$455 Million, Adding Insult to Injury

Federal District judge Robertson recently ruled that the U.S. Government owes Native Americans $455 million dollars as "proper repair" for the estimated $47 billion that the Government never paid individual Indians for income generated from over 120 years of managing oil, gas, grazing, timber, and mining leases on their lands. This ruling came after nearly 16 years of litigation in the largest ever class action lawsuit against the federal government - representing some 500,000 individual Indians whose lands were being leased out by the federal government. On Tuesday Eloise Cobell, the lead plaintiff, appeared on Democracy Now! to announce her intent to appeal this decision. In the words of Mrs. Cobell:

"The opinion is both profoundly disappointing and difficult to understand. It disregards unchallenged evidence of record, law of the case, law of the DC Circuit since 1895, and settled law as set forth by the United States Supreme Court.

Among other things, duties and responsibilities of the US government as Trustee for the Individual Indian Trust are the same as those that apply to private trustees, unless Congress expressly has enacted legislation to the contrary. No such legislation has been enacted.

Accordingly, the unwillingness of the district court to apply trust law is puzzling. So is its unwillingness to hold the government accountable for its egregious breaches of trust. The district court now says that holding the government accountable would be unfair to the government. The complete lack of concern for fairness to victims of 120 years of abuse is utterly incomprehensible to Native People."

Village Earth is working at "ground-zero" on this issue. While we support Cobell's efforts to seek justice from the Federal Government and force them to repair this horribly flawed system, we are working to help people reclaim and consolidate their lands from the Federal leasing system giving them an opportunity to bennefit directly from them on their own.

Pepper Creek Gardening Project

(Above: Pete rakes cut grass on his land for feed for goats and other animals he's raising)

In the heart of Pine Ridge's Wounded Knee District, a few miles up a dirt road west of Manderson lies Pepper Creek and the location of Pete Stand's growing farm project. According to Pete, he's just trying to make a better life for his kids and provide fresh vegetables to the local community. With a tractor recently purchased with a small grant from Village Earth, Pete is reclaiming old 1800's farm implements used by his grandfather during a time before the relocation programs of the post WWII era and the HUD cluster housing projects of the 60's and 70's when families across the reservation lived on their allotted lands and grew much of their own food. Along with working seasonally for area ranchers, Pete is carving out his own niche by growing vegetables, raising goats, horses, and chickens and with the help of area extension agent Sean Burke, Pete plans to expand into raising pigs and ducks.


(Above: Pete adjusting the 1800's era rake his grandfather used to use)

Pete is part of a growing movement of people on the Pine Ridge Reservation tired of living in the deteriorating housing projects with few options for work. A situation is compounded by the growing epidemic of diabetes on the reservation caused, in part, by the lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables. It's a terrible irony that the poorest communities in America often pay the most for food and that highly processed foods tend to be the cheapest source of raw calories. This certainly holds true for the Pine Ridge Reservation but people like Pete Stands and others across the reservation are working to create a more equitable and localized food-web.

Village Earth first learned about Pete's project from Calvin White Butterfly who is working to mobilize Tiyospayes (traditional sub-communities comprised of extended families) within the Wounded Knee District to utlize their lands to develop projects that enhance local self-reliance and cultural self-determination. We would like to thank Honor the Earth and the support of our donors for making these projects possible.

For more information contact: david@villageearth.org

Proposed Findings of Fact for 43 Billion Dollar Suit Against Government

On July 11th, 2008 the Cobell plaintiff's posted on their website a proposed "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law" (download complete document here) from their landmark 43 billion dollar class action lawsuit against the Department of Interior for mismanagement and theft of lease revenue from the lands of over 500,000 Native Americans.

According to the document:

"These findings and conclusions are the result of a nine-day bench trial in June 2008.1 Plaintiffs seek the equitable remedy of restitution and specific relief for Individual Indian Money (IIM) that was collected by the government as trustee and which the defendants are unable to establish was properly disbursed to a beneficiary, in addition to an amount representing the benefit to the government from retention of these funds. This trial was set for the purpose of determining the dollar amount of that remedy.

Earlier this year, in findings issued January 30, 2008, this Court noted that one of the questions which was addressed in the bench trial held in the October 2007 trial was the dollar amount of the IIM trust “throughput,” i.e., the funds that have flowed into and out of the IIM trust. Cobell v. Kempthorne (“Cobell XX”), 532 F. Supp. 2d 37, 82 (D.D.C. 2008). However, the parties’ efforts to determine throughput in the October 2007 trial were found to be lacking and based on “sparse and largely unsupported evidence.” Cobell XX, 532 F. Supp. 2d at 82. Accordingly, the Pretrial Order for the present trial provided that while the January 30 findings would serve as a starting point, the parties were expected to adduce further evidence on this core issue. See Pretrial Order at 1.

The findings and conclusions set forth herein, derived from this trial and the extensive record developed in this litigation, support and explain this Court’s decision that plaintiffs are entitled to restitution of $46,851,210,000.00, which represents the accumulated benefit conferred on defendants, net of amounts currently recorded on behalf of Individual Indian Trust beneficiaries. Jun. 2008 PX-189. Alternatively, plaintiffs are entitled to the funds withheld and interest pursuant to the government’s statutory duty to pay such interest (i.e., specific relief) in the amount of $62,018,970,000.00, which is net of amounts currently recorded on behalf of Individual Indian Trust beneficiaries. Jun. 2008 PX-192. These amounts should be ordered to be paid forthwith into the Registry of the Court."

For more information visit: www.indiantrust.com

New Book About America's Underground Food Movement Features VE's Projects on Pine Ridge

Author Sandor Ellix Katz profiles "the cutting edge of food activism" in the United States in his latest book "The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved." From seed saving, land and labor struggles, and cultural survival to slow and raw food Katz highlights some of the grassroots efforts that are working to transform the current corporate driven, fossil fuel dependent, and inequitable food paradigm. One of the efforts described in his book is Village Earth's Lakota Lands Recovery Project on the Pine Ridge Reservation which is working with Lakota families to combine the restoration of grassfed bison herds with the recovery of Reservation lands to the control of individual indian allottees and their families. Alongside these efforts is the development a program to link sustainably/respectfully raised bison to the local and regional food web.

We appreciate the recognition and recommend that anyone who is interested in learning more about the problems with America's food system, but more importantly, what's being done to change it, should purchase Katz's book.

JUDGE HOPES TO RULE BY MID-JULY IN INDIAN TRUST CASE

Reposted from: http://www.indiantrust.com

WASHINGTON, JUNE 19 -- U.S. District Judge James Robertson said today he hopes to issue a ruling by mid-July on how much money Indian Trust beneficiaries failed to received as a result of the government's mismanagement of their money.

The judge made his announcement shortly before noon after the government concluded its evidence at a eight-day trial on the issue.

The trial will resume Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. when lawyers for the Indian plaintiffs present a final rebuttal witness in the proceeding.

Lawyers for both the Indians and the government then will present closing arguments.
Judge Robertson said both sides will be asked to submit written briefs outlining recommendations for his ruling.

The judge has stated previously that he hopes this proceeding will be the final trial in the 12-year-old class action lawsuit. It was filed in 1996 by Elouise Cobell, a Blackfeet Indian from Montana, over trust accounts that the federal government established for an estimated 500,000 Native Americans.

Lawyers for the Indians have said that the government owes the Indians $58 billion as a result of its use of Indian money since the trust was established in 1887. The government is contesting those figures, arguing that the Indians lost no more than $158 million over the 121 years that the trust has been in operation.

contact: Bill McAllister 703 385-6996

2008 Pine Ridge Study Tour Lays Solid Foundation

Above: Participants to the first annual Pine Ridge Study Tour.

This was the first year that we offered a "study tour" experience on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and I am happy to say that it has a laid a solid foundation for future tours organized by Village Earth.

The tour visited community-based development projects supported by Village Earth related to land tenure, buffalo restoration, and the empowerment of traditional cultural organizations. Each day the participants were visited a different site or project on the reservation with interpretation from local Lakota guides. There purpose of the tour was to explore and test the potential for community-based tourism geared towards educating tourists on both the historical and current realities of the Reservation and Federal Indian policy from a Lakota perspective but also to see and learn about the constructive ways groups on the Reservation are trying to transform it.

We made every effort, during the week long tour, to ensure that as much money as possible from the tour went directly to Lakota businesses and families on the reservation by staying at the Lakota run "Odd Duck Inn" run by Mark St. Pierre and Tilda Long Soldier, we hired all local guides, and hired local families to cook meals for the group. Plus, the participants purchased most of their crafts directly from producers across the Reservation. Plus, the participants got access to a side of the reservation that few people have the privledge to experience. In all it was a great succes and we look forward to hosting another tour next year.

If you have a group that is interested in organizing a similiar tour you can contact David Bartecchi.

BOOKS FOR BUFFALOS BENEFIT

Saturday, June 7, 10am-6pm
HOOKED ON BOOKS
3918 Maizeland @ Academy, Colorado Springs, CO.

This very special community event is being sponsored by HOOKED ON BOOKS. The owner, Mary Ciletti, will donate 10% of book sales that day toward the purchase of buffalos for the Pine Ridge Reservation. The Gioia Supper Club and Friends will be present and offer the following services for sale:

Jim Ciletti, Buffalo Bard, will write personal poetry while-you-wait.

Dr. Ann Frank will offer her services as Ask Dr. Ann About Your Life.

Diana DiMara and Susan Krassy will be selling buffalo cookies, buffalo bites, buffalo bundt cake and other range delights.

Marsha Sterling will donate all the proceeds from the sale of her handmade books.

Diana Elmore will assist in reading messages from animal totems.

Jontrea Elmore will offer face painting.

There will be live music throughout the day: Eddie Three Eagles will play flute. Robert Loewe will play the keyboard.

There will be door prizes and a general air of celebration and FUN FUN FUN.

Buffalo are purchased through the Adopt-A-Buffalo Campaign, through Village Earth, a not-for-profit organization located in Fort Collins.

Why buy buffalo for Pine Ridge?

*They help restore the native ecology of the area. They are a ‘keystone’ species that enhance the grasses over time and whose hooves aerate the soil. Other animals return as the land begins to flourish again. *Raising buffalos increases the self-sufficiency of the Lakota families and strengthens the extended family *Buffalos provide sustainable and equitable land utilization.

benefit info: Marsha Sterling, 575-0222 buffalo info: david@villageearth.org