.

Right now, we’re working on a plan, approving projects for electricity and water lines. We have $1 million for dams and windmills and $2 million to provide homes.

Things just don’t happen very quickly on the Navajo Nation, but for this project, seeing tangible results and rehabilitation in the former Bennett Freeze—that’s in the near future. For some of those people who really need homes, we’re hoping to provide those before winter.

A police officer who shot and killed a Navajo woman in Winslow, Arizona, in April was cleared of wrongdoing. What is the Navajo Nation doing to get justice for Loreal Tsingine?

We’re trying to get the federal Department of Justice to investigate the incident. We’re just waiting for that. After the Arizona Department of Public Safety did its investigation and cleared the officer, we weren’t satisfied.

The Navajo Nation recently announced that it is suing the Environmental Protection Agency over the August 2015 Gold King Mine spill. In the lawsuit, the Nation is asking that the Navajo way of life be restored. What will that look like?

Right now, there is so much hurt. This incident instilled more mistrust in the federal government. We have had hearings in D.C. and in Phoenix, and senators have come out here, but there is this long-term psychological effect that will linger for a long time. There’s already distrust about using the water.

We’re challenging the federal government, as always, because they need to step up and clean up the river, and also hold those mining companies accountable for all the neglect that’s happened in the Colorado mountains. The Gold King Mine was one of thousands of abandoned mines. Just imagine, this could happen again—and it probably will.

So we’re suing the U.S. EPA. We need to raise awareness of the need to compensate our people and clean up the river. This is constantly on our radar and there’s continuous advocacy for the folks along the river.

A longstanding issue on the Navajo Nation is the lack of electricity and running water for tens of thousands of residents. What are you doing to remedy the situation?

We have, right now, over $300 million appropriated by the Navajo Nation Council and signed into law by the president for water infrastructure. I’ve been a lawmaker for eight years and I’ve never seen this much money put aside to help improve basic life for our people. Some of that will go to extend water lines, and then we can work with Indian Health Service to help fund individual hookups.

We’re also working to extend electricity trunk lines and develop a package to make that affordable. We are encouraging folks to plan with their families to create communities on their ancestral lands. If they group everyone together, that makes power and water more affordable. That’s the biggest bang for the buck.

They also have to realize that if they want to live way out there, they will probably not see power or water. So the bottom line is that we’re encouraging people to put together plans so we can provide infrastructure.

Another perennial issue is unemployment, which hovers at about 50 percent. What can be done to create jobs?

A lot of our families, in order to make ends meet, are sending one parent off the reservation to get a job. That’s five or six days a week away from the family. Then social ills start plaguing us because parents are split.

We are investing millions of dollars in Navajo business and we believe jobs are just around the corner. We want to empower individuals, families, communities and the entire Navajo Nation. Our ultimate goal is to create jobs that will bring a lot of our Navajo people home.

One of your personal goals is improved health for yourself and the Navajo Nation. What would you like to see the Navajo people achieve in terms of health?

I was once 300 pounds, and I was telling kids to be healthy and take care of themselves. Then I realized they weren’t going to believe a 300-pound man. One day a young man called me on that. He said, “You tell us to eat right, but every year we see you getting bigger and bigger.” I decided he was right. I needed to control myself. So I lost 100 pounds and started running.

If we’re a sovereign nation, we should be in charge of our own health. That means we should be able to grow our own Native foods, to go back to our traditional seeds and encourage our people to return to subsistence farming.

We also need to challenge our lawmakers to make laws that are more friendly to our farmers and ranchers. If you’re going to put a gas station, service station, convenience store or grocery store on the Navajo Nation, you should sell Navajo fruits and vegetables and Navajo meats. That’s food sovereignty at its highest. We also have our junk food tax, which I supported to help our people be a lot more aware of their health.

You and President Russell Begaye have been in office for more than a year. What’s still to come before the end of your term?

We just want to leave a lasting impression on our people. We want them to know that we, as Navajo people, have the power to change our own lives and our own families. We want our people to be the best they can be. Now is the time for all able-bodied individuals to be part of the building process. Now is the time to help each other, to bring back service and volunteerism.

This will come in gradual steps. It may not happen this year or next, but we’re hoping in this administration to plant a seed for our families to become stronger and combat the monsters we fight on a daily basis: alcohol, drugs, poverty and violence. We all know that a healthy family can fight a lot of these monsters off.

What we really want to see in this administration is that our families are whole and healthy. We want to plant that seed of empowerment so that in one or two generations we’ll see true self, true sovereignty—a return to who we were. http://bit.ly/2cVYg5i

On-Reserve Child Funding Lags

‘Why are they taking so long?’

Bottom Line: The complaint was filed in 2007. The order came down in January. And still, critics say, little is being done.

Child advocate Cindy Blackstock is dissatisfied with the Canadian government’s sluggish response to calls for increased funding for on-reserve child welfare.

Canada AM/CTV

Not good enough. That is what the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has told Ottawa regarding its response to longstanding complaints about funding for on-reserve child welfare.

On January 26, the quasi-governmental Tribunal ordered Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) to increase on-reserve child welfare funding, to bring it into line with the funding provided to non-reserve children. But in a second Supplemental Decision, issued on September 14, the Tribunal determined that the INAC had failed to do so.

This lack of action “is reflective of INAC’s old mindset that spurred this complaint,” the Tribunal declared. “This may imply that INAC is still informed by information and policies that fall within this old mindset.”

The Tribunal’s new compliance order directs the government to explain how it is implementing the initial ruling.

“I am profoundly disappointed that the federal government is failing to comply with repeated legal orders to end its racial discrimination against 163,000 First Nations children,” said Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, who brought the initial charges against the government in 2007. “As the Tribunal suggested in January, Ottawa needs to move from empty rhetoric to meaningful action.”

The ruling Liberal Party’s federal budget includes about $635 million over five years in new funding, with $71 million set to be released immediately, the Canadian Press reported. But Blackstock said that the latter figure falls $200 million short of what is needed. Six percent of on-reserve children are in state care, she noted—almost eight times the rate for other Canadian children.

“Why are they taking so long?” she asked the Canadian Press. “What they are doing is illegal and immoral. We’re talking about little kids.”

Indigenous leaders concurred. “I welcome today’s ruling by the Human Rights Tribunal, but it is disappointing to see that Canada has to be pushed to respect human rights and end discrimination against First Nations children,” said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde.

Manitoba Regional Chief Kevin Hart agreed. “The fact that Canada is dragging its feet is contrary to fairness and human rights,” he said.

As part of its directive to INAC to increase on-reserve child welfare funding, the Tribunal instructed the agency to relax financial standards, take into account cost-of-living increases, and allow for the remoteness of certain communities.

The Tribunal specifically invoked Jordan’s Principle, a policy designed to keep children’s services from becoming ensnarled in financial bureaucracy. The measure is named after Jordan River Anderson, who was born in 2001 with a rare muscular disorder and spent the next two years in a Winnipeg hospital. When it came time for him to return home, various government entities could not agree on who would pay for his medical care. Restricted to the hospital while the parties haggled, he died in 2005.

The Tribunal told INAC that Jordan’s Principle must apply to all medical needs—not just acute and complex situations—and to Indigenous Peoples both on- and off-reserve. The Tribunal also called for details on how measures are being carried out, and for INAC to consult with the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.

Ottawa is reviewing the Tribunal’s latest order, said Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett.

“We know that the child welfare system on reserve needs to be overhauled, and that is why we are engaging with First Nations youth, First Nations leadership, service providers, the provinces and Yukon Territory,” she told the Canadian Press. “Our government is committed to changing the status quo, and we are taking action to ensure that we get this right for First Nation children and families on reserve.” http://bit.ly/2dyCIz1

How Did I Miss That?

GOP pigmentation, the return of the Bronco and
sending in the clowns

Last week’s vice presidential debate took place in the electronic equivalent of an empty room, so the departures by Republican nominee Mike Pence from the Trump platform will be little noticed. Between Pence and Trump, there was lots of daylight. But the big deal was Pence interfering with the flowering bromance between Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Trump wants to befriend Putin; Pence wants to confront Putin. Trump wants to ignore Bashar al-Assad; Pence wants to deploy military force against Assad.

* * *

HuffPost reported from the trial of Ammon and Ryan Bundy for armed takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon that Ammon Bundy is about to testify in his own defense. He claims the judge otherwise won’t let him try to prove that the federal government has no authority to operate a wildlife refuge.

As I’ve reported before, the party with grounds to complain about the existence of the wildlife refuge would be the Northern Paiutes. The Paiutes and the park rangers have come to agreements that satisfy both, so the Paiutes have expressed no interest in litigation to shut down the wildlife refuge.

Another occupier, Brand Nu Thornton, testified that if the park rangers had showed up, the occupiers planned to “get out of the way and let them go to work.”

Prosecutors have presented, so far, 22 long guns, 12 handguns, and thousands of rounds of ammunition confiscated from the occupiers. My cousin Ray Sixkiller speculated that they planned to hunt for food “and expected the food to shoot back.”

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Forsyth County teacher’s aide Jane Wood Allen was fired for a discussion on Facebook where she several times referred to Michelle Obama as “a gorilla.” Earlier, an official with the Georgia Department of Education, Jeremy Spencer, “resigned under pressure” after posting a photo of a lynched black man in a discussion about President Barack Obama with the caption, “Only one way to solve the problem . . .”

Cousin Ray claimed he could think of at least one more way to solve the problem.

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The Trump campaign produced a viral video when The Donald visited the International Christian Academy in Las Vegas, provoking a child on the soundtrack to observe, “See? I told ya his hair wasn’t orange.”

“Easy to see,” Cousin Ray snickered, “when you compare his hair to his skin.”

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Time published a summary of the recent wave of “clown hysteria.” It started in August with reports from South Carolina that clowns were trying to lure children into the woods.

Clown hysteria spread to at least two dozen states. Alabama charged seven people with making terrorist threats involving “clown-related activity.” Hundreds of students at Penn State organized a clown hunt. (I am not informed whether they carried torches and pitchforks.) Other schools were on clown sighting lockdown in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Texas.

Last week, things got so dicey for clowns that horror writer Stephen King, who created the evil clown Pennywise in It, was trying to dial back clown fears on Twitter: Hey, guys, time to cool the clown hysteria–most of em are good, cheer up the kiddies, make people laugh.

* * *

Contrary to Trump’s speech on the campaign trail, the Detroit Free Press reported that Ford is going to bring back the Bronco, and that the big SUV will be built in Michigan.

Cousin Ray wondered if O.J. Simpson is planning a low speed prison break.

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HuffPost ran a pic of an itemized statement from an Intermountain Healthcare hospital in Provo, Utah, that charged the new mother $39.35 to hold the baby. It was itemized as “skin to skin after C-SEC.” A hospital rep told HuffPost the reason for the charge is they had to bring another staffer into the room to “ensure the safety of both the mother and the child.”

The proud dad declined to criticize the hospital, but after he quit laughing, he put the baby holding fee up for crowdfunding. He quickly raised $60.

“Wow,” Cousin Ray exclaimed. “That’s almost enough money to allow his wife to hold the baby again!” http://bit.ly/2dAleSx