The best Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs we're going to get

You protect Individual Indian Rights with the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs you have--not the Secretary you might want or wish to have at a later time.

"We’re all about executing the trust responsibility and protecting all Native people that have an interest in water,” [Larry] Echo Hawk said. “I’m here to tell you we will be vigilant in protecting the rights of allottees.”

The bottom line, he said, “speaking as the assistant secretary, this is the best deal that you’re going to get." (from the Billings Gazette)

"...the best you're gonna get?"

That's "being vigilant?"

"The best you're going to get?" Why does that sound so paternalistic again? Yes there is a lot of great stuff going on in the Crow Water Settlement. The Tribe is not arguing, the BIA is not arguing, but if they were, "somebody" would be listening. The fact that BIA leaves tribes out of consultation on many policy changes is a fact that is not easily forgotten. Tribes are heard when they complain, rightly so.

But what happens when individual Indian land owners complain-when they weren't given a chance to voice their concerns-after a decision has been made that affects them? "...this is the best deal that you're going to get."

Any idea now why the Elouise Cobell Settlement, made on "behalf" of all land owners is such a contentious issue? Probably not.

And that leaves us still wishing for somebody to protect our Individual Indian Land Rights by listening to the Individual Land Owners who have the greatest gauge of what kind of effect any legislation or policies will have on us.

I guess getting a real championship office of Tribal and Individual Indian Rights really does come down to "...a matter of production and capability of doing it."

Coming soon: An Assistant Secretary who will advocate for the acceptance that the Cobell Settlement is fair and just to individual Land Owners. (make sure you read between the lines though if you're an Individual Indian Land Owner)

Peabody Coal and the Office of Surface Mining's activities are again called to question

The controversey around Peabody Coal still not only simmers, it has once again boiled over, or at least it looks to if things don't change in the immediate future.

More leaders need to know, as it has been pretty rampant as of late, that not every Indian speaks for EVERY Indian. If indeed the Life of Mine provision, addressed in this latest Indian Country Today Opinon Piece by the Hon. Ben Nuvamsa, was passed in the dark hours of a passing administration, then the powers that be, need to request clarification from the Hopi Tribe that this is what the Hopi Tribe is in agreement with.

Perhaps a referendum should be initiated from the new Hopi tribal administration to reveal what the true voice of the people is concerning the provisions of the Black Mesa Area Mining permit. This is the truest path to discovering if the Hopi people really want to grant such broad sweeping permission to the Peabody Coal Company.

Alternatively, if the Hopi Tribe's process permits it, the Hopi people should present an immediate Direct Initiative to determine their own opinion on how to supply the needs of the Mohave Generating Station, while still addressing the natural resource needs of the people in a way that is transparent, respectful of all that will be impacted, and in the end run is in the best opinion of an informed Hopi tribal population. (A Direct Initiative will go directly to a vote and circumvent the legal maze that many will not be familiar with or have the patience to endure)

A tribal law will hold status that should weigh heavily in any pending lawsuit

Both sides of the issue should be most supportive of a Direct Initiative because the majority will come out on top, and if either side believes it really is correct then this is the ultimate mechanism for putting money where mouth may be. Then there will be no questions left to answer.

No questions will be left except-what will the Hopi people do either with or without their resources in either scanario?

Larry Echo Hawk A Poor Choice Among Many Great Ones

[Click here for most Recent article on Larry Echo Hawk's (Re)Confirmation hearing...]

Well, it was a surprise when the news bounced around the inauguration balls that Department of the Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar was considering Larry Echo Hawk for Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Bureau of Indian Affairs. It was an upleasant surprise.

It was once said Larry Echo Hawk had three strikes against him: He's Indian, He's Democrat, He's Morman. They had two out of three correct anyway.

There are a multitude of casinos out there. There are just as many tribes exercising sovereignty and managing casinos.

Larry Echo Hawk is Pawnee from Oklahoma. Now here's an interesting fact: There are Pawnee Indian-owned casinos...That's strange. Why wasn't Larry Echo Hawk openly opposing those casinos? Why wasn't Larry helping Oklahoma raise a legal battle against the Pawnee Indians?

He did it before in Idaho. He openly opposed casinos in Idaho. It was rumored that he had made promises to remain neutral, which to date are unsubstantiated. When he was elected to Idaho State Attorney General, he did not remain neutral on the subject of Indian Casinos. He did not openly support the Tribes. Instead, he openly opposed Indian Gambling in Idaho. Then when the Federal Government (Department of the Interior) had determined that Idaho could not legally oppose Tribal Gambling, Larry Echo Hawk helped the state negotiate a loophole that would create a state statute to oppose Tribal Gaming. This occured as Idaho was itself conducting it's own gambling.

Larry is Pawnee from Oklahoma. That is significant. They have what around 600-800 acres of land? Not Thousands of Acres, not hundreds of thousands of acres, not millions of acres. They have less than a thousand acres. They probably have approximately five 160-acre allotments. Wow! And now Larry is supposed to act like he knows what our issues are on reservations with over Three hundred thousand acres, over Seven hundred thousand acres, over a million acres? He has no cultural imprint from which to draw personal experience. He has probably never personally managed land leases on reservations on a daily, or yearly basis. He is probably not familiar with what it is to account for land held in trust. Has he ever personally had an interest in having land transferred into Trust Status. He couldn't have had land waiting 19 years to be transferred into trust? Could he? If not, how could he manage an agency that is supposed to be doing that and to date, is frought with mistakes, misinformation, and misguided principles? How does Larry Echo Hawk know what it means to have a Tribe's appraisals done by a third or fourth party contractor? How does Larry Echo Hawk know what it means to have surveys done by contractors who for all their efforts want all their survey information to be public knowledge; to have state elected officials performing cadastral surveys for reservations because the Federal survey certification is open to virtually every surveyor breathing?

So what does Larry Echo Hawk know? He knows he's a Morman. He knows he opposed Idaho Tribes gambling options. In his formative years, Larry Echo Hawk heard Robert Kennedy say: 'Some men see things as they are and say, 'Why?'
I see things as they could be and say, 'Why not?' "

Maybe this explains why, in a region where Indians have always had gambling as part of their culture, before Mormons arrived here, Larry Echo Hawk looked and thought this state could oppose Indian gambling with a bit of legal wrangling so "why not?"

I am in admiration for his bit of legal wrangling, what I fail to understand is why he could not simply resign if his "religious" beliefs were in opposition to any Tribe's Sovereign Right to continue our gambling tradition. Yes it is a tradition. (stick games, horse races, foot races, and myraid other gambling opportunites dot our history) We are conducting the gambling ON OUR RESERVATIONS, and if Larry Echo Hawk didn't like it, he should never have set foot on the reservation.

But now, he will oversee many many gambling issues. Does he turn a blind eye yet again to every tribe who proposes to start gambling? Does he come down with the wrath of Joey Smith? What is an Indian to do? When an Oil Industry Surveyor's Son is faced with the truth behind how detrimental contractual surveying is to Tribes (conducted by Bureau of Land Management), does he turn away from the truth, or does he turn his back on the Tribes who are all suffering at the hands of so many Contracted Surveyors? Does Larry Echo Hawk understand the connection between lack of Trust Responsibility and forcing Tribes to pay for trust services like surveying, or appraising, or gathering records, or contracting for land leases, or oil leases?

It is doubtful that a landless-tribal member can enter this ring with any sense of what is expected of him. It is embarrassing that a "tribal member" who stood with a State Authority against multiple tribes, in direct opposition to their sovereignty, is now being considered for appointment to Bureau of Indian Affairs Secretary. We made treaties with the United States, NEVER WITH THE STATE OF IDAHO. Does Larry Echo Hawk's blatant lack of understanding of Tribes' sovereignty, of Tribes' land issues finally become obvious?

I think there should be much support for Scott Crowell and his statement in opposition to Appointment of Larry Echo Hawk to Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs.

I agree with Scott Crowell that there may be wide-ranging support for Larry Echo Hawk, but just as in 1994, it may come from "Outside Idaho, [where] Mr. EchoHawk's candidacy has energized Indians throughout the West and become a cause," because very rarely does every tribe hear of every transgression and those who commit them against us. Maybe Ken Salazar has no idea what Larry Echo Hawk did either.

Today, it would not be hard to find tribal members from the Pacific Northwest, tribal members from large land-based reservations, that don't want Larry Echo Hawk in office messing up Tribal Sovereignty from a non-traditional, foreign religion's view of oppression.

No Indians should support the appointment of "an Indian" who will just as easily turn on their sovereignty at the National Level. He cannot be our voice. All of Indian Country should be hoping that Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar will look into more than the fluff and see the core issues of our problem with Larry Echo Hawk. If they don't they could find themselves on the receiving end of Larry's rebuke against Indian Gambling. Indian Country should be hoping members of the Senate Committe on Indian Affairs will consider another candidate for this post because Larry has shown he can put a State on his back while he runs haphazardly over Tribal Sovereignty.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Did MAJEL RUSSELL resign as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Bureau of Indian Affairs?

It would seem that Majel Russell is no longer with us as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Did Majel Russell resign? The Puzzle Palace (federal government) seems to do a fine job of shredding either the principles of the people we keep sending there, or their morals, or just their sense of duty or their morale. I know of good people who have gone there with hopes of "changing things." They quickly find out that isn't what's going to happen. I know of some people who go there with self-driven motivations. I would hope that they don't last long there, but some of them are still there, and flourishing.

So it would seem that Majel Russell's former position is once again open, as well as Carl Artman's position. Round and round we go, and where we stop, nobody really does know. Majel Russell will do well with her background. I would hope that the experience she had in the Bureau of Indian Affairs would be beneficial in some way for all of us, including her. George Skibine recently in Reno gave words about Majel to the effect that she wasn't a "bad person". I agree. It was Majel Russell's actions that gave us reason to pause. Majel Russell is a tribal member, a land owner, and on some issues, the best advocate. Maybe not the best advocate for all, but an advocate indeed. If it was "Benny Two-Hops" who did the same thing, I feel that the same reaction would have come to mind.

I hope that the Department of the Interior chooses someone of high caliber to replace Carl Artman and Majel Russell. They were brave for having stepped up to the plate. We owe them that. Maybe this time around they pick two leaders from large land-based tribes out West, where the issues are still live for us, just as they were back in the day.

Majel Russell's Background Check

Majel,
our little darling. She certainly had our eye when she was among us. She had us all fooled I think. She earned the trust of so many Natives.
Advocate.
Fighter.
Leader.

On March 28, 2006, there she was testifying before the Senate on the Probate Reform Act of 2005.

1. She argued for the protection of Tribal sovereignty.
2. She said, "I believe strong, effective Tribal governments will insure that Indian people remain distinct political groups"
3. "I remain interested in the “one-stop shopping” concept,"she said.
4. She told the public that, "the Crow Tribe has been surveyed three times about the willingness of individuals to sell their fractional interests in land. All three surveys overwhelmingly indicated that Crow Indians who owned small fractional interests of lands preferred to sell the lands and in some cases to even donate the interests to the Tribe."
5. She further said she would, "propose expanding land consolidation efforts to include financing for individuals to purchase fractionated interests. Developing mechanisms for individuals to consolidate lands, invest capital and practice good stewardship of land would most effectively protect trust land while also benefiting Tribes through stabilizing and protecting the reservation land base."

• Contrasting Point 1: In RECALLED TABLE MOUNTAIN LEADERS WANT NEW VOTE POWER STRUGGLE CONTINUES AFTER THE SECOND REJECTION OF A RECALL APPEAL reported by DOUG HOAGLAND & STEVAN ROSENLIND in the FRESNO BEE (Originally published 1998-10-06) The dissident faction says the law is on its side and that it is time for the incumbents to relinquish control of the 150-acre rancheria. "We are now working to negotiate ways to peacefully take over the tribal leadership," said Majel Russell, a Montana lawyer representing the dissidents. Those efforts have, to date, been unsuccessful, Russell said. Yet in December 28, 2007, Elected Tribal President, Eugene Little Coyote was forcibly removed from his office by a team of BIA SWAT officers. Since then a series of Appeals have come to a dead end when Majel Russell, Principal Deputy Secretary, Bureau of Indian Affairs, preempted the Interior Board of Indian Appeals process (taken from The New Front Line) and denied an appeal by Eugene Little Coyote. One may argue that it is merely a personal matter, but with the world's largest undeveloped Coal Bed Methane Gas Field underfoot, the Northern Cheyenne may have more than a personal matter to look for. So in 2006 she is on the side of the dissidents and requests that the BIA step all over Tribal Sovereignty and recognize the new government? And then in Dec 2007, she again, now as the boot-heeled oppressor, steps all over Northern Cheyenne Sovereignty and declares the people-elected Presidency null and void? And then denies them the basic procedure of having their issue addressed by an objective institution (the Interior Board of Indian Appeals)? It may be some weird stretch of somebody's imagination to say she is really protecting Tribal Sovereignty when she, as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs ignores the Northern Cheyenne Tribe's Constitutional Court Decision to uphold the People-Elected President, Eugene Little Coyote.
  
• Contrasting Point 2: I would say she is 0-2 in this pursuit based on the above bullet. Rather to the contrary, she seems quite adept at disrupting Tribal Governments in a come one, come all paternalistic attitude.
  
• Contrasting Point 3: I have to admit, there is no contrast here. We will see that she does believe in One-Stop-Shopping, as long as she is allowed to cruise aisles haphazardly with carte blanc privilege.
  
• Contrasting Point 4&5: No argument here. She does believe that many fellow tribal members, family members and the like, would love to sell land back to the tribe; she just does not seem to think that the Tribe should shoulder the bill. She has also proposed to make land acquisitions by providing financing for individuals to buy fractionated interests. Unfortunately, instead of acting like a Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, she is really acting like a lobbyist for only the Crow Tribe by proposing that the U.S. Government set aside 380 million dollars for land acquisition and consolidation of fractionated interests on the Crow Indian Reservation (as reported by the Billings Gazette). I'm Crow and I have land to sell but I can't find a buyer. I'm Crow and I have an urge to buy land, but I don't have money. Can anyone help us? Enter Stage Right, Majel Russell. Despite the limits of funding opportunities available she would seek to lobby for 380 million dollars for Just One tribe (hers) to consolidate and acquire land interests. One Stop Shopping made simple when you hold the keys to the store.
  

And now they think she might be a good interim leader for Bureau of Indian Affairs? A little bit of homework would fix that thought...