Re-Volution

Freedmen, Source: Anthony Hall

Race has been and will continue to be an issue in this year’s national elections.  But now it seems that tribal affiliation can be added to the list of candidate policy positions.  It was recently reported that Senator Barack Obama attempted to clarify his position on the rights and affiliation of Cherokee Freedmen. Freedmen, the descendants of mixed Indian and freed African people have filed an injunction to prohibit the Cherokee tribe from ousting them from tribal rolls.

Senator Obama made clear that in the dispute between the Cherokee Nation and Cherokee Freedmen that he supports the tribe’s right to determine tribal affiliation. Senator Obama also said that he did not agree with the decision but, “Tribal sovereignty must mean that the place to resolve intertribal disputes is the tribe itself.”  This is just the latest iteration of a storied battle for tribal self-determination within the Cherokee Nation.  The conflict resulted from the Congressional Black Caucus attempting to get Democratic nominee Barack Obama to support their efforts to prohibit the Cherokee Nation from disenrolling Freedmen by withholding treaty obligations.

HR 2824, a bill that seeks to ‘sever United States’ government relations with the Cherokee Nation’, until full tribal citizenship is restored to Cherokee Freedmen was introduced in 2007.  Supported by 35 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, HR 2824 was a reaction to Cherokee Freedmen’s appeals to US lawmakers to weigh in on their removal from the Cherokee tribal roll. This new conflict over tribal sovereignty and what it means to be part of a tribe finds its roots in the relocation and allotment policies of the 19th century.

During the mid-1800’s the Cherokee people were forcibly removed from their homelands in the Southeastern US in what is known as the Trail of Tears. Their expulsion to reservation territory in Oklahoma was a policy implemented to make land available in the east for European settlers.  During the removal the Civil War was raging and several tribes had sided with either Confederate or Union forces. New treaties were forged between the US government and newly relocated tribes during Reconstruction.  And tribes which had kept African slaves up until then were forced to free them.  With the freeing of slaves who had been deeply involved in the culture of traditional Cherokee life and who spoke the language, there were many marital unions formed between Cherokees and Blacks.

As it had been for hundreds of years the Cherokee accepted these new in-laws and children of mixed heritage as full members of the tribe regardless of the foreign concept of ‘race’. Formalized through treaty documents, the self-determination of tribes in matters of enrollment were left to the tribal governments. During this time Cherokee ‘Freedmen’ became prominent business owners and leaders within the tribe. The age-old system of adoption and cultural inclusion was successful and functioned as it always had.

But as Indian policy morphed from removal to assimilation, the US government introduced a new paradigm – blood quantum.  Quantum was an attempt to influence tribal self-determination. By-in-large, the tribes had been fairly homogeneous and in cases like that of the Freedmen, the Cherokee Nation had accepted outsiders that had already been initiated into tribal culture.  But by introducing this new concept of race, a system based solely upon ancestry the US government had devised a way to whittle down the tribes and their subsequent obligations to them over time.  Faced with what appeared to be an arbitrary requirement the tribes adopted blood quantum requirements. And at the time many tribes required that ¼ or ½ “indian blood” to be a tribal member. In this way the criteria for tribal enrollment came to be based solely on ancestry.

The fallacy of blood quantum has had tremendous repercussions over the last century. In many ways it has divided tribes and created a class system where a person’s degree of “indian blood” is what determines their status in a community.  Before quantum, tribal members were accepted based on their willingness to sacrifice for and support the tribe and leaders were chosen because of their values and character rather than racial purity.

2007 campaign flyer advocating for freedmen rights.Source: NIT.edu

Due in no small part to the assimilation policy of blood quantum the Cherokee Nation first started discussing whether Cherokee Freedmen should have rights as citizens in the early 1980’s.  The combination of a forced paradigm shift, off-reservation populations that weren’t as connected to the cultural aspect of the tribe, a century of racist federal policy targeting Blacks and dwindling resources culminated in the 1990’s with the first real attempts to oust Cherokee Freedmen from the rolls.  And in 2007 the Cherokee Nation, through an election fraught with voter disenfranchisement passed a referendum that prohibited Cherokees designated as Freedmen from being enrolled members.

The Congressional Black Caucus and other lawmakers have attempted to make the case that this is a treaty issue and not one of sovereignty. They believe that because Freedmen were ‘granted’ the same rights as Cherokees in treaty documents that this should carry through to their descendants today. I find it humorous that the same government that has implemented these policies is now trying to find fault with them.  I agree with Senator Obama in that the Cherokee Freedmen should continue to be recognized by the tribe but that the decision should come from the Cherokee Nation.  He put it this way, “Our nation has learned with tragic results that federal intervention in internal matters of Indian tribes is rarely productive - failed policies such as Allotment and Termination grew out of efforts to second-guess Native communities.  That is not a legacy we want to continue.”

As our world becomes smaller, tribal nations will find that we have tribal members with African, European, American and even Asian descent. Tribal sovereignty must be respected and as Senator Obama has said the tribes must not be interfered with in their process of determining membership. But the termination policies of the past including blood quantum must be abolished or they will continue to divide and conquer our communities, family by family.

It is time for us to make a change. It is time to for our tribal nations to evolve, back.

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Barack Obama’s new stump speech with Hopi quote:

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.

Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. See who is in there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally. Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

-Hopi Elder

As the sponsor of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Indian Health Care Improvement Act of 2007, Obama had this to say about the state of healthcare of native people:

“For more than 14 years, Congress has failed to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act and complete a comprehensive review and modernization of Native American health care. This is simply unacceptable.

“As infant mortality and suicide rates escalate and more and more Native Americans suffer from debilitating diseases like diabetes, modernizing and improving Native American health care could not come at a more urgent time.

“While the U.S. government has a responsibility to provide health care stemming from treaty obligations, it is also this country’s moral imperative to address the significant health care disparities between the Native American population and the American population as a whole. We must ensure our tribal health care programs are adequately prepared to provide preventative health care as well as treatment for substance and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and mental health issues. Native Americans also deserve the same high quality health care professionals that care for families throughout the country.

“With 21st century health care challenges, it’s inconceivable that Native Americans are receiving 20th century solutions. This Congress has a unique opportunity to make this bill law. I am proud to cosponsor this bill and I strongly urge its swift passage in the Senate.”

After seeing the effects of dwindling funding for Indian Healthcare first hand, its hard to fully trust that people are working to support it. The conservative strategy of cutting funding so that states and municipalities will have to pitch in has worked perfectly. They have effectively pitted so-called “urban-indians” against the tribes that cannot afford to extend services to the city and the tribes against local governments that say “this is not our problem.” Just today Governor Richardson vetoed funding for “Off-Reservation Native Health”, an effort by legislators to provide sorely needed medical treatment services for Indians living outside of the reservation.

As the quote from the Hopi elder states, the time has come to stop being afraid and remember that we are the ones that can make a change. Regardless of the candidate you support, it is time to stand up and demand justice for all.

PS. There is still time! Please call the Governor’s Office and ask him to put back the money that was taken out of the Off-Reservation bill. Thank You! (505) 476-2200

Joann from SWOP just posted a press release on Senator Bernadette Sanchez (D) sponsor of SB57. In it, SWOP describes Senator Sanchez as

“working hard for industry groups this session by sponsoring bills that would have the effect of weakening environmental protection, worker health and safety. “

The bill is another in a line of deregulation legislation from the conservative think-tank ALEC. (The American Legislative Exchange Council) This particular piece of policy SB57, would create what Sanchez called “a taskforce” of industry insiders that would oversee state agencies. This would effectively interfere with the Environment and Health departments from protecting citizens.

The organization I work for (formerly the League of Young Voters) worked in the 2007 Legislative session to halt the precursor to this ALEC bill - HB685. This bill sponsored by Dan Silva would have rolled back many of the environmental protections we have in this state. Our response was a radio ad aimed at informing the community about this terrible legislation. Luckily it died in committee. You can hear that spot below.

 

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Along with ethics reforms, we need to strengthen our environmental and worker protections. Without eliminating the influence of special interests in government we will continue to see these pre-packaged bills written by the corporations, for the corporations.

The debate over Tax Increment Development Districts has reached a crescendo with the latest hit by our friends at the SouthWest Organizing Project. The Campaign for a Better New Mexico just put this radio spot out on the Mayor and his veto of the Councils vote to curb the abuse of TIDD’s by developer corporations. Take a listen:

 

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TIDD’s are being tauted as a way of making development affordable for the poor ole’ corporations trying to turn Albuquerque into the next Phoenix. The same ones that just wrested the Atrisco Land Grant from it’s heirs. SunCal an out of state corporation is planning on creating a new city that would extend the existing city limits to nearly To’hajillee. And while they were quite capable of developing the land themselves (even without adequate water supplies) they are now using a tool meant to revitalize blighted inner-city neighborhoods to line their pockets.

The first TIDD awarded in New Mexico went to Forest City Covington to create the Mesa del Sol community in the southeast part of the city. This was $500 million in future revenues to be given to finance the development. Broken down over 25 years Mesa del Sol would capture:

• City of Albuquerque – 67% of the base increase for gross receipts and property taxes

• State of New Mexico – 75% of the base increase of gross receipts taxes

• County of Bernalillo – application pending (up to 75% is permitted

And Westland will be nearly double this amount. The process is being abused for the sake of developers, at the expense of our future. And the so-called Green Mayor showed his true colors in last weeks veto.

Read more at Campaign for a Better New Mexico.

Mount Taylor (Keres - Kaweshtima): is a stratovolcano in northwest New Mexico, northeast of the town of Grants. It is the high point of the San Mateo Mountains^[1] and the highest point in the Cibola National Forest. It was named in 1849 for then president Zachary Taylor. Prior to that, it was called Cebolleta (tender onion) by the Spanish; the name persists as one name for the northern portion of the San Mateo Mountains, a large mesa. Mount Taylor is largely forested, rising like a blue cone above the desert below. Its slopes were an important source of lumber for neighboring pueblos.

Mount Taylor was active from 3.3 to 1.5 million years ago^[3] during the Pliocene, and is surrounded by a field of smaller inactive volcanoes. Repeated eruptions built lava domes and produced lava flows, ash plumes, and mudflows. The mountain is surrounded by a great volume of volcanic debris, suggesting multiple major eruptions, possibly similar to that of Mount Saint Helens.^[4] Estimates vary about how high the mountain was at its highest.

Mount Taylor is very rich in a uranium-vanadium bearing mineral, and was mined extensively for it from 1979 to 1990. The Mount Taylor and the hundreds of other uranium mines on Pueblo lands have provided over thirteen million tons of uranium ore to the United States since 1945. (Source: Wikipedia)

Arial Google Map: http://tinyurl.com/2zmdxz

Navajo Code Talkers, originally uploaded by ~Keegan.

Codetalkers signing books about their work in WWII, with proceeds going to Navajo scholarship fund. If you haven’t heard the details of their amazing story look it up on www.wikipedia.com. Scores were deployed with troops throughout the Pacific for realtime communication and only a handful returned. Another American Story.

Wow! I just watched SiCKO, Michael Moore’s newest documentary. I read on Drudge Report that the full version of the movie had been leaked and was available through torrent download.

I also saw that Moore didn’t particularly mind if people got their hands on the show before its release date. Of course I didn’t download it but somehow I was able to see the movie and it is amazing! Some of his other films have been a little smug and maybe over-edited for dramatic effect but this just laid out the facts for the viewer to make their own conclusion.

He journeyed to Canada, England, France and eventually Cuba in search of “the catch” and of course found none. Some of the best scenes are of Moore trying to find what people paid for their treatments in other countries and they just look at him like, “Poor American.”

It was great to see him connect the dots by showing which legislators get paid-off by the insurance companies and their subsequent voting records. I won’t give away anymore, but by hook or crook see this movie!

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barack the cowboy, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Sithe Global Power has been working with the Navajo Nation in recent months on the construction of a new coal burning electricity plant near Farmington. The Navajo Nation which has large land holdings and numerous mining projects is pushing this new plant because it is estimated that it will bring in $50M a year in royalties.

Residents of the area have been protesting the site, remaining vigilent at their encampment near the proposed site. President Joe Shirley who has met with the group of activists has touted the plant as another investment for the growing tribe.

One interesting point is that some have raised doubts that the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency has the funding and the support of the tribe necessary to enforce strick emission standards. A plus for Sithe.

What a great name, and working in non-renewable energy! And on trust land!! And near a populated area!!! Wow, the Sith truly has struck again.

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