NDN News – Daily Headlines in Indian Country

Exclusive Video Footage of Interagency Bison Hazing in Montana’s Hebgen Basin & Yellowstone National Park

Contacts:
Stephany Seay, Buffalo Field Campaign, 406-646-0070, bfc-media@wildrockies.org
Mike Mease, Buffalo Field Campaign, 406-646-0070, mease@wildrockies.org

WEST YELLOWSTONE, MT:  Members of America’s last continuously wild bison population, the so-called Yellowstone buffalo, have been intensely attacked by state and federal agencies working under the highly controversial Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). Volunteers with Buffalo Field Campaign, a wild bison advocacy and media group, document all actions made against the buffalo by state and federal agencies and advocate for thier lasting protection.

Watch an exclusive video from Buffalo Field Campaign showing hazing (forced removal) operations that occurred this week:

Click the image to watch BFC’s video or visit this link.

“These taxpayer funded hazing operations are highly abusive, disruptive, wasteful, unjustifiable and certainly unnecessary,” said Buffalo Field Campaign spokeswoman Stephany Seay. “Wild migratory bison are native to Montana, and are an ecologically extinct keystone wildlife species. The Yellowstone herds are beloved the world over, and should be valued and treated with respect wherever they roam, not brutalized to appease Montana’s livestock industry.”

Hazing of wild bison takes place every spring in the Hebgen Basin during the height of calving season. On May 13 through 15, the Montana Department of Livestock and other IBMP agencies seriously disrupted the ecosystem and local residents with industrial-scale bison hazing, using a large number of government horsemen, law enforcement officers, and a helicopter to evict native wild bison from Montana. Hazing occurs because Montana’s livestock interests refuse to accept wild bison on the landscape. The forced removal of native wild bison in the Hebgen Basin takes place on the public lands of Gallatin National Forest and Yellowstone National Park, as well as on private land where wild bison are welcome.

There are currently no cattle present in the Hebgen Basin, and in most places where wild bison roam in Montana, cattle will never graze.

The Hebgen Basin, west of Yellowstone National Park, is also important habitat for the federally protected threatened grizzly bear.

Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field, the policy arena and the courts to defend and protect America’s last wild bison populations.  More information about Buffalo Field Campaign and their work to help wild bison can be found at http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org.

“You’re not welcome here… We’ve said no from day one.”

And with these firm words the TransCanada representatives were kicked out of Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation last week. The seemingly aloof TransCanada officials showed up at the Tribal Office in Eagle Butte, South Dakota in an attempt to win the tribe over to the pipeline, but were met with a swift, firm response. Robin LeBeau, Cheyenne River Sioux Councilwoman for District 5, saw them in the parking lot and promptly told them off.

The encounter was caught on video:

More on http://www.tarsandsblockade.org/cheyenne-river/

By Brandon Ecoffey

Native Sun News Managing Editor

HANOVER, NH—A recent protest and the response to it by Dartmouth’s Native American student group has left the Native Alumni of Dartmouth at odds with the Ivy League college’s current Native American students.

Nestled in the forests of central New Hampshire, Dartmouth College is home to one of the most successful Native American student programs amongst America’s elite institutions of higher learning.  Originally founded in 1769 by Eleazer Wheelock and Samson Occom, a Mohegan and primary fundraiser, the college has a long history of educating Native people as the charter states its purpose is “for the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this land.” Dartmouth has a reputation for producing highly successful Native American alumni, a group that includes the likes of Charles Eastman (Santee Dakota), one of the first Native Americans in history to earn a medical degree.

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By Brandon Ecoffey

Native Sun News Managing Editor

RAPID CITY—The auction of 70 masks that are considered highly sacred to the Hopi people was allowed to take place in Paris after a French judge refused to step in on behalf of the tribe. The auction which took place Friday, April 12, 2013 gained national attention as the Hopi nation fought tooth and nail to prevent it from taking place.

The court made note that the Hopis did hold “sacred value” to the objects but ended up ruling that the value the tribe had placed on the masks did not allow the court to deem them as elements of a human body. The Hopi believe that the sacred objects are living beings and attempted to articulate this belief to the court. The court however was unwilling to accommodate the religious understandings of the tribe and would not assimilate the Hopis traditional understandings into a legal ruling that would have essentially classified the masks as human. In France the sale of elements of the human body is prohibited.

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The case of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, now before the Supreme Court, calls into question the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

SEATTLE – Casey Family Programs with the support of 17 other national child welfare organizations has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).  The case of Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, now before the Supreme Court, calls into question the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act.

The coalition of philanthropic and nonprofit organizations represents decades of frontline experience working to improve the lives of vulnerable children and their families. The group supports ICWA because it has helped establish the values and practices that have become central to effective child welfare practice. In particular, this law reinforces the important role that families and communities play when determining the best interests of children in their care.

“The Indian Child Welfare Act reflects the best practices in child welfare,” says David Sanders, Casey Family Programs’ Executive Vice President of Systems Improvement. “It works to prevent the unnecessary breakup of families and helps keep children connected to their communities.”

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(Albuquerque, New Mexico) – AMERIND Risk continues its five year trend at number three on the Albuquerque Business First Book of Lists – top 25 American Indian-owned Businesses. AMERIND Risk is proud to be recognized as one of the largest revenue generating Native-owned businesses based in the Albuquerque, New Mexico market.

The listing, like AMERIND Risk, is unique.

“Yes, Albuquerque is the only market with specific lists for American Indian-owned businesses. The majority of the other markets have a single minority-owned business list only,” said Jessica R. Pomerantz, Researcher, at Albuquerque Business First.

AMERIND Risk has been in the top five spots in seven of the last eight years according to Pomerantz.

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On May 4, 2012, the Department of State received a new application from TransCanada Corp. for a proposed pipeline that would run from the Canadian border to connect to an existing pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska. The new application includes proposed new routes through the state of Nebraska.

The Department’s responsibility, under Executive Order 13337, is to determine if granting a permit for the proposed pipeline is in the national interest. We will consider this new application on its merits. Consistent with the Executive Order, this involves consideration of many factors, including energy security, health, environmental, cultural, economic, and foreign policy concerns.

In accordance with its interim guidance, the Department of State selected Environmental Resources Management (known as “ERM”) to serve as an independent third-party contractor for its environmental review of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project. ERM is assisting the Department in conducting a thorough analysis of both the new route in Nebraska (in cooperation with the State of Nebraska) and any other relevant information that has become available.

On September 7, 2012, the Department of State received an environmental report from the applicant, TransCanada Corp. It is a normal part of the federal environmental review process for the private company applying for a permit to submit its own initial analysis of the environmental issues relevant to its proposal.

On January 22, 2013, the Department of State received notice from Governor Heineman of the State of Nebraska that he had accepted the route recommended by the Nebraska state route review process.

We are conducting our review in a rigorous, transparent, and efficient manner. We will continue to coordinate with relevant State and Federal agencies in the review of TransCanada’s new application for a Presidential Permit for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.

UPDATE

• On March 1, 2013, the Department of State posted a copy of the Environmental Resources Management (ERM) contract and organizational conflicts of interest disclosures.
  • The documents are available at http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/admindocs/index.htm
• On March 1, 2013, the Department of State published a Media Note announcing the release of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2013/03/205548.htm
• On March 1, 2013, the Department of State published a Fact Sheet regarding the release of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/draftseis/205549.htm
• On March 1, 2013, the Department of State released a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the new Presidential Permit application for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline.
  • The Draft SEIS is available at: http://keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/draftseis/index.htm.

The Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement has been prepared consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The document is a draft technical review of potential environmental impacts. The Draft SEIS includes a comprehensive review of the new route in Nebraska as well as any significant new circumstances or information that is now available on the largely unchanged route in Montana and South Dakota. It also expands and updates information that had been included in the 2011 Final Environmental Impact Statement that was prepared for the previous Keystone XL application. It does not make any recommendations on whether the pipeline should be approved or denied.

Once the Draft SEIS has been published by the EPA, the public will have 45 days to comment on the document. Those comments can be addressed to the following mailbox: keystonecomments@state.gov.