Monday, April 20, 1998
Relationship between Lab and sovereign tribal governments discussed at Lab presentation
Four hundred years ago Spain recognized Indian tribes as sovereign governments. Mexico, and later the United States, also recognized Indian tribes in New Mexico as sovereign governments.
It was also 400 years ago that Spanish explorers came to the area of present-day New Mexico and the southwest. The "cuarto centenario" marking Oñate's arrival has been publicized much more than Spain's recognizing tribes' sovereign status, according to Sam Cata, deputy director of the state Office of Indian Affairs.
Cata spoke Thursday in the Jemez Room of the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study as part of the Laboratory's observance of American Indian Heritage Month. The theme of the observance is "Native American Contributions to the National Defense: Then and Now."
The Native American Diversity Working Group and the Lab's Diversity (DV) Office are sponsoring American Indian Heritage Month at the Lab, said Barbara Grimes of the Community Involvement and Outreach (CIO) Office and member of the working group.
The presentation was held to illustrate the growing relationship between the Lab and sovereign tribal governments. "The lab, as a federally funded facility, conducts its relations with the sovereign tribes in support of government-to-government relations the tribes have with the federal government," said Gil Suazo of CIO and the Lab's tribal relations adviser.
"Some federal and state agencies and offices have a tribal liaison office to support relations with tribal governments. The state Office of Indian Affairs, which Mr. Cata represents, is an example of such an office to support state-tribal government relations."
Tribal sovereignty is far and away the most important issue for Indian tribes, Cata said, noting that its importance will be emphasized at a meeting April 26 at San Juan Pueblo involving officials from 19 New Mexico Indian pueblos and officials from the government of Spain.
Cata noted that when the U.S. government assumed control of this area, Indian tribes already had been recognized as sovereign governments by the governments of Spain and Mexico and had been given canes to symbolically acknowledge the tribes' sovereignty, he said.
The United States government followed Spain and Mexico and also presented similar canes to acknowledge the tribes' sovereignty.
Nineteen Indian pueblos in New Mexico all have three canes -- one each from Spain, Mexico and the United States -- said Cata. These canes of authority are significant to tribes and are a sign of leadership and authority.
The 19 New Mexico pueblos have the distinction of being the only Indian tribes in the United States that have received formal recognition as sovereign governments by Spain, Mexico and the United States, he said.
But retaining tribal sovereignty hasn't been easy for many tribes in New Mexico, Cata said. Many of the tribes aren't economically self-sufficient and rely to some extent on federal government funds to provide social services, health care and educational services to tribal members.
The recent development of Indian gaming casinos in New Mexico is one way Indian tribes have exercised their authority to create much-needed revenue. "Many tribal councils were convinced that gaming was a good way to raise revenue," said Cata.
In New Mexico, however, Cata noted that tribes are required to transfer a percentage of their gaming revenue to the state as a condition for operating a casino. Cata said federal law prohibits such a practice and the issue is now in federal court.
Some federal appropriations are funneled to Indian tribes through state governments, he explained. And some states have attached conditions to the federal appropriations, which make it difficult for tribes to receive these funds, Cata said.
He said that many tribes in New Mexico and around the country have joint powers agreements or working agreements with state governments. These agreements govern how tribes spend state appropriated dollars for services for tribal members living on the pueblos.
But Cata said the New Mexico attorney general's office at one time decided the state couldn't distribute money to Indian pueblos because such a practice violated the state's anti-donation clause. The clause prohibits state government from spending government funds, or providing government services, without receiving something of equal value in return.
Tribal governments, Cata said, were able to convince the attorney general that the anti-donation clause wasn't violated and that the principle of arbitration has been adopted to settle disputes.
Yet despite this continuing struggle, Native Americans "can look back 400 years as having been recognized as sovereign governments," said Cata.
Grimes said the working group also will host a panel discussion or exhibition of work done by Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories Native American employees showcasing how their work relates to national defense. The panel discussion begins at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the Jemez Room of the Study Center.
--Steve Sandoval
Quality programs for children discussed during live town hall meeting
It is in-between time, the hours after children get out of school and before their parents clock out from work. The time could be between 2 and 6 p.m. It could be between 3 and 7 p.m. or any similar time period. But statistics show that these few hours of unsupervised care have dire consequences for children. Vice President Al Gore and many others discussed these consequences and how quality after-school programs can help protect and enrich children during a live town hall meeting held Thursday in New Orleans, La. The town hall meeting was down linked to 500 sites nationwide, including the Lab, which telecast the meeting on LABNET Channel 9. Gore said the times mentioned above are the most common times for unsupervised kids to become involved in crime (either as a victim or perpetrator); to try drugs, smoking or alcohol; and for young girls to get pregnant. |
Vice President Al Gore responds to a studio audience member's comments during Thursday's telecast on after-school programs. In the background are children who currently participate in after-school programs. |
Quality after-school care-programs are an ideal way to get children off the streets and into positive learning environments where they are exposed to computers, arts and crafts, and music, among other things. Gore also said after-school programs help balance the needs of working families and help mothers and fathers become the kind of parents they really want to be.
Gore said after-school care is a part of his and President Clinton's strategy for improving education. "We have made education our nation's number one priority," he said. "If your school or community does not have an after-school program, now is the time to start one."
The meeting also featured video clips from Department of Education Secretary Richard Riley and Sen. James Jeffords, R-Vt.; both spoke of the urgent need for communities everywhere to support after-school-care programs. "Eighty percent of parents want their children to attend after school programs, but 70 percent of public and elementary schools don't offer such programs," said Riley.
Also featured was a clip of an after-school program in Los Angeles, called L.A.'s Better Educated Students for Tomorrow, or L.A.'s BEST. The clip noted how the program has gone from involving 10 schools and 2,000 kids about 10 years ago to 24 schools and about 5,000 kids today. The program also reported a 60 percent drop in crime for those schools that participated, along with higher grades, fewer absences and better attitudes toward school among participating students.
The town hall meeting included comments from those in the studio audience who are actively involved in after-school programs in their respective communities. Commenters included principals, nuns, city mayors, police commissioners and students currently involved in after-school programs. One police commissioner cited a recent poll among police chiefs, saying nine out of 10 preferred to see funds go toward after-school programs first before being used to hire more law enforcement officers. "These programs reduce the cost of crime," the commissioner added.
Many in the audience also spoke of the need for businesses to become partners with the schools and sponsor these programs and for schools, families and communities to all work together in creating them. Still others spoke of the lack of funds available to do just that.
Regarding the lack of funds, Gore said the Clinton administration is proposing an increase in the amount of grants slated for starting after-school programs from the current $40 million a year to $200 million for each of the next five years This money, when combined with matching local funds, would provide start-up funds for about 4,000 school-based centers nationwide, he said.
"We think this is a national problem, a national challenge. And this calls for a national response," said Gore, adding that if people shift their focus and look at the long-term costs and benefits, after-school programs pay for themselves.
Gore and many others also urged communities to keep their schools open past normal operating hours so that the buildings can serve as after-school care centers. "We need to use schools all day long," Sen. Jeffords said in his video clip. "The schools are there, and we ought to utilize them in so many ways."
Shortly after the end of the town hall meeting, Gore held a brief teleconference with civic leaders from 14 cities across the nation, including Los Alamos, to obtain further comments. Christine Chandler, vice chair of the Los Alamos County Council and a member of Legal Counsel (DIR-LC), spoke with Gore on behalf of Los Alamos, telling him of the significant latch-key problem currently being addressed here. She attributed the problem in part to the lack of affordable after-school care programs in Los Alamos. She added from one-third to one-half of its children are left unsupervised for some period of time during the day.
She also told Gore a coalition of county government, schools, service providers, the YMCA and the Lab currently are in the development stage of creating a new after-school program. "We're very excited that this program is going to be successful once it's completed," she said.
--Ternel N. Martinez
Site profile team visits Lab
A site profile team chartered by Department of Energy Secretary Federico Peña and led by Roger Hagengrueber of Sandia National Laboratories is at the Laboratory to determine the status of safeguards and security at the Lab by functional area and to catalog successes and failures. This work is in addition to the safeguards and security survey currently being performed at the Lab by the Albuquerque Operations Office's Safeguards and Security (AL-S&S) Division. The site profile team recently concluded the first phase of its work; the second phase begins this week with a technical team field visit. Additional information is available in a master management memo (Adobe Acrobat required).
New chancellor for UC Irvine named
Ralph J. Cicerone has been selected as the next chancellor of the University of California, Irvine. He will succeed Laurel Wilkening, who announced her intention to step down last September.
Cicerone currently is dean of the School of Physical Sciences at the university. He will take over as chancellor July 1. For more information, see the UC news release announcing the selection.
'Once upon a time ...'
Tonya Suazo of the Community Involvement and Outreach (CIO) Office
and co-chair of last year's Los Alamos/Northern New Mexico United Way campaign
reads "Aladdin" to kindergarten students at Los Niños Kindergarten
School in Española. Los Niños was one of two schools in Española
that received children's books from the company Books are Fun for getting
the second greatest number of people to make pledges to last year's campaign
in a school district-wide contest. Books are Fun held two book fairs last
year at the Lab as part of the campaign, selling about $27,000 worth of
books. Ten percent of the proceeds went to the Lab, of which half was given
to the United Way; the remaining $1,350 was earmarked to buy books for the
children as a way for the Lab to promote literacy. Los Niños received
$500 worth of new, hardcopy children's books, and all the children at the
school (approximately 220) had their choice of either "Aladdin"
or "Pinocchio" to take home. Chris Olivera, also of CIO and United
Way co-chair, also was present to hand out the books. Photo by Liz
Padilla
Tom Garcia, the Lab's acting deputy director for business administration and outreach, will be the guest Tuesday on "Issues and Answers," a program on radio station K-SWV, AM 81. The program runs from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. |
'Metallic Hydrogen: Frontiers in Astrophysics,
Ultrahigh-pressure Physics and Fusion Studies'
Setsuo Ichimaru of the University of Tokyo, Japan, will present a Director's Colloquium titled "Metallic Hydrogen: Frontiers in Astrophysics, Ultrahigh-pressure Physics and Fusion Studies." The colloquium will be held at 1:10 p.m. today in the Physics Building and is open to the public.
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