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Saturday, December 19, 2009 
Republican Gov. of Georgia Don't Know Nothing About Any Permits

(Note: And we wonder why Georgia is in such bad shape.)
Hall of Shame: Governor Perdue United States Army Corps of Engineers Complaint
    Govenor Purdue Dumps in Jackson Lake
    http://www.altamahariverkeeper.org/river_news/ocmulgee/news/112609.asp                
    Governor Purdue Dumps in Jackson Lake
    Jackson LakeOn October 3, when Jackson Lake residents Fonnette and Robert Harris saw someone dredging in the lake with a track hoe, they took their pontoon boat across the lake to investigate.
    According to the Harris’s they confronted the man standing on the dock next to the dredging and asked him if he had permits to be dredging in Jackson Lake, the man replied, "Ma'am, I don't know nothing about any permits."
    When the Harris’s asked if Governor Perdue knew they were doing this work, the gentleman politely replied, “ma’am I am the Governor."
    Mrs Harris said “Governor don’t you know you are violating many environmental regulations? “
    The Governor replied “I don’t know nothing about any environmental regulations.”
    At that time Ms Harris said “ and you are the Governor of GA ?”
    The Altamaha Riverkeeper James Holland reported the incidence to the federal Environmental Protection Agency because the incidence requires a Federal investigation.
    Holland says “It is illegal to dredge in Waters of the U.S. without first obtaining at minimum a Federal Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit.  It is illegal to discharge a pollutant (dredge spoil) into the Waters of the U.S. without first obtaining a CWA Section 404 Permit to discharge pollutants (dredge spoil) into Waters of the U.S.
    Holland says “the amount of dredged spoil discharged illegally is not in question at this time; what is in question is why Governor Perdue did not obtain any and all permits prior to beginning of his dredging in Waters of the U.S. The Governor saying he did not know a permit was needed is not an acceptable excuse for the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the State of Georgia.  It is common knowledge, every county commission chairman in this state knows that you cannot dredge in waters of the U.S. without prior obtaining Federal Permits, much less discharge the dredge spoil back into the same body of water it came from.”
    ARK talked to Molly Davis with the Environmental Protection Agency about the incident. According to Davis, Georgia Power is the permit holder for Jackson Lake and ultimately responsible for all actions on the lake. Davis says GA Power investigated and estimated that  five cubic yards of dirt was dredged at the Governor’s dock and discharged into the lake  and that corrective action will be required of the Governor.  She said, after Thanksgiving when Georgia Power lowers the lake levels, the Governor will have to properly remove and dispose of the approximate 5 cubic yards of dirt to a proper confined upland disposal site.
    According to the Altamaha Riverkeeper this action (dredging) by Governor Perdue is no different from any other entity in the State of Georgia, “We expect everyone to follow the law. “Holland says.
    ARK asked Mrs. Harris how she felt knowing the governor would have to take corrective action and she said “I will believe it when I see it.”
    Governor’s dredging in Jackson Lake questioned by some
    Nov. 07, 2009
    By S. Heather Duncan | Macon Telegraph
    Gov. Sonny Perdue recently dredged soil from Lake Jackson without a permit, dumping it into the lake and angering some neighbors and environmental advocates.
    Georgia Power officials said the activity at Perdue’s vacation home was not a violation, although a Georgia Power permit should have been obtained first. They said Perdue stopped digging as soon as he was informed that a permit was needed.
    State and federal environmental regulations generally forbid property owners from dumping silt in a waterway or even allowing erosion off their property. The Ocmulgee River flows out of Lake Jackson and through Macon.
    Perdue’s communications director, Bert Brantley, said Perdue will obtain a proper permit in the future if he needs to do work at the lake, but he has no immediate plans to do so. Perdue’s boat slip, like many at the lake after heavy rains this fall, had become clogged with mud.

    Special to The Telegraph A man dredges soil from
    Lake Jackson on the property of Gov. Sonny Perdue, left.

    “The amount (dredged) was so small I don’t think there was any thought that there would be any environmental damage,” Brantley said. “With the investment he’s made there, he loves the lake and only wants what’s best for it.”
    Neighbor Fonnette Harris, who lives directly across from Perdue on the lake, reported the dredging to Georgia Power when she saw it happening Oct. 3. She said she and her husband rode to Perdue’s dock in their pontoon boat to take pictures of a trackhoe sitting in the lake and scooping dirt out of Perdue’s boat slip, then dumping it further into the lake.
    According to Harris, she and her husband asked a man standing on the dock if he had a permit and whether he knew there were environmental regulations about dredging, and he said no.
    “We asked, ‘Does the governor know you’re doing this on his property?’ and he said, ‘I am the governor,’” Harris said.
    All lake residents are provided the Georgia Power Shoreline Management Guidelines, which list activities that require a permit, said Harris, whose husband’s family has leased their lakefront land for more than 60 years.
    After seeing pictures of the dredging, Altamaha Riverkeeper James Holland said they appear to depict a Clean Water Act violation. Holland’s environmental advocacy group keeps tabs on the health of the watershed that drains to the Altamaha, including Lake Jackson.
    But the amount of dredging may have been small enough that no laws were broken. Lynn Wallace, a Georgia Power spokeswoman, said the company estimates that Perdue dredged about 5 cubic yards of dirt.
    Such activity could fall under a nationwide permit that allows dredging of less than 10 cubic yards without notifying anyone first, said David Crosby, deputy regulatory division chief for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Savannah district. Otherwise, he said the circumstances described would constitute a Clean Water Act violation.
    Georgia Power has a permit from the corps that gives it the authority to permit dredging within certain limits. Among them: No more than 500 cubic yards can be moved, and the silt dug out must be deposited in a confined upland area, Crosby said. He said the corps generally doesn’t want to see heavy equipment in a waterway, either, although that’s not explicitly forbidden.
    But Wallace said Georgia Power prefers to see dredging equipment in the lake rather than in the shoreline buffer zone.
    Crosby said Georgia Power has the authority to make someone remove silt dumped in the lake, but there is no agreement requiring Georgia Power to report a violation to the corps.
    Holland said Perdue’s actions, in his opinion, were an abuse of power and bad for the environment. “There are two different enforcements in Georgia, one for some and one for others,” Holland said, noting that Perdue appoints the chief of the state Environmental Protection Division.
    Kevin Chambers, the EPD communications director, said no complaints seem to have been filed or investigations conducted into the dredging at Perdue’s property.
    Wallace said Georgia Power handled the situation as it would for any property owner, adding that dredging permits are almost always approved.
    Perdue has not applied for a permit since the incident, Wallace said, “but of course if he wants to dredge, we’ll issue him a permit,” she said.
    However, Harris contended that this treatment is different from what her family has received.
    “Just a few months ago, Georgia Power told us under no circumstances can you put equipment within 25 feet” of the shoreline, she said.
    Harris said when she recently erected a temporary cover over her boat slip without written permission, Georgia Power sent her a letter threatening to revoke her family’s lease and destroy the structures.
    Butts County tax assessment records show Perdue bought his house and an adjacent lot at 196 Andrea Circle, assessed at almost $465,000 altogether, in 2007.
    Photos below did not run with the Macon telegraph story and were taken by: Fonette Harris>>>>>>>
    		James Holland's complaint letter
    Mr. Welborn, I need to make a language change in the original complaint to you.  The sentence where I said EPD "can/will" should be changed to read "can not/will not" fairly investigate the Governor of Georgia because he appoints the EPD Director(s) for his administration.   Thank you.  James Holland, ARK ®
    Good Morning Mr. Welborn,
    Please accept this e-mail from the Altamaha Riverkeeper®, Inc. (ARK®) as an official complaint from the ARK® requesting assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  This request for assistance is coming to you due to our belief that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) can/will fairly investigate the Governor of Georgia because he appoints the EPD Director(s) for his administration.  Further more, Governor Sonny Perdue is the Chief Law Enforcement Person for the State of Georgia.
     
    The following are the reasons we believe this incident requires a Federal investigation;
      This action (dredging) by Governor Perdue is no different from any other entity in the State of Georgia;
      It is illegal to dredge in Waters of the U.S. without first obtaining at minimum a Federal Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit;
      It is illegal to discharge a pollutant (dredge spoil) into the Waters of the U.S. without first obtaining a CWA Section 404 Permit to discharge pollutants (dredge spoil) into Waters of the U.S.;  
      The amount of dredged spoil discharged illegally is not in question at this time; what is in question is why Governor Perdue did not obtain any and all permits prior to beginning of his dredging in Waters of the U.S. (Lake Jackson)?  What amount of dredging was intended prior to getting caught in an activity that appears to be unlawful dredging in the Waters of The U.S has no bearing on why proper permits were not obtained prior to the activity.   Not knowing a permit was needed is not an acceptable excuse for the Chief Law Enforcement Officer for the State of Georgia.  Every County Commissioner Chairman in this state knows that you can not dredge in waters of the U.S. without prior obtaining Federal Permits, much less discharge the dredge spoil back into the same body of water it came from.
     
    Prior to this e-mail I forwarded you an article that appeared in the Florida Times Union (Georgia Edition) (11-6-09) regarding Governor Perdue's "Go Fish" initiative in Georgia regarding Jaycee Landing (Jesup) and dredging permits.
     
    Once again, as the Chief EPA Region 4 Wetlands Enforcement we request that you initiate an investigation into the dredging activities of the Governor of Georgia dredging in Lake Jackson, a Water Body of the U.S.  
     
    I would like to thank you in advance for your assistance in this extremely important matter.
    James Holland, Altamaha Riverkeeper®
    		 

                                              
5:30 AM 
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Friday, December 18, 2009 
Cherokee Phoenix Weekly Newsletter 
7:19 PM 
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Friday, December 18, 2009 
Selling Drugs to Fund Terror: al-Qaeda Linked to Cocaine Trafficking
Three men linked to al-Qaeda arrested in Africa by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents following a cocaine sting operation have been extradited to New York and are slated to appear in federal court in Manhattan today, according to federal sources.
Photo: Three men charged with helping Al Qaida in drug case
Shabab militia patrol Bakara Market in Mogadishu in this Oct. 2009 file photo. Three men linked to... Expand
(Abdurashid Abikar/AFP/Getty Images)
The arrests confirm the suspicions of the DEA that al-Qaeda is providing protection for narcotics traffic and using the proceeds "to facilitate terror operations," federal sources said. Oumar Issa, Harouna Toure and Idress Abelrahman will be charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization after allegedly agreeing to transport cocaine shipments as large as 1,000 kilos.
According to DEA officials, the cocaine sting was orchestrated along a route through West Africa to North Africa that serves as a gateway for transshipment to Europe. The men were arrested after an investigation in which informants and agents posed as Latin American narco-terrorists who shared anti-American interests with the men.
Issa, Toure and Abelrahman claim to be from Mali, sources say. The operatives who conducted the sting posed as members of the Colombian revolutionary group FARC.
According to the unsealed criminal complaint, a confidential source met with Issa and Toure in Ghana in Sep. and Oct. The source, using the cover of a Lebanese radical, told Issa he represented FARC and that "the Colombians were very sympathetic to 'the cause.'"
The source then met with Toure, who said he could transport cocaine from Ghana through North Africa to Spain. "Toure also described his strong relationship with the al-Qaeda groups that control areas of North Africa," said the complaint. "Toure stated that he has worked with al-Qaeda to transport and deliver between one and two tons of hashish to Tunisia," and also cooperated with al-Qaeda in human trafficking. He also allegedly told the source that he could work with al-Qaeda to arrange kidnappings for ransom. Toure said that "our friends, the radicals and the Muslims" would guarantee the transport of a shipment of cocaine through the desert. "Toure clarified that the 'military people' were al-Qaeda," according to the complaint. Toure then produced Abdelrahman as a member of the militia that would guard the contraband on its trip.

Terrorists, Crooks Allowed to Keep FAA Pilot's Licenses
Citing ABC News Report, Senators Call for Investigation of TSA Vetting Process
By ERIC LONGABARDI and JOSEPH RHEE 
Dec. 18, 2009
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/terrorists-crooks-faa-pilots-licenses/story?id=9363727&nwltr=blotter_subfeaturePic
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has asked the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Inspector General to investigate why suspect individuals – including terrorists and drug kingpins – have been able to retain their Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot's licenses.
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin
Fernando Zevallos Gonzalez, called the "Al Capone of Peru" by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.... Expand
(ABC News Photo Illustration)
In a letter to DHS Inspector General Richard Skinner, the senators cited media reports, including an ABC News investigation, that questioned the ability of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to purge the FAA's aviation list of individuals posing a threat to transportation security.
In one high-profile case reported by theBlotter, a well-known drug boss named Fernando Zevallos Gonzalez was able to keep his U.S. aviation license despite being on a "black list" of foreign drug kingpins since 2004.
The Blotter also reported the names of two other men tied to drug trafficking and two convicted arms traffickers who still had their licenses as of Oct. The New York Times revealed that individuals charged or convicted of terrorism-related crimes were also able to retain their FAA licenses. While some of the individuals named in the ABC News and Times reports have since been stripped of their licenses, others have not, according to Safe Banking Systems (SBS), the New York computer security firm that first uncovered the suspect cases.
"These reports are disturbing, and suggest that people who are believed to pose security threats to our nation continue to have ready access to aircraft and airport facilities," the letter to Skinner states. The letter is signed by senators Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Tex., ranking member of the committee; Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security; and Jim DeMint, R-S.C., ranking member of the subcommittee.

6:45 PM 
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Friday, December 18, 2009 
Interviews update Crow Creek 12-18

Photobucket

Photo by NDN News


Chairman Brandon Sazue from Crow Creek & Mo Brings Plenty, Oglala Lakota will be on NA Calling onTuesday, December 23rd

 

Native America Calling Airs Live

Monday - Friday, 1-2pm Eastern

www.nativeamericacalling.com

 

 

 

Listen to Tiokasin Ghosthorse’s First Voices Indigenous Radio show from yesterday morning (December 17th)

Crow Creek section of the interview can be heard at the last 18 minutes or so.

www...firstvoicesindigenousradio...org/program_archives.html

 

 

 

Will post more relevant info and another update regarding what steps they are taking later this evening.

 

 
For more info, visit our website at:
NDN News
 
NDN News is a grassroots organization which acts as an information hub and resource for many issues in Indian Country. We are dedicated to providing information featuring headline stories, on-going issues, action alerts, and upcoming events.

5:07 PM 
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Friday, December 18, 2009 
One West Bank Demands Tribe Vacate Tribal Property by Jan 15 2010
o All: PLEASE PASS THIS FORWARD - DECEMBER 16, 2009
> 
> Once again, we are being threatened with a forced eviction due to the Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs ineptness of actions to do anything to assist or protect our Tribe. The governments’ failure or intentional lagging to correct the abuses and inflictions caused to our Tribe by the corruption within the local BIA's Central California Agency and Superintendent Troy Burdick who is personally working with and allowing outside influences to viciously attack and interfere into our Tribal Affairs is now on the brink of causing more serious concerns. 
> 
> We have continued to forward documented factual information (including the criminal histories of the individuals plotting against us) to the BIA/Dept. of the Interior and our local elected officials, and they still have not stepped in to stop the continued criminal actions (fraud and identity theft) being perpetrated by Chadd Everone and his phony group. Mr. Everone continues to mislead government, court, and other agency officials to believe that he and his attorneys represent our Tribe.
> 
> We need your support. We need our story to be put out all across America and abroad. All those who can help us get justice, please come forward. Call your friends, Tribes (recognized or not), Universities, Veterans, Students, Elected Officials, and anyone who can step up and stand with us to get the government to take notice of the hardships and emotional suffering that is being cast upon our Tribe and its members. Due to our local Governor, Congressman, Senators, Assemblymembers, etc… turning a blind-eye to our cries for justice, we are now asking you (the Public) to contact your Congressional representatives, Senators, and Assemblymembers, etc… to help us. 
> 
> We are requesting that all people who know what its like to have an injustice done to you and who can remember how it felt for people to walk away without helping, or for those who had been wrongly accused and had to stand alone and fight through the tears and frustration to be ridiculed and finally justified in the end when the truth came out in the open, you are the ones that we are asking to step up and help us. 
> 
> Please send letters, faxes, and or emails to your elected officials, and also leave voice messages regarding how appalled you are about the Bureau of Indian Affairs allowing such abuses to happen to a federally recognized Tribe, for this has gone on (years) too long!!! Do not allow the lies of Chadd Everone and his Gaming Developers (financial backers) to continue to cover up the truth of what they have been doing to destroy us. Demand that an investigation be set forth. 
> 
> Appointed and elected officials get paid by our tax dollars to protect their citizens. Why is it that they have deaf ears to our situation? Is it because we are Native American Indians? Is it because they just don’t care? The last I remember, identity theft and fraud was illegal in this country, so then, why isn’t Chadd Everone not in jail? Is the Government waiting for one of us, or all of us (in the Tribe) to be seriously or fatally injured? What is going to happen on January 15th 2010 when the Sheriff’s department comes in to force the Tribe and its members out into the street? Will the American Indian Movement come to stand with us? Will the college and university students come to stand with us? Will our local community stand with us? The system of law and righteousness has failed us. Please help us !! 
> 
> Again and again, we’ve tried to negotiate, we’ve tried the courts, we’ve tried to be patient but unfortunately words don’t pay the bills. One West Bank wants to get paid. WE WANT TO GET PAID!!! THERE IS NO LEGITIMATE REASON FOR THE CALIFORNIA GAMBLING CONTROL COMMISSION TO WITHHOLD OUR RSTF MONEY!!!! NOR IS THERE ANY LEGITIMATE REASON FOR THE LOCAL CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AGENCY/BIA TO WITHHOLD OUR MATURE STATUS 638 CONTRACT!!!THEREFORE WE “THE TRIBE” ARE ASKING YOU “THE PUBLIC” TO DEMAND THAT OUR FUNDS BE RELEASED!! DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION INTO THE CRIMINAL ACTIONS OF THE LOCAL BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS/CENTRAL CALIFORNIA AGENCY, SUPERINTENDENT TROY BURDICK, REGARDING HIS WORKING WITH CHADD EVERONE AGAINST OUR TRIBE. The truth is in the files, all one has to do is investigate!!!
> 
> “Chadd Everone” (who is a non- Indian and is not in any way associated with our Tribe, other than trying his best to steal it) has an agenda to cinch his Gaming Agreement with Albert D. Seeno, to build “the Biggest Casino in Northern California” but to do that, he must replace us with his phony group. 
> 
> We the California Valley Miwok Tribe are asking all of you out there, to please make the calls, write the letters, emails, blogs, twitter messages, radio and tv announcements. Contract your friends, if anyone knows of any actors who are willing to help us get justice, any one who has influence in the media whether it be youtube, rez radio, newsletters, newspapers, banners, flyers, one-liners…. Anything helps!! 
> 
> While (as another year is set to pass), once again, Government Officials (Bureau Officials included), etc… are readying themselves for the holidays!! Again, they have NO TIME for our concerns, our fears, our cries or our suffering, or our REALITY!!!. SCROOGE IS ALIVE AND WELL . . . WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! 
> 
> For more information on how to help the Tribe, please contact us at the Tribal office at 209.931.4567 or by fax 209.931.4333 or you may contact the Tribal attorneys at Rosette & Associates, PC at 480-889-8990. 
> 
> IT SHOULD BE THE GUILTY BEING PUNISHED . . . . NOT THE INNOCENT!!!
> 
> Put yourself in our place and think about how you’d feel if you were the one that was quiet and shy and had a bully constantly abusing you. Please make a difference, make the contacts, get President Obama’s attention… let him know that you want change, and that the American public supports the rights of the Native American Indians. Let him know that the California Valley Miwok Tribe needs him to step in and save it from being destroyed due to the lack of action(s) by appointed and/or elected officials who are either unwilling or unable to step up and do their job to protect this Tribe from those individuals who are causing the “Tribe” GREAT harm by using illegal tactics such as identity theft and fraud to discredit it, destroy it financially, and leave us homeless and without any recourse to defend ourselves. 
> 
> /s/
> Silvia Burley, Chairperson
> s.burley@..californiavalleymiwoktribe-..nsn.gov 
> 
> Physical Address:
> California Valley Miwok Tribe
> 10601 Escondido Pl
> Stockton, California 95212
> Tribal Office: 209.931.4567 Fax: 209.931.4333
> 
> Mailing Address
> California Valley Miwok Tribe
> 1163 E. March Lane, Suite D-PMB#812
> Stockton, California 95210-4512
> 
> http://www...californiavalleymiowktribe-..nsn.gov http://..californiavalleymiwoktribe.us

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009 
U.S. Clears Way to Recognition for Shinnecock Tribe

Posted by: "Doria" dwhitlatch2@att.net   doria53

Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:32 pm (PST)



http://www.nytimes.com/2009/..12/16/nyregion/16tribe.html?..emc=na
 

 




 

By DANNY HAKIM
Published: December 15, 2009 

December 16, 2009

U.S. Clears Way to Recognition for Shinnecock Tribe 

A portrait from about 1895 shows 
Shinnecock indians who lived on Long Island
 
By DANNY HAKIM

 
The Obama administration said Tuesday that the Shinnecock Indians on Long Island meet the criteria for federal recognition, signaling the end of a 30-year court battle and clearing a path for the tribe to pursue its plans for a casino in New York City or its suburbs.
 
The announcement all but assures that the 1,066-member Shinnecock Indian Nation will receive formal federal recognition, though a public-comment period of up to six months must be held before the final order is issued.
 
The news could mean significant changes for the relatively poor tribe, most of whose members live on 800 acres in Southampton, N.Y., not far from some of Long Island’s wealthiest communities and expansive celebrity-owned estates.
 
Shinnecock leaders have long argued that a casino could turn around the tribe’s fortunes. 
 
“This recognition comes after years of anguish and frustration for many members of our Nation, living and deceased,” Randy King, chairman of the Shinnecock trustees, said in a statement, adding, “Perhaps this recognition will help some of our neighbors better understand us and foster a new mutual respect.”
 
Once it is federally recognized, the tribe would be entitled to build a “Class II” casino on its land that could have thousands of video slot machines but no table games. That has worried some local officials because of the implications that such a casino would have for traffic and tourism in the wealthy resort areas.
 
Tribal leaders have said they would prefer to negotiate with the state and federal government to build a or Class III casino on land elsewhere that would have table games and could be more lucrative both for the state and the tribe. 
 
Tribal officials have expressed interest in a variety of sites for a casino, including other locations on Long Island or at Aqueduct racetrack in Queens or Belmont, in Nassau.
 
The state would get none of the proceeds from a Class II casino built on the tribe’s reservation, but would almost certainly insist on a percentage of any proceeds if it permitted construction elsewhere of a bigger casino — which could generate billions of dollars in revenue.
 
Gov. David A. Paterson had supported the tribe’s bid and urged the Obama administration to recognize it. 
 
“As Governor Paterson has said, federal acknowledgment of the Shinnecock Indian Nation was long overdue,” said Morgan Hook, a spokesman for the governor. “This is a proud day for the Shinnecock. Governor Paterson looks forward to continued government-to-government relations with the Nation, and will continue to support their efforts to achieve full federal recognition.”
 
The difficult fiscal situation may bring new urgency to casino discussions.
 
State Senator Craig Johnson, a Long Island Democrat whose district encompasses Belmont, said the state should immediately begin serious talks about the issue. 
 
“The first topic I want to discuss is how Belmont fits into this,” he said. 
 
Gordell Wright, a tribal trustee, said in a statement that “there is no reason to wait for the recognition process to end, and every reason to act now so we can resolve these matters sooner than later.”
 
Tuesday’s announcement capped an arduous effort by the tribe, which had to meet seven criteria for approval. According to the Interior Department, the Shinnecock tribe needed to demonstrate that it was “continuously identified as an American Indian entity since 1900” and able to trace its origins back much further than that.
 
It was also required to establish that it was a viable political entity and that its current members are not members of another federally recognized tribe. 
 
“I think their case was very strong,” said George T. Skibine, the acting principal deputy assistant secretary for Indian affairs. “This was not difficult,” he added. “They met those pretty straightforwardly, fairly and squarely. I don’t think there is much room, based on the evidence, for concluding otherwise.”
 
Mr. Skibine made the decision after Larry Echo Hawk, the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, recused himself from the matter because his brother had a role in representing the Shinnecock tribe.
 
The tribe’s history goes back hundreds of years; both the Dutch and English skirmished over the area in the 1600s, but the tribe remained there and was granted a 1,000-year lease by British colonists in the town of Southampton in 1703 — a deal that was later renegotiated. 
 
In 1792, partly as a means of settling land disputes with the town farmers, the Shinnecock Indians began their current practice of annually electing three tribal trustees, according to John A. Strong, a retired Long Island University professor who has written three books about the Indians of Long Island. 
 
Other chapters of the tribe’s lore are tragic. In the 1870s, a number of the tribe’s young men died when they were part of a salvage operation of a ship called the Circassian, which sank before they could return to shore. 
 
The tribe’s court fight for federal recognition dates to 1978, when the tribe filed a petition for recognition. 
 
In 2006, when it still had no answer, the tribe sued the Interior Department, saying that the agency had failed to process its request in a reasonable amount of time. Earlier this year, it entered into a settlement with the Interior Department that required a preliminary ruling by the end of this year. 
 
The tribe is also hoping to resolve more than $1 billion worth of land disputes in the Hamptons, including its claim to the site of the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, which has played host to the U.S. Open several times. 
 
The tribe paid at least $1.74 million to seven different lobbying firms since 2005 as part of its recognition effort, according to public records. 
 
As part of that lobbying and public relations campaign, the tribe hired Michael McKeon, Gov. George E. Pataki’s former communications director, and Alan Wheat, a former Missouri congressman, as well as Fleishman-Hillard, a Washington public relations firm. 

   
 

May the Great Spirit, 
Hold you in his loving arms, 
And walk with you each and everyday!
3:19 PM 
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009 
Quick update....... Crow Creek

Hi everyone,

 

Just a quick update about Crow Creek.

 

Eric Klein from Can-Do is still on Crow Creek, and hosted live stream tv from Chairman Sazue’s trailer, this is really cool, modern technology! The interview was with Chairman Sazue & Mo Brings Plenty. Go to the following link and click on the show from 12-15http://www.virtualvolunteer.tv

 

We have been able to secure a couple new radio interviews for Chairman Sazue, he will interview on Thursday, December 17th @ 10am (EST), with First Voices Indigenous Radio, WBAI out of NY City, hosted by Tiokasin Ghosthorse.  http://www...firstvoicesindigenousradio...org/index.html.  Next week will be Native American Calling, will have to post more details on that later in the week.

 

There is 1555 sigs on the petition so far, if you havent had a chance to sign, please take a moment to sign today! http://www.petitiononline.com/..CrowCrek/petition.html

 

Mo will be there to support all week, and I believe some other supporters from Pine Ridge will arrive tomorrow sometime. Hoping to make it back down there in the next couple days.

 

Will keep you posted……….more later.

 

 

 

Tamra Brennan
Founder/Director
NDN News
 
NDN News is a grassroots organization which acts as an information hub and resource for many issues in Indian Country. We are dedicated to providing information featuring headline stories, on-going issues, action alerts, and upcoming events.
 
PROTECT BEAR BUTTE!!!!!!!!
Our Sacred Ground is NOT Your Playground!
 

"Our sacred lands are all that remain keeping us connected to our place on Mother Earth, to our spirituality, our heritage and our lands; what’s left of them. If they take it all away, what will remain except a vague memory of a past so forgotten?" ......excerpt from One Nation, One Land, One People by Tamra Brennan, 2006

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Wednesday, December 16, 2009 
Support needed for Indian Health Care Improvement Act
Friday, November 20, 2009
By Scott

 Should be included in Senate Health Care Reform Bill

FRONT PAGE COMMENTARY
By Vickie L. Bradley
EBCI Healthy & Medical Division
As members of the community it is extremely important that we are aware of national issues that affect our ability to receive health care services. With the impending potential for the reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act; it is imperative that our elected officials hear from our community and are asked to support bills that ensure the integrity of the national Indian health system.   The Indian Health Care Improvement Act is a vital piece of legislation that the Health and Medical Division asks you to support by contacting your Senators today. The following information is taken from the National Indian Health Board website to inform you of important aspects of the IHCIA.
What is the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA)?
 The Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) is the key legal authority for the provision of health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs). The IHCIA was originally enacted in 1976 to address the deplorable health conditions in Indian Country. As Congress states in the findings of IHCIA:
 
Federal health services to maintain and improve the health of the Indians are consonant with and required by the Federal government’s historical and unique legal relationship with, and resulting responsibility to, the American Indian people.
 
Along with the Snyder Act of 1921, the IHCIA forms the statutory basis for the delivery of health care to AI/ANs, by the Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Indian Health Care Improvement Act is the baseline for all health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives.  Since 1992, when the IHCIA was last overhauled, the American health care system has been revolutionized, but the Indian health care system has not been.  It is imperative that the IHCIA be reauthorized to begin to bridge this gap.  Including IHCIA in a health care reform bill will modernize the Indian health care system at the same time as Congress is reforming health care for all Americans. 
Why is it necessary to reauthorize the IHCIA?
 Congress should act to officially extend the life of the IHCIA authorization and to update the bill to reflect both the current needs of Indian health care and the modern methods of health care delivery.
 
The IHCIA contains a number of provisions that authorize appropriation of funds to support health care programs set forth in the law; however, the life of these provisions ended in fiscal year 2001.
 
Fortunately, the Snyder Act of 1921 provides permanent authority for the appropriation of funds for Indian health, so Congress can and does continue to appropriate funds for these programs. IHCIA needs to be reauthorized to supply the baseline authority for providing direct health care to AI/ANs.
 
Also, since Congress’ last comprehensive review of IHCIA in 1992, the American health care delivery system has been revolutionized while the Indian health care system has not. For example, mainstream American health care has moved out of hospitals and into people’s homes; focus on prevention has been recognized as both a priority and a treatment; and, coordinating mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, and child abuse services into comprehensive behavioral health programs is now standard practice. Reflecting these improvements in the IHCIA is a critical aspect of reauthorization.
What are the current healthcare needs of American Indians/Alaskan Natives?
 Statistics clearly reflect a critical need for health promotion and disease prevention activities in Indian country which provisions of the IHCIA reauthorization would address this need.
• 13% of Indian deaths occur in those younger than 25, a rate 3 times higher than the U.S population.
• The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights reported in 2003 that “American Indian youths are twice as likely to commit suicide…” Also, suicide ranked as the second leading cause of death for AI/ANs aged 10 to 34 as reported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
• Indians are 550% more likely to die from alcoholism, 200% more likely to die from diabetes, and 150% more likely to suffer accidental death compared with other groups.
Highlights of what is included in the IHCIA Reauthorization
• Establishes objectives for addressing health disparities of Indians as compared with other Americans.
• Enhances the ability of Indian Health Services (IHS) and tribal health programs to attract and retain qualified Indian health care professionals.
• Updates and modernizes health delivery services, such as cancer screenings, home and community based services and long term care for the elderly and disabled.
• Provides innovative mechanisms for reducing the backlog in health facility needs.
• Establishes a continuum of care through integrated behavioral health programs both prevention and treatment –to address alcohol/substance abuse problems and the social service and mental health needs of Indian people.
• Facilitates greater decision-making regarding program operations and priorities at the local tribal level in order to improve services to tribal populations.
How can I help?
 It is critical that Senate Leadership and your Senators hear from you right away with your message of support that the IHCIA be included in health care reform. Call or write you Senators and ask that they support IHCIA S. 1790. Make your contacts today!
 
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which included permanent authorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) last week. Attention has now turned to the Senate.
 
As the Senate prepares to consider health care legislation, Indian Country needs to ensure it includes reforms for all Americans by including IHCIA. Senators need to hear from Indian Country so they know that there is support to include IHCIA.
 
By including IHCIA in the Senate, it will help strengthen the chances of the bill during conference between the House and Senate before a final bill is sent to President Obama.
6:42 AM 
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009 
Lieberman vs. Weiner
Dear Sharon,
Snowe? Stupak? Lieberman? Who left these folks in charge?

Here's an idea: how about we fight for a Democratic bill?

It's time for the president to get his hands dirty. Some of us have compromised our compromised compromise.  We need the president to stand up for the values our party shares. We must stop letting the tail wag the dog of this debate.

This afternoon the New York Times and other news outlets reported that Senator Lieberman was backing away from his own health care proposal, in part because I liked it.

If this wasn't so sad, it would be amazing. Here you have the most important legislation for millions of Americans' health and welfare, and apparently Senator Lieberman backs away from his own proposal.

Why? Because I and a professor at Yale like it.

All I can say charitably is I hope Senator Lieberman looks into his heart and does the right thing. This is not the time for anyone to act for politics, but to do the right thing. Let's be clear, this is an idea Senator Lieberman has proposed, repeatedly. That others embrace it should not be the criteria for leaders to make decisions. It would be tragic if this is what it appears, a decision based on hurting proponents of reform not helping the millions who need affordable health care coverage.

Some may say reformers should never have praised this measure. But that suggests we all agree to live in an Alice in Wonderland world of saying the opposite of what we mean. Now is the time to talk and act on the merits of an issue. Now is the time for leaders to make the right choices, not political calculations.

Time is short.  We need your help.  Make sure to post this message on your Facebook wall and retweet on Twitter.  Ask your friends to sign up at CountdowntoHealthCare.com and join the fight.

It will take your voice to push Congress in the right direction.
Thanks,
Anthony
It's Weiner vs Lieberman. Show Lieberman you support real health care reform. Sign Rep. Weiner's petition athttp://countdowntohealthcare...com Share this message with your friends!
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It's Weiner vs. Lieberman. Fight for a real #publicoption and health reform. Join Rep. Weiner athttp://countdowntohealthcare...com - Pls RT! #hcr
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009 
Ruling expected today to let corporations invest in politicians 



By Greg Palast | for AlterNet 
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 


I thought that headline would get your attention. And it's true. 

I'm biting my nails waiting for the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which could come down as early as today. At issue: whether corporations, as "unnatural persons," can make contributions to political campaigns. 

The outcome is foregone: the five GOP appointees to the court are expected to use the case to junk federal laws that now bar corporations from stuffing campaign coffers. 

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Catch Palast on Air America Radio tonight at 9pm EST on banksters and Qaeda cash.
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Technically, there's a narrower matter before the court in this case: whether the McCain-Feingold Act may prohibit corporations from funding "independent" campaign advertisements such as the "Swift Boat" ads that smeared John Kerry. However, campaign finance reformers are steeling themselves for the court's right wing to go much further, knocking down all longstanding rules against donations by corporate treasuries. 

Allowing company campaign spending will not, as progressives fear, cause an avalanche of corporate cash into politics. Sadly, that's already happened: we have been snowed under by tens of millions of dollars given through corporate PACs and "bundling" of individual contributions from corporate pay-rollers. 

The court's expected decision is far, far more dangerous to U.S. democracy. Think: Manchurian candidates. 

I'm losing sleep over the millions — or billions — of dollars that could flood into our elections from ARAMCO, the Saudi Oil corporation's U.S. unit; or from the maker of "New Order" fashions, the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Or from Bin Laden Construction corporation. Or Bin Laden Destruction Corporation. 

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Support this ongoing investigation by making a donation to the non-profit Investigative Journalism foundation. By donating today you will receive a gift of your choice in time for Christmas: www.gregpalast.com/store
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Right now, corporations can give loads of loot through PACs. While this money stinks (Barack Obama took none of it), anyone can go through a PAC's federal disclosure filing and see the name of every individual who put money into it. And every contributor must be a citizen of the USA. 

But, if the Supreme Court rules that corporations can support candidates without limit, there is nothing that stops, say, a Delaware-incorporated handmaiden of the Burmese junta from picking a Congressman or two with a cache of loot masked by a corporate alias. 

Candidate Barack Obama was one sharp speaker, but he would not have been heard, and certainly would not have won, without the astonishing outpouring of donations from two million Americans. It was an unprecedented uprising-by-PayPal, overwhelming the old fat-cat sources of funding. 

Well, kiss that small-donor revolution goodbye. If the Supreme Court votes as expected, progressive list serves won't stand a chance against the resources of new "citizens" such as CNOOC, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. Maybe UBS (United Bank of Switzerland), which faces U.S. criminal prosecution and a billion-dollar fine for fraud, might be tempted to invest in a few Senate seats. As would XYZ Corporation, whose owners remain hidden by "street names." 

George Bush's former Solicitor General Ted Olson argued the case to the court on behalf of Citizens United, a corporate front that funded an attack on Hillary Clinton during the 2008 primary. Olson's wife died on September 11, 2001 on the hijacked airliner that hit the Pentagon. Maybe it was a bit crude of me, but I contacted Olson's office to ask how much "Al Qaeda, Inc." should be allowed to donate to support the election of his local congressman. 

Olson has not responded. 

The danger of foreign loot loading into U.S. campaigns, not much noted in the media chat about the Citizens case, was the first concern raised by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who asked about opening the door to "mega-corporations" owned by foreign governments. Olson offered Ginsburg a fudge, that Congress might be able to prohibit foreign corporations from making donations, though Olson made clear he thought any such restriction a bad idea. 

Tara Malloy, attorney with the Campaign Legal Center of Washington D.C., is biting her nails awaiting the decision. If Olson gets his way, she told me, corporations will have more rights than people. Only United States citizens may donate or influence campaigns, but a foreign government can, veiled behind a corporate treasury, dump money into ballot battles. 

Malloy also noted that under the law today, human-people, as opposed to corporate-people, may only give $2,300 to a presidential campaign. But hedge fund billionaires, for example, who typically operate through dozens of corporate vessels, could, should Olson prevail, give unlimited sums through each of these "unnatural" creatures. 

And once the Taliban incorporates in Delaware, they could ante up for the best democracy money can buy. 

In July, the Chinese government, in preparation for President Obama's visit, held diplomatic discussions in which they skirted issues of human rights and Tibet. Notably, the Chinese, who hold a $2 trillion mortgage on our Treasury, raised concerns about the cost of Obama's health care reform bill. Would our nervous Chinese landlords have an interest in buying the White House for an opponent of government spending such as Gov. Palin? Ya betcha! 

The potential for foreign infiltration of what remains of our democracy is an adjunct of the fact that the source and control money from corporate treasuries (unlike registered PACs), is necessarily hidden. Who the heck are the real stockholders? Or as Butch asked Sundance, "Who are these guys?" 
We'll never know. 

Hidden money funding, whether foreign or domestic, is the new venom that the court could inject into the system by an expansive decision in Citizens United. 

We've been there. The 1994 election brought Newt Gingrich to power in a GOP takeover of the Congress funded by a very strange source. 

Congressional investigators found that in crucial swing races, Democrats had fallen victim to a flood of last-minute attack ads funded by a group called, "Coalition for Our Children's Future." The $25 million that paid for those ads came, not from concerned parents, but from a corporation called "Triad Inc." 

Evidence suggests Triad Inc. was the front for the ultra-right-wing billionaire Koch Brothers and their private petroleum company, Koch Industries. Had the corporate connection been proven, the Kochs and their corporation could have faced indictment under federal election law. If the Supreme Court now decides in favor of unlimited corporate electioneering, then such money-poisoned politicking would become legit. 

So it's not just un-Americans we need to fear but the Polluter-Americans, Pharma-mericans, Bank-Americans and Hedge-Americans that could manipulate campaigns while hidden behind corporate veils. And if so, our future elections, while nominally a contest between Republicans and Democrats, may in fact come down to a three-way battle between China, Saudi Arabia and Goldman Sachs. 

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Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Best Democracy Money Can Buy." Palast investigated Triad Inc. for The Guardian (UK). View Palast's reports for BBC TV and Democracy Now! atgregpalast.com. 
1:23 AM 
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