[Senate Hearing 116-14]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 116-14
45th ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAMS ACT AND THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATION FOR NATIVE
AMERICANS
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
FEBRUARY 27, 2019
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
36-242 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office,
http://bookstore.gpo.gov. For more information, contact the GPO Customer Contact Center,
U.S. Government Publishing Office. Phone 202-512-1800, or 866-512-1800 (toll-free).E-mail,
gpo@custhelp.com.
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota, Chairman
TOM UDALL, New Mexico, Vice Chairman
JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska JON TESTER, Montana,
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
STEVE DAINES, Montana CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
MARTHA McSALLY, Arizona TINA SMITH, Minnesota
JERRY MORAN, Kansas
T. Michael Andrews, Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Jennifer Romero, Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on February 27, 2019................................ 1
Statement of Senator Cortez Masto................................ 38
Statement of Senator Hoeven...................................... 1
Statement of Senator Tester...................................... 36
Statement of Senator Udall....................................... 2
Witnesses
Hovland, Hon. Jeannie, Commissioner, Administration for Native
Americans, Administration for Children and Families, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services........................ 3
Prepared statement........................................... 5
James, Hon. Joe, Chairman, Yurok Tribe........................... 14
Prepared statement........................................... 16
Socobasin, Hon. Joseph M., Councilmember/Former Chief,
Passamaquoddy Tribe............................................ 8
Prepared statement........................................... 9
Vallo, Hon. Brian, Governor, Pueblo of Acoma..................... 10
Prepared statement........................................... 11
Appendix
Crabbe, Kamana`opono M., Ph.D,, Ka Pouhana/CEO, Office of
Hawaiian Affairs, prepared statement........................... 45
Response to written questions submitted by Hon. Tom Udall to Hon.
Jeannie Hovland................................................ 46
45th ANNIVERSARY OF THE NATIVE
AMERICAN PROGRAMS ACT AND THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADMINISTRATION FOR NATIVE AMERICANS
----------
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2019
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Indian Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:40 p.m. in room
628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. John Hoeven,
Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN HOEVEN,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NORTH DAKOTA
The Chairman. Good afternoon. We will call the hearing to
order.
Today the Committee will hold its first oversight hearing
of the 116th Congress. The hearing is on the 45th anniversary
of the Native American Programs Act and the establishment of
the Administration for Native Americans.
In 1964, in his State of the Union address, President
Lyndon B. Johnson declared a war on poverty in the United
States. The President's direction led to the passage of the
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. This Act was later amended to
include the Native American Programs Act of 1974, establishing
the Administration for Native Americans.
This year, we will recognize the 45th anniversary of the
Native American Programs Act of 1974, which was signed into law
on January 4, 1975. The purpose of the Act is to promote
economic self-sufficiency for American Indians, Alaska Natives,
Native Hawaiians and other Native populations throughout the
Pacific region. The Native American Programs Act established
the Administrative for Native Americans, ANA, within the
Department of Health and Human Services. This agency provides
three types of grants to enhance the economic and cultural
well-being of these populations.
According to the ANA report to Congress, these grants have
assisted Native communities in overcoming challenges in
economic development and cultural loss. Of the grantees who
were evaluated in the fiscal year 2015 report, 58 new or
sustained partnerships were produced for social and economic
development strategies.
In economic development projects, 12,507 voucher hours were
provided during the social and economic development strategies,
social development projects. Two hundred fifty-seven Native
youth were involved in the implementation of environmental
regulatory enhancement projects. Two hundred twenty-nine Native
language instructors received training.
The Native American Programs Act also created the
commissioner position to oversee the ANA and co-chair of the
Intra-Departmental Council on Native American Affairs within
the Department of Health and Human Services. The council is co-
chaired by the commissioner with the Indian Health Services
Director.
The Senate confirmed Ms. Jeannie Hovland to serve as the
seventh commissioner on June 21st, 2018. We will hear from her
and other witnesses on how the process has served Native
American communities. They put a lot of acronyms in my remarks.
I should have spent more time last night going through all
those acronyms. They are very good at them. Anyway, to
understand how these programs have served Native communities
and what further progress or improvements should be made.
Before we turn to the witnesses, I would like to ask Vice
Chairman Udall for his opening statement. Vice Chairman Udall?
STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO
Senator Udall. Thank you, Chairman Hoeven. I appreciate
your scheduling today's hearing to discuss the Native American
Programs Act.
I would first like to welcome Acoma Pueblo's newly-elected
governor, Brian Vallo. Great to have you here today, Governor.
As the former director of the Indian Arts and Research Center,
Governor Vallo knows the importance of cultural preservation
and local capacity building. He is uniquely positioned to
further advance the Acoma Pueblo's plan to revitalize the Keres
language. Governor, thank you so much for being here today to
discuss the Pueblos' experience with the ANA Language Grants.
The NAPA plays an important role in supporting community-
driven projects designed to grow local economies, strengthen
Native languages and bolster the environmental protection
efforts of tribal governments. Since its enactment in 1974,
NAPA has sought to promote self-sufficiency and cultural
preservation for Native communities. The Administration for
Native Americans at HHS fulfills this mission by providing
grants for community-based projects as well as training and
technical assistance.
ANA grants are unique in that they empower Native
communities to develop projects that meet the specific needs of
their community. Other Federal grants take a top-down approach
in which Native communities must tailor their projects to meet
nationwide funding criteria. This Committee has played a
central role in pushing forward important improvements and
expansions to the original Act.
In 1990, our colleague, Senator McCain, led efforts to pass
the Indian Environmental Regulatory Enhancement Act, which
authorized ANA grants to improve the capability of tribal
governments to regulate environmental quality. At that time, my
uncle Mo Udall was the chairman of the House Committee on
Interior and Insular Affairs. Mo worked with Senator McCain to
ensure the bill passed the House, which it ultimately did
overwhelmingly.
This was a time where bipartisan legislation addressing the
environmental needs of tribes and our Nation wasn't all that
uncommon. I hope we can continue to build on that legacy and
the tradition of bipartisan cooperation that is so central to
this Committee, to carry those efforts forward.
More recently, in 2006, I worked on a bipartisan basis with
the entire New Mexico house delegation to further expand NAPA's
grant work with the Esther Martinez Native Languages Act.
Native languages remain a priority for me. In my home State of
New Mexico, 23 tribes speak 7 major Native languages that are
not only crucial to the communities that speak them but also
are important to our State's multi-faceted identity.
It is fitting for today's hearing and my work on Native
languages that the Committee's most recent efforts to refine
NAPA happened just this month, when it unanimously supported my
bill, the Esther Martinez Native Language Programs
Reauthorization Act. I look forward to moving the Esther
Martinez Reauthorization through the full Senate, and I hope
today's hearing will highlight how tribes have leveraged ANA
programs to meet project goals and improve overall community
health and wellness.
I want to especially thank the Honorable Jeannie Hovland
for getting in your testimony. You have made it well before the
48 hours, and we really appreciate that, and thank the chairman
and thank the panel for joining us today.
The Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Vice Chairman.
Do we have any other opening statements? Okay, if not, we
will proceed with our witnesses. Thank you for being here. We
will start with Jeannie Hovland, Commissioner, Administration
for Native Americans, Administration for Children and Families,
Department of Health and Human Services. Then we will proceed
to the Honorable Joseph Socobasin--thanks for being here --
council member and former Chief Passamaquoddy Tribe, Indian
Township. The Honorable Brian Vallo, Governor, Pueblo of Acoma,
Pueblo, New Mexico. Thank you for being here.
And the Honorable Joe James, did I get that right?
[Laughter.]
The Chairman. I am teasing a little bit. Chairman of the
Yurok Tribe, Klamath, California. Thanks to all of you for
being here. We appreciate it very much, and Commissioner,
please proceed.
STATEMENT OF HON. JEANNIE HOVLAND, COMMISSIONER, ADMINISTRATION
FOR NATIVE AMERICANS,
ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Ms. Hovland. Thank you. Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman
Udall, and members of this Committee, my name is Jeannie
Hovland and I am the Commissioner of the Administration for
Native Americans. It is an honor to speak to you today about
ANA's efforts to promote social and economic development in
Native American communities.
Forty-five years ago, Congress passed the Native American
Programs Act, which established the Administration for Native
Americans. ANA statute defines Native Americans broadly, not
just to include federally-recognized tribes, but also to
include State-recognized tribes, Native American nonprofits,
and Native Hawaiian and Native Pacific Islander communities.
ANA's mission and underlying goal is to improve self-
sufficiency and promote cultural preservation for Native
Americans. We provide competitive discretionary grants,
training, and technical assistance to grantees.
Our grant funding opportunities are very popular and highly
competitive within Native American communities. In fiscal year
2018, ANA received 266 applications and made 63 new awards in
our six project areas. Our current grant portfolio includes 187
projects across the Unites States and territories. Among those
projects are programs that target environmental regulatory
enhancement, asset building, social and economic development
strategies, language preservation and maintenance efforts, and
youth leadership education and development initiatives.
HHS believes that language revitalization is essential for
continuing Native American culture and strengthening self-
determination. For just over a decade, we have funded a wide
variety of three-year Esther Martinez Initiative projects. Of
particular note, the Keres Children's Learning Center on the
Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico has established the Indigenous
Montessori Institute, which brings together the Montessori
method and indigenous community values, resources, and systems
to redefine educational systems. This project's goal is to
strengthen the community's daily use of Keres and stimulate
cross-generational Keres fluency.
While there have been modifications to the NAPA statute
over the years, the core grant program remains and is
implemented through the Social and Economic Development
Strategies, or SEDS program. SEDS projects represent two-thirds
of our grant portfolio.
I would like to share a variety of SEDS project examples.
In Arizona, the Navajo Nation is one of the largest food
deserts in the United States, with only 13 grocery stores on a
land area the size of the South Carolina. ANA's grantee, the
Tolani Lake Enterprises, Inc., uses grant funding to empower
and educate community members to revitalize their traditional
food systems and improve food security. At the end of their
first year, they exceeded their workshop participation goal
with 812 community members attending. They have leveraged
partnerships with neighboring farms, community member's
gardens, and the Dine College to enhance the funds provided by
ANA.
In Alaska, the Native Village of Ekwok determined that its
most pressing issue was collection of its solid waste and
prevention of illegal trash dumpsites. Using ANA funding, the
village has been able to provide Ekwok residents with garbage
collection services and eliminate all illegal dumpsites.
Another area that our grantees focus on is workforce
development. There is a strong desire in our Native communities
to ``grow our own'' professionals to help raise the
socioeconomic status of the community and solve staffing
shortages and employee retention problems.
For example, Aaniiih Nakoda College in Harlem, Montana,
focuses on education in the health care professions. The
college provides a holistic, culturally-based approach to
education. Through an ANA grant, 33 participants received their
nurse's aide certificate and one received a registered nursing
degree. Currently, 28 participants work in the health care
field, with more students graduating in May.
To know how effective ANA projects are, each year ANA
visits two-thirds of the projects that are nearing completion
in order to capture the outcomes achieved. In fiscal year 2016,
ANA looked back on five years of impact visit reports to
conduct a data review of 295 grantees funded between fiscal
years 2011 and 2015. Through our review, we found that SEDS-
visited projects generated over $1.1 million in revenue; 129
new businesses were created; over 2,000 Native Americans were
employed; and more than 55,000 youth and 17,000 elders were
involved in SEDS activities.
Since ANA funding only augments a small portion of Native
communities' needed resources, I have made it a priority to
work with Federal counterparts and nongovernment partners to
help projects remain sustainable. One of my other high
priorities is serving vulnerable populations such as elders,
youth, veterans, and potential victims or survivors of human
trafficking.
Forty-five years after Congress passed NAPA, we have
experienced great success in helping Native Americans achieve
healthier outcomes with higher standards of living. I look
forward to continuing to work with Congress to further advance
these goals.
I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Hovland follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Jeannie Hovland, Commissioner,
Administration for Native Americans, Administration for Children and
Families, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
Introduction
Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and esteemed members of the
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, my name is Jeannie Hovland and I am
the Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA). ANA
is an office within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is an honor to
address this Committee again, this time with a focus on ANA's efforts
to promote social and economic development in Native American
communities. I appreciate your interest in ANA and the long-standing
support of this Committee.
Forty-five years ago, Congress passed the Native American Programs
Act of 1974 (NAPA), which established the Administration for Native
Americans. ANA is unusual among many federal offices because our
statute defines Native Americans broadly, not just to include federally
recognized tribes, but also to include state recognized tribes, Native
American nonprofits, and Native Hawaiian and Native Pacific Islander
communities.
NAPA Authorized Grant Programs
The mission of HHS is to enhance and protect the health and well-
being of all Americans. Within those broad parameters, ANA's mission
and underlying goal is to improve self-sufficiency and promote cultural
preservation for Native Americans. We provide competitive discretionary
grants, training, and technical assistance to tribes, tribal
organizations, non-profits, and Native American communities, including
American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific
Islanders. We support three program areas authorized under NAPA: Native
American Languages, Environmental Regulatory Enhancement, and Social
and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS).
Our grant funding opportunities are very popular and highly
competitive within Native American communities. In fiscal year (FY)
2018, ANA received 266 applications and made 63 new awards in our six
project areas. Our current grant portfolio includes 187 projects across
the Unites States and the Pacific territories. Among those 187 projects
are programs that target environmental regulatory enhancement projects,
asset building, social and economic development strategies, language
preservation and maintenance efforts, and youth leadership education
and development initiatives.
Language
In my August testimony, I spoke to the importance of language
preservation. HHS believes that language revitalization is essential
for continuing Native American culture and strengthening self-
determination. Native American values and traditions are embedded in
Native languages. These values and traditions are a source of
resilience and cultural cohesion that connects us with past and future
generations.
The Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act of
2006 amended NAPA to specifically target grants for language immersion
and restoration programs. These two methods show promise in creating
fluent speakers who, in turn, continue to revitalize, preserve, and
maintain native languages.
For just over a decade, we have funded a wide variety of three-year
Esther Martinez Initiative (EMI) projects. We continually refine our
application and project reporting processes to elicit stronger
applications and better ways to document grantees' progress in meeting
their project objectives.
Of particular note, the Keres Children's Learning Center on the
Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico has established the Indigenous Montessori
Institute, which brings together the Montessori Method and Indigenous
community values, resources, and systems to redefine educational
systems. This project's goal is to strengthen the community's daily use
of Keres across historical, traditional, contemporary, household, and
formal contexts and stimulate cross-generational Keres fluency.
As I have witnessed first-hand in my travels, successful efforts to
advance the social and economic conditions of Native Americans are
grounded in a unifying sense of culture and belonging.
Social and Economic Development Strategies
While there have been modifications to the NAPA statute over the
years, the core grant program remains and is implemented through the
SEDS program. SEDS also represents the core mission of ACF, which is to
promote the economic and social well-being of children, families,
individuals, and communities. SEDS projects represent two-thirds of our
grant portfolio. I would like to share a variety of project examples
that are funded within this broad category and are a remarkable
testament to the program's support of Native communities' self-
identified needs and initiatives.
In Arizona, the Navajo Nation is one of the largest food deserts
\1\ in the United States with only 13 grocery stores on a land area the
size of the State of South Carolina. ANA's grantee, the Tolani Lake
Enterprises, Inc., uses grant funding to empower and educate community
members to revitalize their traditional food systems, improve food
security, and create a community-based program that could be replicated
by other tribes. At the end of their first year, they exceeded their
workshop participation goal with 812 community members attending. Also,
the project has twenty-four youth working with Navajo elders to
translate the program's curriculum into their Navajo language. They
have leveraged partnerships with neighboring farms, community member's
gardens, and the Dine College to enhance the funds provided by ANA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ According to HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), food deserts are areas that lack access to affordable fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, and other foods that make up a
full and healthy diet. Many Americans living in rural, minority, or
low-income areas are subjected to food deserts and may be unable to
access affordable, healthy foods, leaving their diets lacking essential
nutrients. The CDC definition can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/
healthcommunication/toolstemplates/entertainmented/tips/
FoodDesert.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts recently completed a
project that demonstrates how tribes are able to use ANA funding to
build their legal infrastructure. Specifically, they incorporated a
traditional peacemaking dispute-resolution process into their existing
court system. Through their SEDS grant, 18 peacemakers were trained,
and the Tribal Council added peacemaking to the Tribe's human resources
policies to provide an alternative to automatic employee termination.
Peacemaking was also added to the juvenile codes as an alternative to
court proceedings. Peacemakers have remarked that it was empowering to
develop and implement this project, as it allowed them to reincorporate
traditional adjudication methods into tribal law. As a result, the
Mashpee Wampanoag have expanded opportunities for conflict resolution
that are firmly rooted in their cultural values.
Lack of physical infrastructure continues to be a challenge in many
tribal communities. Because of the flexibility of SEDS, ANA is able to
fund projects for planning, designing, and securing staff and equipment
for projects that address infrastructure needs. One such funded project
is the Pathway to Enhanced and Secured Information Technology (IT)--
Fiber Optic Infrastructure for the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town in
Oklahoma. This project successfully installed a communications tower
and fiber backbone infrastructure with connections to two tribal
buildings, and increased Internet speeds for the community. The project
saves the tribe at least $1,500 per month on Internet service
provider's fees. Ultimately, Thlopthlocco Tribal Town will implement a
fully equipped and operational IT infrastructure to ensure the
efficient administration of the tribal government, which is made up of
15 tribal programs staffed by over 100 employees and serves 957 tribal
members.
In Alaska, the Native Village of Ekwok determined that its most
pressing issue was collection of its solid waste and prevention of
illegal trash dumpsites. Using ANA funding, the Native Village has been
able to provide 35 residents in Ekwok with garbage collection services
and 31 households are paying garbage collection fees. The number of
illegal dumpsites is now zero. In addition, two Village ordinances were
developed to regulate and enforce solid waste management.
Another area that our grantees focus on is workforce development.
Not only does economic development promote tribal empowerment and
strengthen tribal self-governance, there is a strong desire in native
communities to ``grow our own'' professionals to help raise the socio-
economic status of the community and solve staffing shortages and
employee retention problems. This approach also builds continuity and
infuses cultural awareness in the services provided to community
members.
For example, Aaniiih Nakoda College in Harlem, Montana, focuses on
education in the health care professions. The college provides a
holistic, culturally based approach to education, which distinguishes
it from other programs and directly contributes to their students'
success. They uphold the highest standards of quality and equity, while
providing programs at an affordable cost. Through an ANA grant, 33
participants received their nurse's aide certificate and one received a
registered nursing degree. Currently, 28 participants work in the
health-care field, with more students graduating in May.
The Waianae Coast of Hawai'i has the highest rates of teacher
turnover, new teacher and non-resident placements, and unqualified
teachers in the State of Hawaii. These are factors that negatively
affect student learning and academic development in the state. To
address these issues, the Institute of Native Pacific Education and
Culture plans to utilize their ANA funding to pilot and evaluate a
``grow our own'' teacher model. This program will recruit, educate,
place, and retain 100 Native Hawaiian community members who are seeking
a teaching degree focused on early childhood education or kindergarten
through 12th grade, and are dedicated to teaching and contributing to
the educational and economic growth of the Native Hawaiian population
on the Waianae Coast.
Grant Program Outcomes
To know how effective ANA projects are, each year ANA visits two-
thirds of the projects that are nearing completion in order to capture
the outcomes achieved. In FY 2016, ANA looked back on five years of
impact visit reports to conduct a data review of 295 grantees funded
between FY 2011 and 2015. During this period, 122 federally recognized
tribes were awarded at least one ANA grant. One hundred and two Native
American organizations, Native nonprofits, and Pacific Islander groups
and 25 schools and education centers also received funding.
Through our review, we found that:
SEDS-visited projects generated $1,183,480 in revenue;
129 new businesses were created;
2,326 Native Americans were employed;
89 percent of all revenue generated from all project types
came from SEDS projects;
85 percent of all new businesses created by all project
types were from SEDS projects;
69 percent of the SEDS projects focused on social topics,
with cultural preservation activities being the most popular
subcategory;
31 percent of SEDS projects focused on economic development;
and
54,189 youth and 17,169 elders were involved in SEDS
activities.
We take pride in the fact that so many projects reach our elders
and youth. These two populations are held in such high esteem in Native
traditional ways, and it is through intergenerational connections that
Native cultures, traditions, and languages can continue to be passed
on.
Vital to the positive outcome and success of ANA projects is the
training and technical assistance offered. ANA has four regional
training and technical assistance (TA) centers offering, at no cost,
project and planning development training, pre-application training,
and post award training. The centers can also review applications that
are 75 percent complete and offer guidance to help improve the
proposal. Trainings are provided in-person and virtually throughout our
service area. In order to help increase the chance for success,
technical assistance remains available throughout the life of the
grant.
I am committed to reaching out to communities that have never
received ANA funding, or have not received ANA funding in many years.
Our TA centers are conducting extensive outreach and finding innovative
ways to help communities that cannot afford to travel to our training
sessions. ANA has been offering more trainings in rural locations,
including through virtual, web-enabled settings. This helps to level
the playing field for lower-capacity applicants.
Since ANA funding only augments a small portion of Native
communities' needed resources, I have been working with my federal
counterparts and nongovernment partners to help projects remain
sustainable after their grant sunsets.
My highest priorities for collaboration are in economic development
and serving vulnerable populations such as elders, youth, veterans, and
potential victims or survivors of human trafficking. I have met with
the Department of the Interior, the Small Business Administration, the
Department of Agriculture's Rural Development, the Federal Reserve Bank
of San Francisco, and the Center for Indian Country Development at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. I have met several times with the
Department of Veterans Affairs and with Native veterans groups in New
Mexico and South Dakota to identify needs and opportunities to partner.
I am working closely with HHS' Administration for Community Living.
Finally, I am working with ACF's Office on Trafficking in Persons to
increase their outreach to Native communities.
Conclusion
As we look to the future of NAPA, this Administration is eager to
partner with this Committee and Congress as a whole on reauthorization.
With the important work being done by our Native language preservation
program, we are seeking an opportunity to transmit grant products to
the National Museum of the American Indian in order to increase the
practical availability of products such as curricula, training
materials, and dictionaries to other Native communities.
Forty-five years after Congress passed NAPA, we have experienced
great success in helping Native Americans achieve healthier outcomes
with higher standards of living. I look forward to continuing our
partnership in advancing these shared goals. Thank you for inviting me
to speak with you again. I would be happy to answer any questions you
may have.
The Chairman. Thank you, Commissioner. I have to tell you
that the Vice Chairman was extolling your virtues because you
are a former staffer for John Thune. Correct?
Ms. Hovland. That is correct, yes.
The Chairman. That is great. Thanks for being here today
and for your work. We appreciate it very much.
Ms. Hovland. I am glad to be here, thank you.
The Chairman. All right, Councilman Socobasin, again,
thanks for being here, and please proceed.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOSEPH M. SOCOBASIN, COUNCILMEMBER/FORMER
CHIEF, PASSAMAQUODDY TRIBE
Mr. Socobasin. Thank you.
Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chair Udall, members of the
Committee, my name is Joseph Socobasin. I am a member of the
Passamaquoddy Tribal Council, and I am also a former Chief for
the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township. Thank you for
inviting me here today to provide testimony regarding the 45th
Anniversary of the Native American Programs Act and the
establishment of the Administration for Native Americans.
The Passamaquoddy Tribe consists of 3,600 tribal members
residing in three distinct self-governing Passamaquoddy
communities. We are known as the People of the Dawn. Two
communities are located in Maine, one is at Indian Township,
the reservation I am from, or Megoknegook, and the other is
Pleasant Point, or Sipayik. The third is located in St.
Andrews, New Brunswick.
Each community is separated by geography and a border, but
the people continue to maintain political, social and kinship
ties. Throughout the history of the Passamaquoddy people, we
have lived off the land. One of our indigenous food gathering
methods included harvesting the sweet sap of the sugar maple.
In 2013, the Passamaquoddy Tribe created an economic
development project to tap into this traditional, renewable
natural resource; maple syrup. Owning more than 65,000 acres of
forested land in northern Maine, and over 100,000 acres across
the State of Maine, and the predominant tree species being
sugar maple, provided us with an abundant renewable resource to
harvest.
In September of 2013, the Passamaquoddy Tribe was awarded
our first ANA Grant for $1.5 million over a period of three
years. With this funding, we created Passamaquoddy Maple, which
is 100 percent tribally-owned and has allowed us to hire and
train tribal members to properly install, maintain and operate
modern maple equipment.
Because of this initial grant, we have been able to obtain
three additional grants that has allowed us to expand and
improve our production and marketing for Passamaquoddy Maple.
We received a grant through the Northern Border Commission for
$250,000. This was used to build our sugar house.
The USDA Rural Business Economic Development grant was
awarded as well, and we used this for bottling and marketing of
our maple syrup. The last grant we received was our second ANA
grant, which enabled us to take our product to market and also
to develop our website.
The ANA funding and technical assistance has been critical
to the development and success of the Passamaquoddy Tribe's
economic endeavors. The technical assistance has provided a
stable foundation of sustainable business that has allowed us
to bring our indigenous product to a competitive market.
Passamaquoddy Maple is organically certified and has
expanded beyond maple syrup with a line of sugars and candies.
All our products can be viewed online at our website,
passamaquoddymaple.com.
As a recipient of an ANA grant, we are grateful for the
opportunity to offer testimony and our support.
Woliwon, or thank you. I would be happy to answer any
questions you have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Socobasin follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Joseph M. Socobasin, Councilmember/Former
Chief, Passamaquoddy Tribe
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, my name is Joseph
Socobasin. I am a member of the Tribal Council and Former Chief of the
Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township. Thank you for inviting me here
today to provide testimony regarding the 45th Anniversary of the Native
American Programs Act and the establishment of the Administration for
Native Americans.
The Passamaquoddy Tribe consists of 3,600 tribal members residing
in three distinct self-governing Passamaquoddy communities. We are
known as ``People of Dawn''. Two communities are in Maine, Indian
Township and Pleasant Point, and the third is located at St. Andrews,
N.B. Each community is separated by geography, but the people continue
to maintain political, social and kinship ties. Throughout the history
of the Passamaquoddy people, we have lived off the land. One of our
Indigenous food gathering methods included harvesting the sweet sap
from the Sugar Maple.
In 2013 the Passamaquoddy Tribe created an economic development
project to tap into this traditional natural resource; maple syrup.
Owning more than 65,000 acres of forested land in Northern Maine, and
the predominant tree species being sugar maple, provides us with an
abundant renewable resource to harvest.
In September 2013, the Passamaquoddy Tribe was awarded our first
ANA Grant for 1.5 million over a period of three years. With this
funding, it allowed us to hire and train tribal members to properly
install, maintain and operate modern maple equipment. Because of the
initial grant, we have been able to obtain three additional grants that
has allowed us to expand and improve our production and marketing for
Passamaquoddy Maple.
The ANA funding and technical assistance has been critical to the
development and success of the Passamaquodddy Tribes economic
endeavors. Technical assistance has provided a stable foundation of a
sustainable business that has allowed us to bring our indigenous
product to a competitive market. Passamaquoddy Maple is organically
certified and has expanded beyond maple syrup with a line of sugars and
candies. All our products can be viewed online at our website
Passamaquoddymaple.com. As a recipient of an ANA grant, we are grateful
for the opportunity to offer testimony and our support. Woliwon
Respectfully submitted.
The Chairman. Thank you, Councilman.
Governor Vallo?
STATEMENT OF HON. BRIAN VALLO, GOVERNOR, PUEBLO OF ACOMA
Mr. Vallo. [Greeting in Native tongue.]
Good afternoon, Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall and
members of the Committee. Thank you for this opportunity this
afternoon to provide testimony on behalf of the 45th
anniversary of the ANA grant program.
We have submitted a written testimony for the record. What
I will do this afternoon is provide highlights of this
testimony that speak to the Pueblo's ongoing commitment to work
directly with ANA and other agencies and partners to ensure
that the Acoma language is protected and preserved for future
Acoma generations.
I am [phrase in Native tongue]. The literal translation of
my Acoma name is Black Mesa. And I had the opportunity this
year to be appointed by the [phrase in Native tongue] clan
system to serve as Governor of the Pueblo. Since 1996, my
pueblo has been engaged with ANA in the development of a
language retention program.
This is the seed that we planted together with ANA to
ensure that our language and the appropriate and culturally-
relevant programming associated with creating our internal
strategy for the preservation of our language was, that that
actually happened. That seed that was planted has grown into
what we refer to as a sheltering tree that has allowed our
pueblo the opportunity to engage in an ongoing program of
language preservation and revitalization.
Just last evening at our community gathering in Acoma
Pueblo, the first of our gatherings this year, where the
community comes together to learn of issues that are being
addressed by the tribal leadership, and this is our tribal
council, myself and our tribal administration, we had the
opportunity to convey and inform our community of the workings
within our tribal government. Historically, these meetings
would have been conducted in our language. Today, we are
fortunate that some of us who are Native speakers have the
opportunity to convey this information, just as our ancestors
did, in the same formal settings.
It was made clear last evening at our meeting that the
community remains committed, remains concerned and has directed
us as leaders, as their leaders, to ensure that we do
everything possible, that our language retention efforts since
1996, that have manifested to what they are today, continue. So
we will look to the ANA and we will look to the Federal
Government for continued support in this effort.
It is so vital to all of us in this room who come from
these indigenous communities to restore our languages and to
ensure that our own indigenous tongue and the associated
cultures of our respective tribal communities are protected and
are secure for the future of our respective tribes.
So I thank the ANA and I thank this Committee and the
agencies who have offered support of this effort to not only
the Pueblo of Acoma but other tribes throughout the Country,
and who have made the commitment to join us in this effort
which is so critical and so vital to the continuance of
indigenous peoples in this Country.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Vallo follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Brian Vallo, Governor, Pueblo of Acoma
Thank you Chairman Hoeven, Vice Chairman Udall, and members of the
Committee for the opportunity to provide testimony on the unique role
that Administration for Native Americans (ANA) grants and programs fill
in Indian Country. My name is Brian Vallo and I am the Governor of
Acoma Pueblo, located in northwestern New Mexico. Since 1996, our
Pueblo has worked with the ANA to develop and implement short-term and
multi-year grants that support language and cultural revitalization
projects in our community. The manifold benefits of these grants cannot
be overstated. We have seen first-hand how the seed from an ANA grant
can grow into a sheltering tree for the entire community. My testimony
describes Acoma Pueblo's positive experience with the ANA grant process
and makes several recommendations for ways to strengthen it even
further.
I. Administration for Native Americans
Since its establishment in 1974 pursuant to the Native American
Programs Act, the ANA has served as a valuable resource in helping
Native communities achieve their goals in self-sufficiency and cultural
preservation. The ANA provides discretionary grant funding for
community-based projects, as well as training and technical assistance
(T/TA). The beauty of ANA grants lies in the control that is given to
tribal applicants in identifying an area of need within their community
and developing a plan of action to address it with federal funding. The
singular focus on community-based and community-driven projects that
promote the exercise of self-determination and cultural flourishing
makes the ANA unique within the federal family.
II. Acoma Pueblo's Experience in Leveraging ANA Resources for Vital
Language and Culture Programming
The Seed--Acoma Language Retention Program. Acoma has over a decade
of experience working with the ANA. Our first award was a planning
grant in 1996 to establish a community-based language initiative known
as the Acoma Language Retention Program. The Program was not intended
to be nor was it implemented as an academic study of the Keres
language. Instead, the Program's focus was on re-strengthening the link
between the Keres language and Acoma cultural practices through an
ambitious plan for language revitalization aimed at younger generations
in the community. The community identified the widening disconnect
between the number of knowledgeable Keres speakers, particularly among
Acoma youth, and the level of engagement with our traditional cultural
practices as a critical issue. ANA provided financial support enabling
our Pueblo to establish its first language program tasked with finding
solutions to this issue.
Prior to the ANA grant, our Keres language had only been utilized
as part of a limited federal bilingual education program at the local
Bureau of Indian Education school between the 1970s and 1980s. When
federal bilingual funding began to wane by the late 1980s, this program
came to an end. The result was a gap of almost 15 years in the formal
instruction of the Keres language. The ANA short-term planning grant
enabled us to chart out a new framework for our language and cultural
revitalization goals. We used ANA funds to compile data on the status
of the language (i.e., language use in the community among different
age groups) to identify the segments of the population most in need of
Keres language learning support.
The ANA was available to us as a resource throughout the grant
development and implementation process. Critically, they limited their
assistance to the technical aspects of the grant, such as data analysis
and reporting final outcomes. It was left to Acoma to decide what was
appropriate in carrying out the Program's goals. ANA operates on the
understanding that tribal grantees have a specific vision for their
communities and know what will work best for them. It does not dictate
how federal funds should be used. Instead ANA grants are founded on and
seek to advance the expression of our sovereignty by focusing on
project outcomes and facilitating the realization of grantees' self-
determination goals. While other federal funding sources include self-
determination as one of many factors to be considered in a grant
application and implementation process, the ANA is one of the rare
federal partners that makes it the determinative factor in a grant
award.
The Growth--Keres Language Immersion Programs. Our ANA Grant
activities were always meant to be fully accessible to all Acoma
members. We did not want these to be limited to a classroom setting or
only a segment of the population. To that end, the development and
implementation of summer Keres language immersion programs for Acoma
youth were designed to bring them together with Acoma elders and Keres-
speaking adults who led activities in our villages, in our ancestral
home of Haak'u and in and surrounding locations on our reservation. The
high visibility of these Keres language initiatives was important in
fostering intergenerational cultural ties, language usage, and
community engagement and support.
As the activities funded by the ANA grant developed, their
popularity within the community continued to grow. Our first attempt to
pilot a two week summer immersion program brought Acoma youth, adults,
and elders together to learn about Keres-based cultural practices. The
program was so well attended that we subsequently offered a four week
and later a six week immersion experience! As a result of these
programs we saw more children and youth participating in cultural
practices and actively engaging in community life. We also saw
increased intergenerational engagement, which is critical to passing on
the traditional knowledge that only our elders and fluent Keres
speakers possess.
The first generation of children to participate in the immersion
programs in the 1990s are now adults and parents themselves. Many have
become key participants in the socio-cultural traditions of the Pueblo.
Those of us from the community have observed how those children have
grown up and been shaped by the availability of Keres cultural
programming. Now, the children of that first generation of
beneficiaries have the opportunity to participate in Keres language
classes, both in the community and in some local schools, are following
in the footsteps of their parents and relatives in being integrated
into the cultural practices and linguistic tradition of our community.
We have been made stronger from the inside because of it. The benefits
of that original ANA short-term planning grant continue to translate
into long-term positive gains for our community.
The Branches--Expansion and Leveraged Funding. After our community-
based programs were firmly established, we began to expand the sphere
of Keres cultural teaching into the classroom setting. The Tribal
Council guided the carefully designed vision as it was implemented in
our local school system in the early 2000s. We first expanded to the
local BIE school, then to a local public high school and elementary
school, and finally to a parochial pre-kindergarten program. The phased
expansion of our vision was only made possible because of ANA support.
ANA grants allowed us to train Acoma language teachers, develop
curricula, and implement the program in diverse settings. Throughout
this process, we maintained fidelity to our original vision of
strengthening the community by renewing the link between the Keres
language and Acoma cultural practices.
As a result of our expansion into public schools, Acoma found
itself on the forefront, along with several other key Pueblos, in
pushing local school districts to enter into Memorandums of
Understanding regarding the implementation of Keres language immersion
programs. Acoma wanted to ensure that the Pueblo maintained control of
its programs and full ownership of the materials developed for and used
in the programs. We also wanted to be sure that the programs were
taught only by Acoma teachers and served all interested Acoma students
so that they could stay firmly rooted in their Pueblo identities and
language as they matriculated from elementary to middle school and on
to high school.
We encountered challenges along the way. For example, one challenge
stemmed from the mistaken view that immersion programs discriminated
against other students because they targeted only students who were
from our community. With strong support from a State Education
superintendent, we made it clear that the offering of such programs
aligns with our status as sovereign pueblos and tribal nations with
inherent powers of self-governance over our members, including the
authority to govern how matters of cultural sensitivity and language
are taught to our children and youth.
Another challenge arose from the fact that many of our Acoma elders
and Keres-speaking adults lacked formal teaching degrees, which created
administrative issues for public schools under the No Child Left Behind
Act. Acoma once again stood at the fore in advocating for an
alternative pathway for teacher certification so that our children
could have access to appropriate instructors in their Keres classrooms.
As the result of a collaborative multi-year effort with other New
Mexico tribes, New Mexico adopted an alternative certification for
speakers of Native languages teaching Native languages in public
schools in 2003. Alternative certifications are only issued by the New
Mexico Public Education Department on the recommendation of a Pueblo or
tribal nation. Pueblos and tribal nations in the State thus maintain
control over which instructors are deemed qualified to teach their
indigenous language, as well as how such lessons and programs are
carried out.
Further, because of our proven track with management and
implementing other related ANA grants, we have been able to leverage
non-federal funds to further our long-term goals. We have leveraged
private funds and state funds to pilot early childhood education and
other summer language and culture programs. Our successful management
of these funding sources eventually led the Tribal Council to commit
internal tribal resources to this effort. We have had support from all
levels of government, as well as the private sector, in carrying out
our vision of a strong and vibrant Keres language community at Acoma
Pueblo.
The Sheltering Tree--Intergenerational Engagement with Keres-Based
Cultural Practices. The expanded access to and engagement with Keres-
based cultural practices would not have been possible but for the
support of the ANA. Beginning with the seed of the short-term ANA
planning grant in 1996, our Acoma Language Retention Program has
offered an impressive array of programs and initiatives that have
provided manifold benefits to our members. We have seen increases in
the participation of Acoma youth in traditional practices;
intergenerational engagement within the community; respect for and
understanding of Pueblo sovereignty and traditions in public schools;
and the resiliency of our Acoma youth, adults, and elders. Each of
these achievements is rooted in and nurtured by the ongoing
revitalization of our community oriented Keres-based cultural
practices.
We have also been able to share the strength and beauty of our
community with others pursuant to an ANA Social and Economic
Development Strategies (SEDS) grant for the planning and development of
the Sky City Cultural Center and Haaku Museum. Acoma Sky City is the
heart of our community. We have lived at our mesa-top home for at least
1000 years, making it the oldest continuously inhabited community in
the United States. Acoma religious, cultural, and social life revolves
around Sky City, both on a daily basis and during festival times. ANA
funding has been instrumental in preserving this cultural resource for
present and future generations.
III. Recommendations Related to ANA Programs
While our experience with the ANA grant application and
implementation process has been generally positive, we believe that are
always ways to improve the process going forward. For example, it is
our understanding that internal agency is working towards streamlining
the application process. We support this effort. Ensuring that the
application is as simple and efficient as possible would remove
needless administrative burdens that might otherwise create barriers to
access for tribal applicants. Acoma Pueblo is lucky to have experienced
grant writers on staff. Other pueblos, tribal nations, and Native
communities are not so fortunate. Streamlining the application process
is critical to applicants with limited administrative and financial
resources.
We also hope that the ANA will continue to provide training and
technical assistance on the intricacies of the grant development,
implementation, and outcome reporting process. This ties into our
initial recommendation on efficient application processes. For tribal
applicants of all internal capacities ANA training and technical
assistance is important to the effective management of federal grants
and appropriately reporting outcomes for accountability. The ANA
provided key technical support during the lifecycle of each of our
grants. Today, we are in the last year of a multi-year grant to
complete an online Keres dictionary project and ANA technical
assistance has assisted us in tracking progress towards that grant's
goals.
We recognize that many tribal applicants do not have the internal
capacity to support full immersion programs. We encourage the ANA to
provide early technical assistance in helping applicants navigate the
myriad pathways that they can choose from in developing a language and
cultural revitalization program that is best suited to their
community's needs and capabilities. Meeting applicants where they stand
is essential to long-term project success.
We also firmly believe that every community, regardless of its
current capabilities or the status of its programs, can achieve
significant gains in language and cultural revitalization over time. We
urge the ANA to maintain diversity in the range of grant periods that
are available to applicants. Grant cycles of six months to six years
enable applicants to develop projects according to the natural ebbs and
flows of their community. We urge the ANA to preserve this flexibility.
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this important
oversight hearing on establishment of the Administration for Native
Americans and its role in Indian Country today. On behalf of the Pueblo
of Acoma, we thank you for your dedicated work on behalf of all
pueblos, tribal nations, and Native communities, particularly in the
advancement of our self-determination. We hope to have the opportunity
to show you first-hand the strides we are making in integrating the
Keres language into our daily and ceremonial life during a future visit
to the Pueblo of Acoma. Da'wa'eh; Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Governor Vallo.
Now, Chairman James, if you would proceed with your
testimony.
STATEMENT OF HON. JOE JAMES, CHAIRMAN, YUROK TRIBE; ACCOMPANIED
BY TIANA WILLIAMS-CLAUSSEN, LEAD
BIOLOGIST
Mr. James. [Greeting in Native tongue] Joe James. My name
is Joe James, I come from the Village of Sregon, located on the
Lower Klamath River.
Good afternoon, Chairman and distinguished Committee
members. As I mentioned, my name is Joseph ``Joe'' James,
Chairman of the Yurok Tribe. The Yurok Tribe appreciates the
opportunity to share our story about California condor recovery
in the Yurok ancestral territory. The tribe looks forward to
continuing the work of the Senate Committee on Indian affairs
with the action of restoring the Yurok homeland, including
securing passage for the forthcoming Senate bill of the Yurok
Lands Act, H.R. 1312, which was introduced in the United States
House of Representatives on February 19th, 2019.
The Yurok Land Act supports many of the Yurok restoration
activities, including condor reintroduction. We appreciate our
staff, our Yurok tribal citizens and biologists, Tiana Williams
and our team, for their vision through leadership in this case.
We are joined by her, her mother and child, representing the
future of this work.
For background purposes, the contents of this work, the
California condor has not flown over Yurok sites in a hundred
years, a great loss to us, due to its critical cultural
importance. The condor helps us bring promise to the world. Due
to environmental damage, influx of new materials toxic to the
birds, reducing their worldwide population to 22 birds. Captive
breeding and reintroduction has raised the numbers to over 450
in the Yurok Tribe, once a part of the successful in bringing
more birds home. The Yurok wildlife program was established in
2008, with funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services,
with condor as its flagship species. Our aim was to establish a
release facility in northern California in the Yurok ancestral
territory on Bald Hills Road.
Funded by our ANA environmental regulatory enhancement
grant, we are using the Redwood National Park facility to
create a management and operations center, and as co-leads in
the environmental assessment with the Key West Fish and
Wildlife Service. The current ANA 2019-2021 grant will provide
the final critical infrastructure needed for the successful
recovery of the condor that provides cultural, social,
environmental and economic benefits to our tribal communities.
More in-depth information is provided in the submitted written
comments.
Studies indicate the Yurok ancestral territory has capacity
to provide excellent habitat and human-caused damage has been
largely rectified under current environmental policies. Low
human populations are to minimize or decrease the risk of
negative human interactions. And our climate is likely to
remain roughly on 100-year projections for maintaining habitat
viable.
An LOU has been signed with multiple Federal and State
regulatory partners. We are undergoing an environmental
assessment process under NEPA to plan the release of the birds
in the fall of 2019. The tribe is a co-lead in the NEPA
process, which provides the tribe an important role in the
project management and decision-making process.
Condor reintroduction meets the goals of the Yurok tribal
constitution, the Yurok land management plan and the integrated
resource management plan, as well as protections proposed under
the Yurok Lands Act, which will substantially increase the
tribe's capacity to manage the condors.
We offer the following recommendations for this grant.
Provide funding to attend in-person grant development
trainings, conduct a request for proposal overhaul, developed
and require viewing of an application and available resource
webinar, allow more time for applications to be completed,
encourage Federal agency partners in promoting tribal self-
governance and annual funding agreements, and secure annual
funding for these types of activities. ANA has and can continue
to be a major component of the Yurok Tribe's success.
In closing, we appreciate this opportunity to testify on
the benefits of ANA's support, specifically with culture and
government leaders, elders and our youth who will be the first
generation to grow up with condors to fly for a hundred years.
Again, on behalf of the Yurok Tribal Council, the Yurok Tribal
Government and the people of the Yurok Tribe, we thank the
Committee and the ANA's program that has been so vital and
critical to the Yurok Tribe.
[Phrase in Native tongue.]
[The prepared statement of Mr. James follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Joe James, Chairman, Yurok Tribe
Introduction
Good afternoon Chairman and distinguished Committee members. The
Yurok Tribe is grateful for the opportunity to share our work toward
California condor recovery to Yurok lands. The Tribe looks forward to
continuing to work with the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on
actions restoring the Yurok homeland, including securing passage of the
Yurok Lands Act, which was introduced into the United States House of
Representatives on February 21st, 2019. The Yurok Lands Act will
support a myriad of Yurok restoration activities, including condor
reintroduction.
I also want to thank the Yurok Tribal Chairman, Joe James, for
allowing me to share my personal experience with the condor
reintroduction program. I am Tiana Williams-Claussen, a lead biologist
for the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Program, and a Yurok tribal member. My
family comes from the village of Wehl-kwew, near the town of Klamath,
CA, the current headquarters of the Yurok Tribal government in far
northern California. I received my Bachelor's degree in Biochemical
Sciences from Harvard University, and am currently pursuing a graduate
degree in Natural Resources with an emphasis in Wildlife Management
from Humboldt State University. I was the first employee of the Yurok
Tribe Wildlife Program, which was instituted in June of 2008 with
funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Tribal Wildlife
Grant Program. I began my career with the Yurok Tribe as an employee of
the Environmental Program, and also spent a year as an employee of the
Tribal Office of Self-Governance, which proved excellent experience in
the partnership building required for the condor reintroduction
program.
Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the Importance of the California
Condor
Importance of Condor to the Yurok Lifeway
Prey-go-neesh (California condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
(condor)) was one of the first people of the world, and one of the most
powerful beings in Yurok cosmology. He is a sacred spirit, a scavenger
who never partakes of killing or violence. Instead he takes directly
and transforms it back into life, the purest form of renewal. This,
combined with his ability to fly the highest, equipped him as the
messenger to carry Yurok prayers to the heavens to be received by the
creator. As such, he figures prominently in the Yurok concept of world
renewal, the Yurok reason for being, and is integral to our world
renewal ceremonies, our highest ceremonies. The Yurok people have been
critically affected by the overall loss of condor across the landscape,
as he has not soared the skies over Yurok Ancestral Territory (YAT) in
over a century.
While the Yurok people carry on without condor, our ceremonies are
impacted by not having him to gift us his feathers, critical for use in
important regalia, and by not having him in our skies to carry our
prayers. Interviews with Yurok culture bearers emphasize that Yurok are
a part of the system, integral to it, and inseparable from it; thus the
inability to engage with traditional ecological community members like
the condor limits our capacity to be Yurok.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Yurok youth in particular suffer from the loss of condor. Each
species plays a significant role, provides a specific example, and
teaches us how to live well in this world. The world is not complete
when one winks out. The importance of the condor's role cannot be
overemphasized. It is difficult to teach about a species that has not
been seen in over a century, and belongs more to the realm of myth than
reality for youth. The language of world renewal, and the traditional
way of thinking that it conveys, is at risk when that connection is
lost. The resulting loss of culture degrades societal cohesion and the
support it provides. A strong foundation in culture is necessary as a
buffer against the social ills that plague many tribal peoples by
providing a center to which they can anchor. Because of condors' grave
importance to the Yurok people, Yurok elders have designated the condor
as the single most important terrestrial species to restore to YAT. To
quote a prominent ceremonial leader, ``The return of the condor means
restoring balance for us.''
The Yurok people understand the deep connections between the
environment and the wildlife that relies on it. Because of their role
as an apex species, condors are indicators of ecosystem health,
especially when that health is falteringCondors best thrive in areas
free of contaminants, with a complex mosaic of habitat, and well
supported megafauna populations. Similarly, Yurok people thrive under
such circumstances. When the Yurok take care of their environment and
the species that rely on it, they are in turn taking care of their own
people, in a cycle of reciprocity that has maintained the Yurok people
since time immemorial. In a very real way, restoring condor habitat and
returning condor to Yurok skies is a clear restoration of the Yurok
people, homeland, ecological systems, culture, and lifeway.
Importance of the Condor Within the Broader Ecological Context
The California condor also holds a critical role in California's
natural ecosystems. Historically, condors played an important role as
scavenger. Recent studies have shown that in many ecosystems, vultures,
a class of birds that includes condors, undertake nearly a quarter of
the removal of carcasses from natural landscapes. Lacking this
ecosystem service, some countries have had to increase government
funded carcass removal to stem increases in mammalian scavengers like
feral dogs, which often conflict with humans and spread disease. Clean-
up actions no longer performed by vultures, coupled with increased
health care costs, have led to increased government expenditures in the
tens of billions of dollars.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Causes Of Condors' Decline
Yurok people understood the slow reproductive rate of condors. As a
result, traditional knowledge held they were not to be harmed. However,
the same did not hold true of colonizing Euro-Americans who prized
large feather quills for use as gold dust containers, and collected
over 300 condors between 1792 and 1976: including 41 for ``sport'' and
177 for ``scientific'' collection. Additionally, new contaminants were
introduced to the region's system. Strychnine laced carcasses were
widely placed across the landscape targeting large mammalian predators,
such as grizzly bears and wolves, and killed scavenging birds just as
effectively. Poisoned bait put out for varmints also likely killed
large numbers of condors incidentally.
Also, lead ammunition was introduced to western North American by
settlers. Highly malleable and dense, lead ammunition by design
mushrooms and fragments upon impact with animal tissues. This action
rapidly transfers the kinetic energy of projectiles into hydrostatic
shock waves passing through tissue and organs, maximizing killing power
for a quick and humane knockdown. As an unintended side effect, these
fragments subsequently contaminate unrecovered game and gut piles left
behind by hunters when field dressing game. Lead fragments as small as
the head of a pin are sufficient to kill a condor. It was once believed
that condors were particularly susceptible to lead toxicosis; however,
recent studies show this to be incorrect. It is not that condors are
more susceptible than other scavenging raptors, such as bald and golden
eagles; rather, their wide ranging foraging patterns and focus on large
carcasses causes them to more frequently encounter lead tainted
carcasses. Their long-lived and slow breeding life-style means that
even moderate increases in mortality rates create population level
effects. Mortalities from lead toxicosis have resulted in a median
lifespan of reintroduced condors of less than eight years, very short
for a species which breeds at around seven or eight years of age and
with a natural life-span estimated at more than 70 years. Lead
toxicosis has undeniably contributed to their overall decline, and
remains the leading cause of wild condor deaths today. Studies show
that 26 percent of juvenile condor mortalities and 67 percent of adult
condor mortalities have been due to lead toxicosis from ingestion of
lead ammunition. When the population reached its low of 22, the
decision was made to capture all of the birds left in the wild, in hope
of initiating a captive breeding program and saving the species.
In sum, the condor population declined rapidly after Euro-American
settler contact. It was one of the first species listed under the 1973
Endangered Species Act. The population reached its low of only 22
individuals by 1982. Without intervention extinction looked inevitable.
By 1987, the last 15 remaining wild hatched birds were taken into
captivity and saved from mortality factors that were not yet fully
understood, and a successful breeding population was established.
Reintroduction Into the Wild: Successes and Challenges
Successful breeding strategies developed and implemented by captive
rearing facilities allowed the reproductive rate of one chick per pair
every other year to be increased to two chicks each year. By the mid-
1990s, captive reared birds were plentiful enough to begin releases
back into the wild. Reintroductions have established condors in central
and southern California, Arizona, and Baja Mexico. But recovery has not
been without challenges. At this time, though nearly 500 condors have
been introduced to the wild since reintroductions began, only around
300 remain in the wild, with about as many living in captivity. This
reflects a mortality rate of over 40 percent, which is high enough to
prevent the current population to be self-sustaining. These mortalities
have, however, provided crucial information regarding the sources of
mortality and allowed program managers to begin addressing causes
directly.
Growing Human Effects--Exponential Population Growth and Climate Change
The majority of recent mortalities have been linked to human
causes, including death by lead contamination, collision with human
infrastructure, micro-trash ingestion, and shootings by poachers.
Considering that human population growth projections predict
exponential expansion in southern and central California, the
likelihood of increasing human conflict with condors seems inevitable.
Conversely, the same human population projections did not assess
northern California, with its sparsely populated status relative to
central and southern California, as projected growth was expected to be
so minimal as to be inconsequential. Further, based on expected climate
change projections over the next 100 years, it has been hypothesized
that many existing condor reintroduction sites may become climatically
unsuitable for condors. Climate change assessments indicate that
coastal northern California, and much of the larger Pacific Northwest,
should have habitat and climate conditions that are suitable for
supporting condors throughout the next century.
Regional Positive Impacts of Condor Recovery
Condors contribute significantly to economies in the areas they
thrive, including the coastal Big Sur area near Ventana Wildlife
Society's release site and in the Grand Canyon and Pinnacles National
Parks. Tourism has increased by countless bird enthusiasts who list the
chance to see a condor as their primary reason for their visits. A
similar boost to tourism could be expected on the California north
coast, with the complementary draw of Redwood National Park, home of
the largest trees in the world, and the majestic condor with its 9.5-
foot wingspan. Del Norte and Humboldt Counties suffer under economic
disadvantage, relying heavily on tourism to support their economies.
The Tribe sees the potential to grow tourism-based business related to
condor viewing itself, such as birding tours and related ecotourism
ventures, but also in terms of motels, restaurants, and all other
businesses required to support an influx of new visitors.
Condor reintroduction will also directly benefit tribal youth who
are beginning careers in Natural Resources. The Condor Internship
Program, to be initiated under the current Environmental Regulatory
Enhancement grant, will focus on hiring Native American and indigenous
students or recent graduates in Natural Resource fields in order to
provide them hands on, real world experience, as well as a stipend to
help them meet their career goals. The goal is to hire six tribal
interns annually, rotating new tribal students in every six months to
spread the opportunity to gain experience as far as possible.
Furthermore, the Tribe has adopted a holistic approach to ecosystem
management which takes into account ecosystem health, cultural needs,
and economic growth. Over the last ten years, the Tribe has reacquired
over 60,000 acres of forested land adjacent to the east side of the
current reservation boundary. The Tribe has developed a land management
plan with ambitious goals including creation of a salmon sanctuary and
forest area for carbon sequestration. The condor has been included as a
special status species in the plan, which calls for the land to be used
to support condor habitat. The next step will be to secure passage of
the Yurok Lands Act that will expand the Yurok Reservation to include
the reacquired lands, enabling the Tribe to regulate and govern the
land consistent with the land management plan.
This coupled with Yurok's existing land and river management
throughout the Reservation creates ideal habitat for condor, as well as
other species. For example, restoration of natural prairies and oak
woodlands will benefit a species like the condor, by promoting food
resource species such as elk, deer, and bear. Because of condors'
status as an apex species, these other species populations will thrive,
which has the further benefit of providing an increase in food
resources to the tribal membership, which is still a largely
subsistence hunting and fishing population. As condors expand across
their historical range, their positive impact on ecology, society, and
the economy grows.
Benefits to Condor of Reintroduction to California North Coast
Based on Yurok elder's guidance, the Yurok Tribe sought funding to
begin what would become a decade long journey toward condor recovery in
YAT. In 2008, the Tribe received its first funding from the USFWS to
begin analyses to determine if the Yurok homeland had healed
sufficiently for condor to return home. This was the first step in
creating the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Program (YTWP), for whom the condor
was the flagship species, and from which a variety of wildlife
management projects have grown.
Habitat Requirements
Initial assessments focusing on condor requirements, including
sufficiency of roosting, nesting, and foraging needs indicated that the
requisite habitat characteristics are abundant in Yurok Country.
Roosting requires flight access and appropriate roost structures, which
are plentiful in northern California. Traditional ecological knowledge
described historical condor roost and nest sites, and conversations
with local redwood canopy expert Steve Sillett indicated the likelihood
of abundant large redwood cavities, like those used elsewhere as nests
by condors, in Redwood National and State Parks lands (adjacent to
Yurok Country). Redwood National Park maintains the Bald Hills, an
extensive chain of forage supporting prairies. The Kneeland area in
northern Humboldt County, where the last two documented condors in
northern California were killed is also maintained, though largely for
agriculture. Combined, these prairie chains provide extensive
communities of wild ungulates and predators, in addition to domestic
livestock which provide foraging opportunities for condors.
Contaminants of Concern to Condor Reintroduction
YTWP also conducted assessments for environmental contaminants in
local avian scavengers that would utilize potential food resources that
condors might be expected to exploit in the northern California region.
Lead ammunition fragments ingested in animal tissues is the leading
source of mortality in reintroduced condors and eggshell thinning in
breeding reintroduced condors has been linked to organochlorine
pesticide contamination, in this case DDT, in dead, stranded marine
mammals.
Lead levels were assessed under funding from the Tribal Wildlife
Grant through avian scavenger surrogates, turkey vultures and common
ravens. As expected, since lead ammunition was still in use in the
sampling area, some individuals were found to have elevated lead
levels, with a statistically significant increase occurring during
hunting season. Nevertheless, levels found were lower than in any other
region where similar surrogates were studied, indicating that northern
California may face lower mortality rates than other reintroduction
areas.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
DDT, though banned in the 1970s, continues to persist in the
environment. Being fat-binding, it bioaccumulates in fatty tissues of
long-lived species, especially those with thick blubber layers such as
California sea lions. Sea lion blubber has been sampled for DDT in
sites ranging from the Southern California Bight, the site of
intentional dumping of DDT waste products by Montrose Chemical
Corporation in the past, to Washington State. In general, a south to
north decreasing trend in contaminants has been observed, and which has
held true off the coast of YAT in a study funded by the Tribal Wildlife
Grant and the National Park Service (NPS). Condors observed to feed
frequently on sea lions in the Big Sur area have observable eggshell
thinning and mortality in some eggs. However, many do survive and it
seems that levels of DDT encountered by these birds are just on the
threshold of lethal effect for eggs. This provides hope that the levels
measured in northern California, several magnitudes lower, may prove to
have an even lesser effect on eggshells and egg survivorship.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Partnerships Developed to Support Reintroduction
To support condor recovery, the Yurok Tribe developed partnerships
with federal, state, and private land managers. A Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Tribe, USFWS, NPS,
California Department of Parks and Recreation, and Ventana Wildlife
Society, establishing northern California as a future release location
that would provide prime habitat, meet Condor Recovery Plan directives,
and positively benefit the overall population. The MOU was expanded to
include the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the
California and Oregon Departments of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Zoo,
Sequoia Park Zoo, Oakland Zoo, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and
Pacific Power Company (utility companies), Green Diamond Resource
Company (a major timber organization), and the Hells Canyon
Preservation Council as stakeholders and partners in recovery.
The Yurok Tribe is now poised to enter the final phase of
preparation before condor releases. This includes completion of an
Environmental Assessment under the National Environmental Protection
Act (NEPA), for which the Yurok Tribe is serving as a co-lead along
with the USFWS and NPS, and the construction of condor release and
management facilities, as well as a staff base of operations, with the
goal of releasing condors into YAT in the fall of 2019. When enacted,
the Tribe's Lands Act would support this type of federal, tribal,
state, and private partnerships by providing more congressional
authorization for these types of innovative, efficient, and effective
partnerships that the Tribe desires to replicate in other areas.
Innovation in Planning and Implementation
The Yurok condor reintroduction program is innovative in that it is
the first such to be led by a tribe. The path forged by Yurok is paving
the way for other tribes, like the Nez Perce who are pursuing condor
reintroduction in their own territory in Idaho, in the Hells Canyon
region. Not only did the Tribe take the lead in all habitat analyses,
project development, fundraising, partnership building, and community
outreach, they have since taken on a formal leadership position as co-
leads in the NEPA process. Furthermore, this project is targeting an
experimental, non-essential designation under Section of the 10(j) of
the Endangered Species Act (ESA) . This does not mean that the condors
are any less valuable than those at other sites in California, which
maintain their fully protected status. Rather, loss of the population
will not risk extinction of the species. Further, comprehensive
management of genetic lineages will assure that no extremely
genetically valuable birds will be risked at the new site until several
releases have been undertaken and there is reasonable assurance that
there are no unforeseen risks in the new area. The primary benefit of
the 10(j) designation is that it allows for specific modification of
conservation measures defined under the ESA to be retained as 4(d)
rules. While the definition of ``take'' is relatively expansive, it
provides important protections to listed species. However, not all
examples of ``take'' may cause harm. Considering the relatively
resilient nature of condors, the ascribed 10(j) designation developed
for this release project effectively refines regulation to protect
local industry partners like Green Diamond Resource Company, Pacific
Power, and PG&E, while still protecting the species from egregious
actions such as intentional take. PG&E has expressed their appreciation
that the Tribe engaged them early, to reduce negative infrastructure
and species interactions. As a partner in this project, PG&E has
provided $170,000 to support the condor release site.
The Yurok Tribe sees the benefit to protecting Yurok forestry
practices, including timber harvest and land restoration, through 10(j)
designations. Examples of the latter would be prairie restoration to
expand foraging areas and tree thinning projects targeting old growth
forest production which will actually improve the land for condors by
providing future nesting habitat. In order to enable the 10(j)
designation, the Tribe worked diligently with Green Diamond Resource
Company to develop California legislation that allows consistency
between state and federal laws such that the California Department of
Fish and Wildlife may defer to the USFWS regarding the 10(j)
designation with respect to this release site, which was passed into
law. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce potential negative impacts on
local stakeholders while still fully protecting the birds.
Innovation Funded by the Administration for Native Americans,
Environmental Regulatory Enhancement Grant
The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Environmental
Regulatory Enhancement grant (ERE) has played an integral role in the
Tribe's success, having first been granted to YTWP in 2010. The beauty
of the ERE opportunity is in its uniqueness amongst federal grant
opportunities. Most federal grants available to tribes have priorities
that they identify as requirements for funding, and the applicant must
adapt their own needs to that of the funding opportunity. The ERE grant
approaches from the opposite direction. ERE asks the applicant to delve
deep into tribal community need, as identified by the community itself,
and to design a project specific to that need in a way that makes sense
and will be most effective in that specific community. The application
process is based on the foundation of community investment to assure
the greatest likelihood of success of the project within the unique
environment of that community, which in this case, involved both the
tribal and broader community.
This first ERE grant the Tribe received sought to bridge the gap
between a typically ``environmentalist'' issue, condor conservation,
and what might be conventionally considered a conservative concern,
hunting and rights under the Second Amendment of the Constitution. The
Tribe saw, and sought to address, a potential conflict in the
intersection. YTWP staff engaged in this funding opportunity were all
hunters and understood that the these issues were not at odds, but were
instead an opportunity to develop a new partnership in condor
conservation. The hunting community already has a long history of
conservation leadership, for example, leading the way to banning the
use of lead shot in harvesting waterfowl due to its detrimental effects
on waterfowl populations.
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
With this understanding, YTWP established the ``Hunters as
Stewards'' education and outreach project under ERE, aimed at sharing
information about the impacts of the use of lead ammunition on condors
and other raptors, the potential impact on human health and child
development if ingested (this being of particular concern to the Tribe
as a subsistence hunting community), and making the switch to non-lead
alternatives. YTWP handed out ammunition at gun shows, hosted shooting
events at which sportsmen could try the ammunition in their own rifles,
became California Hunter Education teachers and taught new hunters
about non-lead alternatives as a part of conservation ethics, engaged
with regional ammunition retailers to ensure their accurate
understanding of the issue, and created display pieces for general
outreach showing the fragmentation potential of lead as compared to the
most common alternative materials, copper and copper alloys.
Yurok Tribe headquarters are situated in rural, conservative Del
Norte County in the far north of California, where hunting is a way of
life for many, providing a large audience. The Hunters as Stewards
program, instituted under ANA, established outreach mechanisms, talking
points, and invested YTWP as part of the accepted hunting community,
and continues its advocacy today. As a part of the initial ERE project,
before and after surveys indicated that, varying depending on the
event, 85-95 percent of hunters engaged recognized the efficacy of non-
lead ammunition, saw the benefit of making the switch voluntarily, and
said that they planned to do so. Only 2 percent indicated that they
still preferred lead, and the rest either did not answer or at worst
indicated that they felt more informed about the topic. YTWP counts
those who said they would make the switch as full partners in condor
conservation, with positive impacts on all other species impacted by
use of lead ammunition.
Yurok ERE FY 2019-2021
Goals of ERE FY 2019-2021--Building Capacity to Implement Condor
Reintroduction
The most recent ERE grant received by the Tribe for the FY 2019-
2021 budget periods continues to support Yurok leadership in California
condor recovery. ERE funding supports essential components of the
recovery program, including:
1) hiring of a lead condor field biologist;
2) renovation of an existing NPS structure to construct a new
Condor Management Operations Center (CMOC);
3) creation of the Condor Internship Program (CIP) aimed at
providing Native and Indigenous students career advancing
experience in wildlife biology;
4) development of all programmatic data collection and sharing
protocols
5) creation of condor management protocols;
6) Creation of a roles and responsibilities Memorandum of
Understanding with NPS and USFWS;
7) creation of an innovative geospatially based condor threat
identification system (CTIS)which will help us manage against
risk factors before interactions even occur; and
8) seven staff training workshops on radio and satellite
tracking, handling, and treatment of condors in the field.
Federal and Non-Federal Leveraged Partner Resources
The aforementioned work is completed in partnership with a wide
variety of entities. The renovation of the CMOC has come about from a
strong partnership with Redwood National Park (RNP). The Yurok
Reservation is the only Indian Reservation with National Park Land
within its boundaries which has led to unique opportunities for co-
management. The need for co-management is heightened as the RNP land in
the Reservation includes one of the Tribe's most sacred ceremonial
sites. (The Lands Act includes authorization for additional MOU
opportunities between RNP and the Tribe).
Another major deliverable of the Yurok Tribe's current ERE grant is
to develop a Memorandum of Understanding with the RNP and USFWS
establishing roles and responsibilities related to the proposed
reintroduction program, so the partnership can flow seamlessly. The CIP
will be created in conjunction with locally based Humboldt State
University's Indians in Natural Resources, Sciences, and Engineering
Program (INRSEP), with the aim of drawing in Native and Indigenous
students in those fields, to either jump start their career, or to
provide college credits. INRSEP has also promised to work as a conduit
to other university tribal programs to extend the CIP's reach across
the country. The CTIS will utilize the latest in geospatial tools, and
be developed in conjunction with partner PG&E which is beginning to
create a similar warning system at the existing condor release sites.
All programmatic protocols are being created in coordination with
existing condor recovery partners, which include the USFWS, NPS,
Ventana Wildlife Society, and Peregrine Fund, all of whom are providing
training, expert advice, or example documents, protocols, and
schematics so the Tribe can benefit from their hard won expertise.
How ERE Fits into the Journey of Condor Reintroduction in Yurok Country
Since the very beginning, the ERE has provided critical and
complementary funding to the overall goal of condor reintroduction, a
significant piece of a large and complex puzzle. The Tribe has received
funding from the USFWS to conduct habitat assessments, and to engage in
the NEPA process. The NPS is providing staff resources, support
infrastructure, and has drawn in the partnership of the National Park
Foundation. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has provided additional
funding to expand existing federal projects, for example contributing
funds to develop an emergency response plan as one of the protocols
necessary for successful implementation, and for continuing the Hunters
as Stewards Program started under the ERE, as well as expanding
outreach to the broader conservation community in general to bring
regional support for the project.
The Tribe has also received support from private industry, like
Green Diamond Resource Company, and Pacific Gas and Electric, as well
as from non-profits like the Oregon and Oakland Zoos which are entering
into agreements to treat condors as necessary, along with the Sequoia
Park Zoo which is building an entire quarantine and treatment area to
provide in-house veterinary support only an hour and a half from the
proposed release area.
Metrics for Success
Each component of the ERE is vital to the success of the Yurok
Tribe's condor reintroduction goals. Successful creation or completion
of each deliverable described above will be a tangible and long-lived
benefit that will support condor recovery for the life of the program.
Ultimately, implementation of condor releases is a final deliverable of
this ERE grant, attainment of the dream that the Yurok Tribe has been
working toward for more than a decade.
Contribution to Goals of Federal Regulatory Statutes and Other Programs
The work targeted for completion within the proposed activities of
this ERE project does not stand in a vacuum, but builds upon needs
dictated by the larger California condor conservation effort. Many
goals formalized by other projects, programs, and agencies will also be
met by the work performed under this project.
The primary driver for this project is fulfillment of objectives
and goals laid out directly in a letter from the USFWS to the Yurok
Tribe related to condor recovery, and the Condor MOU. In the letter,
USFWS states, ``It is likely that the establishment of a self-
sustaining population of condors in the Pacific Northwest would
substantively contribute to their recovery.'' They list activities
which must be completed prior to release, including many YTWP has
already put substantial time into, such as: garnering State Wildlife
Agency support, coordination with California Condor Recovery Program
partners, addressing threats (especially lead), and evaluation of
habitat potential.
Activities to be carried out in this project will meet four of the
Department of the Interior (DOI) departmental goals and three primary
USFWS mission goals. Yurok condor reintroduction targets a species
protected under the ESA and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) (USFWS
Goal 1.1), an imperiled species of international concern (USFWS Goals
1.2 and 1.5). MBTA priorities include birds that ``1.) have high
conservation need, 3.) act as a potential unifier for partnerships, and
4.) have a high likelihood that factors affecting status can be
realistically addressed,'' are applicable to this work. Meeting these
goals also Provides Natural and Cultural Resource Protection and
Experiences (DOI Mission Goal 1) by working to recover an endangered
species; itself a cultural resource. It provides a recreational
opportunity via reintroducing a much sought wildlife viewing
opportunity (DOI Mission Goal 2). Condors are well known as a valuable
umbrella species. The large spatial requirements for their life
activities often require conservation of large extents of habitat
(USFWS Goal 2.3). USFWS Goal 4.1 related to partnerships in natural
resources with Indian Tribal Governments is clearly met by this project
as well as DOI Mission Goal 3 (Advance Government to Government
Relationships with Indian Nations--Meet our trust. responsibilities to
American Indians). This project provides a scientific framework for
deciding the potential for condor recovery in the target area (DOI
Mission Goal 4.2--Provide Science for Sustainable Resource Use,
Protection and Adaptive Management) (DOI Mission Goal 4.4--Develop a
comprehensive science framework for Understanding the Earth).
Several goals detailed in the Spotlight Species Action Plan 2010-
2014 for California condor will be met by this project, or have been
met by past ERE projects, including three ``Measures,'' two ``Field
Restoration Activities,'' and three ``Outreach and Education Efforts.''
These Measures, Field Restoration Activities and Outreach and Education
Efforts relate to increasing reproduction rates at breeding facilities,
increasing the wild population, increasing wild breeding attempts,
preparing new release sites based on information garnered from existing
sites, implementing new strategies to minimize contaminant related
mortalities, and distributing information regarding condors and condor
management to interested parties, including federal, state, and private
land managers.
The most recent USFWS goals met by this proposed work relate to the
USFWS draft California Condor (#Gymnogyps californianus!) 5-Year
Review: Summary and Evaluation. This review includes the goals put
forth in the Spotlight Species Action Plan 2010-2014; the fulfillment
of the goals discussed previously will also fulfill the goals of the 5-
Year Review.
The final USFWS condor related goal met by this work relates to the
California condor Recovery Plan Action Status, for which ERE projects
have contributed to 14 identified priorities related to developing
release protocols; selecting for, preparing, and implementing release
sites; distributing educational material; and providing information to
both public and private land managers; and furthermore expanding these
activities throughout the Pacific northwest.
Not only does USFWS achieve working relationships in this capacity
with the Tribe, but also with private conservation groups, zoos, state
agencies, and other federal agencies. Successful regional
reintroduction will help meet the USFWS criteria for recovery of the
species by creating a thriving, disjunct population, as described in
the California Condor Recovery Plan, so that the species can be down
listed to threatened, and eventually delisted.
Participation of RNP in this project as co-managers with the Tribe
furthers the Department of the Interior and Yurok Klamath River Basin
Co-management Agreement signed in spring of 2006. It calls for the
Tribe and the Agency to co-manage resources, including endangered
species. Participation by the Park fulfills their primary mission as
stated in the Condor MOU, ``. . . shall promote and regulate the use of
the Federal areas . . . which purpose is to conserve the scenery and
the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to
provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means
as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future
generations.'' The Yurok Lands Act includes a provision confirming the
2006 MOU to ensure this meaningful partnership between the Tribe and
DOI continues into the future.
The California Condor Blue Ribbon Panel report indicated that new
release sites should not be considered until lead ammunition exposure
issues for condors is addressed (Walters et al. 2008). Lead ammunition
has now been banned and full implementation is expected this year, far
out enough that condors newly released into an unknown region are
unlikely to expand across the landscape quickly enough to encounter it
frequently prior to the ban taking effect. With this in mind, the
report recommends that, ``. . . once this issue (lead) is resolved,
additional release sites should be considered.''
Participation in this project also fulfills mission goals of other
partners, including Ventana Wildlife Society, Los Angeles Zoo, Oakland
Zoo, Oregon Zoo, and the Sequoia Park Zoo. Continued participation by
the Tribe in the California Condor Recovery Program fulfills a main
objective of the Endangered Species Act. Participation in groups such
as this allows for the unification of current scientific methodologies
with traditional ecological knowledge through the relationship formed
between tribes and the USFWS. Participation by tribes is directly
addressed in Secretarial Order #3206 of the Endangered Species Act,
Appendix, Section 3. ``The Services shall coordinate with affected
Indian tribes in order to fulfill the Services' trust responsibilities
and encourage meaningful tribal participation in the following programs
under the Act, and shall: (E)(1) Solicit and utilize the expertise of
affected Indian tribes by having tribal representation, as appropriate,
on Recovery Teams when the species occurs on Indian lands (including
tribally-owned fee lands), affects tribal trust resources, or affects
the exercise of tribal rights'' (DOI 1997).
Integration with Yurok Tribal Goals
Reintroduction of condor in northern California, will meet several
Constitution goals of the Yurok Tribe, a sovereign nation. Restoration
of the Tribe's cultural landscape, including natural resources, and
more specifically culturally significant species, promotes, maintains,
and enhances the lifeway of the Yurok People and specifically fulfills
both objectives four and six of the Yurok Constitution.
Another primary Yurok Constitutional goal is reacquiring the
Tribe's aboriginal territory, a slow process. While the Yurok
Reservation is the second largest in California, over 90 percent of
reservation land is held in fee, with only a little over 5,000 acres
held in trust, and most of our aboriginal territory falls outside the
reservation boundaries. Recently, the Tribe reacquired over 60,000
acres of land on the east side of the reservation and is working to
purchase more land within the reservation. As land is purchased, the
Tribe develops lands management plans that incorporate the land and
habitat restoration activities. The Yurok Lands Act plays a critical
role in the ability of the Tribe to be successful in that it would
extend the Yurok Reservation to include recently acquired lands, assist
with jurisdictional issues on the reservation, authorize cooperative
agreements with RNP and US Forest Service, and confirm the 2006
cooperative agreement with the Department of Interior. Each component
of the legislation is critical to empowering the Yurok Tribe and local
federal land managers with the authorization and jurisdiction needed to
take action to further these land management goals, and importantly,
the condor program.
Experience in Applying
YTWP began the application process about one month previous to the
due date, having spent the previous month refining the desired goal and
objectives, and acquiring Technical Assistance which was readily
available for reviewing the project. The application process for the
ERE grant is typically one of the more technically difficult of tribal
funding sources, in YTWP's opinion due to an unwieldy RFP, which is
described more fully below in Suggestions for the ERE Process. The most
recent submission upload process through Grants.gov was one of the
smoothest in the history of YTWP applications to the ERE. Past
iterations using Grants.gov have been riddled with upload issues and
errors in the RFP providing misguidance on how to appropriately load
attachments, which were clarified in this round. The versatility of
data inputs was appreciated, as YTWP could either directly input a lot
of the information requested, for example with the SF-424A, or upload
in a variety of formats.
YTWP's experience with revisions requested by ANA was similarly
smooth, but, as is often the case, too short of notice. Typically, YTWP
has received less than one work week to respond to requests for
revisions to applications. Time is always tight in a grant funded
program, as project deadlines are always on the horizon. Having such a
short turnaround time often means one or more staff has to abandon all
other projects to respond. Ultimately it results in a clarified project
that better fits the needs of ANA and the Tribe, but often puts
significant stress on the applicant.
Suggestions for the ERE Process
Fundamentally, the ERE funding opportunity has proven to be
essential to the Yurok Tribe condor reintroduction efforts. It is,
however, a rigorous application process, and a somewhat daunting one.
On the one hand, the rigor of the application process is a benefit. The
ANA grant opportunity, ERE included, is designed to ensure the
applicant has considered all aspects of successful project
implementation, including accurate identification of the problem to be
addressed and an effective solution. Concrete objectives and actions to
take must be developed to affect that solution. Sufficient capacity
must be available or acquired to implement actions. Community and
partnership support is also required to increase likelihood of success,
and long-term benefits that will continue to positively impact the
community over time. All sections are complementary, and the process is
educational. One of the lead project development staff for YTWP swears
that she has learned more about project design and management from ANA
than from all other grant projects combined.
Challenges in the ERE Application Process
The RFP is long and convoluted. The multiple and complementary
layers described above can be hard to interpret, and can result in a
behemoth of an application as the applicant writes more and more to try
and clarify apparently redundant requests for information. YTWP has not
written an ERE application that was less than 140 pages, inclusive of
attachments. As a tool to understand exactly what was being asked for,
YTWP had to go through page by page and copy and paste different
directions for different parts of the application from multiple sources
into a Word document to bring all the bits together. Once that was
done, it was clearer what was requested, but there still seemed to be
some redundancy between sections.
Also, there is an abundance of technical terms used to define
various components within the grant structure. Long-Term Community
Goals, Current Community Conditions, Project Goal, Project Objectives,
Outcomes, Indicators, Means of Measurements, Outputs, Targets,
Milestones, and Populations are all terms that interact in complex
ways. The organizing Word document mentioned earlier helped in fitting
these various terms together into the complex roadmap we used to
formulate our proposal. Even with the roadmap we used, there was much
debate about the specifics of these terms within our writing team.
Eventually we settled on agreed upon definitions and came together to
write the proposal as a four-person team. This is quite a burden for a
small Program such as ours. For a one or two-person program, as many
tribes have a proposal of this complex a structure may prove to be too
much a burden to undertake.
Finally, there is a wealth of technical assistance provided.
However, if one is not familiar with resources available, it can be
quite difficult to find them and connect them to the RFP. Additionally,
the support documentation designed to help describe what the
application is looking for is written as if for a SEDS grant, with
goals and objectives that do not necessarily fit well into an ERE
proposal, making it difficult to ascertain what would be considered
strong goals and objectives.
Suggestions for Making the ERE Application More Accessible
Being 100 percent grant funded, YTWP could be considered
experienced in grant writing, and yet, the ERE grant is still daunting.
For younger tribal organizations, or for programs with a less
experienced project lead, there are some ways that ERE grants could be
made more accessible.
1) Provide funding to attend in-person grant development
trainings. ANA provides a wealth of online learning
opportunities, as well as excellent technical support through
telecommunications. However, in-person help with project
development can be impactful in a very different way, allowing
the potential grantee to engage more fully with their technical
aid and more fluidly converse. ANA does provide in-person
training, but as regions are so large, it can be a full day's
travel for some organizations to attend trainings. Speaking
from YTWP's experience, being 100 percent grant funded YTWP has
no funds to attend such trainings, and so never has. One
potential way to improve tribes' ability to successfully apply
would be to provide small travel grants to tribes wishing to
attain in-person training. Such trainings would allow for
program managers to learn about project planning, budgeting,
realistic personnel needs, how to locate match and leverage
funds, etc. These are lessons we learned through years of grant
writing and management and could essentially be considered as
capacity building grants as they would not only apply to ANA
opportunities, but overall grant and program management.
2) Conduct a ``Request for Proposal'' overhaul. Having been
applying for ERE grants for nearly a decade, YTWP staff can say
that they can see the ways that the program has evolved due to
changing federal priorities, program priorities, suggestions by
tribal applicants, changes in application processes, and for a
myriad of other reasons. This has all been done with good
intentions, but there are vestigial tags left over from past
iterations, and the RFP has become unwieldy. Not only is it
long, but, especially in this last round, requirements or
information about various application segments seemed scattered
across the RFP and an entirely separate application toolkit and
it became something of a hunt to find all the descriptions.
There are many helpful aids, but without prior understanding of
the system, a new applicant would not be able to easily find
them. One potential solution is to hire a tribal consultant who
has not been involved in the ANA application process to attempt
to write an actual ``proposal'' and identify the difficulties
or lack of clarity that they encounter. From that point, in
coordination with current technical assistance and ANA staff,
they could work to streamline and clarify the document. A panel
could be created of successful and unsuccessful applicants to
provide feedback on the process in a detailed and concrete way.
3) Develop and require viewing of an application and available
resource webinar. Since the application is largely electronic,
perhaps it would be possible to create an online process in
which applicants must sign-up for and run through the webinar,
accompanied by a streamlined, no more than 5-page guide on
where to find aids to the application and where to find
information on the various segments of the application
according to page number. This may prove redundant for
experienced applicants, but, then again, it may prove
beneficial even to them. A complete template of the expected
application proposal with full formatting would be extremely
helpful such that applicants can clearly see where they may be
missing pieces.
4) Create ERE specific examples. Nearly all examples given in
the supporting information are for community initiatives that
might better fit under SEDS opportunities. YTWP has often found
that project needs do not follow the same sort of structure as
the examples given, requiring ERE applicants to put
significantly more effort into trying to come up with metrics
with little relatable guidance.
5) Allow more time for applications to be completed. While ANA
is clear that community scoping should be done prior to writing
an application, many organizations like YTWP, which is usually
working on a deficit in time and money due to the great needs
of the Tribe, rarely have time to think about community input
before the application period comes. An additional month could
provide the opportunity to conduct more effectively targeted
community outreach to better inform project development. YTWP
has learned to conduct and collect community scoping whenever
possible at this point, to guide overall program directions.
But a tribal organization new to the process may not know how
to adequately prepare.
6) Develop a pre-proposal. As part of an extended application
process, a pre-proposal could be created to help focus
interested tribes' project goals. This pre-proposal should
contain a streamlined version of the full scope of the project,
and should be required to be kept small, for example, less than
10 pages. This could be used to separate applicants with
sufficient planning from those who need to conduct additional
preparation or scoping. The first group could continue on to a
funding request, and the second could be directed to the
technical assistance available to improve their project design
and be better prepared to apply successfully in the next round.
This would save an incredible amount of time and effort for
both applicants and reviewers. Further, we have never had an
ERE proposal accepted outright. There is always a need for
additional revisions prior to being given acceptance. Reviewers
could provide some direction up front as a result of what is
presented in the pre-proposal to help direct efforts in the
following lager proposal to aid applicants in honing their
asks. A pre-proposal may not be feasible given the timeframe of
Congressional allocations and the intense review process, but
would be helpful if it were possible to create.
Overall, the ERE application process has been educational and
informative, and has helped grow the capacity of the Yurok Tribe
Wildlife Program to conduct and implement project design. If ANA is
successful in engaging more tribes in the application process, and
tribes become more capable of managing an ANA grant, it is our hope
that ANA funding would be expanded.
Continuing Challenges for Yurok Condor Reintroduction
Need for Consistent and Continuing Funding for Natural Resource
Conservation
Ultimately, the Yurok Tribe Condor Reintroduction Program will need
additional support, and more consistent funding than competitive
federal grants can currently provide. As proposed, the 10(j)
experimental population will be run for 20 years before an assessment
of success is made. YTWP estimates that the first year will require
$600,000 in program support to be successfully implemented. Subsequent
years are expected to require $400,000-$500,000 in program support,
which will cover a foundational biologist base, interns, vehicles, new
and replacement satellite and VHF radio transmitters, broadband support
for data transmission in the remote backcountry, facilities maintenance
and utilities, veterinary supplies as well as many other aspects of an
active and growing program.
The Yurok Tribe would like to engage with the United States Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs regarding the potential to establish an
annual support mechanism for projects like these through an Annual
Funding Agreement. Such a support mechanism, time bound and result
oriented, could act as a model for other tribal initiatives that have
the potential to meet tribal, federal, and state environmental goals.
Furthermore, we urge the Committee to continue their support of Indian
Country environmental restoration, through Department of Interior
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and non-BIA Annual funding agreements,
as well as through tribally oriented competitive funding opportunities
through the USFWS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the
Environmental Protection Agency. In truth, there are too few
opportunities to support tribal natural resource management and too
often when engaging with contacts for other funding opportunities we
are directed to tribe specific programs. Such federal programs can be
counted on one hand, and the Yurok Tribe has three federally-listed
species, two species likely to be federally-listed within the next
year, five state-listed species, and multiple species that are critical
culturally and/or for subsistence uses. This need far outweighs
available funding opportunities for work which, by its nature, is not
fiscally self-sustaining. Tribal lands have suffered when removed from
the care of the tribes charged with stewarding them; but still they
remain in large part some of the most pristine and ecologically
resilient systems in existence due to tribal paradigms of managing for
future generations in perpetuity.
NEPA Finalization
The current NEPA process requires, under the Department of the
Interior's own timeline, that a finding of no significant impact, or
FONSI, be completed by the end of this June. To accomplish this,
publication of the Environmental Assessment, inclusive of the 10(j)
piece, must occur by April 1st to allow for adequate public comment.
Recent turnover in the Secretary of the Interior's Office has made
acquiring proper approvals for the 10(j) designation difficult to
impossible. Any assistance that this committee might provide in
acquiring the necessary approval from Interim Secretary Bernhardt by
mid-March, would be greatly appreciated by the Tribe, our co-leads in
the NEPA process, our public supporters, and the Yurok people.
Conclusion
Thank you again for the opportunity to provide testimony to the
Committee regarding the great benefits provided by the ERE funding
opportunity to the Yurok Tribe Condor Recovery Program. I am
particularly blessed to be part of a restoration project that means so
much to my community, in terms of environmental, cultural, and social
restoration. I am honored to represent my elders and our youth as we
work to continue the Tribe's long history of sustainable landscape
management. It has been particularly meaningful to me to share with the
Committee today in front of my mother, also a Tribe member dedicated to
tribal restoration as a Senior Fisheries Biologist for the Tribe, and
my child, who will be the first generation of Yurok children to grow up
with condors in their sky in over one hundred years.
Literature of Import or Referenced Herein:
Burnett, L.J., K.J. Sorenson, J. Brandt, E.A. Sandhaus, D. Ciani,
M. Clark, C. David, J. Theule, S. Kasielke, and R.W. Risebrough. 2013.
Eggshell Thinning and Depressed Hatching Success of California Condors
Reintroduced to Central California. The Condor 115:477-491.
Condor MOU. 2014. Memorandum of understanding between, The U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, California Department
of Parks and Recreation, Ventana Wildlife Society, and the Yurok Tribe
on California condor conservation. Agreement date March 4th 2014.
http://www.fws.gov/cno/es/CalCondor/PDF_files/Expansion-
FinalMOUwYurok.pdf.
Condor MOU. 2017. Memorandum of understanding among, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management,
U. S. Forest Service, Yurok Tribe, California Department of Fish and
Wildlife, California Department of Parks and Recreation, Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Zoo, Sequoia Park Zoo, Ventana
Wildlife Society, Hells Canyon Preservation Council, Oakland Zoo,
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Pacific Power Company, Green Diamond
Resource Company on California Condor Conservation. Agreement executed
December 5th 2016.
DOI, Department of the Interior. 1997. Secretarial Order 3206:
American Indian Tribal Rights, Federal-Tribal Trust Responsibilities,
and the Endangered Species Act (June 5, 1997).
DOI, U.S. Department of the Interior. 2014. Strategic plan for
fiscal years 2011-2016. http://www.doi.gov/bpp/upload/DOI_FY2011-
FY2016_StrategicPlan.pdf. Accessed 27 Aug 2014.
Finkelstein, M.E., D.F. Doak, D. George, J. Burnett, J. Brandt, M.
Church, J. Grantham, and D.R. Smith. 2012. Lead poisoning and the
deceptive recovery of the critically endangered California condor.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. U. S. A. 1-6. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1203141109.
Fry, D.M., and J. Maurer. 2003. Assessment of Lead Contamination
Sources Exposing California Condors; Species Conservation and Recovery
Report 2003-02. California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento, CA.
Kelly TR, B.A. Rideout, J. Grantham, J. Brandt, L.J. Burnett, K.J.
Sorenson, et al. (2015) Two decades of cumulative impacts to
survivorship of endangered California condors in California. Biological
Conservation 191:391-399
Mee, A. and L.S. Hall, Editors. 2007. California Condors in the
21st Century. The Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, Massachusetts
and The American Ornithological Union, Washington D.C. 279 pp.
Rideout, B.A., I. Stalis, R. Papendick, A. Pessier, B. Puschner,
M.E. Finkelstein, D.R. Smith, M. Johnson, M. Mace, R. Stroud, J.
Brandt, J. Burnett, C. Parish, J. Petterson, C. Witte, C. Stringfield,
K. Orr, J. Zuba, M. Wallace, and J. Grantham. 2012. Patterns of
mortality in free-ranging California condors (Gymnogyps californianus).
Journal of Wildlife Diseases 48:95-112.
Snyder, NFR and H.A. Snyder. 2000. The California Condor: A Saga of
Natural History and Conservation. Academic Press, London, UK. 410 pp.
Snyder, NFR and H.A. Snyder. 2005. Introduction to the California
Condor. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles,
California. 271 pp.
USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1996. California Condor
Recovery Plan, Third Revision. Portland, Oregon. 62 pp.
USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2005. Fish and Wildlife
Service strategic plan. http://www.fws.gov/planning/
usfwstrategicplanv3.pdf. Accessed 27 Aug 2014
USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2009. Spotlight species
action plan: California Condor. Region 8 Office, Sacramento, CA. 11pp.
USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2012a. Migratory bird
program. Focal species strategy. http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/
CurrentBirdIssues/Management/FocalSpecies.html. Accessed 27 Aug 2014.
USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2012b. California Condor
(Gymnogyps californianus) 5 Year Review: Summary and Evaluation.
California Condor Recovery Program Partners, Hopper Mountain National
Wildlife Refuge Complex, and USFWS Region 8. August, 2012.
USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2014a. Letter to partner
organizations related to condor recovery in the Pacific Northwest.
Received January 21, 2014.
USFWS, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2014b. Attachment to letter
to partner organizations related to condor recovery in the Pacific
Northwest. Received January 21, 2014.
Walters, J., S.R. Derrickson, D.M. Fry, S.M. Haig, J.M. Marzluff,
and J.M. Wundrle, Jr. 2008. Status of the California condor and efforts
to achieve its recovery. Report submitted to the American
Ornithologists Union and Audubon California. 57 pp.
Watson, R.T., M. Fuller, M. Pokras, and G. Hunt, Editors. 2008.
Ingestion of Lead from Spent Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and
Humans. The Peregrine Fund, Boise, Idaho. 383 pp.
West, C.J., J.D. Wolfe, A. Wiegardt, and T. Williams-Classen. 2017.
Feasibility of California Condor recovery in northern California, USA:
Contaminants in surrogate Turkey Vultures and Common Ravens. The Condor
119:720-731.
Yurok Tribe, 1993. Constitution of the Yurok Tribe. Ratified
November 19, 1993. 22 pp.
The Chairman. Thank you, Chairman. We will proceed with
five-minute rounds of questioning. I would like to start with
Ms. Hovland.
Commissioner Hovland, according to the fiscal year 2015
annual report to Congress on outcome of evaluations of
Administration for Native American Programs, 67 percent of
projects visited met or exceeded their effectiveness
expectations. In addition, 79 percent had a positive or
significant positive impact on the grantee's community.
From projects on which the ANA cannot conduct a site visit
or that cannot meet the effectiveness expectations, how are you
refining your process to ensure that the grantees are making
good progress? So, good stats, but for those that aren't in the
good stat column, what do you do?
Ms. Hovland. Thank you, Chairman, that is an excellent
question. At ANA, we want to be part of the success that
happens with our projects. We offer, at no cost, technical
assistance throughout the life of the grant. We also have a
project specialist who is assigned to each of the grants that
we have, that grantees can reach at any time. Again, if we need
to come in and offer technical assistance or training, we offer
to do that.
But the majority of our projects at least meet the minimum,
if not exceed, the outcomes that they projected.
The Chairman. How about, for example, economic development
projects? Do you track jobs? What kinds of things do you track
to get an assessment of the impact?
Ms. Hovland. Thank you, Chairman. We do track jobs. I was
able to report that we looked back on those five years and the
fiscal years 2011 through 2015 and mention how many Natives
were employed. We do have an evaluation team that can go
through and pull data and get specifics. Yes, we can find that
information.
The Chairman. Okay. Are there improvements to the
legislation to NAPA that you would like to see from Congress,
or are there things that would help?
Ms. Hovland. Thank you, Chairman. Yes, there are a few
items that we have looked at that we think would be beneficial.
One is, NAPA requires that whenever ANA makes any
administrative or programmatic changes, even if it is minor,
that we give public notice. In order to comply, we issue a
notice of public comment through the Federal Register, which
typically, as you know, is a three to four month process, and
it delays our issuing of funding opportunities.
I have heard, since I have been here, since June, that our
applicants really want that 90-day window to be able to apply
for the grants and have a good application put forth. When we
have to issue the public comment, it delays the funding
opportunities from being published, and then we typically have
to narrow the window that we are able to keep the applications
open to either 60 days, and sometimes down to 45 days.
We do feel there already is a mechanism in place for tribes
and Pacific Islanders to provide their comment whenever we make
changes to our annual consultation.
Also, NAPA requires, as the language is worded, us to
provide the impact. At ANA, we fund grants with a definitive
beginning and end. Typically they are three-year grants. We
have no way to go back in and evaluate the impact, once the
grant has ended.
We are able to measure the outcomes throughout the process
of the grant and at the end of the grant. We would like to see
that change from impact to outcomes, which we are able to
measure and we are measuring.
Under NAPA, it asks for Native language grantees that want
to give their resources that they develop with their grants, to
ANA if they choose to, and they can store it and digitize and
catalog it and make it available to the public if the grantee
agrees to. We have been able to store that in-house. But now
with several more grantees, we are getting to the point where
we are going to need a partner.
We would like to look at the possibility of partnering with
NMAI, the National Museum for American Indians. I met with them
to see if we could utilize their facility and store, digitize,
and catalog the materials that we have. It would be more
accessible to the tribes when they come to Washington, D.C.
That is the other area that we have looked at that would be
beneficial.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Councilman Socobasin, your part of the Country is famous
for maple syrup. I was intrigued, when you were talking about
that, I can see why it would be a tremendous business
enterprise.
How do you go about harvesting from the trees? You used to
see in the movie or the cartoon where they would pound a nail
in the tree and hang a bucket on it to get at the sap. I am
sure it is more sophisticated now. How does that whole process
work now? Just give us some sense of the scope of that
business, like people employed and the revenue. Obviously, you
are very famous for maple syrup.
Mr. Socobasin. We have moved past the days of hanging a
bucket from the tree.
[Laughter.]
The Chairman. Now, Tester does that in Montana, still, just
so you know. He is a farmer, and that is how he does it.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Socobasin. We have a collection system now so that you
don't have to go out and empty each bucket. There are lines
that are hooked to each of the taps. This year, we will have
about 15,000 taps. So that would be a lot of buckets to empty,
and it would take a lot of time.
With the equipment we have in place now, along with a
vacuum, which creates constant pressure, so that you maximize
the flow throughout the day, when the sun hits the trees, the
sap starts to flow. As it sets, it slows down or stops. That
goes into a collection system. We have two tanks, 10,000
gallons each. From that point, it goes into a reverse osmosis
machine.
So when the sap comes out, it takes about 40 gallons of sap
to make one gallon of syrup. When we put it through the reverse
osmosis machine, that ratio is about eight to one. So the
processing time was greatly decreased because of that. It goes
into the evaporator at that point, and becomes syrup. We throw
it into barrels, haul it into town to our bottling facility.
But our project has created six jobs. That is the bottling
side, and also in the field, directly. But it has also created
opportunity within our forestry program. Because each of these
areas that we tap have to be prepared. So our forestry
department hires guys to come in and clear these areas, leaving
nothing behind but usually white birch and maple trees. That
typically could be eight to ten guys when the weather is,
usually through the spring, summer, is when they are prepping
our next areas that we tap.
The Chairman. Can you tap a tree every year? Or does it
have to rest?
Mr. Socobasin. You can. So one of the things, we are
organically certified. In order to have that, the tree has to
be a certain size. Then you have to move down eight inches and
over eight inches the following year. So you can tap the tree
from year to year, you just have to constantly move your tap.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Vice Chairman Udall, I know you knew all that, but I
thought it was kind of interesting.
Senator Udall. [Presiding.] I thought it was fascinating,
too. The success on these ANA grants is very impressive.
Earlier this month, this Committee convened a listening
session to hear more about Indian Country's priorities for
Native language revitalization. A lot of folks mentioned the
need to develop pathways for more teachers and community
members to get involved.
Governor Vallo, I understand that Acoma used part of its
ANA grant to support a Kares language summer institute, which
offered training opportunities for both teachers and community
members. Why did Acoma feel it was important to offer
opportunities to all community members, not just language
teachers, when designing the institute?
Mr. Vallo. Thank you for the question, Vice Chairman.
The institute was designed to expand the opportunities for
teaching and learning. This is all in alignment with this
ongoing development of our language program. Initially, the
intent was to train teachers who would work in the classroom
setting within the community school and also the public school
system.
What we learned is that because there was such great
interest by community members and families that the training
would be extended to include our own community members. We see
that today, that those individuals who are trained, using the
same training programs and curriculum developed by our language
retention program staff, that that information is now used in
the home. It is used within family settings and extended family
settings, while also being implemented in our local school
systems.
So the intent has expanded beyond the formal training which
was identified in the very early years for teachers in the
school systems only. So we are really grateful that there has
been an expressed interest by the community to obtain this
training. We see that there is a much greater impact than on
who the beneficiaries are, which are our children and other
tribal members. But also this interest by the community to be
teachers and stewards of the language.
Senator Udall. Great, thank you very much for that answer.
Chairman James, you mentioned the reintroduction. Yes, sir.
Mr. James. Mr. Vice Chairman, if I may. May I ask to be
allowed to have Ms. Tiana Williams-Claussen, our Yurok lead
wildlife biologist, accompany me at the table in case there are
questions about the condor program that I may not be able to
answer?
Senator Udall. That would be great. Ask Tiana Williams-
Claussen to come forward. That young baby you hear cooing back
there is her baby, Morgan, who traveled all the way across the
Country from California and I understand made a very good trip.
She has been very good here today.
I am going to actually ask about the condor, so we are glad
to have you both here. The reintroduction of the California
condor is really a remarkable story of species recovery made
possible by cooperation among Federal agencies, the State of
California and an extensive network of non-profit organizations
to share research, expertise and resources. The Tribe also
deserves to be recognized for its efforts in developing tribal
capacity to undertake projects of this magnitude, by hiring and
training tribal members for key positions.
I understand that your tribal biologist, who we have just
introduced, is here. We appreciate your being here and the
remarkable job you have done on this recovery of the condor.
How has the Yurok Tribe leveraged the ANA grant to
complement these condor recovery efforts? What resource void
has the ANA grant filled that contributed to its success?
Mr. James. Thank you, Vice Chair. The Yurok Tribe has
utilized a number of grants that we do at the Tribe. Leveraging
is what we do with the grants that we receive. But specifically
regarding the ANA, and Ms. Claussen is the point of contact. So
I would like to share the hard work that she has started on
behalf of the Tribe back in 2010. She can highlight the
importance of how hard she has worked with the Tribe leveraging
these ANA grant funds.
Senator Udall. That would be great. Tiana, please proceed.
Ms. Williams-Claussen. Sure. Again, I am Tiana Williams-
Claussen. I am the lead biologist with the Yurok Tribe and a
Yurok tribal member from the Village of Wehl-kewe. I am very
happy to share my experience with you.
The ANA opportunity fits into a rather complicated and
large set of grants and funding opportunities from the tribal
wildlife grants, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other funding.
We receive TSCA agreements from our local partner, Redwood
National Park, to conduct some of the research that we need to
do.
But in particular for this ANA, which runs from 2019 to
2021, we are receiving support from the local utility company,
PG&E.
Senator Udall. Pacific Gas and Electric.
Ms. Williams-Claussen. I completely apologize there. We
always say PG&E and then those acronyms get stuck in your head.
They are actually providing for creating the release facility
itself. Redwood National Park is providing a huge in-kind match
by allowing us to use one of their buildings to create our
operations center where all of our staff will be based. Our own
TERO program, the Tribal Employee Rights Office, is providing
staff training to Yurok members to renovate that building. So
not only are we creating the new building, but we are also
creating new capacity amongst our tribal members.
Members of the California Condor Recovery Program are
offering us trainings, like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Pinnacles National Park, L.A. Zoo. The Oregon Zoo, we just got
back from a training in Portland, as well. All of this coming
together, the Ventana Wildlife Society, to give us the capacity
and training to be able to actually implement, hopefully within
the next year, condor releases.
Senator Udall. Thank you very much. It is really, as I
said, a remarkable story of recovery.
Senator Tester?
STATEMENT OF HON. JON TESTER,
U.S. SENATOR FROM MONTANA
Senator Tester. Thank you, Vice Chair Udall. I want to
touch back on the maple syrup stuff for a second here. What is
the name of your website?
Mr. Socobasin. Passamaquoddymaple.com.
Senator Tester. Do you ship to Montana?
Mr. Socobasin. We do. We do, and if you order enough, there
is no shipping cost.
Senator Tester. No kidding?
[Laughter.]
Senator Tester. I like that. Free shipping on bulk orders.
I like that.
Commissioner Hovland, I want to thank you for being here
today. There is no doubt that this has been an effective
program for Indian Country, whether we are talking health care,
language, once the money gets on the ground, you have been able
to make a real difference in economic development.
In talking to tribes, though, I find that this application
process can be kind of difficult. My question is, have you had
a chance to review the application process? Do you agree with
that? And what can be done to simplify it?
Ms. Hovland. Thank you, Senator. I have heard that through
the years also. ANA is a fantastic office, but it does have a
difficult application process. Prior to my arrival in June,
early in 2018, ANA staff had looked at the application process
and provided more tools to help it be a little more user-
friendly. On the funding opportunities, which by the way are
open right now until April 15th, there are examples in there
that are helpful as well as a framework.
So that is one way of addressing the process. Also, staff,
prior to my arrival, developed a pre-application online tool
kit, which also includes the template and additional examples.
To make it more user-friendly.
I have asked, and formed an internal work group, to review
the application line by line thoroughly, to see if there are
things that we can do to streamline it, and make it more user-
friendly. I traveled to Minneapolis a few weeks ago to one of
ANA's pre-application trainings and heard from many of the
grant writers that came to that training. We are going to bring
those comments back to our work group and continue to work to
see if we can make it easier and streamline it.
Senator Tester. I appreciate that. The goal is to increase
economic opportunity out there. I don't think there is much
argument here. The tribes that could use it the most are the
tribes that are the poorest, and consequently the tribes that
are the poorest probably don't have grant writers. And so I
appreciate your taking a look at this to make sure that you
make it as user-friendly as possible.
Ms. Hovland. Absolutely.
Senator Tester. Do you have at your fingertips what the
budget was last year for this program?
Ms. Hovland. Yes, Senator, it was $54.5 million, and that
was a half a million dollar increase. We thank you and Congress
for the increase.
Senator Tester. We haven't got the President's budget yet,
but I am sure you have been working on it. What are you going
to ask for this year?
Ms. Hovland. I am not able to comment on that until it is
published.
Senator Tester. Oh, come on, you can let us know. Slip it
out, we won't tell anybody.
[Laughter.]
Senator Tester. Well, look, your program is a good program.
Ms. Hovland. It is.
Senator Tester. We like results. It appears you get
results.
Ms. Hovland. Absolutely.
Senator Tester. I don't know if I can name another program
in Indian Country that gets results, just to be honest with
you.
So I hope that you fight for what you need, okay?
Ms. Hovland. Absolutely. Thank you.
Senator Tester. I also understand that you are leading an
effort on the Intra-Departmental Council for Native American
Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services, and
intend to make that council more active. Is that fairly
accurate?
Ms. Hovland. Yes, Senator, absolutely.
Senator Tester. Well, I applaud your efforts. Communication
is key if we are going to tackle big issues. One of those big
issues is missing and murdered indigenous women.
Ms. Hovland. Yes.
Senator Tester. The Committee held a hearing on it at the
request of myself and other members here. It was an interesting
hearing. It was one of those ones where you were smiling when
you walked out of the room. It is a problem, and it is a
problem that is a crisis. Is this something that you intend to
have the council look at in the upcoming year?
Ms. Hovland. Thank you, Senator, for your interest in this
very important topic. The Intra-Departmental Council on Native
American Affairs, or ICNAA, is the vehicle for us to look at
murdered and missing indigenous. It is so important, like you
said, that we are talking with one another within HHS and not
in silos. I am sure what you have discovered through your
listening sessions and conversations is that when we are
dealing with murdered and missing indigenous women, we also
need to look at human trafficking, the opioid and substance
abuse epidemic and how they cross-tie. That is where ICNAA is
very important. As we are addressing one issue, we are
addressing all of them.
Yes, it is something that we will be discussing.
Senator Tester. Okay. So to be a little more clear, because
it is an issue that I hear about a lot, it is an issue that we
hear a lot about here too. And by the way, it is one of those
issues we didn't--it was probably still there, we certainly
didn't hear much about it five or ten years ago. But we are
hearing about it now.
So I gather from your question that you will be utilizing
the Council to do something positive in that realm.
Ms. Hovland. Yes, that is correct.
Senator Tester. Do you see anything else that Health and
Human Services could do when it comes to missing and murdered
indigenous women, over and above that Council?
Ms. Hovland. That is an excellent question. As you heard
the example of today, just how flexible our funding is,
especially under the social and economic development strategy
grant, this is a project that our Native communities could put
together to address, to develop codes, however they choose to
address it.
Really, it is a grant that could be written under a SEDS
program.
Senator Tester. Do you need anything from us when it comes
to this realm, missing and murdered indigenous women?
Ms. Hovland. I appreciate your bringing attention to this
and having listening sessions. I would be happy to meet with
you or your staff to talk about ways that we can address it.
Senator Tester. I do think one of your fortes is
communication. As I said earlier, my comment is communication
can solve a lot of problems in government, with marriages, you
name it. I just really think that we have a lot of work to do,
and the more folks who can throw in their skill sets to help
solve this problem, the better chance we have at solving it.
Not only at the Federal level, not only your office, but also
at the tribal council level, FBI, U.S. Marshal, tribal law
enforcement, you name it.
Thank you all for being here. I appreciate it very much. I
look forward to having some Maine maple syrup on my pancakes.
[Laughter.]
Ms. Hovland. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Udall. Thank you so much, Senator Tester.
STATEMENT OF HON. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO,
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. I also want to thank all
of you for being here. I so appreciate the comments today.
And I want to echo Senator Tester's comments with respect
to missing and murdered indigenous women, and everything that
we need to do to address this issue. So know it is a priority
for me.
But I also know, Commissioner Hovland, in your introduction
today you also talked about combatting the crisis of human
trafficking. So thank you. As you may know, last Congress,
along with some of my colleagues here, I introduced the End
Trafficking of Native Americans Act. We are going to
reintroduce it again this Congress, to bring awareness and
resources to combatting this horrific crime of human
trafficking in Indian Country. I look forward to working with
you with respect to that issue as well. Thank you.
There is something else I want to jump back to on this idea
of the grants that go out. It is an incredible program. I think
it is fantastic. But we need to make sure that more Native
Americans in Indian Country across the United States have
access to these grants. My concern is just what I had heard
earlier, sometimes it is challenging to even apply for these
grants.
I just came back from Nevada. We were at a statewide grants
conference. Some of our Native American communities were there.
This is the one thing I hear all the time. There are many
territories and Native American communities actually missing
out on this funding because they are challenged.
So one of the things that I want to point out, because I so
appreciate what you are doing, but I think more needs to be
done. I think it was Chairman James in your comments, I think
it was page 15, you literally talk about some of the concerns
with ERE, the application process.
The fact that your tribe is considered experienced in
grant-writing and you have some ideas about how we can
streamline it and this process, I would recommend, please take
a look at that. I understand you provide technical assistance
and training, but a lot of the tribes don't have access to
that. They can't fly out for that. Unless you are bringing the
training to them, they are not going to be able to access in-
person training. Sometimes that helps for the grant-writing
process.
I know there are other things that are recommended here. To
the extent that we can streamline it, tear down those barriers,
and give them access, that is what I am looking for. So if you
can work with us, we are happy to work with you in how you guys
are addressing that, that would be wonderful.
Ms. Hovland. Thank you. Yes, you have my commitment on
that.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. And there are imperious,
first of all, let me just say your website is fantastic. I was
just on the website, looking at all the grants. You are able to
pull them up, you are seeing across the Country where the
grants have been identified and who the recipients are. Is it
right there, out of the--correct me if I am wrong--195 grant
recipients are listed on your website. They have received the
grants. And this is beginning in the year 2013 to the present,
is that right? Or is it just year by year?
Ms. Hovland. Thank you, Senator. are you asking about what
is currently on our website?
Senator Cortez Masto. Yes.
Ms. Hovland. Some of them are three-year grants, some are
five-year. So I would have to look back and get the exact
information.
Senator Cortez Masto. Here is my concern. If I read the
website correctly, there is not one zero granting going into
the State of Nevada. Not one Native American community in the
State of Nevada has received a grant. I don't know if that is
because they haven't applied or they were denied, or if it is
difficult to apply for the grants.
If you would work with my office, I would like to know what
is going on. If anybody from Nevada has every applied, and if
they have, were they denied? Why were they denied, or some of
the challenges that are out there.
I think one of the key things is making sure we are doing
everything e can in Native communities across this Country to
make them aware of these grants. What are you doing to make
sure it gets out to the communities as the grants are
available?
Ms. Hovland. Thank you. Excellent questions. I appreciate
that.
First of all, at my request, I have asked our training and
technical assistance centers, we have four, one in the east
region, west region, Alaska and Hawaii. I asked them to
identify, and they are in the process of doing this, all Native
communities and tribes that have either never received an ANA
grant or have not received one in several years, to reach out
to them to identify why that is, and to start offering training
in those areas.
So it is in process. We did identify what you brought up
was a barrier. There are not a lot of resources to travel. We
are trying to get to those communities and we have offered some
training. In Nevada, we received 50 applications since 2011,
six of which were funded and the last grant ended in 2015. We
had identified that Nevada was an area where we needed to
really get out there, spread the word about ANA, and get more
training out there.
As a result, we held a project planning and development
training in Reno in October.
Senator Cortez Masto. Wonderful.
Ms. Hovland. We recently held a preapplication training in
Henderson. We are trying to identify those. I have asked that
we identify those communities, and then we start reaching out
and finding out what can we do better, so that you are applying
for these, or if you have applied, what can we be doing better.
It is a priority of mine.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you. And as you go out, please
don't hesitate to talk with our office. Because we can get word
out as well. We can make sure that there is a good turnout,
people know about it in the State of Nevada, our tribal
communities, and they are able to come out as well and
participate in the training.
Ms. Hovland. That is fantastic, thank you.
Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
Senator Udall. Thank you, Senator Cortez Masto, very much
for that questioning. And thank you for working with her. I
think one of the issues we do find sometimes when we have pots
of money is, tribes have a hard time accessing them. If you
could let us know if there is a problem there, I mean, we can
try to work through with whatever issues there are.
Commissioner, in November of 2018, HHS collaborated with 12
other Federal agencies to produce the Fourth National Climate
Assessment. The report found that climate change increasingly
threatens Americans' health and well-being, particularly
vulnerable populations and many Native populations. The report
specifically found, and now I am quoting from it, climate
change increasingly threatens indigenous communities'
livelihoods, economies, health and cultural identities by
disrupting interconnected social, physical and ecological
systems. That is the end of the quote there.
In your position as commissioner and co-chair of HHS'
Interagency Council on Native Affairs, you are in a unique
position to address this issue. What is HHS doing to respond to
the public health impacts of climate change?
Ms. Hovland. Thank you, Senator. I will have to follow up
with you on the specifics that HHS is doing. I did host and
Admiral Wyocki vice-chaired our first ICNAA meeting on Friday.
We are planning to have more meetings. It will be an item that
I follow-up on.
I can tell you, and as you know, under ANA we had the
Environmental Regulatory Enhancement Act, which really is great
for our tribes to be able to write grants, which can provide
the resources to write their tribal code, so they can develop
and enforce environmental codes in their communities.
Senator Udall. Great. Thank you. On this particular area,
it seems like convening an interagency council on Native
affairs, meeting to discuss the public health impacts of
climate change on tribes, might make a real impact. So I would
suggest you look into that.
Chairman James, I understand that the California condor
plays a central role in the Yurok Tribe's traditional dances
and practice of traditional Yurok religion. Can you explain how
re-introducing the condor, and I am happy, too, to have Tiana
weigh in on this, reintroducing the condor will improve the
Tribe's efforts to maintain and revitalize traditional Yurok
culture and Yurok language?
Mr. James. Thank you, Vice Chair. Condor plays a huge role
in our ceremonies and our way of life, for our jump dance and
our Deer Skin Dance back at home. We have been using the condor
since time immemorial in our ceremonies. So it is vital and
critical as we continue to move forward. We are still going to
do that.
To answer your question, through prayer and through song,
from my heart, from myself as a Yurok tribal chairman, as a
traditional ceremonial leader, I would like to sing a brief
tune of what it means to us to carry on that message. What it
is for us, it is balance. We are balancing the world, and we
are using that condor that flies high above us to pack that
medicine to take it up to the Creator. So it is creating and
exciting that we are here today and talking about a grand
opportunity. We mentioned leveraging. You are actually
leveraging it with our traditional way of life and our
partners. It is impacting. So I would like to share a quick
tune to let you know from my heart and my spirit and where I am
from.
[Singing in Native tongue.]
Mr. James. So again, imagine our baskets, our prayers going
up in ceremony, that condor flying high above, packing that
medicine, taking it up to the Creator. So it is vital and
critical, and I thank you. It is an honor for me to be here
with my staff, and again, we look forward to working with you,
not just on this project, but many more that impact not just
Indian Country. I wanted to share the impact that you are
providing to the Yurok Tribe in Northern California on the
Klamath River. [Phrase in Native tongue.]
Senator Udall. Thank you so much for that inspiring song. I
noticed when you were doing that that Tiana's baby, Morgan,
just really settled down. So that was very impressive. Very
impressive.
The Chairman. [Presiding] I did, too.
Senator Udall. Mr. Chairman, you did, too.
Let me ask Governor Vallo and Council Member Socobasin,
have your tribes seen similar complementary benefits from
language revitalization and economic development efforts as a
result of the ANA and what you have heard here today?
Mr. Vallo. Thank you, Vice Chairman Udall. Yes, most
definitely. We are very happy to say that the language
revitalization initiative at Acoma has really rooted itself in
Acoma, in very significant ways. So it not only has impacted
and generated interest by community members and engaged them in
an active revitalization initiative, but it has initiated a
conversation. And it has initiated a very critical thought
process internally about our inherent responsibility around
language and culture, and preserving that language and culture.
This conversation involves all generations. So we are
realizing without any real effort that this discussion around
language and cultural preservation is inter-generational.
Everyone is taking ownership over this issue. When you consider
Acoma being in its place for over 1,000 years, we are singing
the same songs. When we have that opportunity to celebrate our
culture through our own Native tongue, that says a lot for the
resilience of our communities, but also this passion that we
have to fulfill that inherent responsibility.
I think that we have a much stronger understanding of that
in this time. So the intergenerational engagement is happening,
and it must be sustained if we are to continue to be successful
at language revitalization moving forward. So yes, definite
benefits. We have one Acoma woman who is now a Ph.D. who has
dedicated her career and her scholarship to the study of
indigenous languages, and is the scholar on the Keres language
in New Mexico. So to that end, we also see a prayer realized,
when our elders have always offered prayers on our behalf that
we would embrace the western language and culture and use it to
benefit our responsibility, or the fulfillment of our cultural
responsibilities.
Senator Udall. Thank you. Council Member Socobasin?
Mr. Socobasin. We came here prepared to talk about maple
syrup, but we do have a language grant as well. And actually,
my time as chief was when that was first awarded.
In our communities, as I mentioned earlier, we have 3,600
tribal members. Of those, about 5 percent are fluent in our
language. We are one of the tribes of first contact, so we are
one of the few tribes in the east that still has our language.
Part of that being I think we are so far north and it is so
cold that all we have is us.
But a big influence on the Wasaba language was the Catholic
church. I was one of the first generations that, my first
language was English. My wife, who is the same age as I, her
first language was Passamaquoddy. And our story is very similar
to what has been already said today. Our culture is connected
and our language is very important to our ceremonies.
Because of the ANA grant, we have been able to implement an
immersion class into our schools, in the pre-school and
kindergarten. Our goal is, we have a school on the reservation
that goes up to the eighth grade. I hope within the next ten
years that all their lessons are taught in Passamaquoddy.
Senator Udall. Thank you very much, and thank you for your
courtesies, Mr. Chairman. I think we covered some good ground
today and we have realized the real benefits of this grant
program. I appreciate very much the hard work of Jeannie
Hovland.
The Chairman. Absolutely. Thank you, Vice Chairman.
Thanks again to all the witnesses. If there are no more
questions for today, members can also submit follow-up
questions for the record. The hearing record will be open for
two weeks.
Again, thanks to all of our witnesses for being here, and
Commissioner Hovland, for your good work. We appreciate it so
much. Thanks to all of you. We are adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:48 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
Prepared Statement of Kamana`opono M. Crabbe, Ph.D, Ka Pouhana/CEO,
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Aloha e Honorable Chairman John Hoeven, Vice Chairman Tom Udall,
and members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs:
Mahalo for the opportunity to submit testimony regarding the
Committee's February 27, 2019 Oversight Hearing on the ``45th
Anniversary of the Native American Programs Act and the establishment
of the Administration for Native Americans.'' The Office of Hawaiian
Affairs (OHA) is a public trust and independent state agency
established through the Hawai'i State Constitution to improve the lives
of the indigenous people of Hawai`i (Native Hawaiians). OHA's enabling
statute charges it to advocate on behalf of Native Hawaiians, and to
assess policies and practices as they may affect Native Hawaiians. OHA
is also named in various federal statutes as a recognized Native
Hawaiian organization with standing to be consulted with on matters
pertaining to Native Hawaiian rights and cultural resources. With that
kuleana (responsibility) in mind, our agency is pleased to submit
testimony for the record and urge Congress to act in reauthorizing the
Administration for Native Americans (ANA) and the Native American
Programs Act of 1974 (NAPA).
Forty-five years ago, Congress established a network of federal
assistance programs under the Secretary of Health and Human Services
(HHS) ``to promote the goal of economic and social self-sufficiency for
American Indians, Hawaiian Natives and Alaskan Natives'' \1\ through
passage of NAPA. \2\ In the mid-1970s, a pivotal time in the Native
Hawaiian cultural renaissance movement in Hawai`i, our community was
just finding our voice and reclaiming our traditions after generations
of suppressing our cultural identity. It was timely that Congress
passed NAPA--dedicated to supporting the self-determination and
economic development for Natives Americans across the United States,
including American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. NAPA
opened access to much needed funds, technical assistance, and in-
service training for a broad range of public and private projects, as
well as research, demonstration, and pilot programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Headstart, Economic Opportunity, and Community Partnership Act
of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-644 11, 88 Stat. 2324 (1975).
\2\ NAPA was signed into law as Section 11 of the Headstart,
Economic Opportunity, and Community Partnership Act of 1974, Pub. L.
No. 93-644 (1/4/75), and enacted as Title VIII of the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964, Pub. L. No. 88-452 (8/20/64).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since the initial passage of NAPA, Congress has periodically
revisited the act to broaden and strengthen its provisions and to
reinforce its mission. In 1987, Congress passed the Older Americans Act
Amendments of 1987, \3\ which reauthorized NAPA and established several
new programs to aid in promoting self-determination, including the
Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund (NHRLF), which OHA helps to
administer and oversee today. In 1992, Congress established ANA through
the Older Americans Act Amendments of 1992, \4\ to carry out the
important programs under NAPA and to advise the HHS Secretary on all
matters affecting Native Americans that involve HHS. Also in 1992,
Congress enacted the Native American Languages Act of 1992, \5\ which
provided funds specifically to ensure the survival and continuing
vitality of Native American Languages. And in 1997, Congress passed the
Native American Programs Acts Amendments of 1998, \6\ which
reauthorized NAPA through 2002. Unfortunately, this was the last time
that NAPA was reauthorized.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Pub. L. No. 100-175 (11/30/87).
\4\ Pub. L. No. 102-375 (9/30/92).
\5\ Pub. L. No. 102-524 (10/26/92).
\6\ Pub. L. No. 105-361 (11/10/98).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Through the last four and a half decades, various Native Hawaiian
groups have used NAPA grants to bolster our community's language
proficiency, health care, agriculture, economic opportunities, and
youth leadership. Grants created through NAPA have become a critical
source of funding for Native Hawaiian organizations seeking to expand
their impacts with new pilots and demonstration projects. In Fiscal
Year 2017 alone, thirteen different Native Hawaiian projects received
just under $3.9 million dollars in grants from ANA. \7\ Some of these
groups initially began their work with smaller grants from OHA before
continuing on to develop larger scale projects through ANA. Projects
like `Aha Kane, a program promoting Native Hawaiian health through
reinvigorating ancient and traditional cultural practices, were able to
grow and further develop their capacity to make a difference in our
communities through not only the funding provided by ANA, but also the
technical assistance of ANA and its contracted program managers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See ADMIN. FOR NATIVE AM., CURRENT GRANTEES (2017), https://
www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/current-grantees [https://web.archive.org/web/
20180129142724/https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ana/current-grantees].
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANA and OHA have fostered a strong working relationship related to
the coordinated administration of NHRLF and other Native Hawaiian
programs that have received both ANA and OHA grants. Further, ANA and
OHA have begun to discuss the possibilities of further collaborating to
support Native Hawaiian organizations through mentorships and
coordinating grant program criteria to make both of our grant programs
more effective in supporting Native Hawaiian organizations with their
work. These opportunities look promising and we look forward to
continuing to work with ANA Commissioner Hovland. During her short time
as ANA Commissioner, she has demonstrated her strong support for
empowering Native Hawaiians and we are encouraged by our shared vision
for developing self-determination in the Native Hawaiian community.
In light of the long and positive history that ANA has served in
our community and the 45th anniversary of NAPA's initial passage,
NAPA's reauthorization is long overdue. OHA strongly urges this
Committee to offer legislation to reauthorize NAPA so that ANA can
continue its work without this added uncertainty.
OHA once again thanks the Committee for holding this oversight
hearing on ANA and NAPA. This important topic needs to be addressed for
the betterment of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian
communities. I look forward to continuing to work with you on these
issues and others affecting our Native people.
______
Response to Written Questions Submitted by Hon. Tom Udall to
Jeannie Hovland
Question 1. Please provide the Committee with an overview of all
actions HHS is taking to address the public health impacts of climate
change, specifically, the particular threats climate change poses to
Indigenous Peoples.
Answer. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
supports a broad portfolio of research and initiatives related to
environmental health. Within the Administration for Children and
Families (ACF), the Administration for Native Americans' (ANA)
Environmental Regulatory Enhancement (ERE) grants provide resources for
tribes and native communities to develop legal, technical, and
organizational capacities for protecting their natural environments.
Prospective applicants have the flexibility to tailor their grant
applications based on the environmental needs of their community,
consistent with the parameters of the funding opportunity announcement.
Question 2. Please provide us with an update on the status of the
Council's discussions (to raise the finding of the National Climate
Assessment with the Intradepartmental Council on Native American
Affairs).
Answer. The next meeting of the Intradepartmental Council on Native
American Affairs will take place in late May. The Committee's request
to discuss the National Climate Assessment will be addressed at that
time.
Question 3. Please provide the Committee with an update on HHS'
involvement in the draft White House Executive Order establishing a
Presidential Committee on Climate Security.
Answer. Neither ACF nor ANA have been involved in any negotiations
about a prospective Executive Order concerning climate security issues.
Question 4. Given the dire warning signs of climate change impacts
on these communities, are these communities eligible to receive ERE
grants for climate change adaption measures such as the development of
climate change action plans?
Answer. ANA ERE grants are used by tribes to develop a variety of
resource management plans. Action plans with respect to climate change
could fit within the scope of these types of projects. The ERE program
is designed to support projects that plan, develop, and implement
initiatives that improve the capability of an Indian tribe to regulate
environmental quality pursuant to federal and tribal laws. The ERE
program enhances the ability of tribal governments to provide effective
stewardship over the land, water, and air that encompass their native
communities.
The ERE program supports the principle that projects must follow
tribal cultural preservation and natural resource management priorities
in order to achieve environmentally healthy and sustainable AI/AN
communities. ANA is therefore interested in supporting projects that
are locally designed and strengthen environmental regulatory programs
in a manner consistent with the goals of American Indian and Alaska-
Native communities.
Question 5. The Yurok Tribe encountered several difficulties in
applying for the ERE grant to implement their California Condor
Reintroduction Program. Specifically the Tribe (1) found that the
``request for proposal'' (FRP) is unwieldy; (2) felt ANA gave them too
short of a notice to make needed revision to their application; and (3)
notices the ANA's applications included an abundance of technical terms
that took a four person team hours to decipher. Is ANA addressing these
challenges so that more Tribes are able to successfully navigate the
grant application process?
Answer. ANA understands that the application process can be
challenging and we are making improvements. In particular, we have
received feedback that the evaluation components included in our
Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) can be difficult for new
applicants to understand. ANA strives to find an appropriate balance
between requesting sufficient information to demonstrate thorough
planning and implementation readiness with the need for a fair and
diverse competition.
ANA rolled out a project framework in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, within
the FOA's expected outcomes section, focusing on long-term community
goals that are achievable and can produce measurable project outcomes.
ANA's project framework incorporates long-term community goals, current
community conditions, project goals, objectives, indicators, outcomes,
and outputs. These components convert long-term community goals into
specific project goals, define targets for project achievement, and
provide structure to measure project outcomes. The ANA project
framework is designed to demonstrate the logical relationship between
all concepts.
Program offices within ACF use a Paperwork Reduction Act-approved,
standardized template for FOAs that includes required government-wide
data elements. This standardization helps ensure transparency,
consistency, and reduces the burden on prospective applicants and
grantees. Grants are awarded to eligible entities who demonstrate the
capacity to implement them effectively. Conversely, it may limit the
ability of a particular program to tailor a FOA to the capacities of
specific potential applicants.
ANA worked with the ACF Office of Planning and Research Evaluation
to update our terminology for performance evaluation of funded
projects. As a result, the terminology used in our FY 2018 FOAs was
more standardized and better aligned with our ACF partner offices.
Moreover, each FOA includes an appendix of definitions for project
framework and other terminology used in the FOA. Most of the terms are
also HHS standardized interpretations based on 45 CFR Part 75, HHS's
implementation of the OMB Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR 200.
In addition, with respect to achieving long-term goals for ANA-
funded communities, we decided to move from a deficit needs-based
approach to a strengths-based approach. While this shift created some
challenges for applicants, it produced stronger project proposals.
However, ANA recognized a need to provide assistance and guidance based
on the new FOA and subsequently updated our training and technical
assistance (TTA) to include in-person workshops and online manuals. The
manuals and workshop registrations are available on ANA's website and
numerous announcements were sent out about these resources through
ANA's listserv from the Office of the Commissioner and from our four
regional TTA centers.
In FY 2018, ANA reduced the application period to 60 days to ensure
that our language awards were made one month earlier than in the past.
This year, ANA allows a 90-day application period.
The ``timeframe for revisions'' referred to by the Yurok tribe is
part of ANA's negotiation period. Once an application is scored and is
undergoing funding consideration, there may be additional information
required before finalizing an award. During these negotiations, ANA
contacts the applicants that have scored the highest and allows them
the opportunity to revise specific elements of their application. The
turnaround for this information is typically three days. Often the
shortened timeframe is necessary to put funding in place prior to the
end of the fiscal year. However, this is something ANA will look at
internally to determine if the timeframe can be lengthened.
ANA is committed to continuous improvement of our FOAs based on
feedback from tribes and lessons learned from the previous funding
opportunity cycle. As our FOAs become more standardized and familiar,
the process and terms should become easier for applicants to
understand.
Question 6. Your written testimony states ANA received 266
applications in FY2018 but only awarded 63 new grant awards in the
Administration's six project areas. Please provide a breakdown of the
number of applicants and new awards made for each of the six project
areas.
Answer. See table below.
Question 6a. Please provide an estimate of the number of qualified
applicants for each project area that ANA was not able to award grants
to due to funding limitations.
Answer. Below is a table of the applications received in 2018 and
awards made by ANA.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Social
Economic SEDS Environmental
Language--Esther Language--Preservation Development SEDS- Native Regulatory 2018
Martinez & Maintenance Strategies Alaska Youth Enhancement TOTAL
(SEDS) Initiative
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of 16 68 99 6 61 16 266
Applications
Received
Number of 15 60 80 5 55 16 231
Applications
Reviewed
Number of New 8 10 27 3 11 4 63
Awards
Number of 12 41 53 4 34 14 158
Qualified
Applications
scoring 70
percent and
above (z
score, if
available)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Secondary Benefits
Question 7. ANA provides grants to three main program areas: Social
and Economic Strategies, Native Languages, and Environmental Regulatory
Enhancement. Tribes and organizations may receive an ANA grant for a
project in one program area, which they use to accomplish goals in
other program areas as well. Based on your review of ANA grantees, do
many Tribes see multiple benefits from their NAPA projects?
Answer. Yes. ANA most recently conducted a data review based on
outcome evaluations conducted through site visits between 2011 and
2015. The analysis of this data clearly shows that projects returned
multiple benefits. For example, with the Social and Economic
Development Strategies (SEDS) grants, an analysis of 128 projects
primarily for social development, governance, and health family
projects found that of 213 objectives, 71 addressed multiple themes
with the greatest crossover being culture and education. Projects with
educational objectives were also linked with environment objectives.
Likewise, cultural objectives were linked with job training,
agriculture, and education. For more information, please review the
attached document: QuaNative on SEDS Social Projects 2011-2015.
During beneficiary interviews with participants of ANA's language
projects, evaluators asked respondents about the benefits experienced
as a result of the project. As you can see from the ANA's QuaNative for
Language Projects 2011-2015, there were a number of self-identified
social benefits experienced as a result of the language projects.
Community members identified more language in the community as a
benefit, but they also identified cultural visibility and community
connectedness as additional social benefits. Not only did families
experience the expected cultural transference, they also noted
intergenerational bonding, family and community bonding, and healing
from historical trauma as a result of the language project.
[all]