Our Klamath Basin
Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.
Karuk Tribe petition against Klamath Dam removal
November 2008, Cover
letter and petition
On each petition is printed: Cover Letter 11/25/08 "Many Karuk Tribal members are disappointed by the continuous promotion of dam removal on the Klamath River. Unfortunately this is being done by a very small contingency of tribal members being led by Vice-chair Leaf Hillman and tribal spokesman Craig Tucker. We would like everyone to know they represent a very small percentage of Karuk Tribe members in communities along the Klamath River and in other areas as well. Many, many members do not agree with removal of the dams as they know the devastation it will cause down river. We believe that enough time, money and resources have been spent for a select few and their families to travel thousands of miles to Scotland and Omaha, Nebraska to protest the Klamath Dam removal projects. Continued protests and their wasted expenses seem frivolous when we have tribal members who go without dentures, medical necessities and vital surgeries, not to mention much needed subsidies for college expenses. We believe these wasted expenditures should go towards more practical purposes. If tribal leaders are given special government grants to take their families and travel extensively to protest dam removal, then we would simply like them to show the verifying documentation to us, the Karuk Tribal members. As for fish being a mainstay of Karuk Tribe members for survival, times change and since the inception of the grocery store this has changed too. Newspaper articles quoting Hillman and other "spokespersons" do not represent all tribal members, merely a small minority. It is now time for Tribal Council members to step up and address this and other issues and not just give "lip service." These actions reflect on all tribal members and we are sick and tired of the negative publicity that a select few receive for speaking on behalf of the entire tribe."
--------------------------------------------- |
Page Updated: Saturday April 30, 2022 12:55 PM Pacific
Copyright © klamathbasincrisis.org, 2008, All Rights Reserved