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Draining every drop
Seattle Times
06/30/2009
Groups are starting to meet again on water supply in WA's arid Yakima River Basin, the heavily irrigated region that's home to thousands of acres of tree fruit, wine grapes, hops and other crops. In drought years, fish suffer in low rivers and farmers and towns with newer water rights have their water supply rationed.
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Tribes keep eye on health care reform
Missoulian
06/30/2009
As much as reform could affect any individual American, it has the potential to affect tribal members more. That's because of the unique relationship Indian nations have with the federal government, which must offer free health care on reservations. No one knows how national health reform may affect that agreement.
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First foods inform tribe's conservation
Indian Country Today
06/28/2009
Resource management on the lands of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon took a unique turn a couple years ago when the board of trustees approved a plan built around consideration for their first foods: water, salmon, fish, big game, roots and berries.
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Oregon tribe first to go to all green light bulbs
Oregon Public Broadcasting
06/26/2009
How many light bulbs does it take to change a region's energy efficiency? Over the next two weeks, workers with the Burns Paiute Tribe will screw in a historic light bulb. And tribal members will become the first in the country to install energy efficient light bulbs in every one of its homes, located southeast of Bend, Oregon.
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BC's Native men living longer, youth suicides down
Victoria Times Colonist
06/26/2009
The health of BC's aboriginal people shows signs of improving, but still lags behind that of the general population, the provincial health officer said Thursday.
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BC First Nation moves to block new mine
CBC BC
06/24/2009
A BC First Nation has filed a petition in BC Supreme Court to stop the proposed development of a gold and copper mine in the central interior of the province.
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Flu response in First Nations lacking
CBC BC
06/24/2009
Health Canada delayed the delivery of alcohol-based hand sanitizers to some First Nations communities affected by swine flu because of concerns the alcohol content might be abused. It's one example of the way that measures to contain the pandemic have been ill-suited to the social realities of aboriginal communities.
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Views: How will universal health coverage affect Indians?
Tri-City Herald
06/23/2009
If all Americans are provided health insurance, will that include Indians? How will it affect the Indian hospitals in urban areas and out on the Indian reservations?
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Protection in a fragile environment
Indian Country Today
06/22/2009
The Makah Nation’s land overlooks water that's home to whales, endangered salmon and dozens of other marine species. But the crossroads of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean is also notoriously perilous for oil tankers and cargo ships. The WA Legislature recognized that by adding a permanent funding source for an emergency response tug to be stationed at Neah Bay.
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Coalition petitioning for Glacier Park protections
Missoulian
06/22/2009
Glacier National Park and its neighbor to the north are endangered by mining proposals, according to tribal leaders, business interests and conservationists petitioning the international community. They say Canada has failed to meet conservation obligations by moving ahead with controversial coal and coalbed methane energy development plans in southeastern BC, on the borders of the parks.
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Protection for a fragile marine environment
Indian Country Today
06/18/2009
The Makah Nation's land is within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, located at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, gateway to an inland sea and Puget Sound. Always at risk from an oil spill, thanks to a new law approved by the state Legislature, this marine environment has another layer of protection.
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Vancouver Island natives sign historic treaty
Vancouver Sun
06/16/2009
Canada's government passed a long-awaited treaty with a group of Vancouver Island First Nations on Tuesday, giving five aboriginal groups $73 million and 24,550 hectares of land. The 2,000 people who live on the island’s west coast will also be given the right to govern themselves and manage their land and resources, including fish and wildlife.
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Is native health care a federal failure?
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
06/16/2009
On some reservations, the oft-quoted refrain is, "don't get sick after June," when the federal dollars run out. It's a sick joke, and a sad one because it is sometimes true. Officials said they have about half of what they need to operate, and patients know they must be dying or about to lose a limb to get serious care.
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Court rules Exxon owes a billion in damages, interest
Anchorage Daily News
06/16/2009
Exxon Mobil Corp. was ordered Monday to pay roughly $1 billion to Alaska Natives, fishermen, business owners and others harmed by the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound.
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WA Tribes want protection for Mystery Bay shellfish
Seattle Times
06/16/2009
Two Olympic Peninsula tribes say federal, state and county officials have failed to protect tribal shellfish beds in Marrowstone Island's Mystery Bay in violation of treaty rights.
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Exxon ordered to pay $507.5 million to victims of spill
Seattle Times
06/16/2009
Exxon Mobil has been ordered to pay $507.5 million in punitive damages to Alaska natives, fishermen, business owners and others harmed by the massive 1989 oil spill off Alaska.
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A tribe's journey of discovery
Seattle Times
06/14/2009
When the WA State Department of Transportation unearthed human remains at the construction site of a dry dock, it set in motion a journey of discovery, controversy and ultimately of healing for the people of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. In the end, the state gave up a major transportation project to help the Indians reclaim their lost people.
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World faces millions of climate refugees
Toronto Globe and Mail
06/10/2009
The world should brace itself for millions of climate refugees in coming decades, a mass migration that will be larger than any in human history, says a new report. Although the report didn't specify countries that would be refuges for people fleeing uninhabitable areas, Canada will likely be on the list.
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WA tribes get grants to protect Puget Sound
Indian Country Today
06/09/2009
Washington tribes have received grants totaling nearly $2 million for on-the-ground projects to preserve water quality and salmon habitat in Puget Sound: taking inventory of fish-blocking culverts; connecting floodplains and building engineered logjams to create covered deep pools where Chinook salmon hold before spawning.
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Award recognizes tribal coastal canoe journey
Indian Country Today
06/04/2009
A lengthy tribal canoe journey in Washington and British Columbia was recognized with the Department of the Interior’s Partners in Conservation Award its contribution to restoration of nearshore marine habitats and ecosystem functions across the Salish Sea.
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Helping Alaskan villages relocate
Anchorage Daily News
06/04/2009
The federal government could be doing more to help relocate Alaska Native communities whose vulnerability to erosion and flooding has only worsened with global warming, concludes a report from the Government Accountability Office.
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BC considers new fish-farm technology
Victoria Times Colonist
06/02/2009
Opponents of open-net fish farming in BC are monitoring a Norwegian pilot project that uses closed containment to raise Atlantic salmon. Members of the Guilford Island First Nation just returned from a visit to the northern European country where they studied a fish farming experiment with the hope that such technology could be used here.
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Tribal same-sex marriage law takes effect
Oregonian
05/21/2009
A Coquille Indian Tribe law allowing same-sex marriage took effect this week, and two women plan to marry Sunday on the tribe's Coos Bay reservation. They will become the first same-sex couple to legally marry in Oregon, though their marriage will be recognized only by the tribe.
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Farmers, tribes reach Klamath water settlement
Eureka Times-Standard
05/22/2009
One of the most contested issues between irrigators and American Indian tribes in the Upper Klamath Basin has effectively been resolved, potentially simplifying talks on a much larger dam removal and restoration deal. The parties announced a settlement of water rights claims from irrigation, hydropower, endangered sucker fish and salmon that stretch back nearly 30 years.
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Oregon tribes, farmers settle Klamath River dispute
Seattle Times
05/22/2009
The Klamath Tribes of Oregon and farmers have agreed to drop their state water rights battle pending approval of a federal agreement leading to removal of dams on the Klamath River. Farmers agreed to cap and reduce irrigation, with those who give up water getting paid compensation. The tribes get assurances of water for sucker fish and salmon.
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