Post by blackcrowheart on Feb 14, 2006 13:39:12 GMT -5
> Interior hits the road with new trust reform initiative
> Wednesday, February 8, 2006
The Bush administration is launching a new round of trust reform talks,
> the likes of which haven't been seen since the reorganization of the Bureau
> of Indian Affairs and the controversial BITAM proposal.
>
> The first meeting takes place over two days in Albuquerque, New Mexico, next
> week. Interior Department officials say at least four more sessions are
> being planned and that everything -- from leases to land-into-trust
applications
> to fees for trust services -- is on the table.
>
> "We'll be taking lots of comments and hearing from Indian tribes, plus the
> individuals, on how we want to move forward," Donna Erwin, the deputy Special
> Trustee for American Indians, said in an interview on Monday.
>
> The proposed regulations has been circulating in Indian Country since late
> December. The draft covers a wide range of trust and trust-related issues,
> including probate, land title, trust fund accounting and whereabouts unknown.
>
> Comments are being accepted on the draft until March 3, said Michelle Singer
> , a Bureau of Indian Affairs attorney and former chief of staff at the Office
> of Special Trustee. The department will take three to four weeks to review
> the comments before publishing the regulations in the Federal Register, she
> said.
>
> That will trigger another 60-day comment period, after which the regulations
> could be finalized. Singer said some of the regulations are needed by June
> in order to meet the requirements of the American Indian Probate Reform Act, a
> new law that is designed to streamline the probate of Indian estates and
> consolidate highly fractionated parcels of Indian land.
> Willis acknowledged that some of regulations are outdated and probably nee
> to be revised. But he said an "internal" departmental group has been working
> on the proposal, mostly to the exclusion of Indian Country.
>
> The last time Interior opened up discussions with Indians over Trust Fund
reform was back in 2002, when, after what seemed, from the Indians perspective,
that some progress was being made, Norton completely scrapped the talks and all
proposals, and unilaterally instituted sweeping changes, including the
formation of the Office of the Trustee, a virtual rubber-stamp official with
little
actual power and no autonomy from the Secretary.
That was also the point where Congress got involved and curtailed funding of
the court ordered Trust Fund accounting through a secret "midnight rider",
pushed by Delay and Co.
So what are the proposed changes and how do they impact the Indians? Well,
most tribal offices have only just received the 200 page document, only two
weeks from the first hearing date. But initial responses are not positive:
> "Only recently have tribes been invited into that process," [tribal
> attorney Michael] Willis told tribal leaders. Based on his preliminary review
of the
> regulations for trust land acquisitions, he said the proposal would
> "dramatically curtail tribal rights."
> "The new fee-to-trust regulations that Interior has drafted are very
> burdensome on tribes and provide an unprecedented 'veto' right of surrounding
> communities in determining whether a fee-to-trust application is granted," he
said.
It's very clear that the Bush Administration is trying to tie the "Indian
gaming lobbyist scandal" and its "campaign financing loopholes" to reform of
Indian land trusts, hence, the inclusion of land-in-trust issues. Of course,
land-in-trust for gaming purposes is a current hot button issue for John McCain,
as
he stampedes his "reform" bill through Senate Indian Affairs, with or without
Indian support. But the land-into-trust issues included in the current
proposed changes from Interior are not explicitly related to McCain's current
crusade, but that's not of course how anti-sovereignty Conservative hacks and
their
media watercarriers will frame it, and uninformed Americans will eat it up.
"All Indians want land so they can build casinos, end of story."
Heck, even Howard Dean pushed that meme for years as governor of Vermont.
Watch the rhetoric heat up as McCain pushes his bill - Editorial pages around
the
country will be brimming with borderline racist diatribes against dirty
Injuns.
That the Administration is once again suddenly pushing "reform" through
Interior indicated they're very concerned that the votes might not be there to
get
reformed passed in the House, particularly if things go poorly for the GOP
this November.
Remember, Bush, and Norton's goal first and foremost is to protect their big
industry (oil & gas, mining, forestry, agribusiness) moneybags. Everything
else come a far distant second.
Here are the proposed changes.
Posted by MB Williams at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks
> Wednesday, February 8, 2006
The Bush administration is launching a new round of trust reform talks,
> the likes of which haven't been seen since the reorganization of the Bureau
> of Indian Affairs and the controversial BITAM proposal.
>
> The first meeting takes place over two days in Albuquerque, New Mexico, next
> week. Interior Department officials say at least four more sessions are
> being planned and that everything -- from leases to land-into-trust
applications
> to fees for trust services -- is on the table.
>
> "We'll be taking lots of comments and hearing from Indian tribes, plus the
> individuals, on how we want to move forward," Donna Erwin, the deputy Special
> Trustee for American Indians, said in an interview on Monday.
>
> The proposed regulations has been circulating in Indian Country since late
> December. The draft covers a wide range of trust and trust-related issues,
> including probate, land title, trust fund accounting and whereabouts unknown.
>
> Comments are being accepted on the draft until March 3, said Michelle Singer
> , a Bureau of Indian Affairs attorney and former chief of staff at the Office
> of Special Trustee. The department will take three to four weeks to review
> the comments before publishing the regulations in the Federal Register, she
> said.
>
> That will trigger another 60-day comment period, after which the regulations
> could be finalized. Singer said some of the regulations are needed by June
> in order to meet the requirements of the American Indian Probate Reform Act, a
> new law that is designed to streamline the probate of Indian estates and
> consolidate highly fractionated parcels of Indian land.
> Willis acknowledged that some of regulations are outdated and probably nee
> to be revised. But he said an "internal" departmental group has been working
> on the proposal, mostly to the exclusion of Indian Country.
>
> The last time Interior opened up discussions with Indians over Trust Fund
reform was back in 2002, when, after what seemed, from the Indians perspective,
that some progress was being made, Norton completely scrapped the talks and all
proposals, and unilaterally instituted sweeping changes, including the
formation of the Office of the Trustee, a virtual rubber-stamp official with
little
actual power and no autonomy from the Secretary.
That was also the point where Congress got involved and curtailed funding of
the court ordered Trust Fund accounting through a secret "midnight rider",
pushed by Delay and Co.
So what are the proposed changes and how do they impact the Indians? Well,
most tribal offices have only just received the 200 page document, only two
weeks from the first hearing date. But initial responses are not positive:
> "Only recently have tribes been invited into that process," [tribal
> attorney Michael] Willis told tribal leaders. Based on his preliminary review
of the
> regulations for trust land acquisitions, he said the proposal would
> "dramatically curtail tribal rights."
> "The new fee-to-trust regulations that Interior has drafted are very
> burdensome on tribes and provide an unprecedented 'veto' right of surrounding
> communities in determining whether a fee-to-trust application is granted," he
said.
It's very clear that the Bush Administration is trying to tie the "Indian
gaming lobbyist scandal" and its "campaign financing loopholes" to reform of
Indian land trusts, hence, the inclusion of land-in-trust issues. Of course,
land-in-trust for gaming purposes is a current hot button issue for John McCain,
as
he stampedes his "reform" bill through Senate Indian Affairs, with or without
Indian support. But the land-into-trust issues included in the current
proposed changes from Interior are not explicitly related to McCain's current
crusade, but that's not of course how anti-sovereignty Conservative hacks and
their
media watercarriers will frame it, and uninformed Americans will eat it up.
"All Indians want land so they can build casinos, end of story."
Heck, even Howard Dean pushed that meme for years as governor of Vermont.
Watch the rhetoric heat up as McCain pushes his bill - Editorial pages around
the
country will be brimming with borderline racist diatribes against dirty
Injuns.
That the Administration is once again suddenly pushing "reform" through
Interior indicated they're very concerned that the votes might not be there to
get
reformed passed in the House, particularly if things go poorly for the GOP
this November.
Remember, Bush, and Norton's goal first and foremost is to protect their big
industry (oil & gas, mining, forestry, agribusiness) moneybags. Everything
else come a far distant second.
Here are the proposed changes.
Posted by MB Williams at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks