And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1998 07:56:43 -0600
From: "John Berry"<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subj: (FWD)Indian News 12-13-98
Roger Iron Cloud
FirstNations Listserv
202.358.3252
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Ninilchik awaits BIA tribal contract ruling
c. AP
12-10-98
KENAI (AP) Natives from the Kenai Peninsula village of Ninilchik are
awaiting a ruling that could define the future of the Ninilchik
Traditional Council.
A decision is expected soon on the results of a Bureau of Indian Affairs
investigation that may determine the fate of two federal contracts with
the council, which is the official tribal government for Ninilchik.
The BIA is probing allegations of wrongdoing by tribal officials. The
agency has threatened to cancel the council's contract if it finds
evidence that it mismanaged contracts or chose its board of directors in
violation of its own tribal constitution.
The BIA gives the tribe about $120,000 a year to provide social services.
The contract originally was to expire on Sept. 30, or at the end of the
federal fiscal year. But when the three-year contract came up for a
routine renewal, the BIA declined extending it only to Nov. 30 pending
the results of its investigation.
The BIA has said it will continue to provide services to Ninilchik in
other ways if it withdraws recognition and money from the council.
The past two weeks have seen a flurry of secretive meetings involving
the council, federal agencies, their attorneys and Ninilchik activists
pushing for tribal reforms.
Officials at the BIA's regional office in Juneau told the Peninsula
Clarion on Wednesday that a letter would be sent to the council as soon as
supervisors approve its content.
They declined to discuss the letter until its release, but suggested
that it would contain important information about the BIA contract.
The Native community in Ninilchik has been divided over the tribal
council for several years.
The BIA was drawn into the conflict after dissidents expelled by the
tribal council filed a formal request with the inspector general, accusing
council managers of misconduct, misuse of funds, conflicts of interest and
nepotism.
The Bureau sent a team to Ninilchik in June and spent a week poring
through tribal records and reviewing the council's compliance with terms
of its contract to administer BIA grant money.
Another major contract that could be in jeopardy is one with the Indian
Health Service, which underwrites the Ninilchik Community Clinic.
The annual Indian Health Service contract, worth about $140,000 per year,
originally was scheduled for renewal at the end of September. But the
agency extended the contract only through the end of the calendar year to
await the BIA's conclusions.
Chris Mandregan, the Alaska area director for the Indian Health Service,
said his agency is working closely with the BIA.
It hasn't launched its own investigation, but will rely on the BIA's
conclusions, Mandregan said Wednesday.<
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