wednesday, April 14, 1993
OPINION
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IN OUR OPINION
Hopi, Navajo tribes need to compromise on land
Flagstaff, Arizona is the site of the century-old Navajo and Hopi Native American land dispute. A compromise has been offered. However many
feel it is doomed to failure. Many who oppose the plan seem unaware of the positive impact the proposal could have.
As of 1882, Hopis were awarded 2.5 million acres of reservation land, signed by the executive order of President Chester Arthur. The boundary lines of the award were wrong; a Hopi village was omitted, and between 300 and 600 Navajos were included in the award. Fifty years later, Hopis were outnumbered three to one by Navaios on their own land.
In 1988, the Navajo's sued in federal court, claiming that their removal from Hopi land was in violation of their religious beliefs. They lost their case in federal court but appealed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Instead of ruling, the court appointed a federal mediator in hopes of solving the dispute. The mediator, Harry McCue, began more than 18 months of discussions between the Navajos and Hopis, resulting in a proposed compromise.
The proposal would enable remaining Navajos to lease about 400,000 acres of Hopi territory for 75 years. Renewal of the lease would be contingent on whether Hopi jurisdiction was obeyed by the Navajo inhabitants. In return, the government would give the Hopis 500,000 acres of federal and state lands, including a $15 million award to cease pending lawsuits. In addition, two ranches extending over about 165,000 acres would be purchased on an open market by Navajos which would then become Hopi territory. Approval from Congress would be the last step in resolving this land dispute.
Since the proposal was announced to the public, some people have been strongly opposed to ratification. Local and state officials are against ratification because they were not involved in negotiations. Others are troubled by water and property rights.
Hopis do not want money, only land. Since 1882, only about 10 percent of their original land remains. In 1976, Hopis received a cash settlement of $5 million for land acres seized by the government. The amount has now accumulated to $17 million, yet remains untouched in a bank. Even though the funds are available for Hopis to buy all of Flagstaff, their beliefs do not permit the buying or selling of land.
Both Navajos and Hopis are spiritually tied to the land. Navajos should not have to relocate from their ancestral home. In addition, Hopis should regain some portion of the lost land legally awarded to them in 1882.
Political expediency would create the historic agreement. Without validation from Congress, taxpayer's money will continue to be spent on tribal conflicts. If the proposal is approved, Hopis agree to abide by government stipulations on the state and federal lands. Ratification of the proposal would satisfy the needs of both tribes, save taxpayers money and reconcile the century old dispute.
T. M. KNIGHT FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Clinton's new national anthem could be a sign of taxes to come
His eyes were glazed, and a strange sound seemed to be coming from the direction of Slats Grobnuk, causing several other patrons to look down the bar curiously.
After a nudge, he said: "Huh, what's
doin?"
Are you all right?
"Yeah, sure, why?"
Well, you seemed distracted and were making a groaning sound.
"Nah, I was just trying to do some positive thinking. So I was singing the new national anthem."
What he means to me.
"You know, President Clinton's big theme song. The one from that Cadillac Jack."
You mean Fleetwood Mac.
"Whatever. It's the one where you're supposed to keep thinking about tomorrow and you'll feel better. You want me to sing it?"
You actually know it?
"Sure, I figured that if it's part of what makes Clinton and his wife tick, I ought to memorize it so I know what to expect. So I sing it to myself."
In what way?
"Well, to tell the truth, it's kind of a stupid song."
"Well, it starts out like this. 'If you wake up and don't want to smile, if it takes just a little while, open your eyes and look at the day, you'll see things in a different way.' Now, you see what I mean?"
"I says that if I wake up and I ain't
smiling, I should open my eyes. What's that supposed to mean? For one thing, it's unnatural to smile when you wake up. Even babies know that, which is why the first thing they do is cry. And when I wake up, I always open my eyes. That part of waking up. If I'dn't open my eyes, instead of walking into the bathroom, I'd walk through the wrong doorway and fall down the basement steps and break my neck."
That's possible. But the rest of the song expands on the message.
"Yeah, I know. 'Don't stop thinking about tomorrow. Don't stop. It'll soon be here. It'll be here, better than before. Yesterday's gone. Yesterday's gone. Oh, don't you look back.' Now how that for dumb?"
Not at all. It seems to be promising that better times are coming.
"Wait a minute. When I wake up in the morning, why should I start thinking about tomorrow when the rest of today is more than enough for me to worry about? And all I know for sure about tomorrow is that if I live that long, I'll be one day old. So what's to
cheer about.
There's some truth in that.
cheer about?"
"So I wake up. The first thing I want is some coffee, not to start thinking about tomorrow. Then I bring in the paper and read it. The news is depressing because it's about a new crisis or somebody else's problems or somebody getting shot. And it's never somebody who deserves that it gets shot. You ought to tell your editors to find stories about real rotten people getting shot so we can be more cheerful in the morning.
"And then there's the part of the song that says: 'Yesterday's gone. Yesterday's gone. Don't you look back.' Hey, that's all right for him to say."
Who?
"Clinton. Don't look back, huh?"
With all those bodyguards, maybe he don't have to look back. But anytime I leave the house, I look back to make sure there aren't no kid needing a fast cash flow sneaking up behind me."
I think the song is saying that we should not dwell on the past, that we should look ahead to a brighter future.
"That figures because he's part of the boom-boom babies generation, and they never look back because they think the whole history of the world started the day they was born." Or with the birth of rock 'n' roll.
'Maybe with SuperBowl1. Anyway,
here's the part of the song that bothers me the most: 'All I want is to see you smile, if it takes just a little while.'
I know you don't want to believe it's true. I never meant any harm to you." Now that makes me nervous about Clinton."
Whv? It seems harmless enough.
"Uh-uh. Listen to this again: 'I know you don't want to believe it's true. I never meant any harm to you.' You know what that tells me?" What?
See? An optimistic message. Tomorrow will be brighter. Another way of saying that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
"Uh-huh. But remember that other line about the light at the end of the tunnel."
What line is that?
"New taxes. It sounds like that line about how, hey, this is gonna hurt me more than it hurts you — which is a lie. When the nurse or the doc sticks the needle in me, I don't hear them yell. So I think Clinton likes that song because he's saying he's gotta stick it to me, but he can't help himself, and I should not be mad."
"It might be a train coming your way."
What?
Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist with the Chicago Tribune.
And I think you are reading more into this than the obvious fact that Clinton doesn't have good taste in lyrics — which, if you listen to one of his speeches, should be obvious.
"No, there's another line that makes me nervous. It goes: 'If your life was bad today, just think what tomorrow will do.'"
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A recent editorial extolling the virtues of a waiting period on gun sales repeats the usual fallacies of such arguments without considering effective alternatives to such restrictions. The Department of justice in congressional testimony has pointed out that waiting periods do not deter criminals from obtaining
firearms. California increased the duration of its waiting period in the early 1900s. It had no effect on escalating crimes committed with firearms. Waiting periods are expensive in terms of demands on law enforcement personnel, who must process such permits under proposed legislation, and whose time is better utilized in actual criminal investigations. Under the terms of the Brady bill, the only persons inconvenienced are law-abiding citizens wishing to purchase firearms and taxpayers, who will have to pay for increased personnel to handle
Waiting periods on gun sales are costly,ineffective
the paperwork.
the paperwork.
An effective method of background checking is already in place in three states (Florida, Delaware, Virginia) and recently was voted into the statutes of Wisconsin. This is the instant background check system employed at the point of sale. In minutes, a person's background is checked by computer tie-in to the National Crime Information Center and is relayed back to the point of sale. Thus, the need for an expensive waiting period is eliminated. The Brady bill exempts states with instant check systems, a backhand-
GAYLE OSTERBERG Managing editor
ed recognition of the virtue of this method. What is not widely known is that the Brady bill leaves background checks to the discretion of local officials. It is not mandated. This leaves the Brady bill approach open to possible discriminatory application, in addition to its ineffectiveness. The instant background check is the method that should be supported. Waiting periods are ineffective, expensive and potentially discriminatory.
TOM EBLEEN
General manager, news adviser
BILL SKEET. Technology coordinator
GREG FARMER
Bruce Cutter
Director of Electron
Microscopy Lab
TOMFBLEN
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