From gars@speakeasy.org Tue Apr 24 02:15:08 2001 Date: 6 Mar 2001 21:44:02 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews09.010 W O T A N G I N G I K C H E Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin KANOHEDA ANIYVWIYA O It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le Ha-Sah-Sliltha O o O ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min Un Chota O o O Aunchemokauhettittea O o o o o O VOLUME 09, ISSUE 010 O o O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse February 3, 2001 O o O Ximopanolti tehuatzin, Yuchi windy moon O inin Mexika tlahtolli Ponca water stands in ponds moon ( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S ) ==>If you want your Nation represented in the banner of this newsletter<== email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported in this weekly | | newsletter. For daily updates check http://www.owlstar.com/NANews | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ This issue contains articles from ndn-aim, Hawaii-Nation, Indianz.Com, KOLA Newslist, Native News and Big Mountain mail lists; UUCP email; http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=law/2262001 http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=022701&ID=s927393 http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=022701&ID=s927393 http://www.modbee.com/state/story/n2001-02-23-1515-2.html http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=law/2272001 http://www.omaha.com/index.atp?u_div=3&u_hdg=0&u_s-id=73583 IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <----<<<< >>>>----> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org As historian Patricia Nelson Limerick summarized in The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West, "Set the blood quantum at one-quarter, hold to it as a rigid definition of Indians, let intermarriage proceed as it had for centuries, and eventually Indians will be defined out of existence. When that happens, the federal government will be freed of its persistent 'Indian problem.'" "The late James High Hawk, one of the few survivors of the Wounded Knee massacre, gave this eyewitness account: "My mother was crying, and trying to save and protect her small family, and I was myself just a little boy. A soldier came to where we were hiding and shot my mother and baby brother and myself as my mother pleaded for our lives. I was wounded and lay there for hours, until Oglala (Lakotas) from Pine Ridge saved me." +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! Last issue I reported the crossing over of Doris Leader Charge. This gentle grandmother was listed on the "plastic medicine" "sell-out" list for serving as a cultural advisor for the movie "Dances with Wolves". The sad thing about Elders is that they take everything to heart. When people do things like that to them, it hurts them very much. This great Grandmother died believing people were angry with her for something so simple as being a dialog coach on Dances With Wolves and condemned her. I am sorry grandmother couldn't see them for the barking dogs these "list keepers" are. If the lists were really based on who is or isn't selling ceremony they would be far different from the factionalized lies most of them are. This woman died in the belief that others thought her to be a sell out. Nothing is further from the truth, but she's dead now. She'll never know. Her relatives will have to continue to feel that pain and shame from that damned list. Maybe now she'll be taken off that list and allowed to make her Spirit Journey in peace. Besides, it will make room for another to be tried and convicted in a silent court of hate and jealousy. , , Gary Night Owl gars@nanews.org (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@speakeasy.org (`-') Marietta, GA 30010, U.S.A. gars@olagrande.net ===w=w=== gars@sdf.lonestar.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Indian Activist - Army Ordered to Alter Frank B. James Dies Snake River Dams - Taking of our Indian Children - Buffalo News - Teen Hate Against Native Alaskans - Ottawa Dragging Feet - Landmark Trust Fund Affirming Aboriginal Rights Decision Upheld - Innu Accuse Church and Schools - Slade Gorton not of Abuse Federal Judge Material - Central Valley Tribe - Big Mountain Fundraising to Establish Court - Mine Reclamation to Begin - Supreme Court Declines on Arizona Mountain Nez Perce Case - A Thousand Little Cuts - Santee Tribe May Get to Genocide Some Judicial Powers - Tribe Seeks to Evict Homeowners - Native Prisoner - Sinte Gleska -- Parents Protest at Custer - Sliammon Indian Band Youth Corrections Center Reaches Treaty Agreement - History: Carlisle Indian School - Squaw Remains in Idaho - Rustywire: Forgetfullness - Reserves Called - Poem: Chill Night Suicide Breeding Grounds - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Tribe Signs Water Compact - Native Languages Score with State Victory in Arizona - Nevada Tribes Helath Care - Indians Seek To Preserve Struggle Native Languages - Modern Medicine can - Upcoming Events Learn from Navajo - Survey is Good News - Miami Tribe Hopes for Recognition for Indian Country --------- "RE: Indian Activist Frank B. James Dies" --------- Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 08:17:44 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FRANK B JAMES" Indian activist Frank B. James dies at 77 Tom Long - Boston Globe BOSTON -- In 1970, when Native American activist Wamsutta Frank B. James was asked to deliver a speech at a state dinner commemorating the 350th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims in Plymouth, he prepared a draft that included the following: "The Pilgrims had hardly explored the shores of Cape Cod for four days before they had robbed the graves of my ancestors and stolen their corn, wheat, and beans." When state officials saw an advance copy of the speech, James was asked to rewrite it. He refused and did not attend the dinner. When word spread of the suppression of the speech, James and other activists declared Thanksgiving a national day of mourning and assembled at Plymouth to express their grievances, an observance that continues to this day. James, retired music director of the Nauset regional school system, died Tuesday at his home in Chatham. He was 77. In his speech, which was published in full in the Globe, James continued, "Massasoit, the great Sachem of the Wampanoag, knew these facts, yet he and his people befriended the settlers of Plymouth Plantation. ... We welcomed you, the white man, with open arms, little knowing that it was the beginning of the end; that before 50 years were to pass, the Wampanoag would no longer be a free people." Born in Aquinnah, Martha's Vineyard, James was a trumpet player who graduated from New England Conservatory of Music. He served in the Coast Guard Auxiliary during World War II. He was director of music at Nauset until his retirement in 1989. He was moderator of United American Indians of New England from 1970 until the mid-1990s. Also, James was the former president of the Federated Eastern Indian League and executive director of Operation Mainstream, a federally funded job retraining program that served the Cape and islands. In 1974, he was appointed by Gov. Frank Sargent to the Massachusetts Commission on Indian Affairs. He resigned three years later because he felt the state wasn't taking Native American needs seriously. James was a man of contradictions whose reverence for the Earth compelled him to refrain from watering the lawn or cutting back the bushes at his home, but he drove a gas-guzzling red Corvette with a bumper sticker that read "Custer had it coming." He leaves a son, Roland; two daughters, Sharon Ryone and Donna Sacher; three sisters and six grandchildren. Copyright c. 2001 The Boston Globe. --------- "RE: Taking of our Indian Children" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 19:20:01 -0000 From: "Frances Zephier" Subj: Taking of our Indian Children Mailing List: ndn-aim To the D/L/N nations and all others, Well everybody is caught up on this mixed blood issue, a real life issue is happenig right here in indian country. The Yankton Sioux tribe no longer have say over their yankton sioux tribal child. At this very moment some of our children are being adopted out to other then family members. These people where told that there parental rights where being terminated, and it is to late for the tribe to do anything. These are violations to all our people. this is a letter from a father: To whom it may concern, I'm a member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe. The state took my kids away. Today they are trying to take my parental rights away. The tribe is here to inervene. But the state had said that it is to late now. I feel hurt and at the same time I'm tring to stay strong. When my lawyer told me two days before court that my parental rights are being terminated, I just wanted to give up. So I'm asking for some kind of help. sincerely, Nickalas Aungie So tell me that these issues are pettie, that is what kay would say. What are we going to do about what is happening to our people. Will any of you proud members, stand and respond to this issue. I Pray that you do. We are heading to the Court house know, to face the enemy. standing strong, Frances _________________________________________________________________ To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER --------- "RE: Teen Hate Against Native Alaskans" --------- Date: Wede, 28 Feb 2001 09:48:27 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TEEN HATE" 'Where does this hate come from?' PAINT BALL: Attack horrifies community; more people offer clues. By Don Hunter And Peter Porco Anchorage Daily News February 27, 2001) Videotaped images of three teenagers targeting Alaska Natives in paint ball attacks shocked and saddened community leaders and citizens alike this weekend. But not everyone was surprised. In more than a dozen interviews Monday, people who had seen the video or read about it reacted with the same words: "Horrible." "Sickening." "Deplorable." "This is just a despicable thing," said Anchorage Mayor George Wuerch. "It's deplorable that we would have young people going about doing that," said the Rev. Jerry Prevo of the Anchorage Baptist Temple. "I was really disgusted," said Julie Kitka, executive director of the Alaska Federation of Natives. But for Kitka, the scenes captured by the teens themselves as they systematically picked out and attacked Natives on downtown streets because they were Natives, just hammered home a point that the AFN has argued for a long time: A current of racism, sometimes subtle, sometimes overt, courses through Alaska. On Monday, Kitka fired off a letter to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission "asking them to do a site visit up here, and hopefully hold a hearing, in light of this recent situation that's been brought to our attention." Excerpts of the teens' video were widely shown in the news media. Police say they know who the youths are and plan to arrest them when they have gathered more evidence. Nearly 20 people have called offering information about the case, Detective Nancy Potter said Monday. One man who claimed to be a victim of a paint ball attack, Martin Swanson, said he was shot about two weeks ago on Fireweed Lane. Swanson said he's an Alaska Native. He was not injured, he said, "but it sure shocked the hell out of me." The paint balling of people, houses and cars has been going on for years, police said. "The big difference in this case is that they targeted a specific group and we have the evidence," said Lt. Tom Nelson, commander of the central district, which includes downtown. Wuerch said he invited Native corporation executives Barbara Donatelli and Matthew Nicolai to meet with him and police investigators working the case Monday. Wuerch also called House Speaker Brian Porter, a former Anchorage police chief, asking whether Alaska laws need to be strengthened to target hate crimes. "They are looking at that whole question," Wuerch said. "Are the Alaska statutes adequate to deal forcefully with this type of offense?" For Desa Jacobsson, the answer is no. The Juneau resident and former Green Party governor candidate took to Anchorage streets last year to focus attention on the killings of Native women. She says special laws are needed to protect minorities. "I'm sorry to say this, but it's so true: Racism exists, it's alive, and it lives in the Arctic. The evidence of this is in the deaths of those (Native) women, the rapes of Native women, and now this foolish display by these young people. Where does this hate come from?" Anchorage Assemblyman Allan Tesche represents downtown, where the teens hunted Native people who were on foot, vulnerable, often inebriated. "I was horrified and stunned that we saw such a graphic, firsthand view of hatred and racism in this community," Tesche said. But in his view, more laws may not be the answer. "I would be much more interested in knowing a lot more about their families, their schools, where they grew up," he said. "These guys don't care about laws. They were young, well-coordinated, they can run fast, they have a car, they've got gas, they think they're on top of the world. The existence of severe hate crime legislation in advance probably would not make a difference to them." The Native-baiting teens are a disconcerting reminder, Tesche said. "There's a mean undercurrent in this community, and every once in a while it comes out of the sewer." Donatelli, a vice president of Cook Inlet Region Inc., said she hopes the attack and its foul video record will provoke a strong, unified community outrage. People she's talked to are ashamed this could happen here, she said. "We don't want to be known as that kind of city, that kind of state." Reporter Don Hunter can be reached at dhunter@adn.com and 257-4349. Peter Porco can be reached at pporco@adn.com and 257-4582. Copyright c. 2001 The Anchorage Daily News --------- "RE: Landmark Trust Fund Decision Upheld" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 06:32:55 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRUST FUND" Indianz.Com. In Print. http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=law/2262001-1 Landmark trust fund decision upheld FEBRUARY 26, 2001 The plaintiffs in the billion dollar trust fund lawsuit against the government celebrated a major victory on Friday with an appeals court decision affirming their right to a full historical accounting of money owed to at least 300,000 American Indians. Known as Cobell v. Norton, the class action lawsuit was initiated in 1996 against former Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt. After numerous delays, attempts to dismiss the case, and a contempt of court trial resulting in sanctions against top officials, a federal judge in December 1999 ruled the government had failed to fulfill its financial obligations to trust fund account holders. Among other findings, Judge Royce Lamberth called on the government to provide "an accurate accounting" of money held in trust for American Indians. The government subsequently challenged Lamberth's decision but the District of Columbia Court of Appeals rejected their arguments -- to the delight of the plaintiffs. "For the first time, Indian people are going to know what they own," said Elouise Cobell, the Blackfeet Nation of Montana banker who is the lead plaintiff in the case. "They are going to be empowered." Yet for all of Cobell's enthusiasm, her prediction may be a hard one to realize, given the government's history. Created more than 100 years ago, the Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts which the Departments of Interior and Treasury hold in trust for American Indians throughout the country have been mismanaged for nearly as long. And according to the ruling issued by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, not much has changed since then. Despite being aware of the system's failings and the passage of a 1994 law aimed at reforming it, the three-judge panel on Friday criticized the government's more recent efforts as "a day late and a dollar short." "Federal officials were aware of their fiduciary obligations long before the passage of the 1994 Act -- let alone the initiation of this action -- and yet little progress has been made in discharging those duties," they wrote. "What little progress the government has made appears more due to the litigation than diligence in discharging its fiduciary obligations." Known as the Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act, the 1994 law formed the basis of the government's appeal. The government claimed Lamberth overstepped his authority by requiring the Interior and Treasury to perform duties beyond those listed in the law but the appeals court rejected this argument and said the law recognized the government's pre- existing financial obligations but "did not create them." The appeals court did make some minor concessions to the government, however. The court said Lamberth may have "mischaracterized" some of the government's obligations but it upheld his ruling in light of the evidence against the Interior and Treasury. The appeals court also acknowledged that Lamberth's requirement that the government file quarterly status reports on its progress and his retention of jurisdiction over the system for five years may be excessive and "unusual" but said both were entirely appropriate given the circumstances. Department of Interior spokesperson Stephanie Hanna issued a short statement following the ruling: "We're dissapointed with some parts and heartened by some parts of the decision of the Court of Appeals and will be working with the Department of Justice to determine our next course of action." "We believe that the Court agrees with the Department of Interior and the Congress that it is our responsibility to design and implement an accounting. We will continue our commitment to live up to the duties that we owe all Indian beneficiaries." Copyright c. Indianz.Com 2000-2001. --------- "RE: Slade Gorton not Federal Judge Material" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 07:30:22 -0600 From: "John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate" Subj: (FWD)Indian News 02-24-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 02/26/2001 07:30 AM Slade Gorton not federal judge material, tribes say CdA Tribe leader says former senator's bias makes him unfit for 9th Circuit Alison Boggs Spokesman Review February 22, 2001 Coeur d'Alene _ The Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe on Wednesday officially opposed the possible appointment of former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton to a judgeship in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. "We are calling on tribes across the United States to stand united against this appointment," Coeur d'Alene tribal Chairman Ernie Stensgar said in a news release. "Former Senator Gorton's record on Indian issues is clear -- he has attempted to diminish tribal sovereignty and to divide Indians and non-Indians." The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, of which Stensgar is president, took the same position Wednesday. The Affiliated Tribes represents 54 tribal governments from Montana to Alaska. Gorton, a Washington Republican who was defeated for re-election in November, could not be reached for comment. Gorton has not been nominated for a federal position, but the tribe reacted to news reports Friday that 49 of 50 Republican senators signed a letter urging President Bush to appoint Gorton to a federal appeals court, said Alice Koskela, the tribe's director of legislative affairs. The sole Republican holdout was Arizona Sen. John McCain. An aide said McCain did not sign the letter because he disagrees with Gorton on Native American issues, particularly Gorton's threats to tribal sovereignty. Gorton would have judicial influence over that issue should he be appointed to the 9th Circuit. "The tribe's very appreciative of Senator McCain's refusal to sign onto the letter," Koskela said. The tribe sent letters opposing Gorton's appointment to all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and to Idaho Sens. Larry Craig and Mike Crapo. Craig, through a spokesman, underlined his support for Gorton being appointed to a federal judgeship. "He strongly supports Slade and believes he would be an excellent judge in spite of the fact that he's had differences with the Native American community," Mike Tracy, Craig's Boise spokesman, said. "Whenever you have any nominee, it seems there's always someone from one perspective or another who has problems." Gorton, 73, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for a number of positions in the Bush administration since he lost his bid for a fourth term in the Senate to Maria Cantwell in November. Gorton's former chief of staff Tony Williams has said an appointment to either the 9th Circuit, or the Washington, D.C., appeals court would be perfect for Gorton, who has homes in the nation's capital and in Bellevue, Wash. --------- "RE: Big Mountain Fundraising" --------- Date: Thu, 01 Mar 2001 14:19:23 -0800 From: Robert Dorman Subj: Big Mountain Fundraising Mailing List: Big Mountain List Sent by Jennifer Waggoner . It summarizes some suggestions/requests given her by Louise Benally, a Dineh and long-time advocate for the families being persecuted at Big Mountain. Support persons and organizations are being asked to consider these points regarding their fundraising activities. ----- Groups who are fundraising for Big Mountain, should have a board of directors which includes people on the land. Groups who are fundraising for Big Mountain should have permission from residents to use their images for their campaigns. Groups who are fundraising for Big Mountain, should have permission and should provide quantifiable goals and direct land based support. Any donations or funds raised should benefit more than the fundraising group and individual salaries. They should directly benefit resisting Dineh individuals or the group as a whole on Black Mesa. Groups who are fundraising for Big Mountain, should provide a copy of their budgets to people on the land who are participating in their projects. They should also have a decision making process that includes people on the land. Groups who are filming or photographing, or using information that can benefit Big Mountain, should provide a copy or archive of such; for cultural preservation. And of course, any pictures or film of individuals, a copy should be provided to that individual. These things should all be translated by a Dineh representative so the information is clear. ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01 --------- "RE: Mine Reclamation to Begin on Arizona Mountain" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 15:26:06 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SACRED MTN" Mine reclamation to begin on Arizona mountain regarded as sacred By Joel Eskovitz, Associated Press, 2/27/2001 02:40 PHOENIX (AP) A key obstacle to wearing stone-washed jeans in Arizona may soon disappear. This week marks the end of a battle that once pitted environmentalists and American Indians against a company that mines volcanic pumice rock at the state's highest mountain. On Thursday, Phoenix-based Arizona Tufflite Inc. must halt mining in the San Francisco Peaks as part of an agreement approved by the federal government in October. The tribes and environmentalists had pushed for closure of the mountain's White Vulcan Pumice Mine. Activists had urged people not to wear stone-washed jeans since pumice is often used to give jeans a worn-in feel. "For the people who hold the peaks in their hearts, it's a huge victory because the landscape is going to have one less scar and it's going to make the peaks a bit more whole," Andy Bessler of the Sierra Club said Monday. The Peaks are sacred to about 13 tribes. The Hopi consider it the home of spirits who take the form of rain clouds. To the Havasupai, the mountain carries songs and prayers up to the higher spirit. The mountain also is central to the area's tourism industry and attracts hikers, skiers and bird watchers. Under an agreement approved by Congress, Tufflite was paid $1 million to stop extracting pumice from the mine, located 12 miles west of Flagstaff. The mine is located on land managed by the Forest Service. The pact allows the company more than nine years to use the hundreds of tons of pumice it has already mined. The company also agreed to relinquish its 49 mining claims in the area. Tufflite must now level the land, which should take two years, said Ken Jacobs, a spokesman for the Coconino National Forest, which surrounds the mountain. The Forest Service will oversee that process as well as the next step, replanting grass and trees. Doug Martin, attorney for Tufflite, said that barring weather problems, a crew of five or six men will work on the cleanup. "I think we'll be done substantially sooner than five years," he said. Tufflite operated under the 1872 Mining Law, which allows companies to buy land for as little as $2.50 an acre to mine hardrock minerals such as gold, silver and copper. Companies are not required to pay royalties to the government for the minerals. Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt once referred to the mine as a "sacrilegious scar." Copyright c. 2001 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2001 Boston Globe. --------- "RE: A Thousand Little Cuts to Genocide" --------- Date: 2/27/01 10:16:27 AM Pacific Standard Time From: info@hawaii-nation.org (Hawaii Nation Info) Subj: A thousand little cuts to genocide Mailing List: Hawaii-Nation A thousand little cuts to genocide By Alani Apio Opinion Honolulu Star-Bulletin Sunday, February 25, 2001 The first in a series of three open letters to the citizens of Hawai'i Me, I'm a Hawaiian. I'm an artist and a playwright. I'm not a politician, lawyer, or historian. So, I'm gonna tell you here how I feel from my na'au - my guts. Then in my next articles, I'll try to unwind my guts to figure out how I end up feeling this way and possible directions I see open to us. My opinion: The things many of you say and do amount to 1,000 little cuts against us. And these cuts represent a subversive, long-standing cultural genocide against the Hawaiian people. Cultural genocide against the Hawaiian people. Nobody executes us. No one lynches us. No government enslaves our children or rapes our women. No citizenry chains us up and drags us from the backs of pickup trucks. No homicidal maniac gassing us. Just 1,000 little cuts to our self-esteem, self-identity, cultural pride - to our souls. Rather than obliterating the people, like so many Hitlers have tried, simply obliterate the glue that binds them: culture. Just enough slices to leave blood on the scene, but no actual bodies. Nobody will come out publicly and say, "Screw Hawaiians" - that's not "Politically Correct." But you and I know many feel this way. It's cultural genocide in 1,000 little back-yard, back-handed, unofficial cuts. A slow bleeding to death through 1,000 tiny cuts that no one knows how to stop and nobody will admit to doing. So, here's my take on what many of you honestly think and feel, but dare not say in public. Here are the cuts: Concerning the two new federal lawsuits continuing the attack on Hawaiian assets, rights and entitlements, Barrett v. Cayetano and Carroll v. Nakatan (If they prevail, the Hawaiian Homes Commission, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and native Hawaiian gathering rights will be found unconstitutional), I hear this: "Blah, blah, blah. Yada, yada, yada. So what. Damn Office of Hawaiian Affairs has been a sorry mess since it began anyway. Hawaiians didn't suddenly die off in great numbers when everyone voted and a non-Hawaiian got in! Hell, Hawaiians didn't even raise a fuss. And why should one ethnic group get monies from a pot of land that's supposed to be everyone's! Bunch of dysfunctional Hawaiians - take it down!" That's what you think, isn't it? An easy, juicy, seemingly well-deserved cut to Hawaiian self-governance. How about Hawaiian Home Lands? I hear: "Give us a break! What a sorry legacy that's been. Remember Kapono's song, "Sonny's been waiting." Well, thousands are still waiting, people still dying on the lists - but the earth doesn't stop turning and plenty of people are homeless! Why should Hawaiians get singled out? Why should one ethnic group get land practically free, and cheap loans to build their houses, while the rest of us Hawai'i-loving, tax-paying citizens gotta work for ours? What's up with that? And you know those lazy, stupid Hawaiians are using the extra money they save on their mortgages on Hawaiian Homes to do drugs, get drunk, rip each other off, and kick the crap out of their wives and kids! That's why they stay on the bottom of all those damn social indicators. Hawaiian Home Lands are Hawaiian ghettos, for crissakes! Cut it DOWN!" This is what you feel, isn't it? Cut the closest thing we've got to a nation, and our self- and social-esteem all in one blow. Excellent cut. Gathering rights? You grumble: "Why is everything connected to Hawaiians about taking? Taking state money, taking state land, taking state resources! Why should they have a right to go on private property and take, take, take? Isn't private property as sacred and American as democracy itself? Isn't this right to own our own land free and clear what our veterans fought and died for? Cut that one down!" Come on, admit it, that's what you say to each other at your kitchen tables and out at the country clubs. Cut off access to maile, heiau, koa, and p'haku so we can't define ourselves as different, continue to force us to assimilate under the guise of "equal rights for all." Make it illegal to gather the things we need to define ourselves as different, and then argue that we voluntarily gave up our cultural practices. Brilliant, "Catch 22" cut. 1,000 tiny slashes that make us unable to be who our 'ACpuna told us we are. By the way, my grand-aunt had to wear a sign around her neck in elementary school that said, "Do Not Speak Hawaiian to Me." So the outright murder of Hawaiians doesn't happen - that would be racist genocide and so un-American. The murder of Hawaiian culture, though, happens every day, slowly: tens of millions of state dollars go every year to the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, which sells us, Hawaiians, as the "Host Culture" to market the state, but there's never been a state-recognized, state-funded hula halau. The state will pay a highly respected Japanese artist from Maui more than $300,000 to do a bronze sculpture of a scantily clad, mythic Hawaiian man offering water to all the tourists at the convention center, but there was not one native Hawaiian artist commissioned in the original artwork plan. The Advertiser stated in a recent editorial: "... the task for Hawaiians ... for self-determination now is to set aside the past and work toward a unified future. This means ... less dwelling on the far-distant past - the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom - and more attention to the future. What happened happened. It was an unhappy moment for many, but more than a century has gone by." More than 600 years had passed before we "remembered" our trans-oceanic voyaging and launched the Hokule'a. Hula was banned in public in the 1800s. Use of our native language was effectually destroyed by the provisional government in public and private schools in 1896 and in government in 1900 by the territorial government. If we can forget the overthrow because it happened in the "far-distant past," then let's forget Hokule'a, hula, and 'olelo Hawai'i. Wouldn't like that, would you? So how come it's okay to "remember" all the things that make money through tourism and marketing, how come we get to "renew" all the happy, fun stuff: hula, paddling, voyaging, etc., but are shut down consistently when we remember the stuff that's going to cost something or make someone uncomfortable? Well-intentioned, educated, sympathetic, influential cuts that mask a greedy, hypocritical, arrogant, decidedly American ideology. American ideology is to forget the past because America was largely built on land stolen through government-sponsored genocide against native Americans and wealth garnered from slavery. While this generation benefits, it doesn't want any moral responsibility for those atrocities. And, in Hawai'i, many flat-out deny any connection between the past and present: Hawaiians aren't suffering now because even if wrongs were committed, "... they were done to your ancestors, and you've benefited greatly by being American." In other words, "No dead bodies, so shut up!" The genocide of Hawaiian culture may not be complete for another 20, another 50 years, but it will happen - unless we re-establish our sovereign nation. People with Hawaiian blood will still be here, but my culture - distinct and unique from everyone else - will have bled to death. So, are you, the citizenry of the Aloha State, arrogant enough to think that without Hawaiian culture this place will still be the same, that there will still be aloha? I know many of you believe that. I hear many local people, people who have been here for generations, people like Uncle Ben who've pulled themselves up outta Kalihi by their own bootstraps and into Washington Place, people who "feel" Hawaiian, believe they've got this "aloha" thing down and that we've become moot: Hawaiians and Hawaiian culture aren't necessary for this multicultural society. That, to me, is a big gamble. If you're wrong, and we are necessary, then the residents of Hawai'i will have truly destroyed paradise - both the land and the spirit. But you are willing to gamble that, aren't you? Because if we're not needed then that saves a helluva lot of land and power. Land and Power. This is all about Land and Power, baby. So, of course you've got to take down Hawaiian Homes, OHA and gathering rights. And then you'll take Kamehameha Schools, Queen Emma's Trust, and Queen Lili'uokalani's Trust too, because that's an obscene amount of land and power. And why wouldn't you want Hawaiians to have land and power? "Because if those Hawaiians ever do manage to unite their sorry asses together, those assets and ali'i trusts will provide them the financial and political clout to sue us for some 1.8 million acres - with back rent, plus interest - from 1959, when the Territory made a deal with the U.S. called the "Statehood Act." Hell, with that kind of land and power consolidation, they could successfully sue the U.S. for reparations and completely overthrow the islands' power structure!" Now you know why there's never been a complete inventory of the ceded lands. If this isn't what many of you think, then why are we where we are? Why didn't you speak out against Rice? Why aren't you speaking out against Barrett, Goemans, Carroll, Burgess, Twigg-Smith, Conklin, et. al? Responsibility belongs to everyone who lives here, and being passive does not release you from responsibility. So, now this educated, moderate, peaceful kanaka is taking the P.C. gloves off and cutting back. Paper cuts only, mind you. But I gotta let you guys know, I'm feeling like so much has been, and is being, ripped from my na'au that I've got nothing to lose. You wanna "feel" Hawaiian? Come, feel 1,000 tiny cuts. We were once warriors too, you know - and I hope for all our sakes we aren't forced to using more than pens because of everyone's passivity or denial of responsibility and reality. <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> Note: the content of forwarded messages reflects the opinion of the authors, not necessarily that of the list maintainers. _________________________________________________________________ This list is provided as a free service. Donations may be made to: Aloha First, PO Box 701, Waimanalo, Hawaii 96795 _________________________________________________________________ Hawai`i - Independent & Sovereign info@hawaii-nation.org http://hawaii-nation.org _________________________________________________________________ "The cause of Hawaii and independence is larger and dearer than the life of any man connected with it. Love of country is deep- seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station." - Queen Lili`uokalani _________________________________________________________________ Post message: mailto:hawaii-nation@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: mailto:hawaii-nation-subscribe@yahoogroups.com --------- "RE: Tribe Seeks to Evict Homeowners" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 06:32:55 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EVICTIONS" Calif. tribe seeks to evict homeowners By Mark Shaffer The Arizona Republic Feb. 26, 2001 12:00:00 Seventy-year-old Joe Benjamin never leaves home these days. But it has nothing to do with bad health or lack of a ride. Benjamin is one of 12 homeowners on the scenic California shore of Lake Havasu who fears that if he leaves, officials from the Chemehuevi Tribe will break in, haul off his belongings and padlock his home. Benjamin watches the door, his gun close at hand. "Any of those people come in here and they're dead," Benjamin said. "I paid for my home-site lease for 24 years and they've been trying to steal my house from me for the last 10 years." That pretty much summarizes the emotions on the non-Indian side of this bitter dispute, which has been dragging on for more than a decade. It's now entered the U.S. District Court realm in Phoenix, with the homeowners charging at a hearing Thursday that their civil rights are being violated. Homeowners say the tribe has demanded that they sign new home-site leases that basically give their homes to the tribe, and that they aren't even dealing with representatives of a legally created reservation. Tribal officials say they are at odds with freeloaders who want to live on the cheap, and that they will legally evict them as soon as possible. At Thursday's hearing, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton refused to issue a temporary restraining order that would have prohibited the tribe from going ahead with eviction proceedings against Benjamin and six other people living in the "Colony" along Lake Havasu. "We are going to get a valid court order and evict them," Tribal Attorney Lester Marston said. "If anyone brandishes a weapon, they will be criminally prosecuted." Marston pointed out that more than 400 other homeowners in nearby Havasu Landing on the reservation used the same arguments to keep from paying increased rents in the early 1990s and that federal courts ruled in the tribe's favor. Residents on the lakefront believe they have an ace in the hole. They claim that the Chemehuevi Tribe isn't even legally on land that it claims is being held in trust for the tribe by the federal government. In the Mission Indian Relief Act of 1907, the Interior secretary withdrew lands for 14 Indian tribes in California, including the Chemehuevis. Those lands were to have been in the Chemehuevi Valley in the Colorado River area. But, unlike the other 13 tribes, the Chemehuevis never received a trust patent to any land. The Chemehuevis now claim it was an oversight on the part of the federal government. But according to a 1990 Bureau of Indian Affairs memo, the trust patent wasn't issued at the time "because the Chemehuevis are not Mission Indians." The BIA had turned down a request by the tribe for a trust patent in 1985. The BIA reversed itself in 1998. In a letter to the Bureau of Land Management office in Sacramento, Phoenix BIA area director Wayne Nordwall urged that a trust patent be given to the tribe because "it is evident that the Department (of Interior) and the Congress considered the Chemehuevis as Mission Indians." Marston also wrote in a memo to the tribe 10 years ago that the only reason he could think of why the patent wasn't issued was that the BIA was trying to get the Chemehuevis to move down the river to live on the Colorado River Indian Tribe's land in the Parker area and didn't want to patent the current reservation. Further adding to the confusion was that many tribal members left the area in the 1940s after Lake Havasu was created. The tribe had no formal government between 1949 and 1970, and non-Indians were encouraged to lease the home sites during that time. The Chemehuevi tribal government was recognized again by the federal government in 1970, and it continued the home-site leasing program before greatly increasing the rental rates in 1992 to $6,000 a year from about $400. Marston said the lack of a trust patent by the tribe is a non-issue. "If you agree to sell a house to me and go down to the escrow office to sign the deed and I take possession of that house, then it's my house, whether I have the deed or not," Marston said. "The secretary of the Interior issued an order for the Chemehuevis to have a reservation." But Jeri Wendt of Huntington Beach, Calif., a homeowner in the Colony, said the reservation question ultimately will be decided by the courts. "I'm in this for the long haul," Wendt said. "You can't win in the kangaroo courts on the reservation because you can't even take a lawyer in there with you. If we get our day in a legitimate court of law and lose, well, we lose and I will pack up." Reach the reporter at mark.shaffer@arizonarepublic.com or (602)444-8057. Copyright c. 2001, The Arizona Republic. All rights reserved Gannett Co. Inc --------- "RE: Sinte Gleska" --------- Date: Mon, 12 Feb 2001 11:09:26 -0800 (PST) From: Paul Pureau Subj: ICT:Sinte Gleska Mailing List: ndn-aim MISSION, S.D. - Sinte Gleska University, as part of its 31st annual Founder's Day, queried St. Francis school students to help the college establish clear direction for stronger educationl services and community involvement. Moderator Phil Baird asked young people who filled the room at the Feb. 1 special forum what direction they saw themselves going and if and where they planned to attend college. About two thirds of the students raised their hands when Baird asked if they were college bound. Half of those students indicated they planned to seek higher education opportunities off the reservation while the others said they would consider remaining on the reservation and attending classes at Sinte Gleska. One of the reasons the students gave for leaving the reservation was, as one student put it, "There is nothing to do." Many students said access to shopping malls, recreational facilities and the chance to engage in new experiences away from the reservation were reasons for pursuing college careers off the reservation. But leaving to acquire additional life experiences did not mean they would not return. About half of the students said they would return after college. Many said they were interested in following professional career paths including the health, legal and computer fields. A small number expressed an interest in career choices such as agriculture. Few were interested in becoming livestock producers. The desire to see changes in their neighborhoods and communities was universal. "I would like to have better neighborhoods, lawns, sidewalks and cleaner neighborhoods," one youth said. Amenities missing from reservation neighborhoods are improvements students pointed out that the tribe and communities could make. Green grass, street names, paved roads and trees in the area topped the list of another student who wanted tribal developments to mirror more urban counterparts. "I would like a neighborhood watch program," said another. Many said they were concerned about drinking parties in their neighborhoods and wanted to see change. SGU President Lionel Bordeaux suggested that university officials meet with the students perhaps once a month to talk about how to make positive changes in the communities. "I think it can be arranged." Bordeaux said one of the university's interests is to integrate the education system on the Rosebud Sioux reservation to make a seamless education network for students from kindergarten through the college years. "We always wanted Sinte Gleska to tie in with each and every one of our schools." He pointed out local educators with ties to SGU including Cheryl Crazy Bull and Nancy Keller, who work with children in their early years, as a way for the college to making a difference in the lives of students on the reservations. Bordeaux reminisced about the struggles the college faced in its 30-year history to gather resources to build buildings and create a college campus. Now officials have begun to focus on programs and cater to needs of students wanting careers in professional areas. "I think we've done the hard part. Now we plan to strengthen everything we have." Plans include further discussion over a possible national and international university system that would provide educational opportunities for all Native people. Language, health care and the integration of cultural and economic planning were discussed. Preserving the language and bringing it back into the homes of the Lakota people is one challenge university staffers are trying to address. A relatively recent survey indicated that few students speak the language. The survey reported a division among parents about how the language should be taught. While some favored including it as a part of the school programs, others wanted just basic subjects offered in schools and preferred to teach the Lakota language in the home. The survey showed fewer than 1 percent of reservation children speak the Lakota language when they start school. Crazy Bull, who serves on the SGU board, said a survey of reservation students indicated they had a desire to learn the language. "Everywhere we want to go they say they want to learn the language." Albert White Hat said those still practicing traditional roles - such as medicine men and spiritual leaders - don't receive recognition they are due. Their connection with the community is often ignored by institutions such as Indian Health Service, he said. John Spotted Tail, a descendent of the chief for whom the university is named, noted there are many members of the outlying communities who understand traditions but go unrecognized, who could make valid contributions to preserving the culture. His solution is to include them in gatherings and foster their interaction with tribal members. Kay Humphrey reports from the Northern Great Plains. She can be reached at (605) 865-5280 or by e-mail humphrey@rapidnet.com. Copyright c. 2000 Indian Country Today ===== Paul Pureau to subscribe to ndn-aim send a blank mail to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com ndn-aim is now archived on line at Http://www.escribe.com/life/ndn-aim/ FREE PELTIER NOW! STOP ETHNIC CLEANSING OF THE LAKOTA! --------- "RE: Sliammon Indian Band Reaches Treaty Agreement" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 06:32:55 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="2ND BAND TREATY" Sliammon Indian band reaches treaty agreement after five years of talks VANCOUVER (CP) - Five years of treaty negotiations culminated Saturday when the Sliammon First Nation and government officials initialled an agreement in principle. Negotiators for both sides endorsed the agreement at a ceremony in Powell River, about 250 kilometres northwest of Victoria. The agreement would award the Sliammon, located on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast, $24.4 million and 5,000 hectares of Crown land. In February 2000, the Sliammon rejected an offer of $16.75 million and 5, 369 hectares of land. The new agreement also gives the Sliammon the right to self-government. "The Sliammon First Nation will move away from the Indian Act and have its own government," band negotiator Joe Gallagher said in a phone interview Saturday. "Provincial and federal laws will apply to Sliammon as well as Sliammon laws and in the final agreement we will identify whose laws will be paramount in certain areas." In return, the agreement calls for the Sliammon to give up their tax- exempt status. "At this point the agreement calls for the (tax-exempt status) to be gone in the same time frame as the Nisga'a - eight to 12 years for transaction taxes and 12 years for all other taxes," said Gallagher. "It also calls for Sliammon to have taxation authority." The Nisga'a aboriginals of northwest B.C. successfully negotiated a modern-day land-claims treaty with the federal and provincial governments in August 1998 after more than a century of intermittent talks. The Nisga'a gave up their tax-exempt status in return for ownership of about 2,000 square kilometres of land the rights to administer a municipal-style government. The next step in the treaty process calls for Sliammon negotiators to take the agreement-in-principle to their community. "It goes to the community for consultation, discussion and a vote," said Gallagher. "That vote will determine whether or not it's ratified." It could up to eight weeks before the Sliammon people vote on the agreement. If it is ratified, negotiations will begin toward a final treaty, which is expected to be reached within two to three years. "The agreement sets the framework for a final treaty," said B.C. Aboriginal Affairs Minister David Zirnhelt. "The public wants treaty issues settled, and an end to uncertainty over land and resources." Copyright c. 2001 Southam Digital and Pacific Newspaper Group Inc. The Vancouver Sun is a CanWest publication --------- "RE: Squaw Remains in Idaho" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 12:10:29 -0000 From: "anne.bates" Subj: 'Squaw' remains in Idaho Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=022701&ID=s927393 'Squaw' remains in Idaho Panhandle lawmakers help kill review of derogatory names Betsy Z. Russell - Staff writer BOISE _ A House committee killed a plan Monday to remove the derogatory word "squaw" from Idaho place names, with two North Idaho lawmakers providing the deciding votes. Reps. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, and John Campbell, R-Sandpoint, both voted against the bill, which died in a 10-9 vote. It had passed the Senate, 33-1. "I don't think the word is derogatory," said Harwood, whose district includes parts of both the Coeur d'Alene and Nez Perce Indian reservations. "It's the way it's being said that would make 'em take it that way." Campbell, whose district includes the Kootenai Tribe's reservation, said, "I thought the bill was unnecessary. ... I think it's a costly waste of time." No one testified against SCR105, which had been proposed jointly by all of Idaho's recognized Indian tribes and was unanimously endorsed by the state Indian Affairs Council, which includes both lawmakers and tribal representatives. Instead, several members of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe testified in favor of the bill. "A term that we've heard all our lives is very, very offensive to us," Coeur d'Alene Tribal Chairman Ernie Stensgar told the committee. "We've lived with that term silently. We feel it's time to erase that from the state of Idaho." Norma Jean Louie, a Coeur d'Alene Tribal Council member, said she was called "squaw" as an insult while attending public schools in the 1950s and 1960s. "It was demeaning, derogatory and hurtful," she told the committee. "Growing up during those times, I had developed an inferiority complex because I felt I was not equal to the other children. It was hurtful and offensive." An estimated 93 places in Idaho now carry names that include the word "squaw," which has been variously translated as Indian woman, whore, and an obscene term referring to female genitalia. Regardless of how it's translated, Indian people say it's a deeply insulting and offensive term. Coeur d'Alene Tribal Council member Francis SiJohn said, "This word `squaw' has no place in the beautiful places such as the bays and creeks and mountains to which it is applied. ... It is not a beautiful word. It is a derogatory word to my people." But several committee members spoke out against the proposal, which would have set up a committee to investigate changing the 93 place names and propose alternatives. "Just because people take it as offensive doesn't make it offensive," said Rep. Twila Hornbeck, R-Grangeville. "I really find it offensive for people to come and tell me what my language means when I have talked this language for 60 years." Harwood agreed. "Sometimes we're changing words unnecessarily, when we really need to be working on the heart and why we say what we say," he told the committee. Rep. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, said, "It is difficult to change. ... I think if we start this process we'd need to be sensitive to all peoples. We'd need to change Mormon crickets, we'd need to change the Grand Tetons." Rep. Mary Lou Shepherd, D-Prichard, said she's had "many, many calls" about the issue from her district. "All were in support of this," she said. "I vote the way my district asks me to, and I will be supporting this," she said. Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, also voted for the bill. After the vote, Stensgar said, "I think the tribes have to educate Idaho. I think we have a lot of work to do." He added, "It was very disappointing, certainly. ... I thought it would go through, I really did." Coeur d'Alene Tribal elder Felix Aripa, who sat in on the committee meeting along with 101-year-old tribal elder Annie Samuels, said, "It's still hurting us older people. We don't even like to say that word." Idaho state historian Larry Jones said there's nothing to stop tribes or other interested parties from proposing the place-name changes even without legislation. The state Historical Society, sitting as the Idaho Geographic Names Board, meets twice a year to consider such proposals. A federal interagency board has the final say; that federal board is due to come to Boise next September for a meeting. While the legislation called for a review of all 93 place names within the next year, the normal process requires an individual application for each proposed change, Jones said. He said the key is proposing an alternative name that is both historically appropriate to the site, and doesn't duplicate another place name. The society also gathers public input on possible name changes. To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER --------- "RE: Reserves Called Suicide Breeding Grounds" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 15:26:06 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SUICIDE" Feb. 26, 08:16 EDT Reserves called suicide 'breeding grounds' Native delegates say community has to set example on drugs, alcohol OTTAWA (CP) - Canada's reserves are "breeding grounds for suicide," a delegate said Monday at a national health conference of the Assembly of First Nations. But unlike some critics who berate the federal government for appallingly high suicide rates in aboriginal communities, most delegates at the workshop on aboriginal youth suicide focused much closer to home. "I firmly believe that as leadership in a community, we have to be the ones to lead healthy lifestyles," said Velma Knight of the Soto First Nation, near North Battleford, Sask. "I'll never quit saying it - it has to start from leadership," she said. "People in the community need to show these youth a healthy lifestyle free of alcohol and drugs and whatever." In the past, non-native leaders have been excoriated for similar statements. Last June, Brian Tobin, then premier of Newfoundland, was called patronizing, racist and a purveyor of stereotypes when he said alcoholism among aboriginal leaders was an impediment to cleaning up problems. But Knight was applauded by her peers Monday. Joy Ward, a policy consultant and aboriginal liaison with the Health Association of British Columbia, had given a 30-minute talk on aboriginal youth suicide. "It's not true that all native groups have higher than average suicide rates," Ward said. There is a direct correlation between communities that are most in touch with their traditional culture, she said, and lower suicide rates, including some in which suicide is "virtually unknown." But that's not what attracted about 200 delegates to the workshop. Repeated studies have characterized Canada's aboriginal suicide rate as an international blight. A 1995 royal commission cited native suicide rates at five or six times the national average. Suicides account for almost a third of all deaths among registered native youth - five to eight times the rate for other Canadian youth. An international charity that works with indigenous people labelled the Innu of Labrador's Davis Inlet the "most suicide-ridden people in the world." For delegates at Monday's workshop, the focus was neither international nor even national, but at the band level. "There has to be a complete change in how politics is being delivered in our communities," said Peter Stevens from the Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia, who described reserve conditions as "actually the breeding grounds for suicide." "All of you who are here who live on reserves know about band politics and how harmful and how hurtful it is to those that are impacted." He too was applauded. Another delegate said local leaders should act for their communities, not for "their own interests." "I've seen far too much of that," he said. One youth delegate suggested the matter begins in the home. The teenager from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan said politics, alcoholism and joblessness are side issues. "You can educate me, send me here, send me there, but I need to know that you care about me," she said. "That's what will keep me out of trouble." Norman Whitehawk, a delegate from the Cody First Nation in Saskatchewan, drew laughter and applause when he said he'd been the community maintenance worker six months earlier but had been elected chief. Whitehawk said he had run as an "independent" to end bitter infighting that split the reserve each election and stalled social programs. "I think it's a leadership issue," the 39-year-old said firmly in an interview. "The leaders got to take the front line in dealing with these things, whether it's suicide or drugs and alcohol, whatever we have on the reserve." Copyright 1996-2001. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tribe Signs Water Compact with State" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 13:03:41 -0000 From: "anne.bates" Subj: Tribe signs water compact with state Mailing List: ndn-aim Tribe signs water compact with state By The Associated Press FORT BELKNAP AGENCY (AP) - The Fort Belknap Community Council has unanimously approved its water rights compact with the state, the result of a nearly 14-year negotiation and planning process. However, final approval of water claims by tribes, irrigators, towns and others who use the Milk River Basin could still be years away. "I know everybody may not totally agree with what's in the document, but it's workable," said Joe McConnell, chairman of the Fort Belknap Community Council. "We claim that we have all of the water rights now, but we don't have the dollars to do anything with it." The compact, one of several the state has negotiated with Montana Indian tribes, now must wind its way through the state Legislature and Congress. Ultimately, it will come to a vote of the entire Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribal membership. "That's sort of a leap of faith for all us to say, 'OK, we're going to go through this whole process and in the end your membership gets to vote on it,' " said Susan Cottingham, staff director for the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission, which was instrumental in negotiating the agreement. "I think in the end it'll be fine," she added. "But it's possible we could get through this whole thing and it could get voted down." For the tribes, the agreement quantifies water rights - which were never exercised - dating back to a 1908 Supreme Court decision. Under the agreement, federal and state funds would help the reservation develop its water resources with projects such as irrigation systems to expand agriculture operations. For non-tribal irrigators downstream, the compact guarantees "mitigation measures," such as new reservoirs, to ensure enough water still exists once the tribes start their own water projects. "We feel there's a lot more to be gained by compacting," said Chinook farmer Kay Blatter, chairman of the Milk River Joint Board of Control, which coordinates irrigation districts. "Through compacting, funds will be made available to help (the tribes) do some projects and help us as irrigation districts do some projects." The compact defines water rights on the Milk River, Peoples Creek, Beaver Creek in the southeast region of the reservation and tributaries of the Missouri River in the southwest corner of the reservation. Some tribal members have criticized the tribal council for not giving the public enough opportunity to review the agreement. But McConnell noted the compact still must be voted on by the entire Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribal membership. "We've just taken one step and it's a long process, and hopefully it'll go through the system and come back in a form the community will accept," he said. ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER --------- "RE: Nevada Tribes Helath Care Struggle" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 08:15:40 -0600 From: "John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate" Subj: (FWD)Indian News 02-26-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 02/26/2001 08:15 AM HEALTH CARE: Despite assistance, Nevada tribes struggle Federal bill set for reauthorization, but officials say it's not enough By CHRISTINE DORSEY Las Vegas Review-Journal February 25, 2001 WASHINGTON -- Despite efforts in Congress to renew a bill that pays health expenses for American Indians, Nevada tribes are struggling to provide basic health care needs for their members, according to state and health officials. In January, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., reintroduced the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, a 10-year law set to expire in September. Reps. George Miller, D-Calif., and Frank Pallone, D-N.J., plan to introduce a similar bill in March. The law governs how the federal Indian Health Service doles out money to tribal clinics, doctors and other health care providers who serve 1.5 million American Indians and Native Alaskans in 550 tribes. In Nevada, where Bureau of Indian Affairs officials estimate the American Indian population will increase by 8,000 to 28,000 in the 2000 census, the law has not provided enough money to sustain a strong health program, officials said. "The bill hasn't helped Nevada," said Sherrada James, executive director of the Nevada Indian Commission, a state office charged with addressing issues facing tribes. In 1980, Nevada had two tribal hospitals, in addition to several clinics, James said. But that year, the health service closed a hospital in Schurz. Four years ago, another hospital in Owyhee stopped offering inpatient services. The reason in both cases was lack of funding. Currently, Indians either go to non-Indian hospitals that may or may not accept their federal health insurance, or they travel to Phoenix, where the nearest Indian hospital is located. "Tribes in Nevada want a hospital in Nevada," James said. The state is home to 13 tribal health clinics scattered in mostly rural settings. Some are funded solely by the health service, while others get grant money and supplement that with tribal funding. In 1997-98, Nevada clinics served about 17,000 American Indian patients. In 2000, the clinics received about $30 million from the service to help fund health programs, about 60 percent of their overall unmet health care needs. But James said health care costs in Nevada are higher than nearby states, and Nevada tribal clinics get no additional assistance from the state. The Campbell bill would authorize funding through 2013, but appropriators still must set spending levels each year. "There are a lot of good things in the act, but will they be funded?" said Loren Ellery, director of the Reno-Sparks Indian Health Clinic. "And at what rate?" Ellery said clinics like the Reno-Sparks facility struggle to give their patients the kind of basic service non-Indian facilities offer -- on-site X-rays or blood tests. "We don't have any lab equipment in our facilities," Ellery said. That means patients have to be referred to other facilities, making it more complicated to get appropriate care. "It's really an oddball system," he said, adding that the ratio of doctors to patients in Indian country is much lower than in other areas. Under the new legislation, that may change. One amendment would allow federal licensing waivers to doctors who work among Indians, expanding the pool of physicians available to tribes. Currently, only doctors who work on military bases or veterans hospitals qualify for the waiver, Ellery said. But cost is the biggest obstacle for tribal clinics, Ellery said. Under Indian health care law, the federal government pays for all medical care and prescription drugs, an increasingly expensive mandate. "We have a budget we have to meet," he said, and that budget gets squeezed more and more. The health service budget for 2001 was $2.6 billion, about $214 million more than it was in 2000. That budget pays for 9,450 employees, plus thousands of contract workers. That money goes to several area offices, and finally trickles down to tribal offices. Dr. Michael Trujillo, the new health service director, addressed the National Congress of American Indians in Washington this week, and said he is optimistic President Bush will continue to make funding a priority. Bush is set to release his 2002 budget next week. --------- "RE: Modern Medicine can Learn from Navajo" --------- Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 05:58:12 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MEDICINE" Friday, February 16, 2001 Modern medicine can learn from Navajo, surgeon says Balance of mind, body and spirit are central to wellness By Elaine Jarvik Deseret News staff writer Her people have never called it "psychoneuroimmunology" or "systems thinking" or even "support group therapy." But intuitively, Lori Arviso Alvord says, Navajos have long known what Western medicine is only recently figuring out: that our mind and spirit affect our bodies. Dr. Lori Arviso Alvord, a k a "first Navajo woman surgeon," is an assistant professor of surgery at Dartmouth and associate dean of student, minority affairs. Paul Barker, Deseret News Western medicine, she says, can learn a lot from what she calls "ceremony medicine," and the philosophies underlying it. Alvord, known as "the first Navajo woman surgeon," is an assistant professor of surgery at Dartmouth Medical School and associate dean of student and minority affairs. "Our native people's ceremonies have validity in terms of healing that no one has investigated," she told a room full of doctors and nurses at surgery ground rounds at the University of Utah Medical School Wednesday. While she's not necessarily prescribing Night Chant ceremonies for patients about to go under the knife, she does think that many elements of healing ceremonies, and the Navajo concept of Walking in Beauty that they embrace, should be a part of the modern hospital. The perfect hospital, she said, would be an environment of calmness and serenity. Patient comfort would be emphasized. Efforts would be made to decrease patient anxiety, since stress negatively affects the immune system. A perfect hospital would encourage family and other support systems, she says. And it wouldn't smell like a hospital, either, she said. It would smell like chilies, maybe. It would be filled with light, provide "generous and comfortable seating" for relatives, and would include porches and gardens and even ceremonial space, because beauty relaxes the body and therefore strengthens the immune system. The patient would feel that everyone he encountered is committed to his comfort and healing. "Spas do a better job of this than we do," Alvord told the doctors and nurses. Finally ("the controversial part," Alvord said with a smile), medical interns and residents would not be trained under "the model of masochism" most American hospitals favor. Sleep deprivation doesn't help anyone have a balanced life, she explained. "Mistakes occur when the staff is stressed by fatigue, anger, anxiety and low morale," said Alvord, who has detailed her feelings about Navajo and Western medicine in her book "The Scalpel and the Silver Bear." A balanced life -- a balance of body, mind and spirit -- is central to wellness, according to Navajo belief. Western medicine has only lately begun to believe this, and to employ Navajo ceremonial techniques such as meditation, guided imagery and "group support." Alvord grew up in Crown Point, N.M., the daughter of a Navajo father and a white mother. She attended Dartmouth and Stanford Medical School. It was while she was in her surgical residency at Stanford, and later while she practiced in Gallup, that she began to appreciate the traditional medicine she had left behind. Modern medicine, although of course helpful in so many ways, is often a lonely ordeal for patients. During a Navajo healing ceremony, on the other hand, a whole community will gather to help a person heal. "Ceremonies are entirely about social support," Alvord said. "Disease is a frightening thing. The last thing we need is to be alone." E-MAIL: jarvik@desnews.com Copyright c. 2001 Deseret News Publishing Company --------- "RE: Miami Tribe Hopes for Recognition" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 10:36:23 -0600 From: "John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate" Subj: (FWD)Indian News 02-27-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 02/27/2001 10:36 AM Tribe hopes for recognition Tribune Star By Jason Hathaway Sunday, Feb. 25 Regaining national recognition as a tribe for the Miami Indians was the main topic of discussion Saturday night at the Native American Museum at Dobbs Park as Miami Chief Paul Strack detailed the tribe's quest. Strack, a Monroeville resident, is the elected chief of the Miami Indians of Indiana, a tribe that once was widespread throughout the state and still claims between 5,000 and 6,000 descendants in Indiana. The purpose of his visit to Terre Haute was to inform area residents about the importance of regaining national tribal recognition. With this recognition, the Miami Tribe would be considered its own nation, able to govern itself without interference. The combination of past injustices brought upon Native Americans by the federal government and the present reluctance of the government to recognize the Miamis as a tribe is upsetting, Strack said. "The war continues," he said. "It's a matter of one culture taking as much from another culture as the current political climate will allow ? I can't describe to you the frustration of being involved in a group of people who have been moved, removed, taught other languages and religions and then have someone come back and judge them on community." Strack provided a historical background on the Miami, who originated in Indiana, and told of unfair treatment of the tribe by the federal government in the 1800s. Much of the tribe was relocated by government order to Oklahoma, following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. As time went on, government policies were used to take more and more land from Indian tribes as the country expanded west under the banner of Manifest Destiny. Back in Indiana, remaining Miamis were in conflict with the state government, which was taxing their land, supposedly untaxable with the Miami's tribal recognition. The Miamis sued the state in the 1890s to receive the tax money they had lost over the years, but they were rebuffed. In 1897, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Willis Vandevanter used early documents to prove that the Miamis had not been protected from taxation by the federal government since 1881. He then gave the opinion that the Miamis were no longer nationally recognized as a tribe, Strack said. One hundred and four years later, this federal ruling still stings the Miami Indians, Strack said. "We're still suffering the effects of that," he said. "The government still considers us to be terminated, and we're still thinking about that." Such tribes as the Miami still are on the quest for a fair shake with the federal government in the 21st century. In the past year, a growing number of tribes received their national recognition from former President Clinton's administration. Strack is hoping for a federal government that is more cooperative and sympathetic with the needs of Native American tribes that still are very much alive and well across the country. "One thing that seems to remain consistent about it is that the federal government claims to maintain its obligation to protect the cultural development of tribes," he said. "We hope that remains true and that the federal government and its citizens honor their treaties." In a question-and-answer session with his audience, Strack also addressed the issue of gaming within the Miami Tribe, stating that the Miami Indians of Indiana have no part of it. Recent lawsuits for Miami land recovery in Illinois to gain land for casino construction have been a project of the Miami Indians of Oklahoma only, Strack said. The negative publicity tacked on to the tribal-owned casinos also has been an obstacle in gaining national recognition, Strack said. "The only reason we don't have recognition is because of gaming," he said. The audience asked and had answered several questions about the background and present situation of the Miamis. Audience member Phyllis Taylor, a Terre Haute woman with a lifelong interest in Native American culture, said she found the speech informative. "I think it's very nice to have the program, and I hope they have more like it," she said. Native American Museum curator John Koch also was pleased with the program and its message. He would like to have Strack return for another program in the future, possibly to give a program to local students. "He's more than welcome to come back anytime he'd like to," he said. "I think the public would enjoy it, and we're really happy with the turnout we had tonight. "I think [Strack] did a magnificent job." --------- "RE: Army Ordered to Alter Snake River Dams" --------- Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 20:49:54 -0800 (PST) From: Martha Elizabeth Ture Subj: Fwd: Army Ordered to Alter Snake River Dams ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 21:08:53 EST February 18, 2001 Army Ordered to Alter Snake River Dams By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/18/national/18DAMS.html PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 17 - A federal court has ruled that the United States Army Corps of Engineers' operation of four Snake River dams violates the Clean Water Act. The decision, made on Friday, could cost the agency millions of dollars to modify the dams and protect endangered salmon in eastern Washington State. The United States District Court in Portland ordered the corps to find ways to lower water temperatures behind the dams to protect the river's water quality as well as its threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead trout. The court gave a deadline of 60 days. The ruling supports environmental groups who say the dams raise water temperatures and add levels of nitrogen that violate water-quality standards. The Nez Perce tribe and the State of Oregon joined the lawsuit brought by the environmental groups. Dutch Meier, a corps spokesman in Walla Walla, Wash., said the corps would study the problem and decide what action to take. It was not clear how the ruling would affect the National Marine Fisheries Service's plan for saving Columbia Basin salmon. Martha --------- "RE: Buffalo News" --------- Date: Thu, 22 Feb 2001 12:13:34 -0700 From: Buffalo Folks Subj: Buffalo News In this issue: * Update from the only group WITH the buffalo 365 days a year! * Buffalo Field Campaign Week of Action - March 19th to the 25th * Video showings: 32 showings in 20 states/1 prov.: OH,ME,WA,VT,CA,SC,TX,NV,IL,VA,MT,GA,NH,MI,NY,PA,CO,FL,DC,MA, ONT. * THANKS! _____________ * From the Field Greetings, friends, It appears the 'powers that be' decided to leave the bison alone this week. Most of the animals that were hazed with the helicopter on February 14th have returned to the habitat that they were in. My thoughts on patrol the other day: The day began with a stunning, rosy red sunrise; ice crystals glistening in the cold, still morning air. The power of the bison transcends time and space as they graze; huge, frost covered humps swaying back and forth in the snow. Onlookers felt that they were part of the tremendous beauty that enveloped them. They too, shared the strength that rippled through the necks and shoulders of these magnificent creatures. The patience of the bison was a message that could not be ignored. Here they were again, foraging for last summer's grass. Out in the harsh winter 24-7; surviving, thriving like no other can. They know not the boundaries of civilization, fences are but a nuisance. Their boldness is part of what scares people. The other wildlife hide in the trees, but the bison graze and chew their cud out in the open. Afraid of nothing living, bison represent something we wish we were. The last of the wild bison continue to do the hard work. They survive and reproduce in one of the harshest environments on the continent. They keep up attempts to regain their lands. Slowly, they continue into the storm, head down, grazing as they go. We work to welcome them home. For the wild ones, Pete Leusch **** We know how to stretch a dollar! In the BFC kitchen - Seeds of Peace averages 33 cents per meal/volunteer and we are talking about high quality, calorie laden food that keeps a person going in below freezing temps going... Volunteers are constantly brainstorming on ways to conserve fuel and resources. We couldn't do it without you - remember, $36 keeps a volunteer in the field for a week. Feel free to "adopt" a volunteer or two ~grin~ and as always - THANKS! Donations are tax deductible and can be sent to" BFC; POB 957; West Yellowstone, Montana 59758 for the buffalo! ___________ Buffalo Field Campaign Week of Action-March 19th to the 25th Buffalo Field Campaign will host a week of action dedicated to protecting the last wild buffalo herd in the United States. The week will include workshops on non-violence, blockades, climbing, guerilla media, winter survival, first aid, buffalo and the Yellowstone ecosystem, legal basics, and puppet/banner making. We are calling on everyone who can attend to join us during this week. On Friday, March 23 we will hold a spokes council with a non-violent direct action to follow on Saturday. The week will end with a spiritual ceremony on Sunday, March 25. Please notify us if you can attend this special week for the buffalo. Be prepared to camp and spend long hours in winter conditions. Seeds of Peace will be providing community meals but asks that you bring bulk food supplies for the kitchen. contact buffalo@wildrockies.org for more info ____________ * Video showings Check out the Buffalo compilation video in your community Bookmark our website and we will post locations/times as folks send them http://www.wildrockies.org If you are scheduling a viewing - please let cmcr@wildrockies.org know when and where. Contact us also if you are inspired to host a video - we have a support kit to help! Actions for the buffalo can radiate throughout the land! A hearty Thanks! to everyone setting up a viewing - Together we can raise our voices and be heard for the buffalo!! 1. Kent, OH (Kent State) * 2. Zanesville, OH * 3. Bar Harbor, ME (College of the Atlantic) * 4. Seattle, WA 5. Woodstock, VT 6. San Luis Obispo, CA 7. York, SC 8. Trinity, TX 9. Everett, WA 10. Chicago, IL 11. Berkeley, CA 12. Round Rock, TX (Austin Area) 13. Reno, NV (University of Nevada) 14. Keezeltown, VA 15. Missoula, MT 16. Atlanta, GA 17. Detroit, MI 18. Floral Park, NY 19. Sayre, PA 20. Paonia, CO 21. Long Beach, CA 22. Cocoa Beach, FL 23. Washington, DC 24. Orange County, CA (UC Irvine) 25. Copperas Cove, TX 26. Westland, MI 27. Gibsonia, PA 28. (Metis gathering, S. Ontario) 29. Wyncote, PA 30. Marin County, CA 31. Woburn, MA 32. North Conway, NH 33. Lexington, VA ______ Thanks to everyone who has been working so hard in Camp! Thanks also to Karen, Ann and Winona for your recent visits. Carole M. - our thoughts are with you in your time of grief! (come visit!:-) ) Thanks again to the Shoshonee-Bannock/ Mike S. for your generous food donations! We couldn't do it without all of you!!!! ______ From our library - something to ponder.... Why does America continue to kill buffalo? This is what Glendon Swarthout says in his novel, 'Bless the Beasts and Children': "There is more here than mere destruction. The American soul itself is involved, its anthropology. We are born with buffalo blood upon our hands. In the prehistory of us all, the atavistic beasts appear. They graze the plains of our subconscious, they trample through our sleep, and in our dreams we cry out our damnation. We know what we have done, we violent people. We know that no species was created to exterminate another, and the sight of their remnant stirs in us the most profound lust, the most undying hatred, the most inexpiable guilt. A living buffalo mocks us. It has no place or purpose. It is a misbegotten child, a monster with which we cannot live and which we cannot live without. Therefore we slay, and slay again, for while a single wild buffalo remains, the sin of our fathers, and hence our own, is imperfect. But the slaughter of the buffalo is part of something larger. It is as though the land of Canaan into which we were led was too divine, and until we have done it every violence, until we have despoiled and murdered and dirtied every blessing, until we have erased every reminder of our original rape, until we have washed our hands of the blood of every lamb in the blood of every other, we shall be unappeased. It is though we are too proud to be beholden to Him. We cannot bear the goodness of God." ___________________________________________________________ "Stop-the-slaughter" buffalo updates are mailed about 3-4 times/month. If this is forwarded to you and you would like to receive it regularly - go to http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/politk99/stssign.html Contributions to BFC are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and support our aggressive, front line volunteer campaign. We put the wild buffalo first! BFC is the only group working 365 days a year in Yellowstone with the buffalo. Info regarding the buffalo and how you can help at http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo --------- "RE: Ottawa Dragging Feet Affirming Aboriginal Rights" --------- Date: Wede, 28 Feb 2001 09:48:27 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OTTAWA" February 27, 2001 Ottawa dragging its feet affirming aboriginal rights, chiefs say OTTAWA (CP) -- The federal government could honour its vow to help poor First Nations by recognizing key court rulings supporting their rights, aboriginal leaders say. "Canada continues to fly in the face of those decisions," said Arthur Manuel, chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band and chairman of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council in British Columbia. He was among seven chiefs and other aboriginal representatives from across Canada who met Tuesday on Parliament Hill to denounce Ottawa's lack of action on treaty rights. Manuel cited the government's sluggish legal and policy responses to Supreme Court of Canada rulings in the 1997 Delgamuukw case and the 1999 Marshall decision. The high court clarified in Delgamuukw that aboriginal title to traditional lands and resources can't be wiped out by the Crown, said Manuel. Yet Ottawa's land claims policy fails to legally recognize aboriginal title, he said, and entices bands to give up their rights in exchange for settlements. The Marshall decision affirmed the right of Mi'kmaq and Maliseet aboriginals in Atlantic Canada to earn a "moderate" living from fishing, hunting and gathering. It said the federal government could impose reasonable limits for conservation, but that First Nations should be consulted. Aboriginal leaders say the government has tried to keep total control and consultation efforts have been a bad joke. Ottawa is guilty of double standards, said Jean LaRose, spokesman for the Assembly of First Nations. "When (court decisions) run in their favour, they're very, very fast to implement them. When they don't, they don't budge." Indian Affairs spokesman Steven Outhouse disagreed. The government has taken to heart "the spirit of Delgamuukw" -- that "it's best for everyone to sit down and talk their differences out and come to negotiated settlements," he said. Ottawa is committed to achieving land-claim deals out of court whenever possible, he added. "What these treaties seek to establish is certainty over lands, and those are not unilateral declarations. They're signed agreements by both sides that it's a full and final settlement." Asked why "certainty" requires aboriginals to give up their rights in exchange for land deals, Outhouse deferred to legal experts who weren't immediately available. As for Marshall, "consultation will be key" as the government seeks long-term resource-sharing agreements with Atlantic chiefs who've said they'll stick together this time, Outhouse said. Short-term agreements rejected by two bands last year led to violent confrontations between Fisheries officers and native fishermen trapping lobster out of season. Copyright c. 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Innu Accuse Church and Schools of Abuse" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 15:26:06 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ABUSE" Labrador Innu accuse church and schools of abuse Mon Feb 26 20:23:31 2001 ST. JOHN'S - Shocking new details have been released about allegations of widespread sexual and physical abuse in Labrador's Innu community. The accusations are spelled out in Supreme Court documents obtained by CBC Radio. They show the people of Davis Inlet and Sheshatshiu have filed nearly 50 cases against church and public officials for incidents dating back as early as the 1960s. The allegations include charges of confinement and degrading physical abuse through forced masturbation and buggery. The incidents are said to have happened in school washrooms, on hunting and fishing trips and in churches. The chief of Davis Inlet, Simeon Tshakapesh, alleges that an entire generation of young people was abused at the hands of church and state. He says many turned to alcohol and drugs to hide from the shame, and their children followed them. Tshakapesh is one of the plaintiffs. He claims he was 14 or 15 years old when he was sexually abused by a clergy member in the 1980s. Twenty-six cases have been filed against the Roman Catholic Church. The defendants include individual Oblate missionaries, the local Diocese, and the Vatican. Another 20 cases have been brought against four teachers, as well as the provincial and federal governments. The 46 alleged victims include dozens of Innu men and one woman. Some residents say the final number of lawsuits could top 200. An application to consolidate their cases into one has been made to Newfoundland Supreme Court. Mr. Justice Robert Hall is expected to rule on the application soon. Natalie Clancy reports for CBC TV Monica Kidd reports for CBC Radio Copyright c. 2001 CBC Radio. --------- "RE: Central Valley Tribe to Establish Court" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2001 10:55:43 EST From: kolahq@SKYNET.BE (KOLA) Subj: Central Valley American Indian tribe to establish court system >To: ShngSprt@aol.com <+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+> [source: NativeNews; Sat, 24 Feb 2001 12:54:58 -0500] Central Valley American Indian tribe to establish court system LEMOORE, Calif. (AP) -- A San Joaquin Valley American Indian tribe is establishing a new tribal court system and setting up its own police force. The Tachi Yokuts of the Santa Rosa Rancheria in Lemoore expect to have the court and police force operating by this summer, said Eugene Rosette, tribal justice court and law administrator. The court will have a tribal judge, court recorder and clerk. Misdemeanor cases will be heard, including property thefts, domestic violence and public intoxication. The court also will issue marriage licenses and settle custody disputes. Any felony cases will be turned over to the federal court for prosecution. A police force of eight officers also will be formed as part of the tribal court system. The Kings County Sheriff's Department and the Kings County Superior Court currently have jurisdiction over the area. Most tribes have not had the money to operate such a system, but the 1994 federal crime bill authorized funding for tribes that wanted to set up their own court system. "This is a sovereignty issue for the nation. They'll be able to police themselves and handle everything in a more traditional and cultural manner," said Matthew Parish, chief of tribal security. <+>=<+> [In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only.] <+>=<+> News ARCHIVES: http://users.skynet.be/kola/archive/ <+>=<+> KOLA Information: http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm KOLA Petitions: http://kola-hq.hypermart.net KOLA Greeting Cards: http://users.skynet.be/kola/cards.htm --------- "RE: Supreme Court Declines Nez Perce Case" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 05:12:34 -0800 (PST) From: Paul Pureau Subj: Supreme Court declines Nez Perce case Mailing List: ndn-aim Indianz.Com http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=law/2272001 Supreme Court declines Nez Perce case FEBRUARY 27, 2001 In a move welcomed by the Nez Perce Tribe, the Supreme Court on Monday turned down without comment a case that questioned the existence of their Idaho reservation. "We are pleased with the decision to deny the request," said tribal chairman Samuel N. Penney. "This finally puts to rest the recurring argument that the Nez Perce Reservation does not exist." But two legal foes of the tribe aren't as convinced of the reservation's finality. The state of Idaho had filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the appeal of Christopher Webb, a tribal member who admitted sexually abusing two minors, and a spokesperson for Attorney General Al Lance said the Court's action on Monday left open unanswered questions. "We think what's most important is that Mr. Webb is going to be held accountable for the crimes," said Bob Cooper. "But I would say that in not hearing the case, the Court clearly has not resolved the issue." Dan Johnson, chairman of the North Central Idaho Jurisdictional Alliance (NCIJA), agreed. Composed of nearly two dozen local governmental entities, Johnson's group has opposed the Nez Perce's exercise of sovereignty in areas of taxation, hunting, fishing, and water rights. "There still will be legal issues that the Court will need to resolve and I think the fundamental issue of the diminishment really remains to be seen," said Johnson. Once encompassing over 13 million acres, the Nez Perce Reservation was whittled down to a mere 750,000 acres by an 1863 treaty. Subsequent actions by Congress opened up some of reservation for allotment to tribal members and settlement by non-Indians. The state of Idaho and the NCIJA believe these actions significantly reduced the size of the reservation. But two federal courts have disagreed and Penney said the state has even put up road signs at the reservation's borders, notifying others of its existence. "The state implies that the existence of the reservation is somehow a new concept when all along, they have continued to act over the years as if it has existed," said Penney. A water rights case currently before the Idaho Supreme Court may come back to bite the tribe, however. In a water rights case on the Snake River, a lower state court found the reservation was diminished. The state and the alliance are watching the outcome of the case and if the state court upholds the lower ruling, the legal conflict might be ripe for review by the Supreme Court, they say. Webb's attorney declined to comment on the case. Webb, a Nez Perce tribal member, was convicted in federal court of two counts of abusive sexual contact of minors and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Copyright c. Indianz.Com 2000-2001. ===== Paul Pureau to subscribe to ndn-aim send a blank mail to: ndn-aim-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.com ndn-aim is now archived on line at Http://www.escribe.com/life/ndn-aim/ FREE PELTIER NOW! STOP ETHNIC CLEANSING OF THE LAKOTA! --------- "RE: Santee Tribe May Get Some Judicial Powers" --------- Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2001 12:40:11 -0000 From: "anne.bates" Subj: Santee Tribe May Get Some Judicial Powers Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.omaha.com/index.atp?u_div=3&u_hdg=0&u_s-id=73583 Santee Tribe May Get Some Judicial Powers Lincoln - The Santee Sioux Indians would gain jurisdiction over some civil and criminal cases, according to a resolution before the Nebraska Legislature. State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha said Wednesday that Legislative Resolution 17 calls for the state to "retrocede," or give back, legal jurisdiction over Indian lands from the state to the federal government. According to the resolution, jurisdiction over minor crimes committed by Indians against other Indians on the reservation would be resolved in tribal courts. Those courts also would have jurisdiction over civil cases that involve the tribe. Crimes committed by non-Indians on Indian lands would still be tried in state court, Chambers told the Judiciary Committee, and felonies committed on Indian lands by Indians would be tried in federal court. Federal law limits the maximum punishment handed down by a tribal court to a $500 fine, six months in prison or both. Roger Trudell, chairman of the Santee Sioux, said the tribe sought increased control to better handle drug and alcohol offenses committed on the reservation. Minors arrested on misdemeanor charges currently face a long wait before they are called before a county court, Trudell said. The wait gives people the wrong message, he said, and tells young offenders "there are no consequences." "By the time they get into court, they're usually of prison age and sent to prison directly," Trudell said. Two other Nebraska tribes, the Omaha and the Winnebago, have already won retrocession rights. As a resolution, the Chambers measure must clear only one round of debate by the full Legislature, not three as required for a legislative bill. If the resolution is adopted, officials from the state, the tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs would have to adopt joint-operating agreements, Chambers said. Trudell said the BIA would provide law enforcement and court services until the tribe is able to do so. The Santee reservation is in Knox County and home to about 1,000 people, Trudell said. To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, 5 March 2001 20:55:07 -0530 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: Prisoners' Pen Pal List Tell a Native American Prisoner someone cares! -- - - - Peltier, Leonard #89637-132 Box 1000 Leavenworth, KS 66053 Birthday: 9/12/44 Ancestry: Ojibwa-Lakota -- - - - Date: 2/26/2001 9:57:32 PM Mountain Standard Time From: senior-staff@nativenewsonline.org (Senior Staff) Subj: SD: Parents protest at Custer Mailing List: NativeNews Parents protest at Custer By Heidi Bell Gease, Journal Staff http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/display/inn_news/NEWS01.TXT CUSTER -- Three mothers stood outside the Custer Youth Corrections Center on Sunday, a cold wind tugging at the signs they held in mittened hands. "Rehab, not abuse," one sign read. "Accreditation! It's a start towards right!" another stated. With only one week left in this year's legislative session, the women hoped to encourage state leaders to make a last-ditch effort to require national accreditation at the state's juvenile-corrections facilities. They believe accreditation would help end what they say is abusive treatment of juveniles. "Parents want this (accreditation)," said Deb Phillips of Parents Who Care, a statewide support group for parents of children in the justice system. "Parents are concerned about the treatment of their children in there, but they're scared to come forward." She said other parents chose not to protest for fear of making things worse for their children. The other two women who did take part refused to give their names. The push for accreditation has come in the wake of the July 1999 death of 14-year-old Gina Score, who died after a forced run at the State Training School near Plankinton. Since then, numerous complaints have surfaced involving that facility and the boys boot camp at Custer Youth Corrections Center. Opponents say accreditation is too costly or unnecessary. Supporters say it would restore faith in the system and prevent future lawsuits - or another death. "My son is being abused, and he's never committed a violent crime," said one mother, "Susan." "I don't have a problem with them being disciplined... and learning to take responsibility for their actions. It's the mental cruelty that they're forced to go through." She said her son, who is 17, has been spit upon and screamed at. He's been called "idiot," "maggot" and "scum." Susan also believes that the living conditions are abusive. Incarcerated youth are given three minutes to eat and two minutes to brush their teeth and use the toilet, she said. During one visit with her son - "when the fans kicked on," so he couldn't be heard - the boy told her about another boy who was so scared he threw up. Drill sergeants made him get down on the floor and do pushups amid the mess, then clean it up, he told her. "These kids are not going to be okay when they get out of here," Susan said, her voice breaking. "He's just shut down. He won't talk." "Carol's" son is starting his second boot-camp cycle. She said he was suicidal and afraid to return to the facility, where he had been sent for drug-related offenses. "He needs to be in drug rehab," she said. "He doesn't need to be physically abused for being a drug addict." Phillips says she's "one of the lucky ones." Her 16-year-old daughter, who was a Child in Need of Supervision (CHINS), was placed in a private treatment facility rather than a state facility. Phillips got involved with Parents Who Care because she didn't like the way her family was treated by state officials. She sees accreditation as the first step in improving the juvenile-corrections system. "It is scary to know that your child can be removed from your home and your care at any time," and to know they could be sent to boot camp without their parents' approval, she said. Once Susan's son is out of the system, she's thinking of running for the state Legislature herself. "We're not about raising soldiers," she said. "We're about helping kids." For more information about Parents Who Care, call Phillips at 269-2251. Questions or comments on this story? Call Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419, or e-mail her at heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.co <<<<<>>>>> Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) http://nativenewsonline.org/ <<<<<>>>>> Native News Online a Service of Barefoot Connection FREE LEONARD PELTIER!! " YOU ~ARE~ THE MESSAGE" List info at: http://nativenewsonline.org/ --------------------------------- Please especially remember Leonard. Leonard Peltier #89637-132, Box 1000, Leavenworth, KS 66053 --------------------------------- Dear Janet, Eddie Hatcher was moved from Central Prison in North Carolina to a county jail. His new address is: Eddie Hatcher, Robeson County Jail,122 Legend Road, Lumberton, NC 28358. Thanks, Marsha Shaiman On Indian Land, PO Box 2104, Seattle WA 98111 --------------------------------- Standing Deer's new address: Robert H. Wilson #640539, Estelle Unit, 264 FM 3478, Huntsville, TX 77320-3322 --------- "RE: History: Carlisle Indian School" --------- Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 15:13:17 -0500 From: Barbara Landis Subj: History: Carlisle Indian School, INDIAN HELPER, Dec 9, 1887 [NOTE: THIS WEEK'S INDIAN HELPER IS OUT-OF-SEQUENCE. THE FEB 17 - MARCH 2, 1888 HELPER'S ARE NOT AVAILABLE FROM USMHI SO I'M BACKTRACKING TO CATCH UP ON SOME OF THE ISSUES I MISSED, WHILE ON VACATION OR OUT OF COMMISSION FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER. SHOULD GET BACK ON TRACK FOR THE MARCH 9, 1888 ISSUE.] [Editorial Note: These reprints are being included in this newsletter so that you might know the mind of those who ran institutions like Carlisle.] THE INDIAN HELPER ----------------------------- ~~ FOR OUR BOYS AND GIRLS ~~ ============================= VOLUME III CARLISLE, PA. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1887 NO. 18 ============================= GRAMMAR IN RHYME. Three little words you often see Are articles, a, an and the. A noun's the name of anything, As school, or garden, hoop, or a wing, Adjectives tell the kind of Noun, As Great, Small, Pretty, White, or Brown. Instead of Nouns the Pronouns stand, Her head, his face, your arm, my hand. Verbs tell of something to be done, To read, count, sing, dance, jump or run. How things are done the Adverbs tell, As slowly, quickly, ill or well. Conjuctions join the words together, As men and women, wind or weather. The Preposition stands before A Noun as in or through a door. The Interjection shows surprise, As Oh! how pretty; Ah! how wise - The whole are called nine parts of speech, Which reading, writing, speaking teach. -------------- A BIT OF WILD LIFE. ------- Hope Red Bear, who was with the first party of Sioux pupils who came to Carlisle when it opened in 1879, and who is with us yet writes as a school composition the following bit of her experience while in camp: "When I was in Dakota, about eleven years old, my parents were wild and did not like to live with white people or make friends with them. We belonged to Ta-tan-ke-yo-ta-ke or Sitting Bull's Band. I used to get very much afraid of the white people. The Indians often move from one place to another in search of buffaloes and other wild animals. One day a party of Indian men came home from hunting and said that a party of soldiers were coming to fight us. So the Indians, both young and old men put on their war-robes and painted their faces and were ready to fight against their enemies. My father and uncle were among these Indians. It was about ten o'clock in the morning when the white people came upon our camp. The women did not go to the fight, but they all rode upon wild ponies, and were ready to get away if the enemy should overcome our heroes. It was said that if the enemy should conquer, the women would be taken away as slaves. I have never in my life been so frightened as I was in that terrible fight which took place on the Big-horn river. One thing the Indians were glad of was that General Custer and all his men were killed. Some of the Indians captured some horses, cows, wagons, sugar, crackers and some other things from them and that was the first time I ever tasted a cracker and sugar in my life. At that time the Indians did not know what sugar and flour were for. The chief, Sitting Bull, now lives with the white people in one of the Agencies as if he had never done anything so painful against them." --------- IF HORSES COULD SPEAK. --------- A careful man one day this week, drove up to the hitching-post, alighted from his carriage, blanketed his horse, spoke a few kind words to the animal and then went to the office to transact some business. The horse was comfortable and happy. Another man, who was not so careful drove up to the hitching-post, on the same cold day this week. He jerked the reins when the horse would not go where he thought he ought to go. The man alighted, tied his horse very short, put no blanket over him, and yelled "Whoa!" in a very angry voice, while the horse tried to make his head comfortable. This horse was not contented and happy, but stood shivering in the cold, and became very restless, while the man was sitting by a warm radiator enjoying himself. If horses could speak they could tell many a tale of sorrow and abuse. ======================================================= (p 2) The Indian Helper. ----------------------------- PRINTED EVERY FRIDAY, AT THE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, CARLISLE, PA. BY THE INDIAN PRINTER BOYS. ----------------------------- Price: - 10 cents a year. (Five cents extra for every change of address after once in the galley.) ============================== Address INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle, Pa. Miss M. Burgess, Manager. ============================== Entered in the P.O. at Carlisle as second class mail matter. ============================== THE INDIAN HELPER is PRINTED by Indian boys, but EDITED by The-Man-on-the-band-stand, who is NOT an Indian. ============================== The INDIAN HELPER is paid for in advance, so do not hesitate to take the paper from the Post Office, for fear a bill will be presented. ============================== The North Star is a new and interesting little paper published monthly away up in Alaska, by Rev. Sheldon Jackson, and Prof. Wm. A. Kelly. Several of our pupils and teachers have subscribed. All business correspondence should be addressed to Prof. Wm. A. Kelly, Sitka, Alaska. ============= We are grieved to hear of the death of Dan Tucker's little boy at their home in Cantonment, Indian Territory. In a letter from Dan, he says, "We could not get any doctor at first so my dear little boy had to suffer and die. How we miss him nobody knows." This is very sorrowful. But we hope our young friends just starting out in life will look upon the matter philosophically with the thought that all trials come to us for our good. ============= Critical inspection of the examination papers in the advanced departments shows the need of more careful study. Read the piece about "The accurate boy," printed on last page. You show on your examination papers whether or not you will make an accurate business man or woman. ACCURACY must come first in all work before it amounts to anything. If you are not ACCURATE in your examination papers there is not much hope that you will be accurate in anything, and nobody wants to employ a person who makes mistakes. ============== The Indian Union Debating Club has divided its forces. The branch Club will organize this week and give itself a name. The Man-on-the-band-stand hopes the new society will choose a wide-awake, active, intelligent president who can dispatch business in a hurry. The president of a debating club has something more to do than sit and look wise and allow time to pass unimproved. He must not permit a minute of time to waste. We are glad the society has divided and shall expect good, wholesome competition as the result. Having two societies the chances to take part in debates are doubled. Two students can now speak where only one did before. ============= Margaretta Walton, clerk of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Women Friends, Martha S. Townsend, daughter of the late Samuel Townsend, of Baltimore, for whom our printing-office foreman was named when he first entered school years ago at the Pawnee Agency, Nebraska; Mr. and Mrs. Koser and Mrs. Griest and daughter, who for several years were workers among the Otoe Indians, with others in company, called at our school on Monday,and were much pleased and interested in all they saw. ================ The teachers have been going to school this week, taking turns attending the County Institute held in town. This has given an excellent opportunity for our advanced pupils to take a turn at teaching. Chester Cornelius had charge of the high school one morning, and Edith Abner taught in the afternoon, while Dessie Prescott taught in No. 7, Richard Wallace in No. 6, Lillie Cornelius in No. 1 and Jemima Wheelock in No. 3. --------------- Our high school has added to its philosophical apparatus, a new air pump, retort and stand, barometer tube, test tube, prisms, lenses, etc., and is now prepared to go faster and better than before in the interesting study of philosophy. This department having finished Reed & Kellogg's language lessons, has taken up Elementary Geometry. Thus we move. --------------- We have an interesting letter from Miss Fletcher, telling all about how 60 Omahas voted this year for the first time, and how they were received at the polls, and tempted to drink and sell their votes. The letter will be printed in the December Morning Star. -------------- NOT QUITE.- "I want to fix the *initial* to my watch," says one boy, while another calls out "Come on! Let us play *checks*." It is not hard to learn the right names to things if we try. ------------ Geo. Thomas is in charge of the harness-shop at the Ft. Stevenson, Dak., Indian School. =========================================== 577 books now in the large boys' library. A pleasant little tea at the Standings' on Monday evening. ------------ Our little girls are writing letters to Santa Claus already. ------------ Our harness-maker, Mr. Kemp, was married to Miss Six, of Carlisle, yesterday. ------------ The INDIAN HELPER and Morning Star would be a good Christmas present for most anybody. ------------ Jack is a little poet, and yet he doesn't know it; but be wants a "wittle fiddo with strings down in the middo." ------------ "If ye know these things happy are ye if ye do them," was,the foundation of an impressive talk given by our Superintendent Sunday evening. ------------ The boys are benefitted with the daily gymnastic drill in the new gymnasium. The girls need it more than the boys, and we hope they will come in for a share. ------------ It is rumored that Peter Douville was married at Rosebud Agency recently. Good, if true! Much happiness to you and yours, Peter! ------------ The (3x5 inch) *Eagle*, published by Gates and Co., New Brunswick, has a 1 1/8 x 4 1/2 inch Indian Department, and Indian affairs in our country may be expected to "boom" for a while. ------------ Capt. Pratt enjoyed the pleasant surprise given by the Girls' Literary Society at his house, on the evening of his birthday, Tuesday. The girls presented a handsome cake surrounded by forty-seven lighted candles. ------------ Henry Phillips and Fred Harris; from far away Sitka, Alaska, entered our school as pupils this week. Dr.Sheldon Jackson brought them. We have with us, for a few days, five girls from the same place, who are on their way to Mr. Moody's school, in Massachusetts. ------------ When the little girls spied Miss Irvine crossing the parade Tuesday noon, having just returned from a trip among the girls on farms, they made a grand rush for their mother and gave her a hearty welcome. She made us think of the "old woman who lived in the shoe, who had so many children she didn't know what to do," for it was a hard matter to get into the house through the crowd. Mr. Hummel, after five years' service is no longer carpenter at our school. ------------ Miss Frances C. Sparhawk, of Newton Centre Mass., is with us. ------------ Too much noise and talk in the harness-shop during work hours, so we hear. ------------ We received sixty subscriptions from the Elisha Kent Kane public school of Philadelphia, this week. ------------ Parker West started last Saturday afternoon for Mt. Vernon Barrracks, Ala., to act for a short time as special interpreter for the Apache prisoners there. ------------ Misses Cutter and Bender have changed rooms and are now neighbors of Misses Ely and Burgess. Mr. Goodyear has moved to the northwest corner of the dining-hall building. ------------ The boys are not ahead of the girls, for our good friend Mr. Mason, of Jamestown, N.Y. presented the girls with a handsome new clock, too, for their assembly room and they are very thankful. Now every one will be prompt at all times. ------------ Corporals Henry Standing Bear, (Sioux) and Constant Bread, (Apache) have been promoted to Sergeants; and Privates Victoriana Gachupin, Robt. Marmon, (Pueblos) and Norman Cassedore, (Apache) have been promoted to Corporals. ------------ Indian Boy: "I don't like to read books. Just short pieces in the newspapers is what I like." Stranger: "I am sorry to hear that, for the very best reading is in books. Good, long, book stories would help you, my boy." ------------ Carl Lieder has joined the printers' class. The foreman reports that he makes a good beginning, and from present indications will become a careful, accurate type-setter. Why, half of our printers make so many mistakes it takes the other half, half of their time to half correct the half of them. We don't like half way business of any kind. ------------ Col. Jacob Kemple, the West Virginia Humorist of Wheeling, who lectured in town to a large audience on Tuesday evening, visited the school next day, and at noon gave the pupils and others assembled in the dinning-hall to the funniest talk we ever listened to. That his jokes were well understood and appreciation was evident from the hearty laughter which followed each. =================================================== QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. ---- Ques. What punishment do they inflict on the scholars of the Carlisle school? W.W.B. Ans. If W.W.B. will come and see us we will tell him all about it, but the answer would be too long for our little paper if we went into detail upon this subject. Ques. Who are the chief owners of the INDIAN HELPER? Ans. Our papers, the INDIAN HELPER and Morning Star belong to the school and all proceeds over and above expenses are turned into the charity fund of the school at the end of each month. The amount we turn over does not swell the fund, however, to any enormous proportion. Ques. How many scholars are there in teh Carlisle school? L.L.D. Ans. On our school roll 571. Girls, 203; Boys 368. ------------- THE ACCURATE BOY. --------- Once there was a young man in the office of a Western railroad superintendent. He was occupying a position that four hundred boys in that city would have wished to get. It was honorable, and "it paid well," besides being in the line of promotion. How did he get it? Not by having a rich father, for he was the son of a laborer. The secret was his beautiful accuracy. He began as an errand boy, and did his work accurately. His leisure time he used in perfecting his writing and arithmetic. After a while he learned telegraphy. At each step his employer commended his accuracy and relied on what he did because he was just right. And it is thus with every occupation. The accurate boy is the favored one. Those who employ men do not wish to be on the lookout, as though they were rogues. If a carpenter must stand at his journeyman's elbow to be sure that his work is right, or if a cashier must run over his bookkeeper's columns, he might as well do the work himself as employ another to do it in that way, and it is very certain taht the employer will get rid of such an inaccurate workman as soon as he can. -President Tuttle. ------------------ Three Oneidas, Isaiah Doxtator, Angeline S. Baird and Mary W. Parkhurst who are at the Martinsburg, Pa. Indian School each sent ten cents for the HELPER. They said that school was to have a Thanksgiving supper and a Christmas Tree. They are learning to cook and to do other useful work, and seem to be enjoying themselves. A teacher told her scholars that it was wrong to chew tobacco. A small boy replied that he had seen a fellow chew because his teeth ached, and asserted that it was not wrong to chew tobacco if his teeth ached. The teacher was at first puzzled to know how to answer this stunning argument. At last she said to the boy - "Horace, if a *girl* should have the toothache, and wanted to chew tobacco, what then?" Horace scratched his head, and then said resolutely, "She ought to have the tooth pulled." -[Ex. -------------- In writing compositions, let every thought and word be your own. It is silly to try to use big words. Easy simple words are the best. ------------ Numerical Enigma. I am made of five letters - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. My 2, 1, 5 is what a large boy who refuses to do what his teacher asks of him, is more like than anything else. My 3, 5, 4 is a peculiar part of the printers' work they can do standing. My all is something made every week in the school kitchen for the printing office. ------------ Nine Hidden Trees. A bee chanced to light on a dapple gray horse, under a tall arch. The hotel might appear at first under a ban. Yankees however opine that would be a rash conclusion. ----------- ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S ENIGMA: Sneak out the back door instead of marching around in front. ======================================================================= STANDING OFFER: - For FIVE new subscribers to the INDIAN HELPER, we will give the person sending them a photographic group of the 13 Carlisle Indian Printer boys, on a card 4 1/2 X 6 1/2 inches, worth 20 cents when sold by itself. Name and tribe of each boy given. (Persons wishing the above premium will please enclose a 1-cent stamp to pay postage.) For TEN, Two PHOTOGRAPHS, one showing a group of Pueblos as they arrived in wild dress, and another of the same pupils three years after, or, for the same number of names we give two photographs showing still more marked contrast between a Navajoe as he arrived in native dress, and as he now looks, worth 20 cents a piece. Persons wishing the above premiums will please enclose a 2-cent stamp to pay postage. For FIFTEEN, we offer a GROUP of the whole school on 9x14 inch card. Faces show distinctly, worth sixty cents. Persons wishing the above premium will please send 6 cents to pay postage. For a longer list of subscribers we have many other interesting pictures of shops, representing boys at work, school-rooms and views of the grounds, worth from 20 to 60 cents a piece, which will be sent on request. ======================================== At the Carlisle Indian School, is published monthly an eight-page quarto of standard size, called THE MORNING STAR, the mechanical part of which is done entirely by Indian boys. This paper is valuable as a summary of information on Indian matters, and contains writings by Indian pupils and local incidents of the school. Terms: Fifty cents a year, in advance. Sample copies sent free. Address, MORNING STAR, CARLISLE, PA. For 1, 2 and 3 subscribers for THE STAR we give the same premiums offered in Standing Offer for the HELPER. ======================================================================= Transcribed weekly from the newspaper collections of the US Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, PA. For more info see http://www.carlisleindianschool.org. - Barbara Landis --------- "RE: Rustywire: Forgetfullness" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2000 02:04:21 GMT From: rustywire Subj: forgetfullness Newsgroup: alt.native It is fall and the wind is blowing. Who are you and where are you going, what will your future hold and what are you doing for your people? How is it that you come here and just take life for granted when the rights of our people are being taken away, the places of your birth are being taken, oil and gas companies are drilling holes into the earth, the water is being used for transporting coal, huge powerlines cross your land and your homes sit with kerosene lamps. How long will this go on? What are you doing about it? Tell me what constructive things you are doing to ensure that you and your family, the way of life of your people are going to be here tomorrow. What is important to you? Are you going to be sitting pretty with a high paying job and then talk about all the people back home that just sit around and play basketball and collect general assistance? How you struggled to get where you are and that you did it by yourself? Ah, yes that money in the bank, that credit card and fancy car make you the person you are, but that isn't so. The one thing that comes to mind, is that we are a part of the land, the earth, the sky, the places of home where you walked, where your mother gave you birth, if not there you have to know that her mother's mother gave life so that you might live. That they suffered hunger, cold, hostility, and near annihilation to get you where you are today. What it so easy? Who are you? What are you? I am nothing but what I have made of myself, I did it all and no one helped me, if you believe that then you are just like one of those people who look at Indian with curiosity, you have become too civilized. Who are you to pass judgement on those people at home who are still struggling to provide food, heat and shelter? Who wonder how to put gas in aaaan empty gas tank and get by until they can get some cash or something to pawn. Who live with cold water because there is no hot water. Who look for a pencil with an eraser for their children to go to school because they can't afford one.