From gars@speakeasy.org Thu Apr 24 22:39:09 2003 Date: 15 Apr 2003 23:36:54 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews11.016 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 Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News 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 016 | Country than is reported in | O o o o o O | this weekly newsletter. For | O o O April 19, 2003 | For daily updates & events | O o O | go http://www.owlstar.com/ | O | dailyheadlines.htm | Hopi kwiyamuyaw/windbreaks moon +-----------------------------+ Blackfeet matsiyikkapisaii'somm/frog moon <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; Canadian Aboriginal News, Frostys AmerIndian, Tn-Ind and Iron House Drums 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "In 1868, men came out and brought papers. We could not read them and they did not tell us truly what was in them. We thought the treaty was to remove the forts and for us to cease from fighting. But they wanted to send us traders on the Missouri, but we wanted traders where we were. When I reached Washington, the Great Father explained to me that the interpreters had deceived me. All I want is right and just." __ Chief Red Cloud (Makhpiya-luta), Oglala Lakota +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! There is a strong movement to remove "squaw" from the names of landmarks. The governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, was looking at an opportunity to remove the most glaring example in her state in a way that even the most ardent bigot would be hard pressed to object to publicly. Naming it Piestewa Peak would have granted honor to a Hopi who gave her life for her country, and not rubbed the name change in anyone's face. Two problems have arisen with that solution. Federal regulations prohibit naming anything in honor of a deceased person until five (5) years have passed. The law isn't a bad one - it prevents questionable or marginal naming in the "heat of the moment" emotionally that must later be lived with or rescinded. That isn't likely to be the case here and could easily be circumvented with an executive order. Public and legislative support are almost unanimous. The second problem is far more genuine. The family, tired of publicity and concerned with traditions, have reportedly told state legislators they want the naming delayed or shelved. Further, these legislators report that some tribal leaders have expressed concern about hastily naming any facility after this fallen warrior. I cannot speak for Navajo, Hopi or Hispanic teachings. I can tell you what mine are. As much as I thought, and still do that Piestewa Peak was an idea whose time had come, I absolutely believe the wishes of the family must be honored. Governor Naplitano graduated from Sandia High in Albuquerque, NM, Santa Clara University and received her law degree from the University of Virginia. This has certainly exposed her to multiculturalism. I would hope she will do the right thing by the family and not the expedient thing. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Night Owl gars@nanews.org (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@speakeasy.org (`-') Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. ===w=w=== ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Crossings - Natives unmoved - Lawsuit alleges Abuse by Coleman Apology at Government-Run Schools - Grassy Narrows Protest - Adoption Act helps keep - Blackfeet gauge BIA Takeover Indian Culture Alive - Former Wampanoag Chief - Recreation, Spirituality suing R.I. for Land clash in Northern Nevada - Ex-IHS Worker gets Prison for Fraud - Big Mountain to Baghdad - Mescalero Man sentenced - Frontier lays off for Forest Fires Navajo-Speaking Operators - Native Prisoner - Supreme Court hears -- Card from Daniel Poole Bishop Sovereignty Case -- Statement from Manuel Redwoman - Confederated Tribes -- Our Help Requested Land-Restoration Bill - Rustywire: Dibe' Bii Nataani - Learn about the Anasazi's - History: Carlisle Indian School last stand at Hovenweep - Poem: Speak to me Please - Coon Come opens - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days European Human Rights Visit - Trail of Tears Memorial Walk Reminder - First Nations face Housing Crisis - APTN: Report Card/You're the Critic --------- "RE: Crossings" --------- Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 08:10:52 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSSINGS" April 13, 2003 Tecumseh Cook Dies at Age 103; Va. Indian Chief Associated Press KING WILLIAM, Va. -- Chief Tecumseh Deerfoot Cook, 103, who led the Pamunkey Indian tribe from 1942 to 1984, died here April 11. The cause of death was not reported. He had acted as the group's unofficial ambassador until recently. He represented the tribe at the annual tribute to Virginia's governor -- a tradition dating to 1646 -- until 2000. As head of the tribe, he oversaw everything from resolutions of tiny squabbles to negotiating restitution from Southern Railway Co. in the 1970s for the railroad's use of 11/2 miles of track running through the reservation, one of the nation's oldest. During his tenure, the Pamunkeys expanded their shad hatchery and secured federal grants to build the Pamunkey Indian Museum and Community Center on their reservation in southeastern Virginia. He was also a deacon of Pamunkey Indian Baptist Church for more than 60 years. Those who knew him say he never took credit for his accomplishments but worried constantly about the betterment of his people. "People who don't know us think there is nothing to being a chief," Chief Cook said in a 1984 interview. "There have been many nights when I have gone to bed and woken up with my pillow wet. You are always fighting to get something done." He was once asked the secret to leading a long life. "Eat plenty of raccoons and muskrats and drink Pamunkey River water," he said. "But lay off the possum." The chief was born on the reservation and married Ruth Bradby on April 25, 1925. The couple briefly moved to Philadelphia during the Depression but returned soon after. He was most at home outdoors, working as a hunting guide for Old Town Farm, a private lodge located next to the reservation. He was also a fisher and trapper, catching snapping turtles by setting up stationary poles in the creek and baiting them with eels, said his son, G. Warren Cook, who is the tribe's assistant chief. Every year, Chief Cook participated in the tribe's traditional shad fishing, milking the female fish to provide eggs for the hatchery. Cook was a firm believer that whatever came out of the water should be put back in, his family said. Still, despite all his accomplishments, he said he never thought he was a good chief. "I served because I was asked to serve," he said at a 1984 ceremony marking the end of his tenure. But his son said his presence went far beyond his role as chief. "He worked with the people all those years to keep peace on the reservation and to uphold all our laws," G. Warren Cook said. The Pamunkey tribe currently numbers about 75 people on the 1,200-acre reservation, which was set aside next to King William County in a 17th- century peace treaty. Cook's survivors include two daughters, Eleanor Cook Fields of Millington, Tenn., and Elizabeth Cook Allmond of Warminster, Pa.; his son, of the Pamunkey Indian Reservation; 13 grandchildren; 21 great- -grandchildren; and a great-great-grandchild. Copyright c. 2003 The Washington Post Company. -=-=-=- April 10, 2003 Louise Day Louise Boyd Day, Baa bii waa shii kwe, 54, of Crosby, formerly of McGregor and Onamia, died Sunday, April 6, 2003, at the Cuyuna Regional Care Center in Crosby. Services will take place Thursday, April 10, at 10 a.m. at the East Lake Community Center with Lee Staples officiating. Burial will be in the Big Sandy Lake Burial Grounds. Arrangements are with McGregor Funeral Home. Copyright c. 2003 Mille Lacs Messenger/Isle, MN. -=-=-=- April 10, 2003 Verbena M. Dreamer-Crow OGLALA - Verbena M. Dreamer-Crow, 73, Oglala, died Monday, April 7, 2003, in Oglala. Survivors include three nephews, Philip Sounding Sides and Santos Sounding Sides, both of Rapid City, and Duane Chalmers, Lake Andes, and four nieces, Joyce Marcy, Dewitt, Mich., Lolo Brings Plenty, Oglala, Linda Furman, Springfield, Mo., and Lorrie Whistler, Sturgis. A one-night wake will begin at 11 a.m. Friday, April 11, at Brother Rene Catholic Church Hall in Oglala. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 12, at the church hall, with the Rev. Asa Wilson officiating. Burial will be at Makasan Presbyterian Cemetery in Oglala. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. April 11, 2003 Jordan Jeremiah Fire Thunder KYLE - Jordan Jeremiah Fire Thunder, infant son of Edwina Fire Thunder of Kyle, was stillborn Tuesday, April 8, 2003, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Survivors include his mother; one brother, Tiger Brown Bull, Kyle; three Hunka brothers, Tyson Mills, Jay Jacobs and Ted Standing Soldier Jr., all of Rocky Ford; and his maternal grandmother, Betty Robertson, Kyle. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Lakota Anglican Church in Kyle, with the Rev. Francis Apple officiating. Burial will be at Fire Thunder Family Cemetery in Allen. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2003 the Rapid City Journal. -=-=-=- April 9, 2003 Don Mermejo 1917-2003 Highly respected elder, Don Mermejo, age 85, from Picuris Pueblo, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of March 24, 2003, surrounded by his family at the Santa Fe Indian Hospital. Don was born September 30, 1917, in Picuris Pueblo. He lived in Picuris all his childhood, was a Golden Gloves Boxer at the Santa Fe Indian School and later at age 20, married the love of his life, Augustina Lopez, on May 23, 1938, at San Lorenzo Church in Picuris Pueblo. They enjoyed 59 years of a loving marriage until the passing of his beloved wife, Augustina, on September 4, 1997. Don was a farmer around the Picuris and Penasco community and also worked as section hand for the Union Pacific and Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Don and Augustina were former residents of Ophir and Stockton, Utah, where Don worked as a welder at the Tooele Ordinance Depot and retired at age 55, shortly after his son, Lance Corporal, Joseph Michael Mermejo, United States Marine Corps, was killed in action, March 29, 1969, in Vietnam. Don, Augustina and their family returned to Picuris Pueblo where Don continued with farming, cutting and selling wood and alfalfa and being a participating member in the Picuris Pueblo Tribe, such as serving on the Tribal Council, working as Game and Fish Warden and living the traditional Picuris life. Don's life was a full one and he thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his family as well as other interests including hunting, fishing, silversmithing, creating traditional Indian beadwork and weaving ceremonial belts, watching live and televised professional boxing and wrestling matches, martial arts movies, especially ones starring Jackie Chan; he was an avid Denver Bronco fan and a proud supporter of the Santa Fe Indian School athletics, especially when the grandchildren were playing. Don was a wonderful, loving husband, father, grandfather and great- grandfather who touched the lives of many people during his life through endless acts of kindness. He will long be remembered as a gentle, hard- working man with a generous heart, a warm sense of humor, a strong Picuris spirituality and an unconditional love for family. Don was preceded in death by his wife, Augustina, two infant sons, son, Joseph Michael Mermejo, grandson, Joseph James Mermejo, and brothers, Domingo Mermejo and Reyes Martinez. He is survived by his two sisters, Bertha Suina and Rose Allrunner; brother, Robert Duran; sister-in-law, Annie Martinez; four sons: Joe Quanchello, Peter Mermejo, Joe Howard Mermejo, and Randy Mermejo; four daughters: Caroline Kowalski, Sadie Stabenow, Donna Mermejo, and Susie Mermejo; 10 grandchildren, 13 great- grandchildren, as well as many good friends, cousins, nieces, nephews and relatives. Funeral Mass was held on Tuesday, March 25, 2003, at San Lorenzo Church in Picuris Pueblo; interment Picuris Pueblo cemetery, followed by traditional Picuris tribal rites. The family is very appreciative of the prayers and support of so many people who loved Don. He will be greatly missed. Copyright c. 2003 The Taos News. -=-=-=- April 12, 2003 Chanda Holly Gutierrez CHANDA HOLLY GUTIERREZ , 27, of Santa Clara Pueblo, died Wednesday following injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. She graduated in May 1993 from McCurdy High School. She was employed for several years with Sunwest Bank in Espanola. At the time of her death, she was employed as an accounting clerk with the Santa Clara Pueblo tribal administration. She was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Lee and Betty Tafoya; and an uncle, Michael Gutierrez. She is survived by her daughter, Vanessa Gutierrez of Santa Clara Pueblo; mother and stepfather, Phillis Tafoya-Bustos and husband Gus of Fairview; father, Desiderio 'Star' Gutierrez Jr. of Mescalero; sisters, Dana Bustos of Fairview, and Michelle Bustos of Espanola; brother, Brian Bustos of Espanola; father of her daughter, Andrew Espinoza of Espanola; two nieces; one nephew; and many other relatives and friends. Funeral services will be held at 8:30 a.m. today at the Tafoya Family Home with burial to follow at the Santa Clara Pueblo Cemetery. DeVargas Funeral Home of the Espanola Valley. Copyright c. 1997 - 2003 Albuquerque Journal: Albuquerque, New Mexico. -=-=-=- April 8, 2003 Harry Enjady Funeral services for Harry Duane Enjady, 49, of Mescalero, were Monday at the Mescalero Reformed Church, with burial at the Enjady Family Cemetery at White Tail. Mr. Enjady died Thursday, April 3, 2003, in Mescalero. He was born in Mescalero on July 31, 1953. He had lived there all his life and was a member of the Reformed Church. Survivors include his children Duane Enjady, Krystal Enjady, Priscilla Enjady and Tralin Enjady; his mother, Lorraine Moquino; brothers Zeno Enjady, Collins Enjady, Gene Enjady, Larry Enjady, Wayne Enjady, Omar Enjady and Kevin Chee; sisters Wynelle Geronimo, BonnaDell Ortega, Stephanie Chico and Rena Chee; grandchildren Arian Enjady and Malia Enjady; and aunts Clara Mae Johnson and Cornelia Gaines. Arrangements were under the direction of LaGrone Funeral Chapel of Ruidoso. Copyright c. 1999-2003 MediaNews Group, Inc./Ruidoso NM. -=-=-=- April 11, 2003 Paul Hosteen Begay, Sr. March 15, 1919 - April 7, 2003 Paul Hosteen Begay, Sr., 84, of Lukachukai, Ariz., went home to be with his Heavenly Father Monday, April 7, 2003, in Shiprock. He was born March 15, 1919, in Red Valley, Ariz. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, April 12, 2003, at the Christian Reformed Church in Red Valley, Ariz. Interment will follow at the Red Valley Community Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home of Shiprock, (505) 368-4607. April 12, 2003 Pauline Pinto Tsosie - April 10, 2003 Pauline Pinto Tsosie, 63, of Mexican Hat, Utah, passed away on Thursday, April 10, 2003, in Price, Utah. Funeral arrangements are pending with Chapel of Memories Funeral Home of Kirtland, (505) 598-9636. Copyright c. 1999-2003 MediaNews Group, Inc./Farmington, NM. -=-=-=- April 9, 2003 Michaelis "Sonny" Burnham PHOENIX - Services for Michaelis Burnham, 34, will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, April 9 at the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Sanders, Ariz. S. Shakespear will officiate. Burial will follow at McCarroll's Cemetery, Chambers, Ariz. Visitation will be held one hour before services at the LDS Church. Burnham died April 3 in Phoenix. He was born April 19, 1968 in Tuba City, Ariz into the Mescalero Apache clan. Burnham graduated from Snowflake High School. He played football at Snow College. He was self-employed as an artist, where he received many awards and recognition for his work. Survivors include his parents, Bruce and Virginia Burnham; brothers, Patrick, Austin and Brent; sisters, Dionne and Sheri; and Ella and Leonard Deal. Pallbearers will be Patrick Burnham, Austin Burnham, Jeremy Riggs, Ron Wade, Brent Burnham, Carlos Deal, Bob Burnham and Kary Dunham. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. April 10, 2003 Mildred M. Benally CHURCH ROCK MINE - Services for Mildred Benally, 90 will be held at 10 a. m., Friday, April 11 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Gallup. President Vernon Silversmith will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services. Benally died April 7 in Gallup. She was born Nov. 20, 1912 in Coyote Canyon into the Red House People Clan for the Salt People Clan. Benally was a sheepherder, rugweaver and rancher. Her hobbies included watching baseball, football and boxing. Survivors include her sons, Harrison Benally of Shiprock, Notah Benally of Pueblo Pintado, Richard Benally of Sawmill, Ariz., Tom Benally Jr. of Church Rock and Wilson Benally of Fort Defiance, Ariz.; daugher, Annie Benally of Church Rock; sister, Wilhemina Benally of Church Rock; 31 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren. Benally was preceded in death by her husband, Tom Benally Sr.; parents, Jennie and Charlie Moore; sons, Francis Benally and Robert Benally; daughters, Alice Benally and Mary B. King; brothers, Hiya Benally and Frank Moore; and sisters, Maritta Benally and Bessie Duncan. Pallbearers will be Kirk Benally, Matthew Benally, Jeromy Hood, Eddie Livingston, Corbitt T. Ramone and Wilson Williams. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Dan Begay GALLUP - Services for Dan Begay, 74, were held at 10 a.m., today at St. Michaels Catholic Church. Father Gilvert Schneider officiated. Burial followed on a family plot. Begay died April 5 in Gallup. He was born Nov. 16, 1929 in St. Michaels, Ariz. into the Salt People Clan for the Bitter Water People Clan. Begay died April 5 in Gallup. He was born Nov. 16, 1929 in St. Michaels. He attended Fort Defiance Boarding School, worked for the railroad, Tooele Army Depot and Kincheelie Ranchers. Survivors include brothers, Daniel Begay and Henry Begay; and sister, Marie Laughing. Pallbearers will be Edison Tully, Herbert Yazzie, Benson Yazzie, Harold Clark Jr., William Hubbard and Toby Wallace. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Raymond Ray Gray LUKACHUKI, Ariz. - Services for Raymond Gray, 49, will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, April 11 at St. Isabel Mission. Brother Coromon will officiate. Burial will follow at St. Isabel Mission Cemetery. Gray was born May 28, 1954 in Lukachukai into the Red Running into the Water People Clan for the Bitter Water People Clan. Gray attended Intermountain High School. He was a welder, carpenter, and served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam. His hobbies included reading, playing guitar and writing. Survivors include his sons, Manuel Gray and Zane Gray; daughters, Alberta Gray, Elfreida Gray and Manuel Gray; parents, Allen and Lucy Gray; brothers, Julius Gray, Herbert Gray and Sam Gray; sisters, Elsie Yazzie, Bertha Chee, Lucille Gray and Martha Davis and three grandchildren. Gray was preceded in death by his sister, Stella Chee and grandparents, Minnie Notah, Wallace Gray, Joe Benally and Ahadibah Nali. Pallbearers will be Army Veteran Service. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at one-third of a mile west of Lukachukai Chapter House. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Sonny "Bono" Joe MANUELITO - Services for Sonny "Bono" Joe, 71, will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, April 11 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Lupton, Ariz. Arno Joe will officiate. Burial will follow on family land, Manuelito. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services. Joe died April 7 in Gallup. He was born April 8, 1931 in Manuelito Box Canyon into the Bitterwater People Clan for the Blackstreak People Clan. Joe attended school in Fort Defiance. He was employed in Idaho Falls, Idaho, as a farmer for 40 years. His hobbies included planting corn, cutting wood with a chainsaw and ranching. Survivors include his brothers, Leo Rocky, Joe, Ben Miguel Joe and Arnold Joe; sister, Lucita B. Joe and two grandchildren. Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Marie Begay Joe and Navajo Tee Begay Joe; son, Timothy Joe; sisters, Rita Joe-Pettigrew, Kenabah Joe-Jim, and brothers, Charlie Joe and Sam Joe. Pallbearers will be Vincent Joe, Hector Goodluck, Roland Joe, Waylon Joe, Agamemnon Goodluck, and Tulley John Pettigrew. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Manuelito Chapter House. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Gilbert Clichee TWO GREY HILLS - Services for Gilbert Clichee, 82, will be held at 10 a. m., Friday, April 11 at the Assembly of God Church, Newcomb. Burial will follow at Northwest Community Cemetery, Toadlena. Clichee died April 8 in Farmington. He was born July 12, 1920 in Two Grey Hills into the Towering House People Clan for the Water Flows Together Clan. Clichee graduated from the old Fort Wingate Boarding School. He served in the U.S. Army and was a World War II veteran. He was employed with the Fort Wingate BIA Hospital, Union Pacific Railroad and Navajo Nation Police Department, as a Sergeant and EMT with Fort Defiance Service Unit. Survivors include his sons, Randall Clichee of Naschitti, Gary Clichee of Farmington and Rick Clichee of Two Grey Hills, Johnny Clichee, Michael Clichee and Melvin Clichee all of Navajo, N.M.; daughters, Deanna Clichee of Gallup; Victoria Clichee and Gloria Johnson of Two Grey Hills; brother, Hubert Johnson Sr. of Two Grey Hills; sister, Elsie Napoleon of Two Grey Hills; 18 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Clichee was preceded in death by his wife, Nellie E. Clichee, parents, Jerry and Lillie Johnson; brothers, Alvin McDonald, Wilbert McDonald, Herbert Johnson Sr. and Albert Johnson and sister, Nettie Castillo. Pallbearers will be Johnny Clichee, Gary Clichee, Ricky Clichee, Jeffery Clichee, Brandon Davis and Brent Davis. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Two Grey Hill Chapter House. April 12, 2003 Tom Williams SPRINGSTEAD - Services for Tom Williams, 84, will be held at 10 a.m., Monday April 14 at Cope Memorial Chapel. Pastor Tom White will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset Cemetery. Williams died April 9 in Gallup. He was born Feb. 2, 1919 in Springstead into the for the Towering House People Clan. Williams retired from the City Of Gallup. He held various leadership positions for Church Rock Chapter. His hobby included watching the Gallup Bengals basketball game. Survivors include his wife, Ann Williams; sons, Leon Williams of Post, Ore., David Williams of Winslow, Ariz., Jimmy Williams from Flagstaff, Ariz., Harvey Williams of Jones Ranch, Paul Williams of Gallup, Roger Williams amd Jones Williams both of Springstead; daughters, Evelyn Johnson of Church Rock, Donna Clark and Julia Holland both of Springstead; sister, Dorothy Livingston of Springstead; 44 grandchildren, 27 great- grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Williams was preceded in death by his parents, Alice and Tom Touchin Sr. ; and brothers, Kenneth Williams, Leonard Whitman, William Naylor and Joe R. Whitman. Pallbearers will be Harold Williams, Joshua Williams, Terry Williams, Sylvester Williams, Lionel Williams and Ryan Williams. The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services at Church Rock Chapter House. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Tommy C. Shourti CROWNPOINT - Services for Tommy Shourti, 56, will be held at 10 a.m., Monday April 14 at Bible Baptist Shephard Church, Standing Rock. Pastor Neil Forester will officiate. Burial will follow at Crownpoint Community Cemetery. Shourti died April 9. He was born July 14, 1946 in Crownpoint into the Towering House People Clan for the Salt People Clan. Shourti graduated from Gallup High School. He attended University of New Mexico, received a bachelors and the Tsail Din College, majoring in law. He was employed with the Navajo Nation Law Enforcement, as a prosecutor and a private legal advocate. Tommy's hobbies included reading and crossword puzzles. Survivors include his daughter, Tammy Shourti of Albuquerque; mother, Dolly Shorty; brothers, Tim Shorty and Timothy Shorty both of Crownpoint; sisters, Diana Shorty and Darlene Greyhat both of Crownpoint; and one grandchild. Shourti was preceded in death by his wife, Tonita Shourti; son, Darrell Shourti; father, Tom C. Shorty; and grandparents, Mamie and John Shorty. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2003 the Gallup Independent. -=-=-=- April 11, 2003 Harrison Begay Sr. Harrison Begay Sr., 75, died Tuesday, April 8, 2003, in Phoenix. Mr. Begay was born Dec. 15, 1927, in Whitecone, Ariz. He is survived by his wife, Laura Begay, of Jeddito; daughters, Marie Bahe of Flagstaff, Laraine Max of New Mexico, Bernine Bitsoie of Jeddito, Nina Joseph of Jeddito, Mildred Budka of Flagstaff, Lisa Begay of New Mexico and Ovida Davis of Winslow; sons, Willie Mitchell, Andy Begay and Harrison Begay Jr. all of New Mexico, Ricky Begay of Ganado, Felix Begay of Jeddito and Ronald Williams of Jeddito; brother, Howard Begay of Whitecone; sisters, Violet Clark of Whitecone, Maggie Yazzie of Whitecone, Susie McKee of Show Low and Lena Bedonie of Whitecone; 43 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. Funeral services for Mr. Begay will take place on Saturday, April 12, 2003, at 10 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Winslow Stake Center. President Peter Yazzie will be officiating. Interment will be in Desert View Cemetery, Winslow. Copyright c. 2000-2003 Arizona Daily Sun. -=-=-=- April 9, 2003 Victor 'Kenneth' Walking Eagle WOLF POINT - Victor "Kenneth" Walking Eagle, "Wounded by White Man," 49, a Wolf Point native who enjoyed powwows and being with his family, died Saturday in Portland, Ore. The cause of death was unavailable. A wake is today at Wolf Point Community Hall, with a service at 7 p.m. His funeral is 10 a.m. Thursday at the hall, with burial in Oswego Presbyterian Cemetery. Survivors include sons Victor Walking Eagle III of Salem, Ore., Melvin Martell of Juneau, Alaska, and Casey Garfield of Wolf Point; daughters Marie Due of Veronica, Ore., Anna Myers of Portland, Ore., and Robin Walking Eagle of Rapid City, S.D.; and sisters Rose Walking Eagle and Phyllis Walking Eagle of Bremerton, Wash., and Myrna Walking Eagle of Fairview, Ore. April 12, 2003 Harold J. Hawthorne Harold J. Hawthorne, 60, of 2322 7th Ave. N., a ranch hand, died Tuesday at a local hospital of complications from diabetes. Services will take place in Farmington, N.M. O'Connor Funeral Home is handling local arrangements. Survivors of Great Falls include his adopted family, Ruth Chippewa, Patsy Evans, Conrad Chippewa and Jerry Chippewa. April 14, 2003 Cora Rita Crabtree BUTTE -- Fort Belknap native Cora Rita Crabtree, 83, an active member of the North American Indian Alliance, died Sunday in a Butte nursing home of natural causes. Her funeral is 1 p.m. Wednesday at Lodgepole Senior Citizen's Center, with burial in Lodgepole Cemetery. Wayrynen-Richards Funeral Home in Butte is handling arrangements. Survivors include a daughter, Barbara Colten of Airway Heights, Wash.; her grandchildren Joseph Sandoval, David Sandoval, Cheryl Storey, Cora Armstrong and Shane White. Her great-grandchildren include Russell Phillips, Micah Phillips, Corissa Storey, Tyler Storey, Lisa Burch, Joseph Sandoval Jr., David Sandoval, Monica Sandoval, Jonah Sandoval, Bryan Armstrong, Douglass Armstrong, Barbara Biggers, Shanna White, Shivon White and Cy White. Her great-great-grandchildren are Bryce, Bryan, Taran, Braxtyn and Brytan Armstong, Anthony and Aneesa Burch, Joseph Sandoval III, Jordyn Sandoval, Baylie Phillips and Wyatt Biggers. Also surviving are her sisters and brothers, Angela Shawl, Virginia Fuhrman, Violet Wing, Albert Cliff, Gilbert Cliff and Christine Main. Cora was preceded in death by her parents, Charles Longfox Sr. and Olivia Healey; her son, Dickie Merle Longfox; her brothers, Charles Longfox Jr. and Henry Cliff; her sisters Leona Messerly and Caroline Sullivan; and her grandson, Thane White. She was born on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation on Sept. 16, 1921, to Charles and Olivia (Young Buck) Longfox. She attended schools at Fort Belknap. She was an extremely hard worker and a perfectionist at everything she did. She was generous to a fault and would give even when she had nothing to give. She always did the best she could do for everyone, especially her family. She was totally devoted to her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. She loved going to powwows and was an active member of the North American Indian Alliance. She attended all their functions and will be missed by her many friends there. Cora worked at Unique Cleaners and on the housekeeping staff at St. James Hospital until her retirement. She was honored at the North American Indian Alliance in Butte for being the Oldest Native American woman in Butte. Copyright c. 2003 Great Falls Tribune, a division of Lee Enterprises. -=-=-=- April 5, 2003 Caroline (Venables) Buck BUCK (Venables) Caroline died at home on Tuesday, April 1, 2003, Caroline Buck; beloved mother of Tony (Kathy), Bill, Chris (Donna), Dave, Ted (Lorraine), Nadine Silversmith, and Shelly (Kevin) Attwood; dear sister of Vera Powless, Delores King, and Florence Skye; also survived by her 17 grandchildren and one great-grandson Jacob; predeceased by her brother Dick Buck and her sister Wilma King. Resting at her sister's home, 2388 Cayuga Road, Six Nations, after 12 noon Saturday. Funeral Service and Burial will be held at the Lower Cayuga Longhouse on Sunday, April 6, 2003 at 11 a. m. Arrangements by STYRES FUNERAL HOME, Ohsweken. April 11, 2003 Arnold Lawrence "Charlie" Thomas After a courageous battle with cancer on Thursday, April 10, 2003, in the presence of his family, at the West Haldimand General Hospital, Hagersville, at the age of 65 years; beloved husband of Melba (Hill) Thomas; loving father of Christofer and Cathy, Gregory and Peggy, and Rob Williams (customary son); dear grandfather of Brody, Tyler, Hillary, and Hannah; brother of Alvin, Seymour, Ivan, Ron, Delma, Carol, Elvera, Gloria, Butch, and Darb; also survived and will be sadly missed by many nieces and nephews, and friends of his weekly Pool League; predeceased by son Brad, parents Evan and Daisy, brothers Emerson and Danny, and sisters Rose and Joyce. Charlie taught elementary school for 38 years on the Six Nations Reserve and was founding member of the Six Nations Lions Club, Six Nations Golf Club, and Memorial Classic. Charlie was inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He also served as a director of the Six Nations Sports Cultural Memorial Arena. The family will honour his life with a visitation at his home, 2167 Cayuga Road after 7 p. m. Thursday. Funeral Service and burial will be held at Onondaga Longhouse on Saturday, April 12, 2003 at 11 a. m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Six Nations Memorial Classic. Arrangements by STYRES FUNERAL HOME, Ohsweken. Copyright c. 2003 Brantford Expositor. -=-=-=- April 8, 2003 Gertrude Scott IN LOVING MEMORY OF GERTRUDE SCOTT (GERTIE) Suddenly on April 2, 2003 Gertie passed away peacefully at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital. She is survived by her three daughters, Marie Wagamese, Barbara Scott (John) and Mary Ann Bain, her grandchildren MaryJane Scott (Stan), Archie, Flora, Jeff, Steven, Stuart, Brian, Scott, Edith Fisher (Jacob), Howard, Shirley, Emily, Julia (Bob), Bertha (Joe), Melanie (Adrian), Gary Smith, Deana Carpenter, also nephews and nieces of Shoal Lake, Cecil (Grace) and Brian Redsky, Gwen, a sister in Wabigoon, Melly Brown. Great grandchildren Rachel, Roberta, Adrian, Destiny, Keenan, Harmony, Samantha, Stephanie, Russll, Rheanna, Adrianne, Cyrena, Bruce, John, Karen, Brent, Kristine, Michelle, Russell, Joelle. She is predeceased by her husband Robert Scott, her children Paul, Eddy, William, Pete, Percy and her daughter Victoria, her great grandchildren Allister, Ethan, Valentina, Christine Scott, Norman Smith, Allan Boyd, Joanne (Brenda Muckle). Wake Services were held at the Resource Centre at Wabaseemoong First Nations on Friday, April 4, 2003. Funeral Services were held on Monday, April 7, 2003 at Wabaseemoong First Nations followed by interment. BROWN FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION CENTRE ENTRUSTED WITH ARRANGEMENTS. Copyright c. 2003 Kenora Daily Miner and News. -=-=-=- April 9, 2003 Gladys (nee Nokahoot) McArthur Carlyle, SK McARTHUR--Gladys (nee Nokahoot) October 14, 1915 - April 7, 2003 at 88 years old. Kawuwuskanuhisihk Muskwa (Bear turning around in circle before lying down) has continued her journey to the spirit world...to be reunited with her relatives that have journeyed before her. Together we will stand, Embracing our memories of...you Together we will stand, Missing and mourning, our tears are for...you Do you here the beating of the drum? The fire is burning...a new journey, for you, has begun. Your spirit and strength remains, in each in everyone In the lives you gave and the hearts you touched. Forever and Always with the rising of the...Morning Sun. Born at Moose Mountain Indian Agency, Treaty Four Territory. Passed away at Moose Mountain Lodge, Carlyle, SK with family by her side. Predeceased by: Parents - Ollie Nokahoot and Katie Shewack; Brothers - Joe and Arthur Ewack, Howard, Hughie and Teddy Nokahoot; Sisters - Mary Gaddie, Mariah McArthur, Eva Nokahoot, Grace Shepherd, Hazel Nahbexie; Children - Rosella Ponicappo, Ruth McArthur, Philomene McArthur, Edward McArthur; Special Grandson - Lydell Wayne McArthur; Grandchildren - Janet McArthur, Lorraine Ponicappo, Darryl Ponicappo, Josephine McArthur, Joseph Patrick McArthur; Great Grandchildren - Jacinta Frances McArthur, Orion Wolf McArthur, Debbie McArthur, Jeremy McArthur, Anthony Lonechild, Kyra Kakakaway. Survived by: Husband - Joseph McArthur; Sister - Blanche Nokahoot; Sisters-in-law - Rose Ewack and Rosabelle Standingready; Sons - James, Alvin (Audrey), Danny (Donna), Peter; Daughters - Pearl, May, Rita (Don), Vera; Special Grandchildren - Kathleen, Nova-Lee (Howard), Bernadette, Trevor; Special Great Grandson - Clark; 93 grandchildren; 209 great grandchildren; 42 great-great grandchildren. Traditional Wake to be held at Kisbey Recreation Centre, Kisbey, SK, 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, 2003. Interment to be held Thursday, April 11, 2003, starting at 2 p.m. Raymond Emile Whitequill Regina, SK WHITEQUILL--On Sunday, April 6, 2003 Raymond Emile Whitequill, Regina, Sask. age 44 years. The funeral service will be held in the Kahkewistahaw Complex, Kahkewistahaw First Nation on Friday, April 11, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. Rev. Hector Bunnie officiating. Interment in Kahkewistahaw Cemetery. The wake will be held in the Kahkewistahaw Complex, Thursday evening. Raymond was predeceased by two sons, Sonny and Ray Whitequill in infancy; his father Emile Whitequill in 1972; his mother Lena Whitequill in 1987; five brothers: Bradley Louison Sr. in 1983; Louis Whitequill in 1998; Michael Whitequill; Linus Whitequill and Richard Starr; one sister, Theresa Whitequill. Raymond is survived by five daughters; Heather (Quincey) Dustyhorn, Regina, Judy Whitequill, Saskatoon, Monica Bourassa, Saskatoon, Shelley Whitequill, Regina, Sonja Whitequill, Pasqua First Nation; one son Leslie Whitequill, Pasqua First Nation; eight grandchildren; two brothers, Allen and Morley Whitequill; five sisters: Marion (Eugene); Noreen Louison; Doris (Robert); Faye and Janice; special uncle Joseph Crowe and his nieces, nephews and cousins. Copyright c. 2000-2003 Regina Leader Post Group Inc. -=-=-=- April 11, 2003 Anthony (Tony) Samuel Wolf Child In Loving Memory of ANTHONY (TONY) SAMUEL WOLF CHILD who passed away peacefully and went to be with our creator on April 1st, 2003 at the Cardston Hospital, at the age of 66 years. Beloved husband of Rosie Wolf Child (Many Hides). He was born on June 7th, 1936 to the late Joe Wolf Child and the late Alice Owl Howling At Night of the Blood Reserve. He is survived by and left to mourn his children: Molly (Ricki), Oliver, Jordan (Francis), Bernard (Beverly), Joyce (Ernest) Gros Venture Boy, Charles (Pam), Myra (Leland), Jason (Carolyn), Kenny, Delia HindBull, Calvin Prairie Chicken, Norman (Brenda) Calf Robe; Step children: Melvina (Chester) Daniels, Violet (Terry) Watson, Vera (Lloyd) Rider, Harvey (Jennifer) Sansavera, Charles Sansavera, Joseph Sansavera; his sisters- Bertha Crying Head, Alice (Gerald) Shepard, Elizabeth (Albert) Hunt; brothers- Harrison (Caroline), Bruce (Ann Marie), John (Irma), Albert (Madeline) Wolf Child, Jimmy (Linda) Doore, Stan Black Water; adopted brother Bernard Shouting; brother-in-law Peter Many Hides (Browning); aunties- Isabella Spear Chief, Lena Chief Calf, and Annie Brewer. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews, 37 grandchildren, 30 great grandchildren, 19 step- grandchildren and 7 step- great grandchildren. Tony received his education at the St. Paul's Boarding School. After leaving school he began working at numerous occupations. They included construction, carpentry, breaking and training horses, CP rail, and ranching. Places of work were Stirling, Vauxhall, Taber, Iron Springs, and St. Mary's Dam. Tony started singing pow-wow/hand game songs at a very young age. Singing and stick games were his main hobbies and he loved them very much. He first began with Kainai Singers then the Moses Lake Drummers consisting of brothers only. He travelled all around Canada and the United States. Singing and competing brought a lot of happiness to his life. Other drum groups were Big Corners, Wolf Child, and Yellowtail Feathers. He won numerous stick-game tournaments and drumming contests at various places. In 1973 his team won a hand game tournament in Peigan. In 1978 with Moses Lake Drummers, they won a drumming contest at the University of Lethbridge Pow-Wow. In 1987 with the Wolf Child Drummers, they won another drumming contest. Other places included Siksika, Hobbema and Browning. During his athletic days he enjoyed boxing, playing hockey, fastball, and riding horses. He was also a member of the Youthmen Society, Magpie Society, and the Headdress Society. He was proud of his traditional ways and also encouraged other beliefs, like the gospel. A proud Indian who lived to be known for his dress, no one could bring him down. He encouraged a lot of people and he always had a smile for everyone. He was successful in everything he tried. He lived a long and tiresome life, but a good one, the way he felt would make him happy. Tony loved his family very much and will be deeply missed by all who knew him. He will always be remembered for his proudness. His words of wisdom shall live on in his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents Joe Wolf Child and Alice Owl Howling At Night ; adopted father Albert Wolf Child Sr.; his brothers Edwin Calf Robe Sr., Allen, Patrick, Mark, and Frank Wolf Child; brother-in-law Stephen Crying Head Sr.; sisters Albertine Wolf Child, Rita Many Shots; his children Bernice, Lucille (Martha), Ann Marie Gros Ventre Boy, Delray Hind Bull; aunties Eva Mills, Annette Russel, Annie Shot Both Sides; uncles Leo Wolf Child Sr. and Sam Wolf Child Sr. The Wake Service will be held on Thursday, April 10th at Senator Gladstone Hall, Blood Reserve from 7 to 11:00 p.m. and continue at Bernard Gros Ventre Boy's residence (near Little Chicago), Blood Reserve. The Funeral Service will be held at Senator Gladstone Hall, Blood Reserve on Friday, April 11th, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. Interment in the Wolf Child Family plot, Blood Reserve. Feast will follow at the Senator Gladstone Hall. Copyright c. 2000 Alberta Newspaper Group, Inc./Lethbridge Herald. --------- "RE: Lawsuit alleges Abuse at Government-Run Schools" --------- Date: Fri, Apr 11 2003 08:24:13 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SIOUX SUIT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/101/nation/Sioux_lawsuit Sioux lawsuit alleges abuse at government-run schools By Dan Whitcomb, Reuters April 11, 2003 LOS ANGELES -- Six members of the Sioux Nation who say they were physically and sexually abused in government-run boarding schools sued the United States for $25 billion yesterday, hoping to launch a lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of thousands of mistreated American Indians. The six plaintiffs all attended Catholic boarding schools in South Dakota, but claim in their lawsuit that psychological, physical, and sexual abuse was inflicted on Indian children throughout the school system and covered up by a government that forced them to leave their homes for boarding schools. The plaintiffs allege violations of treaties that date back to the 19th century between the US government and American Indian tribes. A Department of Justice spokesman could not be reached yesterday for comment on the lawsuit, which was filed in the US Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. "All my life, I've never wanted to think about these things. I pushed them as far back as I could," tearful plaintiff Adele Zephier said at a press conference in Los Angeles to announce the lawsuit. "I'm really happy to be here today to tell everybody the truth about what happened to us as children." Zephier said she was abused by nuns and sexually molested by a priest at a school run from 1948 to 1975 by St. Paul's Catholic Church in Marty, S.D. Her brother, plaintiff Sherwyn Zephier, said he endured beatings at the school. American Indian activist Russell Means, who attended the press conference, said the US government tolerated the abuse as part of a plan to destroy Native American culture and called the allegations a "legal euphemism for genocide." "It's against the law for us to sue the United States for genocide, but that's in effect what we're doing," said Means, who helped lead the 1973 armed conflict in South Dakota between American Indians and law enforcement officials known as the "Siege of Wounded Knee." "We're putting the United States of America on notice that you can't pretend to be who you are to the world, while in your own backyard you are murdering and maiming us," he said. Copyright c. 2003 Globe Newspaper Company. --------- "RE: Adoption Act helps keep Indian Culture Alive" --------- Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 17:39:32 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: ADOPTION" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/columnists/dorreen_yellow_bird/ DORREEN YELLOW BIRD: Adoption act helps keep Indian culture alive April 12, 2003 While speaking at a conference in Minot recently, I met a woman who is an example of why the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 has been good for Indian children. The policy requires that before any Native child can be adopted or placed with a family other than that of their parent or extended family, the tribe must be informed. The tribe then has the right to place the child within the tribe if members decide to accept the responsibility. The act is an extension of the Tribal Self-Determination Act of 1975, which helps tribes take control of their own government and improves tribal governance. Why is this act important to Native children? Because it helps keep children from slipping into the murky waters of mainstream society. Placing Native American children in non-Native homes can and does result in adoption by foster parents. It isn't unusual for a child and foster parents to bond and want to become a family, regardless of the races of the people involved. The woman I met in Minot recently was Dakota. It was easy to see that she was scared by her earlier life. I don't know what happened to her, but I could hear from our conversation that she was on a journey to claim her heritage, and it would be a long road. She was in an abusive relationship that ended when she could take no more, and she took the life of her abusive partner. This happened before the laws were passed that provide some relief for abused spouses, so she spent time in prison. Her life has since changed, she told me. She is living in a good community and has married a supportive and kind man. This woman has tried to rid herself of some of the awful things that have happened to her, but they are so raw and hurtful she can't seem to get past them, she told me - and she cried. Here's a different scenario, but one in which the result is the same: Several years ago in Chicago, I met a Lakota woman who had been adopted by very supportive parents who cared for and nurtured her. She was happily married but wanted to find her mother. She told a friend and me of her experience. At first, I couldn't understand her coolness toward me. After her story, I realized that I probably looked like and was about the same age as the relatives whom she'd met when she went to find her mother. The life she saw on the reservation was so foreign to her that it was hard for her to relate to that lifestyle. I often think about her when the Indian Child Welfare Act comes into play in life situations. I think she missed the gift that the Creator gave Indian people - the gift of the culture. She missed the good things about the culture but was lucky to find a family that replaced her reservation relatives. I told a friend from Spirit Lake about the woman whom I met in Minot. My friend, Winona Fox, told me how important it was for people to understand who they are. Fox's mother, Alvina Alberts, understood the culture and how important it was for Indian children to maintain a relationship with their tribe. I met Alberts several years ago. She was a quiet, wise woman who was an advocate for Indian people, especially Indian children. Much of her life's work has gone unrecognized, but she did have an effect in Indian country because she was one of the outspoken activists who championed the Indian Child Welfare Act and saw it through to fruition. She died in 1996. Fox told me that if a woman such as the ones I met were on the reservation and had parents or a parent who weren't taking care of them, there would be relatives or tribal members who could have helped. Those people could build a cultural foundation for the child. Knowledge of the culture and the people is a strength, she told me. Many times, all the outside world hears is that reservations hold people who are alcoholic, jobless and full of despair. But there is more to Indian culture than that. And the Indian Child Welfare Act many times has reached into the mainstream and helped a foundering Native child by giving him or her the gifts of the culture that the Creator gave Indian people. Yellow Bird writes Tuesdays and Saturdays. Reach her by phone at 780-1228 or (800) 477-6572, extension 228, or by e-mail at dyellowbird@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2003 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: Recreation, Spirituality clash in Northern Nevada" --------- Date: Wed, Apr 9 2003 08:13:57 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SACRED LAND" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Apr-07-Mon-2003/news/ Recreation, spirituality clash in Northern Nevada Outdoor enthusiasts often trample on sacred Indian land By MARK VANDERHOFF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 7, 2003 RENO -- A long time ago, a giant serpent left the Walker River and burrowed into the land, according to the lore of the Fallon Paiute- Shoshone Tribe. Today, the serpent still lies in the ground, creating what many call Sand Mountain. "It's a place where our people rarely go, only the spiritual (leaders) and elders," said Rochanne Downs, cultural resources director for the tribe. Yet, riders on off-road vehicles continually race up and down the giant sand dune, a sight that deeply disturbs many of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone. Black specks, never before seen by tribe members or their ancestors, now streak the sand from carbon deposited by the vehicles' engines, Downs said. "You can't do the spiritual things because you don't know if an (off- highway vehicle) is going to come over the hill and run you over," Downs said. "You can't even hear yourself think." In Nevada, the long-standing clash of values between American Indians and the ancestors of settlers now plays out in a new way: Often, those who say they love the outdoors are committing the equivalent of vandalizing another culture's church when they visit their favorite spots. Many hikers, sandboarders and motorized vehicle riders don't even know the story of Sand Mountain. John Crowley, an off-road rider and president of Friends of Sand Mountain, said he only recently heard from a Bureau of Land Management official that a tribal legend about the area existed. Friends of Sand Mountain organizes cleanups, educates other riders about environmental and safety issues and has worked with the BLM to study a rare butterfly in the area. "Obviously, we want to respect (Sand Mountain)," he said. "But right now it's owned by the federal government and managed by the BLM for motorized recreation, and that's what we're using it for. "I'm not saying that I don't care. I just don't fully understand all their beliefs. I'd like to learn more." When visitors come to the Pyramid Lake Cultural Center asking where the sacred spots are, Ben Aleck tells them, "They're all around you." American Indians regard the whole world as sacred, so when non-Indians talk about "sacred sites," they reveal their lack of familiarity with tribal culture, said Aleck, cultural resources manager for the Pyramid Lake Paiute. It's hard for Aleck to put the value of places like Sand Mountain into words. "They're just different," he said of sites such as the Needle Rocks at Pyramid Lake, an area of needle like geological formations and a hot spring. "The tribe always used that as a natural place to offer prayer," he said. "It'd be like a church." Many visitors left no impact, but some off-road vehicle riders damaged parts of the delicate ground and vandals defaced some of the formations, Aleck said. "The tribe wants people to come out and enjoy the lake, but just show that respect for the tribe and the environment," he said. At Tahoe's Cave Rock, sharing the land is at the heart of a dispute. The rock is also at the center of Washoe mythology. In another age, according to Washoe history, a warring tribe kept the Washoe people as prisoners. The god of the world set the Washoe free by putting their captors in the cave below Cave Rock and trapping them underwater. Washoe history also says that powerful spirits called water babies lived in an underground cave and a monster also lived in a cave in the area. "Cave Rock was a place where only our medicine men went. The rest of the tribe walked around it," said Bill Dancing Feather, cultural resources manager for the Washoe Tribe. Although a few tribe members still use the rock, Dancing Feather said Cave Rock's visitors these days consist mostly of picnickers soaking in the views and climbers who challenge themselves on popular routes high above the lake. In December, the Forest Service announced a proposal to ban all climbing from the rock to preserve the cultural value to the tribe. Climbers who have worked to maintain access to Cave Rock for years bristled. The national climbers advocacy group Access Fund has been at the forefront of efforts to keep Cave Rock open to climbers. Access Fund policy director Jason Keith said their quarrel lies with Forest Service management, not the Washoe tribe. "Churches in this country are privately owned," he said. "I live in Moab, in Utah, and if I try to climb a Mormon church I'm going to get hauled off to jail for trespassing. This (Cave Rock) is a different proposition. It's public land." Copyright c. 1997-2003 Las Vegas Review-Journal. --------- "RE: Big Mountain to Baghdad" --------- Date: Fri, Apr 11 2003 08:24:13 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BUSH CONNECTION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.thenavajotimes.com/nation.html Big Mountain to Baghdad Bush's coal and oil contributors pave the way By Brenda Norrell Special to Navajo Times BIG MOUNTAIN, Ariz. April 10, 2003 The road from Big Mountain to Baghdad is short - it goes right through the White House. What makes Big Mountain and Baghdad sister cities? The oil and coal companies that contributed to President Bush's campaign. The proof is in the nation's energy plan, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the Navajo Nation in the Peabody coal royalty case and the corporate friends of Bush in line to profit from the rebuilding of Iraq and oil development after the war. As bombs fell on Iraq, American Indian activist Renee Still Day in Pueblo, Colo. pointed out that Bush has already lined up corporations who would benefit from billions of dollars in contracts. The corporations include Halliburton Company, where Vice President Dick Cheney served as CEO for five years. "This could have been solved diplomatically but that was never an option with this 'selected' leader of our country," Still Day said. "The fact is he has already opened the door to Halliburton and other 'old buds' with contracts." The five firms tentatively chosen for the rebuilding effort contributed $2.8 million in campaign contributions over the past three years, most going to Republicans. The companies include Kellogg and Brown and Root, whose parent company is Halliburton, Bechtel, which helped rebuild Kuwait after the Gulf War and allegedly supplied weapons to Saddam Hussein in the 1980s, and Flour. While heading Halliburton, an oil supply and development company, Cheney received $36 million in income in 2000. Those who contributed to Bush and Cheney's campaigns and careers are in line for contracts to rebuild roads, schools and hospitals and develop oil in Iraq. Iraq's oil reserve, estimated at 110 billion barrels, is the second largest in the world, exceeded only by Saudi Arabia. Bechtel spokesman Jonathan Marshall in San Francisco confirmed Bechtel is bidding on a contract for post-war Iraq and worked under contract in post-war Kuwait, but denied the company supplied weapons to Hussein. "Bechtel does not manufacture weapons and did not supply any to Saddam Hussein," Marshall said. He said Bechtel halted projects in Iraq after workers were taken prisoner in the 1990s. After the Gulf War, Bechtel was hired by Kuwait Oil Company to manage the rebuilding of its oil facilities. "We are currently bidding on a $600 million USAID contract to help rebuild damaged or neglected schools, hospitals, irrigation facilities and other civilian infrastructure in Iraq," he said. Marshall said Bechtel, an engineering and construction firm, was among the corporations asked to bid on post-war contracts in Iraq, but added that Bechtel does not promote war. Follow the money From Big Mountain to Baghdad, from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to sacred sites throughout Indian country, the Bush-Cheney national energy plan focuses on increasing oil, coal and nuclear plants. From the beginning, Cheney's task force on energy development included those who contributed to his political campaign, including Peabody Coal. Cheney has refused to release the task force documents to the General Accounting Office, Time magazine and the Los Angeles Times report. Before gaining access to Cheney's energy task force, Peabody Coal, the largest coal company in the world, and its affiliates had given more than $900,000 to the Bush campaign. When Cheney's final energy report was released May 16, 2001, it called for additional coal production. Five days later Peabody issued a public stock offering, raising $60 million more than expected. Clean air standards for power plant emissions were rolled back and Bush reneged on a campaign pledge to restrict power plant emissions. Irl Engelhardt, chairman of Peabody, was a major contributor to the Bush-Cheney transition team, as Peabody lobbied for Bush to lower standards of arsenic levels in water. Peabody contributed $100,000 for the inauguration and $25,000 for a party honoring Bush on May 21, 2002. "The president is friendly to energy, and so is the vice president, and thank God," said Fred Palmer, a vice president at Peabody Energy. Even before the Navajo Nation lawyers went before the U.S. Supreme Court to argue their case against Peabody Coal this year, the Bush administration took the unusual step of persuading the court to rule against the Navajo Nation's $600 million case against Peabody. The Navajo Nation alleged that a conspiracy between energy companies - including Peabody, Southern California Edison and the Salt River Project - and the U.S. Department of Interior, which holds energy resources in trust for the tribe, led to the Navajo Nation being denied a fair royalty rate for its coal. The U.S. Department of Justice urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule against the tribe, saying the U.S. government could face "adverse consequences." "The decision below will encourage the filing of damages against the United States for breach of trust," Solicitor General Ted Olsen wrote on March 15, 2002. "At a minimum, such a development will subject the United States to costly litigation." The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that it was irrelevant that former Interior Secretary Donald Hodel met behind closed doors with officials of Peabody Energy as he was deciding the royalty rate issue. The Supreme Court ruling against the Navajo Nation and in favor of Peabody in March came less than three weeks before war was launched in oil-rich Iraq. Celebrating the victory, Peabody spokesperson Beth Sutton said the Supreme Court ruling was an important step to bringing the royalty matter to a close and continuing to work with the Navajo Nation. "In the decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rejects the Navajo Nation's allegation that there was a breach of trust when the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the 1987 lease agreements," Sutton said. "The U.S. Supreme Court also found there was no violation of law governing discussions regarding the proposed royalty rate as contended by the Navajo Nation," she said. As Baghdad was bombed, the Bush-Cheney agenda of more power plants in Indian country in America continued, with the Houston-based Steag Corporation announcing its proposal to build a new power plant on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Immediately Navajos, many living without running water and electricity, responded they have had enough of polluted air, soil and groundwater from the coal, oil and nuclear industries that have left behind a trail of cancer and disease. Leroy Morgan in Rough Rock, Ariz. said Navajos would suffer once again for the electricity which flows off Navajoland. "What do the Navajo people get in return?" he said. "This proposed idea is another scheme of ripping off the people and our basic use of the land. "Who is going to benefit from this proposed power plant? Definitely it's not going to be the Navajo people," he said. "All the electricity will be used elsewhere instead of on the Navajo Nation. "Therefore leave the idea and power plant somewhere near Houston, Texas where they need the electricity the most," he said. Oil, treaties and trust On Rosebud tribal land in South Dakota, Andrew Catt-Iron Shell, Sicangu Lakota and Eastern Cherokee, said large numbers of American Indians fight wars with little recognition or honor from the U.S. government which continues to dishonor their treaties. "How do they thank us? By ignoring treaty obligations mandated by the United States Constitution and perpetuating an atmosphere of animosity between our two sovereign governments," Iron Shell said. "It is really a sad world that the white man has created." Iron Shell said he is in full support of the soldiers who have chosen to serve the United States. His own grandfather served in the Armed Services before he was accepted as a U.S. citizen. American Indians were among the first U.S. military to leave for Iraq. "Many of our young native men and women were again some of the very first to volunteer for duty in these challenging times," Iron Shell said. "It's very ironic to me personally, that we have been fighting the terrorism that has been bestowed upon our indigenous tribal nations since 1492 but yet we still are the first to react to threats against our homeland now called America," he said. "When Congress and the George W. Bush look at who sends the most warriors to battle to protect our nation, I hope they realize that Indian Country has more volunteers to the Armed Services per our specific population than any other race in this country," he added. In Pueblo, Colo., Still Day said in this war, for the first time since its war of genocide against American Indians, "The United States is the aggressor, the bully, the warmonger." She said, "No one supports Saddam Hussein, he is an abomination and a horrible person, but who made Bush God? "That we could defeat Saddam was a foregone conclusion, this was not even a question in anyone's mind," she said. "But we should never forget that the actual weapons that Bush claimed Saddam had, came directly from Bush the first, Donald Rumsfeld and the whole band of renegades that now attack him." Still Day said Americans now live in a police state where an attorney in New Mexico was arrested for speaking out against Bush and demonstrators are arrested for wearing peace shirts. "The government is now talking about those who placed themselves as human shields in Iraq to protect the civilians, suggesting that they be prosecuted at traitors," she said. "These were nuns, Medal of Honor winners, decorated war veterans and people of conscience, who went there unarmed to protect the innocent. "Now they will be labeled at traitors? What next?" she asked. Still Day said Bush has set a dangerous precedent. "If a country doesn't like another country's leader, this action says, 'it is now acceptable to take them out,' she said. "With all the enemies Bush has made across the world and the danger that he poses to them, he has set himself up as the possible next target." Still Day points out that American Indians know too well what it means to place oil in trust. "The oil of Iraq will now be placed 'in trust' for the people of Iraq, according to Colin Powell," she said. "Anyone living in Indian Country already knows how that will work - it won't! "This war was for oil, for the Bush cronies ... " she claimed. Danny Zapata, a supporter of the struggle at Big Mountain who lives in Europe, said the real machinery behind the war in Iraq is oil, not human rights. "When our peoples' hear and remember these words from Bush saying we're there in Iraq to 'fight for their freedoms, their human rights to self- determination, sovereignty and to liberate them from oppression,' hey, great! When can we start that in America?" he said. "It's hard to have any remorse for bullies, whether they are Saddam Hussein or this sawed-off version of a trigger happy Texan cowboy," he said. Meanwhile, some American Indians say the United States has long been a country in denial of its foundation, a country built on the genocide of American Indians and the enslavement, rape and torture of blacks. On the Northwest coast, Victoria Redstarr, Nez Perce and descendant of Chief Joseph, said the war will expose America at its root. "The forces that started this war are the same forces that went against us, as a people," he said. "In some strange sense, this war is showing the world how evil those forces really are. "The divide it is creating throughout our country and the world is very telling," he said. "Very essential. We mustn't back down from the challenge to get even stronger spiritually - together. Copyright c. 1999-2003 Navajo Times/Navajo Nation. --------- "RE: Frontier lays off Navajo-Speaking Operators" --------- Date: Wed, Apr 9 2003 08:13:57 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NO NAVAJO 1411" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.thenavajotimes.com/biz.html Frontier lays off Navajo-speaking operators By Bill Donovan Special to the Times WINDOW ROCK April 3, 2003 For more than 50 years, telephone users on the Navajo Reservation have been able to call 1411 with the knowledge that the person who answered would be fluent in Navajo. But on Monday, that was no longer the case as the local telephone company, Frontier Communications (formerly Navajo Communications Co.), laid off all of its operators and signed a contract with a company in Rochester, N.Y. to handle this area's information calls. But Joe Hauser, the local manager, stressed that provisions have been made to provide Navajo translators in case someone who knows only Navajo calls 1411 for a number. A total of 15 personnel were laid off as part of the change. While this will provide a savings for the company, Hauser said the main reason for the decision was time. "New technology did away with the jobs," he said. This has been a trend throughout the United States in recent years as many local phone companies have contracted with large phone information centers to handle their 1411 calls. "Five years ago, we were handling 180,000 information requests a month," said Hauser. That's gone down to 14,000 a month, he said, and the midnight to 5 a.m. shift would often get only two requests a night. But people who have called information in other parts of the country know that most times people asking for a phone number don't even get a live operator - a computer takes care of the request. Frontier would probably have gone this route but they had a problem - what do you do with the few phone calls that come in daily whereby the caller spoke only in Navajo? That was a service that only could be provided by the local company - until now. The company in Rochester has the ability to provide almost immediate translations into a wide variety of languages and one of those languages now is Navajo. Hauser said it works this way. Someone who speaks only Navajo calls 1411 and gets an information operator located in Rochester. He or she realizes that the person is not speaking English and checks where the call is coming from. If it is in a prefix that has a large Russian population, the operator would contact someone on call who speaks Russian and that person would translate for the caller. Here on the Navajo Reservation, people in Rochester have a list of what prefixes are on the Navajo Reservation. If someone from one of these prefixes calls in speaking a language other than English, the operator knows to call a number whereby someone who speaks Navajo is on call who can act as a translator. Hauser said the company has hired several Navajos to be on call at various times of the day and night in case they are needed. "We tested this out several times and it worked each time," he said, adding that the longest it took was a minute and 45 seconds. The Navajo Times also conducted tests on Monday. In the test using 928-555-1212, the operator was puzzled when the caller spoke only Navajo, asking him several times to repeat the number he wanted. She said later to a Times reporter that she was located in Florida and would have asked the caller to spell out the person or organization he wanted. Trying 1411 went better. The operator did, within 80 seconds, have a Navajo translator from the Phoenix area on the line to help out with the call. Hauser said Frontier hated to see this service eliminated but modern technology is such that it is not needed anymore. Copyright c. 1999-2003 Navajo Times/Navajo Nation --------- "RE: Supreme Court hears Bishop Sovereignty Case" --------- Date: Fri, Apr 11 2003 08:24:13 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BISHOP PAIUTE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.mammothtimes.com/times2003/BishopPaiutes04-10.html US Supreme Court Hears Bishop Tribe's Sovereignty Case By Christina Reed April 10, 2003 Times Staff Writer PQ- The basic question is, when can local sheriffs use search warrants on tribal lands while investigating incidents that occur off the reservation? US Supreme Court justices tackled one of the most difficult cases of the current term on March 31 when they debated whether to intrude on the rights of the Bishop Paiute tribal government. The one-hour hearing scratched the surface of sovereign immunity, state police powers within Indian Country, and tribes' versus states' rights. At issue in the Inyo County v. Paiute-Shoshone Indians, 02-281, case is whether Inyo County law enforcement violated the tribe's rights when Inyo County law enforcement used bolt-cutters in March 2000 to break into the tribe's casino as part of a criminal welfare fraud investigation. The investigation was later dropped for lack of probable cause. The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on January 4, 2002, that Inyo County violated the sovereign immunity of the Bishop Paiute tribe when it broke into casino employee records. The federal court also held that the Inyo County district attorney and sheriff went outside of their jurisdiction as county officers when they executed the search warrant. The court's decision modified the scope of the controversial Public Law 280 (P.L. 280), a federal statute which gives California and five other states the right to handle law enforcement on American Indian land in place of federal agencies. Many tribes perceive P.L. 280 as an insult to their sovereignty. Circuit Judge Harry Pregerson ruled that P.L. 280 extended state jurisdiction "only to individual Indians and not Indian tribes." In enacting the law, Pregerson wrote, "Congress neither waived the sovereignty of the tribes, nor granted state jurisdiction over Indian tribes." The Case Begins This historic case began as a lawsuit filed by the Bishop Paiute tribe in reaction to a county investigation into welfare fraud. Three employees of the Bishop Paiute Casino were also receiving welfare. Ralph LePera, the Bishop Paiute tribal attorney, said that under different welfare laws, it was legal to earn a certain amount of money while still collecting welfare. The Inyo County district attorney wanted to see the records of the three casino employees, and wanted to determine if they were earning over the maximum amount at their jobs. The district attorney demanded the casino turn over the records. The tribe and casino managers refused, and the Inyo County Sheriff entered the casino, went to the administrative offices, and broke into the employee records. LePera said the records of 78 other individuals were confiscated, as well as the three employees in question. The three employees were found not to be in violation of welfare laws, and no other evidence of wrongdoing was found. The tribe had agreed to grant the county information with the proper welfare application forms. These forms would have shown the employee's consent to the release of requested information. A month went by, and the county demanded additional records to be turned over to law enforcement. At this juncture, the tribe filed a lawsuit in the federal District Court alleging their sovereign immunity as a tribal entity had been violated. The basic question is, when can local sheriffs use search warrants on tribal lands while investigating incidents that occur off the reservation? "If the states don't have the ability to issue search warrants, then that evidence is immune," attorney John D. Kirby argued on Inyo County's behalf, and "what we end up with is gaps in the criminal justice system." The tribe has several allies, including states such as Washington, Montana, and New Mexico. The allies say that tribal sovereignty protects Indian land, and while local law enforcement officials can investigate individuals, the tribes say this doesn't extend to tribal governance. The tribes also say that P.L. 280 doesn't permit the seizing of tribal property. The case is an important one, and with the growing number of federally recognized tribes (560) building casinos, the casinos and their employees potentially pose more targets for outside investigations. Kirby said that search warrants should be granted, and the tribe can file a complaint later. A skeptical Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg said, "That's not much of a remedy, is it?" Justice Antonin Scalia offered a middle-of-the- road position, and he is pressing for the distinction between tribal and commercial documents. Chief Justice William Rehnquist has suggested that there is a distinction between tribal-government documents and the casino's business records. "These are basically commercial records," Rehnquist stated. Reid Chambers, the tribe's lawyer, stated there is little difference between the corporation that runs the casino and the tribal government. Chambers is advocating cooperation between the tribe and county, and four states (Arizona, Montana, New Mexico, and Washington) are asking for "things to be worked out cooperatively." These four states represent two- thirds of the Indian trust land and more than half the Indian population. A dozen other states and law-enforcement officials from across the country support Inyo County. The Bush Administration is siding with the tribe. Spokesperson for the administration Barbara McDowell said the tribe's immunity should be upheld to preserve "the dignity which their sovereign status entitles them." A ruling by the US Supreme Court is expected this summer. MT Copyright c. 1990 - 2002 Mammoth Times/Mammoth Lakes, CA. --------- "RE: Confederated Tribes Land-Restoration Bill" --------- Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 17:39:32 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COOS, LOWER UMPQUA, SIUSLAW" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2003/04/12/news/news05.txt Smith introduces tribal land-restoration bill By Andrew Sirocchi, Staff Writer April 12, 2003 The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians greeted with cheers the introduction in the U.S. Senate of a long-awaited bill to restore about 62,000 acres of national forest to the only recognized tribe without a land base. The bill, which would give the tribes a portion of the Siuslaw National Forest in Lane and Douglas counties, is the culmination of nearly a decade's work and was proposed Thursday by Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., in a legislative session. "We are elated," said Tribal Administrator Francis Somday on Friday. "We are thrilled." Smith said he has championed the tribes' efforts to have the land restored since being elected. In a floor statement introducing the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Restoration Amendments Act of 2003, Smith read a written speech recounting the tribes' loss of land. "In 1855, in good faith the tribes signed the Empire Treaty with the federal government," Smith said. "But somewhere between Empire, Ore., and the floor of the U.S. Senate the treaty was lost. No land was allotted for their reservation and no compensation given." The three tribes occupied 1.6 million acres from Oregon's south coast to what is now the I-5 corridor through the mid 1800s. As gold prospectors began to encroach on the territory, the federal government made pacts for the peaceful acquisition and settlement of many of those acres. But the treaties were lost and no compensation was ever given to the tribes. Eventually, during the Rogue River War era, the tribes were marched north and held prisoner in the Coast Reservation until the mid 1870s. The government finally disbanded the tribes in 1954. President Ronald Reagan re-recognized them in 1984. Since then, the 700-plus tribal members have struggled to gain economic independence. With a negligible land base and no real revenue-producing industries, the tribes have made the return of portions of the Siuslaw National Forest a priority for years. "We just are so appreciative to Sen. Smith for understanding the tribe's story and understanding that it's the right thing to do," Somday said. If the land is returned, the Confederated Tribes intend to thin the forest and expect it can generate up to $1 million per year. While the tribes would not be required to follow provisions of the Northwest Forest Plan, a plan presented to the senate indicates it intends to follow cutting provisions consistent with adjacent federal properties. Smith is in support of those goals. "Revenue gained from activities on these lands will help meet the self- sufficiency goals of the Confederated Tribes," Smith read in his speech. "It will be used to assist seniors through elder housing programs, youth through scholarships, low-income housing for those in need and provide health care benefits for all the Tribal members." A coalition of environmental groups, led by the Oregon Natural Resources Council, worry that the transfer will reduce their ability to oversee logging in the national forest and could lead to cutting of old-growth timber. In a March 24 letter to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., 23 environmental groups objected to the land transfer and claimed many of the acres proposed for the deal are suitable for wilderness designation. They also questioned what the impact of the transfer would be with other tribes that have received far less compensation for their losses. "The only previous transfer in Oregon's recent history was the transfer of 5,400 acres of federal forest to the 695 members of the Coquille Tribe in 1996," the groups wrote. "Should this new legislation pass, what will be the response of the Coquille, Grande Ronde and Siletz tribes, who have considerably less acreage?" The Confederated Tribes has argued that its proposal should be judged for its own merits. A forestry consultant with Pacific Management Associates working for the Tribes has said that only about 2,500 acres of the land being proposed for restoration qualifies as old-growth and the tribes have set up protections and limitations not to cut those acres as well as to leave three sensitive areas untouched. Provisions in the bill will require the tribes put 20 percent of the gross revenue generated from timber harvesting into a fund to pay for watershed restoration programs for 20 years. In addition, the tribes are prevented from building a mill on the land and are required to follow competitive bidding processes when selling logs. As written, the bill also will require the land to be kept open to the public and that fishing and hunting regulations not change. Somday said the tribes want to meet with environmental groups to bridge the gap of understanding. "The tribes will in fact protect the old growth-trees," he said. "The bill clearly says that." Meanwhile, the tribal administrator who recently returned from Washington, D.C., to meet with Oregon's Congressional delegation said the tribes will continue to push the Senate to pass the bill, and will return to the nation's capital to work for the restoration of the Siuslaw National Forest lands. "The cultural part will be something which will have to be portrayed to the delegation and to the congress at large," Somday said. "Probably the biggest hurdle for this bill will be an understanding from the environmental community." Copyright c. 2003 Southwestern Oregon Publishing Company/Coos Bay, OR. --------- "RE: Learn about the Anasazi's last stand at Hovenweep" --------- Date: Fri, Apr 11 2003 08:24:13 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOVENWEEP" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/Stories/0,1413,129%257E6574%257E1318499,00.html Learn about the Anasazi's last stand at Hovenweep The Daily Times April 11, 2003 MONTICELLO, Utah Join Four Corners School May 3-8 for an exciting opportunity to learn about the last days of the Ancestral Puebloans near Hovenweep National Monument. This trip will focus on the late Pueblo III communities of A.D. 1200- 1300, and provide a glimpse into the stresses faced by their last survivors, the school said in a news release Tuesday. During this time period, there were not enough caves to accommodate the entire population, and not everyone chose to live in the high cliffs of Mesa Verde. Instead, some people chose the spring-fed canyons located to the northwest of Cortez, Colo., and Sleeping Ute Mountain. Many previously successful farming regions were abandoned as people clustered into large central place communities surrounded by quantities of satellite villages. Trying to survive a terrible drought, limited food and the need for protection from other people, threats of destruction were full time problems that could not be resolved. The Anasazi kept trying new and different survival strategies, but in the end the problems they encountered where too immense to overcome. By A. D. 1300 they had abandoned the entire Four Corners area and the majority headed for the Rio Grande region of New Mexico. Hovenweep National Monument, located along the Colorado-Utah border will be your basecamp for this ed-venture. From there you will look at the immense prehistoric community located at the head of Sand Canyon and then hike down the canyon to McElmo Creek. A day will be spent exploring the unique architecture of towers and structures scattered throughout Hovenweep National Monument. Another day will be spent exploring Cross Canyon and the new Canyons of the Ancients National Monument located west and north of Hovenweep. The final adventure will be to the Lowry Ruins regions, in Canyons of the Ancients. Containing the highest known density of archaeological sites in the Nation, the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument hold evidence of cultures and traditions spanning thousands of years. The cost of this trip is $950 with all food, group camp gear, guides, and transportation from Cortez included. Join Virginia Wolf, MA, geography, and MA, Native American studies and archaeoastronomy, who has taught geography, anthropology and history at Butte Community College since 1969, specializing in Native American studies. Since 1989 Virginia has been surveying Ute Mountain Tribal Park for Basektmaker-Early Puebloan petroglyph panels. Her research into these petroglyphs led to her second master's degree, a commercially produced videotape, and several articles. Over time, her research has expanded to include work in Chaco Canyon, and the Hovenweep area. Currently, Wolf is documenting unrecorded Basketmaker-Early Puebloan petroglyph sites in the Ute Mountain Tribal Park for the Colorado Historical Society. A complete schedule of Four Corners School 2003 Southwest Ed-Ventures, and detailed itineraries for all of FCS's ecotourism offerings, can be found on the Four Corners School Web site at www.sw-adventures.org Copyright c. 1999-2003 MediaNews Group, Inc./Farmington, NM. --------- "RE: Coon Come opens European Human Rights Visit" --------- Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 09:15:13 -0600 From: Canadian Aboriginal News Subj: National Chief Matthew Coon Come Opens European Human Rights Visit Mailing List: Canadian Aboriginal News PRESS ADVISORY - National Chief Matthew Coon Come Opens European Human Rights Visit Concerning "Hidden Shame" of First Nations' Situation in Canada LONDON, UK, April 8 /CNW/ - Matthew Coon Come, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations opened his "Hidden Shame" European mission concerning socio-economic conditions facing Aboriginal peoples in Canada in London, UK today. At a well-attended "back-to-back" press conference held in conjunction with Amnesty International at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at London University, Chief Coon Come cited detailed official data establishing that Aboriginal peoples in Canada continue to face "gross socio-economic disparities". Quoting directly from the findings of recent Royal Commissions and official human rights entities, Coon Come stated that Aboriginal peoples in Canada are "on the margins of Canadian society" and are being "pushed to the edge of economic, social and political extinction". Chief Coon Come said "First Nations peoples in Canada have endured a history of blatantly colonial suppression of our existence and of our status and rights as nations and peoples. Right now, as we talk, First Nations in Canada face the imposition -- over our protest and against our will -- of a huge suite of federal legislation, "Indian Act II" that derogates from Aboriginal and treaty rights that are, ironically, recognized in Canada's Constitution," said Coon Come. "I have concluded that Canada is actually abandoning the rights-based agenda that was tentatively started in 1982 when Canada's new Constitution recognized and affirmed Aboriginal and treaty rights," said Coon Come. "Current federal "Indian policy" is still oriented to the involuntary assimilation of our peoples and the deconstruction of our societies. This is being brought about through extinguishment of our treaty rights, the deliberate maintenance of appalling social conditions in our communities, the renewed use of coercive and colonial Indian Act legislation, and through the use of criminal sanction and force against us when our people protest." Chief Coon Come stated that "I take no pleasure in making this critical presentation outside of Canada about the 'hidden shame' of conditions facing indigenous peoples in Canada, but it is increasingly clear to me that effective recourses at home in Canada are few and diminishing." -30- For further information: Marie Frawley, AFN: cell (in Europe) 1-613-263-5674; Don Kelly, AFN: 1-613-241-6789 x. 320 or cell 1-613-292-2787 --------- "RE: First Nations face Housing Crisis" --------- Date: Wed, Apr 9 2003 08:13:57 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOUSING CRISIS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Auditor-General-Native First Nations face housing crisis with no action plan, says auditor April 8, 2003 OTTAWA (CP) -- Canada's native housing program leans like a shack about to collapse from neglect, says the auditor general. Many First Nations face an all-out crisis, Sheila Fraser reported Tuesday to Parliament. A growing shortage of 8,500 reserve houses was logged in 2001 when it was estimated that almost half of 89,000 homes countrywide needed repairs. Poor construction, toxic mould and lax controls all contribute to a nasty problem, Fraser said. Lack of maintenance and severe overcrowding spread illness and social dysfunction. Worse, Fraser said, no one has clearly taken on the job of fixing what native leaders call Canada's Third World shame. "Unless action is taken quickly, the already unacceptable housing conditions are only going to get worse." Reserve birth rates are about twice the national average, and more than half the population is under 25, Fraser notes. The Indian Affairs Department says at least 4,500 more houses will be needed each year for the next decade to handle such growth. But current federal funding rates will only cover about 2,600 new houses and renovations for 3,300 units a year. The shortfall highlights a long-standing dispute. Many First Nations believe they have a treaty right to free homes on the reserves they were forced to occupy. Indian Affairs disagrees. Ottawa isn't obliged to house every member of a reserve population that tops 420,000 people across the country, said Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault. Government policy "is intended to create a market process to allow First Nations ... to have mortgages like other Canadians," he told the Commons. That remark drew opposition jeers. "The government is going to leave our First Nation Canadians right out in the cold," said Canadian Alliance MP John Williams. "What is the minister going to do other than tell them to go out and get a mortgage when they do not even have a job?" The department, along with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., helps within reasonable limits, Nault said. That assistance totaled $3.8 billion over the last 10 years, the auditor general said. However, the federal government hasn't always fully accounted for how it spends such tax dollars, she added. "Parliamentarians have not been getting a complete picture. "The government needs to clearly articulate . . . the expected results of housing programs; report on costs, program performance and results; and clarify the impact on the critical housing shortage." Fraser chided Indian Affairs for last-minute spending sprees in which bureaucrats raced to use up budgets by fiscal year-end. Money that isn't spent tends to disappear from future funding. About $34 million late in fiscal year 2000-01, and $40 million the next year was suddenly shifted from other programs for urgent housing needs, Fraser said. "The department could not demonstrate how well emergency housing funds were used or whether they were actually spent on housing." Fraser also urged: -- An action plan to ease growing health problems blamed on toxic mould. -- Clarification of housing duties and goals for Indian Affairs, CMHC and First Nations. -- A strategy to ensure reserve houses meet federal building codes. -- Streamlined programs and better communication between Indian Affairs and CMHC. Indian Affairs broadly agreed with Fraser's recommendations and said it will work with CMHC and First Nations to adopt them. Copyright c. 2003, CANOE, a division of Netgraphe Inc. --------- "RE: Natives unmoved by Coleman Apology" --------- Date: Wed, Apr 9 2003 08:13:57 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RACIST REMARKS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/search/story Natives unmoved by Coleman apology Judith Lavoie Times Colonist Wednesday, April 09, 2003 British Columbia Solicitor General Rich Coleman apologized to aboriginal groups Tuesday after he was accused of making racist comments. Coleman, who talked to reporters Monday about students at the University of Saskatchewan using arrest mug shots of Premier Gordon Campbell on an anti-drunk driving poster, said he had absolutely no intention of offending anyone or saying anything that was racist or offensive. "If you offend a group of people, it's not a problem to say sorry to those people," he said. Later, he repeated the apology in the legislature. On Monday, Coleman said he did not like the Campbell drunk-driving mug shots being used on the poster as there were many drinking and driving issues in Saskatchewan on which the students could focus. "They could find all kinds of issues within their significant aboriginal community that they could be focusing on (such as) FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) issues in and around alcohol," he said on Monday. On Tuesday, Coleman said he has seen the social pressure brought to bear in aboriginal communities across the country by alcohol and FAS. "When you see that, it really strikes you in the heart how you need to have programs in those communities so we can rebuild them," said Coleman, who denied he was trying to divert attention from Campbell's arrest in January. However, Stewart Phillip, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs president, said Coleman was trying to deflect attention from Campbell's drunk driving. "He's saying, 'Why don't you concentrate on those drunken Indians in Saskatchewan,' " he said. The remarks were racist, said Phillip, who was not impressed with Coleman's apology. "He's just tap dancing around it." Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is writing to Coleman demanding a written apology and suggesting he take sensitization courses to make him aware of issues plaguing First Nations. "If he doesn't become enlightened he should consider stepping down," he said. Bellegarde said he does not know why a cabinet minister would make such a comment. "Sometimes it's better to stay silent and appear stupid than to say something and remove all doubt," he said. Campbell said Coleman has apologized for the comments and obviously wishes he had not made them. Campbell said he does not have a problem with the Saskatchewan students using his mug shots on the poster. "If there are some benefits from my horrible mistake that's a positive thing. If this convinces people not to drink and drive, that's a good thing," he said. lavoie@island.net Copyright c. 2003 Times Colonist. --------- "RE: Grassy Narrows Protest" --------- Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 08:24:53 -0400 From: "Frosty" Subj: Fw: Grassy Narrows Protest Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian -------- Original Message -------- From: wolfe@island.net >To: kahtou@dccnet.com, dbain@telus.net Dear Friends, The Grassy Narrows First Nation in Ontario has been blockading Abitibi Forest Products for over 4 1/2 months now, through the long cold -40 temperatures of the winter there and are growing stronger and building. They have support from the Ontario Chiefs, AFN, and people across Canada and Internationally. This is a recent update, MNR is Ministry of Natural Resources who are working hand in hand with Abitibi. There is a vote at www.mykenora.com to support them. Please send them your support. For All Our Relations, First Nations Environmental Network. ----- Forwarded message from steve fobister ----- Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2003 00:53:10 -0500 From: steve fobister ahneen Kakinna, Mr. Shawn Stevenson has made it clear that MNR sides with muti-national corporations and will support every tree to be cut for the benefit of all Ontarians because it hires 250 people not ordinarily residence of Ontario, no of course not because it makes quarterly profits of 300 million dollars and that MNR manages for the benefit of Ontarians not exclusive rights of first nation rights. however, his government is responsible for the dumping of 50 tons of mercury into the environment and 30 other type of dangerous chemicals and first Nations still has no rights! There are approximately 17 thousand first nations in the so called Kenora whiskey jack forest management area and the same amount as non aboriginals and we still have no say. Where is this man coming, is he trying to inflame emotions for the white people to take his side and support his agenda locally! There are 25 first nations in treaty #3 and 45 first nations from treaty 9 ( territory). Who is pouring money into the municipal economy of kenora and dryden. If these communities ever boycott these towns just one single weekend, who do think the townspeople would rather have Abitibi or First Nations money. During the last close downs the mills done because of over inventory of wood supply of closures which last about 2 to 3 weeks at a time. The economy remains study because of first nations patronizing these towns. All Abitibi moneys and earnings leave town and a chance for even those working to take holidays out of town. I have a hard time understanding my neighbor. for instance they were really against the Americans for the war in Iraq. Then the cancellations came to their tourist camps and they took a complete 90 degree turn in support of the Americans all of sudden. Where is their principles? They complain about the Ontario budget that they're is nothing for northwestern Ontario? No money is coming in, but they fail to see that it is only the first nations that bringing in the money to Ontario as always. The other I had a long talk with a elder who does not talk very good English or to read for that matter. I was briefing on the fragile forest and what we are up against. He told me that long time ago the Indians said, it would be the whiteman who change our ways and he will be the one to end everything life as we know it, what you see is the beginning he said. Our opposition party has disappeared, corporate interest dictate public policy. The war in Iraq he said, Corporations and big business and investors are lining up to rebuild that country after the war. This country will pay a heavy price and corruption will be ramped he said. We will have to be expected to expect less he said and to feel patriotic about it. Taxes will be high, and if it gets really bad move to Iraq he said? This old guy remind me alot like old chief Dan George and goes on to talk about something else and if you ask him more questions he tells you you weren't listening?... Awsa ... steve --------- "RE: Blackfeet gauge BIA Takeover" --------- Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2003 19:47:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA COPS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20030413/localnews/ Blackfeet gauge BIA takeover Relief, resentment greet federal police By KAREN IVANOVA Tribune Regional Editor April 13, 2003 BROWNING -- As a young policeman on the Goshute Indian Reservation, which straddles the Utah-Nevada state line, Ed Naranjo responded to a routine domestic assault call that had a daunting twist. The perpetrator was the tribal chairman. Naranjo was driving his suspect to jail when an order to call his supervisor crackled over the radio: He was to turn his cruiser around and take the chairman back home. Against his conscience, Naranjo followed orders. "I had to," he said. "I needed the job." Almost 30 years later, as a high-level official with Bureau of Indian Affairs Law Enforcement, it's now Naranjo's job to stamp out such corruption. In February, he headed up a surprise takeover of the Blackfeet tribe's police department, where a special BIA report had exposed evidence of poorly trained cops, mismanaged budgets, bungled case reports and political interference from tribal council members. A SWAT team armed with assault rifles drove onto the reservation in a column of federal vehicles one Saturday and confiscated officers' guns, badges and uniforms, firing everyone from the police chief to the jail cook. Though a rumor spread that BIA agents held some tribal police employees at gunpoint, Naranjo said weapons never were drawn. The BIA is rebuilding the Blackfeet police department from scratch, hiring 32 uniformed officers -- effectively doubling the reservation's law enforcement -- and mailing a 15-page questionnaire to homes across the reservation to gauge the public's needs, said Naranjo of Billings. He oversees a six-state region for BIA law enforcement. The takeover ends a nearly eight-year effort by the Blackfeet Tribe to run its own police force under contract with the BIA. "Our plan is to stay there long-term," at least long enough to bring the police force up to par before handing it back to the tribe, Naranjo said. Residents -- from tribal elders fed up with gang graffiti in their neighborhoods and drug dealers next door, to families who've lost children in drunken driving accidents -- cheered the BIA's arrival. The 3,000-square-mile reservation along the Rocky Mountain Front is home to 10,100. Alicia Crawford lives in the remote Heart Butte community on the southern end of the reservation, where residents complained they scarcely saw an officer on patrol. She fired off an impassioned letter to the Tribune following the BIA's arrival. "I am completely for the BIA takeover. I don't see it as disrespectful. I see it as a change for the better," she wrote. "Myself and others in Heart Butte just want justice and if that means people are out of jobs, then so be it." The shakeup also gave fresh hope to citizen activists, who say there's still much work to be done to bring a fair and effective law and order system to the Blackfeet. "We need to find a way to make our tribal councilmen responsible," said Tom Whitford Sr., a Blackfeet and retired career BIA superintendent who is working to establish a Blackfeet Civil Rights Commission. "Until we do that, we're going to continue to have a rogue government." Activists also are calling for reform in the tribe's courts and business council structures and even a revamp of its constitution, ratified in 1935. But some of the loudest critics of the former police force and the current tribal council say the BIA isn't the long-term answer. The Blackfeet must take control of their own destiny, said Gene "Sub- Chief" DuBray of Great Falls, who served as chairman of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council's Law and Order subcommittee in the mid-'90s, when the tribe took over its police force. "The tribal people could do their own (police) job and that's what's got to happen," DuBray said. "As Blackfeet tribal members for thousands and thousands of years we policed ourselves." Council resistance The tribal council initially threatened to seek a federal court injunction to stop the BIA takeover. "This is a sovereign Indian nation, and it's an insult," Tribal Vice Chairman James "Jimmy" St. Goddard said. "I still question the takeover. It should have happened in a transition, not just in a show of force." St. Goddard is offended not only by the manner in which the BIA swept in, but also by the very idea of the agency policing the Blackfeet. "The BIA is a white-oriented police force," St. Goddard said. "It's military (style), and that's white. That isn't Indian training. That's white training." Councilman William "Allen" Talks About, a political foe of St. Goddard's, shares St. Goddard's antipathy for his own reasons. Talks About, who was tribal chairman until the council demoted him to a regular council member in January, said he and his advisers had a plan in place to correct tribal law enforcement's shortcomings. "When they (BIA agents) came in, I thought, 'If I had anything to do with it, I would've probably made it very hard for them,'" he said. But both men acknowledge the tribe's police force was troubled. "I always talk to the people, especially the elders, and they were happy they (BIA agents) were coming in because there were so many uninvestigated incidents," Talks About said. "The elders came to me and said, 'I'm very glad they're here. I can sleep now. I don't have to sit up in the dark watching for intruders, now the BIA is patrolling the streets.'" An insider's view Some of the gravest stories of incompetence come from within the ranks of the former tribal police. Kevin LaDue worked for six years with Blackfeet Law Enforcement as a jailer and patrol officer. He was fired in November, three months before the BIA takeover. LaDue said he was accused of drinking at a house party in violation of the department's conduct code, but insists he wasn't there. He says his firing was political, describing an inner circle of favorites of which he was not a part. He claims he's a victim of retaliation for a closed-door conversation he had with a BIA officer sent to help Blackfeet law enforcement correct shortcomings. LaDue said he sometimes was left to tend up to 30 jail inmates alone, escorting groups of them between cells or into the hearing room. The job was especially dicey in the summer, when the sweltering building's doors were thrown wide open. On one occasion, an inmate slipped out through an open door on LaDue's watch. "The way the system worked it was like, 'Oh well, it's just another person that escaped. We'll get him later,'" LaDue said. Grave consequences A week before the BIA's arrival, the jail's lax security rules turned tragic when an inmate was released unsupervised to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Instead, the BIA alleges, he tracked down his girlfriend, raped her and kicked her so hard he broke her pelvis. The incident was one of the triggers for the BIA takeover, Naranjo said. The suspect is in custody and his case likely will go through federal court, Tribal Prosecutor Wendy Running Crane told the Tribune. That's an especially egregious case, but the BIA's arrival unleashed a flood of lesser complaints. "I remember numerous times when the police were called out to Heart Butte and the dispatcher said they couldn't send an officer out because they had only one officer on duty in Browning," Alicia Crawford wrote. Cruel and unusual Public scorn for the tribal police department went beyond the fundamentals of public safety. And the problems weren't all budgetary. Widespread complaints of tribal council members running interference for cronies or family members who broke the law eroded police credibility. In a July 2000 memo obtained by the Tribune, councilman James St. Goddard, who then served on the council's Law and Order Committee, asked former Blackfeet police chief Fred Guardipee to release four individuals from jail. Charged with assault in a drunken brawl, the four were being unfairly held without bail, he wrote. "I have attempted to contact a Tribal Court Judge because of the conditions of the jail, which is hot and amounts to cruel and unusual punishment," he wrote. Bail is considered a basic right. But Pat Schildt, a Browning businessman and founder of the activist group Blackfeet Against Fraud and Corruption, notes that hundreds have spent the night in the hot jail before and since. "It only amounts to cruel and unusual punishment to the people he (St. Goddard) wants to get out of jail," Schildt said. St. Goddard said he interceded because the individuals on the opposite side of the brawl were treated differently and given bond. As far as the sweltering conditions, St. Goddard said he would shut down the jailhouse for good if he could. "I've got hundreds and hundreds of letters from prisoners asking to shut that jail down," he said. "It's worse than living in a doghouse that jail." Replacing, deodorizing Built to hold 45 inmates, the building has no air conditioning and sometimes overflows with 100 or more during summer festivals, Naranjo said. The beds were pulling out of the walls and many had to sleep on the putrid floor. The BIA is in the process of replacing the old beds, painting, replacing fixtures and deodorizing the floor, Naranjo said. St. Goddard said the tribe struggled to keep up the aging facility and to keep enough officers on the streets because of a lack of federal funding from the BIA. A 1997 Department of Justice report found that tribal police departments across the nation lacked financial resources for basic law enforcement functions. But St. Goddard acknowledged that money wasn't the only problem. Tribal council members interfered with law enforcement, often at the request of tribal employees. "By letting employees come to us constantly, that was wrong," St. Goddard said. Takeover opens eyes Since the Blackfeet police takeover, Naranjo said his office has received calls about similar concerns on the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho and elsewhere. "I think it's opened a lot of eyes across Indian Country," he said. Since 1995, the majority of the nation's tribes contracted all or part of their law enforcement services from the BIA, according to the Department of Justice. Overall, they've been successful, said John Dossett, general counsel with the National Congress of American Indians, a Washington D.C.-based organization of tribal governments. Some failures are only natural, he said. "Maybe this police department needs to be cleaned up and fixed, but that happens in other parts of society as well," Dossett said. "Institution building is something that takes time. There's steps forward, and there's steps back. "Sometimes people don't recognize that the tribes haven't had a lot of time to work on this." A rough start The Blackfeet tribe took over its law enforcement the second time in 1995, after a previous failed attempt from 1975 to 1981. "It was so poorly run, (members of the Blackfeet tribe) thought they could do a better job," Naranjo acknowledged. A background check of the BIA officers cost a number of them their security clearances, he said. So the tribe inherited a malfunctioning police program -- and the challenge of rebuilding it on a thin budget. Five years later, the situation was worse. A special BIA report in September 2000 catalogued 58 problem areas, from eight employees who lacked basic training to tribal councilmen ordering the release of prisoners. The BIA returned in May 2001 and found little change, Naranjo said. The agency moved to take over law enforcement in October 2001, but the tribe appealed and was given 15 more months to fix things with the assistance of three special BIA agents. Naranjo said there continued to be little improvement. And after two alarming incidents -- including the rape of a 13-year-old, which was reported to tribal police by the hospital but never investigated -- the BIA decided to move in. In addition to public safety, the federal government was concerned about its liability under the Blackfeet tribal police contract. The BIA paid out more than $7 million in tort claims related to the Blackfeet police force in the past three years, Naranjo said. Cases ranged from police car pursuits in which residents were hurt to assaults by officers. "To me, we should have done it (the takeover) a lot sooner," Naranjo said. "We gave the tribe every opportunity to get the program in compliance." Rebuilding, improving This time around, the BIA will create a stellar Blackfeet Law Enforcement program before handing it over, Naranjo said. "They deserve a good program, not a run-down, poorly run program," he said. BIA police programs failed in the past because employees reported to reservation BIA superintendents, who weren't trained or equipped to oversee police work, Naranjo said. "Our programs just didn't get the guidance they needed," he said. In 1997, the BIA restructured its police programs so that employees answer to law enforcement professionals with a traditional police chain of command. "We started to professionalize and establish standards that we need to meet," Naranjo said. "We're making it better all over." The agency is completely rebuilding Blackfeet law enforcement, Naranjo said. Few of the former tribal officers will be hired back. "There are a lot of background issues on some of these former employees that will prevent them from being re-employed," he said. The new force will consist of 15 uniformed police officers, including three supervisors, on the BIA payroll, plus 17 officers paid through the federal Community Oriented Policing Program, otherwise known as COPS. All of the officers will work under the BIA's supervision. That's almost double the former tribal police force of roughly 17 uniformed officers. Additional grant money may be available through the city of Browning to hire officers, Naranjo said. So far, hiring selections have been made for 10 BIA police positions, five of six detention officer positions and five of six dispatch positions, Naranjo said. He would like to see the police force add a K-9 unit. The agency plans to tailor police service to each area of the reservation, Naranjo added. While residents of one area may be concerned with vandalism, another may be more worried about drunken driving. Officers will be assigned to each of five districts on the reservation: Babb, St. Mary, Seville, Heart Butte and East Glacier Park. Each district will have regular community meetings. "We want to know from the community exactly what their issues are," Naranjo said. Each district will have a "cop shop" where residents can drop in to talk with police. "What we'd like to eventually see is maybe some volunteer citizens in there taking reports that don't really require an officer," Naranjo said. For example, a resident could report vandalism or a habitual speeder in their neighborhood. Change apparent Browning School Superintendent Stan Juneau said he's already seeing change. In the past, the school was sometimes told there was only one officer on duty for the entire reservation when staff called for help with a student. Finding police to monitor events such as basketball games also was a challenge. "We have a much quicker response since the bureau's been in here," Juneau said. "The whole atmosphere of the community is changing. It's a little more positive." Juneau also has been able to sit in on job interviews for the BIA's four school resource officers. The tribal courts are responding as well, slapping parents of truant students with fines, Juneau said. Constitutional question Ultimately, the Blackfeet should be able to police their own people, St. Goddard said. To make the system work, he suggests amending the tribal constitution to make tribal council interference with law enforcement punishable with jail time. Ratified in 1935, the constitution gives the tribal council authority to write laws, enforce them and control the courts. "There is no separation of powers. You don't have the legislative branch, you don't have the judicial branch, you have the council," said Eddie Gray Owl, Schildt's brother and a member of Blackfeet Against Fraud and Corruption. Gray Owl is business manager of the Glacier Way store. In a room adjacent to the store, the citizens group holds Tuesday evening political meetings to discuss concerns about the tribal government. "You have nine people here who execute the laws, who do the creation of the laws, and they control the courts," Gray Owl said. If the tribe is ever to take back law enforcement, the constitution will need an overhaul to put some boundaries on the tribal council's power, said DuBray, who was a tribal council member when the Blackfeet took over law enforcement from the BIA in 1995. "Until that happens we're going to be in this quagmire of lawlessness," DuBray said. "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." People power Whitford, the retired BIA superintendent, said the tribe's constitution is a solid document. The problem, he said, is a "rogue" tribal council that flouts the law and has no oversight. "The general population here has absolutely no rights," Whitford said. He's among five prominent residents who want to establish a Blackfeet Civil Rights Commission that would give residents who feel they've been wronged by the tribal justice system a place to go for a second opinion. They've already met to draw up plans. DuBray may not agree with Whitford's assessment of the problem, but, like others who have spoken out since the BIA's takeover, he said change will have to come from the people. "The people have to get together and say enough is enough," DuBray said. "We don't like it. We'd rather be the people we want to be -- proud Blackfeet, not people with no law, no justice for everybody." Tribune reporter Jennifer Perez contributed to this report. Copyright c. 2003 Great Falls Tribune. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Former Wampanoag Chief suing R.I. for Land" --------- Date: Wed, Apr 9 2003 08:13:57 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAND SUIT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.browndailyherald.com/stories.asp?storyID=885 Former Wampanoag chief suing R.I. for 34 square miles of land By Zoe Ripple April 9, 2003 A former chief of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe is suing the state of Rhode Island for 34 square miles of land in Cumberland and Woonsocket, but without the tribe's consent. Wilifred Green, a former chief of the Wampanoag Tribe, has filed a suit claiming on behalf of the group that land taken during King Philip's War is rightfully the property of the Wampanoag people. According to Earl Pasbach, Green's attorney, an agreement between colonists and Wampanoags made during colonization in the 1600s guaranteed the tribe "a competent portion of land" in what is now Cumberland. But after the war between Native Americans and the colonists in the late 1600s, the victorious colonists drove the Wampanoags off of the land that Green claims in his suit is theirs, as specified in the agreement. Green's suit specifies 34 square miles of land in Cumberland and Woonsocket. "We are still studying it," said Jeff Neal, spokesman for Governor Donald Carcieri '65, in reference to the suit. The executive counsel's office met with Wampanoags about two weeks ago to discuss the suit, Neal said. During the meeting, they were "given an opportunity to explain their history and grievances." Not all Wampanoags agree with the suit. Michael Markley, first councilperson and tribal spokesman for the Seaconke Wampanoag tribe, said that, although Green sued on behalf of the Seaconke Wampanoag tribe, in reality, "we are not suing anyone. "We are not involved with any land claims," he said, speaking on behalf of the tribal council of the Seaconke Wampanoag tribe. Green did not return calls seeking comment. Green, a former chief of the tribe, has had no conversations with the tribal council about suing and never sought nor received approval for suing Rhode Island, Markley said. Green is genealogically connected to the Seaconke Wampanoags, said Markley, and, despite Green's five-year absence from tribal meetings, Markley said the door is open to him returning. "We'd like him to come back and come to meetings," Markley said. Green is using information gathered and presented during meetings in 1996, Markley said. Although the information he is using and the case he is making may be legitimate, Green's actions are not endorsed by the Seaconke Wampanoags, Markley said, and "he is off doing his own thing." Markley speculated that Green started his own non-profit called Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe of Rhode Island, but the organization is not affiliated with the Seaconke Wampanoags, says Markley, and the Web site maintained by the organization is not the tribe's official site. Green was a chief from 1997 to 1998. Wampanoag people appoint and depose their chiefs, and Green was removed from his position of chief after a business meeting in 1998, Markley said. "The people voted him out," he said. Copyright c. 2003 The Brown Daily Herald/Brown University. --------- "RE: Ex-IHS Worker gets Prison for Fraud" --------- Date: Thu, Apr 10 2003 08:22:09 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IHS FRAUD" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?display=rednews/2003/04/10/ Ex-IHS worker gets prison for fraud By CLAIR JOHNSON Of The Gazette Staff April 10, 2003 A former Indian Health Service employee who took kickbacks for sales of light bulbs and lighting equipment will spend time in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull Wednesday sentenced Arthur C. Alden, 60, of Crow Agency, to a year and one day in prison for his conviction on one count of wire fraud. The sentence will enable Alden to accumulate good time. The judge also ordered Alden to pay restitution of $23,540 to the IHS. The restitution includes what Alden accepted in kickbacks and a portion of the loss from excessive orders. "I'm sorry for what I did," Alden said. Alden's sentence was at the low end of the guideline range of 12 months to 18 months. Alden's attorney Jay Lansing tried unsuccessfully to have the judge depart down from the guidelines. He argu