From milo@scicom.alphacdc.comWed Feb 15 22:20:21 1995 Date: Sun, 29 Jan 95 15:33:11 -0800 From: Michele Lord Reply to: indknow@u.washington.edu To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Protection of Traditional Crops This article is from the twice monthly newspaper, News From Indian Country. It is published by Indian Country Communications, Inc. with offices at Rt.2 Box 2900A, Hayward, WI 54843. They may be contacted by calling (715) 634-5226; FAX (715) 634-3243. Native group asks EPA protection of traditional crops During November of 1994, the California Indian Basketweavers Association (CIBA) filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asking that changes be made in the Agency's definition of crops to extend protections to a wide variety of plants used by Native Americans for food, medicine, and religious purposes. The petition, in particular, raised registration and labeling issues as relates to 40 C.F.R. parts 156 and 170 (Worker Protection Standard) and requests that EPA: - Clarify the FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act) regulatory definitions to include a) protection for Native American crops harvested for food, food implements, medicine, commercial, cultural, and spiritual uses and b) Native American gatherer (farm worker) risks relevant to registration and labeling, and reporting pursuant to FIFRA; - Reexamine the extent to which existing registration and labeling requirements take into consideration the above uses and values and include a determination as to whether the pesticides in question are even registered for use on Native American crops; The petition piggybacks on a petition filed July 8, 1994 by a NASDA (National Association of State Departments of Agriculture), which seeks changes to certain worker protection standards. Sara Greensfelder, CIBA's executive director, said CIBA is using the NASDA proceeding to seek relief for Native American basketweavers who risk exposure to toxic herbicides when they harvest and use basketry plants currently considered "weeds" by EPA. "We're trying to take advantage of a procedure that is already underway to enter our concerns and request relief," said Greensfelder. CIBA bases its request for relief on traditional use of the land and natural resources, treaty and religious rights, the Indian trust relationship with federal agencies, EPA Indian Policy of 1984 and 1994, and Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, as well as other policies and findings. Many of the plants targeted by herbicide spraying of forests are the same plants which provide Native Americans with foods and teas, are used in baskets and regalia, or for healing, ceremonial, and other traditional purposes. People may come into contact with the poisons when gathering, processing, ingesting, or using the plants or plant products. In preparing basketry materials, the weaver usually places them in their mouth. Basketweavers have complained of numbness and other ill effects after processing materials that may have been sprayed. In addition, crops such as acorns are an important source of food for many tribes, yet oak trees and other broad-leafed plants are often doused with herbicides because they "compete" with commercially-harvested conifers. The CIBA petition asks that weavers be considered as susceptible to the deleterious effects of pesticides as farmworkers. CIBA's membership views the unregulated pesticide contamination of culturally important plants and wildlife as a district threat to Native American gatherers and the continued productive use of the materials and wildlife that constitute a high percentage of Native Americans' subsistence diet. Neither the exposed individuals nor the affected materials and wildlife are currently protected by EPA standards or regulations for pesticides. The petition states, "The EPA has consistently resisted recognizing the spiritual and cultural dimensions of environmental protection inherent in Native American relationships to the Earth. We are concerned that the issues of subsistence, spiritual and cultural uses of natural resources, being raised by members of Native American communities, are not being recognized as an environmental justice issue in EPA's interpretation of environmental and federal Indian law, including treaty rights and the federal trust responsibility, cooperative agreements, and federal policies. "The 1984 EPA Indian Policy and the 1994 Environmental Justice strategy fail to recognize that there are subsistence, spiritual and cultural dimensions to the way environmental protection is defined and implemented." The California Indian Basketweavers Association would like to hear from other traditional crop gatherers who are being impacted by pesticides. They may be reached at: CIBA, 16894 China Flats Road, Nevada City, CA 95959, phone (916) 292-0141. ~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*+ "When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them." -Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation *~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~* Michele Lord + Alpha Institute + Tel: 303-343-4114 alphai@scicom.alphacdc.com + P.O. Box 110998 milo@scicom.alphacdc.com + Aurora CO 80042 + Fax: 303-360-9118 +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+