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Monday, January 14, 2008

Aloha!

The U.S. Department of the Interior continues to investigate the travel by hundreds of Navajo representatives to Hawaii last October, with federal officials in California now involved in the review.

Meanwhile, other branches of the federal government itself have failed to comply with the Freedom of Information law after confirming they received requests for data they already might have regarding the number of people sent or the source of funds used for the trips.

The Daily Times reported in its Nov. 3 edition that 362 people with ties to the Navajo Nation each paid the $400 preregistration cost to attend the 2007 National Indian Education Association conference in Honolulu. Most are believed to have attended, with many more registering on site. The combined price tag for the trip is believed to be as much as $1 million, based on the costs for those known to have attended.

More here.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't understand what the big deal is. The U.S. took Hawaii as a state, where there are Indigenous people. Hawaii is now part of the United States because of the U.S. Government. The National Indian Education Association is an organization advocating education equality issues for all Native people of the United States; all States. That includes Hawaii. If the United States hadn't taken Hawaii as a state, then this wouldn't be a problem. This organization and the Navajo people, and many others travel far to achieve their goal; get the best education for their children all while retaining their language and culture. People from Hawaii have to travel to Montana, Arizona, Washington, DC and Utah to find out the best methods for their children. I don’t see a federal inquiry for them. The issue is that Hawaii is labeled as “paradise,” but who made Hawaii a state?... Not the Indians…

National Freedom of Information Coalition said...

All true, but whether it's Hawaii or Vegas, 300-odd attendees at taxpayer expense? Sure deserves scrutiny, I'd argue...