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A Public Forum and Voice for Basketmakers

CIBA has brought attention from many quarters to issues raised by basketweavers. It has empowered basketweavers by investing them with a voice, which in turn has served to bring about positive change.

Weavers have found that their words, direct and from the heart, can have a great effect in shaping the destiny of their tradition. Not only has the formation of CIBA breathed new life into a threatened art, it has fostered confidence and leadership in California Indian women.

Conference Participation

As an organization representing the views of traditional Native American basketweavers, CIBA is now recognized as an effective advocate on issues related to the use of pesticides and Native American land management practices. The ability of CIBA to attract the attention of public agencies and significant individual supporters to address these specific issues of concern has begun to improve the overall environment for the practice of Native American basketry in California and beyond.

CIBA delegates, attending meetings and conferences with agencies, organizations and other Native Americans from around the country, have been encouraged to share their experiences as individuals, their experiences establishing a Native American advocacy organization, and their experiences in affecting change in state and national environmental policies.

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Work to Preserve Gathering Sites

Basketweavers are faced with problems of finding places to gather basket materials. Most traditional gathering sites have been lost to development, agriculture, logging, grazing, flooding, mining, or have become private property. On public lands some agencies require permits to gather plants for personal use and some do not. The first Basketweavers Gathering in 1991 created a forum for basketweavers to speak directly to representatives of public land agencies.

Work With Public Agencies for Land Management Policy Improvements

CIBA has continued the dialogue, with agencies such as the Forest Service, BLM, National Park Service and California Dept. of Parks and Recreation. Open and direct communication and "working from the top down" have proven to be powerful tools.

CIBA also strives to educate agencies, environmental groups and the public about traditional plant management techniques as practiced by basketweavers. By using methods such as pruning, digging, sowing, burning and selective harvesting, optimum plant growth and desired characteristics are achieved.

In addition to physical access, weavers must also have access to carry out these practices. The Association is involved in several programs on public and private lands to perpetuate and expand the use of these ancient horticultural methods.

Permits and Fees for Gathering in National Forests “Delayed Indefinitely”

—Jennifer Kalt, Resource Protection Associate, Northwestern Field Office

At the end of May, the U.S. Forest Service announced that the Bush Administration’s “midnight regulation“ requiring permits and fees for gathering “Special Forest Products” such as beargrass, willows, sedges, berries and nuts (including acorns) would be delayed indefinitely.

After being delayed twice by the Obama Administration, with a new public comment period that generated numerous letters, it was apparent that any rule attempting to regulate traditional gathering activities would be met with strong opposition from tribes, tribal organizations, and individuals across the country. The new rule would have also imposed permits and fees for personal (non-traditional) gathering such as berry-picking, with different harvest levels to be determined for each plant species.

Various forms of this rule have been proposed by the U.S. Forest Service over the past two decades, and CIBA has been a strong voice in opposition to the imposition of permits and/or fees for gathering plants used in traditional practices. We view such regulation as unreasonable interference with American Indian religious freedom and a failure of the U.S. government to meet its trustee obligations to tribes. We also strongly believe that imposing permits and/or fees would violate the Environmental Justice mandate established by the Clinton Administration, since many traditional tribal practices are crucial to the subsistence lifestyles pursued by tribal members.

The previous draft of the national rule spawned an effort by agency staff and tribal organizations, including CIBA, to develop a statewide policy that ensures free access to gathering sites on lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management within the state. This policy was the subject of numerous Listening Sessions and formal tribal consultation by the agencies, and after much input, was adopted in July 2007. However, the Bush Administration's national rule would have overridden the statewide policy, along with local agreements between tribes and the agencies. Many Forest Service employees submitted comments opposing the imposition of permits and fees for traditional gathering, and are fully aware of the problems such a regulation would cause, both for on-the-ground enforcement and for agency-tribal relations.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) remained firm in their commitment to the statewide policy throughout our struggle to defeat the national Forest Service rule, and CIBA appreciates the support of their staff as well as staff of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Native American Rights Fund, Seventh Generation Fund, National Congress of American Indians, Los Angeles City/County Native American Indian Commission, Alliance of Forest Workers and Harvesters, California Native American Heritage Commission, Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV), and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs for their support and assistance.

Tribes and tribal organizations across the U.S. firmly support free and unfettered access to continue traditional gathering practices, and CIBA staff and members are grateful for the assistance we received in getting the word out about this detrimental proposal. In the words of one basketweaver, “We don't want to be made into criminals again, but we will not stop gathering just because someone in Washington DC thinks they know better than we do how to sustain traditional plants.”

CIBA strongly supports increased regulation of commercial harvesting, which requires permits and fees, but has not been adequately regulated to insure long-term sustainability. Commercial harvest of edible mushrooms, huckleberry foliage, and basketweaving plants such as beargrass has caused conflict between traditional and commercial gatherers. However, traditional tribal gathering practices should not be regulated along with commercial harvest for profit.

The 2008 Farm Bill enacted by Congress codifies the U.S. Department of Agriculture's responsibility to ensure free access to tribal members for traditional gathering purposes on lands managed by the Forest Service. This includes harvest of trees used for canoes and other traditional purposes. CIBA staff will be following the Forest Service's implementation of these Farm Bill provisions. After this long battle to maintain existing gathering freedoms, CIBA staff is now returning to the task of implementing the Statewide Traditional Gathering Policy, which we hope will set the stage for the Forest Service's new direction under the Obama Administration. This policy allows free access to gathering areas on lands managed by BLM and the Forest Service in California, and also directs the agencies to incorporate tribal traditional management practices to restore and enhance traditionally important plant resources and promote ecosystem health.

To read the full text of the Forest Service's Statewide Traditional Gathering Policy developed in conjunction with CIBA and the California Indian Forest and Fire Management Council, download this brochure. (832k PDF)

Special Forest Products Rule Update

GOOD NEWS! NATIONAL SPECIAL FOREST PRODUCTS RULE DELAYED INDEFINITELY

On May 27, 2009 the U.S. Forest Service announced that the Special Forest Products Rule published on Dec. 29, 2008 has been delayed indefinitely. According to the official notice, further delay is necessary because more time is needed for the Forest Service to properly respond to the comments and to consider any potential changes to the rule. The Forest Service will publish notification in the Federal Register when an effective date is established.

CLICK HERE to read the Federal Register (100k PDF) notice.

This means that the Traditional Gathering Policy adopted in 2007 remains in effect in California. It ensures free use of plants for traditional basketweavers and gatherers on lands in California managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. This rule was developed in coordination with tribes, tribal members, and members of CIBA and the California Indian Forest and Fire Management Council.

Thanks to so many people who wrote comments, called elected officials and agency staff, and helped spread the word about how the Bush Administration rule would impact traditional basketweavers and gatherers, our voices were heard by the decisionmakers in Washington D.C.

Monday, January 19, 2009: Bush’s Midnight Marauding:

Since early last year, the Bush team was making moves to ensure its legacy lives on through so-called “midnight regulations.” Will any of these regulations adversely impact Indian Country? What can be done to undo what Bush’s legacy leaves behind? What does this say about our government? and is this an indication that the people do not have the power? Guests include Jennifer Kalt, Resources Protection Associate, California Indian Basketweavers Association. Listen...

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Work to Eliminate Pesticides in Gathering Areas

The use of pesticides on private and public lands is of utmost concern to California Indian basketweavers because of the harmful effects their use may have on the health of Native plant gatherers and communities, as well as the health and vitality of the environment. A weaver may be exposed to pesticides by making skin contact while gathering. In addition, most of the materials a weaver collects are passed through her mouth in preparing it for weaving. The plants that are eliminated by herbicide spraying because of their lack of commercial value are often the same plants that provide Native people with traditional foods and teas, are used in baskets and for healing, ceremonial and other traditional purposes.

In Northwest California, there has been a history of herbicide use for many years. National forests in the area have suspended their spraying programs in response to public pressure, but were responsible for dousing many acres with 2,4,5-T in years past, with disastrous results on pregnant women. Private timber companies continue the aerial bombardment by herbicides, using such hazardous chemicals as 2,4-D, atrazine, sulfometuron methyl, and triclopyr. One private timber company owns 87 percent of lands within the boundaries of the Yurok Reservation, which borders both sides of the lower Klamath River. There have been reports of high incidence of cancer, respiratory ailments and heart disease among communities of the lower Klamath watershed. Native people have also reported an absence of honeybees, deformities in fish and lesions on the internal organs of deer. CIBA has continued to bring attention to this situation for several year, yet it is a very difficult one to deal with, as private landholders are not answerable to public concerns about pesticide spraying.

On public lands, CIBA has been active in trying to end the use of pesticides on national forests, which have resumed their use after a moratorium of several years. While some national forests choose not to use herbicides, others such as the Stanislaus, Eldorado and Sierra National Forests are carrying out plans to spray many thousands of acres. On tribal lands, the Hoopa Tribe banned pesticide use on the Hoopa Reservation in 1978. Timber sales are an important source of income for the Tribe; timber sales run in the black, while manual removal of competing brush provides employment. The argument against such methods, however, is mainly an economic one. In terms of dollars, the cost of herbicide application costs less than "hand-grubbing" or mechanical methods. The Forest Service argues that it is necessary to use herbicides in areas where thousands of acres of trees have been burned and reforestation efforts are underway.

CIBA has been active in the effort to stop pesticide use on forest lands, meeting with representatives of State and Federal agencies to express the importance of basketweaving to Indian culture and concerns about the health effects of possible exposure to pesticides in the course of gathering and processing basketry plants and other natural resources utilized by California Indians.

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Work with Native Basketweaver Organizations Outside of California

The CIBA model serves to assist Native American basketweavers in other parts of the US seeking to reinvigorate their cultural traditions. CIBA representatives have traveled to Maine, theNorthwest, Southwest, Great Lakes and Great Basin regions regions to talk with Native basketweavers about our experiences in forming an association, and to encourage them in their own efforts to do so.

State and Regional Native Basketweaver Organizations

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Museums

Other Organizations:

Cache Creek Conservancy
34199 County Road 20
Woodland, CA 95695
(530) 661-1070
website: www.cacheconserv.org

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