Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation sue federal government over wildfire damage

[loomer]

Aug 5, 2021

Colvilles sue federal government over wildfire damage
The lawsuit comes as wildfires this year continue to devastate eastern Washington.

NESPELEM, Wash. — The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government, saying federal agencies failed to fulfill their legally required duties before, during and after the 2015 wildfires that burned more than 375 square miles and turned parts of the reservation in northeastern Washington state into a “moonscape.”

The Colville Tribes' approximately 9,500 citizens rely heavily on timber revenue and other natural resources, The Spokesman-Review reported.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, they seek compensation after the 2015 fires destroyed roughly 20 percent of the commercial timber on the reservation. But Andrew Joseph Jr., chairman of the Colville Business Council, said the damage extended beyond the lost revenue.

“Tribal members hunt, fish, and gather food and medicine throughout the Colville Reservation,” Joseph said in a statement. “In many areas the fires burned so hot that they sterilized the soil and created a moonscape. It will take decades for our resources to completely recover in those areas.”

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, comes as wildfires this year continue to devastate the Colville Reservation in eastern Washington.

According to the court filing, the loss of 800 million board feet of timber in the 2015 fires represented “the largest loss of board feet of timber of any fire event on any Indian reservation in recorded history.”

Under federal law, the U.S. government is responsible for managing forest health and providing adequate firefighting resources on land it holds in trust on behalf of tribes. The lawsuit contends the government knew it needed to make forests on their reservation less susceptible to severe fire by thinning trees and conducting controlled burns, and that its failure to do so “led to tinderbox conditions in which catastrophic fire was inevitable.”

Between August and October 2015, the North Star Fire burned for 57 days and the Tunk Block Fire for 64. As they tore through dense forest, flames rose up to 100 feet high, generating extreme heat that caused long-term damage to the ground, posed high risk to firefighters and created their own weather systems.

Source

The US government? Failing to perform its legally required duties and provide adequate resources for First Nations communities despite clear responsibilities? Surely not.

[Broomstick]

All levels of US government, Federal to State to more local. This is yet another situation where, unfortunately, the Natives are being neglected/maltreated just as badly as the mainstream folks.

Greenville, California, for example, was burned to the ground in about an hour last night, the fire so hot it melted aluminum and turned steel posts into limp noodles slumped on the ground. The problem here is not singling out Natives but that the government(s) either don't give a fuck about anyone, or that small scale local governments that do care are overwhelmed and unable to muster the resources required to really fight such fires.

Due to historical bias, maltreatment, and neglect, however, the Natives are at a disadvantage for recovery, just as and middle-class and lower mainstream Americans are (arguably, the Natives are worse off)- only the wealthy can really recover from such complete loss.

[Solauren]

I have to wonder if the wide spread 'lack of care' that appears to be going on in the United States, as it regards so called 'lower class citizens', is a sign of deeper problem.

Such as the US governments not having recovered from the financial mismanagement of several of the previous administrations. (Invading 2 countries and attempting to occupy them costs alot of money, who knew?)

[Elheru Aran]

I have to wonder if the wide spread 'lack of care' that appears to be going on in the United States, as it regards so called 'lower class citizens', is a sign of deeper problem.

Such as the US governments not having recovered from the financial mismanagement of several of the previous administrations. (Invading 2 countries and attempting to occupy them costs alot of money, who knew?)

That, but by and large I think it's largely symptomatic of a prevailing ethos somewhat unique to the US along the lines of a certain Protestant/Calvinist belief that people are inherently capable of elevating their own financial and social situations. People are viewed as individuals divorced from their context. Even groups, such as Native American tribes or minority communities, receive the same treatment-- 'they'd do better if they would just work a little harder!' Ignoring, naturally, the decades if not centuries of oppression, the economic conditions they're working in, the cultural prejudices against them, and so forth...

Mismanagement is absolutely a big part of the problem, but it has to be noted that a lot of that mismanagement was deliberate in the name of 'cutting taxes' or 'eliminating welfare queens' or whatever, without any particular concern for long-term/big-picture impacts. Much of it is dressed up in the guise of benefits-- 'if we stop giving out handouts, people will go get jobs and the economy will improve' etc. Unfortunately... turns out it doesn't actually work like that, and most of it is just flawed doctrine hiding behind the guise of 'patriotism' and 'serving the nation'.

[Broomstick]

I have to wonder if the wide spread 'lack of care' that appears to be going on in the United States, as it regards so called 'lower class citizens', is a sign of deeper problem.

Such as the US governments not having recovered from the financial mismanagement of several of the previous administrations. (Invading 2 countries and attempting to occupy them costs alot of money, who knew?)

That, but by and large I think it's largely symptomatic of a prevailing ethos somewhat unique to the US along the lines of a certain Protestant/Calvinist belief that people are inherently capable of elevating their own financial and social situations. People are viewed as individuals divorced from their context. Even groups, such as Native American tribes or minority communities, receive the same treatment-- 'they'd do better if they would just work a little harder!' Ignoring, naturally, the decades if not centuries of oppression, the economic conditions they're working in, the cultural prejudices against them, and so forth...

Largely the above, I'd say.

Goes back to at least Captain John Smith in Jamestown, Virginia who proclaimed "He that will not work shall not eat". That was around 1608 when he became president of the colony council. But yes, the Calvinists were also a factor, along with the exploitation of others and ignoring of context.