cal cg eog aerg frqqhfwlrq - georgetown tribal council · providing an r factor of 44 which he says...

Call Georgetown Tribal Council: 907-274-2195 or toll-free 1-888-274-2195

Connecting generations of Georgetown tribal members to the roots of their traditional community.

the georgetown

connection

April 2011

1

2 86Providers Conference Road Dust Internet Crimes against Children

2011 Providers Conference

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) annual Providers Conference is a great venue to catch up with friends, meet new people, see a few characters and even learn a thing or two. I spent a few days at the Egan Center attending the housing workshops to see what I could absorb. The first lesson learned, be prepared as the coffee and pastries go fast. The best presenters are pretty adept at spying a passing stranger through the door with cookie in hand and calling for a break. Once all attendees were settled, the morning started out with a man speaking about his experience as a Project Manager and Construction Foreman in his rural community. By coming from a background of working in the fast paced no non-sense world of rural construction, he saw what he believed is ineffectiveness in the administrative side of construction projects. He is also working to repeal section 214 of the Omnibus Appropriations Act, which is prohibiting his commu-nity from forming its own Housing Authority so that they may provide more affordable housing for residents. The homes he is building, through funding from BIA’s Home Improvement Program (HIP), are constructed from polyurethane panels providing an R factor of 44 which he says will save home owners $100,000 dollars on heating costs over 40 years as com-pared to a R19 insulated home.

That is the reality of life in rural Alaska. In South Central Alaska a modest average home can be heated for less than $1,000 a year. In rural Alaska it can cost $3,000 or more, and it will go up. By constructing a home capable of withstand-ing the elements found in may Alaskan villages come January, housing authorities can ensure the health and vitality of rural communities and ensure the health and vitality of rural community members. The quality of the structure and how it can withstand the elements directly effects its inhabitants. None of this is new, there have been proponents of quality rural housing citing health concerns for years. Now that energy costs are rising to crippling levels more and more people are raising their voices about the issue. Hopefully in the end we will have strong rural communities with affordable ef-ficient housing that doesn’t fall apart 15-30 years down the line.

continued on page 2


2

5313 Arctic Bvld Ste 104Anchorage, Alaska 99518www.georgetowntc.com

T: (907) 274-2195 1-888-274-2195 toll-freeF: (907) 274-2196E: [email protected]

COUNCILChairDavid “Buddy” KutchSeat E/ Term expires:2013

Vice ChairTamara VanderpoolSeat B/ Term expires:2011

SecretaryDebby HartmanSeat D/ Term expires:2011

MemberJonathan SamuelsonSeat A/ Term expires:2013

MemberMichael MurphySeat E/Term expires:2012

STAFFIRR DirectorDan Moreno

Environmental CoordinatorHelen Traylor

Tribal AdministratorWill Hartman

Computer SpecialistEric V. Dietrich

Providers continued on page 2

As the day progressed we heard from participants around the state telling stories of issues in their communities. A man from Unalakleet told the group he now installs wood stoves in every new home built, allowing home owners to reduce the burden of purchasing heat-ing oil, and recommended other communities do the same. Next came the story of a man that burned his kitchen cabinets in his wood stove after running out of oil in an area of the state where firewood is scarce, proving there is no one size fits all solution to high energy prices around the state. Undoubtedly the cost of the man’s “firewood” was more than the cost of the fuel he would have burned in his furnace, but that money didn’t have to come from his pocket directly.

There was another story of an older lady that, in an effort to prevent unscrupulous neigh-bors from stealing her heating oil, had a five gallon bucket set up in her mechanical room to provide fuel for her furnace. The bucket slowly leaked and over time the heating oil ate away the polystyrene insulation in her floor creating not only an eight foot by eight foot cavity, but as someone in the crowd pointed out, in effect created a pool of napalm under her home. So by providing homes that are substandard are we really doing any good for a community, or are we just creating different problems that aren’t as easy to address?

Many representatives from different state and federal agencies were also there to give presentations regarding programs they administer. They told their side of things, how funding is down, need is up, and how difficult it is to allocate what money there is to make the greatest impact. It is not an easy job; whatever they do is wrong is someone’s eyes. In villages and small rural communities where there are few jobs, most residents must rely on and have relied on a subsistence lifestyle for generations. Living in such a way created strong, self-sufficient people that are proud that they can live sustainably off the land. In the world of today it is near impossible to maintain a subsistence lifestyle without outside funding to provide modern healthy energy efficient housing. So as we move forward, many once proud self-sustaining people must now rely on others to provide for them. This creates a downward spiral where people are accustomed to getting something for noth-ing and many young Rural Alaskans in some communities have no shame in asking for handouts from any stranger passing through town.

In the end it was quite apparent that there is room for improvement in all aspects of rural housing. Different agencies provide funding for different demographics within the same community. Some agencies provide funding for water and sewer projects, others con-struction, but they cannot work together on a particular project due to funding restric-tions. Funding cycles never seem to match up with construction schedules and projects sit dormant and incur extra costs while waiting for more funding. It’s no wonder that at some point in the workshop a person, that has been having a bit too much fun while in downtown Anchorage, takes the floor and goes into a semi-coherent rant directed at a presenter that has nothing to do with their situation. On the other side, funding agencies see millions of dollars spent on housing that is just given to people in need who in turn have no pride in ownership and let the homes go into disrepair. I am sure grant agencies love to read reports of how someone burned $3000 worth of kitchen cabinets in their new home for, at best, a week’s worth of heat. What do you expect? Give a person something for free and don’t provide the knowledge or oversight they need to be successful and you are destined for trouble, but recipients need to step up to the plate as well and recognize the value of what has been bestowed upon them.

Visit: www.georgetowntc.com

Council Update

3

::member spotlight::

2011 Annual Tribal Member Meeting

Spring is barely here but it’s not too early to begin preparing for our 2011 Annual Tribal Member Meeting. I will be honest; the turnout for last year’s meeting was quite disappointing. Despite it being scheduled to coincide with the Interior Rivers State Fair in Aniak, despite providing thousands of dollars in door prizes for tribal members that do attend, we had less than a dozen Tribal members there. Reaching a quorum was a struggle due to folks not even taking the time to fill out and return proxy ballots by mail for the Council election, a task that would consume an entire minute of their day. So what is the answer to increasing meeting turnout and member participation as a whole? Do we as Tribal Council Members and staff need to make a greater effort to reach people? Do we as Tribal Members need to make a greater effort to be involved? The answer to both questions is yes. It would be easy to say tribal members don’t care and that is the reason they don’t participate and it is not the fault of the Council’s officers and staff members, after all they put everything together, provided incentives, and still there was a low turnout. What else can we do? We can and must try harder to reach people and convey the importance of their participation. With no communal hub for the tribe it is easy to lose sight of the fact that we are one tribe. We all are members of our respective communities which gives us a sense of identity; this is where I come from, this is who I am.

continued on page 4

Your Newest Council Member: Michael Murphy Jr.

Michael Murphy was sworn in as our newest Council Member on Decem-ber 4th 2010. Michael was appointed to Seat E by Chairman David Kutch after Counci Member Rebecca Wilmarth stepped down, his term expires 2012. He has attended two meetings thus far and learning the finer points of holding a seat on the Council.

Michael makes his home in Aniak, the town in which he grew up. He en-joys hunting, fishing, boating, playing basketball and spending time with family and friends. He has experience working with heavy equipment as well as in construction, and hopes to use his experince to benefit the tribe as we move forward with community devepopment. He has three children Richard, Adrian, and Sarah


2010 Sucide Prevention Summit

4

It is the job of GTC to bring everyone together and help to create a sense of community among Tribal Members; we can never do enough to get that point across. The topic of increasing involvement is a mainstay at quarterly council meetings. GTC hopes to bridge the gap between Georgetown and its Tribal Members but we need your help to do so.One method to increasing member turnout is to hold an All Member Meeting, where GTC pays travel expenses for people to attend. An All Member Meeting is a great tool and can be very beneficial, but that comes at great expense. The cost to host such a meeting is tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention the time involved in organizing everything. Our last All Mem-ber Meeting was the summer of 2008 and held in conjunction with our Tribal Leaders of Tomorrow Youth Camp. The topic of community development was raised and after a discussion the Community Development Committee was formed to address issues brought up at the meeting and a few goals for the committee were then outlined. A couple of weeks after the meeting I spoke with a newly minted member of the committee to discuss what the next step the committee should take in accom-plishing its goals. They were uncertain of what the goals were and what the Tribe expected and so on, their solution was to organize a large scale meeting with Tribal Members to discuss it. I was quick to point out that we had just held an All Member Meeting in which we had such a discussion. Their response was ,“Nobody listens at those meetings”. While there is most defi-nitely a benefit to such All Member Meetings, how effective they are in terms of moving the Tribe forward remains question-able. It is everyone’s responsibility to make the most out of the meetings.

So where do we go from here? The Council is always trying to think of ways to encourage participation. One such solution we are looking into is providing an early bird prize for all of the members that submit their proxy ballots by mail prior to the meeting. We are also looking into increasing the length of time for members to submit their proxy ballots and contacting members urging them to vote. So this summer you can expect not only to receive your ballots in the mail, you can expect GTC officers and staff members to reach out and encourage your involvement by participating in the council election.

Annual Meeting continued on page 4

As many of you already know, Alaska has one of the highest rates of suicide in the country and odds favor that each of us are familiar with someone who has attempted or did commit suicide. I recently attended the Suicide Prevention Summit at last year’s BIA Providers Conference in Anchorage where representatives from the Indian Health Service listened to stories of suicide told by dozens of Alaskan Natives from all across the state. These stories gave firsthand knowledge on how a suicide can have a lingering effect on a family and community. Each story and the filled beyond capacity conference room only gave more proof that we as Alaskans have and have had suicide problems in our communities. The idea behind the gathering was not only for Alaskans to share their stories, but also to share thoughts and ideas of how federal agencies like IHS and BIA can be more effective in assisting the State and local communities reduce suicide rates and suicide-related problems. Some of the ideas provided by the public include: make current services more available and known among the public, provide funding for communities without local programs available, more involvement at government levels, more leadership and involvement at tribal and community levels, suicide discussions and prevention in schools, more parent in-volvement and responsibility, and many more. Do you have any ideas?

continued on page 8


5

Our EnvironmentAcid Mine DrainageWhy is “Kool-Aid” in the surface water and groundwater? Is it ok to drink or swim in the water? It is just a little coloring or is the water toxic to humans, plants/trees, aquatic life, and other animals? It looks like “Kool-Aid”.

Remember the old sayings, “Looks can be deceiving” and “Don’t judge a book by its cover”; these are understatements when dealing with acid mine drainage. We know this is true through knowledge, experience, and wisdom, right? So let’s open the book and read about acid mine drainage.

Acid mine drainage is one of mining’s most serious threats to water. A mine draining acid can destroy rivers, streams, and aquatic life for hundreds, and under the right conditions, thousands of years.

What makes acid mine drainage? • At metal mines, the ore (zinc, gold, silver, copper, etc.) is often rich in sulfide minerals. (sulfide is known for the bad smell

from rotten eggs.)• When the mining process exposes the sulfides to water and air, they form sulfuric acid.• This acid can, and often does, dissolve other harmful metals and metalloids (like arsenic) in the surrounding rock.• Acid mine drainage can be released anywhere on the mine where sulfides are exposed to air and water -- including waste

rock piles, tailings, open pits, underground tunnels, and leach pads. Is it harmful to fish & other aquatic life?Acid mine drainage can have a severe impact on fish, animals, and plants. Many impacted streams or rivers have a pH of 4 or lower -- similar to battery acid.

How long does it last? Acid mine drainage is especially harmful because it can occur indefinitely -- long after mining has ended. It is perpetual pollution. Many hardrock mines (silver, gold, copper, zinc etc.) across the Western United States may require water treat-ment in perpetuity. For example, government officials have determined that acid drainage at the Golden Sunlight mine will continue for thousands of years.

Water treatment can be a significant economic burden if a company files for bankruptcy or refuses to cover water treatment costs.For example, acid runoff from the Summitville Mine in Colorado killed all biological life in a 17-mile stretch of the Alamosa River. The site was designated a federal Superfund site, and the EPA is spending $30,000 a day to capture and treat acid runoff.


6

Educate your MINDS: Questions for a mining representa-tive in your neck of the woods.

• How much acid is draining from the hard rock mine?• How long will acid drain from the hard rock mine?• How are you going treat the water and/or soil etc?• Who is maintaining and operating the treatment facil-

ity now and in the future?• Do you have the money to treat the water indefinitely?

If not who will bear the cost? • What happens if the money is not enough to cover the

costs?• What happens if the tailing dams fail and/or the tailing

pond overflows or a natural phenomenon takes place?• Does the design take into account arctic rural condi-

tions and Mother Nature?• What are the human and ecological risks associated

with acid mine discharge? (short and long term)• Who will take care of the acid mine drainage impacts in

25 to indefinite years?• How long will the impacts be felt from acid mine drain-

age destruction?

Road Dust in Alaska Native Villages

What is in road dust?Road dust is earthen material or dirt that becomes airborne, primarily by friction of tires moving on unpaved dirt roads and dust-covered paved roads. It consists mainly of coarse particles, which in some case may be contaminated with man-made and naturally-occurring pollutants such as asbestos, mining by-products, animal and human waste, snow and ice control applications (salts) and engine oil.

How does airborne dust affect health?Road dust is made of coarse particles that can aggravate heart or lung-related conditions such as asthma when inhaled through the nose and mouth. Although coarse particles do not go as deep into lungs as fine particles, they can still have adverse impacts to susceptible individuals. Sensitive individuals or people with respiratory conditions can reduce their health risks by staying indoors or away from dirt roads when there are dry conditions with significant traffic or wind.

When berries and drying fish that are exposed to airborne dust, people eat it with the subsistence foods. Food exposed to road dust should be rinsed before it is eaten.

Why is road dust a major concern in rural Alaska?In most Alaska Native Villages, there are many dirt roads and even paved roads are often covered with dust. This dust becomes airborne during dry and windy conditions, particularly when the dust is distributed by vehicles. Homes in rural villages are often built right next to roads without vegetation (lawn, shrubbery or gardens) to buffer the houses from dust made airborne by traffic.

What is the most common cause of road dust?


7

All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) or “four-wheelers” are the most common cause of road dust. Their knobby tires tear up and disturb dirt roads and increase the amount of dust that becomes airborne to be inhaled or deposited on subsistence foods.

Reducing vehicle speed on dry days will reduce the amount of road dust in the air. Sensitive individuals should remain indoors and limit outdoor activi-ties during periods of airborne dust.

How can communities reduce road dust?Reduced vehicle speedsVillages can enact tribal ordinances to reduce speed limits. Villages can also educate villagers about the health effects of road dust and post signs warning drivers to drive slowly during the dry season. Either or both methods are very low cost remedies and can be quite effective if drivers understand why it helps protect the health of children and elders to limit speeds and obey the ordinances or speed warnings. Communities can take action to discourage the use of ATVs or to reduce their speed during the driest days of the summer season. High winds can also generate dust from dirt roads, airstrips, or other distributed terrain.

Graded roads with gravel or waterGravel can effectively reduce dust emissions from dirt roads if applied to a properly prepared road on an annual basis. This option can be moderately expensive because of the costs of road prepara-tion and obtaining an placing gravel with heavy equipment. It is important to know the content of the gravel applied to prevent con-tamination with naturally occurring pollutants, such as asbestos.

Road watering can also be effective in reducing road dust as long as the watering is carried out frequently during the dry season. This op-tion is moderately expensive and would include the cost of mainte-nance and operation of a water application. Common applicators are either a truck or a trailer sprayer that can be pulled by a four-wheeler or truck.

Chemical Dust SuppressantsCommercial dust suppressors, such as calcium chloride or magne-sium chloride, are substances designed to bind to road dust and reduce the amount of dust that becomes airborne.

These suppressants would have to be applied anywhere from a cou-ple times per year to once every 2-3 years to be effective. This option would likely be the most expensive and would include the cost of the chemical, its transport to the community and the cost of operating the equipment needed to apply the chemicals on dirt roads. Some chemical suppressants have corrosive or other undesirable im-pacts on equipment or the environment. Communities should investigate these impacts prior to purchase and use.

Reference: EPA Alaska Native Village Air Quality Fact Sheet Series: EPA 910-F-10-006 August 2010.

How can an Villages take action?

• Recruit partners and stakeholders (Tribal council, village elders, schools, regional and village corporations, transportation departments, environmental staff, borough managers, clinics, businesses, etc.) to develop a strategy for controlling road dust. Stakeholders can also help provide education about road dust pollution and mitigation to their constituents.

• Learn from other Alaskan Native Villages, or state/local agencies such as the Alaska Department of Transportation and universities, about what they have done to control road dust. Find out what methods were most successful in addressing the problem. Make recommendation to appropriate community leaders and get necessary approvals to seek financial or technical support, if necessary. Identify possible sources of funding to help implement the road dust control strategies, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian Reservations Roads program.


8

A topic that came up a more than a few times and most seem to think was important, is more funding to the current social service programs already available and providing such services in communities that do not have any. The hard part is getting people to utilize and take advantage of social service that deal with suicide prevention. Another highly talked about issue was more parent involvement and responsibility. Some think parent-child interaction may play a key role in preventing suicide and is a touchy but relevant topic that needs more attention. Unfortunately, some of the questions posed for discussion on the agenda did not get addressed or discussed in detail as was planned. It would have been nice to hear discussion and opinions on what may cause a person to contemplate, attempt, or commit suicide. Maybe if we, and I mean us as a community, knew more of the symptoms that cause suicidal thoughts or ten-dencies maybe some of these tragedies could have been prevented.

On a personal level, it was saddening to sit there and listen to each story and to know each family’s and community’s heartbreak is similar to those echoed throughout Alaska. It is my opinion that we as individuals have a responsibility to not sweep this issue under the rug or brush it off like it doesn’t exist in your life, or your children’s lives. Because it does! Overall, I think it was a great start that the State, the current legislation, and we as Alaskan Natives recognize our states suicide problem.

Some questions you may ask yourself and those around you: Where do you stand on parent’s responsibility? Should we as parents talk about suicide more often within our own families? Should suicide be a topic discussed in school? Are there suicide prevention programs and other social service programs available in your community? If so, what are they? If not, why not? How can we as individuals get involved in local suicide prevention programs?

Sucide Prevention Summit continued on page 8

Another gathering at last year’s conference I found interesting and worth sharing was Internet Crimes against Children. I’ll start by saying that I use the Internet everyday and the information shared at this conference opened my eyes to a whole different aspect on how the Internet is sometimes used.

What is a cyber crime? Any criminal activity committed through the Internet by the use of a computer or mobile device. The presenter, who works with the APD and the FBI to battle Internet crimes against children, had a slideshow pertaining to how someone may find out a scary amount of information about an individual and their family. The example showed by knowing a 14-year-old girl’s full name and what school she goes to, it is actually pretty easy to find out her parents names, where she lives, a phone number, and other personal and family information. Search techniques such as these have been used in the past by adult predators searching for the next victims. Where might they learn about these children you might ask? Yearbooks, newspa-per articles, school websites, public school functions, sports teams, etc. (Ever wonder what information is out there about you? Google yourself and find out!)

Cyber bullying is one of the more common cyber crimes among teenagers and often takes place on social networking sites such as MySpace and FaceBook. If you have children and a computer with Internet access in the home, chances are you have heard of these networking sites and may even have an account of your own. Bullies victimize others by scaring and embarrassing anoth-er person by telling lies or spreading rumors on the Internet for all to see.

Internet Crimes against Children: Cyber Bullying and Sexting

continued on page 9


9

What’s Cookin’?Deviled EggsInstructions:6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise ¼ cup Light Mayonnaise or Salad Dressing ½ teaspoon dry ground mustard ½ teaspoon white vinegar 1/8 teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper Paprika for garnish

Pop out (remove) the egg yolks to a small bowl and mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard powder, vinegar, salt and pep-per and mix thoroughly. Fill the empty egg white shells with the mixture and sprinkle lightly with paprika.

Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to one day before serving.

Yeild: one dozen

In most cases, the victim has no way to remove such posts as they make their way across the social network sites which causes more grief and embarrassment for the person being attacked.

Now that cell phone service is available in almost every community across Alaska, parents must be aware of children’s use of the cell phone. Bullying and harassment via cell phone is on the rise not only in the state, but across the country as well. With texting becoming ever more popular, some children are getting unwanted text messages from kids at school or even kids from other schools. Some of these messages include insults, name-calling, threats, and even inappropriate photos. Sexting is anoth-er hot topic when it comes to irresponsibly use of a cell phone by children and teens. We all know there are young children and teenagers out there who send text messages and pictures of themselves back-and-forth to one another, but in some cases these photos can be sexually explicit.

It is important for us as adults and parents to talk with our children about Internet crimes, cyber bullying, sexting, and respon-sible computer and cell phone use. Some things to watch out for that may be signs of cyber bullying over the Internet and cell phone include: a loss of interest in the computer or cell phone, withdrawn from family members and friends, sudden loss of friends, doesn’t want to attend social functions or school. Some things we can do to deter, minimize, and eliminate cyber bullying include: don’t respond, don’t pass it on, report it to parents or school faculty, save evidence as proof.

As frequent Internet users, we must be more careful and take more responsibility for what we put on the Internet through these social networking sites and other websites. It is important to know that everything we post online will be there forever and can never be taken back or will never completely go away. Adults and children both need to consider other people’s feelings before posting a message about themselves or someone else. Sitting in on this conference has definitely been an eye-opener for me, and I hope all of you will be more aware of Internet crimes against children, cyber bullying, and sexting. After all, how many of us actually know what our children are texting?

Internet Crimes continued on page 9

5313 Arctic Blvd. Suite 104 Anchorage, AK 99518

Check us out on Facebook!www.facebook.com/Georgetowntribalcouncil

Sweet Fun

Easter candy facts

• The first chocolate eggs were made in Europe in the early 19th century and remain among the most popular treats associated with Easter.

• 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made for Easter each year.

• 16 billion jelly beans are made for Easter.

• 76 percent of people eat the ears on chocolate bun-nies first.

• Red jelly beans are kids’ favorite.

from www.candyusa.com

cal cg eog aerg frqqhfwlrq - georgetown tribal council · providing an r factor of 44 which he says...

Documents