The Official Homepage of the Gila River Indian Community

June 2013 GRIN

Loop 202 draft EIS public hearing

By Joshua Jovanelly, Community Newsperson
Harlan Barehand views a map and other material on the proposed Loop 202 Freeway on May 21.

Harlan Barehand views a map and other material on the proposed Loop 202 Freeway on May 21.

The controversy that surrounds the proposed Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway was on full display May 21, as supporters and detractors flocked to a public hearing at the Phoenix Convention Center to provide comment on a draft study of the proposed freeway’s impacts.

The Arizona Department of Transportation in April released the draft Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, analyzing the effects of the freeway. The study favors building the 22-mile, $2-billion freeway along Pecos Road in Chandler and connecting it to I-10 at 59th Avenue, arguing that it is the best way to reduce traffic and improve air quality in the Phoenix metropolitan area as the population continues to grow.

Inside GRIC, pro-freeway groups and no-build proponents are at odds, but they can at least agree on one thing: they do not want any harm to come to South Mountain, a site held sacred by the O’odham. But that is exactly what will happen if ADOT decides to build the freeway as laid out in the draft EIS. The proposed eight-lane freeway would cut into three ridges and destroy about 40 acres of Phoenix South Mountain Park Preserve.
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University of Washington exhibits emerging artist Jacob Johns

By Roberto A. Jackson, GRIN Managing Editor
acob Johns’s artwork exhibited at University of Washington deals with themes of redemption and triumph over adversity.

acob Johns’s artwork exhibited at University of Washington deals with themes of redemption and triumph over adversity.

When Kathryn Henne visited the 2012 Spokane Falls Northwest Indian Encampment Pow-wow, she came across the usual sights associated with this particular Spokane, Wash., cultural gathering. Singers, dancers and artwork highlighted the event held at the Spokane Riverfront Park in late August 2012. Then she made her way to Jacob Johns’s booth. Johns was cutting hair under a tree and beside him were a few paintings on display. The paintings were “very edgy” and she discovered that Johns was donating his profits from the haircuts back to the pow-wow organizers. The 2011 pow-wow was canceled due to lack of funding.
Henne soon realized there was more to Johns than just his paintings.

Johns, a Community member, wasn’t just in Spokane cutting hair; he was paroled there to live with his mother after serving eight years in an Arizona prison.
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GRIC calls special election to amend constitution

By Mikhail Sundust, Community Newsperson
Image Courtesy of the Communications & Public Affairs Office.

Image Courtesy of the Communications & Public Affairs Office.

In a classic display of American Indian self-determination, the Gila River Indian Community is seeking to remove the Secretary of the Department of the Interior from the process of amending its constitution.

“According to our constitution,” said Zuzette Kisto, a GRIC member and the Director of its Communication & Public Affairs Office, “Article XVII – Amendments, says that any time the Community chooses to revise or change ... our constitution, we must follow the process of approval through the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is under the DOI).”

The tribe wants to change that to make it an internal, tribal process, free from the DOI, but it still has to follow the established method in order to make that change.
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Council members sworn in

By Mikhail Sundust, Community Newsperson
Community Council representatives pose following the swearing-in ceremony at the Council Chambers on June 5. From left: Devin Redbird (D7), Carolyn Williams (D3), Albert Pablo (D6), Robert Stone (D5), Carol Schurz (D2), Norman Wellington (D4).

Community Council representatives pose following the swearing-in ceremony at the Council Chambers on June 5. From left: Devin Redbird (D7), Carolyn Williams (D3), Albert Pablo (D6), Robert Stone (D5), Carol Schurz (D2), Norman Wellington (D4).

Six council representatives were sworn into office before a large crowd at the regular Community Council Meeting on June 5.

The honorable Chief Judge Anthony Hill administered the oath of office to Carol Schurz (D2), Carolyn Williams (D3), Norman Wellington (D4), Robert Stone (D5), Albert Pablo (D6) and Devin Redbird (D7). Pablo was re-elected and Redbird served prior to outgoing D7 Council Representative Martha Miller. Schurz, Williams, Wellington and Stone are serving their first terms.

In an interview before the day of the ceremony, Councilwoman Schurz shared some of her thoughts on joining Council. “One of the things that I’m really interested in is how we’re going to move forward with the Affordable Healthcare Act,” she said.
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Council delays TLOA implementation to 2014

By Joshua Jovanelly, Community Newsperson
The implementation phase of the Tribal Law and Order Act has been pushed back, the second time the process has been delayed.

In a May 15 meeting, the Gila River Indian Community Council voted to make Jan. 1, 2014, the date the Community will start using the misdemeanor portion of the new criminal code. The felony portion will go into effect on May 1, 2014.

Originally, both portions of the code were supposed to be adopted on Jan. 1 of this year. Those dates were pushed back to June 1 for the misdemeanor section and Jan. 1, 2014, for the felony section. The dual-implementation has been delayed another six months to ensure all departments of the Gila River legal system have sufficient time to adjust to the much heftier criminal code.
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