Navajo activist Klee Benally chains himself to an excavator on the San Francisco Peaks, which he and 13 tribes consider sacred.The Paris auction (click here) of 27 sacred American-Indian items earlier this month marks just the latest in a series of conflicts between what tribes consider sacred and what western cultures think is fair game in the marketplace.
Earlier this year, Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, said "To see the art market driving this kind of behavior, it's not just distressful to the Hopi people, it's a hurt that I don't believe people can really understand."
The auction wasn't the first such sale and probably won't be the last. The Hopi Tribe with the help of a Survival International attorney have tried to stop the last two Paris auctions. But so far they haven't been successful....
The reason this occurred was because the tribal land had not been purchased yet for 'fractional interests' of specific tribes named in the fund distribution by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The settlement reached in 2009 was:
ELOUISE PEPION COBELL, et al.,Plaintiffs
vs.
KEN SALAZAR, Secretary of the Interior, et al., Defendants
Case No. 1:96CV01285-JR
Class Action Settlement Agreement
...1. Accounting/Trust Administration Fund. “Accounting/Trust Administration Fund” shall mean the $1,412,000,000.00 that Defendants shall pay into a Settlement Account held in the trust department of a Qualified Bank (as hereinafter defined) selected by Plaintiffs and approved by the Court, as well as any interest or investment income earned before distribution. The $1,412,000,000.00 payment represents the maximum total amount that Defendants are required to pay to settle Historical Accounting Claims, Funds Administration Claims, and Land Administration Claims....
The actual settlement can be read at the words "Cobell Settlement Agreement" at the link below. So, if your wondering why the National Debt has gotten out of control quickly, it is because settlements like these have been achieved. These settlements were delayed by previous administrations that didn't want to take responsibility for an increasing debt that would effect political dogma.
The Secretary of the Interior (click here) established the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program) to implement the land consolidation provisions of the Cobell Settlement Agreement. The Settlement provided for a $1.9 billion Trust Land Consolidation Fund (Fund) to consolidate fractional land interests across Indian Country....
...There are approximately 150 unique reservations that have fractional interests. Tribal leadership, participation, and facilitation are crucial to the success of the Program. The Department of the Interior looks forward to working cooperatively with tribal leaders and individual landowners to reduce the number of fractional interests through voluntary land sales.
This settlement should not add to the 'interest' on the debt, because, the payments are structured over time through the general fund.
There is no reducing this settlement and there is every indication, at this point, the monies will be used well; unless; sacred ground is a theme and not a sincere respect for it's history and continuation of the culture.
By:
Gale Courey Toensing
4/2/13
The struggle (click here) to save the Muscogee Creek Nation’s sacred Hickory Ground in Alabama has crossed the country, gaining support from indigenous activists in the Southwest who are also struggling to preserve their holy places.
Wayland Gray, Mike Harjo and Mike Deo, Muscogee Creek Nation citizens from Oklahoma, drove for 16 hours to reach to Phoenix, Arizona, where they held a rally to stop the Poarch Band of Creek Indians from continuing to construct a $246 million casino expansion on Hickory Ground in Wetumpka, Alabama. The Poarch Band has already excavated 57 setsof Muscogee Creek ancestors’ remains as part of the casino expansion project....
