|
|
|
Release No. FS-0503 |
Contact: |
Dan Jiron, (202) 205-0896 |
AWARD CEREMONY RECOGNIZES AMERICAN INDIANS
FOR HELP IN CREATING FOREST SERVICE OFFICE OF TRIBAL RELATIONS
WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2004 – An award ceremony
honoring six American Indians who were instrumental in the development
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service's new national
Office of Tribal Relations was held Sept. 22 at the agency's headquarters.
The award recipients include Butch Blazer, Nolan Colegrove, Keller
George, Carol Jorgensen, Susan Masten and Robert "Bob"
Tippiconnie. Each guest received a blanket decorated with various
Indian designs.
"These American Indian leaders were instrumental in building
our tribal relations program to better serve Indian Tribes and communities,"
said Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth. "My vision is to work
with Indian Tribes to meet tribal forestry needs and to make the
benefits of all Forest Service programs available to the Indian
Tribes."
The Forest Service has worked over the last several years to articulate
consistent policies in its government-to-government relationship
with American Indians, including policies on consultation, traditional
uses of forest products, confidentiality for traditional knowledge
and reburial.
Bosworth also received an award from Mark Rey, agriculture under
secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, recognizing the
chief’s long history of leadership in building strong government-to-government
relationships between the Forest Service and Indian Tribes.
The award ceremony was held during an open house marked by warm-
spirited fellowship to celebrate and highlight the partnerships
among American Indian Tribes, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians
and the Forest Service. Guests included members of federally recognized Indian Tribes, presidents of Indian
Tribal Colleges, state foresters, representatives from state Indian
commissions and other Indian organizations, White House and U.S.
Congressional representatives and other federal agency employees.
The multi-event forum also included the opening of the agency's
new Hall of Tribes, a permanent gallery of interpretive displays
and artifacts that commemorate the many tribal and Forest Service
partnerships. Two presentations on partnership programs were also
held, highlighting archaeological research and cooperative fisheries
assessments in Alaska.
“The award ceremony, the Hall of Tribes, and the establishment
of the new Office of Tribal Relations are very significant,"
said Dale Kanen, the agency's first director of the Office of Tribal Relations. "We look forward to building on
the legacy created by those who helped us develop this new office
by strengthening our partnerships with American Indians, Native
Alaskans and Native Hawaiians."
Creation of the office is linked to a vision statement developed
in 2002 by the National Tribal Relations Program Implementation
Team commissioned to implement task force recommendations concerning
relationships between the agency and native partners. It envisioned
a future where the Forest Service and Indian Tribes work collaboratively
through government-to-government relationships--a future where the
Forest Service possesses the organizational structure, skills and
policies to redeem our responsibilities in this partnership.
Two recent legislative actions provide new ways for the Forest
Service and tribes to work together on tribal forestry. The Healthy
Forest Restoration Act establishes the Tribal Watershed Forestry
Assistance Program that provides for the Forest Service to work
directly with tribes on Watershed Forestry Assistance projects.
The Tribal Forestry Protection Act encourages the use of stewardship
contracting to address fire, disease and other threats to Indian
forest land or tribal communities.
The open house and award ceremony were part of the remarkable week-long
First Americans Festival of ceremonies and native music, dance and
storytelling events held in conjunction with the Sept. 21 opening
of the Smithsonian's new National Museum of the American Indian.
Electronic photos of the award ceremony and Hall of Tribes are
available.
#
Award Recipient Profiles
Six American Indians were recognized during a Forest Service awards
ceremony held Sept. 22 at the agency’s headquarters for their
leadership, guidance, energy and support in helping the Forest Service
design and establish its new national Office of Tribal Relations.
Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth also received an award from USDA
for his long history of leadership in building strong government-to-government
relationships between the Forest Service and tribes.
Butch Blazer has made wise natural
resource management his goal for the past 25 years. A tribal council
member of the Mescalero Apache and a co-founder of the Native American
Fish and Wildlife Society, he presently serves the State of New
Mexico and his people as the first-ever American Indian State Forester.
His solid advice and collaborative help with the Forest Service
has created successful tribal and agency partnerships in caring
for the land.
Nolan Colegrove has also made
natural resource stewardship his life's work. He currently serves
as the Hoopla Valley Tribe's Forest Manager, the President of the
California Indian Forest and Fire Management Council, and since
2001, as President of the Intertribal Timber Council (ITC). The
ITC has consistently provided advice and guidance to the agency
regarding natural resource issues that affect tribes and the need
to redesign the agency’s Tribal Relations Program. His support
and leadership, particularly in the last several years, was noted
for its valuable role in natural resource leadership. Gary Morishma,
an ITC representative, accepted the award for Nolan in his absence.
Keller George was recognized
for his service to the Forest Service as the agency strived to determine
how to work with tribes and to develop an internal organization
and policies to support that work. He has served his people of the
Oneida Nation for many years on many committees. He is also serving
his fifth term as President of the United South and Eastern Tribes.
His Indian name, which translates as "tree planter," perhaps
foretold of his nurturing effect on young tribal organization within
the Forest Service.
Carol Jorgensen, currently the
director of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s American
Indian Environmental Office in Washington, D.C., is a former Forest
Service employee. Carol served as a line officer in Alaska and other
regions and as manager of the Forest Service National Tribal Relations
Program, where she provided invaluable leadership and support to
the task forces and teams that led to the first-ever Office of Tribal
Relations. Her new role at EPA is leading to closer working relationships
and more consistent federal policy on tribal environmental issues
between the Forest Service and EPA and provides a strong example
for other land management agencies as well. She is a member of the
Tlingit Tribe from the Killer Whale clan.
Susan Masten, a leader of the
Yurok Tribe, was Yurok Tribe Chairperson in 2002 and 2003. The Yurok
Tribe is the largest federally-recognized tribe in California. She
has testified often before Congress on a wide range of issues, including
water quality and healthy salmon populations in the Klamath River
and for better infrastructure development--telephone, power, roads--on
the Yurok reservation. As President of the National Congress of
American Indians, she supported and advised the Tribal Relations
Program Task Force, and the consultation Policy Task Group, providing
invaluable strategic insights and counsel. She also graciously opened
a dialogue between the Forest Service and the many members of the
National Congress on American Indians.
Robert "Bob" Tippiconnie,
retired from the Forest Service, now works with his people's young
men's warrior society, the Commanche Little Ponies. He was recognized
for his work as the "lead pony" for the agency's tribal
relations program through his outstanding service and many years
as the first tribal relations manager for the Forest Service. He
single-handedly led the development of the agency's American Indian
policy in the late 1980s to formally recognize the Forest Service's
government-to-government relationship and responsibility to tribes.
He also provided internal cultural training and awareness of Native
American rights and interests. Over time, he helped establish regional
and forest level tribal liaison positions in the Forest Service.
He also mentored and encouraged many of the Forest Service's current
leaders. In a moment of profound honor and homage for all ceremony
participants, the award symbolized his circle of service.
Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth
is recognized in Indian country for dealing opening and honestly
with American Indians, Mark Rey noted in his USDA award presentation.
Bosworth's impressive record in building strong relationships dates
back to his tenure as a deputy regional forester. The chief's award
recognizes his role in working with line officers to emphasize agency
responsibility to tribes, in modeling appropriate behavior in his
relationships with tribes, and for working collaboratively with
tribes as good neighbors. Bosworth was also recognized for issuing
clearer, consistent policy; enlarging the national tribal relations
staff, proposing new legislation to clarify some of the agency's
responsibilities to the tribes and for increasing the contracting
volume with tribally-owned businesses.
#
|