From gars@speakeasy.org Wed Jul 2 11:07:03 2003 Date: 1 Jul 2003 23:38:43 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews11.027 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 11, ISSUE 027 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, WOTANGING IKCHE - Lakota - Common News Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2003 nanews.org Aboriginal/AmerIndian Perspective about the First Nations of Turtle Island July 5, 2003 Hopi Kelmuya/fledgling raptor moon Zuni Dayamcho yachunne/moon when limbs of are trees broken by fruit +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People 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 Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ==>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 <================<<<< >>>>================> 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; Iron House Drums Mailing List; Newsgroup: alt.native; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "We are living in a different time from the ancient past till now. We must all learn to live and respect each other. For us, this means to stop imposing and forcing an alien way of life upon us." "The Indian world is a real world and we would like to keep on living. We don't need pollution, greed, false power, atomic bombs, nuclear plants, missiles, and a ruling system of "blind leading the blind". __ Vivian Olds, Northern Paiute +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! I was asked why some past editorials referred to the U. S. justice system as "Amerikkan Just-us". I will answer with two simple examples. This week Marlon Taylor was acquitted of most of the counts he faced for the murder of Shane Dean Zotigh, a 20-year-old Kiowa dancer. He faces four years in prison for "taking place in the assault," but the jury was unconvinced that he actually killed Zotigh. On November 9, 1992, Lynn Crook, the US prosecutor who helped send Leonard Peltier to prison for life for the killing of two FBI agents, admitted to an appellate court: "We don't know who killed the agents," but he pointed out that Peltier was on the scene and knew who did it. Despite this open admission Leonard Peltier, an Ojibway/Dakota, remains in Maximum Security for the June 26, 1975 murder of two FBI agents in a fire fight at the seige of Wounded Knee. The facts of the cases are remarkably similar, in spite of 30 years passage of time and a remarkably dissimilar verdict. In both cases, somebody with a clean, productive life died, and somebody was in proximity to the killing. In both cases, there were others involved. But in the Zotigh case, the victim was Indian and the defendant was not, in the Peltier case, the victim was not Indian, but the defendant was. June 18, 2002 a human-caused fire, the Rodeo Fire, broke out in east- central Arizona. June 20, a second human-caused fire, the Chediski Fire, broke out. The combined Rodeo-Chediski fires destroyed over 470, 000 acres of timber, largely on the Fort Apache Reservation. A white woman considered to be mentally competent, Valinda Jo Elliott, who was trespassing on Apache land started the Chediski fire, but was never charged. (Late breaking news: This week the tribe filed a civil suit against Ms. Elliot for her role in the fire on the same day she was sentened to 60 days in jail for repeated drunk and unlicensed driving convictions). An Apache, Leonard Greg, just cleared competancy hearings after a year of therapy and intensive tutoring and will now stand trial for several felony counts related to the Rodeo fire. There is nothing I can add to the two examples cited above. You either understand why Natives feel that Justice is a myth if you are not a member of the dominant society, or your blinders are firmly in place and you refuse to see or believe the truth. Articles in this issue will clearly demonstrate, to those with eyes and heart, "Just-Us" also is a reality in Canada. 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 ---------- - A Struggle for History - Washoe Indian Tribe - Family ties - Six in Navajo Social Unit still bound by Battle are investigated by FBI - Zuni Bones Stuck in Legal Limbo - Appeals Court rules - Zuni Sacred Lake on Indian Burial Ground 1 of 11 most at Risk - Trial for Second Suspect - Tribes want to give in murder of Kiowa Buffalo New Home - Different standards - Thames Oneida buy land in New York for NA Prisoners in Texas - Oglala Riders retrace History - Native Prisoner - Indian Trackers fear Customs Role -- Do First Nations Prisoners - Swimmer challenged need Support? on Bush reform Plans -- Prisoner wants pen pal - Judge orders shutdown - Rustywire: Where are the You? of Interior Web Sites - Poem: I am an Indian, - Natives want Lumber Tariffs not unlike you - New Prison will address - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Aboriginal Problems - Turbines generating Dreams - Native Groups for Tribe demand Justice Overhaul - Wampanoag revived - Aboriginal Policing Grads and not forgotten ready to serve - Honoring our Keeper - Two evicted from Pine Ridge - Love of Tribe Shared - White Mt. Apaches - This Week on First Peoples TV sue Chediski Fire starter - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: A Struggle for History" --------- Date: Thu, 26 June 2003 08:05:49 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usind263346052 A Struggle for History A people who survived now seek to thrive in the 21st century By Andrew Metz STAFF CORRESPONDENT June 26, 2003 First in an occasional series on American Indians in the 21st century Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Mont. - In the sagebrush and tall grass that reach to the edge of the mountains beyond here, the grandsons and granddaughters of great Indian warriors greeted the first light of day like victors. As sun warmed the hard Plains yesterday, they trudged on foot and horseback, up hills and berms soaked with the spirits of their forefathers and those of Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's Seventh Cavalry, who were wiped out 127 years ago in the legendary Battle of Little Bighorn. With meditation and cheers, drum-beating and song, Indians in the thousands - men, women and children - symbolically reclaimed this sacred ground and a place at the shrine to one of America's most storied skirmishes. "It took 127 years to get this," said Geofredo Little Bird, a Northern Cheyenne Indian, leading daybreak prayers on a ridge below a dramatic bronze memorial dedicated yesterday to the warriors and their victory June 25, 1876. "They were trying to exterminate all the tribes from the face of the earth. But we are still here." For more than a century, the austere battlefield on the Crow Indian Reservation has had a memorial and grave markers for Custer and more than 260 troopers, while any trace of the Indians' participation, as winners or as scouts who died alongside the cavalrymen, was largely invisible. Now, after years of controversy, foot-dragging and prejudice, American Indians can finally point to this site and see something of their own here, too: a sculpture of three "spirit warriors" on horseback with a woman trailing behind and a circular stone dugout with plaques for the names of the warriors who fell. "This is the moment we have been waiting for," said Little Bird, who traces his relatives to the Bighorn warriors and is a spiritual adviser to his tribe's leader. "This memorial shows us as we are today, Native American people. We belong here now." The dedication of the $2.3 million memorial filled the rolling hills with Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow and Arikara and is a major achievement for the Indians, who persisted in the face of an oppression that pushed them toward extinction. In broader terms, the long campaign to round out the historical record of that iconic battle reflects a new, dynamic time in Indian Country, where Indians from New York - home to the sixth largest Indian population in the nation - to the Great Plains are making strides unseen in generations. All across the United States, on reservations and in cities, a world of achievement is quietly under way, even as the shackles of history continue to pull on America's first people. As an ethnic minority, the more than 2.5 million Indians still occupy the outer reaches of most mainstream indices: they live in more crowded conditions and far deeper poverty, receive less schooling and suffer from higher rates of social and medical ills than other Americans. The cornerstones of their identity - language, culture and sovereignty - are still fragile and struggling for solid footing. But at the same time, fresh energy is promising a new place for American Indians in the 21st century. "We have come through extraordinarily trying times over these two centuries, and we have emerged strong ... In the face of policies aimed at ensuring our destruction, we have chosen survival," Tex Hall, president of the National Congress of American Indians, said in an address earlier this year. "Now we seek not just to survive but to thrive." The events taking place in Indian County are as varied as the more than 500 tribes themselves, but from New Mexico to New England, educators and activists, entrepreneurs and academics, progressives and traditionalists are sounding similar chords. Beyond the popular stories of wealth that a small collection of tribes has earned from casino gambling in recent years, economic and social development is spreading, from bed-and-breakfasts and construction firms, to media outlets and banking. American Indians are making headway at reviving native languages and culture through immersion programs and Indian colleges. The American Indian population is actually growing and outpacing other ethnic minorities. And as American Indian lawyers and activists are fighting harder than ever against perceived injustices, there have been important resolutions to age-old land claims and advances in the courtrooms of this country, most notably in the pursuit of billions of dollars in unaccounted-for Indian money held in trust by the federal government. Like the fight to have Indians recognized at the Little Bighorn, much of the action has taken years to gain momentum and has been met with stiff resistance. "A lot of things that have been percolating in Indian Country for some time are coming together now and beginning to attract some attention," said C. Matthew Snipp, an American Indian demographer at Stanford University. "The whole idea of the vanishing American was a major cultural trope through the 19th and much of the 20th century and that has now become sort of a quaint notion that was more wishful thinking than anything else." "The fight over Little Bighorn memorial," he said, "and how it was to be portrayed is emblematic of the struggle for history; here is this cultural struggle between Indian people on the one hand and this glorified history that has come to be accepted as the truth." Indeed, generations of Americans were introduced to this battle as Custer's Last Stand, a moniker that persists today. The ceremonies yesterday seemed as much about setting the record straight as celebration and reverence. "One hundred and twenty-seven years ago, our warriors defended our beliefs, and we are here to honor, not mourn these warriors," George Amiotte, an Oglala Sioux told hundreds of his people gathered in a circle around the memorial. As prayers and dances and drumming echoed through the valley along the Little Big Horn River, where as many as 7,000 Indians were said to be camped when they were attacked by Custer, many in the crowd spoke of the tragic irony of the famous Indian victory being honored. "Even though the battle was won, our way of life completely changed forever," said Clifford Long Sioux, a Northern Cheyenne Indian and early advocate for the memorial. After Custer's stunning defeat, in which fewer than 100 Indians were believed killed, the U.S. government stepped up its campaign against the tribes, exacting a treacherous toll that American Indians consider nothing short of attempted genocide. Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton, whose agency has long borne the brunt of the criticism for the handling of Indian affairs, suggested to the audience that the memorial would help speed overdue reconciliation. "Of course, we cannot reclaim or change the past. The wrongs, the battles and the broken promises remain as they are written into history," Norton said. But, she said, "today's ceremony finally lets healing songs begin in this place." The fight for the memorial is almost as epic as the battle itself. As far back as 1925, descendants of the Indian warriors were calling for official recognition. Over the years, there were attempts to plant plaques and markers, but it wasn't until 1991 that Congress, spurred on by the persistence of the lone Indian representative, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), approved changing the name of the site from Custer National to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. At that time they also authorized an Indian memorial, but no funds were appropriated until two years ago. Every step was met with controversy, from the location across from the granite Custer obelisk to the design, which was done by a non-Indian, to the funding, which unlike many other memorials was paid for with public money. And amid the elation yesterday, there were still lingering critics of the end result. "Unfortunately, this battleground and the Seventh Cavalry have become lightning rods for all the troubles that the government has laid at the doorsteps of the Indians," said Kevin Connelly, president of the Custer Battlefield Historical Museum Association, which long opposed the memorial. Connelly, who was milling around the grounds, said he was not opposed to marking the Indian role in the battle, but disagreed with the placement and the public funding. "At this point it is a done deal," he said. "It has come to pass and it is reality." Even with shrill victory calls echoing off the hills and traditional dress everywhere, some Indians, too, regarded the site with a tinge of resignation. "There will never be a day when everything will be made up to us," said Emmanuel Red Bear, a great-great-grandson of both Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, two of the most fabled leaders of the battle, who accompanied members of his Sioux tribe in traditional songs with a buffalo hide drum. "But coming back here is like a healing for us." Gerard Baker, a Mandan-Hidatsa Indian from North Dakota and a former superintendent of the national monument who was instrumental in pushing for it, said the criticism is healthy and understandable. "Sure I have bitterness. The bitterness I have is we people in reservations who don't have adequate water, adequate housing, adequate health care. But it's a start and it's progress," he said. "We're taking steps in the right direction." The Legacy Of Little Bighorn The Battle of Little Bighorn, June 25-26, 1876, was one of the most famous engagements ever fought on American soil. Yesterday, the National Park Service dedicated a memorial to the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians who fought on both sides to preserve their lands and culture. Prelude to Confrontation Rising tensions between native Sioux and Cheyenne and white settlers came to a head at Little Bighorn in June 1876. 1862: Montana gold rush brings white settlers onto sacred Sioux lands. 1868: Treaty with U.S. government establishes Great Sioux Reservation in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Some Sioux refuse to sign treaty. 1874: Gold is discovered in Black Hills. More whites flock to Sioux lands, forcing outraged Sioux and Cheyenne to leave their reservations. 1875: U.S. government tells Sioux to return to reservation by January 1876 or be forcibly removed. Non-treaty Sioux ignore decree. 1876: Sioux and some reservation Indians gather in protest under Sitting Bull. Decision is made to force Sioux onto reservation. The Battle Plan The Army's plan to relocate the Sioux seemed doomed from the start. Two Sioux victories in 1875 emboldened Sitting Bull's forces to fight on. The Army responded with a three-pronged plan of attack. 1. Gen. Alfred Terry leads a column, including Custer's Seventh Cavalry, from Fort Abraham Lincoln in Dakota Territory. 2. Gen. George Crook leads a column north from Fort Fetterman in Wyoming Territory. 3. Col. John Gibbon leads a column southeast from Fort Ellis in Montana Territory. He meets Terry along Yellowstone River. The Last Stand Ordered to pursue hostile Indians, Custer departs from main army's advance on June 22. Three days later, Custer's scouts notice a gathering of Indians to the west. Custer immediately rides toward the Indians, a disastrous miscalculation. 4. From a point called the Crow's Nest, Custer spots a Sioux village 15 miles away along Rosebud Creek. He also spies a nearby group of warriors. 5. Custer ignores an order to wait and attacks, fearing the warriors will alert the main party. He underestimates size of the warrior force. 6. Sioux and Cheyenne counterattack. Another force, led by Crazy Horse, moves downstream and traps Custer. As Indians close in, Custer orders his men to shoot their horses and stack the carcasses to form a wall, but they provide little protection against Indian bullets. In less than an hour, Custer and his 210 men are killed. SOURCES: Custer Battlefield Historical and Museum Association, Ibis Communications (Eye Witness), Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, National Park Service Building an Indian Memorial Events leading to yesterday's dedication of the Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument: June 25-26, 1876: Battle of Little Bighorn January 1879: Secretary of War George McCrary orders establishment of a national cemetery and construction of a monument on site of the battle. 1881: A granite monument is placed on a mass grave at Last Stand Hill to memorialize soldiers, U.S. Indian scouts and civilians attached to Seventh Cavalry. December 1886: President Grover Cleveland issues an executive order setting forth boundaries of Custer Battlefield National Cemetery. July 27, 1925: Mrs. Thomas Beaverheart, a Northern Cheyenne, requests a marker to show where her father, Lame White Man, died along Battle Ridge. Request is denied. March 1946: Custer Battlefield National Cemetery is designated Custer Battlefield National Monument. June 25, 1988: The American Indian Movement protests lack of an Indian memorial by cementing an iron plaque at the Seventh U.S. Cavalry Monument. Dec. 10, 1991: Law changes name of Custer Battlefield National Monument to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. February 1997: Indian Memorial Advisory Committee recommends the memorial design of John Collins and Alison Towers of Philadelphia. Nov. 11, 1999: Groundbreaking ceremonies held at site of planned Indian memorial. Fall 2001: Interior appropriations bill approves $2.3 million to build an Indian memorial. Spring 2002: Construction begins. Yesterday: Memorial is dedicated. Copyright c. 2003, Newsday, Inc. --------- "RE: Family ties still bound by Battle" --------- Date: Tue, 24 June 2003 08:24:10 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BATTLE of LITTLE BIG HORN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2003/06/24/ Sioux legacy: Family ties still bound by Battle of the Little Bighorn By LORNA THACKERAY Of The Gazette Staff June 24, 2003 After Minniconjou warrior Dog's Backbone's skull was shattered by a Seventh Cavalry bullet on June 26, 1876, his orphaned children were dispersed throughout the Sioux Nation. A. Gay Kingman's grandfather, only a boy when Dog's Backbone died at the Little Bighorn, was swept to Canada with Sitting Bull in the aftermath of the great battle. Some of his three sisters may have fled north, too, Kingman said. But, when they returned, they were strewn across the Dakotas. Her grandfather, Harry Kingman, spent his life as a tribal leader on the Cheyenne River Reservation. After the storm of history passed, his sisters and their families landed at the Standing Rock, Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations, she said. Dog's Backbone will bring his family back together on June 26, when a red granite headstone marking the spot where he fell will be dedicated in ceremonies planned at Little Bighorn National Monument. Kingman, her son, her grandchildren and cousins from all over the country, plan to make the pilgrimage to Montana on the 127th anniversary of his death. "I am so proud of having this legacy," said Kingman, of Rapid City. "I'm telling my grandchildren and hope it will be an influence for them because they come from such honorable people." Dog's Backbone and a nameless Sioux warrior who died in the attack at Last Stand Hill will be honored June 25 and 26 as part of christening ceremonies for the new Indian Memorial honoring all the warriors and scouts who died in the fighting. The nameless warrior, whose death was witnessed by a Cheyenne ally, Wooden Leg, will be remembered with a special ceremony on June 25, the anniversary of the day he died. Ceremonies for Dog's Backbone are scheduled for June 26. He was shot while Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors laid siege to seven companies of Custer's divided force on a bluff about six miles from where Custer and 220 men under his direct command were killed. Most of the troops under Maj. Marcus Reno and Capt. Frederick Benteen survived. Kingman has asked Cheyenne River medicine and ceremonial men who will be traveling to the battlefield for dedication of the Indian Memorial to stay an extra day and bless the memorial to Dog's Backbone. She doesn't plan to take part in many other activities while in Montana for the dedication. "I just want to go and pray and just walk the grounds," she said. Kingman learned of Dog's Backbone from her grandfather's stories. Harry Kingman, one of the first of his tribe to be educated in the white world, helped his school, the Hampton Institute of Virginia, raise funds by traveling the East Coast to talk about the battle and his father's death, she said. Her grandfather told her that Dog's Back Bone was killed on the day the tribes were breaking camp to leave the valley of the Little Bighorn River. Although only a child at the time, Harry Kingman remembered that his father must have been an important man because of the care and ceremony given his body. Like other Sioux killed in the battle, he was probably laid to rest in his best clothes on a scaffold in his tepee, Gay Kingman said. His war horse probably would have been killed to join him in the next world. And, like other dead warriors left in the camp, his remains were probably desecrated by troops who arrived at the battlefield two days later. Dog's Backbone's world was shattered on the afternoon of June 25, 1876, when three companies of the 7th Cavalry under Maj. Marcus Reno charged across the river into the Indian camp. Dog's Backbone may have been near the heart of the attack, which had struck near Sitting Bull's Hunkpapa village. The Minniconjou and Hunkpapas were camped next to each other on the banks of the Little Bighorn. What part Dog's Backbone played in sending Reno's troops back up the river and into the bluffs was not recorded. The warrior may well have battled Reno's troopers, and then, with hundreds of other warriors, galloped a few miles north to confront troops under Custer. History does record that the next day, after all of Custer's command was dead, Dog's Backbone was at the Reno-Benteen site exhorting young warriors to be careful of the troopers trapped on the bluffs. The soldiers were firing with some accuracy at long range. White Bull, Sitting Bull's nephew, told his biographer Stanley Vestal that Dog's Backbone was riding among his comrades and admonishing them, "Look out, now, boys. Those soldiers are a good way off, but their bullets are coming over mighty fierce." Just as Dog's Backbone finished his warning, a ball fired from a soldier's gun hit him in the forehead, White Bull said. That night, those left in the village mourned their dead. Deeds of the unnamed Sioux warrior who died during the Custer fight at Last Stand Hill were recorded by Cheyenne warrior Wooden Leg, who recounted the battle for his biographer, Thomas Marquis. Battlefield Chief Historian John Doerner said a cairn, a small pile of stones that the Sioux placed on the site of the man's death, was recently found. The headstone honoring the warrior will be placed there. According to Wooden Leg, he saw a Sioux wearing a war bonnet lying down behind a clump of sagebrush on a knoll just north of Last Stand Hill. "He was about half the length of my lariat rope up ahead of me," he said. "The Sioux was peeping up and firing a rifle from time to time. At one of these times, a solider bullet hit him exactly in the middle of the forehead. His arms and legs jumped in spasms for a few moments, then he died." The war bonnet indicated that the man Wooden Leg saw was an experienced warrior, Doerner said. But his name has been lost to history. Like Dog's Backbone, the fallen warrior's family probably carried him from the field and laid him out on a scaffold in the camp. Markers for Dog's Backbone and the unknown Sioux warrior will join three others - those of Cheyenne warriors Lame Whiteman and Noisy Walking, dedicated in 1999, and of Long Road, a Sans Arc who died at the Reno- Benteen site, dedicated in 2001. Doerner designed the granite markers to match those of the other warriors and to distinguish them from those of he fallen troopers. The unknown warrior's marker will be inscribed with a war bonnet modeled on one worn by Sitting Bull. The inscription will read, "An unknown Sioux warrior died here on June 25, 1876, while defending the Sioux way of life." A new interpretive sign near the Indian Memorial will provide a narrative of what happened on the knoll, now called Wooden Leg Hill, where the Sioux warrior was killed. The marker for Dog's Backbone will include the Cheyenne River Sioux official symbol. It will be inscribed with his Indian name, Sunka Cankohan, as well as its translation, Dog's Backbone. Imprinted on the stone will be: "A Minniconjou Sioux warrior died here on June 26, 1876, while defending the Sioux way of life." Lorna Thackeray can be reached 657-1314 or at lthackeray@billingsgazette.com. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Zuni Bones Stuck in Legal Limbo" --------- Date: Thu, 26 June 2003 08:05:49 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DESECRATION" http://www.sfnewmexican.com/~/ArticleID=29067 Indian Bones Stuck in Legal Limbo Zunis claim remains unearthed last summer by utility company, but government awaiting direction from tribe By BEN NEARY | The New Mexican Thursday, June 26, 2003 Zuni Pueblo members are pained that an Arizona utility company dug up the prehistoric remains of seven American Indians the pueblo believes are its ancestors and still hasn't reburied them after nearly a year, a tribal councilman says. But federal regulators and a utility-company spokesman say they've been frustrated in trying to get Zuni and other tribes to agree to rebury the remains. The Salt River Project, the Arizona utility company, is pushing to develop an 18,000-acre coal strip mine in western New Mexico. The mine is proposed for development near a lake the Zunis and other Southwestern tribes hold sacred. Fearing the mining could harm the flow of salt-water brine into the lake, the Zunis have mounted an all-out effort to block the project. Archaeologists working for SRP unearthed the human remains in eastern Arizona last summer while excavating a site along a proposed rail line. The company intends to build nearly 50 miles of rail line to carry coal from the mine to its power plant, just across the state line in St. John's, Ariz. Since digging up the human remains, SRP has stored them at the power plant while it has tried to work out an agreement with Zuni and other area tribes on how to rebury them. "Leaving them out like that is a real heartache to those of us who know about it," Dan Simplicio, a member of the Zuni Pueblo Council said Wednesday. "We have already mentioned this to our community that that is what's going on," Simplicio said. "Certainly that is felt by every tribal member, about what our beliefs of burials are all about." Simplicio said the pueblo believes the remains are Zuni ancestors because of their location. While the Zunis have land in New Mexico, Congress also restored some of the tribe's most important lands in eastern Arizona in the 1980s. Simplicio said Indian burials aren't given the same respect as non- Indian cemeteries. "That's been our challenge, to try to get that understanding that this is a true violation that's occurring that's truly affecting our people down here in Zuni," Simplicio said. "But we have laws that are not adequate to protect them." State and federal agencies as well as SRP signed a memorandum of agreement in the mid-1990s specifying how to handle human remains SRP expected to encounter during the mine project. Zuni Pueblo, Acoma Pueblo and the Hopi Tribe participated in early meetings on the agreement but never signed it. The burial agreement, now only signed by government agencies and SRP, calls for the Hopi to rebury any human remains unearthed during the project no later than 16 days after their discovery. Simplicio said SRP and the government agencies were in a hurry to get the tribes to sign onto the agreement. However, he said the prospect of reburying ancestors is not a simple thing for Zuni. "Zuni made a big statement about that, that we do need to have some sort of signed documentation in place -- that whoever did the reburial, there should be some sort of signed documentation in place before they do that," Simplicio said Charles Carroll, planning and environmental coordinator with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Socorro, said he has tried since last year to work with the tribes to get the human remains reburied. The human remains were found on private land in Arizona, and Carroll emphasized his agency would have no role in their disposition except that it signed the memorandum agreement. "We thought that the tribes were going to step up to the plate and participate," Carroll said. The remains will be moved from the power plant to the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, perhaps this week, Carroll said. He said they will be professionally cared for at the museum until an agreement on their reburial can be worked out with the tribes. "It's the tribes' wish to rebury," Carroll said. "We're just bending over backward to give them their wish to rebury. We're not about to rebury without their participation." Carroll said he can't specify what the tribes want before they will agree to rebury the remains because negotiations with the tribes are ongoing. Speaking of the tribes' desires for handling of human remains, Carroll said, "Basically, in the simplest form, they don't want them disturbed at all. But if they are going to be disturbed at all, they want them disturbed for the shortest time possible." Carroll said he has heard that the issue has been portrayed somehow as the state or federal agencies holding the burials hostage. "It's just utter nonsense," he said of that interpretation. "We've been pleading with the tribes to do something about this." Salt River Project has set aside land in New Mexico and Arizona for reburial of remains it encounters in the mine project, Carroll said. The company doesn't anticipate encountering many more human remains during actual mining in New Mexico, he said. Bob Barnard, mine-project manager for SRP in Phoenix, said Wednesday that the company had no choice but to store the remains at the power plant after the Hopi declined to bury them. He said Hopi officials told the company that they wouldn't rebury the remains because Zuni Pueblo had asked them not to do so. Barnard said he has seen letters from the Zunis stating that they want to negotiate a new burial agreement with the state and federal government agencies. "Either the tribes will finally decide that they're willing to do what they negotiated, which is rebury them, or the bodies will be stored in the Arizona museum, which is where they go according to state law," Barnard said. Barnard said SRP intends to move the human remains from the power plant to the museum as soon as it gets permission from the BLM to do so. An attempt to reach an official at the Arizona museum for comment was unsuccessful on Wednesday. Content c. 2003 Santa Fe New Mexican. --------- "RE: Zuni Sacred Lake 1 of 11 most at Risk" --------- Date: Sat, Jun 28 2003 09:18:40 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SACRED ZUNI SALT LAKE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.gallupindependent.com/06-27-03zunisacredlake.html Zuni sacred lake 1 of 11 most at risk Lake's plight to air on TV Tom Purdom Staff Writer PUEBLO OF ZUNI - The plight of sacred Zuni Salt Lake will be part of a History Channel presentation July 12 entitled "America's Most Endangered." It's no accident the lake is on this particular show. In May the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed Zuni Salt Lake on its 2003 list of the 11 most endangered sites in America. The Zuni Nation, the Sierra Club, and a huge coalition of Native American tribal supporters from Mexico to Florida are in a pitched battle with the Salt River Project, the nation's third-largest electric utility. SRP wants to open a coal strip mine which will straddle Cibola and Catron counties and the Zuni's are fighting to keep it from ever happening because of Zuni Salt Lake, about 11 miles from the proposed mine. According to the Zuni Nation, SRP's planned 18,119-acre mine, called the Fence Lake Coal Mine will lower the lake water level and ruin it. Zuni religion places Zuni Salt Lake as home of Zuni Salt Mother, a deity of peace called Ma'l Oyattsik'i. Zuni Salt Lake is about 60 miles south of the Pueblo of Zuni. The lake is an actual salt lake. Far below the earth's surface water from the Dakota Aquifer which feeds the lake bubbles up through porous rock containing salt. Water and salt mix and travel into the bottom of the lake. Natural evaporation from the environment leave large deposits of salt. Dan Simplicio, Zuni tribal council member, said Wednesday the television show and historic preservation status, will help in the Native American fight against SRP's proposed Fence Lake Mine. SRP officials said the mine will boost the area economy through jobs. To get coal from New Mexico to Arizona, where it will be burned in SRP's Coronado Generating Station near St. Johns, Ariz., the utility giant also plans to build a 44-mile railroad, which will cross a 5,000 acre area surrounding Zuni Salt Lake. Known in Zuni culture as The Sanctuary, and in Zuni as A:shiwi A:wan Ma'k'yay'a dap an'ullapna Dek'ohannan Dehyakya, the area is crisscrossed with ancient trails, contains burial grounds and shrines. The Sanctuary is widely known for ages in Native American cultures as a traditional neutral zone where warring tribes could come together without fear of conflict. People from the Pueblo of Zuni, Navajo, Hopi, the Pueblo of Laguna and the Pueblo of Acoma used ancient trails leading across The Sanctuary to reach the sacred lake, where they gathered salt for religious purposes. SRP's Fence Lake Coal Mine is expected to produce more than 81 million tons of coal from the 18,119 acres in Cibola and Catron counties. The total project also includes coal handling systems, a rail loadout station, silos for explosive materials used in blasting, offices, a shop, and even a 69-kilovolt power line leading from the Coronado Generating Station back to the mine. Zuni documents show that railroad construction began in 2002 and in the first two weeks alone remains of four humans were disturbed. Mine plans call for a process requiring 85 gallons of water a minute (44, 676,600 gallons of water annually) to be pumped from the Atarque Aquifer, which lies in close proximity to the Dakota Aquifer. The mine is expected to have a 38-year life. The Dakota directly feeds the Zuni Salt Lake. No hydrological studies have been done to see if a link exists between the Atarque and Dakota aquifers. According to a New Mexico coal mining study taking water from the aquifer will have no effect on Zuni Salt Lake. But the Zuni Nation hired a hydrologist of its own and the hydrologist's study shows the mine's need for water would have a negative effect on the lake. What's more, a Bureau of Indian Affairs study shows the lake could be damaged by taking water from the aquifer, but the Office of Surface Mining took issue with the BIA study. The oddity is, both the BIA and OSM are part of the Department of the Interior and the interior department later gave SRC the go-ahead to start building the mine. Even though SRP has the permits its needs, the court system is available to fight the process and in a previous interview Simplicio said the matter is far from over. "This could be tied up for years," Simplicio said. Copyright c. 2003 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Tribes want to give Buffalo New Home" --------- Date: Fri, 27 June 2003 08:35:06 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="UMATILLA" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/135104213_buffalo27m.html Tribes want to give buffalo new home in which to roam By Lynda V. Mapes Seattle Times staff reporter Friday, June 27, 2003 POVERTY FLATS, Ore. - Used to be, this tribe snugged by the foothills of the Blue Mountains had to travel by horseback to Montana to get buffalo, prized for its meat, hide and sinew, said to create the fastest bows. But lately, the buffalo are grazing toward them - hopefully all the way into a baited trap, where the tribe would like to round them up, possibly to become tourist attractions at its casino. The saga began in April. A man caring for the buffalo herd turned it loose and moved to Mexico after the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation cited the operation for violating its environmental- health rules. Carl Scheeler, manager of wildlife programs for the confederation - comprised of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla tribes - hasn't had a normal day since. Instead of managing paperwork in the office, he has been calling around to tribes who know about keeping buffalo, treasured symbols of the Old West that once were almost extinct. The Umatilla have a long history of hunting the animals to use for food, tools and clothing, but no tradition of raising buffalo, which are native to the Great Plains. The tribes' board of trustees decided earlier this month to round up the unruly herd of about 32 animals, which has been roaming free on lush spring pasture. Baiting the animals into a corral made of 8-foot-high panels has been tricky: with all the delicious, fresh grass, the buffalo aren't much interested in grain, alfalfa or salt. "They've got filet mignon, and we are offering them beef jerky," Scheeler says. The tribe is going to try apple-flavored treats for horses next, to up the ante. "You can't herd them; if you push them like cattle, the dominant bulls will knock you right over," Scheeler said. Letting the buffalo roam isn't an option: they break through fences, strip trees for fun, and could charge people - not good with animals that can weigh as much as a ton and have been clocked at 35 mph. This is also calving season, which makes the cows aggressive. "You can't have a roving, fence-mutilating team out there completely unregulated," Scheeler said. He has been putting out bait for weeks, always leaving the door open, hoping the animals get used to the trap. The plan is to yank the door shut on the trap - a 100-foot-wide corral - once enough animals are inside. "All of this depends on the bisons' cooperation," Scheeler said. "I could be out here for months trying to trap these things." On this fine summer day, with a butterfly flitting over blue cornflower and purple vetch twining in the grass, that doesn't seem a terrible fate. "It's actually fun," Scheeler had to admit of his new role as tribal bison coordinator. "I usually spend a great deal of my time behind a desk." The bison have been the talk of the reservation. They are front-page news in the tribe's newspaper, the Confederated Umatilla Journal. The New York Times, The Associated Press and Oregon Public Broadcasting all have sicced reporters on the bison. "I think they thought we'd have a big bunch of people chasing them around," said Debra Croswell, the tribe's public-affairs officer, making a lassoing motion with her arm. But so far it's just a few staff members, the bait, and the buffalo, sunning themselves, swishing their tails and snoozing contentedly in the grass - at a safe distance from the trap. The herd includes some calves born this spring. There were more than 70 animals originally. As many as 10 may already have been killed by poachers. Dozens of other buffalo wandered back into their old corral, where they met their fate in a mobile slaughter unit set up by the property owner. Just what to do with the remaining buffalo, assuming they are rounded up, is another question. Options under discussion include keeping a small herd for tribal subsistence and confining some of the animals near the tribe's Tamastslikt Cultural Institute and Wildhorse Resort & Casino, as an educational and tourist attraction. No final decision has been made. But Scheeler has one plan of his own: In the buffalo pies in the grass, he sees a memento in the making. "I'm going to collect one of those babies and shellac it." Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com Copyright c. 2003 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: Thames Oneida buy land in New York" --------- Date: Tue, 24 June 2003 08:24:10 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CANADA ONEIDA" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/~/1056443875148374.xml Thames Oneida buy land in CNY Indians living in Canada say house in Oneida County will be used by nation members. By Glenn Coin Staff writer Oneida Indians who left New York hundreds of years ago for Canada are beginning their journey home. The Oneida of the Thames, based in Ontario, recently bought a house on Route 5 in Oneida Castle for $61,000. Tribal spokesman Bob Antone said it's the first step for hundreds of Oneidas who want to return to the land of their ancestors. "We've been looking for years to get a place in the homelands," Antone said. "This is probably the first in our acquisitions of sites throughout the original territory." The house at the corner of routes 5 and 365 sits in what once was the center of an Oneida village, Antone said. The tribe will use the house as a cultural center and a way station for Thames Oneidas moving to the area. The Oneida Castle purchase makes the Thames band the last of the three Oneida tribes to own land in the area. Over the past 10 years, the Oneida Indian Nation of New York has accumulated more than 15,000 acres in Madison and Oneida counties. The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin bought a former bed and breakfast inn on Route 31 in Lenox in 1996. The three tribes are suing Madison and Oneida counties for the return of 250,000 acres the Oneidas say were taken illegally from them in the 18th and 19th centuries. The U.S. Supreme Court gave the tribes a preliminary victory in 1985, but the case has yet to come to trial. Antone said about 150 Thames families, with a total of about 600 people, have said they are ready to move back to Central New York. He said tribal members would eventually like to live together in one area here. "Our big concern is moving and developing a community and returning back to the homelands, and we're going to do that in a way that builds relationships with local authorities and local people," Antone said. "Now we've got a starting point to make that a reality." The tribe has about 5,000 members, Antone said. About 500 already live in New York, he said, and 2,000 live on the tribe's reservation near London, Ontario. The rest are scattered across Canada and the United States, he said. Unlike the other two Oneida tribes, the Thames Oneida do not run a casino and have no other tribal businesses. Money to buy land comes from "scrimping and saving," Antone said. Local government leaders say they haven't spoken with the Thames Oneida. "I don't know what their intentions are," said Myron Thurston, supervisor of the town of Vernon. "I heard they had purchased that house on the corner, but that's all I know." The Thames band has been the least visible of the three Oneida tribes. The Oneidas of New York run the Turning Stone casino and have a chain of 12 convenience stores and gas stations. The Wisconsin tribe last year filed separate land claim suits against 60 people and businesses in the area. Although the three tribes claim the same heritage, they have fought in court and in the media for years. Thames Oneida leaders were angry in early 2000 when their tribe was cut out of a proposed land claim settlement. In 1996, the New York Oneidas adopted an ordinance requiring the other two tribes to obtain a license before buying land in the land claim area. New York Oneida leader Ray Halbritter sent a letter to local real estate agents, cautioning them against brokering land deals involving the other tribes. Vaughn Lang, the lawyer who represented the Thames Oneida in the land sale, said the tribe did not seek permission from the New York Oneidas before buying the Oneida Castle house on March 31. Copyright c. 2003 The Post-Standard. Used with permission. --------- "RE: Oglala Riders retrace History" --------- Date: Wed, 25 June 2003 08:57:22 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VICTORY RIDERS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/~/2003/06/25/build/local/30-lbh-riders.inc Oglala riders retrace history By JAMES HAGENGRUBER Of The Gazette Staff June 25, 2003 CROW AGENCY - The descendants of Crazy Horse trotted across 360 miles of prairie for a chance to charge up Last Stand Hill early this morning. The 20 riders of the Great Sioux Nation Victory Ride set out June 9 from the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. They wanted to take a slow, contemplative path to the battlefield where their ancestors found victory 127 years ago. It was a chance to remind the tribe's young people of the one unmistakable outcome of the battle, rider Doug War Eagle said. "We're still here," he said. Tuesday night the riders pitched tents in a cottonwood grove along the Little Bighorn River, about 400 yards from where Crazy Horse and his family camped. Not far away camps were filled with horsemen and women from other tribes. They will all be galloping across the battlefield today to mark the Indian Memorial dedication. Horses were vital in Plains Indian culture, and it's only fitting they play a starring role in the dedication, said Kitty Belle Deernose, curator of the battlefield museum. "Indian people are still very much a horse culture," she said. The Crow are sending 200 riders, including one riderless horse to honor Pfc. Lori Piestewa, a Hopi soldier who was mortally wounded in a March 23 ambush in Iraq. She was the first American Indian servicewoman killed in action. The Oglala Sioux have sent 39 riders. The Northern Cheyenne will decorate 20 horses before riding up to the monument to honor their fallen warriors. The Cheyenne-Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma have also sent a horse, Deernose said. Mel Lonehill, of Batesland, S.D., is part of the Oglala delegation, "Lokal Oyate Kawilau," which translates to "Gathering of the Traditional People." The group began riding on battle anniversaries 10 years ago. "We honor our ancestors by riding," Lonehill said. Horses came to the Plains Indians with the Spanish conquistadors. The Sioux called them the "holy dog," Lonehill said. "The horse came to our people and said he would travel with us if we would respect him." Re-enacting a horse charge up Last Stand Hill is an amazing feeling, Lonehill said. If the rider is focused and spiritually prepared, he can visualize oncoming enemy warriors, even with tourists as spectators. The Cheyenne River Sioux riders used their horseback journey to the battlefield as a chance to educate young people on traditional values. During the two weeks of the Great Sioux Nation Victory Ride, the descendants of Crazy Horse camped in sites once covered by their ancestors' teepees. They told stories each night and paid respects to their traditional allies, the Northern Cheyenne. A support crew drove ahead each day to set up camps. The riders raised their own money but received food and places to stay along the way. The horses spent every third day at rest in a trailer, said rider Scott Dupree. The riders weren't always so lucky. "I was sore by the time we got here," he said. The days were long and hard, but spirits surged at the sight of the Deer Medicine Rocks outside of Lame Deer, said rider Floyd Clown. The group was given permission to camp next to the sacred rock formations, which bear prophetic drawings of the battle and the eventual murder of Sitting Bull. The ride was mostly to infuse traditional values in the young people, Clown said. Marking the Indian memorial dedication is just a side event. "Our monument is already there," Clown said. "That big, white monument up on Last Stand Hill shows our victory. It shows that our grandfathers were already here." Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Indian Trackers fear Customs Role" --------- Date: Wed, 25 June 2003 08:57:22 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SHADOW WOLVES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0625shadowwolves25.html Indian trackers fear customs role Billy House Republic Washington Bureau Jun. 25, 2003 WASHINGTON - Despite assurances from an Arizona congressman, an elite group of 21 Native American customs agents known as the Shadow Wolves says it remains concerned about its role within the new Department of Homeland Security. After 30 years in customs enforcement, the Shadow Wolves are worried that moving to the department's Bureau of Customs will mean a change in their emphasis from investigating and tracking illegal narcotics traffic to more-regulated border-patrolling duties. "We won't feel comfortable within the Border Patrol," a Shadow Wolves supervisor, Marvin Eleando, said Tuesday. The unit's concerns prompted Rep. John Shadegg, R-Ariz., a member of the U.S. House Select Committee on Homeland Security, to meet last week with Robert Bonner, commissioner of the new Bureau of Customs and Border Protection. According to Shadegg, Bonner "looked me in the eye and committed to me that the mission and function of the Shadow Wolves would continue." But Eleando said his group as of Tuesday still had seen nothing "in black and white that shows us that we are going to continue to do what we've been doing." Spokesmen for the Bureau of Customs and Border Patrol had no comment Tuesday. The Shadow Wolves, established by Congress in 1972, are based on the Tohono O'odham Nation in southern Arizona. The unit has received renown for its success in traditional tracking techniques instead of using the latest high-tech equipment. According to Shadegg's office, the unit last year seized 105,063 pounds of illegal drugs and another 84,697 pounds this year. The group made the seizures while covering the 76-mile long border within the Tohono O'odham reservation. Copyright c. 2003 The Arizona Republic. --------- "RE: Swimmer challenged on Bush reform Plans" --------- Date: Thu, June 26, 2003 15:23 From: "Bill McAllister" Subj: Judge Expresses Concern Over Yet Another Plan for Trust Reform For Immediate Release: JUDGE EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER YET ANOTHER PLAN FOR TRUST REFORM WASHINGTON, June 26 --- U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth expressed frustration this week as the Interior Department presented him with yet another plan to reform the broken Indian Trust system. "I'm pretty pessimistic," the judge declared Wednesday. Lamberth said the new plans from the Bush administration are identical to plans he heard from the Clinton administration four years ago. Ross O. Swimmer, the government's final witness in the latest trial over the trust system, conceded that much of what he was saying about the need for a new computer system to resolve programs with the trust system was similar to what his predecessors had told the judge in 1999. "I am, your honor, saying the same thing," said Swimmer, Interior's special trustee charged with overseeing the trust system. Twice during Swimmer's testimony, the judge told him his plans to reform the system had a familiar ring. "The people who were sitting in your seat said the same thing to me in 1999," the judge said. "...I don't see the difference, do you?" Lamberth said he regretted not listening then to the testimony presented to him by experts for Elouise Cobell and the class of all past and present individual Indian trust beneficiaries. Those experts were skeptical of the Clinton administration's plans for a new, $40 million trust management computer system. But Lamberth said he accepted the arguments of Interior officials who assured him their computers would work. They didn't, Swimmer acknowledged. When the judge asked Swimmer, how long his proposed trust information system would take to become operational, Swimmer replied: "I'd be hard-pressed to say." He then added it was "a good 12 months away." Whether such a promise is acceptable is one of the key issues before Lamberth. Since May 1, he has been holding a trial on how to best reform the trust system. Swimmer confirmed a $6 million shortage in the current pool of individual Indian trust accounts, held at the Treasury Department. A group of Indians suing the government have said that their accounts may be billions of dollars short, the result of massive mismanagement of their accounts and missing records. The accounts were established in 1887 to hold the proceeds from the leases of Indian lands in the West for oil, gas, mineral and grazing leases, as well as timber sales. Numerous studies dating almost from the trust's inception showed that the individual Indian trust accounts have been, and continues to be, plagued by malfeasance, systematic records destruction, fraud and incompetence. Swimmer, the former assistant Interior secretary for Indian affairs, will remain on the stand for the rest of the week. The trial is expected to end July 8. For additional information Bill McAllister 703-385-6996 202-257-5385 --------- "RE: Judge orders shutdown of Interior Web Sites" --------- Date: Sat, Jun 28 2003 09:18:40 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INTERIOR WEB SHUTDOWN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0628interior28.html Judge orders shutdown of Interior Web sites Associated Press Jun. 28, 2003 12:00 AM WASHINGTON - A federal judge pulled the plug Friday on many of the Interior Department's Internet systems - the second time the judge has ordered such a shutdown to keep hackers from reaching $1 billion in American Indian money managed by the department. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said the government left him little choice when it refused to allow a court-appointed special master to test the measures in place to protect the Indian money. Dennis Gingold, the attorney for the Indian plaintiffs, argued that without the tests, there could be no assurances the Indian money is safe from hackers. In December 2001, Lamberth ordered the department to disconnect nearly all of its computers from the Internet after special master Alan Balaran hacked the department's porous security system. Many of the systems were down for months, including popular Web sites that contained information about National Parks and other public lands. It took months to install security fixes that allowed the sites to go back online. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Web site has still not been restored. Copyright c. 2003 The Arizona Republic. --------- "RE: Natives want Lumber Tariffs" --------- Date: Sat, Jun 28 2003 09:18:40 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OUR LAND/OUR TARIFFS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm hhttp://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/20030628/20030628n2.html Natives want lumber tariffs Saturday, June 28, 2003 by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen staff A northern B.C. First Nations group said this week they want the hundreds of millions of U.S. tariffs already collected on softwood lumber exports. "On the basis of our aboriginal title we have a legal interest in the timber resources on our territories," said Justa Monk, co-chair of the Northwest Tribal Treaty Nations. "Funds associated with what I view as illegal logging on our territories should flow back to First Nations." Monk said the treaty group has not had any discussions with the province on their demand. The tariffs -- about $1.5 billion in total -- are currently in the hands of the U.S. federal government. What will happen to the tariffs is part of the discussion between the U.S. and Canada on how to resolve the long- running trade fight. The American lumber industry wants to keep the majority of the funds. Canada also wants the duties back, which would be distributed back to the companies that paid them. About half of the duties originate in B.C., and of that, about $300 million have been paid by companies in the Northern Interior of B.C., the largest lumber-producing region in Canada. Forests Minister Mike de Jong said he's not interested in linking the issues of the already-collected softwood duties with the province's oblgiation to consult and accomodate First Nations land and title interests. "The funds being held in trust in the U.S. relate to a trade dispute involving two countries and their forest industries, and that's where that issue needs to be resolved," he said. The northwest treaty group made a series of other demands last March, including that they wanted half of the stumpage revenues from their traditional territories in northern B.C. and half of the annual allowable harvest. Copyright c. 2002 Prince George Citizen. --------- "RE: New Prison will address Aboriginal Problems" --------- Date: Thu, 26 June 2003 08:05:49 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ABORIGINAL PRISON" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=a01b5955-687e-4b93 New prison will address aboriginal problems Silas Polkinghorne The StarPhoenix June 26, 2003 Saskatchewan's first federal minimum security penitentiary for aboriginal men officially opened Wednesday. The Willow Cree Healing Lodge on the Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation Reserve aims to prepare offenders for reintegration into society through Native spiritual and cultural interventions. It's been about 15 years in the making, and officials say the lodge can address the disproportionate number of aboriginal people incarcerated in federal prisons. According to the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), 39 per cent of federal offenders in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the North West Territories and northwestern Ontario are of aboriginal descent. The goal is to help offenders become law-abiding, productive citizens. 'We have a vision of creating a healthy aboriginal community," said Garnet Eyahpaise, chief of Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation. Solicitor general of Canada Wayne Easter and commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), Lucie McClung, oversaw the opening ceremony. Drums pounded and aboriginal dancers led the dignitaries in a grand march after a traditional pipe ceremony. Elders, veterans, and First Nations leaders also took part in the event at the 40-bed facility, located on a 30-hectare area 90 kilometres north of Saskatoon, near Duck Lake. "We know the jails are filled by our people," said Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde, during the ceremony. "That's not right," he said, adding high social costs will continue is the existing situation isn't corrected. "There need to be a change in that justice system." Dormitory-style housing, complete with kitchen and laundry facilities, will provide offenders with a more "normal" environment. Inmates will also have access to elders' teachings and spiritual ceremonies. "I believe we are making gains," said Easter. According to Easter, incarcerating offenders and throwing away the key is not how Canadian corrections operates. A similar facility for women in Saskatchewan houses 28 women on the Nekeneet First Nation in the Cypress Hills. A healing lodge for 60 male offenders is located near Hobbema, Alta., on the Samson Cree Nation. McClung said she is encouraged by a "slight reduction" in reoffending rates during the supervision period among offenders who return to society after staying at healing lodges. Sherle Gamble is the chair of the community advisory committee for the lodge. She has a grandson in a maximum security penitentiary. She said she hopes her grandson can someday enter a healing lodge and gain an understanding of First Nations culture. "It's up to him. He has to make up his own mind," she said. "He'll have a lot of support, but he has to be responsible for his own actions." For inmates to be referred to Willow Cree, they must pose a low escape and public safety risk and show progress in their correctional program. Gamble also said people need to understand the purpose of the healing lodge. "They have to recognize that there's good in everybody and you have to draw out that good and work on it." The budget for the lodge was $6.6 million and it will cost $3 million to operate annually, employing 46 full-time staff. Offenders will begin arriving in September. Copyright c. 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon). --------- "RE: Native Groups demand Justice Overhaul" --------- Date: Tue, 1 July 2003 08:33:48 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SEXUAL ASSAULT ACQUITTAL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/abdt/interface/interface2.nsf/ Acquittal 'outrageous': FSIN official Native groups demand justice overhaul in wake of sexual assault trial Jason Warick Saskatchewan News Network Saturday, June 28, 2003 A fiery debate over race and jury selection has been ignited after two white men were acquitted Thursday of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old aboriginal girl near Tisdale. The justice system needs to do more to ensure aboriginal people are represented on juries, say various groups. "It's a system that's sick and we've got to do some work on it together here to cure it," said Bob Hughes, president of the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism. The jury was all white, and there was only one visibly aboriginal person in the pool of more than 100 potential jurors the lawyers chose from. Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations vice-chief Lawrence Joseph called the decision to acquit Jeffrey Brown and Jeffrey Kindrat "outrageous." "(Aboriginal people) should have been part of that. There was not one First Nations member of that jury," Joseph said. "This exemplifies why First Nations are calling for a total revamping of the justice system." A relative of the girl told reporters outside court that the "all-white jury" did not give the girl the justice she deserves. "We take a look at this country and the way the justice system has served us -- it's served us now by an all-white jury. It's open season on our young aboriginal girls," he said. "I know the justice system has to change." Potential jurors are selected by the provincial government based on a random draw of health card numbers for the judicial area. In Melfort's case, that area extends past Hudson Bay to the east and the Northwest Territories to the north. Notices are then mailed to the potential jurors. Travel costs to the selection and trial are covered by Saskatchewan Justice. Those excluded from the list are elected officials and their spouses, justice officials such as police officers and lawyers, people confined to an institution, people judged mentally incompetent, and those who cannot understand the language the trial is conducted in. The Justice Department regards it as the "least biased database in the province." Alberta, for example, selects from a database of drivers' licences, which excludes a significant number of people. There was also an all-white jury at the trial of a third man accused in the incident, Dean Edmondson. Edmondson was found guilty but has filed an appeal. Regardless of that result, more needs to be done, say critics. Some, such as Joseph, think quotas or other measures might be necessary. Even Mark Brayford, who successfully defended Jeffrey Brown, thinks public perception would be improved if juries were more representative. Brayford, however, said the justice system currently does an "admirable" job of being neutral and unbiased when it comes to issues of race. University of Saskatchewan Prof. Norman Zlotkin said the aboriginal justice commission under way in Saskatchewan should make this one of its priorities to study. "It is a concern. People are complaining about it," Zlotkin said. "It's definitely worth looking at." Zlotkin noted there have been requests to stage trials on reserves or to move them to communities with greater aboriginal representation, but no judge has ever granted such a request. Zlotkin isn't sure why the current method with health cards doesn't seem to yield more aboriginal jurors. He said the system was much worse 20 years ago before the current system was adopted. The individual sheriff could pick and choose as he saw fit. But some have also argued the opposite, that this would give the sheriff the latitude to ensure aboriginal people for the jury pool. Kripa Sekhar of the Saskatchewan Action Committee on the Status of Women called Thursday a "tragic day in our justice system. "It's very important to have a jury that is balanced, where you do have aboriginal people who can relate." The gender composition of juries was an issue at the start of the first trial, where nearly all men sat in judgment of Dean Edmondson. However, they found him guilty, while a mostly female jury acquitted Brown and Kindrat this week. Copyright c. 2003 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) --------- "RE: Aboriginal Policing Grads ready to serve" --------- Date: Tue, 1 July 2003 08:33:48 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RCMP GRADS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/abdt/interface/interface2.nsf/ Aboriginal policing grads ready to serve Innovative college program prepares RCMP applicants for rigorous training Sutton Eaves The Edmonton Journal Sunday, June 29, 2003 EDMONTON - In Cree, they are simakins. The Metis call them lee polis. They are also the first class to graduate from Alberta's newest college program for aspiring aboriginal police officers. And if the next nine months go as expected, they will be members of the RCMP's aboriginal policing unit. "I think that the group that we're sending there, because of their tight relationship and because of the courses we've chosen to give them in their training here, are going to stand a very high chance of completing and graduating in February (from RCMP training)," said Dave Patterson, chair of the aboriginal police studies program at Grant MacEwan College. The certificate program, the first of its kind in Alberta, is the brain child of Ron Hepperle, of the Solicitor General's Office, and Sgt. Don Ladouceur, of K-Division's aboriginal policing unit. "We felt obligated to help aboriginal people because there was nothing like it" to help the disproportionate number of unsuccessful aboriginal applicants to the RCMP. "When they write the test they fail it all the time," said Ladouceur. Often, for those from rural communities, "their Grade 12 doesn't compare the same to anybody in a big urban centre like around the hub city of Edmonton," said the Lac la Biche native. Aware of the burgeoning demand for more aboriginal officers to police the First Nations community, he developed a program to equip applicants with the skills to pass the rigorous examination. "If you can fine-tune those tools and bring them back in a college program, then you are going to get success when you come to write the exam," said Ladouceur. Five graduates of the Grant MacEwan program are slated to begin training with the RCMP in September. After the mandatory six months at Regina's RCMP training facility, called DEPO, they hope to graduate and become full-time officers. Michael Carr says he is more than just hopeful, he is ready. "I want to work right now, but I still have to go through summer student and then DEPO," said Carr from the Leduc RCMP detachment where he is an intern. The son of a Metis air force member, Carr has been waiting since he was 13 to become an officer. "When we were little kids growing up in smaller communities, it was always the RCMP (we saw). There's never been any other police force I've ever wanted to apply for." For Jennifer Kroetsch, her future was less definite. Standing 5-foot-1, she was the smallest member of the class and an unlikely candidate for passing the intense physical exam needed for entry into the RCMP. On her first try she was stonewalled by the push-pull machine, unable to move 36 kilograms of dead weight in the required time. "Because I'm so short, it was all arm strength. It was really difficult and I couldn't finish it the first couple of times," said Kroetsch. Discouraged but persistent, she took kickboxing and grappling to build up her strength. By April, she passed the test with a minute to spare. Today, she shares an office with Carr at the Leduc detachment. "What the community wants and what they need is kind of the (policing) approach the RCMP is looking at. And if you have an aboriginal background and you are dealing with an aboriginal community, you can get closer to those needs and those wants, you'll understand that they want this and need this because they have different beliefs," said Kroetsch, whose parents are Metis. "They have a completely different plan for their community than down here." Approved by Alberta Learning last year, the aboriginal police studies program is offered at Grant MacEwan College, NorQuest in Hinton and Northern Lakes in Groard. Students undergo 10 months of intensive law enforcement training, including criminal law, police protocol and aboriginal issues. The curriculum also includes a monthly physical police entrance test in preparation for the grueling final exam. Despite the large demand for aboriginal officers to police their own communities, the colleges struggled to find enough students -- the program can take more than 60, but only 27 registered. "There's still youth that don't like police, they don't want to be a part of it. "But there's a good side to it, you know, to help your community and give back to them," said Kroetsch, who is proud to be part of a group of trend setters breaking down an age-old stigma. She and Carr speak enthusiastically about bridging the gap between the aboriginal community and the officers who police them. "A lot of people are intimidated by the police because they think that when you deal with a police officer it's because you are getting in trouble," said Carr. "We kind of want to change that idea, and it goes the same with aboriginal policing where we want the community to be able to come talk to us and not be nervous or afraid that we're out to get them." Neither one shies away from the label role model. They see that as their responsibility as police officers and the essence of community policing. Both are aware of the unique needs of the communities where they will be working, including mentors for their youth. "We can let them know that there are better things out there. And we have that connection with those people, 'cause a lot of times they're not going to leave that community. They're not going to get out there to see the bigger picture and that they can be something they want to be," said Kroetsch. Patterson said he can't think of any better ambassadors for that message. "As we have more aboriginal students show success and become role models in the community" more individuals will be inspired to get involved in the program, in policing and in the wellness of their community said Patterson. seaves@thejournal.canwest.com Copyright c. 2003 Edmonton Journal. --------- "RE: Two evicted from Pine Ridge" --------- Date: Fri, Jun 27, 2003, 11:10 AM From: tlagiloi Subj: Two evicted from Pine Ridge Newsgroup: alt.native Two evicted from Pine Ridge LAKOTA JOURNAL http://www.lakotajournal.com WOUNDED KNEE -- Accusations continue to be hurled at the different factions involved with what started out to be a Community based-project, but now has developed into a fight between AIM Chapters, Oglala Sioux Tribal officials and members of the Wounded Knee community. The Wounded Knee community recently celebrated a groundbreaking for their new Community Center and Head Start building that was being erected with donated funds that the community had raised on it's own. There was no funding from the Oglala Sioux Tribe or other government agencies. Derek Whirlwind, also known as Derek Diskin, had arrived from New York to donate his time and expertise in erecting the outer portion of the Community Center. He and his associate, Barbara Nixon were staying with a local family while in Wounded Knee. Whirlwind claims to be the Regional Director of the Northeast Chapter of the American Indian Movement and said he also owns and operates a construction business in New York. Nixon, also from New York, is his Public Relations Officer and said she is a journalist. Both were "escorted" off the Pine Ridge Reservation June 13, by OST Public Safety Officials. The order for "Removal of Non-Members" was given and signed by John Yellow Bird Steele, OST President. Alberta E. Miller, OST Attorney General drew up the paperwork. Neither Steele or Miller could be reached for comment about the situation, but Debbie Blue Bird, secretary to Steele, confirmed that he had issued the order and signed the document. "They were asked to leave the reservation because they had been disruptive at a Council meeting in Martin over certain issues. They spoke out of order and interrupted the meeting. You have to ask permission to speak at the Council meeting," Blue Bird said. According to the signed document, Whirlwind and Nixon were ordered off the reservation in a "Removal of Trespassers" order. It stated in part that, "Both individuals are engaged in conducting business on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation without permission from the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council and therefore, are in violation of the section referenced above," which was a paragraph detailing reasons that non- members could be requested to leave the reservation. Those reasons include, "...all persons hunting, fishing, cutting wood, driving livestock, peddling, or doing any commercial business on Trust Indian Allotments without the permission of the owner, or Tribal land on this Reservation without the permission of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council, may be forcibly ejected from the Pine Ridge Reservation by a police officer, officer of the United States Indian Service, or Tribal Police, and may be turned over to the custody of the United States Marshall or Sheriff or other officer of the State of South Dakota or Nebraska, for prosecution under Federal or State law." The order stated that, "Derek Whirlwind a.k.a. Diskin has represented himself to be a construction contractor and has interfered with construction of a tribal Head Start Center in Wounded Knee. Barbara Nixon has represented herself as a journalist and has also interfered with the activities of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council." Therefore, the OST Public Safety Department was ordered to remove the two individuals "in the best interest of the OST." Whirlwind said the tribal police came to the home of Julie Shot to Pieces where he and Nixon had been invited to stay during their time in Wounded Knee. They were told to get their personal belongings together and be ready to leave in 20 minutes. "Three officers came--a commander, lieutenant and another guy--they said 'it's time for you to go--to leave. I have a tribal order,' and they wanted us to go immediately. I told them we had to have some time to get our things together. They gave us 20 minutes and then two of them escorted us off the reservation," Whirlwind said of the experience. He added that, "Their allegations that I was trespassing and doing business there was totally false--it has been known since February that I was coming there as a volunteer only. I was not conducting any business on the reservation. Barbara and I were invited guests of members of that tribe." Speaking from their New York home Nixon said, "I didn't feel safe until we were out of the state of South Dakota. It was very upsetting." She emphasized her belief that there are many more issues than just a Community Center building going on in the area with tribal politics and control from the National Grand Governing Council of AIM, which Vernon Bellecourt is the head spokesperson. "The bigger issue is the tribal corruption going on there. It's economic oppression for the people on that reservation with the tribal government in control. People lose their jobs if they speak out against the corruption," Nixon said. Nixon was referring to Phyllis Hollow Horn who was recently terminated from her position as secretary for the OST Judiciary Committee. Hollow Horn has been outspoken about the current political situation and the lack of help from the tribal government in supporting the rebuilding of the Wounded Knee community. She said that her two-year, full-time temporary position was terminated without any written documentation of reason for the termination, even though she had requested several times for it. Nixon said that Whirlwind had confronted Steele the day of the Council meeting in Martin and asked him when the last time he was in a Sweat Lodge or walked traditionally with his heart and not with his hand in his pocket. They said that it was on that day after some confrontation with a few council members outside the meeting place that Whirlwind was arrested before leaving town and was taken to the tribal jail in Kyle where he was incarcerated until paying bail and was released. "I was kicked out of the meeting and arrested, now I've been evicted and yet I'm ordered to appear on July 8, in Tribal Court in Kyle on those charges and since I was kicked off the reservation, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do or how that will work," Whirlwind said. He believes that several illegal charges took place, including false arrest, illegal detainment and illegal removal. "I'm looking at all of my options right now. They violated my rights with obstruction of Justice and obstruction of the judiciary process. They have no regards even for their own laws." Hollow Horn said, "They said Derek was interfering with the building of the Community Center--and he wasn't interfering--he came here to help build it." She added, "It's all about the land--the land site really is the real issue and I don't know why. We had three acres where we were going to build the Center and the Head Start on, but the tribe wanted the land site for their Head Start and they didn't have the paperwork for the site, yet they got the land back and what they gave us in return is full of rock and requires more excavation to prepare it before we can build." Hollow Horn emphasized again, "All of this started from the land issue and that's a mystery why the Tribe didn't want us to build on that!" Another blow to the community was the recent unexpected death of William "Bill" Loafer. Hollow Horn said that Loafer had agreed to donate his time and equipment to do the foundation for the Community Center and now, they don't know what will happen in that part of the construction, either. "It's the kids in the community that will suffer the most from all of this, but the Tribe don't seem to care about our young people. Right now it's discouraging to a lot of people in the community. The kids are upset and afraid that it's not going to happen. We were all so excited about this--something that was giving us hope and bringing healing to our community--now the tribal politics have gotten in the way again and they've turned it into an AIM issue," Hollow Horn said. She explained that the community would probably have a meeting to determine what their next step will be, but it would be after Loafer's funeral. "He was really upset about the Tribe's behavior and about Derek being run off the reservation." Hollow Horn said that Loafer was also going to donate all of the plumbing for the building. "His death is another blow." She said there was already some talk in the community about the possibility of trying to impeach Steele and another discussion was to have a Hunka ceremony to adopt Whirlwind into a family of a tribal member. In that way, he would have a right to be on the reservation. The rift between Bellecourt and Whirlwind goes back to July of 2001 when Whirlwind was on the National Board of Directors along with Bellecourt, his brother Clyde, Dennis Banks and others. Bellecourt claims that Whirlwind was never a part of AIM, but copies of documents of minutes from a meeting at that time lists members who were present, including Whirlwind. At that same meeting, it's recorded that Banks was voted to serve as National Chairman and Vernon Bellecourt was voted to serve as International Director. "Motion to close that nomination was made by Susan LaMorie and seconded by Derek Whirlwind." In a letter dated December 8, 2002, Nixon wrote to Paul Shaverson, Executive Producer of "Crossing Over" and refers to Whirlwind as the Northeast Regional Director of AIM. She stated, "...Although an elder of the AIM and involved as that of the director of International Affairs on Racism and Bias in Sports and Media, Mr. Bellecourt is not that closely involved with the internal networking of the new Leadership that has emerged through the visionary efforts of the Movement's Chairman, Dennis Banks." However, Bellecourt said he has received several inquiries from the Northeast region asking if Whirlwind was indeed who and what he represents himself to be and also alleging that he and Nixon are causing trouble among the Native Americans in the East. Bellecourt furnished copies of documents supporting his claims. He responded to one inquiry and wrote, "...that Derek Diskin who goes by the name, Derek Whirlwind, and fraudulently represents himself as the Northeastern director of the American Indian Movement...We are putting you on notice that Derek Diskin has no authority from the American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council, which is the leadership of our Movement." Bellecourt continued, "Mr. Diskin has no authority to represent the American Indian Movement in any capacity. He is self-appointed...it is doubtful that Mr. Diskin is a member of any Indian tribe." Another individual wrote Bellecourt that Whirlwind claimed he was sent to the Northeast Chapter by his "uncles" Vernon and Clyde (Bellecourt) and Dennis (Banks) to find out what AIM could do for the people in that area. The writer, Bonnie Spencer also stated in the letter, "...There is a lot of trouble out this way with various groups and a lot of fighting and people trying to shut down pow wows and such." Spencer also wrote, "Our people have enough to deal with as it is without all this garbage and infighting going on. It seems we don't need the white man to destroy us, we are capable of self-destruction all on our own! It saddens me." Bellecourt said that the claim that he and his brother or Banks were "uncles" of Whirlwind were lies and mis-information. He also claims that Whirlwind is not of Indian heritage, but Whirlwind claims to be from the Mayan ancestry and has been a Sundancer at Pipestone, Minnesota for many years. In a copy supplied by Nixon and Whirlwind of minutes from a meeting during the World Peace and Prayer Rally in Washington, D.C., it states that, "At the behest of Clyde Bellecourt and Dennis Banks, Derek Whirlwind was summoned to Washington, D.C. to discuss Derek's position and title in the Northeast. Clyde Bellecourt stating to me, Barbara Nixon, that, 'Dennis would really like to see Derek come to D.C. for the prayer conference and that some issues needed to be discussed.'" There's more notes stating who attended and what some of the discussion was about at that meeting. But, Bellecourt holds that Whirlwind has never represented AIM in any capacity. Bellecourt admitted that Steele had called him about the disruption at the Council meeting and about Whirlwind getting arrested and put in jail in addition to what Steele described as disrupting the Wounded Knee community. Accusations continue to fly back and forth between the individuals and the groups involved. In the meantime a couple of questions remain--what is going to happen to the building of the new Community Center in Wounded Knee--and why was the original few acres of land such an issue to the OST President and Council? Reprinted under the Fair Use http://nativenewsonline.org/fairuse.htm --------- "RE: White Mt. Apaches sue Chediski Fire starter" --------- Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2003 14:10:45 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: White Mt. Apaches sue Chediski Fire starter (Fwd) >To: gars@speakeasy.org - - - - - - -- - - - - - - From: News Gathering Subj: White Mt. Apaches sue Chediski Fire starter http://www.azstarnet.com/star/sat/30628WILDFIRE2fLAWSUIT.html White Mt. Apaches sue Chediski Fire starter THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Tucson, Arizona Saturday, 28 June 2003 An American Indian tribe filed a civil complaint against a woman who started a fire that later merged into the largest wildfire in Arizona history, officials said Friday. Valinda Jo Elliott was served with the tribe's six-count civil complaint Friday as she left a court in Tolleson after receiving a 60-day jail sentence for a drunken driving conviction. She remains free while a judge considers other legal issues raised by her lawyers. The civil complaint alleges Elliott disobeyed an executive order banning nearly all people from certain areas of the reservation because of extreme fire danger. Last summer's 469,000-acre Rodeo-Chediski Fire destroyed 491 homes and forced the evacuation of 30,000 people. Elliott started the Chediski Fire as she tried to get the attention of a television news helicopter after being lost on White Mountain Apache land for two days. Elliott, 32, wasn't criminally prosecuted for starting the fire because federal prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence of criminal intent on Elliott's part. Copyright c. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star and its wire services and suppliers and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Washoe Indian Tribe" --------- Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2003 10:47:35 -0700 From: "lkibby1" Subj: Washoe Indian Tribe For Immediate Release Wednesday, June 25, 2003 CONTACT: Tessa Hafen (202)224-9521 PROTECTION OF WASHOE LANDS AROUND LAKE TAHOE CLEARS SENATE COMMITTEE WASHINGTON - An effort by Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign to preserve ancestral lands of the Washoe Indian Tribe while protecting Lake Tahoe cleared a major milestone today. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved a bill sponsored by Nevada's Senators that would convey land at Lake Tahoe to the Washoe Tribe for cultural purposes The legislation, which was first introduced by Reid in 2000, would transfer 24 acres from the Secretary of Agriculture\U.S. National Forest to the Secretary of the Interior to be held in trust for the Washoe Tribe. The legislation passed the Senate unanimously in 2000 and 2002, and a version also passed the House in 2000, but the measure has never achieved final passage. "I'm going to keep fighting for this bill until it passes," said Sen. Reid. "Not only does it guarantee the Washoe access to their ancient ancestral lands, it also protects undeveloped land around Lake Tahoe." "I am pleased that the committee recognized the importance of approving this legislation," Ensign said. "This is a great victory for the Washoe tribe in their efforts to practice and preserve their culture." On being told that the Washoe Tribe bill had been reported out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Brian Wallace, the Chairman of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada said, "This is wonderful news. It has been almost a century and a half sine the Washoe people were forcibly removed from Lake Tahoe. The lake is a place to which we have sacred connections and is the source of much of our culture. The Washoe people - especially the elders - are going to be very pleased. We are happy that Senators Reid and Ensign introduced this legislation again and were able to get it reported out of Committee today. We are gratified with the support we have received this measure from our neighbors throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin." The transfer of the land to a trust for the Washoe was included in the recommendations of a 1997 forum that Reid helped convene to discuss the future of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The forum committed to support the Washoe Tribe's traditional uses of the area and to ensure that members of the Tribe would have access to the shore of Lake Tahoe to engage in traditional cultural practices. Under the proposed legislation, Sen. Reid said, the 24-acre parcel will be protected from development and managed according to the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan. The transfer of the land would not hinder public access to the lake, Reid added. After approval by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the bill will head to the full Senate. --------- "RE: Six in Navajo Social Unit are investigated by FBI" --------- Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 23:10:58 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: 6 in Navajo social unit are investigated by FBI (Fwd) - - - - - - -- - - - - - - Date: Jun. 27, 2003 12:00 AM http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/~/0627azroundup27.html Arizona news briefs Jun. 27, 2003 12:00 AM 6 in Navajo social unit are investigated by FBI WINDOW ROCK - Six employees of the Navajo Nation social services division have been suspended as an investigation into possible fraud is conducted, a tribal spokeswoman said Thursday. Deana Jackson, spokeswoman for Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr., said the FBI has been investigating possible misuse of child care development and block grant funds. A call to the FBI in Phoenix wasn't immediately returned Thursday. Jackson said the FBI seized documents at the social services agency. No charges have been filed. Wire services --------- "RE: Appeals Court rules on Indian Burial Ground" --------- Date: Wed, 25 June 2003 08:57:22 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OLD HICKORY DESECRATIONS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=9&screen=news&news_id=24111 Appeals Court rules on Indian burial ground By Amanda Wardle, awardle@nashvillecitypaper.com June 25, 2003 Tennessee Native Americans involved in a long-standing dispute over an Indian burial ground near the Old Hickory Boulevard and Hillsboro Road intersection do not qualify as "interested parties" who might have the right to intervene in procedural legal action over the property, Tennessee Court of Appeals officials ruled this week. Members of the Alliance for Native American Indian Rights of Tennessee sought relief from state appellate court officials after being denied the right to intervene in a case over whether the state would be granted permission to pursue road construction on the newly discovered Indian burial site in 1999. Members of the alliance held that they had interest in the site, located on the border of Davidson and Williamson Counties, and should therefore be given the right to fight the state's use of the property. State officials requested in 1999 that they be allowed to move the remains from the site in order to complete a road widening project in the area, a prospect that Tennessee's Native American community felt violated their ancient beliefs. The state later dismissed their case, saying they would not have to remove the remains after all, but could simply "encapsulate" and then pave over the burial site. The encapsulation was completed, and that construction project was finished last year, said Tennessee Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Kim Keelor. Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbes Lyle denied the Native Americans' request to intervene in the case, saying they could be given "friends of the court" status, which would allow them only limited involvement. Their case has already been before the appellate court once, and blamed at one point for delaying construction and causing road congestion for more than a year. While members of the alliance asked the Court of Appeals to determine the constitutionality of the Termination of Use of Land as Cemetery Act, which allows the state to request permission to disinter human remains in cases where the land is being requested for other official purposes, the court did not review that issue, saying instead that the issue of whether Native Americans could intervene in the case was the only issue that was "properly before this court." The state argued the act doesn't implicate Native Americans' fundamental rights. But members of the alliance plan to continue fighting to determine the constitutionality of several issues, including the Termination of Use of Land as Cemetery Act. Attorney Joe Johnston said the Native American Indians would appeal this week's dismissal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, and alliance President Pat Cummins said there may be appeals on other issues, including the constitutionality of the "encapsulation" process. "This has been going on since '99 and we don't see it ending anytime soon," Cummins said. Copyright c. 2003 The City Paper,LLC/Nashville, TN. --------- "RE: Trial for Second Suspect in murder of Kiowa" --------- Date: Wed, 25 June 2003 08:57:22 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MURDER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=2501 Trial for second suspect in murder of Kiowa man to start First suspect will be sentenced tomorrow LONG BEACH CA SAM LEWIN 6/24/2003 Sentencing for one of the two men accused in the death of a 20-year-old Kiowa dancer in southern California is set for tomorrow. Meanwhile, the preliminary hearing for the second suspect in the slaying was postponed today. 20-year-old Marlon Taylor was acquitted of most of the counts he faced for the murder of Shane Dean Zotigh, a member of the Kiowa Tribe who made a living performing traditional dances across the country. A Long Beach jury found Taylor guilty of assault with a deadly weapon, but exonerated him of charges carrying much stiffer penalties: first degree murder and attempted murder. Taylor will be sentenced on the assault conviction tomorrow. He faces 4 years in state prison. The preliminary hearing for his alleged accomplice, Toncko Jamel Williams, was postponed today because one of the attorneys was sick. Los Angeles County prosecutors blamed the failure to gain the serious convictions against Taylor on a reluctant eyewitness, Julio Ortiz. Ortiz testified he was intoxicated the night of the shooting and could not identify the man who shot Zotigh. Some investigators have privately stated they believe Ortiz intentionally lied for fear of retribution. Zotigh's uncle, Ben Wolfe, will speak during Taylor's sentencing, but he says the case has left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. Wolfe is confident, as are many of the police involved in the case, that Taylor murdered Zotigh. "I'm very angry, very disappointed and frustrated. There is just a sense of hopelessness. We have been cheated and robbed," Wolfe told the Native American Times Tuesday. Police have publicly theorized that Zotigh was killed because he may have been mistaken for a Latino gang member by one of Long Beach's African-American gangs. The city has seen a serious increase in violence between warring groups of ethnic gangs. Tensions rose so high during the first trial that the judge ordered the courtroom cleared after the verdict to prevent violence. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2003 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Different standards for NA Prisoners in Texas" --------- Date: Fri, 27 June 2003 22:43:57 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TEXAS PRISONS" http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=2518 Different standards for Native American prisoners in Texas Indian chaplain defends policy AUSTIN TX SAM LEWIN 6/27/2003 When a Christian or Muslim inmate enters the Texas prison system, he or she is allowed to attend services simply by stating their religion. Not so for Native American inmates. They are one of two religions required to take a test to pray traditionally. That change in policy comes as Texas officials are cutting back the number of prison chaplains administering in the system. Cherokee inmate James Franklin is incarcerated at the Daniel Unit in Snyder. "We have a Native American circle in our unit that (at one time) met every Wednesday. A couple of weeks ago they stopped giving half of us passes to attend the circle. They say we must take and pass some Native American test before they will let us start going again," wrote Franklin. Officials with the Texas Department of Justice confirmed there has been a change in policy. "Those who wish to practice the Native American religious ceremonies must accept and complete a study packet that explains the practices of that religion," DOJ spokesman Larry Todd told the Native American Times. Todd said only one other religion, Judaism, places a similar restriction. No other denomination requires Texas inmates to pass a test to pray. "This is not a policy to prevent offenders from practicing their religion. It is to ensure that they study and understand the religion," said Todd. Franklin doesn't buy that. "No other religion has to take a test, why us?" The policy change came from the DOJ's Director of Chaplains, Bill Pierce. Contacted by the Native American Times, Pierce was unable to answer a central question: Other religions consider their practices just as sacred as Native Americans consider the prayer circle. Why can, say, a Catholic prisoner attend organized prayer simply by claiming to be Catholic, and not have to prove knowledge of Catholicism? Pierce referred those questions to Ron Teal, the chaplain contracted by the DOJ to conduct Native American prayer services. Teal, Cherokee and Creek, said the change was instituted following a prison break in Connolly. That prison was placed on lockdown, with inmates confined to their cells. Teal said a large contingent of gang members claimed to Native Americans so they could be shipped out to a Native American unit. Inmates are placed in units depending on their stated religion. "They were saying `if I claim to be Indian, I can go to another unit.' All of a sudden we have all these black Crip gang members attending our prayer service," said Teal. Teal maintains the test is not difficult. He says questions include: What nation are you from? What is smoked inside the pipe? Meanwhile, Texas officials are in the process of slashing jobs in the state prison system. 1500 employees are being laid off, including 66 chaplains. That means that even if an Indian inmate passes the test, the frequency of prayer services is decreasing. Franklin said services have been cut back to once a month, when they used to be held every week. Teal confirms that is correct. Despite the reasoning for DOJ officials on requiring a test, Franklin believes it means prisoners needing spirituality in a hellish environment won't get it. "I'm not taking a test and most of the others won't either. Some guys are looking to the law for help. I don't know yet what I'm going to do." Native American Times is Copyright c. 2003 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, Jun 30 2003 19:18:40 -0700 From: Janet Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVE PRISONER" ===== Date: Sunday, June 22, 2003 4:50 PM From: "Brigitte Thimiakis" Subj: Do First Nations Prisoners need Support? Greetings, About the campaigns supporting the Prayer Warriors : I would like to say that some of the Native prisoners at Montana State Prison have been working very hard to have their religious issues improved, even when it was very risky, and they are still struggling using the legal ways. By saying this, I just want to make sure that no one thinks they are *only* counting on outside support to solve their problems. Our support is to back up their own struggle, using the same avenues they are pursuing. Awareness and campaigns have made the MT officials realize they could not easily get away with the discrimination against the Native Americans prisoners. This has happened in other States too. Most people who are in prison have made mistakes but they should still have the right to practise their spiritual ways. It is proven that the Native prisoners have a better chance of rehabilitation if they are allowed to practice their traditional spiritual ways in prison, and that they are much less likely to re-offend. Unfortunately the system does not aim to reduce recidivism, but rather to fill up more and more prisons, because prisons mean *big* money, and of course their first choice is the people of color. This is wrong, and everyone in the USA should try to stop this because there is no telling who will be caught in that faulty system next, relatives, children, friends - a system that is another form of genocide against the First Nations. This is why it is important that many people support the struggle of First Nations prisoners, and let the officials know that their system is under watch. Thank you to all of you who support their struggle. Respectfully, Brigitte <>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o "Honor Your Spirit, Protect the Children" Manuel Redwoman, Northern Cheyenne/Lakota/Arapaho http://www.geocities.com/honoryourspirit/home.html STOP CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT http://www.geocities.com/honoryourspirit/stopabuse.html <>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o From Kim at khoward0723@netscape.net: Assistance requested for two Native American online organizations: 1) a Native American prisoner site dedicated to assisting prisoners obtain outside support through pen pals, and displaying/promoting NA artwork, crafts, and writings; and 2) a non profit organization dedicated to issues concerning violations of NA religious rights violations. General computer equipment and skills/experience needed. Legal / website knowledge and/or knowledge of legal/web resource people (preferably Native) a plus. Will include receiving/answering prisoner correspondence, printing/mailing page print outs. Anyone interested and able to offer assistance please contact Kim at naprisoners@netscape.net or khoward0723@netscape.net. As I have been told the khoward netscape address has been bouncing please cc to catrelkim@yahoo.com. Additional details provided to those seriously interested. ======================================== Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 13:54:51 -0700 (PDT) From: "THUNDERINGDRUMS@webtv.net" Subj: [IRONHOUSEDRUMS] Prisoner wants pen pal Here's my information: 1/3 Cherokee and a good, caring man, Mr. Anthony Byarse 320-269 S.O.C.F. P.O. Box 45699 Lucasville, Ohio 45699 The Creator gave you two ears and one mouth... so you can listen twice as much as you speak. ~Two Hawks' Grandfather~ ~Thundering Drums~ http://www.angelfire.com/wy/nainmatessupportgrp/index.html "To those of us locked away in here, there's nothing more important than being remembered." Leonard Peltier September 1998 Leavenworth Prison "Prison Writings...My Life Is My Sun Dance" =<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>= "Freedom For All Of Our Warriors" =<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>= http://www.angelfire.com/wy/nainmatessupportgrp/index.html =<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>+<+><+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=< Shortcut URL to Group Home: IRONHOUSEDRUMS http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IRONHOUSEDRUMS/ --------- "RE: Rustywire: Where are the You?" --------- Date: Tue, Jun 24 2003 09:02 AM Subj: Where are the you? From: rustywire@yahoo.com (john rustywire) Newsgroup: alt.native It was in a place where the walls are silent and the voices cary far, and I was looking for people, the first born of this country, natives to the soil where they live from the eastern shore, and travel to the west. Looking North I can see the those that live way up high and to the South cousins from an America we sometimes think of as another country, but yet they are kin. I wonder about them, the way of life, the stories of old and the songs they sing, in this I am looking to see a little of their life, how it is with them and maybe to glimpse into their world. The old man used to say, that there are others out there, they have stories like us and they travel the same road. You will find many lost out there looking to teach you things you shouldn't know, calling them their own ways and all the time asking you abut yours and one day they tell you what you told them and they have become you knowing more than you. He told me to stay away from them, they will steal your heart and mind. I remember asking where are the good hearts? He told me look to the morning sun, in the early light of day when yesterday is washed away and in the glowing colors of pink, gold and blue chasing the night away you will see them just at the horizon, they are calling out to you to join them. It is a life long quest to travel that road, but yet each morning we catch a glimpse of them, just a touch of what dreams are made of, the beautyway. In the light of early dawn I stood this morning and thought on these things and remembered his face and the steady gaze he held looking to the horizon, singing old songs and yet in all this he rubbed my head and said look, it is there. Coming here, where are the songs, the stories, and lifeways of natives? Tell me about your life, the way of living that I might get glimpse. Where are you, native I see many but the words are dark and twisted talk leaving no good feeling. So I am wondering where are those that used to come and visit? --------- "RE: Poem: I am an Indian, not unlike you" --------- Date: Wed, June 18, 2003 11:14 From: "Lema, Ronald J. (Contractor)" Subj: I am an Indian, not unlike you. >To: I am an Indian, not unlike you. I have brown hair where yours is black. I have blue eyes where yours are brown. I have light skin, where yours is tan. Yet my blood is red as is yours. And my heart beats as does yours. I speak differently then you, but say the same thing. I look different then you, but appear the same. Yet, I am an Indian, much different then you. I believe in the Great Spirit, as do you. I worship Mother Earth the same as you. My totems are different, but the same as yours. While our medicine is different, they follow the same path. I am an Indian, much different then you. I have honor and respect for my heritage, as do you. I respect and honor my elders, as you do. I here the cries of our ancestors, as do you. I feel the pain of our tribes, much like you. Yet, I am an Indian, much different then you. I was raised in a city, where you were raised on a reservation. I was raised a white man, and you as an Indian. I walk this earth in mystery, where your eyes are clear I have learned little, where you have experienced more. Yet, I am young as you are. Yet, I am an Indian, much different then you. I work to learn the old ways, as do you, Yet where I cannot, you can. I raise a voice against atrocities against our people, as do you. I raise a fist and cry in pain at the death of our kind, much like you. Yet, I am an Indian, much different then you. You have blood quantum where I do not. And because of that, you are Indian, where I am not. The Government dictates my laws, as it does you. It states I am not Indian, because I do not have the required blood, Yet I am an Indian much like you. I suffer the same prejudices against me, yet different then you. I have light skin, where yours is brown. The white man holds no prejudices against me it is you. Yet, I am an Indian, different then you. While we may appear different in every way, Our blood is still red, And we breathe the same air, Please my brothers, remember.... I am an Indian, not unlike you. Ron Red Eagle "If you take the Christian Bible and put it out in the wind and the rain, soon the paper on which the words are printed will disintegrate and the words will be gone. Our bible IS the wind and the rain." Statement by an anonymous Native woman. Before a Mountain can be moved, the pebble must move first. Are you willing to be that pebble? ~ron red eagle~ "This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good." Author Unknown --------- "RE: Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days" --------- Date: Sun, 29 Jun 2003 11:32:08 -1000 From: Debbie Sanders Subj: Hawaiian Book of Days A HAWAI`I BOOK OF DAYS, week of July 7-July 13 IULAI July Hinaia`ele`ele 7 Dance joyously in the memory of your ancestors, your kupuna. 8 Life is all around us, ... and within. 9 I weave a lei of maile leaves to celebrate the new day! 10 My flute echoes the cry of the wind. 11 The mantis pauses for a moment in its journey to bless those it encounters. 12 Night passes a veil of introspection over the land. 13 To welcome the future, you must first release the burdens of the past. (c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue (With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream) --------- "RE: Turbines generating Dreams for Tribe" --------- Date: Fri, 27 June 2003 08:35:06 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WIND TURBINES" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2003/06/27/news/state/state03.txt Turbines generating dreams for tribe By Lisa Chamley, Pierre Capital Journal June 27, 2003 On the Rosebud Sioux reservation, a wind turbine project is generating dreams of clean energy and economic progress for an American Indian tribe. "The wind is a gift and a blessing; that's how we feel about this," Pat Spears, a consultant for the tribe, said. "It's a natural gift from the creator, and it should be used more, same as the sun, same as solar power, same as geothermal power." In late February, the turbine was installed near the Rosebud Casino and Hotel. On March 3, the blades that circle 190 feet into the air began generating enough electricity for at least 220 homes. The turbine was the culmination of eight years of work. It was named in honor of Alex "Little Soldier" Lunderman, a former Rosebud Sioux president who died in 1999. Lunderman believed the tribe could use technology and natural-resources compatibly with tribal history, philosophy and values. Basin Electric and Ellsworth Air Force Base are the turbine's first customers, the latter of which has a contract to buy energy from the turbine for five years. "We're selling all of the power to Basin Electric," Spears said. "Part of that, the energy for 450 kilowatts, is going to Ellsworth, the remainder to Basin." In addition to the energy, Ellsworth also bought "green tags," which are dollars spent on investments in clean-energy projects. The turbine has a life expectancy of 25 years. The project was funded through a complicated combination of a matching grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, "green tag" purchases by Ellsworth and Native Energy, a Vermont company that promotes tribal energy projects and a loan from the U.S. Rural Utility Service. The Rosebud Sioux turbine is one of the first American Indian-owned and operated turbines in the country and is also the first part of a plan to develop wind power on tribal lands throughout the Northern Plains. That is the plan of the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy, of which Spears is president. Intertribal COUP consists of federally-recognized tribes in North and South Dakota and their affiliates throughout the plains. The organization is headquartered on the Rosebud reservation. The second phase is a project at St. Francis, and the third phase for projects on as many as eight reservations has been chosen as an Environmental Justice Community Revitalization Group, which involves 15 federal agencies, according to Spears. To move the energy it generates around to its markets, the tribe wants to use the transmission infrastructure already in place owned by the Western Area Power Administration. "The need is in transmission buildout," Spears said. "We don't have the transmission capacity to move to the urban markets, that's the problem." The tribe feels that the WAPA system has the capacity for the additional energy generated. Spears said Intertribal COUP has written a study on the possible merger of wind and hydropower in the Missouri River system. In order to fulfill its energy contracts, WAPA now buys energy in the "spot market" when generation is low. Spears said WAPA should buy its backup energy from the tribes, rather than the high-priced spot market. The reservations on the Northern Great Plains have the potential to generate more than 100 times what the dams on the Missouri River can generate. "Just on tribal lands alone, that's the potential," Spears said. "If you look at all of the land in the Northern Plains, North and South Dakota, we could produce one-third of the energy needs of the entire U.S." "The equipment is the cost, and it's an upfront cost, so it's known and decided," he said. "That price per kilowatt hour is known and can be projected for 20 to 30 years with no increase. No other source of fuel can claim that." Coal-fired electricity accounts for most of the energy used in this part of the country, according to NativeEnergy.com. Spears said fossil fuel costs will continue to rise. The fuels are becoming more scarce and also negatively impact the environment. "We're at the top of the headwaters of a large windshed. We want to see clean energy here, because we respect the earth. We want to maintain the balance," Spears said. "We also want the economic benefit that can be recognized with wind energy." Fossil fuels should be used to back up wind energy and other clean- -energy sources such as geothermal energy, not vice versa, he said. "It's all there if we put it together right and get serious about development," Spears said. The wind energy business can employ people on the reservations and boost the economy in one of the country's most depressed areas. According to NativeEnergy.com, more than 14 percent of American Indian households are without electricity, which is 10 times the national average. "We see wind energy producing jobs and other opportunities," Spears said. "The economics of wind can work." Copyright c. 2003 the Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Wampanoag revived and not forgotten" --------- Date: Wed, 25 June 2003 08:57:22 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WAMPANOAG LANGUAGE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/revivedand24.htm Revived and not forgotten Woman crusades to restore Wampanoag language By JOE KILLIAN, Contributing Writer June 25, 2003 MASHPEE - Wampanoag folklore speaks of a language prophecy. It is said that the tribe's native language, not spoken for more than a century, will return to the people. Thanks to a Wampanoag linguist and her burgeoning language program, that prophecy seems closer than ever to actual fulfillment. "We're the first tribe on this continent to reclaim a language with no speakers," said Jessie Little Doe Fermino, Wampanoag language teacher. "It's a difficult process, but we've had a lot of interest and a lot of success." On Sunday, 21 students graduated from Fermino's program as speakers of Wopanaak, the Wampanoag native language. They joined the more than 70 other graduates who have completed the course in the last four years. "I feel like this is my place, this is what I'm supposed to be doing," said Fermino, a member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe. "But it's really our ancestors who are responsible for the return of the language." Fermino traces the return of the Wampanoag language to a dream 10 years ago where her ancestors asked her to help revive the language. "I spoke with the tribal elders and they agreed," she said "So that's when I began working to put together a way to teach this language that no longer has any native speakers." This desire drove Fermino to earn a master's degree in linguistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In her studies, she literally resurrected the Wopanaak language. "I wrote a la