From gars@speakeasy.org Tue Jan 28 20:24:47 2003 Date: 29 Jan 2003 01:01:51 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews11.005 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 Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2003 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 11, ISSUE 005 | Country than is reported in | O o o o o O | this weekly newsletter. For | O o O February 1, 2003 | For daily updates & events | O o O | go http://www.owlstar.com/ | O | dailyheadlines.htm | Kiowa kaguat p'a san/little bud moon +-----------------------------+ Passamaquoddy piyatokonis/moon when spruce tips fall <================<<<< >>>>================> 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.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; Native American Chat, ndn-aim, Chiapas95-english, ThunderingDrums, and NC Friends for Inmates Everywhere Mailing Lists; Newsgroup: alt.native; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "Everything on Earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence." __ Mourning Dove (Christine Quintasket), Salish +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! The Specific Claims Act, Parlaiment Bill C-6, is among the many bills that make up the highly controversial First Nations Governance Act Minister Nault is determined to cram down Canadian First Nations' throats. The Specific Claims Act will serve to remove First Nations input in regard to any claims. With total decision-making authority, Ottawa can throttle any First Nations' collective or individual claims with impunity. This goes beyond the fox guarding the hen house. The fox may now eat his chicks in the comfort that comes from silenced lunch morsels. This so much reminds me of laws enacted in states such as Georgia and Tennessee prior to The Removal, that forbid an Indian from testifying against a white, no matter what act of aggression had been perpetrated by the white. The rapes and murder and other heinous acts this led to were horrible beyond description--and there was nothing the Indian could do to protect himself and his family but flee his homeland or deny his heritage and his right to his homeland--both precisely the intended result of these laws. Like President Bush in the United States with his Republican-controlled House and Senate, Prime Minister Jean Chretien enjoys an overwhelming Liberal party majority in Commons that will allow him to railroad this and any other Governance Act bills through without any real opposition. THe First Nations, who will have their decision making control for their own people shattered, were granted barely 6 1/2 hours to present their position. It is alarmingly apparent that "Just-Us" is also the order of the day north of 60. 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 ---------- - Standing Deer - N.B. Court ruling - Berkley Bailey on Native Logging Rights - Niya Wi (Susan Eagle Brodt Barnes) - Growing Native Population - Emma Kesler changing Face of Canada - Crossings - Sask. not about to act - Editorial: Trust us, we're Government on Priority Recommendation - Navajo official wants - More on Infant Deaths Judge to remain on Case in Chiapas Hospital - Crow Leader urges - Tribes ignored in Decision State Unity for All - Jury Probes 1975 - Smallpox Fears American Indian Slaying stir Memories of Heavy Toll - Nephew of Ex-Tribal Chief - Pueblo Development Projects ordered to Stand Trial - Woven in Tradition - Native Prisoner - Shoshones Plan to Buy Sacred Land -- Tribute to Standing Deer - Reason for removal -- Petition: Help Move an Inmate as Council Chairman Closer to Home - 7 Indian Legislators - Rustywire: focus on Issues Albuquerque Indian School - U.S. Government - Poem: For the BIA promised Health Care - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Declaration of the Kichwa Peoples - This Week on First Peoples TV of Sarayacu - Specials This Week on APTN - Time to reject Ottawa's Labels - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Standing Deer" --------- Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 13:46:45 -0000 From: "Dodie Finstead " Subj: With saddness--the passing of Standing Deer Mailing List: Native American Chat Dear Friends: Last this afternoon the LPDC was informed of the death of Robert Standing Deer Wilson. As many of you know, Standing Deer was a close friend and brother to Leonard Peltier for the past 25 years. He had long been a vocal supporter for Leonard, and in the past year assisted in organizing Houston events and radio programs dedicated to Leonard's freedom. More recently, Standing Deer joined the LPDC's Board of Directors and was an active member. The LPDC is saddened and greatly regrets his passing. More information will be forthcoming as details are released. The Web Site of Standing Deer: Freedom Now! http://www.geocities.com/standingdeer1/index.htm In Solidarity, LPDC 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 ================== Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2003 10:35:14 -0600 From: "Carter Camp" Subj: Fw: Houston blurb on Standing Deer Mailing List: ndn-aim Maureen sent this... http://www.digitalcity.com/houston/news/article.adp?article=1215294 Local news provided by: Metro Networks Elderly Man's Stabbing Death Probed Houston police are investigating the death of an elderly southwest Houston man. Reports say 70-year-old Robert Hugh Wilson was found stabbed to death in the bedroom of his townhome Tuesday morning. Detectives say the back door had been pried open and there were signs of a struggle. Nothing was missing from the home and no weapon was found. ================== http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1747168 Jan. 23, 2003, 12:01AM News briefs Guest charged in death of his 70-year-old host A house guest has been arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing death of an elderly southwest Houston man. Robert Hugh Wilson, 70, was killed Monday night in his townhouse in the 11600 block of Chimney Rock, and his assailant damaged the back door to make it appear like a break-in, investigators said. The suspect, Pius Vinton Smashed Ice, 37, of New Market, Md., returned to the home Tuesday and called 9-1-1, pretending he had just found Wilson's body, police said. They said Ice, who had been staying with Wilson for six days, admitted killing him during a violent argument. --------- "RE: Berkley Bailey" --------- Date: Mon 27 Jan 2003 08:10:57 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BERKLEY BAILEY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.dailynebraskan.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/01/27/3e34bcba25761 'Dog soldier' loses life to aneurysm By LARRY LUNNIN January 27, 2003 The Cheyenne call them dog soldiers. They are the true warriors - the ones whose existence is grounded in the perpetuation of a better life for their people. Although it may not always be obvious, dog soldiers still exist. When former University of Nebraska-Lincoln Professor Berkley Bailey passed away last week at the age of 45, some would say he took a dog soldier with him. According to Randy Thomas, Bailey's best friend, the long-time archeologist and professor dedicated his life to fighting for Native Americans. "He gave it all, and now he's gone," he said. When a sudden brain aneurysm took Bailey from Thomas, he not only lost a best friend, he lost his partner in an unfinished battle. "We continue the fight, except we're one warrior short," Thomas said. Bailey's wife, Martha McCullah, said he was a great dad who she remembered for his sense of humor. Both McCullah and Thomas said they were still in a state of disbelief. Bailey was accepting of all others, McCullah said. Thomas said Bailey's acceptance and willingness to take arms for a cause he believed in helped insinuate their friendship. Bailey may be best known at UNL for his work to ensure the proper reburial of Native American remains once stored on campus, he said. The controversy surrounding the remains, which were supposed to have been returned to Native Americans five years prior to Bailey's discovery of them, led to his eventual departure from UNL, Thomas said. "He gave up everything to make sure that the Native American remains were reburied," he said. "He fought right alongside us." Berkley also worked with inmates to ensure proper treatment - and to dissuade false accusations of improper treatment. Additionally, he did archeological studies for various tribes, Thomas said. "Words can't describe what Berkley did for the Native American people. He did it all," he said. "Berkley never knew he was an Indian. He never claimed to be. But in my eyes, he was one of the strongest Native Americans out there. He was a true Warrior." Bailey is survived by his wife, McCullah, and his daughter Brooks. Copyright c. 2003 Daily Nebraskan. --------- "RE: Niya Wi (Susan Eagle Brodt Barnes)" --------- Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 19:50:28 -0700 From: "Sandra Matchen" Subj: The passing of Niya......Our Lakota Sister Mailing-List: ndn-aim It is with great sadness to inform you that Sunday afternoon our dear Lakota sister, Niya Wi, (Susan Eagle Brodt Barnes) passed to the Spirit World. Please pass along this sad news. To: Friends, From: Sandra Matchen, Friends For Native American Communities & Walking Eagle Network (WEN) Advocacy Group: Niya was a strong advocate warrior for our people. As a young girl, she participated in protests, walks, marches and wrote editorials to benefit our people. She was also a poet and writer. Her walk and words will in the hearts of many for generations. Words cannot express what a loss this is to me personally and the advocacy community. She has joined the ancestors, and vowed to help us continue our fight for Truth & Justice. Upon facing death, Niya was strong to the very end. A true warrior, a true sister to the oyate. I share a couple of her writings below. She will be greatly missed. CROSSING THE RIVER - Camp Justice Memorial - reflections of Wounded Knee There is a sound when the heart meets the call of the blood that is very close to the thunder of the drum. We sit in the silence before the memorial of our brothers Wally and Ron and think of what we have seen in this year following their Crossing the River. Tears run down my face ... as I find myself in this place again. Each time it happens I think there cannot be another time ... as the heart would surely shatter. And so it continues ... and each time it grows stronger in the knowledge that those who want to break a nation ... are only stepping stones to our resolve. We are the quiet ones. We do not ride the winds on a huge bolt of thunder announcing who we are and what we have done for our people. We come later when the gentle rains come to replenish ... renourish ... regenerate. We represent the oyate who do not perhaps have words always ready to speak. I was a young teen when we went to Wounded Knee ..... I was young when we buried over fifty brothers and sisters, aunts or uncles ... cousins ... grandparents ....that our families personally knew ... personal connections to the horrors of the Goon Squad years ... my tears were frozen when we buried Anna Mae .... I was a little sparrow among great falcons that day ... but I remember the women ... I remember the cold .... I remember the unbelievable pain ...... and always I honor the silence. Ron and Wally dance this day to the song that has come from the hearts of all of us. We know this song well ..... having heard it in the backs of our minds for the last year. It comes from our connection to these sad moments of our people. *** We look to the sky and see the Eagle.. . Wambli wakan...watch over our two little brothers Who dance with the ghosts of Wounded Knee. The White Wolf is howling at the moon. Grandmother welcomes his cry, his song. The stars, the fires in the sky shine. They spark and dance for our two brothers. The Eagle sings to Home, cries out to his nation. Always alone crying out in love, Crying out for mercy. Sensing, almost touching the spirits of The night which dance around him. How can one feel so strong and so Helpless both at the same time? How long must the White Wolf roam Pursued by his enemies, Unseen by his own kind? How long must our people die senselessly? We are honored to be here in the ways that we can ... sharing in this memorial. May we all lay our weapons of division and small angers far from where we will pray today. This is a day of unification ... a day to remember where we have truly been ... so that as we walk to the future ... our footprints will be deeply seeded.... I Love You Niya Wi To Walking Eagle Network From: Niya Truth ... a word that rings to me in the same depths as does the thunder of our history. This is not the history of teepees ... and fire dance ... and cannupas sold at Powwows ... of dream sayers in chatrooms at night ... of medicine wheels hanging from car mirrors ... or dream catchers used like hocus pocus ... of animal guides ... and totems for the spiritually empty. We are not for sale ... our heritage is not for sale ... our path is not for sale ... because it is IN us. There are those who walk beside us ... and there are those who choose to ride above us. But there is no bus large enough to hold us all ... and the back seats are already taken .. .... we WALK ... and we do it in honor. I honor you Sandra my sister ... truth is you ... truth is the names unknown to the lips ... only known to the eyes of those who serve and I will defend to my death ... our song. Niya Stay Strong! Love Sandra Those wishing to send letters to her family, please send to ffnac@msn.com --------- "RE: Emma Kesler" --------- Date: Tue 28 Jan 2003 08:18:43 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EMMA KESLER" Emma Kesler January 28, 2003 RAPID CITY - Emma Kesler, 99, of Rapid City, SD, died Saturday, Jan. 25, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. She was born Oct. 6, 1903, in rural Dewey County to Basil and Martha Claymore, and was the oldest of the Claymore family at the time of her death. She is also believed to have been the oldest member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe at the time of her death. Emma was the youngest of seven children born to the ranching couple. She grew up on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation near the town of La Plante. She met and later married Eugene C. Geary, and from that union two children, Lucille Geary Battey and Esther Geary, were born. The family resided in La Plante, where they owned a garage. Eugene was an excellent pilot, and in 1935 was accepted into a commercial pilot school for a fledgling airline company. On the couple's way back to their home, Eugene died from pneumonia in Chillicothe, Missouri, leaving Emma alone to raise two children and run a garage in the midst of the Great Depression. In 1938 she met and married Herman J. Kesler. The couple ranched near Ridgeview, SD, lived in Pierre and later in Eagle Butte, where she worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a residential assistant in the boys' boarding school dormitory. She retired in 1973 and moved to Rapid City in 1975, where she lived until the time of her death. Emma enjoyed her grandchildren and nieces and nephews. Her hobbies were crocheting, needlework and gardening. She was well loved by both her friends and family and entertained them often in her home or by visiting them. Her parents, four brothers, two sisters, three grandsons, one great- granddaughter and her two husbands, Eugene Geary and Herman Kesler, preceded her in death. Survivors include her daughters, Lucille Battey of Rapid City, SD, Esther Geary, Overbrook, KS; granddaughters Aileen Williams of Rapid City, SD, Mary Pierpoint and Nancy Stark, both of Overbrook, KS; grandson John Battey, great-grandsons Stephen and Michael and great-granddaughter Jessica of Tacoma, WA; great-grandson Micheal Ludemann and great-great- grandson Christopher Ludemann, both of Overbrook, KS; great-grandson Kevin Brick and great-great-grandson Justin of Aberdeen, SD; and great-grandsons Matthew and John Mecadon, residing in Hawaii. So that all of Emma's family and friends may be present, inurnment will be held at St. Basil's Catholic Church, on Memorial Day 2003, Ridgeview, SD. St. Basil's was built by the children and friends of her grandfather, mountain man Basil Claymore, in 1917. Her grandfather was one of the original trappers in the area, a guide for many expeditions in the area and also acted as an interpreter, leaving a heritage that Emma proudly treasured over her long life. She had over the years expressed that she did not want to be buried in the winter, but in the spring, which she considered to be a time of renewal. A Rosary will be held at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church today, Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m. for friends and family. The family would like memorials to be sent to St. Basil's Catholic Church in care of Junior Rousseau, Ridgeview, SD, to preserve the church Emma was so proud of. Arrangements are under the direction of the Osheim-Catron Funeral Home. Copyright c. 2003 the Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Crossings" --------- Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 08:10:52 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSSINGS" January 24, 2003 V. Orrie Morrison OGLALA - V. Orrie Morrison, 76, Oglala, died Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003, in Oglala. Survivors include five sons, Robert Morrison, Curt Morrison and Orin Morrison, all of Oglala, Orrie Morrison Jr., Lame Deer, Mont., and Oris Morrison, Englewood, Colo.; three daughters, Martina Morrison, Chadron, Neb., and Lynette Two Bulls and Darlis White Eyes, both of Oglala; three brothers, Arthur Morrison, Long Valley, Roland Morrison, Wanblee, and James Morrison, Dupree; one sister, Dorothy Morrison, Long Valley; 29 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. A two-night wake will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Brother Rene Catholic Hall in Oglala. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 27, at the church, with the Rev. Chris Primo officiating. Burial will be at Our Lady of the Sioux Catholic Cemetery in Oglala. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Adelia L. Tyon OGLALA - Adelia L. Tyon, 76, Oglala, died Saturday, Jan. 18, 2003, in Lincoln, Neb. Survivors include one son, Leroy Tyon, Belle Fourche. Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. today at St. Peter's Episcopal Cemetery in Oglala, with the Rev. Ben Tyon officiating. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2003 the Rapid City Journal. -=-=-=- January 23, 2003 Helen Burbank Helen Burbank, 68, of Flagstaff, died Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003. Miss Burbank was born on Oct. 20, 1934, in Salina Springs, Ariz. She was a longtime resident of Flagstaff and a life-long member of the Flagstaff Indian Bible Church. Miss Burbank is survived by her sister, Hazbah Begay, of Salina Springs; brothers Herbert Bur- bank and Luther Burbank Jr., both of Chinle; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. Services for Miss Burbank will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Flagstaff Indian Bible Church, 10 W. Cherry Ave. Arrangements are under the direction of Flagstaff Mortuary. Copyright c. 2000-2003 Arizona Daily Sun. -=-=-=- January 23, 2003 Gregory Joseph Avalos Oct. 4, 2002 - Jan. 19, 2003 Gregory Joseph Avalos passed away Sunday, Jan. 19, 2003. He was 3 1/2 months old. He was born Oct. 4, 2002, to Sergio Avalos and Jessica Greyeyes. Gregory is survived by his father, Sergio Avalos and his mother, Jessica Greyeyes of Aztec; his grandparents, Terri Schneider, Eldorado Greyeyes and Maria Avalos; great-grandparents, Lillie Greyeyes and Dee Schneider and Jim Schneider; aunts, Krystal Greyeyes, Natasha Greyeyes and Jasmine Greyeyes; uncles, Nicholas Greyeyes and Gabriel Macias; and one cousin, Isaiah Thomas Lamb. He was preceded in death by his great-grandfather, Fred Greyeyes. Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m., today, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003, at Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home. Rosary will follow at 7 p.m. with Monsignor Gomez as celebrant. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, Jan. 24, 2003, at St. Mary's Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Greenlawn Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Gabriel Macias, Nicholas Greyeyes, Javier Avalos, Juan Avalos, Josh Lamb and Frank Greyeyes. Honorary pallbearers will be Tasha Greyeyes, Krystal Greyeyes, Terri Schneider, Danielle Schneider, Jolene Schneider, Jennifer Anaya and Diana Chavira. Funeral arrangements are with Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home, 103 East Ute St., Farmington, (505) 325-8688. January 26, 2003 Bessie (Pioche) Benally July 10, 1938-Jan. 24, 2003 Bessie (Pioche) Benally, 64, of Upper Fruitland passed away at San Juan Regional Medical Center on Friday, Jan. 24, 2003. She was born in Shiprock on July 10, 1938 to Mike and Isabel Pioche. She served as a school board member for Nenahnezad School for more than 10 years as well as a representative for Upper Fruitland Health Board and District 22 Indian Education Committee. She was a very active person involved with various committees. She loved being with her family and friends and was a devoted, nurturing, caring, dedicated mother. All who knew and loved Bessie will miss her deeply. She is survived by her seven children, Lenora Williams and husband Larry Roy of Upper Fruitland, Lerona Yazzie and husband Freddie of Carson, Yenora Benally, Lorinda Means and husband Kee, Lavina Benally, Ledale Benally, Anita Pioche and husband Shandie all of Upper Fruitland; 17 grandchildren, Lynlaria Williams, Lariet Williams, Lariroy Williams, Lavanah Williams of Upper Fruitland, Lafreda Hogue of Farmington, Kellen D. Yazzie of Twenty-nine Palms, Calif., Johanna Yazzie of Albuquerque, Yolanda Platero, Jason Platero, Yohanna Platero, all of Upper Fruitland, Calleen Benally, Laken Waybenias, Kaylen Benally, all of Uppper Fruitland, Shandie Pioche, Jr., Shanta Goldtooth, Shaneta Pioche, Nileta Pioche all of Upper Fruitland; and nine great-grandchildren, Latoya and Aliya Hogue of Farmington, Jalen Platero, Cheyenne, Shaquille and Shanique Goldtooth, Issah S. Yazzie, Dominic Benallie, Tyson Pioche, all of Upper Fruitland; sisters, Christine Pioche, Nancy and Elizabeth Pioche of Upper Fruitland, Bernice Benally and husband Carl, of Kirtland, Mary Huser and husband of Window Rock; brothers, Kee Pioche of San Francisco, Calif., Jacob M. Pioche of Farmington, Lee Pioche and wife Mary of Upper Fruitland, James Pioche and wife Marlene of Shiprock. Also surviving are lifelong friends and too many other nieces and nephews, adopted children and family members to mention. She was preceded in death by her loving husband David Benally, her parents Mike and Isabel Pioche, and brother Charley J. Pioche. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. today at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Kirtland. Bishop Ronald Jack will conduct the services. Pallbearers will be Jason Platero, Karlen "DC" Pioche, Donrel Pioche, Jimmy Pioche, Jerry Mike and Yongzer Lee. Alternate pallbearers will be Shandie Pioche Jr., and Tatankaluta Pioche. Honorary pallbearers will be Lariroy Williams, Larry Roy Williams, Kellen D. Yazzie, Freddie Yazzie, Jacob M. Pioche, Kee Pioche, Kee Means, Ledale Benally, Lathan Benally, Orlando Pioche, Lyle Beauviaus, Yinahyi Pioche, Quentin Benally, Jimmy Benally, Andrew Ford, Leonard Russell, and all relatives. Funeral arrangements will be handled by Chapel of Memories Funeral Home, Kirtland. Copyright c. 1999-2003 MediaNews Group, Inc./Farmington, NM. -=-=-=- January 21, 2003 Christopher Harjo Funeral services for Seminole resident Christopher Michael Harjo were scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday for an all night wake service at the Edgar Ellis home in Prague. Traditional burial services were to begin Monday morning at the Sac & Fox Cemetery in Stroud. Services were under the direction of Stout-Phillips Funeral Home. Harjo died Friday, Jan. 17, 2003 in Seminole County after an auto accident. He was 34. He was born May 5, 1968 in Shawnee to Vincent Harjo and Joyce Ellis. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Ada and attended auto mechanic school at Okmulgee Tech. Harjo married Patria Jackson on Feb. 14, 1994 in Ada. She survives him of Ada. He is also survived by his father, Vincent "Mike" and Opal Hajro and Anadarko; his mother, Joyce and Charles Burgess of Wolf; five children, Sonny Miguel Harjo, Christina Renee Harjo, Justin Ray Harjo, and LeeAnn Iley Harjo, all of Ada, and Andrew Keith Harjo of Shawnee; his paternal grandmother, Joshphine Harjo of Seminole; and brothers and sisters, Wilson C. Harjo of Prague, Jerri L. Abney Harjo of Stroud, Vincent M. Harjo II of Seminole, Virgil G. Harjo of Wewoka, Tenetke C. Hajro and Mikka F. Harjo, both of Anadarko. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather and maternal grandparents. The Seminole Producer/Copyright c. 1999-2000 Arizona Newspapers Assn. -=-=-=- January 21, 2003 Sharon Sheepskin Beasley FORT HALL - Sharon Sheepskin Beasley, 49, of Fort Hall, Idaho, passed away on January 16, 2003. She was born on November 17, 1953, in Pocatello, to Wilson and Nessie (Fisher) Sheepskin. She married William (Bill) Beasley Sr., in 1971; they later divorced. She is survived by three sons, Jake Beasley (Veronica), William Beasley, Wyc (Jenny) Beasley; and 12 grandchildren; her mother, Nessie Sheepskin; and sister, Zelphia Sheepskin; besides numerous nieces, nephews and relatives. She attended school at Fort Hall Elementary, Blackfoot Junior High, and graduated from Blackfoot High School in 1972. She also attended Idaho State University and Haskell Junior College, Lawrence, Kansas. Sharon provided art work for the Sho-Ban News, and was a homemaker. She was a member of the Assembly of God Church, and participated in the Sundance. She was a great artist, and created Native American children stories and legends which were published, and are now located in the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes' library. Preceding her in death is her father, Wilson Sheepskin, brothers, Vern, Lee Darrell and Darwin Sheepskin, sisters, Vilinda and Adrianna Sheepskin, paternal grandparents, Beady and Ellen Tinno Sheepskin, maternal grandparents, Fred and Fannie (Pandoah) Fisher. The family received friends and relatives (Monday), January 20, 2003, at the Sheepskin residence on West Agency Road, Fort Hall, with traditional burial services on Tuesday, January 21 at 1 p.m. Burial will be at the Sands Cemetery, Siler Road, Fort Hall Indian Reservation. My Mom She was mom, friend and buddy to those who knew her, she was serious and fun-loving at life, but there were moments that she wanted to be alone. But whatever our mom decided to do, she was still our mom, who we loved dearly. Love you, Mom. Copyright c. 2001 MyWebPal.com/Idaho State Journal/Pocatello, ID. -=-=-=- January 24, 2003 Hestin Beebe Tensed, Idaho Memorial service for Hestin Earl Beebe, 73, will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Tensed Community Church in Tensed, Idaho. Kramer Funeral Home of Tekoa, Wash., is handling the arrangements. Mr. Beebe, a longtime resident of the Tensed area, died Sunday. He was born in Arcada, Calif. He graduated from Hoopa High School in Hoopa, Calif., and began working as a logger. He enlisted in the Navy in 1948 and served during the Korean War on the USS Bremerton. He was discharged from the Navy in 1952 as a pipe fitter. He married Alethia Kirkland in 1951. Mr. Beebe and his wife lived in Northern California and Oregon, where he worked in logging and in a sawmill. They moved to Tensed, Idaho, in 1965, and he was a tribal logger until 1971. They moved to Lacrosse, Wash., where they lived from 1971 to 1981. While there, Mr. Beebe worked as a grain truck driver. Following his retirement, the couple returned to Tensed in 1990. Mr. Beebe was a member of the Yurok Tribe in Northern California. Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Alethia "Peggy"; a son, James Beebe of Plummer, Idaho; five daughters, Sandra McAdams of Kirkland, Wash., Nancy Anderson of Mount Shasta, Calif., Shirley Riedner of Worley, Idaho, Elizabeth Williamson of Tensed and Carolyn Martin of Lacrosse; a sister, Deloris Sullivan of Silver Springs, Fla.; 12 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. -- Spokane, Wash., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and the Inland Northwest Copyright c. 2003, The Spokesman-Review. -=-=-=- Golden Triangle On-Line Obituaries The following obituaries appeared in the Cut Bank Pioneer Press, Shelby Promoter or Glacier Reporter this week. January 24, 2003 Berniji Antonia Wheeler Sheehy Berniji Antonia Wheeler Sheehy (Toni),Ojibwe name Gee-We-Taw-Baw-Nay-Bic, Baw-Nay-She-Wa-Wa (Thunder That Flies Around Mountain), and Blackfeet name Strikes Twice Woman, Executive Director of the Helena Indian Alliance, and Leo Pocha Clinic in Helena, died Jan. 14, 2003 in a one-vehicle accident near Birch Creek on the Blackfeet Reservation. Rosary and a traditional Memorial Service were held at the Old Eagle Shield Center in Browning at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 21. Burial Services will be 2 p.m., today, Wednesday, Jan. 22, at the Little Flower Parish in Browning. Arrangements are handled by Day Funeral Home. Burial will be at the Guardipee Family Cemetery on Two Medicine. Toni was born March 12, 1956. She lived and attended schools in Browning and Busby. She married Oliver Flying in 1972, they later divorced, and Toni moved to Minneapolis where she met and married Thomas Sheehy of Nett Lake, Minn., 24 years ago. They lived in Duluth, Minn., until 1996. Toni and Tom were very active in the Native American Community, and followed the powwow trail all over the United States. Toni and her family then moved to Chicago where she worked and resumed her education. Toni was the Director of the California Manpower, Native American JTPA Program, serving Native Americans in three states. She was also a consultant on social issues, and an activist and leader for Native American rights. She graduated from the Native American Educational Services College with a BA in Community Services in 1998 with honors, and won a scholarship to North Park University in Chicago. Toni received her MBA in 1999. Toni was recruited and hired by the Helena Indian Alliance as Executive Director in January 2002. Toni and her husband, Tom, began drawing the Helena Indian Community into cultural activities, which included a drum group, teaching Native American crafts, singing and dancing to children. As traditional people, they loved their work with both adults and children. Toni Wheeler Sheehy enriched the lives of all those who knew her. Now that Toni has gone to be with the creator, she will be greatly missed by all her family, friends, and extended family. We all loved her. Toni's survivors include: her husband Thomas Sheehy, and Grandson Kevin Red Bird of Helena; daughter Sheila Flying of Busby; (parents) Richard and Joy Wagner of East Glacier Park; and (parents) Kenneth and Peggy Wheeler of Del Bonita Road on Cut Bank Creek; brothers William D. (Bill) Powell of Cut Bank, Kenton L. Wheeler of Arlington, Texas, Steven M. Wheeler of Chicago, Illinois, and Robbie Racine and Richard Beaudry of Browning; sisters Sheryle Bittner and Kathy Maggi of Cut Bank Creek. Additional survivors include: Uncles and Aunts, Gerald and Dorothy Guardipee of Two Medicine, Warren and Phyllis Guardipee of Ranchester, Wyoming, Jimmy Lee and Shirley Guardipee of Plano, Texas, Leonard and Dixie Guardipee of Two Medicine, David C. and Donna Guardipee of Browning, and Mary Lou (Susie) Guardipee of Silver Springs, Maryland. Toni was preceded in death by grandparents Mark and Melvena Harwood, and Wm. J. and Edith Guardipee of Two Medicine, great-grandparents, Medore and Bertha LeBreche and Eli and Sadie Guardipee, and Uncle Wm. C. Guardipee. Toni leaves numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and friends whom she loved. Bonnie Coreen Herron Bonnie Coreen Herron died at 3:45 a.m., Jan. 13, at Harbor View Hospital in Seattle, Washington. The cause of death was emphysema. Born May 5, 1952, in Browning, Bonnie's grandparents were George and Clara Night Gun; her parents were Bob and Pauline Herron. As a child her family moved to Seattle where she lived until her death. She attended schools and worked there. She also was an activist for Indian rights, being a member of a group called United Indians for All Tribes. To her family and friends she was known as a kind and generous person who loved animals, and she is sadly missed by all who knew her. Her father, Bob, and a sister, Clara Elaine Mooney, preceded her in death as did her grandparents. Her mother, Pauline, and three siblings survive her - Don and Bobby Herron, and her sister, Darlene Herron Hernandez. Four nephews also survive her - Jake and Shaaz Herron, Raven and Rwianse Mooney, and her niece, Sepherrina Hernanadez. Copyright c. 2003 Golden Triangle Newspapers. -=-=-=- January 24, 2003 Leon D. Cool, Jr. FORSYTH - Leon D. Cool, Jr., 86, of Forsyth, died Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003, at the Rosebud Health Care Center in Forsyth. Cremation has taken place, with services planned for a later date. Beals Mortuary of Forsyth is in charge January 25, 2003 Audrey Jean (Drum) Hatten WOLF POINT - Audrey Jean (Drum) Hatten, age 38, died Jan. 22, 2003, at Northeast Montana Health Service Trinity Hospital in Wolf Point. She was born on Aug. 4, 1964, in Poplar, to Neil Drum and Viola Crow Feather and adopted by Robert and Margie Hatten. She graduated from Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Ore. She lived for a while in Portland, Ore. In 1994, she moved to Poplar and was reunited with her sisters. She met her husband Wayne Gendron in 1995. Audrey enjoyed being with her friends. She also enjoyed the powwows and especially music and to dance. Survivors include her husband, Wayne Gendron of Wolf Point; two daughters, Summer Drum of Poplar and Charlotte Ambrosia Gendron of Wolf Point. Also surviving are two sisters, Mary Drum Red Eagle and Brenda Drum Stormy, both of Poplar, Poplar; two brothers, Gregory Hatten of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Nolan Hatten of Seattle; and an aunt, Isabelle Crow Feather of Kenel, S.D.; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her biological parents, her adoptive parents; and one daughter, Vanessa. Visitations will be held on Sunday, Jan. 26, from 3 to 8 p.m. at Clayton Memorial Chapel in Poplar. Funeral services will be held on Monday, Jan. 27, at 2 p.m. at Clayton Memorial Chapel in Poplar, with Pastor Danny Lindsay officiating. Interment will be at Fort Kipp Cemetery. Clayton Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Dora 'Skookie' Wilson Johnston LAKEWOOD, Colo. - Dora Wilson Johnston, 76, of Lakewood, formerly of Crow Agency, Mont., died Jan. 20, 2003, in Lakewood. Skookie, as she was affectionately nicknamed, was born Feb. 28, 1926, in Crow Agency, a daughter of James A. and Rose Old Bear Wilson. She grew up and received her education in Crow Agency. Following her education, she married Ivan Ames and was divorced. She married Everett Montano and was divorced. She later married Forest Johnston and the couple made their home in Casper, Wyo. Mr. Johnston died in 1982. She worked in housekeeping at a Casper hotel for many years. In recent years, she made her home in Lakewood with her stepdaughter, Judy Edmondson. Dora was a member of the Baptist Church, Greasy Mouth Clan and a child of the Big Lodge Clan. Although she lived away from the reservation, she believed in the Traditional Crow Heritage and family. Her parents; four brothers, Bert, Henry, John B. and James Wilson, Jr.; and six sisters, Molly Mason, Nora Wilson, Harriett Rollins, Bertha Wilson, Susie Yellowtail and Marie Knows His Gun, preceded Dora in death. Survivors include her son, Leroy Ames of Lodge Grass; a daughter, Patsy Montano of California; her stepdaughter, Judy Edmondson of Colorado; a niece, Rose Marie Patterson, whom she raised as a daughter; her sisters, Phoebe Dillon and Jessie Halverson of Crow Agency, Alice Wilson of Hardin, Mont., and Agnes Old Bear of Benteen; a brother, David Yarlott of Crow Agency and several grandchildren. Graveside funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, in the Crow Agency Cemetery. Family and friends will meet at the Bullis Mortuary at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, and proceed as a group to the Cemetery. Bullis Mortuary of Hardin has been entrusted with the arrangements. Copyright c. 2003 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. -=-=-=- January 22, 2003 William E. Arnold William E. ARNOLD Passed away Jan. 17, 2003 at the age of 39, with friends and family present. Bill was born Jan. 17, 1964 in Portland, OR. and was adopted by The Arnold's. He grew up in Eugene, OR. Bill is a Native American from Chipawa Tribe in Minnesota. He attended Churchill High School in Eugene, OR. from 1980-1982 and was active in track and field. After high school he moved to Reno, NV. where he became a blackjack dealer for Harold's Club Casino. Later he moved up to Seattle and worked for several different restaurants as a Waiter. His last place of employment was with U.W. Parking. He enjoyed working with the public. Bill was an Artist and enjoyed illustrating pencil drawings of people and of animals. He also was a big Mariners fan. He believed in God and attended Seattle's First United Methodist Church. Bill was a nice and fun loving person and will be missed by many. He leaves behind 4 sisters, Crista L. Ali, Cheryl D. Hays, Tudi Whitwright and Wanda Kristjanson, 4 brothers, Rod D. Phillips, Bob Phillips, Gary B. Arnold and Roger D. Arnold; two nephews Mickey McGraw and Todd Phillips, one niece Wendy Kay Phillips. A Memorial Service will be held on Sat., Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 811 Fifth Ave. Seattle, WA. 98104, (206) 622-7278, Rev. Lisa Anthony and Rev. Paul McCutcheon officiating. Copyright c. 2003 The Seattle Times Company. -=-=-=- January 25, 2003 Carry "Mary Alice" Eagle Plume CARRY "MARY ALICE" EAGLE PLUME passed away in Cardston, Alberta on January 21st, 2003 at the age of 48 years. The Wake Service will be held on Monday, January 27th at the residence of Mary Alice Eagle Plume, Blood Reserve from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. and continue at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Blood Reserve from 7:30 to 11:00 p. m. The Funeral Mass will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Blood Reserve on Wednesday, January 29th at 2:00 p.m. with Father Leszek Kwiatkowski Celebrant. Interment in the Blood Band Cemetery. Ni'tsi Takii (Morning Bird) MRS. ANDREA MORNING BIRD beloved companion of Mr. Albert Day Rider of the Blood Reserve, passed away at the Lethbridge Regional Hospital on Sunday, January 19, 2003 at the age of 40 years. Andrea is survived by five daughters, Galena (Joe) Lainey, Dovena, Lesley-Ann, Lancy and last but not least, her pride and joy Keisha Dove, granddaughter, and one God Child Tyrad. She is also survived by one brother Gordon (Natalie), two sisters, Yvonne (Allen), and Betty (Gordon). A Wake Service will be held at ST. CATHERINE'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, Standoff, on Sunday, January 26, 2003 from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. continuing at the residence of Andrea Morning Bird. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at ST. CATHERINE'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, Standoff, on Monday, January 27, 2003 at 1:30 P.M. with Reverend Maurice Joly Celebrant. Interment to follow at St. Catherine's Cemetery. Copyright c. 2000 Alberta Newspaper Group, Inc./Lethbridge Herald. --------- "RE: Editorial: Trust us, we're Government" --------- Date: Sat 25 Jan 2003 18:11:27 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRUST" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E417%257E1134340,00.html 'Trust us, we're government'? Saturday, January 25, 2003 - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said this week that if the United States invades and wins in Iraq, our government will hold the country's oil fields "in trust" for the Iraqi people. American Indians must be laughing themselves sick. More than a century ago, Uncle Sam took control of Indian assets - including oil and gas fields. The government also took control of Indian grazing leases, timber rights and so forth, promising to hold the assets in trust for the Indians. But the government never kept proper track of the money, making basic bookkeeping and legal errors that, if committed by anyone else, would have landed the trustee in prison. Among other things, the government mixed funds owed to some people with other accounts, failed to bill oil companies and other leaseholders for royalty payments and didn't keep tabs on payments to the Indians. Today, more than 300,000 American Indians nationwide may be owed a total of $10 billion, say lawyers for the Indians, who sued the federal government over the issue. The lawsuit was filed six years ago by the Boulder-based Native American Rights Fund and former Denver lawyer Dennis Gingold. The case has dragged on through two presidential administrations and more than a half-decade. The government simply has not figured out how to fix the mess, despite installing a fancy new computer system and making innumerable promises to Indians and to Congress. Now the U.S. government is assuring the world it can properly hold Iraqi oil fields in trust. If events unfold to place the U.S. government in such a position, two questions inevitably will arise. First, the Iraqis may ask why they should trust the U.S. government to treat them any better than Uncle Sam has treated American Indians. Second, if the U.S. government keeps its promises to the Iraqis and implements an efficient, honest accounting system, American Indians will have every right to demand to know why their government can't do the same for them. Copyright c. 2003 The Denver Post. --------- "RE: Navajo official wants Judge to remain on Case" --------- Date: Wed 22 Jan 2003 08:11:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAGEEZI" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/Stories/0,1413,129%257E6574%257E1125422,00.html Navajo official wants judge to remain on trust case By Jim Snyder/Shiprock Bureau January 21, 2003 NAGEEZI - Nageezi Chapter President Calvert Garcia said Monday that he wants U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to remain on the Indian Trust case of Cobell verses the Interior Department. Despite the fact that Garcia's chapter members are still not being paid their gas and oil royalty checks, he said that he wanted Lamberth to stay on the case. Lamberth is overseeing a lawsuit against the United States. The lawsuit alleges that sloppy bookkeeping cheated Native Americans out of billions of dollars in royalties since 1887. "(If he leaves) that's just going to delay the whole process," Garcia said. "The man had been familiar with the case for seven years. Let him finish it ... the judge has to inquire what he feels is right." Garcia's chapter is in an area known as the "checkerboard," on the eastern border of the 27,000-square-mile Navajo Reservation. The area gets its name because Navajo, state and federal land parcels are mixed closely together, resembling a checkerboard. The region has high oil deposits. The region also has a 67-percent Navajo unemployment rate. The families, many of which do not have running water or electricity, depend heavily on gas and oil royalty checks as their sole source of income. Former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt felt differently than Garcia on whether the judge should remain or go. Babbitt and some government officials had petitioned to have Lamberth removed from the case. They claimed Lamberth and two lawyers helping him on the case were bias, according to The Daily Times Washington Bureau. Lamberth has refused to step down from the case. The judge said last week that he would enjoy being rid of the case, which demands that the government make a full accounting of the funds that more than 300,000 Native Americans are owed. The accounts hold the proceeds from oil, gas, mineral and grazing leases of Indian lands in the West. "In many ways it would be a welcome relief for the court to slough off the burdens of this seven-year litigation onto some other judge, unmindful of the headaches it has provoked," Lamberth wrote, in an earlier story published by The Daily Times. "But the court would be abdicating its judicial responsibilities, were it to do so." In 1999 Lamberth held Babbitt in civil contempt. A decade ago, Babbitt was nearly nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Clinton. Environmentalists protested however, saying they wanted Babbitt an avid outdoor lover, to be considered for Secretary of the Interior instead. Babbitt, however, was unable to fix the Indian Trust problems while in that office. Last fall Lamberth held Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Interior Indian Affairs director Neal McCaleb in civil contempt. McCaleb, in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, retired recently from the Interior Department. Lamberth caused a major disruption to the Interior Department, including its Bureau of Indian Affairs, in December 2001 when he ordered the department to shut down its Internet access. He was concerned the system, which handled more than $500 million a year in royalty payments, was venerable to computer hackers. The shutdown caused royalty payments to the Navajo Reservation to cease, because the Interior Department relied on the Internet to make its payments. Internet access was resumed last spring, however, royalty payments to his chapter members have yet to resume, Garcia said. Jim Snyder: jims@daily-times.com Bill McAllister contributed to this story. Copyright c. 1999-2002 MediaNews Group, Inc./Farmington, NM. --------- "RE: Crow Leader urges State Unity for All" --------- Date: Fri 24 Jan 2003 08:51:33 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LITTLE BIGHORN/UNITY URGED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/01/24/ Crow leader urges state unity for all By COURTNEY LOWERY Gazette State Bureau January 24, 2003 HELENA - Crow Chairman Carl Venne urged Montana lawmakers on Thursday to remember three words on a monument dedicated to Indian warriors who died at the Battle of the Little Bighorn 127 years ago: "Peace through unity." And that unity may include tribal support for natural resource development to help a state in economic straits, Venne told a joint session of the House and Senate at the biennial State of the Indian Nations address. "Historically, we as American Indians have come to the government of Montana asking for something. Today we have come to establish a just dialogue," he said. "A dialogue in which we bring to the table billions of tons of low-sulfur coal, thousands of acre-feet of water, millions of board feet of timber, but most important, we bring an unlimited supply of manpower, human resources waiting to be developed." Venne entered the joint session of the House and Senate dressed in a business suit, amid the headdresses of fellow councilmen and the sounds of drumming. His message was simple: The problems facing Montana and its lawmakers are not Indian issues or non-Indian issues, they are Montana issues. "One hundred and twenty seven years after that famous battle, we unite as Crow, Cheyennes, Assiniboines, Gros Ventre, Salish, Kootenai, Chippewa, Cree, Blackfeet and Lakota, as Montanans, in peace with Montanans to fight a different kind of battle," he said. "A battle against unemployment, against budget deficits, against drugs and alcohol and against poverty." Venne asked to mend rifts within the state to truly solve Montana's problems. "It has been our history in Montana that the social, economic and ethnic divisions in our state have fought and competed with each other," he said. "We have fought over jurisdiction, civil and collective rights, land ownership, water rights, taxes and economic development. ... "We ... must unite our people as allies." The gallery was filled with people from Montana's seven Indian reservations, but the most were Crow. Two buses traveled from Crow Agency on Thursday to the Capitol. Lawrence Big Hair Jr. was among the Crow tribal members who escorted Venne into the chambers. "It was excellent," Big Hair said of the speech. "It was high grade, high rate. And it wasn't just for Native Americans. He didn't forget about the veterans. He didn't forget about the farmers. It was for everybody." Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Smallpox Fears stir Memories of Heavy Toll" --------- Date: Sat 25 Jan 2003 18:11:27 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SMALLPOX" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/ Smallpox fears stir memories of heavy toll Indians suffered By DONNA HEALY Of The Gazette Staff January 25, 2003 In 1781, a band of Blackfeet attacked a Shoshone camp at dawn. When they slashed through the Shoshone tents, the Blackfeet war cries stopped. A Cree Indian named Saukamappee, who lived among the Piegan Blackfeet, described the attack in the midst of the smallpox epidemic of 1781. "Our eyes were appalled with terror; there was no one to fight with but the dead and the dying, each a mass of corruption," Saukamappee told a Canadian fur trapper. When the disease infected the Blackfeet, it "spread from one tent to another as if the Bad Spirit carried it." One-third of Saukamappee's camp died. He described survivors looking for other bands: "We moved about to find our people, it was no longer with the song and the dance; but with tears, shrieks, and howlings of despair for those who would never return to us." The disease described as "rotting face" decimated families, clans and tribes on the Northern Plains. Native Americans were so susceptible to the Old World disease that, in some cases, almost everyone took sick and no one was left to provide drinking water to the sick, said Elizabeth A. Fenn, a historian who wrote "Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82." In Europe, smallpox was endemic, constantly present. Exposure was likely early in life, and some adults had developed a resistance. Native Americans, in contrast, had no history of exposure. Smallpox epidemics hit Montana tribes in waves, said Adrian Heidenreich, professor of Native American Studies at Montana State University-Billings. The earliest documented epidemic struck in 1780-1781. "The speculation is that as many as half the Indians in the region may have died. It was major, but we don't know the exact numbers," Heidenreich said. Fenn, a historian at Duke University, theorizes the disease moved from Spanish settlements in the Southwest to the Comanche of the southern plains. From there, it may have passed to the Shoshones. "The Crow may have spread the disease by picking up horses from the Shoshones and carrying them to the Mandan," Fenn said. She admits the evidence to back her theory is sketchy. One fur-trade era explorer describes the Crows in the 1790s as a tribe for which smallpox was a "most Terrible" affliction, resulting in "a Mortality as frightful as Universal." The second epidemic swept across Montana's prairies about 1800. Although it was devastating, the historical record is flimsy. In 1805, the Crow told a trapper that the epidemic caused their population to fall from 16,000 to 4,000. The trapper knew only a few words of the Crow language, and the count may have included some other tribes, Heidenreich said. "It was pretty devastating, even if it didn't drop them from 16,000 to 4,000," he said. Another epidemic, in 1833, is thought to have reduced the Crow population from 800 lodges, or about 6,400 people, to 360 lodges. By the time Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed through Montana, smallpox had dramatically altered the West. "From the time they left the Hidatsa villages in North Dakota, they encountered virtually no Indians until they met the Shoshone down by Dillon," Heidenreich said. The explorers passed recently used camps of Assiniboine and Gros Ventre, but didn't make contact with them. The tribes, their populations dramatically reduced, may have purposely avoided contact, Heidenreich said. The disease also upset the balance of power between tribes on the Great Plains, said R.G. Robertson, the Arizona-based author of "Rotting Face: Smallpox and the American Indian." "It created a power vacuum among the native tribes on the central plains, " said Robertson, who is managing editor of "True West" magazine. Whites moving into Minnesota, forced the Sioux westward. Initially, the Sioux were held back by the Mandans, Arikara and Hidatsas along the Missouri River. Smallpox struck the three village tribes in 1837-1838. Fur trapper Francis Chardon's journals estimate that seven-eighths of the Mandan and half of the Arikara and Hidatsa died. The epidemic that struck in 1837 was not the first or the last to hit Montana tribes, but it was the most well-documented outbreak. In 1837, smallpox traveled up the Missouri River on the St. Peters, an American Fur Co. steamboat carrying trade goods from St. Louis. When the steamboat landed at Fort Union, a post at the junction of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, the Assiniboine were stricken. Men at Fort Union tried to warn the Indians to stay away, said Joseph McGeshick, a Native American studies professor at Fort Peck Community College. They ignored the warning because they related disease to bad luck rather than viruses, he said. A badly botched effort to inoculate people using live virus made matters worse at Fort Union. Those tending to the sick at the fort could do little more than load the bodies of the dead onto wagons and dump them in the river, said Michael Casler, a park ranger at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. From Fort Union, a keel boat loaded with trade goods headed up river and into Blackfeet country. At Fort McKenzie, located near the present-day town of Fort Benton, the trading post's leader, Alexander Culbertson, tried to warn the Blackfeet of the epidemic. At the time, several thousand Blackfeet were camped around Fort McKenzie while waiting for supplies, Robertson said. The Indians thought they were being cheated and demanded their supplies. After the epidemic ran its course at the fort, Culbertson rode out on the prairie to see what had happened, said Lesley Wischmann, a Wyoming writer and historian. Wischmann wrote "Frontier Diplomats: The Life and Times of Alexander Culbertson and Natoyist-siksina," a book about Culbertson and his wife. When he rode to Three Forks, where he expected the Piegan Blackfeet to be wintering, Culbertson saw a village of 100 tepees was absolutely quiet, Wischmann said. Hundreds of corpses lay scattered among the lodges. Only two old women, who may have been exposed to an earlier epidemic, survived. "He left them to just wail among this horrible scene that haunted him the rest of his life," Wischmann said. Historians have estimated the Blackfeet lost two-thirds of their tribe during that epidemic. Robertson guesses that 20,000 Native Americans died from smallpox in 1837-1838. Even beyond the staggering death toll, the smallpox epidemics had profound effects on the tribes of the Northern Plains. People became demoralized; they lost heart, Heidenreich said. Some saw it as evidence that the Great Spirit had turned away from them. They were suspicious of other tribes and of white people for causing the disease. Some tribes lost a storehouse of knowledge when spiritual and religious leaders died from the disease. The epidemics may have speeded up their conversion to Christianity, McGeshick said. "When you see your whole population being wiped out, your medicine people, your healers dying, you're not going to have much faith in your system anymore," he said. After the epidemic of 1850, sporadic smaller smallpox outbreaks occurred frequently into the early 20th century. One of Montana's saddest episodes occurred in January of 1870, when Major Eugene M. Baker led an attack on a Blackfeet camp on the Marias River. Mistaking a friendly band for a hostile one, Baker's men massacred about 173 Blackfeet, including 53 women and children. After destroying the camp, Baker's troops discovered some of their captives had smallpox. Fearing that his men would be exposed, Baker turned the women and children loose in the bitter, below-zero cold. The belief that whites intentionally contaminated Montana's Indian tribes with smallpox is widespread among Native Americans. But historians maintain there is no historical evidence that whites intentionally infected Indians in the West with the disease. The one documented instance of intentional transmission was during the French and Indian War, when infected blankets were given to Indians around Fort Pitt at what become Pittsburgh, Robertson said. Even in that case, historians dispute whether infected blankets were actually given out or whether the idea was just discussed. Casler, who has spent 14 years researching the history of the fur trade, has never found a documented case of intentional infection in the West. "This myth that the fur traders perpetrated smallpox upon the tribes of the Upper Missouri, that is just not true," Casler said. "This has grown up as folklore, perpetuated from generation to generation. I've never found a documented case where that actually happened." Because they were trading partners and because many of the fur-traders took Indian wives, the idea of intentional infection makes no sense, Casler said. Because the belief is so widespread and so accepted, people think it happened all the time, McGeshick said. Although McGeshick feels certain there were undocumented cases of intentional exposure, he thinks they were perpetrated by the British, French and Spanish before the Revolutionary War. Stories connecting Billings to the smallpox epidemics invariably mention Sacrifice Cliff. According to one major Crow version of the legend, two Crow warriors who had been away, came back to find the people in camp had died of smallpox, said Tim McCleary, the department head of general studies at Little Big Horn College at Crow Agency. The two men, distraught by the deaths of their loved ones, blindfolded their gray horse and rode the horse over the cliff. The Crow place name translates as "Where the Faded Horse Went Down," McCleary said. Faded can be translated as light-colored or gray. An exaggerated version, claiming the suicide of many warriors, developed as part of the local lore of Billings during the 1800s, McCleary said. Although the bluffs now known as Sacrifice Cliff are on the south side of the Yellowstone River, Crow tradition pinpoints a cliff above what is now the water-treatment plant, behind MetraPark. Another Billings cliff may also be connected to a smallpox outbreak. The Crow describe the high cliff along Sixth Avenue North near Metra as "Where the Children Are Buried," McCleary said. Some say smallpox caused the children's deaths. A Crow story of healing describes elders sending children on vision quests to seek spiritual helpers in the fight against smallpox. Some children saw handprint pictographs appear on rocks, handprints put there by the spirits of children who had died. The children were given a healing medicine to take back to their tribe. Donna Healy may be reached at 657-1292 or dhealy@billingsgazette.com. Copyright c. 2003 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Pueblo Development Projects" --------- Date: Fri 24 Jan 2003 08:51:33 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="POJOAQUE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.sfnewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6774225 Pueblo Development Projects On Track By JENNA NARANJO, The New Mexican January 22, 2003 The landscape of Pojoaque keeps changing. Last July, tribal officials announced plans to improve the local economy by replacing some older buildings as part of a $7 million commercial- development project that is clearly making progress. The tribe secured a $7 million loan for commercial development last year and since then, construction crews finished a travel center - now open for business - and are working on other buildings, including a judicial complex and an industrial park. Orlando Romero, tribal real-estate director, said construction crews will finish the judicial complex near the end of February and the industrial park will be done within the next six weeks. The new, 8,600-square-foot judicial complex is near the tribe's sports bar and will provide more office space and holding cells for suspects, but it won't provide additional jobs, Romero said. "The size alone will make it much more manageable," he said. When employees move to the new complex, Romero said, the older building will be razed. The industrial park is in the Jacona area and will span 11,600 square feet. While construction on the building is near completion, Romero said he is not sure what businesses it will house, but said several companies are interested in leasing space. Other parts of the building will be used for storage and a new computer center. Copyright c. 2003 Santa Fe New Mexican. --------- "RE: Woven in Tradition" --------- Date: Fri 24 Jan 2003 08:51:33 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CULTURE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/Stories/0,1413,129%257E6572%257E1130726,00.html Woven in tradition By Valerie Gritton/Staff writer January 23, 2003 FARMINGTON - For decades the white man's civilization has tried to break the spell of silence many Native Americans have regarding their culture and customs. For some, this has meant trying to understand sand paintings and the woven chants depicted in those paintings. "Everything kind of ties in with our history," said S.P. Martinez, a Din medicine man who this week revealed some of the mystery behind the Woven Chants exhibit now on display at the Farmington Museum. Martinez spoke to a group of nearly 50 people at the museum Wednesday in an effort to open a part of Native American history that he said has been closed. "They are here for information, to tell the story, the history of our land that was forgotten. This is a culture. This is information that is gathered and restored. And as long as this information is here, it won't be forgotten," Martinez said. He said he was given the gift to see and feel the supernatural from the spirits, but tried to run away from his calling as a medical practitioner. "Practitioners are special people that are not limited healers they address everything," Martinez said. "Being a medicine man you encounter a lot of different ailments. Everything is pretty much done with closed surgery. They use the spiritual powers." Twenty woven chants are depicted along the walls of the museum, which means twenty spiritual ceremonies are going on at the same time, Martinez said. Not only are the chants depicting a ceremony, they tell a story of the weaver. "It gives off a lot of information. It's detailed work. The weaver themselves, they have exposed what has been prohibited," Martinez said. For audience members, given the opportunity to learn about the chants meant learning more about their culture. "With me, I wasn't really raised traditionally," Sarah Largo said. She attended the museum program "mainly out of curiosity and to try and understand what the signs are of the sand paintings and chants." Largo said she is trying to understand all she can about her culture. Martinez opened his discussion with a prayer to the moon spirit and an offering of corn pollen. He said corn pollen, among other ritual offerings, "opens up the doors to communicate with the holy beings." Because the program was at night, the moon spirit was offered the prayer. Martinez told audience members everything begins with Native American creation, which ties in with the sand paintings. Each sand painting depicts the four directions, East, West, South and North, and each direction has a color code. Although Martinez did not go into too much detail about the chants, he said some depicted a solstice of the sun, an eclipse or a spiritual ceremony. "Everything has two a male and a female," Martinez said, adding that each woven chant also had to be cleansed after completion. "If these drawings were put on the rugs without being cleansed, then the weaver would have been affected. This is very spiritual," he said. The museum will host the Woven Chants display through April 12. Valerie Gritton: valerieg@daily-times.com Copyright c. 1999-2002 MediaNews Group, Inc./Farmington, NM. --------- "RE: Shoshones Plan to Buy Sacred Land" --------- Date: Mon 27 Jan 2003 08:10:57 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NORTHWESTERN SHOSHONE" http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jan/01272003/utah/23903.asp Shoshones Plan to Buy 'Sacred Land' BY KRISTEN MOULTON January 27, 2003 PRESTON, Idaho -- For the first time since soldiers butchered 250 Northwestern Shoshones along the Bear River 140 years ago, descendants of the few survivors have hope of reclaiming their graveyard. Thirty acres are for sale in the heart of the Bear River Massacre site, and the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, which is launching an ambitious program to create jobs and wealth, may finally have the money to buy the land. "That's our graveyard," says Bruce Parry, the tribe's executive director and great-great-grandson of Chief Sagwitch, who survived the Jan. 29, 1863, attack on the Indian camp. "It's a sacred piece of land and we should own it as a tribe," adds tribal council member Guy Martinez. Purchase of the massacre site -- or at least a small portion of the 1, 200 acres of cow pasture designated as a national historic landmark by the National Park Service in 1990 -- is one of many goals taking shape at the tribe's headquarters in Brigham City. The 439-member tribe, nearly invisible to the rest of Utah for more than a century, has plans to create 1,000 jobs -- most for non-Indians -- and a bank account of at least $25 million within four years. With that, it could build more housing for its low-income members, improve their health care, bankroll Shoshone college students, and preserve and teach the Shoshones language and culture. Martinez says the government funds the tribe now receives are too limited to teach something so basic as how to tan a hide. Patti Timbimboo-Madsen, the tribe's cultural affairs officer, wants the resources to teach Shoshone youngsters traditional singing and dancing so they can transmit the tribe's stories to their own children. Shoshone History: The tribe's remarkable story was little known to the outside world just 25 years ago, when historian Brigham Madsen began writing its history. The Northwestern Shoshones in the 1800s roamed with the seasons in four groups of 300 or 400 people from the Bear Lake Valley to the eastern shores of the Great Salt Lake. The Shoshones -- including other tribes to the north, east and west -- were initially friendly to the pioneers and wagon trains along the Oregon and California trails in the 1840s, but friction grew as their game was depleted and grazing lands were fenced in and plowed. Indians enraged by killings of their own people soon began raiding wagon trains to steal stock and food. By early 1863, a contingent of volunteer soldiers from California, led by Col. Patrick E. Connor, was at Camp Douglas (it became Fort Douglas in 1878) in Salt Lake City and determined to put down the Indians they thought were raiding the mail wagons, stealing settlers' stock and attacking miners en route to Montana and California. Connor and his men were led to the winter camp of Chief Bear Hunter's band and a portion of Chief Sagwitch's band on the frigid morning of Jan. 29 by famed Mormon scout Orrin Porter Rockwell. What began as a pitched battle with a few braves -- 14 soldiers were killed at the start -- became a wholesale slaughter as the soldiers torched 70 tepees, burned food supplies, raped women, bashed the heads of babies against the frozen snow, and shot Shoshones as they fled into the icy Bear River seeking refuge, Madsen says. By day's end, between 250 and 300 Indians were dead, which historians say makes it the bloodiest massacre to occur in the far West. Eighteen soldiers died, some several days after the massacre. Those Shoshones who survived fled on foot or horseback and hid in the hillside brush or under the river's banks. The soldiers "just left the [Shoshone] bodies to the wolves," Madsen says. Mormon settlers helped carry away the wounded soldiers, whom they nursed in their homes. The settlers later took in a few Shoshone women and children who survived the attack. But the prevailing sentiment among the settlers was that the massacre had been an act of God to take care of their pesky problem -- Indians who expected the newcomers to share the bounty from their fledgling farms. Sagwitch, who fled the massacre on horseback with a bullet wound to his hand, continued to lead his vastly smaller group. He was at first angry with the Mormon settlers and took part in raids in Cache and Box Elder counties. The Bear River Massacre essentially ended Indian hostility in the region. Many of the survivors succumbed to government pressure to move to the Shoshone-Bannock reservation north of Pocatello at Fort Hall. But not Sagwitch. LDS Conversion: In the years after his band was nearly annihilated, Sagwitch increasingly turned to the settlers to feed his starving band, and, a decade after the massacre, led the way into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By the time he died more than a decade after that, he was an elder with temple endowments. He was the last chief, Parry says. "The bishop became more important than the chief after that." On one day in the 1870s, some 300 Shoshones were baptized in the waters of the Bear River near present-day Elwood, southeast of Tremonton, says Timbimboo-Madsen, a descendant of Sagwitch. The Northwestern Mormon Shoshones settled at Washakie, two miles south of the Idaho border in the Malad Valley. There the church established a community center, school and church and taught the Indians to farm. "We even had the Harlem Globetrotters visit," says Timbimboo-Madsen. Sagwitch's grandson and Parry's grandfather, Moroni Timbimboo, became the first Indian bishop in the LDS Church, presiding over the Washakie Ward. The band had grown to 300 or 400 by the 1940s, but World War II proved to be the undoing of the Washakie community. Many of the young men enrolled in the armed services, and their parents and siblings moved to Davis and Weber counties to work for Hill Field (now Hill Air Force Base) and military contractors. "They just went to work and kind of mixed in with the white population," historian Madsen says. They never went back to Washakie, and by the mid-1960s, only a few families remained in the decaying community. The LDS Church, unaware that people still lived there, decided to sell the land and bulldozed and burned the few remaining structures while the residents were away. What little remained of a home for the Northwest Band went up in smoke. Parry, a retired Davis County high school teacher who was Utah director of Indian affairs beginning in 1971, went with some of the tribal council to the LDS Church, seeking redress, as some of the land sold by the church rightfully belonged to Indian families who had never recorded the deeds. The church in turn bought 184 acres west of the old town site and gave it to the Northwest Band. Today, that 184 acres which surrounds the old Washakie cemetery is the tribe's only land, a so-called reservation of tall grass, sagebrush, rattlesnakes and hawks. The tribe leases it out for cattle grazing. The only structure is a well house built a couple of years ago, next to the cemetery where Sagwitch and more than 200 of his band are buried. Lost Culture: Timbimboo-Madsen says the Northwestern Shoshones who threw in their lot with the LDS Church have assimilated to the point that the Shoshone culture has suffered. "We've always been here. We never went away," she says. "But we acculturated too good." Perhaps that is one reason for the tribe's obscurity, even in Utah. Brigham Madsen recalls that when he became the official historian to help the Shoshone-Bannock with land claims in the 1970s, a Utah junior high textbook did not even mention the Northwestern Shoshones. Even today, he says, the Shoshones are always mentioned last in any listing of Utah's Indian tribes. But after his books The Northern Shoshoni in 1980 and The Shoshoni Frontier and the Bear River Massacre in 1985, awareness grew. Before, the 1863 slaughter had always been described as a "battle," much to the outrage of the Shoshones. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneer markers installed at the massacre site in 1932 and 1953 refer to the Shoshone women and children as "combatants" and depict the soldiers as valiant. Madsen's books were instrumental to a small group of history buffs in the Preston area, who began in the late 1980s enlisting the help of county commissioners and the Idaho Legislature to recognize the massacre for what it was. Allie Hansen, the only remaining active member of the group, persuaded the National Park Service to designate the Bear River Massacre site as a historic landmark in 1990. She still hopes to persuade Congress to follow the Park Service's recommendation to make it a historic site. A study eight years ago recommended spending $14 million to buy 124 acres and build a visitors center. U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, has declined to introduce the legislation because of a backlog of national park infrastructure needs. "He says, 'I'll become more interested if you can get your local people interested,' " Hansen says. "We have done everything we know how on our own." If the tribe is able to buy the massacre site, it could possibly work with the Park Service to preserve and promote it, Martinez and Parry say. "We'd prefer to own it," Parry says. "We want it protected and we want people to know about it, whether it's the National Park Service or us." There was a time when members of the tribe wanted nothing to do with the Park Service focus on their massacre site. They didn't want whites profiting from their ancestors' blood. "All those guys have died," Parry says. "They were against everything." Economic Development: The tribal council elected four years ago and up for election again in April -- Chairwoman Gwen Davis, Helen Davis, Leland Pubigee, Tommy Pacheco, Shane Warner, Ivan Wongan, and Martinez -- is charting a new course. A year ago, they created a separate economic development company that is run by Parry, Wongan and Jon Warner, but insulated from the tribal and familial politics that frustrated past attempts to modernize. "We realize that business and politics don't mix," says Parry, who has a master's degree in business from the University of Utah. The board of the company can be removed only by a unanimous vote of the tribal council. The company is working with Gov. Mike Leavitt's SmartSite program to create jobs and has teamed up with a Logan company to seek technology contracts. The company also has contracted with an international training company that helps Indian companies get federal contracts. Many contracts set aside 5 percent for Indian contractors, but there are few bidders. "We are leaving millions and millions and millions of dollars untapped," Parry says. At present, the company is considering bidding on a $25 million contract to refurbish hospitals and Indian clinics in New Mexico. It would have to hire construction professionals if it got the project, as it would have to hire technology experts to help with any call center or other high-tech contracts. The tribe is also talking with other tribes around the country about building travel plazas and is determined to build one near the Utah-Idaho border along Interstate 15, Parry says. Because a tribe does not have to pay state gasoline taxes, it can make a hefty profit on gas. The Northwestern Shoshones are looking at property in Idaho, where the travel plaza would have the legal right to some types of gambling. "At some point in the future, we'll talk about" gambling, Parry says. The existing 184-acre reservation could accommodate a fuel-tank farm and possibly a housing subdivision under the new vision, which Parry admits is ambitious. Tribal leaders are even exploring the use of the warm springs under the ground as a possible crayfish farm. The vision might provide jobs for the 30 or 40 tribal members who need work, but most do not. Three-fourths of the members live from the Blackfoot, Idaho, area to Salt Lake City. The rest are scattered all over the country. The real gain, as tribal council members see it, will be in the bank accounts that can help Shoshones prosper and perpetuate their culture. "In three or four years, we're going to have a bank account of $25 [million] to $30 million. And that's being conservative. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when," says Parry, 63, who intends to retire again to the golf course once the tribe reaches its goals. Martinez says there is still some tension between the old ways and the new headlong move into business. "They want to make sure the culture is preserved, that we don't turn our backs on bead work and concentrate purely on computer programs," says Martinez, 28. "But we would like to be recognized in some way, rather than for being the ghost Indian tribe." kmoulton@sltrib.com Copyright c. 2003, The Salt Lake Tribune. --------- "RE: Reason for removal as Council Chairman" --------- Date: Fri 24 Jan 2003 08:51:33 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OUSTER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.goldentrianglenews.com/display/inn_glacier_reporter/news/ 'Lack of leadership, not audit request, is reason for...removal as Chairman' January 24, 2003 (Following is a verbatim text of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council's statement to the public on Tuesday, Jan. 21, that they submitted for publication. -ed.) A lack of leadership which was resulting in the inability of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council to carry out their responsibilities, and not his request for an audit, was the reason the Tribal Council voted to remove William Allen Talks About as Chairman of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council. Leases which affected individual Tribal members were not being signed, Resolutions passed by the majority of the Tribal Council were not being signed and meetings dominated by demands that the Robinson & Associates agreement be approved, are among the leadership concerns which brought the issue to a head. Under Talks About's direction as Chairman, the Tribal Council members voting for his removal felt that the Council had met almost continuously for the past six months and accomplished very little. Instead, meetings were dominated by demands that the Robinson agreement be approved. And when the Council did take action that Talks About did not agree with, he would often try to block or hold the action by refusing to sign off. In the Blackfeet governmental system, the Chairman of the Tribal Council is just one of nine equals. The Chairman does not have veto power, nor does he have the authority to commit the Tribe to contracts or agreements on his own. Under the Tribal Constitution, the Chairman's only power is to preside over meetings. The Tribal Council acts as a body under the Tribal Constitution. Once the Council has acted, that action is binding on all the Tribal Council members; including the Chairman. The disruption in Tribal government caused by the backers of the Robinson agreement is reminiscent of the time when the Blaze issues dominated the Tribe. Trying to prevent a replay of William Aubrey's efforts to dominate the Reservation or of the Tiretec fiasco was important to the Council members who took the action on Talks About. Contrary to Talks About's claims that the removal action was illegal or improper, the Tribal Constitution and past precedent support the Council's action. Meetings and actions of the Tribal Council are governed by Article V of the By-laws of the Blackfeet Constitution. Article V of the By-laws is divided into three sections. Section 1 deals with when meetings are held; Section 2 addresses how many members of the Council must be present to have a legal meeting and transact business; and Section 3 deals with how Council decisions are made. Under Section 3, assuming that at least a quorum (which is six members) is present, a simple majority can transact business. However, to rescind a former action of the Council, six members (or 2/3 of the entire Council) must vote to do so. This does not mean that all Council must be present. Tribal Documents has confirmed that past precedent has been that the Tribal Council has rescinded prior actions with six members voting to do so, even through the entire Council was not present. The current Council has also followed this approach. Mr. Talks About was aware of the meeting on Jan. 10, and the motion for his removal had been on the floor since October. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has now confirmed that the Tribal Council acted legally in removing Talks About as Tribal Council Chairman. Finally, the Tribal Council adamantly denies Mr. Talks About's assertion that the reason for his removal was his call for an independent audit. As a member of the Tribal Council, Mr. Talks About is still free to meet with anyone he feels appropriate and to report any wrongdoing. In fact, the recent prosecutions of former Tribal employees were generated as the result of reports initially made by individual Tribal Council members. The Tribe has an annual audit mandated by both federal law and the Tribal Charter. Under the Tribal Charter that audit (as are the Tribe's daily financial records) is open to view by every Tribal member. Indeed, tribal members have used this process to watchdog Tribal finances in the past. Rather than trying to stop any investigation, the Tribal Council has contacted the FBI and offered to be interviewed and fully cooperate in any investigation. Otherwise the Tribal Council believes that Talks About acted irresponsibly in making allegations without at least advising the rest of the Council or allowing them to view any evidence which he believed represented wrongdoing. False allegations by a Housing employee in the recent past resulted in hundreds of man hours, thousands of dollars and tremendous resources being wasted responding to grand jury investigations. While actual wrongdoing can never be condoned, false allegations rooted in jealously or "sour grapes" are just as damaging to the Tribe. Lastly, the Council reminds everyone that those supported the Robinson agreement and who are now attacking the Council, had their own personal interests at stake. One individual wanted the Council to buy his land at grossly inflated prices and he wanted the Council to settle a dispute which he had with Blackfeet Housing by paying him $80,000. The Tribal Council refused to do either. It is the position of the Tribal Council members who removed Mr. Talks About as Chairman of the Tribal Council, that when he is accusing others of wrongdoing or illegal meetings, he needs to carefully consider his own conduct. Hundreds of thousands of Tribal dollars have been given away in meetings where there was no 48-hour notice and proper procedure was not followed. He (Talks About) presided over these meetings as Chairman. Hatred, jealousy and bitterness are the true enemies of our people. These are not traditional values of the Blackfeet people. Yet hatred, jealousy and bitterness are at work as Mr. Talks About's supporters make up outrageous, cowardly lies aimed at destroying the character and reputation of anyone who opposes them. With respect to Mr. Talks About's tenure as former Chairman of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council, what's done is done, and now it is time to move on. The Tribal Council does not have the time or energy to waste on negative values like hate, jealousy and bitterness. Nor does it have time to waste addressing Mr. Talks About's hurt feelings. It's time to address the many important issues facing the Blackfeet Nation and its people, and those important issues facing Indian country as a whole. It's time to unite as a Tribal Council and as a people and move forward. Copyright c. 2003 Golden Triangle Newspapers/Glacier Reporter. --------- "RE: 7 Indian Legislators focus on Issues" --------- Date: Fri 24 Jan 2003 08:51:33 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MONTANA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/01/24/ 7 Indian legislators focus on issues important to tribes By SHAWN WHITE WOLF Helena Independent Record January 24, 2003 The growing influence of American Indians on the Montana political scene is apparent this Legislative session. Seven American Indian legislators, a record number, serve and a record amount of legislation that would affect American Indians is under consideration. In response to this relatively recent growth, many tribal and urban Indian community leaders had high hopes Thursday for the annual State of the Indian Nations address before a joint meeting of the House and Senate. The address was presented by Fort Belknap Tribes President Benjamin Speak Thunder and Crow Tribal President Carl Venne. All seven American Indian representatives were in attendance. Rep. Veronica Small-Eastman, D-Lodge Grass, and Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, are two of the newest American Indian legislators. The other legislators are Sen. Gerald Pease, D-Lodge Grass, Rep. Carol Juneau, D- Browning, Rep. Norma Bixby, D-Lame Deer, Rep. Joey Jayne, D-Arlee, and Rep. Frank Smith, D-Poplar. All have been busy during the first weeks of the session. According to the legislative automated workflow system, more than 171 pieces of legislation that will affect Montana's American Indians - the number is growing - are either in draft stages or assigned bill numbers. The American Indian legislators are not carrying all these bills. But Juneau is carrying at least 17 pieces of legislation, including House Bill 26 - a mandate to place an American Indian on the state parole board - and a joint resolution to study dropout issues with regard to Indian students. The system also showed Jayne sponsoring more than 10 pieces of legislation. Some of the bills address aid for schools and clarify ethnic, cultural and religious maintenance in children removed from homes. Others include a ban on minors in establishments serving alcohol and an increase in penalties for serving alcohol to minors. Juneau is sponsoring a joint resolution to address the high dropout rates among American Indian students in high schools throughout Montana. The American Indian rate is three times that of non-Indian students. "This is a very important issue in education and we need to find some solutions," Juneau said. "I am advocating for new strategies for our schools - prevention programs are great and needed but are long-term and there are many students leaving today, yesterday and probably tomorrow from our schools." Andrew Huff, a newly elected board member at the Helena Indian Alliance and attorney for the Indian Law Resource Center, said tribes will benefit by having American Indians there to respond when the state government tries to exercise its power over tribal sovereignty or government. "The biggest impact will be the Indian legislators having the opportunity to educate other lawmakers about Indian issues and the importance of state government respecting tribal sovereignty," Huff said. Jonathan Windy Boy said that the top issues surround economic development and health and human services. Unemployment rates on reservations range from 37 to 85 percent, according to tribal statistics. Tribal leaders said another big issue for American Indians statewide is the attempt by the Republican leadership to prevent a proposed legislative redistricting plan from becoming law. The plan would establish a record nine majority American Indian voting districts. "We have a Republican leadership who is willing to disregard the Montana Constitution in order to deprive Montana's Indian people of our voting rights," said Northern Cheyenne President Geri Small. American Indians on the Fort Peck, Fort Belknap, Blackfeet, Flathead, and Rocky Boy reservations would benefit from the new plan because it adds a new House District and two new Senate Districts in their areas. "For 20 years we have fought to enforce our federal voting rights," Rocky Boy Chairman Alvin Windy Boy said. "For the first time in Montana history, the proposed redistricting plan would grant Indians proportional representation. It's about time." However, the American Indian legislators said if proposals like HB 309 - which would reduce the allowed population deviation between districts and let the secretary of state reject the plan if it doesn't meet that standard - pass, American Indian voters will have much less of a chance electing candidates of their choice. "My opponent didn't even come onto my reservation, he just put a sign on the road near the reservation border," Bixby said Friday in a hearing on the bill in the State Administration Committee. Other measures that affect American Indian Montanans have already begun to be addressed in the Legislature. One example is House Bill 64, introduced by Rep. Stan Fisher, R-Bigfork, regarding the 1999 creation of the State-Tribal Economic Development Commission. The bill was heard last week in the House Appropriations Committee and was tabled. It would have transferred the remaining $153,000 of the State-Tribal Economic Development Commission's funding to the state general fund. The Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, which represents tribal governments throughout Montana, told legislators they didn't support the bill. The Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council is made up of nine federally recognized tribal governments and one formally recognized Montana tribe in both states. Northern Cheyenne President Geri Small is the council's current chairwoman. Many American Indian leaders see the legislators' perspective as an important part of the debate at the Capitol. "The Indian legislators will bring more awareness to concerns on reservations such as in the areas of health and social, like mortality rates for Indian children, high rates of diabetes, and economic disparities on reservation lands," said Daniel Pocha, chairman of the Helena Indian Alliance Board of Directors. Henrietta Mann, a Southern Cheyenne, taught at the University of Montana for 29 years, then took over the Native Studies Program at Montana State University in 2000. Mann said Juneau's leadership is a great value for American Indians. "Montana is a politically progressive state," Mann said. "The Indian legislators look at economic and natural resources, like the coal-bed methane, but they want to maintain our sacred grounds, also." Another Helenan, Daniel Fox, a grant writer and communications consultant, appealed to the idea of having a greater voice for the less fortunate population throughout Montana. "Having an increased number of Indian legislators will certainly help Montana's Indian population by giving them a voice in policy and decision making, but those benefits clearly extend to Montana's low income and working poor as well," Fox said. ==== RELATED SIDEBAR ======= RELATED SIDEBAR ======= RELATED SIDEBAR ==== THE NUMBERS The 2000 U.S. Census shows Montana with an estimated 56,000 tribal Indians, representing 6.2 to 7 percent of the about 900,000 Montanans. Since 1933, 19 American Indians have served in Montana's state legislatures. Of that number, 17 (or 89 percent) have been Democrats. In 2001, The National Conference of State Legislatures reported 46 American Indian legislators nationwide. Alaska was first with 12, Montana had six, New Mexico and Arizona each had five, and Oklahoma and South Dakota had four. Altogether, American Indians were represented in 14 of the 50 states. In 2001, Montana represented 13 percent of the 46 American Indians serving in state legislatures. The NCSL doesn't yet have a complete count of 2003 American Indian legislators. However, five states have reported: Alaska, with 10; Montana, 7; New Mexico, 4; Colorado, 4; and Arizona, 3. Oklahoma and South Dakota have not filed reports. Of those 28 American Indian legislators who responded, 79 percent were Democrats. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: U.S. Government promised Health Care" --------- Date: Mon 27 Jan 2003 08:10:57 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IHS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/living/5040464.htm Lost tribes The U.S. government promised to provide American Indians with health care, but underfunding is jeopardizing the system -- and patients' lives By Matt Kelley The Associated Press January 27, 2003 ADA, Okla. - A nurse-midwife pulled a limp and blue Tyler Bryant Tipton into the world at an American Indian hospital that wasn't ready for him. The midwife used a suction cup device to help pull Tyler out of his mother, tugging so hard that the cup popped off twice and she fell back against the wall. Once Tyler was delivered, nurses and doctors couldn't find an infant-sized breathing mask, and a worker sent to find one came back with an adult-sized mask instead. Tyler has cerebral palsy. A medical expert hired by the Tipton family concluded this condition was caused by a string of mistakes at his 1997 birth. If the midwife had called a doctor to perform a Caesarean section, Tyler probably would not have had brain damage, Dr. John R. Marshall concluded. The government has since paid the family $5.3 million. "It makes you wonder why nothing's been done," said Tyler's mother, Misty Tipton. "They're just damaging babies. It seems like they would do something about it." An Associated Press analysis of court and government records and interviews with outside experts, agency officials and patients found problems like the Tiptons' at facilities run by the Indian Health Service, the federal agency that provides health care for American Indians. Although American Indians get more services than uninsured Americans, IHS care has been called substandard by federal judges and is usually less comprehensive than what privately insured Americans receive. IHS officials acknowledge the shortcomings, but say their agency has helped American Indians make dramatic health gains in recent decades. "We're way underfunded," said Dr. Craig Vanderwagen, the agency's chief medical officer. "But we do well with what we have." What the IHS had in 2002 was a budget of $2.9 billion, although not all of that budget went for patient care. While health care for the general population averages $3,800 per person a year, the IHS provides about $1,300 per person for American Indians. The IHS really needs about $15 billion a year to adequately serve American Indian health needs, said Dr. Michael Trujillo, the agency's head. The Associated Press examined hundreds of government documents, interviewed dozens of people in 13 states and visited American Indian communities in New Mexico, Oklahoma and South Dakota. Among the findings: - At least 21 of the more than 900 doctors who have worked for the IHS in the past six years have been punished by state medical boards, AP found when checking disciplinary records. The medical boards, which are independent of the IHS, punished the doctors for administrative, ethical or competence problems, including chronic drug abuse, negligence involving patient deaths and sexual misconduct with patients. About 2.6 percent of the IHS doctors have been sanctioned -- more than four times the average for the federal government, and the highest of any federal agency that employs doctors. - Since 1997, 16 of the 49 IHS hospitals have been cited as among the worst in the nation on at least one quality criterion by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. That means hospitals did not meet the minimum standards in one or more areas set by JCAHO, which monitors national quality standards for hospitals. For example, the rating agency cited the Phoenix Indian Hospital in 1999 for not meeting any of its standards in the care of patients during operations. Less than 1 percent of hospitals nationwide ranked as poorly. - Patients or relatives filed 342 formal malpractice complaints against the IHS from January 1997 through Sept. 30, 2000, according to records released under the Freedom of Information Act. That's more than one complaint for every three doctors. Although most claims were denied, the agency has paid at least $23.6 million in malpractice settlements and judgments in the past four years. No federal agency tracks malpractice claims against private-sector doctors and hospitals. IHS officials say the number of malpractice complaints is low for a system its size. "We do have our failures, like anybody does," Vanderwagen said. "And interestingly, most of those are system failures as opposed to individual practitioner failures. . . And each one of those failures is a lesson, and we share those with the providers in the field." - The diagnosis was wrong for one in five patients listed in IHS computer files who were identified as diabetic or found to have common diseases, according to a study of 1996 and 1997 data by researcher Kelly Gonzales of the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. - Due to a lack of money, IHS rations specialty care. That means patients in some areas are forced to do without some treatments and tests, such as mammograms or gallbladder surgery. The government has promised to provide health care to American Indians in treaties and laws dating to Colonial times. IHS was created in 1955 to meet that obligation. It provides health care to more than 1.5 million American Indians, or about 60 percent of the Americans who identify themselves solely as American Indian. Even the agency's harshest critics say IHS has many talented and dedicated caregivers and has helped American Indians make dramatic health gains in recent decades. American Indian infant death rates have dropped by more than half since the early 1970s, to a rate of 8.9 per 1,000 births. That's still higher than the national average of 7.2 infant deaths per 1,000 births, however. American Indian children are vaccinated at higher rates than the general population, but American Indian communities are still plagued by serious health problems. A 1998 IHS study found that American Indians are 7.4 times more likely to die from alcoholism, five times more likely to die from tuberculosis, four times more likely to die from diabetes, and nearly twice as likely to die from suicide or homicide than the general population. Strain on the IHS is only increasing as the American Indian population booms. The number of American Indians living in areas served by IHS facilities jumped 27.6 percent between 1990 and 2001. The agency's problems have real-life consequences. Patients allege some IHS facilities are so dirty they are dangerous. Renee Knepp sued the Albuquerque Indian Hospital after her 6-year-old son cut his finger on a scalpel he found in the hospital's waiting room in 1998. Government lawyers acknowledged the boy found the scalpel but denied IHS wrongdoing. Both sides agreed to dismiss the lawsuit last year. Patients with life-threatening conditions have been sent home. In New Mexico, lawsuits have accused IHS workers of sending home four patients who later died of heart attacks or infections. Blaise Magooshboy Jr., an infant boy, died on the Mescalero Apache reservation in 1998. When his parents brought Blaise to an IHS hospital emergency room, a nurse told them he had chickenpox and sent them home, according to the family's lawsuit. When the boy's mother and grandmother brought him back two days later, the lawsuit said, he waited for hours to get treatment, then stopped breathing as workers were drawing blood for tests. Attempts to revive him failed. Lawyers defending the IHS said Blaise's mother took him home from the first hospital visit before a doctor could see the boy. The agency denied malpractice. The family settled the lawsuit out of court. The terms weren't disclosed. These days, the Tiptons measure Tyler's achievements in smaller steps than parents of other 4-year-olds. His head often lolls to one side. His hands are curled and clumsy, his arms and legs loose and shaky. But he can smile. He can laugh. He can make friends at school. The Tiptons sued the IHS after hearing from other parents whose children had been also injured during delivery at Carl Albert Indian Hospital. The Tiptons said they didn't know about any problems with the IHS before Tyler's birth. In 1999, JCAHO cited the 53-bed Carl Albert hospital for lapses in medication use, staff training and assessments, record-keeping and infection control. After a follow-up visit in March 2000, JCAHO investigators still gave Carl Albert the lowest possible rating for assessing staff competence and screening incoming patients. Hospital spokeswoman Kelley Allison declined comment. The IHS, without admitting wrongdoing, settled the Tipton case last year. Most of the $5.3 million will pay for Tyler's medical care for the rest of his life. "The federal government is the one having to foot the bill for all of this," said Tyler's father, Jeff Tipton, a Choctaw tribal member. "For what they spent they could have hired them some excellent doctors." Copyright c. 2001 startelegram and wire service sources. --------- "RE: Declaration of the Kichwa Peoples of Sarayacu" --------- Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 16:41:03 -0800 (PST) From: Ecuador Subj: Please Post >To: gars@speakeasy.org From: Sarayacu Community, native Kichwa Community of approximately 2,000 inhabitants, of Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador. _____________ The Governing Council of the Association of the Kichwa Peoples of Sarayacu whom faces the threat of the CGC-ChevronTexaco Petroleum Oil Company in Block 23 in the province of Pastaza Declares: Strongly reaffirming the agreement and compromise signed in the Association of the Kichwa Peoples of Sarayacu on November 25th, 2002 by the Governor of Pastaza, National Police Commandment department No.16, President of CONFENIAE, President of OPIP, Regional Manager of Tourism, and the Association of the Kichwa Peoples of Sarayacu and also the Declaration document made by the Ombudsman of Ecuador (Defensoria del Pueblo de Ecuador) The Association of the Kichwa Peoples of Sarayacu will not permit the intrusion of the Petroleum Company CGC-ChevronTexaco with its consecutive manner of continually violating the rights of Sarayacu by permitting the abusive entrance of workers within the territory that is in our jurisdiction On the 15th of the Present month and year, the workers of the CGC- ChevronTexaco, without any justification, illegally entered violating the agreements with Sarayacu by infiltrating in our territories and opening encampments. The community has proceeded to expulse more than 25 workers and detained 5 members of the security group, and with this confirms the illegal and unconstitutional presence of armed groups in favor of (contracted by) CGC-ChevronTexaco. We denounce the consequences of the environmental impact and the extinction of the flora, fauna therefore producing of unbalance in the way of life proved already in the logging of hundreds-years old giant trees in order to construct the encampments of the CGC-ChevronTexaco. Referring to the diet of the community, mutilated animals have been found abandoned (the head, legs and skin cut off), for example the tapir, an animal endanger of extinction, found in this manner in the Shan-Shan region between Putuyumi and Kapawari within our territories. Vast quantities of gasoline have been spilled along the trenches. Equally the threat exists of the land mining of the borders and the camps. All this as a symbolic threat so we will not enforce the exiting of the CGC- ChevronTexaco Company from our territory In the same manner, today I have received anonymous telephone calls threatening that I will pay expensively and to face the consequences (for resisting oil company entrance) We insist on respect toward our Sarayacu Community, ratifying our legitimate rights to a life of peace and harmony in our community and with the co-existing families We ask that the guaranteed Constitutional Rights and legal resolutions established & signed between the state authorities and the representative organizations be respected The Association of Sarayacu, worried over the actual circumstances taking place in the community, asks that our collective rights under Article 84 and our ancestral territorial property be respected That the undeniable right to life of our families, communities and territory be respected Sarayacu, 17th of January 2003 Governing Council of the Kichwa Peoples of Sarayacu Franco Viteri President Sarayacu Association (For more info, visit webpage www.sarayacu.com) --------- "RE: Time to reject Ottawa's Labels" --------- Date: Thu 23 Jan 2003 08:19:42 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REJECT LABELS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/search/story.asp It's time to reject Ottawa's labels Jack Knox Times Colonist Thursday, January 23, 2003 According to the federal government, Canada's Aboriginal Peoples are not a visible minority. Guess that makes them invisible. It's right there in the census results released by Statistics Canada this week. Aboriginals get sorted into one group, while visible minorities - people who aren't native or white - get their own pigeonhole. A total of 4.4 per cent of British Columbians identify themselves as aboriginal, while 21.6 per cent are termed visible minorities. (The percentage of visible minorities in Victoria - where the demographics span the full cultural rainbow from Scottish to Irish, where there are nine flavours of Anglican, where an English accent isn't considered foreign, but a French one is - is just 9.8 per cent.) So, why does the Ottawa insist on statistical apartheid? It's done for the purposes of the federal Employment Equity Act, which aims to "correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment for four designated groups: women, aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities." The act covers the federal government and federally- regulated employers with 100 or more employees - a total of almost two million people, or 12 per cent of Canada's labour force. It's not a terribly intrusive piece of legislation. Still, many people (for the purpose of this piece we shall define "many people" as white, able-bodied, male newspaper columnists) are uncertain about equity programs, about the use of social engineering to rework the face of the workplace. We've talked about it among ourselves, and have decided that the power is ours, and we're not letting go. Thanks for coming. Don't bump your head on the glass ceiling on the way out. Well, no, that would be wrong. But we still have questions. In its most benign form, equity simply means providing equal opportunity to all, guaranteeing that people don't get shut out of jobs because they don't have membership in the Old Boys' Club. But when gender or ethnicity is seen to be the deciding factor in who gets work, resentment grows. (It's also easier to argue "I didn't get the job because I'm not a French-speaking, one-legged Indian woman" than it is to admit "I wasn't good enough.") Of course, the counter argument is that gender and ethnicity have been the deciding factor for years, that affirmative-action programs have been around for centuries - for white men. It can also be argued that the public service should reflect the public it serves. The business world has found this to be true. That's why there's such a push for gender and ethnic diversity on police forces. (Note that when the B.C. government introduced an employment equity office in 1999, only six per cent of public servants belonged to visible minorities.) But is diversity needed in all areas? The Canadian military has tried mightily, and failed, to place women in combat roles. Why? Do we really need to ensure that when war breaks out, Iraqi women will be shot by Canadians of the same sex? And then there's the matter of how we choose our pigeonholes, of how we decide who is disadvantaged. A fourth-generation Canadian of Japanese heritage belongs to a visible minority; a fresh-off-the-boat Russian with no language skills is not. Labels - man, woman, white, disabled, native - are arbitrary definitions that reduce whole people to two dimensions, that stuff them in compartments. Which is one reason it was heartening to see 39.4 per cent of census respondents merely identify their ethnic background as "Canadian" and damn the hyphenations. Which, of course, is easy to say when you're not a member of a minority - visible or invisible. jknox@times-colonist.com Copyright c. 2003 Times Colonist (Victoria). --------- "RE: N.B. Court ruling on Native Logging Rights" --------- Date: Wed 22 Jan 2003 08:11:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LOGGING RULING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canoe.ca/AtlanticTicker/CANOE-wire.CRIME-Native-Logging.html N.B. court ruling on native logging rights hailed as forward step January 21, 2003 FREDERICTON (CP) -- A judge's order that the province must set rules to accommodate native logging for personal use is a step forward for aboriginal rights, says a local chief. "I think it's a victory," said Chief Jeff Tomah of the Woodstock First Nation. On Monday, provincial court Judge Murray Cain found Dale Sappier and Clark Polchies not guilty on charges that they had illegally harvested timber on Crown land. Cain also ruled that provincial regulations infringe on native treaty rights to harvest timber on Crown land for personal use, such as for the construction of homes and furniture. Tomah said Cain's ruling will enable people living on his reserve and on others in New Brunswick to address housing problems. He said he plans to meet with other First Nations chiefs to discuss the ruling. Cain's judgment gives the province eight months to set up new provisions to govern natives' exercise of those treaty rights. He encouraged the government to consult with the aboriginal community in preparing those provisions. Tomah said natives must have a say in what kind of controls will be imposed. "We'll set our rules and (regulations), hopefully in conjunction with the province," he said. Tomah said Cain's judgment only addresses harvesting for personal use and will likely not affect any agreement between natives and the province on the issue of harvesting for commercial purposes. The province has 30 days to appeal. Natural Resources Minister Jeannot Volpe said the decision on whether to appeal hasn't been made yet. "We'll have to take our time and go over the decision," he said. (Fredericton Gleaner) Copyright c. 2003, CANOE, a division of Netgraphe Inc. --------- "RE: Growing Native Population changing Face of Canada" --------- Date: Wed 22 Jan 2003 08:11:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CANADIAN CENSUS" http://www.indianz.com Growing Native population changing face of Canada WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2003 Canada's Aboriginal population grew by 22 percent in the last five years, the federal government reported yesterday, outpacing the rest of the nation sevenfold. Results of the 2001 census documented the exploding growth of Native people. In 2001, nearly one million Canadians identified themselves as Indian, Inuit or Metis, according to data from Statistics Canada. That is 22.2 percent higher than the 1996 census count. In comparison, the non-Native population grew by just 3.4 percent. Government officials attributed the rise to several factors, including a high birth rate. Children ages 14 and under are one-third of the Native population, compared to 19 percent of the general population. They also said there was an improved enumeration effort, although Aboriginals were undercounted in far greater numbers than any other group. The 2001 Census missed 30 reserves and communities, estimated to be about 30,000 to 35,000 people. Overall, Natives are 3.3 percent of Canada's population, up from 2.8 percent in 1996. In the United States, in comparison, American Indians and Alaska Natives comprise less than 1 percent of the country. But like their American neighbors, Canadian Aboriginals are increasingly urban and highly mobile. About 50 percent lived off-reserve in 2001, according to the data, and 22 percent had moved in the 12 months prior to the count, much higher than the 14 percent reported by other racial and ethnic groups. The highest concentrations of Natives were in the North and the Plains. Nunavut, the self-governing Inuit territory created in 1999, was the highest, with an 85 percent Native population, followed by the Northwest Territories at 51 percent. Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the Plains each showed a 14 percent Native population, the highest of the provinces. Alberta followed with 5 percent. Since 1901, the Native population has increased ten times, compared to a sixfold increase for the total population. Copyright c. 2000-2003 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Sask. not about to act on Priority Recommendation" --------- Date: Wed 22 Jan 2003 08:11:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SASKATCHEWAN JUST-US" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canoe.ca/WesternTicker/ Sask. not about to act on priority recommendation in native justice report January 21, 2003 REGINA (CP) -- The Saskatchewan government has failed a test of its commitment to reform the justice system for aboriginal people, says the head of a commission studying the issue. In an interim report released last week, the Commission of First Nations and Metis People and Justice Reform called the 90-year-old segregation units at the Regina Correctional Centre outdated dungeons and recommended they be closed immediately. However, Andrew Thomson, minister of corrections and public safety, said Tuesday that's not about to happen. "We're not going to be in a position to close the segregation unit. Every facility needs that. It's just part of the internal security system that we have," Thomson said. He said replacing the Regina Correctional Centre is at the top of the department's capital priorities, but a new facility would cost about $90- million and would have to compete for funding in the spring budget with other projects in health and education. Commission chairman Willie Littlechild, who has said he hopes his recommendations will be taken more seriously that others by native justice commissions, was clearly disappointed. "It was a real test to see if they're (the government) serious about our work," Littlechild said. "So obviously they're not serious about our work. "That's an early signal. The easiest excuse not to do anything is a money response, so that's how I view that and I'm very disappointed." Ironically, Justice Minister Chris Axworthy listed the commission as his greatest accomplishment as he announced his resignation from the provincial cabinet on Tuesday. "I truly think that the aboriginal justice commission is what will make the biggest impact. We've spent a lot of time building relationships with aboriginal people and this was a real challenge," he said. Commissioners toured the Regina jail last September and found most of the inmates in the segregation unit and secure unit were aboriginal. "The commissioners left the facility appalled by the conditions under which inmates in segregation are being held," the 62-page report states. "This portion of the correctional centre can be compared to an old dungeon and raises serious questions about the treatment of human beings in this jail." The original section of the Regina Correctional Centre, which includes the segregation and secure units, was built in 1913. The commission is the latest of several to examine the way aboriginal people are treated by the justice system. Others include the Saskatchewan Indian and Metis Justice Review of 1992, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal People that reported in 1996 and the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba in 1999. The $2.5-million commission will release a third interim report next spring. Its final report is due early in 2004. Copyright c. 2003, CANOE, a division of Netgraphe Inc. --------- "RE: More on Infant Deaths in Chiapas Hospital" --------- Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 21:58:42 -0600 (CST) From: owner-chiapas95-english@eco.utexas.edu (Chiapas95-english) Subj: More on infant deaths in Chiapas hospital Mailing List: Chiapas95-english This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . From: "Dana" Babies' deaths at Mexican hospital prompt calls for better health care in poor regions By TRACI CARL The Associated Press 1/25/03 1:15 PM COMITAN, Mexico (AP) -- Alberto Perez was devastated when his baby boy died at Comitan's hospital. He soon found out he was not alone. "Your baby died too?" someone in the waiting room asked. "Did you hear about the twins?" another parent piped in. Before long, 13 families were united in grief and anger over the deaths of infants at the small hospital. And when they went as a group to the prosecutor's office to see about filing charges, they found 12 more families doing the same. Inadequate health care has long been a fact of life in the neediest regions of Mexico and other developing countries, a condition stoically accepted by the poor. But the anger that boiled over in Comitan has touched a nerve in Mexico, setting off a national media furor, an official investigation and demands for better care across the country. Health officials say the 26 infant deaths in December were twice the usual number for the hospital in this southern town. Officials removed the top two administrators, have exhumed almost all the babies' bodies for tests, and are not ruling out criminal charges. "We want the truth," Perez said about the death of his son Jose and the others. "We want an explanation that is clear and makes sense." A prelimi