From gars@speakeasy.org Wed Oct 24 00:38:21 2001 Date: 24 Oct 2001 00:50:37 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews09.043 WOTANGING IKCHE -- Lakota -- Common News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chicasaw -- Together We Are Talking Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ==>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 O +-----------------------------+ O o O | Much more happens in Indian | O o O VOLUME 09, ISSUE 043 | Country than is reported in | O o o o o O | this weekly newsletter. For | O o O October 27, 2001 | For daily updates & events | O o O | go http://www.owlstar.com/ | O | dailyheadlines.htm | Mescalero corn is taken in moon +-----------------------------+ Yuchi tsotohostane/corn ripening moon <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.pechanga.net; www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; Our Red Earth and ndn-aim mailing Lists; UUCP email 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.'" "Are not women and children more timid than men? The Cheyenne warriors are not afraid, but have you never heard of Sand Creek? Your soldiers look just like the soldiers that butchered women and children there." -- Woquini (Roman Nose) to General Winfield Scott Hancock +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! On January 17, 2001 the School of the Americas (SOA) changed its name to the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC), but the policies and end results remain the same. Why is this important to Native Peoples? Because the very acts of terrorism George W. Bush speaks against are being instituted against Natives in Guatemala, Colombia, Nicaragua and Mexico (remember Chiapas?), largely by graduates of the SOA/WHISC. In Latin America the economic policies of the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank have forced Native people into abject poverty and an inescapable cycle of oppression. These policies are largely enforced by the 60,000 Latin American soldiers trained at the SOA, many of whom have learned sophisticated civilian control and repression techniques there. The annual vigil at Ft. Benning Georgia protesting the SOA./WHISC will be held November 16-18. The Army has already warned SOA Watch and others it will be intolerant of these demonstrations this year due to the "War on Terrorism." The irony of the threat to deal harshly with protestors because of terrorist concerns is just incredible, given that the effect of the school's training is to create skilled state-sanctioned terrorists. In the U.S. and Canada our Peoples have been driven from there homes and forced into abject poverty in the name of greed. Greed and power are the only motivators for the dominant society, and the SOA trained enforcers are removing, torturing and killing Native Peoples in Central and South America. Your silence is encouraging these acts. =================================== If you have names and addresses of trustworthy collectors of food, money and clothing gifts at the various reservations please forward them soon. The winter winds already have come down from the north. - - - I send thanks to my friend, Crazy Bull, for passing along a contact for those who wish to donate food, clothing or fuel money to elders in need on the Rez's. Wopila Russell. Evelynn Charging P O Box #170 Lower Brule, SD 57548 if no answer call Grandmother Charging at Phone: 605-473-5377 the Golden Buffalo Casino 605-473-5577 - - - From: "Kay" For those of you who wish to 'Give A Gift,' here is the address: Eastern Cherokee Alliance 5411 Laureltree Place Louisville, Ky. 40229 Marty Soaring Eagle said he would distribute/deliver. 1-502-966-8046 Thank you Kay - - - From: "Nimchira" I am collecting items for the Rosebud Reservation if anyone is interested. Below is a small list of items needed before first snow fall. The first part of the list is what they need now, they have plenty of clothing so far....however there is a shortage of warm jackets, food is also an important need right now...... again, I thank you.... Nim Toiletries: Bath Soap Shampoo and Conditioner Deodorants Tooth brushes, Paste Feminine products Mens Shaving items Bath Towels and wash cloths Non-perishables Food items: Boxed goods Canned goods Bottled Water Baby foods Warm Clothing: Childrens Winter Wear in good repair Men and Womens Winter coats or jackets Gloves, mittens, scarves, hats [knit or crochetted] Other items of warm outer wear. Baby items, diapers Blankets, lots of blankets. For more information you can call Nimchira Webb at: 1-620-278-3842 Items can be left in care of: J. Porter Selman 217 So. 2nd. St. Sterling, Kansas Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Night Owl gars@nanews.org (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@speakeasy.org (`-') Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. gars@olagrande.net ===w=w=== gars@sdf.lonestar.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Revered O'odham Elder - Mesa Verde Rita Bustamante recovering from the Fires - Crossings - Some Reservation-area Schools - The Burning Sky show Big Gains - Managers pressured to - Natives in for a Third of Pipeline back Misleading Fund Report - Native Leaders die in Crash - Norton blasted on Trust Fund after signing Deal - Norton admits Mischaracterization - Racial Profiling Bill Revived - Strip Interior of - Nunavut Mayors call for Massive Indian Trust Fund more Inuit Police - Neighbors sue to - Peyote still Thorny Topic disband Suquamish Tribe - Native Prisoner - Congress OKs funds -- Prison Pen Pals for Torres-Martinez - Rustywire: Bitter Winds - Pechanga Band suffers Setback - Poem: Heartprints on Land Buy - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Nunavut ponders Municipal Taxation - Chetenne Language Surviving - Choctaws win Defense Contract - Power Of Place - Congress approves money - The World's Largest Tipi for Indian Memorial - Native America Calling - Oklahomans pitch Indian Museum - Gathering of Bundles - Mesa Verde: Remnants at Risk - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Revered O'odham Elder Rita Bustamante" --------- Date: Sun 21 Oct 2001 09:02:22 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ELDER DIES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azstarnet.com/star/fri/11019rita.obit2f2frjs2fgec.html Tucson, Arizona Friday, 19 October 2001 Revered O'odham elder Bustamante dies By Stephanie Innes ARIZONA DAILY STAR A Tohono O'odham elder who loved to sing and advocated legislation for tribal members to gain U.S. citizenship has died at 84. Rita Bustamante, a lifelong resident of the tiny Tohono O'odham village of Pozo Verde in Mexico, died at her niece's home in Sells on Oct. 13. Funeral services are scheduled for 4 p.m. today at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Sells, following visitation, which is set for 3:30 p.m. Burial will take place Saturday in Pozo Verde. "She always sang to me and encouraged me to go on," said Lavern Jose, who recalled first meeting Bustamante when Jose was 6. In recent years, Jose regularly drove Bustamante from Pozo Verde to Sells for diabetes treatments. "Recently, she was the one who encouraged me to go to Washington. I didn't want to leave, but she said to just go, and that I would be OK," said Jose, who returned from the nation's capital this week to attend Bustamante's funeral. Jose was in Washington to lobby on behalf of the Tohono O'odham Nation for a bill that would give all tribal members - even those who, like Bustamante, were born in Mexico - U.S. citizenship to freely cross the border, which cuts through traditional O'odham homelands. Bustamante appeared on the front page of the Arizona Daily Star May 16, 2000, in a story about her tribe's citizenship problems. She told a reporter about how she and her family used to cross the border with no worries. Bustamante was one of 104 members of the tribe who in a pilot program received a renewable travel visa in 1999. Bustamante's husband, Jesus Molina, did not get one of the visas, and because he has no documentation he rarely joined his wife on her doctor visits to Sells, on the U.S. side of the border. Despite having a travel visa of her own, Bustamante continued to advocate for the pending congressional legislation that would make tribal membership equal U.S. citizenship. Bustamante and her daughter Julia appeared in the book, "It's Not Our Fault," given to members of Congress in an effort to pass the citizenship legislation. The House and Senate have yet to take a vote on the measure. Even into her old age, Bustamante continued to serenade Jose with songs as they drove between Pozo Verde and the hospital in Sells. "She was really full of legends. And she was full of life," Jose said. Born Feb. 13, 1917, in Pozo Verde, which means "green well," Bustamante never went to school. Her husband worked as a ranch hand. She relished creative pursuits, and loved to sing and make clay O'odham dolls. "Pozo Verde at one time was more like a big village. Now just three family members live there," Jose said. "Rita liked to sing an old song about the land. It's about coming back and forth. It's hard to translate, but I remember a line about her home in the mountains." Her friends and relatives say Bustamante did not mourn the drastic reduction in the population of Pozo Verde because she knew the younger generation had to leave to attend school and seek employment. Her niece, Roseline Serapo, said Bustamante was a revered elder. "A lot of people will miss her," Serapo said. "She was always a happy person and always gave us something to be happy about." Bustamante is survived by her husband and her daughter. She was preceded in death by two sons. Contact Stephanie Innes at 573-4134 or at sinnes@azstarnet.com. Copyright c. 1999, 2000, 2001 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star --------- "RE: Crossings" --------- Date: Tue 23 Oct 2001 08:10:43 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSSINGS" October 17, 2001 Jesse Wade Two Bulls OGLALA - Jesse Wade Two Bulls, 18, Oglala, died Saturday, Oct. 13, 2001, in Oglala. Survivors include his wife, Colleen Murphy, Oglala; his father, Francis Two Bulls, Pine Ridge; his stepfather, Terry Demasters, Oglala; his mother, Constance Cuny, Oglala; his stepmother, Dorothy Brown, Pine Ridge; one son, Kyle Anthony Two Bulls, Oglala; five brothers, Manuel Two Bulls, Leslie Two Bulls, Francis Two Bulls Jr. and Duane Two Bulls, all of Kyle, and Shawn Two Bulls, Allen; and six sisters, Lisa Fast Wolf, Eileen Long Soldier, Connie Lund, Noreen Two Bulls and Melissa Two Bulls, all of Kyle, and Andrea Akers, Pine Ridge. One-night wake begins at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, at Brother Rene Hall in Oglala. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, at St. Bernard's Catholic Church in Red Shirt Table Village, with the Rev. Bill Pauly officiating. Burial will be at St. Bernard's Catholic Cemetery in Red Shirt Table Village. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2001 The Rapid City Journal. -- - - - October 18, 2001 Alice G. Billy ALAMO Service for Alice Billy, 68, will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 20 at Word of God Church, Alamo. Rev. Carlos Baki will officiate. Burial will follow at Word of God Church Cemetery. Billy died Oct. 13 in Albuquerque. She was born April 10, 1933 in Alamo into the Mescalero Apache for the Salt Clan. Billy attended Albuquerque Indian School and the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. She was employed with Alamo Navajo School, as a head cook and a teacher's aid for the Head Start program. She was a rugweaver and homemaker. Survivors include her sons, Lexcey Billie, Edison Billy, Darryl Billy and Howard Billy Jr.; daughters, Christine Monte, Rose Jean Spencer, Gail Billie and Matilda Billy; brothers, Wilson Guerro, Joe Guerro, Fred Guerro and John Guerro; sisters, Alta Secatero, Susie Padilla, Pauline Padilla and Margaret Baca; 28 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Billy was preceded in death by her parents, Juan and Yanabah Guerro; husband, Howard Billy Sr.; son, Randell Billy; sister, Louise Abeyta; brothers, Tony Guerro, Daco Guerro and Jose Guerro. Pallbearers will be Lexcey Billie, Edison Billie, Darryl Billy, Roger Apachito, Bruce Key, Manuel Monte, Wayland Billie and Jeffery Key. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Alice Billy's residence. October 22, 2001 Leon Yellowhair BESH BITO, Ariz. - Graveside services for Leon Yellowhair, 85, will be held at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 23 at the Veterans Cemetery, Fort Defiance, Ariz. Yellowhair died Oct. 16 in Payson, Ariz. He was born Nov. 25, 1915 in Steamboat, Besh Bito into the Red Streak Running into the Water People Clan for the Honey Combed People Clan. Yellowhair attended Keams Canyon Boarding School. He was employed with the Navajo Ordinance Army Depot in Belmont, Ariz., Navajo Tribe O.N.E.O. as a community development worker, carpenter in Steamboat and for the railroad with Union Pacific and Santa Fe. He served in the U.S. Marines as a Code Talker. Survivor include his sons, Roy Yellowhair of Steamboat, Ariz. and Larry Yellowhair of Page, Ariz.; daughters, Lutricia Yellowhair and Anita Hildreth both of Steamboat; brother, Bahe Yellowhair of Steamboat; sisters, Mary Dempsey, Juanita Begay, Irene Archie all of Beshbito/Steamboat; eight grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and 17 great-great-grandchildren. Yellowhair was preceded in death by his sons, Harry Yellowhair, Thomas J. Yellowhair and Leonard Yellowhair; parents, Peter Yellowhair and Mae Begay and brother, Zuni Yellowhair. Pallbearers will be family members. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Lutricia Yellowhair, 15 miles north of Steamboat Chapter. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2001 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: The Burning Sky" --------- Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2001 05:03:23 -0800 From: "Andre P. Cramblit" Subj: The Burning Sky Mailing List: Our Red Earth The Burning Sky Tia Oros Birds are dropping from the hot tarnished sky onto the congested streets of Mexico City. Treetop nests empty of baby birds plunging to their deaths as chainsaws and bulldozers terrorize the Amazon Rainforest trailblazing an insatiable path to feed the hunger for oil and fast food beef. When the World Trade Center was hit, thousands of birds fell to the ground, their wings burned off and their bodies still on fire joining the other trapped spirits in debris that extended for blocks. Indigenous peoples throughout the world recognize birds as our spiritual messengers. Occupying the world that links the Earth and sky, birds tell us what our lives have become and of our destiny. Just as the miner's canary indicates the shift from fresh air to poisoned gas, so does the array of signs we have witnessed over the decades from the birds, other living things, as well as from ourselves. 9-11 was a human event with repercussions for the rest of the world. The messengers are dying. As an indicator species, the birds warn us that all of life is threatened by the terror perpetuated on the Natural World by unrestrained human voracity. The events of 9-11 occurred during a time of World Renewal among the tribal communities of northwestern California, my husband's people, who belong to a land rich in ancient redwood forests and cool, salmon filled rivers. Each year, with woodpecker red headrolls, the echo of songs, and the vibration of continued focused thought and movement, the world is realigned and made new again. Here they say that your behavior - - thoughts, actions and character - - during this time of ceremony, when the world is being fixed and re-made, determines how life will be for the coming year. Rash decisions and violence should not occur. Relationships are reaffirmed, not broken. Not abiding by these principles may not impact you personally, but may visit those you love. Spiritual justice. Probably because of this timing, my impression of "ground zero" where the World Trade Center was hit and the resulting actions is set within this metaphysical backdrop. So that I imagine the devastation of "ground zero" is something like standing in the middle of a clearcut where 1000-year-old families of trees used to live and support a vibrant ecosystem. Now it is a place consumed by violence. The bodies of the dead are unrecoverable, crushed under the debris. As a pueblo Indian whose people are of the desert southwest, it is even easier to imagine "ground zero" as an open pit mine similar to the one run by Peabody at Black Mesa in Arizona, with massive gaping holes leaking out the Earth's energy, or the uranium mines that left sores, and cancer all over Acoma and Laguna pueblos and surrounding communities. Maybe that bleeding hole in the Earth is more like what the coal strip mine slated by the Phoenix-based Salt River Project for the sacred Zuni Salt Lake would look like if allowed to go forward. Salt Lake is a cherished site rich in stories and a rainbow of memories for Zuni people and for so many other desert tribes reliant on the gifts of that sacred place for physical and cultural viability, but some others hunger for the coal underneath. Native peoples of the Americas live on intimate terms with the shadow of terrorism. It has fed on us with a ravenous appetite for our peoples and lands for centuries. It is a shapeshifter, taking the form of the Scorched Earth policy that rips apart Maya communities and that which has lain to waste over 60 million of the buffalo people on the Great Plains during Westward Expansion, and 3000 more bison since 1995. There was that same hunger for blood in Montana where the Gros Ventre sacred Little Rocky Mountain was scraped red down to the Earth by Pegasus Goldmine's cyanide heap leach method, leaving only a pile of rubble where a mountain once stood, and again in the forced sterilization thousands of Native women have survived. We recognize signs of terrorism in the mutilated bodies at Sand Creek and Indian Island, and on the blood-soaked snow at Wounded Knee. The vampire was there in the boarding schools where Indian children as young as four were raped and tortured, laced inside by barbed wire and fear, their mouths bleeding from being scrubbed with wire brushes when they spoke their tribal languages. In our vision for a more just world, we also have a responsibility to view with a critical eye George Bush's newly launched "Operation Enduring Freedom" a.k.a. "The War Against Terrorism" because terrorism is nothing new and it did not begin at the World Trade Center on 9-11. Through the lens of time and in the collective consciousness of the diverse peoples on every continent are the memories of the disappeared, the displaced and the dismembered. Terrorism has long been perpetuated in the name of God, Gross National Product, and globalization and it continues unrelenting against the Natural World and each other every day. Salmon from the Columbia River near the Hanford Nuclear Facility are covered in tumors and glow in the dark. The School of the Americas trains killers in Georgia. The Vatican put a telescope on Mt. Graham, a sacred site. An Afro-American man is dragged to his death in Jasper, Texas. Considering this urgent social and environmental crisis, flags should be hanging half-mast and upside down. Let this not be a war against memory. Whether it is drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge or in U'wa territory in Colombia, dumping toxic waste in Yucca Mountain, the strip mining of a sacred salt lake, or bombing Hiroshima, Nevada or Kabul, it is clear the birds have been reminding us that the world is out of balance. What was once a lush world is becoming a dry landscape, which only tears soften now. We can refer to the deaths at Camp Mauthausen or Manzanar, lynchings at Mankato, or the desecration of Medicine Lake, all in the same breath because the impetus of their destruction is the same and the results are so similar. The rain burns. Whole plant, animal and human societies have vanished and others continue to be threatened with extinction at an ever-increasing rate. Terrorism is nothing new. This is not a time to celebrate violence in the name of patriotism but a time to mourn and act with compassion and vision for our collective survival. A third of the world's birds are threatened with extinction due to habitat depletion, pollution, corporate invasion and other human threats. And birds in Afghanistan are dropping dead from the burning sky. ===== Tia Oros (Zuni) serves as the program director of the Seventh Generation Fund, 24-year-old non-profit Indigenous peoples' advocacy, intermediary support, leadership development, and training and technical assistance organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Thank you for your participation at Our Red Earth. --------- "RE: Managers pressured to back Misleading Fund Report" --------- Date: Tue 16 Oct 2001 07:44:19 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INTERIOR MISLED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/ getstory_ssf.cgi?a0760_BC_IndianMoney&&news&newsflash-washington Top Interior attorney pressured managers to back misleading report By ROBERT GEHRKE The Associated Press 10/16/01 7:01 PM WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Interior Department continues to mislead a judge overseeing the government's effort to reform a system that has mismanaged royalties from Indian lands, a court-appointed watchdog said Tuesday. And it is Secretary Gale Norton "who carries the ultimate responsibility for the repeated untruthful and knowingly inaccurate and incomplete submissions" to the court, wrote Joseph S. Kieffer III in his latest report to U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. Under Norton, efforts to reform the trust, which manages roughly $500 million a year in royalties, has been stymied by the same lack of leadership and candor that plagued her predecessor, Bruce Babbitt, said Kieffer. The pattern of deceit calls into question whether Interior is capable of ever fixing the trust fund, he said. Lamberth is presiding in a lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 300,000 Indian trust fund account holders who claim the government squandered at least $10 billion and possibly many times that amount. The trust funds were established in 1887 to manage royalties from grazing, mining, logging and oil drilling on Indian lands. The government has acknowledged mismanaging the funds and Lamberth has ordered the Interior and Treasury departments and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to piece together how much money was lost. The judge is also closely watching Interior and BIA's efforts to reform their management practices. More than $614 million has been spent by the Interior Department on the trust fund overhaul. Kieffer's latest report focuses largely on the way the Interior Department handled its latest quarterly progress report for the court. After Special Trustee Thomas Slonaker, the top trust official, refused to vouch for the accuracy of the report, Interior Solicitor Bill Meyers made repeated requests to other senior Interior officials to sign off on it. Several resisted, and Kieffer said others believed they were subjected to "overt intimidation by the solicitor," casting doubts about the accuracy of the entire report. The report was submitted despite the objections. "The Secretary of the Interior has verified an untruthful, inaccurate, and incomplete" quarterly report, Kieffer wrote. It is the fourth time he has blasted the Interior Department for submitting misleading reports. Dennis Gingold, the attorney for the Native American plaintiffs, said the department can't be trusted. "The secretary and her appointees and senior management and her counsel have acted in concert to perpetrate a fraud on this court," Gingold said. "They don't care about doing their job. They just care about making it appear to the court that they are doing their job." Gingold said that by the end of the week he will ask the court to take the management of the trust away from Interior and appoint a receiver to manage the assets and reform efforts. Interior spokeswoman Nedra Darling said Kieffer's report is being reviewed and the department would respond within 10 days. "It is a priority of the department to move the Indian Trust accounting system into the 21st century," she said. Copyright c. 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Norton blasted on Trust Fund" --------- Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 04:47:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Pureau Subj: Norton blasted on trust fund Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=law/10172001 Norton blasted on trust fund WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2001 The government's three-year-old plan to fix the broken trust fund "may not be capable of repair" because Secretary of Interior Gale Norton has failed to take responsibility, a court monitor charged in a report highly critical of the Bush administration on Tuesday. Although numerous management problems existed before Norton took office nine months ago, they have "increased in severity" under her watch, said Joseph S. Kieffer III. Instead of supporting her top trust fund official Tom Slonaker, she and senior aides have rejected his advice and subjected him to "questioning," thereby undermining his authority throughout the department, he added. And even though Norton has taken credit for taking steps to "streamline" trust reform, these efforts are inadequate, continued Kieffer. A new trust fund office, a special secretarial order and a $1 million effort to have an outside management consulting firm assess the government's capabilities are destined to fail because she has not addressed key reform issues that have been made evident to her in recent months, he has concluded. "There is no one in charge of trust reform operations," wrote Kieffer in the 30-page report. "There is no one who knows what is necessary or how to correct trust reform management, communications, and systems problems to bring about successful trust reform." Kieffer's caustic criticism comes after the Interior turned in its latest trust fund status report. Without approval from a federal judge, the government submitted it a month late, citing a need to clear up concerns raised by Slonaker, a Clinton appointee retained by the Bush administration to oversee the trust accounts of an estimated 300,000 American Indians throughout the country. But, according to Kieffer and other court documents, Norton did little - - if anything at all -- to respond to Slonaker's reservations. Instead, her lawyers, Solicitor Bill Myers and senior management did all they could to avoid taking responsibility, said Kieffer. The result, wrote Kieffer, was that Norton "verified an untruthful, inaccurate, and incomplete" status report covering the months of May, June and July. "No senior DOI official would touch that report with a ten-foot pole," he added. Already having cited Norton and a number of other officials in their court filings, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the Cobell v. Norton lawsuit said they would seek sanctions against government attorneys and senior management for "aiding and perpetrating a fraud on the court." In particular, said Dennis Gingold, government attorneys have engaged in "unethical" conduct worthy of fines and potential disbarment. "That is about as severe misconduct that a[n] . . . attorney can ever engage in," he said. The Interior would not comment specifically on Kieffer's report, only saying Norton would respond to the federal court overseeing the Cobell lawsuit within 10 days. Special Trustee Slonaker, through an aide, declined to comment. Myers, though his office, deferred to the Interior. "It is a priority of the department to move the Indian trust accounting system into the 21st century and to identify and implement a method to make a historical accounting that will be funded by the Congress and is acceptable to the court," said spokesperson Nedra Darling. Congress has already spent $614 million to fix the broken trust. A joint House-Senate committee last week approved approximately $150 million for fiscal year 2002 to fund efforts to correct more than 100 years of mismanagement. The bill aways final action by Congress, which is expected this week. The government says the Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts represent about $500 million in trust assets. But the government cannot guarantee the accuracy of any account despite being charged by law to do so. ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 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: Norton admits Mischaracterization" --------- Date: Sun 21 Oct 2001 20:18:24 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NORTON LIED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/ la-000083606oct20.story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection Norton Admits 'Mistake' Refuge: Interior secretary says she mischaracterized effects of Alaska oil drilling on caribou reproduction. By DEBORAH SCHOCH and KENNETH R. WEISS, TIMES ENVIRONMENTAL WRITERS PORTLAND, Ore. -- Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton on Friday said "we did make a mistake" in mischaracterizing patterns of caribou calving in reviewing how oil drilling could affect Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The fate of the refuge has become one of the most contentious environmental issues facing Congress and the Bush administration, which strongly favors drilling there and argues that it will reduce America's dependence on foreign oil supplies. Norton's misstatement about the caribou occurred in a July letter to a Senate committee in which she downplayed the environmental impact of drilling. "We will take steps to clarify and correct that," Norton said of her error. However, she addressed only one of a series of discrepancies between data provided to her by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the information she gave Congress. Norton acknowledged the error in a speech at the annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Journalists here. In her July 11 letter to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, she was responding to its questions about how oil drilling could affect the Porcupine caribou herd, which migrates annually to the refuge and its environs. Documents released by an environmental advocacy group that represents government employees show that a review of caribou impacts by the Fish and Wildlife Service--an agency Norton oversees--was substantially changed in Norton's letter to Committee Chairman Sen. Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska). The Washington Post reported some of those changes in a Friday story. In her remarks here, Norton explained why she erroneously wrote Murkowski that in regard to the Porcupine caribou, "Concentrated calving occurred primarily outside the 1002 Area in 11 of the past 18 years." In fact, she said, the Fish and Wildlife Service had reported that concentrated caribou calving did occur in the 1002 Area, the area designated for drilling, in 11 of the last 18 years. "That was correct. It was correct on the maps. In sending that letter, we transposed it, saying that in 11 of the 18 years, that the calving appeared outside of the [proposed oil exploration] area." Norton did not address other criticisms of her letter that mixed and matched different sources of information, except to say, "We also had information that came from other bureaus and we incorporated that in the letter." Leaders of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which released draft documents from the Fish and Wildlife Service and the final letter, said Norton substantially altered the agency's biological findings. Documents show that the Fish and Wildlife Service reported that reproduction of the Central Arctic caribou herd appears to have been affected by oil development in Prudoe Bay. For instance, the birthrate for an undisturbed area was 83% from 1988 to 1994, while the rate was 64% in a developed area in the same period, the service wrote. Norton's letter states that "Parturition and recruitment data do not support the hypothesis that oil fields adversely affect caribou productivity." Mark Pfeifle, press secretary for Norton, said Friday that Norton believes in collecting information from many sources, and data was sought from the Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Land Management, all Interior agencies, he said. Information also was included from an article that appeared in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, a scientific journal. The article acknowledges receiving "encouragement, funding and useful comments" from employees of oil field operator BP Exploration. In her remarks Friday, Norton said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have strengthened the resolve of the administration to reduce America's reliance on foreign oil. She complained that the U.S. even imports oil from Iraq, funneling $4 billion a year into the economy of Saddam Hussein, who is suspected of sponsoring terrorism. Copyright c. 2001 Los Angeles Times. --------- "RE: Strip Interior of Massive Indian Trust Fund" --------- Date: Sun 21 Oct 2001 09:02:22 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INTERIOR" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nj.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0746_BC_IndianMoney&&news&newsflash-washington Judge asked to strip Interior Department of massive Indian trust fund By ROBERT GEHRKE The Associated Press 10/19/01 6:05 PM WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Interior Department should be stripped of control of royalties from Indian lands because it continues to mismanage hundreds of millions of dollars, the Indians' attorneys contended Friday. "Endless broken promises, chronic half-truths, outright lies to this court, and the fumbling paralysis" of Interior Secretary Gale Norton and other senior officials show the department cannot correct the historical mismanagement and is unfit to manage the money, wrote attorney Dennis Gingold. The court should appoint an outside receiver to fix the trust fund, he said in his motion filed in U.S. District Court. The government established the trust funds in 1887 to collect Indian royalties from grazing, logging, mining and oil drilling on 54 million acres of Indian lands. Payments was to have been made to tribal members. Filed in 1996 on behalf of 300,000 American Indians, the class-action lawsuit claims the government squandered at least $10 billion from the trust fund and possibly several times that amount. The government admits the accounts have been mismanaged. Much of the money was lost, stolen or never collected. Roughly $500 million a year now flows through the trust accounts. Two years ago, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth balked at appointing a receiver and allowed the Interior Department to retain oversight of the trust with court supervision. He also ordered the department to piece together how much money should be in the accounts. A series of stinging reports by two court-appointed watchdogs since then has spelled out Interior's failures and provided ammunition for the plaintiffs. The reports said the Interior Department failed to make progress toward the court-ordered historical accounting, knowingly misled the court about the status of trust reform, destroyed and withheld evidence, failed to protect whistle-blowers adequately, hindered the court's investigators and failed to provide necessary leadership. Interior spokeswoman Stephanie Hanna said the department still believes "we are the proper agency to implement trust fund reform." "It's a complicated situation and one that dates back a long time and one that we're committed to carrying out carefully and to the best of our ability," she said. The plaintiffs' motion also asks Lamberth to hold Norton, her predecessor Bruce Babbitt and 37 other current and former Interior and Justice Department officials and attorneys in contempt of court with the possibility of jail sentences. Several similar contempt motions are pending. In 1999, Lamberth held Babbitt and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in contempt for failing to produce documents related to the case. ------ On the Net: Indian plaintiffs' Web site: http://www.indiantrust.com Bureau of Indian Affairs: http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html American Indian Trust Office: http://www.doi.gov/oait/ Copyright c. 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2001 New Jersey Online.com --------- "RE: Neighbors sue to disband Suquamish Tribe" --------- Date: Fri 19 Oct 2001 08:10:43 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SUQUAMISH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/43261_suquamish18.shtml Neighbors sue to disband Suquamish tribe Sovereign powers are resented by non-Indians in a pattern growing in U.S. Thursday, October 18, 2001 By PAUL SHUKOVSKY SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER The Suquamish Tribe wants to help impoverished members by building a low- income housing project on its reservation. But affluent, non-Indian neighbors along scenic Agate Passage don't like the idea. So they are trying to force the tribe out of existence by filing suit in U.S. District Court in Seattle. In their suit, the Angeline Avenue neighbors assert that the tribe was improperly recognized by the United States. And they are challenging the legitimacy of the boundaries of the reservation, which is on the Kitsap Peninsula across from Bainbridge Island. The suit reflects a burgeoning conflict across America between tribes exercising their governmental powers and their non-Indian neighbors. "These kinds of disputes are cropping up all over the country," said John Echohawk, executive director of the Native American Rights Fund, an Indian legal-rights organization based in Colorado. Because of growth, more and more non-Indians are moving onto or near tribal land. At the same time, tribes are exercising more political and economic power. Along Angeline Avenue, for instance, neighbors say they are tired of the Suquamish Tribe's zoning and land-use policies. They don't want tribal police stopping them for traffic violations. They say it's not fair because they have no voice in tribal government, no vote in tribal elections. But Scott Crowell, a tribal official, says that's a choice neighbors made when they moved onto an Indian reservation. "They chose to move onto a foreign jurisdiction," he said. And he calls the lawsuit an affront to the tribe. "They don't think we exist as a people," he said. "They don't believe we exist as a government. But we're not going anywhere; we've been here forever." At times, the rhetoric has become racially charged. Tensions peaked in May when vandals smashed a cross marking the grave of Chief Sealth, the legendary Suquamish and Duwamish leader for whom Seattle is named. A newspaper article about the tribe's planned housing project was found at the scene. No one has been arrested. Many Angeline Avenue residents, such as Tom Stoesser, say they were appalled by the desecration of the grave. And though Stoesser, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, says he does not begrudge the tribe the opportunity to build a housing project, he worries about the effects a new sewer system and additional traffic might have on his neighborhood. A deal being brokered by Kitsap County Commissioner Chris Endresen to build a new access road bypassing Angeline Avenue would go a long way toward salving his concerns. But the basic conflict would remain. "This land is not really tribal," he said, waving an arm at Angeline Avenue. "The problem is (the Suquamish) are a sovereign nation. They have their own set of laws." Because of the tribe's sovereign status, it does not have to comply with Kitsap County zoning rules. "They could put in 22 homes instead of two," Stoesser said. Land was split up The Suquamish land, known as the Port Madison Reservation, was established by treaty in 1856. Then, between 1886 and 1910, the United States split up most of the reservation land into allotments to individual Native Americans that ultimately resulted in a checkerboard of Indian and non-Indian ownership. In 1903, the U.S. War Department acquired 70 acres of land from the tribe for cannon emplacements overlooking Agate Passage, the future site of Angeline Avenue. In 1926, the War Department said it no longer needed the land and sold it to a private company. The lawsuit, filed by the Association of Property Owners/Residents of Port Madison, says that the "allotments were intended to discourage Indians from maintaining tribal relations ... to break up tribal land and terminate tribal existence." And Dennis Reynolds, a lawyer for the group, contends that the former military parcel is no longer part of the reservation, and therefore, should not be subject to the tribal council's jurisdiction. But Ron Allen, chairman of the nearby Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and past president of the National Congress of American Indians, says the lawsuit is simply "another manifestation of American society's efforts to terminate and assimilate Indian people." "They just don't want a bunch of poor Indians around their neighborhood," Allen said of the neighbors who filed the lawsuit. "The irony of it is that they are encroaching on Indian homeland -- trying to drive Indians out of their own land." 'Pushed around' Relations between the Suquamish tribe and their neighbors have frequently been strained. In the mid-1980s, the tribe failed in a lawsuit to gain title to the tidelands in front of Angeline Avenue. But in 1995, several Western Washington tribes, including the Suquamish, won a federal court ruling that the tribes retain a treaty right to gather shellfish on tidelands around Puget Sound. That decision still rankles some along Angeline Avenue, who don't believe Indian tribes should have such treaty rights or sovereign status. Eighty-two-year-old Pierce Winston Davis has lived along Agate Passage for 39 years. He calls sovereignty a political decision made by Congress at treaty times. "It's wrong, and it could be righted," he said. "We're tired of being pushed around by Indians. They are interfering with my life. I don't need Indians suing me." Davis' wife, May, agrees. "The Indians should be treated the same as everyone else. And they should jump through the same hoops as everyone else." To the Davises, that means that the low-income housing project should be subjected to the much more restrictive zoning of Kitsap County. When the Angeline homeowners started moving in decades ago, Indian tribes, including the Suquamish, didn't have much political power. But as tribes gained economic clout from industries such as gaming, they became more savvy and sophisticated in political and legal matters, and they also had the money to hire lawyers. "Whether we like it or not, they are taking full advantage of their sovereignty in a way that they didn't do until the last couple of decades," said Endresen, the county commissioner. When people from Angeline Avenue came to her asking that she stop the low-income housing project, she had to say, "We don't have the power to do that under federal law." Following the rules United Property Owners, a property rights group focusing on conflicts with Indian tribes, grew out of the shellfish litigation that unfolded on beaches such as the one along Angeline Avenue. Now, the organization has members in 37 states. "I believe that Indians have the right to control only the portions of their reservations that are not privately owned," said Barb Lindsay, the group's executive director. "It is not fair to have zoning authority over people who have no voice or vote in the government. It's a problem we are hearing about from states all over the nation." And Lindsay does not believe tribes should have special legal status. But Allen, the former president of the National Congress of American Indians, sees it differently. "If you make a choice to live within an Indian reservation border, you must learn to be respectful of the tribe, its culture and its authority to protect its own interests," he said. "If you have a problem with that, then make another choice. "The Indians are not going to go anywhere," he said. "We now know how to fight back, based on your rules." INDIAN-NON-INDIAN CONFLICTS * Conflicts between Indian tribes and non-Indians that live on or near Indian land are cropping up all over the country. Here are a few examples in Western Washington: * The Swinomish Tribe is facing opposition from Skagit County over a proposal to develop a 1,200-slip marina on the reservation. The county maintains that the project will keep it from preserving farmland. * The Samish Tribe, a landless tribe in Anacortes, is facing a battle from homeowners near Campbell Lake who don't want to see the Samish build housing and other tribal buildings on an 80-acre site near the Fidalgo Island lake. * The Shoalwater Bay Tribe's plan to build a commercial housing and light industrial project on land along Interstate 5 near Vancouver is opposed by Clark County. * The Lummi Tribe is in litigation with non-Indian homeowners on the reservation over bulkheads on the homeowners' Puget Sound properties. The Lummi say the bulkheads damage the tideland environment. * And there is a dispute over tribal efforts to tax the homeowners for their access to reservation drinking water. P-I reporter Paul Shukovsky can be reached at 206-448-8072 or paulshukovsky@seattlepi.com Copyright c. 1999-2001 Seattle Post-Intelligencer --------- "RE: Congress OKs funds for Torres-Martinez" --------- Date: Fri 19 Oct 2001 08:10:43 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TORRES-MARTINEZ" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories/local/1003366117.shtml Congress OKs funds for Torres-Martinez By Benjamin Spillman The Desert Sun October 18th, 2001 Before departing on an unplanned evacuation of the Capitol and surrounding office buildings Wednesday, Congress approved an appropriations bill that will impact the Coachella Valley. The 2002 budget for the Interior Department included $6 million for the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians and $1.5 million for the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument. The Torres-Martinez money is another step in the tribe's journey to recover after more than half of its reservation was submerged by the Salton Sea in 1909. It is approximately 40 percent of $14 million owed to the Thermal-area tribe by the federal government and two local water districts. The government still owes about $4 million and the rest will be paid by the Imperial Irrigation District and Coachella Valley Water District. Tribal leaders were happy that Congress approved funding for the settlement plan signed into law in December. But the excitement is tempered by the long bureaucratic road between Congress appropriating the money and the tribe having an opportunity to improve the standard of living for its 600 or so members. "It is good. It is another step," said tribal Chairwoman Mary Belardo. The tribal council will determine whether the settlement will be used to upgrade tribal infrastructure and improve social services or be distributed among members. The appropriations bill approved Wednesday was something of a conversation piece among local conservationists as well. The bill contains the first federal funding for monument management and comes just three days before the one-year anniversary of its creation. "The money will certainly be helpful," said Bill Havert, executive director of the Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy and a nominee for a citizens advisory panel that will help manage the land. "This is a place that is set aside for the protection of an array of species. But it is also a place for people to enjoy." About $1 million of the funding will be used to acquire land and $540,000 will be used for management. "We'll focus primarily on the acquisition of habitat for bighorn sheep," said Jim Kenna, Bureau of Land Management area director for the Coachella Valley. Rep. Mary Bono, R-Palm Springs, advocated on behalf of the Torres- Martinez and the monument. Bono will attend a ceremony Saturday celebrating the birthday of the monument. The Interior budget request will be sent to the president, who is expected to approve it, Bono reported. In other congressional developments, a provision to restrict Internet gambling was stricken from a bill aimed at fighting money laundering by terrorists. The amendment by Rep. John LaFalce, D-N.Y., would have forbidden Internet-based casinos from accepting credit cards, online checks and wire transfers. Opponents ranging from Nevada gaming lobbyists to Indian casino promoters argued that Internet gambling was not a haven for terrorist money laundering and that the restrictions had no place in the Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001. Benjamin Spillman can be reached at 778-4643 or by e-mail at Benjamin.Spillman@thedesertsun.com Copyright c. 2001 The Desert Sun. --------- "RE: Pechanga Band suffers Setback on Land Buy" --------- Date: Fri 19 Oct 2001 08:10:43 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PECHANGA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20011018-9999_1mc18lands.html Tribe suffers setback on land buy Congress kills bid to block SDG&E By Christine Millay UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER October 18, 2001 PECHANGA INDIAN RESERVATION -- A few weeks ago, the Pechanga Indians were celebrating an amendment to an appropriations bill making its way through Congress that would have made 724 acres known as the Great Oak Ranch part of their reservation. The tribe isn't celebrating anymore, however. The amendment was recently removed as the bill was being reconciled between versions passed by the House and Senate. Butch Murphy, a spokesman for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, said the tribe plans to pursue other ways to protect the ranch land. He declined to provide more details. "We'll move forward in whatever way we can. It's not something we're going to drop," he said. In May, the tribe bought Great Oak Ranch for an undisclosed sum. It wanted the land placed in a federal trust so it could block San Diego Gas & Electric Co. from building a power line through the property. The trust designation would have made the land part of the reservation, preventing the use of eminent domain to acquire any of it for public purposes, such as a power line. SDG&E wants to string a 500,000-volt line, known as the Valley-Rainbow Interconnect, from Romoland in southwest Riverside County to a proposed station in Rainbow, near Fallbrook. The reservation is in the Temecula Valley in Riverside County, on the San Diego County boundary. Tribal officials also wanted the land in a trust to protect the heritage of Great Oak Ranch, which they say was essentially stolen from the reservation 150 years ago. The ranch land is west of Pechanga and was part of the reservation until 1851. That year, the state Legislature passed a law that stripped property owners of certain landholdings if they could not produce title documents. The ranch was owned for more than three decades by Erle Stanley Gardner, the "Perry Mason" mystery novelist, until he died in 1970. It is home to a 96-foot-tall oak, believed to be one of the largest such trees in the state. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., wrote the amendment that would have placed the ranch in a federal trust, and was one of its sponsors. David Sandretti, a spokesman for Boxer, said this week that he could not comment since he did not know why the amendment was pulled from a draft of the bill. Boxer could not be reached for comment. Jacqueline Howells, a spokeswoman for SDG&E, said the company's first choice for a power-line route does not include Great Oak Ranch. It would prefer to build on Indian land just inside the east and south boundaries of the 4,500-acre reservation. Three routes through Great Oak Ranch also are listed as possibilities in SDG&E's proposal. "We've made it clear in all of our filings that we're not opposed to putting the Great Oak Ranch into trust," Howells said. "We only wish to use a portion of the property to construct a power line." Of seven proposed routes for the power line, Pechanga would have had veto power over six if the trust designation were approved. That's because three proposed routes would pass through Great Oak Ranch and three through reservation land already immune from eminent domain. The seventh route, which would run west of Interstate 15, avoids the reservation entirely, but SDG&E officials contend it is impractical because it would force some homes to be torn down and would pass too close to other populated areas. SDG&E officials had meetings with Pechanga's Tribal Council earlier this year to discuss the possibility of an easement for the line. The council has told SDG&E it doesn't want the line anywhere near Indian land. The new line is needed to protect the interests of SDG&E'S customers by ensuring a safe and reliable supply of electricity to the region, Howells said. Copyright c. 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. --------- "RE: Nunavut ponders Municipal Taxation" --------- Date: Thu 18 Oct 2001 08:19:29 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NUNAVUT TAX" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/editorServlets/View?filename=o17munitax Nunavut ponders municipal taxation Oct 17 2001 08:25 AM CDT Cambridge Bay, Nunavut - More communities in Nunavut may soon be able to tax their residents. Currently the town of Iqaluit is the only taxable municipality, but a report released to mayors this week says the government is considering expanding that power. Officials from Community Government gave the report to leaders at a mayor's meeting in Cambridge Bay. Communities such as Cambridge Bay are inquiring about a tax based system. The minister of Community Government and Transportation, Jack Anawak, says the options in the report may allow the communities access to more money. "In the next little while what we would hope is that the municipalities would take a look at the options they would have under the municipal finance review," he said. "And again, do creative and innovative work in order to make the dollars go further, even though the dollars remain the same." Other methods for collecting money discussed at the meeting were investing, long-term borrowing and changes in formula funding. Anawak says some of the methods proposed could be introduced to the legislature in about a year. Copyright C. 2001 CBC. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Choctaws win Defense Contract" --------- Date: Tue 16 Oct 2001 07:44:19 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHOCTAW CONTRACT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm? newsid=2502614&BRD=1126&PAG=461&dept_id=434982&rfi=6 Choctaws win defense contract By James Beaty, Area Editor October 16, 2001 The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma plans a dinner in McAlester on Monday to celebrate the awarding of a new defense contract to the Choctaw Manufacturing and Development Corporation. Choctaw officials said the contract is with the U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command for the design and operation of the Army Space Heater, known as ASH. "This 10-year contract has an estimated nominal gross value of $55 million, with the potential gross value of $125 million, and will result in the creation of many new jobs for Pittsburg County," Choctaw Chief Gregory Pyle said in a letter to the News-Capital & Democrat. Pyle expects the facility to have around 50 employees by the end of the year, with expectations that the number could rise in the future. The dinner to celebrate the contract is set for 6:30 p.m. at the Southeast Expo Center, approximately three miles west of McAlester on U.S. Highway 270. Primary production of the Army Space Heater is to be conducted at the Choctaw Nation Business Park in McAlester. The Choctaw Nation Business Park is located in the facility which formerly housed Phoenix Industries, north of McAlester Regional Airport and south of the Ramada Inn on South George Nigh Expressway. The facility, which covers 24.5 acres, includes more than 130,000 square feet of manufacturing space, according to Chief Pyle. Prior to the dinner, the Choctaw Nation plans to conduct tours of the new plant from 4:30-6 p.m. on Monday. "In fulfilling the ASH contract, the Choctaw Nation will be assisting the United States in their military readiness efforts," Pyle said. He said other defense-related contracts are currently being fulfilled by Choctaw Nation Manufacturing and Development Corporation, with details to be shared at the dinner. Robert Pate, the Choctaw Tribal Councilman for Greater Pittsburg County, said "We're here to provide jobs first of all, to Choctaws and Native Americans." However, some non-Native Americans are expected to be hired as well, he said. "McAlester has always been good to provide jobs to people as far away as Wilburton and Eufaula and Stidham," he said, describing the city as a hub with transportation outlets. "We're going to try and do what McAlester has always done in the past, provide jobs and leadership," Pate said. "Under the leadership of this administration, the Choctaw Nation has continued to reach out across not only America, but across the world." he said. Pate also said he appreciated the help of the McAlester Industrial Group for working with the Choctaw Nation to obtain the former Phoenix Industries facility. Choctaw officials created and incorporated CMDC in 1999 and assumed operations of the Choctaw Nation Finishing Company in Hugo, according to Chief Pyle. The Finishing Company had been manufacturing defense goods since 1988, he said. The Choctaw Nation purchased the former Phoenix Industries facility in McAlester to accommodate the rapid growth of the Choctaw Manufacturing and Development Corporation, Chief Pyle said. "Choctaws are proud to be Americans and we're proud to be doing our part in defense of our country," Pyle said. Copyright c. McAlester News-Capital & Democrat 2001 Copyright c. 1995 - 2001 PowerAdz.com LLC. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Congress approves money for Indian Memorial" --------- Date: Fri 19 Oct 2001 08:10:43 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MEMORIAL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/breaking/1018bighorn-ON.html Congress approves money for Indian memorial at Little Bighorn Associated Press Oct. 18, 2001 19:35:00 BILLINGS, Mont. - A decade after authorizing construction, Congress has agreed to provide the money to build a memorial to Indian warriors who fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. "This is good, good, good, great news," said Neil Mangum, superintendent at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in southeastern Montana. Congress approved $2.3 million Wednesday to build the memorial at the battlefield, where Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry troops were wiped out 125 years ago. The money was included in the spending bill for the Interior Department that now goes to President Bush for approval. Construction could begin as early as spring and be completed by next summer, Mangum said. On June 25, 1876, Custer staged a surprise attack on an Indian village on the banks of the Little Bighorn River. He expected relatively few warriors. He badly miscalculated. A force of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahoe warriors estimated as high as 2,500 counterattacked. Custer and his immediate command - some 260 soldiers and his Crow Indian scouts - were surrounded and wiped out. White headstones, along with a looming granite, hilltop memorial, honor the men who fought with Custer at what is known as Last Stand Hill. But there's "no visual image for the Indians who fought here," Mangum said. "That was a strong argument for a memorial." The Indian memorial design includes bronze tracings of three warriors, representing the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapahoe and a "spirit gate," meant to welcome the cavalry dead. Linda Pease, a Crow Indian who served on a memorial advisory committee, said the memorial will help further the understanding of Indian views of the battle. "Now, it is a time when our government needs to look inward to find strength within its own people," said Pease, whose great-grandfather was a scout for Custer. "We are some of those people that need our citizenships in the United States reaffirmed." Former Rep. Pat Williams, D-Mont., who pushed the authorizing legislation said the money should have been provided earlier. "This ... will reconcile the anger and misunderstandings that have lasted too long between native people and the rest of us," Williams said. Copyright c. 2001, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Oklahomans pitch Indian Museum" --------- Date: Fri 19 Oct 2001 08:10:43 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MUSEUM" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.swtimes.com/archive/2001/October/18/news/OkIndMuseum.html Oklahomans Pitch Indian Museum By Todd Harper TIMES RECORD - Tharper@donreydc.COM WASHINGTON - Oklahoma lawmakers and supporters of a proposed Native American cultural center told Congress Wednesday that a center would allow for the preservation of Indian history and a boost to the state's economy. Bill sponsor Rep. Brad Carson, D-Claremore., said the Native American Cultural Center and Museum will represent tribes forced to Oklahoma on the "Trail of Tears," as well as tribes native to the state. "Some of the main goals of the cultural center are to link the past, present and future of Indian Nations and present them to the visitor in a way that he or she can experience and understand fully," said Carson, whose Eastern Oklahoma district is heavily populated with Native Americans. Carson made his pitch at a hearing of the House Resources Committee. His legislation authorizes $33 million in federal funds for a center in Oklahoma City. The federal funding will be tied to private, city and state sources accounting for at least 66 percent of the approximately $100 million project. "This massive endeavor, representing and promoting all 39 tribes in Oklahoma, is truly awe inspiring and worthy of federal financial and technical support," Carson said. Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys, said education, public programs and visitor services are key to the long-term success of the center. He also said the center presents large economic opportunities for the city. "The new cultural center and museum will be integrated into this viable revitalization effort as a jewel centerpiece, a location to enhance our tourism industry and economic development as well as a major forum for all people," Humphreys said. The center has applied to be a Smithsonian affiliate, which would allow it to rotate exhibits with a Native American Museum being built in Washington. Plans for a museum began in 1994 when the Oklahoma Legislature created the Native American Cultural and Education Authority to build and operate the center. Oklahoma state Sen. Enoch Kelly Haney, a member of the Seminole Tribe, told lawmakers he believes the center will show the diversity of the state and the history of how Native Americans got to Oklahoma. "The center will be a central place to unify and connect our tribal governments as well as place to tell a story, a story of many tribes from many places," said Haney who represents Seminole, Okla. The center would be located on a 300-acre site on the North Canadian River near downtown Oklahoma City. It would include a theater, a conference center, a visitor center, dancing grounds and exhibit galleries. Copyright c. 2001 Fort Smith Times-Record. --------- "RE: Mesa Verde: Remnants at Risk" --------- Date: Tue 16 Oct 2001 07:44:19 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MESA VERDE/REMNANTS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/news011014_1.htm Mesa Verde: Remnants at Risk By Melanie Brubaker Mazur Herald Staff Writer MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK - Carolyn Landis opens a drawer, pulls on her white gloves, and carefully selects a brown paper bag from dozens stacked neatly in rows. Inside the bag, dated from 1948, are pot shards, priceless remnants of the ancestral Puebloan culture that inhabited Southwest Colorado about 1,000 years ago. Clay pots, woven yucca ropes and robes made from turkey feathers, along with 3 million other pieces, fill shelves and drawers around Landis. Many of the artifacts are in paper bags still bearing the original field notes from the 1940s. Above the artifacts, strips of duct tape prevent insulation from cascading into the two-room metal building. Mice have invaded some of the boxes housing the artifacts, eating any organic material they can find - even the 800-year-old corn and yucca leaves originally used to make the artifacts. Welcome to one of the National Park Service's most prized collections. But thanks to a group of high-powered supporters, these artifacts may soon have a home befitting their cultural significance. Called "the tin shed" by park employees, the Mesa Verde Research Center was built in the 1950s as a field laboratory for archaeologists excavating sites on Wetherill Mesa. There are no proper temperature or humidity controls in the shed, although there is an air conditioner. The relative humidity can swing from 17 percent to 80 percent in a short time. Such unregulated conditions are hard on organic materials such as clothing, wood and feathers, Landis said. The need for a better home for the artifacts was burned into the park's consciousness last year when the 1,250-acre Pony Fire came within 1 1/2 miles of the center, just one week after the Bircher Fire burned 19,000 acres nearby. Employees covered the shed's windows with fireproof material, firefighters removed trees around the shed and dug a fireline to protect the building. Even before last year's fires, park employees knew they had to find a better home for the artifacts. Although park employees have excavated, preserved and protected artifacts within the harsh confines of the metal shed, they've never had the federal money necessary to build a first-class research and storage facility. "This is what I mean by backlog," said Landis, a curator of the collection, while looking at the rows of bags. "We need to upgrade the conditions of our collection, because this is one of the premier collections in the National Park Service." Patty Trap, a park planner, said Mesa Verde has always been at the forefront of resource protection. She said a new center is necessary to keep that reputation intact. "Mesa Verde was the first national park set aside to protect cultural resources," Trap said. Landis said that federal law requires that buildings which house artifacts meet certain regulations, and the research center does not meet them. A foundation to grow from In 1999, the Mesa Verde Foundation bought 37 acres of land adjacent to the entrance of the park to build the Mesa Verde Cultural Center, a $50 million center that will also function as a visitor's center and education lab. Although the park is considering two other sites, Trap said the foundation land is the preferred site. "This will be a public-private partnership between the National Park Service, Mesa Verde National Park and the Mesa Verde Foundation," said John Low, a Denver attorney and president of the foundation. The foundation was founded in 1997 to promote the park and serve as a fund-raising partner. Under federal law, employees of the federal government cannot solicit private funds for their programs, so the foundation was formed to allow people to raise funds for park projects. Critics of the plan say the center's location near U.S. Highway 160 will encourage visitors to stop, look around and then leave without seeing the sights in the park, which are a 30-minute drive from the highway. Low thinks the opposite will occur. "This ought to attract thousands of people," he said. By showing visitors a glimpse of what the park contains, he thinks they will be enticed to learn and see more. "They don't want to go up because they don't know what they'll see when they get there," he said. But with the new center providing displays and information, "they're far more likely to go up and spend the day in the park, or say `Next year, I'm going to come back to go to Mesa Verde National Park.'" Another benefit of moving the center closer to U.S. Highway 160 is that the collection will be moved away from the wildfires that periodically sweep through the park. After years of fund-raising, the foundation is preparing to hire staff members to pursue more grants and start the first phases of work on the center. This isn't the first time the park has looked at building a new cultural center. There were similar plans in 1979 and 1988, but funding was a problem and Park Superintendent Larry Wiese realized the 1988 planned center wasn't going to be big enough to store all of the artifacts. This time, Trap and other park employees and supporters are optimistic that the foundation's plan will be successful. "It's closer than it's ever been," Trap said. A new center Low and Trap said the center will be "far more than a visitors' center." Curation and preservation will take up at least half of the center's proposed 96,000 square feet of indoor space, she said. Another 30,000 square feet of outdoor plazas and exhibits will enhance the work and artifacts inside. Trap hopes the research space will include interactive displays where visitors can see how artifacts are found and stored, and how archaeologists use them to interpret the world of the ancestral Puebloans. The center will complement the area's other research centers, such as the Anasazi Heritage Center near Dolores and the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College, he said. There will also be room for the Mesa Verde Museum Association, administration space and a research library, as well as space to display information from the 24 American Indian tribes with cultural affiliations to the park area.Trap said once the funding is in place, it will take at least three years to build the new center. Ideally, park staff hope to have it open by 2006, the park's 100th anniversary. By the end of the year, the park will release a plan and environmental assessment for the three proposed center sites. Copies will be available at the park or on the National Park Service Web site at www.nps.gov/meve/ . After the public has commented on the plan, the park will select its final choice for the site, then concentrate on design and fund-raising efforts. In the meantime, Landis and her co-workers are using a grant from Save America's Treasures, a historical preservation group, to properly box and store more of the collection. They're looking forward to the day when everything will be properly stored and cataloged, giving them a better understanding of the ancestral Puebloan culture. In the 1,000-year-old history of the ancestral Puebloans, a few more years may be worth the wait. Copyright c. 2001, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Mesa Verde recovering from the Fires" --------- Date: Tue 16 Oct 2001 07:44:19 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MESA VERDE/RECOVERING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&article_path=/news/news011015_1.htm Mesa Verde recovering from the fires October 15, 2001 Second of two parts. By Melanie Brubaker Mazur Herald Staff Writer MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK - More than a year after two blazing fires swept through Mesa Verde National Park, life is returning to normal. Sort of. Hardy scrub oaks started growing weeks after the Bircher and Pony fires burned more than a third of the 55,000-acre park. But the Pony Fire burned 600-year-old forest growth, and it will be nearly a century before the pinon and junipers return there. In the meantime, yucca and wildflowers are emerging from the darkened ground. Newly planted native grasses are growing, too. The burning that is most visible to visitors occurred in the Pony Fire, which started Aug. 2, 2000, on Ute Mountain Ute tribal lands. The fire entered the park two days later, scorching 1,250 acres, including much of Wetherill Mesa, where Lancaster House, Long House and many other cliff dwellings are located. Visitors can still see the scorched rocks on top of Long House, the second-largest cliff dwelling in the park. The only cliff dwelling to suffer major damage in the fire was Mushroom House, a two-room dwelling that had a pack-rat nest inside that caught fire, burning the house's interior walls. In general, fire doesn't hurt the cliff dwellings because they're made of stone, said Tim Oliverius, a park officer overseeing 70 fire-recovery projects. What is damaging, however, are the aftereffects - the erosion caused by a lack of vegetation and the soot and water that subsequently run inside the ancient dwellings. To counteract the damage, Mesa Verde spent more than $600,000 on native grass seeds, dropping them from the air so they could take root across the burned areas. The grasses help keep noxious weeds from gaining a foothold. Spraying and biological measures, such as weed-eating insects, also are used to keep thistles and other non-native plants at bay, Oliverius said. It's Jim Kitchen's job to try to prevent a major fire from happening again. He's the park's fire management officer. Since 2000, park crews have thinned acres of land to reduce fire risk. One hundred acres on part of the park's boundary have been drastically thinned. Crews removed the canopy of trees on a 100-foot swath of land, then cut down more trees on a 400-foot-wide adjacent strip, leaving one tree every 20 feet. The project has removed 800 cords of wood which was sold to the public, Kitchen said. While some national parks are experimenting with more prescribed burns and letting naturally caused fires burn, Mesa Verde crews suppress all fires. That policy is in place for several reasons, Oliverius said, particularly safety. The park has a high density of visitors in a relatively small area and there is only one road in and out of the park, so a fire could complicate evacuation and rescue efforts. Further, the dense pinon and juniper stands create perfect conditions for a hot, potentially fast-moving fire. About 25 fires are put out every year in the park, mostly caused by lightning, that burn 1 or 2 acres each, Oliverius said. Park officials say they were lucky the Chapin and Pony fires did not result in a loss of life or more damage. Some shelters covering excavation sights caught on fire, but curtains coated with rubber kept the fires from damaging the excavations. A ranger station, concession stand and 2 miles of guardrail on the road were the main items destroyed. In all, there was about $900,000 in property damage from the two fires. Firefighting costs totaled about $10 million. The National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Land Management are sharing the $3.4 million cost for recovery efforts. Even though the fires did reveal some previously unknown archaeological sites, for the most part, park officials want to protect the sites that were uncovered before the fires. One of the first lines of defense in a fire at Mesa Verde is the heliteck crew, comprising 10 federal employees who land in a helicopter and attack a fire. Scott McDermid, the foreman of Mesa Verde's crew, said the Bircher Fire originally looked like just another small wildfire on private property east of the park on July 20, 2000. Several local fire departments responded, but the fire burned into a hay field and suddenly grew from a quarter-mile wide to a mile wide, then burned into a stand of pinon and juniper growing on a hill. Fires burn hotter and faster as they burn uphill, and this one rapidly gained speed, McDermid said. "The thing with pinon-juniper fires is that when they start to move, they have a mind of their own," he said. The summer of 2000 had only 58 percent of its normal rainfall, leaving the land and trees hot and dry. Some of the wood had a moisture content of only about 5 percent. "It was drier than kiln-dried lumber," McDermid said. Hot August weather, low humidity and a rare east wind fed the fire. Most fires calm down at night and rev up during the day, but Bircher burned around the clock, consuming two canyons and ridges in one hour. "Everything we didn't want it to do, it did," he said. "It was a worst- case scenario." Fighting fires like Bircher involves protecting structures, not putting the fires out, McDermid said. As the fire burned toward Morefield Village, where the park's campground is, crews were able to save the village store mainly because it sat on a parking lot. At the height of the fire, more than 1,000 firefighters were on site. After a week of crews from around the country struggling to control the blaze, their luck turned. The Bircher Fire burned into an area that had previously burned in 1996, reducing the amount of fuel available. The weather cooled off. Just as suddenly as it roared to life, the fire dwindled. The Bircher Fire had burned 23,607 acres, 19,000 of them in the park. The Bircher and Pony fires helped make 2000 the most active year for forest fires in the nation. This summer, the usual few dozen fires started and were quickly put out. Mesa Verde fire officials hope it stays that way. Copyright c. 2001, the Durango Herald. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Some Reservation-area Schools show Big Gains" --------- Date: Tue 16 Oct 2001 07:44:19 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RES SCHOOLS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?section=local&display=content/local/indianskuls.inc Some reservation-area schools show big gains since 1996 exams The Associated Press HELENA (AP) - A handful of predominantly American Indian schools showed dramatic improvement in student test scores over the past five years, but overall Montana schools on or near reservations continue to fare poorly in the exams. The findings, based on an Associated Press analysis of test results for 2001 released by the state Office of Public Instruction, show such schools as Hays-Lodgepole, Heart Butte, Lodge Grass, Plenty Coups and Rocky Boys posted big gains from 1996 in the percentage of students scoring at or above their grade level. In several cases, the numbers more than doubled. School officials attribute the improvement to dedicated staff and new programs aimed at making students better readers and parents more involved in their children's education. Despite the improvement, it was not enough to pull the reservation-area schools out of the academic cellar. Not only do their scores remain low overall, some of the biggest declines in student performance during the five years also occurred in Indian schools. Box Elder, Crow Agency, Frazer, Hardin and Lame Deer had significantly smaller percentages of students achieving grade-level performance on the tests. Seven of the 10 lowest-scoring schools in each of three grades that were tested are Indian schools. On average, 68 percent of the students did not score at their grade level. The statewide average is 24 percent. The small school serving Hays-Lodgepole, where 62 students were tested, stood out among improved schools. Juniors there showed the largest improvement among all districts and all grades tested. Just 4 percent performed at or above their grade level in 1996. That ballooned to 33 percent this year - a nearly sevenfold increase. Almost 62 percent of Lodgepole School's fourth graders scored at or above grade level, 54 percent better than five years earlier and the ninth biggest increase in Montana. The district's eighth graders saw a 16 percent improvement in their performance, the 27th best showing in the state. At Lodge Grass, 24 percent of the eighth graders scored at or above grade level, compared with just 9 percent five years ago. That 156 percent improvement led all state eighth grades. The district's 11th graders ranked tenth in the state with an almost 52 percent improvement in their performance. At Heart Butte, the percentage of fourth graders achieving at least grade-level performance nearly doubled to 46 percent, and the district's juniors improved by 48 percent. Rocky Boy fourth graders, whose scores rose by 69 percent, ranked third in the state in that class. Poplar reported a 54 percent improvement in eighth grade scores, the third best in the state. At Plenty Coups, 86 percent of 11th graders scored at or above grade level to more than double the showing in 1996 and rank it second among high schools. Philip Shortman, in his first year as Hays-Lodgepole superintendent, was not sure how to explain the improvement in his students' test scores. While some ground may have been made up, "we're not where we want to be," he said. He said the results may reflect increasing access students have to the world beyond the reservation. Families are moving to urban areas and children are becoming more acclimated to the outside world, he suggested. "They're not as isolated as they used to be," Shortman said. "They have access to everything the rest of the world has," including the Internet. Tom Feeney, superintendent at Lodge Grass, pointed to dedicated teachers, after-school tutoring programs, a staff reading specialist and few discipline problems as reasons for the improvement at his school. Heart Butte Superintendent Jan Cahill believes district trustees deserve some credit for the better performance among his students. "The school board has been very adamant that academics has to be number one," he said. But the district also has launched programs in which parents come to school and read with children and promote the most valuable skill students can attain, Cahill said. "If they can't read, it's pretty difficult for them to succeed." But, for whatever measure of success some Indian schools have had since 1996, others lost ground. Lame Deer had the overall worst showing, with scores plummeting 34 percent for fourth graders, 47 percent for eighth graders and 17 percent for juniors. Scores for Box Elder's eighth graders dropped almost 33 percent. Scores at Rocky Boy dropped 28 percent. Frazer schools on the Fort Peck Reservation had a 35 percent decline in fourth grade scores, and Crow Agency results showed a 28 percent decrease for that grade. Even those schools boasting major improvement find themselves still near the bottom of the list. Shortman, of Hays-Lodgepole, said it is a matter of economics and attitude in communities where money and jobs are scarce, and parents do little to encourage their children's education. "We need economic opportunity for parents," he said. "A lot of parents are unable to afford school clothes and supplies. They have to spend that they do have on basic necessities like food and shelter." Shortman said some Indian parents do not help with homework and seldom visit the school. Cahill said Heart Butte parents want their children to do well in school and realize it is the best chance for success on or off the reservation. But the poverty saturating Indian families makes learning tough, he said. The community has no library and few evening activities for students, and families have no money for computers, newspapers or magazines, he said. "They don't have the socio-economic benefits that kids have away from the reservation." Copyright c. 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Natives in for a Third of Pipeline" --------- Date: Tue 16 Oct 2001 07:44:19 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVES/PIPELINE" http://www.moreover.com/cgi-local/~/+Aboriginal+pipeline http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/story.asp Natives in for a third of pipeline The Province Tuesday, October 16, 2001 YELLOWKNIFE -- A consortium of energy companies signed a deal yesterday giving northern aboriginals a 33-per-cent stake in a proposed Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline. The consortium, made up of Imperial Oil, Shell Canada, Conoco Inc. and ExxonMobil Canada, signed a memorandum of understanding with the region's natives represented by the Mackenzie Valley Aboriginal Pipeline Corp. in the territorial capital. The proposed $3-billion Arctic gas pipeline would bring northern gas to southern markets. The firms are still analysing the project's economics, but getting native support has been a critical element in the development plan. "This memorandum establishes the framework for moving forward," said K.C. Williams, an Imperial Oil senior vice-president, on behalf of the producer group. "It lays the groundwork for a business relationship beneficial to the peoples of the North and to resource developers." An agreement between northern natives and the consortium was initially reached last May, but was delayed after several native communities in the N.W.T. -- notably the Deh Cho First Nations -- refused to sign because of outstanding federal land claims. The producers decided to move ahead after a meeting earlier this month between federal Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault and Williams. Copyright c. 2001 The Province. --------- "RE: Native Leaders die in Crash after signing Deal" --------- Date: Tue 16 Oct 2001 07:44:19 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PLANE CRASH" http://www.moreover.com/cgi-local/~/+Aboriginal+pipeline http://www.nationalpost.com/news/national/story.html? f=/stories/20011017/740014.html Native leaders die in crash after signing pipeline deal Graeme Hamilton National Post Two aboriginal officials who had just signed a deal promising natural gas riches for their remote Northwest Territories community died when their plane crashed in a snowstorm on Monday night. The crash of the Deh Cho Air Piper Chieftain just outside Fort Liard, N.W.T., killed a third passenger, while the pilot and two other passengers were rescued from the wreckage yesterday morning and flown to Yellowknife and Edmonton for medical care. "Everybody's pretty shook up," John McKee, senior administrative officer for the Fort Liard Band Council, said yesterday. "It has devastated the band." The twin-engine plane left Yellowknife at 8:15 p.m. en route to Fort Liard. At about 10:45 p.m., the plane crashed into a sand bar near the hamlet's air strip. Search and rescue crews were dispatched immediately but wet snow and darkness prevented them from locating the crash site until after daybreak yesterday. The dead were identified as Daniel Loman, 61, a band councillor, Sally Bertrand, 33, the band manager, and Sean Toner, 27, Ms. Bertrand's fiance'. Injured were Stanley Bertrand, 70, a community elder, Kimberly Deneron, 24, and pilot Brad Hager. Mr. Bertrand and Ms. Deneron were in stable condition while Mr. Hager's condition was more serious. The survivors spent a long night waiting for help. "Any time you're in a situation like that, 10 minutes is a long time, let alone how many hours," said Capt. Barry Tolmie of the rescue co-ordination centre in Trenton, Ont., which ran the search. A delegation from the band had been in Yellowknife to sign a major agreement between oil and gas producers and aboriginal groups, guaranteeing the aboriginals a one-third stake in a natural gas pipeline proposed along the Mackenzie Valley. It is the largest partnership ever signed between the industry and native groups. Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board and the RCMP are trying to establish the cause of the crash. Copyright c. 2001 National Post Online. National Post Online is a Hollinger/CanWest Publication. --------- "RE: Racial Profiling Bill Revived" --------- Date: Thu 18 Oct 2001 08:19:29 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RACIAL PROFILING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.argusleader.com/news/Thursdayarticle5.shtml Racial profiling bill revived By TERRY WOSTER Argus Leader published: 10/18/01 Legislators to try again for data collection during traffic stops PIERRE - Two Native American state legislators said Wednesday they'll sponsor a bill next session to collect information on whether members of their race face more traffic stops and police searches than do non-Indians in South Dakota. "I think that would do so much for racial reconciliation in South Dakota," said Democrat Sen. Ron Volesky of Huron. "The question is, are Indians in South Dakota stopped more frequently for offenses that non-Indians aren't stopped for?" He and Democrat Rep. Tom Van Norman of Eagle Butte want the law to require law enforcement officers to record the race of people they stop, the reason for the stop, whether the vehicle, driver or passengers were searched and what the outcome was of the case. The two filed similar bills last session which died in a committee. "At least let's get it to the floor and out of committee this time," Van Norman said after the Legislature's State-Tribal Relations Committee finished a day of hearings on whether racial profiling exists in the state. Profiling in the context of traffic stops refers to a perception that members of one race are stopped more often than others, often for minor violations such as an obscured license plate, broken tail light or object hanging from a rear-view mirror. The stop is then used as an excuse to inspect the occupants of the vehicle and perhaps search for evidence of other crimes. It happens regularly to Native Americans in South Dakota, said Shirley Marvin of the Standing Rock IndianReservation. She said she was stopped three times in two days by Highway Patrol troopers when she worked at Lower Brule. "I know these things happen. It didn't matter if you were within the law or without. You were stopped," she said. "You can tell who the Indians are, all you have to do is look at our cars." Faith Taken Alive of McLaughlin said her 70-year-old mother was stopped in Mobridge for having a dream-catcher hanging from a rear-view mirror. During the stop, she said two cars with non-Indian drivers passed with objects dangling from mirrors. Neither was stopped. And Webster Two Hawk, state commissioner of Tribal Government Relations, told the committee he'd been stopped while driving in Pierre and while jogging in Rapid City. There seemed to be no reason for the stops, he said, and when he challenged the law officer to ticket him and set a court date, no action was taken. "I said 'I think you all look alike, too,' " Two Hawk said. Representatives of police and sheriff's departments in South Dakota said some profiling probably exists, but they said data collection won't solve the problem. Instead, Hughes County Sheriff Mike Leidholt said, model policies on the subject, more training of officers and supervisors and more video cameras in patrol cars to record arrests would help. "We're sensitive to the issue," Leidholt said. "We prefer the term bias-based policing." That's a more inclusive term, he said. Profiling tends to refer only to traffic stops. "In South Dakota, I think it would be naive to think it does not exist," said Watertown Police Chief Terry Lohr. "I don't think collection of data is the answer." The focus on race during a traffic stop could increase the volatility of the incident, he said. And the information gathered probably wouldn't carry any statistical validity. Law enforcement agencies in the state are working to write a uniform policy that all agencies could use to deal with instances of bias in police work, he said. That could be available by the middle of December. Pierre Police Lt. Jim Halling said state law already has procedures to deal with an improper stop. If officers are required to gather information on race, he said, "The implication is going to be that my race is going to make a difference on the ticket." Van Norman said that even data that isn't entirely valid statistically could be a tool to judge whether one race is treated differently. "That's a concern; people are saying they don't feel they have equal protection of laws," Van Norman said. "There is some perception on reservations that the minute you drive off, you're treated different." Democrat Sen. Dick Hagen of Pine Ridge said he fields calls from people on his reservation who say they were victims of profiling. "Does it exist? It has to exist, or all these people are lying to me," Hagen said. "I don't think they're lying." Lohr said no one denies the practice exists. "What are we going to do by data collection?" he asked. "Well, it will make a difference to our people," said Gene McCowan, a member of the Pierre Indian Council. The council held meetings with Pierre Police Chief Allen Aden last spring to voice concerns over perceptions of profiling in city traffic stops. Aden allowed council members to study records of all traffic stops from January through April. The number of Native Americans being stopped declined after the first meeting, McCowan said. He praised Aden for being willing to listen to the concerns of the minority community but said he believes statistics need to be gathered statewide. "As long as we use the same standard for everyone, we don't have a problem," McCowan said. "But let's collect the data to make sure we're using the same standards." Republican Rep. Barry Jensen of White River said three or four bills are pending in Congress that could force states to begin some form of data collection on profiling. Those might affect what the state should do, he said. Committee chairman Jim Putnam, a Republican senator from Armour, said legislators may want to consider ways to help law enforcement buy cameras for patrol cars. "I think that's probably a major factor in eliminating some of these concerns," Putnam said. "This (video) is probably the best data that could ever be obtained." Cameras cost about $5,000 each, Aden said. Only five of the 10 committee members were at the afternoon portion of the meeting. That wasn't enough for a legal quorum to do business, so the panel couldn't formally vote when Volesky urged them to endorse his data- collection bill. After that, he and Van Norman made the promise to introduce the legislation when lawmakers gather in January. Reach Terry Woster at 605-224-2760 or twoster@midco.net Copyright c. 2001 Argus Leader. --------- "RE: Nunavut Mayors call for More Inuit Police" --------- Date: Sun 21 Oct 2001 20:18:24 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INUIT POLICE RECRUITS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nunatsiaq.com/news/nunavut/11019_9.html October 19, 2001 Nunavut mayors call for more Inuit police RCMP ask mayors for recruitment help DENISE RIDEOUT CAMBRIDGE BAY - Nunavut mayors are praising the RCMP's drive to hire more Inuit to work as police officers in the territory. Many mayors say local, Inuktitut-speaking RCMP officers can better serve the communities because they can communicate with residents and they understand Inuit culture. That message was heard loud and clear this week at a meeting in Cambridge Bay between Nunavut mayors and Doug Reti, the RCMP officer in charge of recruiting Inuit to the force. Reti told municipal leaders that the Nunavut RCMP division is on a major drive to draw more Inuit into policing. "There's definitely interest out there," Reti said. "We just have to be a little more assertive in getting people to come to us". Reti, an inspector based in Iqaluit, told the mayors the department is placing ads in newspapers and has launched a public campaign to attract new Inuit recruits. But the department is also asking the hamlets for assistance. "We need your help getting Inuit," he said. Reti said the communities should encourage young people to apply to join the force, or pass on the names of good candidates to the RCMP. Many mayors applauded Reti's efforts. They said more Inuit officers can only improve police services in their communities. Hezekiah Oshutapik, mayor of Pond Inlet, expressed his dismay at the shortage of Inuit officers. "The problem we have is we have three members but they don't speak Inuktitut, and many people in our community are unilingual," he said. Policing works well in Igloolik, said mayor Elijah Evaluarjuk, because one police officer, along with the community constables, speaks Inuktitut. Pond Inlet's mayor pointed out that RCMP officers imported from southern Canada tend not to mix well with local residents. He said language and culture barriers are to blame. "There are more and more southern RCMP coming to our communities," Oshutapik said. "They seem to be more segregated from the community." Jack Anawak, the minister responsible for communtiy government, agreed. He said that barrier was created in the 1950s when qallanaat police officers came to the North and were seen as inflicting southern rules on the Inuit. He said the barrier seems to still exist. Reti said the territory's RCMP department is looking to address some of the concerns. Reti said, for example, the Nunavut RCMP may offer southern RCMP officers cross-cultural training to learn more about the Inuit lifestyle before they come to the territory. But the key, he pointed out, is getting more Inuit on the force. He said that's where the Nunavut RCMP's recruiting strategy comes into play. But, at least one mayor doesn't care either way if the RCMP officer is Inuit or not. He said he'd be happy to just have an RCMP presence in his community. Whale Cove, with a population of about 350 people, doesn't have a policer officer stationed in the community. Whale Cove mayor Stanley Adjuk said the bylaw officer and community constable are kept busy dealing with break-and-enters and alcohol-related crimes. He said he thinks an RCMP officer would come in handy, especially when more serious crimes are committed. "For the safety of the community, there should be one here," Adjuk said. Last month the Nunavut government announced it would provide funding for more police officers in the communities, but Whale Cove isn't slated to get a RCMP detachment. Copyright c. 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Nortext Publishing Corporation (Iqaluit). --------- "RE: Peyote still Thorny Topic" --------- Date: Tue 16 Oct 2001 07:44:19 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PEYOTE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=180&xlc=398505&xld=180 Peyote still thorny topic in law, faith By Bonnie Pfister Express-News Border Bureau 10/15/2001 12:00 AM MIRANDO CITY -- To tens of thousands of Native Americans, this little dot on the map south of Texas 359 is holy land. And here, unique in the United States, lives a deity. It is peyote, an ancient hallucinogenic root that grows only in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico and north of the border between Laredo and Rio Grande City. Bitter-tasting peyote is both savior and sacrament in the Native American Church. But who may purchase it is increasingly a matter subject to debate. Various state laws are in conflict, and localities' attempts to harmonize their rules with federal regulations have raised further questions. In Texas, new enforcement procedures by the Department of Public Safety have, unintentionally, left Canadian indigenous groups uncertain of whether they can continue to purchase the cactus. And in Utah, the state Supreme Court is considering whether to take up a case that pits constitutionally protected freedom of religion for all Americans against the congressional mandate that peyote only be available to members of federally recognized Indian tribes. James Mooney, founder and leader of a 4-year-old Oklevueha EarthWalks Native American Church, faces 12 felony counts for distributing peyote from his Spanish Fork, Utah, home. State prosecutors say Mooney's claims of more than one-quarter Indian blood are irrelevant because he is not a member of one of the 550 federally recognized tribes. By distributing peyote - often for a price - at weekend ceremonies, prosecutors say Mooney is running an enterprise akin to Mafia racketeering. In Mirando City, about 30 miles east of Laredo, peyote harvesters and distributors have stopped shipping their goods to Mooney until the legal battle plays itself out. Salvador Johnson, a peyotero for 30 years, is one of six distributors in the nation licensed by the Texas Department of Public Safety and registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. "I've seen Mooney help a lot of people - people with drug addictions, alcohol problems. But it gets controversial when you start giving peyote to white people," Johnson said. Lophophora Williamsii was first revered by Huichol Indians of Mexico perhaps as early as 200 A.D., according to Jay Fikes, writing about the Native American Church for the Council on Spiritual Practices. The mescaline-dense cactus was considered the "heart, soul and memory of their creator." Ingesting it, like taking communion in the Catholic Church, was a way of getting closer to, and understanding, the supreme spirit. Spanish missionaries document peyote's use in rituals by the Carrizo Indians near Laredo as early as 1649. But it wasn't until the late 19th century that a Smithsonian Institution ethnologist began studying the cactus' use among the Kiowa in Oklahoma, as well as the Tarahumara in Mexico. In 1918, Fikes wrote, the ethnologist testified in favor of Native American peyotists before Congress, and went on to help Oklahoma tribes charter the first Native American Church to protect their religious freedom. Today there are three "umbrella" Native American Churches: the original Church of Oklahoma; the Church of Navajoland in the Four Corners region, and the Church of North America, which is run by board members based in Arizona, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Perhaps 100 other loosely affiliated and independent churches exist in the United States, said Jerry Patchen, a Houston lawyer who has represented the Oklahoma church for 20 years. "It's not a monolith," Patchen said. And the question of who is or is not a Native American - and who, in turn, may partake of the sacrament that became a counter-cultural icon for hippies in the 1960s - has long been interpreted differently, depending on the state. In Texas, Patchen said, the law until recently held that one must either be 25 percent Native American or a member of a federally recognized tribe to ingest peyote legally. Confusion has sprung up in recent months as the DPS tried to more closely align its enforcement with the provisions of the 1993 American Indian Religious Freedom Act, which state that only members of a federally recognized tribe may partake of peyote. "The Canadian tribes are now trying to figure out how they fit into that definition," said Jody Patterson, DPS supervisor of controlled substances registration. "We didn't realize the rules would have this impact. We're looking into the issue." Such a definition excludes many, including Utah's James Mooney, Johnson and Patchen himself. Patchen, whose wife grew up near Mirando City, said he never held himself out to be a Native American. Rather, he has taken the sacrament at the invitation of members of the Native American Church of Oklahoma. "Every religion has the right to educate the dominant culture of their religious practices and level of sincerity. Do Indians have a right to invite me in? As part of the law dealing with religious freedom, I'd say they do," he said. Johnson said he, too, has been invited to join in the church's ceremonies. "Peyote is only a small factor of what goes into the ceremony. But I believe in the medicine," he said. On a recent October morning, Navajo Lewis Peshlakai drove 32 hours straight from Window Rock, Ariz., to purchase 5,000 peyote buttons with his own money. A "roadman," or priest, Peshlakai, 44, refers to the harvest peyote buttons as medicine. Before driving back to Arizona, he visited a backyard shrine to the cactus in Mirando City. "I'm going to tell the medicine, 'You're mine now. You're going to belong to me,'" Peshlakai said. He will use the plant in ceremonies to heal the sick, without asking for payment, he said. While he usually makes the pilgrimage once a year, this trip is special: in celebration of winning back his job at a coal mine after being fired two months ago. After 17 years on the job, Peshlakai said that development made him feel "as if I didn't exist." "With my first paycheck, I promised I would come here to gather peyote. With this good blessing, I am going to give it back to my community, to say 'thank you' for getting my job back," he said. Johnson, who generally charges about $180 for 1,000 fresh peyote buttons, loaded his customer's cargo into burlap potato sacks. Smaller, dried peyote buttons sat in his side yard, drying on rough, wooden pallets in the still-strong October sun. A fence and locked gate surround the area, as DEA requires. "The Indians who come here are not on vacation, or to sightsee," Johnson said. "It's a pilgrimage for the Indians to make the sacrifice to come here." bpfister@express-news.net Copyright c. 2001 KENS 5 and the San Antonio Express-News. --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2001 7:48 PM From: "Janet Smith" Subj: Native Prisoner News Tell a Native American Prisoner someone cares! -- - - - Peltier, Leonard #89637-132 Box 1000 Leavenworth, KS 66053 Birthday: 9/12/44 Ancestry: Ojibwa-Lakota -- - - - Subj: Prison Pen Pals I am grateful to the Native American Inmates and Families Support Group for allowing me to access their database of Native American inmates requesting pen pals. The full list can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/wy/nainmatessupportgrp/PEN, along with a good basic discussion of what you can send, and what is forbidden (customized to several different states and institutions, as requirements differ). Mario C.L. Martinez K-03733 C-5/205-L P.O. Box 921 Imperial, Ca. 92251-0921 Kelly Lee Case #224027 D-2-117 Michigan Pugsley Facility 7401 E. Walton Rd Kingsley, Mi 49649 Age: 37 Gene "Many Spirits" Busenbark #905552 CCH-316 I.S.P. P.O. Box 41 Michigan City, In. 46361 Birthday; 6-3-65 Release Date; 2030 Seeking male and female pen pals for letters of friendship, Native American Spiritual knowkedge,and whatever else we may share in common. Faith;Native American/Christian Hobbies:Reading, writing,Indian Art& Leather Crafts. Race: Cherokee/German Sean Bodden #951017 CCH-110 I.S.P. P.O. Box 41 Michigan City, In.46361 D.O.B. 1-29-70 Release Date: 2057 A once aimless nomad exploring new horizons i/s/o whatever possibilities Grandfather sends to my door; be it friendship,mentorship, or ? ----------------------------------- If you know of a Native American inmate who would like to correspond with brothers or sisters on the outside - please drop me a line with whatever information about them they'd like shared. Janet Smith Owlstar Trading Post http://www.owlstar.com owlstar@speakeasy.org --------- "RE: Rustywire: Bitter Winds" --------- Date: Tue 16 Oct 2001 07:44:19 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RW/BITTER WINDS" http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/1574/Starmtn/tsaa.html Bitter Winds by Johnny Rustywire Grandfather, tell me about the people, the ones called Tsaa... There are no Tsaa People, there once were two brothers looking for medicine to help their sister who was ill and they travelled far and wide going from place to place to find a way to help her and in doing so met many people. When they found people they did not know there would go to the elder there, the Grandfather would say, you are strangers and do not belong here. The brothers would tell the story of how they came to be there, that they were seeking some knowledge to help their sick sister and had come this say to find what these people had to offer, to learn from them and the proper way of doing things. The Grandfather said, "Do you have gifts to bring", in this they said we do not have much but offer all that we have. In the distance was a rainbow and that had travelled on it and in doing so they had made a trail from it to there and that trail was their life, the rainbow fashioned by every twist and turn they had made in their travels, it spoke well of them. The Grandfather looked at this and said, "You have enough my children" and taught them in the way they should walk, teaching them about the things his people had to offer and sent them on their way. They came across one people, when they came upon them they sat in a place hollowed out by the wind, and when they announces themselves they said nothing, just sitting there throwing red sand all over themselves. They did not talk, or see them or listen to them, but just threw this sand all over and stirred up the dust. This was the place called Tsaa, the home of Bitter Winds, the winds that blow for no reason but to cause strife. The wind when it comes to you carries sand and if you are caught in it, it will sting your face, it will make you thing why are you here and where am I going, it is too much trouble to continue. But if you hang on it will blow over and be gone. It is always there this wind, so it is with life. Grandfather, why are they that way?. Son, it has always been so you will find it all through your life, there are those that are like that bitter wind, when they come to you, they bring nothing but stirred up dust and it will sting, it comes from a place where there are those people who do not see, or hear or listen and not matter what you say they will not listen, but just throw red sand all over themselves and stir up the bitter winds of life..........from the Navajo Way, a centuries old story in the songs and legends of the People, the Bitter Winds come still and so it goes on, but it will pass, there will be better days than this, let this one go by.... Copyright c. 1999, Johnny Rustywire, all rights reserved. --------- "RE: Poem: Heartprints" --------- Date: Sun, 28 May 2000 10:29:08 -0400 From: "Dreamwalker" Subj: Heartprints Heartprints There comes a time after the curtain is drawn when death is no longer death but birth Once through the light and back again where yesterday becomes a new Dawn Where familiarity and Tradition blend making new bonds of energy and light Where once the price paid held so dear is but dew in Morning's tender light A place where Ancestors meet to hear the stories to feel the life flow again in dried veins Death is not a shroud but a beginning the Anceint Ones say there is more than one door As you pass by this way stop look carefully you will see them here One after the other walking the same road Hearts out front starting anew The One thread the blood coursing again the Hopes and Dreams fresh and new The Seventh generation waits for your turn your Journey to the beginning through the end. Crys The Tears/Dreamwalker~Lakota copyright 2000 --------- "RE: Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days" --------- Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 06:16:03 -1000 From: Debbie Sanders Subj: Hawaiian Book of Days A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of October 29-November 4 OKAKOPA (October) (Ikuwa) 29 The leaves sigh with the wind's caress. 30 In knowledge lies the greatest power. 31 The moon is my guardian on this night of nights. NOWEMAPA (November) (Welehu) November was the first month of the Hoo-ilo season, which ran from November through April. This month marked the season when people, for sport, darted arrows made of the flower stalk of the sugar-cane. 1 Know your own heart as no other can. 2 The reward for all endeavors is self-satisfaction. 3 Give others the praise you would covet for yourself. 4 Time is our enemy only if we make it so. (c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue (With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream) --------- "RE: Chetenne Language Surviving" --------- Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2001 01:47:06 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Pureau Subj: Cheyenne language surviving Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.billingsgazette.com/archive.php?display=rednews/ 2001/10/19/build/local/cheyenne.inc Cheyenne language surviving By JAMES HAGENGRUBER Of The Gazette Staff An ancient Cheyenne prophet said his people's end time would arrive when they stopped speaking their language. Sweet Medicine's words seemed to loom larger with each new generation of Northern Cheyenne. But a century-long erosion of the tribe's tongue is beginning to slow, thanks to a recently developed language teacher certification program at Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer. In the last four years, the number of certified language instructors has nearly doubled to 13, said college President Richard Littlebear. "Our language was taken away from us, but we are desperately hanging on to it," said Littlebear, who holds a doctorate in education. "Once you lose a language, you lose a culture. Language transmits culture. It forms the basis for identity." Using a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Chief Dull Knife College developed a language education curriculum Littlebear believes will help the tribe keep its language alive. To gain state certification, the potential instructors must prove their skill in English and Cheyenne. The students must speak fluently and translate a text from English to Cheyenne without using a word of English. Cheyenne is an ancient language and the students must improvise when modern words are encountered. Diabetes, for example, is called "the sugar sickness" using Cheyenne nouns. The potential instructors are also given lessons on teaching methods. "We recognize that fluency does not make you a teacher," Littlebear said. 7 Since 1996, Montana has been one of the few states that has a teacher certification classification for Indian languages, Littlebear said. The certification has caused grumbling among some teachers with four-year degrees - language instructors do not necessarily need a bachelor's degree - but Littlebear said the special status is needed because the instructors are often the only repository of their tribe's language. "At no other place in the world is Assiniboine or Sioux or Gros Ventre or Cheyenne taught. You can't find this at Yale or Harvard," he said. "Many of the (certified teachers) have near-Ph.D. knowledge of their own language and culture." Montana's universities are also among the few in the nation that give foreign language credit for Indian languages. This is an added incentive for Northern Cheyenne students who increasingly have the opportunity to learn the Cheyenne language at schools across the reservation, Littlebear said. About 40 percent of Northern Cheyenne speak their language, Littlebear said. Many elders, including Littlebear, grew up with Cheyenne as their first language, but were not allowed to speak the language at school. The United States government has dropped its ban on native languages, but popular culture is proving more destructive. The threat of losing the language was even more real because Cheyenne was not a written language until the last century, when linguists adapted the oral sounds to the English alphabet. This meant that when storytellers died, pieces of the culture were buried with them. Until recently, only five people could read and write the language. The number has doubled in the last six years, Littlebear said. Littlebear, who is 61, didn't begin learning to write and read in his own language until he was 40. "I thought `Why should I always be reading and writing in a language that is killing my own?'" he said. Littlebear said the culmination of his "very personal journey" came five years later when he was to able read the 23rd Psalm of the Bible in his native tongue. The passage has long been a favorite, he said. "It's poetic and melodious, written by people who love language," he said. "When I learned how to read it in Cheyenne, it just blew me away. It was even more poetic and evocative." "It's soul-satisfying to be able to read and speak your own language." Although there are more language instructors, additional work is needed to counter myths about learning Cheyenne, Littlebear said. Some say Cheyenne is impossible for outsiders to learn, or it can only be soaked up by the malleable minds of youth. "Cheyenne isn't any harder to learn than any other language," Littlebear insisted, adding that adults often find it easier to learn a second language because they have already mastered one tongue. Non-Cheyenne also do well at learning the language - immersion instruction camps are offered every summer in Lame Deer. "White speakers are socialized differently, they're supposed to talk out in classes and be more vocal," Littlebear said. "That makes for a very good language student. You can't learn language in silence." Cheyenne language instruction concentrates on oral practice. The language is full of complicated sounds, including silent vowels, "tsk" sounds and glottal stops (such as saying "uh-uh"). Words are often constructed by stringing together strings of verbs and suffixes. "Sometimes the words are really long," Littlebear said. According to a Cheyenne language Web site, one of the longest words is: "naohkosaa'one'sea'mepohe'vetsohe'sto'ane'he," which translates to "I truly do not pronounce Cheyenne well." Language students must learn to laugh at themselves, Littlebear said. The Cheyenne are masterful jokesters with their language, but they are also honored by people who attempt their ancient tongue. "Whenever a Cheyenne speaks Cheyenne, there's always laughter," Littlebear said. "We love manipulating the Cheyenne language to make it funny. We love talking Cheyenne." Littlebear said he hopes the language certification program at Chief Dull Knife College will keep his people talking and laughing in their ancient tongue for years to come. "My vision is that the Cheyenne language will be spoken forever." For more information and to see a list of Cheyenne words, visit: www.geocities.com/cheyenne_language/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 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: Power Of Place" --------- Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2001 17:46:34 -0700 From: "Jess Hansen" Subj: "Power Of Place" Mailing List: ndn-aim Published October 18, 2001 "Power Of Place; Folklorists bring stories from Alaska and the nation to Anchorage conference" By SANDI GERJEVIC, Anchorage Daily News "The story did not begin in the usual way. Asked to give his life history, the Yup'ik man did not immediately talk about his lineage, his birth date or the highlights that mark the passage of a life. He began with the mundane. He began with the land. The man spoke of places he'd hunted for seals as a boy. Of where he knew a certain plant could be found. Of natural landmarks and their character. The path of his life followed the way to fish camp and berry camp and seal camp. As he talked, it became clear these "memoryscapes," connections to landscape through personal experience, were an integral part of his soul. It wasn't the first time Holly Cusack-McVeigh had encountered this intense relationship between people and land in Alaska. While working on a photo repatriation project in Hooper Bay, a coastal community in Western Alaska, she and Bosco Olson, a local son, laid out a huge map on a community-room floor. The map showed the English names for places in the area. All day long, elders stopped by to offer Yup'ik names and talk about these