From gars@speakeasy.org Sat May 11 18:47:43 2002 Date: 8 May 2002 01:06:46 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews10.019 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 019 | Country than is reported in | O o o o o O | this weekly newsletter. For | O o O May 11, 2002 | For daily updates & events | O o O | go http://www.owlstar.com/ | O | dailyheadlines.htm | Mvskogee mulberry moon +-----------------------------+ Blackfeet aapistsisskitsaato's/flower - blossom 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; LPDC and Iron Natives Mailing Lists; UUCP email; newsgroup: alt.native IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> As historian Patricia Nelson Limerick summarized in The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West, "Set the blood quantum at one-quarter, hold to it as a rigid definition of Indians, let intermarriage proceed as it had for centuries, and eventually Indians will be defined out of existence. When that happens, the federal government will be freed of its persistent 'Indian problem.'" "Our village was healthy and there was no place in the country possessing such advantages, nor hunting grounds better than those we had in possession." "If a prophet had come to our village in those days and told us that the things were to take place which have since come to pass, none of our people would have believed him." __ Black Hawk, Sauk +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Judge Royce Lambreth ordered Secretary of the Interior to resolve a computer security breach discovered by the special investigator assigned to the Trust Fund case. In a tiff, DOI Secretary Gale Norton shut down all Department of Interior computers. Now, six months later 40,000 Native People in six or more western states still have not received royalty payments. Coincidence? I think not. As pointed out in last week's editorial Peabody Coal has petitioned for yet more water from a depleted aquifer. The issue has now come down to three possible solutions, all which would result in greater water usage. No one has even suggested "enough is enough". Coincidence? Not really. Farmers wanted more water from the Klamath River. Dams were built. The salmon have all but disappeared, along with a way of life for Yurok and other northwestern native peoples. Coincidence? No, not even. We have a U. S. Government that established a trust system, a Bureau of Indian Affairs and multiple layers of bureaucracy to manage the affairs of us ignorant savages. They said, "trust us, we know what's best." They then stole billions from the trust fund, destroyed the traditional ways of life, and in the process, a lot of Native Nations. They have shown time and again that monied interests are far more important than the welfare of the Native Peoples they are entrusted to care for. This is the same government that handed our ancestors small pox infested blankets, creating germ warfare over a century ago. Is the loss of billions and the disregard for the survival of Zuni, Hopi, Navajo.... mere coincidence? Of course not, and it's way past time Native Nations say to the U. S. bureaucracy, "We don't trust you, and we are taking our management into our own hands." The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma drafted a new constitution that goes a long way toward doing just that. I pray others follow suit. In closing this week's comment I am going to quote a white man. The quote is from the Atlanta Constitution this past Sunday, May 5. Governor Jim Hodges of South Carolina is fighting movement of plutonium across South Carolina. His response to being told he should trust the Department of Energy says it all: "The federal government is asking us to take them at the word. Given their track record that's not good enough." I agree. 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 ---------- - Goo Arlooktoo - Makah Ordered Not To Whale - Crossings for at least 10 Days - Short Life not lived in Vain - State Appeals Cayuga Award - Sand Creek Massacre Site - Letters for Peltier - Round 3 in Fight Urgently Needed over Mine Pumping - Native Prisoner - Opinions: -- Colorado Prison Needs Donation Another Accounting Scandal -- Destruction of Personal Property - Indian Royalty Payments -- Update on Circle at Chillicothe still on Hold -- Update on George M. Lopez - Super Assistant Secretary, -- Incarcer-Nation: in all but Name NA Prison Art Show - Zuni Pueblo's Eagle Aviary - Rustywire: Their Old Pictures educates Children - Poem: With Hearts Undone - Rocky Boy Sovereignty Summit - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Alberta's Stoney: - Technology and Indigenous Languages Agency shirking Responsibility - Native America Calling - New Diabetes Education Campaign - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Goo Arlooktoo" --------- Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 08:40:10 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GOO ARLOOKTOO" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.OBIT-Arlooktoo.html Goo Arlooktoo, former premier of N.W.T., dies from heart attack at age 38 May 1, 2002 IQALUIT, Nunavut (CP) -- Goo Arlooktoo, a former Northwest Territories premier, died Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack. He was 38. Arlooktoo, from the tiny hamlet of Kimmirut in the southeastern part of Baffin Island, served as justice minister and deputy premier of the Northwest Territories between 1995 and 1999. He served briefly as premier when he was just 35 years old after then- leader Don Morin resigned in the midst of a conflict-of-interest scandal in the fall of 1998. Jim Antoine, deputy premier of the N.W.T., said Wednesday that Arlooktoo was an essential figure in politics when the territories were dividing. "He helped us in the creation of the new territories Nunavut and the Northwest Territories," he said. "So he's helped contribute to the evolution of the north." Arlooktoo opted in 1999 to seek a spot in the legislature for the new territory of Nunavut -- a land almost twice the size of Ontario with a population of just 25,000 in 26 widely scattered communities. But he failed to win a seat in his home riding in the first-ever Nunavut election. Kevin O'Brien, the Speaker of Nunavut's legislative assembly, said Arlooktoo took his political duties seriously. "He was there early in the morning and left certainly after most people had left for the day," he said. "That's not to say we didn't have our debates. He was seen as a fair man and very committed to his responsibility." Arlooktoo said prior to the Nunavut election that the most important issue for the new region was the economy and jobs. The imminent territorial split ignited voter interest. "People are finally starting to realize that with this election comes the start of a long-awaited dream," Arlooktoo once said while campaigning. "That is the startup of the new Nunavut territory and what people see as their own government." Arlooktoo hinted at hopes of one day leading his homeland. "If elected, I would certainly run for cabinet and leave it open for the premier," he said before the February 1999 election. As in the Northwest Territories, the legislature has no political parties. Its members select a premier and cabinet from among themselves, and govern by consensus. Most recently, Arlooktoo had been working in Iqaluit as a political consultant, serving on a number of government-appointed committees. Copyright c. 2002, Canoe, a division of Netgraphe Inc. --------- "RE: Crossings" --------- Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 09:10:43 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSSINGS" April 27-28, 2002 Mary Coleman LUPTON, Ariz. - Services for Mary Coleman, 96, were held at 10 a.m., today at Cope Memorial Chapel. Pastor Tom Chischilly officiated. Burial followed at family cemetery, Lupton. Coleman died April 24 in Gallup. She was born May 10, 1906 in Lupton into the Water Edge People Clan for the One Who Walks Around People Clan. Coleman was a homemaker, rug weaver and rancher. Her hobbies included sewing, sheep herding and weaving. Survivors include her son, Johnny Thompson of Fort Defiance, Ariz.; daughter, Marie Coleman Etsitty of Lupton; 27 grandchildren; 66 great- grandchildren and 11 great-great grandchildren. Coleman was preceded in death by her husband, John Coleman; sons, Fred Comb, Thomas Coleman, Glenn Coleman and Ben Coleman; daughter, Louise Baker; sisters, Na Glee Nuz Bah, Madge Clark and Ah Henthbah Spencer; and brothers, Clarence Baker, Sam Houston and Dean Houston. Pallbearers were Reginald Curley, Alfred Baker, John Baker, Randall Comb; Matthew E. Curley and Eldridge Etsitty. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Lupton Chapter House. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Avery Reed Yazzie TSE BONITO - Services for Avery Yazzie, 19, will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, April 29 at Tse Bonito Community Bible Church. Burial will follow at family plot, Seba Dalkai, Ariz. Yazzie died April 24 in Fort Defiance, Ariz. She was born April 22,, 1983 in Fort Defiance into the Big Water People Clan for the Salt People Clan. Yazzie hobbies included playing basketball, fishing, traveling, listening to music, camping and working on vehicle. Survivors include his parents, Charolette Franklin-Sutton and Tommy Yazzie; brothers, Bryce and Brent Sutton; sister, Tanya; grandparents, Tom and Dottie Franklin and Dudley and Alice Yazzie. Pallbearers will be Johason Yazzie, Rodney Talkalai, Dustin Jackson, Brent Sutton, Drew Dixon and Corey Lincoln. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Franklin's residence, Seba Dalkai. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. April 29, 2002 Rosita Jean Begay-Charley CROSS CANYON, Ariz. - Services for Rosita Begay-Charley, 53, were held at 10 a.m., today at Mary Mother of Mankind Church, St. Michaels, Ariz. Father Gilbert officiated. Burial followed at family plot, Cross Canyon. Begay-Charley died April 25 in Ganado, Ariz. She was born Dec. 2, 1948 in Cross Canyon into the Salt People Clan for the Honey Comb Cliff Dwellers People Clan. Survivors include her sons, Jonah Charley Sr. and Henderson Charley; daughters, Angelita Begay, Sylvia Charley and Rachel Charley; sisters, Laura Ration; and five grandchildren. Begay-Charley was preceded in death by her son, Johnson Charley and parents, Eugene Benally and Pauline Begay. Pallbearers were Darryl Begay, William Blackgoat, Dabe Kee, Jonah Charley Sr., Ronald Tsosie and Delbert Ration. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. May 1, 2002 Henry Nelson Shirley GANADO, Ariz. - Services for Henry Shirley, 67, were held at 11 a.m., today at Ganado Prebyterian Church. Rev. Paul R. Stone officiated. Burial followed at Ganado Community Cemetery. Shirley died April 27 in Gallup. He was born July 15, 1934 in Ganado into the Water's Edge People Clan for the Red Running into the Water People Clan. Shirley worked for the Navajo Forest Products Industry as a logger and was a rancher. His hobbies included caring for his livestock. Survivors include his sons, Ben Shirley of Tempe, Ariz. and Stanley Shirley of Ganado; daughters, Wanda A. Begay, Rosina J. Tsosie and Caroline Y. Gorman of Ganado; sisters, Alice Shirley, Nellie Brown, Annie Shirley Peshlakai and Pauline Shirley of Cool Field; brothers, Wilson Shirley and Leonard Shirley of Cool Field and Ervin Shirley of Nazlini and 14 grandchildren. Shirley was preceded in death by his wife, Nora A. Shirley and parents, Nelson and Yilhasbah Shirley. Pallbearers will be Raymond L. Shorty, Jeremy F. Bia, Rayme Begay, Stanley Shirley, Albert Tsosie and Ben Shirley. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. May 2, 2002 Tom Dedman NAZLINI, Ariz. - Services for Tom Dedman, 55, will be held at at 11 a.m., Friday, May 3 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Chinle, Ariz. Bishop Shelton will officiate. Burial will follow at a private family cemetery. Dedman died April 27 in Scottdale, Ariz. He was born Nov. 17, 1946 in Nazlini into the Start of the Red Streak People Clan for the Red Running into the Water People Clan. Survivors include his wife, Anna Dedman of Nazlini; sons, Darryl Begay of Gardiner, Mont., Kenny Begay of Park City, Utah, Arnold Tracey of Nazlini, Arthur Bruggeman and Leroy Valentine both of Gallup; daughters, Candelaria Dedman of Lukachukai, Ariz., Joann Dedman of Nazlini, Annelise Begay and Deanna Benally both of Gallup; brothers, Carl Dedman and Henry Dedman both of Fort Defiance, Ariz.; sisters, Jane Dedman of Tuba City, Ariz., Ann Marie Dokey of Woodsprings, Ariz., Rena Brown, Fannie Charley and Vennie Tracy all of Nazlini; 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Dedman was preceded in death by his parents, Zonnie and Fred Dedman; brothers, Phillip Dedman and Tony Dedman and sister, Elizabeth Wilson. Pallbearers will be Edward Charley, Rudy Shebala, Art Tracey Jr., Bill Wauneka, Bennie Wilson and Herbert Wilson. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Gladys Nealwood John MEXICAN SPRINGS - Services for Gladys John, 89, will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, May 3 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Stake Center, Gallup. Burial will follow at Lone Pine Cemetery, Mexican Springs. Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m., tonight at Cope Memorial Chapel. John died April 27 in Gallup. She was born March 11, 1913 in Chuska Mountains into the Salt People Clan for the Towering House People Clan. John attended Tohatchi Boarding School. She was a former Chapter Secretary for Mexican Springs Chapter, homemaker. She was a member of the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Her hobbies included weaving, word search puzzles, crochet and quilting. Survivors include her sons, MacArthur Cadman Sr. of Mexican Springs and Harrison Cadman of San Bernardino, Calif.; sister, Roselyn Bitsie of Mexican Springs; 22 grandchildren and 47 great-grandchildren. John was preceded in death by her husband, Charlie John; son, Billy Victor Nez Sr.; daughter, Helena Wilson; parents, Hoskie and Bizdebah Nealwood; brothers, Fred Etsitty, Grover Etsitty and Jone Nealwood; sisters, Kathryn N. Nez and Rose Wauneka. Pallbearers will be Kendrick Jim, Arnall Jim, Freddie Wilson Jr., Travis Tom, MacArthur Cadman Jr. and Johnny Wauneka. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Mexican Springs Chapter House. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2002 the Gallup Independent. -=-=-=- May 2, 2002 Jerell Francis Ray Richards PORCUPINE - Jerell Francis Ray Richards, 3 months, Porcupine, died Sunday, April 28, 2002, in Porcupine. Survivors include his parents, Troy Richards and Darcy McBride, both of Porcupine; his maternal grandparents, Karen Red Elk, Porcupine, and David McBride, Kyle; and his paternal grandparents, Ron and Denise Richards, Porcupine. A one-night wake will begin at 2 p.m. Friday, May 3, at the Porcupine CAP Office. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the CAP office, with the Rev. Cordelia Red Owl officiating. Burial will be at St. Albin's Episcopal Cemetery in Porcupine. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. May 4, 2002 JoLynn A. Arapahoe KYLE - JoLynn A. Arapahoe, 19, Kyle, and her unborn child died Thursday, May 2, 2002, in Pine Ridge. Survivors include her special friend, Cody Grass, Manderson; her mother, Maureen Last Horse, Kyle; four sisters, Justina Arapahoe, Nevada, Mo., Charlotte Arapahoe, Porcupine, Maxine Broken Nose, Pine Ridge, and Madeline Two Lance, Scottsbluff, Neb.; five brothers, Mathew Brown Bull, Rapid City, Joseph Arapahoe, Sioux Falls, and Victor Arapahoe, Jacob Arapahoe and Webster Arapahoe, all of Kyle. A two-night wake will begin at 1 p.m. Monday, May 6, at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Hall in Kyle. The second night will begin at 1 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at the Allen CAP Office. Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the Allen CAP, with the Rev. Cordelia Red Owl officiating. Burial will be at Plenty Bears Cemetery in Allen. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Joseph Rooks KYLE - Joseph Rooks, 39, Kyle, died Wednesday, May 1, 2002, in Kyle. Survivors include one daughter, Niquita LaValdo, Clarksville, Ky.; one son, Jason Andrews, Porcupine; four sisters, Grace Rooks, Joann Rooks and Bonnie Groaning Bear, all of Kyle, and Lynell Janis, Porcupine; three brothers, Duane Rooks and Howard Rooks, both of Kyle, and Leonard Janis, Rapid City; and one grandchild. A two-night wake will begin at 2 p.m. Monday, May 6, at St. Barnabus Episcopal Church in Kyle. The second night will begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Hall in Kyle. Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at Our Lady of Sorrows, with an Episcopal minister officiating. Burial will be at St. Barnabus Episcopal Cemetery in Kyle. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2002 Rapid City Journal. -=-=-=- May 01, 2002 Dennis Sand, Sr. Dennis Sand, Sr., age 72, of Eagle Butte, SD passed away on Tuesday, April 23, 2002 while in route to the Rapid City Regional Hospital, Rapid City, SD. Funeral services for Dennis were held at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, May 1, 2002 at the HV Johnston Cultural Center in Eagle Butte with Fr. Jeffry Barnes, Fr. Les Campbell, and Rev. Norman Blue Coat officiating. Burial was in the St Mark's Cemetery located seven miles south of Eagle Butte. Wake services were held at 7:00 pm on Tuesday evening at the HV Johnston Cultural Center in Eagle Butte. Luce Funeral Home of Eagle Butte is in charge of the arrangements. Dennis E. Sand was born on June 26, 1929 to Albert and Ida (White Dog) Sand at the Old Cheyenne Agency. He attended school at the Old Cheyenne Agency and graduated from the 8th grade. He moved to Eagle Butte in 1969 and married Darlene Two Hawks on July 1, 1969. They were married for 32 years at the time of his death. He worked at several jobs and as a janitor for the CRST for 13 years until he retired. He was a member of St Andrew's Church. Dennis is survived by his wife, Darlene Sand of Eagle Butte; five daughters: Catherine Tsosie, Caroline Sand, Ila Sand, Mona Rae Sand (Judy Brown) and Darlene Sand; four sons: Thomas Sand, Frank Sand, Dennis Sand Jr., and Albert Sand; special granddaughter, Kelsey, and grandson, LaTrell. He also has 53 grandchildren and 44 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers and sisters. Copyright c. 2002 ebnews.net/Eagle Butte. --------- "RE: Short Life not lived in Vain" --------- Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 08:10:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SACRED STAR WOMAN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&tts=1&display=rednews Short life not lived in vain By JAMES HAGENGRUBER Of The Gazette Staff May 1, 2002 FORT KIPP - Pies fresh from the oven take a long time to cool on a hot afternoon at the end of August. Helen Bighorn decided to use the time to take a sack of garbage to the town dump. When she stopped her van, she noticed four Fort Peck tribal employees standing shoulder to shoulder in front of a Dumpster. They were staring into the horizon. Bighorn stepped out of her van and began walking toward them. One of the men began screaming, "I got a child! I got a child!" Bighorn noticed blood dripping from a plastic bag, then came the smell. "It felt like somebody hit me in the chest," she said. "I just staggered backwards until I bounced off my van." Bighorn yelled at the men to move away, to get away from the smell. But they continued staring into the northern sky. Bighorn got back into her van and screamed as she drove home. "It was just terrible. I'll never forget it." The infant girl's body had been discovered while the men were making a routine trash pickup in this tiny town along the Missouri River, about 300 miles northeast of Billings. Nobody knew who she was or where she came from. Tribal officials immediately launched a criminal investigation and sent the partially decomposed body to a state crime lab in Missoula. Although she was now shipped off the reservation, the horror and pain unleashed that clear summer afternoon didn't begin lifting until Tuesday, when the infant was returned to Fort Kipp. Ever since Chief Medicine Bear led his Dakota Tribe up the Missouri River in search of peace and buffalo, the people have faced great challenges: settlers, soldiers, the reservation boundaries, smallpox, boarding schools, alcohol, drugs. Slowly, the tribe's ancient teachings have been lost, says Floyd Youngman, an elder and a sundance chief who lives outside of Poplar. Nobody knows how many breaths the full term infant sucked in, but Youngman believes the minuscule amount of time she spent on earth could have great significance for the tribe. "There are lessons that need to be learned. There's a reason why this happened," Youngman said. The infant, known as Precious Angel, was shipped home to the tribe in a sealed box April 15. Although the tribe is continuing to investigate her death, state officials said her body could no longer be of service in the effort. Four women - Bighorn, Cheryl Brody, Catherine and Carol Spotted Bird - took it upon themselves to welcome Precious Angel back to the reservation and make sure she was given a proper sendoff. They supplied blankets, moccasins and a tiny dress for her burial. Clayton Memorial Chapels, of Wolf Point, donated their services for the funeral, which was held Tuesday in Poplar. But before Precious Angel could be buried, she needed an Indian name. This ensures the Creator will recognize her spirit and allow her ancestors to more easily spot her in the Other World, Youngman said. Youngman was asked last weekend to do the honor. Many American Indians have an Indian name chosen by an elder, in addition to what is printed on their birth certificate. This has a long tradition, Youngman said. When the reservation was established in 1888, Youngman's grandfather was told to take an English name. His Indian name translated to Youngman, that's what he picked. Many others picked a name from a list - often from history books. "There used to be a couple of George Washingtons running around the reservation," Youngman said. Precious Angel needed a special name. Youngman prayed and talked to a friend. "It needed to be something about the morning, the sunrise or the stars," he said. Youngman thought about his grandparents and their traditional ways, how when he was a child every adult in the tribe was expected to discipline him if he was getting into trouble, how his grandmother once left plates of food in the graveyard to honor the dead, how children were once considered more important than anything. He thought about his tribe's seven values: respect, humility, courage, wisdom, generosity, honesty and fortitude. "That is what we want to get back in our community," Youngman said. "Those values are not obsolete, but they're becoming lost." Youngman eventually chose the name Wicahpi Wakun Win, or Sacred Star Woman. "As the elders said, 'The child belongs to the whole community,'" Youngman said. "This is a child that was given to us to raise. The Creator has lessons to give us." About 250 people attended the naming ceremony and funeral for the infant. Sprays of pink and white carnations surrounded the tiny white coffin. Seven sheet cakes covered a table. Four sunburst quilts hung on the wall. A balloon with the words "Baby Girl" floated above the coffin, bumping into the basketball net above. A cool April breeze flowed through the gymnasium. When the naming ceremony began, Youngman walked slowly around the casket, singing Sacred Star Woman's honor song. The four women who helped the infant come home sat in the front row sobbing loudly. In the back of the gymnasium, young children played and chatted. No one shushed them. After walking around the coffin, Youngman paused and raised his head. "She'll leave us once again today. We wish her a good journey." A plate of the tribe's sacred foods - peppermint tea, juneberries, dried meat and fry bread - were placed at the base of the coffin. During the subsequent funeral, a passage from Thessalonians was read by the Rev. Enright Bighorn. "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope." Standing at the entrance of the gymnasium was Poplar Police Chief Capt. Stephen Gray Hawk, Sr., a 29-year veteran of police work. "I've seen a lot. I've seen a lot of things happen in my time. A lot of children's deaths in car accidents, house fires," Gray Hawk said quietly. "There was a lot of terrible deaths, but when a child like this goes, it hits everybody. "I really feel heartbroken because we got a child laying there. You wonder what caused this." Moments later, Gray Hawk lifted his head and ventured an answer to his own question. "Too many of our young kids are getting hooked on drugs. Children are the most important thing, but we're losing our future." Tribal Council Member Leland Spotted Bird was one of many who offered eulogies. "For the last seven months, we've had time to think," he said. "There is a purpose to every life. She came here with a purpose. That purpose, I believe, is we need to take a look at our own children, to see how precious our little angels are." At the end of the two-hour funeral, Sacred Star Woman was driven 25 miles east to Fort Kipp. She was carried from the back of a white hearse across a grassy field to her grave. Flowers were scattered at the base of the mound of freshly dug yellow earth. Meadowlarks chattered from perches on the graveyard's barbed wire fence. A cherry wood staff bearing an eagle plume and a tiny medicine wheel was planted in the dirt on the southern edge of her grave. Youngman had prepared the staff after selecting a name for the infant. Enright Bighorn faced the setting sun as he stood above the tiny grave. Dozens of men, women and children drew closer, staring at the small coffin. "We come to lay Granddaughter to rest," Bighorn said. "Granddaughter is in the presence of God, in a place where she will only know joy and happiness." James Hagengruber can be reached at 65-1232 or at jhagengruber@billingsgazette.com Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Sand Creek Massacre Site" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 08:14:22 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAND CREEK" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0426sandcreek-ON.html Casino company buys land to mark massacre of Indians Robert Weller Associated Press April 26, 2002 14:25:00 DENVER - A casino management company plans to buy and donate to Indian tribes the site of the Sand Creek Massacre, where militia troops killed more than 150 Indians in 1864. Minneapolis-based Southwest Entertainment Inc. will pay $1.5 million for the 1,465-acre Dawson Ranch, about 160 miles southeast of Denver near the town of Chivington. The National Park Service is working toward designating it a historic site. The sale will give the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma full access to land they deem sacred. "We are very excited about it because it has been over a century and we haven't had the opportunity to take care of the land properly," tribal Chairman Robert Tabor said. Militia led by Col. John M. Chivington, a Civil War hero, attacked a sleeping village of Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians on Nov. 29, 1864 on the gently rolling hills, dotted with sagebrush and yucca. The Indians had been told to camp there by the Army and most of the dead were women and children. Congress condemned the attack but no one was punished and there have been no reparations. Bill Dawson, who has owned the ranch since 1965, has allowed descendants of victims to visit, but they have had to ask for permission first. "That land is sacred land to us. It is like a church. It should be open. You shouldn't need anyone's permission," Tabor said. "The spirits of our people are still wandering there." Southwest Entertainment President Jim Druck said his company, which operates two casinos for the tribes in Oklahoma, has a long history with the Indians and wanted to help them. "It makes us feel good. It is not often that business and social and emotional interests can come together," he said. "I was at the concentration camp at Dachau last June. My father was among those there right about the time and after it was liberated by the U. S. Army and often talked about it. I had a similar feeling when I visited the Sand Creek site." The Sand Creek Massacre Historic Site is expected to cover 12,500 acres when finished. Copyright c. 2002, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Round 3 in Fight over Mine Pumping" --------- Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 08:40:10 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PEABODY ROUND 3" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=39804 Round 3 in fight over mine pumping By ANNE MINARD Sun Staff Reporter 05/01/2002 A national conservation group has thrown a counterpunch in a multi-year fight over the effects of Peabody Energy's water use on the aquifer beneath the Navajo and Hopi reservations. The Natural Resources Defense Council, a California-based nonprofit group of scientists, attorneys and environmentalists, has released its latest data that it says shows a significant negative impact. But the debate may be moot if Peabody, which disputes the NRDC conclusions, nevertheless agrees to stop pumping from the aquifer in return for a permit to expand its mining operations. The new study alleges that a computer model Peabody used to demonstrate its pumping is causing no harm to the aquifer was flawed primarily because it assumed too high a return rate for water flowing back into the aquifer -- something Hopi hydrologists have maintained for years. "This is truly a David vs. Goliath struggle," said NRDC senior attorney David Beckman. "Peabody ... is pushing for permission to use billions of gallons of water in a region that already doesn't have enough for the people who live there. Spending millions of dollars on biased studies will not disprove reality." Under an agreement signed initially in 1965, the company leases coal and water rights from the Navajo and Hopi tribes in return for more than $40 million in royalty payments each year. The latest NRDC report comes as Peabody is awaiting action by the federal Office of Surface Mining, under the auspices of the Interior Department, on a permanent permit application that includes a controversial expansion plan. Hopi tribal officials have said they won't endorse the permit application unless Peabody comes up with an alternative water source. Peabody officials have agreed, but the company has not amended its application. 'HE SAID, SHE SAID, HE SAID' The dueling studies between Peabody and the NRDC are beginning to look like a two-year, "he said, she said, he said" debate, which began with the NRDC's 2000 study, "Drawdown." That study was rejected by the Office of Surface Mining and elicited a rebuttal from Peabody, and this study appears to rebut that. Beth Sutton, a spokesperson for the coal company, said Tuesday that the company is proceeding in good faith to appease tribal cultural concerns about the aquifer regardless of the scientific stalemate. "We agree to disagree on the science," she said. "We respect cultural concerns and we're actively seeking a resolution." The coal company seeks permission to expand coal production on Black Mesa by 1 million tons a year and to use 32 percent more N-aquifer water each year to slurry coal from the Black Mesa Mine to the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nev., 273 miles away. Peabody's new application asks to use 5,700 acre-feet of N-aquifer water a year, compared with its annual current use of 4,400 acre-feet. The aquifer contains 400 million acre-feet of water and covers an area the size of Delaware. The use of aquifer water -- the sole source of tribal drinking water -- for the country's only water-fed slurry pipeline is a mainstay of tribal opposition to Peabody's mining operations. Tribal residents lament their springs and surface water supplies are drying up, and they blame Peabody for what they say is damaging drawdown of the aquifer. Peabody's study found no measurable impact of the groundwater pumping on springs and surface water and concluded the aquifer will "significantly recover" when the pumping stops. THREE ALTERNATIVES STUDIED Nevertheless, Sutton said Peabody is looking toward three other options to supply water for the slurry pipeline: piping water from Lake Powell, piping water from the Colorado River near Laughlin to the mine and returning it to Nevada with coal on the slurry line, and tapping the Northwest Aquifer, which starts at the Kaibeto Plateau west of the mining operations. She said the company is anticipating some decision on an alternative water supply within a year -- but one won't likely be implemented until the pending mine extension begins, sometime after 2005. The opposing position --which some local activists will call for in a protest to Peabody shareholders in St. Louis Friday -- is that Peabody should get off the aquifer before the permanent mining permit is approved. The coal company has been operating under an initial, or temporary permit. But it's being pressured by one of its partners, the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nev., to guarantee a lasting supply of coal. That's because the Laughlin plant has been court-ordered to purchase new pollution-control equipment by September 2003, a cost commitment it does not want to make if the fuel source from Peabody is in jeopardy. Peabody says its operations are beneficial to the tribes. The planned expansion would generate "$1.5 billion in direct economic benefits into reservation communities in terms of royalties, taxes, wages, and vendor contracts," Sutton said. The Black Mesa mine employs 251 workers, 96 percent of whom are tribal members, she said. "Mining is in the public interest," she added, "We're keeping the lights on for more than a million families, just at Black Mesa." Including operations at Peabody's other northern Arizona mine, the Kayenta Mine, the company provides electricity for 3.5 million homes. The Hopi Tribe has an alternative plan up its sleeve. In March, it signed a contract with Reliant Energy of Houston to explore constructing a jointly owned coal-fired electric generating station right on Black Mesa. The plant would need 800 million gallons of water a year for cooling purposes (vs. 1.3 billion for the slurry line), but Hopi officials have said they hope a pipeline from Lake Powell, not pumping the N-aquifer, would meet those water needs. Anne Minard can be reached at aminard@azdailysun.com or 556-2253. Copyright c. 2000-2002 Arizona Daily Sun. --------- "RE: Opinions: Another Accounting Scandal" --------- Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 08:10:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ACCOUNTING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nandotimes.com/opinions/story/384692p-3065956c.html Opinions: DAN K. THOMASSON: Another accounting scandal Scripps Howard News Service WASHINGTON (April 29, 2002 12:07 p.m. EDT) - Just about as large an accounting scandal as that plaguing Arthur Andersen and the beleaguered Enron is one that has been hanging around for decades and is the direct result of government incompetence. What's more, it may never be settled. Even the courts can't seem to find a way to assure Native Americans that billions of dollars in land-use fees owed them will ever be distributed. The money is due them for grazing, timber cutting and the extraction of oil, gas and other minerals on their land. The mess stems from bureaucratic intransigence of historic proportions by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees it, reaching back almost to the creation of the bureau, an agency whose early years were marred by corruption. Andersen itself was paid $20 million to try to straighten out the system and clearly didn't, which comes as no surprise. Price Waterhouse, another accounting giant, had joined the General Accounting Office and others in issuing reports urging reforms in the 1980s, all to no avail. So infuriated has one federal judge become over the lack of government response during the six years since frustrated Indians filed a class- action suit, he held both the Clinton Interior and Treasury secretaries in contempt of court, and current Interior Secretary Gale Norton and more than three dozen others in her department now face similar citations from District Judge Royce Lamberth. The class-action suit seeks to win justification, and thus billions in owed payments for 300,000 individual accounts held by the bureau. Like nearly every other dealing Native Americans have had with the government, they have failed to achieve any satisfaction. Indians contend that not one single account of those represented in the suit has been accurately balanced. Does the expression "flimflam" ring a bell? It certainly does with Lamberth, who has been struggling with misleading government lawyers, shredded documents and a host of other government shenanigans, including deleted e-mails. Last December, he became so upset over the lack of security on Web sites linked to the trust accounts that he ordered them shut down. In a classic bit of bureaucratic fumbling, Interior shut down all its Web sites, including those for the national parks, causing a disruption in vacation plans for thousands of Americans. The amount of land here is sizable, 57 million acres, 47 million of which is held in trust for the tribes. Leases for use of the land are signed with the bureau and pay the Office of Trust Fund Management, which is supposed to administer the accounts. Record keeping in any orderly fashion has been practically non-existent over the years, and many of the documents have been damaged or destroyed. Also, there has been a major problem as original account holders (land owners) died and their holdings have been spread among heirs. Congress has tried to fix the problem on occasion without much more success. The latest plan offered by a group of Western senators, including Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Arizona Republican John McCain, would create a new position at Interior to oversee trust management and facilitate the handling of funds by the tribes themselves. At the same time, Norton wants to set up a new bureau in the department to deal exclusively with the trust-management problem. Those supporting the class-action suit for some strange reason aren't keen about new government agencies coming into the picture and want Lamberth to appoint an independent receiver to straighten out the individual accounts. This entire affair has dragged on to the point of insanity. Obviously, a government agency or agencies that can't be trusted to manage the affairs of its constituents in better fashion needs to be severely reorganized or abolished altogether. The government's continuing callous disregard of the rights of Native Americans is not only a national disgrace, it is criminal. The Enron scandal is just a blip on the screen of corporate sleaziness. The mishandling of the Indian accounts is far more serious in what it says about our system of government no matter how un-sexy it may be to the press. Dan K. Thomasson is former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service. Copyright c. 2002 Scripps Howard News Service. --------- "RE: Indian Royalty Payments still on Hold" --------- Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 09:46:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ROYALTY PAYMENTS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/Stories/0,1413,129%257E6572%257E590023,00.html Indian Royalty payments still on hold By Jim Snyder/Staff writer Friday, May 03, 2002 - 11:54:19 PM MST NAGEEZI More than 3,000 Navajos in the Eastern "checkerboard" Agency of the Navajo Nation still have not received any Indian Royalty Trust Account payments. This comes nearly six months after U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth pulled the plug on the Department of the Interior's computer system, inadvertently disrupting the royalty payment system for 40,000 Native Americans in at least six western states. Navajo elders have been receiving "letters of intent to pay" from the government instead of actual checks. The money due is not taxpayer money, but actual rent payments from oil and gas companies who profit from the use of Navajo land on this eastern strip. The problem prompted an angry letter from Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M. to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton. Udall wrote April 12 "I do not understand why the Department of the Interior has not fixed this problem and am tired of receiving and reading the same old rhetorical spin,' which the department keeps feeding to the press and to my Native American constituency." The payment problem won't be resolved anytime soon, however, a U.S. official said during a community meeting held Friday at the Nageezi Chapter House, 35 miles south of Bloomfield. Theresa Bayani, director of the Indian and Gas On-Shore section of the Minerals Management Services Office in Denver, said her office has five months of royalty reports, submitted in hard copy, and payments to verify for accuracy. "Matching lease payments to royalty checks is very critical," Bayani said. The Nov. 21, 2001 computer shutdown brought the payment process for allottees to a halt. The oil and gas companies, however, continued to submit their payments. Bayani said. "We were getting the payments (during the shutdown). We were contacting oil companies by phone, so we could determine who was submitting the money." She added, however, "we didn't have the royalty reports during the shutdown. We couldn't confirm the exact dollar amount submitted, but only that it was submitted." Bayani said oil and gas company payments, meant for disbursement to Native Americans, are instead being deposited into the Federal Reserve until everything can be sorted out. The payment system is complex even without the added problem of an Internet shutdown. Oil and gas companies send their payments and royalty reports to the Minerals Management Services office. The information is given to the Bureau of Indian Affairs before being passed onto the Office of Trust Fund Management, who actually writes the checks and mails them to the land holders. This detailed explanation didn't completely satisfy Four Corners Allottee President George Werito. "All we know is the BIA is playing with our money. We want results today. These people have suffered long enough now," he said. The monthly allotment checks range from as little as $5 to a whopping $12,000, depending upon the size of the land and how much oil and gas the companies extract. Without these payments, some Navajos living in the resource-rich Nageezi and Herfano areas have been forced to relinquish homes and vehicles to the bank. Many Navajos have also sold their livestock and pawned belongings to survive. Nageezi Chapter President Calvert Garcia said he believed there was much more to it than what Bayani told the crowd. "Do you suspect any company of not making reports and payments?" he said to her in front of the audience. Bayani said "we determined the companies submitted all of the money. Whether they submitted reports, I can't answer that now." Garcia added he would like to remove the BIA from the payment process, instead replacing it with a system where companies make direct deposits into allottees' accounts. A BIA official from Window Rock, Ariz., who said he did not wish to be identified for fear of losing his job, was against this idea. He said banks couldn't handle the royalty accounts because interest is divided into fractions. He added, however, that the BIA hasn't kept accurate records for more than 100 years. "We're paying for it today. I wish there was an easy answer, but there isn't." Jim Snyder: jims@daily-times.com Copyright c. 1999-2002 MediaNews Group, Inc./Farmington Daily-Times. --------- "RE: Super Assistant Secretary, in all but Name" --------- Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 09:46:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SUPER ASSISTANT SWIMMER??" http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/ A super assistant secretary, in all but name FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2002 Raising questions about reorganization efforts, and in potential violation of federal law, Ross Swimmer has amassed control over almost every single aspect of trust reform, according to court documents and government reports. The power grab comes as Secretary of Interior Gale Norton faces criticism for attempting to scuttle the authority of the only government official charged with fixing the Indian trust system. Some of Special Trustee Tom Slonaker's key duties have been parceled out to Swimmer in spite of unanswered questions about his qualifications, court monitor Joseph S. Kieffer charged in a report this week. The ever growing consolidation casts Swimmer, a former Reagan administration official, as a super assistant secretary of sorts, able to take on any trust project when deemed appropriate. Yet as a political card brought in by Norton at the height of controversy over her plan to create a new trust agency, he remains largely unaccountable to Congress, Indian Country and the court overseeing the debacle. Since his appointment last November, Norton and her aides have shielded the past head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs from complaints by Congress and tribal leaders. At a contentious House hearing in February, she openly scoffed at doubts expressed about his role at the Department of Interior. Requests for Swimmer's removal by tribes, still stung by his late 1980s attempt to privatize their assets without their consent, go unheeded. Department officials decline, or refuse, depending on the case, public inquiries about his status -- including whether he is an employee or a high-priced consultant -- citing privacy issues. Meanwhile, his reaches into trust matters have expanded. He currently watches over the failed $40 million Trust Asset and Accounting Management System (TAAMS), now called Trust Systems; data cleanup, renamed BIA Trust Data Quality Analysis; and probate, or the distribution of Indian assets to descendants. Taking over a duty Slonaker once held, Swimmer is responsible for compiling court-mandated status updates. The process involves him summoning BIA project managers to explain their progress in a role not unlike one which might otherwise be handled by Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb. In addition, he oversees the ongoing work of Electronic Data Systems (EDS), an information technology consulting firm Slonaker brought into the fold last summer. Tribal leaders, after questioning EDS' presence and the approval of more than $5 million in contracts to the firm against their objections, are just beginning to be included in this decision making process -- and only at their insistence. It's his oversight of two other areas that may be the most troublesome, though. Although Congress in 1994 directed the Special Trustee to prepare a strategic guide to reform, Norton has tasked this effort to Swimmer and renamed it an "operations" plan. Swimmer has also been given control over Bert T. Edwards, a former top official at the State Department charged with telling 300,000 Indian beneficiaries how much money they are owed, another Congressionally enumerated duty. The Office of Historical Trust Accounting works under the auspices of Swimmer's seemingly nebulous Office of Indian Trust Transition, an entity Norton created by secretarial fiat. But if it comes down to a battle over who has the best interests of Indian beneficiaries at heart, there is no contest. In the most glowing of terms, Norton has clearly sided with Swimmer, as evidenced by a recent memo in which she blamed Slonaker -- who has 36 years of trust experience -- for the state of affairs. "I am confident that Mr. Swimmer is very qualified to undertake these duties, and I don't want to interrupt the progress that is being made," she wrote on April 19, telling Slonaker he is better off concentrating on what few tasks he has left lest those be stripped away too. To the court, though, the answer may be different, as Kieffer in his report singles Swimmer out as a potential problem. "Mr. Ross Swimmer may be a very experienced manager with a considerable history in the BIA as Assistant Secretary," he writes. "He may have been a tribal chief and a bank president." "But repeated inquiries by the court monitor about his trust experience have not received any response that he has ever been educated in or performed any trust fiduciary operations to the extent required to fulfill the role he has now been given," he continues. The conclusion? "This Shakespearean tragedy has no end." Copyright c. 2000-2001 Noble Savage Media, LLC/Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Zuni Pueblo's Eagle Aviary educates Children" --------- Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 08:10:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ZUNI HUSBANDRY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news02/043002_news_eagle.shtml In one fell swoop: A finalist for a national governance award, Zuni Pueblo's eagle aviary educates children, revives the ancient practice of husbandry and provides ceremonial feathers, not to mention caring for injured birds. By Frank Zoretich Tribune Reporter ZUNI - The big bird swooped by just a few feet above the dozen small children, the wind of its flapping wings ruffling the hair on their heads. "I wish I could be an eagle," said one of the boys. "How many of you are members of the Eagle Clan?" asked Loretta Beyuka, teacher of the kindergarten class at Zuni Pueblo's A:shiwi Elementary School. Several children raised their hands. The boy and his classmates were visiting the Zuni Eagle Aviary, home to nine bald eagles and 12 golden eagles, injured predatory birds that would not be able to survive in the wild. The aviary, built for about $100,000, is the central element in a Zuni tribal government program that is among 16 finalists for one of this year's Honoring Nations: American Indian Tribal Governance Awards from Harvard University. Eighty tribes from around the nation entered the awards competition, administered by the Project on American Indian Economic Development at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Eight of the 16 finalist programs will be recognized further with "high honors" on June 18 in Bismarck, N.D. Each of the eight will receive $10,000 "to share their governance success story with others." A news release from Harvard listing all the finalists says this about the Zuni Eagle Aviary program: "Responding to ceremonial needs for eagle feathers, in 1999 the Pueblo opened the first-ever Native American owned and operated eagle sanctuary. The award-winning facility provides a source of molted eagle feathers for Zuni while at the same time reviving the ancient practice of eagle husbandry. "Today, the sanctuary is home to (21) eagles - all of which are non- releasable, typically because of a permanent debilitating injury - which enables the Pueblo to distribute tens of thousands of feathers using tribal protocol. The sanctuary also administers a community education program, a raptor care training program and has strengthened Zuni's ties with dozens of outside agencies." Steve Albert, head of the Zuni Fish and Wildlife Department, said about 99 percent of the eagle feathers are distributed to Zuni religious leaders and other members of the Zuni Pueblo, and some of them are sent to other tribes for ceremonial purposes. "Money is not the thing," Albert said of Zuni's application for the Harvard award. "It's a pretty big honor just to be named as a finalist. We're happy to help other tribes and to be a model for many reservations. Some tribes in Oklahoma are now moving forward on eagle aviary programs." The only other legal source for eagle feathers - primarily from birds that have died - is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Eagle Repository near Denver, which has a years-long waiting list of requests. The pueblo worked with Albuquerque's John Antonio, Fish and Wildlife's liaison to tribes in the Southwest, to establish the aviary program. Once included on the U.S. list of endangered species, bald eagles have made a comeback - from 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states in 1963 to about 6,000 nesting pairs today. Since 1995 they have been listed as "threatened." Golden eagles are protected under the same federal laws that protect bald eagles. Although endangered in some states, golden eagles are not on the federal endangered species list. The greatest threat to the eagles appears to be loss of habitat. The Zuni eagles, sent to the pueblo by a variety of animal-rescue groups, have suffered foot or wing injuries or were born in captivity and have imprinted on humans, rendering them unfit to survive in the wild. Some of them can't fly, but to stay clear of the kindergartners moving about the aviary, they stalk across the floor of pea-sized gravel like feathered tough guys, shoulders hunched, heads and hooked beaks pugnaciously thrust forward. From the outside, the aviary resembles a big barn, with walls of vertical wooden slats to let in light and air, and two entrances featuring traditional Zuni stonework. Inside, the space seems huge. The building includes a "flyway" 100-feet long, 25-feet wide and 18-feet high. Several smaller rooms along one side of the building provide space for eagles whose injuries or temperaments require separate quarters. The slatted walls allow plenty of light and all sorts of weather to spill inside. Although portions of the aviary are roofed, most of it is also slatted. "The eagles like the rain and snow," Albert said. The children gather around Calvin Chavez, the aviary's part-time caretaker, as he sets out delicacies on perching platforms for the eagles' feeding. The menu on this day includes a dead lamb, dead mice - "Eeeyew!" the children exclaim in unison - as well as chunks of what Albert called "bird of prey diet; it's basically horse meat." The bird of prey diet is purchased from a Nebraska company, but Zuni tribal members contribute most of the dead animals. Chavez is also the person who does the careful daily gathering of molted eagle feathers. "They each drop a couple every day," Albert said of the birds. And once a month Chavez trims the eagles' talons and weighs the big birds - they range from 7 to 12 pounds. The aviary was designed - with guidance from the Zuni tribal council, Zuni cultural liaison Edward Wemytewa and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - by the married team of architects Claude Armstrong and Donna Cohen, who lived in Albuquerque until moving to Florida about five years ago, where they practice in Gainesville and teach at the University of Florida School of Architecture. The couple also left their mark on Albuquerque. They designed the Zen Center and, with Albuquerque architect Robert Peters, the "outlooks" on the Montano Bridge. "We didn't have any preconceptions," Cohen said of their aviary design work. "There was nothing like it that anyone else had ever done," Armstrong added. The building has won a New Mexico American Institute of Architecture award. The National Endowment for the Arts has given it recognition by agreeing to provide $20,000 to fund the design for an addition to the aviary, including another flyway. Armstrong and Cohen will be returning to New Mexico for the summer to work with the Zunis on the project. "We're pretty much at capacity," said Albert, explaining the decision to roughly double the aviary's size. The addition, he said, would include "a real education room." The Zuni tribal council has not yet decided how much of an open-to-the- public facility the aviary should be. "One of the things we're looking at is for visitors to be able to look into the flyway without being able to walk into it," Cohen said. The kindergarten class is gone from the aviary. The eagles fly or walk to the rats and other tempting morsels that have been put out on the perching platforms. They begin to rip into their food. ------------------------------------------------------------- Navajo Nation is also a finalist for Harvard award The Navajo Nation is also among the 16 finalists for Harvard University's American Indian Tribal Governance Awards. Here's how the Navajo entry is described by the Project on American Indian Economic Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government: "Formed in 1989 by the Navajo Nation Council, the Office of Navajo Government Development works with the Dine' people and its elected leaders to conduct government reform, foster the incorporation of Navajo culture and tradition into the Navajo Nation Code, and facilitate the devolution of responsibilities from the central Navajo government to the local or chapter level. "As a body dedicated to improving government performance, the Office played a key role in the passage of the 1998 Local Governance Act and has developed and informed numerous legislative initiatives that expand tribal sovereignty and increase governmental accountability, transferability and efficiency." Copyright c. 2002 The Albuquerque Tribune. --------- "RE: Rocky Boy Sovereignty Summit" --------- Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 09:46:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SOVEREIGNTY SUMMIT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/ Chippewa holding sovereignty summit By JENNIFER PEREZ Tribune Staff Writer Saturday, May 4, 2002 Descendants of Chief Asiniweyin, the Chippewa leader whose name was translated as Rocky Boy and for whom the reservation in northcentral Montana is named, are holding a sovereignty summit in Great Falls today and Sunday. Organizers Mike Albert and Glen, Mike, Melinda and Mary Gopher expect a few hundred people -- some from as far as Washington, Utah and Canada -- to attend what they hope will become an annual event. The group also has invited Montana's congressional delegation and the Office of Self Governance, which distributes federal benefits to the Chippewa Cree tribal council, to attend. There are several hundred, and possibly a thousand, descendants of the chief in Great Falls and in urban areas in the northwestern United States, most of whom never settled on the Rocky Boy's reservation, or enrolled with the tribe, said Melinda Gopher, great-great-granddaughter of Chief Asiniweyin. The summit is designed to bring these descendants together, to form their own tribe and govern themselves, effectively splitting from the Cree and Metis. "The main purpose of the summit is for the original band to reclaim our sovereignty," said Melinda Gopher, daughter of the late Robert Gopher, who raised his family on Hill 57 in Great Falls and was a tribal leader until he died in 1998. Members of the Chippewa Cree tribal council didn't return messages left by the Tribune Friday. Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation was established in 1916. The law that did so recognized the Ojibwa, better known as the Chippewa, but didn't acknowledge the Cree and Metis -- historically rival tribes. The tribal constitution was altered to include members adopted into the tribe -- the Cree and Metis -- and even though no adoption records exist, they now make up the vast majority of the tribe, and do not represent the Chippewa, summit organizers say. "Since Rocky Boy died, there has never been an Ojibwa tribal chairman, let alone an Ojibwa tribal government," organizers said in a prepared statement. Not only do the Cree and Metis not represent them, they tried to wipe Chippewa out by making it a law that those who had not lived on the reservation for 10 years lost their tribal status. "The Cree and Metis initiated a blatantly genocidal policy to terminate Ojibwa enrollments based upon extended absence of 10 years," the statement said. "We are expecting this matter to be corrected and to gradually install a return of Ojibwa self-government." (These Ojibwa are not to be confused with the Little Shell Band of Chippewa, who are predominately Metis and have been waiting final federal recognition since May 1999, Melinda Gopher said.) Today, following a traditional memorial feast to Chief Asiniweyin, a six- to nine-member traditional Ojibwa clan council will be sworn in. "We've had traditional leaders represent the community in the past, but we're returning to as close to the type of government Rocky Boy had when he was a leader in 1916," said Gopher, 27, who now lives in Billings. "Its duties will be to restore self-government to our people, to represent our interests and to engage in asset recovery, because we have had our wealth taken from us," she said. The group also wants to strike down the constitution the BIA authorized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1935, which allowed the Metis and Cree into the Chippewa tribe. Organizers said they are not looking to displace the Cree or Metis, but only to restore rights lost to the historical members, the chief's descendants. "What we want is a better life for our people," said Mike Gopher, Melinda's brother. Instead of having a reservation, organizers would like a corporation or board that could invest the talents of their people. "For us to try to move to Rocky Boy ... probably wouldn't work," because they would still have to move away from there to find jobs," Mike Gopher said. "They can decide to enroll us, but nothing will really change." Either way, there must be a compromise between the three groups, he said. "We do acknowledge our own suffering of being wiped out, we sure wouldn't want to see any tribal groups struggle like we did for 85 years," Melinda Gopher said. "Our intentions are not to displace anybody." Copyright c. 2002 Great Falls Tribune. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Alberta's Stoney: Agency shirking Responsibility" --------- Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 08:10:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STONEY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Aboriginal-Energy.html Alberta's Stoney First Nation claims federal agency shirking responsibility April 30, 2002 CALGARY (CP) -- A federal government agency formed to protect oil and gas revenues for First Nations has neglected to collect more than $10 million from oil companies for a Calgary-area band, two chiefs charged Tuesday. In a rare move, Stoney First Nation chiefs called a news conference to reveal their discontent and frustration with Indian Oil and Gas Canada. They accused the agency of mishandling royalties owed by Canadian and American energy companies and claim the federal branch is neglecting many more native bands in Alberta. "We feel we need to involve the media in this matter to get things moving," Chief Ernest Wesley said. In 1993, Indian Oil and Gas Canada told the Stoney nation that the agency had quit trying to collect royalties that several oil companies had improperly deducted and paid to the province. Feeling abandoned by the agency, the Stoney nation filed a lawsuit against one of the companies, PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. Seven years later, in July 2000, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Stoneys. But the court said the band could only collect money from PanCanadian going back six years from when the lawsuit was filed. Since then, the Stoneys have made claims against several oil companies, stating they are owed more than $10 million, plus interest. But the court ruling has created a six-year precedent in the eyes of the companies, and they are only cutting cheques to Indian Oil and Gas Canada for a fraction of the money demanded by the band. However, some disputed royalties date as far back as 1977. Stoney lawyer Doug Rae called the six-year limitation "legal fiction," and called on Indian Oil and Gas Canada to collect the full amount. But the head of Indian Oil and Gas Canada said the agency has to follow the court ruling. "Legally, that's what the companies are on the hook for," said Strater CrowFoot, executive director of the agency. "There's a six-year limitation period. That's what we can collect." When asked why the agency for years stopped fighting to recoup the royalties which had been improperly deducted, CrowFoot responded: "You're asking the wrong people because I wasn't around back then." CrowFoot landed the job in 1996. Copyright c. 2002, Canoe, a division of Netgraphe Inc. --------- "RE: New Diabetes Education Campaign" --------- Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 09:46:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DIABETES EDUCATION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Aboriginal-Diabetes.html New diabetes education campaign to raise awareness among Aboriginal Peoples May 3, 2002 OTTAWA (CP) -- A new awareness campaign to prevent diabetes among Aboriginal groups in Canada was launched Friday by the federal government. Health Minister Anne McLellan and Ethel Blondin-Andrew, secretary of state for children and youth, launched the $400,000 campaign at the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, which is developing educational products for the prevention of the disease in Ottawa. The campaign will use posters, fact sheets, radio broadcasts and a Web site to promote regular exercise and nutritious eating. Funding will come from a five-year, $58-million federal grant allocated to the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative in 1999. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among Aboriginal Peoples, with a prevalence three to five times the national average, says Health Canada. The department has no record, however, of how many Aboriginal people suffer from the disease. Elaine Johnston, director of health at the Assembly of First Nations, says the initiative will allow the different groups involved to establish the exact number of diagnosed cases across the country. So far, she says, they have found that type 2 diabetes is more prevalent among Aboriginal groups. Type 1 diabetes signals a lack of insulin production, while type 2 means the body produces insulin but can't harness it properly to convert food energy. A number of theories have been put forward to explain why the disease is growing among Aboriginal Peoples, says Johnston. Some point to the move from an active hunting-gathering lifestyle to the sedentary life on reservations. "Our lifestyle has changed drastically," she says. "The research is showing that that probably has a lot to do with the diabetes." Health Canada research shows that prior to 1945, the disease was practically unknown in native communities. Now it estimates that 27 percent of First Nations people will have Type 2 diabetes within the next 20 years, a rise that is expected to be mirrored among Inuit and Metis people. Copyright c. 2002, Canoe, a division of Netgraphe Inc. --------- "RE: Makah Ordered Not To Whale For At Least 10 Days" --------- Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 09:46:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MAKAH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.komotv.com/news/printstory.asp?id=18197 Makah Ordered Not To Whale For At Least 10 Days May 3, 2002 By KOMO Staff & News Services TACOMA - A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Friday barring Makah Indians from hunting gray whales, thwarting the tribe's plans to continue an ancient tradition that has sparked fierce opposition in recent years. U.S. District Court Judge Franklin D. Burgess in Tacoma issued the 10- day order two days after whaling opponents filed their request. "Plaintiffs have made a sufficient showing that serious questions are raised and that the balance of hardship tips in their favor," Burgess wrote. "There is a public interest in determining that an (environmental assessment) adequately addresses all of the ways the whale hunting proposal could adversely affect the human environment." Anti-whaling activists applauded the ruling. "We're absolutely thrilled," said Michael Markarian, vice president of the New York-based Fund for Animals. "We believe that the hunt could have taken place immediately, and the judge's temporary restraining order will prevent irreparable harm from taking place, and it will give the court the time to examine our case on the merits." Reached by phone at the reservation in Neah Bay, Tribal Council President Gordon Smith said he had no comment. "It's something we feel strongly about, but a comment's not going to do us any good," Smith said, noting that the council has not yet issued a whaling permit this year. The tribe's Seattle-based lawyer, John Arum, called the restraining order a bitter disappointment, criticizing the judge's failure to mention the treaty rights that give legal backing to the Makah's centuries-old whaling tradition. "It's evident from the judge's ruling that this is very preliminary, and he hasn't even considered the merits of the case," Arum said, "so I don't think anyone should take this decision as an indication of how he will ultimately rule." The judge also scheduled a May 15 hearing on The Fund for Animals' recent request for a preliminary injunction, which would last longer than a temporary restraining order. The preliminary injunction seeks to prevent the Makah from hunting whales while a lawsuit challenging the tribe's right to whale makes its way through the courts. The Makah's right to whale is outlined in their 1855 treaty. The tribe moved to resume the hunt when the whales were taken off the Endangered Species List in 1994. After making their case to the International Whaling Commission, Makah whalers were allocated 20 whales through 2002, but no more than five per year. They killed one, on May 17, 1999, their first in more than 70 years. They tried again in the spring of 2000, but were unsuccessful. There was no whaling last year, while a court-ordered environmental study was under way. That study cleared the hunts to resume, as well as expanding whaling territory to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and allowing the Makah to hunt both migrating whales and those that spend much of their time along the Washington coast. The lawsuit The Fund for Animals and several other environmental groups filed in January challenges the expanded hunt, alleging it was based on bad science. Whaling opponents accuse the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association of violating two laws: the National Environmental Policy Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which allows only Alaska tribes to hunt whales. The fisheries service has defended the study, saying it showed that allowing the Makah to hunt no more than five gray whales per year would not harm a population of 26,000 whales. Copyrighted material of Fisher Communications, Inc. (KOMO TV) --------- "RE: State Appeals Cayuga Award" --------- Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 09:46:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CAYUGA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/native/Article_Detail.asp?Article_ID=10709 State Appeals Cayuga Award by AP, The Associated Press By William Kates, Associated Press Writer Syracuse, N.Y. (AP) - The state of New York filed notice Thursday with the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals that it will challenge the $247.9 million award in the Cayuga Indian land claim. The Cayugas will respond by filing their own appeal and will seek $1.7 billion for the illegal taking of their upstate New York homeland more than 200 years ago, said the tribe's attorney, Martin Gold. The state's one-page notice did not elaborate on the reasons for the appeal, only that the state wanted to reserve the right to challenge the validity of the claim, the judgment and amended judgment reached by U.S. District Judge Neal McCurn as well as any related motions and orders. "We will submit the details and the rationale for our appeal at a later date based on the court-determined schedule," said Paul Larrabee, a spokesman for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. In a decision in March, McCurn upheld the validity of the Cayugas' claim to 64,027 acres of former reservation land in Cayuga and Seneca counties and denied motions for a new trial or to recalculate interest. He also granted a U.S. Justice Department motion to dismiss all defendants except the state. McCurn previously determined that New York state acquired the land illegally by entering into invalid treaties with the Cayugas without receiving congressional ratification, required by a 1790 law. In October, McCurn added $211 million in interest to a federal jury's previous $36.9 million damages award for the land's current worth and the loss of two centuries of fair market rental value. The Pataki administration called the award against the state "grossly excessive and completely unreasonable." "We are disappointed that the state of New York has decided to prolong litigation that already has gone on for more than two decades, and to risk being ordered to pay an even larger amount," Gold said. Gold said the Cayugas were willing in 1980 to take $8 million and 5,000 acres of land to settle the claim. In 1984, they offered to settle for $15 million and 8,500 acres. In 1999, they were willing to accept a court- appointed mediator's proposal for $125 million, of which the state would have paid half. "New York has missed golden opportunities to settle the case at a fraction of what ultimately was awarded the Cayugas," Gold said. "Now the state is apparently giving up the opportunity to settle for $247.9 million, which may turn out to be a fraction of the ultimate amount they will be required to pay." The Cayugas had offered to not appeal the judgment if the state did likewise, Gold noted. "The state's decision ... gives us no choice but to cross-appeal from the district court judgment and seek the full amount of $1.7 billion," Gold said. Gold said the tribe also would cross-appeal on other matters, including ejecting the state from all state-held land within the claim area, including Cayuga State Park. Copyright c. 2002 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2002 iMinorities, Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Letters for Peltier Urgently Needed" --------- Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 18:47:07 -0500 From: "lpdc" Subj: Letters for Peltier urgently needed! Mailing List: LPDC URGENT: LETTER DRIVE FOR PELTIER'S PAROLE Dear Friends, Leonard Peltier's next interim parole hearing has been scheduled for July 1st, 2002. Letters of support are urgently needed. An interim parole hearing is different from a regular parole hearing. Its purpose is to review the Parole Commission's original decision to deny parole to see if any new developments warrant a change. The Commission can do one of three things: affirm the original decision to deny parole and leave the next full hearing date (2008) in place (the most common scenario); accelerate or postpone the next full hearing date; or grant parole (the rarest scenario). As many of you have experienced, the Parole Commission does not treat these hearings with any seriousness or fairness. During the last hearing, the Parole Examiner wrote his recommendation that Leonard not be granted parole while Leonard's representatives were still making their presentations. However, it is critical that we maintain a strong showing of support for Leonard's release. We DO NOT want to give the Commission or prison officials the false impression that Leonard Peltier's support is dwindling. This showing of support is what keeps Leonard safe. Furthermore, we must take full advantage of any opportunity to seek Leonard's release, even if the chances for victory are slim. Let's gather as many letters as possible and show officials that we have not and will not give up. A sample letter that you can use if you'd like is below. If you can personalize it that is even better. Please send your letters to the LPDC so that we can track how many were submitted and compile them for presentation to the Parole Commission. Thank you for your ongoing support! In Solidarity, LPDC Click here to learn about Leonard's parole status: http://www.freepeltier.org/remaining_avenues.htm Date United States Parole Commission 5550 Friendship Boulevard, Suite 420 Chevy Chase, MD 20815-7286 Re: LEONARD PELTIER #89637-132 Dear Commissioners, I am writing to express my wholehearted support for the parole of Mr. Leonard Peltier who is currently housed at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth. Mr. Peltier has served more than 26 years in prison for the deaths of FBI Agents, Ronald Williams and Jack Coler. I recognize the grave nature of such an offense. My deepest sympathy is extended to the families of these two agents. After careful consideration of the facts in Mr. Peltier's case, I ask you to grant Mr. Peltier parole. I note that the United States attorneys and the courts have long held that they do not know who killed Mr. Coler or Mr. Williams. In spite of this fact, Mr. Peltier has served more than 26 years in prison for their deaths. Although Mr. Peltier maintains that he did not kill the agents, he has openly expressed remorse and sadness over their deaths. Mr. Peltier has no prior convictions and has advocated for non-violence throughout his prison term. Mr. Peltier does not represent a risk to the public. To the contrary, his release would help to heal a wound that has long impeded better relations with Native Americans. Furthermore, Mr. Peltier has been a model prisoner. He has received excellent evaluations from his work supervisors on a regular basis. He continues to mentor young Native prisoners, encouraging them to lead clean and sober lives. He has used his time productively, disciplining himself to be a talented painter and an expressive writer. Most admirably, he contributes regular support to those in need. He donates his paintings to charities including battered women's shelters, half way houses, alcohol and drug treatment programs, and Native American scholarship funds. He coordinates an annual gift drive for the children of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which last year garnered more than 1,000 gifts. He is widely recognized in the human rights community for his good deeds and in turn has won several human rights awards, including the 2001 Ontario Federation of Labour Human Rights Award and a current nomination for the Right to Livelihood Award. Lastly, I note my deep concern with Mr. Peltier's health. He is now 57 years of age and he suffers from partial blindness, diabetes, a heart condition, and high blood pressure. Mr. Peltier deserves to live the remaining years of his life in peace. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely yours, Until Freedom Is Won! The New Peltier Justice Campaign Leonard Peltier Defense Committee PO Box 583 Lawrence, KS 66044 785-842-5774 www.freepeltier.org To subscribe, send a blank message to lpdc-on@mail-list.com --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 08:19:12 -0600 From: Janet Smith Subj: Native Prisoner Date: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 2:58 AM From: pixi_moon@yahoo.com Subj: Native American Prisoner Support: Urgent Actions/News Mailing List: Iron Natives A Colorado Native American Prison Community Needs A Donation Urgent Action: Brothers in a Colorado prison are requesting a donation of a deer or elk hide and a large frame so they can make their own large drum for their ceremonies. They have a new sweat lodge and are trying to learn their traditional ways. If you can help, please contact: Thundering Drums P.O. Box 9545 Bend, Or. 97708 or e mail: orion-c@webtv.net for information on how to send the donation to Colorado. I would also like to ask that this request be forwarded to any outlet that you think might be able to help these men. Thank you for your time, and help. Respectfully, Carol Thundering Drums ------------------ Date: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 1:03 PM From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: Outraging news Mailing List: Iron Natives From Valerie Scott Greetings, I received the following letter on 39 April 2002, in response to an inquiry sent on this prisoner's behalf. Although I deal with hundreds of letters and inquiries every month, and know what to expect from prison officials, this letter in particular has struck a raw nerve. Though short and simple, it expresses the struggles and feelings of not only the Native prisoners throughout the U.S., but also of every First Nation that continues to fight for its basic rights. Background information follows Mr. Blackwell's letter. =============================== Wednesday, 24 April 2002 Dear Ms. Scott, Thank you so much for your letter and effort concerning my moccasins. However, today I was called to the property room to be told my moccasins were destroyed. Words wrote on paper will never explain the hurt, the shame, and embarrassment I have suffered concerning this. There should be some kind of compensation for the loss and mental hurt I've suffered. Thank you sincerely for your time and trouble. Oscar D. Blackwell 023546 AX-G2-2108 Hamilton C.I. Annex 11419 S.W. County Rd. 249 Jasper, Florida 32052-3735 ================================ Background Information: Mr. Blackwell, a Comanche Indian, has been incarcerated for 34 years, and these moccasins were the only link left to his Comanche identity. Mr. Blackwell grandfathered in them, and they have been on his approved property list for the past 14 years. In 1996, the Florida DOC banned receipt of personal property from the street; however, this ruling came into effect after Mr. Blackwell's moccasins were approved, and they have never been an issue, until there was a minor dispute between two other Native inmates, concerning the possession of traditional items. It was at this point that NAPS was asked to intervene in the matter. Prison officials were well aware that these moccasins were important to Mr. Blackwell, because he had expressed his concern for them. And rather than allow him to store them in the property room or send them out (which he should have been able to do since they were on his approved property list), prison officials chose to destroy them, knowing full well what impact this would have on the psyche of Mr. Blackwell and the other Native prisoners. I know that phone calls and letters will never replace the moccasins, but perhaps outside support and encouragement will help restore some of his dignity. For those who feel outraged by this action, any of the following officials can be contacted, since they were all aware of the confiscation of the moccasins. As always, I thank you for whatever support you can lend this prisoner, but for once, I don't wish to hear the lame excuses these officials might offer. The bottom line is that there was no need for this to happen (and I am already aware of the lawsuits that have been slapped against some of these officials by Native prisoners). And for an organization that uses the word "humane" in its mission statement, it needs to rethink its definition. Sincerely, Valerie Scott, NAPS Officials to Contact: Hamilton C.I. Annex (same address as Mr. Blackwell's) Assistant Warden James T. Freeman Property Sergeant Chaplain Stephen Haskell (386-792-5317) Fax: 386-792-5159 Phone: 386-792-5409 E-mail: hamiltonci@mail.dc.state.fl.us Alex Taylor, Administrator Chaplaincy Services 2601 Blair Stone Road Tallahassee, FL 32399 Phone: 850-488-3570 E-mail: taylor.alex@mail.dc.state.fl.us Governor Jeb Bush PL 05 The Capitol 400 South Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 Phone: 850-488-4441 Fax: 850-487-0801 E-mail: fl_governor@myflorida.com ===== NAPS (Native American Prisoner Support) http://www.hri.ca/partners/naps/ =================== Date: Friday, May 03, 2002 4:50 AM From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: Update on Circle at Chillicothe From Valerie Scott NAPS (Native American Prisoner Support) http://www.hri.ca/partners/naps/ ================== Update on Circle at Chillicothe, Ohio 16 April 2002 Also I would like to clear something up, the notation that I left on the bottom of my last letter about contacting Ms. Linda King, from the U.S. Justice Department, I have had a complaint with them for approximately two and a half to three years, they are very well aware of our situation here, not only at this institution, but all over Ohio. We have all sent her an abundance of evidence, including, but not limited to, grievances, letters, copies of outside support organizations trying to help us. However, she will not correspond with us when it comes to answering questions. What I mean by this is, approximately a year and some months ago, she told us that they were sending a questionnaire to the D.O.C., asking them why they were not falling into alignment with the RLUIP Act; however, we have never heard anything more from her. I have sent her numerous letters requesting some form of response, but to this date, I have not received anything from her. I was hoping that you (NAPS) could contact her and maybe light a fire underneath her. (smile) You mentioned the fact that they will not release anything to you unless a release consent form has been signed. I took care of this long ago, but in the event that you have problems, please let my e-mail know, and I will send you a signed consent form. (NAPS will follow this up as requested.) One small victory that we have accomplished lately has been the fact that we now do not have the Chaplain that had discriminated against us in the past. We had enough evidence against him to force his licensing body to withdraw him from this facility, as well as completely out of the D.O.C. At that time, we were also going to attack the Head Chaplain of the D.O.C. , Dr. David Schwarz; however, we did not have enough evidence to prove his hatred toward American Indians, but now we do. I am forwarding you a couple of affidavits that were filed for me by two Native traditionalists, who have been trying to get inside these facilities for many years. Both of them are up in their years, late sixties, seventies plus. You can see from reading these affidavits of what the Head Chaplain's attitude is towards us. Dr. Schwarz has been doing this type of stuff since the early to mid-eighties, and has been named in numerous law suits dealing with Native Americans. We would like to know if you would be open to attacking his licensing body and demanding his resignation from the D.O.C.? I think that you may need to understand, even though he is the Head Chaplain of the D.O.C., he in essence does not work for the D.O.C., but is nothing more than a liaison officer, who assigns people from the Southern Baptist to the D.O.C. Therefore, if an organization from the outside presents the evidence that we have to the Southern Baptist Conference, who he really works for and has his license from, we feel that they would withdraw him from this control, and it would stop the racial prejudice and hatred that has been an ongoing problem within the D.O.C. I know that this has been done at other facilities across the United States, so I am positive it will work now. Please let me know what you think of this. Right now, the fire is hot, but we need to keep throwing more wood on it. (smile) I also wanted to let you be aware that I did try to contact the news reporter who wrote the story about us, in the Columbus Dispatch; however, to this date, he has never responded. I figured it was at least worth a try. We all feel that if we could get some press attention her in Ohio, and explain our situation about things such as Dr. Schwarz, and the other people who are just like him, and how the D.O.C. never follows their own rules and policies, of which we can prove with the preponderance of paperwork we have in our possession. Valerie, I have never fought anything in my life as hard as I've been fighting this. I am not experienced at this, and neither are any of the other Brothers. Everything we have learned to date has been by hard knocks. The way that things are looking, we may end up getting kicked out of court, because we weren't willing to spend almost $3000 in copies of paperwork. So we have to start looking towards the next wave of attacks against the D.O.C. here in Ohio. We all refuse to surrender, whatever the cost. Please let Brother Thunder Quill Wilson know that we are very thankful for his sharing of his Legal Documents. For the cause of unity David Iron Fire Reasoner -------------------------- Date: Friday, May 03, 2002 4:51 AM From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: Letter from George LOPEZ From Valerie Scott: NAPS (Native American Prisoner Support) http://www.hri.ca/partners/naps/ ============================ The latest on George Lopez: Update on George M. Lopez - ASPC Eyman, Florence, AZ For those wishing to review this case, please see "Prisoner on Death Row in Arizona Requires Assistance", on NAPS' website. 22 April 2002 First, yes, I did contact Mr. Lenny Foster, and on the last of February, beginning of March, he came to SMU II to see me. After a brief history and confirmation of research done by Mr. Don Decker, Director of the Yauapai- Apache Nation Culture Office, Mr. Foster agreed to make out an affidavit and place it in my file, stating that I was entitled to Native American ceremonies. Mr. Foster also said he would send all materials and notify the Senior Chaplain of said decision. I sent an inmate letter to Chaplain Kelly, the unit chaplain, asking that I be notified when and what materials I have received. Also, Mr. Foster said that I should notify all Apache/Yaqui tribes and ask for an Application for Enrollment. With his affidavit and one other affidavit that verifies my ethnicity as Native American by: Descended from a U.S. Indian Tribe (may have a valid Bureau of Indian Affairs [BIA] or tribal number. Presently a member of a U.S. Indian community. Duly recognized by a U.S. Indian community. So now, after writing back to all the Apache and Yaqui tribes, asking for an Application for Enrollment, and also writing to Mr. Joe Mashiud, who was mentioned in an article in your newsletter (page 5), I await any type of correspondence. I've written to Mr. Don Decker, who is doing further research on my lineage, to keep me informed on any progress, and if possible, to help with verifying my lineage. To this date I have not heard from anyone, nor received any 'smudging materials', but I am hopeful. Well, thank you for all your help and very vital assistance. Please look to see what other approach we can go in order to find a way of verifying my ethnicity. I remain strong and very grateful for all of the Grandfather's blessings. Sincerely, George M. Lopez #79354, 3H20 SMU II, ASPC Eyman P.O, Box 3400 Florence, AZ 85232 =================================================== Date: Friday, May 03, 2002 2:01 PM From: "David Lewis" Subj: Incarcer-Nation "...Native American Prison Art Show ----- Original Message ----- Date: Thursday, May 02, 2002 11:11 AM From: "Andre Cramblit" Subj: Incarcer-Nation "...Native American Prison Art Show "Drug and alcohol free events coming to Pt Arena" Event: " Incarcer-Nation "...Native American Prison Art Show Dates: May 24th-June 14th, 2002(opening night May 24th at 6pm) Location: Pt Arena City Art 284 Main St Pt Arena, CA (707) 882-3616 leave message for Goija Post Related Event: "The Web" Thais Mazur Dance Company 7:00-7:30pm "Walking on Turtle Island" Lakota Actor Robert Owens 8:00-10:00pm Date: June 1st,2002 Time: 7-10pm Location: Pt Arena Theater Pt Arena, CA Contact info: Robin Carneen c/o Prison Art Show PO Box 1709 Fort Bragg, CA 95437 (707)962-9464 robinc@mcn.org tetawin38@yahoo.com. Opening for Robert Owens, "Walking on Turtle Island", June 1st, 2002: At 6:30pm the doors will open at the Pt Arena Theater, and at this time the Manchester/Pt Arena Band of Pomo Indians Dancers, led by Lorraine Laiwa will do the opening prayer . At 7pm, Thais Mazur Dance Company's ,Women In Black Dance Project, will follow with a 20 minute performance, doing a beautiful piece called, "The Web", choreographed by Thais Mazur. Dancers are: Maria Borrero, Nadja Khodlova, Thais Mazur, Lisa Norman.The music is of Native America or Native American influenced. Following at 8pm, Robert M. Owens ,a Lakota actor, traveling from his home in Oregon, will portray 21 Native American characters(three of which are women), through song, auto-biographies, and storytelling. Througout his performance, he invites listeners to learn about the plight of Native Americans, including incarceration, in some instances. Tickets are available in Gualala, at the Sea Trader; in Pt Arena, at the Art's Desire; in Mendocino, at AmerinBay Clothing Company; inland, in Ukiah at Bead Fever; and also in Fort Bragg, at Sacred Beginnings. Buy tickets early, we expect to sell out! "Walking on Turtle Island" lends itself to a first time ever Native American Prison Art Show, called "Incarcer-Nation", happening in the City of Pt Arena, Ca. "Incarcer-Nation" will run for two weeks, from May 24th-June 14th. The goal of this show is to give those people and families who are concerned about the issues around incarceration an outlet and support for humananitarian treatment of inmates and prisoners. The show will not only display various art mediums, writings, and poetry by those who are currently institutionalized, but it will also be a place to discover options, providing a path away from being "locked up" and losing all your freedom and rights. Information on how to outreach to those who are on the "inside" will also be provided. Tabling at the first Saturday of the Art show, will be representatives for the Prison Activist Resource Center, coming all the way from the Bay Area. On the following Saturday, activists advocating for Native American political prisoner, Leonard Peltier, will be available to the public, to answer questions,update those interested on the latest lawsuit against the FBI, and have items for sale, with proceeds going to Leonard Peltier Defense fund. A group known as "Art Behind Bars", have donated some hand-painted t- shirts and a drawing by prison artist, Bernard Patrick. A donation of art supplies, for young artists have also been made by this organization, enabling those who wish to continue on with their own art, outside of jail, juvenile hall, or prison. We will open the doors of "Incarcer-Nation", at 6pm, at Pt Arena City Arts, located at 284 Main St, in Pt.Arena. At least six Native American prison artists will be represented in this art show. Three of the artists are from local California tribes, they are Randy Pike, Lupe Guiterrez, and Phillip Angel Senteno. The other two Native Americans are Jon Ray YellowBoy and Fred Twobulls. There will be a special exception made for non-native artists, one of which is Bernard Patrick, who is african- american. His drawing strongly sends the message out about Native American imprisonment. Refreshments will be sold & live music will be played by Chris Skyhawk, who has been an advocate for Native American people for countless years. This is a drug and alcohol free event. Both these elements have been contributing factors, leading many people to jails, institutions, and death. Another chance to see the documentary, "Life on the Rez", will be made available at this art show. Visitors will be welcome to watch this gritty, intimate, and honest film, made by a group of the Pt Arena High School Peer Helpers, most members of the Kashya or Manchester/Pt Arena Reservations. Along with this film, there will be other interactive parts to this art show, plan to spend some time in this multi-media emersion. Everyone is welcome to join us. The gallery will be open 11am-5pm daily, except on Tuesdays. Proceeds for this show, will go towards a travel fund, for the Pt Arena Peer Helpers, heading to Utah, in January 2003, to see their film previewed at the Sundance Youth Film Festival. We hope to also raise enough money, to provide summer schlorships for local activities for underprivelaged or at risk kids. Lodging and restaurants are located in the area. For further information or to make donations to help bring Robert Owens to our area, or to submit an entry for the art show, please contact Robin Carneen at (707)962-9464 or Goija Post at (707)882-3616. Andre Cramblit: andre.p.cramblit.86@alum.dartmouth.org Operations Director Northern California Indian Development Council NCIDC (http://www.ncidc.org) is a non-profit that meets the development needs of American Indians and operates an art gallery featuring the art of California tribes (http://www.americanindianonline.com) --------- "RE: Rustywire: Their Old Pictures" --------- Date: 11 Mar 2002 04:06:17 -0800 From: rustywire@yahoo.com (john rustywire) Subj: their old pictures Newsgroup: alt.native grandma used to hug me tight when I was small and she would cry she showed me your pictures she would say these are your uncles they left and never came home She would swear at the United States they took my sons, I have them no more they left in January 1942, one 19 the others 18 and 20 to the South Pacific their old pictures I see them on the wall above my grandma's bed she is gone now, but you still hang there my mother was your little sister, she was at school far away, Ft Wingate, 200 miles from Flagstaff There is no monument to your names or a place to go we don't know where you were layed to rest Grandma never knew where you were, she had a flag with three gold stars, I don't know where it is now. Francis, Franklin and Frank, my mother spoke to you today in the nursing home far away, did you come to see her Go your way and I would like to say I wish I knew you So rest in peace and thank you for the my freedom you did not fight for the USA, but for grandpa and grandma your little sisters and us grandkids, Navajo. --------- "RE: Poem: With Hearts Undone" --------- Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2000 07:24:19 -0400 From: "Dreamwalker" Subj: With Hearts Undone With Hearts Undone I sit here and I wonder how often must we find ourselves standing against this relentless wind standing with our Hearts undone How often to bear the utter cruelty of one who knows no Spirit of one who has lost their way of one who no longer knows So many times I've cried and held the pain so near when one who knows not makes their mark on the world I hear the Ancestors singing so clearly in the Wind and wonder while I sit here will it all begin again How often must we take whatever is dealt out with callous inhumanity as though it was not felt The world is sliding past me and carrying the flow the blind and deaf will follow this silent aching flow I wonder as I sit here who ever truly knows how many times the Heartache how many times the pain And will we ever right it and sing the Songs again will we ever know the Circle without end For all I see is broken when I look upon the land and all I see is sorrow in each and every hand And so when I walk the Mountain or wade along the stream I cry out to the Grandfathers help us with the Dream For we do all remember and we do all still feel the Blessings of Great Mystery the power there to heal Could we but stand together against the awesome surge of anger and of hatred the memory of the word I vow to stand together no matter what the cause to hand and hand remember Grandfathers every word I will not let the sorrow the anger and the tears cut across the ages and tear apart the years The only way to move on the only way to fight is to remember Blessings with no more Hearts undone For every day that's dawning here in Grandfather's sight is one more chance to do it to always do what's right. Crys The Tears/Dreamwalker~Lakota copyright 2000 --------- "RE: Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2002 06:48:20 -1000 From: Debbie Sanders Subj: Hawaiian Book of Days A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of May 13-19 MEI (May) (Ikiiki) 13 Never close your mind to possibilities. 14 The fruits of the land sustain me. 15 The sun bathes me in its perfect warmth. 16 All needs draw upon the Source of mana within. 17 A lei of blessings I weave for you. 18 Come to me in the first light of dawning, when all things are begun anew. 19 The setting sun flashes briefly green upon the surface of the ocean. (c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue (With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream) --------- "RE: Technology and Indigenous Languages" --------- Date: Wed, 1 May 2002 08:10:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LLT" Thanks to John Berry for a great "heads up" regarding the Language Learning Technology website/quarterly and the issue's Teaching Indigenous Languages theme. http://llt.msu.edu/ Columns From the Editors Welcome to LLT by Mark Warschauer, Dorothy Chun & Pamela DaGrossa From the Special Issue Editors Introducing This Issue by Nicholas Ostler & Jon Reyhner On the Net Teaching Indigenous Languages: An Essential Reference by Jean W. LeLoup & Robert Ponterio Emerging Technologies Multilingual Computing by Bob Godwin-Jones Announcements News from Sponsoring Organizations ----------- Volume 6, Number 2 May 2002 Special Issue Technology and Indigenous Languages Feature Articles The Role of the Computer in Learning Ndje'bbana Glenn Auld Ballarat University, Australia Fabula: A Bilingual Multimedia Authoring Environment for Children Exploring Minority Languages Viv Edwards University of Reading Lyn Pemberton University of Brighton John Knight City University, London Frank Monaghan North Westminster Community School, London Early Effects of Technology on the Oklahoma Choctaw Language Community Marcia Haag University of Oklahoma F. Wayne Coston Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Applied Computer Technology in Cree and Naskapi Language Programs Bill Jancewicz Naskapi Development Corporation and SIL International Marguerite Mackenzie Memorial University of Newfoundland Integrating Technology into Minority Language Preservation and Teaching Efforts: An Inside Job Daniel J. Villa New Mexico State University Words as Big as the Screen: Native American Languages and the Internet Tracey McHenry Eastern Washington University Copyright c. 2002 Language Learning & Technology, ISSN 1094-3501. Articles are copyrighted by their respective authors. --------- "RE: Native America Calling" --------- Date: Mon, 06 May 2002 11:09:43 -0500 From: Eric Martin Subj: NAC Topics for 5/06 - 5/10 + Different Drums - Honoring Our Mothers + more.... 1) NAC Topics for 5/06 - 5/10 2) Voices From The Circle 3) Different Drums - Honoring Our Mothers 4) Oyate Ta Olowan - Harris Burnette (Apache) 5) alterNative Voices 6) Earthsongs - Jimi Hendrix 1) NAC Topics for 5/06 - 5/10 Listen live every weekday from 1-2pm ET by going to www.airos.org or tuning into your local radio station. For a list of affiliates go to http://www.nativeamericacalling.com/nac_affiliates.shtm MON - 5/06: Current Events: A new Miss Indian World, Tia Smith, has been crowned representing the Six Nations of Canada. We'll give you an opportunity to meet and greet her. The University of Illinois' student body government has voted to trash Chief Illiniwek as their school mascot. Will the alumni association soon follow? "Native People's TV" is a new weekly series by and about the tribal peoples of the world. Are you tuned in? The Institute of American Indian Arts is showing off artwork by some of this year's graduating class. And trust reform efforts are still moving at a snails pace in Indian Country. TUE - 5/07: Land, Wind and Hard Woods: The close connection between the land and Native people is a critical element of our continuing existence in the face of overwhelming odds. A reservation-based organization called Dine' Care is dedicated to protecting the environment and preserving the Navajo culture. It has challenged the notion that development equals progress. A new book tells of the struggles and lives of a group of activists who are an example of those whose communities are threatened. How long can this resistance endure? Guests include Lori Goodman and Adella Begaye of the Dine' Nation, and author John Sherry. WED - 5/08: Everything Speaks: How has the written word impacted the oral cultures of the world? And how have alphabets affected the way we relate to nature? Some scholars and linguists contend that the way we speak defines who we are, and traditional oral cultures have a great deal to offer to the overall understanding of our relationship to our ecological surroundings. Can the keys to rejuvenating a discourse on morality be found within indigenous languages? Guests include LeRoy Little Bear of the Blood Indian Tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy and cultural ecologist/author David Abram. THU - 5/09: Checking Up on Native Women's Health: Native American and Alaska Native women are faced with many challenges in life, including single parenthood and high rates of abuse. Unfortunately, Native women also rank the highest in the prevalence of various diseases and illnesses. What diseases do Native women have a higher risk of contracting and why? Have traditional and cultural views become barriers to Native women going to the hospital for checkups? What can Native women do to improve their overall health? Guests include Dee Ann DeRoin, M.D., and Cynthia Lindquist-Mala of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine. FRI - 5/10: Zuni and Appalachia Theatre: Storytelling is vital in every culture to maintain tradition and communication. Sadly, storytelling has been replaced with radio, television, and other forms of technology. However, in the new book "Journeys Home: Revealing a Zuni-Appalachia Collaboration," two cultures 1,600 miles apart unite to reincarnate storytelling in a theatrical form. The Roadside Theatre of Virginia and the Idiwanan An Chawe theatre group of the Pueblo of Zuni come together in a cross-cultural presentation of music, storytelling, theatre and dance. What do these seemingly vastly different peoples share in common? Guests include Edward Wemytewa of the Zuni Nation. 2) Voices From The Circle This week, VOICES FROM THE CIRCLE/AIROS listeners can look forward to another wide variety of Indian entertainers and personalities. Verdell Priumeaux and Johnny Mike collaborate with Robbie Robertson with a "Peyote Healing." Lou Webester of Wisconsin's Little Big Band gives us a "Vision of a Dream Song Seeker." The Little Axe Singers bring us a special "Shawnee Green Rainbow Stomp Dance." Steve Osburn helps us to "Feel The Beat" and also brings us a "Morning Prayer." Roger Cultee shows us something we've all felt, "Broke 'N Down." An expression of "Living Voices" comes to us via Chiapas, Mexico through an interview with activist Manual Hernandez Aguilar. Then Alice Gomez takes us on the "Path of Dreams." Andy Quinn and his flute present the "Spirit of Wynona." Milwaukee's Coup Stick Warriors want you to know something's "Coming After Me." Anishinabe Robert Tall Tree and wife Terri Lynn reflect "Echoes of the Heart." The Red House Family concludes this VOICES with a "Round Dance for the Future." Listen online by going to www.airos.org (All Times ET) Monday - 5/06: 10am, 4pm, 10pm Tuesday - 5/07: 4am Saturday - 5/11: 3pm Sunday - 5/12: 4am, 3pm Monday - 5/13: 4am 3) Different Drums - Honoring Our Mothers Honoring Our Mothers - traditional songs that honor all mothers down the generations and contemporary songs remembering individual Native American women whose lives reflect tribal cultures in several regions of NDN country. Listen online by going to www.airos.org (All Times ET) Tuesday 5/07: 10am, 4pm, 10pm Wednesday 5/08: 4am Saturday 5/11: 5pm Sunday 5/12: 6am, 5pm Monday 5/13: 6am 4) Oyate Ta Olowan - Harris Burnette (Apache) This week Oyate Ta Olowan visits with Harris Burnette (White Mountain Apache). Harris Burnette began singing when he was seven years old. He was helping his father at a ceremony in Cibecue when he had a dream. The next day, during the ceremonies, he knew the songs and what they were about. He realized then that he was not just a "boy" anymore and he set aside all else to help his father with the ceremonies. He has been doing this ever since. Although Harris is young, he has a quiet presence and power about him. His voice is rich and healing and we were able to understand how important his role is in the community. Harris is of the Bear Clan, one of seven clans of the Apache. The drum he uses is a metal pot filled with water and covered with stretched rubber. The drumstick is about fourteen inches long and has a small loop at the end. The Apache called themselves Tinde, which means "The People." The different bands of Apache people were split between the mountains and the desert. Although they shared cultural and religious beliefs, lifestyle was determined by food sources. The desert bands hunted buffalo and gathered food from the lands like the plains people, while the mountain bands developed an agricultural economy and were able to rely less on hunting and gathering. The Apache people were fine craftspeople and made elaborate ceremonial items, coiled basketry and finely-tanned clothing and adornments. They were also fierce warriors, known for their raids and magnificent fighting skills. Within their own tribes, the social and moral laws were equally powerful. Listen online by going to www.airos.org (All Times ET) Wednesday 5/08: 7pm Thursday 5/09: 1am, 7am Friday 5/10: 10am, 4pm, 10pm Saturday 5/11: 4am, 2pm Sunday 5/12: 3am, 2pm Monday 5/13: 3am 5) alterNative Voices News this week includes stories about the movie "Skinwalkers", the Sand Creek site which is to be given to the Cheyenne and Arapahoe people as well as a story of a traditional way of life that is changing with the melting of the Artic ice cap. We talk about the Western drought and how each of us can make a difference in our water use and misuse. Send your best idea to save or recycle water for us to share with listeners. Music includes Heartsongs of a Black Hills Woman and Return of the Buffalo Horses by Darrell Norman and Ramon Kramer. We'll see you on the radio! Our website is always available with events, jobs, scholarships, announcements and news you can use. www.alternativevoices.org Listen online by going to www.airos.org (All Times ET) Wednesday 5/08: 10am, 4pm, 10pm Thursday 5/09: 4am Saturday 5/11: 6pm Sunday 5/12: 7am, 6pm Monday 5/13: 7am 6) Earthsongs - Jimi Hendrix Next time on Earthsongs, host Gregg McVicar visits with Steven Roby, author of the new book "Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix." Steven shares with us his library of rare recordings and stories about Jimi's influences, collaborations and his relentless drive to record. Yet today some of the important tapes created by this musical genius and Native guitar gunslinger are still missing -- either lost, stolen or destroyed. All this and plus the Native Word of the Day. Details at www.earthsongs.net. Listen online by going to www.airos.org (All Times ET) Thursday 5/09: 10am, 4pm, 10pm Friday 5/10: 4am Saturday 5/11: 4pm Sunday 5/12: 5am, 4pm Monday 5/13: 5am Eric Martin Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT) Web Communications Specialist emartin2@unl.edu Listen to Indian Radio on the Internet 24 hours a day at nativetelecom.org To subscribe to AIROS' electronic program guide e-mail airos@unl.edu with the subject heading subscribe. --------- "RE: Upcoming Events" --------- Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 15:39:14 -0 From: Gary Smith (gars@speakeasy.org) Subj: Upcoming Events =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= EVENTS ARE FEATURED IN ODD NUMBERED ISSUES ONLY =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Aaron's Powwow Calendar Last updated on March 24, 2002 I have collected these listings from various places on the web and from usenet, as well as other listings that I receive and requests from powwow organizers. I do not take responsibility for the accuracy (or spelling) of any of these listings. Use the contact information provided to make sure that the powwow has not changed date, time, location, or other details. In most cases, I have included all of the information that I have for each listing. If you have corrections to make or would like to see your powwow listed here, please send me an e-mail message with the appropriate information (you must include the event name, exact date, city, state, and a contact number or email; any additional information is helpful but not required). Unless otherwise stated, you can usually assume that all of the notes sections for these powwows should include: No firearms, alcohol, drugs, fireworks or fighting. Not responsible for injuries, lost items, shortage of funds or stranded travellers. All pets must be on leashes (unless no pets is specified). No sacred items or restricted animal parts for sale. Many powwows also include no politics, and it is generally a good idea to bring your own chairs. May 2002 May 4-26 - Trail of Tears Art Show Location: Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Contact: (918) 456-6007. May 9-10 - Annual Turtle Island Storytelling Festival Location: Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Contact: (918) 456-6007. May 10-11 - Twenty Second Annual Augusta Powwow Location: (Note: new location) - 3J Road, Augusta, Georgia. Notes: Flyer and map on website. Contact: Bill Medeiros (706) 771-1221; krazywilly@knology.net; http://andersons-web.com/Flyer2002.gif. May 10-11 - Second Annual Bill Miller Concert Location: Laconia High School, Laconia, New Hampshire. Notes: Sponsored by the New Hampshire Inter-Tribal Native American Council All profits from the concert go to the Council's Scholarship Fund. Contact: Bev (603) 528-3005, wathinas@hotmail.com. May 10-12 - Circle of Sacred Children Powwow Second Annual Mary Jennifer Marchand Memorial Event Location: Omak Longhouse, Colville Reservaion, 5 miles east of Omak, Washington. Notes: Drum contest, dance competition in all categories, Royalty competition, 2k and 5k fun runs, 3 on 3 basketball tourney. All arts and crafts vendors welcome. Contact: Dorothy Marchand (509) 826-6889; Charissa Marchand or Walter Williams (505) 385-7579; n8ivecmg@hotmail.com. May 10-12 - Seventh Annual Mother's Day Powwow Location: Pasco County Withlacoochee River Park, 12449 Withlacoochee Blvd. Dade City, Florida. Notes: Head Man, Johnny McDonald; Head Lady, Susan McDonald; MC, John Ferguson; Host Drum, Family Drum; Contemporary Performers, Ken Keller and RedHawk. Princess (12-16) and Jr. Princess (5-11) contests. Hosted by the Withlacoochee American Indian Historical Society and the Pasco County Parks and Recreation. Proceeds benefit ongoing building projects within the historical villages of the park. Contact: Yvonne (727) 723-9345; waihs@hotmail.com; http://www.waihs.com/ May 11 - Ninth Annual Occoneechee State Park Native American Heritage Festival and Powwow Location: Buggs Island Lake, Occoneechee State Park, Clarksville, Va. Notes: Native dancing, arts and crafts and food. Everyone welcome. Contact: Julie West, Clarksville Lake Country Chamber of Commerce, PO Box 1017, Clarksville VA 23927, (804) 374-2436, (800) 557-5582; http://www.kerrlake.com/chamber/powwow. May 11-12 - Comanche Little Ponies Annual Dance Location: Museum of Great Plains, Lawton, Oklahoma. Contact: (580) 429-8229. May 11-12 - Ninth Annual Mariposa Powwow Location: Mariposa County Fairgrounds, Mariposa, California. Notes: Sponsored by the American Indian Council of Mariposa County. Contact: (209) 742-2244; http://www.visitmariposa.net/powwow/. May 12 - Painted Horse Society's Elder Celebration Location: Indian Territory Cultural Center, Wyandotte, Oklahoma. Contact: (918) 678-2987. May 14 - American Indian Cultural Society Lecture: Protecting Sovereignty Location: Tribes Gallery, Norman, Oklahoma. Contact: (405) 329-4442. May 17-19 - First Annual Wolf Creek Intertribal Powwow Location: Hwy. 59 Flea Market Grounds, Summerdale, Alabama. Notes: Friday 9 am to 2 pm Children's Education Day. $1500 prize money. Head Man, Charles Jones; Head Lady, Deborah Jones; MC, John Ferguson; Arena Director, Michael Raven Crowdog; Contemporary Recording Artist, Dave 'White Wolf' Trezak. Food vendors still needed [as of 1/3/02]. Contact: Chief Gene Griffith (251) 986-5433; Tribal Office (251) 989-2714; standingbull@wolfcreeksoutherncherokee.com; littlewolf@monacanindian.com; http://www.geocities.com/wolfcreekband/home.html. May 17-19 - Twenty Second De Anza Powwow Location: S-Quad, De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, California. Notes: Dance, drum, switch and cradleboard contests. Open Gourd Dancing. MC, Tom Phillips; Whipman, Steve Reevis; Head Man Judge, Gary Middle Rider; Head Woman Judge, Iona Mad Plume; Head Man, Peter Joe Olney; Head Lady, Rose Olney Sampson; Head Teen Boy, Gary Olney; Head Teen Girl, Marie Olney; Host Northern Drum, Haystack Singers. Automated information system: (408) 864-8355 plus extension 868 (directions), 871 (all about the powwow), 871 (general information), 872 (vendor information), 873 (dance and drum info), 874 (entertainment), 875 (film festival). Contact: Gerri Parker or Leslie Berry (408) 864-5448, parkergerri@fhda.edu, http://www.deanzapowwow.org. May 17-19 - Kiowa Black Leggings Armed Forces Day Ceremonial Location: Indian City, Anadarko, Oklahoma. Contact: (405) 247-3987. May 18-19 - Eighth Annual Tamworth Campground Powwow Location: Tamworth Family Campgrounds, Depot Rd off of Rte 16, Tamworth, New Hampshire. Notes: Sponsored by the New Hampshire Inter-Tribal Native American Council No dance contests. Grand Entry Saturday Noon and 7 pm, Sunday Noon. Potluck dinner Saturday evening. All drums and dancers welcome. Contact: Bev (603) 528-3005; Sandy (603) 539-5015; bbear13@prodigy.net, wathinas@hotmail.com; Campground information (800) 274-8031. May 24 - Apache Tribal Youth Track Meet Location: Anadarko, Oklahoma. Contact: (405) 247-7695. May 24-26 - Delaware Powwow Location: Falleaf Dancegrounds, Copan, Oklahoma. Contact: (918) 531-2526. May 24-26 - Vietnam Veterans Celebration and Powwow Location: Wichita Tribal Park, Anadarko, Oklahoma. Contact: (405) 247-2425 ext 133. May 25 - Lakota Sioux Dance Theatre Location: Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Contact: (918) 456-6007. May 25-26 - Ohio Valley Powwow Location: Hocking College, Nelsonville, Ohio. Notes: Grand Entry 1:30 pm and 7 pm Saturday and Sunday. Gourd Dancing on request. Head Man, Dave Burns; Head Lady, Nina Dukes; Head Veteran, Grant Nell; Head Southern Singer, Mel Hoefling; MC, Ed de Torres. Contact: Ray Baker (740) 592-5322; Vendors contact Don Hibbard (740) 698-3512. May 25-26 - Honor the Earth Powwow Location: Welles Park, Madison between 1st and 2nd Streets, El Cajon, California. Notes: Food, vendors, exhibition and competition dancing. Contact: Eric Runningpath (858) 621-6748 or Charlie Silverwater, silverwr@gte.net. May 25-26 - Fourth Annual Gathering of Veterans Powwow Location: 710 Apperson Drive, Salem, Virginia. Notes: Host Drum, Otter Crossing Singers (Head Singer, Ben Sanchez). Contact: Steve Roragen (540) 989-5449. May 26 - Annual Wheelock Spring Festival Location: Wheelock Academy Grounds, Millerton, Oklahoma. Contact: (918) 746-2139. May 27 - Memorial Day Dance Location: Pawnee Nation Reserve, Pawnee, Oklahoma. Contact: (918) 762-4048. May 31-June 1 - Annual Miami Nation Powwow Location: Ottawa County Fairgrounds, Miami, Oklahoma. Contact: (918) 542-1445. May 31-June 2 - Fifty Second Annual Tulsa Powwow Location: O'Brien Park, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Contact: Jack Anquoe (918) 743-3628. June 2002 June-September - David Fitzgerald Cherokee Photograph Exhibit and Cherokee Communities Exhibit Location: Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Contact: (918