Please feel free to use as reference or template addressed to Sonke Mastrup, E.D. Fish & Game Commission.

Please feel free to share with other responsible group that support our Tribal way of life.

Thanks for your support,

ciwc letter to F&G Commission-b

There appears that the freedom of information, religion and free speech is not equitable for Tucson students and Native authors works are being targeted as useless fictitious book. Sadly tolerance is not a element of learning in this school system. This is racism and prejudice, and we cannot stand quietly and demand Native reading material into the learning equation. Segregation in educational materials will create a negative thought process and ill prepare our youth for the real world.

Update: Native American Authors Among Books Banned in Tucson – ICTMN.com http://bit.ly/zVsxQQ

Environment Petition: Support a global mercury treaty that protects Indigenous Peoples, human health and the environment. | Change.org “Support a global mercury treaty that protects Indigenous Peoples, human health and the environment.” http://chn.ge/u2SJDI

“I hope that if one thing comes out of this process, it’s the beginning of long term trust between sovereign [tribal] governments and the state of California.” – California Secretary of Natural Resources John Laird at June 30, 2011 Fish and Game Commission hearing in Stockton, California

Most Californians are not fully aware of the extent of injustice, government sanctioned violence and forced removal of tribal peoples from their homeland that has marred the history of the state’s relations with its indigenous inhabitants. Over the last 150 years in northern California, the region’s old-growth redwood rain forest also has been subjected to destruction that has severely impacted salmon and other wildlife, as well as those tribes dependent on the forest and sea for their survival. The Tribes have not been responsible for the over-extraction and degradation of the natural world – threats that will affect the future of all people. Yet, even as times have changed, longstanding prejudices and bureaucratic shortsightedness have challenged sovereign Indian tribes’ continued use and stewardship of land and ocean resources. However, recent events offer hope that, at last, a new era is beginning.

California Indian tribes welcomed Governor Jerry Brown’s September 2011 executive order creating a new gubernatorial tribal advisor position and making it official state policy to consult with California tribes as sovereign governments on the full range of issues affecting them. For California’s tribal peoples, this unprecedented move not only heralds a time of greater respect and influence over their own destiny, but also suggests a new cooperation between the state and tribes is on the horizon with potentially significant benefits to both. The Brown Administration also has made remarkable progress in a few short months working with North Coast tribes on management and protection of marine resources.

The InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council is a consortium of ten federally recognized tribes with ancient and enduring ancestral and cultural ties to the coastline and inland areas of Mendocino, Lake and southern Humboldt Counties. Our member Tribes depend on the ocean for food, for the continuation of their culture, and for their very existence. In 2009, our council members were alarmed to learn that California, through the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), was starting to design marine protected areas (MPAs) in their ancestral territories, and that new regulations might disallow the traditional take of seaweed, shellfish and other marine resources by North Coast tribes who conduct traditional, non-commercial gathering, harvesting, fishing and ceremonial activities in the areas planned for the new MPAs. That planning process could easily have produced another intolerable outcome in the bleak history of California’s dealings with tribal peoples. Instead, it marked the start of a remarkable journey resulting in state officials committing to better honoring tribal contributions, past and present.

What went right? North Coast tribes resolved to protect their peoples’ traditional gathering rights through concerted action and came to the table with practical solutions for how to accomplish important ocean conservation goals while protecting tribal traditions. The tribes’ cultural ways and spiritual beliefs have informed each step of their engagement in this process. For the tribes, protection of the ocean and traditional cultural use of marine resources are inseparable ideas. We have argued that without the careful use and stewardship of marine plant and animal species, these gifts will steadily decline and may someday vanish. A broad range of North Coast residents and local governments, recreational and commercial fishermen, and harbor districts and conservation groups committed to standing in solidarity with the tribes.

State officials, including California Natural Resources Agency’s Secretary John Laird, Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro, Senator Noreen Evans, and members and staff of the MLPA Initiative, the Department of Fish and Game, and the Fish and Game Commission, carefully considered tribal concerns and ultimately committed to meeting the challenges of managing ocean resources while respecting the cultural traditions and the stewardship knowledge of local tribes.

After many months of work, tribes and other local residents agreed to support a marine protection plan for the North Coast that would avoid key traditional tribal gathering places and allow for continued tribal fishing, gathering, harvesting and stewardship in many of the new protected areas. The plan would also create several fully protected marine life refuges in high-priority conservation areas. The process has been far from perfect or easy, yet the tribes’ persistence – and the state’s willingness to listen and work toward a solution – has paid off. For the first time in the state’s history, it appears that California will formally recognize and protect the tribes’ traditional cultural use of marine resources.

These efforts and successes clearly show us that the tribes, the public and the government of California can work together to achieve conservation for both the environment and the traditional tribal cultures that are dependent upon healthy and abundant ecosystems.

InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council has been protecting and restoring our redwood rain forest and coastal heritage for decades; we see enormous value in integrating traditional tribal gathering and harvesting with long-term resource protection, which will bring about a healthier ocean environment that is more ecologically balanced and productive for the benefit of our future generations.

We are pleased to have been involved in every step of the North Coast MLPA process, and to have helped craft a solution to ensure lasting protections for our precious ocean and the tribes’ cultural ways – a solution that is supported by the people and the government of our state.

And we look forward to contributing to important ongoing educational efforts to increase the public’s awareness and understanding of the tribes’ traditional ecological knowledge that has helped keep our natural world in balance for millennia.

Much work remains to build long-term trust between California and the many tribes of this state. But an important page has been turned.

Secretary Laird’s new tribal consultation policy signals an intent to respect the tribes’ knowledge and interests regarding management of the state’s natural resources broadly. The policy will create opportunities for meaningful tribal participation in stewardship and co-management of the state’s natural resources, and will open a new chapter in tribal-state relations. Much of the impetus for the policy has grown out of the discussions with tribes and lessons learned during the MLPA process.

The Brown Administration and the Resources Agency have made tremendous strides in a few short months. We celebrate this significant progress and will stay focused on building a brighter future – for tribes and for California.

The road ahead in our work to bring about environmental and social justice will be a long and a challenging one, but through the continued guidance of tribal traditional values and unwavering commitment from the tribes, the state and many allies, we can together reach the goal of a better world.

– Hawk Rosales is Executive Director of InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council

Deadline for Consultation Oct. 21,2011.
Deadline for additional comments Oct. 4, 2011.

For status and more information about current aws, regulations, access the National Planning Rule Website:
http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/planningrule

For Tribal Consultation Materials go to :
http://www.fs.fed.us/emc/tribal
You will need the following user name: forest1, password: forest123.

Comments should be sent to: <tribalsacredsites@fs.fed.us> or by hard copy to:
USDA Forest Service
Office of Tribal Relations
Attn: Ericka Luna
1400 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC. 20250-1160

Open Letter from:

CALIFORNIA INDIAN WATER COMMISSION, Inc.

Forest Service Planning DEIS
c/o Bear West Company,
132 E 500 S
Bountiful, UT 84010

 Re: National Forest System Land Management Planning Act.

We are providing recommendations to the February 14, meeting held in Sacramento, California. Within the Federal Register Notice Volume 76, Number 30. We the California Indian Water Commission hereby recommend the following language be added to The Regulations in its entirety:

 “Coordination of plans for National Forest System lands with Indian land use planning and management programs for the purposes of development and revision. In the development and revision of land use plans, the Secretary of Agriculture shall coordinate land use plans for lands in the National Forest System with the land use planning and Management programs of and for Indian tribes by among other things, considering the policies of approved tribal land resource management programs.” (from 16 USC s1712(b)

We believe that Tribes and Tribal organizations can provide technical and traditional knowledge that has provided sound successfully proven ecological stewardship practices throughout the millennia. The trust duties and responsibilities provide obligatory resources and technical assistance to Tribes and Tribal organization via Public Law 92-638, Self-Determination Contracts. Mutual understanding of the law encourages meaningful communication, coordination and planning of programs that are clearly defined by statute (referenced above). The unique relationship between the United States and Tribes via federal recognition, treaty or state recognition have clear precise law to describe how Tribes can be empowered to be involved in decisions that will directly impact current and future land use of their respective lands, habitat, fuels, energy, water, forest and protect their cultural heritage.

We as California federally recognized Tribal People are the beneficiaries and owners of the Public “Trust” lands currently managed by the Forest Service based on original intent of governmental policy. All resources itemized within the confines of the Forest Service must be protected, preserved, conserved and restored with cultural perspectives and traditional core values involving spiritual ties to the land, air and all resources. All resources within Tribal territory can benefit our community by providing, employment, public education, cultural and traditional practices and shared recreational benefit. We as Tribal People understand the implications and need to plan for housing, economic development, artistic expression,  Timber harvest planning, social impacts, wildlife sanctuaries and energy development. Also land set aside for Spiritual and Ceremonial and medicinal plant harvesting.

We as California Tribal People have an intimate relationship and knowledge of the dynamics of the land from which we live. We do not view the land and all its resources as commodities for economic development but rather living entities that require Stewardship in a manner requiring a balance of science and ancient traditional knowledge passed down thru generations of Tribal memory. Under the special authorities under the Indian Self-Determination Law, the management programs under The Department of the Interior and the Health and Human Service shall be awarded to Tribes and Tribal Organizations. In Addition, Congress provided a unique interagency/tribal project “bank account” authority that will assist the Forest Service (25 USC 3109) in implementing projects. Federal government agencies maintain agreements and mechanisms between each other to allow for interagency transfers to facilitate these types of Indian “awards”.

We believe to promote Tribal sovereignty and promote Indian Self Determination ideologies and to enforce the intent of The law, are rights Tribal People are entitled to. As Indian beneficiaries we expect the Forest Service to utilize the above mentioned authorities such as Tribal Forest Protection Act (25 USCs 3115a) to establish best value determination for awards.

Respectfully,

Atta P. Stevenson

California Indian Water Commission

Forest Service Rule Document: INDIAN SELF-DETERMINATION AND EDUCATION ASSISTANCE RULE

While claiming that Delta advocates’ fears that the BDCP is a “water grab” were “unfounded,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar admitted that the “flexibility” of the new conveyance could lead to greater exports, in other words, to a “water grab!” If this isn’t a classic case of political double-speak and cognitive dissonance, I don’t know what is! (http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_18929472?source=rss)

Photo of Ken Salazar courtesy of U.S. Department of Interior.

The latest Restore the Delta newsletter (http://restorethedelta.org/1286) states, “Salazar got so many things wrong about the Delta that it’s hard to know where to start,” in referring to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s remarks at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco on September 19.

I think that accurately summarizes Salazar’s presentation, a shameless promotion of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) to build a peripheral canal that former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the worst Governor in California history, would be proud of.

“The Bay Delta Conservation Plan is the most important – and most complex – long-term water and habitat management plan ever undertaken,” Salazar gushed. “The BDCP provides a comprehensive approach that includes new habitat for endangered fish species, coordinated measures to attack toxics that are fouling delta waters, and improvements to the state’s water infrastructure.”

However, in the question and answer period after his talk, Salazar revealed the true purpose of the BDCP and the peripheral canal: to increase water exports. Salazar suggested the possibility of “extending” or “expanding” exports to accommodate a growing population.

“He talked about working with others in Colorado to defeat a water grab there,” according to Restore the Delta. “But in the Q&A session following his address, Salazar said building a new aqueduct around the Delta might increase the flexibility of water operations in such a way that it could lead to more water deliveries. Apparently he doesn’t see any similarity between a water grab in Colorado and a water grab in California.”

While claiming that Delta advocates’ fears that the BDCP is a “water grab” were “unfounded,” Salazar admitted that the “flexibility” of the new conveyance could lead to greater exports, in other words, to a “water grab!” If this isn’t a classic case of political double-speak and cognitive dissonance, I don’t know what is! (http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_18929472?source=rss)

Venturing even further into the Theatre of Political Absurdity, Salazar claimed, “We’re not taking shortcuts on the science” – while the overwhelming scientific evidence from federal, state and independent biologists points to the key role that Delta water exports play in the unprecedented decline of Central Valley salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, Sacramento splittail and other imperiled fish species.

There is a direct correlation between fish declines and increases in water exports; to deny this is deny reality. It is impossible, now matter how much fake “habitat restoration” is done by the Obama and Brown administrations to greenwash the canal, to increase water exports to southern California water agencies and corporate agribusiness without seeing further fish declines.

One of the most comical comments uttered by Salazar was, “We have to remain faithful to the open, collaborative and transparent process that brought the Bay Delta stakeholders together in the first place.”

Does Salazar live in a parallel universe or what? The BCDP process is one of the least “open, collaborative and transparent” government boondoggles that I’ve ever encountered.

For example, the BDCP “Management Committee” has completely excluded Delta residents, family farmers, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, California Indian Tribes, environmental justice communities and grassroots conservationists. What type of “open, collaborative and tranparent process is this?

Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu (McCloud River) Tribe, blasted Salazar as being a tool of big corporate interests – “big corporations’ little thinkers.” That’s exactly what he is – a politician serving corporate agribusiness, southern California water agencies, development interests and water privateers such as Stewart Resnick, the owner of the giant Paramount Farms, not the people of California, fish or the environment.

“So Salazar thinks this is the ‘Granddaddy’ of California water puzzle?” said Sisk-Franco. “This is just another example of big corporations’ little thinkers influencing the top, who influence the law makers to do the wrong thing for most of the people and environment. We can’t afford those kind of hair brained idiot mistakes now!”

As Salazar spoke, one of the biggest fish kills in California history continued. The state and federal government agencies “salvaged” a total of 11,158,021 fish in the Delta water pumping facilities between January 1 and September 7, 2011, the result of record water exports. A horrific 8,985,009 Sacramento splittail, the largest number ever recorded, were salvaged during this period, according to Department of Fish and Game data (http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/node/9352). The salvage numbers also list 35,560 chinook salmon, 1,642 steelhead, 51 Delta smelt and 14 green sturgeon – all endangered or threatened species.

The CalFed program mandated the construction of the state of the art fish screens a decade ago, but the screens have still not been installed. If they won’t build these screens, do we we really expect them to comply with the laws protecting fish and environment if they build the canal?

Rather than fast-tracking the construction of the peripheral canal, Salazar and his counterpart in the Brown administration, Natural Resources Secretary John Laird, should do something NOW to stop the massive fish kill in the Delta pumps!

The Salazar speech including the questions and answers is on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-climate/id296762605. For more information about Restore the Delta, go to: http://www.restorethedelta.org. .

See: Via: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/21/18690973.php

SACRAMENTO – In order to strengthen communication and collaboration between California state government and Native American Tribes, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued an Executive Order establishing the position of Governor’s Tribal Advisor in the Office of the Governor. This position will serve as a direct link between the Governor’s Office and tribal governments on matters including legislation, policy and regulation. Governor Brown signed the Executive Order today while attending the TASIN All California Tribes Meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in Sacramento, CA.

See entire Press Release at: http://bit.ly/q8awMZ