**URGENT**Please Help Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. . We are setting up Tipi's and Having Han Blece'Yapi on the land.
http://www.argusleader.com/..article/20091203/NEWS/..912030311/1003/business
The Internal Revenue Service plans to auction land on one of America's poorest Indian reservations, the Crow Creek Reservation east of Pierre, according to a federal lawsuit that seeks to block the sale.
The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe sought to block the auction scheduled for 10 a.m. today in Highmore. A judge denied the request but indicated he will set the case for trial, said Terry Pechota, the lawyer for Crow Creek Tribal Farms Inc.
Although the auction will occur, no land would change hands until sometime after a court date in late March, said Duane St. John, a member of the tribal council.
The auction would sell about 7,100 acres of land on the reservation, according to a lawsuit filed late Monday in U.S. District Court for South Dakota.
The tribe has been planning to develop wind energy, and "this is our prime wind energy land - it's prime wind energy land in the whole United States," St. John said. "So that's going to be another big hurt to us."
The IRS intends to auction the land to settle delinquent federal employment taxes owed by the tribe, the lawsuit states. As of August, the tribe owed the IRS about $3.1 million in back taxes, penalties and interest, according to the lawsuit. The estimated value of the land is $4.6 million, according to a Pierre appraisal company, the court records show.
"For decades, the land was lived upon and used by members of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe," according to the lawsuit, which maintains that "a plethora of federal laws" protect such land and that it should not be sold.
"Cultural activities were conducted upon the land. Members died and were buried on the land," the lawsuit states.
St. John said four families now living on the land also could be displaced if it is sold.
IRS spokeswoman Carrie Resch said the agency's policy is not to comment on pending litigation.
"It is pretty unusual for the IRS to be engaged with a tribe trying to collect taxes like this," said David Getches, dean of the University of Colorado Law School.
Tribes typically are not subject to federal taxes, but there are exceptions to that rule for business entities associated with tribes, such as casinos, Getches said.
"What is scary to tribes is the prospect of having lands that they own being auctioned off for back taxes," Getches said.
Robert Williams Jr., a law professor and director of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona, said "it is ironic that the Obama administration is pressuring banks to ease up on their mortgage foreclosure policies for defaulting homeowners in the worst recession since the Depression, and here Obama's IRS is going after one of the poorest tribes in one of the poorest and economically hard-hit areas of the country."
University of South Dakota law professor Frank Pommersheim, an expert in Indian law, said "I would say it's unusual for the IRS to be auctioning property on a reservation that is arguably owned by the tribe or tribal entity."
The ownership of the land could be a key factor in the case, he said.
It is on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation but has not always been controlled by the tribe, according to court records.
The land was a part of the original Crow Creek Indian Reservation established by the Treaty of 1868 and once was held in trust by the U.S. government for the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. It came out of trust and was sold to non-Indians, eventually becoming known as the LeMaster Ranch. In 1998, the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe acquired the land as part of a larger effort to enlarge the reservation and ensure its future, the lawsuit states.
"Indeed, the lands were considered so important to the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe that the tribe went into debt to acquire the land as part of its land consolidation effort to enlarge the Crow Creek Indian Reservation," the lawsuit states.
The land now is owned by Crow Creek Tribal Farms, a corporation formed under tribal laws that filed for bankruptcy in May, according to records from U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The tribe maintains that the corporation is not delinquent on any taxes, and the IRS has no right to auction the land to settle the tribe's tax bill.
The tax troubles date to 2003, when the tribe became delinquent in payment of federal employment taxes because it was operating under the assumption that payment was not necessary because it is a federally recognized tribe, the lawsuit states. It does not specify what type of employment is at issue.
"Because of erroneous tax advice received from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in approximately 2003 became delinquent in payment of employment taxes collected by the IRS," the lawsuit states.
Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the Department of the Interior, which oversees the BIA, said it's the agency's policy not to comment on cases in litigation.
Jeff Martin can be reached at 605-331-2373 or 800-530-6397.
To All Tribal Leaders Accross Indian Country,
We haven't given up, the Tribe has 180
days yet and Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and I and our Pro bono Attorney are
still working on this. Starting Mon. we are setting up Tipi's and having
Han Blece'Yapi on the land. It is bitterly cold here with snow flurries. It
is prime land overlooking the Missouri, the Tribe wanted to use for wind
energy. It was not held in trust, but fee land. The Sioux Tribes are
supporting Crow Creek.
It is time to make a stand once and for all! Make a statement that our land
never will be for sale!
EVERYONE PLEASE CONTACT
RANDY SIELER, FROM THE SIOUX FALLS US ATTORNEY'S OFFICE 605-330-4400 RIGHT
AWAY.
HE IS THE TRIBAL LAISON IN THE US ATTORNEYS OFFICE AND REQUEST A DELAY IN
THE AUCTION OF LAND ON BEHALF OF THE CROW CREEK SIOUX TRIBE
YOUR SUPPORT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.
Please help Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. Below are the contact numbers for the
SD Congressional Delegation and the article in USA Today.
Adrian_Arnakis@thune.senate...gov
kenneth_martin@johnson.senate...gov
Neal.ullman@mail.house.gov
Allison_Binney@Indian.Senate...gov
A. Gay Kingman, M.Ed. Executive Director
Member, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Association
1926 Stirling St.
Rapid City, SD 57702
Cell: 605-484-3036
Fax: 605-343-3074
E-mail: KingmanWapato@rushmore.com
My Pledge of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance to Creator and to the path Creator has put me on. I pledge allegiance to my family, to my ancestors who walked before me and to my future generations who will walk after me. I pledge to walk the way of the warrior, to protect those who need protection, to guide those who need guidance, and to help those who need my help. I pledge to be a man of honor and integrity and to do my part in making this world a better place to live. Aho.
Bear Warrior
http://www.freewebs.com/yona-..adatiya/
Thursday, December 3, 2009
IRS to auction land on Indian reservation. UNA's Response
IRS to auction land on Indian reservatio..n. UNA's Response To The Federal Government..: Remember The Elouise Cobell Indian Trust lawsuit! http://www.usatoday.com/news/..nation/2009-12-02-irs-indian-..reservation-auction_N.htm
IRS to auction land on Indian reservation
By Jeff Martin, USA TODAY
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Internal Revenue Serviceplans to auction land on one of America's poorest Indian reservations today, after efforts Wednesday to block the sale in U.S. District Court failed.
According to a federal lawsuit filed by the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, the IRS intends to auction the land to settle delinquent federal employment taxes it maintains are owed by the tribe.
On Wednesday, a judge denied the restraining order seeking to block the sale, but, according to Terry Pechota, the attorney for Crow Creek Tribal Farms, the judge indicated that he would set the case for trial.
The auction will occur, but no land would change hands until after a court date in late March, said Duane St. John, a member of the tribal council.
The tribe has been planning to develop wind energy, and "this is our prime wind energy land," St. John said. "So that's going to be another big hurt to us."
At issue: About 7,100 acres of land on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation in central South Dakota, the tribe said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Indian tribes are usually not subject to federal taxes, but there are exceptions for business entities associated with tribes, said David Getches, dean of the University of Colorado Law School.
According to the lawsuit, as of August, the tribe owed the IRS about $3,123,790 in back taxes, penalties and interest. The estimated value of the land is $4,634,000, according to a Pierre appraisal company, court records show.
The land is now owned by Crow Creek Tribal Farms, a corporation formed under tribal laws which filed for bankruptcy in May 2009, according to records from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Dakota.
In its lawsuit, the tribe claims that because of erroneous tax advice received from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), it became delinquent in payment of employment taxes around 2003.
The tribe maintains that it was told that because it was a federally recognized tribe, it was not necessary to pay federal employment taxes, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit does not specify what type of employment was involved.
Nedra Darling, spokeswoman for the Department of the Interior, which oversees the BIA, and IRS spokeswoman Carrie Resch said their agencies do not comment on pending litigation.
"It's the first time I've ever heard of the IRS moving against tribally owned property in this manner," said Robert Williams Jr., a law professor and director of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona.
Martin reports for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Native American Indian - Cobell Case
http://www.youtube.com/watch?..v=ySFFx0Cw7Es
For More Information Contact:
Elouise Cobell
Lead Plaintiff
Blackfeet Reservation Development Fund, Inc.
PO Box 3029
101 Pata Street
Browning, MT 59417
Email:
Elouise Cobell: info@indiantrust.com
http://www.indiantrust.com/
The $7 Billion Offer That Never Was
A number of news accounts – particularly The Associated Press - are incorrectly saying that the plaintiffs have rejected a $7 billion offer from the government to settle the Indian Trust lawsuit. That simply isn’t true.
Here are the facts:
The government has never offered to settle the Cobell vs. Kempthorne lawsuit at any price. Every proposal made by plaintiffs and by mediators to settle the case has been rejected by the government.
The Bush administration in March 2007 suggested it was willing to spend $7 billion over 10 years to resolve a wide range of major Indian issues, including land fractional land claims, the Cobell suit, all individual land mismanagement claims, the 100 plus trust lawsuits filed by tribes and pay for all of trust reform as well.
Oh yes, and it also included provisions to deny Indians any right to bring any future lawsuits for future mismanagement no matter how egregious. That final provision was essentially a license to steal.
This proposal was universally condemned by everyone not associated with the government, including a wide range of Native leaders.
It never went beyond conceptual testimony to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. And it contained no specific amount to settle the Cobell litigation.
In testimony before the committee Ms. Cobell said the figure was insufficient to settle her case alone. "This is not an offer -- instead, it is a slap in the face for every individual [with] trust fund litigation," she said. She did note that a mediator had suggested recoveries could run between $7 billion to $9 billion in the case. She said she "would want to talk about that more." Hardly a rejection.
But the Bush administration never followed up on her overture. In fact, federal officials have never made any offer to the Cobell legal team to settle the class action lawsuit for any specific amount.
In 2006, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee did introduce legislation to settle the lawsuit without a specific dollar amount. The Committee later amended that bill to include an $8 billion figure but the bill never moved out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee because of objections raised by the government.
Lawyers for the Justice Department and the Interior Department have made clear throughout the Cobell litigation that the government's firm position is that the Individual Indian Money (IIM) Trust is not a real trust and that Indians are owed nothing no matter how much money and other assets are missing or have been looted from the Trust.
The position of the Cobell plaintiffs has long been that we will consider reasonable offers from the United States to resolve this case.
Unfortunately, none has been put forth.
IRS to auction land on Indian reservation
By Jeff Martin, USA TODAY
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The Internal Revenue Serviceplans to auction land on one of America's poorest Indian reservations today, after efforts Wednesday to block the sale in U.S. District Court failed.
According to a federal lawsuit filed by the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, the IRS intends to auction the land to settle delinquent federal employment taxes it maintains are owed by the tribe.
On Wednesday, a judge denied the restraining order seeking to block the sale, but, according to Terry Pechota, the attorney for Crow Creek Tribal Farms, the judge indicated that he would set the case for trial.
The auction will occur, but no land would change hands until after a court date in late March, said Duane St. John, a member of the tribal council.
The tribe has been planning to develop wind energy, and "this is our prime wind energy land," St. John said. "So that's going to be another big hurt to us."
At issue: About 7,100 acres of land on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation in central South Dakota, the tribe said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.
Indian tribes are usually not subject to federal taxes, but there are exceptions for business entities associated with tribes, said David Getches, dean of the University of Colorado Law School.
According to the lawsuit, as of August, the tribe owed the IRS about $3,123,790 in back taxes, penalties and interest. The estimated value of the land is $4,634,000, according to a Pierre appraisal company, court records show.
The land is now owned by Crow Creek Tribal Farms, a corporation formed under tribal laws which filed for bankruptcy in May 2009, according to records from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Dakota.
In its lawsuit, the tribe claims that because of erroneous tax advice received from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), it became delinquent in payment of employment taxes around 2003.
The tribe maintains that it was told that because it was a federally recognized tribe, it was not necessary to pay federal employment taxes, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit does not specify what type of employment was involved.
Nedra Darling, spokeswoman for the Department of the Interior, which oversees the BIA, and IRS spokeswoman Carrie Resch said their agencies do not comment on pending litigation.
"It's the first time I've ever heard of the IRS moving against tribally owned property in this manner," said Robert Williams Jr., a law professor and director of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona.
Martin reports for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Native American Indian - Cobell Case
http://www.youtube.com/watch?..v=ySFFx0Cw7Es
For More Information Contact:
Elouise Cobell
Lead Plaintiff
Blackfeet Reservation Development Fund, Inc.
PO Box 3029
101 Pata Street
Browning, MT 59417
Email:
Elouise Cobell: info@indiantrust.com
http://www.indiantrust.com/
The $7 Billion Offer That Never Was
A number of news accounts – particularly The Associated Press - are incorrectly saying that the plaintiffs have rejected a $7 billion offer from the government to settle the Indian Trust lawsuit. That simply isn’t true.
Here are the facts:
The government has never offered to settle the Cobell vs. Kempthorne lawsuit at any price. Every proposal made by plaintiffs and by mediators to settle the case has been rejected by the government.
The Bush administration in March 2007 suggested it was willing to spend $7 billion over 10 years to resolve a wide range of major Indian issues, including land fractional land claims, the Cobell suit, all individual land mismanagement claims, the 100 plus trust lawsuits filed by tribes and pay for all of trust reform as well.
Oh yes, and it also included provisions to deny Indians any right to bring any future lawsuits for future mismanagement no matter how egregious. That final provision was essentially a license to steal.
This proposal was universally condemned by everyone not associated with the government, including a wide range of Native leaders.
It never went beyond conceptual testimony to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. And it contained no specific amount to settle the Cobell litigation.
In testimony before the committee Ms. Cobell said the figure was insufficient to settle her case alone. "This is not an offer -- instead, it is a slap in the face for every individual [with] trust fund litigation," she said. She did note that a mediator had suggested recoveries could run between $7 billion to $9 billion in the case. She said she "would want to talk about that more." Hardly a rejection.
But the Bush administration never followed up on her overture. In fact, federal officials have never made any offer to the Cobell legal team to settle the class action lawsuit for any specific amount.
In 2006, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee did introduce legislation to settle the lawsuit without a specific dollar amount. The Committee later amended that bill to include an $8 billion figure but the bill never moved out of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee because of objections raised by the government.
Lawyers for the Justice Department and the Interior Department have made clear throughout the Cobell litigation that the government's firm position is that the Individual Indian Money (IIM) Trust is not a real trust and that Indians are owed nothing no matter how much money and other assets are missing or have been looted from the Trust.
The position of the Cobell plaintiffs has long been that we will consider reasonable offers from the United States to resolve this case.
Unfortunately, none has been put forth.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Negligence Kills Teen
Negligence Kills Teen
From one of our myspace friends>>>
Dave
One of my friends on myspace has died due to National Health Negligence and the Royal Marsden Hospital are guilty of serious crimes. ;-(
PLEASE help and try and save other lives and sign the petition.
Teenage cancer groupmiss flame
PLEASE SIGN PETITION & REPOST-THANX
I ALSO WISH TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK THE MANY FRIENDS WHO SUPPORTED THIS CAUSE ALL ALONG AND CONTINUE TO DO SO...BLESS YOU ALL.
YOUR SUPPORT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED !
SIGNATURES ARE NEEDED NOW.....
IMPORTANT........PLEASE READ LATEST BLOG...........
PLEASE DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL FOR US ALL AND FOR A TEENAGER WHO HAD THE GUTS TO STAND UP FOR HER RIGHTS.......
PLEASE HELP, SIGN THE PETITION AND ASK OTHERS TO SIGN ......
IT ONLY TAKES 1 SEC. FILL IN AND CLICK SUBMIT.
STOP THE ROYAL MARSDEN HOSPITAL NEGLIGENCE
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-royal-ma
rsden-hospital-negligence
HOW MANY TEENAGERS NEED TO FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHT TO LIVE ? FIGHTING FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF CANCER PATIENTS
PLEASE READ THE STORIES AND SIGN THE PETITION.
THANKS......
THIS IS THE PETITION SITE:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-royal-ma
rsden-hospital-negligence
THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN READ HER STORIES AND SUPPORT A GRIEVING MUM:
http://www.myspace.com/teenagecancergroup
ADD THIS TO YOUR SITE & REACH OUT TO OTHERS TO HELP.
From one of our myspace friends>>>
Dave
One of my friends on myspace has died due to National Health Negligence and the Royal Marsden Hospital are guilty of serious crimes. ;-(
PLEASE help and try and save other lives and sign the petition.
Teenage cancer groupmiss flame
PLEASE SIGN PETITION & REPOST-THANX
I ALSO WISH TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK THE MANY FRIENDS WHO SUPPORTED THIS CAUSE ALL ALONG AND CONTINUE TO DO SO...BLESS YOU ALL.
YOUR SUPPORT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED !
SIGNATURES ARE NEEDED NOW.....
IMPORTANT........PLEASE READ LATEST BLOG...........
PLEASE DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL FOR US ALL AND FOR A TEENAGER WHO HAD THE GUTS TO STAND UP FOR HER RIGHTS.......
PLEASE HELP, SIGN THE PETITION AND ASK OTHERS TO SIGN ......
IT ONLY TAKES 1 SEC. FILL IN AND CLICK SUBMIT.
STOP THE ROYAL MARSDEN HOSPITAL NEGLIGENCE
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-royal-ma
rsden-hospital-negligence
HOW MANY TEENAGERS NEED TO FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHT TO LIVE ? FIGHTING FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF CANCER PATIENTS
PLEASE READ THE STORIES AND SIGN THE PETITION.
THANKS......
THIS IS THE PETITION SITE:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-the-royal-ma
rsden-hospital-negligence
THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN READ HER STORIES AND SUPPORT A GRIEVING MUM:
http://www.myspace.com/teenagecancergroup
ADD THIS TO YOUR SITE & REACH OUT TO OTHERS TO HELP.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Airport comment period is extended
Airport comment period is extended
By Colin McCandless
http://www.thefranklinpress.com/articles/2009/11/27/news/01news.txt
pressreporter@thefranklinpress.com
The public comment period on the environmental impact portion of Macon County Airport's runway extension project has been extended.
The project engineer, Eric Rysdon with W.K. Dickson, announced at the Nov. 24 airport authority meeting that the Army Corps of Engineers was asked to extend the permit's public-comment deadline from Nov. 30 until Dec. 7. The comment period was to initially run from Oct. 29 through Nov. 30.
Airport authority chairman Milles Gregory said that recent statements falsely accused the authority of hiding the permit comment period from the public and he wanted to set the record straight.
Gregory displayed a letter addressed to him from the Corps dated Oct. 29 that he said he did not receive until Nov. 4.
He added that at the time of the last airport authority meeting, Oct. 27, the authority did not know when the Corps was going to advertise the permit.
"All our meetings have been open to the public and advertised properly," Gregory said. "We are going by the book. We have absolutely tried and we will continue to try and conduct our business in the proper way."
Rysdon also commented that it is the Corps that publishes the permit and public notice was issued after the last airport meeting so they were not able to get that information out to the public at the time.
Archaeological Investigation Done
Updating the archaeological portion of the runway extension project, Rysdon said it appears that TRC (the group hired to do the archaeological study at the airport) has completed their fieldwork and is working on a draft summary report of their work.
They will be working on a full report of their fieldwork to be finished sometime next year, he said.
The last portion of the investigation involved stripping and mapping of 100 percent of the runway impact site, added as part of a compromise with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians over artifact recovery. It involved topsoil removal and mapping and documenting everything they found.
The archaeological study at the runway extension site has revealed four distinct time periods of Native American occupation.
Army Corps Permit Public Comment Info
The Army Corps of Engineers has received an application from the Macon Airport Authority seeking their authorization for wetland impacts in order to extend the airport runway 600 feet and widen it by 300 feet. The current airport is 4,400 feet long.
In total, the impacts would be 5.72 acres of freshwater wetlands and 809 linear feet of stream, according to the Army Corps public notice.
The Corps will evaluate the application and decide whether to issue, conditionally issue or deny the proposed work pursuant to applicable procedures of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344).
Any comments received will be considered by the Corps to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this proposal.
Comments are use to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects and other public interest factors.
Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.
Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.
Any person may request in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application.
Requests for public hearing need to state the specific reasons for holding a public hearing.
The requests for a public hearing shall be granted, unless the district engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.
Comments should be submitted to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Attn: Lori Beckwith
151 Patton Avenue Room 208
Asheville NC 28801
For more information on the public notice and all attached plans, visitwww.saw.usace.army.mil/wetlands/ and click on "Public Notices."
*Source: Public Notice, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District.
By Colin McCandless
http://www.thefranklinpress.com/articles/2009/11/27/news/01news.txt
pressreporter@thefranklinpress.com
The public comment period on the environmental impact portion of Macon County Airport's runway extension project has been extended.
The project engineer, Eric Rysdon with W.K. Dickson, announced at the Nov. 24 airport authority meeting that the Army Corps of Engineers was asked to extend the permit's public-comment deadline from Nov. 30 until Dec. 7. The comment period was to initially run from Oct. 29 through Nov. 30.
Airport authority chairman Milles Gregory said that recent statements falsely accused the authority of hiding the permit comment period from the public and he wanted to set the record straight.
Gregory displayed a letter addressed to him from the Corps dated Oct. 29 that he said he did not receive until Nov. 4.
He added that at the time of the last airport authority meeting, Oct. 27, the authority did not know when the Corps was going to advertise the permit.
"All our meetings have been open to the public and advertised properly," Gregory said. "We are going by the book. We have absolutely tried and we will continue to try and conduct our business in the proper way."
Rysdon also commented that it is the Corps that publishes the permit and public notice was issued after the last airport meeting so they were not able to get that information out to the public at the time.
Archaeological Investigation Done
Updating the archaeological portion of the runway extension project, Rysdon said it appears that TRC (the group hired to do the archaeological study at the airport) has completed their fieldwork and is working on a draft summary report of their work.
They will be working on a full report of their fieldwork to be finished sometime next year, he said.
The last portion of the investigation involved stripping and mapping of 100 percent of the runway impact site, added as part of a compromise with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians over artifact recovery. It involved topsoil removal and mapping and documenting everything they found.
The archaeological study at the runway extension site has revealed four distinct time periods of Native American occupation.
Army Corps Permit Public Comment Info
The Army Corps of Engineers has received an application from the Macon Airport Authority seeking their authorization for wetland impacts in order to extend the airport runway 600 feet and widen it by 300 feet. The current airport is 4,400 feet long.
In total, the impacts would be 5.72 acres of freshwater wetlands and 809 linear feet of stream, according to the Army Corps public notice.
The Corps will evaluate the application and decide whether to issue, conditionally issue or deny the proposed work pursuant to applicable procedures of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344).
Any comments received will be considered by the Corps to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this proposal.
Comments are use to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects and other public interest factors.
Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) and/or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.
Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.
Any person may request in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider the application.
Requests for public hearing need to state the specific reasons for holding a public hearing.
The requests for a public hearing shall be granted, unless the district engineer determines that the issues raised are insubstantial or there is otherwise no valid interest to be served by a hearing.
Comments should be submitted to:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Attn: Lori Beckwith
151 Patton Avenue Room 208
Asheville NC 28801
For more information on the public notice and all attached plans, visitwww.saw.usace.army.mil/wetlands/ and click on "Public Notices."
*Source: Public Notice, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District.
Eastern Band Of Cherokee Upset Over "Satire" Of Burial Desecration
Eastern Band Of Cherokee Upset Over "Satire" Of Burial Desecration
The Initial Piece:
Unique historic plane flights: Land on Cherokee cemetery!
SMN
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/11_09/11_18_09/op_edlet_cherokee_flight.html
Attention private plane owners! Land your plane on a real Cherokee cemetery.
Experience history at its best. Macon County invites you to land your private jet at our new Andy Jackson Airport and try out our new Gen. George Armstrong Custer Cherokee Landing Strip, located square on top of historic Iotla Cherokee Cemetery. Enjoy the thrill of landing on 50 generations of deceased Indians who lived here for over 2,000 years.
In 1869, Yankee Gen. Philip Sheridan said, “The only good Indians I ever saw were dead.” Capitalizing on this Yankee ingenuity, Macon County is living up to that axiom by extending our runway across the old Cherokee graveyard.
“This is exciting. Our airport and runway is built dead center on several Indian villages. We don’t know exactly how many dead Cherokees are under there, but we know this makes our airport unique, kind of like celebrating Halloween every day,” crowed Miles Standish, the Andy Jackson Cherokee Airstrip’s chief officer.
“We’re gonna have us a ‘Public Cherokee Airstrip Cemetery Day’ out here at the Andy Jackson Airport,” said Harold Cobalt, head of the Macon Airport Ethics Committee. “We want all our school kids to come out and see what we have done. As future citizens of Macon County, this is their legacy and heritage. I only wish we had claimed the Jackson County name before Jackson County thought of it. We stole this land fair and square from those Indians, cemeteries and all, and it’s our private property rights to do anything we want with them. Pave, baby, Pave!”
So, fly those Lear Jets and crop dusters right on in here and don’t be superstitious! The ghosts of dead Indians can’t jinx your flights or your landings. Just ask Andy Jackson and George Custer.
Lamar Marshall, Franklin
Letters To The Editor From The Eastern Band of Cherokee In Response:
Nothing humorous about desecrating graves
SMN
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/11_09/11_25_09/op_edlet_desecrating.html
To the Editor:
I am writing in response to the Opinion piece written by Lamar Marshall of Franklin and printed in the Nov. 18 edition of your publication (“Unique historic plane flights: Land on Cherokee cemetery”).
The Cherokee certainly agree with the outrage expressed through satire in Mr. Marshall’s article; however, the reaction in our community is not one of humor. These issues are very real to our people. Mr. Marshall’s use of satire to express a similar feeling has only obscured the real issue — the protection of our people’s cemeteries. The outrage being expressed in our community to Mr. Marshall’s piece is rooted in the belief that those are, in fact, the true feelings of the people of Macon County. Sadly, our relations with our neighboring communities have not always been positive, thus our people have felt the article is not satire but reality.
We appreciate the support we do receive from the local community but hope in the future that support is worded strongly but positively and with the understanding that we find no humor whatsoever in the desecration of the final resting places of our people.
Larry Blythe
Vice Chief,
The Initial Piece:
Unique historic plane flights: Land on Cherokee cemetery!
SMN
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/11_09/11_18_09/op_edlet_cherokee_flight.html
Attention private plane owners! Land your plane on a real Cherokee cemetery.
Experience history at its best. Macon County invites you to land your private jet at our new Andy Jackson Airport and try out our new Gen. George Armstrong Custer Cherokee Landing Strip, located square on top of historic Iotla Cherokee Cemetery. Enjoy the thrill of landing on 50 generations of deceased Indians who lived here for over 2,000 years.
In 1869, Yankee Gen. Philip Sheridan said, “The only good Indians I ever saw were dead.” Capitalizing on this Yankee ingenuity, Macon County is living up to that axiom by extending our runway across the old Cherokee graveyard.
“This is exciting. Our airport and runway is built dead center on several Indian villages. We don’t know exactly how many dead Cherokees are under there, but we know this makes our airport unique, kind of like celebrating Halloween every day,” crowed Miles Standish, the Andy Jackson Cherokee Airstrip’s chief officer.
“We’re gonna have us a ‘Public Cherokee Airstrip Cemetery Day’ out here at the Andy Jackson Airport,” said Harold Cobalt, head of the Macon Airport Ethics Committee. “We want all our school kids to come out and see what we have done. As future citizens of Macon County, this is their legacy and heritage. I only wish we had claimed the Jackson County name before Jackson County thought of it. We stole this land fair and square from those Indians, cemeteries and all, and it’s our private property rights to do anything we want with them. Pave, baby, Pave!”
So, fly those Lear Jets and crop dusters right on in here and don’t be superstitious! The ghosts of dead Indians can’t jinx your flights or your landings. Just ask Andy Jackson and George Custer.
Lamar Marshall, Franklin
Letters To The Editor From The Eastern Band of Cherokee In Response:
Nothing humorous about desecrating graves
SMN
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/11_09/11_25_09/op_edlet_desecrating.html
To the Editor:
I am writing in response to the Opinion piece written by Lamar Marshall of Franklin and printed in the Nov. 18 edition of your publication (“Unique historic plane flights: Land on Cherokee cemetery”).
The Cherokee certainly agree with the outrage expressed through satire in Mr. Marshall’s article; however, the reaction in our community is not one of humor. These issues are very real to our people. Mr. Marshall’s use of satire to express a similar feeling has only obscured the real issue — the protection of our people’s cemeteries. The outrage being expressed in our community to Mr. Marshall’s piece is rooted in the belief that those are, in fact, the true feelings of the people of Macon County. Sadly, our relations with our neighboring communities have not always been positive, thus our people have felt the article is not satire but reality.
We appreciate the support we do receive from the local community but hope in the future that support is worded strongly but positively and with the understanding that we find no humor whatsoever in the desecration of the final resting places of our people.
Larry Blythe
Vice Chief,
Backlash will come for offensive letter
SMN
http://www.smokymountainnews.com/issues/11_09/11_25_09/op_edlet_backlash.html
To the Editor:
As an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation, I find the comments posted by Lamar Marshall greatly offending (“Unique historic plane flights: Land on Cherokee cemetery,” Nov. 18 edition). Even if this article was meant to be sarcastic of the decision to build this airstrip on a Cherokee historic site, I’m afraid that it won’t be taken that way by many who read it. The first time that I read it, I was greatly offended by it.
Perhaps in the future you should consider the backlash that you are most definitely going to receive about this article before you allow something like this to be printed again in your paper! Be prepared, because I know for a fact that I won’t be the last person that you will hear from about this!
Angela L. Gunter
Cherokee
Senate report: U.S. decided to let bin Laden slip through their fingers
Senate report: U.S. decided to let bin Laden slip through their fingers
How We Failed To Get Bin Laden And Why I Matters Today
How We Failed To Get Bin Laden And Why I Matters Today
The Senate Report: http://foreign.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Tora_Bora_Report.pdf
Exiled Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden talking during a televison interview in 1998.
(AP)
Senate report: U.S. decided to let bin Laden slip through their fingers
By The Associated Press
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131425.html
Osama bin Laden was unquestionably within reach of U.S. troops in the mountains of Tora Bora when American military leaders made the crucial and costly decision not to pursue the terrorist leader with massive force, a Senate report reveals.
The report asserts that the failure to kill or capture bin Laden at his most vulnerable in December 2001 has had lasting consequences beyond the fate of one man. "Bin Laden's escape laid the foundation for today's reinvigorated Afghan insurgency and inflamed the internal strife now endangering Pakistan," it says.
Staff members for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Democratic majority prepared the report at the request of the chairman, U.S. Senator John Kerry, as U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to boost troops in Afghanistan.
Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, has long argued the Bush administration missed a chance to get the al-Qaida leader and top deputies when they were holed up in the forbidding mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan only three months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Although limited to a review of military operations eight years old, the report could also be read as a cautionary note for those resisting an increased troop presence there now.
More pointedly, it seeks to affix a measure of blame for the state of the war today on military leaders under former U.S. president George W. Bush, specifically Donald H. Rumsfeld as defense secretary and his top military commander, Tommy Franks.
"Removing the al-Qaida leader from the battlefield eight years ago would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat," the report says. "But the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan allowed bin Laden to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who continues to attract a steady flow of money and inspire fanatics worldwide. The failure to finish the job represents a lost opportunity that forever altered the course of the conflict in Afghanistan and the future of international terrorism."
The report states categorically that bin Laden was hiding in Tora Bora when the U.S. had the means to mount a rapid assault with several thousand troops at least. It says that a review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that "Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora."
"On or about Dec. 16, 2001, bin Laden and bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area, where he is still believed to be based," the report says.
Instead of a massive attack, fewer than 100 U.S. commandos, working with Afghan militias, tried to capitalize on air strikes and track him down.
The vast array of American military power, from sniper teams to the most mobile divisions of the Marine Corps and the Army, was kept on the sidelines, the report said.
At the time, Rumsfeld expressed concern that a large U.S. troop presence might fuel a backlash and he and some others said the evidence was not conclusive about bin Laden's location.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
