Volume 25, Number 07 (2017)

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HOPI TUTUVENI

PO BOX 123

KYKOTSMOVI, AZ

86039

1000-01600-7460

HOPI TUTUVENI

Volume 25, Number 07

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

Hopi

Chairman

Herman

Honanie

testifies

KWIYAMUYA

Hearing to improve and expand infrastructure

April

at Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities

Windbreaker

Moon

HOPI CALENDAR

Kyaamuya- December

Paamuya- January

Powamuya- February

Osomuya- March

Kwiyamuyaw- April

Hakitonmuya- May

Woko’uyis- June

Talangva- July

Talapaamuya- August

Nasan’muya- September

Toho’osmuya- October

Kelmuya- November

This Month

in Hopi

History

Hopi Chairman Herman G. Honanie testifies at Hearing on Improving and Expanding Infrastrucure in Tribal and Insular Communities

Office of the Chairman

The Hopi Tribe

• 1834, Rocky Mountain

Fur Company trappers Hopi Chairman Herman

G. Honanie was among

kill 15-20 Hopi.

six witnesses invited by

• 1837, Massive Navajo the Subcomittee on Indian,

attack on Orayvi.

Insular and Alaska Native

Affairs to provide testimony

• 1862-1863, 3 Hopis at the Oversight Hearing on

travel to Salt Lake City March 9.

to appeal for aid against The Hearing was on “ImNavajos.

proving and Expanding Infrastructure in Tribal and

• April 1, 1891, Orayvi Insular Communities.”

Warriors declared war The hearing was in reon US Cavalry

sponse to a Policy Overview

during which the following

information was obtained:

Community

Calendar

4/7, 10 am: Hopi Head

Start Native American Indian Day Hopi Veteran’s

Memorial Ctr. Free traditional meal will be served

4/8, 11a-3p: Hop to Drop

Easter Egg Hunt. Hopi Behavioral Health 737-6326.

4/13,

8am:

Mental

Health First Aid Training

Hopi Wellness Ctr.

4/14, 8 am: Mental

Health First Aid Training

Hopi Health Care Ctr.

Contact: 928-737-6326

4/17, 8-11:30a & 1:304:30p, HVMC. Share the

Road Safely Training

4/22, 4p: REACH- Pathway to Healing Reception, Twin Arrows Resort

Hopi Tutuveni

PO Box 123

Kykotsmovi, AZ

86039

“•The current average

age of Indian Health Service hospitals stands at

an abysmal 40 years of

age, triple the average age

of most U.S. hospitals.

•Despite funding increases

by Congress, the Federal

Government still spends just

$35 per capita on IHS facilities that serve Native people,

compared to $374 per capita

for the nation as a whole.

•Existing authority provided by Congress should be

used by the Indian Health

Service to address where

the greatest facility needs

remain. This hearing will

seek solutions for improved accountability of

appropriated funds used

for building and maintaining IHS infrastructure.

•Capital Improvement Project grants make up the largest combined resource made

available to the territories

by OIA. Continued fiscal

oversight of OIA programs

is needed to improve accountability within the CIP

grant program for the territories.

The Indian Health Service

(IHS) is an agency of the

U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services (HHS)

which provides healthcare

to approximately 2.2 million American Indians and

Alaska Natives (AI/ANs)

through 650 healthcare facilities on or near Indian

reservations.

Headquartered in Rockville, Maryland the IHS is

composed of 12 regions, or

“Areas,” each with a separate headquarters, which

oversee the delivery of

health care. Areas are further

subdivided into 170 service

units which may serve one

or more tribes. The agency offers “direct-service”

healthcare, meaning care

provided by federal employees; it also acts as a conduit

for Federal funds for Tribes

that have utilized the Indian Self-Determination and

Education Assistance Act

(ISDEAA) to independently

operate their health facilities. The IHS provides an

array of medical services,

including inpatient, ambulatory, emergency, dental,

public health nursing, and

preventive health care in 36

states. Cont’t on P3

Read Chairman Honanie’s full testimony on P2

M i s h o n g n o v i Supreme Court says schools

Reps. seated on must provide meaningful

educ. for Special Ed students

Tribal Council

Louella Nahsonhoya

Hopi Tutuveni

After several months

without representation on

the Hopi Tribal Council,

four newly elected Mishongnovi Tribal Council Representatives were

sworn in and were seated

on Council.

Mishongnovi

Village

Elections were held on October 27, 2016 to elect new

Village Board of Directors

and to elect new members

to represent the Village on

the Tribal Council. Craig

Andrews, Rolanda Yoletsdewa, Emma Anderson

and Pansy Edmo, received

the highest votes and were

certified by the Election

Board as the duly elected

Hopi Tribal Council Representatives.

According to the Hopi

Constitution, Article IV–

The Tribal Council, Section 4; “each village shall

decide for itself how it shall

choose its representatives,

subject to the provisions of

Section 5. Representatives

shall be recognized by the

Council only if they are

certified by the Kikmongwi of their respective villages. Certifications may

be made in writing or in

person. “

At a regular Hopi Tribal

Council meeting on March

20, a letter from Mishongnovi Village Kikmongwi

Archie

Duwahoyeoma,

was read into record certifying Andrews, Yoletsdewa, Anderson and Edmo

as the elected Tribal Council Representatives for the

Village of Mishongnovi

and requested they be seated on the Council.

At the direction of Hopi

Chairman Herman G. Honanie, Tribal Secretary Theresa Lomakema performed

the Oath of Office and the

new representatives took

their appropriate seats on

the Hopi Tribal Council.

Contact: Bertha Parker

Public Relations

(505) 382-5449

Keams Canyon, Az - The

United States Supreme Court

recently ruled schools must

provide a free appropriate public education to special education students that

has rigor and provides more

than de minimis progress.

Hopi Junior/Senior High

School Interim Superintendent Alban Naha said “The

U.S. Supreme Court ruling

places all schools, public or

private, on notice that their

special education programs

must meet more than minimal standards. The programs

must include rigor and produce higher learning results.

This decision is result oriented and adds more responsibility on special education

teachers, the regular classroom teacher, administrators, and school boards.I am

proud to announce the Hopi

Junior/Senior High School

Governing Board took steps

to strengthen our Special

Education program before

the court ruling was issued.

Today we have a new Acting

Special Education Director

who is reviewing all student

files to ensure their needs

are met. Several months

ago members of the Governing Board and several Hopi

Tribal Council members

and I met with the Bureau

of Indian Education’s Special Education staff. The

Hopi delegation requested

their assistance in reviewing

our special education program for compliance. We

also asked the Bureau to

provide recommendations

for improvement. The delegation additionally requested intensive training on special education requirements

for staff, administration and

the board.”

Hopi Jr/Sr Governing

Board Member Sandra Dennis said “Our in-house special education staff is working with public relations

to develop flyers and brochures that provide additional information on the

implementation of the special education requirements

for our teachers and staff.

The team is planning working sessions with teachers

that provide the opportunity to review methods on

‘how to implement” the requirements into their daily

classroom instruction. More

training is needed for our

teachers. For example, in

the U.S. individuals with

disabilities should have the

opportunity to be educated

with non-disabled peers, to

the greatest extent appropriate according to the law”

said Dennis. “The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires

students be placed in the

least restrictive environment (LRE). For some children, a typical classroom

with minimal extra help is

a least restrictive environment.

Cont’d on P5

2 TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017 | HOPI TUTUVENI

Full Testimony of Hopi Chairman Herman Honanie

Good morning Chairman LaMalfa,

Ranking Member Torres, and Honorable

Members of the House Natural Resources

Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs. It is a pleasure to be here

today to testify on improving and expanding critical infrastructure in Indian Country.

My name is Herman Honanie and I have the

privilege of serving as chairman of the Hopi

Tribe. I am Pipwungwa (tobacco) clan from

Kykotsmovi, which sits below Oraivi the

oldest continuously inhabited community

in North America. Today the village has no

modern infrastructure.

The Hopi Tribe’s ancestral lands span

across northern Arizona and include the

Grand Canyon. The Hopi people have resided in this area since time immemorial. The

Hopi Reservation is located in the northeast

corner of Arizona and is approximately 2.5

million square miles, which is about the

same size as the State of Rhode Island. The

Hopi Tribe has 14,282 enrolled tribal citizens, over half of whom reside on the Hopi

Reservation – this number does not include

non-Indian and non-enrolled Indians living

on the Hopi Reservation.

The Hopi Reservation is plagued by poverty and suffers from a 60% unemployment

rate. Due to the remote nature of the Reservation economic development is incredibly

difficult leaving the Tribe to rely on only

a few sources of income. This situation is

exacerbated by the fact that the Hopi Reservation is completely landlocked and surrounded by the Navajo Reservation making

it difficult to create off-reservation economic development opportunities. The Hopi

Tribe does not have a casino facility and

its only meaningful economic development

opportunity on the Reservation is revenue

generated by coal royalties.

I would like to take this opportunity to

cover several difficult situations that the

Hopi Tribe is coping with when it comes to

infrastructure development.

I. Landlocked Nature of the Reservation

- The Hopi Reservation is completely surrounded by the Navajo Reservation land

locking the Tribe and forcing it to cross

Navajo Nation lands to reach the outside

world. When the federal government created the Navajo Reservation and encircled

our reservation, it did not retain a utility

corridor right-of-way for the Hopi Tribe.

The Hopi Tribe has no natural access to

the Western Area Power Grid, to cellular

911 emergency call service, utility distribution and natural resources transportation corridors. This means that anytime the

Hopi Tribe needs access to off-reservation

services it must pay the Navajo Nation for

a right-of-way across the Navajo Reservation to connect to fiber optic networks,

the electrical grid, and other utilities. This

significantly increases the cost for the Hopi

Tribe for on-reservation economic development. The land-locked nature of the Hopi

Reservation also makes it difficult to create off-reservation economic development

because of the distances the tribal citizens

must travel to embark on those enterprises.

II. Implementation of the 1974 Navajo

and Hopi Relocation Act - With the enactment of the Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation Act of 1974 (the Relocation Act), referred to as Public Law 93-531, as amended

by Public Law 96-305, the Office of Navajo

and Hopi Indian Relocation (ONHIR) was

created to facilitate the relocation of tribal members to their respective reservation

land. One purpose of ONHIR was to “insure that persons displaced are treated fairly, consistently and equitably so that these

persons will not suffer the disproportionate,

adverse, social, economic, cultural and other impacts of relocation.” 25 CFR SS 700.1.

This has not held true for our Hopi relocatee families, who have not been treated

fairly, consistently, or equitably, as witnessed by the US House Appropriations

Subcommittee leadership on their visit

to the Hopi relocatee community of Yuh

Weh Loo Pahki in January of 2015. These

Hopi relocatees have consistently asked

that funds be provided to meet the needs of

the families for safe and sanitary housing,

roads, infrastructure, and economic benefits as proscribed by the Relocation Act, but

their pleas go ignored.

For example, in the early 1990’s a road

feasibility study was conducted by ONHIR

for 13 miles of upgraded roads near Yuh

Weh Loo Pahki at a cost of $6.0 million dollars, but ONHIR later rejected the proposal, informing the Tribe and families that it

was not feasible to serve the Hopi relocatee

families. Meanwhile, ONHIR has built entire communities (Coalmine Mesa, Pinon,

Tuba City, etc) for Navajo relocatees on the

Navajo Nation and New Lands-Sanders/

Chambers with infrastructure, fire suppression, and paved roads, even a replacement

of a bridge over the Rio Puerco River. The

Hopi relocatees, especially the residents

of Yu Weh Loo Paki, have requested assistance numerous times from the ONHIR

for discretionary funds to improve their

living conditions, make home repairs, and

to provide for essential community needs.

ONHIR has finally in the past five years

provided a community building-modular trailer. This structure is insufficient to

meet the long-term needs of the relocatee

families. These measures are minimal and

do not meet the intent of the Act. The Hopi

relocatee families should be entitled to the

same benefits allowed for Navajo relocatee

families.

A high school and medical center/hospital were also to be built under the Relocation Act. The Hopi Junior-Senior High

School was finally built in 1986, but was

scaled down due to increased costs. The

Hopi Health Care Center was built in 1996,

but only as an ambulatory care center with

less than 16 beds for patients. The Hopi

Tribe had to lobby and submit funding requests to build these facilities, while on

Navajo – specifically New Lands – schools

and a hospital with complete, modern infrastructure were built using ONHIR funds.

Without proper funding for the Hopi Health

Care center, Hopi tribal citizens still have to

be flown out to off-reservation hospitals for

care on a regular basis, including in emergency. It is apparent that the Hopi Tribe has

received far less and has given up the most

under the Act.

III. Implementation of the 1996 Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act - The

Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act

(Settlement Act) was enacted in 1996. See

Pub. L. 104-301. The Settlement Act was

a successor to the Relocation Act and was

meant to provide the Hopi Tribe with appropriate compensation for Navajo families illegally residing on and occupying Hopi Partitioned Land. The United States government

interceded to find a mutually acceptable settlement. It is important to note that the only

parties to the settlement were the Hopi Tribe

and the federal government; not the State of

Arizona or the Navajo Nation.

The Settlement Act sought to allow Navajo families to remain on Hopi land subject to a 75-year lease agreement. In exchange for these leases and the loss of lands

the Hopi Tribe was promised replacement

lands. Since the Navajo Reservation completely surrounds the Hopi Reservation,

these replacement lands would need to be

located outside of the existing reservation.

The Settlement Act provides the Tribe

with the ability to regain lands and have

them placed into federal trust status; this includes interspersed Arizona State trust lands.

Id. § 6. In order to obtain Arizona State trust

land the Settlement Act requires the State to

concur that the acquisition is in the interest

of the State and the Tribe must pay the State

the fair market value of the land. Id.

The Settlement Act states that “it is in

the best interest of the Tribe and the United

States that there be a fair and final settlement of certain issues remaining in connection with the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement

Act of 1974, including the full and final

settlement of the multiple claims that the

Tribe has against the United States.” Id.

§ 2 (2). However, it has been over twenty

years and the Hopi Tribe does not have its

fair and final settlement because the State

of Arizona refuses to initiate condemnation

proceedings to allow the Tribe to obtain the

144,000 acres of interspersed State trust

land. The State and the Tribe have been in

negotiations but to no avail and those talks

have often stalled or been delayed over the

years. The Tribe is eager to have its full and

final settlement but it needs engagement

from the State.

The United States has a duty to provide

the Tribe the “full and final settlement” it

promised under the terms of the 1996 Settlement Act. The severe delay in implementing the Settlement Act sets a bad precedent and could serve to cool settlement

negotiations between the United States and

other tribal nations.

It also prevents the Tribe from engaging in meaningful economic development

off-reservation. The land has increased in

value over the interceding twenty years

making the eventual purchase of it from

the State of Arizona even more expensive.

Meanwhile, the Hopi Tribe is paying the

State for grazing rights on the State trust

land. This situation is untenable and the

United States must live up to its obligations

under the Settlement Act and its trust responsibility to the Hopi Tribe.

IV. Hopi Arsenic Mitigation Project The Hopi Tribe’s water infrastructure was

funded and engineered by the federal government. In 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) revised its drinking water regulations and decreased the

allowable level of arsenic in drinking water.

In 2006, EPA funded a study to assist the

Tribe in evaluating existing conditions for

public water systems in the First and Second Mesa areas that were known to exceed

the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for

arsenic and recommend viable engineering

solutions to ensure regulatory compliance.

Beginning in 2008, the Hopi Water Resources Program began working with the

Indian Health Service (“IHS”) and EPA to

complete an arsenic mitigation study. As a

baseline, data was collected at local well

sites to quantify the water quality issues relating to arsenic and begin the process of

seeking sustainable solutions. (available at

Chairman’s ofce)

As indicated in the table above, all wells

serving the First and Second Mesa region

exceed the MCL for arsenic which is set at

10 parts per billion (ppb). Generally, the arsenic concentrations in Second Mesa range

from 15-20 ppb and increase as one moves

eastward towards First Mesa where Keams

Canyon wells register the highest arsenic

concentration in the region at 38 ppb. The

exception to this trend occurs at thenewly

drilled Shungopavi well which was sampled after drilling and was shown to have

an arsenic concentration of 33 ppb. Also

noted was the unusually high pH of the

tested waters coupled with high alkalinity

and the absence of hardness (calcium and

magnesium). This odd combination of water quality attributes makes the water of this

region very difficult and potentially expensive to treat for arsenic removal. All of the

treatment techniques evaluated (adsorption,

coagulation filtration (CF), reverse osmosis, ion exchange) to remove arsenic from

the regions’ groundwater will require pH

adjustment which will prove difficult and

costly given the high buffering capacity indicated by the high alkalinity. Also noted,

was the likelihood that water in the First

Mesa area would require preconditioning

through a process known as oxidation to

convert the naturally occurring arsenic into

a form that has a higher affinity for removal.

These, among other complicating factors

led the arsenic mitigation team to advise

against water treatment options if a non-treatment solution could be identified. Based on

the stated observations, high anticipated operating cost of treatment facilities, the operational difficulties experienced by existing

local treatment systems and lack of financial

resources, the team looked elsewhere to identify a higher quality water source that could

be developed to serve the region.

After reviewing Hopi area wells, research

identified a region 15 miles north of the

Hopi Cultural Center referred to as “Turquoise Trail/ Tawa,ovi” which, according

to a report completed by Thompson Pollari

and the WLB Group in 2005, has an existing well with superior water yield potential

and an arsenic concentration of 3-4 ppb.

The report contains pump test data and water quality information for the Navajo Aquifer in the Turquoise Trail region that suggests favorable conditions that may support

development of this area as a primary water

source for the villages that are currently

out of compliance with federal regulations

related to arsenic. Alternate locations were

evaluated for well field development near

the Hopi Veteran’s Center (HVC) near

Kykotsmovi. Although the existing wells

in the HVC area demonstrate compliant arsenic concentrations of 7 ppb, they do not

yield anywhere near the quantity of water

that is obtainable in the Turquoise Trail region. A table was generated using data present-

ed by TetraTech EM Inc in a Hopi Source Water

Assessment conducted from 2005 to 2006. The

table offers a summary of water usage statistics

organized by each of the public water systems

that are out of compliance with the arsenic rules.

(available at Office of Chairman).

As indicated in the table, the minimum

required yield needed to serve the identified

users is 208,200 gallons per day or a continuous equivalent pumping rate of 289.2 gallons per minute based on a 12-hour day. It

is anticipated, based on the previously discussed existing well data, that the Turquoise

Trail region is capable of supporting wells

that can produce as much as 500 GPM+.

As reported in the Thompson Pollari- WLB

Group report, the existing well (Tawa’ovi/

Turquoise) was pump tested at 345 GPM

for 21 hours with a corresponding drawdown of 125 feet. The static water level was

521 ft bgs prior to pumping and the terminal dynamic water level was measured at

646 ft bgs at the end of the test. The pump

was set at 1,700 ft bgs so at the end of the

pump test there was still a water column of

1,054 ft over the pump. This is emphasized

to demonstrate that the final pumping rate

of 345 gpm was likely a limitation of the

test pump and not necessarily reflective of

the true yield potential of the well/aquifer.

After assessing the water needs of the

area and reviewing the Turquoise Trail well

data, the Hopi Water Resources Department, IHS and EPA collaboratively developed the Hopi Arsenic Mitigation Project

concept. This concept proposes to develop a

new well field in the vicinity of the existing

Turquoise Trail well to take advantage of

the higher quality water which appears to be

available in sufficient quantity to serve the

First and Second Mesa villages. The water

would be delivered to each of the communities by a large piped network that would be

constructed over the course of several construction phases. The concept-level cost estimate to design and construct the proposed

water system is between $20 to $25 million.

It is anticipated that the cost estimate will

vary as the concept is further developed

through the collection of design data during

the ongoing planning process. During the

past five years, the EPA and IHS have committed grant funding to further explore and

develop the arsenic mitigation concept.

HAMP Proposed Wellfield and Piping

Route - Over the course of the years, several informational meetings pertaining to

the arsenic mitigation concept have been

held with various stakeholders including

community members, community leaders, utility operators, federal water system

regulators and federal funding agencies. At

each of the individual gatherings there has

been overwhelming support for the project

as the meeting participants acknowledge

that this is a project devised to improve the

health of the served communities. On the

other hand it has been difficult to assemble

multi-community meetings which will be

critical as the arsenic mitigation team solicits comments from the affected communities to determine how best to operate and

maintain a shared water system. This project is substantially larger in scope and cost

than ordinary sanitation projects in the area.

The Tribe has been informed that in order to

qualify for federal grants for this project it

must have a defined plan detailing how the

system would be operated and maintained.

The Hopi Arsenic Mitigation Project

(HAMP) will pump water from the Turquoise wellfield located approximately 15

miles north of Second Mesa and pipe it to

the Hopi villages at First and Second Mesas

and to the Keams Canyon Water System and

the water systems for Hopi Junior-Senior

High School and Second Mesa Day School.

HAMP will provide water that complies with

the Safe Drinking Water Act and will replace

the use of low-producing, high arsenic wells

in the vicinity of First and Second Mesa and

Keams Canyon. The new water supply will

allow the villages at First and Second Mesa

to come into compliance with Safe Drinking

Water Act standards and will provide a permanent alternative water supply to Bureau of

Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education facilities that does not require the interim use of expensive and difficult to maintain

arsenic removal technology.

At this point, several million federal dollars have been invested into the project,

and various impacted agencies remain fully

supportive of the project and reaching operation of the new wells. Through discussion

with Tribal Council, the Tribe is now considering next steps and how to proceed with

this project. An outline of remaining action

items and options follows:

A. Project Summary: In January 2014, the

Tribe provided a briefing to the Department of

the Interior. The summary included highlights

of the project, which heavily featured the creation of the Hopi Tribe’s Public Utility Authority. The new Utility Authority is responsible

for setting water rates and addressing other

regulatory requirements for HAMP.

The largest funding for this project

will come from the USDA-RD application. Several other federal agencies

have invested millions of dollars into this

project and continue to support the effort, they are of the understanding that

the newly created utility will run HAMP.

This need is urgent in light of EPA planning

to bring an enforcement action against the

Tribe and/or village(s) out of compliance,

potentially this year.

i. Action items left for the Utility Authority

• Staffing and setting up the utility

accounting operation; initially the Hopi

Public Utility Authority will oversee completion of the HAMP planning followed by

management of HAMP construction

• Tribal Council agreed to contribute

$350,000 to get the Public Utility Authority and Utility Commission up and running

• Both agencies need to sign the Indian Affairs and Hopi Tribe MOA to get the work

done that was proposed by IHS in their

Planning Agreement – the Planning Agreement will then develop the information to

allow the BIA/BIE connections to be part

of HAMP and the USDA-RD Application

ii. USDA-RD Application

• A significant amount of work has been

done on this application, which will ultimately secure $13-16M for HAMP

iii. IHS Preliminary Engineering Report

• The expected USDA loan amount is

$1,978,500, after a total of $2.25 million

in up-front cash and grant contributions

from the Tribe

• Estimated user costs for the HAMP are

expected to be a $35/month plus $2.55

per 1,000 gallons of water used per

month – total costs per home is $49.82/

month, plus local delivery costs

• This is made with the understanding

that these stets remain:

o Submission of the USDA funding

application

o Formalization of agreements between

Tribe and the villages

o Staffing the new Hopi Public Utility

Authority

o Acquiring full construction funding

and awarding a construction contract,

construction of project

o Transfer of the new facilities to the HPUA

B. The BIA’s Relationship to the HAMP

• The BIA wishes to partner with HAMP

to be included on a construction line

• The Tribe and the Department of

the Interior (DOI) initiated a potential

HAMP related partnership, which would

provide a source of revenue to tribe via

user fees

• A draft MOA was being reviewing by

IHS counsel but no progress has been

made since

• The Preliminary Engineering Report will

need to be amended if BIA/BIE and Tribe

enter into agreement The HAMP is absolutely essential to the health and safety of Hopi

tribal citizens. The Tribe is greatly appreciative of its federal partners in this project

Cont’d on P3

HOPI TUTUVENI |

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017

From P1 - Chairman Honanie Testifies

The Snyder Act of 1921 provides the basic

authority for the federal provision of health

services and benefits to Indians because of

their status as Indians. The modern statutory basis and framework for the federal

provision of health care to Indians is under

the Indian Health Care Improvement Act

(IHCIA). This law was permanently reauthorized in Title X of the Patient Protection

and Affordable Care Act. As noted, the ISDEAA authorizes tribes to assume the administration and program direction responsibilities that were previously carried out by

the federal government through contracts,

compacts and annual funding agreements

negotiated with the IHS.

To provide primary health care needs for

AI/AN communities, the IHS system is

mostly rural outpatient, focused on primary

care consisting of Hospitals, Health Centers, Village Clinics, Health Stations

Generally, IHS facilities provide health

and health education services that focus on

primary and preventive care. Funding for

facility construction is provided through

the IHS Health Care Facilities Construction (HCFC) program. The HCFC program

is funded based on an IHS list of priorities

for construction projects. During FY 1990,

in consultation with the Tribes, the IHS

revised the Health Facilities Construction

Priority System (HFCPS). As part of the

reauthorization of the IHCIA in the Affordable Care Act, Congress mandated that

no changes in the construction priority list

shall occur after the date of enactment. The

remaining health care facilities projects on

the HFCPS list, including those partially

funded, totaled approximately $2.2 billion

as of April 2015.

To improve oversight of health facilities

construction, Congress began requiring

quinquennial reports describing the health

facility needs. In 2016, the IHS reported to

Congress that the current average age of IHS

hospitals is 40 years of age, approximately

30 years older than most U.S. hospitals. The

increased age of facilities adds to the risk of

building code noncompliance and compro-

mises the delivery of healthcare. National

benchmarks for operation and maintenance

costs show that a 40 year old facility will

cost around 26 percent more than a 10 year

old facility.

The HCFC appropriations between FY

2010 and FY 2016 have averaged $76 million annually, with $105 million in 2016. It

is estimated that at the current appropriations rate and existing replacement rate, a

new 2016 facility would not be replaced for

400 years.

The cost to increase IHS facilities to needed capacity is enormous, about $14.5 billion

with expanded and active authority facility

types. At current funding rates, the IHS facilities network will continue to age and capacity will decline. Compared to per capita

and industry benchmarks of capital investment rates, funding for replacement and expansion is disproportionately low. In 2015,

only two-thirds of the 1993 facility priority

list was complete. At that pace, even that

subset will not be completed until 2041.

In February 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) added Federal

Indian healthcare to its biennial “high risk

list” of federal agencies and programs at

most risk for waste, fraud and abuse. While

several Congressional hearings and GAO

reports during the past two years have focused on the quality of care being provided at IHS facilities, the Committee is extremely concerned with the contributing

role health facility age plays into providing

quality care to AI/ANs.

When Congress permanently reauthorized

the IHCIA in 2010, it included a new section

which required the IHS, in consultation with

tribes and tribal organizations, to develop

innovative approaches to address all or part

of the total unmet need for construction of

health facilities. That section also provides

that IHS may consider establishing an Area

Distribution fund (ADF) in which a portion

of health facility construction funding could

be devoted to all IHS service areas.

The Facilities Appropriations Advisory Board, a joint federal-Tribal advisory

committee, developed the ADF concept in

recognition of the grandfathered status of

certain health facilities projects on the priority list, while allowing an innovative and

alternative approach for new proposals to

be considered and funded. The ADF is intended to allow each IHS Area to improve,

expand, or replace existing health care facilities. The Agency could extend the benefits of appropriated funds to a significantly

larger number of tribes and communities

throughout Indian Country than would be

possible by relying solely on funding for

line-item projects. Additionally, the IHS

is working directly with tribes to provide

technical support for tribes that are seeking

alternative non-IHS funding to build or expand health facilities.

A major tool available to the U.S. territories

for completing upgrades to infrastructure

projects is the Capital Improvement Project

(CIP) Grant program. CIP grants help territories make much needed improvements to

roads, hospitals, water treatment systems,

schools and more. Upgrades to critical infrastructure through CIP grants improve

the quality of life of the local communities

while providing a basis for attracting new

business investment in these remote places.

Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), an agency

in the Department of the Interior, determines

annual allocation of the available mandatory $27.72 million CIP funding through an

established process based on competitive

criteria. The territories are scored on their

demonstrated ability to exercise prudent

financial management practices while adhering to federal grant requirements. The

criteria that the territory governments are

measured by are ranked giving more weight

to more significant criteria. Insular governments that are able to meet the standards receive higher scores and thus can have their

annual allocation adjusted to reflect their

capacity to manage funding efficiently and

effectively.

The list of criteria territories are scored by

is as follows:

1. The extent to which the applicant is

in compliance with completion deadlines

established under the Single Audit Act of

1984 2. The extent to which the applicant’s

financial statements were reliable The

2. The extent to which the applicant’s

financial

statements

were

reliable

3. The extent to which the applicant is exercising prudent financial management and is solvent

4. The extent to which the applicant has

demonstrated prompt and effective efforts

to resolve questioned costs and internal control deficiencies identified in single audits

5. The extent to which the applicant has

responded to recommendations identified

in reviews completed by the Office of Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office and other Federal offices

6. The extent to which the applicant

has demonstrated effective contract administration and compliance with local statutes and regulations regarding

procurement practices and processes

7. The extent to which the applicant’s capital improvement application is complete and submitted on time

8. The extent to which the applicant

has complied with all reporting requirements applicable to past and ongoing grants in an accurate manner

9. The extent to which the applicant dedicates adequate resources to critical offices

to help ensure properly functioning internal

controls and efficient operations, including the presence of a qualified independent

auditor with an adequately funded office

and strong safeguards to its independence

10. The extent to which the applicant is able

to successfully expend capital improvement

funds within the award period.

Allocation of CIP funds will shift year to

year, reflecting the insular governments’

individual performance compared to one

another. Governments that increase their

performance and score higher based on

the above criteria receive a higher share of

mandatory available CIP funds.”

From P2 - Chairman Honanie’s full testimony

V. Hopi Detention Facility - The Hopi Tribe has been

in need of a detention facility for several decades. The

detention facility that was initially established on the

Hopi Reservation in 1981 was not intended for incarceration. The existing adult detention facility in First Mesa

was originally built as a treatment facility. Over the

years the building was converted and used as an adult

detention facility. With the security requirements and

special operation needs, the building did not meet the

standards for a secure and safe detention facility.

In 2005, Hopi Tribal Council authorized Tribal Resolution H-042-2005, which established the Hopi Detention Facility Steering Committee and directed the committee to pursue the planning, design and construction

of a new Hopi Detention Facility on the Hopi Reservation. The committee was tasked with the responsibility

of searching for funds to build a permanent facility. The

Tribe allocated one million dollars to the committee to

fulfill this project. The committee was able to develop

plans for a permanent facility; however the Tribe was

unable to secure funding to build a facility. At the same

time, similarly to the Relocation issues raised above, the

federal government built a new detention facility for the

Navajo Nation in Tuba City. That facility is now approximately half empty while the Hopi Tribe does not have

any detention facility at all.In 2016, by Tribal Council

resolution, the Committee was disbanded because Tribal

Council did not see any progress being made.

The committee was a direct result of actions taken by

the Office of Inspector General in 2004. In 2004, the

Office of Inspector General conducted a health and safety inspection, which resulted in the immediate closure

of the juvenile correctional component. Up until that

time, corrections held minors with adults in joint spaces.

Juveniles are currently being housed in Navajo County

Jail in Holbrook, Arizona.

Despite these serious issues facing Hopi, the Navajo Nation was provided a detention center at that time

while Hopi’s needs for detention space and a psychiatric

treatment facility has yet to be addressed.

In February 2015, David Little Wind, Director of Bureau of Indian Affairs- Office of Justice Services, met

with tribal leaders, including myself, and Councilman

Mervin Yoywtewa, Chairman of the Law Enforcement

Task Team, to discuss the building of a new detention

facility. BIA-OJS recognized that there was a need for a

new facility and the recommendation at that time was to

repair by replacement.

The detention facility was still being used and operated to incarcerate inmates who had either been sentenced to 30 days or less or were awaiting hearings in

the Hopi Tribal Courts. Between 2013 and 2015, there

had been an inspection of the facility, which resulted in

portions being deemed unsafe and uninhabitable. Those

inmates who had been formally sentenced to more than

30 days of incarceration were transported to other facilities. These facilities included Navajo County Jail, in

Holbrook, Arizona; Coconino County Jail, in Flagstaff,

Arizona, Arizona State Prison Complex, in San Luis,

Arizona, and Chief Ignacio Adult Detention Facility, in

Towoac, Colorado. However, the facility remained partially open.

In October 2016, the Hopi Detention Facility was formally closed. Structural issues were cited as the cause of

closure. As part of the closure, all inmates and staff were

to evacuate the building immediately. Any new arrestees

were to be booked and transported to Navajo County

Jail within one hour of being booked. The Tribe was not

given any notice of the closure. A charge of orders was

issued from BOI-OJS Hopi Agency instructing all officers that the officer would have to conduct the transport

related to any arrests they made. This instruction was

also given to the Hopi Resource Enforcement Services

(HRES) officers. HRES acts as secondary law enforcement agency when services are requested by BIA-OJS.

There was no formal agreement from the Hopi Tribe on

the charge of orders. Due to the high costs and liability

concerns associated with the courtesy transport the Hopi

Tribe concluded it could no longer provide this support

and have declined any transports of arrestees.

BIA-OJS was aware for the need for a new facility

and had indicated plans for a transition from the old facility to a temporary facility while the new facility was

constructed. BIA-OJS Hopi Agency met with Chairman

Honanie in late October 2016 to discuss the temporary

facility. The temporary facility would include two components to cover the needs of the Correctional staff and

Administrative staff. The temporary facility would also

allow detaining individuals for up to eight hours. The

Hopi Tribe through various meetings was verbally told

that the temporary facility would be in place by November 2016. However, as of this date, the temporary facility has not been received; BIA-OJS has cited administrative issues as the cause of delay.

Not having a facility places a burden on the personnel and administrative costs continue to rise. Officers

conduct booking of arrestee from their units. Additional costs are being incurred in the areas of transportation, additional staff hours, and incarceration. The

BIA informed the Tribe last week that it costs the BIA

$100,000/month in contract costs to house the inmates

at other facilities. The irony of this situation is that the

BIA-OJS has the money to replace the facility, but the

BIA does not receive construction dollars for installation. The BIA-OJS is meeting with the Department of

Justice to find out if the DOJ would be able to provide

the construction funding for the project.

As the Hopi community waits to have its detention

facility needs met, crime does not cease. As a result of

having no facility, law enforcement officers must use

their own personal discretion when arresting individuals

who have committed violations of the Hopi Code. There

is no deterrent factor to keep individuals from committing crimes when they know they will not be arrested. It

is only a matter of time until a minor incident turns into

a much more serious crime of violence.

VI. Hopi Telecommunications - The Federal Communications Commission considers the Hopi Reservation a high cost project area. Anytime that the Hopi

Tribe seeks to connect to the outside world it must cross

the Navajo Nation, Indian allotments, and State land.

This requires the Hopi Tribe to pay massive amounts

for easements in order to lay or connect fiber. The cost

of building telecommunications projects on Hopi land

is 27% more than in other parts of Arizona. The Hopi

Tribe received an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“ARRA”) to construct and purchase fiber

and electronics to connect to the internet. The Tribe was

not allowed to use ARRA funds to purchase the rightsof-way so Hopi Telecommunications Inc. (“HTI”) had

to absorb those costs. The entire project cost to build a

fiber optic cable route from Jeddito Community to Holbrook, Arizona – roughly 61 miles – cost the HTI was

$3.3 million. Included in this cost was $500,000 paid in

right-of-ways, which accounts for approximately 15%

of the entire project cost. If this same fiber optic route

was constructed on non-Indian land it would cost approximately $2.4 million (or 74% of the cost for building it on tribal land).

VII. Hopi Road Infrastructure - The Hopi Department of Transportation (“HDOT”) is charged with

1,235.1 miles of Hopi’s official inventoried road mile

consists of: 625.1 miles of unimproved earth roads,

5.8 miles of gravel roads, 99.6 miles of asphalt surface roads, 405.5 miles of jeep trail roads, 1,136 total

BIA & Tribal road miles, 99.1 total miles of AZ State

Highways, 1,235.1 combined total Hopi inventory road

miles, 10 bridges with a combined length of 1,258.0 feet

The Tribal Transportation Program (“TTP”) is the only

continuous funding source for Hopi’s construction program inclusive of all components from planning, design,

and construction and now including road maintenance

as result of the need expressed in Indian Country that

regulations be amended to allow use of TTP funds for

road maintenance. The remote nature of the Hopi Reservation has led the cost to construct new roads to increase

from $900,000/mile in 2013 to $1.2 million/mile now.

Dealing with these technical challenges increases operational costs at an estimated rate of 3% annually. The current TTP annual allocation provides for at least for three

miles of roadway construction with support to the road

maintenance program of $500,000 and now includes the

Hopi Senom Transit Program. The Interior Appropriation allocations for the road maintenance program have

not kept up with true costs for the past 30 years. The

Hopi Tribe had no other options but to take responsibility for the BIA’s road maintenance duties/program as the

threat to life and safety were becoming more evident on

Hopi’s roadways. In order to achieve maintenance goals

the Tribe has been forced to draw from its construction

accounts but is necessary as lives are being impacted. In

addition to the already severe and inadequate funding,

Hopi sustained a severe decrease to its road maintenance

allocation by 40% in fiscal year 2012 from $500,000 to

$300,000 with no justifiable or adequate reasoning taken by the BIA. We have repeatedly met with the BIA

requesting them to remedy this reduction.

The majority of HDOT’s calls relate to the construction of new roadways and maintenance issues on existing roadways (an average of 15/week). The lack of suitable material and resources to maintain the 625.1 miles

of unimproved roads makes traveling them a potentially

life-threatening situation. Roads within the hearts of villages where the majority of residents reside are no better

than outside of the villages. HDOT is responsible for

maintaining the roads for emergency service providers,

school buses, and everyday commuters but it is a daunting task given the lack of available resources.

HDOT continue its daily assessment and documents

challenges with not just BIA roads but with state highways as well. The state highways are no better than the

BIA roads. It leaves the Tribe to believe that it has been

forgotten by the federal government and the State of

Arizona. There are currently no major plans to remedy

these unsafe roadways on the part of either the federal

government or the State.

Conclusion - I appreciate the Subcommittee’s time

and attention to the Hopi Tribe’s infrastructure concerns

and challenges. The Tribe encourages the Subcommittee

and its staff to visit the Hopi Reservation to witness the

issues covered in my testimony first hand.

4 TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2017 | HOPI TUTUVENI

HBCS Girls Basketball Team win

Championship title - Boys take third

Pam Ovah

HBCS

HBCS Wildcat Girls pose after Championship win.

HBCS Wildcat boys BB team take 3rd place

The HBCS Wildcats Girls

and Boys had an exciting and

rewarding basketball season.

The cats prowled through

the season to play in the final

four Hopi Elementary Athletic League (H.E.A.L.) Tournament, held March 10 & 11 at

the Hopi High School Bruin

gym. The Wildcat Girls took

Championship and the Boys

took 3rd place. It was an incredible season. Two athletes

received the Character Award:

Lucy Polingyumptewa and

Mateo Talashoma. All the athletes played their hearts out.

The team was small but that

did not hold them back from

making it to the top. Teamwork

and passion kept everyone going. They earned it!

The Team thanks all the

Wildcat Fans for supporting

them throughout the season.

A special thank you also to

the referees and scoreboard

keepers who assisted with the

games: Aldric George, Geoffrey Joseph, Sandra Suhu,

Auri Roy, Kaya Roy, Lonette

Nutumya, Charnel Talashoma,

Lendell Roy, Gwen Marianno,

Jack Harding Jr. A big Wildcats Shout Out to Assistant

Coach Tia Honanie for her

dedication and commitment.

I encourage everyone, as we

are considered the lifeblood to

our youth, to be engaged with

Health and Wellness so can

find ways to lead our youth

and communities to greater

Lucy Polingyumptewa and Mateo Talashoma

Health and Happiness.

receive Character Award

Chairman Herman Honanie makes surprise visit M a r c h

to Hopi Jr/Sr High School to encourage students Students

the

to do well on AZ Merit standardized test

Month at

HBCS

Stan Bindell, Hopi Tutuveni

Hopi Chairman Herman Honanie

gave a surprise visit to Hopi Jr/Sr

High School March 27 to record a

video encouraging the students to

do well on the upcoming AzMerit

standardized test.

The video is a project of Hopi

Junior High School teacher Carol Sieweyumptewa’s to encourage

students to do well on the test. Hopi

High video student Kyle Secakuku

filmed the encouragement speech.

Chairman Honanie told the students that this is the big test and

he knows they are anxious so they

should look back at all the courses

they took and what they learned.

“Don’t be shy,” he said.

Chairman Honanie said teach-

ers, guidance counselors and the

students’ peers are there to guide

them. He said when he was a student that he would cram the night

before a test, but he said this is not

the best way to study.

“The best way to study is to keep

on top of your studies and read

what they give you,” he said.

Chairman Honanie said his son

excelled in college because he was

a constant reader.

“My problem was that I was not

in the habit of reading,” he said.

Chairman Honanie said testing measures how much students

comprehend when they read.

“I want to see you do your best. I

know you can,” he said.

Free informational Sessions



Interviewing Skills

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Financial Literacy

all have an idea of what you want

to do,” he said.

Chairman Honanie graduated

from the University of Arizona Pam Ovah, HBCS

where one professor told him that

when he graduated from college Congratulations to the

that he felt that he had done all he following students for their

had to do. Then, he realized there acceptable behavior and

was so much that he hadn’t learned academic progress at Hothat he went back to school and tevilla Bacavi Community

became a professor.

School (HBCS).

“With education you can prepare Students will be treated

yourself and improve your qual- to lunch at the Hopi Culity of life,” he said. “So do your tural Center Restaurant.

best, don’t stress and make your They will also receive a

responses clear. Here’s a chance to certificate for “Student of

excel. Get a lot of rest before the the Month” and a Cool

test, study, prepare and I wish you H.B.C.S. Wildcat T-shirt.

“Thank you, Mrs. Kymthe best of luck.”

berle Dashee for all you do!”

Bailey Wytewa

Kai Rogers

Hopi Tribe Department of Education & Workforce Developement

Rylee Natoney

Madison Talashoma

Robert Kaursgowva

Cayden Joseph

Aaron McCosar

Elaina Coin

Jarren Tenakhongva

Darryl Sahmea Jr.

Darron Yowytewa