NATIVE AMERICANS: Palin is allowing Native Alaskans to live in HUMAN WASTE!

[BrainStorm]

UNBELIEVABLE IN THE 21st CENTURY!

http://www.reznetnews.org/article/sarah-palin/whats-palins-record-native-issues

While she understands Sarah Palin has only served as governor for two years, Stebing is disappointed she hasn't done more to improve the lives of Alaska Natives, many of whom live in remote, poverty-stricken areas. They are places where some are so poor they lack running water and sewage and must carry out their human waste in large pails called "honey buckets."

Stebing hopes whoever wins in November will address the dire needs of rural Alaska Natives.

"That we have that here in Alaska really bothers me," she said. "This is the 21st century."

www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu/Publications/aknativestatusch3.pdf

Map 3-3 shows that 32 small rural places still completely lacked piped water and sewer systems
in 2003. In another 23 communities, less than 30 percent of the houses had piped systems. Those
places are primarily small Native communities in southwest, western, and interior Alaska. And in
many other rural communities, a majority but still not all houses were connected to sanitation
systems in 2003, as Figure 3-1 shows

http://www.alaskool.org/resources/anc2/ANC2_sec1.html

II. Indicators of Current Alaska Native Health Problems

A. Environmental Health

There are several different aspects of environmental health that have been brought to the attention of the members of the Commission in hearings held around Alaska. Those that present the greatest health hazards and stand out as the most compelling problems to resolve quickly comprise the primary topics here, but there are others as well. Approximately 48 percent of the Alaska Native population resides in communities that do have running water and flush toilets, but the rest — over. half — do not. This section of the study deals with the problems faced by rural Alaska Native families that must live in conditions inferior to practically any other segment of the United States' population.

1. Water and Sewer Problems in Rural Alaska

Table 1 presents data provided by the office of Environmental Health and Engineering, Alaska Area Native Health Service, that show the current state of water and sewer systems in 192 rural Alaska villages. (Note: The number of villages in the report from the Alaska Area represents about ten fewer than the presently occupied Native villages contained in the new list of federally acknowledged tribes in Alaska.) Although more than 1.3 billion dollars have been spent building water and sewer systems in rural Alaska, a large number of villages — as can be seen — have only rudimentary water and sewer utilities.

The problems related to environmental health have been brought before the state and federal governments over the years. The following quote from the testimony that Ms. Anne M. Walker, Executive Director of the Alaska Native Health Board, offered to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies in May 1993 is exemplary:

The first issue I wish to bring to your attention is the deplorable sanitation conditions that exist in many Alaska Native villages. There are over 200 Native villages in Alaska, and two-thirds of them are without piped water and sewer systems. Most families do not even have outhouses due to high water tables. Sewage systems instead consist of "honey buckets" — five-gallon buckets with toilet lids on them situated inside the home or business. There is no running water to wash your hands with after you use the honey bucket — this is true even in many of our health clinics. Everyone agrees that the technology exists to solve this problem, yet our people continue to suffer not just the inconvenience of Third World sanitation conditions but the considerable health risks that accompany poor sanitation. For our people to be subjected to conditions like these in the 1990s is a disgrace, particularly in light of the federal government's trust responsibility for the health and welfare of Native Americans.

http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=NAtive+Americans+alaska+sewage+water&fr=yfp-t-501&u=www.princeton.edu
/%7Eota/disk1/1994/9401/940103.PDF&w=native+natives+americans+alaska+sewage+sewerage+water&d=D0xa4vReRZU0&icp=1&.intl=us

About one-fourth of Alaska’s 86,000 Native residents live with-
out running water and use plastic buckets for toilets+ euphemis-
tically called ‘*honey buckets” (figure l–l). This report examines
the status of waste sanitation among Native villages of rural Alas-
ka, identifies the socio-economic factors contributing to sanita-
tion inadequacy, and discusses the technological solutions that
have been used and proposed to date. Honey buckets are the pre-
dominant means of sanitation for Native residents in 89 villages
in the Ahtna, Bering Straits, North Slope, Northwest Arctic, Ta-
nana Chiefs, and Yukon-Kuskokwim regional areas (figure 1-2)
(127).
]
Throughout rural Alaska, but particularly in the Yukon-Kus-
kokwim Delta and the Northwest Arctic, the outbreak of diseases,
including hepatitis A, bronchitis, impetigo, and sometimes men-
ingitis, is believed to be partially attributed to the exposure to hu-
man waste caused by inadequate sanitation facilities. Because of
the frequent spillage of human waste that occurs on community
roads and boardwalks during its transportation to disposal sites or
sewage lagoons, the exposure of residents, particularly children, to such waste is frequent.
The fact that diseases such as hepatitis A occurs in epidemics has raised questions about
both their exact mechanism of transmission and the overall level of
disease eradication that can be achieved with sani-
tation technologies.


The Native villages with the most frequent out-
breaks of disease are those in which running water
is difficult to obtain and the principal method of
disposal is the honey bucket. In many cases, the
honey bucket system consists simply of a 5-gallon
plastic bucket lined with a plastic bag, with a toilet
seat on top of it. Once filled, the plastic bag is
sealed and the bucket is hand carried and emptied
into a haul container or sewage lagoon or some-
times dumped at a convenient location. In these
communities, honey buckets are used in homes,
by local governments, in commercial buildings,
and even in medical clinics.

[BrainStorm]

1. Kick

:kick:

[Mabus]

2. K&R

:bounce:

[BrainStorm]

3. Thanks.

This is just deplorable!

[Mabus]

7. I'm Southern Plains

An enrolled member of the Southern Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. These kinds of conditions still exist, to one degree or another, on tribal land throughout America. There are also pockets of deplorable conditions in America's largest cities. We don't take care of our own. We just don't.

[BrainStorm]

10. This isn't just about the native peoples here.

Building large water and sewage systems are huge undertakings and some of these villages are too small to take the job on themselves. The money is there for it, but there are so many layers of state and local government that nothing gets done. In some villages, the native peoples have internet service but no water system! There is human waste seeping into lagoons. The local government types make the Feds traipse through the shit-laced lagoons and give them a happy dance about preserving native culture, but, in the end, the money NEVER makes it to sewage systems. That's not the fault of the native peoples. There is a state and local government breakdown.

[Enthusiast]

41. But especially in Alaska

where there is a huge surplus from the high price of oil. There is simply NO excuse. For any other state also.

[BrainStorm]

43. They give the native peoples money to buy things on the internet but

no sewage systems. Internet purchases feed the 70% of the GNP that is consumption based. Water systems do not add to that GNP so they are not important.

[RichGirl]

4. Deplorable, but not surprising.

The more you know about her, the less you like her!

[BrainStorm]

6. The Federal government give SO MUCH MONEY to Alaska and

the USDA gives this money out, but the state and local governments get in the way.

[Mabus]

13. Which brings up the DOI sex, drugs and oil scandal

Let's see, what department oversees Indian affairs? That's right, the Bureau of Indian Affairs which is a part of the DOI. And who manages, helps negotiate and approves contracts for mineral, timber and oil for Indian tribes? The BIA. And who has been (mis)managing Indian money accounts? The BIA. Who has benefitted? The oil companies who then rewarded Palin. It's their version of the trickle down economy. The oil companies rip off native populations and reward their co-conspirators.

[BrainStorm]

16. There's an interesting connection.

It's just like greed everywhere you look.

[Mabus]

25. And think about the consequences for the local economies

Rather than having wealth accumulating in some communities (the small villages you mentioned in an earlier post) and improving the local infrastructure and the lives of those in concentrated, outlying areas, the money is distributed such that the high population areas are the ones whose economies benefit most.

[BrainStorm]

29. Yep.

The whole thing is just a mess. (Quite literally!)

[BrainStorm]

5. 2 More to get to greatest page.

Even without the politics, this is a horrible problem that needs to be solved.

[leftofcool]

8. Same as Rosebud Rez.....pick any Reservation

[Richardo]

9. This is my thought too.

[BrainStorm]

11. There is FEDERAL MONEY for these projects that gets released to local governments.

Why don't these systems ever get built? SOMETHING is happening at the state and local levels to prevent these projects from happening.

[Mabus]

14. Not to mention the conditions we subject our vets to

while purporting to provide them health care.

[ellacott]

21. True

It is deplorable the way Native Americans have been treated in throughout this country.

[BrainStorm]

22. Palin wants to sell off the Native Alaskan community areas for OIL DRILLING.

Maybe that's why she doesn't care if they have running water.

http://minagahet.blogspot.com/2008/09/indigenous-view-on-palins-alaska.html

For Palin, there is plenty to attack, especially for Democrats looking to tarnish her record. The criticism of her on her poor environmental record is obvious, but the ecosystems that she is planning to sell off and open up for drilling are used by Native Alaskan communities for survival. Actually, now that I think about this, I'm not surprised that Democrats aren't using this as an attack, since the criticism of Palin is one that you can make towards almost every single state government and its treatment of Native Americans. There is far more to "Native America" than just casinos, and if you don't know about the fragile relationships that reservations or tribes have with their state governments in your state, its probably not because it doesn't exist, but its either because of the metaphorical erasure of Native Americans from American consciousness, or its because they were physically erased and displaced from your area or state.

[BrainStorm]

23. 15.6% of the Alaska population listed themselves as Alaskan native

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Sarah-Palin-and-Alaska-Nat-by-Martin-Zehr-080913-369.html

[BrainStorm]

24. There are 562 tribal governments in the United States with 225 of them located in Alaska”

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Sarah-Palin-and-Alaska-Nat-by-Martin-Zehr-080913-369.html

[nichomachus]

12. Palin is human waste n/t

[BrainStorm]

37. .

.

[ShortnFiery]

15. Does anyone have a source/site: I read some time back Palin used derogatory language when referring

to the Alaskan Native Population. Is this just an internet rumor, or is it in print somewhere with a reputable source?

[BrainStorm]

19. Well I did find this:

http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4505&Itemid=1

Sarah Palin's hostile record on Tribal issues in Alaska

As soon as Palin was sworn in as Governor she set a firm course against Native subsistence rights. One of her very first decisions was to continue litigation that seeks to overturn every subsistence fishing determination the federal government has ever made in Alaska.

The goal of Palin's law suit (now known as Alaska versus Kempthorne) is to invalidate all the subsistence fishing regulations the federal government has ever issued to protect Alaska Native fishing in navigable waters. If successful, Palin's attack would move every subsistence issue into the courts and thus tie up Alaska Native subsistence for generations. The reason is no secret: to diminish subsistence fishing rights in order to expand sport and commercial fishing....

....Sadly, Palin's campaign has not stopped with her attacks on subsistence. At the very same time that she has challenged federal subsistence rights, she has waged a second battle against tribal sovereignty. While Palin pays lip service to the fact that Alaska Tribes are federally recognized, it is an empty statement because she insists they have no authority whatsoever to act as sovereigns despite that recognition-unless, she argues, the State first permits a Tribe to take some particular action.

So unyielding is Palin on tribal sovereignty issues that she has sought to block Alaska Tribes from even exercising authority over the welfare of Native children - again, unless the State through its courts first authorizes a Tribe to act. It is a position that is so extreme that, not only have the federal courts rejected it, but even her own state courts have rejected it. Nonetheless, Palin stubbornly refuses to relent, regardless of the consequence for village children caught in the middle of the resulting jurisdictional nightmare.

[ShortnFiery]

27. Bingo. Thank-you kindly BrainStorm.

:hi:

[BrainStorm]

28. Anytime.

:)

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

32. Every day I seem to find new reasons to hate this person

[BrainStorm]

33. Just google "Palin, Alaska, native peoples": There's a ton of stuff.

She is hated by the native peoples.

[Vinca]

17. That's astonishing. At the very least someone should get

composting toilets to these people ASAP.

[Smoke Screen]

18. Thank you!

When I was 2, my mother married my dad who is Native American. His great-great-grandfather was Chief of a small tribe in Northwestern Washington State. My family is very involved in their Indian Heritage. Some are even chairmen of their tribes.

Unfortunately, I have some family members who are "Christians" and vote Republican. They don't realize that Republican politics are not for the betterment of Native Americans.

Thank you for posting this information. I am going to pass it on to my relatives via email in hopes that it will wake some of them up. I'm sure I'll piss a few of them off, but to me, it's worth it!

[BrainStorm]

20. You're welcome.

When I found out about this I was just appalled.

[merh]

30. welcome to DU

:hi:

[BrainStorm]

31. Thanks!

:hi:

[ShortnFiery]

26. The Sioux Indians, et. al., were often given "a raw deal"

The Wounded Knee Massacre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc7fZonjD1M

[BrainStorm]

34. Great history the US has, eh?

:(

[ShortnFiery]

35. It all goes back to "the darker side" of human nature, we all have one but must

often work to remain connected with others and in touch with "our humanity."

It's horrible what the human species has wrought on itself, not to mention mother earth and others. :(

[BrainStorm]

36. So you think mother earth is trying to flush out humans with Global Warming?

I actually have relatives who think that.

[ShortnFiery]

47. I think that if we, HUMANS, don't get serious about a true sense of belonging to Nature and respect

for our fellow human beings ... well, as it is often said in the military, we are in for "A World of Hurt" in the near future.

We (humans) do not OWN the Earth ... we pass through and leave traces for the generations after.

In other words, Mother Nature has the most severe "estate tax." If we don't honor and respect her, she'll eventually take us (human species) OUT. :(

[Blue_In_AK]

38. Alaska Native blogger, WritingRaven,

talks about Palin and the Alaska Natives.

http://alaskareal.blogspot.com/

[BrainStorm]

42. Great resource

Thanks. It has all the Obama endorsements on it.

[Divine Discontent]

39. as 1/6th Cherokee, nothing they do surprises me...

remember, this is the same party that has allowed fecal matter to be drunk by our service men and women over in Iraq...

they are evil.


www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable

[BrainStorm]

44. DO you have a link for the fecal matter being drunk by American soldiers in Iraq?

Thank you Haliburton. (They had the contract for the drinking water.)

[Divine Discontent]

58. link

http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/news/dpc_hearing.html

[Thothmes]

40. How much of these problems are the legal responsibility

of the State of Alaska to address verses the responsibility of the Federal Government to address. All of these problems cropped up in the past 18 months?

[BrainStorm]

46. The Federal government (and the USDA) have been dispensing millions and millions of dollars.

When reps from the USDA go up to Alaska, they are made to trudge through shit-laced lagoons by the Indian Health Service (an offshoot of the Coast Guard, believe it or not) and state and tribal officials, and the Fed is asked for more and more money. When folks from USDA start asking serious questions, they are given the runaround and lots of happy talk by state and local leaders.

[Thothmes]

59. Sounds like there is plenty of blame to go around

for all parties. Of course, that has been the case in dealing with the Native Americans for the last four centuries.

[kestrel91316]

45. If they won't spend money for a decent upgrade of sewer services,

here's kestrel's cheap and easy improvement: Sawdust Bucket Toilet

Rather than just a honey bucket that contains only human waste, they need to take some of their VERY ABUNDANT DYING BOREAL FOREST TREES and make them into sawdust, and be sure those buckets get good layers of sawdust between uses. Then the bucket contents can be put into an enclosure for composting for a couple of years before being spread back onto the land (away from food and water supplies).

Every single one of these villages needs to be provided a copy of the Humanure Handbook. They can solve their problems without a big infusion of cash from a government that doesn't give a damn about them.

[BrainStorm]

48. You should send that to the Indian Health Service up on Alaska

They are an offshoot of the Coast Guard and they are allegedly responsible for the health of the tribal villagers.

[kestrel91316]

53. I think I'll do that. Hope they have a website. I can link them to the

downloadable book.

[kestrel91316]

54. I emailed a link to the Humanure Handbook download along

with a brief letter to the MD who heads AKs IHS.

Honeybuckets are disgraceful and unnecessary. Sawdust bucket toilets are simple, easy, and cheap - the perfect low-tech solution.

[BrainStorm]

49. The State will receive $25 million** to enhance rural Alaska sanitation systems

The money is a continuation from 2006. (Also 25 million)

So the Federal money is there, but the local and state governments are doing NOTHING with it.



http://stevens.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=f5028901-fff1-e8df-f9cb-6b0561adb9fc&IsPrint=true



Congress Approves Agriculture and Rural Development Funding for Alaska

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress today approved the omnibus spending bill, which includes funding for the Department of Agriculture. The legislation funds a number of important programs that benefit Alaska, and particularly rural communities and villages. Much of this agriculture and rural development funding for Alaska was secured at the request of Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

The State will receive $25 million** to enhance rural Alaska sanitation systems under the Rural Community Advancement Program. This is a continuation of funding received over the past two years and is bolstered this year by a $13.75 million national program to provide technical assistance for rural water systems. In addition, the Denali Commission will receive $437,000 to address deficiencies in solid waste disposal sites which threaten to contaminate rural drinking water supplies.

“Alaska faces many unique challenges, but perhaps none greater than bringing our villages and small communities into the 21st century,” said Senator Stevens. “This effort has spanned several decades and continues with the passage of this year’s spending bill. These funds help ensure that Alaskans have access to the same basic water and sewage systems that Americans in the Lower 48 take for granted. Without this assistance, rural Alaskans are at an increased risk of disease and sickness. Clean drinking water and proper waste removal are important building blocks to healthy communities.”

Alaska will benefit from other nationwide programs contained in the bill. Rural areas with extreme unemployment or severe economic depression will be eligible for a $14 million nationwide program to provide construction funds for facilities within these communities. To combat rising energy costs in the most remote regions, $20 million is appropriated for high energy cost grants. This program will provide grants and loans to utilities to provide low cost service to rural and small communities. The Denali Commission will receive at least half of this funding.

[BrainStorm]

50. 25 Million in 2006, 25 million in 2007: WHERE IS 50 MILLION SARAH PALIN??

Where is the 50 million that was supposed to start building systems for running water and human waste/sewage?

Or do you think native peoples should live in shit?

[BrainStorm]

51. I want to send this to Keith Olbermann

How do I email it?

[BrainStorm]

52. I sent this letter to Olbermann: COMMENTS??

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=7152714&mesg_id=7152714

Dear Keith,

Not only is Sarah Palin entirely unqualified to be VP, but she is allowing her native population to live in human waste. The thread above at Democratic Underground has many excellent sources.

Over the past 3 years, Alaska has received 50 million dollars to address this problem. (There is another 25 million still pending.) Alaska receives this money BY LAW thanks to Senator Ted Stevens and it is specifically earmarked for water and waste systems:

http://stevens.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=f5028901-fff1-e8df-f9cb-6b0561adb9fc&IsPrint=true

Congress Approves Agriculture and Rural Development Funding for Alaska

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress today approved the omnibus spending bill, which includes funding for the Department of Agriculture. The legislation funds a number of important programs that benefit Alaska, and particularly rural communities and villages. Much of this agriculture and rural development funding for Alaska was secured at the request of Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

The State will receive $25 million** to enhance rural Alaska sanitation systems under the Rural Community Advancement Program. This is a continuation of funding received over the past two years and is bolstered this year by a $13.75 million national program to provide technical assistance for rural water systems. In addition, the Denali Commission will receive $437,000 to address deficiencies in solid waste disposal sites which threaten to contaminate rural drinking water supplies.

“Alaska faces many unique challenges, but perhaps none greater than bringing our villages and small communities into the 21st century,” said Senator Stevens. “This effort has spanned several decades and continues with the passage of this year’s spending bill. These funds help ensure that Alaskans have access to the same basic water and sewage systems that Americans in the Lower 48 take for granted. Without this assistance, rural Alaskans are at an increased risk of disease and sickness. Clean drinking water and proper waste removal are important building blocks to healthy communities.”

The Federal government has dispensed this money (as required by law) to the State of Alaska, but people are still living in filth:

http://www.reznetnews.org/article/sarah-palin/whats-palins-record-native-issues

While she understands Sarah Palin has only served as governor for two years, Stebing is disappointed she hasn't done more to improve the lives of Alaska Natives, many of whom live in remote, poverty-stricken areas. They are places where some are so poor they lack running water and sewage and must carry out their human waste in large pails called "honey buckets."

So, where has that money gone? It was dispensed by the Fed, by law, but Native populations are pissing into buckets and living near feces-laced lagoons, which of course, is a major health hazard:

http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=NAtive+Americans+alaska+sewage+water&fr=yfp-t-501&u=www.princeton.edu



Throughout rural Alaska, but particularly in the Yukon-Kus-
kokwim Delta and the Northwest Arctic, the outbreak of diseases,
including hepatitis A, bronchitis, impetigo, and sometimes men-
ingitis, is believed to be partially attributed to the exposure to hu-
man waste caused by inadequate sanitation facilities. Because of
the frequent spillage of human waste that occurs on community
roads and boardwalks during its transportation to disposal sites or
sewage lagoons, the exposure of residents, particularly children, to such waste is frequent.
The fact that diseases such as hepatitis A occurs in epidemics has raised questions about
both their exact mechanism of transmission and the overall level of
disease eradication that can be achieved with sani-
tation technologies.


The Native villages with the most frequent out-
breaks of disease are those in which running water
is difficult to obtain and the principal method of
disposal is the honey bucket. In many cases, the
honey bucket system consists simply of a 5-gallon
plastic bucket lined with a plastic bag, with a toilet
seat on top of it. Once filled, the plastic bag is
sealed and the bucket is hand carried and emptied
into a haul container or sewage lagoon or some-
times dumped at a convenient location. In these
communities, honey buckets are used in homes,
by local governments, in commercial buildings,
and even in medical clinics.

Somewhere between USDA dispensing the money and the native villages, the money gets siphoned off for other things. It has to. We already know that Palin is no friend to the native peoples:

http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4505&Itemid=1

Sarah Palin's hostile record on Tribal issues in Alaska

As soon as Palin was sworn in as Governor she set a firm course against Native subsistence rights. One of her very first decisions was to continue litigation that seeks to overturn every subsistence fishing determination the federal government has ever made in Alaska.

The goal of Palin's law suit (now known as Alaska versus Kempthorne) is to invalidate all the subsistence fishing regulations the federal government has ever issued to protect Alaska Native fishing in navigable waters. If successful, Palin's attack would move every subsistence issue into the courts and thus tie up Alaska Native subsistence for generations. The reason is no secret: to diminish subsistence fishing rights in order to expand sport and commercial fishing....

....Sadly, Palin's campaign has not stopped with her attacks on subsistence. At the very same time that she has challenged federal subsistence rights, she has waged a second battle against tribal sovereignty. While Palin pays lip service to the fact that Alaska Tribes are federally recognized, it is an empty statement because she insists they have no authority whatsoever to act as sovereigns despite that recognition-unless, she argues, the State first permits a Tribe to take some particular action.

So unyielding is Palin on tribal sovereignty issues that she has sought to block Alaska Tribes from even exercising authority over the welfare of Native children - again, unless the State through its courts first authorizes a Tribe to act. It is a position that is so extreme that, not only have the federal courts rejected it, but even her own state courts have rejected it. Nonetheless, Palin stubbornly refuses to relent, regardless of the consequence for village children caught in the middle of the resulting jurisdictional nightmare.

**

So, Sarah Palin is taking 25 million a year, NOT building water and sewage treatment projects because she really wants to remove these natives from tribal lands and open the land up to oil drilling.

This is a major humanitarian scandal and it must be covered!

[enigmatic]

55. K&R

Thanks for this.

[avaistheone1]

56. Well isn't the bridge to no where more important than running water and proper sewage facilites for

a native community?

:sarcasm:

[PinkSunset]

57. Another "Where's the Money?" question for PAYlin

She is starting to smell like a thief!

[Motown_Johnny]

60. three hundred million dollars for a bridge they didn't need, and she allows people to live like this

disgraceful