From gars@speakeasy.org Wed Mar 13 00:15:07 2002 Date: 13 Mar 2002 01:59:13 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews10.011 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 Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2002 nanews.org ==>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 011 | Country than is reported in | O o o o o O | this weekly newsletter. For | O o O March 16, 2002 | For daily updates & events | O o O | go http://www.owlstar.com/ | O | dailyheadlines.htm | Mvskogee little spring moon +-----------------------------+ Algonquin namossack kesos/catching fish moon <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.pechanga.net; www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; Tsalagi_Unole Mailing List; newsgroup: alt.native; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> As historian Patricia Nelson Limerick summarized in The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West, "Set the blood quantum at one-quarter, hold to it as a rigid definition of Indians, let intermarriage proceed as it had for centuries, and eventually Indians will be defined out of existence. When that happens, the federal government will be freed of its persistent 'Indian problem.'" "All bird, even those of the same species are not alike and it is the same with animals and with human beings. The reason Creator does not make two birds or animals or human beings exactly alike is because each is placed here by Creator to be an independent individual and to rely upon itself." __ Shooter, Teton Sioux +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! 1869 Board of Indian Comissioners Act Formed to oversee BIA operations and have "joint control" with Secretary of the Interior (Largely Chrisian clergy) to "humanize, Christianize and civilize" the people of the Indians Nations." (Prucha Documents..page 127) 1871 Abolition of Treaty Making Act, outlawed further trety making so that "herafter no Indian Nation or Tribe within the territory of the U.S. shall be acknowledged or recognized as an independent nation, tribe or power." (Prucha, Documents pg 136) 1883 Indian Religious Crimes Code (Courts of Indian Offenses) Enforced in Reservation Courts as BIA policy, prohibited Native American ceremonial activity under pain of imprisonment and withholding of rations for up to 10 days; medicine men "who shall resort to any artifice or device to keep the Indians of the reservation from adopting and following civilized habits and pursuits...for the first offense shall be imprisoned for no less than ten days nor more than thirty days." (Prucha, Documents P. 160-161 Court decision in Everson v Board of Education (1947) "The establishment of religion clause means at least this: Neither a state nor the federal government may set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion....Neither a state or the federal government may, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa." - - - - Thursday, March 7, we watched the horrible legacy of the boarding schools on WorldLink TV's Dreamcast series "Wiping the Tears of Seven Generations." The pain carried by children and some of those hauled off to boarding schools was heart and gut wrenching. The dominant society has much to be ashamed of. As you can see from the Congressional acts of the past this shameful disrespect pervaded every single relationship with the First Nations of Turtle Island. It still does... only now the power brokers are more clever in the way they mask their actions. I included the Everson v Board of Education court decision to make this point. At public events, in schools and in prisons, where the souls of many of our brothers and sisters are warehoused, I can assure you the actions of those charged with seeing that our traditional ways are just as Sacred as those who follow other pathways seem to always "overlook" some critical issue; thus insuring there is anything but equal opprtunity. Again, the dominant society's view of equality is "Just-Us". If you doubt this is an ongoing situation read about the misfit IHS doctors, the Department of Interior's land grab and Norton's audacity to blame the Cobell plantiffs for the state of the trust system, all in this issue. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Night Owl gars@nanews.org (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@speakeasy.org (`-') Marietta, GA 30007, U.S.A. gars@olagrande.net ===w=w=== gars@sdf.lonestar.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters Sr. - BIA Correctional Officer - Crossings alleges Sex Bias - Tainted Indian Health - First Nations in Yukon Service Doctors get Attention - Center's studies probe - Nunavut Hunters want answers Indian Health Risks about Bad Gas - Landscapes under Seige - CRST Resolution will affect - Chief to appeal Logging Decision Tribal Inmates - Norton: - Fort Mojave Fatality Cobell Plaintiffs oppose Reform investigated by FBI & BIA - Senate Panel criticizes - Warm Springs Man pleads guilty Bush Indian Budget in Tribal Slaying - Dismissal of Big Mountain 5 Case - Northern Cheyenne - St. Regis out/Akwesasne in Indian Reservation Meth Cases - White Earth - Native Prisoner Land Recovery Project -- James Lee on Death Row - Settlement Wording -- Latest on Manuel Redwoman rekindles Battle - Rustywire: Broken Leg - Haida Band lay claim - Poem: Moon of Broken Horse to Lucrative B.C. Islands - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Leader wants renewed Relationship - Inuinnaqtun Dictionary to be with Non-natives stocked on Shelves - Native Leaders warn of - Native America Calling Season of Discontent - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters Sr." --------- Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 08:18:40 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FAST TURTLE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/triballeader5.htm Tribal leader devoted life to preserving Wampanoag 'Fast Turtle' Instrumental in Wampanoag's bid for federal recognition By SEAN GONSALVES STAFF WRITER By the end of the year, the Mashpee Wampanoag will know if they will be recognized as a tribe by the federal government. If the tribe's petition for recognition is approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in accordance with a court-ordered December deadline, the man who was at the forefront of that 27-year quest will have to be thanked in spirit by tribe members. Russell "Fast Turtle" Peters Sr., 73, former president of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, author and Native American rights advocate, died Sunday afternoon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston after a long illness. He was remembered yesterday by friends and former colleagues as a towering figure in Mashpee history and a dedicated preservationist of not only the town's early history but also of Wampanoag cultural identity. Family members, however, reminisced about more intimate memories. "He was a rascal. He was funny and cute and controversial - even as a kid," said his youngest sister, Anne Brown. Brown laughed as she recalled stories of her older brother and his relationship with his three brothers and four sisters. "We put up with him because he was such a good reader and could tell such good stories. He was our entertainment," she said. Peters was affectionately called "the rooster" - a nickname he got after the family bird attacked him in their yard one day after school when Peters was 8 years old. "Russell was cornered by the garage. He tried to run but he fell and that rooster starting kicking and pecking Russell. The kids were yelling 'Get him, rooster! Get him!'" Peters' grandson Steven said his grandfather was like a surrogate father to him. "He was the best thing to me," he said. "He was like a dad. He took me to my first baseball game and took me camping every summer. ... He's just an inspiration to me. I'm going to miss him so much." Part of a changing town Peters was born and raised in a Mashpee much different from the Mashpee of today, which has become the fastest-growing town on Cape Cod over the past decade. In 1946, when he graduated from Lawrence High School in Falmouth, only 434 people lived in Mashpee. Those were the days when Route 130 was called "upstreet" and "downstreet" depending on the direction in which you were heading. It was a time when all three of the selectmen were Wampanoag, the police chief was a Wampanoag and so was just about everybody else in town. In 1948 - the year the Mashpee Townies won the Cape Cod League baseball championship - Peters was a young soldier in the U.S. Army. He served as a private in the Korean War and was later stationed in Germany before retiring as an Army captain in 1953. After leaving the Army, he lived in Philadelphia with his family for several years before moving to Natick in 1968. Four years later, in 1972, while working as a marketing consultant for computer-industry giants IBM and Honeywell, he returned to Mashpee. Over the next decade, Peters added academic credentials to his resume, left the corporate world and became politically engaged in tribal issues. In 1974, Peters became one of the founding organizers of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council and served as the council's first president. One of the most ambitious years of his career came in 1976, when he began working as a community planner under the Comprehensive Employment Training Act, which later became known as the Coalition of Eastern Native Americans. In that same year, as nonnative developers began eyeing land in Mashpee, the tribal council, under Peters' leadership, filed suit seeking the return of the tribe's ancestral lands. After a seven-year court battle, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling that the Wampanoag had not proved their claim or their identity as a tribe. During that time, property titles were clouded and development in Mashpee came to a standstill. The suit deeply divided Mashpee, straining the relationship between tribal leaders and town officials. Even 30 years later, the issue is still hotly debated among longtime residents. Mashpee lawyer Lawrence Shubow, who served as trial counsel during the lawsuit, said yesterday that Peters became a good friend of his over the years, despite the divisions that surfaced in the years following the suit. Peters, he said, was motivated by his love for Mashpee. "Russell was a powerful transitional figure between those of his compatriots who were locked in the traditions and dreams of yesterday and those who wanted to deal with the realities of our contemporary society," Shubow said. Peters never wanted to displace any person of European descent who had made a home in Mashpee, and "he never succumbed to the pipe dreams of those whose principal focus was on gambling casinos," Shubow said. "His passing is a great personal loss to me," Shubow, a summer resident of Mashpee since 1956 and a year-round resident since October of last year. "He believed that formal tribal recognition in Washington would obviously be good for his own people, but also great for the environmentalists and all others in Mashpee. He was no threat to any open-minded property owner." Seeking peace with the town In 1992, when Peters was appointed tribal council president to replace an ailing Earl "Guy" Cash Jr., he struck a conciliatory note, calling for greater tribal unity behind the push for federal recognition and the need to talk with town officials about a host of issues important to the tribe - the most contentious being the 1988 fatal shooting of tribe member David Hendricks by a Mashpee police sergeant. "There has been animosity between the town and natives and we want to overcome that. We want to see things get back to normal," he told the Times in a December 1992 interview. Peters was still pursuing that normalcy with the town two years later, when he was re-elected as tribal council president. After defeating Bernard "Mike" Boardley for the top administrative post in the tribe, Peters said federal recognition was the tribe's first priority, followed by the need to provide affordable housing for struggling tribal members. "We feel that our people are facing a situation that will not allow them to afford to live in Mashpee. It's incumbent upon the tribe to look for solutions to that because as our youngsters marry and have their own families, they will need jobs and affordable housing," he said in a March 1994 interview with the Times. During his tenure as tribal council president in the 1990s, Peters also pushed for expanded education about Native Americans in the local school curriculum and for Wampanoag control of the Indian Museum on Route 130. "One of the ways we see in the whole healing process is to revitalize the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum. We also need to get involved in helping develop a curriculum in schools that includes Wampanoag presence on Cape Cod," Peters said in a 1996 interview. Author of the "The Wampanoags of Mashpee: An Indian Perspective on American History" (1987) and "Clambake" (1989) - a book on traditional Wampanoag food preparation - he received a bachelor's degree from Morgan College and a master's degree from Harvard University. In 1998 the town turned over the Old Indian Museum to the tribal council. The museum is now undergoing restoration work. One of the highlights of Peters' career came in 1996, when he and current selectman George "Chuckie" Green traveled to BIA headquarters in Washington, D.C., to hand-deliver a 90-page packet of tribal information to add to the tribe's petition for federal recognition. "We think it's complete," Peters told the Times when he returned. Mashpee town officials who have worked with Peters over the years mourned the loss yesterday. "Russell Peters was a prominent, outstanding member of the community," said John Cahalane, chairman of the board of selectmen. "It sounds cliche, but he will truly be sorely missed. I liked him a lot. I got along with him very well." Ann Whitlow, chairwoman of the Mashpee Historical Commission, remembered Peters as a man who "had a wonderful love for Mashpee." Mashpee town planner F. Thomas Fudala worked with Peters on the town's historic district study committee. "Russell was a good friend and a tremendous resource on the history of the town," Fudala said. "It was so fascinating to listen to him and Earl Mills and Frank Hicks talk about the old days in Mashpee." Copyright c. 2002 Cape Cod Times. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Crossings" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 08:52:05 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSSINGS" March 1, 2002 Tom Tsosie WHITE HORSE LAKE - Graveside services for Tom Tsosie, 91, will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 2 on family land, White Horse Lake. Pastor Daniel Sanders will officiate. Tsosie died Feb. 24 in Crownpoint. He was born Oct. 10, 1910 in White Horse Lake into the Red Bottom People Clan for the Mexican People Clan. Tsosie was a medicine man. Survivors include his sons, Ray Sandoval, Roger Tsosie and Wilbert Tsosie all of White Horse Lake; Susie Robertson of Window Rock, Nancy Robinson of Pinon, Ariz., Sadie Trujillo of Torreon, Etta Tsosie of Grants, Alberta Ballard , Sarah Jim, Arlene Sandoval, Martha Toledo and Brenda Tsosie all of White Horse Lake; 48 grandchildren and eight great- grandchildren. Tsosie was preceded in death by his wife, Jane P. Castillo Tsosie; parents, Betonie Tsosie and Kalniphah Begay; sons, Gilbert Tsosie, Hardy Tsosie and John H. Tsosie. Pallbearers will be Earl Betone Jr., Waylon Jim, Benjamin Maestas, Charlyn Toledo, Harris Toledo and Nelson Toledo. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Rodelle Tsosie TOHATCHI - Services for Rodelle Tsosie, 28, will be held 10 a.m., Saturday, March 2 at Rollie Mortuary Palm Chapel. Rev. Boots Wagner will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park. Tsosie died Feb. 24 in Gallup. He was born July 14, 1973 in Gallup into the Bitter Water People Clan for the Near the Water People Clan. Survivors include his sons, Dominick Shaw Tsosie of Sheepsprings, Isiah Levi Tsosie and Dakota Joelee Tsosie both of Clarkston, Wash., Kneandertwal Casey Tsosie and Nicholos Brandon Tsosie both of Mexican Springs; parents, Clara Kinsel of Tohatchi and Joe Lee Tsosie of Mexican Springs; brother, Julian Lee Tsosie of Albuquerque; sisters, Joleena Lynn Tsosie of Phoenix, LeVellyn Tsosie of Farmington, Wenona Mae Tsosie of Smith Lake, Coranell Robertsontanya Iyua, Cornyra Nell Iyua, Cornysha O'Nell Iyua, Calandra Lynn Tsosie and Samatha Janelle Tsosie all of Tohatchi; grandparents, Mary E. Kinsel and Paul Kinsel Sr. both of Tohatchi and Thelma Tsosie of Mexican Springs. Tsosie was preceded in death by his grandfather, Charley Tsosie. Pallbearers will be Bo Barrett, Cornell Iyua, Travis Kinsel, Raymond Tallman, Perry Tso and Julian Tsosie. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Betty Rose Goldtooth SALINA SPRINGS, Ariz. - Services for Betty Goldtooth, 59, will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 2 at Black Mountain Mission, Black Mountain, Ariz. Frank James will officiate. Burial will follow at Community Cemetery, Black Mountain. Goldtooth died Feb. 26 in Winslow, Ariz. She was born June 29, 1942 in Salina Springs, Ariz. into the Bitter Water People Clan for the Many Goats People Clan. Goldtooth attended Sherman Institute and completed the six year program. She was a homemaker. Her hobbies included weaving, hiking, silversmithing and craftwork. Survivors include her son, Travis Tso; mother, Bah Goldtooth; brothers, Larry Allen Goldtooth; and sisters, Louise Kee and Louise Chee. Goldtooth was preceded in death by her father, Paul Goldtooth and brother, James Goldtooth. Pallbearers will be Travis Tso, Frank James, Wesley Kee, Jacqueline Tina Chee, Darrell John and Jeffery Hobbs. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Bessie K. Boone ZUNI - Services for Bessie Boone, 92, were held at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27 at St. Anthony Mission, Zuni. Father Sean Murnan officiated. Burial will follow at Quincy Panteah Cemetery, Zuni. Boone died Feb. 22 in Zuni. She was born Sept. 02, 1909 in Laguna. Boone was employed with the BIA. Survivors include her sons, Percy W. Kanesta of Tacoma, Wash. and Andrew G. Kanesta of Albuquerque; daughters, Katherine E. Concho of Albuquerque, Marguerite P. Trujillo of Gallup and Nellie R. Kanesta of Zuni; 38 grandchildren; 60 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great grandchildren. Boone was preceded in death by her husband, Paxton E. Boone. Pallbearers were Lynn Kanesta, Maurice Kanesta, Robert C. Concho, Anthony P. Trujillo, Judson Tsethlikia and Eric C. Concho. Dan R. Yazzie NAVAJO, Ariz. - Services for Dan Yazzie, 79, will be announced at a later date. Yazzie died Feb. 23 in Gilbert, Ariz. He was born July 4, 1922 in Dennibeto, Ariz. into the Coyote Pass People Clan for the Tall House People Clan. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. March 2-3, 2002 Edison Jackson MANUELITO CANYON - Services for Edison Jackson, 56, will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, March 4 at Rollie Morturay Palm Chapel. Rev. Roger C. Davis will officiate. Burial will follow at Fort Defiance Veterans Cemetery. Jackson died Feb. 26 in Manuelito. He was born May 31, 1945 in Zuni into the Sleeping Rock People for the Black Sheep People Clan. Jackson served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam. He recieved the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and Good Conduct Medal. Survivors include his sons. Garrett Jackson and Waymon Jackson both of White River, Ariz.; daugthers, Kimberly Jackson and Natasha Jackson both of White River; mother, Winfred Jackson of Gallup; and sisters, Marletha Jackson of Bozeman, Mont. and Ruby Jackson of Manuelito. Jackson was preceded in death by his father, Albert Jackson; brothers, Bruce Jackson, Larry Jackson, Leonard Jackson and Luther Jackson. Pallbearers will be Irvin Chester, Duane Crawford, Garrett Jackson, Lionel Jackson, Derwin Morgan and Kee Morgan. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Laura F. Florence MEXICAN SPRINGS - Services for Laura F. Florence, 73, will be held at 1:30 p.m., Monday, March 4 at Rollie Mortuary-Palm Chapel. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery. Florence died Feb. 28 in Albuquerque. She was born Sept. 8, 1928 in San Bernadino, Calif. into the Sleeping Rock People Clan for the Sun Clan of Laguna People. Survivors include her husband, Sam Florence of Mexican Springs; sons, Ben Tohe of Mexican Springs and Marc Tohe of Phoenix and Robert Tohe of Flagstaff, Ariz.; daughters, Laura Tohe of Mesa, Ariz. and Patricia Tohe of Coyote Canyon and sister, Marian Plummer of Phoenix; 23 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Florence was preceded in death by her parents, Frank Poncho and Lucy Poncho. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Sadie Nez Pino RAMAH - Service for Sadie Pino, 92, will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, March 4, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Ramah. Dane Lambson will officate. Burial will follow at Ramah Community Cemetery. Pino died Feb. 27 in Gallup. She was born July 9, 1909 in Pine Haven into the Towering House People Clan for the Red Running Into the Water People Clan. Pino was a rug weaver and rancher. Survivors include her son, Paul Pino of Chicago, Ill.; daughters, Bessie P. Martinez and Bessie K. Curley of Ramah; sister, Belle Nez Martine of Ramah; 12 grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren. Pino was preceded in death by her husband, Wayne Pino; parents, Hosteen and Glen-dazbah Nez; brothers, Dick Nez, Pete Nez, Ben Willie and Jake Willie and sister, Bah Chee. Pallbearers will be family members. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Ramah. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Frank "Cowboy" Henio PREWITT - Services for Frank Henio, 94, were held at 10 a.m., today at Church of God, Thoreau. Evangelist Florence Barker officiated. Burial followed on family land, Thoreau. Henio died Feb. 25 in Crownpoint. He was born Dec. 15, 1907 in Thoreau into the Two Who Came to the Water People Clan for the Towering House People Clan. Survivors included sons, Freddie Henio and David Henio both of Thoreau; daughters, Dolly Brewer of Payson, Ariz., Rosie Henio of Boise, Idaho and Nellie Delgarito; brother, Paul Henio of Thoreau; sister, Nellie H. Coho of Ramah and numerous grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Reno Henio, Bennie Henio, Nathaniel "Nate" Henio, Ronnie Henio, Phillip Henio, Johnny Begay and Darley Begay. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. March 5, 2002 Jean Platero Tulley PREWITT - Services for Jean Tulley, 74, were held at 10 a.m., Friday, March 1 at the First Baptist Church, Thoreau. Pastor Mark Thomas officiated. Burial followed at Thoreau Cemetery. Tulley died Feb. 24 in Gallup. She was born July 4, 1928 in Prewitt into the Red Streak People Clan for the Towering House People Clan. Tulley attended Wingate School. She was a sheepherder, traditional weaver and collector of herbal plants. Survivors include her son, Richard Tulley of Prewitt; brother, Ramon Platero of Bluewater; seven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. Tulley was preceded in death by her husband, Jimmie Tulley; parents, Pablo and Desbah Platero; brothers, Riley Paltero and Dan Platero; sisters, Rose V. Mariano, Annie P. Enrico and Rena A. Jack. Pallbearers were Patrick Tulley, Brian Tulley, Dewayne Hudson, Jonathan Nelson, Don Platero and Eli Mitchell. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Karen "Chew" Yazzie ANADO, Ariz. - Services for Karen Yazzie, 41, will be held at 10 a.m., Thursday, March 7 at Presbyterian Church, Ganado, Ariz. Sam Begay will officiate. Burial will follow at Ganado Cemetery. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services. Yazzie died Feb. 28 in Phoenix. She was born June 4, 1960 in Ganado. Yazzie had an eighth grade education. She was a silversmith. Survivors include her husband, Emerson "Bugs" Tsosie; mother, Leta S. James; brothers, Randolph James, Amador James and Roy Lester Jr.; and sisters, Tonita James and Crystal Lester. Pallbearers will be Jaythan Slivers, Clyde Slivers, Arnold Bowman, Clauretta Slivers, Kee Bia and Kyle Wilson. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Karen Yazzie's residence, Cornfields Road, off route 191, south of Ganado. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. March 7, 2002 Lorraine Keedah HOUCK, Ariz. - Services for Lorraine Keedah, 45, will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 9 at the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Sanders, Ariz. Dan Garner will officiate. Burial will follow at Houck Cemetery. Keedah died March 4 in Sanders. She was born Aug. 7, 1956 in Gallup into the Towering House People Clan. Keedah was a teacher assistant at the Houck Pre-school, Sanders, rugweaver and beadwork. Survivors include her husband, Guy Bitsilly; son, Randell Keedah; daughter, Deirdre Bitsilly and Desiree Bitsilly; brother, Jasper Keedah; sisters, Anna Watchman, Carolyn Keedah, Marjorie Keedah and Teresita Begay and one grandchild. Keedah was preceded in death by her parents, Lucy and Peter Keedah and grandmother, Hasbah Silversmith. Pallbearers will be Jasper Keedah, Gilbert Lee, Herman Frank, Darryl Martine, Irvin Frank and Michael Yazzie. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Sanders. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Etta Chee CRYSTAL - Services for Etta Chee, 92, were held at 10 a.m., today at Crystal Indigenous Church. Rev. William Irving officiate. Burial followed at family plot, Crystal. Chee died March 1 in Gallup. She was born March 13, 1909 in Sheepsprings into the Water's Edge People Clan for the Red Streak People Clan. Chee completed sixth grade at Crystal Boarding School. She was a waitress cook and tended to her sheep. Survivors include her daughter, Mary Lawless of Crystal; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Chee was preceded in death by her husband, Sam Chee and children, Donald Tsosie, Irene Tsosie and Annette Gauvin. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Crystal Chapter House. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Wilson Grey TUBA CITY, Ariz. - Services for Wilson Grey, 84, were held at 10 a.m., today at American Legion Hall, Flagstaff. Burial followed at Citizen's Cemetery, Flagstaff. Grey died March 1 in Tuba City. He was born in 1918 into the Edgewater People Clan for the Manygoats People Clan. Grey was a World War II Navajo Veteran. A member of the American Legion Post #33. He was a former councilman, chapter officer and senior citizen council officer. Survivors include his wife, Jane Grey; sons, George Grey, Andrew Grey and Richard Grey; sisters, Lena Singer, Jean Grey and Grace and five grandchildren. Tom Yadalwood Lee Sr. RED ROCK - Services for Tom Lee Sr., 82, will be announced at a later date. Lee died March 6 in Red Rock. He was born Aug. 12, 1919 in Tse Ya Toh into the Salt People Clan for the Black Streak Wood People Clan. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. March 8, 2002 Tom Yadalwood Lee Sr. RED ROCK - Services for Tom Yadalwood Lee Sr., 82, will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 9 at Rollie Mortuary Palm Chapel. Burial will follow at Gallup City Cemetery. Lee Sr. died March 6 at Red Rock. He was born Aug. 12, 1919 in Tse Ya Toh into the Salt People Clan for the Black Steak Wood People Clan. Survivors include his wife, Sadie Lee of Gallup; sons, Michael Lee of Albuquerque, Earl Lee and Tom Lee Jr. both of Gallup; daughters, Sarah Lee Benallie and Katherine Rose Lee both of Gallup; 25 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. Lee Sr. was preceded in death by his sons, Norman Lee, Robert Kenneth Lee and Samuel Lee; parents, Ahaayabah and Navajo Dusty Lee; brother, Benjamin Clark and John Lee; and sisters, Marie Anderson, Ethel Yazza and Opal Yazzie. Pallbearers will be James Benallie Jr., John C. Cly Jr., Stacey Cly, Adrian Lee, Isaac Lee and Jordan Lee. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Richard Anthony Dodge CRYSTAL - Services for Richard Dodge, 19, will be held at noon, Saturday, March 9 at the St. Michaels Catholic Church. Father Gilbert Schneider will officiate. Burial will follow on family land, Crystal. Visitation will be held from 3-5 p.m., today at Cope Memorial Chapel. Dodge died March 3 in Ganado, Ariz. He was born May 9, 1982 in Whiteriver, Ariz. into the One Who Walks Around People Clan for the Bear People Clan. Dodge graduated from Navajo Pine High School and was currently attending UNMGallup Branch. He played football for the Navajo Pine Warriors, hockey for the ATOMS in Phoenix and was employed as rancher. He was a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe. His hobbies included camping, fishing, skiing and listen to music. Survivors include his wife, Regina Lizer; parents, Minda Sue and Richard A. Dodge Sr.; brothers, Michael B. Dodge and Carlos Foot; sisters, Vanessa Dodge and Victoria Foot; grandparents, Henry A. Dodge, Doris V. Dodge and Nancy James. Dodge was preceded in death by his grandfather, Carols James. Pallbearers will be Henry Chee Dodge, Telian Dodge, Earl Dodge, Florenzo Dodge, Leander Frank and Michael Dodge. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2002 The Gallup Independent. -=-=-=- March 5, 2002 Linda Lou Means ALLEN - Linda Lou Means, 54, Allen, died Thursday, Feb. 21, 2002, at Hot Springs Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Survivors include her husband, Maverick Means, Allen; six daughters, Tamara Ashley, Kyle, and Edna Gutierrez, Mona Gutierrez, Heather Means, Leith Means and Tashina Means, all of Allen; three brothers, Cecil Thunder Bull, Kyle, Malcolm Thunder Bull, Rapid City, and Earl Thunder Bull, Allen; eight sisters, Phyllis Campbell, Allen, Rose White Face and Faye Lone Hill, both of Porcupine, Cora Bird Hat, Phoenix, Bernadine May, Casa Grande, Ariz., Susan Big Crow, Dorothy Thunder Bull and Amanda Christensen, all of Kyle; a cousin sister, Theresa Imitates Dog, Martin; and numerous grandchildren. She served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1969 to 1972. Services were Feb. 28 at American Horse School in Allen. Burial was at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge was in charge of arrangements. Evelyn Ruth Monroe PINE RIDGE - Evelyn Ruth Monroe, 54, Pine Ridge, died Friday, March 1, 2002, in Pine Ridge. Survivors include two daughters, Elaina Hanson, Honolulu, and Brenda Pumpkin Seed, Pine Ridge; one son, Dean Lacota, Bismarck, N.D.; four sisters, Emily Lakota, Phoebe Bad Yellow Hair, Jesse Pulliam and Lucille Brings Plenty, all of Pine Ridge; and four grandchildren. A one-night wake will begin at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 7, at Billy Mills Hall in Pine Ridge. Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday, March 8, at the hall, with the Rev. Ben Tyon, the Rev. Agnes Tyon, the Rev. Leon Matthews and the Rev. Fred Mesteth officiating. Burial will be at Holy Cross Episcopal Cemetery in Pine Ridge. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. March 6, 2002 John Wayne Plenty Arrows Sr. ALLEN - John Wayne Plenty Arrows Sr., 48, Allen, died Monday, March 4, 2002, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Survivors include one daughter, Maretta Plenty Arrows, Allen; three sons, John Plenty Arrows Jr. and Mario Plenty Arrows, both of Martin, and Tyron Marshall, Hot Springs; two sisters, Lena Bear Killer and Priscilla Has No Horse, both of Allen; and six grandchildren. A two-night wake will begin at 2 p.m. today at the Allen CAP Center. Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday, March 8, at the CAP Center, with Paul Bentley and Pedro Sharp Fish officiating. Burial will be at Body of Christ Cemetery in Yellow Bear Camp. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Ollie Elizabeth Kindle OGLALA - Ollie Elizabeth Kindle, 58, Oglala, died Saturday, March 2, 2002, in Santa Clara, Calif. Survivors include her mother, Julia Brown Bear, Pine Ridge; one brother, Stanley Kindle, Calico; and one sister, Carolyn Brown Bear, Pine Ridge. A two-night wake will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 7, at Oglala Recreation Center. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at the recreation center, with the Rev. Asa Wilson and Charles McGaa officiating. Burial will be at Makasan Presbyterian Cemetery in Oglala. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. March 7, 2002 Irving George Milk WANBLEE - Irving George Milk, 45, Wanblee, died Monday, March 4, 2002, in Martin. Survivors include three daughters, Donna Milk-Bettelyoun, Long Valley, Doreen Milk, Wanblee, and Michelle White Hat, St. Francis; one son, Bruce White Hat, St. Francis; three brothers, Duane Milk and Curtis Milk, both of Wanblee, and Orville Milk, Kansas City, Kan.; one sister, Hildred Milk, Wanblee; his parents, Jasper and Bernice Fire-Milk, Wanblee; and five grandchildren. He served in the U.S. Army. A two-night wake will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at Crazy Horse School gym in Wanblee. Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, March 11, at the school. Burial will be at Gethsemane Episcopal Cemetery in Wanblee. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. March 9, 2002 Enoch Earl Hawk Jr. RED SHIRT TABLE - Enoch Earl Hawk Jr., 56, Red Shirt Table, died Wednesday, March 6, 2002, in Rapid City. Survivors include his wife, Arlene Hawk, Rapid City; five daughters, Gayla Two Bulls and Lora Hawk, both of Red Shirt Table, Jennifer McGill, Fort Washakie, Wyo., Jonna Peniska, New Underwood, and Latisha American Horse, Ethete, Wyo.; three sons, Frank Hawk and Jason Hawk, both of Red Shirt Table, and Steve White Magpie, Wounded Knee; three brothers, William Hawk, Denver, Warren Hawk, Oklahoma City, and Daniel Hawk, Wakpala; four sisters, MaryAnn Hawk, Rapid City, Jolene Hawk, New Zealand, Lola Blaine, Stephan, and Andrea Valdez, Ethete; his stepmother, Gladys Hawk, Wakpala; and 13 grandchildren. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. A one-night wake will begin at 1 p.m. Monday, March 11, at Red Shirt School Gym in Red Shirt Table. Services will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the school gym, with the Rev. Robert Two Bulls officiating. Burial will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2002 The Rapid City Journal. -=-=-=- March 7-13, 2002 Charlie Tsoodle Charlie Tsoodle, 91, of the Kiowa tribe of Carnegie, OK and a resident of Taos Pueblo passed away on March 1, 2002. He is preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Tsoodle in 1971. He is survived by his children, Wendell Tsoodle (Frances) of Albuquerque, Winnie Mae Concha (Dennis) of Taos, Tyrone J. Tsoodle (Jennifer) of Albuquerque and Charlene Tsoodle- Marcus (Joe) of Taos Pueblo, Chuck Tsoodle of OK., 13 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. Vigil service was held on March 3, 2002, at Indian Baptist Church. Funeral service was held on march 4, 2002, at First Baptist Church. Interment followed at Sierra Vista Cemetery. Arrangements by Rivera-Hanlon Funeral Home. Copyright c. 2002 The Taos News. --------- "RE: Tainted Indian Health Service Doctors" --------- Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 08:19:43 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IHS DOCTORS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azstarnet.com/star/today/20305rIndians-Sanction.html Tainted Indian Health Service doctors Convictions range from drug abusing to sexual offenses By Matt Kelley The Associated Press WASHINGTON - Dr. Thomas W. Michaelis spent two months in an Ohio prison in 1991 for trying to molest four teen-age girls. He then worked for eight years as an obstetrician-gynecologist in an Indian Health Service hospital in Arizona, paid $101,000 a year by the government despite a law barring the hiring of sex offenders in agencies serving American Indians. IHS officials fired Michaelis last year. By then, he had examined hundreds of women at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center after registering with local authorities as a sex offender. Michaelis said he told IHS officials about his convictions for attempted molestation, but the agency hired him in 1993 anyway. "They knew about it up front," Michaelis said. "I guess they needed a doctor eight years ago." At least 21 doctors who worked for the IHS between 1996 and 2001 have been punished or denied licenses by state medical boards for offenses ranging from abusing drugs to neglecting patients who later died, an Associated Press review of disciplinary records found. In Tucson, one IHS doctor who is a diabetes specialist, was fined $100 by the District of Columbia in 1997 for failing to renew her medical license on time. Officials at IHS, the federal agency charged with providing care to 1.5 million American Indians, acknowledge that background checks on their doctors are often inadequate. It's just one of many problems they blame on a lack of money. "In general, there is no secretarial staff to support the medical staff activities," said Dr. Craig Vanderwagen, the agency's chief medical officer. "Many of our people are seeing 40 patients a day or so. Then, your attention to take care of that (background check) paperwork goes right out the window." Several sanctioned doctors told AP that IHS officials knew about their backgrounds before they were hired. IHS managers have the power to hire doctors despite past troubles as they try to fill vacancies that include more than 10 percent of their physician jobs. Vanderwagen said recruiting IHS doctors is often difficult, especially for relatively low-paying jobs on the most remote, poverty-ravaged Indian reservations. Records show about 2.6 percent of IHS doctors have been punished by state boards - a rate more than four times the average for all government doctors and the highest of any federal agency. In contrast, just 0.5 percent of doctors who provide care to military veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals have ever been disciplined. The IHS discipline rate is about the same as the national average for all doctors. But critics say the federal agency has an obligation to do better - especially because Indians have suffered from substandard health care for more than a century and are vulnerable. "There are perpetrators out there who tend to look for the state or county or federal systems that have loopholes," said Yvette Joseph-Fox, executive director of the National Indian Health Board. "We've been haunted by these problems for more than a hundred years . . . and for some strange reason, the perpetrators know that," she said. AP identified 21 disciplined IHS doctors through state medical board files and a database of punished doctors compiled by the consumer watchdog group Public Citizen. IHS doctors need only be licensed to practice medicine in one state, not the one where they work. For instance, Michaelis relied on his Ohio medical license even though Arizona rejected his application. That means the only place Michaelis could practice in Arizona was a federal facility like an IHS hospital. Copyright c. 2002 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 AzStarNet/Arizona Daily Star. --------- "RE: Center's studies probe Indian Health Risks" --------- Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2002 07:59:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HEALTH RISKS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/display/inn_news/news03.txt February 23, 2002 Center's studies probe Indian health risks By Heidi Bell Gease, Journal Staff Writer Dr. Jeff Henderson wants American Indian people to live longer, healthier lives. That's why he returned home to Eagle Butte after medical school to take a job with Indian Health Service. He worked there in the early 1990s serving members of his tribe, the Cheyenne River Sioux. But after a while, Henderson began to wonder what he was accomplishing. "I can point to a few people, maybe a family or two, that I've helped ... but is the broader community healthier?" he remembers asking himself. He finally decided he couldn't really improve things by providing direct care for individual patients. "It was likely that I was going to have to fish farther upstream, as it were," he said. That philosophy led him and two former colleagues to start Black Hills Center for American Indian Health (BHCAIH) in November 1998. The colleagues have since moved away. But three years later, the Rapid City- based nonprofit organization is launching two research projects - upstream fishing expeditions, if you will - that could help make future generations healthier. "This center is set up to carry out four main objectives ... and the first of those is research," said Henderson, who served as director of mental-health and social services at Sioux San Hospital from 1996-98 before becoming BHCAIH's full-time director. The organization got a giant boost by landing a grant worth about $7 million from the National Cancer Institute to fund a five-year study exploring the relationship between diet, lifestyle and behavior and the incidence of cancer and disease among Indians and Alaska natives. The goal is to recruit 10,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives for the study and monitor them long-term. "If we do what we say we're going to do, this study could be a 20-, 30-, 40- or 50-year study," said Henderson, who also works with the Strong Heart Study, a study of heart-disease risk factors among Indians in South Dakota, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Arizona. The trick will be to keep track of the cancer-study patients. Researchers will rely on toll-free numbers, financial incentives and other strategies to collect statistics. In addition to Henderson, the center's staff includes: Dr. Patricia Nez Henderson, research-study coordinator; Joyce Colombe, project coordinator; administrative assistant Sandra Albertson; and receptionist DeAnne Swan. The center also has received a grant of about $400,000 over four years from Indian Health Service to examine Lakota attitudes toward research. Center researchers will work with area tribal colleges on that study. The center's second goal is to educate. Henderson eventually hopes to provide training to prepare minority students for health-related careers. The third goal is to provide service, ranging from public speakers to consultation with tribes on health-care programs. The fourth goal, philanthropy, would occur farther in the future would involve awarding scholarships and grants. Henderson also hopes the center can help tribes to benefit more from research. He said medical research traditionally has done more to advance the researcher's career than to benefit the tribes being studied. "The tribes need to exercise control over that part of their own sovereignty," he said, by playing a bigger role in identifying their most pressing health problems, and attracting research that could help address those problems. "This is planning for the future." Another goal is to help tribes start conducting some of their own health research by bringing grant money back to the communities. So far, Henderson said, tribal leaders are receptive. It might have been easier to start a research center elsewhere, where money is more plentiful. "But the vision has been to bring it back here, to West River," Henderson said. "This is a lifetime of work that we have ahead of us. We'd like to do it here." There will be a community meeting to discuss the cancer study on Tuesday, March 12, at Joyner Hall in the Episcopal Church at Pine Ridge Village. The meeting will follow a 6 p.m. feed, and all are welcome. Meetings also are planned in Kyle and on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. Center offices are on the second floor of the US Bank building at 701 St. Joseph St. in Rapid City. For more information, call the center at 348-6100. Contact reporter Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com. Copyright c. 2002 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Landscapes under Seige" --------- Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 08:25:39 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PUBLIC LANDS??" http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/07/opinion/_07THU1.html Landscapes under Seige March 7, 2002 Interior Secretary Gale Norton has been moving briskly to open up more public lands for domestic oil and gas production, just as Vice President Dick Cheney's task force instructed her to do in last year's "national energy strategy." Last weekend, however, Ms. Norton was told that she, or at least her underlings, had been proceeding in an irresponsible manner. The rebuke came from an unlikely source, her own administrative review board. Responding to appeals from environmental groups, as well as complaints from other federal agencies, the board halted a controversial oil exploration project in Utah's Dome Plateau authorized by the department's Bureau of Land Management. It also suggested that the bureau had "capriciously" ignored environmental reviews mandated by federal law. Interior officials say the violations were minor, involving only seismic tests on the plateau, and that they would not have authorized drilling without environmental reviews. Even so, the timing of the ruling - which also asserted that testing alone could cause "irreparable harm" to a fragile landscape - could not have been worse for the administration. It comes just as President Bush is trying to persuade the Senate to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; the revelation that Interior has been proceeding carelessly on other public lands cannot help his cause. If anything, it will strengthen the hand of senators like Richard Durbin of Illinois who are trying to tighten the energy bill now before the Senate to make it harder for the administration to despoil sensitive areas. The Dome Plateau covers some 23,000 acres immediately adjacent to Arches National Park; parts of the plateau have been proposed for wilderness designation in a bill now before Congress. Other fragile lands are also at risk. Interior has been fast-tracking leases elsewhere in Utah, including an area adjacent to Canyonlands National Park as well as on the Otera Mesa in New Mexico and in the Green River Basin in Wyoming, an area rich in both wildlife and natural gas, where new development is proceeding at a breathtaking rate. Environmentalists complain (and the department denies) that Interior is proceeding on the basis of reviews that are biased toward development or, in the case of the Green River Basin, on the basis of studies that are years out of date. But the main issue here is not the rules, which are ambiguous and easily manipulated in any case. It is the attitude at the top. And here there's a huge difference. Bruce Babbitt, Bill Clinton's interior secretary, was hardly shy about granting oil and gas leases, despite Bush administration propaganda to the contrary. Significant new areas were opened up for exploration and production, including 37 million acres of deep-water reserves in the Gulf of Mexico and 4 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. On the whole, however, Mr. Babbitt made an effort to avoid sensitive lands. He codified his views in a "wilderness inventory handbook" that reminded all Land Management field offices to proceed with special care not only near national parks and designated wilderness areas, which are off limits to drilling anyway, but also in areas without strong legal protections but with obvious wilderness values. The Bush team takes a different approach altogether. Indeed, a memo from Washington headquarters to the bureau's land managers in Utah virtually invited them to ignore the Babbitt handbook, which the memo derided as a deterrent to oil and gas exploration and "inconsistent with the administration's energy policy." The same memo reminded the state office that "when an application for permission to drill comes in the door," that work should be "their number 1 priority." With pressure like this, it is little wonder that Utah's land managers are moving so fast that they trip over the law. Nobody expects the administration to retreat from its basic theology that aggressive exploration of the public domain is necessary to achieve independence from the energy-producing nations of the Persian Gulf. Perhaps, though, as part of the larger debate over a national energy strategy, the Senate will force the administration to proceed with much greater care. Copyright c. 2002 The New York Times Company. --------- "RE: Chief to appeal Logging Decision" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 08:18:40 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LOGGERS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://novascotia.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=ns_logging020305 Chief to appeal logging decision WebPosted Mar 5 2002 08:18 AM EST Halifax - The Chief of Nova Scotia's Indian Brook band says he expects to appeal Monday's provincial Supreme Court ruling, which upholds the conviction of 35 Mi'kmaq people for illegally harvesting timber on Crown land. Reg Maloney says it's frustrating having to keep returning to court on treaty issues. Justice Edward Scanlan's decision supports a lower court ruling last March that natives do not have historic rights to vast stretches of land throughout the province. The men were charged in late 1998 and in 1999. They argue they do have historic rights to cut logs and sell them. From March 4: Native loggers still guilty of illegal cutting Halifax, N.S. - The Nova Scotia Supreme court has upheld the conviction of 35 native loggers who had been found guilty of illegally cutting trees on crown land. The men claimed they had a treaty right to log. But, the provincial court disagreed. The loggers appealed to the Supreme Court. However, their appeal was denied on Monday. Copyright c. 2002 CBC. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Norton: Cobell Plaintiffs oppose Reform" --------- Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 08:12:24 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NORTON BLAMES PLANTIFFS" http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/ Norton: Cobell plaintiffs oppose reform WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2002 Holding Secretary of Interior Gale Norton in contempt of court will only allow "opponents" to derail trust reform and prevent the broken system from ever being fixed, her attorneys are arguing. According to a document filed in federal court last week, the Bush administration has made "progress" in the last year to management of the funds held in trust for 300,000 American Indians. Plans to conduct an historical accounting as far back as 1938, reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and efforts to improve computer security are among the improvements cited. "Trust reform and accounting are benefitting from the infusion of new ideas, bigger budgets, more staffing, and greater awareness of the root problems," the attorneys wrote. "And this progress has occurred during a time when certain key departmental personnel have been obliged to step aside as a consequence of plaintiffs' motions for contempt." But everything is placed in jeopardy if U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth decides to sanction Norton and Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb for their handling of the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust, the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, D.C., claims. Without mentioning by name, but clearly pointing to the plaintiffs in the Cobell class action, the legal team says they are to blame for years of inaction. "[O]pponents of reform will redouble their efforts to muster tribal, congressional and public opposition to reform of the trust, as they have during both previous and current administrations," the government writes. Contained in a lengthy document aimed at staving off fines and potential jail time, the charges are the harshest leveled at the Cobell plaintiffs to date by the Bush administration. Prior submissions have focused largely on Norton's recent actions as a defense in the long-running case. With the plaintiffs seeking a receiver to take over the trust, the stakes have grown higher. The situation is reflected in the latest filing, which paints Norton as the sole savior who will be crippled if found in contempt. "It is the Secretary who must obtain funds from Congress; who must engage Congress, the Tribes and other interested parties in constructive dialogue on the reorganization of trust management; who must spearhead the effort to attract qualified staff to the Department; and who, ultimately, must provide leadership to those already engaged in vital trust reform efforts," her attorneys claim. "All of these functions would inevitably be compromised severely by a contempt finding," they say. In the document, the government lays out its defense on the five charges facing Norton and McCaleb. They include a failure to account for the funds owed to Indian beneficiaries, false and misleading reporting on the progress of trust reform and lack of information technology security measures. On the accounting charge, government attorneys admit little movement since the lawsuit started more than five years ago. But they claim the Department of Interior was never specifically ordered to provide an accounting. At the same time, they cite Norton's decision to scrap the Clinton administration's position on how far back to look for trust documents and the creation of the Office of Historical Trust Accounting as a "substantial efforts." Headed by a former Clinton administration official, the office is set to release its plan in June. As for the reporting charges, the defense team agrees the quarterly status updates have not been "effective." However, the attorneys say the Norton has "overhauled and improved" the process and has hired EDS Corporation to "review thoroughly, critically and independently the status of trust reform." And while the department is declining to release details about Ross Swimmer's work, the attorneys say his Office of Indian Trust Transition has been "staffed." Department officials say they can't release information due to privacy and personnel issues. The government also claims information technology security problems have never been hidden from the court. Even though issues were raised nearly two years ago, the government says it is finally moving to correct known deficiencies. Copyright c. 2000-2001 Noble Savage Media, LLC/Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Senate Panel criticizes Bush Indian Budget" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 08:18:40 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BUSH INDIAN BUDGET" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0305indianfunds-ON.html Senate panel criticizes Bush Indian budget as inadequate Associated Press March 05, 2002 20:26:00 WASHINGTON - Two key senators said Tuesday the Bush administration's budget proposal for American Indians would fail to adequately fund schools, jail construction and job training. In the first of a series of hearings, the administration's spending plans for Indians came under withering criticism by the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Many federal agencies have money budgeted specifically for Indians as part of their larger spending plans. In the White House budget proposal for the fiscal year to begin Oct. 1, Bush holds spending at current levels for many programs and trims others. The president's proposal does increase spending for some programs to treat alcohol and drug abuse, which drew praise from the senators, but not enough to overcome their joint criticism in other areas. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, chairman, questioned the Education Department's commitment to Indian programs, at one point referring to Bush's education legislation as the "so-called No Child Left Behind Act." Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., vice chairman, said the Labor Department was "missing the boat" for its lack of spending on vocational training for jobless Indians on reservations where unemployment has reached more than 50 percent. "I don't know how, frankly, we can justify some of these cuts," Campbell said. Both Inouye and Campbell indicated they would try to add more money to federal Indian programs in the Labor, Education, Justice and the Health and Human Services departments. "I'm hopeful we can find the resources we need for these important services," Campbell said. David Dye, deputy assistant labor secretary, defended the administration's spending policies, saying the White House budget plan was squeezed between increasing defense costs and shrinking tax revenue. "We do the best we can with what we have," Dye said. Among the proposals highlighted at the hearing were $122.4 million in grants for Indian education, an increase of $2 million; $8 million in grants to build tribal courts, the same as last year; and $45 million for Administration for Native Americans, which oversees grants for social and economic projects, a cut of about $1 million. Many public services on Indian reservations are paid for by the federal government, from schools to hospitals, because many reservations have few resources - such as factories or office buildings - from which to collect taxes as public revenue. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee has scheduled three hearings on Bush budget items related to Indians. Tuesday's hearing dealt with federal agencies outside of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the budget for which will come under committee scrutiny on March 14. Copyright c. 2002, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Dismissal of Big Mountain 5 Case" --------- Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 12:02:14 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIG MOUNTAIN 5" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlins.htm http://www.gallupindependent.com/todaysnews.html#anchor3 Dine' leaders react to dismissal of 'Big Mountain 5' case Jim Maniaci Dine' Bureau WINDOW ROCK - President Kelsey Begaye and Navajo Nation Council Speaker Ed T. Begay have issued brief reaction statements about the "Big Mountain 5." Hopi police arrested the five - Ruth Benally, Pauline Whitesinger, Louise Benally, Elvira Horseherder and Joella Ashkie - at Hopi Tribe headquarters in Kykotsmovi on July 11 on trespass charge in connection with a Lakota (Sioux) Sun Dance at Camp Anna Mae in Hopi Partitioned Land Range Unit 262. On Monday, Hopi Tribal Court Chief Judge Gary LaRance ended a four-day jury trial by granting a defense motion for an acquittal verdict before the six jurors (one man, five women) could hear lead attorney Joe Washington present his case. The judge said Deputy Prosecutor Geoff Tager did not prove all the elements of trespass as defined in Hopi Ordinance No. 21. President Begaye issued his statement from Washington, D.C., where was working on "Navajo Impact Week" with federal bureaucrats and legislators. "It is a tribute to the integrity of the Hopi court system that, in a case that has received a lot of public and media attention, it viewed the case objectively, addressed the charges on their merits, and ruled in favor of the five Navajo defendants. "This decision is encouraging for those Navajo families who live under Hopi jurisdiction on the Hopi Partitioned land. It is my hope and expectation that the Hopi court system will continue to view disputes involving Navajo families with objectivity and fairness. "I wish to commend the defense attorneys who represented these five individuals. I would also like to thank the Navajo Nation Council, which supported Navajo Nation funding for the defense costs of the five Navajo defendants. "It is important to build a strong relationship between the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe, built on mutual respect, the rule of law, and fundamental principles of fairness and compassion. This decision marks a step in the right direction for this effort," Begaye said. Begaye and Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor Jr. were meeting monthly until the incident, and in a recent interview with the Independent the Dine' president said he would like to restart them. Speaker Begay also applauded the court decision on religious grounds. "I am thankful that these ladies will not have to live with the anguish and anxiety of being criminally prosecuted for seeking spirituality and solace on lands they have always lived on. "Justice and protection of basic rights have been provided by Chief Judge LaRance's decision," the Navajo Legislative Branch leader concluded. The defense tried to expand the case into a religious freedom versus tribal sovereignty issue, but the judge limited Washington and his co- counsel, Robert Malone of Washington, D.C., to the trespass charge. Hopi leaders maintain that although the judge dismissed the charges, the women were still guilty of not obtaining a required activity permit signed by Taylor Jr. and were in a closed area. Both acts "are a clear violation of Hopi tribal law," the chairman said in his statement. During July and August, Hopi police arrested 10 people on trespass charges, but four were non-Indians and thus outside tribal court jurisdiction. The lone remaining case is Louise Benally's son Arrick Crittenden, whose jury trial will begin March 21 before Judge LaRance. Crittenden's charge came from an Aug. 20 dawn raid by Hopi crews, escorted by three police agencies, to dismantle the camp. Copyright c. 2002 The Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: St. Regis out/Akwesasne in" --------- Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 12:02:14 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AKWESASNE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadline.htm http://www.pressrepublican.com/Archive/2002/03_2002 `St. Regis' out, `Akwesasne' in as official tribal moniker 3/8/02 AKWESASNE - Tribal leaders have the OK from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to change the community's name from the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe to the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. The name change will appear on the next list of federal entities eligible for BIA services, virtually eliminating any gray area that might remain as to which form of government on the reservation is recognized by the U.S. government. The Akwesasne Mohawk Nation Council, the three-chief system of government that makes decisions on behalf of the community, has been working on the proposal since July. "Last year, after much lobbying and hard work, we were able to officially change our mailing addresses to Akwesasne rather than Bombay, Fort Covington or Hogansburg," Chief Alma Ransom said in a news release. "The recent name change is a continuation of our efforts toward re- establishing our national identity. "The majority of the federally recognized tribal governments today have returned to their original names that reflect nationhood status." Ransom dismissed claims that the name change would cause confusion among community members, saying "there is only one duly elected and federally recognized government that is legally entitled to receive federal and state funding on behalf of the Mohawk people." Chief Paul Thompson said the switch "is definitely representative of a new era for the Mohawk people. "There has always been a question about the name of this community, which we referred to as Akwesasne long before the mission settlement of the village of St. Regis," he said in a written statement. "Even the St. Regis River was once called the Akwesasne River." Sub Chief Harry Benedict is also pleased with the development. "Weve been talking about doing this for 20 years," he said. "It's about time we did this." Denise A. Raymo can be reached by e-mail: draymo@pressrepublican.com Copyright c. 2002, Plattsburgh Publishing Co., Plattsburgh, NY Division of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. --------- "RE: White Earth Land Recovery Project" --------- Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 08:25:39 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHITE EARTH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3468074&BRD WAUBUN - White Earth Land Recovery Project members live a sustainable lifestyle by harvesting rice, corn, maple syrup, raspberries and other staples from the land. Now the grassroots Native American environmental, educational and advocacy organization is about to harvest a new crop - wind energy, produced by a three-bladed turbine it owns on White Earth Indian Reservation east of Waubun. Spearheading WELRP's alternative energy program is the organization's founding director, Winona LaDuke, the nationally known former Green Party vice presidential candidate and human rights activist. LaDuke was joined by a small group of wind energy supporters Tuesday for a brief dedication to commemorate the small-scale wind turbine's on-site installation. Industrial Building General Contractors from Fargo hoisted the 20- kilowatt turbine and its hinged tower into position Tuesday morning, as LaDuke offered a traditional ceremonial prayer to Gaa Noodin-oke, the Ojibwe tribal Wind Maker. Once the tower's free leg was lined up and bolted into place, a gust of wind rolled over the project site on the Diana King property, about 5 miles east of Waubun, just off of Mahnomen County Road 113. LaDuke has a lofty goal: Develop the first reservation-based wind and solar energy project in northwestern Minnesota, while at the same time creating a model that can be replicated on the six other Ojibwe reservations around the state. WELRP used a capital campaign to raise funds needed to purchase the Jacobs 20kW wind generator. Along the way, the organization received financial support from the Patagonia and Otto Bremer Foundations, as well as the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance Richard Sanford, with Energy Management Services out of Elbow Lake, sold the turbine to WELRP. He was also on hand Tuesday to help with the installation. "I'm the only one that climbs," Sanford said, referring to his primary function once the large Link Belt crane had left. He added the wind turbine and its tower are 120 feet high; his job was to attach four, half-inch stainless steel bolts to each turbine blade, which are 31 feet diameter. Sanford said he'd completed 12 such similar wind turbine installations. He explained the basics of wind generation technology before his trek up to the top of the turbine. "I'm a firm believer in tall towers, because for starters, the wind is stronger the higher up you go," Sanford said. In terms of energy, the power of wind can be represented by a cubed function of the wind speed, he added. In other words, a 20 mph wind may be twice as fast as a 10 mph wind, but it has eight times the energy level. 'If you look at the power output of this turbine in terms of watts, it's a lot of 100-watt light bulbs," he said, referring to the turbine's 20, 000-watt capacity rating. Sanford said the Waubun location for the White Earth Land Recovery Project's turbine has terrific potential. "The wind that arrives here from Fargo-Moorhead and the Red River Valley speeds up as it is forced over ridges," he elaborated. "It's like a venturi in a carburetor, or a narrow spot in the river. I think they are going to find that this will be an excellent site." Property owner's dream Diana King, who owns the property where the wind turbine is located, is absolutely thrilled she has an alternative form of energy a few hundred yards away from her kitchen window. "Winona called me up one day and asked if I knew of anyone who had land where she could put up a wind turbine," King said. "I told her I was interested. She then asked, 'Do you have enough land?' and I said, 'Is 34 acres enough?'" King said she, along with her brothers, has long had an interest in recycling and alternative energy issues. "When Winona called me, I jumped at the chance," she said. "My brothers and I believe in recycling, and have about three sheds full of recyclable materials around here. I've always been angry with fuel companies, because of the cost and the pollution. And, my brother had an interest in wind when he was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base 22 years ago." Ronald Chilton, project manager for WELRP, was in charge of supervising a four-person crew that dug the tower footings and bolted to together the tower framework. "We started working in late October," he said. "The footings are 10 feet deep by 30 feet and feature diamond-shaped pads. We made them all from scratch. "It was a good day to see it go up," he said, referring to Tuesday's sunny weather. LaDuke said the small-scale wind turbine installed at King's residence would be ideal for serving the needs of the reservation. Wild Rice Electric Cooperative, based in Mahnomen, helped White Earth Land Recovery complete wind studies for a turbine installation three years ago, LaDuke added. Steve Haaven, Wild Rice Electric's general manager, confirmed his cooperative's intention to purchase the excess power from the turbine. "Usually, for a system like this, we either pay the average price of power, or subtract that amount back off the customer's meter," he said. "We've had several towers go up, but haven't ended up buying back a lot of power yet." Haaven said Wild Rice is interested in alternative energy, and currently buys wind generation from MinnKota Power Cooperative, which just erected a 900-kilowatt wind turbine near Valley City, N.D. "Our customers actually signed up to buy that power in 100kwh blocks for an extra $3 a month on their electric bills." Wind energy explosion Interest from Wild Rice Electric's "green power" program consumers has been quite good, Haaven added. "To give you an idea, a single turbine, 900 kilowatts in size, generates enough to power about 200 or 300 average size homes," he said. According to John Dunlop, regional manager with the American Wind Energy Association's Great Plains office in Minneapolis, the real interest in the United States right now is in the larger wind systems. "They are seen as the solution for supply more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly power," he said. Last year, the U.S. installed facilities with 1,700 megawatts of wind capacity. Minnesota currently ranks about ninth in wind energy development potential. North Dakota has the nation's top wind potential, but is constrained by transmission bottlenecks, Dunlop said. "White Earth Land Recovery will be able to develop some experience with this project, and it will have some political value to them as well," Dunlop stated. For example, the Lower Sioux tribe at Morton, Minn. installed a similar Jacobs 20 kW wind turbine. "That installation allows them to make a valid claim that they have developed a clean energy source," he said. There are at least two other tribes in the U.S. with 100kw turbines, Dunlop added. In Browning, Mont., the Blackfeet Indian Tribe has installed four 10kw wind turbines next to that town's sewage treatment plant. The turbines provide about one-quarter of the plant's electricity, displacing energy from the grid. Many American Indian reservations in the Great Plains have electrical loads that could be partially met with wind power, Dunlop explained. "This will be a learning experience for both the utility and us," LaDuke said. "Wild Rice is required by state law to buy any excess power generated from our wind turbine. Sometimes, example is the best way to teach. We are hoping to use this technology to educate our youth about energy and provide employment opportunities." Others interested in wind The Detroit Lakes Public Utilities Commission is currently exploring the feasibility of wind-based generation, said Supt. Curt Punt. "From time to time, our PUC questions whether or not there would be sufficient wind energy resources here in Detroit Lakes," he said. The PUC is working with the Minnesota Department of Commerce to complete a $4,000 study that will measure wind velocities in the area. "We've signed a one-year lease agreement with Arvig Communications Systems to place wind meters and related equipment on its tower outside of Detroit Lakes," Punt added. "We want to be able to collect a year's worth of wind data at different height levels, topping out at about 300 feet. We don't have a grand plan to put in a wind turbine, but if the data is favorable, it might be possible in three to five years, if we knew the wind speeds were feasible." If Detroit Lakes Public Utilities were to develop a wind turbine, Punt said any potential siting would have to be close enough to the utility's existing power lines in order to tie in at an acceptable cost to customers. Copyright c. 2002 Detroit Lakes Tribune. --------- "RE: Settlement Wording rekindles Battle" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 08:52:05 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MUNISING BAY FISH BATTLE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.detnews.com/2002/metro/0203/10/metro-436312.htm Settlement wording rekindles battle between tribal, sport fishers By John Flesher / Associated Press MUNISING -- Jacques LeBlanc vividly remembers those scary nights in the early 1980s, when gunfire sometimes rang out as he placed fishing nets in the upper Great Lakes. American Indian commercial fishermen such as LeBlanc were locked in a bitter dispute with sport anglers, who claimed tribal nets were snagging more than their fair share of the catch. "We'd work at night to try and avoid attention," said LeBlanc, a member of the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. "You'd be out in your boat and hear the shots. Or people would run at you and veer off at the last minute." Tempers calmed when a federal judge approved a settlement in 1985. Now they're flaring again in Munising, a Lake Superior shoreline town of 2,500, and LeBlanc is a target once more. It started in fall 2000, shortly after Bay Mills and four other tribes signed a 20-year revision of the pact with the state. No one seems to know how, but provisions wound up in the 75-page document that opened Munising Bay to Indian commercial fishing -- which had been prohibited there for more than seven decades. The bay extends about five miles north from its namesake town before reaching Superior's open waters. Sport anglers flock there in pursuit of steelhead trout, coho salmon and whitefish. Jim Ekdahl, a Department of Natural Resources field deputy who represented Michigan in the negotiations, insists the new policy slipped into the compact by mistake as attorneys sent drafts back and forth. "I've been scratching my head, as we all have been," he said. Tribal representatives say opening Munising Bay was among concessions they sought and a key reason for accepting the deal. The bay usually freezes in winter, permitting ice fishing -- a safer alternative to the open lakes, with their floating ice slabs and other hazards, LeBlanc says. "It's no glitch," he said at home on the Bay Mills reservation, about 100 miles east of the bay. "You can't tell me all those people overlooked it." Many anglers agree, claiming the state sold them out to get a deal and now feigns ignorance. Either way, they want it changed, saying Indian crews will overfish the bay. Tribal biologists deny that. "What kind of a country do we live in where the government admits they messed up but says, "Oh, well, ho hum, there's nothing we can do?"' says Doug Miron, chairman of the Munising Bay Fish Committee, which is exploring a legal challenge. Ekdahl has approached the tribes about amending the pact, but says they've shown little interest. For now, matters are stalled -- and sport anglers are growing more frustrated. "The DNR's got to do something ... or the fishery as we know it will be depleted," Miron said. Dave Menominee, another Bay Mills fisherman, says his crew was first to take advantage of the bay's new status, spending a week there in late 2000. Local anglers "gave us a little hassle" but no big problems, he said. But in January 2001, LeBlanc and several helpers hauled gill nets onto the frozen bay. They cut holes and placed about 4,700 feet of netting below the ice. That night, vandals severed 14 surface lines attached to the nets -- which could have allowed them to drift indefinitely, snagging and suffocating fish. The Indians managed to retrieve the netting but the culprits were never caught. LeBlanc says there was "talk around town ... they were going to burn my truck, my snowmobiles, they were going to shoot at me from the hills" overlooking the bay. Still, he continued fishing for several weeks with a police escort. Anglers say the threats went both ways. "They said if we kept cutting their nets they'd bring the whole tribe up here and put their nets all around our fishing shanties," said Troy Passinault of Munising. At a tense public forum, LeBlanc assured skeptical anglers he wasn't trying to ruin their prized fishing spot. But he refused to stay out of the bay while officials tried to sort things out. "I asked them if they'd be willing to quit their jobs until this was settled and they say they couldn't do that," LeBlanc said. "Well, this is my job." He hasn't returned to Munising this winter, because unusually mild temperatures have prevented ice from forming. Crews from other tribes apparently have steered clear as well. Their absence has prevented more flare-ups, but the peace may be temporary. LeBlanc and Menominee say they'll be back -- weather permitting, and if they decide it's economically worthwhile. Miron says his group is equally determined to stop them, although it condemns vandalism or violence and considers the state more of a foe than the Indians. Miron contends federal regulations allow revision of the agreement to restore Munising Bay's previous status, if the state would try. Ekdahl says the only way to make the change is to reopen negotiations with the tribes -- and he acknowledges having few bargaining chips. The bay isn't a prime commercial fishing area, he says; it has a limited population of whitefish, which tribal operators prefer. And he doubts tribal fishing will deplete the bay's other species that are more popular with anglers. Bill Belen, a local sportsman, doesn't buy it. "You let them start gill netting in here and there won't be anything left for us," the 40-year-old said, pulling his boat ashore on a gray, chilly morning. The gill net, which resembles an oversized tennis net, is a sore point for sport fishermen. They liken it to a vacuum cleaner that sucks up everything within reach, indiscriminately killing fish -- including those tribal fishers don't want. Defenders say the complaint is outdated. By choosing locations, water depths and mesh sizes, today's gill netters can target specific fish types. Modern netting is made of monofilament, easier for sport fish such as salmon and walleye to break than yesteryear's nylon was, LeBlanc says. But the quarrel involves more than fishing methods. It's also a cultural clash, part of a long-running debate over tribal sovereignty and whether 19th Century treaties are relevant in the modern world. LeBlanc's father, the late Albert "Big Abe" LeBlanc, is a legendary figure around Bay Mills. His challenge of the state's authority to restrict tribal fishing prompted court rulings that upheld Indian treaty rights and led to the 1985 settlement. "I often think of my dad when I'm on the lake; I guess it's where I connect with him," says Jacques LeBlanc, 38. "I'm not trying to pick a fight with anybody. But when I'm out there using gill nets, I'm exercising the rights he fought for." There might be easier ways to make a living, he acknowledges. "But I'm a fisherman, it's all I want to be. I'd love to pass it on to my boys." Anglers are equally passionate. Passinault, 26, is a lifelong sport fisherman and has lots of time for it since getting laid off from his factory job. "This is all I do," he said after a recent outing on Munising Bay. "If they take that away from me, what's left? I know they have rights, but when they come off the reservation they ought to abide by our rules." ----- Q&A about Indian commercial fishing on Munising Bay Questions and answers about Indian commercial fishing and the Munising Bay controversy: Q. Which tribes are parties to the 2000 compact with the state? A. The Bay Mills Indian Community, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Q. How does the 2000 compact open the bay to tribal fishing? A. The document divides the Great Lakes waters that it covers into a network of grids and assigns each a number. The grid corresponding with Munising Bay was among those making up the "Lake Superior Inter-Tribal Fishing Zone." A map accompanying the document also shows the bay as open to tribal fishing. Q. What are gill nets, and why are they so unpopular with anglers? A. Indians have used the gill net for centuries. Resembling an oversized tennis net, it's held on the lake bottom or at specified depths by lead weights and floating buoys. Fish swim into the mesh and are snagged. If caught by the gills, they suffocate. Critics say the net takes too many fish and wastes those the tribal fishermen don't want. The tribes say modern techniques and gear enable them to screen out unwanted fish. Q. Is there an alternative to the gill net? A. Some tribal operators use the trap net, a sort of tunnel that steers fish into a holding area. It keeps most fish alive until hauled to the surface, so unwanted species can be thrown back. But it's too expensive for many fishermen, requiring more equipment and larger boats than the gill net. Copyright c. 2002 The Detroit News. --------- "RE: Haida Band lay claim to Lucrative B.C. Islands" --------- Date: Thu, 7 Mar 2002 08:25:39 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HAIDA LAND CLAIM" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ Haida band lay claim to lucrative B.C. islands 7,000-member aboriginal group launches multi-billion dollar lawsuit NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. (CP) - A B.C. aboriginal band is going to court to lay an unprecedented claim to the land and surrounding waters of the Queen Charlotte Islands, an area that includes billions of dollars in oil and gas reserves. Louise Mandell, the band's lawyer, called the claim "groundbreaking," saying she believes it's the first time an aboriginal band has laid title to surrounding waters and offshore resources. "There's very little judicial determination of the seabed as an aspect of aboriginal title," she said today before going to B.C. Supreme Court to file the writ. The claim includes the Hecate Strait. The strait between B.C.'s northern mainland near Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlotte Islands is believed to contain an estimated 9.8 billion barrels of oil and 25.9 trillion cubic feet of gas. Harvesting the reserves could be worth up to $4 billion a year to provincial government coffers. Guujaw, president of the 7,000-member Haida Nation, said the claim is about protecting the environment, not about oil and gas revenues. "This case is about respect for the Earth and each other. It is about culture and it is about life," said Guujaw, who goes by his Haida name. "We don't believe offshore oil and gas can be safely obtained - the technology doesn't exist and we are not prepared to see offshore oil and gas drilling in any waters within a 200-mile limit surrounding Haida Gwaii." The federal government imposed a moratorium on offshore oil and gas activity in 1972. The B.C. government brought in its own five-year ban in 1989. This was extended indefinitely by the previous NDP government. However, the B.C. Liberals have commissioned environmental and scientific studies to determine whether oil and gas drilling can be done without harming the environment. The Liberals have also been consulting with Ottawa on the issue. The Haida's latest claim follows its victory last week at the B.C. Court of Appeal. Three judges agreed the Haida should have been consulted by the province and forestry company Weyerhaeuser Canada about logging activities on land claimed by the Haida. Attorney General Geoff Plant said today the courts have been ``very clear" that the province continues to be the landlord. "We need to work hard to ensure that we accommodate aboriginal rights and title and other aboriginal interests," Plant said. "I think that offshore oil and gas in the long run, if it can be done in a way that's environmentally safe, could offer huge opportunities, economically, for First Nations up and down the coast of British Columbia." Copyright c. 1996-2002 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Leader wants renewed Relationship with Non-natives" --------- Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 12:02:14 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RELATIONSHIP RENEWAL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlins.htm http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Erasmus-Aboriginal.html Native leader Georges Erasmus wants renewed relationship with non-natives March 8, 2002 VANCOUVER (CP) -- Aboriginal groups have always existed as nations in Canada, a political, legal and historical reality that governments must recognize to achieve a beneficial co-existence, says aboriginal leader Georges Erasmus. "Aboriginal Peoples have maintained our identities as nations since time immemorial," Erasmus said in a speech prepared for delivery Friday night to the third annual Lafontaine-Baldwin symposium, founded by philosopher John Ralston Saul and sponsored by the Dominion Institute. Despite Indian Act restrictions and previous government initiatives aimed at assimilation, "the response of Aboriginal Peoples to all these attempts to break them into pieces has been consistent resistance." Erasmus devoted his speech to the "vision" of what aboriginal peoples want in the 21st century in Canada. He also lamented that communication between natives and non-natives is still "so riddled with misunderstanding and tension." He took pains to point out that aboriginal peoples have made many contributions to Canada since Europeans arrived, and continue to do so increasingly. But he emphasized that both must overcome cultural and communication roadblocks that still account for two seeming solitudes. "If that contribution is to be fully realized, we need to engage in conversations that go beyond policy debates with governments," said Erasmus, a two-time national chief of the Assembly of First Nations and co-chairman of the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. "We need to talk people-to-people as well as nation-to-nation," he said. Erasmus, who resides in Yellowknife and is the president of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, makes it clear aboriginal rights and the existence of aboriginal nations within Canada are concepts that non- natives must recognize. "How that reality is accommodated in relations with the Canadian state and Canadian people is a matter for negotiation," he said. He lauded the Nisga'a Nation of northwestern British Columbia and its recent treaty as an example of how natives and non-natives can co-exist in "nation-to-nation" relations. The treaty gave the Nisga'a significant self-government powers to manage their own affairs and removed them from the Indian Act. Most of the "thorny issues" raised as impediments to nation-to-nation relations were resolved in the treaty signed by the Nisga'a and the B.C. and federal governments. The Nisga'a treaty may not be a template for others, but it is an example of how a practical agreement can be reached "without undermining the integrity of the Canadian federation." In an interview, Erasmus stressed his speech was a plea to have non- natives and natives strive to seek a different approach to rights, treaties and land claims. "We should try to look at this differently," said Erasmus. "We've all been trapped into corners. It really is not doing anyone any good to maintain the situation the way it is right now. "Canada has had complete control over aboriginal people since Confederation and look at the problems we have," he said. "So why do they (governments) want to maintain control? "Why do they want to be in a situation where they are the ultimate say and are not going to provide the possibility for Aboriginal Peoples to assume their rightful control over their own future?" Aboriginals can and have made significant contributions, he said. A 1996 Statistics Canada survey counted more than 20,000 aboriginal- owned businesses -- a three-fold increase between 1981 and 1996, he said. Although a gap remains between natives and non-natives in terms of high school graduation rates, post-secondary enrolments of natives have remained at about 22,500 for the last five years. Most of the 43 aboriginal institutes across Canada, some of which offer diploma and degree programs, have partnership agreements with colleges and universities, he said. Erasmus's speech points to a long and growing body of jurisprudence on aboriginal title and rights, starting with the 1973 Supreme Court of Canada decision recognizing that the Nisga'a had aboriginal title to their traditional lands. While the Constitution protected aboriginal and treaty rights in 1982, and many court decisions since have added to a growing body of rights interpretations, Erasmus expressed regret that "there has never been a negotiated agreement between aboriginal nations and Canada on the nature of these rights." Many of these court decisions have told the principals that negotiation is favoured over litigation, a course of action Erasmus says natives don't want. "Litigation ... is not the way preferred by aboriginal peoples," he told the audience. Treaties, arrived at through negotiations with early Europeans and afterwards, have been part of native culture for hundreds of years, he said. Those treaties were spawned from mutual trust, which is now flagging, and which was one of the points made in the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. That report came down five years ago and there is a consensus among natives that "little has changed in the interim." The renewed need for better communication and negotiation is necessary because "underlying tensions over lands and treaty rights continue to boil up into open conflict." "The world needs a model of peace and friendship between peoples that Canada is uniquely positioned to provide," he said. The costs of conflict, he said, in courts and society, are "unsupportable." Copyright c. 2002, Canoe, a division of Netgraphe Inc. --------- "RE: Native Leaders warn of Season of Discontent" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 08:52:05 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AFN WARNING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/vancouver/news/story Native leaders warn of season of discontent The Province Sunday, March 10, 2002 Frustrated by what they say is deliberate stonewalling on treaty rights, native leaders are predicting protests, boycotts and blockades across B.C. this summer. In a 10-page draft by the Assembly of First Nations that was distributed at last week's First Nations Summit in North Vancouver, native leaders outline how they have few options other than civil disobedience to get their message across. "Our biggest concern is that treaties are not being addressed," Bill Wilson, leader of the First Nations Summit that represents 51 B.C. Indian bands involved in treaty talks, said. Copyright c. 2002 The Province. --------- "RE: BIA Correctional Officer alleges Sex Bias" --------- Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 12:02:14 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SEX BIAS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php BIA correctional officer's suit alleges sex bias By CLAIR JOHNSON Of The Gazette Staff A Bureau of Indian Affairs correctional officer at Crow Agency is suing the federal government alleging sex discrimination in her job. She said her bosses wrongly denied her a less risky work shift during the later months of her pregnancy and then retaliated when she complained that her supervisor was regularly using his government computer to enjoy pornography on the Internet. Laura Rides Horse, a correctional officer for nine years, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Billings against Gale Norton, secretary of the Department of the Interior. The suit seeks a jury trial, damages and an injunction to prevent BIA from further violating the rights of women who work in the office. Attorney Tim Kelly of Emigrant, who represents Rides Horse, said an important goal in sex harassment cases is to correct the situation. In this case, he said, the Interior Department was willing to "throw money at the problem" in an earlier settlement offer but was unwilling to fix the problem. Rides Horse names in her complaint Henry Bull Chief, lead correctional officer, and Robert Pease, of BIA's Office of Law Enforcement Services. Richard Aldrich, Billings field solicitor for the Interior Department, said Thursday he had not seen the complaint and had no comment. Pease said Friday he was unaware of the lawsuit and had no comment. BIA officials said Bull Chief was on personal medical leave. According to the complaint, Rides Horse was six months pregnant in May 2000 and working the night shift when she was assaulted by an intoxicated female prisoner. Rides Horse and a male officer subdued the prisoner. During May and June 2000, Rides Horse had difficulties with her pregnancy, sought medical treatment and needed to work in a less stressful conditions. Bull Chief and Pease knew of the increased risks and stress for night shift officers and knew Rides Horse was having difficulties with her pregnancy. But they failed to initiate any action to help her, the complaint said. Meanwhile, Bull Chief was using a BIA computer to access pornographic and sexually explicit photos and other materials on the Internet "as many as 100 times or more in a single day," the complaint said. Bull Chief also used his computer to send and receive pornography to other men working for or with BIA. The suit lists 16 Web sites as among those Bull Chief accessed. Bull Chief, Pease and other male supervisors knew that women employees were subjected to the material without their consent, the complaint said. On June 24, 2000, Rides Horse was subjected by Bull Chief to sexually explicit material. She reported the conduct to another male supervisor and filed a written report two days later. On June 28, Rides Horse formally requested Bull Chief to change her schedule to a day shift to accommodate her pregnancy. Bull Chief said he needed a doctor's statement, which Rides Horse furnished. In early July, Pease, with a recommendation from Bull Chief, denied the request. The complaint said the reasons given by Pease and Bull Chief for the denial were "known to be false and a pretext for discriminating against her because of her sex and her pregnancy." The suit further alleges that Bull Chief recommended denial of the shift change because Rides Horse had filed a report objecting to his improper use of the government computer. Bull Chief then filed a formal grievance and complaint against Rides Horse that were "factually baseless," the suit said. In response to Rides Horse's report, the Internal Affairs Division of the BIA Law Enforcement Services conducted an investigation of Bull Chief. The investigation determined in June 2001 that Bull Chief had engaged in misconduct while on duty by using his computer to access and display pornography. According to the suit, the BIA Office of Law Enforcement Service failed to take action against Bull Chief. "Instead, the BIA, through Pease and others made a conscious decision to leave Bull Chief in his position supervising (Rides Horse) and tolerated and condoned Bull Chief's reprisals against (Rides Horse)." BIA offered to pay Rides Horse a settlement to resolve her complaint against Bull Chief but was unwilling to take any effective disciplinary action against him, the suit said. Rides Horse filed suit after following federal complaint procedures. She filed an illegal discrimination complaint against the Interior Department on Dec. 1, 2000, after complying with regulations concerning Equal Employment Opportunity counseling. On Jan. 11 this year, the department issued a final decision on the case, finding in its favor and against Rides Horse. Rides Horse filed suit Feb. 25. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: First Nations in Yukon get Attention" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 08:18:40 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YUKON" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=ma5senate First Nations in Yukon get attention from Ottawa WebPosted Mar 5 2002 09:16 AM MST Whitehorse, Yukon - A Canadian senator says two Yukon First Nations have made an impression in Ottawa. The Kaska and Carcross-Tagish addressed a Senate committee studying the Yukon Act, saying the act will prejudice their efforts to settle land claims. They want the Senate to delay the act until claims are settled. Senator Nick Taylor says the arguments impressed the committee, but the Senate -- not the committee -- has the final say on what happens to the act. "I think in the next couple weeks you'll be able to hear whether the bill's in trouble, or whether it's floated through," Taylor says. "I think about two weeks from now you're going to get your first readings on it, how it's doing. Then after that, every week for about a month or so." Taylor says the senators can assist the First Nations by speaking with Ottawa's decision makers. Copyright c. 2002 CBC. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Nunavut Hunters want answers about Bad Gas" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 08:18:40 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NUNAVUT HUNTERS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=ma5gas Nunavut hunters want answers about bad gas WebPosted Mar 5 2002 08:18 AM MST Iqaluit, Nunavut - Hunters looking for answers about the gasoline problems in the territory left Nunavut's legislature empty-handed Monday. About 15 Iqaluit hunters sat in as observers, lining the sealskin benches against the walls of the assembly chamber. They listened closely as officials from the department of public works and services explain the tests they've done on the gas to MLAs Nine communities have now complained to the government about the gas. Hunters say their snow machines are breaking down and that means their lives are at risk when they're out on the land. The department says the tests show there are no chemical problems with the gas. Now they're waiting for results from samples sent to the United States and England. Dan Wispinski is with the Alberta Research Council that tests Nunavut's gas. "We don't know why the colour and the smell is the way it is right now," he says. "We are doing further laboratory analysis to find the reason." The hunters at the legislature were expecting answers and some like Mathusalah Kunuk were disappointed. "I don't know who to believe," he said. Many hunters say if there's something wrong with the gas, they'll want compensation for the damage to their snow machines. Results from the tests are expected this week. Copyright c. 2002 CBC. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: CRST Resolution will affect Tribal Inmates" --------- Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 08:12:24 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CRST RESOLUTION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3466991&BRD CRST resolution will affect tribal inmates March 06, 2002 Tribal members held in state prisons may stand less chance of being released on parole if they plan to come back to the Cheyenne River. In a letter dated Feb. 22, 2002, US District Judge Charles B. Kornman notified CRST Chairman Gregg Bourland that all magistrate judges in the Northern and Central Division take into account CRST Resolution No. 27 - 02-CR, which directs tribal law enforcemnt to exhaust all resources of thetribal court system before releasing offenders into state or federal custody. The issue came to a head in December, with the termination of Judge William H. Bossman by the CRST Council for his role in releasing a tribal member to state custody following a parole violation. Since the parolee had signed an extradition agreement effective with any parole violation, Bossman argued he had waived his rights. CRST Chairman Gregg Bourland disagreed, saying, "Tribal members need to be given every possible appeal before they are turned over to state jurisdiction. The CRST Council agreed, and at a later date, included specific language in a tribal resolution that brought state and federal officials to Eagle Butte Feb. 14. The resolution instructed tribal law enforcement officials not to report arrests directly to federal authorities. Only the tribal prosecutor could refer a case outside of the tribal court system, and then only after all tribal remedies were exhausted. In his Feb. 20 letter, Judge Kornmann said he was "very troubled by the fact that your resolution (No. 27-02-CR) remains in full force and effect, despite its obvious illegality. I am today instructing all magistrate judges in the Northern and Central Division to take into account the resolution in deciding whether or not to release any defendants from Cheyenne River on bond for the reasons I previously expressed to you. (see below) I intend to follow that same practice as to defendants convicted of any offense who express an interest in returning to Cheyenne River. As I expresssed to you earlier, I am willing to meet with you or your attorneys. I have heard nothing from you or anyone on your behalf following my earlier memorandum of Feb. 12." In his original letter, which was read into the official tribal record on Feb. 14, Judge Kornmann said he would rather see tribal courts handle many more crimes, but "The resolution presents an unworkable situation with regard to reservation residents...already placed on bond awaiting trial or sentencing in federal court in Aberdeen or Pierre. It is essential that the US probation officers have immediate information when someone being supervised has been arrested or has in some other way acting in violation of the conditions of bond ordered by a federal judge." He went on to say that if an officer has knowledge of a crime and fails to report it, it is a federal offense. "Your resolution, in effect, directs tribal police officers to violate federal law and obstruct justice ... They would, in effect, be harboring a federal fugitive and that is a serious crime as well." "I do not intend to allow defendants to do as they please and violate their conditions of bond without fear of being reported," Kornmann concluded. A revised resolution is on the agenda for the March CRST Council meeting to be held this week. Copyright c. 2002 ebnews.net/Eagle Butte. --------- "RE: Fort Mojave Fatality investigated by FBI & BIA" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 08:52:05 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FATALITY INVESTIGATED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.mohavedailynews.com/ March 09, 2002 Fatality investigated by FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs FORT MOJAVE INDIAN RESERVATION - A Fort Mojave Tribe member has died from wounds received during an alleged shooting incident on the reservation Wednesday. On March 6, at approximately 7:01 p.m., the Fort Mojave Tribal Police responded to a 911 call from the Arizona Village of the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation. According to Beatrice Jacobo, public information officer for the tribe, Fort Mojave Tribal Police injured Lance Cameron, a Fort Mojave Tribe member. As a result of his wounds, Cameron died at the Needles Community Hospital around 1 a.m. March 7. An investigation regarding this incident is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Copyright c. 2002 Mojave Daily News. --------- "RE: Warm Springs Man pleads guilty in Tribal Slaying" --------- Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 08:12:24 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STABBING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=42375 March 7, 2002 Warm Springs man pleads guilty in tribal slaying PORTLAND, ORE. (AP) - A man accused of stabbing a disabled man to death on the Warm Springs Reservation last summer has pleaded guilty to second- degree murder. Tony Gilbert Jr., 19, also agreed Wednesday to testify against two friends also accused in the July 11 death of Michael Saludo, 26. Under questioning by U.S. District Judge Anna Brown, Gilbert admitted he helped kill Saludo after a party. "I stabbed him, and I kicked him in the head," Gilbert said. The plea agreement calls for a 20-year prison sentence, although the judge could sentence him to a longer term, including life in prison. Also charged in Saludo's death are Ronald L. McKinley, 23, and Angelo Fuentes, 23. Both men face one count each of first-degree murder, felony murder and robbery. The first-degree murder charge carries a mandatory life sentence. Their joint trial is scheduled for April 23, although a hearing is set for next week on a motion to separate their trials. The incident falls under federal jurisdiction because it happened on Indian tribal land. All four men lived on the reservation. Authorities said the primary motive for the killing was robbery. Saludo, a tribal member, had walked with arm-brace crutches since he was a teen-ager because cold-weather exposure had damaged his legs. His body was left at the Lower Dry Creek Campground. Copyright c. 2002 Fisher Communications, Inc. (KATU TV) --------- "RE: Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation Meth Cases" --------- Date: Fri, 8 Mar 2002 08:12:24 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="METH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2002/03/ 2 get long sentences in Indian reservation meth cases By CLAIR JOHNSON Of The Gazette Staff U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull sentenced two men to lengthy prison terms for their roles in a conspiracy to bring multiple-pound quantities of methamphetamine to the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Charles Jesse Sanchez Jr., 36, got 14 years in prison and Abalberto Pena Huerta, 28, got 10 years. Each pleaded guilty earlier to a single conspiracy count. Pena Huerta, a Mexican citizen, also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of illegally entering the United States after having been deported. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shelley Hicks said the conspiracy began in mid- 2000 when co-defendant Amy Whitewolf, then living in Oregon, got involved in drugs. Whitewolf and Pena Huerta got in touch with her cousin in Lame Deer, Sanchez, about distributing drugs on the reservation. The conspiracy continued until March of last year. Eight others were charged in the case. Hicks said Pena Huerta made at least one trip with a pound of methamphetamine. Pena Huerta was held responsible for a little more than 500 grams of the drug, which carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years. The judge also sentenced Pena Huerta to two years in prison for illegal entry and ordered the term to run concurrent with the drug sentence. He ordered Pena Huerta to report to immigration officials for deportation when his sentence is competed. Cebull found that Sanchez had a managerial role in the conspiracy and sentenced him in the middle range of the sentencing guidelines. The government said that in October 2000, agents acting on a tip got search warrants for two West End motel rooms registered to Sanchez and to two dealers from Oregon. The search yielded more than 600 grams of crank. A pound is about 454 grams. In another methamphetamine case, Cebull sentenced Brian T. Morales, 20, of Laurel, to the minimum mandatory five years in prison for helping co- conspirators make between 50 and 200 grams of the drug by buying chemical ingredients at stores in Billings. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Seykora said Morales was part of a conspiracy that began in late 1999 and ended on July 6, 2000. The indictment said the conspiracy involved making the drug first in the Roundup area then in Joliet. Two other co-conspirators have pleaded guilty to charges and a fourth defendant, John Swank, is set for trial. In another case, Cebull gave Robert Dale Belless, 31,of Laurel, a break and sentenced him to four years of probation, with six months of electronic monitoring, for possessing a firearm in February of last year after having been convicted of domestic abuse. Belless faced prison time, but the judge agreed to probation after hearing testimony from witnesses, including his Belless and his wife, who was the victim. Teresa Belless said her husband has changed since he quit drinking, got treatment and sought family counseling. Federal Defender Mark Werner said Belless qualified for a downward departure from the sentencing guidelines because he had taken extraordinary steps in accepting responsibility. Cebull told Belless that he didn't have respect for men who beat women. "I don't care what the reason is," he said. The judge said his wife's testimony helped him. "You get one chance," Cebull said. A hunter with numerous guns, Belless acknowledged that as a convicted felon, he will not be allowed to possess firearms. Clair Johnson can be reached at 657-1282 or at cjohnson@billingsgazette.com Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Tue Mar 12, 2002 10:57 PM From: "Janet Smith" Subj: Prisoner Issues (personal note: Gary and I know Paul Matheny as a levelheaded, savvy military officer. I don't know much about this case other than what he writes here and a few additional facts gleaned from a quick Internet search, but based on my respect for Paul, I believe James's case is one Indian people (not just Cherokee) may want to investigate). Frorward by www.UnitedNativeAmerica.com From: awohali1@concentric.net (Renegade) I would first like to introduce myself. My name is Paul Matheny and I am the former Council Chairman of the Western Cherokee. Currently, I am an active duty Naval Officer stationed at the Naval Support Activity in Millington, TN which is located 17 miles north of Memphis. Due to surgery to correct and injury I suffered in the Persian Gulf 11 years ago and the recent events of Sept 11, I had to withdraw from the Council. During a phone conversation last week with Jack Black Hawk Green, I spoke to him about my concerns regarding a young unregistered Cherokee man who sits on death row in Georgia. I am trying to make as many people as possible, especially Cherokee people in Georgia, aware of the plight of James Lee. Black Hawk suggested that I contact you. Elder John Duke made me aware of James a year ago. John is fighting a serious case of COPD and has had several close calls with lung related problems in the past. He wanted someone to take up task of communicating with James and letting him know that someone cared about him. I asked a retired Marine Officer I knew down in Georgia to go visit James and give me a report. It was a real experience for him to get approved to go into the prison in Jackson, Georgia and then visit with a young man on death row on behalf of the Western Cherokees. He found a clean cut young man, who knew he made a mistake and should pay for it. However, it really appears that James (named Captive Hawk by Elder Duke) did not get adequate legal representation. The story as told to me by Elder Duke is that both of James' parents used and sold drugs. They gave him drugs as well as a young boy. James' father was prone to violence and abused both James and his mother on a regular basis. One evening James came home and found his mother almost beaten to death by his father. James was also on drugs at the time and went into an uncontrollable rage. He got a pistol and went looking for his father. James found his father with other members of the drug ring which was operated by his father. A shoot out occurred between James and the gang in which James killed two of the drug dealers. I cannot see how that act of rage based on the fact that his mother had been beaten to a bloody pulp could be ruled as premeditated murder. James should be punished and he realizes that fact. My feeling is that the death penalty was not warranted in this case. By the way, I believe in the death penalty for serial killers and those who savagely kill children. I was hoping that you might know of some Cherokee groups in the Georgia area who might be willing to take up Captive Hawk's cause. I believe strongly that time is running out and that if people from Georgia start asking the authorities to look into the case, there is more likelihood that someone will take a serious look at it. My wife and I have been corresponding with James and find him to be a very sincere person. His family has abandoned him (not too hard to understand) and he does enjoy receiving cards and letters from other Cherokees. He recently asked me to make more copies of affidavits from witnesses to the shoot out, which I agreed to do. These kinds of things make me believe that his court appointed attorney is not devoting enough time to this case. James mailing address is James A. "Captive Hawk" Lee #377605 G-4-99 P O Box 3877 GDCP Jackson, GA 30233-0078 It is a wonderful opportunity for Cherokees to show that they are concerned about one of their own, who is obviously involved in a life and death situation. Any assistance that you can provide in this matter will be greatly appreciated. May you walk with wisdom and always find the lighted path. Paul Matheny (Fighting Eagle) Please contact Georgia State Governor on this issue, thanks. Georgia Governor Roy Barnes http://www.ganet.org/governor/ MANUEL REDWOMAN -- THE LATEST Below is the latest article on Manuel Redwoman, written by Ruth Steinberger and published in the Lakota Journal at the end of February. -=-=-=- Date: Sunday, March 03, 2002 5:11 AM From: Ruth Steinberger To: Brigitte Thimiakis Manuel Redwoman, Northern Cheyenne/ Lakota/ Arapaho is a prisoner confined in the Montana State Penitentiary at Deer Lodge, Montana. Despite a good behavior record, in February 2001, Redwoman was transferred to the Administrative Segregation Unit of Montana State Prison. Redwoman made a written complaint against Unit Counselor Deb Hust, and Hust immediately responded by having Redwoman locked up. According to Hust, the incidents that she had Redwoman locked up over had taken place within or around the sweat lodge, yet there were no write-ups or reports by prison personnel who supposedly had overheard the comments. Indeed, for all of the allegations used by Hust to have Manuel Redwoman moved to Administrative Segregation, there had never been any write-ups on the alleged incidents. Hust had made no move to have Redwoman reclassified prior to his making a complaint against her. Hust was permitted to investigate the complaints made against herself by Redwoman. Redwoman was sentenced to a year in Administrative Segregation. Now, following the year in Administrative Segregation with no additional write-ups or even minor incidents, Redwoman has been moved to the Death Row Unit of the prison. In order to be held in Maximum Segregation in the Montana State Penitentiary, a prisoner must have 23 or more points or be facing the death penalty. Manuel Redwoman has neither. With only six points on his reclassification papers, the appropriate custody level for Redwoman is "Level 2 or Minimum Restricted". Prison officials earlier acknowledged to the press that Redwoman has a minor number of points but claim that some incidents cannot involve naming those making the charges against a prisoner. At a recent hearing on reclassification, Redwoman was not allowed to present documentation, any witnesses on his behalf, or have an officer help him prepare and defend himself, all of which are part of the due process procedure. Redwoman contends that his restricted incarceration is the result of retribution for speaking out for advocating for the religious and cultural rights of Native Americans incarcerated in the state of Montana. The Montana Department of Corrections did not return calls before press time. by Ruth Steinberger, Lakota Journal -=-=-=- I'm looking for personal reports, good or not-so-good, of Native prisoner issues, and contact information for any inmate seeking pen pals who'd like to be included in this column. Janet Smith owlstar@speakeasy.org --------- "RE: Rustywire: Broken Leg" --------- Date: Thu 8 Nov 2001 08:09:44 -1000 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BROKEN LEG" Broken Leg by Johnny Rustywire "Get rid of it, it is no good. It has fleas and it's not worth anything... it can't follow the sheep around and it will just eat and eat. Take it to the trading post and leave it there. If I see it I am going to shoot it." Stewy opened the screen door and went to the side of the house and sat down in the dirt. He softly touched the skinny black dog sitting next to him. He looked like an old one, it had gray whiskers and the eyes that looked tired. Stewy sat there and pushed his long hair back behind his head, and moved the knot in his headband from the side of his to the back, Apache style. Shimasani, Grandma had tied his hair back to keep it out of his eyes, and told him he looked like a singer with it tied like that. He didn't like it so he moved the knot to the back. He put his head down between his knees and looked at the shadow of his legs on the ground. He moved his fingers through the soft earth, and thought...What to do, what can I do. His father came out and walked across the open ground and headed out to the corral to fix something. He was always over there making noise. Sometimes he could be mean, and hard. Today he was that way, so Stewy put his arm around the dog next to him and held him close. His wet snout pushed against his neck. As his father disappeared behind a couple of cedars, he looked at the dog next to him. Early this morning he heard a dog whimpering, moaning and it woke him up. He got dressed and went down the hill to the road and saw the dog below down by the wash. The dog was laying there by the water, a small stream. Stewy had some left over tortilla in his pocked and gave the dog a piece of bread. The left front leg was bent, it was clearly broken, and there was a spot of red, an open wound. He spoke to the dog, it was not familiar to him. "Nchaa, Nchaa...it is ok, don't cry" he said. He picked up the dog which almost as big as him and after a couple of tries made it up the road. He carried it to the back of the Cha-oh, the open air shade house and put it there. He brought some water and left over bread. Che, Grandpa and Shimasani, Grandma were up on the mountain. Che would know what to do, but he was not here, their small house next door was empty. He had seen his father splint a broken leg one time and thought to try that. He found a piece of wood, and an old t-shirt and tore it up and strapped the dog's leg up with it. The dog moaned but did not try to bite him. It seemed to know this six year old was trying to help him. He left the dog and went to go eat. At breakfast he asked his mother what happens to animals when they break their bones. She said, ask your Dad. His father had fed the horses some grain, and was just finished washing his hands and threw the water out from the wash basin. He was a gruff man, Stewy was afraid to talk to him sometimes, but this morning he asked him about it. His father, listened as he ate blue cornmeal mush. His father told Stewy that sometimes you can fix them, but most times you just have to get rid of it, the animal is no good. If it is one of those sheep over there, motioning to the corral then we butcher right t