OPINION: U.S. Budgets Reflect Old Paternalism against Indian Country Story-Date: 12:55 a.m. PST Sunday , March 7, 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------ OPINION: U.S. Budgets Reflect Old Paternalism against Indian Country By Liz Hill, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Feb. 28--WASHINGTON, D.C.--A legislative strategy stressing an aggressive, unified approach by tribal leaders as they confront the issues facing Indian country in the 106th Congress was fine tuned by the executive council of the National Congress of American Indians meeting in winter session. It embraces an expansive education and public relations campaign, communications, tribal coordination and coalition building and proactive legislative and administrative initiatives. NCAI president W. Ron Allen's rousing remarks to the almost 500-member assembly set the national stage for Indian country issues in the new millennium, a time, he said, to "begin a century of honor for Indian nations in the United States. "The warrior spirit is alive today and allows us to go into the 21st century." Allen touched upon what he referred to as the "centuries of degradation and atrocities that Indian people have suffered," and the high expectations that Indian country has for Congress and for the next century. "There is a concern that budgets still do not meet our needs, and that they reflect the old paternalism of dealing with Indian country," he said. An overall concern raised by Allen, in light of what is widely recognized as a trend to more federal bureaucratic involvement in Indian affairs, is a perceptible scrutiny of tribal government operations, particularly in light of continued discussions of the means testing of tribes related to tribal priority allocations, taxation issues and Indian gaming, among others areas of concern. "Only Indian nations know what is needed for themselves -- the federal government does not know this," Allen said. "Now that self determination among tribes is becoming a reality, we are beginning to hear outcries. "Now, we are beginning to see initiatives being advanced to make tribes equally poor." The concern that even census information provided by tribes to the federal government might be used against them, particularly in the area of means testing, was raised by Mohawk Tribe legislative coordinator Ray Cook. During the Feb. 17-20 sessions, several announcements were made by White House and federal agency officials which will impact tribes in key areas. White House assistant to the president and director of the office of intergovernmental affairs Mickey Ibarra announced that effective March 15, responsibility for Indian Affairs at the White House will be elevated to the office of the chief of staff. Lynn Cutler, deputy assistant to the director of the office of intergovernmental affairs, will become new senior advisor to the chief of staff for Indian affairs and special projects. "Other than the Oval Office, there is no higher office at the White House than the chief of staff," Ibarra said, terming the action by President Clinton a "demonstration of the president's profound respect for Native Americans." On behalf of Energy secretary Bill Richardson, under secretary Dr. Ernest Moniz announced two major actions by the department -- revision of the department's 1992 Indian policy. originally crafted without tribal input and a call for proposals to develop use of renewable energy systems on Native American-owned lands. Revision of the energy department's Indian policy will be accomplished this time with the full participation of tribes, working in concert with NCAI. Energy's director of Indian affairs Chris Stearns said the secretary wishes to complete the process in 1999 because he wants time to implement the new policy while he is still secretary. In addition to revising its Indian policy, "the energy department has reserved $1.8 million in renewable and technology grant money just for Indian tribes," Moniz said. "This is a major step and part of our commitment to providing tribes with the resources to generate their own power, and strengthen tribal governments." The department is seeking applications from federally recognized Indian tribes and Alaska Native Villages. "The goal is to help develop new, clean ("greener") and more efficient power sources on Indian reservations," Stearns said. "The state of energy use and needs on Indian reservations borders on crisis level," Stearns said. "For instance, approximately one-fifth or 15,000 of Navajo Nation households do not have power. That's 50,000 people. "Yet, Indian tribes own a large share of the mineral resources used to supply power in the United States," Stearns said. "But, tribes do not, and never have, benefited from the development of these resources." Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala spoke extensively about the health problems affecting Indian people and about what she called the "sacred responsibility to do what is right" by Indian people and the priority she has given to Indian health issues. "There is no group more underfunded than American Indians," Shalala said. "The American Indian health problem is an American problem." Despite an Indian Health Services proposed fiscal year 2000 budget that totals $2.8 billion, an increase of $170 million over 1999, some tribes like the Grand Traverse (Mich.) Band of Ottawa and Chippewa still go without 75 percent of their health care needs met by the IHS. Although the Grand Traverse Band eases the federal health funding gap with tribal dollars from its gaming operations, Grand Traverse Band chief legislative assistant John Bussey said "Gaming isn't the answer to everything. There is still the trust responsibility. "Even if someone is a millionaire, that doesn't mean that person doesn't receive Social Security." In an especially impassioned plea to tribes in the lower 48 states, members of the Alaska delegation led by NCAI Juneau (Alaska) area vice president Steve Ginnis of the Native Village of Fort Yukon and representatives from the Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP), urged the NCAI membership to support them in their fight to protect their subsistence way of life. "We are desperate," RurAL CAP public information officer Bernida Herdman said. "We need your help." Other issues heard during the week included: American Indian "mascot" litigation, tobacco litigation, taxation and land-into-trust issues. "We started this year in the 106th Congress with an agenda that has been distracted by the president's impeachment trial," Allen said. "Now that the trial is over, we need to aggressively move our agenda forward, but at the same time be realistic about what is achievable." NCAI's mid-year conference will be held July 20-23 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ----- Visit Indian Country Today on the World Wide Web at http://www.indiancountry.com/ (c) 1999, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. ------------------------------------------------------------