Blogs

By Kevin Abourezk

RAPID CITY, S.D. – The National Congress of American Indians voted Wednesday to approve a resolution calling for immediate passage of the Cobell v. Salazar settlement by Congress.

NCAI’s resolution did not call for supporting a controversial amendment to the settlement offered by Sen. John Barasso, R-Wyo., that would cap attorneys’ fees at $50 million rather than up to $100 million as the settlement proposes.

“I was happy to see that NCAI threw out the Barasso amendment,” said Elouise Cobell, lead plaintiff in the class-action lawsuit.

The settlement calls for $1.4 billion to class members for redress of trust mismanagement and accounting claims and $2 billion to purchase and consolidate fractionated Indian land. The settlement also would set aside $60 million for a Native American scholarship fund.

The House voted to approve the deal just before Memorial Day, and the Senate is continuing to consider H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010, which includes the Cobell settlement.

The resolution approved Wednesday during NCAI’s Mid-Year Conference in Rapid City, S.D., also called for tribal participation in the $2 billion land consolidation program and for “fairness in attorney fees and incentive payments to ensure that they do not unduly diminish the restitution to individual account holders.”

“The Cobell settlement is the first step in resolving longstanding trust mismanagement claims and moving forward on substantive reforms to the future of the trust land system,” the NCAI resolution reads.

Cobell opposed the NCAI resolution on Wednesday, saying she worried the changes it recommended to the settlement could end the settlement, forcing the plaintiffs to return to court.

“That could kill the settlement,” she said of changes to the settlement. “We’re very careful about that.”

Earlier during the conference, Kimberly Teehee, White House senior policy advisor for Native American Affairs, said any significant change to the settlement would render it null and void.

She suggested tribal leaders with concerns over the settlement present those concerns to the court in Cobell v. Salazar after Congress approves the settlement.

“This is becoming an emotional issue,” TeeHee said of the Cobell settlement. “No one gets everything they ask for.”

The NCAI resolution called for other changes to the settlement, including:

• Oversight to ensure Indian landowners are treated fairly under the settlement.

• Consideration of environmental damages to Indian lands and remediation of environmental damages.

• Impartial administration of the $60 million scholarship fund.

• Separate legislation to restore tribal control over land management and land consolidation.

The new deadline for Congressional action on the settlement that Indian plaintiffs involved in Cobell v. Salazar have agreed to is July 9.

Cobell said she filed the Indian trust lands lawsuit on behalf of individual Indian land account holders and not tribes, which had failed to act on the federal government’s failed trust accounting system. She said she opposed tribes now trying to get involved in the litigation.

“They could jeopardize the settlement,” she said of tribes. “I feel that what’s in the settlement is fair.”

But Mary Lee Johns, an Indian landowner and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe member, said it’s important for tribes to take a stand on the settlement as they will be affected by its stipulations, especially the fractionated land program.

She said she has long opposed the Cobell litigation because it separates individual tribal members from tribes, a process that the federal government started by dividing up Indian lands among individual tribal members.

“I’m very satisfied, very happy that this gave us an opportunity to let our voices be heard,” Johns said.

Kevin Abourezk serves as an editor for the NAPT Multimedia Fellowship Program, a service of Native American Public Telecommunications Inc. with major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. To learn more, visit nativetelecom.org.

The hosts of Native Sounds-Native Voices (NS-NV) Tobias (Omaha, Dakota, Cherkoee, Navajo) and Aden (Rosebud Sioux) put together a compilation of awesome Hawaiian artists. They also recognized King Kamahameha Day which is a public holiday celebrated in the state of Hawaii. King Kamehameha was born 1758 and is credited with unifying the islands of Hawaii. In 2010, President Obama, proclaimed nationally that June 11 was King Kamehameha day.

Tobias and Aden featured various Hawaiian Native music on the show. They started with a traditional Hawaiian chant and continued with Slack Key Guitar and ended with contemporary music. Slack Key Guitar is a style that started out as instrumental but later included vocals. The playlist includes both styles and has a calming euphoric feel to it -- very cool and good for the soul. Catch the rebroadcast on AIROS.org, check the schedule for times. Also, listen live to Native Sounds - Native Voices every Thursday from 8 am - 10 am (CT) at AIROS.org or KZUM.org.

"Aloha eke kai o Kalalau" (Hawaiian Drum Chants) - Noenoe Lewis & Hau'oli Lewis
"Hanohano ka uka o Pihanakalani" ( Hawaiian Drum Chants) - Noenoe Lewis & Hau'oli Lewis
"Steal Away" (Hui Aloha) - Hui Aloha
"Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" (Lilo & Stitch Soundtrack) - Kamehameha Schools Children's Chorus
"He Mele No Lilo" (Lilo & Stitch Soundtrack) - Kamehameha Schools Children's Chorus
"Pahinui Aloha" (In The Name of Love) - Hapa
"Nani wale o Ka̕iulani" (In The Name of Love) - Hapa
"Moloka 'I Slide" (Hawaiian Love Songs) - George Kahumoku Jr.
"Hawai'i "78" (Pick a Hit Hawaii) - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
"My Old Guitar" (Hawaiian Slack Key) - Ozzie Kotani
"Punahele" (Hawaiian Slack Key) - Ray Kane
"Pi'I Mai Ka Nalu" (Pick a Hit Hawaii) - Robi Kahakalau
"Hurrah Iani Ha'a Ha'a" (Night Moon) - Cyril Pahinui
"Moku Hulu" (Hawaiian Love Songs) - George Kahumoku Jr.
"Coconut Girl" (Pick a Hit Hawaii) - Brother Noland

This Fourth of July,  AIROS wants to share some songs from contemporary Native artists. They may look like your standard songs sung on the Fourth of July, but each one has its own take on America and comes from a Native perspective.

"God Bless America" (Seed of Life) - Radmilla Cody (Navajo)
"America The Beautiful" (Running For The Drum) - Buffy Saint-Marie (Piapot Cree)
"Star Spangled Banner" (Bitter Tears Scared Ground) - Joanne Shenandoah (Iroquois) & Michael Bucher (Cherokee)
"Sometimes Eagles" (Tappin' The Earth's Backbone) - Jack Gladstone (Blackfeet)
"Let the Colors Fly" (Unity) - Jim Boyd (Sinixt Arrow Lake)
"Star Spangled Banner" (Best of Jimi Hendrix) - Jimi Hendrix (Cherokee)

Tobias (Omaha, Dakota, Cherokee, Navajo) and Jessica (Bannock, Washo, Paiute) changed things up a little bit on "The Drum".As we all know by now, "The Drum" has a profile page on myspace. So,they featured some drum groups that are friends with "The Drum" from myspace. The drum groups with profiles can post their music on myspace and users can preview those songs or add the song to a profile page. Myspace is an awesome social networking site to stay connected with "The Drum" and "AIROS". Enjoy and tune in every Sunday from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. (CDT) to hear the live broadcast and also on the web at KZUM.org and AIROS.org.

"Grand Entry" (The Boyz Live) - The Boyz
"Flag and Victory Song" (Word Up) - Young Bird
"Intertribal" (Have Drum Will Travel-Pow -wow songs recorded live in Siksika) - High Noon
"Movin Fast" (Lightning Strikes) - Lightning Strikes
"One For Elroy" (Big River Crossing) - Ottertrail
"Intertribal" (Live in Ponemah) - Young Kingbird
"Eastern Straight" (Gathering of Nations Pow -Wow 2009) - Bear Creek
"Owl Dance" (Traditional Blackfoot Owl Dance Songs) - The Siksika Nation
"Our Land" (Family) - Medicine Tail
"Sac n Fox with Omaha Lodge" (Urban Crew) - Urban Crew
"Drum Song" (Dakota Hotain) - Dakota Hotain
"The Traveler" (Pow-Wow Songs Recorded Live At Samson) - Northern Cree
"Soaring Eagle" (Soaring Eagle) - Soaring Eagle
"49er Song" (49er Songs Volume 01) - Poor Boys
"Beatiful Way" (Sacred Fire) - Chenoah
"Pretty Dancer" (For All Eternity) -  Tódó Neesh Zhee Singers
"A Round Dance Song" (Walking The Red Road) - Earl Bullhead
"Hopi Colwn Dance" ( Hopi Social Dance Songs) - Traditional Hopi Singers
"Hand Drum Song" ( Champion Hand Drum Songs) - The Tribe
"Soilder Boy" ( American Warriors) - Black Lodge
"Now we're Through" (Movin On) - Rose Hill Singers
"Intertribal" (Home of the Champions) - Meskwaki Nation
"Pawnee Slide" (Buffalo Horse Singers) - Buffalo Horse Singers
"Gourd Dancer" (Spirit Journey) - Cornell Pewewardy