Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 22, 2006 23:50:51 GMT -5
Committing acts of journalism
Former BIA director Kevin Gover speaks on press coverage of Abramoff
and Native Issues
www.prometheus6.org/node/12099
professorkim.blogspot.com/2006/01/former-bia-director-kevin-
gover-speaks.html
Few people can speak about the issues affecting Native Americans with
more authority, and from more perspectives than Kevin Gover, a
professor of Law at the University of Arizona who is also the former
Assistant Secretary of the Interior, responsible for running the
Bureau of Indian Affairs during the Clinton administration. He has
also been ranked among the most prominent Indian lawyers and
lobbyists in the United States.
During his tenure as BIA Secretary, Gover apologized for the BIA's
history of abuses to Indian tribes. There were also major political
battles over subjects such as the process for granting federal
recognition to tribes.
We started our conversation with my asking Gover to identify the most
pressing issues facing Native peoples. Gover broke the issues into
two categories: negotiating with the federal government for the right
to self-determination -- and confronting "social pathologies" within
Indian country. Those pathologies include substance abuse, domestic
violence, and the sexual exploitation of children.
Gover said that these pathologies are rooted in the history of
brutality against Native Americans, but it was up to today's Indians
to find ways of overcoming that history. Shame is one factor that
keeps Indians from talking about the problems, he said. That's why he
shares his own experiences as a recovering alcoholic.
Media does a "miserable job" of covering Indian tribes' role in
Abramoff scandal
Gover cites the coverage of fallen super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff as an
example of the problem that journalists have in covering Native
American issues. He argues that the compexity of Indian issues leads
too many reporters to substitute agenda-driven reporting for fair,
comprehensive coverage. Early in the scandal, he said, the tribes
that Abramoff "ripped off" were presented as victims; more recently,
the tone has bas been more negative. What gets lost, Gover says, is
that that the Indian tribes involved in the Abramoff scandal
represent only a tiny fraction of Indian tribes.
Gover talked about the prospect of lobbying reform and ways in which
the right kind of lobbying can benefit Native Americans. The federal
government can "be more creative and more forthcoming" in helping
tribes address their internal social problems.
In the final segment, we talked about the invisble Native American
victime of Hurricane Katrina, the lack of independence of Native
media and how journalists can do a better job of covering Indian
issues.
Former BIA director Kevin Gover speaks on press coverage of Abramoff
and Native Issues
www.prometheus6.org/node/12099
professorkim.blogspot.com/2006/01/former-bia-director-kevin-
gover-speaks.html
Few people can speak about the issues affecting Native Americans with
more authority, and from more perspectives than Kevin Gover, a
professor of Law at the University of Arizona who is also the former
Assistant Secretary of the Interior, responsible for running the
Bureau of Indian Affairs during the Clinton administration. He has
also been ranked among the most prominent Indian lawyers and
lobbyists in the United States.
During his tenure as BIA Secretary, Gover apologized for the BIA's
history of abuses to Indian tribes. There were also major political
battles over subjects such as the process for granting federal
recognition to tribes.
We started our conversation with my asking Gover to identify the most
pressing issues facing Native peoples. Gover broke the issues into
two categories: negotiating with the federal government for the right
to self-determination -- and confronting "social pathologies" within
Indian country. Those pathologies include substance abuse, domestic
violence, and the sexual exploitation of children.
Gover said that these pathologies are rooted in the history of
brutality against Native Americans, but it was up to today's Indians
to find ways of overcoming that history. Shame is one factor that
keeps Indians from talking about the problems, he said. That's why he
shares his own experiences as a recovering alcoholic.
Media does a "miserable job" of covering Indian tribes' role in
Abramoff scandal
Gover cites the coverage of fallen super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff as an
example of the problem that journalists have in covering Native
American issues. He argues that the compexity of Indian issues leads
too many reporters to substitute agenda-driven reporting for fair,
comprehensive coverage. Early in the scandal, he said, the tribes
that Abramoff "ripped off" were presented as victims; more recently,
the tone has bas been more negative. What gets lost, Gover says, is
that that the Indian tribes involved in the Abramoff scandal
represent only a tiny fraction of Indian tribes.
Gover talked about the prospect of lobbying reform and ways in which
the right kind of lobbying can benefit Native Americans. The federal
government can "be more creative and more forthcoming" in helping
tribes address their internal social problems.
In the final segment, we talked about the invisble Native American
victime of Hurricane Katrina, the lack of independence of Native
media and how journalists can do a better job of covering Indian
issues.