BIA Claims Update Website

TEMOAK TRIBE - The Bureau of Indian Affairs provides Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act updates. The updates are from August 19, 2009 to March 25, 2010. The website can be found here.

Update: Subcommittee Hearing Scheduled for Elko Motocross and Tribal Conveyance Act

ELKO BAND - The meeting of the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests scheduled for Wednesday, April 28 on the Elko Motocross and Tribal Conveyance Act will be streamed on a live webcast found here. The webcast will begin at 2:30 pm EST time, 11:30 am PST.

Subcommittee Hearing Scheduled for Elko Motocross and Tribal Conveyance Act

ELKO BAND - The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests has scheduled a hearing for Wednesday, April 28 at 2:30 pm, on the Elko Motocross and Tribal Conveyance Act. The Act would convey Federal land to Elko County and take land into trust for the Te-Moak Tribe.

Previous posts can be found here and here.

Elko Band Agenda For April 28

ELKO BAND - The old and new business of the Elko Band Council agenda for the meeting on Wednesday, April 28.

Old Business
-Land Expansion
-Homeowner Ordinance
-Personnel Policy
-Burial Policy
-Ferrin Home Update
-Liquor License Fees Update - Pending Te-moak Decision for Liquor Ordinance
-Claims Update
-Dis-Enrollment

New Business
-FY'09 Audit Bids
-Senior Center Building Rental Forms
-GAP Grant FY’09 & 10
-Dwinda Mendoza- Lot Lease
-Larry Piffero Jr.
-Graduates of 2010- Marlene Cortez
-Tie Home Request- Nicole Brady
-Gladiator Challenge Liquor License Request
-Secret Witness- Doyle Tybo

Terry Jones Jr. Trial Set for August 3

ELKO BAND - Yesterday the Elko Daily Free Press had the article Court Date Set For Accused Colony Stabber which begins "An Elko man who was charged with assault with a deadly weapon Jan. 6 shall stand trial Aug. 3 in the federal court in Reno. The trial for Terry Dale Jones Jr. is set to go four to five days before Judge Robert Jones."

On January 6, Terry Dale Jones Jr. was indicted by the federal grand jury with the count of assault with a dangerous weapon.

Update: Court Allows Barrick Limited Mining At Cortez Hills

TEMOAK TRIBE - The Elko Daily Free Press updates their article Cortez Hills Can Keep Mining which begins "U.S. District Court Judge Larry Hicks is allowing Barrick Gold of North America to continue mining at Cortez Hills while the U.S. Bureau of Land Management completes additional analysis of the project as ordered by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals."

Previous posts about the Cortez Hills ruling can be found here, here, and here.

Update: Court Allows Barrick Limited Mining At Cortez Hills

TEMOAK TRIBE - Reuters has the article Barrick Gets Court Go-Ahead 0n Cortez Hills which begins "Barrick Gold said on Wednesday that a U.S. district court has ruled it can continue mining operations at its Cortez Hills gold mine in Nevada while additional environmental assessments on the project proceed."

Previous posts about Cortez Hills news can be found here and here.

Tribe Proposes New Enrollment Identification Cards

TEMOAK TRIBE - At last nights special meeting, the Te-Moak Tribal Council presented a proposal to issue new tribal identification cards. The new cards would be issued to replace the current, out-dated tribal ID cards. The proposal would have the new IDs issued every four years, and also, to omit the social security numbers which are currently on all tribal ID cards. The proposal is being sent to the Band Councils for their input. A date of implementation of the new ID cards is currently unknown.

Update: Court Allows Barrick Limited Mining At Cortez Hills

TEMOAK TRIBE - The Elko Daily Free Press has the article Cortez Hills Can Keep On Mining which begins "U.S. District Court Judge Larry Hicks is allowing Barrick Gold of North America to continue mining operations at Cortez Hills while the U.S. Bureau of Land Management completes additional analysis of the project as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered."

Previous post on Cortez Hills can be found here.

Excerpt From Cortez Hills Injunction

TEMOAK TRIBE - The following is an excerpt from the Cortez Hills Injunction.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Barrick’s Motion for Entry of an Appropriately Tailored Preliminary Injunction is GRANTED as follows:

(1) BLM shall prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (“SEIS”) for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project in accordance with the following schedule to address (a) the potential air quality impacts of the off-site transportation and processing of refractory ore from the Cortez Hills Expansion Project under the Plan of Operations approved by the November, 2008, Record of Decision; and (b) the efficacy of the mitigation measures described in the October, 2008, Cortez Hills Expansion Project Final Environmental Impact Statement and November, 2008, Record of Decision to mitigate potential impacts on seeps and springs from groundwater pumping. In conjunction with its study of the potential environmental consequences of these two activities, BLM shall also conduct separate modeling for PM2.5 particulate emissions from the Cortez Hills Expansion Project and include the results of such modeling in the SEIS.
(a) Provided BLM received all baseline data from Barrick by March 1, 2010, BLM shall, by June 1, 2010, complete a draft SEIS and submit for publication in the Federal Register a notice that the draft SEIS is available for public review and comment. If BLM did not receive all baseline data from Barrick by March 1, 2010, BLM will be allowed additional time to prepare the draft SEIS commensurate with the amount of additional time it takes for Barrick to provide BLM with the baseline data. If BLM determines that it cannot meet this deadline, it will file a status report no later than May 1, 2010, informing the court of the progress made regarding the draft SEIS. The status report will also provide an explanation regarding why the agency needs additional time to complete the draft SEIS and its estimated completion time. If this status report is necessary, BLM will submit subsequent status reports every sixty (60) days until BLM submits the notice of availability of the draft SEIS to the Federal Register for publication. BLM shall allow at least forty-five (45) days from the date of publication of the notice of availability in the Federal Register for public review and comment on the draft SEIS. Upon publication of the notice in the Federal Register, BLM will provide an electronic copy of the draft SEIS to Plaintiffs and Barrick, and their attorneys of record in this case, and will make the draft SEIS available on BLM's website for public review.
(b) Within a reasonable time after the close of the comment period on the draft SEIS, BLM will examine and respond to the comments and make any changes to the draft SEIS that it finds appropriate as a result of the comments or other information. It will then submit for publication in the Federal Register a notice that the final SEIS, including comments received on the draft SEIS and responses to those comments, is available. If BLM determines that publication of the notice will not likely occur within ninety (90) days after the close of the public comment period, BLM will file a status report no later than seventy-five (75) days after the close of the public comment period, informing the court of the progress made on the final SEIS. The status report will also provide an explanation regarding why the agency needs additional time to complete the final SEIS and its estimated completion time. If this status report is necessary, BLM will continue to submit a status report every sixty (60) days until BLM submits the notice of availability of the final SEIS to the Federal Register for publication.
(c) BLM shall issue its Record of Decision within a reasonable time, but not less than sixty (60) days, after the notice of availability for final SEIS is published in the Federal Register, provided the final SEIS does not require further analysis and/or is not referred to the Council on Environmental Quality, pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 1504.1, et seq. If BLM determines that issuance of the Record of Decision will not likely occur within sixty (60) days after publication of the notice of availability of the final SEIS, BLM will file a status report no later than forty-five (45) days after publication of the notice of availability of the final SEIS, informing the court of the progress made on the Record of Decision. The status report will also provide an explanation of why the agency needs additional time to complete the Record of Decision and its estimated completion time. If this status report is necessary, BLM will continue to submit a status report every sixty (60) days until BLM issues its Record of Decision.

(2) While BLM is preparing the SEIS, and unless and until the following activities are authorized by a Record of Decision after completion of the SEIS, Defendant-Intervenor Barrick Cortez is enjoined as follows:
(a) Barrick shall not transport for off-site processing any refractory ore mined pursuant to the Cortez Hills Expansion Project approved by the November, 2008, Record of Decision.
(b) Barrick shall not pump groundwater under the authorization granted by the BLM’s November 12, 2008, Record of Decision. Previous dewatering authorizations shall not be affected by this order, and Barrick may continue to conduct dewatering under those previous authorizations.

(3) Except as expressly provided above, the development and exploitation of the Cortez Hills Expansion Project may proceed under the Plan of Operations approved by the November, 2008, Record of Decision.

Court Allows Barrick Limited Mining At Cortez Hills

TEMOAK TRIBE - It is being reported that the Nevada District Court has issued a limited injuction that will keep Barrick from shutting down its operation at Cortez Hills. The 9th Circuit Appeals Court ordered that the District Court to “provide injunctive relief” to the Tribes. The District Court Judge Larry Hicks wrote that "given the limited environmental harm resulting from a tailored injunction and the significant economic harm identified by Barrick and largely conceded by the plaintiffs, the court finds that both the balance of hardships and the public interest favor a narrowly tailored injunction."

Marketwatch has the article, Barrick Gold Corporation: US Court Allows Continued Mining at Cortez Hills

Businessweek has the article, Barrick Fends Off Bid for Temporary Mine Closing

Support of Taxes on Mines

NEVADA - On Tuesday, the Elko Daily Free Press had the article, Poll: 40% Support Mine Tax. The article began "A new poll shows a slight majority of Nevada residents support an initiative that would nearly triple taxes the mining industry pays to the state. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Monday that 40 percent of likely voters surveyed statewide supported a measure to tax mining companies based on gross proceeds instead of net proceeds."

Previous coverage about the taxation of mines can be found here.

New Tribal Council Member

TEMOAK TRIBE - Sim Malotte, South Fork Band Chairman, has resigned as a member of the Te-Moak Tribal Council. Gilbert Temoke has replaced him as the representative for South Fork Band. Sim Malotte's resignation is the second resignation from the Te-Moak Tribal Council. Previously, Edith Tybo resigned from the Tribal Council.

Tribe Concerned With Pipeline

TEMOAK TRIBE - The Elko Daily Free Press has an article Tribal Chairman Expresses Concerns With Pipeline which begins "Elko County Commissioners voted Wednesday to strongly support the Ruby Pipeline Project, with special consideration given to private landowners, including American Indian tribes."

Approval Of Ruby Pipeline

TEMOAK TRIBE - Yesterday the Elko Daily Free Press had the story FERC Approves Ruby Pipeline. The story begins "The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved El Paso Corp.’s proposed Ruby Pipeline Project that would deliver natural gas from Wyoming to Oregon, going through Elko County."

Tribal Council Meeting Cancelled

TEMOAK TRIBE - Today, the meetings for the Te-Moak Tribal Council were cancelled due to the passing of a tribal member. The meetings will be rescheduled for a later date.

Barrick Offer to WSDP

EUREKA COUNTY - On March 5, 2010, Barrick Gold of North America made an offer to the Western Shoshone Defense Project. The offer is that in exchange for 1) dismissal of Cortez Hills and the HCCEUP lawsuits, 2) the Te-Moak and Timbisha Tribe and their constituent bands refraining from suing and opposing Barrick over any proposed mines or projects in the future at Cortez, and 3) ending claims in any forum that Barrick mining activity constitutes a violation of human rights, the mines would provide funding for education, elder care, and providing 3,400 acres of land.

Update: Barrick Requests For Oral Arguments

TEMOAK TRIBE - KTVN has the story Mining company seeks oral arguments that begins "A subsidiary of gold mining giant Barrick Gold Corp. wants a federal judge in Reno to hear oral arguments about why is should be able to continue mining at its Cortez Hills operation while federal officials respond to a court decision."

Update: Barrick Requests For Oral Arguments

TEMOAK TRIBE - The Elko Daily Free Press has the story, Barrick Seeks Oral Arguments on Cortez Hills. The story begins "Barrick Gold Corp. subsidiary Barrick Cortez Inc. is asking the U.S. District Court in Reno to take oral arguments on preliminary injunction motions for the Cortez Hills operations in Lander County."

Easter Egg Hunt

SOUTH FORK - The South Fork Band will hold its annual Easter egg hunt at 11:00 am at the South Fork community building. Also, there will be a fundraiser following the hunt for Tyrell Knight.

ELKO BAND - The Elko Band will hold its annual Easter egg hunt at 10:00 am at Shoshone Circle.

Posted Jobs for Elko Band

ELKO BAND - The Elko Band has the following jobs openings: Summer Food Monitor, Summer Food Cook, Summer Food Assistant Cook, Recreation Director, Janitor (Courthouse), Groundskeeper, Maintenance Helper, and Groundskeeper Aide. Applications can be obtained at the Elko Band administration office.

Band Council Proposes Banishment Ordinance to Tribal Council

ELKO BAND - The Elko Band Council has had legal counsel review the proposed banishment ordinance and will submit its version to the Te-Moak Tribal Council. The proposed ordinance will allow the Tribe to banish tribal members from tribal lands.

Band Council Allows Nevada Parole and Probation Access

ELKO BAND - The Elko Band Council has given permission to Nevada Parole and Probation to enter the Elko Indian Colony for probation and parole purposes for Stillman Knight Jr. III and Tyrone Thompson.

Update: Western Shoshone Claims

TEMOAK TRIBE - The Te-Moak Tribe has released a fact sheet on the Western Shoshone claims. As of March 31, 2010, the number of applications received by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for the claims is 8,328. Of the 8,328 applications recieved by the BIA, 1,475 have been reviewed, 710 have be determined eligible and 765 been found ineligible. The proposed closing date for applications is expected to be August 2, 2010, which will be published in the Federal Register. This sets the possible distribution date as March of 2011.

Update: New Tribal Council Member Sworn In

BATTLE MOUNTAIN BAND - Craig Roa, Battle Mountain Band Vice-Chairman, was sworn in yesterday as the newest member of the Te-Moak Tribal Council. Craig Roa replaces Edith Tybo as the Battle Mountain representative. Edith Tybo resigned as a member of the Battle Mountain Band Council and the Te-Moak Tribal Council.