WASHINGTON — Climate change is sweeping indigenous villages into the sea in Alaska, flooding the taro fields of native Hawaiians and devastating the salmon population from which Indian tribes in Washington state draw their livelihood, tribal leaders testified Thursday at a Senate hearing.
“The ocean is important to all of us,” said Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, a group of 20 Washington state tribes with treaty rights to salmon fishing. “It’s dying. And who the hell is in charge? Nobody that I see.”
Frank was among several witnesses at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs who called on the federal government to fight climate change and help tribes deal with its effects. They suggested strategies such as renewable-energy programs, land-swap plans for communities displaced by rising sea levels and better coordination among the government agencies with which they interact.
These adjustments must be made immediately, said Mike Williams, chief of the Yupiit Nation in Alaska. At least three tribes in Alaska already have been told by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that they must move, he said. Williams’ birthplace is now underwater.
“There is much at stake,” Williams said. “I implore you to take meaningful action.”
The Environmental Protection Agency is working to address the tribes’ concerns, said JoAnn Chase, director of the EPA’s American Indian Environmental Office. The agency is coordinating with state and tribal governments in Washington state to care for Puget Sound, and it will use its efforts there as a model for other collaborations, she said.
But Tex Hall, chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota, said the federal government is already too involved in environmental management.
Hall’s tribe is trying to rebuild its economy through oil and gas development on its reservation, he said. But public-land policies - which Hall said do not apply to tribal territory - are hindering its ability to do so, he said.
Committee Vice Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., asked Chase questions about how the EPA evaluates the potential for negative economic impact on tribes when crafting its policies. She said she would need to check with her colleagues to give him a detailed answer.
“It certainly doesn’t sound like it’s a big priority if you can’t even answer yes or no with certainty,” Barrasso replied.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, asked Chase why the deadline for comment on an assessment of the Bristol Bay watershed had been set for July 23 when many natives will be busy fishing on the bay. Murkowski said the EPA administrator responsible had been asked to push the deadline back and had declined.
Chase said she had not been involved in those deliberations, but that her agency aims to give tribes ample time to engage in the consultation process for its policies.
But Frank said the EPA and other agencies still aren’t paying enough attention to tribal input.
“You don’t listen to us when we talk,” Frank said. “We tell you what has to be done.”
Comments (29)
Add commentWhat are you doing
"called on the federal government to fight climate change and help tribes deal with its effects"
I call on tribes to do their part, and like the rest of us- deal with it.
“You don’t listen to us when we talk,”
Like akman59 said, learn to deal with it like the rest of us. You ain't the Lone Ranger when it comes to the EPA. And if your house is washing away, move. Why do you have to wait for the government to build you a new home? None of the rest of us are holding our breath. And you can't blame anyone for not being able to turn the tide.
How dare they!
How dare those tribes ask for anything from the government. They need to sit down and shut up. And man up like akman and skirkz - they would tough it out in silence if their world was collapsing.
Oh, and nice move by Murkowski of ignoring the tribes' request and pimping the Pebble Mine.
Your racism is showing, Akman59 and skirkz
Let's see...hmmmm....if it were Katrina, or any other non-native community that were experiencing their homes, land, and livelihood under water, you would be saying, "Why isn't the government doing anything", and "FEMA isn't doing enough, quickly enough." But when it's an American Indian or an Alaska Native, then it's 'stop whining, and suck it up'?
The sad thing is you probably don't even see the racism in your comments. I'm personally applauding, yet another, large group of people testifying in congress as to the reality of climate change and how it's affecting us in smaller communities, where it might not be as easily seen by the general public. All those folks testifying, regardless of race as to the reality of climate change, are the canaries in the mine. I thank them for trying to save the planet by trying to wake up congress.
DouglasDiva
I'm an American Indian saying, "Stop whining and suck it up!"
Hey! You were the one that played the race card!
Wake up Congress and save the planet?
Good luck with both of those! Especially if you want government to pull it off.
Follow up to Skirkz
So....as an American Indian, you understand the government to government relationship between tribes and the USA. You know that because of all the land taken by immigrants from the American Indians without asking or having it sold to them, certain treaties were entered into, treaties without time limits where the US agreed they had ongoing responsibilities to the tribes, legal, educational, economical, health, etc., right? And if you as an American Indian are personally 'sucking it up', then you don't make use of those rights, like using Indian Health Service, education, and other tribal benefits provided by the US government, right?
thank you DouglasDiva!
thank you DouglasDiva!
I think the best chance we all have will be the voice of Indian Americans.
"A very great vision is needed, and the man who has it must follow it as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky."
- Crazy Horse
Come on Indian Americans I am counting on you!
We don't need no stinking reservations!
That was my Granddaddy's and Dad's attitude. I don't even have a census number. So, right you are, diva. We sucked it up. I was fortunate to have NOT grown up with an entitlement mentality. I'm proud of my heritage. But, I am an American. Just like the rest of us. I don't require special treatment or attention. My ancestors were conquered... I was not!
entitlement mentality? oh,
entitlement mentality?
oh, Skirkz is of the "hurray for me", "screw every-one else" mentality.
Wow skirkz
Alaskan Natives and American Indians, in essence have 'dual citizenship'. They are members of their tribe, having enrolled, and are also US citizens. When 'tribal leaders' testify to the US congress or their committees, they are there in their other citizenship role, representing their tribal members. You have chosen to reject dual citizenship.
As an aside, Congress, in their infinite wisdom, provides for flood insurance, for what, a dollar year, for those folks having beach front property on the east coast, where their vacation homes are located, and on the west coast. With every hurricane and tornado or flood, those folks get their homes rebuilt for free by the government.
The truth is, we are all subsidized. Every flight out of Juneau is subsidized by the federal government, or we'd pay much more for airfare, ditto for airports, roads, corn, wheat, etc. People generally complain about 'others' receiving subsidies without realizing how much they themselves are getting.
My advice, is -look at all the information, put it in context, and continue to fight for what you believe. Anger is or can be a motivating factor for positive change.
yep, even our fuel is
yep, even our fuel is subsidized.
Hurray for me...
...and everyone else that doesn't sulk in their defeatism attitude like they are owed something!
On behalf of the Western
On behalf of the Western world, I apologize for ruining the environment and then refusing to do anything about it. I hope you can all find it in your hearts to forgive us. Or at least me, personally.
Maybe skirkz can save us, though, since he is apparently an Ubermensch.
Dual citizenship.
Is that like having your cake and eating it, too? Raking it in going and coming? Best of both worlds? Burning the candle at both ends? Flip-flopping when it suits you?... I can do this all day.
Okay, skirkz, I have to confess....
You don't sound like an American Indian or an Alaskan Native in the way you talk. Most Indians/Natives that I know, and I admit, I don't know them all, don't use words like, " census number". They use words like, 'enrollment' or 'certificate of indian blood' or 'ancestry'. It's not my intention to say whether you are as you describe, or whether you are 'posing' as an AI, for this online posting, which is, basically, anonymous.
You do sound, angry, however. Again, if you were ever married, you entered a legal agreement, and if your partner didn't follow the agreement, you might voice a legal complaint. If you entered into a mortgage agreement, and the bank didn't follow through on their legal obligation, you might voice a complaint. Treaties were and are a legal document, and therefore, when it's not followed, tribal leaders have no recourse except to go back to the federal government. It's not a sense of entitlement...it's a breach of legal contract.
pp
Apology accepted
Blood quantum...
...determines qualification for certification of membership and varies from nation to nation. I could qualify for at least two. (Yes, I am a breed.) The term "census number" may have been sanitized in our politically correct dispensation, but, if you are "certified" or "enrolled", you are a number at the BIA. Just like a Social Security number. And, no, I am not angry. Conversely, I am indignant about the anger and bitterness displayed by a once proud people that have been reduced to Red Cloud agencies dependent on their next barrel of salt pork. Treaties are broken. Get off the Rez!
whoops, skirkz
In rereading my last post, I mispoke. I said, you sound angry, but what I meant to say, you sound resentful and bitter. You resent that AI and AN get something you either don't get or don't want, and have the 'belief' that they have a sense of entitlement.
Prejudice can be defined as facts contaminated by negative beliefs, incorrect beliefs, and attitudes (feelings), which is then portrayed as 'the truth' or the 'new fact'.
It's difficult to discuss or debate someone when they are operating out of their emotions and not operating out of logic and facts. You haven't presented any facts, skirkz, only a rant. Therefore, I'm out of this discussion. But,rant on, oh bitter and resentful one! Your true colors are showing.
Hmm.
And here I am thinking that you are the one ranting. Are you bitter? Or just self-righteous? Say your piece and stomp out, then. I'm only offering perspective.
Douglas Diva = Kate Troll?
Douglas Diva = Kate Troll?
I know:
Why not ask Elizabeth Warren?
Destroying your people and culture
Free healthcare, free education, free housing, handouts of every shape and size. That is your mentaility DouglasDiva. I don't discount that the US government agreed to these things and has an obligation to honor them. But the best thing that could happen to the native community would be to lose those handouts. They are destroying (or already have destroyed) your people. Your people are those who make up most of the foster kids in Alaska. White people make up the vast majority of foster parents. Your people abuse each other at horrific rates. Your people are stuck on drugs, alcohol, poverty, and it's because the handouts perpetuate their ability to not fend for themselves and take ownership of their place in life, their children and their well-being.
DouglasDiva, and I am betting you are one of the privledged few who have a tribal or Sealaska, 'job' or position of power, it is you, not I, who perpetuate your people's problems.
Lead up, not down.
fmast50
How interesting is this?
If I'm knowledgable, I must be, by your definition, fmast50, a Native or American Indian, so you blast me for having kids in Foster care, etc.
And further more, I must be one of the privledged few who work for a tribal or Native corporation and not only that, but I also must be in a position of power and so, it is I who perpetuate native people's problems?
You do tell yourself some tall tales! Some folks, tell themselves a story, not based in fact, and then throw in the kitchen sink of emotional negatives, all the while, assuming, the story they are telling themselves and then others, is indeed based in fact, when it is just a tall tale, all imagination (which shows true colors). So, no, no, and no.
I spoke of the USA's legal obligations, and the responsibility of tribal leaders to do their part, in speaking in congress as to the problems related to climate change in their communities. And I have the opinion that folks who disparage that, under the guise of 'you indians want everything for free' is a bit racist.
The sad truth
is that you don't know me and I don't know you. You don't know if my first or last name is Douglas. You don't know if I'm male or female. You don't know if I live in Juneau or Douglas, Petersburg, Wrangell, Sitka, Angoon or Anchorage or if I live in another state. You don't know my age, race, education level, religion or political orientation. I provided information and my opinion. Some folks provided their information and opinion. Some folks just blasted the messenger and tried to make it personal with body slams hidden behind us not knowing who you are either.
The good thing about having a space for us to post is that we can share our knowledge and views and remain relatively unknown, perhaps trying on a new viewpoint, or striving to discover our viewpoint but...the sad truth is that we can also use it to hide in white robes and hoods, strew hatred, intolerance, and perpetrate an 'us versus them' mentality.
DouglasDiva
" don't even see the racism in your comments"
What is racist about asking what are you doing to fight climate change?
Pot meet kettle.
It is you who started throwing uninformed presumptions and slams.
"the sad truth is that we can also use it to hide in white robes and hoods, strew hatred, intolerance, and perpetrate an 'us versus them' mentality."
Well said, were you looking in the mirror when the thought hit you?
Boy, this thread has sure
Boy, this thread has sure gotten off topic. I thought this was about climate change.
i feel bad for them
Do you dealt see how they live not good at all you say they get evrrthing free but do you see their homes they are run down bad so whet is wrong in helping them