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Narragansett Indians still seeking Navy land in RI |
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Written by Administrator
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Wednesday, 09 December 2009 |
Narragansett Indians still seeking Navy land in RI
Tue, Dec 08, 2009
Richard Salit
The Narragansett Indians are still interested in Navy land on Aquidneck Island despite an announcement Monday of a decision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to withdraw an application to acquire property for the tribe.
John Brown, medicine man in training, said the tribe did not support the application withdrawal and wants to continue to talk to Indian Affairs about the effort.
"We're working to redress the decision that was made," Brown said. "We are very interested in this property."
The Navy announced earlier this year that, as part of the Defense Department's Base Realignment and Closure Initiative (BRAC), it will dispose of 260 acres of land situated along the western shore of Aquidneck Island in Newport, Portsmouth and Middletown. The Navy is seeking market value for the land, which include waterfront parcels and contaminated former fuel tank sites.
The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, representing the interests of the three municipalities, has long prepared for the lengthy processing of applying for the properties. It drafted a plan that envisions the land being reused for recreation, intermodal transportation, economic development and renewable energy projects.
But before the land can be advertised to the public in the Federal Register, federal agencies may submit applications for the land. Acting on behalf of the Narragansetts, Indian Affairs stepped in at the last moment in April, and was granted a series of deadline extensions to submit a complete application. An initial application was deemed incomplete because it lacked the documentation to support the tribe's request to obtain the land for free.
But in a Dec. 4 letter to the Navy, Indian Affairs director Jerry Gidner wrote, "We are unable to pursue the application on behalf of the Narragansett Indian Tribe."
On the same day, Gidner wrote a letter to Narragansett Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas explaining why Indian Affairs would not pursue the application. Gidner said the agency did not have sufficient time to obtain an appraisal of the fair market value of the land or to review the estimated clean-up costs. Gidner also stated that the Navy's intent to transfer the properties in "as-is" condition violates federal law.
And finally, he said, "We have concerns about our ability to accept tribal money to pay for the property."
"We understand that the tribe has expended significant time and resources on this application and regret that it could not be a viable undertaking for the tribe."
On Wednesday, Brown struck a conciliatory tone when reached for a comment.
"We have to have a working relationship with these federal agencies at this juncture," he said. "Any of the irregularities and concerns [cited in the letter to Thomas] we are now attempting to address them, both with the Navy and the Bureau of Indians Affairs."
"We had limited time in which to pull this together," he said. "We did a phenomenal amount of work in a matter of a few months less than a year. We didn't have a great length of time or resources like the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission...
"We are not looking to alienate anyone. We are looking to be good neighbors. And we are looking to work with anyone who would be willing to assist us in achieving our goals and we might be able to help them achieve their goals. We are trying to work with everyone we can. "
http://newsblog.projo.com/2009/12/narragansett-indians-still-see.html |
