telescope By Natasha Bhuyan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday, April 30, 2004
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An Apache tribe has declined money offered by the UA in an attempt to show the UA its disapproval of the Mount Graham telescopes.

Last month, the San Carlos Apache Tribal Council rejected the "Northern Tribes Initiative" proposed by the UA, the University of Minnesota and the University of Virginia, which are the university's Mount Graham Observatory partners.

UA law professors Robert Williams and Robert Hershey-Lear, and Indian Law Clinic Coordinator Don Nichols presented the initiative, which offered the San Carlos Tribe $120,000 for developmental programs such as educational outreach, agricultural improvement, summer camps and a cultural advisory process.

"With respect to San Carlos, we had negotiated with the tribal chairwoman's office on a number of initiatives in the areas of education, self-government, and community and economic development," Williams said.

But Sandra Rambler, stenographer and translator for the council, said the issues go beyond the initiative. The tribe rejected the proposal because it did not want funding coming from Mount Graham-related sources, she said.

"We looked at it as bribery program," said Rambler of the $120,000 proposal. "This (the observatory) was a $330 million project, so why should we settle for bread crumbs?"

Williams said the initiative was part of mediation efforts between the UA and Apache tribes, who regard the mountain as a sacred site.

For nearly two decades, the controversial Mount Graham telescopes have met opposition from tribes and environmental groups across the country.

Mount Graham, called "Big Seated Mountain," is holy land to the San Carlos and White Mountain Apache tribes that reside nearby.

In 1992, 200 students protested the telescopes because the mountain is home to the red squirrel, an endangered species.

The mountain has more ecological zones than any mountain in the United States, according to the Mount Graham Coalition Web site.

Dwight Metzger, part of the Mount Graham Coalition, said UA has a "deceitful" history regarding the telescopes.

"I just can't believe the arrogance of these people. First, they are imposing the telescopes. Now, they have to impose their programs on the Apaches," Metzger said.

Councilman Myron Moses said if not for the telescopes on Mount Graham, the UA would have no interest in the mountain or the Apache people.

At the council meeting last month, Ola Cassadore-Davis, Apache elder and chairwoman of the Apache Survival Coalition, said she believed the UA was offering cash in exchange for the Apache religion and culture.

"Something like giving us a little ice cream to quiet us down," Davis said.

Williams said he understands the tribe wants to exercise sovereignty on Mount Graham, and he was not surprised the council rejected the proposal that took a year and a half to create.

The UA will now have to work with the tribal council to try to find other sources of funding, Williams said.

Williams also pointed out that the existing outreach programs for the San Carlos tribes will continue, despite the council's decision regarding the Northern Tribes Initiative.

One such project is done each summer, when the UA hires six Apache students to work at Mount Graham. But Rambler said that can be seen as a payoff for having the telescopes.

"They hire students to clean up the telescopes," she said. "To me, that is not an educational experience."

Williams said the UA will continue to work on strengthening outreach and implementing the proposed projects without the Mount Graham-related funds.

"Essentially, we are going to go back to tribal council; they have clarified they wanted to be part of the political process," Williams said. "We are looking at the requests they made and are trying to respond to their concerns."

Rambler, who lives near Mount Graham, said she sees the telescope daily and is reminded of how the UA wronged her people.

"The traditional people are very spiritual people and they believe in making a wrong a right," she said. "We would like a public apology from the UA (saying), 'We are sorry for desecrating your land. Can you find it in your heart to forgive us?' But that (apology) will never happen."