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Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Tribes Call for More Cooperation

By Barry Massey
The Associated Press
    SANTA FE— American Indian leaders called Tuesday for more cooperation between tribal and state governments on critical issues ranging from water to education.
    "Let us work together to make sure that the trail we leave will never again be a trail of tears," Mescalero Apache President Mark Chino told a joint session of the House and Senate.
    He and other tribal leaders spoke to lawmakers as part of Indian Day ceremonies in the Legislature.
    Chino pointed out that the tribal government and its enterprises, including a new resort and casino, contributed more than $55 million a year to the local economy.
    Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. asked lawmakers to support the tribe's requests for state money to help finance capital improvements, including $1 million to refurbish a hospital in Shiprock to provide behavioral health services.
    Jicarilla Apache Nation President Levi Pesata and San Juan Pueblo Gov. Joe Garcia appealed for a greater focus on education and narrowing the achievement gap between Indians and other students.
    Indian students had lower scores than the statewide average on reading and math tests for fourth and eighth graders last year. The percentage of Indian students who were proficient or advanced in reading and math fell below Hispanics, blacks, Asians and whites.
    Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuwart Paisano urged lawmakers to approve legislation creating a fund to help finance water projects necessary to settle water rights claims involving tribes, pueblos and non-Indian water users.
    He also asked lawmakers to support a proposal allowing low-interest loans from the state Economic Development Department to bring industry to Indian lands.
    The state and tribes "must work together to become competitive in the global economic arena by attracting jobs and people to the state of New Mexico and the Indian reservations," said Paisano.
    Pesata said the Jicarilla Apache Nation provides about $13 million a year in severance tax payments to the state and that tribal government is the second largest employer in Rio Arriba County.
    "I don't believe that the general public really understands what our problems are and how far we have come and that we are contributing neighbors to the state of New Mexico," said Pesata.