Monday, February 27, 2017

First Pechanga, Now Santa Ynez Working to STEAL Gabrieleno Tongva Territorial Lands

Emilio Reyes, Tongva native gets to the point here that 'federally recognized tribes such as Pechanga (Disputed lands  and Defective Determination) and Santa Ynez run roughshod over the ancestral territories of the Gabrieleno Tongva people.

That being said, it's time for all factions of the Gabrieleno people to WORK together to get their rightful recognition.  Read the Naval paperwork here




San Pasqual's White Leaders WIN! ALTO V JEWELL: SUPREME COURT Fails To Protect Native Rights


Without comment, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down a petition in Alto v. Jewell, a tribal disenrollment case from California. The action marks the second time this year that the justices have refused to get involved in the controversy.
1910 "Indian" Frank Trask

The hands-off approach from the nation's highest court stands in contrast to the growing concern about tens of thousands of people who have lost their tribal citizenship across Indian Country. More and more prominent voices, including Olympic gold medalist Billy Mills (Oglala Sioux), Washington State Sen. John McCoy (Tulalip) and Arkansas Law School Dean Stacy Leeds (Cherokee), have joined the #StopDisenrollment campaign to draw attention to what has been called an epidemic.

The efforts are slowly paying off after years of inaction. In one notable example, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, during the final months of the Obama administration, questioned the ouster of more than 300 people from the Nooksack Tribe.

The BIA and other federal agencies have since withheld an estimated $14 million for health, housing and other programs on the reservation in Washington. The tribe is now suing the new Trump administration in hopes of securing the funds, ensuring that the dispute, which has drawn consistent media coverage, will continue to gain attention.

Not everyone has been so fortunate, though. Dozens of people who were ousted by the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians and the Pala Band of Mission Indians turned to the BIA for help but were ultimately unable to prevent their removals from the two tribes, both based in southern California.
In the Alto case, the one denied by the Supreme Court on Monday, the BIA actually took part in the removal of former citizens of the San Pasqual Band under a provision in the tribe's constitution. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in an unpublished decision last September, said the BIA acted lawfully when it determined that Marcus Alto Sr. had been incorrectly enrolled.

In the Aguayo case, the one denied by the Supreme Court in January, the BIA refused to get involved because the Pala Band changed its laws to keep the agency out of citizenship matters. The 9th Circuit sided with the agency, ensuring that the descendants of Margarita Britten will remain off the rolls.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Colville Tribes of Washington TAKE CARE of their People, unlike...NOOKSACK

The Colville Tribes of Washington are purchasing life insurance for all 9,500 members.

The insurance will help pay for burials, ceremonies and memorials for deceased members, the tribe said in a press release. The coverage is being acquired through Symetra.

"The tribes have signed up for wake and death benefits for all of the members," the press release stated. "The beneficiary will be the Colville Confederated Tribes and it will cover all tribal members, including unforeseen deaths that are usually not covered by insurances."


According to the tribe, about 88 members die every year. So far in 2016, 25 people have died.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Pechanga Looking to BUY BACK Allottee Land at CUT RATE PRICES. Are the GRAVES of our Ancestors Included?

In August 2015, Guest Blogger Free Range Indian wrote a piece on the lands owned by Natives disenrolled from their tribes and what is in store.  Tomorrow, there is a meeting scheduled to "explain" how the land buy back program will work for the Hunter Allotment.   DO we lose our land to a corrupt tribe?  Will Pechanga dig up the graves of our ancestors?


HUNTER LANE gone?

Interesting that The Department of Interior found so many (not me) to notify them of the meeting, yet COULD NOT FIND a single one of us to discuss Pechanga cheating us out of our water rights!

We've owned ours for over 120 years.  Some new adopted tribal council members decide we should no longer have the land of our ancestors and what??, we should MOVE?   Bullshit.  That would be placing a LOT of people in danger.

Here's Free Range Indian's post again:

The NEXT ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

It is just a matter of time before the BIA is confronted with the next elephant in the room. It is not just a matter of disenrollment. It now becomes a realty matter. How many disenrolled Indians are carried on the rolls of the Office of Special Trust? How many of the disenrolled have land interests in trust land?

What will happen to the land of the disenrollees?

Are the disenrollees Indian or not? If they are Indian and eligible to have their lands to be held in trust then which rule is the BIA using to make this determination. If the BIA determines that a disenrollee is not Indian, does this mean that the disenrollee’s land automatically becomes fee land and subject to taxation?

The BIA already went through the nightmare of the Cobell Settlement Case. Do you think the BIA is prepared for the next nightmare?

Tribes now have first right to acquire minor interests in allotments and also to acquire fee lands because of tax default. In a twist of laws and regulations it gives tribes the right of eminent domain. Eminent Domain gives tribes the right to condemn and take property away from individuals if the tribe feels that property is necessary for the benefit of the tribe.  OP:  This will lead to bloodletting.

Would tribes really go so far as to take away people’s property? It didn’t take long for many of the tribes to evict disenrollees from their homes and assigned lands so it can be predicted that as long as the BIA plays along, the disenrollees can expect another round of their heritage disappearing before their very eyes.

It is my understanding that Robert Eben, former Superintendent of the Southern Californian Agency, BIA, was already working with tribal leaders to develop the authority to condemn the lands of the disenrollees. A Freedom of Information request on the topic of eminent domain to the BIA should be very revealing. They were working to define and give the authority and right to tribes to exercise the power of Eminent Domain.

Land that is in fee title (Such as owned by Pechanga Chairman Macarro) is not under the jurisdiction of the BIA and not of the tribe. Any attempt to take fee lands could possibly be interpreted as “Adverse Condemnation”. If there is anything that shakes the core of State and Local government it is the challenge in court of Adverse Condemnation.  Governments almost always lose in these matters and it is an area of law where the tribes will not be able to scream “sovereign immunity”.  If the United States, States and Local governments can be sued for Adverse Condemnation I do not believe the courts will be sympathetic to tribes and grant them a higher degree of power than that of the United States.

So which is it? Are the disenrollees Indian or not? If they are Indian, how does the BIA reach this conclusion and how are they able to carry the disenrollees on the rolls of the Office of Special Trust. If they are Indian then aren’t they entitled to the full protection of the United States? Is the United States obligated to protect the disenrollees from any further assault from the tribes and have their lands protected and their status as Indian persons protected as well?

So if the United States via the BIA is assisting the tribes in developing the “proper” authority to exercise the power of eminent domain, is the United States also obligated to protect the rights of the very same ones they are advising tribes on ways of taking away lands of the disenrollees?
It is ethnic cleansing at its finest degree. It is the BIA working to provide a way for tribes to purge themselves of the disenrollees and to consolidate the lands of the reservations. It truly is the next elephant in the room.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Wilton Rancheria Chairman Hitchcock Tells PART of the Elk Grove Casino Story

But he doesn't TELL ALL OF IT in the Sacramento BEE.    Like, how did a non member (after disenrollment) cemetery become "tribal land".   Lots of questions still.

After 58 years of struggle, Wilton Rancheria is no longer a landless tribe. The placing of 36 acres of land in Elk Grove into federal trust is a testament to the persistence and courage of our members.

And it obscures the fact that this project not only means self-sufficiency and opportunity for the tribe, but jobs, growth and lasting benefits for Elk Grove and the Sacramento region. We care about the community because we are part of it. The vast majority of our 700 members live in Sacramento County; many of them are longtime Elk Grove residents.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article133195494.html#storylink=cpy

There would be MORE members, if they hadn't disenrolled rightful members.

Read what HRVMI Chairwoman Lisa Jimenez had to say to the Elk Grove City Council Meeting

Shorty after Wilton Rancheria received federal recognition many of Ione Tribal members from Amador County relinquished their membership from the Ione Band in order to enroll in the Wilton tribe. These Ione members now Wilton Rancheria members are Amy Dutschke family members. Amy Dutschke is the Pacific Regional Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian affairs who is fast tracking the Wilton Tribes fee-to-trust application. These members want a Casino, that why they switched tribes because Wilton's Casino proposal was moving quickly.
Ms. Dutschke's family voted to disenroll our families allowing them to move into leadership at the Wilton Tribe.

It's NOT a done deal people...lots of questions that should be asked and answered.

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

NOOKSACK IRONY: Tribal Council That Doesn't Recognize Court Orders SUES Interior Department for NOT Recognizing THEM

Isn't it rich?

Turtle Talk has the filings of the Nooksack Tribal Council, led by adoptee Bob Kelly which is currently unrecognized by the Department of Interior for it's failures to follow court orders....suing...in court..for it's failure to recognize the current Nooksack Council...

This is an action to compel the defendants to fully fund contracts awarded to the Tribe under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, Public Law 93- 638. Defendants have a non-discretionary duty owed to the Tribe to provide required funding for the awarded contracts and have failed and refused to perform those duties.

 2. This is also an action for a declaration by this Court that the Nooksack Tribal Council was at all times duly and validly elected pursuant to the Tribe’s Constitution and ByLaws and the opinions of the Nooksack Tribal Court, and possessed a quorum under Nooksack law to conduct Tribal business; and that the current Nooksack Tribal Council was duly and validly elected pursuant to the Tribe’s Constitution and must be recognized by the defendants as the governing body of the Nooksack Indian Tribe. \

3. Finally, this is an action to compel the defendants to cease and desist in their arbitrary and capricious refusal to recognize the Nooksack Tribal Council as the governing body of the Nooksack Tribe, to take all necessary steps to withdraw the erroneous, arbitraryand capricious determination of former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Lawrence Roberts that the Tribe lacks a quorum to conduct tribal business, and to notify all agencies and persons with whom Mr. Roberts’ determination was shared that the determination was erroneous and without force or effect.

Senate Indian Affairs Committee Subject of Petition Requesting FIELD Hearings on ICRA violations

We've seen what activism can do with the recent visual arts advocacy program in the #stopdisenrollment movement.

NOW, we need to keep the pressure on with...REAL political action. Take ACTION by signing this petition requesting the Senate Indian Affairs Committee hold field hearings into violations of the INDIAN CIVIL RIGHTS ACT. Computer activism is very easy.....


Monday, February 13, 2017

Judge DENIES Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux Request To Halt DAPL

A U.S. federal judge denied a request by Native American tribes seeking a halt to construction of the final link in the Dakota Access Pipeline on Monday, the controversial project that has sparked months of protests from tribal activists seeking to halt the 1,170-mile line.

Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., at a hearing, rejected the request from the Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes, who had argued that the project will prevent them from practicing religious ceremonies at a lake they say is surrounded by sacred ground.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week granted a final easement to Energy Transfer Partners LP , the company building the $3.8-billion Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), after President Donald Trump issued an order to advance the pipeline days after he took office in January.

Lawyers for the Cheyenne River Sioux and the Standing Rock Sioux wanted Judge Boasberg to block construction with a temporary restraining order.

"We are contending that the waters of Lake Oahe are sacred to Cheyenne River and all of its members, and that the very presence of a pipeline, not only construction but possible oil flow through that pipeline, would obstruct the free exercise of our religious practices," Matthew Vogel, a legislative associate for the Cheyenne River Sioux, told reporters in a conference call ahead of the hearing.

Friday, February 10, 2017

9th Circuit on Trump BAN: Due Process for Potential Terrorists, Native Americans...NOT SO MUCH

Interesting quote from the 9th circuit on Trumps travel ban flap:

 The court said the states were likely to succeed in their due process claim, noting that the due process protections provided under the Constitution apply not only to citizens, but to all “aliens” in the country, as well as “certain aliens attempting to re-enter the United States after traveling abroad.”




The 9th Circuit has RULED many times that American Indians have no such due process rights in the United States.   So immigrants get rights that are denied to American Indian citizens of the United States.

There are many tribes that simply disenroll their people without due process and the 9th Circuit refuses to recognize their claims.  


DO TRIBAL RIGHTS TRUMP Due Process?  Or does the media only care about immigrants and not Natives?

Contributor Paul Johnson wrote about the lack of Civil Rights protections here and there is a story about a judge who said due process isn't required here  

The STUDENTS of WASHINGTON STATE and some foreign nationals were INCONVENIENCED for 90 days with Trumps Travel Ban...but THOUSANDS of Native American's due process rights didn't matter to the 9th Circuit when corrupt tribal governments are stripping citizenship from Tribal Citizens.  And the Federal Government via the BIA, removes our Federal recognition as Indians from our first ancestor to our future descendants.....without due process.

Remember when the 9th Circuit RULED against Indian children being protected by the ICWA?  Maybe if they claimed they were Muslim?  Or worked for Microsoft...

Thursday, February 9, 2017

ROBINSON RANCHERIA Brings Disenrolled Members BACK into the TRIBE and RESTORING THEIR HONOR

We have hammered the Robinson Rancheria for their disgraceful actions of disenrollment since 2008.   NOW WE MUST HONOR their effort to bring the disenrolled back to the tribe, where they belong...




Although bittersweet for many as some elders have passed including our friend Luwana Quitiquit,  during the tribe's disenrollment from Nov 2008 to January 28, 2017
Luwana Quitiquit

Native America should be proud of the tribal members who chose to do the right thing. It is now about healing and move the tribe forward.  Chairman Eddie Crandell, who once had been disqualified from running by the disgraceful former council....you are a TRUE LEADER in Indian Country...

Oh SHUT UP Senator FAUXAHONTAS, YOU are Despicable

Oh for Pete's SAKE, FAKE INDIAN Elizabeth Warren, a harpie of the first magnitude releases this tweet yesterday after Jeff Sessions was voted in as Attorney General.

WHERE the HELL WERE YOU  Senator, when AG Loretta Lynch turned a BLIND EYE to abuses in Indian Country? Abuses of CIVIL and HUMAN Rights you hold most dear?



WHERE were YOU, Senator, when  Eric Holder turned a BLIND EYE to abuses in Indian Country.  We only heard CRICKETS from YOU and not the screeching we heard this week.

SHUT UP and DO YOUR JOB and stand up for the Trust Responsibility for Native Americans.  OH, WAIT, since you aren't ONE....who cares Right?

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

ARMY Grants FINAL EASEMENT on Dakota Pipeline

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will grant the final easement needed to finish the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, according to a court filing Tuesday.

The line had been delayed for several months after protests from Native American tribes and climate activists. The $3.8 billion line, which is being built by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP.N), needed a final permit to tunnel under Lake Oahe, a reservoir that is part of the Missouri River.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe, whose reservation is adjacent to the line's route, has said they will fight the decision. The Army Corps had previously stated that they would undertake further environmental review of the project. The tribe was not immediately available for comment.

The 1,170-mile (1,885 km) line will bring crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken shale region to Patoka, Illinois, and from there connect to the Gulf of Mexico, where many U.S. refineries are located. The tribe had fought the line for months, fearing contamination of their drinking water and damage to sacred sites on their land.

Numerous activists who have been protesting in North Dakota have vowed to stay, although the primary protest camp is located on a flood plain on Army Corps land and is in the process of being cleared.

Their protests, along with those of climate activists, resulted in the Obama administration's decision to delay a final permit that would allow construction under the Missouri River.

"The discord we have seen regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline doesn’t serve the tribe, the company, the Corps or any of the other stakeholders involved. Now, we all need to work together to ensure people and communities rebuild trust and peacefully resolve their differences," said John Hoeven, Republican senator from North Dakota, in a statement.

Nooksack Leaders CHANNEL Javert: Criminal Charges for $5 of Electricity?

The struggles for Margretty Rabang from the brutal onslaught of the corrupt Nooksack Tribal Government and their attempts to evict her family continues unabated.

PERSECUTION 101
Senators Cantwell and Murray?

Now it appears, the Tribe was looking at criminal charges for "stealing" electricity from the "community building". Which others were using heat and cook their food, all without threats of police interference.  Still to be determined if they will charge the Rabangs.

They were without power for almost 40 hours and are raising a grandson who has asthma and needs to be hooked up to an electric asthma machine, so they plugged into the community building which was built for the people.

Why is it that when you adopt someone in the tribe, like Bob Kelly, they TURN on the people?  Remember when tribes said they would support their people if they were rewarded in gaming and casino rights?

Is it time to END the Tribal Casino monopoly?  The continued persecution of the Nooksack 306 should make us think so

Monday, February 6, 2017

Decision On DAKOTA PIPELINE could come THIS WEEK: ABC NEWS

Which way do you think it will go?   Honor the Treaties...?  Or Honor the Campaign financers?

ABC NEWS:
A decision “may occur by the end of the week,” said Department of Justice attorney Matt Marinelli on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers. If the easement is granted, construction on the controversial oil pipeline would resume.  Once the Army Corps review process is complete, a final decision will be made and the Army Corps will notify Congress as required, according to Marinelli.
EARTH JUSTICE says WILL IMMEDIATELY APPEAL:


Jan Hasselman, an attorney with Earthjustice, who represents the Standing Rock Sioux, said the tribe will challenge the U.S. government in court if the Army grants the easement…
“Our position is the tribe’s treaty rights and the law require the full (Environmental Impact Study) process that the government initiated in December. Issuing the easement without that process will be a serious violation of the law,” Hasselman told Reuters.
DID the PROTESTERS shoot their wads?

The camp once had as many as 10,000 protesters but the harsh winter and repeated requests by the Standing Rock Sioux that protesters vacate has reduced the populations to a few hundred. As I noted Friday, 74 protesters trying to set up a new camp on land owned by the development company were arrested last week. Protest leader Chase Iron Eyes has been charged with inciting a riot, which is a felony that could result in up to 5 years in jail.

ELK GROVE CASINO: City Sued for Using IMPROPER Environmental Impact Report to Speed Process

Stand UP for California filed suit against the city of Elk Grove for a bit of....underhandedness:


n an unusual move, the Elk Grove City Clerk amended the agenda and gave notice that it will hold a closed session as part of the meeting.

The notice, which was given yesterday morning, lists the lawsuit filed by Stand Up For California against the city. That lawsuit, case number 34-2016-80002493, was filed in Sacramento Superior Court on November 23, 2016.

Filed as a complaint under the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, the suit claims that the City is improperly using the 2001 environmental impact report (EIR) conducted for the shopping center. The suit says the City used the 2001 EIR so that it could speed the process for development of the casino, which included the removal of the development agreement encumbering the title.

Before the land can be placed in Federal trust, which is required before ground breaking, the parcel must be free of encumbrances such as the development agreement under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act 25, U.S.C. 2703(4).   

Removing the development agreement without considering the environmental impacts is a violation of CEQA the complaint contents. Additionally, the suit claims the City illegally recorded the effective date of the ordinance so as to "thwart the right reserved to the voters of Elk Grove in the California Constitution to referend the ordinance approving the Amendment before that ordinance is given effect."   

FOLLOWING THE RULES wasn't on the TOP of the City Council's list? NO WONDER they don't care about the tribes' corrupt practices

Tribal Casino CRIMEWATCH: Pala Reservation Becoming MURDER U.S.A? Is it SAFE to Gamble There?

The daughter of a Hemet woman who went missing a week ago and whose traveling companion was found dead on the Soboba Indian Reservation said Monday she fears her mother was a witness to murder and suffered dire consequences.

Kathleen Ann Haney, 56, was last seen on the night of Jan. 22, when she drove her daughter’s friend, 27-year-old Kyle Nathan Cagey of Pala, to the Soboba Casino.  JUST last week, MiltonTrujillo allegedly gunned down an acquaintance, 43-year-old Carolyn Cagey, with a pistol in an open lot in the 2900 block of West Pala Mission Road about 3 a.m. Monday. Cagey died at the scene, Lt. Kenn Nelson said.

Haney’s van was discovered the following day, burning on the reservation. Cagey’s remains were found a day later in a riverbed east of Castille Canyon. He had been murdered, though Riverside County sheriff’s officials declined to disclose how.

“I think my mother was collateral damage because she was a witness to whatever happened to him,” Michelle Haney told KABC7. “My mother would have never given a ride to someone if she knew they were dangerous.”

Sheriff’s Sgt. Walter Mendez said last week Kathleen Haney was considered a “missing at-risk person,” and that detectives had turned up no clues regarding her whereabouts.

Michelle Haney said Cagey and her mother had gone to the casino so that he could obtain money from a relative, but that person was apparently a no- show.

According to Michelle Haney, investigators have assured her they’re following up leads, but they’re no longer looking for her mother on the reservation.

“I don’t understand why,” she said.

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Will President Trump DEMOLISH the Bureau of Indian Affairs For CORRUPTION? SHOULD HE?

I'm promoting one of the comments to it's own blog.

The BIA is the most investigated agency in the U.S.


There have literally been hundreds of investigations, and multiple attempts to terminate the agency. The truth is that the federal government has a vested interest in keeping the BIA alive. They deal with Indians who are a black mark on the history of American justice, and the tribal leaders do not protest overmuch. They have grown accustomed to the way business is done at the BIA, and know that a favorable decision on issues of import is only a bribe away.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Bureau of IndianAffairs Will Send Officers to CLOSE PROTEST CAMPS Within Standing Rock Reservation Boundaries

From Acting Secretary Michael Black

The Bureau of Indian Affairs today responded to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's request for BIA law enforcement support and will assist them in closing the protest camps within the Standing Rock Reservation boundary.

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe previously passed a tribal resolution asking the BIA for the assistance of its officers to support and ensure the safety of the tribe's camp-closing operation.

North Dakota Governor Burgum, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe leadership, local law enforcement, and local landowners have all warned the public and those still camped of the dangerous spring flooding expected due to the heavy amount of snowfall the state received this winter.

The closing of the camps is a matter of public health and safety and working together at this time will allow for the safe removal of waste and debris that will impact the local environment and protection of those camped.”

Elem Colony Disenrollment HALTED: Off-Colony Residents wanted to Banish 132 Reservation Dwellers

We are getting reports that after yesterday's federal hearing in San Francisco, the disenrollment of some Elem Colony members, initiated by a corrupt tribal council which we discussed HERE and and with BIA employee interference HERE...has been halted.  They are due BACK in court on March 16.


 Report from FB:

However, the first victory for our families is that the Judge got El-President Garcia to state under oath that the letter notification of Dis-enrollment to our members was illegally sent out as he didn't have a prior approved Disenrollment Ordinance! ( In other words"My Bad!)

After Hillary Clinton Loss, and Failure of IETAN Holly Cook Macarro Joins Spirit Rock Consulting

Did the move to keep paying Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro's WIFE huge lobbying fees go before the tribe?   Five years of expensive failures on the Pechanga Water Rights bill SHOULD have sent the tribe looking elsewhere.  Read the links..
Keeping the Tribe's money in the
family.


Indianz.com REPORTS:


Holly Cook Macarro and Larry Rosenthal are joining Spirit Rock Consulting, a firm started by Aurene Martin. All three are well-known tribal advocates with experience in the executive and legislative branches.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Chase Iron Eyes ARRESTED. Chairman Dave Archambault OPPOSES #NoDAPL Opponents Setting UP camp

Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault is criticizing Dakota Access oil pipeline opponents who set up a camp on private land.
Archambault says the move undermines the tribe's efforts to make a legitimate case against the pipeline, which the tribe says threatens its drinking water.
Authorities arrested 74 protesters after they set up teepees Wednesday on land owned by the pipeline developer. Protesters said they were peacefully assembling on land they believe rightfully belongs to American Indians.
The site is near the main protest camp that has existed for months on federal land, and still is home to several hundred protesters.

Archambault has called on that camp to disband in recent weeks, saying "the fight is no longer here, but in the halls and courts of the federal government."
___
9:30 a.m.
An American Indian activist who unsuccessfully ran for Congress last fall is among 74 Dakota Access pipeline opponents who were arrested in North Dakota after setting up camp on private land.
Formal charges are pending against Chase Iron Eyes, who's been helping

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Standing Rock Sioux RESPONDS to HOEVEN Statement on #DAPL

Call your Congressperson and VOICE YOUR OPINION

Today, Senator John Hoeven issued a statement declaring that the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army had directed the Army Corps to proceed with the final easement necessary to complete the proposed route of the Dakota Access Pipeline. While this news is disappointing, it is unfortunately not surprising. It is also not a formal issuance of the easement—it is notification that the easement is imminent. The Corps still must take into consideration the various factors mentioned in the Presidential Memorandum, notify Congress, and actually grant the easement.

If and when the easement is granted, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will vigorously pursue legal action. We have to this date received no formal notice that the EIS has been suspended or withdrawn. To abandon the EIS would amount to a wholly unexplained and arbitrary change based on the President’s personal views and, potentially, personal investments. Furthermore, the Army Corps lacks statutory authority to simply stop the preparation of the EIS and issue the easement. We stand ready to fight this battle against corporate interest superseding government procedure and the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans.

Supreme Court Nominee Neal Gorsuch Ruled IN FAVOR of ANDREW YELLOWBEAR Right TO Sweat Lodge Access

Trump's nominee and PRO Native American ruling
Supreme Court Nominee
Neil Gorsuch
Neil Gorsuch, Donald Trump's FIRST Supreme Court nominee is for religious liberty, for ALL.  In addition to his defense of Hobby Lobby’s religious liberty claim, Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion in a little-known but significant religious liberty case.

In Yellowbear v. Lampert (2014), Gorsuch sided with the plaintiff, Andrew Yellowbear, a prisoner of Native American descent who sued the Wyoming Department of Corrections for preventing him access to a sweat lodge, which he argued was part of his faith. Gorsuch ruled that the Department of Correction violated Yellowbear’s religious rights.

HOEVEN: Army Corps told to approve Dakota pipeline easement

The acting secretary of the Army has ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to allow construction of the Dakota Access pipeline under a Missouri River reservoir, a North Dakota senator said, the latest twist in the months-long legal battle over the $3.8 billion project.
The Standing Rock Sioux, whose opposition to the project attracted the support of thousands of protesters from around the country to North Dakota, immediately vowed to return to court to stop it.
Sen. John Hoeven announced late Tuesday that Robert Speer directed the Army Corps of Engineers to "proceed" with an easement necessary to complete the pipeline. Hoeven said he also discussed Speer's order with Vice President Mike Pence, just a week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order signaling his support for the project.