And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: To: "triballaw" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Fri, 10 Sep 1999 11:48:13 -0700 From: "Frank LaFountaine" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Mime-Version: 1.0 Here's a news article posted on September 10, 1999, in the Tacoma News Tribune about Tribes' role in NAFTA in protecting the environment. Indians welcome a role in trade Tribal leaders remain angry they had no role in NAFTA, but accept it as reality - and an opportunity Rob Carson; The News Tribune American Indian leaders from Washington and British Columbia said Thursday they welcome new opportunities to take part in international trade decisions that affect the Northwest environment. But they said they don't believe their opinions will be taken seriously or heeded. The Indian leaders sharply criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement Thursday at a forum on NAFTA and indigenous peoples of the Northwest. Tribal representatives were clearly still angry that they were not included in negotiations that led to the free trade agreement, signed in 1994. "The process totally excluded our people,'' said Simon Lucas, representing the Hesquiat tribe of British Columbia. "We have to think about how this NAFTA thing got started. Whose interests were there? Certainly our interests were not taken into account.'' But, Lucas said, tribes should take advantage now, if there are opportunities. "It's not that we're opposed to NAFTA anymore,'' he said. "It's here. Now the question is, 'How are we going to participate?''' The conference, organized and funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, was the second of four such meetings held with native tribes throughout North America. The forum, which continues today at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle, is being held in conjunction with the annual Salmon Homecoming Celebration, a four-day festival taking place through Sunday on the Seattle waterfront. William Nitze, assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of International Activities, acknowledged that tribes have suffered from environmental degradation that has resulted from industry, but said matters are improving. EPA grants to tribes for various environmental projects grew from $35 million in 1994 to $160 million in 1999, he said. "Is that enough?'' Nitze asked. "No. There should be far more. But it is a beginning.'' One example of how industry can injure tribes, Nitze noted, is the concentration of toxic PCBs found in the flesh of polar bears. PCBs, a toxic industrial byproduct, accumulate in the tissue of living organisms and work their way up the food chain. In recent studies, Nitze said, polar bears were found to have PCB concentrations 60,000 times above background levels. This threatens arctic tribes that depend on the bears for subsistence, Nitze said. Tribal representatives criticized policies that put profit before the health of the environment. The decimation of Northwest salmon runs was the most frequently used example, but criticism was also leveled at forest practices and the widespread use of antibiotics and growth hormones. Billy Frank, chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, angrily criticized government policies that he said are designed to keep tribes poor. But, he said, tribes should take whatever opportunity they can to get involved in NAFTA decisions. "NAFTA puts us at the table if we want to be at the table,'' Frank said. "NAFTA is an opportunity for tribes throughout the world to take part if they want to take part. "Our world is small now. We have to help each other to protect what we have.'' "You, as indigenous people, probably have the most to lose from the degradation of the natural environment,'' said Janine Ferretti, executive director of the secretariat of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation in Montreal. But, Ferretti said, there are definite signs of progress. Already, she said, environmental agreements made as a result of NAFTA are in part responsible for a 45 percent reduction in DDT used in Mexico and in emissions of pollutants like mercury, dioxins and lead. The fact that Mexico, the United States and Canada are working together on environmental issues for the entire continent is a major step, Nitze said. "This is just the beginning of a new and very exciting road,'' he said. "It's going to lead us to a better place, but it's not going to be easy and it's going to take cooperation and creativity on all our parts.'' - - - * Staff writer Rob Carson covers diversity and tribes. Reach him at 253-597-8693 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] - - - SIDEBAR: Performances, powwow set for celebration Thursday's forum was one part of the seventh annual Salmon Homecoming Celebration, a four-day festival in honor of salmon and their habitat. This year's celebration is presented by the Muckleshoot Casino in conjunction with the Seattle Aquarium, the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and several Pacific Northwest Indian tribes. Among the scheduled activities - all of which take place on Seattle's waterfront - are these: * Northwest Coastal Gathering: A potlatch-style celebration that features songs, dances and ceremonial presentations by hundreds of American Indian performers; 5-9 tonight on Piers 62/63. * Salmon Homecoming Powwow will bring more than 500 American Indians from the Pacific Northwest and Northwest Territories in full traditional dress and regalia. Tribes will compete in a variety of dancing and drumming contests; Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. * Canoe Welcoming Ceremonies for up to a dozen hand-carved canoes will be held at noon today and again at noon Sunday. * Salmon Stage and Native American Arts Fair will feature dancers, storytellers and theatrical groups doing ancient performance arts and artists who will display carvings, beadwork, native drums and other traditional work, throughout the festival. * Activities also include a 3.5-mile run/walk along the waterfront on Saturday at 10 a.m. (register at 8 a.m.); environmental exhibits and a traditional salmon bake. - Rob Carson, The News Tribune )) The News Tribune 09/10/1999 Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
