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The Nation |
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Tribal Report of the Northern Cheyenne Nation (August/September 2006 Vol. I No. 9) |
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Page 3 |
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Tongue River Casino
Environmental Assessment Meeting Held ■ Forum held for
N.C. Tribal members and landowners. Zoe Miller [HKM Engineering, Inc.] On July 26, a Public Information Meeting was held for the
Tongue River Casino Environmental Assessment.
The purpose of this meeting was to inform members of the public,
including landowners near the casino site, about the proposed project, answer
questions, and receive public comment.
The meeting was an open house format, with displays and information
sheets available for public review and project staff on hand to answer
questions. Twenty people attended the
meeting. Project staff attending the
meeting included Jason Woodside, a business development consultant to the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe; Michael Mason, the Tribe's economic development
attorney; Rick Stefanic from the Bureau of Indian
Affairs; and Rich Schilf and Zoe
Miller from HKM Engineering. |
At the meeting, attendees asked how the
project was planned and financed, what kind of gaming would be allowed, about
provision of emergency services, how water would be provided for the site and
wastewater treated, and whether alcohol would be served. These issues have been addressed in the
Environmental Assessment for the proposed project as well as in the Tribe's
Class III Gaming Compact. The Environmental Assessment process is proceeding
forward. Though the document is nearly
complete, the Project Team is currently awaiting comments from the Department
of the Interior in Tribal Report of the |
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Re-elect Norma Bixby
for House District 41, State Elections ■ Northern
Cheyenne Candidate prioritizes Tribal Water, Indian Education, and other
Tribally Specific Issues Norma
Bixby This will be my fourth and final term as
the House Representative in the Montana State Legislature. I would like to get
re-elected as there is still work to be done, especially now that the
Northern Cheyenne Tribe is considered a State with their water
standards. We need to assure that our
water is protected as coal bed methane development moves forward along the Regulations and reclamation are still priorities of mine to
assure that any development that occurs will not impede on landowners rights and
the rights of their neighbors and to make sure the |
Education is another priority. The State Legislature must fund our schools
to assure a quality education is provided to all children without raising
taxes. I worked hard to assure that
all children would receive a quality education and funding that would be
based on educationally relevant factors that include the state standards,
Indian education for all, special education, children at risk and the special
unique needs of children, such as students who are LEP. I will continue this
work in the next session and support funding for full time kindergarten based
on parent choice. Kindergarten is
important, but it should not be mandatory. Parents know if their child is
ready to attend kindergarten and should have that choice to send their child
or not. It is important to have a Tribal member
in the legislature. There are so many
bills that come before the legislature and some do impact the Tribes. As a tribal member I know Tribal issues and
I can help stop or improve a piece of legislation. As a Tribal member, I am aware of the other
issues that are important to other constituents in the district and on some
issues we can work together to get some legislation that will assist both
Indian and non- Indians. As the representative from such a diverse district,
I have been able to represent the Northern Cheyenne, Crow and the non-Indians
and I would like to have the opportunity to continue this working
relationship to not only assist House District 41 but all of Montana with
issues and laws that are fair and that will move our State forward,
Government to Government. Tribal
Report of the |
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The Big Push for Coal/CBM
Development ■
A concerned Tribal member shares Coal/CBM Development Issues that Ben Bahr There are many critical factors to
consider before Coal/CBM development, which our people need to know before
signing agreements with any corporation(s) to develop our natural resource
base. Today, coal, oil, and natural
gas account for approximately 70% of Scientists and other experts think it
will be approximately 20 years until renewable energy makes a significant
contribution. Their strategic plan is
to not wait for renewable energy, but put Indian natural resources into coal
gasification and petroleum development. However for our Tribe, renewable
energy, such as wind, solar, agriculture, forest management, water
development, food crops, cogeneration, and integrated industries should be
developed. If CBM/Coal is going to be developed, it
should with “limited responsible development.” This is called “sustainable
development” with a tribal perspective!
If we are to develop CBM, then let’s do it in a limited fashion and
responsibly! Do not allow “Fly by Night” companies to do it for us. We must
know a companies background, track record, debts, investments/stocks,
etc., and allow the EDA committee and
tribal membership a voice in the decision making process! It’s only right and
proper to allow this due process! We the people are the Tribe, not the
Tribal Council! There needs to be a moratorium on any further actions taken
in regards to CBM/Coal development, which is a legally authorized delay in
CBM/Coal development until environmental assessments and public hearings take
place. The Fischer Tropsch
Process (FTP), which is supported by Governor Schweitzer and The FutureGen Alliance, is a public-private organization made
up of world’s largest coal companies and the nation’s largest utility
companies, has four of these companies operating here in the For the next 20 years, there will be a
continuing “Big Push” to develop domestic energy in coal and other
hydrocarbon resources, such as CBM. We
see this happening already. In fact, the BLM and other federal agencies have
been given a directive from President Bush to mitigate and lessen the
obstacles to coal/oil/CBM development on federal lands, including Indian
reservations. Most of our current tribal leaders and department directors
most likely do not know and have not taken it upon themselves to learn and
inform the rest of the tribal membership of the imminent impacts to our most
valuable resources! It seems CBM is more important than water, which sustains
our way of life. Within 20 years CBM/Coal companies will be dwindling, and
new forms of energy will emerge! In addition, the Energy Policy Act of
2005 (Public Law 109-58) has Indian Provisions that can be detrimental to
tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Furthermore, there are several
provisions of the new Energy Policy Act that will have significant impact on
tribal lands and communities and potentially on tribal sovereignty interests.
Land Consolidation Advocates should be
aware. Just a few examples of the assault on Tribal Sovereignty that have
become full-blown in recent years are the following; attempts by energy
corporations to do away with tribal consent on rights of way across our
lands; the sale of federal lands that are within our boundaries; the
condemnation of native owned allotted lands for “public purposes;” the
passage of a federal probate code that determines who else can inherit
individual trust land, rather than Tribal Nations making this determination. We must truly rise up in unison to
defend our sovereign rights. We can ask: Why not exercise negotiated
rulemaking in lieu of the charade of “tribal consultation” that is now taking
place? This process is an appropriate government to government process. We can ask: Why not use tribal land
consolidation plans and tribal resource management plans, now authorized by
the Indian Land Consolidation Act and the American Indian Agricultural &
Resource Management Act, to write the regulations and codes that dictate
transactions within our borders? We can ask: Why not reference tribal probate
codes that determine who inherits trust land rather than federal codes that
aid fee patents and eventually lead to further land loss? These questions explore tribal models and
programs that are leading the way to sovereign restoration and proper use and
management of our homelands. We invite you to participate with us, the Indian
Land Working Group Board. Please check www.indianlandtenure.org. |
This is the rationale: During this point in time of hydrocarbon
development in the Renewable energy sources approximately
account for 15-20% of the energy in the Our people must prepare for the future
with a combination of renewable energy development, and limited development
of CBM/Coal resources! Some
governments and institutions have already developed strategic plans for the
future! We can and should create our
own “Alliance of Regional Tribal Nations,” so we will have a voice and
receive fair market value in the development of our resources! Hydrogen can also be produced from
Biomass Gasification and Electrolysis of water with fuel cells, and can be
based on zero emissions also! Biomass can also be co-fired with coal to
reduce pollution. CO2 can be used for growing kelp and other marine plants Coal is being promoted as the answer,
however, if we are to develop coal/CBM, further research needs to be done
since strip mining is not feasible in terms of sustainability and
responsibility to the environment and violates indigenous principles. The type of coal in our region (CNF
& NC reservation) is “high in sodium,” without a market for it, or “a
railroad” in place to get it to market, nor is there a “transmission
pipeline” in place to transport the CBM to market, or to our buildings and
homes, which will need to be redone for gas for heating and cooking. Have
potential developers promised water protection? How will the water be
treated, will it be discharged into the river, re-injected back into the
drinking water aquifers, or used for water development and agriculture? How will we be able to redesign our
tribal water infrastructure with unhealthy water? Will the developer be
responsible to cover the costs of water treatment facilities? How many wells
do we have on the reservation and how many are deep water wells? How many
free-flowing wells and springs will dry up? Who will carry the costs of
compensating well owners and other damages to surface and ground water, loss
of habitat, animals, insects, fish, recreation, etc? Will the Tribe and
landowners be responsible, or the developer be
responsible for damages and costs? Current water wells will turn into gas
wells, water tables are predicted to drop up to 700 feet in the PR Basin,
which will turn into one big gas field! Who is really going to benefit from
CBM/Coal development? Us or them? Who
will get how much money: $25 or $50 million will only last a few years and
then be gone. At what expense will our children experience? There are other
ways to make money! Ten years after the wells are abandoned
and the developers are gone, disruptions to our lands, water, habitat, etc.,
and other resources will continue to be affected for nearly 100 years! (E.g. ARCO Exploration.) Although aquifers
may nearly replenish themselves in 80-100 years, depletion of our natural
resource base will not lead to a sustainable future for our children and culture!
The CBM will be gone, but the coal should remain! There are many unanswered
questions that need to be addressed yet, before we sign any type of
agreements or vote to develop a resource that few know about. CBM and Coal development will produce
lasting irreversible impacts to our economical, environmental, and cultural
resources, which will lessen our ability to govern our lands and
resources. Our sovereignty, the future
of our children, and the integrity of our proud indigenous nation, based on
the visions, wisdom, and knowledge of our great leaders and the “old ones”
will be compromised! A good plan would be to buy adjacent
lands from private land owners, construct a few CBM wells on the newly
acquired land to power tribal agricultural/sawmill facilities, integrated
manufacturing industry, surrounding homes, and develop tribal ownership our
own energy and communication infrastructures.
This will truly be a tribal strategic response to using or losing our
CBM resources. CBM can be siphoned out
from under us up to 14 miles away, so we should counter with a good strategic
plan and develop some non-Indian’s land. Our renewable energy projects,
resources, and energy infrastructures should be a priority as well as
tribally owned. We need to provide energy services for our own people and
transition to tribal ownership, rather than allowing local utilities to
provide the services at high prices. With the combination of available energy
resources, whether renewable or non-renewable should be developed, responsible
development can be a road to successful sustainable development. It is not
wise to rely on one or two products to generate tribal income and to recover
production costs. Industry and income must be diversified. This is very possible and can be done. I am
not against development and not an environmentalist, but if development is
going to happen it needs to be done responsibly. Our children and old ones
are relying on us! Nea’eše Tribal Report of the |
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