Council encourages U.N. to implement UNDRIP

BY TESINA JACKSON

Former Reporter

Tribal Councilor Victoria Vazquez applauds veterans (unseen) while were recognized at the Feb. 10 Tribal Council meeting in Tahlequah, Okla. At the March 10 meeting, Vazquez submitted a resolution for a National Park Service Tribal Heritage grant application for historic preservation funding. The council approved the legislation unanimously. WILL CHAVEZ/CHEROKEE PHOENIX

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – At its March 10 meeting, the Tribal Council unanimously authorized the Cherokee Nation to encourage the United Nations to establish a mechanism to monitor and encourage nations to implement the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.“The significance of the United Nations implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is of the utmost importance to the Cherokee people and other indigenous peoples,” Tribal Councilor Victoria Vazquez said. “The declaration is a needed tool for indigenous governments to protect their sovereignty and promote the interests of their people.”According to the resolution, the effort would promote measures to address violence against Native women and children and create a status for indigenous governments that adequately recognizes tribal status as unique nations, societies and cultures.Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 2007, UNDRIP recognizes the right of indigenous peoples to exist as peoples, nations, cultures and societies.According to the resolution, tribal nations are already using the UNDRIP as another way to protect their lands and resources as it forms a framework for how federal laws, regulations, policies and practices should affect the workings of Native governments.The Tribal Council also approved two budget modifications for fiscal year 2014.One modification increases the tribe’s capital budget by $521,902 for a total of more than $99 million and allows the transfer of remaining funds for the Stilwell Child Development Center’s construction into the CDC’s operating budget.The other budget modification increases the tribe’s comprehensive operating budget by $498,111 for a total of more than $587 million. According to the act, the General Fund was increased by $7,306 for travel of the tribe’s Junior Miss Cherokee. The tribe’s Department of Interior-Public Law 102 477 budget was increased by more than $1.5 million for the Stilwell CDC’s operation costs. The tribe’s Internal Service Lease budget was decreased by $197,675.Councilors also approved three grant applications.One grant submission was for a $75,000 Herd Development Grant from the Intertribal Buffalo Council. If awarded, the tribe’s Natural Resources would use the money to establish a buffalo operation as a “potential self-sustaining business endeavor.”Another application was to the National Park Service Tribal Heritage for $40,000 in historic preservation funding.The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 authorizes grants to federally recognized Indian tribes for cultural and historic preservation projects. These grants assist Indian tribes, Alaskan Natives and Native Hawaiian organizations in protecting and promoting their respective cultural heritages and traditions.“I submitted this as a resolution and it’s overwhelming approved by all the councilors in committee and I’m thrilled because this will help us restore and keep our traditional arts alive,” Vazquez said.The third grant submission was for the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2014 Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation, which provides funding for law enforcement needs, strategic planning for the future, various purpose areas to address victimization issues for tribal victims and funding for tribal youth programs.The tribe is applying for estimated $2.6 million in grant money in the areas of public safety and community policing, justice systems and alcohol and substance abuse, violence against women, children’s justice act partnerships for Indian communities and comprehensive tribal victim assistance.According to the application, the DOJ is committed to helping protect all Native Americans from violence; takes seriously its role in enforcing federal criminal laws that apply in Indian country; prioritizes helping protect Native American women and children from violence and exposure to violence; and works with tribes to hold perpetrators accountable, to protect victims, and to reduce the incidence of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse and neglect in tribal communities.The Tribal Council also confirmed the nominations of Jacquie Archambeau as a CN Community Association Corporation board member, Tonya Rozell as a Cherokee Nation Foundation board member and Dan Carter as a Cherokee Nation Businesses board member.“I do want to explain to our visitors here tonight that all of these (items) have been debated thoroughly in our committee meetings so sometimes there’s not any questions because we’ve asked all the questions,” Council Speaker Tina Glory Jordan said in explaining the unanimous votes for the agenda items.

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