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Photo: A scenic overview of the Colorado River from the Navajo Bridge near Jacob Lake. (Gabriel Pietrorazio / KJZZ)
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has invited tribal leaders to testify on Capitol Hill today.
As KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, the Northeast Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Act is the hearing’s subject.
This $5 billion deal would resolve claims for three parties, including the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe.
For San Juan Southern Paiute President Carlene Yellowhair, this proposal is not just about securing precious water in the Southwest.
If passed, it would also set aside 5,400 acres for a new reservation in Arizona.
“We want to settle, because we want our land, our home, a place to build. We lost all of our elders. They started it and we just want to finish it.”
The tribe has more than 300 members, including Vice President Johnny Lehi Jr.
“You know, the land and the water, that’s what we needed to become more sovereign.”
Prisoner Mark Andrews is housed at Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska. (Photo: Anne Hillman / Alaska Public Media)
The Alaska Supreme Court heard arguments this month on whether prisoners can be forcibly medicated with psychiatric drugs — without a court hearing and the right to a lawyer.
In the state corrections system, Alaska Native people are incarcerated at about twice the rate of white Alaskans.
Alaska Public Media’s Rachel Cassandra has more.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought the case against the Department of Corrections (DOC) on behalf of a prisoner, Mark Andrews. He says he has been unjustly drugged with powerful psychotropic medication for most of the last seven years, without due process or access to legal counsel.
The Department policy currently allows prisoners to be drugged against their will if they are gravely disabled or are in imminent risk for harming themselves or others.
Doron Levine is a lawyer for the ACLU. He argued at the hearing that the policy infringes on rights protected by the state constitution.
“Few things are more personal than someone’s body, and arguably, nothing is more personal than a person’s mind. It’s the locus of a person’s identity, and it’s a last refuge of freedom for people who are incarcerated.”
Under department policy, prisoners have the right to hearings every six months with department staff. And they have the right to appeal the decision to a department committee.
The ACLU argues that Andrews did not have sufficient access to hearings or an appeal.
Justice Jennifer Henderson questioned Kimber Rogers, the attorney representing DOC.
Justice Henderson says the facts seem to suggest that the prisoner was denied the rights promised in the department’s policy.
Justice Henderson: How do you respond to that?
Kimber Rogers: Your Honor, I agree that there were definitely some problems, and Mr. Andrews’ hearings, but I don’t think that that’s important.
JH: There were more than some problems. There were long periods of time where there were no hearings, for example.
KR: Well, Your Honor, I would dispute that actually.
The ACLU lawyer argued that there should be a hearing in a courtroom because DOC staff may be biased to protect the institution over the person, but Rogers says a hearing inside prison is the best approach.
When the Supreme Court issues a ruling, the decision could apply to the approximately 22 Alaska prisoners who are being forcibly drugged.
U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD)
The National American Indian Housing Council (NAIHC) is applauding the House passage of the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act.
The bill to improve access to homeownership for Native families on tribal trust land is led by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and passed last week.
NAIHC executive director Rudy Soto says the bill improves coordination between the Bureau of Indian Affairs, lenders, and tribal communities, establishes timelines, and helps Native families, veterans, and tribal citizens who want to achieve homeownership.
The Senate previously approved the measure and it now heads to the president’s desk.
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