From gars@speakeasy.org Tue Dec 11 21:19:46 2001 Date: 12 Dec 2001 02:12:45 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews09.050 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 -- Chickasaw -- 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 050 | Country than is reported in | O o o o o O | this weekly newsletter. For | O o O December 15, 2001 | For daily updates & events | O o O | go http://www.owlstar.com/ | O | dailyheadlines.htm | Hochunk big bear's moon +-----------------------------+ Osage waca'ebe wedathabi/moon when black bear gives birth <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.pechanga.net; www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; MINN-IND, First Nations, Big Mountain, ndn-aim, LPDC, Stop-the-Slaughter, Native News & Rez Life mailing Lists; UUCP email; newsgroup: alt.native 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.'" "It is well to be brave in the field of battle; it is cowardly to display bravery against one's own tribesmen." __ Chief Red Cloud, Oglala +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! These comments from my halfside, Janet: According to a press release issued December 4, the Department of Interior began publishing a Web site at http://indiantrust.doi.gov, that would be, according to them, the authoritative resource for questions about Indian trust management. Interior Secretary Gale Norton is quoted as saying "This new Web site gives American Indian tribes, and everyone concerned with trust reform, the information needed to learn more about the Department of the Interior's efforts to improve the Indian trust system." Interestingly, the government could do no better than to imitate the name of a site already respected in Indian country as a source for honest and timely information about the Department's activities with Indian trust management -- http://www.indiantrust.com. Today, as it has been since I first looked at it, www.indiantrust.com is readily available online, and updated. The Department of Interior's Indian trust site (among others) has been unavailable since late Thursday by judicial order due to proven vulnerability to hackers. Also today (Monday, Dec. 10) was Gale Norton's first day at trial on contempt charges. This is one conflict where our people keep on winning. And it proves, as nothing else can, that the presumption that we Indians need the trust relationship to manage our affairs is, and always has been, a lie. =================================== http://www.pechanga.net/ URGENT CALL FOR HOLIDAY HELP FOR SANTEE SIOUX TRIBE Dear Tribal Friend: The Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska is in dire need of our help for the Christmas holidays. As you probably may know, the Department of Justice seized the Santee Sioux tribe's bank accounts and sued to close the tribe's gaming operation because the tribe has been unable to get a tribal-state compact. What you may not know is that the Department of Justice took everything. Not only did they seize tribal bank accounts but they took the funds from a tribal grocery store, their bake sale funds for their elder care program and a fund used to pay for child car safety seats!! It is a daily struggle just to ensure the basic necessities for their children and elders and getting through Christmas will be especially hard. There is one thing you cannot do - you cannot send money directly to the tribe or it will just be taken away. ------------------------------ You can send a check to "Tribal Relief Fund" and mail it to: Mr. Roger Meyer, Casino Morongo Accounting Department, 49750 Seminole Drive, Cabazon, CA 92230. All monies collected will be used to purchase food and necessities through local stores or to be shipped to the tribe. Here is the request list they sent us that we are using as our guide: FOR ELDERS (79 Tribal Elders) : Turkeys, hams, food baskets, winter coats, gloves FOR YOUNG CHILDREN (540 Children): Apples, oranges, gloves, winter coats and candy FOR THEIR TEENS (121 Teens): Gloves, stocking caps, winter coats It gets bitterly cold in Nebraska and so warm coats, blankets, sweaters, gloves will be especially precious. We are coordinating a central effort so as to ensure minimal duplication. If you have any questions, you can call me at 909-849-4697 or Waltona Manion at 800-937-7692. All tribes who send contributions will be listed in a summary we are sending to the Santee Sioux and we will provide the names of donating tribes and individuals to the media and for posting on Victor Rocha's website www.pechanga.net. Thank you in advance for your generosity to a tribe who will be deeply grateful for your assistance. And this comes with our best wishes for a happy holiday season you will have made better for Santee Sioux tribal families. With sincere appreciation, Damon Sandoval, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, California Anthony Miranda, Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, California Tracy Burris, Chickasaw Nation, and Chairman, Oklahoma Indian Gaming Assn. James Starr, Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma Wilson Pipestem, Otoe-Missouria Tribe, Oklahoma =================================== 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 crocheted] 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 -=-=-=- From: "Brigitte Thimiakis" Subj: Lame Deer Reservation Greetings Gary, I hope this finds you well. I have just received the address for your list(Lame Deer Reservation). I hope it is not too late!=20 There are a couple of thousand children there, many single mothers too. There is a shelter for children up to 15-16 years old. Ann gives them all the assistance she can. Beside toys, warm clothes like jackets, gloves, hats, socks, coats, etc for children and blankets, would be much appreciated. The toys will be distributed during the Christmas give away but the clothes and blankets will be distributed right away. Address for Truck (only): GPTA Building Cheyenne Ave and Ridgewalker Lame Deer, MT Please ask for Ann Booker Only Monday through Friday 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. Someone looking for the building could ask anyone they see where the GPTA Building is and they should be able to direct them. Ann Booker works in the office where they work with assistance, etc. [If needed please contact thimiakischool@the.forthnet.gr before the boxes arrive at the office and we can let Ann know in advance.] - Address for shipping items by mail: Ann Booker P.O. Box 1004 LAME DEER MONTANA 59043 Ann's home address is available off list for anyone who would like to send items by UPS (United Parcel Service), at the above email address. -=-=-=- From: dfinstead@setaim.com Elders and children will suffer this winter if they don't receive help. Warm clothing and blankets are needed as well as money for fuel. Also personal needs, soap, toothbrushes, diapers, etc. Please remember to send toys to the children for Christmas. PLEASE DO WHAT YOU CAN TO HELP AND PASS THIS ON TO OTHER LIST, FRIENDS AND FAMILY. >>>>>>> Bonnie Whitesinger Box 1073 Hotevilla, AZ 86030 Would be able to handle fuel donations for Big Mountain. > >>>>>>>>>>>>> There is a needs list on www.blackmesais.org/needslist.html Black Mesa Indigenous Support P.O Box 23501 Flaggstaff Arizona 86002 >>>>>> New Mexico Southwest Indian Foundation, 100 W. Coal, Gallup, NM 87301. > >>>>>> Eastern Cherokee Alliance 5411 Laureltree Place Louisville, KY 40229 Taking clothing, food, and toys >>>>> PINE RIDGE PTI Propane P,O, Box 1987 PIne Ridge, SD 57770 Ph: 1-605-867-5199 >>>> Bennett County Coop P.O. Box T Pine Ridge,SD 57551 ph: 1-605-685-6711 Fuel >>>> I have several families that I buy fuel for in Wanblee.(Pine Ridge) If you'd like to help out with that, it would be appreciated. The money goes directly to the Co-op in Martin, and they deliver the amount paid for, either by credit card, check or M.O. Contact me off list if you want to be a part of that. jdkc@woptura.com J. D. CHIPPS >>>>>> ROSEBUD RES. Alfred Bone Shirt P.O. Box 283 Mission, S.D. 57555, I can be contacted at this email address or by telephone 605-747-4443, For fuel >>>>>>>>> J. Porter Selman [Nim] 217 So. 2nd. St. Sterling, Ks 67579 All donations go to Rose Bud res. >>>>>>>>> ANGEL HAVEN MISSION C/OF GRACE DEEL RT 1 BOX 433 VANSANT VA >>>>> St. Bridgets Catholic Church General Delivery Rosebud Res., SD >>>>>>>>>>>>> ndn-aim list fund (Erth handles it, reciepts sent and amounts posted) For emergency assistance and fuel fund. ndn-aim fund c/o box 1334 Rapid City, SD 57709 I also have address to send clothing, food, etc, to Pine Ridge and Rose Bud (Carter Camp), I will give out off list. These are individuals who can be trusted to distribute to those with needs. You may contact me at dfinstead@setaim.com for these address. Dodie === To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com -=-=-=- From: "Carter " Ah-Ho Relations, A couple of weeks ago Dodie asked me if I could help some list members by distributing some gifts they had gathered. I said I could because my wife and I know plenty of needy people. After thirty years as a Sundance society leader it seems like hundreds of people call me 'Uncle' or 'Grampa' around here. Anyway both Maureen and Ken have sent some very nice things up and Linda has distributed them. Yesterday she was happy because she had taken a box of things to a young single mother who said her car was broken down and the baby was on her last diaper(in the box was some pampers). She has three kids, no husband and is trying to go to school so she could use the entire box of assorted kid stuff. It was great for Linda and I too, our kids are grown so making these kids happy feels good. Anyway, yesterday I read an article on some lady who delivered a whole semi-truck load of things to Pine Ridge. Along with it was an article comparing the rez to Afghanistan, with starving malnourished elders and children shivering in their log cabins. That is just not true, we are poor here but we're American poor not Afghanistan poor. There's a big difference, our kids have the basics even if their folks have to scramble for it. Our elders do too though they are often too proud to seek help. Our needs aren't for rice or wheat in bulk or for left-over, used clothing. Our needs are for basics but not THAT basic. The new coats and baby things Maureen sent and the pretty little girls outfit that Ken and his wife sent are the kinds of gifts needed. So far, Linda said, all those we have passed these things on to are single parents. My wife has a gift for befriending young mothers so we serve as emergency babysitters and such. If some of you on this list want us to distribute gifts for you we'll do it if you keep what I said in mind. We can't handle a big truckload but we do know many people who are in need, mostly young and with several children. And most of them are from the circle of traditionals that I know from the Sundance. If you want me to pass your gifts along make sure they're things you would give face to face and it will be fine. Winter clothes and toys for xmas. What we don't give to acquaintances we'll give to the various communities and vets center. Carter 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 ---------- - Crossings - Pueblo hosts Healing Ceremony - Interior Department at Ground Zero Announces New Web Site - Couple provide Refuge - Judge Orders Shutdown for Native Children of Trust Data System - Column of the Americas: - Norton set for Contempt Trial The Detainees - Norton attacks Court Monitor - Shooting Incident Creating Ripples - Chiefs at Odds - Ontario Federation of Labour over Indian Act Changes Honours Peltier - Senate Vote sinks ANWR Drilling - Acceptance Statement - UCE Condemned as by Leonard Peltier Hate Group by NCAI - New LPDC e-mail Address - Boycott of - Native Prisoner Indian Country Today Urged -- Prisoner pen pals - Black Mesa Weavers for Life - History: Carlisle Indian School - Arizona Indian-Relations - Rustywire: Taking a Long Break Agency at Risk - Poem: Is There a Place Like This - Creeks given Overview Yes There Is of Congressman's Help - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Comptroller Sides - Native Education Conference with Indians Bison Producers Motivates - Buffalo News - Native America Calling --------- "RE: Crossings" --------- Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 08:11:14 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSSINGS" December 4, 2001 Bessie Carol Howe ROCK SPRINGS - Services for Bessie Howe, 50, will be held at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 5 at Cope Memorial Chapel. Rev. Howard McCormick will officiate. Burial will follow on family land, Rock Springs. Howe died Dec. 1 in Gallup. She was born May 21, 1951 into the Red Running into Water, Divison of Zuni People Clan for the Hairy People Clan. Howe was a homemaker, rugweaver and did beadwork. Her hobbies included traveling and listening to oldies music. Survivors include her husband, Frank Howe of Rock Springs; sons, Clarence E. Howe and Frank Howe Jr. both of Rock Springs; daughters, Cornelia Mae Howe, Sandra Mae Howe and Carol Mae Howe all of Rock Springs; brothers, Sam Long of Rock Springs; sisters, Helen Damon and Lucy Long both of Rock Springs; and five grandchildren. Howe was preceded in death by her father, Joe Smith; brothers, Tsosie Long, Pete Long Sr.; stepfather Tom Long and grandparents, Hebah and Jimmie Watson Sr. Pallbearers will be family members. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Ronald Lee Tapaha Sr. SANDERS, Ariz. - Services for Ronald Tapaha Sr., 37, will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 5 at St. Ann Mission, Klagetoh, Ariz. Father Flann O'Neil will officiate. Burial will follow at Klagetoh Cemetery. A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m., tonight at Rollie Mortuary. Tapaha Sr. died Nov. 30 in Fair Grove, Mo. He was born July 27, 1964 in Ganado, Ariz. into the Red House People Clan for the Bitterwater People Clan. Survivors include his wife, Wilhelmina Tapaha of Sanders; son, Ronald Lee Tapaha Jr. of Sanders; daughters, I'Rene Tapaha, Michaela Tapaha and Ronnaesaha Tapaha all of Sanders; mother, Agnes Tapaha of Klagetoh; brothers, David Lewis Tapaha of Klagetoh and Roy Lee Tapaha Sr. of Chambers; and sisters, Sally Ann Jackson and Shirley Ann Tapaha both of Klagetoh. Tapaha Sr. was preceded in death by his father, Sammy Paul Tapaha. Pallbearers will be family members. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Ben Musket BRIMHALL - Services for Ben Musket, 90, was held at 10 a.m., today at Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church, Rehoboth. Rev. Gordon officiated. Burial followed on family plot, Brimhall. Musket died Nov. 30 in Albuquerque. He was born Jan. 10, 1911 in Mexican Springs into the Weaver/Zia Clan for the Towering House People Clan. Musket attended Tohatchi Boarding School and Wingate Boarding School. He was employed with the Community Conservation Project, Tohatchi Power Plant, Wingate Ordinance, Brimhall Road Construction, Navajo Sawmill, Federal Government Forestry and Navajo Tribal Council. He was Coyote Canyon Chapter President and Vice-President. He was a member of the Grazing Committee, C.A.C., CCRC Board of Directors, Red Willow Farm Board and Tohatchi Christian Reformed Church Elders. Survivors include his sons, Leo, Wilbert and Clintis all of Crownpoint, Martin Lloyd of Brimhall and Herbert Musket of Ramah; daughters, Phyllis M. Largo, Lucy M. Yazzie and Ruby Musket, all of Brimhall; brothers, Wilson of Mexican Springs and Kee Musket of Tohatchi; sisters, Rose M. Begay and Grace Thomas of Mexican Springs; 42 grandchildren; 43 great- grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. Musket was preceded in death by his wife, Emma Curley Musket; sons, Willie and Henry Musket; daughter, Margaret Muskett and parents, Hosteen and Danasbah Muskett. Pallbearers will be Manuel Begay, Leo Thomas, Lawrence Muskett, Wilbert Muskett Jr., Wayne Muskett and Jermaine Cayatineto. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Wilbert Muskett Sr. residence. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. December 6, 2001 Kenneth Tsosie CHINLE, Ariz. - Services for Kenneth Tsosie, 51, will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, Dec. 7 at Chinle Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Cottonwood, Ariz. Tsosie died in Gallup. He was born Jan. 1 in Blue Gap into the Maii Deeshghiizhinii for the Hanaghaahnii. Tsosie graduated from Brigham Young Indian School. He was a construction worker. Survivors include his brothers, Robertson Tsosie of Phoenix and Francis D. Tsosie Jr. of Rock Point; sisters, Eleanor F. Tsosie, Mae F. Tsosie and Rose Begay all of Chinle, Joann Tom, Louise Tsosie, Lucy Tsosie and Sarah Brown all of Cottonwood, Ariz., Susie Mike of Wickenburge, Ariz., and Darlene Peterson of Steamboat. Tsosie was preceded in death by his parents, Francis F. and Nellie D. Tsosie and brother, Jackie Tsosie. Pallbearers will be Augustine Sandoval, Francis D. Tsosie Jr., Derrick Clauschee, Ronnie Tsosie, Freddie Tom and Junior Tsosie. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Kenneth Tsosie's residence, five miles west of Cottonwood Day School. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. December 7, 2001 Harrison Mescal LITTLEWATER - Services for Harrison Mescal, 42, will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saint, Crownpoint. Tony Yazzie will officiate. Burial will follow in Crownpoint. Mescal died Dec. 3 in Borrego Pass. He was born April 19, 1959 in Crownpoint into the Mexican/Ute Tribe Clan for the Black Streak People. Mescal attended school in Crownpoint. He was employed with Bashas in Crownpoint. His hobbies included horseback riding, beadwork, rodeos, arts and crafts. Survivors include his sons, Abel Mescal and Harrison Mescal Jr. both of Littlewater; daughters, Krystal Mescal, Maria Mescal and Monica Mescal all of Littlewater; father, Tommy Mescal of Whitehorse Lake; brothers, Wilson Yazzie of Whitehorse Lake, Tony Yazzie of Kaibito, Ariz. and Frank Mescale of Twin Lakes; sisters, Isabell Betone of Whitehorse Lake and Irene Becenti of Coyote Canyon. Mescal was preceded in death by his mother, Haspah Mescal; brother, Charlie B. Yazzie, and grandmother, Esther Yazzie. Pallbearers will be Frank Mescale, Ricky B. Yazzie, David Mescal Jr., Ernie Hudson, Emmett Pablo and Herbert Yazzie Sr. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Brenda Louie Mescal LITTLEWATER - Services for Brenda Mescal, 37, will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 8 at the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saint, Crownpoint. Tony Yazzie will officiate. Burial will follow in Crownpoint. Mescal died Dec. 3 in Borrego Pass. She was born April 2, 1964 in Borrego Pass into the Tangle Up People for the Bitterwater. Mescal atttended Crownpoint High School. Survivors include her sons, Abel Mescal and Harrison Mescal Jr. both of Littlewater; daughter, Krystal Mescal, Maria Mescal and Monica Mescal all of Littlewater; brothers, John Shorty of Mesa, Ariz. and Harrison Louie of Farmington; sisters, Linda Brown of Borrego Pass, Mary Lou Bitsuie of Phoenix and Caroline Louie of Canoncito. Mescal was preceded in death by her parents, Alice Matida Curley and Sam Louie; brother, Bennie Benally; sister, LaVerne Mitchell and grandparents, Chee Chischilly and Molly Curley. Pallbearers will be Harrison Louie, Abel Mescal, Tony Largo, Tony Sandoval, Braunyo Chischilly and Steven Perry Jr. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Littlewater Chapter House. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Louis Tsethlikai ZUNI - Traditional burial for Louis Tsethlikai, 74 will be held at 9 p.m., today at his residence. Burial followed at Quincy Panteah Memoral Cemetery, Saturday, Dec. 8. Tsethlikai died Dec. 4 in Zuni. He was born May 2, 1928. Survivors include his daughters, Valerie Tsethlikai, Vivica Tsethlikai and Julie Quetaukii; sons, Altin Tsethlikai, Algin Tsethlikai and Alvic Waikaniwa; sisters, Vivian Bethlia, Rose Mary James, Nettie Tsethlikai and brother, Leonard Tsethlikai; ten grandchildren and six great- grandchildren. Tsethlikai was preceded in death by his brothers, John and Joseph Tsethlikai and parents, Mike and Ada B. Tsethlikai. Julia Julian NASCHITTI - Services for Julia Julian, 98, will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 8 at St. Anthony Catholic Church, Naschitti. Marcellino Morris will officiate. Burial will follow at Naschitti Community Cemetery. A rosary will be recited at 3-5 p.m., today at Tse Bonito Mortuary. Julian died Dec. 3 in Gallup. She was born in 1903 in Naschitti into the Towering House for the Salt. Julian was a rugweaver, homemaker, medicine woman (Hand Trembler). She worked at the harvest fields in Bluewater and Phoenix. Her hobbies included cooking and sewing. Survivors include her son, Leonard Julian of Pinehill; daughters, Rosarita Julian, Eleanor Notah and Rose Fusm all of Naschitti; 20 grandchildren; 64 great-grandchildren and ten great-great grandchildren. Julian was preceded in death by her parents, Mike Sonne and Aheehezbah Sonne; three sisters, two brothers, and her children, Lorencita Bitsoi, Raymond Julian and Bon Julian. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Rosarita Julian's residence. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Luke Kee Yazzie TUBA CITY, Ariz. - Services for Luke Yazzie, 74, were held at 10 a.m., today at Navajo Gospel Mission. Clarence Blackrock officiated. Burial followed at Navajo Gospel Mission Cemetery. Yazzie died Dec. 4 in Tuba City. He was born July 15, 1929 in Hardrock, Ariz. into the Mexican Clan for the Yucca Fruit People. Yazzie served as a DNA representative, Community Development Committee and a chapter official. He was a rancher, sheepherder and stone mason worker. Helped build the Navajo Gospel Church as a stone mason. Survivors include his sons, Wallace Yazzie, Johnathon Phillip Yazzie, Lorenzo Yazzie, Thomas Yazzie and Ernest Yazzie; daughters, Arlene Yazzie and Beulah Mae Yazzie; and brothers, Robert H. Yazzie and Sam H. Yazzie; 14 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Yazzie was preceded in death by his parents, Hosteen and Zonnie Yazzie; brothers, Lorenzo Ishii, Hosteen Yazzie Begay, Nakai Dine and Dallas Yazzie; and sisters, Eunice Yazzie, Fannie Badoni and Elsie Begay. Pallbearers will be Wallace Yazzie, Johnathan Phillip Yazzie, Lorenzo Yazzie, Thomas Yazzie, Ernest Yazzie and Harlan Yazzie. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Black Spot Mountain. The family requests that donations be made to Hardrock Council on Substance Abuse. Harold "Red" Cunningham GRANTS - Services for Harold Cunningham, 66, were held at 1 p.m., today at First Presbyterian Church, Nimitz, Grants. Cunningham died Dec. 2. He was born June 15, 1935 in Gilman, Colo. Cunningham worked for the mining industry, Kerr McGee Corporation and retired in 1998. Survivors include his wife, Grace; daughters, Lisa Higginson of Winslow, Ariz., Pamela of Grants; sons, Steve of Georgia, Randy and Billy both of Grants; brothers, Eddie and Andy both of Colorado; and five grandchildren. Pallbearers were Andy Aulk, Jr Rougemont, Dick Griffith, Roger Denomme, Jimmy Candezaria, Billy and Randy Cunningham. Copyright c. 2001 The Gallup Independent. -=-=-=- December 6, 2001 Thomas A. `Teddy Bear' Leary OKREEK - Thomas A. "Teddy Bear" Leary, 75, Okreek, died Monday, Dec. 3, 2001, at Rosebud Hospital. Survivors include one daughter, Alyce Bearshield, Okreek; three grandchildren; one sister, Ruth Hess, Sarasota, Fla.; 21 great- grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1944 to 1946. A wake service was held Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Okreek Community Hall. Services will be at 1 p.m. today at the hall. Inurnment will be at a later date. Mason Funeral Home of Winner is in charge of arrangements. December 11, 2001 Cheryl Ann Big Boy KYLE - Cheryl Ann Big Boy, 28, Kyle, died Saturday, Dec. 8, 2001, in Rapid City. Survivors include her father, Roger Big Boy, Kyle; her mother, Carol Yellow Elk, Kyle; four sons, Roger Big Boy, Robert Little Dog and Vincent Little Dog, all of Manderson, and James Hairy Bird Jr., Rapid City; and three daughters, Delia Big Boy, Pine Ridge, Jamie Hairy Bird, Salt Lake City, and Chelsea Hairy Bird, Rapid City. Two-night wake begins at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Hall in Kyle. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 14, at the hall, with the Rev. Joe Damhorst and the Rev. Dan Makes Good officiating. Mr. John Around Him will officiate at traditional services. Burial will be at Big Boy Family Cemetery in Kyle. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2001 The Rapid City Journal. -=-=-=- December 6, 2001 William Cody Mack William Cody Mack, 81, of Shawnee died Monday at a local nursing home. He was born Feb. 4, 1920, in Little Axe, the son of Henry and Mary (Bullfrog) Mack. He was a member of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe and was active in powwows. He had retired from a position in the city of Shawnee Parks Department after 13 years of service. He served in the U.S. Army. He married Agnes Hood who preceded him in death. Also preceding him in death were his sister, Cornelia Kaseca; two half sisters, Patricia Mack and Emily Dirt, and a half brother, William Mack. He is survived by two sons, William Cody Mack Jr. of California, Robin Mack and his wife Molly of Shawnee; a sister, Ramona Yones, Shawnee; half brother, Dewayne Mack, Shawnee; a friend, Abby Wolf, Shawnee; two grandsons, John and Kyle Mack, and numerous nieces and nephews. Graveside service will be held at 9 a.m. today at the Mack Family Cemetery with Don White officiating. Wake was Wednesday at the Little Axe Community Center. Arrangements are under the direction of Roesch-Walker Funeral Chapel. Copyright c. 1997-2001 The Shawnee News-Star. --------- "RE: Interior Department Announces New Web Site" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 08:11:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEW WEBSITE/OLD NAME" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.doi.gov/news/trust.html U. S. Department of Interior Office of the Secretary Contact: John Wright For Immediate Release: December 4, 2001 202-208-6416 Interior Department Announces New Web Site for Information on Indian Trust Reform New site to provide one-stop clearinghouse for information and documents on the department's trust reform efforts The Interior Department has launched a new Web site that will allow Indian tribes and other interested parties to locate news, announcements, and other information in one location, regarding Indian trust management. The new Web site, http://Indiantrust.doi.gov, will contain information issued by the department on the Indian trust accounts and management system. "This new Web site gives American Indian tribes, and everyone concerned with trust reform, the information needed to learn more about the Department of the Interior's efforts to improve the Indian trust system," Interior Secretary Gale Norton said. The recent study that was commissioned by Secretary Norton, and conducted by Electronic Data Systems Inc, is also available for review. The EDS study provided key recommendations that confirmed the need for dramatic change in management of Indian trust assets. "I have tasked Deputy Secretary Steve Griles with overseeing the department's implementation of Indian trust reform," said Norton. "I appreciate his leadership on this issue and his support as we establish this Web site to serve as a one-stop clearinghouse for trust reform information." Since taking the helm at Interior on Jan. 31, 2001, Norton moved on several fronts to improve the Indian trust program. She created the Office of Historical Trust Accounting to address the requirements to provide historical reconciliation of individual Indian money accounts. The department also commissioned EDS Inc., a widely respected independent consulting firm, to study the department's trust management program. This study provided the additional support for Secretary Norton's recent decision to propose a plan to reorganize the department's Indian trust program. The proposed plan will consolidate Indian trust responsibilities into a new departmental organization. - DOI - --------- "RE: Judge Orders Shutdown of Trust Data System" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 19:57:12 -0600 From: Dennis Tester Subj: JUDGE ORDERS SHUTDOWN OF TRUST DATA SYSTEM Mailing List: Minnesota Indian Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 5, 2001 www.indiantrust.com JUDGE ORDERS SHUTDOWN OF TRUST DATA SYSTEM AND IDENTIFIES NEW CONTEMPT ALLEGATIONS FOR NORTON FOR FAILURE TO PROTECT INDIVIDUAL INDIAN TRUST WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal judge, citing severe computer security problems, today ordered the Interior Department to shut down its Individual Indian Monies (IIM) trust accounting data system, and identified new contempt allegations for Interior Secretary Gale Norton for failing to act to protect the data. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth granted a request by Indian plaintiffs to close down the system, one day after he unsealed an investigative report documenting "deplorable and inexcusable" lapses in computer security for the trust data. Lamberth brushed aside arguments by government attorneys that the investigative report, by court-appointed Special Master Alan Balaran, showed no evidence that trust data files had been altered by unauthorized individuals or hackers. "You don't expect a thief to leave a calling card, do you?' asked the judge. The judge acted after government lawyers informed him that, following yesterday's release of the report, Norton had ordered all major trust data systems temporarily disconnected from the Internet, but did not make clear that individual personal computers used by Interior employees and contractors also were vulnerable. "The Department of the Interior does not understand this order," Justice Department lawyer Matt Fader told Lamberth as the judge issued his ruling. "You can tell me that in your contempt trial," Lamberth replied as he rose to leave the bench. "I don't believe a word you're saying now. You're just ruining your credibility talking to me that way." Norton already is scheduled to go on trial starting Monday, Dec. 10, for contempt for failing to implement court-ordered reforms for the trust since taking office in February and for filing false reports with the court about her department's supposed progress. Today's action by Lamberth indicates she will face additional contempt charges for failing to protect the trust accounting data. Balaran's investigative report demonstrated that Interior's computerized accounting system for the IIM - into which $500 million a year flows in revenues from Indian-owned lands - is riddled with security flaws. With secret permission from the court, Balaran hired computer security experts this summer who hacked into the system and created an account in Balaran's name without being detected by Interior. A computer systems expert described the trust security system as "a monstrosity" in sealed testimony this summer, according to today's courtroom proceedings. Describing the accounting system as "the cornerstone of the entire trust," Dennis M. Gingold, the lead attorney for the Indian plaintiffs, told Lamberth today that the government "lied to you before and they're lying to you now. A good trustee would shut the system down. We don't have a good trustee. We have a trustee who doesn't care about the trust beneficiaries. The irreparable harm here is palpable." --------- "RE: Norton set for Contempt Trial" --------- Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 08:11:14 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CONTEMPT TRIAL" http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/ Norton set for contempt trial MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2001 In what is expected to be an all-out brawl, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb are set to go to trial today for their handling of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust fund. The contempt proceedings, part of a lawsuit brought on behalf of 300,000 American Indians, are the first for the Bush officials. Previously, three members of the Clinton administration -- former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, former Assistant Interior Secretary Kevin Gover and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin -- were held in contempt and fined $600,000 in February 1999 for failing to produce documents relevant to the trust. Due to numerous challenges raised by Norton's defense team, a lengthy trial is foreseen by attorneys representing the account holders. Keith Harper of the Native American Rights Fund and Dennis Gingold plan to call almost 30 witnesses, with the first two set to take the stand this week. Here is some background on the affair. The Charges Norton and McCaleb face five contempt charges, identified in a November 28 court order and a December 6 supplemental. Of the counts, four stem from reports issued by court monitor Joseph S. Kieffer III and the final from an investigation by special master Alan Balaran. The charges are: - Failing to comply with the court's order to initiate a historical accounting project. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled on December 21, 1999, that federal law entitles IIM beneficiaries to a full and accurate historical accounting of their assets, "without regard to when the funds were deposited." Since then, little has been done to discharge this basic duty. In his first report, Kieffer found that the Clinton administration did not move forward the project significantly. Kieffer also found that Norton signed off on a statistical sampling project with little research into whether it would fulfill her duties under federal law and comply with the 1999 order. During an October 30 hearing, Lamberth said this action was "clearly contemptuous." Norton subsequently dropped the plan and created the Office of Historical Trust Accounting to handle what she termed "long overdue." The office has so far released reports saying it won't come up with a more detailed plan -- including dates -- until mid-2002. - Committing a fraud on the court by concealing the department's true actions regarding the historical accounting project during the period from March 2000, until January 2001. In his first report, Kieffer called the Clinton administration's Federal Register process to consult with account holders a sham, saying it was initiated to delay an accounting while the Department of Justice appealed Lamberth's ruling. Kieffer also said the outcome of the process, statistical sampling, was essentially pre-decided despite the wishes of account holders and objections from some members of the administration. In a December 1999 memo, Babbitt approved a sampling project of about 350 accounts. A federal appeals court subsequently struck down the government's appeal and upheld Lamberth's decision. The Bush administration later decided not to take the case to the Supreme Court. - Committing a fraud on the court by failing to disclose the true status of the TAAMS project between September 1999 and December 21, 1999. In two reports, Kieffer focused on critical trust reform projects: the Trust Asset and Accounting Management System (TAAMS) and data cleanup, a TAAMS subproject. Kieffer's second report called TAAMS, which is supposed to bring trust accounting into the 21st century, a $40 million system teetering on collapse. He also said Clinton officials knew about its failures as early as the summer of 1999, when Lamberth was holding his first trial. More specifically, he pointed to a September 1999 meeting during which Anne Shields, Babbitt's chief of staff, and other officials discussed whether they should inform Lamberth of TAAMS' failures. For whatever reason, the court was not informed and TAAMS continued on a path to virtual self-destruction. Keiffer's third report centered on data cleanup, or the verification of records that are fed into the TAAMS system. The report stated that full cleanup is perhaps a decade or more away, casting doubt on whether TAAMS will ever be fully functional. Subsequently, Lamberth has said TAAMS is indeed a "total failure." - Committing a fraud on the court by filing false and misleading quarterly status reports starting in March 2000, regarding TAAMS and BIA Data Clean-up. Despite knowing about TAAMS and cleanup failures, Kieffer in his two reports found that the true status was often not provided in the government's court-mandated status reports. Produced every quarter per Lamberth's order, Kieffer instead found that passages regarding the projects often said progress would be presented in the next report -- yet those updates never came. In a fourth report and a supplemental document, Kieffer also found that conflicts among top officials and government attorneys led to less than truthful reports and a full-month delay in the submission of the most recent one. Lamberth later called the delay in the 7th Quarterly Report "game playing" among Norton and top officials. Norton has since failed to turn in her 8th report. It was due last week. - Committing a fraud on the court by filing false and misleading representations, starting in March 2000, regarding computer security of IIM trust data. In March 2000, the Interior said it needed to move the Bureau of Indian Affairs' computer center from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to suburban Washington, D.C., in order to fix known network security vulnerabilities. Since then, special master Alan Balaran has found that none of the problems were addressed. Further, he found that the government never informed Lamberth of the holes, despite having commissioned numerous reports and investigations. Norton's administration was informed in August that court hackers broke into the BIA's Office of Information Resource Management and numerous IIM systems. However, her department waited until last week to shut their networks in an attempt to correct their "significant deficiencies." The Reports Court monitor Joseph S. Kieffer III has issued four reports and a supplemental document since being appointed to watch over the Interior on April 16. Special master Alan Balaran has released numerous opinions since being assigned to the case. Although he has made numerous contempt recommendations in his reports, the only one being addressed now is the security of individual Indian trust data. Copyright c. 2000-2001 Noble Savage Media, LLC/Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Norton attacks Court Monitor" --------- Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 08:11:14 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NORTON ATTACKS" http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/ Facing contempt, Norton attacks court monitor MONDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2001 With contempt proceedings starting this week, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton laid the groundwork for her defense on Friday, launching her biggest attack on a trust fund watchdog she once welcomed into her department. In a lengthy 200-plus page document, Norton fired off numerous challenges to court monitor Joseph S. Kieffer III, whose reports have largely formed the basis for the contempt charges she now faces. She leaves no stone unturned, objecting to almost every finding, statement and conclusion voiced in four reports and a supplemental Kieffer has issued since being appointed to his position in April. With U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ready to sanction Norton and Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb for their handling of the trust assets of 300,000 American Indians, the missive represents the Bush administration's attempt to undermine Kieffer's credibility. Presented on behalf of Norton by the U.S. Attorneys office in Washington, D.C., objections are raised on seven major grounds, including alleged hearsay and alleged misinterpretation of government positions and documents. But were it not for Lamberth, Norton wouldn't have a chance to challenge Kieffer at all. In what has been cited a a major misstep by her old defense team, the Department of Justice's environmental division failed to raise significant objections to the first three Kieffer reports, instead saying they "reserved" the right to do so at a future date. Only when the U.S. Attorneys office took over the case did Kieffer's final two documents see any challenges. Even so, Mark Nagle, the office's civil division chief, argued Norton should be able to question the first three reports -- even though she had long missed the 10-day deadline to do so. According to Nagle, the reports contain "a substantial number of facts [that] are deemed established through a process that did not subject them to cross-examination, through a process that included the gathering of statements not under oath, through a process that has led to the preparation of reports that contain hearsay and perhaps in some respects multiple hearsay." Lamberth had doubts about the argument. During a status hearing held November 30, he questioned why he should let Norton violate yet another one of his court orders, this time the one which established the court monitor. Of the disputed findings, Lamberth said "they're only beyond the reach because the Department, the defendants, purported to reserve to themselves a right they didn't have." "What does that mean to a court?" Lamberth continued. "You think any party can just say . . . 'We're not going to comply with your order?'" Despite his skepticism, Lamberth eventually ceded to the request and signed two orders last week to allow challenges. But by then, he had already indicated the strategy could backfire on Norton because it paves the way for an even more embarrassing trial. "I can give them their worst nightmare," he said. "[Norton] says you prove every sentence, so I am going to let the plaintiffs prove every sentence." To attorneys representing 300,000 Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holders, the fact that they must now prove Kieffer's reports down to every word is less a challenge than it is a playground. They plan on calling no less than 30 witnesses to the stand in an attempt to prove Norton and McCaleb should be held in contempt. First up, said the plaintiffs, is Tommy Thompson, the Principal Deputy Special Trustee in the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians. Attorney Dennis Gingold believes this career bureaucrat "is a credible witness who speaks without overstating positions." "We believe he will cast a lot of light on what has occurred during the course of the period of time that this Court has identified in the order," said Gingold. Keith Harper, the Native American Rights Fund attorney on the case, added that Thompson has knowledge of almost every one of the five contempt charges laid against the Interior. It was Thompson who opposed a Federal Register process regarding a historical accounting that makes up two charges, Harper said. Harper also said Thompson, as a trust reform project manager, has direct knowledge of the reporting issues that make up two other citations of contempt. The contempt trial starts today in federal district court in Washington, D.C., at 10 a.m. It is expected to last several weeks. Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, former Assistant Interior Secretary Kevin Gover and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin were held in contempt and fined $600,000 in February 1999 for failing to produce documents relevant to the IIM trust. Copyright c. 2000-2001 Noble Savage Media, LLC/Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Chiefs at Odds over Indian Act Changes" --------- Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 09:19:08 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIAN ACT ODDS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.canada.com/news/story Day of talks ends with native chiefs at odds over Indian Act changes SUE BAILEY Canadian Press Tuesday, December 04, 2001 OTTAWA (CP) - First Nations chiefs met behind closed doors Tuesday to swap clashing views on whether they should co-operate with the federal government's planned Indian Act changes. The meetings wrapped up for the day without agreement and debate was to continue when they reconvened Wednesday. Earlier, a rare order from the executive chiefs of the Assembly of First Nations to remove media and government officials cleared the way for "robust debate," said spokesman Jean LaRose. Last July, the assembly, led by national chief Matthew Coon Come, threatened highway blockades and issued a 30-day ultimatum to Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault to drop plans for new governance legislation or deal with an "aggressive" native action plan. At that raucous meeting in Halifax, about 300 assembly chiefs said Nault should forget "tinkering" with the Indian Act and focus on native living standards that lag far behind those of other Canadians. But chiefs from across Canada now are weighing Nault's offer of $1.25 million to help research and enact the governance bill in exchange for talks on treaties, self-government and dire social and economic needs. Nault says he'll introduce legislation by March to update the 1876 Indian Act for the first time in 51 years. He wants to tighten administration of First Nations, better regulate elections and track more closely how about $5 billion from Indian Affairs is spent each year on Canada's 600 First Nations. About 300 chiefs are at this week's three-day meeting, and they're split on how to proceed. An opposition group calling itself the First Nation Coalition For Inherent Rights includes the Chiefs of Ontario, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and others. They're worried that Nault's foray into governance issues, if left unchecked, could undermine native rights, said Larry Sault, grand chief of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians in Ontario. "It's such a major, major issue for us." Charles Fox, Assembly of First Nations vice-chief for Ontario, was the only AFN executive member to publicly oppose compromise with the federal government. It requires going along with Nault's plans with no guarantee he'll get cabinet approval for new work on self-government or social and economic issues, Fox said. "I just feel such cynicism and pessimism that he can actually get that commitment from government." The coalition wants Ottawa to focus on lifting First Nations out of poverty by fulfilling treaties, sharing resources and allowing bands to truly govern themselves. Nault's press secretary Nancy Pine was asked to leave the AFN meeting Tuesday when organizers discovered that she had stayed for the closed talks after media and government officials left. Pine said it was her day off, that she is a resident of Garden River First Nations in Ontario, and that she had paid an observer fee, but she was escorted out of the room. The Assembly of First Nations represents about 700,000 of Canada's 1.4 million aboriginal people. Coon Come and most of the assembly's 10-member executive support the compromise and hope to win a simple majority vote sometime this week that would see it proceed. "No money has been exchanged," Coon Come told the chiefs Tuesday before the private sessions began. "The plan is on the table: you'll have to debate, deliberate and decide." Asked later about his shift from confrontation to co-operation with the government, Coon Come said: "We cannot work in isolation. . . . Our issues will not go away, but at some point in time we have to be able to give a direction as to how we're going to deal with the federal government." As for the opposition coalition: "I think there has to be some form of constructive criticism in order to keep us all in line," Coon Come said. Nault said Tuesday he will press on with his governance bill with or without the assembly. "I believe very clearly that they'll be able to sell it to the chiefs and we'll move forward," he said. "You need the right (governance) tools in order to build an economy, to have the kinds of structures for education, for health, for social services." Copyright c. 2001 The Canadian Press. --------- "RE: Senate Vote sinks ANWR Drilling" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 08:11:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NO TO ANWR" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.adn.com/front/story/738054p-785814c.html Senate vote sinks ANWR drilling 94-1: Murkowski says bill became meaningless. By Liz Ruskin Anchorage Daily News December 4, 2001 Washington -- Sen. Frank Murkowski's latest strategy for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling flopped Monday evening as virtually the entire Senate -- including Murkowski -- voted against it. Murkowski insisted that no conclusions could be drawn from the 94-1 tally on a procedural question. "It became a meaningless bill, OK?" he told reporters afterward. "I mean, the vote became meaningless. What are you going to do with a 94-1 vote?" A group of environmental leaders waiting outside the Capitol during the vote did not think it was so meaningless. They thought it showed that Murkowski is tanking. "Murkowski got nothing for this," crowed Adam Kolton of the Alaska Wilderness League. "He's done so much damage to his own cause. He's our best friend right now." The vote lumped together three domestic issues that could hardly make stranger bedfellows: national energy policy, a six-month ban on human cloning and a railroad retirement bill. Sen. Trent Lott, the Senate minority leader, last week offered an amendment combining energy and the cloning ban with the railroad retirement bill because he was frustrated that the Democrats in control of the Senate wouldn't take up Republican issues. Democratic senators -- and some Republicans, including Alaska's other senator, Ted Stevens -- said Lott was just trying to bring down the railroad bill. Nonetheless, Murkowski last week said he hoped to get the 60 votes needed to force the Senate to vote on the energy/cloning amendment. He said it was an opportunity to raise the profile of the ANWR question. He told reporters Monday evening that he had 54 to 55 of the 100 senators on his side but because it was fewer than the 60 yeas needed, the Republican leadership decided everyone should abandon the plan and vote no. "And I think it was a responsible judgment call, because had we basically lost on the issue, then we would have lost. And we haven't lost. We haven't even had it up," Murkowski said. He said he believes the strategy paid off by putting pressure on Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "Tomorrow the American public is going to be asking why: Why is the Senate unable to pass an energy bill?' " he said. He also said that the fate of the amendment had as much to do with energy as it did with the senators' feelings about cloning and commitments on the railroad bill, which was pushed by both unions and railroad companies. Only Sen. George Allen, R-Va., voted for invoking the Senate rule called cloture, which sets a time limit for debate and brings a matter up for a vote. He has not been a major player on the ANWR question, and it wasn't immediately clear why he voted yes. Murkowski said he will continue to try to attach ANWR to bills moving through the Senate, including the farm bill and the economic stimulus package, with hopes that the Senate will take up energy before it recesses for Christmas. Daschle has promised to make time for it early next year. The House has already passed an energy bill that would open ANWR. It will still be alive when Congress resumes in January, but drilling supporters fear the momentum for an energy bill will dissipate with time. Also, 2002 is an election year, which tends to make controversial legislation harder to pass. Reporter Liz Ruskin can be reached at 1-202-383-0007 or lruskin@adn.com. Copyright c. 2001 The Anchorage Daily News. --------- "RE: UCE Condemned as Hate Group by NCAI" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 08:11:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="UCE HATE GROUP" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.oneidanews.net/cgi-bin/press/press.pl?key=1007502025 12/4/2001 16:40est UCE Condemned as Hate Group by NCAI Oneida Nation Homelands - The Washington-based National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) unanimously approved a resolution at its annual session in Spokane, Wash. last week condemning Upstate Citizens for Equality, the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance and United Property Owners as hate groups. The resolution noted that "the specific intent of this network is to eliminate Indian governments, societies and culture" and that these groups are "operating through local, state, and national political elected officials to influence policy and legislative changes that would reduce and eliminate sovereign and treaty rights." UCE has two chapters in Upstate New York, one fighting the Cayuga Indian land claim and one that opposed the Oneida Indian Nation's land claim and business enterprises. NCAI was formed in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native governments. The resolution was sponsored by Alma Ransom, a Mohawk chief and newly-elected treasurer of the organization. "Red Niggers", Missiles, Blacklists, and Economic Boycotts Reminiscent of pre-war Germany and the pre-civil rights South, Upstate New York American Indians have faced threats and public ridicule since the inception of this group. The terms "red niggers" appeared on a newspaper-hosted community chat room. It only was taken down after it was made public at the Oneida Indian Nation's Hate Crimes Conference, held in partnership with the NYS Black, Puerto Rican, and Hispanic Legislative Caucus. For more than two years, a 20 foot mock ICBM missile was paraded in the town adjacent to the casino and pointed from time to time at the Turning Stone Casino Resort. UCE circulates a bi-annual list of local merchants and individuals who patronize the SavOn gas stations and convenience stores and targets those on the list for its members to boycott. It also encourages "spying" on those who frequent the stores and stations. In addition, the UCE has picketed the "Indians and teepee heads", attempting to block the cash flow and "put a hurting on the casino tribe." Seeds of Self-Hatred Oneida-dissidents Joanne Shenandoah and her family have addressed the UCE and attended meetings of the group since November 1997. Her mother Maisie was the keynote speaker at the group's first meeting. Diane Shenandoah, Joanne's sister appeared before the group this past November and urged UCE to challenge the Oneida Indian Nation's government and all Indian government sovereignty. "There is no tradition among the Oneidas, or the Haudenosaunee, to assist your enemies in destroying your people," said Bear Clan Mother Marilyn John. "The Oneida Nation is gratified that NCAI has formerly recognized the truly hateful and harmful nature of so-called 'property rights' groups, such as UCE." "Equally disturbing is the involvement of a handful of misguided American Indians in supporting and encouraging groups like UCE and CERA, John said. The anger and discontent of these individuals is so fierce that they are willing to destroy entire governments to satisfy their vindictiveness." Reminiscent of the KKK The area has a past history of KKK activity stretching back to 1925 and witnessed by a Klan march down the main street of the city of Oneida and a tent meeting in Verona, the traditional homelands of the Oneidas and the areas where most UCE meetings take place. "It is no coincidence that UCE sprang up in this area," said Hate Crimes Conference panelist and Cornell University professor Jose Barreiro. NCAI The NCAI resolution calls for the investigation of all anti-Indian hate groups and hate crimes committed by groups or individuals. The resolution also gives NCAI the responsibility to report such activities to the U.S. Congress, the President, the media and advocacy organizations. EDITOR'S NOTE: A copy of the text of the resolution follows this release. For more information, contact Mark Emery, Director of Media Relations, or Jerry Reed, Media Specialist, Oneida Nation Department of Communications at (315) 361-6530. Visit the Oneida Nation site on the World Wide Web at www.oneidanews.net for media advisories, other news and background information. THE NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS RESOLUTION #SPO-01-002 Title: Identifying Hate Groups WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian Treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and WHEREAS, all Indigenous Native Cultures are threatened by the existence of hatemongering groups; and WHEREAS, local hate groups have joined forces with known national anti-Indian figures and organizations to form a nationwide network; and WHEREAS, the specific intent of this network is to eliminate Indian governments, societies, and culture; and WHEREAS, these groups operate through local, state, and national political elected officials to influence policy and legislative changes that would reduce and eliminate sovereign and treaty rights; and WHEREAS, among the goal of these groups is to eliminate the avenues of revenue that sustain and provide for the welfare of Indian nations and their memberships; and WHEREAS, the documented tactics that these groups employ are similar to those historically visited upon other groups such as Africans, Jews, Latinos, and Asians, including economic boycotts, spying, public ridicule, ethnic slurs, and threats of violence; and WHEREAS, these groups exist throughout Indian country include, but are not limited to the Upstate Citizens for Equality (UCE) who have joined forces with Citizens for Equal Rights Alliance and United Property Owners; and WHEREAS, hate crimes are also committed against American Indians/Alaska Natives by individuals not associated with organized hate groups. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the NCAI deplores, intolerates and condemns the actions of the UCE as a hate group and all such hate groups; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the NCAI support the condemnation and deplore acts of individuals or groups committing hate crimes as well; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NCAI will provide information to the Congress of the United States, the President of the United States, to the media and to advocate organizations against hate crimes to expose the hate crime acts and perpetrators; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that all hate groups be condemned by all those who stand for freedom and tolerance. BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution. NCAI 2001 ANNUAL SESSION RESOLUTION #SPO-01-002 CERTIFICATION The foregoing resolution was adopted at the 58th Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Spokane Convention Center, in Spokane, Washington on November 25-30, 2001 with a quorum present. Tex Hall, President ATTEST: Colleen Cawston, Recording Secretary Adopted by the General Assembly during the 58th Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Spokane Convention Center, in Spokane, Washington on November 25-30, 2001. Copyright c. 2001 OneidaNews.Net/Oneida Indian Nation. --------- "RE: Boycott of Indian Country Today Urged" --------- Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 00:16:35 EST From: Cheryl Schenandoah Subj: BOYCOTT INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY Mailing List: First Nations BOYCOTT INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY Ray Halbritter, self-proclaimed Nation Representative and CEO of the Oneida Nation, Inc. owns and operates the Turning Stone Casino, plus numerous other enterprises. The casino was opened by secret negotiations with New York governor Mario Cuomo, without the knowledge of the Oneida nation. He created a 54 member non-Native police force to consolidate his power on the Oneida territory. Halbritter has been removed from his position as spokesperson for the nation by his clan mother and the Iroquois Grand Council and yet still is recognized by the BIA and the state government. His latest attempt to gain control over the 32 acre territory resulted in the terrorization of Daniel Patterson, daughter of Masie Shenandoah, clan mother of the wolf clan. Daniel's trailer has been condemned and maybe demolished any time by Dec.15th. Halbritter has also: 1. Locked the doors to the Long House allowing use only for his appointed non-traditional men's council 2. Stripped the traditional Haudenosaunee of their voice and removed them from tribal roles, unless they agree to publicly accept his non- traditional dictatorship. 3. Banned photographers and reporters from the 32 acre Territory. 4. Used a 5.1 million-acre land claims suit as a bargaining chip to build more casinos, and filed lawsuits against landowners without the traditional people's knowledge or consent. This list could go on and on, but for those of you who would like more detailed information visit: www.Oneidasfordmocracy.com There is an action that everyone can do to help; Halbritter is the sole owner of Indian Country Today, which was originally owned by Tim Giago. Northeast AIM is calling for a boycott of this publication. Also please sign the online petition at: http://petitiononline/5arrows/petition.html Ray Mongeau Director Northeast AIM http://pathshop.com/confed.htm PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY --------- "RE: Black Mesa Weavers for Life" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2001 17:16:20 +0000 From: Robert Dorman Subj: PRESS RELEASE--BLACK MESA WEAVERS FOR LIFE & LAND SHOW & SALE ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 22:08:52 -0500 From: Carol Halberstadt Mailing List: Big Mountain List Hi Bob, News of two upcoming Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land shows and sales: (1) Below is a press release sent out by organizers of our show in Bucks County, PA, who have organized and sponsored our show and sale this coming weekend (Dec. 8-9). (2) The following weekend, Dec. 15-16, we'll be selling weavings at the Cultural Survival annual winter holiday bazaar at the Pound Building at the Harvard University Law School in Cambridge, MA, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. THANKS FOR THE HAY RUN: I want to take this opportunity to say Ahe'hee'--thank you--to Michael Gerrell and the Northern California/Southern Oregon support group for their donation to buy the hay and their on-the-ground help doing the hay run we co-sponsored on Friday, November 30, giving out 36 tons of good quality alfalfa hay at the Hardrock Chapter. Thanks to everyone who helped get the word out--Marie Gladue, Mae Washington, Marykatherine Smith, Joella Ashkie, Judy Keyonnie, Verna Clinton, and everyone else who helped. Thanks to the Dine' who helped unload the hay including Leta O'Daniel's son and others (these were big & heavy bales--about 150-170 lbs. each), to the hay truck drivers, to Daniel Tso and the NAPI folks who gave us a good break on the price and sent good hay and made sure it got there, to Thomas Yazzie and the Hardrock Chapter folks who helped publicize and hosted the hay run... Ahe'hee' to everyone who helped! May this be a season of good rain and snow and plenty, of safety and health for all. May we walk in harmony, beauty, wholeness, and peace, Carol --------------------------- PRESS RELEASE Contact: Rebecca Felten 215-672-3152 November 30, 2001 PA artists bringing Navajo weavers from Black Mesa for exhibition to raise awareness of Dineh People's plight Two Navajo master weavers, a mother and daughter from the Black Mesa region of Arizona, will travel to Bucks County, PA, for an exhibition and demonstration of the traditional weaving art Dec. 8-9, part of an effort by a group of local artists to raise awareness of the plight of the Dineh people of Black Mesa. Rena Babbitt Lane, an 82-year-old elder, and her daughter, Zena Lane, from the Red Lake community in northeastern Arizona, will demonstrate traditional weaving and spinning during an exhibit and sale of multigenerational weavings and other Dineh craft Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8 and 9 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the James A. Michener Art Museum, 138 S. Pine Street, Doylestown. Rena Babbitt Lane, who speaks only Dineh, is one of a group of "Grandmothers" who have received national attention for resisting government relocation efforts and fighting to preserve the Dineh culture, protect the land and drinking water and the sheep that provide their livelihood and are a cornerstone of their way of life. The Dineh on Black Mesa were able to maintain their traditional way of life until the 1950s when low-sulfur coal deposits were discovered beneath their land. Since the 1970s, 14,000 Dineh have been relocated to an area they say is contaminated by a spill of radioactive material, and strip mine operations have compromised the ecosystem and sacred sites of their ancestral land. The livelihood of those remaining on the land - producing wool from the rare and endangered churro sheep and weavings from that wool - has been severely restricted by government livestock confiscations and reduction of grazing areas. Black Mesa is sacred to traditional Hopi and Dineh, who have joined in working to save the region's sole source of drinking water from continued slurry mining depletion. Working to better the economic and social conditions of the Black Mesa Dineh through preservation of their traditional endeavors -sheepherding and production of wool and weavings - is "Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land," a nonprofit cooperative co-founded in 1998 by a group of Dineh and Carol Snyder Halberstadt of Newton, MA, a poet and former student of the late anthropologist, Margaret Mead. As a graduate student in art history and archaeology at Columbia University in 1962, Halberstadt lived with an extended Dineh family in New Mexico headed by a 92-year-old medicine woman. She will join Rena and Zena Lane at the exhibit and will be available to discuss her experience working and living with the Dineh - one of the few matrilineal and matrilocal cultures in North America. Black Mesa Weaving Exhibition The weavings, crafts, and rare churro wool on exhibit are among those sold by Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land to help support the Dineh and their communities, including paying for livestock permits, redeeming impounded animals, funding hay runs, and organizing and launching a churro sheep registry process. Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land also is a special project of Cambridge, MA-based Cultural Survival, an organization dedicated to saving indigenous cultures worldwide since 1972. The weavings represent the work of several generations, from ages 12-94, and include a wide range of themes and styles including storm patterns, many with pictorial elements; Two Grey Hills; Klagetoh and Ganado; Crystal and Wide Ruins; classic single and double old-style saddle blankets; tufted mohair two-sided weavings; Tree of Life; chief's pattern blankets; and raised outline. Sizes range from 12 in. by 10 in. to 60 in. by 44 in. Suitable as floor rugs, wall hangings, sofa or chair throws or as tabletop/sideboard mats, depending on size and style, the weavings range in price from $55 to $1,500. Also available will be jewelry, ranging from $12-$35 and other items, including traditional clay pipes, firestarters, pottery and clothing. Members of the public also can meet the Lanes and Halberstadt Friday night at a dessert and coffee reception from 8 to 9:30 p.m. at the AllWays Cafe, 634 Welsh Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA, located in the Bethayres Shopping Center at Route 232 and Welsh Road. A $10 donation is requested to cover the expenses of bringing the women to the area. Anyone wishing to attend is asked to call the Cafe at 215-914-2151 to make a reservation. The effort was organized by a group of Bucks and Montgomery County artists interested in the human rights issues connected with the Dineh relocation and in preserving the tradition of America's first weavers. The exhibition was made possible with the help of contributions from US Airways, the Horsham Days Inn and the James A. Michener Art Museum, which made space available. For directions to the museum, visit its website at www.michenerartmuseum.org. # website: http://www.migrations.com Web sites for background information Cultural Survival: http://www.cs/org; click on "Special Projects" to go to the Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land story Big Mountain Dineh Relocation Resistance: http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pageaof.htm Black Mesa Indigenous Support: http://www.blackmesais.org/ SENAA (Southeastern Native American Alliance): http://www.senaa.org/ -- Carol S. Halberstadt, Migrations (carol@migrations.com) Native American art and crafts / Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land http://www.migrations.com ========================================= Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue. To subscribe, send an email to: BIGMTLIST-subscribe@topica.com. --------- "RE: Arizona Indian-Relations Agency at Risk" --------- Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 08:22:20 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARIZONA INDIAN COMMISSION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/breaking/1205indian05-ON.html Indian-relations agency at risk in state budget talks Tom Zoellner Dec. 05, 2001 15:40:00 The House has cut all money for the Governor's Commission on Indian Affairs, a move that could make Arizona one of the only states in the country without a liaison to its Native American tribes. The proposed $240,000 budget cut comes at an especially sensitive time for tribal-state relations. The Legislature is scheduled in January to try to untangle the persistent legal knots surrounding Indian casinos. "This will set us back 20 years," said executive director Ron S. Lee. "It doesn't help the atmosphere." Founded in 1953, the commission serves as a go-between for Indian tribal councils who need to confer with state officials. But the nine-member body has also had its share of trouble. A state Auditor General's report released in 1998 called the commission ineffective and concluded it "has not accomplished the most rudimentary aspect of its statutory mission." Lee, a registered member of the Navajo Nation, was hired to help fix the problems. He says the agency has "changed 180 degrees" since the audit. He is hoping to persuade Senate negotiators to restore funding during budget reconciliation talks this week. There are 42 U.S. states with officially recognized Indian tribes within their borders and all of them save Mississippi have a state agency to handle the necessary diplomacies. Arizona has the largest Indian reservation landmass of any state in the country, with 28 percent of the state's acreage permanently set aside for 21 federally recognized tribes. Five percent of Arizona citizens are registered tribal members. Copyright c. 2001, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Creeks given Overview of Congressman's Help" --------- Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 08:11:14 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CREEK HELP" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.okmulgeetimes.com/display/inn_news/691.txt Creeks given overview of Congressman's tribal help By CHERYL SCHUMAN / 9-7-1 Jeff James, aide for Congressman Brad Carson, was guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Mvskoke Elder Council this week. The question asked by the Elder Council was: "What is Congressman Carson doing to help the American Indian get more funds for Indian Health?" James explained that the answer to the question was fairly easy for him to answer. "Congressman Carson is the only enrolled member of any Native American tribe in the House of Representatives. He is the only American Indian representing us in Congress." Carson is the vice-chairman of the Native American caucus. "He has these issues very close to his heart," stated James. James told the Council that District 2 in Oklahoma has the largest population of American Indians than any other District in the country per capita. It certainly has been Carson's job to face these issues in the nine months he has been in office. James said Carson is the original co-sponsor of the American Indian Health Re-Authorization Act. This Act will re-authorize the monies that will go to the Indian Health Service. As part of that Act, Carson has re- worked a deal so as to increase the monies that Oklahoma will get through the Indian Health Service. James said the great problem of diabetes among the Native Americans is in epidemic proportions. Carson has worked especially hard in areas when it comes to Indian health care. "He has co-sponsored the "Minority Population Diabetes Prevention and Control Act' which is something that will help all minorities, but especially the Native American because they are so impacted by this disease," commented James. Carson is hopeful this Act will enable him to get more money to help fight this scourge that effects so many tribal members across the nation. Carson wrote a letter to Doctor Trujillo, who is the director of the IHS and it was signed by 30 other members of Congress. This letter requested Trujillo free up 70 million dollars in additional funding that was already allocated for the prevention of diabetes. The money was freed and the money is now available for tribes to begin working on getting control of this terrible disease. "This is money that we have seen as successful, it is "fruit on the vine', if you will, from Congressman Carson's work," said James. Another problem facing the elderly, of any race, is the nursing home issue. James said Carson's office believes it is a "system wide" problem. Carson is the original co-sponsor of a bill that will start to work on some of these questions, that would increase staffing levels, increase reimbursements for nursing homes, so they could pay their staff better. The Bill would also create other things to improve the quality of life at nursing homes for the elderly. James told the Elder Council, "Congressman Carson is fighting for Social Security, he is fighting for prescription medication under Medicare, he is doing a lot of things for health care, he is doing a lot of things especially for the tribes." These are two of the things Carson focused on during his campaign and it is something he has not let go of since he has been in office. "He will continue to fight for Indian health care during his tenure in office," said James. James then asked for questions from the floor. The first question concerned the 70 million dollars to fight diabetes: "What does that include? Will each tribe receive the money and then decide what they will do?" James told the speaker he did not know how the money would be distributed at this time. "I was made aware of this 70 million dollars just recently from our office in Washington," answered James, "I can inquire, but one of our state legislators told me we were successful in getting the 70 million." The spokeswoman said that the number one issue in fighting diabetes among the tribe, is education in nutrition, exercise and their daily living habits. James told her that when federal grants come down, usually in several areas and education is almost always included. Another question fielded by James: "Is there any effort being directed toward increasing the amount of money that is available for our hospitals and clinics?" James answered, "Oklahoma, as many of you know very well, receives about $500 less per capita than most other states for Indian Health Service." One lady wondered if this problem was caused from the Indian people not speaking up? James assured her she now had a voice in Washington that was speaking up for all of the Native Americans. James continued, "Other states with very powerful Congressman, such as Patrick Kennedy from Rhode Island and the Congressman from Alaska, get a lot of money for their Native American health service. Brad sees that and wants to bring some of this money home to Oklahoma." That is a very strong issue with Carson, speaking up and getting money brought back to Oklahoma. One example of this concerns the "21st Century Learning Grant" through the Department of Education. Carson was successful in getting 19 of these grants for District 2. James said, "23 of these grants came to Oklahoma and 19 of them came to Brad Carson's District 2." Among other grants Carson has been successful in obtaining for District 2, are 13 FEMA grants for rural fire departments. "The money is out there, partly to come to Oklahoma, we just haven't been getting our fair share of it," James said, "Indian Health Service is certainly one we are working very hard on." One person asked if other money was set aside for dental, vision and hearing? "The 70 million dollars is ear-marked for diabetes only, but the money for these things would more than likely be part of that over-all Indian Health Care Act, that Congressman Carson is working on," answered James. In closing, James gave the Elder Council Carson's phone numbers in Muskogee and Washington, as well as the Washington office address. He invited each one to contact either office if they had questions concerning any problems. Principal Chief Perry Beaver told the Elder Council that thanks to Senators and Congressmen fighting for them in Washington, the Indian Health System is becoming stronger and the tribes are doing the best with what they have. "The system is not failing, just the lack of money to fund all the programs is causing short-falls," stated the Chief. Beaver said with the lawmakers in Washington fighting for the American Indian now, more than in the past, things are starting to look up for the American Indian Health System. Copyright c. 2000. The Okmulgee Daily Times. --------- "RE: Comptroller Sides with Indians Bison Producers" --------- Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 07:52:47 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BISON DECISION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/index Comptroller sides with Indians bison producers in dispute over government contract Associated Press Mon Dec 3 18:29:51 CST 2001 Central Time WASHINGTON (AP) - A hotly-disputed contract to sell frozen bison meat to the federal government will likely go to a tribally-run cooperative following a Comptroller General's decision released Monday. Leaders of the nation's largest bison meat producer, which earlier was favored to win the contract, said they were devastated by the decision. "It's a dismay to us," Dennis Sexhus, chief executive officer of the North American Bison Cooperative in New Rockford, N.D., said Monday. "It's really disappointing, and it hurts our business, which as you know is struggling." At issue is a $3 million contract to provide ground bison patties and bison stew meat for federally-subsidized programs to feed the hungry on American Indian reservations. The program was written into the agriculture appropriations bill President Bush signed last month. The North American Bison Cooperative, made up of bison ranchers from 18 states, had been favored to win the contract. The member-owned cooperative, which lists media mogul Ted Turner as one of its many members, had lobbied North Dakota's all-Democrat congressional delegation to have the $3 million contract included in the spending bill, and had even helped write the language, Sexhus said. The legislation says the USDA will buy "bison from Native American producers and cooperative organizations." The Department of Agriculture interpreted that to mean it could buy bison meat from groups like the North American Bison Cooperative, which has only a few Indian members. But the Intertribal Bison Cooperative, a South Dakota-based group of Indian ranchers, appealed, saying the language in question requires the USDA to buy buffalo meat solely from Indian suppliers. In a seven-page decision, lawyers for the Comptroller General stuck to a strict reading of the legislation and sided with the Indian cooperative, saying, "the plain meaning of the statute is that the bison may only be obtained from Native American sources." Don Lake, chief executive of the Intertribal Bison Cooperative, did not return several telephone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment Monday. Sexhus said the Comptroller General's decision runs counter to the intent of the legislation. "We wrote that language to be inclusive, not exclusive, to Native Americans," Sexhus said. Two earlier contracts to feed Indian tribes were awarded to Sexhus' group in 1998 and 1999. He said the co-op had worked closely with the Indian nations to better develop the meat for their tastes. While $3 million may not seem much at a time when Congress is debating billions of dollars in spending, bison producers are hungry for business. The industry is experiencing the third year of a slump, particularly in the high-end market of expensive restaurants where tenderloin, prime rib and other cuts of bison meat are prized menu items. "A $3 million-a-year contract is very important right now, particularly when the market is so far down," said Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association, which represents 2,400 people who raise and market bison. The Comptroller General's decision also orders the USDA to pay legal fees for the Intertribal Bison Cooperative. Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Buffalo News" --------- Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 17:30:29 -0700 From: Buffalo Folks Subj: Buffalo News Mailing List: Stop-the-Slaughter * Update from the only group in the Field 365 days a year with the last, wild buffalo * A Press Release to send to your local paper - if you can send one letter to the editor it would help * "Shameless holiday gift promotions" * APHIS plans diabolical bison fetus test (88 fetuses in 11 weeks and ?who-knows-what? impacts to the Yellowstone Ecosystem and its predators) _________________ Our hearts are saddened as we send you this update. We extend our thoughts to all of you who are also hurting as you read about these two deaths. As the holidays approach - volunteers will continue to be in the field everyday with our 4 legged family - the buffalo. Please send them your thoughts and prayers. A huge thanks for your uplifting messages, all your powerful prayers and for your donations that allow us to be here on the frontlines! P.S. we are in need of a little iMac for our office - if you can help write us at mailto:bfc-programs@wildrockies.org _________________ * Update From the Field My eyes leak all too often this year... todays news: two more brother buffalo are on their way to slaughter as I write this update. One of them we have known since the beginning of Buffalo Field Campaign's existence. He had a very short tail and we playfully nicknamed him Stubby. For years now, I have been a friend of this beautiful buffalo. Many days I have sat with him and learned from his knowledge. He has taught me well and has always treated me like a member of his family. After last week's violations of our First Amendment rights to document that slaughter - this week, a friend and I decided to take a different approach. Climbing above the field where Stubby grazed, we hid in the trees on our national forest land and were positioned to document. As the morning sun tried to warm us, a blizzard descended on its warmth. We stood silent, motionless and cold. We were looking over our brother Stubby with the video camera ready. The first to arrive on the scene were two highway patrol officers and a sheriff. They sat in their cars, engines running, eyeing the buffalo and waiting for the buffalo killers to arrive. An hour later, the "calvary" arrived: 4 snowmobiles, 3 ATV's and 3 horse's - all for the mighty Stubby. They all sat around for another hour trying to figure out where we were up on the hill. When you are ashamed of what you are doing - you go to great lengths to hide your actions. Our people on the ground informed us that they had spotted us and planned on arresting us. At this point, I thought of Stubby and the many lessons he had taught me in the past. Then, the "army" started to move toward Stubby, except one snowmobile that was coming for us. We knew that the ground support could cover documenting whatever happened to Stubby, so our focus became escape. Many times, in many years, I have watched Stubby outsmart the DOL. His favorite trick on losing snowmobiles was running straight up the mountain. I have often cured my sorrows by laughing at the snowmobiles gettin' stuck trying to follow him up this same mountain. Like he had taught me many times before, we ran up the mountain to safety. With the extra buffalo magic surrounding us, the snowmobile in our pursuit not only got stuck, but they blew their clutch. We got away and are forever indebted to Stubby. I know now that Stubby is about to be shot in the head and butchered and will no longer grace my days out on patrol. He may be gone from this earth but his presence will never leave. His knowledge is passed on to the herd. But, anytime a buffalo is killed - it is removing great knowledge from all of us. There are no cows here and there is no logic in place. When an agency like the DOL is in charge, with no wildlife education and such a strong conflict of interest, bad and unjust things will always happen. When law officers violate our constitutional rights for the benefit of injustice - can there be justice? Know that these are America's last wild, free ranging buffalo and it is our duty to speak in their behalf. Voice your outrage and get involved because it is going to take all of us to make a change. Stubby and his family must not die in vain. The head of the Director of the Montana Department of Livestock is Marc Bridges - he can be reached at mailto:bridgesm@state.mt.us I walk around our cabin and see all the tearful faces and I know that Stubby will never be forgotten. With the Buffalo, The Funky Duck Buffalo Field Campaign (formerly Buffalo Nations) PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 phone 406-646-0071 fax buffalo@wildrockies.org www.wildrockies.org/buffalo ___________________ For Immediate Release Intolerance for Last Wild Buffalo Results in Two Deaths 12/06/01 Media Contact: Mike Mease 406.646.0070; mailto:buffalo@wildrockies.org Two beloved buffalo were sent to the slaughterhouse this morning after testing positive for antibodies to brucellosis. According to the State of Montana, the bison were tested with three field tests that all detect the presence of antibodies, not an infection! APHIS, the agency in charge of managing the Brucella abortis organism admits that the tests used are not 100% effective, and that bulls pose little or no threat of transmitting the disease. Six Montana Department of Livestock (MDOL) agents called on three Sheriffs, two Highway Patrolmen, a Fish Wildlife and Parks agent and National Park Service rangers to assist them in the capture/hazing operation. They used ATVs, snowmobiles and horses for the round up. During the hazing, they jackknifed their trucks, posed public safety threats and temporarily blocked access to a housing division. Because of severe weather conditions - seven other buffalo were saved from the same plight. One of the Bison captured was less than a mile from the Park boundary. The other was a bull on National Forest land whom the DOL refer to as Bob-short for bobtail because he has the distinguishing mark of no tail. This bull was captured and tested negative for brucellosis repeatedly in the past three years. Head of MDOL operations, Rob Tierney, expressed awareness of this fact but chose to capture him anyway. It is hard to believe that this bull has "caught" the disease since the last time he was tested. One cause listed by the Montana Department of Livestock for a seroconversion is stress. This could be caused when the buffalo leave the invisible Yellowstone Park boundaries on traditional migration routes in search of food and are repeatedly chased by the Montana Department of Livestock. These actions are definitely a stress on these animals that they do not need. Brucellosis, a reproductive disease, is transmitted through afterbirth or an aborted fetus. To contract brucellosis, a cow would have to eat infected afterbirth or contaminated grass. Besides the fact that there are no cattle present, the bison slaughtered today were bulls - unable to transmit the disease. The level of intolerance towards bison is rapidly beginning to mirror what it was five years ago when 1,083 bison were killed in one winter. During that killing season, tissue analysis revealed that a large percentage of Yellowstone buffalo slaughtered actually did not have the disease and were needlessly killed. That year, lab results from the Ames, Iowa Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed, through a battery of tissue tests, that many of the slaughtered buffalo were actually "culture negative." The new annual budget for bison "management" allotted to MDOL, alone, is over one million in taxpayer dollars (source: http://www.liv.state.mt.us/BISON/FY2002BUDGET.HTM) . "The operation today not only reflects flagrant intolerance for the bison and disrespect for the entire ecosystem, but a tremendous waste of resources," states BFC volunteer, Meghan Gill. The Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) is the only grassroots group working in the field, everyday, to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's wild buffalo. Volunteers defend the buffalo on their traditional winter habitat and advocate for their protection. Our daily patrols stand with the buffalo on the ground they choose to be on and document every move made against them. -30- Please contact BFC for and interview and for footage and further information. Quote: " The so-called random shooting at the Montana borders is actually eliminating or depleting entire maternal lineages, therefore this action will cause an irreversible crippling of the gene pool. Continued removal of genetic lineages will change the genetic makeup of the herd, thus it will not represent the animal of 1910 or earlier. It would be a travesty to have people look back and say we were "idiots" for not understanding the gene pool." Bison have developed a natural resistance genetically as long as they have enough to eat, limited stress and are not consumed by other disease. There is no magic bullet in wildlife disease, Therefore management is important. Vaccines are one management tool and one component, but genetic structure is necessary for future management. Every animal which is removed from the breeding population can no longer contribute to the genetic variability of the herd." Remarks made by Dr. Joe Templeton, Texas A& M University, Dept. of Veterinary Pathobiology, to the GYIBC on May 21, 1998 _____________________ Holiday gift ideas To send your friends/family quality, earth friendly goods and support the work of important non profits - Check these out: Great Notecards for greetings and gifts at: http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/card.html Great T-Shirts at: http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/teez.html A "Chorus of Buffalo book" - http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/speak/chorus.html A great compilation CD of talented Montana musicians - http://www.wildrockies.org/cmcr/OrgFiles/cd.html Thanks! and Happy Hollydays! _____________________ DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments. SUMMARY: We are informing the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment for a proposed study to determine the disappearance rate of bison fetuses in the environment. The environmental assessment documents our review and analysis of environmental impacts associated with the proposed study. We are making this environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment. DATES: We invite you to comment on the environmental assessment. We will consider all comments we receive that are postmarked, delivered, or e-mailed by December 31, 2001. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket No. 01-103- 1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 01-103-1. If you use e-mail, address your comment to mailto:regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No. 01-103-1'' on the subject line. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Valerie Ragan, Senior Staff Veterinarian, National Animal Health Programs Staff, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 36, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-6954. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The prevention of the spread of brucellosis from bison to cattle in and around the park is an issue of concern. APHIS Veterinary Services, in cooperation with other Federal and State agencies, proposes to conduct an 11-week study in the West Yellowstone and Gardiner areas in Montana starting in March 2002 to determine how long a bison fetus remains in the environment as a potential source of Brucella organisms before it deteriorates or is consumed by scavengers. To provide the public with documentation of APHIS' review and analysis of the environmental impacts associated with this study, we have prepared an environmental assessment titled, ``Proposed Study for Bison Fetal Disappearance Rate,'' dated November 2001. The environmental assessment provides a basis for our conclusion that the potential impacts to the environment of the proposed study are expected to be insignificant. The environmental assessment may be viewed on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/es/vsdocs.html. You may request paper copies of the environmental assessment from the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the environmental assessment when requesting copies. The environmental assessment is also available for review in our reading room. ___________________________________________________________ Info regarding the buffalo and how you can help at http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo Send an email showing your concern for the buffalo to public officials at http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/politico00/sendmail.html "Stop-the-slaughter" buffalo updates are mailed about 3-4 times/month. If this is forwarded to you and you would like to receive it regularly - go to http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/politk99/stssign.html Contributions to BFC are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and support our aggressive, front line volunteer campaign. We put the wild buffalo first! BFC is the only group working 365 days a year in Yellowstone with the buffalo. ___________________________________________________________ List-Subscribe: mailto:Stop-the-Slaughter-on@vortex.wildrockies.org --------- "RE: Pueblo hosts Healing Ceremony at Ground Zero" --------- Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 07:52:47 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GROUND ZERO HEALING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.sfnewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2721309&BRD Pueblo hosts healing ceremony at Ground Zero The Associated Press December 02, 2001 NEW YORK - An Indian tribal healing ceremony was conducted Saturday at Ground Zero of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as New Mexico's Goodwill Mission to New York continued. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., organized events for several New Mexico political leaders, firefighters and residents who wished to participate in New Mexico's show of support for New Yorkers, called "New Mexico Loves New York." Jemez Pueblo Gov. Vincent Toya, 2nd Lt. Gov. Hilario Armijo, War Chief Pete Toya, War Capt. Emiliano "Emo" Sando, Fire Society leader Frank Loretto, Tribal Councilman Pat Waquie and Tribal Preservation Officer Bill Whatley went to New York, Jemez officials said. "The Pueblo of Jemez was chosen for this honor because the practice of our traditions, culture and religious beliefs remain strong in our community," the tribe's written statement says. Others listed as participating from Jemez included Joshua Madalena and Joseph Toledo. The Jemez tribal members performed a private healing ceremony at dawn Saturday. They also sang a Flag Song composed specifically for the occasion, it said. Tribal administrator Tim Armijo said the actual ceremony was private because details of the ceremony remain a secret. A public version of the ceremony was held later at Battery Park in southern Manhattan. Domenici was joined Saturday by Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., state Attorney General Patricia Madrid and other state officials. New York City Mayor Rudy Giulliani was presented with a copper handcrafted luminaria and a traditional pueblo drum at a ceremony at a Rockefeller Center hotel. Jemez Pueblo officials have said they hope the blessings will expedite the healing of the city. Copyright c. 2001 Santa Fe New Mexican. --------- "RE: Couple provide Refuge for Native Children" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2001 08:10:19 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REFUGE FOR CHILDREN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.journalstar.com/native?story_id=119&date= Couple provide refuge for Native children BY JODI RAVE LEE Lincoln Journal Star Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001 PINE RIDGE, S.D. - For nearly two decades Melvina and Louis Winters have provided emergency shelter for thousands of kids - but never a bad one. They remember a teacher once asking: "Did you get those bad kids yet?" "What bad kids?" Louis responded. Melvina answered her husband's question: "There is no bad kids." The Winters opened their home 19 years ago to good kids in need of love, hope and protection. Today, they operate Children's Village, the oldest emergency shelter for abused, abandoned and neglected children - children potentially at risk of suicide - on South Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation. "When law enforcement doesn't know what to do in an emergency, when dysfunctional adults abandon children or don't know what to do with them, they turn to Louie and Melvina," said Rapid City attorney Jeffrey Viken. "The idea that Children's Village is a shelter is not saying enough. Many children stay for months, many for years." Said Louis: "All we're supposed to be is emergency care." Melvina finished the thought: "Sometimes emergency care runs 19 years." Melvina, 54, and Louis, 65, provide a front-line defense for children, helping build their self-esteem and keeping them on a path that might otherwise end tragically. "There's a story for every child that has gone through there," said Viken, who was adopted by the Winters as part of a "making relatives" or hunka ceremony. "Some have made it against all odds. These are the kids, for all practical purposes, who would not survive life on the reservation because they didn't have anybody." Viken met the Winters 20 years ago, when Melvina was injured in an auto accident. When she received a settlement for her injury, she didn't buy herself anything. She bought a double-wide trailer to house other people's kids. Today, the gray trailer sits next to the Winters' home, another double- wide on a small hill in Pine Ridge. Louis stays with teens in the family trailer; his wife stays next door with the little ones. They admit they miss time alone. The number of kids traversing the trailers varies: In early August, just four kids lived here, in June, eight. At times though, up to 30 children received shelter in a single month. Their stories strike at every ounce of good in Melvina's heart. "Sometimes I cry with these kids," she said. "I hurt just as much as they're hurting, especially when they tell me what they've been through." The couple - known as Mom and Dad to some, Grandma and Grandpa to others - remembers the first girl brought to them for emergency shelter, a near- 300-pound teen suffering from schizophrenia. "I didn't know what that was," said Melvina. "She said she was going to kill me. I said you're not going to kill me or anybody." Melvina called the Indian Health Service for help. She and her 140-pound husband were a bit perplexed with the suggested solution: "They said, 'Sit on her.' " The Winters didn't sit on her. The girl, however, was taken away the next day. She returned five years later "on medication and doing good." In Lakota tradition, a young person is called wakan yeja, or holy child. It's a traditional belief forsaken by some. But in the Winters' home, they say they feel blessed by much holiness. Sacred children and a belief in a higher power have helped them get by with little money. "My sister believes in the faith of God," said Cheryl Between Lodges, Melvina's 52-year-old sister. "With that she gets help from others. With the faith . . . that's how this little home is running." And faith has intervened often. When their refrigerator broke down last summer, Melvina said, the most help they could find locally was a $100 check from the tribe's vice chairman. "I knew this lady, I told her about our situation," she said. "I told her I was trying to get a hold of a refrigerator." The Michigan woman's response: "Melvina, why didn't you call me? You know that's no problem. Go to Sears and pick out a refrigerator." Good luck reappeared when their washer and dryer gave out. Their phone rang the morning they planned to drive 140 miles to Rapid City to look for used pair. The anonymous Californian asked if they needed a washer and dryer. And he asked them for the location of the nearest store. When they suggested Sears in Rapid City, he told them to pick the appliances up - they would be paid for. "The good Lord works mysteriously," Melvina said. Another anonymous caller told Melvina to call whenever she needed help. "I never did," she said. "I'm not the person to be asking for things." It's the reason she and Louis operated Children's Village on $15,000 a year from the tribe since 1986 - funding Melvina said ended in October. The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council did not return phone calls seeking comment about Children's Village and its funding. The couple helps make ends meet by operating bingo, relying on donations and per-child payments from the state. Melvina's typical day starts by getting the kids up, feeding them and sending them to school. "My days are long," she said. "They don't end until 11 or 12 at night. Sometimes they don't end then." That's because it's not unusual for a child to arrive at 2 a.m. "She keeps that home going 24 hours a day," said Nellie Two Bulls, Melvina's 75-year-old mother. "I say, 'Why don't you rest? You're going to get run down.' She said, 'If I rest I won't get anything done.' " At one time, Melvina thought maybe they should quit caring for kids to pursue other careers. But when she raised the issue with Louis: "He said, 'Who's going to take care of all these children?" Her reply: "We'll go another year." "It goes like that every year," she said. "I'll guess we'll probably take care of kids the rest of our lives or until one of us is gone." Although Children's Village receives little recognition or assistance from the tribe, its work has not gone unnoticed. Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., is close to getting $150,000 in federal funds approved for a new Children's Village home to replace the twin trailers, said Daschle spokesman Rodell Mollineau. "The senator considers Lou and Melvina friends. He has known them for a very long time," Mollineau said. "It's a profound respect for all they do for children and the community in Pine Ridge." In 1997, Daschle nominated the Winters for the South Dakota Jefferson award. In November 1997, they received a national Jefferson award - an honor that included dinner at the White House. Two years later, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption awarded them the "Angel in Adoption" award. The awards were nice, they said, but nothing they ever expected. "Our biggest award is when parents say thank you," said Louis. Once again, Melvina finished his sentence: ". . . and when you see the kids smile." Jodi Rave Lee covers Native issues for Lee Newspapers. She can be reached at (402) 473-7240 or jrave@journalstar.com. Copyright c. 2001, Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Column of the Americas: The Detainees" --------- Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 22:41:17 EST From: ErthAvengr@aol.com Subj: COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS: THE DETAINEES ====>Sent by Senior Staff.........thanks Date: 12/6/2001 8:05:09 PM Mountain Standard Time From: senior-staff@nativenewsonline.org (Senior Staff) Mailing List: ndn-aim ====>Mailing List: NativeNews From: XColumn@aol.com FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF DECEMBER 7, 2001 COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez THE DETAINEES We've always heard that when governments turn on their own citizens, the first thing they do is come after the poets, writers and artists. When they successfully eliminate or rein them in, there's no need to go after the guns. In Chile, during Gen. Pinochet's dirty war in the 1970s, guitarist Victor Jarra was "disappeared," and then his body was found with his hands cut off. It's a haunting image that reminds us of the extremes that terrorist governments will go to in order to silence the poets. We're not sure why we're having these recollections, as we live in a different time and place, though these definitely are unsettling times. Abroad, in its hunt for Osama bin Laden, the U.S. military has destroyed the retrograde Taliban and the infrastructure of the Afghan nation. Perhaps Iraq is next, while Colombia and North Korea have also been named. At home, the government is primarily pursuing Arabs. It recently announced that it wants to voluntarily bring in another 5,000 Arab/Muslim men ... so it can put together an intelligence mosaic. The government has already detained 1,200 other Arabs, secretly and indefinitely, without charges. Well, maybe not average Arabs, just Muslims. Not all of them either. Just the ones who come from radical countries. Nor is the government after citizens. Just the aliens. Something's troubling about this. Most of the detainees were swept up prior to the new anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act being enacted and prior to the president issuing extraordinary executive directives. When the United States begins bombing or invading the Palestinian territories, Iraq, Colombia and North Korea, will we also be detaining 5, 000 Palestinians, Iraqis, Colombians and North Koreans? And how will we find the Colombians and Koreans -- by sifting through the huge Mexican, Central and South American and Asian populations? Fortunately, there are only 20 million aliens among us. Inconvenient? Sure, but there are only another 30 million to 50 million who might look like aliens. The rest of us won't be inconvenienced. We now have a glimpse of how Japanese citizens and noncitizens alike were swept up and sent to "internment" camps here during World War II. We the People did not come to their defense. In fact, we helped send them away because it was determined that they didn't deserve to be protected by U.S. laws. A decade before and a decade after, millions of Mexicans -- U.S. citizens and noncitizens -- were similarly rounded up, but rather than being incarcerated, were deported. In grammar school, we were all told it would never happen again. And yet, it is happening again. And it's not the government but ourselves who are giving government the green light and a big cheer. What's next on the agenda: an enemies list, an approved reading list and a book-burning campaign? Will we then also see the banning of any humor not approved by the U.S. government? Abroad, we are waging an undefined and open-ended war, and we've authorized the use of assassinations against political leaders. On top of this, we've turned to certified rapists and human-rights butchers (the Northern Alliance) to help us accomplish our means, and we've also turned the United Nations into an instrument of war. At home, immigrants are being blamed for terrorism. We're seeing the tight control of information, a governmental office of propaganda, secret detentions without charges and proposed military tribunals. We're also seeing the legalization of ethnic profiling, special retroactive laws and the proposed violation of attorney/client privilege. In our book, the government has the right to propose anything. It's the responsibility of We the People to prevent anything that threatens innocent lives and our basic rights, freedoms and liberties. Whether bin Laden is caught or not, he's already won because he has indeed managed to change "our way of life." It doesn't matter how many regimes we crush and how many U.S.-friendly governments we install. The moment We the People -- along with an impotent Congress and a self- censoring media -- acceded to the curtailing of our own rights was the day bin Laden won and our way of life changed. Meanwhile, while we are being encouraged to shop, the head of homeland security has issued another alert. The confluence of Ramadan, Hanukkah and Christmas, he warns, beckons danger. We remember a time when it signaled peace, love and goodwill to all. COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE ** Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored" (ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN 0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). He is also the author of The X in La Raza and Codex Tamuanchan: On Becoming Human (available in electronic editions at: http://www.mexica.net/literat/roberto/ We can be reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at 210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com Reprinted under the Fair Use http://nativenewsonline.org/fairuse.htm <<<<<>>>>> Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) http://nativenewsonline.org/ Native News Online a Service of Barefoot Connection FREE LEONARD PELTIER!! "YOU ~ARE~ THE MESSAGE" ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com --------- "RE: Shooting Incident Creating Ripples" --------- Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 08:22:20 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SHOOTING" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://indiancountry.com/?1007151838 Shooting incident creating ripples across the plains Many tribes call for federal intervention in the case December 06, 2001 - 7:00AM EST by: Kay Humphrey / Today Staff / Indian Country Today EAGLE BUTTE, S.D.- The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe joined a growing list of tribal councils which have passed resolutions or voiced support in connection with a firearm incident directed against members of the Crow Creek girls basketball team in early November. Councilmen briefly discussed the incident during a special session late last month saying they wanted to express their support of the Crow Creek officials and students. During a recent regional BIA-tribal meeting in Bismarck, N.D., attended by representatives of all tribal councils in the three-state region, the issue was on the agenda with councilmen expressing outrage over the shooting incident. Crow Creek Tribal Chairman Roxanne Sazue and tribal school officials have made every effort to assist authorities in bringing a pair of unidentified Hand County teens to justice. "All of Indian country is watching this case and a lot of non-Indian folks are looking at it as well. All the chairmen were there. All the BIA superintendents were there," Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe Vice Chairman Jake Thompson said. "People are angry. We're all waiting to see what's going to happen. They have to be sent a message." The girls, traveling home from the ballgame, weren't physically hurt in the Nov. 1 incident in which a semiautomatic 12-gauge shotgun was fired at a pickup truck, but the event frightened them. Two young white males from Miller were charged in juvenile court, but Hand County States Attorney James Jones has said he will try to get the case moved to adult court. The action of one girl tossing an ice cream drink at a car in retaliation after the a pair of white teen-age boys shouted obscenities, racial slurs and made crude hand gestures toward the girls, set off a three-car chase with one car passing the pickup carrying the girls. The driver of the car hit the brakes and the passenger pulled out a shotgun firing as many four times, the girls and their parents said. Some tribal leaders and Indian groups say the teen-agers should be prosecuted for more serious crimes and that there were delays in the arrests and prosecution. Further upsetting tribal members is the failure of the South Dakota High School Activities Association to investigate claims fans were shouting racial slurs at Crow Creek players during a district competition. Some have speculated the actions may have been the prelude for the events that happened to the 20-year-old driver with five Crow Creek student passengers. The Lady Chieftains girls basketball team played a game against Wessington Springs in Miller hours before the shooting. Tribes have written letters to the U.S. Attorney's Office calling for an investigation into the incident. On Nov. 20, five days after the regional tribal-BIA meeting, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Tribal Council issued a letter to U.S. Attorney Michelle Tapken, expressing outrage and asking for federal intervention: "In response to the described incident, we request that the District of South Dakota United States Attorney's Office initiate an investigation and determine whether there has been a violation of the laws enacted by Congress that provides criminal and civil remedies to victims of bias- motivated crimes." Thompson said all the tribes have children attending Crow Creek High School, which operates as a boarding school. "That's why it's so important to us." The Oglala Sioux Tribe decided it needs more information about the shooting before deciding upon a course of action and is conducting its own investigation. At least one of the tribe's enrolled members was in the pickup that night. Tom Iron, vice chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, said a different approach beyond the courts might be in order and suggested bringing a federal mediation team to the area to work with tribal and non-tribal people in the area. He said the shotgun incident was reminiscent of racial tensions that followed the occupation of Wounded Knee in the 1970s. "We live in a society where there's so much tension." The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the city of Mobridge went through increased racial tension following the death of Robert Many Horses, who died in 1999 after being stuffed into a garbage can by four white youths following a night of drinking. After Many Horses' death, the Department of Justice sent two community relations specialists to the area to mediate problems between tribal members and the town. "They did an excellent job. We had a lot of racial issues. We stood up and worked together. That could work here," he said. The 16- and 17-year-old boys will appear in court in Miller Dec. 3. Each faces six counts of aggravated assault, a class three felony, in connection with the incident. Jones said the charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $15,000 fine for each count if they are prosecuted as adults and convicted. Copyright c. 2001 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Ontario Federation of Labour Honours Peltier" --------- Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 12:23:40 -0600 From: "LPDC" Subj: Peltier receives human rights award Mailing List: LPDC December 7, 2001 . LPDC Canada (Coalition) Announcement Ontario Federation of Labour Honours Leonard Peltier with Human Rights Award For more info. contact LPDC Canada (Coalition) at (416) 439-1893 Until Freedom Is Won! The New Peltier Justice Campaign Almost 26 years after his false extradition from Canada to the United States, Leonard Peltier was honoured on December 5, 2001 with the 2001 OFL Human Rights Award from the Ontario Federation of Labour. The province's federation of trade unions represents about 600,000 of the estimated 2.2 million unionized workers in Canada. Several hundred delegates from across the province as well as national labour representatives attended the OFL's 6th Biennial Convention in Toronto. Wayne Samuelson, OFL President and Ethel Birkett-LaValley, Secretary- Treasurer, together with Executive Vice-President Irene Harris, and others stood on stage to honour Leonard Peltier and his lifetime sacrifices for his people. Frank Dreaver, co-ordinator and international spokesperson of the LPDC Canada (Coalition), received the award for Leonard Peltier and spoke of new avenues emerging in Canada and the need for labour's continued support. Members of the OFL Human Rights Committee were on stage including its co-chairs Tim Brown (OPSEU) and Bob Borch (CUPW). Tim Brown, an aboriginal representative, spoke of increasing phone restrictions used inside prison denying Leonard the chance to speak with more people and to audiences. Mr. Brown introduced a specially prepared video compilation of