Tribal turmoil brewing - after 18 years

WASHINGTON -- When former Sen. Alan Cranston wrote the 1988 act that was supposed to settle differences between the Hoopa and Yurok tribes in California's far northwest corner, the California Democrat couldn't possibly have guessed that the turmoil would persist nearly two decades later.

The once-simmering dispute is approaching the boiling point again.

The tensions and mistrust between the two tribes have not dampened, and the state's congressional delegation is scrambling to find a way to avoid taking sides in a deeply divisive battle where most likely there will never be a clear winner.

Cranston's idea had been to end years of bickering by dividing the tribes' joint reservation, giving the Hoopa a large bloc of land where logging would be its economic mainstay, and the Yurok a long, narrow stretch along the Klamath River where salmon once were king.

To sweeten the deal, both tribes would split a large settlement fund derived largely from federal proceeds from logging on the Hoopa land dating back to the 1950s.

There was a catch, however. To tap into the funds, the tribes had to agree not to sue the federal government.

The Hoopa tribe complied, waiving its right to sue in order to collect $35 million. The Yurok, who took several years to organize, didn't. The tribe filed suit, contending that it got a raw deal in the settlement. After fighting all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the tribe lost. But it still wants the money -- now grown to nearly $90 million -- it was promised in the settlement act.

The Hoopa tribe, conversely, thinks it should get the money. The Hoopa contend that the money came from logging its lands and that the Yurok abandoned their claim to it when they filed suit. But the Hoopa tribe has volunteered to split the money down the middle, saying half of something is better than more fighting.

"Hoopa is the largest land-based tribe in California, and its people live in poverty," tribal Chairman Clifford Lyle Marshall said in a telephone interview. He said it is ludicrous "that we have a $90 million fund not benefiting anyone, providing no services to Indian people."

The Yurok, however, think the Hoopa tribe has taken its cut. And although it hasn't yet done so, the tribe said it is now willing to sign the required waiver to collect its money, plus all that glorious interest -- all $90 million.

"This is Yurok money," tribal Chairman Howard McConnell insisted.

"The Hoopa have received everything they were entitled to," added Dennis Puzz, the Yurok tribe's executive director. "They just want a second slice of the pie. This is a matter between the Yurok and the Interior Department, and the Hoopa have no role to play."

Two weeks ago, the Hoopa tribe sent a letter to Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, saying Congress must step in to find the solution because the two tribes are incapable of reaching one. The tribe wants immediate hearings and a full report from the Interior Department on the status of the settlement fund.

The last time Congress held a hearing on the settlement act was nearly four years ago, and it had an ugly end.

When leaders of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee suggested that tribal leaders shake hands and work out a deal between themselves, Susan Masten, then the Yurok's tribal chairwoman, complained openly about the Hoopa tribe's "breach of trust," offending Marshall with what he saw as a public insult of his tribe.

Being forced to make a decision on the distribution of the funds is the last thing California politicians want.

Thompson and Democratic Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer wrote the Interior Department last year asking a series of questions about the conflict. The lawmakers won't release a copy of their letter, but among the questions believed to be in the inquiry is whether the agency has the authority to settle the dispute on its own.

Feinstein, in response to a question about the matter, acknowledged that the delegation is hoping the agency can put an end to the dispute.

"The Interior Department is looking at a possible solution," Feinstein said in a statement.

Thompson was similarly hopeful, saying he won't support hearings until the report is out.

"There is no agreement between the tribes, even though we've provided money for mediation," Thompson said. "That's why there's been no legislative resolution of this. My view is to wait until the report comes out of the Interior Department."

For the Interior Department to say now that it can resolve the dispute without further congressional action would be a switch for the agency.

At the Senate hearing four years ago, Neal McCaleb, then the assistant secretary for Indian affairs, said it would be "inappropriate" for the department to make any decisions on distributing the money unless Congress told it how to do so.

All this spells more delay to the Hoopa tribe, which said it, like the Yurok, badly needs a cash infusion to deal with lingering damage from spring floods and persistent economic problems on the reservation.

"I understand that our congressional members don't want to get in the middle of this," said Marshall, the Hoopa chairman. "We're frustrated by a Congress that is overly cautious."

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material  herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed  a  prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and  educational purposes only. For more information go to:
 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml