Karuk Tribe of California

Karuk Tribe of California

Council Meeting Minutes

January 26, 2006

Yreka, California

Ayukii,

The meeting was called to order at 5:00 PM by Arch Super, Chairman.

Roll Call

Present

Arch Super, Chairman

Leaf Hillman, Vice Chairman

Florrine Super, Secretary

Leeon Hillman, Treasurer

Roy Arwood, Member

Florence Conrad, Member – absent – excused

Robert Goodwin, Member

Robert Grant, Member

Alvis Johnson, Member

Quorum is established.

The preamble to the Constitution was read aloud by Robert Goodwin.

Approval of the Agenda for January 26, 2006

Leaf Hillman moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve the Agenda for January 26, 2006. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

1) Approval of the Minutes for December 22, 2005

Leaf Hillman moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve the Minutes for December 22, 2005. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

2) Florrine Super

Florrine took a moment to introduce Barbara Houle as the newly hired CASA Program Manager/Volunteer Coordinator. She states she is glad to be back after a five year leave of absence to care for her mother.

3) Troy Hockaday

Troy was present with his sons to announce that they have been invited to Warm Springs for a Basketball Tournament for 9-13 year olds. It is the same tournament that Leo took Hermanett to 20 years ago. They are putting on a Super Bowl Pool for $2 per square and also they plan on doing some Bake Sales in Yreka. He has paid the entry fee and they are working on coordinating hotel reservations. They are requesting help with gas money to travel to the tournament, the majority of the team members are Tribal Members. Some of the kids have never been past Medford and are very excited. The Tribe is sponsoring several activities up there and there will be six teams playing in the tournament. If they do well, they can go back in April with an All Indian Team.

Roy gave them a brief introduction to the Karuk Booster’s Club that has been recently established. They plan to use the funds to help with activities of this nature. They are just getting started and would like this proposal directed to them. Roy states they are also looking for volunteers. Troy and Leo both state they will volunteer to participate in the Club.

His other request is for information regarding what is going on with the non-gaming distributions and where they are being spent. Laura states they have spent the dollars on supplementing programs such as the Fire Crew, DNR, Computer Center, Head Start, Childcare, to pay the attorneys working on gaming for the Tribe, and other Tribal operations such as these. She states a more detailed list could be given to him but this is the basic use of the funding. They used it to start the Booster’s Club, youth sports donations, and donations of any kind, Senior Nutrition Program, loans, the Low Income Assistance Program, and other items of this nature as well. There is still a balance in the bank for when times arise that the dollars are needed. He states people ask so he volunteered to ask. It is suggested to do a listing with every Newsletter of where they went for that quarter.

He also inquired about the recent articles in the newspapers regarding the mining and dredging in the River and the dam removal process. He states that there are Tribal Members that are angry about what is going on and threatening to relinquish their enrollment based on their activities. He states if they would just let people know what is going on and what their plans are it would end a lot of the tension regarding the situation. Leaf states he is very aware of the Siskiyou County Press and the Council is developing strategies for dealing with that and getting their side of the story out there so that everyone knows what is going on. Troy states for example Alturas wants to purchase a piece of land to link into the water system that the Karuk Tribe just installed, the community is not aware of the contributions that the Tribe makes to Siskiyou County and the Yreka City. They donate money to the police department and do a lot of other activities in the community. Leaf states they are working on this and plan to address it and understand it is a problem. Another item they could promote is what they have done for the Membership in the past several years. He suggests that being in the next Newsletter with the top five things that have been done to bring it to everyone’s attention.

4) Hector Garcia

He asked to be removed from the Agenda.

5) Alma Navarro

She was present to give the Council an overview of the Youth Conference that was held in Happy Camp in December. She states she was very nervous because the other two representatives were not able to be there. She feels she did a good job and everyone really enjoyed themselves. She states that there were many activities for the youth to teach them about future leadership and what they want to see in their communities. She hopes that more kids will get involved and participate in these activities. They had a mock Council meeting and at that meeting the youth brought out issues they have and what they want to see. She felt that it went well and she hopes to have another conference next year. She states it was very fun.

Florrine states that Alma did a very good job and ran the conference herself and showed her leadership skills and how to deal with issues that arose to keep things going smoothly.

6) Old Business

None at this time.

7) Susan Gehr, Language Program Director

Susan was present to address the Council. She has one action item for out of state travel for herself to attend a Linguist’s Shoebox Training for the Prairie Band of Potawatomi in Kansas, February 6-10, 2006. She states the training will be fully reimbursed and meets the goals of the program to share their language revitalization methods with other Tribes.

Robert Goodwin moved and Roy Arwood seconded to approve out of state travel for Susan Gehr to Mayetta, Kansas, February 6-10, 2006. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

She went over the phrases that were included in her report with the Council and audience.

Florrine Super moved and Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Susan’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

8) Sandi Tripp, DNR

There was a written report included and Earl was present as Sandi is ill tonight.

The first is a Tribal Wildlife Grant to the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 in the Bluff Creek area. The amount is $172,340. Resolution 06-R-07 was assigned. Roy asked how they choose which roads to decommission. Earl states it is the roads with the most creeks and culverts as they wash out most often.

Leaf Hillman moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Resolution 06-R-07. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

He also distributed the riparian planting proposal for Ish Kayish Ranch. There will be some planting, burning, non-native plant removal, etc. Will Harling put the proposal together with Toz and Bill and Scott. Resolution 06-R-08 was assigned and the amount is $107,172. It is under the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program.

Leaf Hillman moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Resolution 06-R-08. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

There was also a request from Bill Tripp regarding the buffalo in Idaho. Leeon states he thought that Bill was supposed to come up with a transportation plan to get them back here as they plan to give them 4 buffalo. Florrine states Joyce presented a proposal and they have not done anything with it. Leaf is working on it and will get with him.

Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve the DNR Report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

9) Dion Wood, TERO

Dion states he has no action items but has a meeting he would like to schedule. He distributed his written report.

He announced that the youth working through NCIDC have finished their work and it went well. He has a job mailing list established and if they send him their address he will add them. Monday he will meeting to discuss establishing a local TERO Group to work together. They haven’t ever all worked together in California. Cal Trans will also be at the meeting working on their TERO policies so they can discuss with them their needs and how they can work with the Tribes. He will notify them when the meeting is set. They will also be working on formalizing the Cultural Monitor Certification system as well.

He states that he finally heard from TANF and he would like to meet with them on February 8, 2006 at 1 PM. It can be a lunch meeting and they should be able to have all of their TANF questions answered and make their decision regarding whether or not they will move ahead. They will put it on their schedules. Bob states if they started earlier he could attend, possibly at 12 PM, Dion will try to see if he can arrange that.

He was contacted by Kathleen Satorious regarding all of the Trust lands of the Tribe and obtaining a copy of their TERO Ordinance so she can try to monitor the road projects and attempt to establish a TERO fee on the projects going on right now. They are working with Scott to get her the information she needs to make it work.

He states the Flagger Training is proposed for March to have a Tribal Training, which is when the previous certifications expire. He has the list of who was certified last time.

He states he is still accepting applications for Childcare; there is still a high turnover of providers and a need for quality providers in their communities.

He also updated them on the Veteran’s Monument; he requested ideas in the next edition. Their next TERO Meeting is February 1, 2006.

Florrine Super moved and Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Dion’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

Troy also asked if at the next Forest Service meeting they could discuss Elliot Creek and fixing where it was washed out. It is the drift boat road that they cannot use now, Cal Trans and the Forest Service won’t fix it. They can talk to them about it.

10) Rick Hill, Grant Writer

Not present, written report only. He met with a contractor this afternoon in Happy Camp that is why he is not present.

Roy Arwood moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Rick’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara. (Florrine Super not present for voting).

11) Laura Mayton, CFO

She states she has no action items to add to her report. The new IDC rate of 61.88% of wages has been approved and they have the signed agreement in their office as of today.

Roy Arwood moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Laura’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

12) Erin Hillman, Administrative Programs and Compliance

Erin states she has two action items in her written report which are an amendment to the Finance Policy for MOUs and MOAs and the review process for those agreements. It is structured like the Contract review process and will be an added section to the policy.

Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve the addition to the Finance Policy. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

She also distributed the procurement for the contract they plan to negotiate. The company is Northern California Paving and they plan to enter into a different type of agreement, which would be an escrow agreement that they are working on. The amount is $167,470.58. Kanu Patel of BIA also wants to talk to them on February 15, 2006 regarding their recent decision to Compact their BIA road dollars. They can come to that meeting if they would like to hear what he has to say. She will bring the contract back when it is ready for their approval. There was further discussion regarding funding a timelines.

Florrine Super moved and Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Erin’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

13) Leo Carpenter, People’s Center

Leo was present to review his written report with the Council. He presented a memo regarding his contacts with the Stanford Museum and a possible Redwood Dugout Canoe that they plan to de-accession. He will be speaking in Berkley on February 4, 2006 and would like to request mileage and lodging to travel to Palo Alto.

Roy Arwood moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to pay his mileage to Palo Alto to view the canoe. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

He states they held an Advisory Committee Meeting on January 20, 2006 and they plan to approach the Council on February 23, 2006 to address clearly what their role is for the Tribe and be able to move forward. There are currently 7 members on the Board. They would like to set the meeting for 3 PM prior to the Council Meeting, that date may be changed so they will let him know.

He announced they hired Lisa Beals Schamehorn at the Museum and she is working out very well. He plans to hold the Spring Basketweavers Gathering on April 14-17, 2006 in Happy Camp.

Roy Arwood moved and Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Leo’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

14) April Attebury, Tribal Court

April does not have any action items to add to her report at this time. Florrine reminded her to announce that there is a meeting set up for Ya Pa Anav. She states she will defer to Judge Flies-Away as he plans to discuss that. She updated them on the Title IVE and states they will be setting up negotiations in the near future. She will email them as soon as she has dates and more information.

Florrine Super moved and Leaf Hillman seconded to approve April’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

15) Judge Flies-Away, Tribal Court

Judge Flies-Away was present to address the Council. He states he only has a few things to go over. The first is Yav Pa Anav, the Wellness Court and they have a meeting coming up on February 2, 2006 at 9:30 AM to discuss details further, they still don’t have the notice for the grant indicating when it is due at this time but they are moving forward anyway. He states there was an ICWA In-Service Meeting to discuss how they can work on improving the Committee and their case review process to transfer cases to the Tribal Court. They have discussed some of the issues that exist and that have been raised. On April 19, 2006 they will have their next Court-ICWA Quarterly Meeting. He states he recently set on a panel at a recent conference where ICWA processes were discussed. It was the Beyond the Bench and there is a lot of interest in what Tribal Courts are doing with ICWA. He states he has been spreading the word that Tribal Courts are getting more and more involved in ICWA cases and the Courts need to be prepared. They have also discussed Tribal CASA Programs and how they can work with agencies. He states that he will be meeting with Susan to open and close the Court with the Tribe’s Language and will be working with other Tribal Court Judges to include that as well. He also provided them some further updates on his activities and what they are working on currently.

Leaf asked what his perception of communication between the ICWA Committee and the Tribal Court is at this time, he also directed the question to April as well. She feels that there has been some mis-communication and she feels it will be much better in the future as they have implemented regular meetings and how they plan to move forward and develop an agreement which she is working on. Leaf asked if he feels that quarterly is adequate, April states they plan to attend the monthly ICWA meetings to work with them and do quarterly in-service meetings.

Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Judge Flies-Away’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

16) Jim Berry, KCDC

Jim was present to review the written reports for KCDC from himself (KCDC Administration), Corina Alexander (Naa Vura Yee Shiip Program), Rosie Bley (Happy Camp Community Computer Center), and Toni McLane (Head Start). He also distributed Ben Riggan’s report as the Economic Development Coordinator to them as it was received late. He states he has no action items.

Bob asked about the individual that approached them about the 8(a) IT Company. Jim states that Eric Coffman is the owner of Cufis Technologies that approached them. He recently contracted with the Modoc Tribe in Oklahoma on a project similar to what he was mentioning to them. He extended an invitation to KCDC to come to his business in Roseville to see what it is all about. He would be willing to help them obtain the 8(a) status and then work with them as a consultant on projects.

He states they are also getting ready for their FY 2006 audit.

Roy Arwood moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Jim’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

17) Hector Garcia, Self Governance

Hector was present to review his written report. He would like to bring up a couple of important items.

He states he and Arch went to Seattle to discuss the Cobell Litigation and met with the mediator and the Northwest Tribes. The mediator feels that the case will be dismissed and there will be no settlement or litigated for the next 7-10 years. It is an opportunity for the Tribe to get legislation they need and he wants to take advantage of it. Barbara predicts that if all the Tribes don’t agree to settle, they usually won’t settle. They have an interest in settling as their Probate Demonstration Project is tied to this legislation. The mediator has suggested that the Tribes begin a letter writing campaign to support the settlement. They have told him they have 2-4 weeks to move forward or Congress will lose interest in the case. Bob states that the Karuk Tribe is not a party in the Cobell Lawsuit and he feels that matters because the Tribe’s that are bucking the system may burn their bridges and it may hurt them later. Leaf suggests a report at the Wednesday meeting regarding the Northwest Tribes as a group and an indication from them about their desires and what they plan to do. Hector states they are sending out their own letters currently supporting the legislation. Hector states they should stand up and fight for the Tribe as the Eastern Tribes never worry about them when they are negotiating items that help them.

Hector states that it has been requested to schedule a meeting with the Tribes in the Northwest to discuss problems and try to figure out a way to solve them. He is wondering if the Tribe would be willing to sponsor such a meeting. They feel that is a good idea and would be fine.

He has an action item regarding meeting with the Probate Institute and have Danny Jordan present at the meeting to show them what the Tribes are working on and help them further develop what they are working on. The Probate Institute is run out of the University of Washington. It would not been done right now but in the future. The Council feels this would be helpful to have them review it.

His last item is regarding the training he Barbara, Arch, and Carrie just returned from in Las Vegas regarding Probate for Tribes. He states it was the best conference he has attended and they all obtained useful knowledge while there. The instructor stated if there was anything they would take from the conference it is the reminder that Probate is the one big chance the Tribe has to exert their sovereignty. He states they should think of ways they can really push the envelope for the Tribe. Barbara asked if there is any objective for her to attend the next two consortium meetings along with him. No one voiced any concerns or objections if it works for her schedule.

Bob asked if there will be draft language for the Tribal Court Ordinance regarding Probate brought to them. He states he has not gotten there yet. Barbara states they would reference the Probate Code in the Ordinance and the details would be in that Ordinance, not the Court Ordinance.

Leaf Hillman moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Hector’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.

18) Scott Quinn, Land/Transportation