FROM THE ARCHIVE

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In The Hoop
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2002

Welcome to In The Hoop, Indianz.Com's occasional column about assorted Indian issues.

Norton's 'Bonehead' Move
Secretary of Interior Gale Norton finally got some (positive) press yesterday for her initiative against the snakehead fish, which she described as "like something from a bad horror movie."

But one state official wasn't too excited about Norton's warning that the dangerous species was discovered in Maine. According to the Associated Press, the last time a snakehead turned up in Maine was 26 years ago, in 1976.

"The word I used to refer to this action on their part is 'bonehead,'" Don Kleiner, of the Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department, said of the Interior's threat.

Trucking in Indian Country
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee was holding a hearing today on a bill to increase the presence of Native Americans in the truck driving industry.

Why? Because vice chairman Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) wants Indians to have more economic opportunity. (And also because he was somewhat miffed that the Senate voted to allow Mexican trucks in the U.S.) But he also has a greater interest in the field.

"Based on my own personal experience, having been a driver myself and watching very carefully the trucking industry," he said this morning, "I know it offers well paying jobs to people that are interested in driving and I certainly think there is a connection we can make with Indian communities."

"Its a win win situation."

Give Us Our Money!
Indian Country Today carries an interesting story about Native inmates in Washington state whose tribal per capita and other settlement funds are being seized by corrections officials to pay for court-ordered debts.

According to the inmate heading up the case, this practice is illegal because it violates federal law. "The money is part of the political relationship that exists between the U.S. federal government and the tribes," an attorney for prisoner Dennis Stensgar told ICT.

Apparently, a court has decided in a similar case to return funds to a prisoner who is a member of the Yakama Nation. But the state is resisting this latest legal move.

"It’s our position that the legal basis for the complaint is less than solid," Washington Assistant Attorney General Douglas W. Carr told ICT.

In Your Hoop
Should the state of Washington return seized trust fund payments to Indian inmates? Or should Gale Norton stock Washington waters with snakehead fish to fulfill treaty obligations? Email In the Hoop and let us know.