NCAI rewards Larry EchoHawk with standing ovation
By Gale Courey Toensing
Story Published: Oct 20, 2009
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry
EchoHawk received a standing ovation at the National Congress of
American Indians’ annual conference after a speech marked by moments of
intense emotion and repeated promises to stand up for Indian country.
EchoHawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma who was confirmed by
the U.S. Senate in May, has spent much of the last six months traveling
to Native communities.
In an hour-long speech punctuated by frequent bursts of spontaneous
applause from delegates at the NCAI’s 66th annual conference and trade
show, EchoHawk described his visits to dozens of American Indian and
Alaska Native communities and laid out his vision for fulfilling his
role as the top appointed official for Indian affairs in the Obama
administration.
“I’ve been across Indian country since I haven’t worked in the federal
government or been on the front battle line as you have. For 14 years,
I’ve been a law professor so I needed to reconnect. All of this has been
a learning process for me, that’s why I did it,” he said, and went on to
describe some of the experiences that “will help to shape how I see
things and what I will try to do – the priorities – as assistant
secretary.”
The lessons learned on his travels prompted him to make strong
commitments to improving Indian education, public safety and law
enforcement, and economic development.
Each area EchoHawk visited provided him with a different lesson or
insight around the themes of federal trust responsibility, public safety
and law enforcement, education, economic development, treaty rights and
the federal trust responsibility, sovereignty and cultural preservation.
The Great Plains, for example, forced him to think about safety.
“I hate to even say the word suicide, but we have to do more to protect
our children, our young people,” EchoHawk said.
A visit to an Alaska village brought home the realization of “how the
past negligence of the federal trust responsibility has been detrimental
to Native people.”
In Alaska, EchoHawk walked along a deeply rutted mud road to visit a
tribal elder. Outside the elder’s home was a bucket of raw sewerage.
“And once in awhile, a four wheeler comes by and picks it up and what do
they do? They head down the road with the ruts and of course it’s going
to spill out and who plays in the road? I need to see things like that.
I need to see not just your successes, but your challenges and that will
give me the energy and the commitment to try to do my job,” EchoHawk
said, his voice cracking with emotion.
But he did see much of Indian country’s successes after visiting tribal
nations with thriving gaming operations. When he was first nominated for
the assistant secretary post by President Barack Obama in January, some
critics opposed the nomination based on what they said were EchoHawk’s
previous anti-gaming stances.
But EchoHawk said he has seen how revenues from gaming operations are
used to build tribal nations and provide services to citizens.
“I get it now, I get it,” EchoHawk told the assembly.
He had praise for Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar, whom he
described as “one who looks out for Indian country.”
He told a story about accompanying Salazar to Utah during the arrest of
a network of individuals allegedly involved in the sale, purchase and
exchange of sacred artifacts, including some remains. A law enforcement
officer brought in a book of photographs of the objects that was to be
used as evidence, and showed it to him.
“I felt like I should not be looking at those objects. Other people view
them as evidence, but those objects came from burial sites and
undoubtedly in my mind from religious spiritual leaders of our nations
from the past. Maybe – maybe – people will start to understand what that
is all about,” EchoHawk said.
He also related a story about his visit to a longhouse of the
Haundenosaunee Confederacy.
“And they spoke their Native language and began the meeting as they
begin all their meetings – with prayer and communication and talk about
their perspective of life and after they spoke in their Native language
they translated it into English and it was beautiful. It’s what I think
all people across the face of the globe need to hear.”
EchoHawk said the Interior Department was reviewing a Bush-era “guidance
memorandum” that makes it almost impossible for tribes to acquire
off-reservation land for gaming. He said the Bush administration had
“slammed the brakes on future off-reservation gaming. We will not do
that.”
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