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Date Posted: 09:38:27 03/12/01 Mon
Author: Anonymous
Subject: News and Issues

Advocate Reporter (no email / no homepage) wrote:

Archaeologists pack up Townsend dig

2001-02-17
by Iva Butler
of The Daily Times Staff

As archaeologists pack up and move off the Native American dig site in
Townsend, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been asked to
stop any and all construction work until a protest from the tribes can
be resolved.

The National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in Washington,
D.C., received a letter from James Bird, the cultural director of the
Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, asking the council to intervene.

They request that the FHWA reevaluate the site and have the Keeper of
the National Register of Historic Places make a determination on its
eligibility as a historic site.

In seeking the council's intervention, Bird stated, ``The case appears
irredeemably tainted by personal and political agenda to the detriment
of the heritage resources in the project area.''

Bird said the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Office (TNSHPO), the
Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the FHWA ``have
largely bypassed the spirit of the NHPA (National Historic Preservation
Act) in their attempts to push the completion of the highway project on
an accelerated schedule.''

He also stated that, thus far, 33 burials plus a mortuary with 25
interments -- for a total of 58 burials -- have been found on the site.

``The impending abandonment of the data recovery efforts guarantees that
a large number of human interments will remain unidentified and subject
to destruction in the road-building process,'' Bird said.

Sundquist linked

Bird, who is also the tribal historic preservation officer for the
Eastern Band, linked the effort to speed up the project to Gov. Don
Sundquist.

``Much public controversy has arisen lately that notes Tennessee Gov.
Don Sundquist's purchase of 10 acres of property in the Townsend area,
his partnership in Townsend area businesses and his planned retirement
to Townsend have increased the urgency of the highway project completion
timeline,'' Bird said. ``These circumstances invoke concern for a
conflict of interest.''

He also said people involved in decision-making, ``TNSHPO and the state
archaeologist, answer to the governor.''

In addition to Bird, the organization of United Southern and Eastern
Tribes expressed to the advisory council ``serious concern about FHWA's
treatment of this significant historic property.''

Advisory council letter

Bird's charges led to the advisory council mailing a letter Monday to
Mark Doctor of the Nashville FHWA office, said Laura Dean, program
analyst for the advisory council.

``The letter asked FHWA to have their applicant (TDOT) stop any and all
work at the site until we can get the situation resolved,'' Dean said.

At the second of two consultation meetings held in Nashville on the dig,
Don Klima, director of planning and review for the advisory council,
``asked FHWA to reevaluate the eligibility of that archaeological site
for listing on the National Register of Historic Places,'' Dean said.

The site already meets one criteria for this designation, she added.

Initially the site was thought to be of value only for research, but
Bird disputes this. He said that the FHWA has not sent the advisory
council any information about the site since the March 30 consultation
meeting.

Rich archaeological find

Bird said the site is much richer in archaeology than was first thought.

A fortified village dating to 1200 A.D. that was occupied by unknown
Native Americans was discovered, along with pottery from the 1600s and
1700s, when the Cherokee had villages all the way along Little River.
Former Cherokee winter and summer houses have been discovered.

Pottery from 300-500 B.C. has been uncovered, as well as grooved ax
heads from 500 B.C. to 500 A.D.

The oldest items are pit features that date back to 2000 B.C.

In the letter to Doctor, the advisory council requested that the Keeper
of the National Register of Historic Places make a determination on
whether the site meets other criteria under the preservation act.

Bird said FHWA is depicting it as a burial site, but in fact it is a
village site with burials. He said this could ultimately mean more
archaeological work needs to be done.

Dean said, ``FHWA did take another look a the site, but they involved
the state historic preservation office and did not involve the tribes.

``The site clearly has value to the tribes. It is of religious and
cultural significance to them, so they should have been involved in the
reevaluation,'' she said.

However, the advisory council is only an advisory group and can't order
FHWA to do anything.

``We don't have any preservation police,'' Dean explained. ``We would
hope FHWA would respond favorably to our request and take the steps to
resolve this in an agreeable manner.''

Concern over security

Even though the UT Center for Transportation Research is packing up, the
state wants them to keep some people at the site during the day for
security purposes.

Charles ``Chuck'' Bentz, head of the transportation center, said the
archaeologists will not remove the black plastic that covers much of the
excavated area at this time.

The 58 grave sites, which the Cherokee have indicated they do not want
moved even if the road goes directly over them, are under the plastic
in different areas.

The Cherokee did not bury their dead in graveyards, but beside or under
their homes, so the graves are dispersed between five archaeological
sites.

An FHWA proposal to cover the graves with concrete pads is being
considered, but that is yet to be finalized in what is called a
memorandum of agreement.

Bentz said artifact hunters will not be allowed on the site, even when
the archaeological dig is completed.

He said he plans ``to ask the state for permission to continue
processing the 1,000 to 2,000 bags of dirt currently in the
greenhouse.''

This would involve running water through the soil and screening it to
recover any artifacts.

Carl ``Two-Feathers'' Weathers, head of the Native American Indian
Movement (NAIM), said he is worried about the security at the site.

``NAIM will have people stationed at designated places to watch the
sites and call the police if they see any looting,'' he said.

``When those trailers are gone, the artifact hunters will be diving
right in. They'll want a piece of history.

``Our graves will be left unprotected,'' he concluded.




57 Date: 2001-02-18 16:51:48
Advocate Reporter (no email / no homepage) wrote:

HEADQUARTERS RELOCATION: Tribes to aid BIA eastern offices move

Two groups with major gaming interests to finance
relocation from D.C. to Nashville

By TONY BATT
lasvegas.com GAMING WIRE
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Feb-13-Tue-2001/news/15434602.html

WASHINGTON -- Two tribes with substantial gaming interests plan to pay between $1.2 million and $1.4 million to finance the move of the eastern regional headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from suburban Washington, D.C., to Nashville, Tenn.

The office would be located in a building partially owned by the United South and Eastern Tribes, or USET, a group of 24 tribes including the two that would pay for the move -- the Mohegans of Connecticut and the Oneidas of New York.

The building also houses USET's headquarters as well as a regional office for Indian Health Service, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services.

As the move is being planned, the USET's executive director, Tim Martin, is being considered for the position of assistant secretary of Indian affairs in the Bush administration, a position through which he would head the BIA.

BIA and USET officials confirmed the potential move, which could come this spring. They said it would be easier to hire staff in low-cost Nashville and would put the BIA regional office closer to more tribes.

The proposal came as a surprise to members of the House Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the BIA budget, a spokeswoman said.

"The House Resources Committee didn't know about (the move). We wish we had," said Marnie Funk, who learned of the plan last week when contacted by a reporter. "The authorizing committee should have a heads up on these kinds of expenditures, and we're looking into it."

BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling said letters of notification have been sent to the House and Senate Appropriations committees.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs can issue a final decision on a move, although Congress has oversight through the budgetary process.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., a member of both the Senate Indian Affairs and Appropriations committees, called the arrangement "a terrible conflict of interest.

"To have the regulators of a gaming operation in the same building as gaming operators would be like the Nevada Gaming Commission setting up shop in Caesars Palace," Reid said.

BIA Deputy Commissioner Sharon Blackwell said there is no conflict. She said the Nashville office might perform environmental and realty research on tribal applications to take land into trust for gaming purposes, but final decisions on the applications will be made in Washington by the assistant secretary for Indian affairs.

"This move really has nothing to do with influencing policy," Blackwell said.

Blackwell said the move will not cost less than $1.2 million, and "I am determined to keep it within $1.4 million and $1.5 million." She said she hopes the move begins by April and will be completed by July 1.

Blackwell said it is common for federal Indian agencies to locate their regional offices in buildings and on land owned by tribes. She said this saves taxpayers money and provides better service for tribes.

The USET's Martin confirmed Monday he has submitted papers to the Bush administration and is being seriously considered for the post of assistant secretary of Indian Affairs in the Department of Interior.

Martin, 41, said he would resign his job of five years with USET if he is named assistant secretary, and insisted he could maintain objectivity when considering issues affecting the organization.

"If there is a perception or any doubt about my objectivity (on issues affecting USET), I would recuse myself from dealing with those issues," said Martin, a member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Alabama.

Two of USET's most prosperous members -- the Mohegans, owners of the 176,000 square-foot Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., and the Oneidas, owners of the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y. -- have offered to pay for the BIA move by returning annual payments they receive from Congress as federally recognized tribes.

Martin said both tribes previously have returned federal money for other purposes.

Darling, the BIA spokeswoman, said she was not aware of the arrangement with the Mohegans and Oneidas. "We haven't used any money at this point," she said.


56 Date: 2001-02-18 16:45:57
Advocate Reporter (no email / no homepage) wrote:

FRANKFORT — A group that claims to be Cherokee Indian descendants is seeking
help from the Kentucky General Assembly to gain recognition as a tribe.

Members of the Bear Creek Native American Tribe Inc., of Albany, Ky., say the
designation will help them sell crafts, adopt American Indian orphans and
educate schoolchildren on their heritage.

But a lobbyist for the thoroughbred industry accused the group of angling for
its own casino.

Rep. Charles Siler, a Williamsburg Republican, introduced a resolution
commending the 200-member tribe and directing the Kentucky Native American
Heritage Commission to establish guidelines for tribal recognition.

Tribes must get federal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. But
state recognition can help a tribe gain federal support, said Robin Shields,
a spokeswoman for the bureau.

David Switzer, of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, said his
organization opposes the measure because it interprets it as “the first step
in gaining the recognition that leads to casino compacts.”

Federal recognition confers sovereignty and eligibility for certain U.S.
government programs. A federal law allows reservations to negotiate with
states for casinos. Mr. Siler said the tribe has not mentioned casino
gambling and “it's not even hinted at in their business plan.” He said
concerns about gambling have dimmed its chances of passage.

“I don't think it has much of a chance, but I've done what I told them I'd
do,” he said, adding many of its members live in his district.

Tribes must submit historical documents and other proof of their American
Indian identity and must show that they have maintained a continuous
community since at least 1900.

The Beaver Creek tribe incorporated in 1997 and recently moved its
headquarters from Winnfield, Tenn. Mary Neal, who said she is a Cherokee
descendant and the aunt of current chief Ken Neal, said American Indians
lived in the region more than 200 years ago.


55 Date: 2001-02-18 16:20:01
Advocate Reporter (no email / no homepage) wrote:

Cecilia Fire Thunder has battled domestic violence at the Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation by repeatedly denouncing abuse over the reservation's radio
airwaves.

The silence, she said, had to end.

"We've learned to be quiet and keep quiet," she said. "It's something we've
learned over many generations."

Fire Thunder, a member of Oglala Lakota nation, urged those who attended a
conference Saturday at Haskell Indian Nations University to follow her lead
by raising awareness of violence against American Indians. The conference was
sponsored by the Healthy Relationships Project, a joint program of Haskell
and Kansas University.

According to U.S. Department of Justice statistics, American Indians are more
than twice as likely to be victims of rape, aggravated assault and simple
assault as members of other races.

"It's not a popular topic," said Bob Prue, Healthy Relationships Project
director. "I think most people would rather keep their heads in the sand."

Still, about 40 people Saturday attended the daylong conference. Fire Thunder
talked about the Oglala Lakota Women's Society, which she co-founded in 1987.
The society has raised awareness about domestic violence and has worked to
strengthen law enforcement response on her South Dakota reservation.

She said 1,800 men living on the reservation are on probation for domestic
violence, and 62 percent of court cases involve abuse in the home. Fire
Thunder said she thought one root of the problem was the large number of
American Indians who attended boarding schools, where they didn't receive
proper nurturing.

"They literally beat us up," she said of her boarding school experience.
"They used cruel and unusual punishment techniques that we did not know at
the time were inhumane."

Fire Thunder said there are no acceptable excuses for abuse.

"Alcohol does not cause violence. It adds to it," she said. "It makes it more
unpredictable. ... When alcohol is present, the danger is greater."

Prue said he was especially encouraged that both men and women attended the
conference.

"Historically, it's been women who speak out about this problem," he said.
"We're having more and more men speaking about against it or speaking about
the violence they've endured."

Tanya Lopez-Martin, who is working on her master's degree in social work at
KU, said she's seen the problem of violence among Indians during her
internship at Haskell.

"We deal with a lot of women's issues — sexual assaults and rapes," she said.
"Having Cecilia here was good for us, too."

Karen Cottrell, a social worker at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.,
said she drove to Lawrence for the conference to learn more about the rape
victims she works with.

"It helps me understand abuse more, and that helps me be a better advocate,"
she said. "It helps me empower."

Haskell students Kwame Dewberry and Mekko Singer said they thought the
seminar would be the beginning of a new effort to educate their fellow
students about violence. Singer said they planned to talk to residence halls
and peer education groups on campus.

"We're just trying some way to go against the grain and keep the numbers
down," Dewberry added. "We want to impact our peers in a positive way. We're
going to speak on what we learned about. We're not going to just leave here."



54 Date: 2001-02-18 16:17:44
Advocate Reporter (no email / no homepage) wrote:

ADA — The day after the Chickasaw Nation cut 123 jobs from its health care
system, anger was the mood shared by many tribal members.

“This whole fiasco was avoidable,” said David Brown, one of many Chickasaws
who spoke out at the tribal Legislature’s meeting Friday. “This is only the
tip of the iceberg. This is not just the health system. It’s the entire
tribal government.”

The tribe announced the cuts Thursday, effective immediately. The move
includes eliminating 63 jobs and offering 60 other health care employees jobs
elsewhere in the tribal government.

Officials said the cuts are needed because the health system is facing a $4.5
million shortfall due to sagging revenues and rising costs.

Chickasaw Gov. Bill Anoatubby called Thursday’s layoffs “a dark day” for the
tribe, but defended the move.

“If people want to criticize, so be it. I’ll take the criticism,” he said.

At times Friday, the criticism was emotional.

“There’s a lot of people out there who lost their jobs for no reason,” said
Mary Smith, whose husband, son and brother lost their jobs Thursday. “I think
there needs to be an investigation done. You legislators need to get to the
bottom of this.”

Several legislators also voiced their displeasure at the job cuts and that
they didn’t know about them until early Thursday.

“I don’t know how it was that we were unaware of this,” legislator Wanda
Blackwood Scott said. “As far as I’m concerned, (it’s) unforgivable.”

Brown, a former Chickasaw lieutenant governor, said a federal investigation
is needed.

Anoatubby said the hospital first started trimming expenses in October, but
it wasn’t until two weeks ago that officials realized the severity of the
hospital’s financial troubles.

“All the decisions had not been made until earlier this week,” Anoatubby
said. “It was decided we couldn’t wait any longer. We had to do this now.”

The hospital receives much of its funding from the federal government.
Officials said government funding has not kept pace with costs, resulting in
this year’s shortfall.

Anoatubby said he didn’t announce the cuts earlier because he didn’t want
people worrying about their jobs for days on end.

“One thing you don’t want to do is create a panic. I just didn’t want to
create distress among the health system’s employees,” he said.

Tribal officials have worked with laid off employees to help them find new
jobs. The Chickasaws also are hoping to move some displaced workers to the
tribe’s other health care systems, Anoatubby said.

Of the 60 people who were offered other tribal jobs, Anoatubby said all but
seven accepted.

“We have a lot of good people working here. It’s sad when something like
this happens.”

Other cost-cutting measures will include using less-expensive drugs,
eliminating outsourced contracts and moving some programs closer to tribal
headquarters. Some services, such as the tribe’s elder care outreach program,
were scrapped.

In the aftermath of the layoffs, some said the move had little to do with
money troubles.

“My job is still there, they just moved someone else in there,” said Sherry
Nail, who was one of the 63 laid off. “In my job, it was a political thing
they’ve done to me.”

Several people complained that they were told the tribe’s finances were
sound, an apparent contradiction of the hospital’s woes.

“How are you going to run this hospital?” Nail asked legislators. “This is a
disgrace to the Chickasaw Nation today.”

Anoatubby said the finances of the health system and the rest of the tribal
government are separate.

“This is isolated to the health system,” he said. “The tribe is doing well.”

Anoatubby said future layoffs are unlikely.

“I never say never, but our revenue situation is settled here.”
.

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