The International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management is proud to present the 4th Annual Indigenous Film & Arts Festival in Denver, Colorado from October 9-14, 2007. Our theme this year is Celebrating Identity through Art, Dance, Music & Sports. The Festival will open on October 9th with an art exhibit (location to be determined). Our opening film, “Teachings of the Tree People” will be presented as a free screening at the Denver Indian Center, and will include audience Q&A with producer Tracy Rector. Other film screenings and live performances will be presented at the University of Denver (in partnership with the Native Student Alliance), at Starz FilmCenter on the Auraria campus, and various other venues in Denver. Please visit www.iiirm.org for updates on film titles, in-person appearances, show times and ticket prices.

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Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987-2007: Grassroots Struggles to Dismantle Environmental Racism in the U.S.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the United Church of Christ landmark 1987 Toxic Wastes and Race report. As part of the celebration, the UCC commissioned the Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty - 1987-2007: Grassroots Struggles to Dismantle Environmental Racism in the United States report. The new report, authored by Robert D. Bullard, Paul Mohai, Robin Saha, and Beverly Wright, is the first to use 2000 census data, a current national database of commercial hazardous waste facilities, and Geographic Information Systems to count persons living nearby to assess nationally the extent of racial and socioeconomic disparities in facility locations. Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty also examines racial disparities by region and state, and for metropolitan areas, where most hazardous waste facilities are located.

Study Findings

• People of color make up the majority (56%) of those living in neighborhoods within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the nation's commercial hazardous waste facilities, nearly double the percentage in areas beyond 3 kilometers (30%).
• People of color make up a much larger (over two-thirds) majority (69%) in neighborhoods with clustered facilities.
• Percentages of African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and Asians/Pacific Islanders in host neighborhoods are 1.7, 2.3, and 1.8 times greater in host neighborhoods than non-host areas (20% vs. 12%, 27% vs. 12%, and 6.7% vs. 3.6%), respectively.
• 9 out of 10 EPA regions have racial disparities in the location of hazardous waste sites.
• Forty of 44 states (90%) with hazardous waste facilities have disproportionately high percentages of people of color in host neighborhoods- on average about two times greater than the percentages in non-host areas (44% vs. 23%).
• Host neighborhoods in an overwhelming majority of the 44 states with hazardous waste sites have disproportionately high percentages of Hispanics (35 states), African Americans (38 states), and Asians/Pacific Islanders (27 states).
• Host neighborhoods of 105 of 149 metropolitan areas with hazardous waste sites (70%) have disproportionately high percentages of people of color, and 46 of these metro areas (31%) have majority people of color host neighborhoods.

Study Conclusions

• Racial and socioeconomic disparities in the location of the nation's hazardous waste facilities are geographically widespread throughout the country.
• People of color are concentrated in neighborhoods and communities with the greatest number of facilities; and people of color in 2007 are more concentrated in areas with commercial hazardous sites than in 1987.
• Race continues to be a significant independent predictor of commercial hazardous waste facility locations when socioeconomic and other non-racial factors are taken into account.

Click here to see the report.

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Community Engagement in Health Emergency Planning

Public stakeholders shared their concerns and made recommendations at the Public Engagement Project on Community Control Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Washington, DC.

Last November, Institute President Merv Tano participated in a national stakeholder meeting for the Public Engagement Project on Community Control Measures for Pandemic Influenza in Washington, DC. That pioneering meeting is referenced in a recent report from the Working Group (WG) on Community Engagement in Health Emergency Planning, convened by the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The full report, summary findings, and “next steps” for government and civic leaders can be found at http://www.upmc-biosecurity.org/ .

The WG advises mayors, governors, and health and safety officers that strong partnerships with local civic networks can enhance authorities' ability to govern in a crisis, improve application of communally held resources, and reduce social and economic costs associated with epidemics and disasters. The WG also recommends that federal authorities make a sustained national investment in local health emergency preparedness systems that collaborate with civic groups and incorporate citizen input.

Major WG findings are that:

• Members of the public are first responders and outbreak managers, too.
• Stockpiling in case of an emergency is both too much and too little to ask of Americans.
• “Citizen” preparedness must look outside the individual home to the civic infrastructure.
• The civic infrastructure has much to offer before, during, and after an event.
• Adept crisis managers engage community partners prior to an event, and not just hone their media skills.
• Partnerships provide leaders the wisdom and courage to weigh tradeoffs and confront difficult scenarios.
• Certain ingredients are necessary for genuine community engagement.
• The community needs strong health and safety institutions with which to partner.

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Workshop on Indian Energy in an Uncertain Climate

Lloyd Irvine of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation and Stanley Paytiamo of the Pueblo of Acoma share some thoughts on tribal energy development during the IIIRM workshop on Indian Energy in an Uncertain Climate.

Jeanne Rubin, IIIRM general counsel and Vincent Whitecrane, Northern Cheyenne were among the workshop participants.

The International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management's March 21-22, 2007 workshop on Indian Energy in an Uncertain Climate brought representatives from Indian tribes, tribal organizations, government agencies, and the private sector to examine issues related to the present and future management of tribal energy resources. The objective of the workshop was to set out the science and technology research/policy/education and training/collaboration, legal, and other agendas that would provide tribal decision-makers with the information they require to build integrated tribal energy programs in an era of climate, regulatory, social, and political uncertainty.

A. David Lester, Executive Director, Council of Energy Resource Tribes and tribal representatives, while acknowledging that federal and state regulators, developers, public utilities commissions, utilities, NGOs, and other tribes all play some role in shaping tribal energy energy policies, emphasized that tribal sovereignty is the bedrock upon which environmentally, politically, economically, socially, and culturally appropriate management of the tribal energy resource rests. Lloyd Irvine of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Stanley Paytiamo of the Pueblo of Acoma emphasized the need to establish official tribal institutions, such as a Council of Elders, to formally review and advise the tribal council and program staff on energy projects and programs.

Merv Tano led off his presentation on "The Certainty of Uncertainty: A Politically Incorrect View of the Energy Future" with several statements designed to provoke further discussion. Some of the points made during the ensuring conversation include:the following:

• Tribal decisions on energy development will undoubtedly be shaped by Kyoto-type emissions capping policies and regulations but tribes should not focus on the Kyoto paradigm but should instead concentrate on building the institutions required to identify, assess, and adaptively manage impacts of climate change on a wide range of environmental, social, cultural, economic and political interests.
• Any discussions on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has got to include a discussion of nuclear energy. Tano believes the sooner Indian tribes start engaging with the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, utilities, and NGOs on this issue, the better prepared they will be to protect or advance their interests. He pointed out that different nuclear reactor technologies can have significantly different impacts on tribal interests throughout the entire nuclear fuel cycle. For example, the modular pebble bed reactor is arguably inherently safe and proliferation resistant because the spent fuel is not readily reprocessed but it may produce more waste that has to be transported and disposed of.
• Wind power is fine, but it is better for tribes to think of it as a distributed or community-based energy source. The unpredictable nature of the resource together with the paucity of transmission means that wind is not going to make a major contribution to meeting system peak loads. Coal-fired and nuclear plants will still have to be built to meet growing base and peak load requirements.
• The most renewable and the most portable "energy" resource tribes have is their human resource. Rising temperatures and the rising cost of oil and gas means the nation and the world will require people and organizations who can plan, design, finance, construct, operate, dismantle, and decommission energy systems at a wide range of scales. Tribes, tribal colleges, and tribal organizations should be collaborating with the National Laboratories, universities, utilities, and organizations like the Energy & Environmental Research Center in North Dakota to develop their human resource.
• Tribal energy policy has to consider all phases of "fuel cycle" and has to identify and address the issues and opportunities related to each phase.

Roger Taylor, Tribal Energy Program Manager at the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory described the effects that the convergence two phenomena: climate change and the end of oil could bring. Click here to see a copy of his presentation.

A summary of the workshop proceedings is being prepared and will be posted to the Institute's website.

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Pacific Genes and Life Patents

For several years, indigenous groups have taken issue with scientists studying their DNA. When National Geographic began collecting DNA samples for The Genographic Project, the Maori of New Zealand along with Alaska natives feared that DNA evidence would invalidate their history and break family ties. Aroha Mead and Dr. Steven Ratuva have put together a volume of essays, entitled Pacific Genes & Life Patents , that examine how Pacific Indigenous communities have been affected by genetic research and products, and patents on life forms. The book is available for free online from the following website: www.earthcall.org (Publications), www.ias.unu.edu (Latest Publications).

The editors and authors of Pacific Genes & Life Patents present articles, case studies, and other information which show that “outsiders” are predominantly interested in harvesting genetic information for profit without any regard for Pacific cultural values and norms.

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Workshop on the National Environmental Policy Act in Indian Country

Are you interested in film? Filmmaking? Does the idea of hanging out and talking shop with indigenous filmmakers from all over the world sound like your idea of an evening well-spent? Well then, you might want to consider signing up for an internship with the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management, the organizer of the Indigenous Film & Arts Festival.

Volunteering as an Institute intern will offer you a great opportunity to experience a broad perspective on all aspects of the film festival by working closely with the festival staff. These internships afford you an excellent opportunity to acquire the necessary organizational, communication, management, and other skills required to organize and put on an international film festival. The internships require a commitment of 10 to 15 hours per week and a set working schedule for you to be in the Institute offices.