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NCAI Winter Session Wrapup: Day 1
Tuesday, March 1, 2005

The National Congress of American Indians is holding its annual winter session in Washington, D.C., all week. Here's a rundown of what happened on Monday.

Judicial Nominations
At a pre-conference press briefing, NCAI renewed its objection to the nomination of former Interior solicitor Bill Myers to a spot on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. NCAI President Tex Hall said Myers "was very lopsided" in his decisions at Interior, favoring industry interests over the tribal trust responsibility. Arlan Melendez, chairman of the Reno-Sparks Colony in Nevada, said Myers intervened in a mining dispute over the objections of his tribe and local officials. And John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund, said Myers ignored his legal duty to handle Indian trust assets with the highest degree of care.

Hall said Colorado tribes are lobbying freshman Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colorado) who, as the state's former attorney general, supported Myers. Salazar's position is crucial because Republicans have increased their control of the Senate and Democrats need all the support they need to block the nomination.

FY06 Budget
President Bush's latest budget was a hot topic as NCAI President Hall, NCAI executive director Jackie Johnson and attorney Cindy Darcy highlighted a series of proposed cuts to critical Indian programs. "This is the toughest budget in two decades," Darcy said.

Darcy cited a proposal to restructure the tribal priority allocation fund used for the "bread and butter operation of tribal programs." She said the Bureau of Indian Affairs wants to change the formula to redirect money where it is needed the most.

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the vice chair of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, blasted the White House's priorities. He said the president is cutting tribal colleges, Indian Health Service facilities and economic development programs while cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans and seeking $82 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Just the decimal points for that would address these [tribal] issues," he said.

Trust Reform
NCAI executive director Jackie Johnson said Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, is giving tribes a "one-time only" shot at resolving the trust fund debacle. "He wants us to come to the table with recommendations," she said. "He's not going to be doing this over and over." McCain is addressing NCAI this morning.

Off-Reservation Gaming
NCAI is planning to hold a forum, or possibly a series of forums, on the "sensitive issue" of off-reservation gaming, said executive director Jackie Johnson. Tribes in California have already met to oppose an off-reservation casino in the Bay Area and to develop legislation that would limit such projects. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee and the House Resources Committee are planning hearings.

The Indian in the Congress
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), a member of the Chickasaw Nation, was accepted enthusiastically by NCAI delegates in the morning. He encouraged tribes to stand up for their rights and not to be afraid to go to the courts to assert them. "There's no unimportant battle on tribal sovereignty," he said.

Cole, who sits on the House Resources Committee, encouraged a fair settlement to the Indian trust fund case that is negotiated with the parties rather than imposed by Congress. "The Cobell lawsuit has been controversial but it has pushed things forward," he said.

He also urged American Indians and Alaska Natives to become more involved in the political process. "I am the only enrolled member" in Congress, he said, "and I don't want to be the only one." He said Indian Country shouldn't vote exclusively Republican or Democrat. "We're going to be taken for granted by some and written off by others" when that happens, he told NCAI.

Native Vote 2004
Russ Lehman of the First Americans Education Project deemed the unprecedented campaign to increase Native voter participation in last year's election a big success. Based on data from eight key states, Native turnout grew by 11 percentage points last year, compared to 7 percentage points for the general population.

"Where Native Vote was involved, participation went up," he said.

Some places fared better than others. Minnesota can claim the best Native turnout of any state, with 72.6 percent going to the polls last year. Sandia Pueblo in New Mexico had perhaps the highest turnout of any single tribe, with 85.5 percent exercising their voting rights.

Other tribes showed big gains even if they trailed the state turnout. On the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, 43 percent of tribal members voted in 2004, up from 29.9 percent in 2000.

"It's clear the Native Vote effort was a great success," Lehman said, but "there is significant room for progress ... There is a long way to go."

Honors Go To...
NCAI held its 7th annual leadership awards banquet, honoring Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee; Richard West, a member of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes and director of the National Museum of the American Indian; and Dan Lewis, a member of the Navajo Nation and senior vice president at Bank of America.

Hatch didn't show up to receive his accolade and no one from his staff accepted it on his behalf. That didn't stop NCAI President Tex Hall from singing the senator's praises, including his work on the Violence Against Women Act, safeguarding Native religious rights, protecting tribal sovereignty from states, fighting Slade Gorton on sovereign immunity and expanding Boys & Girls Clubs in Indian Country. "We can count on his support his year," Hall added, referring to efforts to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act

West was praised not just for his work at the museum but for his legal career. "He is one of our best lawyers," Hall said. West said the museum was more than just an "opening" but an "acknowledgment of the cultural contributions" of the first Americans. NCAI also recognized the NMAI staff who helped launch the opening last September.

At the Bank of America, Lewis helped steer nearly $7 billion in loans to Indian Country, Hall noted. But he has done more than that, overseeing the growth of the Boys & Girls Clubs on reservations. In 2000, there were just 12. Now there's 200. "We want to see that continue to expand," he said. Lewis said the Boys & Girls Clubs of America plans to raise a $100 million endowment to sustain the momentum in Indian Country.

Looking Ahead
Today, more presentations by members of Congress. And Dave Anderson's farewell at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Relevant Links:
National Congress of American Indians - http://www.ncai.org