HETF Environmental Report #2

Haudenosaunee Environmental News Report September 2001

The purpose of this report is to share current developments in Environmental and Federal Indian Law issues that may have an effect on our Nations. Below you will find summaries of information, including My Notes on possible impacts to our territories and people, and then included is a link(s) to the full text of the article, code, law case, etc.

Table of Context

1.) Contaminated Water Lies Under Our Reservation Lands

2.) Judge grants stay in access case, but tribes must start assembling documents

3.) U.S. Reaches Accord On Endangered Species

4.) Herbicide use in forest barred: A U.S. judge blocks spraying in a Tahoe restoration project.

5.) Suit Filed over Coors Fish Kill

6.) Electronic Decoys Put Duck-Hunting Ethics Under Fire

7.) Daniel Kraker. "Nothing Sacred," American Indian Review, no. 29 (Summer 2001).

8.) Jake Thomas Learning Center Renamed

9.) Mapping Census 2000: Native American Population

*****

1.) Contaminated Water Lies Under Our Reservation Lands

Summary:
A Lakota speaks about contaminated ground water with high levels of nitrates and arsenic. He talks about the IHS and other agencies not adequately warning the people or doing anything to resolve the problem. He explains how nitrate poisoning can be deadly to infants.

My Note:
I included this article because it explains how some remedies, our people might use when they hear of contamination, do not always work. In the article it says boiling water does not remove nitrates, and the boiling may in fact concentrate it making it worse. I did further research and found a very good Website that gives detailed information that might be helpful to our Nations. It explains what to do, how to reduce risk, explains what a nitrate is, and more.

From this Website of the Cornell Cooperative Extension, New York State College of Human Ecology, I found the following information about how our lands can become polluted with nitrates.

"Nitrate in groundwater originates primarily from fertilizers, septic systems, and manure storage or spreading operations. Fertilizer nitrogen that is not taken up by plants, volatilized, or carried away by surface runoff leaches to the groundwater in the form of nitrate. This not only makes the nitrogen unavailable to crops, but also can elevate the concentration in groundwater above the levels acceptable for drinking water quality. Nitrogen from manure similarly can be lost from fields, barnyards, or storage locations Septic systems also can elevate groundwater nitrate concentrations because they remove only half of the nitrogen in wastewater, leaving the remaining half to percolate to groundwater. "

To read more see:

Contaminated Water Lies Under Our Reservation Lands

Also see for more from the Cornell Cooperative Extension, New York State College of Human Ecology:

NITRATES

2.) Judge grants stay in access case, but tribes must start assembling documents

Excerpt:
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A judge agreed Wednesday to a request by Maine Indians for a stay in their high-profile legal battle involving access to documents, water quality regulation and claims of tribal sovereignty.

But Superior Court Justice Robert Crowley also said the stay order will require the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe to begin assembling and indexing documents that the Supreme Judicial Court ruled they must turn over to paper companies...

Asserting that the dispute is at the heart of the tribes' claim to be autonomous, sovereign governments, their leaders had expressed willingness to go to jail rather than relinquish copies of the records.

My Note:
The Passamaquoddy and Penobscot case will, in effect, be asking the court to choose between state rights over "tribal" rights. With the recent findings of the Supreme Court, including Nevada v Hicks, it is not a good time for Nations to take claims to the Supreme Court as was discussed in the last report.

To read more see:
Passamaquoddy and Penobscot

3.) U.S. Reaches Accord On Endangered Species

Excerpt:

The Bush Administration negotiated with a coalition of environmental groups to protect 29 vanishing plant and animal species, including some on the verge of extinction. Usually environmental groups have to take their actions to court, here they got the parties to come together with a model of negotiation.

The Bush Administration agreed to protect these species, in exchange for the environmental groups not seeking enforcement of court orders affecting other species. The belief is that the money instead of being used in the courts can be used to immediately protect these 29 endangered species.

My Note:

There is no mention of which endangered species and habitat has been bargained away--or at least pushed to the side to wait for enforcement of protection in this deal. I suspect, and this is just a guess, that it might be species and habitat having to do with areas that the Bush Administration wants to exploit. It is a good movement to work together in negotiating, but an environmental coalition does not speak for us. So, how do we make sure our concerns are heard here?

To read the article see:

U.S. Reaches Accord On Endangered Species

4.) Herbicide use in forest barred: A U.S. judge blocks spraying in a Tahoe restoration project.

Excerpt:

A Sacramento federal judge on Thursday barred rangers from using herbicides to kill vegetation and brush on 10,900 acres as part of a major restoration project in the Tahoe National Forest. The head of the organization that took the lead in challenging the project said Thursday she is hopeful the ruling will slow the U.S. Forest Service's increasing reliance on herbicides in California national forests.

My Note:
I included this article because the California Indian Basket Weavers Association joined the lawsuit to prevent the spraying of herbicides. The California Indian Basket weavers have been suffering from the effects of environmental pollution. They were getting sick from picking and using contaminated materials. This should remind us that when we go to pick medicines, foods, and basketry materials we need to think about what toxic chemicals may have been used and whether the items have been impacted.

To read the article see:

U.S. Judge Blocks Spraying

5.) Suit Filed over Coors Fish Kill

Excerpt:

Colorado Division of Wildlife filed suit Friday in Jefferson County District Court against the Coors Brewing Co. to recover the value of more than 50,000 fish killed last year after the company discharged 77,000 gallons of beer into Clear Creek. Colorado law values each fish at $35, making the potential fine at least $1.75 million, said Todd Malmsbury, a wildlife division spokesman. Wildlife officials said that a year of discussions with the brewing company have not rectified the damage and that it's the division's "duty" to file the complaint to "protect Colorado's aquatic resource and recover damages caused by this discharge."

My Note:
What strikes me as odd in the article above is how they can put a price on the fish. This seems to be based on sports fishing and not on the value of a fish. Nor, does it include the value of the fish within the Great Circle of Life, nor does it take into consideration his duty to keep the water's in balance. Seems to me that a fish's life is worth more than money!

At some point in our process of creating culturally-based standards, we can use our ecological knowledge and teachings to create a fairer remedy for violating our rules.

To read the article see:

Coors Fish Kill

6.) Electronic Decoys Put Duck-Hunting Ethics Under Fire

Summary:

State bans the use of Roboducks. The state bans the use of Roboducks that are so realistic that they can flap their wings, swim, and sound exactly like a duck. These decoys are being banned for two reasons. (1) They are considered by many duck hunters as being un-sportsman-like. (2) They have the potential to work so well that it will deplete the duck population and force stricter restrictions on waterfowl hunting. Pennsylvania was the first state to ban, Washington the second, and California is seeking to prohibit their use.

My Note:
The article includes a brief history of the use of decoys and talks about duck hunting ethics of "fair chase" in not having an advantage over the prey.

To read more see:

Roboducks

7.) Daniel Kraker. "Nothing Sacred," American Indian Review, no. 29 (Summer 2001).

Summary:
Daniel Kraker writes about repatriation of sacred items and questions the museums who after repatriating them, did not tell the Nations that the items had been preserved with poisons. The article focuses on items repatriated to the Hopi Nation and describes the unhappiness of the Hopi that they were not told of the poisoning of these sacred and living beings prior to returning them to use amongst the sacred societies.

My Note:
Making other people aware of the returned items being preserved with poisons is good--this way we can protect those in contact (humans and the rest of the Natural World) with them by handling carefully and storing them correctly. However, I am always alarmed that the information that repatriated items may be poisoned could be used against repatriation of future items. This is especially critical in today's political climate that is heading back towards paternalism.

In June, some wooden items, a carved spoon with bird on the handle and two wooden war clubs were auctioned off on a popular online auction. The seller said these items were: "Originally displayed at the Niagara Falls Museum; Canada's oldest museum, founded in 1827."

I wrote to the online auction and told them that it was common practice to us deadly chemicals, such as arsenic to prevent insect damage to protect museum items from insect damage. I said that these items were most likely preserved using toxic chemicals and that the auction should be stopped until the items were checked. I reasoned that in the least the buyers should be warned of the possibility of the item's toxicity.

The Online auction wrote back and refused to stop the auction because there was nothing illegal about selling the items. I think morally they had a responsibility, but apparently they put profit over the health of people and the environment. I hope whoever bought those items is taking proper precautions.

Recently I spoke to a Harvard Doctor from the Arsenic Project (link provided below). I wondered if there was any way to remove toxic items, such as arsenic, from our sacred items. Unfortunately, the doctor I spoke to said there was no way to remove arsenic from the wood and shell without destroying the integrity of the material.

Links:

Daniel Kraker. "Nothing Sacred," American Indian Review, no. 29 (Summer 2001).

Chronic Arsenic Poisoning: History, Study and Remediation

REPATRIATION AND REBURIAL ISSUES

8.) Jake Thomas Learning Center Renamed

Excerpt:
Originally printed in the Eastern Door: For many years before his death in 1998, Jake Thomas was one of the most respected elders of the Cayuga Nation at Six Nations reserve. Known far beyond the boundaries of his own territory for his ceremonial and cultural knowledge and his abilities as an artist, Thomas was often called upon to share that knowledge. In his life, Thomas was to share his knowledge and insights of his people with untold numbers of people.

To read more see:

Jake Thomas Learning Center Renamed

9.) Mapping Census 2000: Native American Population

This Website provides maps showing American Indian and Alaska Native populations. The main site is an HTML file, but the actual maps are stored in a Portable Document Format (pdf) and you need an Acrobat Reader, which you can download free it is the third link below.

Main Page of Mapping Census 2000

American Indian and Alaska Native Populations maps

Acrobat Reader

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please contact Kanatiiosh

Return to the Main page by Clicking on the Home Icon Below

Counter provided by www.digits.com