FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 21, 2009
CONTACT
media@savethepeaks.org
Rudy Preston -- (928) 466-4274
Howard Shanker -- (928) 699-3637
U.S. Government Ignores Public Health Dangers of Sewer Water Snowmaking
Concerned Citizens File New Lawsuit to Force Government to Study and Disclose Effects of Ingesting Snow Made from Treated Sewage Effluent
Flagstaff, AZ -- A group of concerned citizens will not let the potential health risks of using treated sewage effluent to make snow at the Snowbowl ski area on the San Francisco Peaks outside of Flagstaff get swept under the rug on a technicality. Although Snowbowl is a private, for-profit entity, the ski area operates on federal land under a special use permit. As a result, the federal government must approve Snowbowl’s plan to use 100% reclaimed sewer water to make snow—something that is not done anywhere else in the world. The City of Flagstaff agreed to sell Snowbowl the treated sewage effluent and off they went, or so they thought. The San Francisco Peaks are well documented as sacred and holy to, at least, thirteen of the tribes in the Southwestern United States, all of whom viewed the decision as a direct threat to their religious and cultural survival. Litigation on cultural and religious issues surrounding the project was appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which recently declined to consider the case. The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case left a decision of an enbanc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in place which, as is often the case, went against the tribes. The use of reclaimed sewer water to make snow, however, was not only repulsive to people who hold the San Francisco Peaks sacred, it raised concerns from skiers and the community over the safety of being immersed in, and even eating, snow made from non-potable treated sewage effluent.
Today, the Save the Peaks Coalition and nine citizens filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona against the U.S. Forest Service. The suit alleges, among other things, that the Final Environmental Impact Statement prepared by the U.S. Forest Service ignores the possibility of human ingestion of snow made from treated sewage effluent. Under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Forest Service is obligated to consider these types of potential impacts on the quality of the human environment. In fact, a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit previously found that the Forest Service failed to adequately consider the possibility of human ingestion of snow made from treated sewage effluent. The holding of the three judge panel was, however, overturned on a technicality by an enbanc panel of the Ninth Circuit, that reconsidered the prior panel's ruling.
According to Howard Shanker, attorney for the Save the Peaks Coalition and the other plaintiffs, “The Forest Service failed to adequately consider the impacts of potential human ingestion of snow made from reclaimed sewer water as required by applicable law. Our government should not be approving such projects without some sort of understanding of the anticipated impacts. By approving treated sewage effluent for snow making without adequate analysis, the government essentially turns the ski area into a test facility with our children as the laboratory rats. That is unconscionable.” Mr. Shanker, a former congressional candidate in Arizona Congressional District 1, represented a number of tribes and environmental organizations in prior litigation over Snowbowl’s use of treated sewage effluent.
According to Arizona Department of Environmental Quality regulations, treated sewer water can be graded A+ even when it contains fecal matter in three out of every ten samples. This same effluent has been found to contain pharmaceuticals, hormones, endocrine disruptors, industrial pollutants, and narcotics. It may also contain bio-accumulating antibiotics, such as triclosan and triclocarban, and pathogens, such as e. coli, hepatitis, and norovirus. The human and environmental health risks, which have been largely ignored by the media, have their roots as far back as 2001 in the scoping comments made to the Forest Service about Arizona Snowbowl's proposed expansion and upgrade. Plaintiffs involved in this lawsuit have consistently insisted that the Forest Service take a hard look at what might happen to the people, land, plants, and wildlife when they come in contact with or eat snow made from treated sewage effluent.
For a full background, legal documents, photos, and further information on the Save the Peaks Coalition please visit www.savethepeaks.org
Contact
media@savethepeaks.org
Rudy Preston -- (928) 466-4274
Howard Shanker -- (928) 699-3637
Available for interviews by appointment from 9 a.m. -- 12 p.m. today
The Shanker Law Firm -- Flagstaff Office -- 201 East Birch Street
# # #
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
Redd, daughter admit to looting, selling ancient Indian artifacts
Redd, daughter admit to looting, selling ancient Indian artifacts
Crime » Assistant U.S. attorney says office would recommend Jeanne and Jericca Redd not serve maximum sentence.
By Patty Henetz
The Salt Lake Tribune
Two prominent Blanding residents pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to illegal trafficking in American Indian artifacts, the first of what could be many more plea deals resulting from a 2½-year investigation into grave robbing and relic thefts in the Four Corners region.
Jeanne Redd, 59, and daughter Jericca Redd, 37, were hustled out a side door of U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City by a federal prosecutor into a waiting car after they admitted to multiple felonies for excavating, possessing and selling prehistoric seed jars, pottery and jewelry.
Under questioning from U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups, Jeanne Redd pleaded guilty to seven felonies: two counts of violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, two counts of theft of government property and three counts of theft of American Indian tribal property. Each carries potential fines of $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison.
Clinging to the lectern, Redd sometimes wavered or answered hoarsely to Waddoups' questions about her crimes and understanding of the penalties she could face. She quibbled with the judge's statement that a bird pendant she took from Black Mesa near Kayenta, on the Navajo reservation, was worth more than $1,000.
"I didn't pay for it," Redd said, adding she didn't believe it was worth $1,000. Redd also questioned why she faced two charges for digging up the same four sandals on U.S. Forest Service land.
Redd admitted taking a mug from a prehistoric Indian ruin at Owl Creek and a turquoise pendant from Butler Wash (both on Bureau of Land Management property); a hafted ax and a gourd necklace from the Navajo reservation; and the sandals from Forest Service land.
As part of her plea, Redd agreed to give up all of the artifacts.
When the judge left the courtroom, Redd continued to stand alone at the lectern. After a few minutes, one of her attorneys led her away.
Before her mother faced the judge, Jericca Redd, charged Friday as part of the pleading, admitted to three felonies for digging up a seed jar, a vase and a pottery vessel April 8, 2008, on the Navajo reservation.
Both women will be sentenced Sept. 16. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlie Christensen said her office would recommend the Redds not serve the maximum.
Utah Division of Indian Affairs Director Forrest Cuch said he hopes the guilty pleas help prevent future lootings.
"This is an opportunity for them [Jericca and Jeanne Redd] to be accountable for their actions," Cuch said. "It's the right action to take. I hope that they can learn from this, and it will send a message to all other prospective looters that this is a very serious offense."
Federal authorities may have appeared heavy-handed in their arrests, Cuch said, but "that's the way they conduct business, and apparently there's a reason for it: Some people are violent."
While San Juan County residents seek respect from federal authorities, Cuch said, they also should respect those whose artifacts are displaced.
"American Indians are human beings, too," he said. "They want respect."
Christensen declined to say what led investigators to charge Jericca Redd, only that evidence turned up during the June 10 raid on her parents' Blanding home, where she also lived.
Jeanne Redd's husband, physician James Redd, also was indicted June 10 -- on one felony count of theft of tribal property. He committed suicide the next day. Another of the 24 defendants netted in the sweep, Steven Shrader, of Santa Fe, N.M., shot himself to death a week later.
The defendants -- from Utah, Colorado and New Mexico -- were charged under 12 grand-jury indictments. Most are from southeastern Utah's San Juan County.
The charges came after an undercover operative known only as the "Source" bought and sold more than 250 ancient Puebloan artifacts. The Source -- who law-enforcement officials told The Salt Lake Tribune came to them voluntarily -- was wired with an audiovisual recorder during his transactions.
According to court papers filed in Colorado, the Source, an artifacts dealer with "unique access to the trading and sale of archaeological resources both legal and suspected to be illegal," made about 130 "consensual" telephonic and in-person recordings.
The information the Source gathered, court papers say, has been corroborated by video and audio recordings and through surveillance and real-time monitoring by FBI and BLM special agents.
The documents say the Source was paid $224,000 from Dec. 1, 2006, to June 9, 2009, for his services. His criminal history, the documents say, consists of a 2005 DUI arrest, which resulted in a reckless-driving plea. In November 2008, he mistakenly used money the FBI provided him to lease a car for personal expenses instead. The Source admitted his mistake and made arrangements to pay the leasing company.
The raid and its aftermath
Jeanne Redd, who pleaded guilty to seven felonies Monday, was among 24 defendants indicted in a June 10 crackdown on illegal trafficking of American Indian artifacts from the Four Corners region.
Her husband, James Redd, who also was charged, committed suicide the next day. Another defendant, Steven Shrader, of Santa Fe, N.M., took his own life a week later.
The Redds' daughter, Jericca Redd, was not indicted in the original sweep. She admitted to three felonies Monday.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12762067?source=most_viewed
Crime » Assistant U.S. attorney says office would recommend Jeanne and Jericca Redd not serve maximum sentence.
By Patty Henetz
The Salt Lake Tribune
Two prominent Blanding residents pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to illegal trafficking in American Indian artifacts, the first of what could be many more plea deals resulting from a 2½-year investigation into grave robbing and relic thefts in the Four Corners region.
Jeanne Redd, 59, and daughter Jericca Redd, 37, were hustled out a side door of U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City by a federal prosecutor into a waiting car after they admitted to multiple felonies for excavating, possessing and selling prehistoric seed jars, pottery and jewelry.
Under questioning from U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups, Jeanne Redd pleaded guilty to seven felonies: two counts of violating the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, two counts of theft of government property and three counts of theft of American Indian tribal property. Each carries potential fines of $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison.
Clinging to the lectern, Redd sometimes wavered or answered hoarsely to Waddoups' questions about her crimes and understanding of the penalties she could face. She quibbled with the judge's statement that a bird pendant she took from Black Mesa near Kayenta, on the Navajo reservation, was worth more than $1,000.
"I didn't pay for it," Redd said, adding she didn't believe it was worth $1,000. Redd also questioned why she faced two charges for digging up the same four sandals on U.S. Forest Service land.
Redd admitted taking a mug from a prehistoric Indian ruin at Owl Creek and a turquoise pendant from Butler Wash (both on Bureau of Land Management property); a hafted ax and a gourd necklace from the Navajo reservation; and the sandals from Forest Service land.
As part of her plea, Redd agreed to give up all of the artifacts.
When the judge left the courtroom, Redd continued to stand alone at the lectern. After a few minutes, one of her attorneys led her away.
Before her mother faced the judge, Jericca Redd, charged Friday as part of the pleading, admitted to three felonies for digging up a seed jar, a vase and a pottery vessel April 8, 2008, on the Navajo reservation.
Both women will be sentenced Sept. 16. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlie Christensen said her office would recommend the Redds not serve the maximum.
Utah Division of Indian Affairs Director Forrest Cuch said he hopes the guilty pleas help prevent future lootings.
"This is an opportunity for them [Jericca and Jeanne Redd] to be accountable for their actions," Cuch said. "It's the right action to take. I hope that they can learn from this, and it will send a message to all other prospective looters that this is a very serious offense."
Federal authorities may have appeared heavy-handed in their arrests, Cuch said, but "that's the way they conduct business, and apparently there's a reason for it: Some people are violent."
While San Juan County residents seek respect from federal authorities, Cuch said, they also should respect those whose artifacts are displaced.
"American Indians are human beings, too," he said. "They want respect."
Christensen declined to say what led investigators to charge Jericca Redd, only that evidence turned up during the June 10 raid on her parents' Blanding home, where she also lived.
Jeanne Redd's husband, physician James Redd, also was indicted June 10 -- on one felony count of theft of tribal property. He committed suicide the next day. Another of the 24 defendants netted in the sweep, Steven Shrader, of Santa Fe, N.M., shot himself to death a week later.
The defendants -- from Utah, Colorado and New Mexico -- were charged under 12 grand-jury indictments. Most are from southeastern Utah's San Juan County.
The charges came after an undercover operative known only as the "Source" bought and sold more than 250 ancient Puebloan artifacts. The Source -- who law-enforcement officials told The Salt Lake Tribune came to them voluntarily -- was wired with an audiovisual recorder during his transactions.
According to court papers filed in Colorado, the Source, an artifacts dealer with "unique access to the trading and sale of archaeological resources both legal and suspected to be illegal," made about 130 "consensual" telephonic and in-person recordings.
The information the Source gathered, court papers say, has been corroborated by video and audio recordings and through surveillance and real-time monitoring by FBI and BLM special agents.
The documents say the Source was paid $224,000 from Dec. 1, 2006, to June 9, 2009, for his services. His criminal history, the documents say, consists of a 2005 DUI arrest, which resulted in a reckless-driving plea. In November 2008, he mistakenly used money the FBI provided him to lease a car for personal expenses instead. The Source admitted his mistake and made arrangements to pay the leasing company.
The raid and its aftermath
Jeanne Redd, who pleaded guilty to seven felonies Monday, was among 24 defendants indicted in a June 10 crackdown on illegal trafficking of American Indian artifacts from the Four Corners region.
Her husband, James Redd, who also was charged, committed suicide the next day. Another defendant, Steven Shrader, of Santa Fe, N.M., took his own life a week later.
The Redds' daughter, Jericca Redd, was not indicted in the original sweep. She admitted to three felonies Monday.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12762067?source=most_viewed
NAGPRA » A decade after 19th-century grave discovery, Kanosh band receives remains in the first successful repatriation under Utah law
Child's remains finally repatriated to tribe
NAGPRA » A decade after 19th-century grave discovery, Kanosh band receives remains in the first successful repatriation under Utah law.
By Brian Maffly
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 07/06/2009 09:05:21 PM MDT
A man hunting rabbits in Millard County a decade ago came across several small navy blue glass beads that led him to a baby's grave. The hunter gathered some bones and skull fragments eroding out of a sand dune and handed them to police in nearby Fillmore.
The 1999 find triggered an inquiry by state antiquities officials who used the beads, which turned out to be made in Italy, to date the grave to the late 19th century and put to rest a complicated repatriation.
In late May, the child's remains were returned to the Kanosh band of the Southern Paiute, the first successful repatriation under a 17-year-old Utah law designed to ensure that American Indian remains are handled with dignity.
"It went unchallenged, so it lays the groundwork for future repatriations," said Forrest Cuch, director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs, of this particular case.
Ancient burial sites dot Utah, inhabited by Indians for centuries before the 1847 arrival of Mormon pioneers. For decades, early anthropologists disinterred American Indian remains and deposited them in museums in the eastern United States. The practice may have been conducted in the name of science, but many regarded it as grave desecration.
A 1991 federal law, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), and a 1992 Utah version, established procedures for handling bones and related burial artifacts on federal and state lands, identifying their tribal affiliation and repatriation, if possible. Under the federal law, remains have been repatriated many times, most recently when the Southern Paiute's Kaibab band accepted 19th century remains excavated by federal lawmen at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in April 2008.
The handling of those remains -- treated as evidence in a crime, rather than a historic burial -- drew fire from the monument's own archaeologist and state officials. Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Land Management declined to reveal why the site was treated as a crime scene, citing an ongoing investigation.
But the vast majority of Indian remains come from private land, according to assistant state archaeologist Ronald Rood. And until the law was expanded in 2007, the state's NAGPRA law didn't apply to those finds, which accumulated at the Utah Division of State History and in police evidence lockers.
Repatriating remains is complex and expensive, requiring archaeological work and scientific analysis. In some cases cultural affiliation can't be determined because the remains are too deteriorated or their context has been destroyed. And tribes often are not interested in repatriation, Cuch said. In those cases, the remains are placed in a vault in Emigration Canyon. Some 60 individual remains, some as old as 7,000 years, are interred there now.
In recent years, dozens of American Indian remains have been handed over to the state, many of them from home building and landscaping projects on private land and thus subject to the amended law, Rood said.
The Millard County find, which occurred on private land, was the first repatriation under state law. Rood led a team of scientists to check out the site in 2000. Their hope was to leave the remains in place, in accordance with the preferences of Utah's five tribes.
"Unfortunately, with the ongoing erosion of the sand dune where the burial was located and the continued use of the area by cattle, we concluded the burial would continue to erode and be ultimately destroyed," Rood wrote in his 2007 report.
The team carefully excavated the grave and found the articulated skeleton of a child, later determined to be about 1 year of age at death, along with a shallow bowl and cup, both made of tin, some buttons and 52 glass beads, according to the report. A disintegrating mat or cradle board made of willow branches lay under the skeleton.
The child's age made it impossible to pinpoint his or her gender or even ancestry, but the context strongly suggested the baby was American Indian, according to Rood's report. The best clue for dating the remains turned out to be the glass beads that initially caught the hunter's eye. The nearly identical navy-blue beads, which had likely been strung in a necklace worn by the baby at burial, were quarter-inch lengths cut from a tube drawn from a globe of molten glass.
An analysis by archaeological sleuths determined the beads were produced in Venice, Italy, between 1851 and 1869.
The Southern Paiute submitted a claim on behalf of the Kanosh band because it is headquartered only 16 miles to the south of the grave site, said Dorena Martineau, the tribe's cultural resources director. The state honored the claim and Rood delivered the remains and artifacts to the band on May 24.
"They were really happy to get the baby back," said Martineau, who serves on the state's Native American Remains Committee. "It's sad to think these remains are shoved in a box and put in the basement."
Tribal spiritual leaders led an all-night ceremony in late May while interring the child's remains in the Kanosh cemetery, Martineau said.
bmaffly@sltrib.com
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12765326
NAGPRA » A decade after 19th-century grave discovery, Kanosh band receives remains in the first successful repatriation under Utah law.
By Brian Maffly
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 07/06/2009 09:05:21 PM MDT
A man hunting rabbits in Millard County a decade ago came across several small navy blue glass beads that led him to a baby's grave. The hunter gathered some bones and skull fragments eroding out of a sand dune and handed them to police in nearby Fillmore.
The 1999 find triggered an inquiry by state antiquities officials who used the beads, which turned out to be made in Italy, to date the grave to the late 19th century and put to rest a complicated repatriation.
In late May, the child's remains were returned to the Kanosh band of the Southern Paiute, the first successful repatriation under a 17-year-old Utah law designed to ensure that American Indian remains are handled with dignity.
"It went unchallenged, so it lays the groundwork for future repatriations," said Forrest Cuch, director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs, of this particular case.
Ancient burial sites dot Utah, inhabited by Indians for centuries before the 1847 arrival of Mormon pioneers. For decades, early anthropologists disinterred American Indian remains and deposited them in museums in the eastern United States. The practice may have been conducted in the name of science, but many regarded it as grave desecration.
A 1991 federal law, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), and a 1992 Utah version, established procedures for handling bones and related burial artifacts on federal and state lands, identifying their tribal affiliation and repatriation, if possible. Under the federal law, remains have been repatriated many times, most recently when the Southern Paiute's Kaibab band accepted 19th century remains excavated by federal lawmen at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in April 2008.
The handling of those remains -- treated as evidence in a crime, rather than a historic burial -- drew fire from the monument's own archaeologist and state officials. Officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Land Management declined to reveal why the site was treated as a crime scene, citing an ongoing investigation.
But the vast majority of Indian remains come from private land, according to assistant state archaeologist Ronald Rood. And until the law was expanded in 2007, the state's NAGPRA law didn't apply to those finds, which accumulated at the Utah Division of State History and in police evidence lockers.
Repatriating remains is complex and expensive, requiring archaeological work and scientific analysis. In some cases cultural affiliation can't be determined because the remains are too deteriorated or their context has been destroyed. And tribes often are not interested in repatriation, Cuch said. In those cases, the remains are placed in a vault in Emigration Canyon. Some 60 individual remains, some as old as 7,000 years, are interred there now.
In recent years, dozens of American Indian remains have been handed over to the state, many of them from home building and landscaping projects on private land and thus subject to the amended law, Rood said.
The Millard County find, which occurred on private land, was the first repatriation under state law. Rood led a team of scientists to check out the site in 2000. Their hope was to leave the remains in place, in accordance with the preferences of Utah's five tribes.
"Unfortunately, with the ongoing erosion of the sand dune where the burial was located and the continued use of the area by cattle, we concluded the burial would continue to erode and be ultimately destroyed," Rood wrote in his 2007 report.
The team carefully excavated the grave and found the articulated skeleton of a child, later determined to be about 1 year of age at death, along with a shallow bowl and cup, both made of tin, some buttons and 52 glass beads, according to the report. A disintegrating mat or cradle board made of willow branches lay under the skeleton.
The child's age made it impossible to pinpoint his or her gender or even ancestry, but the context strongly suggested the baby was American Indian, according to Rood's report. The best clue for dating the remains turned out to be the glass beads that initially caught the hunter's eye. The nearly identical navy-blue beads, which had likely been strung in a necklace worn by the baby at burial, were quarter-inch lengths cut from a tube drawn from a globe of molten glass.
An analysis by archaeological sleuths determined the beads were produced in Venice, Italy, between 1851 and 1869.
The Southern Paiute submitted a claim on behalf of the Kanosh band because it is headquartered only 16 miles to the south of the grave site, said Dorena Martineau, the tribe's cultural resources director. The state honored the claim and Rood delivered the remains and artifacts to the band on May 24.
"They were really happy to get the baby back," said Martineau, who serves on the state's Native American Remains Committee. "It's sad to think these remains are shoved in a box and put in the basement."
Tribal spiritual leaders led an all-night ceremony in late May while interring the child's remains in the Kanosh cemetery, Martineau said.
bmaffly@sltrib.com
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12765326
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Dig revealing 700-year-old village
Dig revealing 700-year-old village
Associated Press
7:35 AM CDT, June 20, 2009
LEWISTOWN, Ill. - The remains of a 700-year-old American Indian village are slowly beginning to emerge from the ground near Dickson Mounds. The ongoing archaeological dig is revealing tools, pottery and even the living quarters, and the public is invited to see the artifacts firsthand. Students from Michigan State University are spending six weeks digging at The Nature Conservancy, located on land at the north end of the conservancy's Emiquon Preserve about two miles northeast of the Dickson Mounds Museum. Their efforts have turned up shards of pottery, arrowheads and the foundations of houses and other structures that date back to about 1300. The public was invited to the site for an open house on Saturday to view the findings. Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-ancientvillage,0,7307983.story
Associated Press
7:35 AM CDT, June 20, 2009
LEWISTOWN, Ill. - The remains of a 700-year-old American Indian village are slowly beginning to emerge from the ground near Dickson Mounds. The ongoing archaeological dig is revealing tools, pottery and even the living quarters, and the public is invited to see the artifacts firsthand. Students from Michigan State University are spending six weeks digging at The Nature Conservancy, located on land at the north end of the conservancy's Emiquon Preserve about two miles northeast of the Dickson Mounds Museum. Their efforts have turned up shards of pottery, arrowheads and the foundations of houses and other structures that date back to about 1300. The public was invited to the site for an open house on Saturday to view the findings. Information from: Journal Star, http://pjstar.com/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-ancientvillage,0,7307983.story
Friday, June 19, 2009
Another artifact-theft defendant found dead of apparent suicide
Another artifact-theft defendant found dead of apparent suicide
Raid fallout » Santa Fe resident apparently shot himself in chest in Illinois, coroner says.
By Patty Henetz
Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:06/19/2009 04:13:31 PM MDT
A second defendant in the federal bust of archaeological looters in southern Utah has killed himself.
Steven L. Shrader, 56, shot himself twice in the chest late Thursday or early Friday behind an elementary schoool in the Village of Shabbona, Ill., authorities there said.
The DeKalb County sheriff's office had been looking for a "despondent individual" since receiving a call just before 11 p.m., said sheriff's office Chief Deputy Kevin Hickey.
Deputies launched a search with tracker dogs and found Shrader about 1 a.m. Flown by helicopter to a hospital in Rockford, Ill., he was pronounced dead at 2:18 a.m. Friday.
Shrader, a Santa Fe, N.M. resident, was among 24 people indicted in a 2 1/2-year investigation of looting and grave-robbing Indian artifacts on public and tribal land in southeastern Utah.
On June 10, federal agents simultaneously served warrants and arrested 19 residents of San Juan County and Moab in the bust. Shrader was one of four others also charged in the sweep.
The next day, Blanding doctor James Redd, who also was charged in the crackdown on illegal antiquity trafficking, took his life while sitting in his vehicle by a pond on his property. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Winnebago County, Ill., Coroner Sue Fiduccia said Shrader was in Illinois to visit his mother. Fiduccia also said Shrader had left a note.
Hickey said the contents of the note would not be disclosed.
Reached at her home in Shabbona, Shrader's mother, Iola Schrader, said she "couldn't talk" and that she was alone.
Shrader voluntarily turned himself in last Friday at the FBI offices in Santa Fe and was taken into custody on a federal warrant, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Fuhrman of the Salt Lake City office.
Shrader was released from custody after his initial appearance in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on Monday. Federal agents took him back to Santa Fe that day. His residence was not the subject of any of the search warrants executed by the FBI and BLM. He was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Salt Lake City on Friday morning, Fuhrman said.
U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman said that during the operation, an undercover operative paid about $336,000 for more than 250 artifacts from the Four Corners area, including sacred prayer sticks, baby blankets, seed jars and other objects included in ancient Puebloan burial mounds.
Shrader, who faced two felony counts, was indicted for trafficking in stolen artifacts along with Carl Crites, 74, Marie Crites, 68, and Richard Bourret, 59, all of Durango, Colo.
An affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver implicates Shrader in a 2008 "arrowhead hunt" in Disappointment Valley near Dove Creek, Colo. The affidavit says an undercover operative, identified only as the "Source," was in the Crites residence in March 2008, where Crites displayed arrowheads he said came from Disappointment Valley, a huge area ringed by prehistoric ruins.
During a subsequent conversation between the Source, Shrader said he had gone to the valley with Crites. It was unclear from court papers whether he was on public land.
Reached at his home in Durango, Crites said he was unsure of Shrader's involvement in the federal case. "I don't know why he was charged even," Crites said. "I don't think he did anything wrong."
Crites lamented the loss. "That's a shock to me, because he was a friend," Crites said. "He was a good young man. A single man. A hard-working man. Very personable."
Crites declined to further discuss his relationship with Shrader.
Brandon Loomis contributed to this article.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12643036
Raid fallout » Santa Fe resident apparently shot himself in chest in Illinois, coroner says.
By Patty Henetz
Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:06/19/2009 04:13:31 PM MDT
A second defendant in the federal bust of archaeological looters in southern Utah has killed himself.
Steven L. Shrader, 56, shot himself twice in the chest late Thursday or early Friday behind an elementary schoool in the Village of Shabbona, Ill., authorities there said.
The DeKalb County sheriff's office had been looking for a "despondent individual" since receiving a call just before 11 p.m., said sheriff's office Chief Deputy Kevin Hickey.
Deputies launched a search with tracker dogs and found Shrader about 1 a.m. Flown by helicopter to a hospital in Rockford, Ill., he was pronounced dead at 2:18 a.m. Friday.
Shrader, a Santa Fe, N.M. resident, was among 24 people indicted in a 2 1/2-year investigation of looting and grave-robbing Indian artifacts on public and tribal land in southeastern Utah.
On June 10, federal agents simultaneously served warrants and arrested 19 residents of San Juan County and Moab in the bust. Shrader was one of four others also charged in the sweep.
The next day, Blanding doctor James Redd, who also was charged in the crackdown on illegal antiquity trafficking, took his life while sitting in his vehicle by a pond on his property. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Winnebago County, Ill., Coroner Sue Fiduccia said Shrader was in Illinois to visit his mother. Fiduccia also said Shrader had left a note.
Hickey said the contents of the note would not be disclosed.
Reached at her home in Shabbona, Shrader's mother, Iola Schrader, said she "couldn't talk" and that she was alone.
Shrader voluntarily turned himself in last Friday at the FBI offices in Santa Fe and was taken into custody on a federal warrant, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Fuhrman of the Salt Lake City office.
Shrader was released from custody after his initial appearance in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on Monday. Federal agents took him back to Santa Fe that day. His residence was not the subject of any of the search warrants executed by the FBI and BLM. He was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Salt Lake City on Friday morning, Fuhrman said.
U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett Tolman said that during the operation, an undercover operative paid about $336,000 for more than 250 artifacts from the Four Corners area, including sacred prayer sticks, baby blankets, seed jars and other objects included in ancient Puebloan burial mounds.
Shrader, who faced two felony counts, was indicted for trafficking in stolen artifacts along with Carl Crites, 74, Marie Crites, 68, and Richard Bourret, 59, all of Durango, Colo.
An affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver implicates Shrader in a 2008 "arrowhead hunt" in Disappointment Valley near Dove Creek, Colo. The affidavit says an undercover operative, identified only as the "Source," was in the Crites residence in March 2008, where Crites displayed arrowheads he said came from Disappointment Valley, a huge area ringed by prehistoric ruins.
During a subsequent conversation between the Source, Shrader said he had gone to the valley with Crites. It was unclear from court papers whether he was on public land.
Reached at his home in Durango, Crites said he was unsure of Shrader's involvement in the federal case. "I don't know why he was charged even," Crites said. "I don't think he did anything wrong."
Crites lamented the loss. "That's a shock to me, because he was a friend," Crites said. "He was a good young man. A single man. A hard-working man. Very personable."
Crites declined to further discuss his relationship with Shrader.
Brandon Loomis contributed to this article.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_12643036
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Bear Butte ~ Commission grants Glencoe liquor applications
Commission grants Glencoe liquor applications
License transfer passes on narrow margin
By Jason Gross, Meade County Times-Tribune staff | Thursday, June 18, 2009
STURGIS -- Meade County commissioners narrowly approved ownership transfer of beer and liquor licenses for a popular Sturgis motorcycle rally site Wednesday afternoon.
Approval of the liquor license gives Glencoe Entertainment LLC the authority to sell on Sundays. That license was transferred from Glencoe CampResort and Rock'N the Rally, a campground and amphitheater east of Sturgis.
Commissioners voted 3-2 to support the motions. Dayle Hammock, Robert Mallow and Gary Cammack favored the transfer. Alan Aker and Doreen Allison-Creed cast dissenting votes.
Aker said he opposed the licenses because some of the land encompassed in the use area is classified as agricultural. He cited the conflicts of commercial use in a designated agriculture setting at an earlier meeting.
"I had some people support the position I gave last time," Aker added. "Nobody tried to change my mind."
Aker earlier this month also expressed concern that the alcohol licenses covered 492 acres. He said he reconsidered and decided that approved applicants should be able to determine their business operations and that an entire property should be considered licensed as a bar.
Cammack said that the business already exists, and it does the same thing every year. He said that made the process straightforward for him.
"We were considering a transfer of a license," Cammack said, explaining his vote. "The considerations are character and location."
County personnel conducted background checks and did not report anything that merited blocking the new applicants from taking over the operation, he said.
Michelle Lamphere manages Glencoe's bar operation and said the food stand, pavilion and nearby patio will serve as on-site sale points. She said that an internal security and management plan will be implemented, and customer identifications will be checked.
In a separate application, the commission granted the retail on-off sale malt beverage application for Daly LLC & Hide Away Lounge near Sturgis.
Action on the license was tabled earlier this month because the business had not paid county property taxes. Auditor Lisa Schieffer said the taxes were paid June 8.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/06/18/news/local/doc4a39ce42aa044398015452.txt?show_comments=true#commentdiv
License transfer passes on narrow margin
By Jason Gross, Meade County Times-Tribune staff | Thursday, June 18, 2009
STURGIS -- Meade County commissioners narrowly approved ownership transfer of beer and liquor licenses for a popular Sturgis motorcycle rally site Wednesday afternoon.
Approval of the liquor license gives Glencoe Entertainment LLC the authority to sell on Sundays. That license was transferred from Glencoe CampResort and Rock'N the Rally, a campground and amphitheater east of Sturgis.
Commissioners voted 3-2 to support the motions. Dayle Hammock, Robert Mallow and Gary Cammack favored the transfer. Alan Aker and Doreen Allison-Creed cast dissenting votes.
Aker said he opposed the licenses because some of the land encompassed in the use area is classified as agricultural. He cited the conflicts of commercial use in a designated agriculture setting at an earlier meeting.
"I had some people support the position I gave last time," Aker added. "Nobody tried to change my mind."
Aker earlier this month also expressed concern that the alcohol licenses covered 492 acres. He said he reconsidered and decided that approved applicants should be able to determine their business operations and that an entire property should be considered licensed as a bar.
Cammack said that the business already exists, and it does the same thing every year. He said that made the process straightforward for him.
"We were considering a transfer of a license," Cammack said, explaining his vote. "The considerations are character and location."
County personnel conducted background checks and did not report anything that merited blocking the new applicants from taking over the operation, he said.
Michelle Lamphere manages Glencoe's bar operation and said the food stand, pavilion and nearby patio will serve as on-site sale points. She said that an internal security and management plan will be implemented, and customer identifications will be checked.
In a separate application, the commission granted the retail on-off sale malt beverage application for Daly LLC & Hide Away Lounge near Sturgis.
Action on the license was tabled earlier this month because the business had not paid county property taxes. Auditor Lisa Schieffer said the taxes were paid June 8.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/06/18/news/local/doc4a39ce42aa044398015452.txt?show_comments=true#commentdiv
Monday, June 15, 2009
Action Needed: To Protect the San Francisco Peaks and Indigenous way of life
For more info please contact Shawn Mulford at shawn@obtpd.org
June 15, 2009
Everyone that honors the Earth,
Thank-you for your previous support to protect the San Francisco Peaks from contamination with treated sewage effluent (reclaimed wastewater). Your action along with thousands of others was felt by the US Forest Service. We would like to ask the indigenous people, environmentalist, skiers, snowboarders and all those that would like to pass on this beautiful mountain to our next generation without being contaminated or destroyed to take the time to send the following letter to President Obama and his administration. Time is of the essence so please submit the letter as soon as you get it. We also ask that you forward this message to everyone on your contact list. Thank you for your continued support on this effort to protect this sacred mountain.
Click on the following link: www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
Fill in your information in the required fields
Subject field select “Other”
Copy and paste the letter below in the Message field
Then Submit
_________________________________________________
Letter to the President for Protection of Indigenous Sacred and Holy Areas
In your recent campaign and acceptance speeches, you have committed to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples of this land. You have committed to addressing the sad history of persecution and oppression of Indigenous peoples and to protect and uphold their sovereign status, their holy and sacred areas, and their spiritual way of life.
In the area of protecting the Earth, you have recently made bold decisions on the issue of our Earth’s daunting challenges of global climate change (e.g., 80% CO2 reduction by 2050). Indigenous peoples have been witnessing and experiencing the impacts of climate change for decades and have persistently called for more aggressive actions. We are concerned that only certain aspects of this massive problem we are all facing – the desecration of the Earth, its resources and subsequently its people—are being addressed. We know that all of Earth’s resources, inhabitants and sacred landscapes are interconnected and cannot be dealt with piece by piece.
Your desire for the United States to lead the world’s effort to find workable technologies to offset the challenges and impacts of climate change is encouraging. To be true to this message that seeks to honor the Earth and those that honor the Earth, we ask that you overturn policies of the last Administration that would allow the destruction of Dook’o’oosliid (San Francisco Peaks), an indigenous holy and sacred mountain located in what is now northern Arizona. At present, a private company, supported by the previous Administration supports the clearing, grading and use of 1.5 million gallons of treated sewage effluent per day on federal land for recreational purposes. The treated sewage effluent would be used to make snow for recreation on this sacred mountain. Such behavior is intolerable to the indigenous way of life and the natural environment. We can not allow another beautiful natural resource to be destroyed for the next generation.
Thus, to honor and fulfill your commitment to Indigenous peoples of this land, we urge you to:
Do not let the destruction of Dook’o’oosliid continue. We urge you to have the U.S. Attorney General through the Office of Solicitor General to file a brief on behalf of the United States supporting the Indigenous Nations and individual Citizens’ efforts to protect Dook’o’oosliid (San Francisco Peaks) and the Indigenous way of life. Taking the lead and standing with the Indigenous Peoples will result in a cleaner and healthier environment while promoting sustainability. We need you to take bold action and demonstrate your commitment to move from a sad history to a promising future not only for the environment but also the Indigenous Peoples.
Immediately stop all activities that would desecrate and destroy Dook’o’oosliid (San Francisco Peaks) and other holy and sacred areas. Work to amend the special use permit issued by the USDA Forest Service to include measures that protect and strengthen support of traditional, cultural, and ceremonial rites and practices of the Indigenous way of life and the natural environment. The Dook’o’oosliid mountain and its forest have recently been stressed by pine bark beetles widely known to be caused by climate change. Unnecessary activities that further stress this critical and important environment must be stopped.
Meet with Tribal Leaders and Indigenous Spiritual Leaders at the White House to facilitate a fair resolution relating to the governments action on federal lands that will adversely affect access to, ceremonial use of, and physical integrity of Dook’o’oosliid and other sacred and holy places. This White House meeting would fulfill your commitment to having annual meetings with Indigenous peoples. Stopping the desecration of sacred places such as Dook’o’oosliid would go a long way to building trust and strengthening this relationship.
Place individuals in leadership roles at the federal level who are committed to addressing the challenges brought on by global climate change. This global battle against climate change and protection of the environment, including preserving natural snow, must be placed above the U.S. Forest Service’s multi-use policy and the federal government’s interest in profitability of any privately-owned company’s commercial interest on federal lands, especially when these actions are detrimental to the Earth and our future.
Respectfully,
June 15, 2009
Everyone that honors the Earth,
Thank-you for your previous support to protect the San Francisco Peaks from contamination with treated sewage effluent (reclaimed wastewater). Your action along with thousands of others was felt by the US Forest Service. We would like to ask the indigenous people, environmentalist, skiers, snowboarders and all those that would like to pass on this beautiful mountain to our next generation without being contaminated or destroyed to take the time to send the following letter to President Obama and his administration. Time is of the essence so please submit the letter as soon as you get it. We also ask that you forward this message to everyone on your contact list. Thank you for your continued support on this effort to protect this sacred mountain.
Click on the following link: www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/
Fill in your information in the required fields
Subject field select “Other”
Copy and paste the letter below in the Message field
Then Submit
_________________________________________________
Letter to the President for Protection of Indigenous Sacred and Holy Areas
In your recent campaign and acceptance speeches, you have committed to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples of this land. You have committed to addressing the sad history of persecution and oppression of Indigenous peoples and to protect and uphold their sovereign status, their holy and sacred areas, and their spiritual way of life.
In the area of protecting the Earth, you have recently made bold decisions on the issue of our Earth’s daunting challenges of global climate change (e.g., 80% CO2 reduction by 2050). Indigenous peoples have been witnessing and experiencing the impacts of climate change for decades and have persistently called for more aggressive actions. We are concerned that only certain aspects of this massive problem we are all facing – the desecration of the Earth, its resources and subsequently its people—are being addressed. We know that all of Earth’s resources, inhabitants and sacred landscapes are interconnected and cannot be dealt with piece by piece.
Your desire for the United States to lead the world’s effort to find workable technologies to offset the challenges and impacts of climate change is encouraging. To be true to this message that seeks to honor the Earth and those that honor the Earth, we ask that you overturn policies of the last Administration that would allow the destruction of Dook’o’oosliid (San Francisco Peaks), an indigenous holy and sacred mountain located in what is now northern Arizona. At present, a private company, supported by the previous Administration supports the clearing, grading and use of 1.5 million gallons of treated sewage effluent per day on federal land for recreational purposes. The treated sewage effluent would be used to make snow for recreation on this sacred mountain. Such behavior is intolerable to the indigenous way of life and the natural environment. We can not allow another beautiful natural resource to be destroyed for the next generation.
Thus, to honor and fulfill your commitment to Indigenous peoples of this land, we urge you to:
Do not let the destruction of Dook’o’oosliid continue. We urge you to have the U.S. Attorney General through the Office of Solicitor General to file a brief on behalf of the United States supporting the Indigenous Nations and individual Citizens’ efforts to protect Dook’o’oosliid (San Francisco Peaks) and the Indigenous way of life. Taking the lead and standing with the Indigenous Peoples will result in a cleaner and healthier environment while promoting sustainability. We need you to take bold action and demonstrate your commitment to move from a sad history to a promising future not only for the environment but also the Indigenous Peoples.
Immediately stop all activities that would desecrate and destroy Dook’o’oosliid (San Francisco Peaks) and other holy and sacred areas. Work to amend the special use permit issued by the USDA Forest Service to include measures that protect and strengthen support of traditional, cultural, and ceremonial rites and practices of the Indigenous way of life and the natural environment. The Dook’o’oosliid mountain and its forest have recently been stressed by pine bark beetles widely known to be caused by climate change. Unnecessary activities that further stress this critical and important environment must be stopped.
Meet with Tribal Leaders and Indigenous Spiritual Leaders at the White House to facilitate a fair resolution relating to the governments action on federal lands that will adversely affect access to, ceremonial use of, and physical integrity of Dook’o’oosliid and other sacred and holy places. This White House meeting would fulfill your commitment to having annual meetings with Indigenous peoples. Stopping the desecration of sacred places such as Dook’o’oosliid would go a long way to building trust and strengthening this relationship.
Place individuals in leadership roles at the federal level who are committed to addressing the challenges brought on by global climate change. This global battle against climate change and protection of the environment, including preserving natural snow, must be placed above the U.S. Forest Service’s multi-use policy and the federal government’s interest in profitability of any privately-owned company’s commercial interest on federal lands, especially when these actions are detrimental to the Earth and our future.
Respectfully,
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