Thursday, June 12, 2008
In Canada, Former Students of Native Residential Schools Get an Apology

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood in the House of Commons yesterday and apologized to the former students of government funded native residential schools. There were about 130 such schools in Canada, the last of which closed in 1996.

Speaking to an overflow crowd of aboriginal leaders and former students, some of whom wept when he spoke, Harper called the treatment of children in Indian residential schools “a sad chapter” in Canadian history.

“Today, we recognize that this policy of assimilation was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country,” he said to applause.

More than 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Métis children were removed from their communities and forced to attend the schools, where many were subjected to physical and sexual abuse.

The apology is the latest in a series of actions the government has taken to make up for its assimilation policy. In September, the government formalized a $1.9-billion compensation plan for victims. The government has also established a truth and reconciliation commission to examine the legacy of the residential schools.

Read more about it here. Hear about it on the CBC’s “As it Happens.”
Posted by Admin at 9:15 AM
Labels: Canada, First Nations

Dorgan said his committee worked on several provisions in H.R.2419. He listed them as follows:

• Ensure a tribal presence on the Northern Great Plains Regional Authority.  The bill changes the regional economic development authority’s governing body and purpose, and includes a new provision guaranteeing a tribal presence on the authority’s governing board.
• Help tribes improve and expand their conservation efforts. Tribes have been included as eligible entities or partners and tribal lands are given special status in the Wetlands Reserve Program, the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement and Reserved Rights Pilot Program, the new Conservation Stewardship Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and the Agricultural Water Enhancement Program.
• Reauthorize the primary food assistance program for those living on reservations. The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) has been amended to give the Secretary discretion to allow tribes to run their own distribution program for elderly and low-income members living on reservations. In 2007, USDA estimated that more than 90,000 individuals per month received food packages under this program.
• Address dietary problems in Indian Country by promoting food assistance programs that purchase traditional and locally-grown foods, including bison meat. The Secretary is authorized to purchase bison meat for the distribution program and, where practicable, purchase at least 50 percent of the distributed food from traditional and locally-grown foods produced by Native producers.
• Reauthorize Tribally-Controlled Colleges and Universities and expands extension services at these institutions.
• Help tribes reduce fractionated farmland for individual tribal farmers. The bill authorizes the Secretary to make and insure loans to eligible purchasers to purchase unencumbered fractionated, non-trust land.
• Expand tribal access to broadband, 911 and emergency preparedness grants and loan programs.  Defined as “substantially underserved trust areas”, most reservations will qualify for discretionary waivers of matching fund requirements, credit support requirements, lower loan rates (2 percent as a floor) to participate in Rural Utility Service Programs.
• Expand tribal access and use of national forest lands and products for cultural and burial purposes. Under this new section, tribes have access to national forest lands for reburial of human remains and cultural items. This section also prevents unauthorized disclosure of burial sites, and expands tribal access to forest land for traditional and cultural purposes.

Mass Graves of Canadian Children Revealed; Catholic Pope Issued Letter of Demand
Kevin Annett, 18.042008 03:25

At a public ceremony and press conference held yesterday in downtown Vancouver, the Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) released a list of twenty eight mass graves across Canada holding the remains of untold numbers of aboriginal children who died in Indian Residential Schools, most of them run by the Catholic Church.

Breaking News:
Location of Mass Graves of Children in Canada Revealed for the First Time; Catholic Pope issued Letter of Demand; Independent Tribunal Established
Squamish Nation Territory (”Vancouver, Canada”)
Friday, April 18, 2008 1:00 am PST
At a public ceremony and press conference held yesterday in downtown Vancouver, the Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) released a list of twenty eight mass graves across Canada holding the remains of untold numbers of aboriginal children who died in Indian Residential Schools, most of them run by the Catholic Church.
The list was distributed today to the world media and to United Nations agencies, as the first act of the newly-formed International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC), a non-governmental body established by indigenous elders.
Catholic Pope Benedict was issued a Letter of Demand by the IHRTGC today requiring that he confirm or deny the death of thousands of children in these residential schools.
In a statement read by FRD spokesperson Eagle Strong Voice, it was declared that the IHRTGC will commence its investigations immediately. This inquiry will involve international human rights observers from Guatemala and Cyprus , and will convene aboriginal courts of justice where those persons and institutions responsible for the death and suffering of residential school children will be tried and sentenced. (The complete Statement and List of Mass Graves is reproduced below).
Eagle Strong Voice and IHRTGC elders will present the Mass Graves List at the United Nations on April 19, and will ask United Nations agencies to protect and monitor the mass graves as part of a genuine inquiry and judicial prosecution of those responsible for this Canadian Genocide.

Eyewitness Sylvester Greene spoke to the media at today’s event, and described how he helped bury a young Inuit boy at the United Church’s Edmonton residential school in 1953

“We were told never to tell anyone by Jim Ludford, the Principal, who got me and three other boys to bury him. But a lot more kids got buried all the time in that big grave next to the school.”

For more information: www.hiddenfromhistory.org <http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/> , or write to the IHRTGC at: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca
Issued on Squamish Territory , 18 April, 2008, under the authority of Hereditary Chief Kiapilano.
………………………………………………………………………………………

Press Statement: April 17, 2008
Mass Graves of Residential School Children Identified – Independent Inquiry Launched

We are gathered today to publicly disclose the location of twenty eight mass graves of children who died in Indian Residential Schools across Canada , and to announce the formation of an independent, non-governmental inquiry into the death and disappearance of children in these schools.

We estimate that there are hundreds, and possibly thousands, of children buried in these grave sites alone.

The Catholic, Anglican and United Church , and the government of Canada, operated the schools and hospitals where these mass graves are located. We therefore hold these institutions and their officers legally responsible and liable for the deaths of these children.

We have no confidence that the very institutions of church and state that are responsible for these deaths can conduct any kind of impartial or real inquiry into them. Accordingly, we are establishing an independent, non-governmental inquiry into the death and disappearance of Indian residential school children across Canada .

This inquiry shall be known as The International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC), and is established under the authority of the following hereditary chiefs, who shall serve as presiding judges of the Tribunal:

Hereditary Chief Kiapilano of the Squamish Nation
Chief Louis Daniels (Whispers Wind), Anishinabe Nation Chief Svnoyi Wohali (Night Eagle), Cherokee Nation
Lillian Shirt, Clan Mother, Cree Nation
Elder Ernie Sandy, Anishinabe (Ojibway) Nation
Hereditary Chief Steve Sampson, Chemainus Nation
Ambassador Chief Red Jacket of Turtle Island
Today, we are releasing to this Tribunal and to the people of the world the enclosed information on the location of mass graves connected to Indian residential schools and hospitals in order to prevent the destruction of this crucial evidence by the Canadian government, the RCMP and the Anglican, Catholic and United Church of Canada.

We call upon indigenous people on the land where these graves are located to monitor and protect these sites vigilantly, and prevent their destruction by occupational forces such as the RCMP and other government agencies.

Our Tribunal will commence by gathering all of the evidence, including forensic remains, that is necessary to charge and indict those responsible for the deaths of the children buried therein.

Once these persons have been identified and detained, they will be tried and sentenced in indigenous courts of justice established by our Tribunal and under the authority of hereditary chiefs.

As a first step in this process, the IHRTGC will present this list of mass graves along with a statement to the United Nations in New York City on April 19, 2008. The IHRTGC will be asking the United Nations to declare these mass graves to be protected heritage sites, and will invite international human rights observers to monitor and assist its work.

Issued by the Elders and Judges of the IHRTGC
Interim Spokesperson: Eagle Strong Voice
Email: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca pager: 1-888-265-1007

IHRTGC Sponsors include The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared, The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada, the Defensoria Indigena of Guatemala, Canadians for the Separation of Church and State, and a confederation of indigenous elders across Canada and Turtle Island.
…………………………………………………………………………………….
Mass Graves at former Indian Residential Schools and Hospitals across Canada

A. British Columbia

1. Port Alberni: Presbyterian-United Church school (1895-1973), now occupied by the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council (NTC) office, Kitskuksis Road . Grave site is a series of sinkhole rows in hills 100 metres due west of the NTC building, in thick foliage, past an unused water pipeline. Children also interred at Tseshaht reserve cemetery, and in wooded gully east of Catholic cemetery on River Road .
2. Alert Bay : St. Michael’s Anglican school (1878-1975), situated on Cormorant Island offshore from Port McNeill. Presently building is used by Namgis First Nation. Site is an overgrown field adjacent to the building, and also under the foundations of the present new building, constructed during the 1960’s. Skeletons seen “between the walls�.

3. Kuper Island: Catholic school (1890-1975), offshore from Chemainus. Land occupied by Penelakut Band. Former building is destroyed except for a staircase. Two grave sites: one immediately south of the former building, in a field containing a conventional cemetery; another at the west shoreline in a lagoon near the main dock.

4. Nanaimo Indian Hospital: Indian Affairs and United Church experimental facility (1942-1970) on Department of National Defense land. Buildings now destroyed. Grave sites are immediately east of former buildings on Fifth avenue , adjacent to and south of Malaspina College .

5. Mission: St. Mary’s Catholic school (1861-1984), adjacent to and north of Lougheed Highway and Fraser River Heritage Park . Original school buildings are destroyed, but many foundations are visible on the grounds of the Park.
In this area there are two grave sites: a) immediately adjacent to former girls’ dormitory and present cemetery for priests, and a larger mass grave in an artificial earthen mound, north of the cemetery among overgrown foliage and blackberry bushes, and b) east of the old school grounds, on the hilly slopes next to the field leading to the newer school building which is presently used by the Sto:lo First Nation. Hill site is 150 metres west of building.

6. North Vancouver: Squamish (1898-1959) and Sechelt (1912-1975) Catholic schools, buildings destroyed. Graves of children who died in these schools interred in the Squamish Band Cemetery , North Vancouver .

7. Sardis: Coqualeetza Methodist-United Church school (1889-1940), then experimental hospital run by federal government (1940-1969). Native burial site next to Sto:lo reserve and Little Mountain school, also possibly adjacent to former school-hospital building.

8. Cranbrook: St. Eugene Catholic school (1898-1970), recently converted into a tourist “resort� with federal funding, resulting in the covering-over of a mass burial site by a golf course in front of the building. Numerous grave sites are around and under this golf course.

9. Williams Lake : Catholic school (1890-1981), buildings destroyed but foundations intact, five miles south of city. Grave sites reported north of school grounds and under foundations of tunnel-like structure.

10. Meares Island (Tofino): Kakawis-Christie Catholic school (1898-1974). Buildings incorporated into Kakawis Healing Centre. Body storage room reported in basement, adjacent to burial grounds south of school.

11. Kamloops : Catholic school (1890-1978). Buildings intact. Mass grave south of school, adjacent to and amidst orchard. Numerous burials witnessed there.

12. Lytton: St. George’s Anglican school (1901-1979). Graves of students flogged to death, and others, reported under floorboards and next to playground.

13. Fraser Lake : Lejac Catholic school (1910-1976), buildings destroyed. Graves reported under old foundations and between the walls.

Alberta:

1. Edmonton : United Church school (1919-1960), presently site of the Poundmaker Lodge in St. Albert . Graves of children reported south of former school site, under thick hedge that runs north-south, adjacent to memorial marker.

2. Edmonton : Charles Camsell Hospital (1945-1967), building intact, experimental hospital run by Indian Affairs and United Church . Mass graves of children from hospital reported south of building, near staff garden.

3. Saddle Lake : Bluequills Catholic school (1898-1970), building intact, skeletons and skulls observed in basement furnace. Mass grave reported adjacent to school.

4. Hobbema: Ermineskin Catholic school (1916-1973), five intact skeletons observed in school furnace. Graves under former building foundations.

Manitoba:

1. Brandon : Methodist-United Church school (1895-1972). Building intact. Burials reported west of school building.

2. Portage La Prairie: Presbyterian-United Church school (1895-1950). Children buried at nearby Hillside Cemetery .

3. Norway House: Methodist-United Church school (1900-1974). “Very old� grave site next to former school building, demolished by United Church in 2004.

Ontario:

1. Thunder Bay : Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital , still in operation. Experimental centre. Women and children reported buried adjacent to hospital grounds.

2. Sioux Lookout: Pelican Lake Catholic school (1911-1973). Burials of children in mound near to school.

3. Kenora: Cecilia Jeffrey school, Presbyterian-United Church (1900-1966). Large burial mound east of former school.

4. Fort Albany : St. Anne’s Catholic school (1936-1964). Children killed in electric chair buried next to school.

5. Spanish: Catholic school (1883-1965). Numerous graves.

6. Brantford : Mohawk Institute, Anglican church (1850-1969), building intact. Series of graves in orchard behind school building, under rows of trees.

7. Sault Ste. Marie: Shingwauk Anglican school (1873-1969), some intact buildings. Several graves of children reported on grounds of old school.

Quebec:

1. Montreal : Allan Memorial Institute, McGill University , still in operation since opening in 1940. MKULTRA experimental centre. Mass grave of children killed there north of building, on southern slopes of Mount Royal behind stone wall.

Sources:

- Eyewitness accounts from survivors of these institutions, catalogued in Hidden from History: The Canadian Holocaust (2nd ed., 2005) by Kevin Annett. Other accounts are from local residents. See www.hiddenfromhistory.org <http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/> .

- Documents and other material from the Department of Indian Affairs RG 10 microfilm series on Indian Residential Schools in Koerner Library, University of B.C.

- Survey data and physical evidence obtained from grave sites in Port Alberni , Mission , and other locations.

This is a partial list and does not include all of the grave sites connected to Indian residential Schools and hospitals across Canada. In many cases, children who were dying of diseases were sent home to die by school and church officials, and the remains of other children who died at the school were incinerated in the residential school furnaces.

This information is submitted by The Friends and Relatives of the Disappeared (FRD) to the world media, the United Nations, and to the International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC). The IHRTGC will commence its investigations immediately across Canada and parts of the United States.

For more information on the independent inquiry into genocide in Canada being conducted by the IHRTGC, write to: genocidetribunal@yahoo.ca or phone: 250-753-3345.

18 April, 2008
Squamish Nation Territory (“ Vancouver , Canada �)
www.hiddenfromhistory.org <http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/>

Violence Against Women is not a Native tradition. It was not tolerated and in the rare event that it occurred, it was taken seriously. Abuse wasn’t considered a “private family matter.”

Within the natural system of life, tribal people lived together peacefully and violence within the family was rare. Though cultures and customs vary from Tribe to Tribe, the core belief systems of tribes are extremely similar because they are based on the natural and true understanding of reality. People received many teachings from the family and community that helped us to learn how to be good relatives to each other. Another method of teaching that was customary was story telling. For instance, a story about a certain mountain where incest occurred. The offender may have been banished from the band or even put to death. This mountain would represent a crime that would be told to the young and reminded to the membership of the Tribe continuously during the Tribes story telling time. This was called the law of land.

In many Tribes, the abuser could be banished, ostracized or retaliation was left to the male relatives of the victim. A man who was seen as violent within the family was not seen as capable of any leadership responsibilities. He had demonstrated that he did not possess the self-discipline, respect, caring or spiritual understanding to effectively lead the People.

The abuse of Native women and children can be traced to the colonization, introduction of alcohol into our culture and Christianity. (Paula Gunn Allen: “Violence and the American Indian Woman”). Many of our people learned about violence in boarding schools. Boarding school distorted our ability to act as parents, sons, daughters and as relatives. Our traditional parenting was nonviolent and nurtured the spirit of the child. This knowledge was replaced with experiences of corporal punishment that reflected the teachings of the church.

Denied our families our culture in boarding schools, we experienced and passed on to our children and grandchildren verbal, emotional, sexual and physical violence as acceptable means to control others when we didn’t get our way. Alcohol contributes to the violence, making it more unpredictable and severe.

The reservation era diminished the traditional male role of the protector and provider and the role value of women, the government assumed the role and consequently some Native men have experienced a loss of identity and women therefore lost their roles as partners in providing for the physical, mental and spiritual health of their families and relatives. Men and women had partnership and a balance in everything they did in the everyday role modeling for their children. This loss was replaced by the dominant society’s negative attitudes, beliefs and behaviors towards women. Granted, this is no fault of our own ; however, the reality is that contemporary Native male attitude about women and relationships have been distorted and the violent behavior of Native men towards Native women is tearing apart Native families.

The colonization of Native families made women and children the property of the Native men. Similar to concept of slavery. Thus ownership of another human being is genuinely an Anglo concept. Wedding rings became symbols of ownership. With the privilege of ownership property can be treated however the owner chooses.

When the female Eagle chooses her mate she flies up high and invites the male Eagle to catch the stick she has dropped . If the male Eagle catches the stick she flies even higher the next time she courts her mate. She will choose the male Eagle that can continuously and at the greatest height always catch the stick this will be her mate for life. She does this to test her mate because they must work together to provide for their eaglets both he and she will be responsible for their survival while one or the other is away gathering.

This is the natural law of the land and one prevalent in the Traditional way of life.

A Congressional Apology

Posted in Indian Country on March 5, 2008 by xene

Subject: A SORRY ATTEMPT AT APOLOGY (Congressional Act included)
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 10:16:20 -0700

A sorry attempt at apology
By Susan Greene Denver Post Columnist
Article Last Updated: 02/26/2008 11:46:38 PM MSTShannon Francis never sought an apology from a country that yanked her
mom and grandma off their reservations, forced them into white foster
families and barred them from speaking their native Hopi and Navajo
languages.

So the Denver resident was unaware Tuesday that her government had
decided to say, “Sorry.”
“I had no clue it was coming,” the 38-year-old mother of six said with
a shrug. “So much for making history.”

Like Francis, you probably missed it when the U.S. Senate quietly
apologized for centuries of “violence, maltreatment and neglect
inflicted on Native Peoples.”

The unprecedented resolution acknowledges that the government forced
indigenous people off their land, stole their assets and was responsible
for “official depredations, ill-conceived policies and the breaking of
covenants” with tribes.

When Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologized two weeks ago for
policies that degraded that country’s Aborigines, he blared his
pronouncement live on giant screens throughout Australia.
U.S. senators instead buried their “Oops, our bad” in an amendment to a
bill for American Indian health care.

Well, that certainly makes up for the Sand Creek Massacre and Wounded
Knee.

So much for healing generations.

“White America can’t afford to apologize too seriously because it would
threaten their ownership of Indian land,” said Iliff School of Theology
Indian cultures professor Tink Tinker.
Tuesday’s resolution came at the urging of Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.,
who reports a “deep resentment” among Native Americans in his state.

His colleagues aren’t so big on apologies. Congress hadn’t formally
said “sorry” since apologizing to Native Hawaiians in 1993 for
overthrowing their kingdom a century earlier. In 1988, lawmakers
apologized and compensated Japanese-Americans interned in World War II
detention camps.
Brownback’s resolution does not authorize or settle any claim against
the United States.

“We have a government that took our land and our children and
physically and emotionally abused them and forced them to assimilate
into something that they’re not,” said Francis, an accounting consultant
by trade and a longtime activist for American Indian causes. “We - I -
live with the pain of that every day. And for this they issue a bunch of
words, empty like their treaties, that mean nothing and nobody hears.”
Who is the apology really for, Francis wonders?

Is it for her mother, grandmother and aunties who spent lifetimes
trying to forget the federal boarding schools that sought to strip away
their culture?

For her brother, plagued like their father and grandfather by poverty
and alcoholism?
For her son, who failed a 7th-grade history test when he refused to
check the box saying Christopher Columbus discovered America?

Or for Francis herself, who overcame years of shame about her dark skin
and accent to learn the ways of her ancestors that her own family had
failed to pass on: to honor her kids, hug them and root them deeply in
their heritage?

“If our people had been left alone, maybe things would have been
different,” she said.

As Francis sees it, Tuesday’s resolution does little to fix a sad
sequence of abuses that still is far from over.

“We don’t need any more hollow words,” she says. “What I want is for
the country to be honest, really honest, about what it has done and what
it continues doing to our people.”
Susan Greene writes twice weekly. Reach her at 303-954-1989 or

“NITAs mission is to promote justice through effective and ethical
advocacy by training and mentoring lawyers to be competent and ethical
advocates in pursuit of justice.”

For anyone who like to read the text, here it is:

S.1200

Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2008 (Engrossed as
Agreed to or Passed by Senate)

SEC. 301. RESOLUTION OF APOLOGY TO NATIVE PEOPLES OF UNITED STATES.

(a) Findings- Congress finds that–

(1) the ancestors of today’s Native Peoples inhabited the land of the
present-day United States since time immemorial and for thousands of
years before the arrival of people of European descent;

(2) for millennia, Native Peoples have honored, protected, and
stewarded this land we cherish;

(3) Native Peoples are spiritual people with a deep and abiding belief
in the Creator, and for millennia Native Peoples have maintained a
powerful spiritual connection to this land, as evidenced by their
customs and legends;

(4) the arrival of Europeans in North America opened a new chapter in
the history of Native Peoples;

(5) while establishment of permanent European settlements in North
America did stir conflict with nearby Indian tribes, peaceful and
mutually beneficial interactions also took place;

(6) the foundational English settlements in Jamestown, Virginia, and
Plymouth, Massachusetts, owed their survival in large measure to the
compassion and aid of Native Peoples in the vicinities of the
settlements;

(7) in the infancy of the United States, the founders of the Republic
expressed their desire for a just relationship with the Indian tribes,
as evidenced by the Northwest Ordinance enacted by Congress in 1787,
which begins with the phrase, `The utmost good faith shall always be
observed toward the Indians’;

( Indian tribes provided great assistance to the fledgling Republic
as it strengthened and grew, including invaluable help to Meriwether
Lewis and William Clark on their epic journey from St. Louis, Missouri,
to the Pacific Coast;

(9) Native Peoples and non-Native settlers engaged in numerous armed
conflicts in which unfortunately, both took innocent lives, including
those of women and children;

(10) the Federal Government violated many of the treaties ratified by
Congress and other diplomatic agreements with Indian tribes;

(11) the United States forced Indian tribes and their citizens to move
away from their traditional homelands and onto federally established and
controlled reservations, in accordance with such Acts as the Act of May
28, 1830 (4 Stat. 411, chapter 14 (commonly known as the `Indian
Removal Act’);

(12) many Native Peoples suffered and perished–

(A) during the execution of the official Federal Government policy of
forced removal, including the infamous Trail of Tears and Long Walk;

(B) during bloody armed confrontations and massacres, such as the Sand
Creek Massacre in 1864 and the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890; and

(C) on numerous Indian reservations;

(13) the Federal Government condemned the traditions, beliefs, and
customs of Native Peoples and endeavored to assimilate them by such
policies as the redistribution of land under the Act of February 8, 1887
(25 U.S.C. 331; 24 Stat. 388, chapter 119) (commonly known as the
`General Allotment Act’), and the forcible removal of Native children
from their families to faraway boarding schools where their Native
practices and languages were degraded and forbidden;

(14) officials of the Federal Government and private United States
citizens harmed Native Peoples by the unlawful acquisition of recognized
tribal land and the theft of tribal resources and assets from recognized
tribal land;

(15) the policies of the Federal Government toward Indian tribes and
the breaking of covenants with Indian tribes have contributed to the
severe social ills and economic troubles in many Native communities
today;

(16) despite the wrongs committed against Native Peoples by the United
States, Native Peoples have remained committed to the protection of this
great land, as evidenced by the fact that, on a per capita basis, more
Native Peoples have served in the United States Armed Forces and placed
themselves in harm’s way in defense of the United States in every major
military conflict than any other ethnic group;

(17) Indian tribes have actively influenced the public life of the
United States by continued cooperation with Congress and the Department
of the Interior, through the involvement of Native individuals in
official Federal Government positions, and by leadership of their own
sovereign Indian tribes;

(1 Indian tribes are resilient and determined to preserve, develop,
and transmit to future generations their unique cultural identities;

(19) the National Museum of the American Indian was established within
the Smithsonian Institution as a living memorial to Native Peoples and
their traditions; and

(20) Native Peoples are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, and among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness.

(b) Acknowledgment and Apology- The United States, acting through
Congress–

(1) recognizes the special legal and political relationship Indian
tribes have with the United States and the solemn covenant with the land
we share;

(2) commends and honors Native Peoples for the thousands of years that
they have stewarded and protected this land;

(3) recognizes that there have been years of official depredations,
ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the Federal
Government regarding Indian tribes;

(4) apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States to all
Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and
neglect inflicted on Native Peoples by citizens of the United States;

(5) expresses its regret for the ramifications of former wrongs and its
commitment to build on the positive relationships of the past and
present to move toward a brighter future where all the people of this
land live reconciled as brothers and sisters, and harmoniously steward
and protect this land together;

(6) urges the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the United States
against Indian tribes in the history of the United States in order to
bring healing to this land; and

(7) commends the State governments that have begun reconciliation
efforts with recognized Indian tribes located in their boundaries and
encourages all State governments similarly to work toward reconciling
relationships with Indian tribes within their boundaries.

(c) Disclaimer- Nothing in this section–

(1) authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or

(2) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States.

Passed the Senate February 26, 2008.
Attest:
Secretary.110th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 1200

AN ACT
To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to revise and extend
that Act.

Introduction:
Every tribe in Indian Country, USA their tribal homes can have a system whereby all the home on tribal lands could be producing there own electricity. Alternatively, the tribal housing authorities can convert their entire sewer lagoons to using alternative energy and lessening the tribes use of off reservation utility companies. Tribes that are even more important can become energy independent. Every tribe in Indian Country, USA has adequate solar, wind, wave, falling water, and/or biomass waste resources to achieve sustainable tribal energy independence.
Market Drivers
The Tribes can free themselves from the higher costs of energy that has increased due to higher fuel costs. On some tribal lands especially in area of biomass waste (landfills) instead of a usable asset it is environmental problem and yet it has possibilities to create new tribal companies through sequestering of carbon creating a metal like substance or be converted into producing energy.

Problems
If tribes would give consideration and prioritize the potential uses of alternative energy and have a in depth economic analysis and a look at tribal economies will reveal that energy is a huge “economic leakage” (monies going off of tribal lands that pay for goods and services) which creates wealth for others and tribal dependence for goods and services economic research will reveal that if goods and services were on tribal lands it would greatly prosper their tribal local economies. On some tribal lands especially in area of biomass waste (landfills) instead of a usable asset it is environmental problem. Instead, current solutions are for closure of landfills and clean up the mess and new landfills are put into place. In Alaska, garbage is shipped out of some communities yet it can be converted into energy or even a durable good. Therefore, instead of biomass waste being problem tribes can convert it all into energy or durable good. Fuel costs are more noticeable in rural areas like Alaska where they use diesel-powered generators for rural Alaska Native Villages the villages. A couple years ago, the villages could not afford the high price of fuel for their villages. “The commission estimates that more than 45 million gallons of bulk fuel storage capacity need repair or replacement, while the Division of Energy estimated the cost of these repairs at approximately $4 per gallon of capacity, not counting associated environmental remediation. These figures imply a total required subsidy to bulk fuel storage of at least $200 million if the systems are to be brought into compliance with current safety and environmental codes. Originally, Denali Commission bulk fuel projects we selected based on a state-generated list based on health and safety. This original list did not address long-term strategies for O&M. The Denali Commission now requires that new bulk fuel project recipients develop a business plan as part of their project implementation. The Commission intends to refine and strengthen their commitment to O&M strategies based on information and potential policy changes associated with this study.
The situation is much the same for solid waste: While little cash subsidy has been provided in the past, the identified future cost of converting open dumps to satisfactory alternatives is likely to exceed $60 million, according to the Indian Health Service Sanitation Deficiency System.”(Sustainable Utilities in Rural Alaska, Effective Management, Maintenance and Operation of Electric, Water, Sewer, Bulk Fuel, Solid Waste by Steve Colt, Scott Goldsmith and Amy Wiita) Rather then allowing the tribal environmental problems being cleaned up, closed and covered it can be an asset and beneficial for the tribes.

Solutions
Every tribe in Indian Country, USA has adequate solar, wind, wave, falling water, and/or biomass waste resources to achieve sustainable tribal energy independence. Moreover, through the Department of Energy: “The Tribal Energy Program, under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, promotes tribal energy sufficiency, economic development, and employment through the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
The program provides financial and technical assistance to tribes for feasibility studies of renewable energy development on tribal lands. The program also assists tribes for the initial steps toward renewable energy and energy efficiency development — including strategic planning, energy options analysis, human capacity building, and organizational development planning.
Mission
Offering financial and technical assistance to tribes through government-to-government partnerships that:
Allow tribal leaders to make informed decisions
Bring renewable energy and energy efficiency options to Indian Country
Enhance human capacity through education and training
Improve local tribal economies and the environment
Make a difference in the quality of life of Native Americans”
(http://www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/about.cfm)
Several Tribes are already done feasibility studies to see what will work for their particular area. “From the beginning of recorded time, the Mohegan Tribe has honored and respected our earth,” said Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum, Chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council. “In this modern era, we are just as committed to protecting our environment. Promoting the use of alternative energy such as fuel cells will not only allow us all to reduce our dependence foreign oil, but it will also allow us to do a better job of protecting our earth and fulfilling our obligation to future generations.”
(http://www.mohegan.nsn.us/docs/MoheganWay/MoheganWay_Sping2006.PDF)
“At White Earth, we are developing a local wind initiative, linking both with national models for tribal wind development and developing relationships and capacity with local tribal governments, municipalities, rural electrical cooperatives, utilities and farmers on the reservation and in the region. This integrated program includes a tribal initiative aimed at reducing tribal energy consumption through conservation, renewables and other strategies, development of individual wind and solar projects for the area and development of both regional and tribal wind capacity.” (http://nativeharvest.com/node/1)
“The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians will establish a comprehensive energy strategic plan that captures economic and environmental benefits while continuing to respect tribal cultural practices and traditions. Their goal is to understand their current and future energy consumption, and they will develop a strategic energy plan, including an action plan to clearly identify the energy options for the tribe. The projects are anticipated to have a positive impact on the tribe; promote greater understanding of energy efficiency; establish partnerships with energy stakeholders, including electric and natural gas suppliers; and position the tribe to be influential with regional energy development.”(http://www.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/projects_detail.cfm/project_id=84)
Therefore, the Tribes can see that funding is readily available to make alternative energy a reality on their particular Reservation Settings. To not only bring savings to the tribal homeowners or renters but make the Tribes energy independent forming their own tribal utility companies. However, Tribes can create substantial tribal wealth development by establishing not only their tribal utility companies but also can establish energy parks. With the energy parks, the Tribes primarily become energy independent. Secondly, not only meet the energy needs of the Tribes but also can sell energy to the utility companies that are on or near the reservation settings. Reports show that by the year 2016 all of America will need 70% more electricity. With the considerable need for energy and tribes near large metropolitan areas, readily note that urban sprawl is real and the towns and cities are right on the border of some reservation settings. Some areas urban sprawl influences the tribal environment and neighboring communities address social, economic and environmental problems or tribes confront damage to their tribal environment that affects health issues, hazardous waste issues, demand for waste disposal areas and other needs of neighbors.
“By promoting and developing renewable energy, Indigenous people can help fulfill their roles as caretakers of Mother Earth. Indigenous people can be leaders and bring all peoples of the world together to work at restoring the environment. Even though Native people have a different perspective and approach of renewable energy than Western society, common goals are shared. Both perspectives show that renewable energy can provide a solution to environmental problems such as pollution and climate change, a way to become energy independent, a way to strengthen the economy. Both perspectives show that renewable energy is a positive alternative that can benefit individual groups of people and the world as a whole. Overall, renewable energy is an important factor in making sure that life will continue for seven generations to come. “ (Benefits of Renewable Energy for Native Nations from The Environmental and Native Perspective, Lani Tsinnajinnie University of New Mexico, Sandra Begay-Campbell, Technical Advisor Sandia National Laboratories,, August 25, 2006)

Benefits
“The creation of the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs will further assist the Department in reaching all Americans in promoting clean, reliable and affordable energy,” Secretary Bodman said. “I look forward to working with Steve to advance and promote clean energy, changing the way we power this nation.” (http://www.energy.gov/news/5493.htm) What will benefit the tribes is there is readily available funding, technical assistance, other tribal model programs and by establishing tribal utility companies through uses of the available resources. By establishing a tribal utility company, it will keep an immense amount of revenue, which stays, on the reservations and thus eliminating a major economic leakage (dollars spent for goods and services going off reservations). Alternatively, homes on tribal lands can setup their homes to produce their own electricity or housing authorities can utilize sewer lagoons to have their own electricity eliminating off reservation utility companies or can jointly work with Tribe(s) to have tribe establish energy parks across the reservation settings to sell energy to the utility companies. Currently under the Department of Energy Indian Programs, several tribes are doing feasibility studies to see what alternative energy can be use on their particular reservation.

“Jackson County, NC went all the way in creating an energy park to fuel the local economy. In October 2006, the county celebrated the initial phase of its conversion of a closed and aging landfill site into a thriving energy park that will provide up to 20 new jobs. The park includes a biodiesel refinery, three professional blacksmith studios, and a series of greenhouses—all using landfill gas (LFG) as fuel.” (http://www.epa.gov/lmop/proj/prof/profile/jacksoncountyncgreenenerg.htm)

“STEP bears the promise of being one among the major factors for emergence of the Capital Region’s Tech Valley as a strong, growth economy in this decade. STEP is part of a bigger plan that is coupled with other technology-focused initiatives in the Capital Region and the direct activities and development projects of NYSERDA’s partners. It has been estimated that STEP will provide between 1,000 and 1,500 jobs to the Capital Region, as emerging alternative energy companies take advantage of its resources. In addition, STEP is an instrumental part of the larger strategies to focus global attention on the Capital Region and New York State as the best destination in the United States or in the world, for alternative energy technologies, and research, development and commercialization.” (http://step.nyserda.org/vision.html )
So of real benefit to the tribes with energy parks is energy independence and substantial wealth development through combination of alternative energy uses and more benefits it creates more jobs for the reservation settings.
“The company intends to continue to work with the local community to maximize the economic benefits of this project for the Rivière-du-Loup region throughout the construction of the wind energy park. This construction will create more than 200 jobs, while the ongoing management of the operations will create about 20 permanent jobs. “All of this would be impossible without the participation and backing of local residents and officials for our project, and we thank them for their continued support,” said Mr. Adler.” (http://www.skypowerwindenergyfund.com/pdf/March_01_06.PDF)
“Calpine is the largest independent power producer in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, with 11 power plants capable of generating more than 6,700 megawatts of electricity. These plants are the cleanest, most fuel-efficient, natural gas-fired facilities in the state that provide power under both short- and long-term contracts to wholesale and industrial power customers.” (http://www.csrwire.com/PressRelease.php?id=2734)
“That turbine alone will reduce the tribal electric bill by $134,000 annually, help establish a senior citizen’s kitchen to feed elders daily, and finance other programs through savings. Recently funded projects on the White Earth, Red Lake, Leech Lake, Fond Du Lac and Grand Portage reservations will bring more power to lands in Minnesota. Broad work in both technical assistance and creative financing mechanisms by Honor the Earth, in coordination with Intertribal Council On Utility Policy has the promise, if supported, of bringing more wind power to the reservations, and to the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) grid system.” (http://honor earth.org/initiatives/energy/overview/renewable/wind.html)
So tribes can stop the largest economic leakage (dollars paying off reservation utilities) and keep the revenues on reservations earned from homeowners and renters, tribal government, tribal buildings, tribal enterprises and other tribal businesses on reservation. Further tribe or tribes can sell energy from their energy parks to on or near non-native utility companies.
Call to Action
The future of tribal energy parks is the future of our national tribal substantial and prosperous tribal economy for all tribes of Indian Country. Every tribe in Indian Country, USA has adequate solar, wind, wave, falling water, and/or biomass waste resources to achieve sustainable tribal energy independence. Already in existence for the tribes is the uses of these renewable resources with combination of the all to create tribal energy parks or establishing tribal utility companies. This in of itself stops a major economic leakage (dollars going off reservations) and keeping the revenues on the reservations creates substantial tribal economic wealth. Several Tribes are forging ahead with wind power, solar power, doing feasibility studies to see what will work on their particular reservations. With America continuing to look for fossil fuel which is readily burning up tribes can position themselves to become American’s energy supplier for all of America by the year 2016 will need 70% more electricity. The technology exists for alternative energy and there are non-profits willing to transfer knowledge and know how to the Tribes instead of a joint venture or partnership where revenues are shared versus a tribe full receiving all of the benefits for uses of alternative energy. It address tribal environmental problems while turning waste into profits. More information for the tribes contact: terrancehboothsr@gmail.com