| OCR Text |
Show Past Thursday, August 29, 1974 Hie Ute Bulletin 2 The Ute Bulletin Maxine Natchees Marjorie Byers .Ute Indian Tribe Hitnr Assedate Editor Petitions to recall four members of the Tribal Business Committee were filed with the council Aug. 12. Subscription rates: fS.50 per year Free to Ute Tribal Members Mall subscriptions or eorrrespondenee to: P. Box 129 Fort Duchesne, Utah 84026 Or call: (801) Ext 81 a 722-22- . 08 Member of the American Indian Press Association New President (Continued from page 1) At Interior itself, most top Indian affairs officials told AIPA they expected to continue their work. Indian Commissioner Morris Thompson, a presidential appointee, was also expected to continue, as well as BIA division chiefs recently appointed. One uncertainty was whether Bradley Patterson Jr. would continue in the White House, where he had served as special assistant to Leonard Garment. Patterson had been scheduled to head the Indian Affairs Committee on the White House Domestic Council before the impeachment isued drowned all such plans' in the making, and Patterson told AIPA I'm completely unclear where I'll be." Either Patterson or Casselman might eventually hold that post-- or Casselman may replace Garment as Pattersons . boss. Legislative Initiatives Besides personnel questions, the major question now is whether and how Ford will continue the Nixon Indian policies and legislative initiatives. Ford remained almost totally uninvolved in the affairs and needs of Indians in his home state of Michigan during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to Michigan: Indian spokesmen who talked to AlrA last October when Ford was designated Vice President following the resignation of former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew on Oct. 10. Those Indians in Michigan 25-ye- ar telegrammed Ford their congratulations and support on his new assignment. Ford, according to Capitol Hill staffers, has voted the Nixon administration line on most major national Indian legislative proposals since 1969. As a consequence, it is expected that Ford will continue the Nixon legislative initiatives. Of the original eight Nixon bills originally Indian proposed in 1970, one-t- he been enacted into Financing Act-h- as law, another bill to elevate the Indian Commissioner to an Interior Department Assistant Secretary is hung up in the House, and a bill to create an Indian Trust Counsel Authority is expected to gain new momentum before Congress recesses in early winter. Among the very first Indian bills arriving on President Ford's desk for signature may be bills now moving through Congress to resolve the historic and difficult Navajo-Hop- i land dispute, a bill significantly increasing health services and contracting for Indians sponsored by Sen. Henry M. Jackson, and the bill to create the Indian Counsel Trust Authority introduced by administration. Nixon the And Ford has styled himself a conservative in fiscal afihirs. His approach to government may soon be an approach in spending cuts, which will not bode well for any major increases in federal expenditures for Indians during the new Ford administration. Mootiog WM Indian Leadors During his brief eight months as Vice President, Ford met only once with India" leaders this past Mar. 7. Mel Petitions Filed to Recall Four Business Committee Members Tonasket (Colville), president of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and Gov. Robert Lewis (Zuni), president of the National Tribal Chairmen's Association (NTCA) met with Ford personally at Fords initiative for about 40 minutes to review Fords proposal to liquidate NCIO, then under the office of the Vice President. NCIO formally died this June 30. Ford proposed the creation of the White House Domestic Council Indian Affairs Committee and the creation of the two national Indian advisory councils to replace NCIO. His proposal became embroiled in controversies among national Indian political groups, and was left unresolved at the hour of impeachment itself. He may, upon the stimulus of his ' new advisors, revive the proposal. During the Mar. 7 meeting with Lewis and Tonasket, Ford told the two: 7 will always be your advocate. Come in any time and III be your link. NCAI President Tonasket commented on Ford to AIPA following that meeting: The Vice President is very much a businessman-- he never took time to joke. I've met quite a few politicians, and my personal impression is that hes kind of a point-blan- k man. He doesnt mess around. He comes right to the point with a straightforward attitude. And he made no pretense of knowing a great deal about Indians. I appreciate that-a- nd it makes it easier to work. There was no waste of time. It was all business, and that is refreshing. On Aug. 9, the day Ford took the presidential oath of office, William Youpee, executive director of the National Tribal Chairmens Association sent the following letter to Ford: We wish to congratulate you in assuming the responsibility of the 38th presidency of the United States. We in the National Tribal Chairmens Association feel these are exciting but critical times for Indians in the United States. Treaties are being tested, Indian lives are being exerted and new expectations are being voiced. To be responsive to this mood, the NTCA has dedicated itself to the promise of a better future for the reservation Indian. It is to the point, the one of communication and working toward common objectives, that NTCA pledges its support and cooperation to the Office of the Presidency in matters related lo Indians. Ford's Pledge To Minorities I am the peoples man, President Gerald R. Ford told a joint session of Congress Aug. 12, and Ford then described the diversity of Americas peoples to whom he has committed himself: To the limits of my strength and ability, I will be the President of the black, brown, red and white Americans, of old and young, of womens liberation-ist- s and male chauvinists and all the rest of us in between, of the poor and the rich, of Native sons and new refugees, of those who work at lathes or at desks or in mines or in the fields, and of Christians. Jews, Moslems, Buddhists and atheists, if there really are any atheists after what we have all been through. Floyd Wopsock and Charles Redfoot, both of Whiterocks, delivered the documents which requests the ousting of Tribal Chairman Lester Chapoose, Whiteriver representative; Gary Poowegup, Whiteriver, Homey Secakuku, Uintah; and Elwyn DuShane, Vice-Chairm- Uintah. Petitions were not served on the two Uncompahgre representatives Francis Wyasket and Albert Manning. The Business Committee accepted the petitions through the minutes of Aug. 12. of the The Constitution and Ute Tribe and the Tribal Ordinance prescribes any recall petitions must d of the eligible be signed by band of voters each calling for the recall of a member of the Committee representing the band. The Ordinance specifies a petition for recall must seek the recall of only one member of the Committee. If petitioners seek the recall of more than one member of the Committee, a separate petition must be submitted for each member involved. By-La- 74-0- 1 one-thir- The petitions filed with the Business Committee contained 63 names on the petition against Chapoose; 70 names on the petition against Poowegup; 77 names on the petition against Secakuku; and 94 names on the petition against DuShane. A special election board was named in accordance with the ordinance which establishes procedures for elections including general elections, recall elec- tions, and referendum elections. Appointed to the board on behalf of the petitioners were Mrs. Gertrude Willie, Uncompahgre; Maxie Chapoose, Uintah; and Vincent Sireech, Whiteriver. The Business Committee selected Lester Chapoose, Whiteriver; Elwyn DuShane, Uintah; and Wilbur Cuch, Whiteriver. At press time, the seventh member of the board was not named because the six members could not reach an agreement on a nominee. The ordinance also prescribes if in the event the six members of the board are unable to select the seventh member, the Business Committee will appoint the seventh member. Justice Department Brief Rejected By After the election board is finalized, it will determine the validity of the petitions and will formulate the rules and regulations to conduct a recall election pursuant to Section 3, Article V of the and the constitution and ordinance. The board will review the qualifications of each sismatorv nerwnn the validity of signatures and the conformancy of the petition with the the ordiConstitution and rules other and adopted by the nance, board or by the Business Committee. If the petitions or any one of the petitons are declared valid, the Chairman of the Business Committee will call a By-La- By-Law- special tribal meeting prior to the scheduling of a recall election to inform the tribal membership of the issues involved in the election on the recall petitum(s). An election will then be scheduled on any valid petiton. At least 30 percent of the legal voters of each band is required to vote at the election. A simple majority of the votes cast at the election on the recall petition for. each member will determine whether or not the member has been recalled. If the majority approves the recall petition, a special election will then be scheduled to fill the unexpired term of office. If the majority does not approve the recall petition, the recall is deemed to have failed and the councilman will continue his term of office. California Indians Halt Advisory Commission Bill A bill to create a California State Indian Advisory Commission (S.B. 1420) before the California legislature has bitten the dust after many California Indians, mindful of an earlier commission and its controversies, showered legislators with protests concerning the bill co- sponsored by State Sens. John Harmer and Mervyn Dymally. Dymally withdrew the bill just before a scheduled hearing date. Prime opponent was the California1 Indian Education Association, which rallied urban and rural Indians, tribal chairmen, landless and unaffiliated n Indians as well as groups to the to a griding halt. bring proposal non-India- Court Judge In Rapid City, S.D. July 29, District Court Judge Charles Bougue, rejected a Justice Department friend of the court brief which had charged the Oglala Sioux tribal administration of Tribal President Richard A. Wilson with interference m the civil rights of reservation voters in reservation elections last February, when Wilson faced American Indian Movement leader Russell C. Means in runoff balloting. Bogue said the Justice brief was biased against the tribal government. Now, ruled Bogue, the case must be heard on its own merits. The suit is Means v. Wilson. The intervention of Justice came through its Office of Indian Rights. AJCiA. Please notify the Bulletini if not receiving your paper or y have a change of address! s, gyri OBITUARIES Marvella Redfoot Funeral services were conducted Aug. at the Randlett L.D.S. Branch. The month old baby died Aug. 1 in a Vernal hospital of crib death. Marvella was born May; 11, 197i to LeGrande and Debra Arrive Redfoot in Roosevelt. Survivors include her parents, a sister, LeAnna, of Fort Duchesne; grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Roger Redfoot, Arcadia; Gladys Cuch, of Fort Duchesne; Archie Serawop, and Mrs. Ruby Accawinna, both of Fort 6 for Marvella Redfoot two-and-a-ha- lf great-grandparent- s, Duchesne. Interment was in the Fort Duchesne' Cemetery. |
