The Indian Economic Stimulus Package

The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations just voted to provide $ 2.8 billion in funding to help resuscitate the national economy.  Pressed by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and led by Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI), the Appropriations Committee also added $2.8 billion in direct funding for Indian tribes and tribal programs.   The Senate Finance Committee is handling the tax, bonds, and entitlement provisions which include Tribal Economic Development Bonds, Clean Renewable Energy Bonds, the elimination of cost sharing requirements for Indian health care providers, increased access for Indians to Medicaid and the Childrens’ Health Insurance Program, and extra Tribal TANF funding.

Here is a rundown of the Tribal spending provsions:

INDIAN HEALTH CARE
• Indian Health Facilities – $410 million
     • New construction – $135 million
     • Maintenance and repairs – $155 million
     • Sanitation Facilities – $100 million
     • Medical Equipment – $20 million
• Indian Health Services – $135 million
     • Contract health care – $50 million
     • Health Information Technology activities – $85 million

PUBLIC SAFETY AND JUSTICE
• Department of Justice Grants (DOJ) – $300 million
     • Indian Jails construction – $250 million
     • Tribal courts program – $25 million
     • Indian Alcohol Recovery program – $25 million
• BIA Indian Jails repair (Interior) – $25 million

INDIAN SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION
• Tribal and BIA new schools construction – $132 million
• Tribal and BIA schools repair and improvement – $35 million
• BIA School Modernization (Dept. of Education) – $160 million

TRIBAL ROADS AND BRIDGES
• BIA roads improvement – $150 million
• Indian Reservation Roads (DOT) – $320 million
• Tribal Transit Set-Aside (DOT) – $16.8 million

INDIAN WATER PROJECTS
• Bureau of Reclamation Tribal Water Projects – $274 million (approximate)
• BIA irrigation construction and repair – $40 million
• BIA dams improvement – $25 million
• Safe Drinking and Clean Water Revolving Funds – $120 million (the language “permits” the Secretary to fund the tribal set-aside under these revolving funds)

INDIAN HOUSING
• Indian Housing block grants (HUD) – $510 million
• BIA Housing Improvement Program – $20 million

OTHER
• Indian Reservation Food Distribution (USDA) – $5 million
• BIA major facilities improvement and repair – $115 million
• BIA workforce training – $20 million
• Tribal Community Development Financial Institutions (Treasury) – $20 million
• Indian Loan Guarantee Program (Interior) – $10 million

Palin sets up Political Action Committee

We noticed this interesting article on Alaska Governor Sarah Palin who has set up SARAHPAC in Virginia in order to start her bid for the White House in 2012.

The Inauguration

 

We just love this picture of the new President and First Lady dancing at the MTV ball.   The folks at Media Outrage have posted a few more here.  For more celebrities, you can check the pix over at the NY Daily News here.

We are looking for submissions from anyone who attended the Indian ball, so please send your pix to info@nativevotewa.org

The False Choice between our Ideals and our Safety

Thinking back upon President Obama’s inauguration and, in particular, his inaugural address, we were struck most by these three sentences:

“As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake.”

 

This was nothing if not a principled repudiation of warrantless wiretapping and waterboarding and a rejection of the notion that you can skirt the courts and the constitution in the name of security, and that if you dare to challenge those acts, then it is you who are somehow unpatriotic.  And this was delivered as President Bush sat only a few feet away.

Text of Dr. Joseph Lowery’s Benediction

Text of the benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery during President Barack Obama’s inauguration:

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou, who has brought us thus far along the way, thou, who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee.

Shadowed beneath thy hand, may we forever stand true to thee, oh God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we’ve shared this day.

We pray now, oh Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration.

He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national, and indeed the global, fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hands, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations.

Our faith does not shrink though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you are able and you’re willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds, and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor, of the least of these, and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that yes we can work together to achieve a more perfect union.

And while we have sown the seeds of greed — the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountain top, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together as children, pledging that we won’t get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone.

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around … when yellow will be mellow … when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

Trillion Dollar Bill

We recently got our cable reconnected and what the heck do we see on the news but talk about a gigantic bailout of the auto industry, and talk of a trillion dollar “public works” program.  This is all good, as far as we can see, given the state of the economy and, in particular, our economy which consists of a bunch of old Capital One Mastercards with $400 limits that are perpetually being maxed out at the casino. 

Still, we cannot help but feel that when the States are asking the Federal Government to give them $1 trillion to build new schools, roads, broadband, and energy projects, we are somehow missing out on something.  We know that Indian Country has over a $1.5 billion backlog in water and sewer needs, close to a $1 billion backlog in roads needs, lord knows how many $billion in health care needs, about $1 billion in transmission line and electricity needs, and $1 billion in cable/broadband needs.

So we are going to start off the New Year by asking the Washington Congressional Delegation to fight for a tiny piece of the pie, say about $12 billion for Indian Country projects.  If we know anything, it’s that our economy needs the basic building blocks to really take off.   Put simply, Indian Country needs a major federal investment in roads, electricity, internet access, water and sewer lines, and renewable energy development.  We believe that as long as Congress is in the “giving” mode, then they should live up to the treaties and provide Indian tribes and Indian families with the tools for real economic success.

Inaugural Parties

O.k., there are just way too many great parties to go to in D.C. later this month for Barry’s inauguration.   The Washington Post has a pretty good running list here.

We can’t miss out on the American Indian ball, which give us time to take bets on which tribe/tribal leaders/lawyers will mount the first full scale assault on the cash bar. 

Other than that shindig, we have our eyes on a couple others:

New Mexico State Society Ball – Monday at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.  Looks like this one is sold out, so if you don’t have your tickets, you won’t get to see if NM Governor Bill Richardson will fulfill crazy campaign pledge to break into an NMAI display case and put on historic Native regalia for a dance.

Hip Hop Inaugural Ball – Monday at the Shakespeare Theater.   This will be awesome.

The Big Shoulders Inaugural Ball – Monday at the Black Cat.   LOTS of great Indie music at one of the coolest clubs in D.C.

Legends Ball – Tuesday at the Marriott Wardman Park.  We’re iffy on Chaka Khan but definitely down with George Clinton and maybe even the O’Jays.

MTV Ball – Tuesday at the Reagan Int’l Trade Center.  We resolved this New Year’s Day to STOP saying “peace out”.  Undoubtedly, every performer at the Ball will remind us why.

Creative Coalition Ball – we were thinking of sneaking into this gazillion dollar sold-out event but may have to beg Congressmen Jim McDermott or Norm Dicks (honorary Co-Hosts) for tickets to party with Hollywood stars.  Note to self – resolve to not pester Miley Cyrus about her and JoBros’ “pledge”.

Urban Ball – Tuesday at the Marriott Wardman Park.  Ludacris and Big Boi  and T Pain.  Could do without the Cheetah Girls.

Palin in 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are going to temporarily skip past the 2010 elections here in WA State (featuring both U.S. Senator Patty Murray and State Senator Claudia Kauffman’s re-election bids) to the distant 2012 campaign…  where the Las Vegas oddsmakers foresee Palin vs Obama.

Superbook.com has Palin at 3.5 – 1 to get the GOP Nomination followed closely by Mitt Romneyat 4 – 1 and Mike Huckabee at 5 – 1. 

We have been laying low over the holidays but the mention of a big election will always get our attention.

Updates

With all of the excitement about the upcoming blowout/inauguration in D.C. next month, we thought we’d share with you some of our thoughts on the Change that is coming to D.C.

New Secretary of the Interior – Ken Salazar

President-elect Obama has named Colorado Senator Ken Salazar to run the nation’s Interior Department which of course means that he will be in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  And Salazar will have a huge say in who gets to be Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, so if you want that job (and who doesn’t?) start rooting around for those Colorado connections – they’ll come in handy with Salazar.  Although Salazar has two Ute (uh, not the Joe Pesci kind) tribes in his state, he has been very low key on Indian issues.   We’ll have to see how he likes the sound of “Cobell versus Salazar”.

New Secretary of Commerce – Bill Richardson

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is an old hand around Indian Country and is known for his ability to push through bills for Indian tribes over tough opposition — the 1994 Peyote bill comes to mind — as well as push the federal and state goverments to do right by tribes.  In 2000 he directed the Energy Department to return 84,000 of federal land back to the Ute Tribe, made every single senior Energy Department official take an “Indian 101″ class taught by LaDonna and Laura Harris, and ordered the first and sadly, only study of Indian energy needs and resources before the Bush Administration took the Department over.  Richardson will have a lot of say so on key issues affecting tribes like the massive Public Works bill Obama wants Congress to approve, as well as a  new initiative to bring real broadband access to all of Indian Country.

Secretary of Health and Human Services – Tom Daschle

Former South Dakota Senator and Majority Leader and Minority Leader Tom Daschle is another old ally and staunch defender of Native American interests.  Daschle is probably the main reason that Obama took such a strong interest and solid position on Indian issues.  After all, Daschle served as a mentor to Obama and basically handed Obama his legislative and campaign staff.  So it is no wonder that Obama has given Daschle the plum role of overseeing national health care reform.  Indian Country and Urban Indians alike suffer from terrible health care, so we are grateful that it will be Daschle leading the charge on health care reform.  Can we also do something about the vending machines at the IHS clinics.  They ALWAYS take our dollar bills!

Potlatch Fund Gala

Alandra Washington (Kellogg) honors Jim Thomas (Potlatch Fund Chairman) with Shaun Peterson (artist)

We nearly had a Board of Directors quorum last night at the annual mega-Gala hosted by the Potlatch Fund here in Seattle.  Scroll down for lots of pix.  We want to sincerely thank Potlatch for generously supporting our mission in our very first year.  The Potlatch Fund is awesome.   Last night, the Kellogg Foundation honored the Potlatch Fund with a national leadership award for their vision and for being a pioneer in supporting Indian leaders, artists, non-profits, and culture.  The Kellogg Foundation only hands out five such awards each year, so this is a pretty big deal.  We have the inside word the Indian Country Today will have a pretty good write up of the award, so stay posted. 

As for the Gala, it was held at the swanky Grand Hyatt Seattle, featured performances by Pura Fe and the Haida Heritage Foundation, oustanding MC work by Jim Thomas, and fantastic salmon. 

As for the attendees – everyone looked their finest as only us Natives can!

shookani, pam, clarita

redwolf, marc

craig, jill

tracy

matika and pamela

charlotte

mystique

sweetwater

pamela

Justin, Dana

leilani, matika, tracy, solana

Justin, Jill

theresa, craig, aaron

jackie

mytyl, jackie, dawn