on my search for Death panels myth
I found this interesting article I won'r put the complet article just high lights
http://www.narf.org/pubs/nlr/nlr34-1.pdf
NARF’s reputation as a leading force in the
development of Indian law and its record in
achieving justice on behalf of Native American
people by providing excellent and highly ethical
legal representation to Indigenous peoples has
not gone unnoticed in national and international
forums. The newly elected Obama Administration
called on the Native American Rights Fund to
help them prepare to implement their policies
for our tribal nations. NARF Executive Director
John Echohawk, and former NARF attorneys
Bob Anderson and Keith Harper were called upon
by President Obama to serve on his Transition
Team. President Obama has already appointed
Jodi Archambault Gillette, a member of the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and daughter of former
NARF Board member Dave Archambault, as
one the three Deputy Associate Directors of the
Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. This is the
first time a Native has been appointed to this
position.
In April, President Obama announced the
nomination of Larry EchoHawk (brother of NARF
Executive Director John Echohawk) as Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs and the full Senate
VOLUME 34, NO.1 WINTER/SPRING 2009
The New Obama Administration and Indian Country
............................................................................ page 1
NARF Bids Farewell to True Modern Day Warrior:
Walter Echo-Hawk Jr. ........................................ page 7
CASE UPDATES
- Supreme Court continues to rule against tribes and
Indian country .......................................................... page 8
- Nation’s Tribes Asking Congress for Swift Action on
Climate Legislation.......................................... page 10
- Yup’ik-Speaking Voters Ask Supreme Court To Uphold
Voting Rights Act ............................................ page 12
CALLING TRIBES TO ACTION! ...................... page 13
Indian Law Library .......................................... page 14
NARF ................................................................ page 15
The New Obama Administration
and Indian Country
NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND
President Obama and Shahela Pourier/Eyre - photo by Lori Pourier
confirmed his nomination on May 19, 2009. Mr.
EchoHawk was officially sworn in on May 22.
Larry Echohawk brings with him a wealth of
knowledge in Indian law, government and public
policy. Larry Echohawk is a former tribal
attorney, a former Attorney General of Idaho,
was most recently a law professor at Brigham
Young University, and serves as of counsel to the
EchoHawk Law Firm in Idaho. It is also expected
that President Obama will soon be filling the
positions of Office of the Special Trustee for
American Indians, the National Indian Gaming
Commission, and the Commissioner for the
Administration for Native American Indians,
with Native Americans.
Three other Natives have been nominated and
are waiting for Senate confirmation or have
been confirmed. Mary L. Smith, a member of
the Cherokee Nation, has been nominated for
the position of Assistant Attorney General for
the Tax Division at the Department of Justice.
Hilary Tompkins, a member of the Navajo
Nation, has been nominated for Solicitor of the
Department of the Interior. Yvette Roubideaux,
a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, has been
nominated and confirmed as the Director of
Indian Health Services. These Native women
will bring with them outstanding expertise in
Indian law, Indian health care needs, and in
national Indian issues.
On June 15, 2009, in taped remarks to the
2009 National Congress of American Indians
Mid-Year Conference, President Barack Obama
announced the appointment of Kimberly
Teehee, a member of the Cherokee Nation, as
Senior Policy Advisor for Native American
Affairs. As a member of the Domestic Policy
Council, Teehee will advise the President on
issues impacting Indian Country. Since January
of 1998, Teehee has served as a Senior Advisor to
the House of Representatives Native American
Caucus Co-Chair, Congressman Dale Kildee
(D-MI). President Obama also announced that
the White House will hold a Tribal Nations
Conference later this fall.
We have hope that President Obama and his
Cabinet, with those fresh Native faces and an
abundance of expertise, can begin to help steer
this Nation into recognizing and embracing our
tribal nations, our tribal histories, and our tribal
knowledge.
During his campaign, President Obama stated
that “Perhaps more than anyone else, the Native
American community faces huge challenges
that have been ignored by Washington for too
long. It is time to empower Native Americans in
the development of the national policy agenda.”...
“We’ve got to make sure we are not just
having a BIA that is dealing with the various
Native American tribes; we’ve got to have the
President of the United States meeting on a
regular basis with the Native American leadership
and ensuring relationships of dignity and respect.”
President Obama supports the principle of
tribal self-determination, with recognition that
the federal government must honor its treaty
obligations and fully enable tribal self-governance.
In furtherance of the government-to-government
relationship, Barack Obama will include tribal
leadership in the important policy determinations
that impact Indian Country. Obama will
appoint an American Indian policy advisor on
his senior White House staff so that Indian
Country has a direct interface at the highest
level of the Obama Administration. In addition,
Obama will host a White House “Tribal G8” – an
annual meeting with Native American leaders to
develop a national Indian policy agenda.
Barack Obama recognizes that honoring the
government-to-government relationship requires
fulfillment of the United States’ trust responsibility
to tribes and individual Indians. More
specifically, Obama is committed to meaningful
reform of the broken system that manages and
administers the trust lands and other trust assets
belonging to tribes and individual Indians.
Further, he is committed to resolving equitably
with both tribes and individual Indians litigation
resulting from the past failures in the administration
and accounting of their trust assets.
PAGE 2 NARF LEGAL REVIEW NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND
NARF
I found this interesting article I won'r put the complet article just high lights
http://www.narf.org/pubs/nlr/nlr34-1.pdf
NARF’s reputation as a leading force in the
development of Indian law and its record in
achieving justice on behalf of Native American
people by providing excellent and highly ethical
legal representation to Indigenous peoples has
not gone unnoticed in national and international
forums. The newly elected Obama Administration
called on the Native American Rights Fund to
help them prepare to implement their policies
for our tribal nations. NARF Executive Director
John Echohawk, and former NARF attorneys
Bob Anderson and Keith Harper were called upon
by President Obama to serve on his Transition
Team. President Obama has already appointed
Jodi Archambault Gillette, a member of the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and daughter of former
NARF Board member Dave Archambault, as
one the three Deputy Associate Directors of the
Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. This is the
first time a Native has been appointed to this
position.
In April, President Obama announced the
nomination of Larry EchoHawk (brother of NARF
Executive Director John Echohawk) as Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs and the full Senate
VOLUME 34, NO.1 WINTER/SPRING 2009
The New Obama Administration and Indian Country
............................................................................ page 1
NARF Bids Farewell to True Modern Day Warrior:
Walter Echo-Hawk Jr. ........................................ page 7
CASE UPDATES
- Supreme Court continues to rule against tribes and
Indian country .......................................................... page 8
- Nation’s Tribes Asking Congress for Swift Action on
Climate Legislation.......................................... page 10
- Yup’ik-Speaking Voters Ask Supreme Court To Uphold
Voting Rights Act ............................................ page 12
CALLING TRIBES TO ACTION! ...................... page 13
Indian Law Library .......................................... page 14
NARF ................................................................ page 15
The New Obama Administration
and Indian Country
NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND
President Obama and Shahela Pourier/Eyre - photo by Lori Pourier
confirmed his nomination on May 19, 2009. Mr.
EchoHawk was officially sworn in on May 22.
Larry Echohawk brings with him a wealth of
knowledge in Indian law, government and public
policy. Larry Echohawk is a former tribal
attorney, a former Attorney General of Idaho,
was most recently a law professor at Brigham
Young University, and serves as of counsel to the
EchoHawk Law Firm in Idaho. It is also expected
that President Obama will soon be filling the
positions of Office of the Special Trustee for
American Indians, the National Indian Gaming
Commission, and the Commissioner for the
Administration for Native American Indians,
with Native Americans.
Three other Natives have been nominated and
are waiting for Senate confirmation or have
been confirmed. Mary L. Smith, a member of
the Cherokee Nation, has been nominated for
the position of Assistant Attorney General for
the Tax Division at the Department of Justice.
Hilary Tompkins, a member of the Navajo
Nation, has been nominated for Solicitor of the
Department of the Interior. Yvette Roubideaux,
a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, has been
nominated and confirmed as the Director of
Indian Health Services. These Native women
will bring with them outstanding expertise in
Indian law, Indian health care needs, and in
national Indian issues.
On June 15, 2009, in taped remarks to the
2009 National Congress of American Indians
Mid-Year Conference, President Barack Obama
announced the appointment of Kimberly
Teehee, a member of the Cherokee Nation, as
Senior Policy Advisor for Native American
Affairs. As a member of the Domestic Policy
Council, Teehee will advise the President on
issues impacting Indian Country. Since January
of 1998, Teehee has served as a Senior Advisor to
the House of Representatives Native American
Caucus Co-Chair, Congressman Dale Kildee
(D-MI). President Obama also announced that
the White House will hold a Tribal Nations
Conference later this fall.
We have hope that President Obama and his
Cabinet, with those fresh Native faces and an
abundance of expertise, can begin to help steer
this Nation into recognizing and embracing our
tribal nations, our tribal histories, and our tribal
knowledge.
During his campaign, President Obama stated
that “Perhaps more than anyone else, the Native
American community faces huge challenges
that have been ignored by Washington for too
long. It is time to empower Native Americans in
the development of the national policy agenda.”...
“We’ve got to make sure we are not just
having a BIA that is dealing with the various
Native American tribes; we’ve got to have the
President of the United States meeting on a
regular basis with the Native American leadership
and ensuring relationships of dignity and respect.”
President Obama supports the principle of
tribal self-determination, with recognition that
the federal government must honor its treaty
obligations and fully enable tribal self-governance.
In furtherance of the government-to-government
relationship, Barack Obama will include tribal
leadership in the important policy determinations
that impact Indian Country. Obama will
appoint an American Indian policy advisor on
his senior White House staff so that Indian
Country has a direct interface at the highest
level of the Obama Administration. In addition,
Obama will host a White House “Tribal G8” – an
annual meeting with Native American leaders to
develop a national Indian policy agenda.
Barack Obama recognizes that honoring the
government-to-government relationship requires
fulfillment of the United States’ trust responsibility
to tribes and individual Indians. More
specifically, Obama is committed to meaningful
reform of the broken system that manages and
administers the trust lands and other trust assets
belonging to tribes and individual Indians.
Further, he is committed to resolving equitably
with both tribes and individual Indians litigation
resulting from the past failures in the administration
and accounting of their trust assets.
PAGE 2 NARF LEGAL REVIEW NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND
NARF
