February 4, 2010
 
Debbie McBride, Acting Regional Director
BIA Western Regional Office
2600 N. Central Avenue, 4th Floor
Phoenix AZ 85004-3050
 
Subject: Western Shoshone Claims Disbursement
 
Dear Ms. McBride:
 
I am writing this letter on behalf of the hundreds of Western Shoshone members of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe.  Concerns have been expressed regarding the absence of partial payment language in the Western Shoshone eligibility letters being sent to individuals.  The letters state that “a distribution of funds will occur after the judgment roll is completed and final decisions are made on any appeals that are filed.”
 
A meeting …

 The Fallon Business Council believes that it would be beneficial for Tribal members to sign the two petitions being circulated in the Fallon community by the Newlands Water Protection Association (NWPA).  The first petition requests “all branches of the federal government to delete all provisions of the Proposed Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA) that alter the historical distribution of the waters of the Truckee River into the Newlands Project…”  The second petition requests “the Federal District Court to order and direct the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, and …

Secretary Laura Nihoa, representing Chairman Alvin Moyle and Western Shoshone Tribal Members, attended a briefing called by Senator Reid on the status of the Western Shoshone Claims.  That meeting was held on August 27, 2009, at the BIA Western Nevada Agency in Carson City. Approximately 35-40 people were present for the meeting, including the following officials:

 
Tracy Hartzler-Toon,Counsel to the Majority-Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and representing Senator Reid; Kevin Bearquiver, Deputy Director, BIA HQ-Washington DC; Allen Anspaugh, Director, BIA, Region-Phoenix; Karen Ketcher, Deputy Director, BIA, Region-Phoenix; Sharlot Johnson, Tribal Operations, …

 HEALTH CARE COVERAGE:

Health care through the Indian Health Service for American Indians and Alaska Natives is provided in two ways:

Direct Care: Direct care includes all health services provided directly Indian Health Service hospitals, clinics and health centers.

Contract Health Services: Some services (such as hand services, cardiac testing, MRIs) are not available at many Indian Health Service hospitals or clinics. These services may require a referral to a non-Indian Health Service facility or doctor. This referral does not mean that Indian Health Service will pay for the service(s) requested. The Contract …

There will come the day when one will say “My how time flies”. We are now entering mid-September and I will have to say this year in flying by like the winds during the month of March. It seems that our spring appeared for a brief moment and now we, our ranchers, are preparing for the fall planting in addition to preparing for that trip to the hills to look for that big four point buck. Hunting season is about to begin and of course it will be necessary to …

Honorable Harry Reid
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Reid:
As the recognized leaders –both elected Tribal Council Chairmen and recognized standing Committee Chairs of the Western Shoshones –come to you as a long standing respected supporter of our people’s issues regarding our effort to bring closure to our U.S. Court of Claims settlement (1951-1977). Your advocacy and assistance in the Senate’s passage of a “Plan” for distribution in 2004 (P.L. 108-270) and your help to secure financing to implement the BIA’s “application process” was sincerely appreciated. Since the passage of the …

Five years after signing Public Law 108-270 into law, the Western Shoshone continue to wait for payment because of the stagnant inaction of the Department of Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC. Approximately 7,500 applications have been submitted since April 2006 – yet five years after becoming law not one single Western Shoshone beneficiary has been certified.
 
“The Western Shoshone Judgment Fund Distribution Act, Public Law 108-270, 118 Stat. 805 (Act), dated July 7, 2004 requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a judgment fund per capita …

On July 1, 2009 I attended a meeting of the Tribes with the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs to discuss and comment on the Supreme Court’s Decision in CARCIERI V. SALAZAR.
 
CARCIERI V. SALAZAR
 
On February 24, the Supreme Court issued an opinion that severely limits the Secretary of the Interior’s ability to exercise the authority Congress provided to him 75 years ago in the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) to take land into trust for tribes. The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively creates two classes of tribes, those that were …

ATLANTA — In a disturbing new projection, health officials say up to 40 percent of Americans could get swine flu this year and next and several hundred thousand could die without a successful vaccine campaign and other measures.
 
The estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are roughly twice the number of those who catch flu in a normal season and add greater weight to hurried efforts to get a new vaccine ready for the fall flu season.
 
Swine flu has already hit the United States harder than any other …

Who are these two people and why are they at the 2009 Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribal Health Fair? It’s Chairman Alvin Moyle and Health Services Director Cynthia Oceguera doing their part to make the Health Fair a HUGE success. More to come in the next few days after the video of the Talent Show is loaded up on YouTube. Susie’s BarBQ catered the lunch. Thank you to everyone involved for your help in making this year’s event memorable.