Richmond: New York City: A House For The Indian Community

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FROM: INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY NEWSPAPER

_http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411228_
(http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411228)

Richmond: New York City: A House For The Indian Community

(javascript:PrintWindow();) Posted: July 14, 2005 by: _Rosemary Richmond_
(http://www.indiancountry.com/author.cfm?id=568) / Guest Columnist
New York City has a thriving American Indian community, and our gathering
place is the American Indian Community House (AICH) - an urban Indian center
providing services and assistance to American Indians who reside in the
metropolitan New York area. The AICH was formally incorporated in 1969, but there
has been a Native community here going back at least to the early 1920s.

My own Mohawk family has a long history in New York City, where Indians
migrated early as a result of Wild West shows and show biz in general. In the
early 20th century, New York City was the film capital and many Indian people
worked in films. One of my grandfather's many jobs was as a stuntman in silent
films. My grandparents made baskets and sold them at fairs, sportsmen's
shows, etc. My grandfather also trained horses, and both he and my grandmother
worked as cook, housekeeper, butler or chauffeur on various estates in
Westchester and Fairfield counties and on Long Island.

The federal relocation policies of the 1950s and 1960s brought a multitude
of Indian people to major cities to give them trades and jobs that were not
available on their home reservations. Ultimately, the training they received
was not related to employment opportunities on the reservations, and many
stayed in the urban areas.

New York City's Indian population is diverse - made up of Indian peoples
from the entire Western Hemisphere. Many come as students and stay here only for
the length of time it takes to complete their degree work. Others come to
stay. One large sector of Indian residents is in the visual and performing
arts, for which they come to New York. Helping them pursue their careers, provide
moral support and insight on how to accomplish their goals, pointing out a
venue to showcase their talents through our Circle performance space or our
art gallery, is important to us.

We often act as unpaid agents, referring Indian people for performing roles
and technical jobs in response to the many calls we receive for print, acting
and technical personnel. We define the AICH commitment, while ever changing
in terms of services provided, as primarily to assist Indian people to pursue
their goals in life, upgrade their economic status and help them access
whatever programs are available to them.

Being in New York, we strive to educate the general public on contemporary
and historical myths about Native peoples. Still today, the textbooks teach
bits of our history and truths but perpetuate many stereotypes.

Our Communications and Information component produces our quarterly
Community Bulletin, fields hundreds of questions about American Indians, maintains
our voluminous resource files and provides tours to guests on site and limited
off-site presentations. When indigenous delegates from all over the world
visit New York to attend forums at the United Nations or to meet with
foundations and other institutions, often they stop by the AICH, where representatives
of both the AICH and the Flying Eagle Woman Fund, which is housed within the
AICH, greet them and assist them as much as possible.

Our Employment and Training program - after suffering huge cuts over the
years - will receive increased funding based on the 2000 Census figures. Spaced
over three years, the funding should allow us to bring this program closer to
the higher levels of service that existed in the 1980s to the early 1990s.
The problem here is that the new Workforce Investment Act (formerly CETA and
JTPA) rules are very stringent and specific about moving people in and out of
the program quickly, and implement a tracking system that can affect rating
and compromise the program.

In our real-world experience, many individuals we assist need attention due
to the multiple barriers to employment and training they experience. Often,
we need to address and help resolve their housing, health, family and
education issues before we can help them attain gainful, unsubsidized employment.

The new rules and regulations make it nearly impossible to work in a
meaningful way with the people who need our help the most. Thus, theoretically, we
could make or exceed our performance standards at the end of the program year
and then, a year later, fail to maintain the rating, which could then
jeopardize our continued funding.

Despite many obstacles and fewer resources than are needed for even minimum
services, the AICH has gathered many good programs under one structure. In
every field, we do what we can. Our health services provide education,
prevention and referral - with a limited alcohol and substance abuse and mental
health counseling service - where we use outside licensed counselors for emergency
or short-term care. We just started a diabetes program. Our health staff
helps people access services they need and to which they are entitled. Our
HIV/AIDS program is statewide and focuses on testing and education. We have
offices in Syracuse, Buffalo, Akwesasne and New York City to work with the full
community, from youth to elders, on this crucial issue.

The basic problem with any government funding is that their formula for
determining how much money goes to each center or group is based on populations,
but with other factors incorporated. These other factors create problems. For
example, employment and training funding is based on population after
having been adjusted for other factors including unemployment (also adjusted),
figures that create a formula that is used across the board. The cost of living
or doing business is not a factor.

Therefore, two areas such as New York City and a location with the same
population but with a lower cost of living and doing business could receive the
same amount of funding. They would be held to similar performance standards,
but we would be able to serve fewer individuals and provide fewer services
with the fund due to the higher costs involved in New York City.

AICH and other urban programs aren't given the option of submitting
realistic budgets but rather live with limited, predetermined budgets to meet
ever-growing needs. As a result, salaries are below standard - resulting in high
turnover and the loss of valuable trained employees. It's a labor of love for
the long-term personnel.

Housing is also a big issue here. It is a recipe for disaster when Indian
people come to New York without a place to stay or sufficient funds to pay for
housing. We can get people jobs but if they don't have a place to live, they
can't hold them. We have had students whose tuition was paid but the school
had no available housing. One girl went home for two years within the first
two months of each school year but persevered, and eventually graduated after
six years.

Our dream? To get our own building, which will house expanded programs, our
art gallery and gift shop, a dedicated theater space we can rent out for
performances when we are not using it and a small hotel with a ballroom and
numerous meeting rooms. The building we have been in for 16 years has been sold
and there are tentative plans to turn it into residential property, so we are
moving to meet that challenge.

It takes gumption to make it in New York, and it always improves your
chances to get a helping hand along the way. I strongly believe that urban Indian
centers are vitally important to the community of Native people who come to
New York or other areas - for whatever time they may be there - both for
services and a place to interact with other Indians. Our cultures are strong and
alive, and centers such as ours help to nurture, strengthen and maintain a
connection to our roots.

Rosemary Richmond, Mohawk, is executive director of the New York City
American Indian Community House.