The Week in Review
ending August 11
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The Pony Fire. August 6.
Photo © FC, DS; USFS. |
Missed our stories? All the headlines for the week can be found
here.
Fires rage in West
The worst fire season in 50 years has resulted in a tremendous
amount of loss for several states in the West. With major fires
still raging in Montana and Idaho, fire crews were more
successful containing fires in California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Colorado.
Colorado got its second taste of a major blaze in less than
a month when the Mesa Verde National Park and the Ute Mountain
Ute Reservation in the southwestern portion of the state were
struck once again by the Pony Fire. This time, some of the park's
Pueblo cliff dwellings were hit by the lightning-sparked blaze.
Millions of sacred artifacts and other items stored in a
warehouse were also threatened. But they were spared from
the fire. The archaeological sites in the pwark did not receive
significant damage either.
Although the Pony Fire is now 100 percent contained, fire managers
in the West are experiencing crew shortages. As some Indian fire-fighting
crews had suggested during the Mesa Verde blaze, sometimes Mother Nature
is best left alone.
But the fight will continue in Montana, where the federal
government has ordered the closing of 6 million acres of land.
Fire crews from New Zealand and Australia are arriving today
in Montana.
Get the Story:
Fire
threatens park again (8/7)
Fire
threatens sacred artifacts (8/8)
Indian
crews fight fires (8/10)
Fires
bring tribe, park together (8/10)
Fire
expected to be contained soon (8/10)
Hundreds
fight reservation fire (8/10)
Reservation
fires grow (8/11)
Fire
affects power, reservation (8/11)
Fire
crews to give up (8/11)
BIA researchers face critics
The state of Connecticut and representatives from three
local towns came to Washington, DC, to criticize the
Bureau of Indian Affairs for extending preliminary
federal recognition to the Eastern Pequot and Paucatuck
Eastern Pequot Tribes.
But two BIA researchers kept their mettle throughout
the two-day session, defending and explaining their
genealogical, historical, anthropological research
and analyses before the occasionally dumb-founded
state. Amidst pages and pages of questions,
the pair recalled to almost exact degree the
reasoning behind their findings, which were
published back in March.
One researcher also took the time to criticize
the towns for volumes of shoddy research she found
unusable. She also accused them of misrepresenting
genealogical data.
The researchers also defended, along with the Department
of Interior, the decision of Assistant Secretary
Kevin Gover to take their recommendations and issue
a positive finding, despite gaps in the evidence
presented by the two tribes.
The two tribes, meanwhile, have to wait until next
year before a final determination is made on their
status. But you can bet there won't be any silence
from the state, as a lawsuit against the Interior
appears imminent.
Get the Story:
BIA
meeting centers on history (8/7)
Will
Lieberman attend BIA meeting? ( 8/7)
BIA:
Towns not reliable (8/9)
BIA
tells tribe, state where to go (8/10)
BIA
'bewildered' by state request (8/10)
BIA:
No evidence tribe existed (8/10)
Tribe,
towns, state pleased with meeting (8/10)
more top stories
But wait, there's more! Read the
other top stories
of the week.
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