Native Notes

The Department of Criminal Justice, North Carolina Central University, in cooperation with the Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, conducted a colloquium titled “Opportunities For Engaging Minority Communities in Securing Our Nation” on February 11, 2008. The conference, held at The Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, attracted over 75 participants and attendees, who addressed methods for successful engagement by security and public health agencies with Latino, Muslim, and at-risk communities. Participants included community, state, and regional leaders from the communities of interest, law enforcement agencies, health service providers, homeland security agencies, and educational institutions. (Click here to access the colloquium brief.)

As we were already previously committed we were hoping to send one of the Institute’s interns. Laura is examining forward deployments of the U.S. military to to see how these deployments consider impacts on the lands, environment, resources and rights of indigenous peoples, ethnic and religious minorities. Unfortunately, she also had previous commitments. The study of law tends to place significant limits on the discretionary time of law students.

The colloquium produced the following key insights:

• *Successful engagement of minority communities by community, state, and national security agencies requires cultural understanding and appreciation for diversity within and among the agencies and willingness by agency leaders to initiate contact, either directly or through mutually-trusted agents.
• *Understanding generational differences within minority communities is important for successful engagement, especially for long-established communities that continue to receive new members from foreign locations.
• *Security agencies must have the ability to communicate effectively with minority communities to establish mutual trust and successfully engage their members.
• *Disadvantaged and at-risk communities, with or without minority populations, are especially vulnerable to disasters and require particular attention when planning for mitigation, response, and recovery.
• *There is a long and honorable tradition of service by minorities in securing their nation; that service must continue to be recognized, as the basis for continued participation and leadership by minority members.

We have no real problem with the colloquium nor with the key insights as far as they went. The problem is that they did not go far enough. Certainly there should have been some recognition that Indian tribes on the southern and northern borders of the U.S. are already significantly (and expensively) engaged in securing our nation’s borders.

We have no real problem with the colloquium nor with the key insights as far as they went. The problem for us is that they did not go far enough. American Indian have the highest per-capita participation in the armed services of any ethnic group.  By the end of last year, according to the website icasualties.org, 23 American Indians and Alaska Natives died in Iraq as of the end of last year.  Certainly there should have been some recognition that Indian tribes on the southern and northern borders of the U.S. are already significantly (and expensively) engaged in securing our nation’s borders. And there are more than a few Kanaka Maoli, Indian tribes, and Chamorros who would prefer that their lands and sacred places were not so actively engaged in the fight to secure our nation.

And there are more than a few Kanaka Maoli, Indian tribes, and Chamorros who would prefer that their lands and sacred places were not so actively engaged in the fight to secure our nation.

We think the Strategic Studies Institute should convene a follow-up meeting to discuss the role the indigenous peoples of the U.S. are playing and can play in securing the nation.  If you feel the way we do, you might want to send the Strategic Studies Institute a short note to that effect by clicking here.

Since the dust-up between the U.S. and its “old” European allies that preceded the war in Iraq, there has been a fundamental shift in U.S. strategy towards what the Bush administration considers to be its more reliable allies in the “new” Europe. This process has been accompanied by a redistribution of U.S. foreign military bases in what some military analysts are suggesting will be the biggest realignment of American overseas forces since 1945.

After the fall of the Soviet Union the U.S. sought to establish its authority in East Europe and the Balkans at the expense of Russia and the European Union, partly by encouraging the former Soviet satellites to join NATO but also through the development of bilateral economic and security arrangements. An aspect of these economic and security arrangements has been “forward deployments” or new, relatively small military posts on former Warsaw Pact bases from Poland to Romania. Similar deployments have occurred throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Claire Laura Evans, a second year law student at the University of Denver Law School is interning with the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management this semester. She will be looking at these forward deployments to identify: the extent to which any bi-lateral agreements and operational orders that authorize these deployments require the U.S. to address environmental effects and the extent to which they require consideration of the impacts of such deployments on the lands, environment, resources and rights of indigenous peoples, ethnic and religious minorities.

Anyone wanting to intern with the Institute to work on similar projects should contact Mervyn L. Tano at mervtano@iiirm.org.

Talon Vision is a bilateral training exercise designed to improve and maintain the interoperability, combat readiness and professional relationships between the U.S. and Philippine Armed Forces.  It also includes a humanitarian mission.

“Talon Vision is a community relations project and training opportunity with the Marines of the 171 and 172 Marine Wing Support Squadron to provide citizens of the Laguna Province with better living conditions than they’ve ever had,” said Steelworker 1st Class (SCW) Jeremy Nettleton, the NMCB 7 detachment operations officer.

The 29-Seabee detachment will work on two different project sites while in the Philippines, placing six latrine-style restroom facilities over pre-existing structures, 16 hut-style houses with wooden floors, and improving a road that the jungle has nearly reclaimed.

“The living conditions over there are horrible,” explained Nettleton. “For example, the houses they currently have are very fragile and have no floors at all. These are conditions no one should live in and our crew is ready and capable of taking on the challenge of making their village a better place to live.”

“I think this is an outstanding opportunity for us to go out and fulfill the Seabee mission,” said Ens. Ryan Decker, the detachment officer in charge. “Even with a small group like this, we hope we can make a large difference.”

“That’s what I’m looking forward to most; helping those families,” said Builder Constructionman Apprentice Katie Meadows. “This is my first deployment and my first humanitarian mission. I’m excited and motivated because I’m getting out to an experience in the field that not many will be able to encounter.”

The NMCB 7 Seabees will be joined on their mission by the U.S. Marine Corps, Filipino Seabees and the 202 Army Brigade, continuing NMCB 7’s legacy of working on projects in cooperation of not only other services, but other nations.

“This is our third joint-service humanitarian mission this deployment,” said Senior Chief Equipment Operator (SCW) James Sweet, the detachment assistant officer in charge. “We’re really outdoing ourselves this deployment. We’re looking forward to helping these people on a level that will hold up to the expectations the [Cooperation Afloat Readiness Training] and Pacific Partnership missions have laid down for us. We want to win the hearts and minds of the people we help on this contingency mission.”

Do we need a Talon Vision on O’ahu to win the hearts and minds of the homeless on the Wai’anae Coast? Or how about a civil affairs or humanitarian component for all military exercises in Hawai’i?

Brandy Kanani Michelle Toelupe, a 2009 J.D. candidate at the University of Denver College of Law will be interning with the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management. Brandy, a native Hawaiian, will be looking at U.S. military participation in multilateral military training exercises such as the recently concluded Talisman Sabre 2007 to identify: the extent to which any multilateral agreements, operational orders, and the like identify and consider the effects of such exercises on the lands, environment, resources and rights of indigenous peoples; the extent to which indigenous peoples are consulted during the planning of such exercises; and the extent to which indigenous peoples are involved in the planning, execution, and monitoring of environmental remediation efforts.

Exercise Talisman Sabre is one of Australia’s largest multilateral military training exercises. Beginning in mid 2001 and occurring every two years, Talisman Sabre involves joint exercises performed by the Australian Defence Force and the United States Military at the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area in Central Queensland, Australia. SWBTA was occupied by the Darumbal people prior to European settlement 1855 and encompasses several cultural heritage significance sites.

In November 2005, the Chief of the Australia Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, and Commander United States Pacific Command, Admiral William J. Fallon, signed the historic Statement of Environment and Heritage Principles. This Statement acknowledges the importance of managing and using training areas sustainably. The principles encourage a high-quality and continual improvement approach to the planning and conduct of Australian and U.S. combined activities.

Brandy will look at the relevance of these Principles to U.S. military relations with Native Hawaiians and other indigenous peoples affected by U.S. military operations.

The Institute’s interest in this project predates the signing of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but it seems to us the signing of the Declaration emphasizes the need for this project.  Anyone interested in similar internships with the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management should contact Mervyn Tano at mervtano@iiirm.org.