Sammy Blackbear is one of the most outspoken critics of the Skull Valley Band's decision to sign a contract with Private Fuel Storage for the temporary storage of nuclear waste on the Band's reservation lands.
Opposition to the contract within the Band, while identifiable, is difficult to quantify. In May 2001, 18 members of the Skull Valley Band joined a lawsuit challenging the contract with PFS.
Blackbear was interviewed on the Skull Valley reservation, at a point overlooking the proposed site for the radioactive waste storage facility, by program Producer Ken Verdoia.
Ken Verdoia: What was your first reaction when you heard there was a lease agreement between the Skull Valley Band and PFS?
Sammy Blackbear: Well, when the tribe first was told that we'd be doing business with PFS, we were all surprised because we thought that our purported council would just look into it and not sign a lease because we didn't give that permission. So we were surprised at that, and we didn't feel that at that time it would be a good idea. We weren't given any safety data. We weren't given a specific amount of how much the tribe would even get. We were just told, "You guys would get a lot of money," and I said, "Okay, can you be more specific?" "Oh, you guys will just get a lot of money." I said, "Oh, okay."
Well, ever since then it's just gone from bad to worse and a lot of our concerns are being unanswered. You know, the tribe didn't get fair market value. We didn't get that, and several tribal members haven't even seen the lease. By law every tribal member has to look at that lease and approve it. By law. And if there is one tribal member that says they don't understand what's going on, or safety data concerning PFS, by law that lease is supposed to be null and void. It's supposed to be history. These are our concerns and they are just being unheard right now.
Verdoia: Are you concerned about what the nature of that business is planned for the Skull Valley?
Blackbear: Well it does because whether or not people like it or not, within Skull Valley, the land is not ours. It never was ours and never will be. We're caretakers of the land. We're suppose to take care of it for the next generation and I don't see us doing that putting a nuclear facility there. Mr. Bear and his associates know this and they should have thought that before they even thought we would have the facility here. So yeah, that's a concern. It diminishes who we are, and that's also being unheard. And I think that's why now that tribal members are taking a hard look at it, they're not happy with PFS.
Verdoia: But you have a federal agency in the Bureau of Indian Affairs that's been protecting your interests.
Blackbear: Well, I wish that was so. The Bureau of Indian Affairs basically waived our rights in three days. You cannot waive the rights of a sovereign tribe and sovereign land. That's also illegal. You can't do that. No agency in the United States can do that. And Mr. Bear and his associates also sold our sovereign rights and you can't do that. They signed a lease for 20 years with an extended 20, to a total of 40. You can only do a lease on an Indian reservation for seven. Just about every aspect of PFS coming here is illegal. They've totally ignored protocol, law, federal law. Pretty much everything you name they've done illegally and we don't like it, so that's why, not only myself, but other tribal members are bringing PFS to task. Not only them but the Bureau of Indian Affairs. And, the gross negligence and lack of their fiduciary duties to Native American people. I'm sorry, but we believe that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is not our friend. They are there to dismantle reservations, not to help Native American people. And we believe that's why they've let this activity go on so long.
Verdoia: What you're describing is, the Skull Valley Band at one time being a fairly tight community, but the past ten years have had a major impact on relationships within the tribe?
Blackbear: No, I wouldn't say that. We all get along. We're all family. The tribe chooses just not to talk about it. We all get along. We all go visit each others' homes. It's just an issue that...it's a bad issue so we care not to discuss it. When it gets to that point in the Native American community, it's best not to have them here. And they have acted unhonorably. They're trying to use our own sovereignty against us, and that's only because Leon sold it to them. You know, they've used the tribal sovereignty against the state of Utah. They've done that. Now they're trying to use our sovereignty against us. Our own sovereignty against our own people. And that's when enough was enough.
Verdoia: Your concern about PFS has a lot of support. Every member of the Utah Congressional delegation has voiced opposition. The governor of the state of Utah has said, "Over my dead body." So it doesn't seem like you're short on friends in powerful places.
Blackbear: Well we hope to keep continuing that support. They've helped us, at least the Utah delegation has helped us tremendously in Washington, by bringing up this issue and keeping it out for people to see. Now as far as the Representatives up at the Capitol, they're giving their support. I wish they would help us out a little more, but I really don't know what to say because some people are saying, "Over my dead body" and some are saying, "Well, we can't do nothing about it so we'll just tax them now." "We'll tax PFS," and that is a total turn around from, "Over my dead body," and it's got me concerned.
Verdoia: You have made a financial comparison between what the tribe would benefit from the lease and what Tooele County would benefit from the lease. Can you tell me about that comparison?
Blackbear: Well, Tooele County signed the lease with PFS or an agreement 190 million dollars. I think it was; I'll have to recheck that. The tribe's getting 48 million. So, there's a huge comparison. We're taking all the risk. We're destroying our reservation. As soon as you look at that you say, "Something's not right." Something's not right, and that alone comes close to not having fair market value for our land.
Verdoia: You've also indicated that money is presently coming to the Skull Valley Band through the agreement with Private Fuel Storage, but it's not ending up in a general tribal fund.
Blackbear: Right. As far as Skull Valley's concerned, the money going to Skull Valley, it should go to the Bureau of Indian Affairs because it is Tribal Trust Land and therefore it should be reported to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and they administer that money evenly, equally and fairly. Mr. Bear [Leon Bear, Chairman of the Skull Valley Business Council] and his associates call themselves facilitators for a corporation, and they won't give the name of the corporation and they won't tell us what they're facilitating. Therefore, the money that PFS is giving Skull Valley is going into their account and not being reported to the BIA. And the tribe is saying that's illegal. That's illegal. You can't do that when you're dealing with Tribal Trust Lands.
Verdoia: That last thing in Native American culture is to take your arguments to court and yet you and others felt the time had absolutely come where the courts were your only resort. Why the courts?
Blackbear: Well, you take a look at the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the gross negligence of what they've been doing. You look at PFS coming in here and allowing their money to be used as bribery and for corruption. You also look at the federal agencies as a whole, coming to the reservation and condoning this illegal activity. We had no choice but to go to courts because we've also alleged that there's a conspiracy factor here and this would be one surefire way of dismantling a reservation.
Verdoia: Do you think something like this could end the Skull Valley Band as you know it?
Blackbear: Of course, because once one piece of nuclear material comes on Skull Valley, the NRC, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, literally takes over Skull Valley. Literally. And they can tell tribal members, "This reservation is now unsafe, you people have to leave." And they'll have to do that because Leon [Bear] sold our sovereignty and the sovereignty is what protects a tribe and protects a reservation. Well, he just sold it, which again is illegal. He can't do that but he did it anyway. And so the NRC can do that. Now what's also a factor is because the Private Fuel Storage is an LLC, Limited Liability Corporation, they can dismantle themselves once the facility in Skull Valley is full. They can dismantle themselves and they don't have to pay Tooele County or Skull Valley. Not one red cent because they're a limited liability corporation. I don't think Mr. Bear and his associates have looked at that, but PFS can do that. And that hasn't been addressed.
Verdoia: For almost 130 years since the first treaty back in the 1860s, the Skull Valley Band has failed to receive much consideration from any level of government. Not just neglected, but ignored as if you did not exist.
Blackbear: If they ignore us, they at least leave us alone, and not make a mess of things, but because we're at the point we are now...no, we can't be ignored anymore. I think, looking at how Utah has helped other reservations, and now they're saying, "Maybe we can find something for Skull Valley." Well, it's unfortunate it takes a nuclear facility to say, "There's a reservation out there. Let's help them out." It's unfortunate it's come to that but that's reality.
Verdoia: The Skull Valley Band has been studying nuclear waste storage for almost ten years. That would seem to offer ample time if the state of Utah was truly interested in heading off the tribe's move to waste storage. What has the state initiated with the Skull Valley Band in those years?
Blackbear: Nothing. They haven't come to the table. And that's what concerns me because the more we accomplish our goals, the state now has to say, "Are we going to help them, or not?" If not, they're going to have a nuclear facility here, and it's unfortunate. I'm not saying that will happen. I, myself and others are looking for economic development. We do have some packages but we've done it all on our own. We've done it all with our own money, our own time, and so it seems we're left to doing it on our own again. I hope the state can help us out.
Verdoia: One wonders what the voice of the Skull Valley Band, as a group, would be on this subject. Do you have any sense of how the tribal members feel?
Blackbear: Well, some of them know what they want to do. Some are just waiting to see what happens. We've narrowed it down to there's a third for this facility because they're being paid. There's a third against it because we know everything that can go wrong, and then there's a third kind of sitting on the fence to see which way it topples. So far we're extremely successful in what we're doing. We're extremely successful in court. Hopefully our strategies up until now have all worked, and that's where we are. Politics in Skull Valley, they happen. They're not good. We hope that people will do the right thing, but when you have a big company like PFS coming to Skull Valley and throwing their money around, it's hard to keep order. It takes more than your own common sense to say no. You've got to just listen to your people, what they want to do, not your own pocket. Not your own bank account.
Verdoia: Among Native American cultures there is a unique tie to the land, especially ancestral lands. Can you describe what your tie is to this land, this valley?
Blackbear: Well, if it wasn't for this land I wouldn't be here today. This is who we are. You know, some people come out here and they don't see much. You know, they see a desert out there, but to us it's everything. We have our medicines out here that we still use. Herbs that we still use. We still hunt deer, rabbit, other things. We still do all of that, and some of us depend on that meat and stuff just to get by today. I still go out and hunt for meat. My kids do that as well. So it means everything to us. The land is who we are, and again it's not ours. We've got to take care of it like our ancestors did; we don't look at something as tomorrow or the next day, we try to look at things as the next seven generations. What's going to effect the next seven generations? I'd say PFS would effect us.
Source: http://www.kued.org/
Questions:
1. Mr. Blackbear states that his tribe is only receiving a fraction of the money that the county his tribe is located in is getting. If the tables were turned do you think his opinion would turn?
2. A concern for the environment is at the heart of Mr. Blackbear's questioning of Mr. Bear's proposal for the plan - Mr. Blackbear is arguing that the environment and his native lands are more valuable than money. Does he support this position well?
3. Mr. Blackbear states that despite his opposition to the facility the state of Utah has offered the tribe very little in return for not putting the facility in place. What do you think the state of Utah could offer the tribe in return for dropping their proposal?
4. Why is Mr. Blackbear concerned that people are saying "We'll tax PFS", how does this represent a turn from their previous behavior?
5. Do you think that Mr. Blackbear feels a strong sense of agency (feeling that his voice is being heard and listened to, and that his voice has impact)? Use evidence from the interview to support your position.
6. Finally, Mr. Blackbear reports that despite the outside tension over this project that his tribe is still very cordial (friendly and welcoming) to each other on the privacy of their reservation. How is this different from the society that you know, and does it change how you view this issue? It's important to remember that people from different cultures have diametrically (very strongly different) opposed methods of handling conflicts than "we" traditionally have.
