Bureaucratic Unintended Consequences - A Case In Point

[Richard]

Anyone in Group back when MG Emerson was CG, USAJFKCENMA and ever deployed under SPARTAN* will recognize this scenario. As an SF Medic in the 7th SFG at the time, I worked with the Havasupai and the Lumbee tribes.

In 1966, Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner Robert L. Bennett outlawed development on 1.6 million acres of desert in northeastern Arizona that was claimed by both the Navajo nation and the Hopi tribe. When the freeze ended, many residents didn't know where to begin.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bennett-freeze-ss,0,760471.htmlstory

And so it goes...

Richard :munchin

* Under SPARTAN (Special Proficiency at Rugged Training and Nation-building) we worked with Indian tribes in Florida, Arizona and Montana to build roads and medical facilities, and provided free medical treatment and engineering support to impoverished citizens of rural communities in NC and the Appalachians.

[GratefulCitizen]

One has to wonder what the intentions were.
Coal, gas, oil, uranium, and most importantly, water are resources at stake.

Prohibitions on improvements, prohibitions on gathering firewood, and even prohibitions on religious practice were implemented.
Seems like they were trying to drive people from the land and were playing the Navajo and Hopi against each other to further that goal.

Oh yeah, there was also the highly profitable Black Mesa pipeline which pumped coal slurry to a power plant in Laughlin.
It only used about a billion gallons/year of water...from the aquifer where everyone gets their drinking water.
Significant aquifer problems were noticed in towns 50 miles away.


Maybe the Bennett freeze was about the water (not to mention the other potential mineral riches).
Maybe someone was also hoping to buy uranium rights at a bargain...

The Black Mesa pipeline was shut down December 31, 2005 for environmental reasons.
In December, 2006, the Bennett freeze was lifted.
Coincidence?

There are plenty of other things which have gone on over the years.
Uranium tailings, "downwind" issues, and others still have lingering effects.

The tribes are starting to hold their governments accountable.


Speaking of unintended consequences:
The BIA health system is an example of where we are headed with national healthcare.
Didn't work very well on the smaller scale; it's doubtful that the larger scale would fare better.