From gars@speakeasy.org Wed Jan 16 21:38:02 2002 Date: 2 Jan 2002 00:40:55 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews10.001 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 10, ISSUE 001 | Country than is reported in | O o o o o O | this weekly newsletter. For | O o O January 5, 2002 | For daily updates & events | O o O | go http://www.owlstar.com/ | O | dailyheadlines.htm | Lakota te'hi wi/hardship moon +-----------------------------+ Choctaw hashi koi nakfi ushi/lion's little brother moon <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.pechanga.net; www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; ndn-aim, and 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.'" "Everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it and every person a mission." "This is the Indian theory of existence." -- Mourning Dove (Christine Quintasket) 1888-1936 Salish +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Recently, my half-side, Janet, and I had the misfortune of having a promise broken by a non-indian administrator. The "reason" offered was that because of the busy holiday season, the proper memo had not been sent to the only authority that could permit the promised service. Now, of course, it was too late. He was sorry, but he had simply overlooked making appropriate arrangements. And, he clearly meant, without saying it, that we couldn't do a darned thing about it. I see more-and-more of this "shrug - I just forgot" attitude throughout the dominant society toward any minority group, and at 2% of the total population we are among the most minor of minorities. What I see is a growing intolerance that seeks to destroy or obstruct all that is "different." Often this intolerance is expressed by coercion through a bureaucratic bully pulpit both internally and internationaly. On a personal level, even when Indians sacrifice to marshall their resources to help meet the need of other Indians, we are met with non- Indian administrations that fail to even do their normal duty, such that needs are not met and commitments are broken. Ultimately the sacrifices of those Indians who were trying to meet their brothers' needs are wasted, and after a few such frustrations, they become reluctant to even try. Those who were promised aid, beyond the tragedies that occur when they must do without, are also disappointed, again, and after awhile, they lose trust in their brothers. It seems to serve the purpose of those who would mainstream us too well for this to be coincidental. This same pattern exists with the BIA, the Department of Interior computer shutdown, and the indians who didn't get paid. I'm sure it gave Secretary Norton a degree of smug satisfaction to know Natives throughout Indian Country were denied services. This act of spite, because her Department of Interior is in danger of being found in contempt of court and totally negligent in their trust responsibilities, may have salved her damaged ego. Readers of this newsletter know it also resulted in deaths and suffering. It is times like this I must remind myself there is eventually balance in all things and those who send out evil will receive evil as their reward. This is a story that has been told repeatedly ever since the U.S. government began assuming that Indians "needed" them to structure their communities and lives. =================================== THIS IS THE LAST TIME THIS HELP LISTING WILL BE RUN. THE NEEDS HAVE NOT CEASED - PLEASE COPY THIS AND HELP AS MUCH AS YOU CAN THROUGHOUT THE HARSH WINTER. 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 - Shoshone General Council - Navajo President Begaye's halves Quorum Holiday Message - Father: Son was Murdered - Hopi Chairman Taylor's - Police Power grab Holiday Message at Interior Department - Lawsuit over Bloodlines - Please remember the Dakota 38 threatens Tribal Unity - Oglala file Second Suit - Blackfeet Workshops in Land Transfer target Teen Couples - Border Crossers hit O'odham Hard - Lack of Data - Ruling allows Indian Pursuit mars Montana Economic Report - Alaska Inmates hold Annual Potlatch - Choctaw Construction Impact Huge - Native Prisoner - Chickasaws get Land -- Petition for a New Trial for New Center -- (mis)Adapted Indian traditions - Innu of Davis Inlet - History: Carlisle Indian School prepare for Relocation - John Rustywire: Four Indian Boys - Moose Cree First Nation - Poems: The Singers Have Gone Away is after the Big One and Pow Wow - New Big Bat's pays Tribute - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Taos Pueblo Bridge Construction - Native America Calling closes Main Road - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Crossings" --------- Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2001 16:45:27 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSSINGS" December 26, 2001 Keith Gai CHINLE - Services for Keith Gai, 75, will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, Dec. 28 at the New Testament Holiness Church. Pastor Berna Francisco will officiate. Burial will follow in Del-Muerto, Ariz. Gai died Dec. 20 in Farmington. He was born July 15, 1926 in Canyon Del- Muerto into the One who Walks Around for the Water that Flows Together. Survivors include his wife, Mae Gai; brothers, Larry Dale, Alfred D. Begay; sisters, Irene Teller, Charlene D. Tsosie, Helen D. Begay, Nellie Begay, Betty Begay, Evelyn Johnson; grandparent, Della Toadlena. He was preceded in death by his mother, May Thompson; brothers, George Gai and Collins D. Tsosie. Pallbearers will be Charles Tsosie, Alex Thompson, Emerson George, Bennie Teller, Jr., DeWayne Thompson, Jimmy Samuel and Hoskie Anogal. The family will receive relatives and friends at Dorothy Tsosie's residence in Del-Muerto. Tse Bonito Mortuary is charge of arrangements. December 27, 2001 LaShuka Marie Pine NASCHITTI - Services for LaShuka Pine, 20, will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, Dec. 28 at the Naschitti Christian Reformed Church. Rev. Jerome Sandoval will officiate. Burial will follow at Naschitti Cemetary. Pine died Dec. 24 in White Rock. She was born Dec. 3, 1981 in Gallup into the Folded Arms for the Salt. Pine was a 2000 graduate of Tohatchi High School and was attending Crownpoint Institute of Techonology, as a Veterinarian Assistant. She participated in a Veterinary Internship in Pennsylvania, was Who's Who Among High School for four years and Who's Who Among Junior College. Her hobbies included horseback riding, working with livestock and collecting Chevy truck models. Survivors include her parents, Keith and Gloria Pine of Naschitti; brothers, Samuel Pine and Aridel Naranjo both of Naschitti; sisters, Melissa Scippo of Alamosa, Colo. and Gwen Livingston of Naschitti; grandmothers, Elsie Navahjo and Elizabeth Pine; and great-grandmother, Ethelen Pine. Pine was preceded in death by her grandfather, Kee Pine. Pallbearers will be Barlow Smith, Lionel Livingston, Jermaine Thompson, Jasper Hardy Jr., Tommy Clark Jr. and Ronnie Herbert. A family meeting will be held tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Naschitti Chapter House. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. December 29, 2001 Amos Bluehouse Johnson GANADO, Ariz. - Services for Amos Johnson, 88, will be held at Presbyterian Church, Ganado. Burial will follow at community cemetery, Ganado. Johnson died Dec. 25 in Ganado. He was born July 18, 1913 in Cornfields, Ariz. into the One Who Walks Around You for the Reed People. Johnson attended elementary school in Fort Defiance, Ariz., Tohatchi and Ganado Mission. He was employed with the railroad, Army Depot during World War II, caseworker for ONEO, watchman for project Hope and contract work for Sage Memorial Hospital. Survivors include his sons, Julius Johnson of Ganado and Justin Johnson of Navajo Station, Ariz.; daughter, Madeline Johnson of Phoenix; 13 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Brian Johnson, Julian Johnson, Amo Johnson II, Ingram Johnson, Robert Gorman Jr. and Irvinson Jones. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Sarah Dee Yazzie HOUCK, Ariz. - Services for Sarah Yazzie, 34, will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, Dec. 31 at Navajo Assembly of God Church. Milt Shirelson will officiate. Burial will follow at community cemetery, Houck. Yazzie died Dec. 24 in Phoenix. She was born Sept. 25, 1967 in Whiteriver, Ariz. into the Zuni Clan for the Salt People Clan. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2001 The Gallup Independent. -=-=-=- December 25, 2001 Dennis James `D.J.' Big Crow PINE RIDGE - Dennis James "D.J." Big Crow, 25, Pine Ridge, died Saturday, Dec. 22, 2001, at Red Shirt Table as a result of an automobile accident. Survivors include his parents, Gerald and Jackie Big Crow, Pine Ridge, and three brothers, Waylon Big Crow and John Big Crow, both of Pine Ridge, and William Big Crow, Okinawa, Japan. One-night wake begins at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26, at Billy Mills Hall in Pine Ridge. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 27, at Billy Mills Hall. Wilmer Mesteth will officiate at traditional services. Burial will be at St. Anne's Catholic Cemetery in Wolf Creek. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Madeline Living Outside RED SHIRT TABLE - Madeline Living Outside, 76, Red Shirt Table, died Saturday, Dec. 22, 2001, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Survivors include two sons, Manual Martin, Oglala, and David Martin, Buffalo Gap; four daughters, Marilyn Martin, Red Shirt Table, Gerilyn Collins, Rapid City, Beulah Peters, Salt Lake City, and Arlette Weasel Bear, Aberdeen, Wash.; one sister, Evangeline Romey, Buffalo Gap; 22 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. One-night wake begins at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 27, at Brother Rene Catholic Hall in Oglala. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 28, at Brother Rene Hall, with the Rev. Earl Kurth officiating. Burial will be at St. Bernard's Catholic Cemetery in Red Shirt Table. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. December 26, 2001 Cecelia Helen Brewer PINE RIDGE - Cecelia Helen Brewer, 90, Pine Ridge, died Friday, Dec. 21, 2001, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Survivors include two sons, Wayne Bagola, Pine Ridge, and Fred Bagola, Keystone; one daughter, Clementine Tyon, Pine Ridge; five sisters, Francine Nelson, Emmaline Keith and Leona Stabler, all of Pine Ridge, Sylvia Nelson, Spearfish, and Marjorie Guenther, San Bruno, Calif.; 28 grandchildren; 67 great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren. A one-night wake will begin at 3 p.m. today at Sacred Heart Church in Pine Ridge. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 27, at the church, with the Rev. Steve Sanford officiating. Burial will be at Knights Community Cemetery in Batesland. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. December 27, 2001 Rosina Sleeping Bear Simpson AURORA, Colo. - Rosina Sleeping Bear Simpson, 59, Aurora, died Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2001, in Aurora. Survivors include her husband, William Simpson, Aurora; and one son, Mikkel Simpson, Aurora and formerly of Lead, S.D. Arrangements are pending at Kirk Funeral Home in Rapid City. Clifford Wallace Twiss Jr. ROCKYFORD - Clifford Wallace Twiss Jr., 30, Rockyford, died Monday, Dec. 24, 2001, at Porcupine. Survivors include seven brothers, Don Twiss, James Twiss and Patrick Ross, all of Porcupine, Richard Twiss, Rockyford, Duane Ross, Wounded Knee, Greg Ross, Flandreau, and Bill Ross, Gordon, Neb. One-night wake begins at 3 p.m. today at Rockyford School. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 29, at the school, with the Rev. Cordelia Red Owl and the Rev. Fred Mesteth officiating. Burial will be at St. Mark's Episcopal Cemetery in Rockyford. Sioux Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Nevalyn Maria Gilbert RAPID CITY - Nevalyn Maria Gilbert, 16, Rapid City, died Monday, Dec. 24, 2001, in Rapid City. Survivors include her father, Allan Gilbert, Rapid City; three sisters, Tonya Moran and Michelle Curley, both of Pine Ridge, and Michelle Conners, Rapid City; five brothers, Allan Gilbert Jr., Sioux Falls, and Tyson Two Crow, Clifford Gilbert, Aaron Conners and Dennis Gilbert Jr., all of Rapid City; and her grandmother, Mildred Gilbert, Rapid City. A wake service will begin at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 30, 2001, at St. Matthews Episcopal Church in Rapid City. Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 31, at the church, with the Rev. Paul Sneve officiating. Burial will follow at Pine Lawn Memorial Park in Rapid City. Arrangements are with Kirk Funeral Home of Rapid City. Copyright c. 2001 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Navajo President Begaye's Holiday Message" --------- Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 08:26:22 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PRESIDENT BEGAYE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.navajohopiobserver.com/navajohopiobserver/ President Begaye's Holiday Message Window Rock, Ariz. I am pleased to bring to you greetings from the Begaye/McKenzie administration. Once again, we find ourselves at the close of a remarkable year. It is very difficult to put into words the feelings I'm sure we all share, regarding the devastating attacks on America on September 11, 2001. As has been said many times before, this day will forever be etched in our memories. We saw the tragedy as it unfolded on radio and television broadcasts. The events of September 11, 2001 have certainly changed our lives. We continue to pray for the families who were affected by these terrible incidents. As many of us move forward from these events, we cannot ignore the feelings of insecurity as we may board another plane, or open our mail. Though there has been an overwhelming sense of alarm since the attacks, as individuals, we have found the niche to carry on. For many individuals, life has not been so simple. Many Americans continue to suffer in their daily lives, despite the attacks of September 11, 2001. There are still many families, including Navajo families who must struggle to make ends meet. This Holiday Season, we continue to hold our hearts open to them, and we pray that soon, hope will lift them and carry them through to greater opportunities and fewer burdens. There are many Navajo children who continue to go to bed hungry, or who don't have a winter coat, or winter boots to keep them warm. There are many elderly Navajos who live in old homes without the conveniences of electricity, heat, or telephones. As well, there are many Navajo Veterans who continue to struggle to raise a family, or simply to put food on the table. Ladies and gentlemen, these are our brothers and sisters, and we humbly ask that each one of you take these thoughts into deep consideration, and continue to lend a helping hand. These winter months are going to be cold. Once again, as human beings, we must take the responsibility to help one another, as we are all in this together. Please lend a helping hand, for these are gifts of love and humanity that were given to us by our ancestors. The Holiday Season is also the time we spend with our families and loved ones. It is the time to share with friends and to renew long lost friendships. The Holiday Season is also the time for forgiveness, where the gifts of love and hope are the greatest gifts of all. On behalf of Vice President Taylor McKenzie and myself, I wish you the best of the season and our prayers and best wishes to you for the coming year. Copyright c. 2001 Northern Arizona Newspapers, Inc./Navajo-Hopi Observer. --------- "RE: Hopi Chairman Taylor's Holiday Message" --------- Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 08:26:22 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHAIRMAN TAYLOR" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.navajohopiobserver.com/navajohopiobserver/ Chairman Taylor's Holiday Message The Hopi Tribe Chairman Wayne Taylor Season's Greetings. I hope that this season finds you all well. As we approach the New Year let us remember the tragic experiences that have befallen upon many of our families this past year, including the events of September 11th, and let us focus only good thoughts and prayers for these families so that they may have the strength to make it through this Holiday Season. But let us also reflect on the many good things that have happened this year and count our blessings and share these many blessings with those who are less fortunate than we. During this time of sharing and giving, remember the elderly in your neighborhood who may not have their family during this Holiday. Remember the child or family who have met with misfortune this year and for whom an unexpected little something will help boost their spirit, even if it's to share a warm greeting or small platter of cookies. Most of all, remember all your family members and invite them to your family gathering, for many, the simple invitation is enough to raise their spirit. The Hopi villages will also be recognizing their annual religious ceremony of Soyalong during this Holiday Season where prayer feathers are delivered and prayers made for all living things for renewal of life and new beginnings for hopes, dreams and aspirations for all people. From the Hopi mesas and from Loris and I, Wishing you a Safe and Merry Christmas and a Most Prosperous New Year! Wayne Taylor Copyright c. 2001 Northern Arizona Newspapers, Inc./Navajo-Hopi Observer. --------- "RE: Lawsuit over Bloodlines threatens Tribal Unity" --------- Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 08:19:04 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BLOODLINES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.communitypapers.com/dailycourier/ Lawsuit over bloodlines threatens unity of Yavapai-Prescott tribe; Board ousts Rice as president By Joanna Dodder The Daily Courier PRESCOTT - The Yavapai-Prescott Tribe board of directors removed President Stan Rice, Jr., from office Nov. 13 after he and 49 of his relatives filed a lawsuit against 22 other tribal members. The 22 defendants include four members of the board of directors, seven elders, nine tribal employees and two tribal members. Tribal members have elected Rice to office five times, including the last four consecutive elections. His term would have continued until July 2002. Vice President Ernie Jones, Sr., automatically became president when the board removed Rice. The board appointed member Calvin "Kelly" Hunter, Jr., to be vice president on Nov. 15. Hunter also is the tribe's housing manager. Then on Dec. 5, the board appointed tribal office administrator Lorna Galeano to fill the remaining board vacancy until the 2002 election. The day after the Rice family filed its lawsuit in tribal court, 10 of the defendants filed a statement of charges against Rice that sought his removal. The statement of charges repeatedly concluded that the lawsuit has rendered Rice incapable of discharging his duties. The family moved the lawsuit to federal court Oct. 26, bringing to public light a decades-old dispute within the small tribe. It has approximately 150 members and many are related to each other. The Rice family lawsuit alleges that the late Yavapai-Prescott President Pat McGee illegally changed the blood quantum records of Robert Rice from full-blooded Yavapai to half Yavapai and half Apache in 1972. Various boards of directors for the past few decades have repeatedly refused to consider strong evidence that Robert Rice was a full-blooded Yavapai, the lawsuit alleges. The other defendants have conspired with the current board to rob the Rice family of its rightful heritage, the Rice family adds. Charles Rice, a grandson of Robert L. Rice alongside Stan Rice, says the family doesn't know why McGee would have changed the blood quantum. Because of the allegedly altered blood quantum, the tribe doesn't officially consider the great-grandchildren of Robert Rice to be at least one-fourth Yavapai. Therefore, it doesn't officially consider them tribal members. An affidavit signed by Stanhope Rice, Sr., the son of the late Robert Rice, said he and another member suggested several years ago during a meeting of elders that the tribe should change its membership requirement from one-fourth to one-eighth Yavapai blood, because they were concerned that the tribe was dying off. But two elders who are now defendants in the lawsuit opposed that idea, and Stanhope Rice believed it was because their annual payments from the revenues of the tribe's two casinos would decrease, his affidavit said. Some of the tribal members are trying to reduce the number of Yavapai with one-fourth blood so they will get more money, Stanhope Rice alleged in the affidavit. The 28 Rice great-grandchildren don't get the tribal benefits of free higher education, free health services and annual payments from tribal business revenues including casino revenues, Charles Rice said. The lawsuit seeks $52 million in actual damages plus $147 million in punitive damages. But the enrollment issue is not why the family filed the lawsuit, Charles Rice said. "We just want basically what our grandfathers fought for, our heritage," Charles Rice said. "I never wanted to get this far. We've tried to settle this peacefully." One of the two remaining children of Robert L. Rice, Wendell Rice, is not a party to the lawsuit. Wendell not only disagrees about the reasons behind the lawsuit, but also the blood quantum of his father, Robert. Wendell says his father personally told him he was Apache. Wendell's birth certificate shows his father to be full-blooded Apache, too. As an example of how various records can be confusing, Wendell also has a 1960 U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Census form that he says his father filled out, and it states that his father is half Yavapai and half Apache. And Wendell says his father actually altered the official tribal record of his blood quantum, not President McGee, because Wendell recognizes the handwriting as his father's. Wendell says he supported the board of directors' decision Nov. 13 to oust his nephew Stan from the presidency, because Stan lied to him and told him he had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Stan Rice has chosen not to talk about the whole incident, but Charles says Stan was not involved with the blood quantum dispute in any way until a week or two before the family filed the lawsuit. "He has to stand up for what's right, what's just," Charles said. Contact Joanna Dodder at jdodder@prescottaz.com Copyright c. 2001 Prescott Newspapers Inc. --------- "RE: Blackfeet Workshops target Teen Couples" --------- Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 17:54:20 -0800 From: "Jess Hansen" Subj: "Blackfeet workshops target teen couples" Mailing List: Rez Life http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20011227/localnews/ Thursday, December 27, 2001 "Blackfeet workshops target teen couples" "A new series of workshops on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation targets teen couples. Young couples will attend sessions with their parents to learn how to avoid traps from teen pregnancy and domestic violence to more subtle results of unhealthy relationships, such as shutting out family and friends. "If we're starting with healthy teenagers who will grow into healthy young adults they're going to have the skills to carry it on and that will be a legacy they'll leave with their children," said Jack Edmo, community health educator with the Indian Health Service in Browning. "We're starting a healthy cycle." The parents and teens will meet every two or three weeks until May to learn conflict resolution skills, establishing boundaries, coping with jealousy and more. The first session is Friday at 10:30 a.m. at the Browning High School Annex. The workshop wraps up at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner and a movie. The workshop is limited to 15 couples." Copyright c. 2001 Great Falls Tribune. ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> For Rezlife egroups http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rezlife --------- "RE: Lack of Data mars Montana Economic Report" --------- Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 17:20:31 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MISSING IMPACT DATA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsnews.com/index_html Lack of data mars report Saturday, December 29, 2001 RON SELDEN For The Outpost HELENA - A new study of the impact Montana tribes and reservations have on the state's overall economy maps out a framework for better coordination between state government and American Indian nations. The 11-month study was contracted by the State-Tribal Economic Development Commission, an advisory body created by the 1999 Montana Legislature to help find ways to improve reservation economies. Conducted by RJS & Associates, an Indian owned and operated consulting firm based on the Rocky Boy's Reservation, the report indicates that tribal government, college and housing authority payrolls contribute about $2.2 billion a year, with each of those dollars circulating an estimated five times in local and regional markets. The figure doesn't include tribal government expenditures for goods and services or federal agency payrolls and work-related expenditures. "It runs into the many billions when you look at it all," Robert J. Swan, the consulting firm's president and head investigator, said in a telephone interview. The $46,000 report was designed to examine tribal government and private business operations on each of the state's seven reservations, existing infrastructure and infrastructure needs, land base and land use, employment and unemployment rates, banking services and education systems, among other topics. A key goal was to find areas where tribes and the state can work together to make reservation economies stronger. The commission is expected to review the report's findings in late January. Until then, said state Indian Affairs Coordinator G. Bruce Meyers, a member of the panel, official comments on the report would be premature. While expected to provide more than a snapshot of reservation economies, Mr. Swan said his study team ran into numerous roadblocks that make the report less than comprehensive. For one, he says, several tribal governments were changing administrations during the study period, which slowed or in some cases halted the flow of information. In addition, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service, with one exception, refused to cooperate with the study, which led to a lack of data about federal operations in the state. In further defense of the project, Mr. Swan added that the study contract was let out too late for the report to be presented to the 2001 Legislature, which agreed to expand the commission's overall work until mid-2005. Mr. Swan said the combined complications caused the 300-page study to go over budget by about $20,000, which the firm was forced to absorb. "I wish we didn't have to eat that much, but we did it because we made a commitment to get it done," he said, adding that part of the difficulty accessing information came from inherent tribal distrust of state government. Mr. Swan said his study team made four trips to each reservation to gather tribal records and distribute questionnaires to tribal leaders, business owners, educators, students and other community members. Because only three reservations released payroll and housing authority data and only four reservations provided information on their educational institutions, some study findings were reached using a per-capita formula for the non-reporting tribes, Mr. Swan said. "While no fault lies with any individual entity, a better line of communication with distinct responsibilities for each organization should have been made clear from the beginning of the study," the report notes. Questionnaire responses were also lower than anticipated, and only 30 business leaders submitted their views to the team. A total of 100 responses were collected from community-wide questionnaires, including 31 from American Indian students attending the University of Montana in Missoula. More than 90 percent of individuals surveyed said all of their salaries were spent off reservations in either border towns or larger commercial centers, "stimulating economies other than their own," the study states. Rep. Bill Eggers, a Crow Agency Democrat who sponsored the legislation that created the commission and laid the study's groundwork, said he hasn't yet seen the report, but has heard multiple comments on its contents. "From all accounts, it's a work in progress," he said. Using 2000 U.S. Census figures, the report shows Montana's Indian population grew by 15.9 percent between 1990 and 2000, compared to a 12.9 percent growth rate for the rest of the state during the same period. The Rocky Boy's Reservation, at 37 percent, experienced the highest rate of population growth during the period, while the Fort Peck Reservation saw a 2.6 percent population decrease. The number of tribal members residing on reservations ranged from 96.3 percent on the Rocky Boy's Reservation to as low as 26.7 percent on the Flathead Reservation. The study found, however, that the Flathead Reservation, at 37 percent, has the lowest unemployment rate among Montana reservations. Conversely, the Blackfeet Reservation, at 74 percent, ranked highest in the jobless category. The study team pegged the average statewide unemployment rate for all of the state's reservations at 65 percent. One respondent criticized the state for not including federal reporting on reservation unemployment in Montana Department of Labor statistics. "The bad news is that all seven Indian reservations are enduring an economic catastrophe, the likes of which have only been seen in the most impoverished Third World countries," the RJS team concluded. "The good news is that there exists a large pool of untapped labor on each reservation should possible private-sector business choose to locate there." Regarding infrastructure, the study outlines airline and railroad service and major highway systems on or near each of the reservations. "However, other significant data which are paramount to sustaining long- term economic development and gaining the interest of potential private- sector investment was not reported," the study says. "For example, none of the reservations reported whether they had zoning ordinances, what their telecommunications capabilities were, whether their current water and sewer districts could tolerate additional developments, or whether they have fiber optic technologies." The report notes that tribal gaming is not big business in Montana, and that two reservations - Fort Belknap and Blackfeet - do not yet have gambling compacts with the state. Tribal casino data is especially spotty in the study because only the Chippewa-Cree Tribe fully reported requested gaming details. Multiple questionnaire respondents said tribes and the state should work toward expanding reservation gaming as an economic development tool. They also said bankers need to become better educated about tribal systems - especially sovereignty issues and land policies - so the financial needs of tribal members can be better met. Study respondents in numerous cases also took on their own governments, saying they sometimes impede economic growth through mismanagement, corruption and nepotism. "The people they put in charge to operate the various programs/projects usually do not have any concept on how to do the project," complained one anonymous respondent from the Crow Reservation. "The folks who come into the program have researched projects that are half-baked. When a person has a good, researched plan, they either don't qualify because of income or some stupid red tape or federal guideline." "Too many chiefs and not enough Indians," added another Crow commentator. "Lobby U.S. Congress to eliminate institutional tribal corruption," said another. On the state side, political leaders and agency officials should work with tribes to develop more low-interest loans, provide more business management training, expand tourism promotion and offer more technical assistance. The state should also "stay out of tribal affairs and quit trying to tax gaming, oil, etc.," one respondent said. Another commented that tribes should be given wider latitude to levy their own taxes on reservation businesses. "Be more honest in dealings with Native Americans as a sovereign nation," wrote another study participant. "They should be able to exercise this right when venturing into a business. It seems any time a reservation becomes financially successful, the state government wants a piece of the pie. If they can't muscle their way into some of the capital, they'll sabotage the ventures for the tribe." "Work with the tribes and non-Indians that reside on the reservation fairly," another person wrote. "Assist instead of hinder." Copyright c. 2001 The Billings Outpost. --------- "RE: Choctaw Construction Impact Huge" --------- Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 08:11:49 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHOCTAW IMPACT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.neshobademocrat.com/NeshobaDemocrat/ Tribe's construction impact huge By MITCH LUCAS Democrat reporter A $485 million construction impact is one of the indicators that the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is a driving force in the state's economy, according to a new study. "A lot of people assume that the Tribe has no impact or a negative impact, on the state simply because it pays no taxes," said John Hendrix, chief economic developer. "That's just not the case, and this study proves that." The Tribe will create $18.7 million in state tax revenue, the study, done by Mississippi State University, projects. The study also concluded, among other things, that the Tribe would be directly related to the employment of 14,817 people by October and have a $356.8 million annual payroll. Hendrix said the study turned out better than he thought. "It exceeded my expectations, particularly on the impact to the state of the Tribe's construction development alone," he said. "It was definitely more than I thought it would be." Hendrix was alluding to the Tribe's investment of $485.9 million in new construction projects, including a second casino and the first phase of a recreational lake development that will create 8,686 new jobs in the state. All total, $170 million in construction was announced in October, the first of several phases, officials said. No one would speculate on the cost of the phases still to come, but previous figures including a hotel and casino under construction had projected the cost at $750 million. These construction expenditures will increase Mississippi's Gross State Product by $318 million. The GSP is "the best single measure of the state of the economy," said Dr. Jon Rezek of two people who headed up the study. The analysis was commissioned by the Tribe and completed by Dr. Meghan Millea and Rezek. State economist Dr. Phil Pepper recently reviewed final figures and said the facts presented "appear representative of the actual impact of the economic activities of the ... Choctaw Indians on Mississippi's economy." The figures, many of which were up drastically from a similar study conducted in June 1999, seem to vindicate Chief Phillip Martin and the Tribe, under fire recently when some state officials suggested the Tribe's gaming compact with the state - which allows the Tribe to be virtually exempt from paying state taxes on gaming revenue - be re-negotiated to allow the state to collect a tax. "Some people complain that we don't pay taxes," said Martin, "but they fail to acknowledge that we do not cost the state anything either. This study by Mississippi State shows that we are a huge financial benefit for Mississippi and we don't ask for anything in return." Some other points of the study: + By October, the Tribe will directly employ 7,800 people that will earn more than $190 million in annual payroll. The study states that due to the multiplier effect of economics, the Tribe's operations will generate more than 5,482 additional, permanent jobs in the state. + Tribal operations spend $115 million annually with Mississippi vendors. + About 2.3 million out-of-state tourists will visit the Pearl River Indian Reservation annually. Those visitors will spend, the study projected, about $51 million with businesses off the reservation, and about $1.6 million of that will go into state coffers. + Tribal tourism efforts will create an additional 1,534 permanent jobs in the state. Millea said many people fail to recognize the Tribe's impact in areas other than gaming. "The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is involved in much more than gaming and recreation," said Millea. "They produce plastics, electronics, operate Tribal government, and educational facilities. ...Their purchases from Mississippi businesses and payments to their workers continually circulate money through the economy. "This increase in economic activity results in greater output and employment in the state." In addition to the Silver Star, longtime industries like Chahta Enterprises, and the new resort and second casino, the Tribe recently opened Choctaw Geo Imaging (a digital mapping facility) and a hospitality training institute last month. Hendrix said that when Tribal officials commissioned the study, they asked MSU personnel to set up the formula so Tribal officials could simply plug in the numbers themselves and complete a similar review annually. For Martin, the study simply reaffirmed his opinions. He said while the Tribe is a government, it should be looked upon as a highly successful, local business. "We should be considered the ultimate locally-owned business," he said. "We are not going to move to greener pastures, like some companies do. I look forward to continuing our progress, and I like the fact that Mississippi benefits, as well. I see nothing but tremendous opportunities for us both." A local firm, W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Company, is the general contractor for the new casino construction. The new casino, The Golden Moon, is located directly across Mississippi 16 from the Tribe's existing casino, the Silver Star, and should open before October. Also under construction off Mississippi 16 is a 1,000-acre resort that is to include three hotels and retail space and could bring as many as 7 million additional visitors annually to the county, officials said. Copyright c. 2000 The Neshoba Democrat. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Chickasaws get Land for New Center" --------- Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 08:11:49 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHICKASAW LAND SWAP" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=802070 Chickasaws get land for new center 2001-12-27 By Penny Owen The Oklahoman SULPHUR -- After 12 years of on-and-off negotiations, a land swap finally is moving forward to provide the Chickasaw Nation with nearly 30 acres of land to build a cultural center in the heart of its nation. Taking the first step was the Sulphur City Council, which voted 5-0 at its December meeting to donate the land to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area. The recreation area, in turn, will give an equivalent amount of land to the Chickasaw Nation. Plans are for the Chickasaw Nation to build a multimillion dollar cultural center, complete with a replicated Indian village from pre-1840s, an indoor/outdoor theater and more. The cultural center will be about a quarter-mile west of the Veterans Lake dam. Though still in preliminary stages, the deal is closer than ever to fruition. Sulphur City Councilman Don "Ducky" Day called it a win-win situation, saying it was just a matter of getting the right people in the right place at the right time to approve it. The acreage that will go to the tribe borders about 80 acres of land already owned by the Chickasaw Nation. The transaction will give the tribe 110 acres with which to develop a cultural center. "Working out the details and finalizing this land agreement will have a positive impact on everyone involved," Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby said in a prepared statement. Anoatubby and others agree all parties will benefit. The cultural center is expected to attract thousands of visitors into an area already known for its natural beauty and recreational resources. Day called the area "a peaceful valley with rippling waters and the heart of the Chickasaw Nation." The councilman said he expects the center to attract busloads of school children from the region, as well as tourists who may not have otherwise traveled the 11 miles into Sulphur from Interstate 35. Most important, Day said, is that the land belonged to the Chickasaw Nation long before it became city property. Before this can happen, the agreement must be signed by the city of Sulphur, the Chickasaw Nation, the National Park Service and Congress. Rick Shireman, superintendent of the recreation area, said environmental surveys and boundary examinations must be done on both land parcels before the deal is complete. Developing the land will be the next challenge. It has no utilities or sewage lines. Day estimated the cost of building the center at $12 million to $20 million. "This is really going to be a top-of-the-line cultural center," Day said. "It's one of the best things that has had an opportunity to happen in this area." Copyright c. 2001, Produced by NewsOK/The Oklahoman. --------- "RE: Innu of Davis Inlet prepare for Relocation" --------- Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 08:19:04 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INNU MOVE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.YEAR-Nfld-Innu.html December 23, 2001 Innu of Davis Inlet prepare for year of big changes as relocation draws near ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) -- Within the next year, hundreds of people in Labrador will experience, for the first time, something most Canadians take for granted: the convenience of indoor plumbing. By December 2002, the 600 Innu residents of Davis Inlet will move from a squalid village that lacks running water to a brand new, custom-built town carved out of northern Labrador's wilderness. Many will leave two-room shacks with wood stoves for homes like those in most Canadian suburbs. Aboriginal leaders and government officials are hoping the 15-kilometre move west to Sango Bay will help the Innu shed three decades of poverty, despair and social decay. For some, the move will be a kind of rebirth. But most of Davis Inlet's residents have more mundane thoughts on their minds these days. "What I hear most about is the water and sewers," says Katie Rich, a former Innu chief and longtime resident of the island community. "It will be a big change for them, water in their taps. They'll be overwhelmed." The new town on the mainland is called Natuashish, which means "break in the river" in Innuaumin, the Innu language. The roads and airport are finished. The water treatment plant and sewage lagoon were completed last summer. "We're making significant progress," says James Wheelhouse, a regional director general with the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. "The work we're doing is on track. We know where we're going." But the Innu have heard that line before. In 1992, the federal government revived talk of moving the community after six children died in a house fire while their parents were out drinking. Still, there was no firm commitment. Embarrassed federal politicians finally agreed to the move in 1993 following the release of a videotape showing Innu children inhaling gas fumes and screaming about suicide while inside a freezing-cold shack. But a deal with the Innu wasn't signed until 1996, and construction didn't start until a year later. Today, the project is two years behind schedule, and one third of the planned 133 homes have yet to be built. Sources in Davis Inlet say contractors will have to scramble to get the job done by next winter. Meanwhile, the budget was blown long ago. The initial estimate was $85 million. Now it's about $150 million, says Wheelhouse. More importantly, no one believes the new bathtubs, sinks and toilets in Natuashish will wash away the social problems that have plagued the Innu ever since the government moved them to Davis Inlet in 1967. Everyone in Davis has stories to tell about personal battles with alcoholism, solvent abuse and family violence. Studies show the community has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. That's why Simeon Tshakapesh, Davis Inlet's outspoken chief, is pushing for some big changes before the move. Last January, Tshakapesh sent about three dozen gas-sniffing youths and children to a makeshift detox facility in St. John's. Some have since returned home. But most are still receiving treatment or are staying with relatives. Tshakapesh is also pushing for a bylaw to ban booze, and plans are in the works for treatment programs that will involve entire families. Still, federal health officials say it could take several generations before the Innu of Davis Inlet heal themselves. New homes will help, but it's no cure. Rich says she supports banning booze, but little is being done right now to curb heavy drinking. "There's still a lot of booze coming in to the community," she says. "There's nothing being done in the community, aside from the Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the evening. So far, that's all." Behind the scenes, federal officials and Innu leaders are working to register Labrador's 1,800 Innu under the Indian Act. That's another big change slated for completion in 2002. The Innu weren't granted status under the act when Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949. But they have pushed for inclusion for years. The federal government had resisted the move, saying the act was outdated and badly in need of an overhaul. But Native Affairs Minister Robert Nault relented last year when the Innu were in the midst of their latest gas-sniffing crisis. Under the Indian Act, the Innu will no longer have to pay income tax, they'll be able to make their own bylaws and they'll be given access to more federally funded programs. Natuashish would become a reserve. A series of community meetings will be held in the coming months to explain the Indian Act and to offer updates on the relocation plans. "We haven't worked out the actual logistics of the move," Wheelhouse says. "We might decide to phase it in." That means some residents may move before the project is finished. That idea was initially rejected because it was thought to be unsafe to have families setting up their homes while heavy equipment was still at work. As for the community's finances, Wheelhouse says a federally appointed accounting firm would continue to oversee how public money is spent until he's convinced the Innu can do it on their own. The federal government stepped in to administer the finances in Labrador's two Innu communities last January amid reports of burgeoning deficits. In the meantime, Rich says making Natuashish a healthy community will take inspired leadership. "If you can get people to appreciate their surroundings, you can go a long way," she says. "You have to be a leader to make these things happen." Copyright c. 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Moose Cree First Nation is after the Big One" --------- Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 19:39:21 -0800 From: "Jess Hansen" Subj: "Cree band looking to land the big one" Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.nationalpost.com/ December 27, 2001 "Cree band looking to land the big one; Hires venture capitalist" By AMRAN ABOCAR, Reuters "The leader of the Moose Cree First Nation is after the big one." But Stan Louttit knows he will need major financing if he wants to pull off his Indian band's biggest project yet: buying a railway and telecommunications company in the far reaches of northern Ontario from the provincial government. The kinds of issues faced by Mr. Louttit and his band would not get much attention from a large commercial bank. So instead he lined up the help of venture capitalist Brian Davey. Mr. Davey, a 44-year-old Cree born near the shores of James Bay, opened in October what he says is Canada's first private native investment bank, First Nations Equity Inc., for just such a purpose. "There are certain restrictions that are placed on First Nations because of their reserve status," Mr. Louttit said in a telephone interview from Moose Factory, Ont., a small island community on the Moose River at the mouth of James Bay. Native bands often lack the money needed for major projects, and banks can be wary of lending such sums because collateral is often not assured. Canada's Indian Act prohibits liens being put on property on Indian reserves, which are held for the entire community Within weeks of being hired to advise the Moose Cree, Mr. Davey was studying the viability of certain assets being sold by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission. Mr. Davey, chief executive and a 51% stakeholder in First Nations Equity, wants to get native companies access to a source of revenue they may never have thought to tap into before: Bay Street. "The aboriginal economy is at the beginning phase of its life, just like other ... developing countries throughout the world," said Mr. Davey. "Even the terms like investment banking, public bonds and venture funds are very foreign and we're providing that bridge to the knowledge." First Nations Equity's grand plan to get corporate funders to "share the wealth" with the North American native businesses will be its biggest test. It's trying to set up a $100-million venture fund so it can invest itself -- but so far Mr. Davey has found it difficult to entice institutional investors in the current climate. "Our strategy is to go after corporate investors, actual large public companies that have a vested interest in seeing aboriginal business spring up in their sector," Mr. Davey said. "We're going to be like the gatekeeper to the aboriginal world for investors in the non-aboriginal world." To fund business plans, First Nations Equity is trying to get corporate investors to provide 75% of the financing, while institutional investors take 15% and native investors are targeted for the remaining 10%. Mr. Davey estimates native businesses, including community-based organizations, require $2.5-billion in corporate financing each year, excluding public infrastructure projects, with $75-million of that up for grabs in fees to financial advisors. "We have to create the circumstances that we want, instead of blaming the circumstances for what we are," Mr. Davey said. "It only works by getting out there and doing it, putting ourselves on the radar. If no one else is going to do it, hell, we're going to do it." Copyright c. 2001 National Post ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER --------- "RE: New Big Bat's pays Tribute" --------- Date: Mon, 31 Dec 2001 08:57:14 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIG BAT'S" http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/ New Big Bat's pays tribute to its customers' culture By Bill Harlan, Journal Staff Writer PINE RIDGE - When a fire on March 5 destroyed Big Bat's convenience store in Pine Ridge Village, this reservation community also lost an important gathering place and one of the village's biggest employers. "It seemed like a tragedy that day," owner Bat Pourier said. "But it wasn't a tragedy. It was a blessing." At 8 a.m. tomorrow, New Year's Day, Pourier and his staff of 60 will open the new and improved Big Bat's Texaco - a culturally unique convenience store offering gas, groceries, fast food and lessons on the history and values of the Lakota people. "I believe we did it right this time," Pourier said Saturday, during a preview opening of the store for family, friends and contractors. A bronze plaque on the floor near the store's main entrance welcomes customers with an adage: "I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother but to fight my greatest enemy - myself." Twelve wooden beams over the grocery section mark the four directions in appropriate Lakota colors: red for north, yellow for east, white for south and black for west. Lakota artist Don Montileaux of Rapid City, Pourier's adopted brother in the Lakota tradition, created a "Lakota Life Mural" for the store. The mural tells four traditional stories in symbols, but in a modern way. Rosenbaum Signs of Rapid City built the narrow, lighted mural panels, which run 106 feet along the walls above the coolers, grills and cash registers. Montileaux also designed a stylized, partial tipi of buffalo hide, tanned and smoked in the traditional way. Ed Young Man Afraid of His Horses - another of Pourier's adopted brothers - helped create the tipi, which is suspended over an oval design on the floor. Bronze plaques on the floor under the tipi are inscribed with the seven Lakota values: yuohihan (respect), woowotanla (honesty), wacin tanka (fortitude), wacante ognaya (generosity), ohitika (courage), iglo iyayapi (responsibility) and woksape (wisdom). Historian Mark St. Pierre organized a permanent display of historical photographs, which will expand in the coming weeks. Lakota language expert Ed Starr helped the Pouriers create bilingual signs - Lakota on top and English below. "Caga" is ice. "Pilama" is trash. "Asanpi" is milk, so it's easy to see the connection to "Asanp Snila," or ice cream. (Literally, "freezing cold milk," Starr explained.) The store will also sell books on Indian culture and history, and recordings of Indian music. Customers can even preview compact discs at a listening station. To make room for the new features, Pourier increased the store's floor space from 4,500 square feet to 7,600 square feet, but Big Bat's always has been too big to be called a "convenience store." Bat Pourier and his wife, Patty Pourier, opened Big Bat's on May 14, 1990. The store is at the busy crossroads of Highway 212 and Highway 18, in the center of Pine Ridge Village. The headquarters of the Oglala Sioux Tribe is across the street. So are the buildings housing the Bureau of Indian Affairs building and Public Safety Department. Big Bat's became a natural place for a coffee break. Travelers passing through stopped for gas and fast food. Kids gathered here after school. Elders and other regulars would spend hours at the tables in Big Bat's drinking coffee, talking or watching CNN on the overhead television. From the day it opened until the fire on March 5, the Pouriers kept the store open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In fact, they had never locked the door. The night of the fire, no one could find the key to secure the building. The Pouriers quickly reopened Big Bat's in a temporary trailer, but there wasn't room for tables. "It's been rough this past 10 months, but not only for us, for the entire community," Bat Pourier said. He and his wife invested more than $1 million in the new store. Insurance helped pay for the new store, but the Pouriers, who also own stores in Hot Springs and Chadron, Neb., had to borrow money to create their vision. Just two walls from the original store remain. The rest is new. "We've made a decision to invest back into the community," Bat Pourier said. "My heart is here." Reconstruction was a family affair. Bat and Patty Pourier designed the store. The general contractor was Gary Babl, who is also Patty Pourier's brother-in-law. At the preview on Saturday, the Native Thunder Drum Group played and sang for a couple hundred guests. There were prayers and speeches, and the staff served food from the new kitchen. The Pouriers also presented star quilts to contractors, to a Texaco representative and to the banker who financed the enterprise. The event felt more like a family gathering than a ribbon cutting. Subcontractor Mike Carlow of Pine Ridge, who had a crew of 20 working on the project, told the Pouriers, "This is something we're going to be proud of for a lifetime." Questions or comments? Call reporter Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or e-mail him at bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com. Copyright c. 2001 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Taos Pueblo Bridge Construction closes Main Road" --------- Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 08:11:49 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TAOS BRIDGE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.taosnews.com/Current/AllText/news.html Main road into pueblo to close Bridge construction continues until spring By Cornelia de Bruin, The Taos News TAOS PUEBLO -- A bridge project more than a decade old that has finally been funded will close the main road to the pueblo Jan. 2, 2002 and it will remain closed until next spring. The bridge over the Rio Pueblo was supposed to be repaired 10 to 15 years ago, but the project was bumped -- repeatedly -- from the Bureau of Indian Affairs' (BIA) priority list. Frustration about the project, and about some road repairs and improvements that have also been delayed, prompted Taos Pueblo Gov. Nelson Cordova to write earlier this year a letter to newly appointed Assistant BIA Secretary Neal A. McCaleb. When McCaleb visited the pueblo July 21 to meet with tribal leaders, no one could remember a prior meeting with such a high-ranking BIA official. "Because of the concerns you expressed, I wanted to meet with you face to face," McCaleb told Cordova prior to the meeting. The letter, meeting and a bowl presented by Cordova to McCaleb in July drove home the importance of the bridge project. "This is to remind you of our bridge every time you look at it," the governor told McCaleb when presenting him the bowl at the July meeting. The Hail Creek Road, which leads into the pueblo from U.S. 64 (Paseo del Pueblo Norte) at Jackie's Trading Post, was resurfaced and striped earlier this year. Now funding for the bridge project has come through, and work has started on the crumbling structure, which is located between Tony Reyna's Indian Shop and the Taos Mountain Casino. Contractor Parker Excavation closed Dec. 12 the main road, which accesses the pueblo near the Kachina Lodge from U.S. 64 (Paseo del Pueblo Norte). Work crews have started removing some guardrails from the old bridge, and expect to have the project finished next spring. "This is a three-phase project," Cordova said. "First, we did the Hail Creek Road. Now we're working on the bridge, then we will resurface the main road to the pueblo next spring." Cordova said the project will cause some problems for the tribe in controlling the traffic flow into and out of Taos Pueblo. "We're addressing them with our tribal police and the contractor," he said. "One problem we're trying to address is the traffic on Hail Creek Road. The exit (to U.S. 64/Paseo del Pueblo Norte) is really bad; we need to look into it because it's hard to get onto that road with the ski traffic." The exit Cordova referred to is a nearly right-angle junction which involves a left-turn for drivers who want to go back into Taos from the pueblo. The main road to the pueblo will remain closed until next spring. Until the work is completed, motorists can use Hail Creek Road, or turn onto Miller Road at Tony Reyna's Trading Post. The bridge project could not begin until the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a 404 permit. The tribe receives only $50,000 to $60,000 in annual funding for road maintenance. Because the main road to the pueblo is old and the pueblo's water and sewer lines run beneath it, there are more problems, such as manhole covers that are higher than the existing pavement, and ditches that need work. McCaleb, who is a former Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation, suggested methods for working on the old road. He also offered during his visit with pueblo leaders to carry the tribe's concerns back to his boss, department Secretary Gale A. Norton. Cordova said the federal official's offer may have helped push the project forward. "I guess we can give him some credit," Cordova said. Copyright c. 2001 The Taos News. --------- "RE: Shoshone General Council halves Quorum" --------- Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 06:30:19 -0800 From: "Jess Hansen" Subj: "Shoshone General Council halves quorum" Mailing List: ndn-aim Friday, December 28, 2001 "Shoshone General Council halves quorum" RIVERTON, Wyoming - "The Shoshone General Council has halved the number of enrolled tribal members needed for a vote. For years the tribe has been largely unable to meet the requirement of 150 members to hold a formal vote. The new quorum is 75. The most important tribal decisions are made by the General Council because the Eastern Shoshone Business Council has only limited legislative authority. "If we get quorums now, the ESBC doesn't need legislative authority. It'll be OK," said Ivan Posey, chairman of the Eastern Shoshone Business Council. Meanwhile, the General Council has given the Eastern Shoshone Business Council direction on how to administer programs jointly with the Northern Arapaho Tribe, which shares the Wind River Indian Reservation." Copyright c. 2001, The Billings Gazette ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER --------- "RE: Father: Son was Murdered" --------- Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 17:20:31 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MURDERED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.zwire.com/site/news Father: Son was murdered By: Devlyn Brooks, Staff Writer December 27, 2001 Authorities say they suspect foul play in the death of 18-year-old Ronald Wayne Long Jr. two weeks ago on the Red Lake Reservation. But Long's father says he knows his son was murdered and he can't wait for justice to come to those who killed him. Paul McCabe, an FBI spokesman in Minneapolis, said Long's body was found in "a wooded area on the reservation by Red Lake Tribal Police" on Dec. 15. He also said that "foul play is suspected" and the investigation was continuing. Red Lake Police Department officials declined comment, saying they don't comment on investigations until they are completed. Ronald W. Long Sr., who lives in Red Lake, said Wednesday that he has heard his son was "set up by someone close to him" and he suspects there was a group of people who committed the act. Long said when his son was found Dec. 15, authorities found that a bullet had entered the top front of his son's head and exited at the back base of his head. He also said his son must have been "pistol-whipped," or beaten, because he was severely bruised and it appeared that his nose was broken. "It looked like he was shot 'execution-style,' like someone was holding his hands behind his back," Long said. "There were no bullet holes in his hands, like he was defending himself." Long said he didn't know of any enemies his son had who would have wanted to do him harm, but he said he has heard in conversations since that maybe someone close to his son helped in the shooting. He added that he thinks more than one person was involved and that several people picked him up at his sister's residence in Bemidji the day he was killed. He said Long Jr. had been staying at his sister's residence since moving back to this area during the past summer. Long Jr. had been raised and educated in Minneapolis before moving to Duluth in 1997 with his mother. The young man, who enjoyed attending powwows and making his friends and family laugh, would have turned 19 years old four days after his death. Long Sr. said he and his family felt a lot of anger and bitterness in the days following his son's death, but time is beginning to help heal the wounds. "I'm dealing with the anger the way my elders tell me to," he said. "I'm not bitter anymore, but I would like to see justice done." Copyright c. 2001 The Pioneer. --------- "RE: Police Power grab at Interior Department" --------- Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 08:11:49 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DOI COPS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25829 POLICE STATE, USA Power grab at Interior Department? Proposal would give employees new law-enforcement authority By Sarah Foster Copyright c. 2001 WorldNetDaily.com In the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, certain parties in the Department of Interior are using the nation's heightened concerns about security to advance a long-standing agenda that would turn DOI into one of the nation's "top cop" agencies - right up there with the FBI, BATF and the other law-enforcement agencies of the Justice and Treasury departments. Under legislation drafted but not yet introduced, officers of the Department of Interior's five law enforcement agencies would be able to exercise extensive subpoena, warrant and arrest powers, not only on federal land areas under their agencies' jurisdiction but on non-federal property as well. Moreover, they could be moved hither-and-yon across the country in response to "emergencies." The title of the one-page bill is "Department of Interior Law Enforcement Clarification Act of 2001." There is also a draft of a letter to the speaker of the House and president of the Senate detailing the alleged need for the legislation and awaiting only the signature of Interior Secretary Gale Norton. "This legislation is needed to ensure that DOI law and enforcement resources are used effectively to uphold the laws of the United States and safeguard the American people," the letter reads. Note: The websites of all agencies of the Department of Interior have been shut down temporarily in response to a court order and may not be accessible. The draft bill and unsigned letter, along with a memo and two secretarial orders signed by Norton, came to light just before Thanksgiving when a DOI employee leaked them to the office of Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash. "We don't want to be a mobile-police occupation force," the employee explained to Nethercutt's staff. The employee, who asked not to be identified, was particularly concerned that DOI law enforcement officers would find themselves frequently embroiled in the kind of uncomfortable situation they were placed in last summer when personnel from the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service were sent to Klamath Falls, Ore., to guard the headgates of the irrigation dam from protesters who objected to the court-mandated denial of irrigation water to local farmers in Oregon and California. The effort bypassed and undercut the local law enforcement authorities, which had not requested their assistance. Norton silent After a close analysis of the bill, Nethercutt wrote a letter to Norton apprising her of its contents and the letter drafted in her name. He asked if she was aware of the bill and if so, did she support it. "This is a divisive bill that would naturally incite conflict and parochialism between the federal agents, local law enforcement and the public," Nethercutt wrote. "It would position federal agency law enforcement above local law enforcement, which would further erode safety, communication, coordination and relationship building." Nethercutt said he would like to meet with the new Interior secretary at her earliest convenience to discuss the matter. There was no response. A week went by. Two weeks went by. Nearly three weeks later, having heard not a word from Interior, Nethercutt sent a copy of his letter and the leaked documents to Stewards of the Range, a nonprofit advocacy group headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Stewards of the Range, in turn, sent the documents to Liberty Matters News Service, an e-mail alert service maintained by Stewards of the Range, which posted the documents with commentary on its website and distributed them via its e-mail list. "Circulating inside Interior is a draft bill which would give specific DOI employees full law enforcement authority," Liberty Matters stated. "It specifically authorizes DOI officers to carry firearms, make arrests without a warrant, execute orders, warrants or subpoenas and other powers usually reserved to Federal Law Enforcement agencies and local sheriffs and police." This is not a new idea. Liberty Matters noted that "at every opportunity, DOI has tried to acquire this authority, most recently by rewriting regulations during the Babbitt administration. But all attempts to do so have wisely been struck down by Congress and public opposition. Unfortunately, DOI is using the recent terrorist attacks as justification for expanding its agencies' law enforcement authority." Liberty Matters asked its members to contact their representatives in Congress and Norton to express their concerns. Shortly thereafter, Nethercutt's office was contacted by the Department of the Interior and informed that the secretary had been unaware of the proposal and was opposed to the concept. "She said she was totally appalled at its contents and promised it was not going to happen, that she did not support it," said a staff contact in Nethercutt's office. "Evidently, she knew nothing about it." Requests have been made for Norton to put her views in writing. A written and signed statement is promised but has yet to be received. Despite verbal protests about the legislation, on Oct. 26 Norton signed two secretarial orders. The first institutes various organizational changes within the department, including the establishment of a new Office of Law Enforcement and Security, to be headed by a director responsible to the assistant secretary for policy, management and budget. The second order gives details about the structure of the new office and its functions, including the coordination of all law enforcement units in the department. An organizational chart shows the office as a bureaucratic pyramid of 39 positions with the director at the top. The office is to serve "as the central point of contact for DOI law enforcement and security policy and programs." The move spells increased authority for the agencies within the department that are presently limited as to their law enforcement functions and powers. WND's watchdog work Reporting federal agencies' attempts to gain more power is not new to WorldNetDaily. In August and September 1997, the fledgling news site published a series of articles titled "Armed and Dangerous: Federal agencies expanding use of firepower" that detailed the increasing federalization of law enforcement and the astonishing buildup in the numbers of armed officials. The first story focused not on the BATF, FBI or Drug Enforcement Administration, but on the National Park Service, one of the five agencies within the Department of Interior with law enforcement authorities. The Park Service in January 1997 had conducted a mid-morning SWAT raid on a private bow-and-arrow hunting lodge on Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands off the California coast. Twenty heavily armed National Park Service law enforcement officers and local sheriff deputies descended on ropes from a military helicopter. Snipers took up their positions along the perimeter, while other agents staged dynamic entries. The raid resulted in the arrests of three unarmed men on charges of robbing Chumash Indian graves, but its real target was the 6,500-acre hunting ranch on which the lodge was located. The ranch, which covered 10 percent of the island, was the last bastion of private property in the group of islands that Congress had declared a national park. Congress had recently authorized the NPS to seize the ranch through condemnation, but apparently the Park Service saw an opportunity to provide its agents with some on-the-job training in special weapons and tactics. WorldNetDaily recalled another case that occurred five years earlier: the gunning down of millionaire Donald Scott in the bedroom of his home near Malibu, Calif., in October 1992, just one month after the U.S. Marshals Service launched its attack on Randy Weaver and his family at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Scott's property was in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, a sweeping expanse of coastal land under the auspices of the National Park system. Fourteen agencies took part in the armed assault, including NASA, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, but the Park Service was the lead agency. The purported reason for the assault was an allegation by the Park Service that Scott was growing marijuana, but internal departmental documents show clearly that the true motivation was a desire to acquire Scott's very beautiful and valuable property, which he had refused to sell. No marijuana or drugs of any kind were found. These accounts illustrated the kind of power National Park Service agents already possessed and were willing and able to deploy. They have full arrest and firearm authority granted by statute, though its exercise is limited to NPS-controlled land. WorldNetDaily also presented figures showing the number of gun-toting agents, not only in the NPS but throughout the federal agencies. There were at least 80,000 - enough for a small army. "The last couple of years has witnessed the biggest arms buildup in the history of the federal government," wrote WND Editor Joseph Farah in 1997. "No, I don't mean the Defense Department is growing. Far from it. That would actually be constitutional. It might even make sense. "No. The kind of arms that are proliferating in Washington these days are the kind pointed at our own civilian population and carried by a growing number of federal police forces with ever-larger budgets and ever- deadlier arsenals," Farah wrote. He noted that it was the environmental and land agencies that were increasing their firepower and jurisdiction and were reaching for more. "A few months ago [in early 1997], Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt tried to arm the Bureau of Land Management, thus forming yet another division of enviro-cops. ... in justifying its need to carry weapons and exert police authority over its 268 million acres of land in the western states, the BLM had cited the long and growing list of other federal agencies - like the EPA and Fish and Wildlife - with criminal law enforcement powers. Following such logic, it's only a matter of time before officials at the National Endowment of the Arts are authorized to carry guns," quipped Farah. It appears the Department of Interior wants to be part of that trend. Most of the agencies with large numbers of armed personnel are in the Justice and Treasury departments (such as the FBI, INS, DEA, IRS, BATF), but over 3,500 are in five agencies of the Department of Interior: 1,966 were in the NPS as of June 30, 1995, according to the Government Accounting Office. Of these, 1,305 were rangers, the rest were with the U. S. Park Police, a part of the NPS. According to the latest figures published by the Justice Department's Bureau of Statistics, as of July 30, 2000, there were 2,195 full-time law enforcement agents in the Park Service authorized to pack heat, conduct investigations and issue arrests without a warrant. WorldNetDaily has not determined how many of these are trained to climb down ropes from hovering helicopters, but apparently a number of them are. The following chart shows the number of Interior law enforcement personnel with full arrest and firearm authority in five Interior agencies. Total: 3,604. Number of full-time Dept. of Interior law enforcement agents authorized to carry firearms, conduct investigations, and make arrests. * As of Sept. 30 of the following years: Fiscal year: 1996 1998 2000 NPS 2,148* 2,207** 2,195*** FWS 869 831 888 BIA 326 263 281 BLM 208 197 197 OIG 36 30 43 * 1,543 rangers, 605 U.S. Park Police ** 1,534 rangers, 673 U.S. Park Police *** 1,551 rangers, 644 U.S. Park Police Figures obtained from the Bureau of Statistics, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. ABBREVIATIONS: NPS National Park Service FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs BLM Bureau of Land Management OIG Office of Inspector General, Dept. of Interior An interdepartmental memo signed by Norton puts the number of law enforcement personnel at 4,300 - the difference could reflect either an actual increase in armed personnel between July 30, 2000 and the present, or could be achieved by counting 985 "support personnel" - agents who assist in the investigations but do not have firearm authority and were therefore not included in the above figures. When these 985 support personnel are added to the armed personnel, the number of law enforcement officials totals 4,589. The 2,195 figure for the NPS breaks down into 1,551 engaged in "ranger activity" and 644 U.S. Park Police. Like law enforcement officers of other federal agencies, these receive substantial training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center at Glynco, Ga. This chart shows the number of FLETC graduates for the Department of Interior for four years. Number of DOI agents graduating from FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Center) Glynco, GA.* Fiscal year: 1999 2000 2001 2002(projected) NPS 514 412 463 494 FWS 97 172 196 174 BIA 580 710 595 521 BLM 39 58 93 68 OIG 14 18 13 41 * From FLETC. Public Affairs Off to Klamath Falls Most U.S. Park Police officers are in the Washington, D.C., area, but they are on call to provide police services to the entire national park system. They did so last summer when a detachment was sent on July 14 to Klamath Falls to relieve a group of U.S. Marshals that earlier that month removed protesters from the headgates without incident. The headgates were deemed to be under the jurisdiction of the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation. The Park Police from the National Park Service were followed Aug. 6 by Bureau of Land Management rangers, who were followed Sept. 2 by a contingent of special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The only Department of Interior agencies with law enforcement authority that didn't put in time at Klamath Falls were the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is responsible for the enforcement of federal law on Indian reservations, and the DOI Office of Inspector General. "There's a serious problem," said a contact in Nethercutt's office, commenting on what she had gleaned from conversations with numerous DOI employees. "These people don't want to be a mobile-police occupation force. That is not what they went to work as a ranger for. ... They want to work on the wildlife refuges or patrol campgrounds. They don't want to be sent to places like Klamath Falls to keep the farmers from getting their water. That was a mobile-police occupation force in action." And, if the draft bill is enacted, that kind of action likely would be routine. "The bill grants equal powers to law enforcement officers of the Interior agencies, and because there are no restrictions limiting where these officers may serve, it allows other agencies, say the U.S. Marshals, to draw on the Department of Interior for personnel," said Fred Kelly Grant, an attorney who serves on the board of Stewards of the Range as the organization's legal consultant. "For example," Grant continued, "Let's say there was a terrorist coming across the Canadian border and the U.S. Marshals Service arrests this guy and they've got to take him somewhere for security. I can see the Marshals Service enlisting immediately all the DOI people because they would consider that more important than carrying out the duties of managing and protecting the public lands." A floating law enforcement agency In Grant's view, "What DOI would become is a floating law enforcement agency that any other law enforcement agency, including the state police, could call on. They would be on call to leave their duties on the land to take care of problems in other places. You would end up having the DOI guys being a supplementary arm of the U.S. Marshals Service or the FBI." That was the scenario at Klamath Falls, but Grant pointed to a recent instance in Idaho where the governor became concerned about his safety, and for a month state police officers rented and occupied the condominium adjacent to his. "Can't you imagine a case like that where the state police chief says he can't afford to take his officers off the roads and asking the local BLM to guard a governor for a month?" Grant asked. "I can see that happening all over the place. If I were the superintendent of state police, I'd want to do that. I certainly wouldn't want to take my troopers off the roads." Towards a national police force What this kind of activity and legislation like the Clarification Act ultimately leads to, according to critics like Grant, is a national police force with powers above and beyond those of the states and local governments. A move in that direction was made during the mid-1970s by certain factions in Congress and the Carter administration. This was attempted not by introducing specific legislation to set up such a force, but through the back door, by legislation to revise the statutes of Title 18 of the U. S. Code. During the process of rearranging the statutes and repealing a few obsolete ones, the proposed legislation would "harmonize" the powers of federal agents by granting essentially identical and equal authority and jurisdiction to all federal law enforcement agencies, creating, in effect, a national police force. The legislation, which was strongly promoted by Sens. Ted Kennedy, D- Mass., Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, nearly passed during several sessions of Congress but was beaten back each time by an unprecedented coalition of organizations from all points of the political spectrum - from the American Civil Liberties Union and National Committee Against Repressive Legislation on the left to the Libertarian Party and the John Birch Society on the right. But the promoters of the code revision effort did not give up. They simply changed tactics, advancing their agenda in piecemeal fashion. The proposed Clarification Act is right in line with an overall goal to establish a national police force. In addition to granting all Interior law enforcement officers the authority to exercise their powers anywhere in the country, on or off the federal lands under their jurisdiction, it allows Interior law enforcement agents to carry firearms, execute and serve subpoenas and warrants, make arrests without warrant, conduct investigations and administer oaths. "Other federal agencies hold such authority," the bill's anonymous author complains in the draft of the accompanying letter to Congress. The Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S Coast Guard, U.S. Postal Service, and the FBI are offered as examples of agencies having the kind of powers the author would like Interior bureaus to have. Furthermore, "Scope of authority ... severely limits the ability of DOI officers to address such violations," he writes. "For example, if visitors to a National Wildlife Refuge tell a FWS officer that they saw someone in the Refuge parking lot, the officer does not have the authority to arrest that individual under FWS laws. If a Ranger outside the boundaries of a National Park counters [sic] an individual wanted under an outstanding felony arrest warrant for a crime unrelated to the Park, the Ranger does not have the authority to take that individual into custody. If BIA special agents find a person selling a sawed-off shotgun to someone off the reservation, they cannot take enforcement action." "Actually, they can do much of this now," said Grant. "They don't have to be only on federal land to issue a citation. If they find evidence that somebody has violated a provision of the federal law, they can issue a citation anywhere. But they better have a sheriff with them when they do. Besides, a sheriff can deputize these people if he wishes; then they can make arrests. And they can make citizen arrests now." The bill author also overlooks the fact that agencies like the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI were set up with law enforcement as their basic mission. The Interior agencies were not. Their primary purpose is the management and stewardship of the public lands and natural resources. Law enforcement is a secondary or even tertiary responsibility. A change of mission for the Department of Interior has not been authorized by Congress. Another gripe of the author is that enforcement authority for Interior agencies is scattered through the U.S. Code. "No single primary enforcement exists for DOI agencies," he declares. "Enforcement authority for BLM is found in 42 USC 1733 [an error: the correct citation is 43 USC 1733]; NPS/USPP in 16 USC 1a-6; and BIA in 25 USC 2803." Fish and Wildlife enforcement authority is in several sections of Title 16, Conservation, including 16 USC 35, the Endangered Species Act. That's true, though the same can be said for the traditional policing agencies. Their powers are authorized in various parts of the code, and some are not even spelled out. For example, according to the Government Accounting Office, IRS agents do not have statutory authority to carry firearms. But what really annoys the author is the fact that the granted authority is not uniform. BLM officers, for example, do not have the same clear-cut powers that national park law enforcement personnel have. And it is debatable how much power they actually do possess. A long-standing debate "It's been a long-standing debate as to whether that provision of FLPMA [Federal Lands Policy Management Act, 43 USC 1733] really authorizes the secretary of Interior by regulation to allow law enforcement powers, or whether what it's really saying is, 'We recognize that local law enforcement is primary,'" said Grant. The problem, as Grant sees it, is that the Interior agents are not certified police officers under state law and do not meet the state statutes. "The FBI does, other agencies do, but Interior doesn't," Grant said. "There's where the big debate has come. Proponents of federal authority argue that there is statutory authority for them exercising their powers, and I can't deny that if I were an attorney with the federal government I would rely on that language to say that there is authority for it. "But there's no doubt in my mind that it is arguable," Grant continued. "That's the reason, I'm sure, why this draft bill that's surfaced is called the 'Clarification of Law Enforcement Authority.' If there were no doubt about it, they wouldn't need clarification through such a bill." Grant noted that in the raids conducted by the Park Service on Santa Cruz Island and Donald Scott's estate, the NPS agents were accompanied by sheriff's deputies. "If the bill passes, they wouldn't even need to check with the local sheriff, and that's going to create real problems," he said. The ultimate police power For Grant, his worst fear is not about gun-toting rangers, but the granting of power to make arrests without a warrant. "What this bill would do if it's passed is to give to these guys who are land management monitors, it would give them the ultimate power of a peace officer - they would have a gun on their hip and authority to make arrests with or without a warrant," said Grant. "That is one of the most sacred of the peace officer's powers. Every police academy, the FBI academy, the police standards councils in most of the states, spend an awful lot of time training officers as to when and how to make arrests without a warrant. It's a very carefully held power, and you don't just go giving that willy-nilly. ... "To me, that provision is worse than the carrying of the guns. You can train people to carry guns. Citizens can carry guns. That's not as scary to me as the power of arrest, particularly without a warrant. The power of arrest is the power to take away a person's liberty and detain them. That's a critical issue to me because of my belief in the Constitution. Peace officers need to respect that Constitution. It's one of the most critical powers there is in the country, and that's why it's so safely guarded. "When I saw that in the draft bill I just couldn't believe it. I was afraid the thing would get through because everybody is in the mode of protecting us against terrorism. I was afraid it would slip through, and frankly, I think that's why it was proposed at this time." Sarah Foster is a staff reporter for WorldNetDaily. Copyright c. 2001 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. --------- "RE: Please remember the Dakota 38" --------- Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 07:50:33 EST From: Garnet1654@aol.com Subj: Please remember the Dakota 38 Mailing List: ndn-aim Long before Europeans made their first forays into the territory now known as Minnesota, Native American tribes regularly crossed the Minnesota River at a fording place 14 miles north of the present city of Mankato, half a mile north of St. Peter. Early French explorers gave the site its present name, Traverse des Sioux (Cross Place of the Sioux People). The solid river bottom through shallow water provided a natural gateway between the dense woodlands on the east and the prairies and bison of the west. As a well-traveled junction, it became a natural convergence point for commerce both for the Native Americans and for European traders and trappers. By the 1820's, Louis Provencalle, a Frenchman working for John Jacob Astor's American Fur Co., had set up a permanent fur-trading post at Traverse Des Sioux. Soon a settlement sprang up around the post. On July 23, 1851, one of the most significant Indian treaties in our nation's history was signed at Traverse Des Sioux between the US government and the Wahpeton and Sisseton bands of the Dakota. Two weeks later at Mendota, a treaty was signed with the Mdewakanton and Wahpekute bands. These treaties were instrumental in opening the American west to European settlement. Some 24 million acres in Minnesota were ceded by the Dakota in exchange for reservation lands and for $3,075,000 to be paid over a 50-year period in annual annuities of goods and money -- about 12 cents an acre for some of the finest agricultural land in the country. Before ratifying the Treaty the US Senate added amendments that weakened the Dakota position. Even with the changes, the terms of the treaty were not entirely honored by the US The treaties left about 7,000 Dakota with two reservations, each 20 miles wide and 70 miles long, with a 10 mile strip on each side of the Minnesota River. In 1858 the strip of land along the north side of the river, nearly a million acres, was also ceded to the US The government established two administrative centers, the Upper and Lower Sioux agencies. Delayed and skipped payments drove the Dakota to increasing desperation with each passing year. Through deceptive business practices, unscrupulous traders and government agents took much of what the Indians did have. Poverty, starvation, and general suffering led to unrest that in 1862 culminated in the U.S.-Dakota Conflict, which launched a series of Indian wars on the northern plains that did not end until the battle of Wounded Knee in 1890. Colonel Henry H. Sibley commanded the military. A well-known fur trader, Sibley was the Minnesota Territory's first delegate to Congress and the state's first governor. With most of the able-bodied men away fighting the Civil War, the Indians seized their opportunity and very nearly succeeded. After first advising of the futility of challenging the white man ("Kill one, two, ten and ten times ten will come to kill you," he said), Mdewakanton Chief Little Crow was persuaded to head the Dakota effort. Before the Conflict (or Sioux Uprising, as it is often called) could be brought under control, at least 450 white settlers and soldiers were killed and considerable property was destroyed in southern Minnesota. There were uncounted numbers of Dakota casualties because of the Indian custom of removing all dead and dying warriors from the battlefield. A five-man military commission was appointed to try the Dakota who participated in the outbreak. The commission settled up to 40 cases in a single day. Some were heard in as little as five minutes. In all, the commission tried 392, sentenced 307 to death and gave 16 prison terms. Many historians today feel the trial was a travesty of justice. Authority for the final order of execution was passed to President Lincoln. He was pressured by politicians, military leaders, the press and public for immediate execution of the 303 still on the condemned list. Interceding on behalf of the Dakota was Episcopalian Bishop Henry Whipple, known to the Indians as "Straight Tongue" for his fair dealings. The Rev. Stephen Riggs and Dr. John P. Williamson, Presbyterian missionaries to the Dakota, wrote letters to the press calling for a fair trial. Lincoln approved death sentences for only 39 of the 303 prisoners. One of the 39 was later reprieved. At 10 a.m. on December 26, 1862, in Mankato, the group of 38 ascended a specially-erected timber gallows 24 feet square and 20 feet high. More than 1,400 soldiers of the 6th, 9th and 10th Minnesota Volunteers and of the First Minnesota Mounted Rangers were on hand to keep order among the crowds of hostile citizens. The Indians sang as they left their prison and continued singing until the end. It was the largest mass execution in American history. ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER --------- "RE: Oglala file Second Suit in Land Transfer" --------- Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 08:26:22 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OST SUING SD" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.argusleader.com/news/Thursdayarticle3.shtml 2nd suit filed in land transfer Staff and wire reports published: 12/27/01 The Oglala Sioux Tribe is suing the state government and two other tribes regarding the federal transfer of recreational lands along the Missouri River, a tribal official said Wednesday. Mario Gonzalez, Oglala Sioux tribal lawyer, said the lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in hopes of preventing the change in ownership of 91,178 acres of land within 64 riverside recreation areas. State government and the Cheyenne River and Lower Brule tribes are named as defendants, he said. "We seek to enjoin the land transfers not only to the state of South Dakota but also the Cheyenne River and Lower Brule Sioux tribes," Gonzalez said. The lawsuit is separate from one filed earlier by the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, he said. The earlier lawsuit claims the transfer would violate environmental and historic preservation laws as well as treaty rights. John Yellow Bird Steele, president of the Oglala Tribe, said the tribe is waiting for an environmental impact statement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Tribal officials apparently hope the report will bolster their suit. However, a corps official has said the environmental impact statement will not stop the project, which was approved last January by Congress. And the chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe said Wednesday that the Oglala lawsuit is a poorly timed waste of money and the wrong approach to the issue. "I really think this is in the 11th hour, and it's some kind of act of desperation," said Mike Jandreau. "They were invited to be part of this whole process originally. They had plenty of opportunity to do something positive with it, to create a claim situation that had some honor and integrity. But I don't understand what's going on now." Jandreau said the land transfer is important to his tribe and its future, putting land along the Missouri back into Lower Brule hands, where it belongs. He said it's unfortunate that the Oglala and Crow Creek tribes are trying to block what will be good for the Lower Brule and Cheyenne River tribes. "They seem to be more interested in trying to destroy one another instead of standing together," he said. "I don't judge or condemn them. I just say it doesn't make sense." The transfer was authorized by Congress through the efforts of U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who worked with Republican Gov. Bill Janklow and tribal officials from the Lower Brule and Cheyenne River reservations. It returns lands, including recreation areas, that were taken for the four Missouri River dams and have been owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The state already leases many of the sites, but it is scheduled to take over the property in fee title, sometime this winter, depending on the lawsuits. Part of the transfer includes a trust funded by Congress for management and improvements on the property. Gonzalez said the Oglala lawsuit alleges that the lands along the Missouri River contain more than 1,100 archaeological sites. The human remains and cultural items on those sites belong to the Oglala Tribe under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, he said. Under an 1868 treaty, the Oglalas own all cultural sites on the western banks of the Missouri River, Gonzalez said. The repatriation law also gave the Oglala Sioux Tribe ownership of human remains and cultural items on the eastern banks of the river, he said. The tribe argues in its lawsuit that boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation, as set by the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, begin on the eastern banks of the river and were not diminished by an 1889 law that created six smaller Sioux reservations in the state. Gonzalez said the tribe is seeking an immediate court order to prevent the corps from transferring Missouri River lands to the state and Cheyenne River and Lower Brule tribes. A state official said Wednesday that the federal law allowing the transfer set Jan. 1 for the land to change hands. But under an agreement in the lawsuit filed earlier by the Crow Creek Tribe no such land transfer would take place until at least Feb. 8, he said. A federal judge is expected to consider arguments on the issue by that time. Copyright c. 2001 Copyright Argus Leader. --------- "RE: Border Crossers hit O'odham Hard" --------- Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 23:03:02 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: Border crossers hit O'odham hard: Illegals batter reservation land, homes, resources http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/11226ReservationImmigration.html Tucson, Arizona Wednesday, 26 December 2001 Border crossers hit O'odham hard The Associated Press Remote desert areas along the Tohono O'odham Reservation's 75-mile border with Mexico have become popular entry paths as security has been tightened in other areas, such as Douglas. Illegals batter reservation land, homes, resources By Arthur R. Rotstein THE ASSOCIATED PRESS David Garcia is tired of having his home vandalized. But illegal immigrants crossing through the Chukut Kuk district of the Tohono O'odham Reservation along the Mexican border have often found it an inviting target. "If you leave home, most of the time your home gets broken into," said Garcia, a member of the tribal council who has suffered four break-ins in the last 12 months. "They take mostly food. Food and clothes and what- have-you." That's not all. The Tohono O'odham's land and resources are also being battered by the constant flow of illegal immigrants hiking across the border and through the vast, remote desert expanses of the Connecticut- sized reservation. These woes aren't unique to the tribe, which has 23,000 members, not all of them living on the reservation. Life for people living near the Arizona-Mexico border has become a struggle in recent years since the region became one of the busiest illegal immigrant crossing points in the nation. Still, the effects on the reservation are keenly felt. Many tribal members living along the border feel they can't leave their homes, Tohono O'odham Police Chief Larry Seligman said. While many of the break-ins and thefts are of the nuisance variety, "when you leave your home and come back and find it ransacked and your food gone, and you're already living below poverty level, that transcends vandalism," he said. Seligman said immigrants also leave behind large quantities of garbage and cut trails through fragile vegetation. "It's quite dramatic," he said. "Whole areas that were beautiful Sonoran desert look almost like landfills now." From police to hospital and medical services intended for the Tohono O'odham, it's the same story. On some occasions, so many undocumented immigrants have needed emergency medical attention at the Indian Health Service hospital in Sells, the Tohono O'odham capital, that reservation residents have had to go 60 miles northeast to Tucson for treatment. Officials note that the hospital and medical service providers have a moral and legal obligation to provide needed service and do so. One bitterly cold night in March 2000, the Border Patrol brought 336 immigrants to the hospital. Many had turned themselves in to get warm. Since 1997, the hospital has spent $440,000 treating 723 undocumented immigrants. Compared to its annual total ambulatory care or emergency room visits - 55,000 and 9,000 respectively - the percentage is small. But the unreimbursed cost has been significant: $386,830. The Border Patrol and the Immigration and Naturalization Service are precluded from reimbursing a medical facility for an illegal immigrant's treatment unless the person is formally in custody. The O'odham are sympathetic to the plight of undocumented immigrants "but cannot help but feel that they are in fact taking some resources away from the O'odham people," said Rudy Gonzales, the hospital's deputy service unit director. "Every dollar that we spend on a non-Native American is a dollar that we cannot spend on the population that we serve," added Robert Price, an IHS official in Tucson. "We're not fully funded for the need of the population that we serve, much less to expend funds on another population." Then there's the toll on tribal police resources. The volume of border crossers was so burdensome that Seligman ordered his officers last spring to stop routinely looking for or dealing with illegal immigrants. Border Patrol spokesman Rob Daniels said illegal immigrant crossings throughout the Tucson Sector, which covers all of the Arizona-Mexico border except an area around Yuma, have decreased significantly throughout 2001 and are down more than 60 percent in the current fiscal year. However, Seligman said he's convinced that the number of crossers has picked up again, along with the number of crimes committed, after slowing down immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Last spring, the number was thought to be 700 to 1,000 illegal immigrants daily, he said. Initiatives that added Border Patrol agents and equipment have resulted in more securely guarded stretches elsewhere along the 2,000-mile border, in turn funneling many immigrants and smugglers toward the reservation. Now, its remote, rugged deserts have become the entry paths of choice. The Chukut Kuk district where Garcia lives makes up more than 80 percent of the Tohono O'odham nation's approximately 75-mile boundary with Mexico. That means that most illegal immigrants - and drug traffickers - coming onto the reservation cross through Chukut Kuk. In addition, there has been less use of such high-tech devices as sensors and remote cameras along the reservation border because immigration officials have not considered it as important as some other areas of the national border, Seligman said. Daniels said that because of national security concerns, he couldn't discuss what assets are deployed where. Garcia said that despite publicity about heightened border security since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, "I can tell you that's not the case out here." All content Copyright c. 1999, 2000, 2001 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star and its wire services and suppliers and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the expressed written consent of Arizona Daily Star or AzStarNet is prohibited. --------- "RE: Ruling allows Indian Pursuit" --------- Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 08:11:49 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PURSUIT ALLOWED" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.billingsgazette.com/ Ruling allows Indian pursuit Fri Dec 28 04:05:34 CST 2001 Central Time The Associated Press HELENA (AP) - The boundary of an Indian reservation is not necessarily a barrier to nontribal law officers chasing someone suspected of committing a crime outside the reservation, the Montana Supreme Court said Thursday. The justices, in a 4-1 ruling, cited a 1997 federal court decision that an officer in such cases has the authority to stop a motorist on the reservation to determine his jurisdiction over the driver. The high court's opinion overturned a district judge's order forbidding prosecutors from using evidence gathered against Daniel Bird after his pickup truck left the city of Cut Bank and entered the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in May 1999. Cut Bank Police Officer Joshua Olson had tried to pull over Bird for reckless driving within the city limits, but Bird would not stop. Once on the reservation, Bird's truck went off the highway and into a field. Once Olson found out that Bird and another man in the vehicle were tribal members, he got in touch with tribal police to make the arrest and take the two men to the Glacier County Jail. District Judge Marc Buyske agreed with Bird that, since Olson did not have jurisdiction to make an arrest on the reservation, Bird's erratic driving and the statements he made - after the truck entered the reservation - could not be used against him. The Supreme Court rejected that conclusion, based on a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling. That decision said that once a law officer spots a traffic offense in his jurisdiction, he has the authority to pursue the suspect onto a reservation to make an arrest, Justice James Nelson said for the court. The court likewise disagreed with another Bird claim that all events on the reservation should not be used as evidence because he was removed from the reservation illegally. The officers did not follow the tribe's extradition procedures, Bird said. But the court said it was the tribal police officer who took Bird into custody and off to jail, and Olson relied on him to follow whatever process complied with tribe's laws. Therefore, the prosecution should not be penalized for any mistake the tribal officer may have made, the court said. Justice Terry Trieweiler dissented, agreeing with the judge that all evidence of what happened on the reservation should be rejected. Bird was not charged with breaking the law inside the reservation's border and the city police officer had no authority to arrest Bird for anything he may have done while on the reservation, he said. That means Bird's conduct once he drove onto the reservation was irrelevant to the reckless driving charge and was properly excluded, Trieweiler said. Copyright c. 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2001 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Alaska Inmates hold Annual Potlatch" --------- Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 08:11:49 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INMATE POTLATCH" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.imdiversity.com/Article_Detail.asp?Article_ID=8580 Alaska Inmates Hold Annual Potlatch by AP, The Associated Press Casa Grande, Ariz. (AP) - The Alaska inmate population at a private prison celebrated the holiday season with a potlatch. "It's part of our tradition," said Daniel Neal, an inmate from Southeast Alaska at the Florence, Ariz., prison run by Corrections Corp. of America. Since 1994, Alaska prisoners have been housed the Florence facility about 50 miles southeast of Phoenix. In a typical Alaska potlatch, one clan invites another. But at the Central Arizona Detention Center, it's a mixture of Alaska Natives joining to enjoy traditional foods, dancing and music while honoring their ancestors and invited guests. Of the 800 or so Alaska inmates held at the Florence facility, more than 400 took part in the potlatch, said the facility's chaplain, John Hackett. This year's celebration included about 80 family members of inmates and other visitors. Karen Nagle, program coordinator from the Alaska Department of Corrections, visits each fall to assist with the prison's potlatch. She said that in Alaska, a potlatch can be held for many different reasons, including honoring someone at the time of death or celebrating a young person's first hunting trip. At this year's event, Nagle brought a troupe of Native dancers to entertain, then the inmates and their guests sat down to a dinner of grilled salmon, moose stew, fish stew, rice, berries and other Alaska favorites. The inmates held four fund-raisers and netted about $7,000 to put on this year's potlatch. They planned to donate any leftover money to relief efforts in New York and Washington, said inmate George Goenett. Copyright c. 2001 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2001 iMinorities, Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Nati