From gars@speakeasy.org Thu Jul 24 21:49:30 2003 Date: 22 Jul 2003 23:24:21 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews11.030 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 11, ISSUE 030 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 26, 2003 Mohawk Ohiarihko:wa/moon of much ripening Kiowa Tagunotal p'a san/little moon of deer horns dropping off +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; Native American Advocate, Canadian Aboriginal News and ndn-aim Mailing Lists; UUCP email; Newsgroup: alt.native IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "Language and culture cannot be separated, if the culture is not expressed through the language, then the culture ceases to exist." __ Victor Montejo, Guatemala Mayan, assistant professor of Native American studies at The University of Montana-Missoula +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! http://www.record-eagle.com/2003/jul/19mascot.htm State wants mascots changed; Things related to Indians now discouraged Record-Eagle staff writer July 19, 2003 - TRAVERSE CITY - The Leelanau School Indians will become the Thunderbirds this fall. But three northern Michigan school districts still must decide whether they want to continue calling their teams the Cheboygan Chiefs, Manistee Chippewas and Forest Area Warriors. Last month, the state Board of Education recommended that Michigan public and private schools with American Indian mascots change mascots, nicknames, logos, fight songs, insignias and antics. The recommendation comes a year after the U.S. Civil Rights Commission called for schools to quit using American Indian images and names. ----- This issue includes an excellent opinion piece by Tim Giago, editor and publisher of the largest independently owned American Indian weekly newspaper, Lakota Journal, on this very subject. I strongly urge you to open and review Mr. Giago's comments, and learn from them. Slowly, more and more schools and institutions are finally dropping Indian mascot names, some rather reluctantly. There are notable exceptions - glaring, hurtful exceptions - such as the Atlanta Braves, Florida State University Seminoles, Cleveland Indians (with their demeaning stereotypical Chief Wahoo) and, among the worst, Washington Redskins. Folks, I'm going to say it just once in this editorial... if you think it's OK to say redskins you must also believe it's OK to say darkies or slant-eyes. None of these is acceptable. None of these should exist in any lexicon except as historical footnotes describing times when such boorish ignorance was regarded as "good-ole-boy", redneck mentality. It shouldn't even be necessary to explain why racial slurs are not good or reasonable or acceptable names and/or icons. You don't honor anyone, so don't try to pass it off that way. If that is such a great honor where are your "Jim Crow" lawn ornaments? Lose the names. Gain some respect. ===== It is my honor to share this excellent comment from Frosty Deere: (Presented here with Frosty's knowledge and approval.) Date: Sun July 20 3:12 PM From: www.frostys.qc.ca Subj: I asked this question. Newsgroup:alt.native Sometime ago as the attack on Iraqi lands began I asked this question. What if they did not have or find weapons of mass destruction? I tried to compare that invasion to that of North America and how a government could give the people the information to get support for such attacks. History has not changed in the methods used by powerful governments to over power people. It still goes on here in Canada and the United States when it comes to the dealings with native people. And as if a change in government in the next election is going to change anything. It is the same crap year after year only the names change on the doors. It is the one job in government that you can count on, "removing the names on doors and replace them." Good job for a sign painter. Maybe TIME should do a story on the people that have that job.... Well off to check my garden and look for bugs with weapons of mass destruction to my tomatoes or cucumbers... Save a Seal, so they can eat all the Cod Fish.... and any other fish they like... 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 ---------- - GIAGO: Lose The Indian Mascots - A forgotten Tribe, a lost Homeland - Cultures in Conflict - Wild Horse Deaths investigated - Editorial: - State to Work with Acoma Pueblo Sacred Spaces, Sacred Sites on Interstate - Monitoring of - The Trail of forced Patents Indian Trust Progress Rejected - Dine' Prez blasts fed Energy Bill - Appeals Court ruling as Underhanded keeps Findings in Place - Dene join Navajo - State's raid on Tribal Land at Uranium Conference - Panel Head calls - Hawaiians and Navajos for Federal Probe of Raid share Same Struggles - Fire closes Mesa Verde - Argentina's Indians - Nambe' Pueblo Declares seek end to Poverty State of Emergency - Aboriginal University unveiled - Residents return - What Fontaine's return to Fort Apache Reservation means for the AFN - Agencies mobilize - New AFN Chief must still kill Bill to combat Drought - Newfoundland Court - Cayugas seek $1.7Billion rules against Mi'kmaq for Trespass - Protesters on Reserve - Lakota sues Nebraska promise to stay put over Beer-Rich Whiteclay - Father of Murdered Girl - Judge orders change in Plan - ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr.: to Distribute Klamath A Moment of Silence - Freudenthal opposes - Blackfeet start New Police Force giving Bison to Tribes - Native Prisoner - Official compares One Nation -- Inmates seeking Pen Pals to Aryan Nation - Rustywire: Native Born - Methane-well fight - Poem: In the Sacred Silence pits Reservation, EPA - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days --------- "RE: GIAGO: Lose The Indian Mascots" --------- Date: Thu, 10 July 2003 08:09:31 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HONOR OUR TREATIES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.yankton.net/stories/071003/opE_20030710022.shtml Lose The Indian Mascots: Honor Our Treaties And You Honor Us By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji) July 10, 2003 Copyright c. 2003, Lakota Media Inc. The issue of Indians as mascots has been raised in Wisconsin schools. In Osseo, Wis., four of the seven school board members who voted to replace the chieftain logo were recalled in November. How dare they take the side of those whining Indians. After all, we all know that the only reason some of those Indians are complaining is so that they can get their names in the newspaper. Ah, those 15 minutes of fame. First, some of them complain about being called Indian and insist on the politically correct Native American. The only thing wrong with that is when Columbus first landed on some remote island in the Western Hemisphere there was no America and therefore no Native Americans. The indigenous people Columbus found he called "Ninos del Dios," or "Children of God." The name was later shortened to "Indios" and gradually became Indian when the name gravitated to the northern reaches of this Hemisphere. Back then there was no India. The nation Columbus was searching for when he supposedly discovered a nation that was not yet named America was Hindustan, not India. If Columbus mistakenly believed he had landed in Hindustan would he not have called the natives Hindustanis? Columbus was a skillful navigator. He was no dunce. He had studied the economics, the people and the geography of Hindustan long before he boarded his ship. What a colossal, idiot mistake he would have made to think he had landed in Hindustan. Just think: If Columbus had named the indigenous people Hindustanis, what would the Cleveland Indians be called today? The Cleveland Hindustanis? I think the people of present-day India would be offended by that. Not unlike how present-day American Indians object to their continued use as mascots for America's fun and games. Sports fans that serve on school boards and voters who put them into office still believe that using Indians as mascots honors the recipients. Wrong! It is not an honor to be mimicked, ridiculed and misrepresented at sporting events. It is not an honor to see thousands of white and black people assuming the attire and affixing the facial paint of one's people just to support a mascot. It is even more hideous to name a football team mascot after the color of a people's skin. You will note there are no Blackskins, Brownskins or Yellowskins in the repertoire of mascots. Why not? Field a team in the nation's capital and call them Blackskins and you leave yourself open to untold violence. Paint your face black, put on an Afro wig and do the "spear chuckers chop" and then prepare yourself for a riot. What is good for the goose in not always what is good for the gander if you are a sports nut. How dare we compare a team named for the color of a people's skin to a team that could be named after the color of a people's skin. Preposterous! Unthinkable! Never happen! Sometimes it is hard to choose between red and black and truth and fiction. But when it comes to honoring a people why bestow that honor upon the Indian alone? The Jews also suffered a holocaust and yet there is no football, baseball, hockey or soccer teams named for them. Wouldn't it be fun to assume the attire and the customs and traditions of the Jewish people at sporting events? I say customs and traditions here because when sports fans paint their faces and don ceremonial bonnets and feathers, they are assuming the customs and traditions of the American Indian. Hey, but what the heck. It's only in fun and games and we (the white and black people) are only honoring the Indians. Why don't they just take this honor we so courteously give them and shut their mouths. Damned Indians are always complaining about something. And while I am on the subject, Indians are not cared for from cradle to grave by the U.S. government. And yes, we do pay taxes, state and federal. We do have to pay tuition to attend an institution of higher learning. The colleges and schools on Indian reservations receive less money from the state and federal government than nearly every school in America. And no, we are all not rolling in wealth because of our casinos. Five percent of the casinos on Indian lands earn 95 percent of the profits. That doesn't leave much for the rest of us. While segregation in the inner cities is now ancient history, segregation on Indian reservations is still a fact of life. We sincerely do have what was euphemistically called "separate but equal education," for blacks, except in our situation, the "equal" needs to be dropped. The "separate" needs to be uppercased. If Indians have received so much financial support from the U.S. government, then why is it that we are still counted among the poorest of the poor in education, health and welfare? In fact, in the 2000 U. S. Census, three of the poorest counties in America could be found in South Dakota and all were on Indian reservations. And yet, America's sports fans still choose to honor us on game day. There is really only one way America's sports fans, black and white, Republican and Democrat, can honor the American Indian; honor our treaties and you honor us as a people. Those things you consider worthless scraps of paper are still sacred and extremely important documents to the indigenous people. Honor the treaties and not the mascots and you honor us. This is an acceptable honor. Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is editor and publisher of the weekly Lakota Journal. He is author of "The Aboriginal Sin" and "Notes from Indian Country" volumes I and II. He can be reached at editor@lakotajournal.com or at P.O. Box 3080, Rapid City, S.D. 57709. Copyright c. 2003 Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan . --------- "RE: Cultures in Conflict" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 08:46:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BOARDING SCHOOL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.argusleader.com/cultures/Sundayarticle3.shtml Cultures in Conflict 'Everything that was me was taken away' Jill Callison Argus Leader July 20, 2003 Former boarding school student teaches lessons from a culture whites tried to extinguish EAGLE BUTTE - Frieda Condon was only a fourth-grader when adults abruptly took away her language. Fifty years later, Condon is in what she calls the early years of her final stage of life. She plans to spend that last stage doing two things. One is growing in wisdom learned from others. The other is teaching the Lakota language, traditions and culture she learned in childhood. "I don't have to be ashamed of being Indian any more," the 58-year-old Condon says. "Back in boarding school days, I was taught to be ashamed of who I am, to forget my language, forget my culture, forget my relatives, forget my parents. "Everything that was me was taken away. But they never really took it away from me. It's always been in here. Now I can bring it out and be happy with my identity, who I am." For this descendant of survivors of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, her happiness is a devotion to traditional Lakota ways, enhanced by her connection to a nontraditional culture. It's a familiar goal for aging Indians in South Dakota, many of whom are rediscovering the language and traditions that were suppressed during their youth. Condon's father's family had embraced the white man's culture. Her mother's side kept its Lakota ways. She didn't learn the Lakota teachings, she says a half century later. Instead, she lived them. "They didn't sit us down, 'OK, all you grandkids, my takoja, come and sit down because I'm going to teach you this today,' " she says. "They just lived it, over and over through the stages." Condon was 9 months old when her mother died. An aunt took her in, and she was raised at Bridger, on the southwest edge of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. In elementary school, a much more painful change occurred. Condon's grandfather, Robert Blue Hair, sent his granddaughter to boarding school in Chamberlain. "For many years, I thought he didn't love me, that's why he sent me away, " she says. "Later on, I realized that he sent me away to learn the English language, to learn their ways, to get educated. Later on, I thanked him for it." Before she arrived at boarding school, Blue Hair taught his granddaughter her first English words: "macaroni, macaroni, beans, beans." But during her first weeks at school, knowing little more English than the names of those commodities, Condon lost her voice. It was her first experience with the balancing act that faces many Native Americans, she says. "We have to live in two worlds, two cultures. We have to balance that," Condon says. "Sometimes I feel like our world is unbalanced. We're kind of unbalanced. We have to walk in harmony, walk in peace." By the time she had finished eighth grade, however, she had been so assimilated in the once-foreign world that she cried when she left the school. She tried another boarding school, this time at Stephan, but in 10th grade wrote to her father to come get her. If he didn't, she threatened, she'd run away. Condon lived in Bridger again, tried a Bureau of Indian Affairs school and finally settled into the high school at Wakpala. An early marriage ended in divorce after 10 years. She married Keeler Condon, and they raised first her children, then his, before starting a family together. And school became a part of Condon's life once again. Only this time, she pursued higher education with a passion, taking classes toward four degrees from 1976 to 2002. That path took her last year to the Takini School at Cherry Creek, eight miles from her home. There, as part of her Teacher Corps obligation, Condon will spend two years teaching the pupils who are seeking to find their own balance between two worlds. "When we teach our kids, it's not through book learning, not through reading and writing," she says. "It's oral and through demonstrations, so our kids get to hear, see and feel, even smell sometimes." With gold hoops in her ears and dark hair resting in waves on her shoulders, Condon doesn't look much like "Grandma," the title her youngest pupils have affectionately bestowed upon her. They also call her "Teacher, " her favorite salutation. She first taught in a classroom in 1997. She was one of nine who obtained the first Lakota studies teaching certificates. Both the federal and tribal governments support the teaching of Lakota in schools, says Raymond Uses The Knife Jr., vice chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux. "I'm very happy that the schools today are teaching at least one hour of Lakota language to our Lakota students," he says. Uses The Knife Jr., 47, says when he went to boarding school more than three decades ago, he had to leave his language behind. He still is learning it today. Condon wants that relearning period to end. That includes not only the language but the culture and traditions. Her grandparents never spoke of the Wounded Knee Massacre to her. She thinks they still grieved for their slain relatives, and she wants healing for others and for herself. She once allowed herself to wallow in self- pity, Condon says. Now, as a teacher, she tries to bring out the positives. She tells her students about the four stages of life: childhood, teenage years, adulthood and the years as an elder. That's her current stage, she says. Four is an important number to the Lakota, Condon says. They have the four seasons; the four directions and their values: the West and respect, North and courage, East and generosity, and South and wisdom; and the four colors: red, white, black, yellow. "Whether you're black, white, red or yellow, you need to be proud of who you are," Condon says. "I teach my kids, my grandkids, to respect people of all colors." Frieda Condon * Who: Frieda Condon, 58, rural Cherry Creek. * What: Lakota teacher at the Takini school. * Family: Husband, Keeler Condon. Together they raised her three children and his three children from their first marriages; they later had two children together. She has seven grandchildren. * Background: Attended two Catholic boarding schools and a Bureau of Indian Affairs school and graduated from high school in Wakpala. Condon has earned degrees in clerical work, computer information systems and social work. In 1997, she earned her Lakota studies teaching certificate. Most recently, she earned a degree in elementary education from Sinte Gleske University. Copyright c. 2003 Argus Leader. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Editorial: Sacred Spaces, Sacred Sites" --------- Date: Fri, 11 July 2003 08:22:27 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COLUMN of the AMERICAS" http://www.navajotimes.com/opinion.html Column of the Americas Sacred spaces, sacred sites by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez Universal Press Syndicate Stand in a secluded canyon, admire Creation. Admire the flight of eagles amid the deep blue skies and the red-brown-yellow canyon walls, carved by the energy of Ejecatl, the wind. Listen for the water. It's nowhere to be seen, but it is there. Around you are many unseen altars - altars that hold a sacred memory, connecting humanity to the beginning of time. Hundreds of these sites throughout the United States are in danger of being obliterated by rapacious corporations that are guided not by respect for the land, but by greed in their quest to extract the blood from our mother's veins. Recently, a National Day of Prayer to Protect Sacred Places was observed with ceremonies to bring attention for the need to protect these sites. The universe is Creation itself. All comes from the same beginning, the same source. All is related, from the smallest subatomic particle to the largest stellar constellation. For some, this cosmovision, which is shared by elders from many traditions worldwide, leads to the belief in the sacredness of all life. This belief is antithetical to the beliefs of those in power worldwide, who approach life with seemingly a total disregard for all life, placing profit above all living beings, above the Earth that provides us our daily sustenance, above the air that fills our lungs and above the Earth's sacred waters that irrigate life itself. One cannot expect everyone to hold such beliefs - in the sacredness of all life. For some, perhaps it's an alien idea, too human, too humane. Such beliefs would expose us to the fallacy of war and lead us to understand the extreme fragility of the planet. It might even lead each one of us to become caretakers, not simply of the Earth, but of all life. Such beliefs necessarily mean we start by respecting our own bodies, not feeding them genetically modified food, nor healing with, nor becoming dependent upon, toxic pharmaceuticals. (It also means opposing the effort to genetically contaminate the world's food supply.) "I can't think of a more sacred place than our bodies," said Debra Harry, executive director of the Indigenous People's Council on Biocolonialism. She screened the recent documentary "The Leech and the Earthworm," which gives an indigenous critique on genetic engineering, at the Native American Journalists Association conference last week. Beyond our bodies, sacred sites are all around us, most in extreme danger. These sites - such as the petroglyphs outside of Albuquerque, N.M. - contain a sacred memory. Once destroyed, that memory is distorted and its spirit becomes desecrated. Memory and creation are linked. Yet in a country that, in effect, celebrates historical amnesia, little wonder that any memory remains at all. Go to the Library of Congress and ask for the native division. There is none. Nothing was here prior to the founding fathers. That's the consciousness of this nation. Or is it that the memory of this continent is too painful to remember? Other sites are sacred for other reasons: because they sustain life itself. Virtually all water everywhere - but particularly in the desert Southwest - is in danger of extreme pollution and extinction due to the avarice of runaway tax-exempt and polluting corporations that leave at a moment's notice once they've sucked the Earth dry. Zuni Salt Lake in New Mexico is another example of an endangered sacred site. The proposed coal mining, or Salt River Project, will endanger the aquifers that feed the lake. In addition, the building of related infrastructure threatens shrines and approximately 500 archaeological sites erected by the Hopi, Dine', Zuni and Laguna Pueblos, all of which have made pilgrimages to the sacred salt beds and who've considered it a zone of sanctuary for hundreds of years - even during times of conflict among the nations. The sites are also crucial to ceremonial practices and are part of sacred migrations. "The aquifers that feed to Salt Lake give life to the Salt Woman," said Zuni tribal councilman Arden Kucate. It is predicted that the amount of water that will be required to facilitate the project would dry up the lake within 40 years, said Kucate. "And it will chase away the spirit of the Salt Woman, or she just might lay to rest there." Zuni teachings hold that she left from another site because she felt contaminated by humans. Yes. Multiply this 100 times, and it's the story of the continent - of the planet. Where will Salt Woman be safe? Copyright c. 2003 Navajo Times/Window Rock, AZ. --------- "RE: Monitoring of Indian Trust Progress Rejected" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 16:58:17 -0500 From: "Bill McAllister" Subj: Government Rejects Monitoring of Indian Trust Progress Government Rejects Monitoring of Indian Trust Progress WASHINGTON, July 17 - Government lawyers notified U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth today that they will oppose any effort to continue the court's monitoring of the Interior Department efforts to implement trust reform and provide a complete and accurate accounting of all individual Indian trust funds. In a two-page response filed with the court, the Justice Department said it rejected Lamberth's proposal to have a court-appointed monitor to observe the government's compliance with orders to revamp the poorly- managed trust. "Interior defendants do not consent to a structural injunction of any sort, to another court monitor, or to any sort of board or other entity to perform a monitoring role," said the response from Associate Attorney General Robert D. McCallum, Jr. In the filing, the Interior Department stressed it was beyond Lamberth's "jurisdiction to enter a structural injunction that dictates how the Interior defendants must conduct trust reform or comply with their obligation to account to individual Indian money (IIM) account holders." Dennis M. Gingold, lead attorney for the class-action lawsuit which has won orders for the accounting, expressed no surprise at the government's position. "This filing confirms the unconscionable attitude and shameful behavior of the Interior Secretary and the Attorney General that we have observed throughout the seven years of this litigation," said Gingold. "This is an attitude that states arrogantly that no court -- not the U. S. District Court, not the U.S Court of Appeals, and not the United States Supreme Court -- has the authority to compel them to obey the law or discharge the trust duties that they owe to individual Indian trust beneficiaries. As Judge Lamberth has noted in the past: 'This is not our form of government.'" "It should be noted that the government explicitly had agreed to the appointment of a monitor and a special master in this case, but now the government insists it should be allowed to work in the dark so it can continue to violate court orders and breach its trust duties with impunity." "We are perversely amused at this statement coming only a day after the Bush administration told Congress it wants to resolve these very issues in a fair and prompt manner," Gingold said. (See OMB Statement of Administration Policy on HR 2691 -Interior Appropriations Bill FY 2004) "The only way to settle this case quickly and fairly is to appoint a receiver and set a date for the accounting trial as soon as possible," Gingold said. "We have committed to Congress that we will come to the bargaining table in good faith" in an effort to resolve this litigation, he said. For additional information: Bill McAllister 703-385-6996 --------- "RE: Appeals Court ruling keeps Findings in Place" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 18:30:45 -0400 (EDT) From: "Bill McAllister" Subj: APPEALS COURT RULING KEEPS KEY INDIAN TRUST FINDINGS IN PLACE Washington, July 18 - Lawyers for Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that has won a full and complete accounting of Individual Indian Trust Accounts, issued the following comments on today's ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia: The three-judge panel of the court of appeals leaves intact the important findings of the Norton contempt decision, notably that the Secretary is "unfit" and that the government deceived the district court when it filed false reports on the status of trust reform and the well-documented malfeasance in the management of the Individual Indian Trust. Once again, the appeals court has found that what it calls the "ultimate conclusion" of the lower court -- that the government breached of its fiduciary duties to Individual Indian Trust account beneficiaries -- is correct. While the court lifted the contempt findings from Secretary Norton and Assistant Secretary McCaleb, it left untouched the lower court's conclusions that both were "unfit trustees" who had failed to discharge fundamental duties owed to the 500,000 Indian Trust beneficiaries. In violation of the law of this circuit, the government never argued in the lower court that the Secretary Norton and Assistant Secretary McCaleb should have been tried for criminal contempt. Had those issues been aired in the District court, today's decision might have been different. In any event, we accept the court's conclusions that their behavior was, if anything, criminal in nature. The appeals court also reconfirmed Judge Lamberth's jurisdiction in the ongoing process that just concluded in a 44-day trial on ways to reform the trust and get on with the business of making a full and complete accounting of the Indian trust accounts. It is now time for a receiver to take charge of those trust assets and quickly move this case to the fair and full accounting that Indians have been expecting since 1887. We are in the process of determining whether to appeal the appellate panel's unprecedented application of criminal standards to a civil contempt proceeding. For additional information: Bill McAllister: 703-385-6996 --------- "RE: State's raid on Tribal Land" --------- Date: Wed, 16 July 2003 08:15:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TOBACCO RAID" http://www.indianz.com/News/show.asp?ID=2003/07/16/narragansett State's raid on tribal land sparks strong reactions WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2003 A high-profile battle over a Rhode Island tribe's tax-free cigarette shop heads to court today as Indian leaders from across the nation reacted critically to the state's raid of the Narragansett Reservation. U.S. District Judge William E. Smith will hear arguments on a temporary restraining order sought by the Narragansett Tribe. The lawsuit claims the state lacks jurisdiction over the tribe and that Congress has not subjected the tribe to state tax laws. But in another courtroom, the state will be arguing the exact opposite. Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) and state attorney general Patrick Lynch have filed suit in county court, seeking to stop the tribe from selling tobacco products without collecting and remitting state taxes. The sparring comes as Indian Country weighed in with its response to Monday's violent raid of the Narragansett's smoke shop. Tribal leaders who watched the video, which has been broadcast nationally, and learned of the incident said it brought back an era of tribal-state relations that many thought was long gone. "It is inexcusable that a tribal leader would be target of violence by Rhode Island law enforcement officers," said Brenda Soulliere, chairwoman of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, which represents dozens of tribes in California. For Soulliere, the treatment of a tribe on the other side of the country was very personal -- she was vice-chair of the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians when its card club was raided by state officials in 1981. Like the Narragansett case, the state claimed a right to impose its laws on Indian land, but the U.S. Supreme Court, in 1987, disagreed and upheld the tribe's rights. Tex Hall, president of the National Congress of American Indians, which represents more than 200 tribes, also took issue with the state's handling of the raid. Although he said it was common for tribes and states to disagree, he emphasized cooperation, not conflict, in seeking to resolve disputes over jurisdiction. "Imagine if federal marshals roughed up and arrested your governor and state leaders because the federal government disagreed with a decision made by your state government?" he said. "It is unfathomable." NCAI recently participated in a Supreme Court case in which county officials in California used bolt-cutters to seize records belonging to the Bishop Paiute Shoshone Tribe. An amicus brief highlighted agreements tribes and states have entered into in order to prevent confrontations like the one witnessed in Rhode Island. In nearby Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation said it supported the Narragansetts. "We are astonished at the level of intervention the state of Rhode Island has chosen in this matter, and we believe the level of force was inappropriate and unnecessary," a statement read. The sentiments reflect a key issue that will be discussed in today's dual court hearings: the extent of the state's jurisdiction over activities on tribal land. The state's brief argues that the tribe's 1978 land claim settlement act clearly subjects the tribe to state criminal and civil law. A similar debate occurred in the recent Inyo County v. Bishop Paiute Shoshone Tribe but no clear answer was given by the nation's high court. The tribes who took part in the case argued that while a state such as California might have jurisdiction over the actions of individual Indians, it cannot impose on a tribal sovereign, a view supported by the Bush administration in a Department of Justice brief. In the federal 1st Circuit, which includes the states of Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine, court rulings in general have not been favorable to Indian interests. With the exception of a recent land- into-trust case involving the Mashantucket Tribe, the courts have held that various settlement acts limit the sovereign rights of tribes. A judge in Massachusetts, however, somewhat broke with the mold when he ruled that the Gay Head Wampanoag Tribe can't be sued to comply with local zoning laws. The tribe's settlement agreement, like the Narragansett one, says the state has criminal and civil jurisdiction over tribal lands, but the judge said the law did not waive the tribe's sovereign immunity. Copyright c. 2000-2003 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Panel Head calls for Federal Probe of Raid" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 12:24:26 -0400 From: "MiNewsDirector" Subj: Head of House Indian affairs panel calls for federal probe of raid Mailing List: Native-American-Advocate@yahoogroups.com Head of House Indian affairs panel calls for federal probe of raid 07/18/2003 By JOHN E. MULLIGAN Journal Washington bureau WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the House committee in charge of Indian affairs has called for a federal investigation of this week's Narragansett Indian smoke shop incident. Televised images of the violent confrontation between members of the Narrag ansett tribe and Rhode Island State Police officers ``have outraged Native American leaders nationwide, who have expressed strong concerns that the civil rights of Native Americans, and the sovereign rights of the Narragansett Tribe, may have been violated," Rep. Richard W. Pombo, R-Cal., wrote in a letter to Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft late last night. Pombo, who is chairman of the House Resources Committee, said he was aware of an investigation at the state level. But, he said, "While this is a commendable step, due to the lengthy history of disputes between the Narragansett Tribe and the state, the complexity of the issues involved with the intersection of state and tribal law enforce ment authority, and the high level of emotion currently running in Rhode Is land, I believe that this review by itself is insufficient." "Only the United States government," said Pombo, "will be seen as providing a fair and objective review of this incident and the surrounding controversies over the tribal tobacco store." Pombo also appeared to take a position against the state's decision to raid the allegedly unlawful smoke shop on tribal landsin Charlestown on Monday. He acknowledged that the legal questions about the business are "serious, complex and legitimate." But he added, "the place to resolve these questions is in a court of law, not in an aggressive raid that risks violent confrontation on tribal land where tribal members, state and tribal law enforcement officers, and innocent bystanders are all put needlessly in harm's way." The video and photographic news images of the raid "conjure up memories of incidents from decades ago, in a troubling time for our country, that no American should wish to see happen again," Pombo said. Representatives of the state and tribe are scheduled to meet with a federal court judge on Monday afternoon, after both sides filed court complaints and requests for temporary restraining orders aimed at deciding whether the shop should be allowed to re-open. The discussion was moved to that venue after the state filed in Superior Court in Washington County; the tribe filed its papers in U.S. District Court, Providence. Pombo's committee spokesman, Brian Kennedy, said the chairman does not necessarily want the federal investigation to replace of supplant any state-level inquiries. "But a lot of these guys say, `We're going to launch an investigation,'" Kennedy said, referring to state and local officials. "That's great to say in front of a microphone. "Well, OK, show us the teeth," he said. "We need a federal investigation to determine whether the Narragansett Tribe's members had their constitutional or civil rights violated." Governor Carcieri, who decided to send in State Police to conduct the raid, has ordered both an internal police inquiry into Monday's incident and an outside investigation. http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo-20030718-pombo.9eb58614.html Michigan Branch--Native American Advocate ALWAYS ACCEPTING VOLUNTEERS --------- "RE: Fire closes Mesa Verde" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:54:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MESA VERDE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_597.shtml Fire closes Mesa Verde; authorities fear ruins in danger July 17, 2003 MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (AP) - Lightning-sparked fires shut down the nation's largest archaeological preserve and authorities said Wednesday that flames threatened some of the park's ancient Indian ruins. At least six fires were sparked Tuesday near Balcony House, one of the premier ruins in the park in Colorado's southwestern corner. The park was evacuated and tourists poured into nearby Cortez and Durango, forcing full motels to turn people away. Five fires were still burning Wednesday inside or near the park, covering about 200 acres, said Larry Helmerick of the federal Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center. None had been contained, and more firefighters were being summoned. Helmerick said the ruins were considered threatened, but he didn't immediately have details. No one answered the phone at park headquarters. The park is home to 25,000 archaeological sites left by an Indian civilization that vanished more than 700 years ago. Its cliff dwellings date to the 1200s and pit houses date to the 500s. In 2000, two wildfires burned more than a third of the park's 52,000 acres. A fire last year burned more than 2,600 in the park. Flames could cause significant damage to rock paintings by heating water within the limestone, causing the walls to crumble, said Mark Varien, research director for the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez. Fire could also damage structures built of wood and mud inside the cliff dwellings. "It would not only compromise the structural integrity of those buildings, but the wood is really valuable," Varien said. "That's how we date those buildings." Fire could also burn vegetation, exposing sites to erosion. On Tuesday, Assistant Park Superintendent Betty Janes said all visitors and the park's 30 to 50 resident employees were ordered out. Among them was Jane Murphy, a high school English teacher from Cranston, R.I., who was touring Balcony House when a lightning-packed thunderstorm arrived. "There was this big boom of thunder and somebody said it hit," Murphy said Wednesday by telephone from a Cortez motel. "It started as one thin orange column and then it got wider and wider, and smokier and smokier." William McLoughlin and Antoinette Vecchio of New York were also touring Balcony House when the fires broke out on a nearby ridge. The tour was cut short and they were later ordered out of their room at Far View Lodge inside the park. "We hadn't even put our bags in our room when the rangers came up saying, 'Get in your car and get out,"' McLoughlin said. "They started putting big X's on all the doors to indicate that no one was left." Ten miles from the park entrance Wednesday, front desk worker Denise Kibel said she was turning people away from the Best Western Turquoise Inn & Suites in Cortez. She could see the smoke from the fires. Helmerick said Mesa Verde fires can be a mixed blessing. "It also uncovers treasures that we didn't know were there," he said. Copyright c. 2003 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Nambe' Pueblo Declares State of Emergency" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:54:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAMBE' PUEBLO" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.santafenewmexican.com/SubSectionID=6&ArticleID=30007 Nambe' Pueblo Declares State of Emergency Governor Bans All Low-Flying Planes, Including News Media Tom F. Talache, Jr., Tu'u'yo'n Nambe' Pueblo Tribe of Indians Wednesday, July 16, 2003 The following is a lightly edited press release issued by the Governor of Nambe Pueblo. To: All Federal, State & Local Government Agencies Re: State of Emergency at Nambe' Pueblo As Governor of the Pueblo of Nambe', I hereby declare a State of Emergency on our tribal reservation due to the Molina Fire that has crossed the Southeastern border of our tribe at approximately 6:15 pm on the evening of July 15th. Background On June 23, 2003, two lightning strikes caused fires in the Pecos Wilderness east of our Reservation. These fires had been burning at a low intensity and the flames for the most part were not over four feet in height. A fire of this magnitude would not have hurt our forested areas but was supposed to aid in the prevention of larger fires in the future and increase the vegetation that is available to our wildlife in the coming months. This all changed yesterday evening a little bit after 6:00 pm when two thunder cells came over the area and created wind gusts of up to 40 mph in a northwestern direction. The fire that had be three-quarters of a mile away from our southeastern boundary was driven by the strong wind gusts that lasted for much of the night and into the early morning hours. Subsequently about three-quarters of a mile (approximately 4-500 acres) of Nambe' Pueblo foothill lands known as "Oakie Hill" above our lake has been scorched and burned severely. The fire has now been reclassified from a Type 3 fire to that of a Type 2 fire...With the reclassification, more fire management resources will be brought into the area to better deal with the fire. Lieutenant Governor, Councilman Herbert Yates and myself did a flyover today (July 16)...after an update this morning by all the various key government agencies working on the fire this morning. Currently, the USDA Forest Service in conjunction with the Pueblo and Northern Pueblos Agency has brought in a type-1 helicopter that will be making water drops on the fire. This helicopter is quite huge and can drop up to 2,000 gallons of water at a time. Along with the type 1 helicopter, the Forest Service will be using type 2 and type 3 helicopters that deliver 600 and 250 gallons respectively. They have also ordered another Type 1 helicopter to further aid in the drops on the affected areas. Water is being taken out of our reservoir. With a ground assault of four Hot Shot crews (80 men and women), and the air attacks that have already begun, the Forest Service is comfortable that there will be no further danger to our reservation... The forecast is for more easterly winds in the next two to three days, which will make this fire very difficult to control with the current staff of firefighters. For this reason, and because the length of time that this fire has been burning, the Forest Service will begin direct air attacks on the fire with both water and fire retardant. The classification to a type 2 fire will bring in a larger group of Hot Shot personnel that will be able to work solely on the containment and extinguishment of this fire. This will also make more resources available to the Molina Complex Fire. The Forest Service has been working very closely with the Pueblo and has been providing the administration with hourly updates... We have indicated clearly that we do not want the fire on our lands whatsoever. We have also expressed our varying concerns and expectations that the fires need to be kept from going into areas that will affect our watershed and drainage areas into our lake, as well as certain religious and spiritual locations. If the fires get into the watershed, this could have a devastating impact on our fish, as well as water for agricultural purposes for all the communities in the area if the fire is not stopped. They have committed to aggressively attack the fire until it put completely out on our lands. The Administration is also researching other sources of financial relief for those tribal members that have had to incur out-of-pocket expenses to temporarily relocate due to the smoke. We are also looking long-term to how we might obtain funding to take care of those costs that all of us are going to incur due to smoke damage to our homes, i.e., cost of cleaning/replacing drapes/curtains, furniture, carpets, and repainting of our homes. Any assistance that any of your government agencies can provide our people in this respect will be greatly appreciated. Due to the severe damage the fire has done to our Tribal lands and the continued threat the fire still poses to our lands, I am declaring a State of Emergency and have further suspended all low-flying commercial and news media air traffic over our reservation. This also applies to all private citizen-piloted air traffic. Air traffic is limited to emergency response and firefighting traffic only! Additionally, effective immediately, fire restrictions are also in effect until further notice. These restrictions are as follows: + No Camp Fires + Smoking Only in Designated Areas + No Chainsaw Use Without Spark Arrestors + No ATVs in Wooded Areas + No Fireworks in Wooded Areas These restrictions will remain in effect until the monsoon moisture is well established and again, until further notice from my office. I ask for your support and assistance that your government can assist my government to effectively deal with this fire for the health and safety of our people, our wildlife, our water and our lands. Respectfully, Tom F. Talache, Jr., Tu'u'yo'n (Governor) Nambe' Pueblo Tribe of Indians Content c. 2003 The Santa Fe New Mexican. --------- "RE: Residents return to Fort Apache Reservation" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 20:50:08 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: Residents return to Fort Apache Reservation: Firefighters feel confident but await rainfall (Fwd) - - - - - - -- - - - - - - http://www.azstarnet.com/star/sat/30719RWildfires.html Tucson, Arizona Saturday, 19 July 2003 Residents return to Fort Apache Reservation Firefighters feel confident but await rainfall By Anabelle Garay THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WHITERIVER - Thousands of residents of an American Indian reservation charred by wildfire began returning to their homes Friday, two days after the flames nearly reached their community. About 5,000 people were forced Monday to evacuate Whiteriver, on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Eastern Arizona, as the lightning- sparked Kinishba Fire approached the town. It came within a quarter-mile of some homes before firefighters ringed the blaze with firebreaks. No homes were damaged. A few cars began trickling into deserted subdivisions in Whiteriver shortly before the evacuation order was lifted, with the pace picking up as the morning wore on. "We're so thankful to God that our house is still standing," said Ellen Stewart, 69, a missionary who spent Friday morning unloading a mattress, blankets and other items from her station wagon. In a nearby subdivision, Fred Naranjo, 21, and his wife, Netanya Johnson, 20, were looking over their own home. "I missed being home, a home-cooked meal," said Naranjo, who was in New Mexico when the evacuations were ordered and was unable to go home to retrieve anything. Although they have a line around the 20,100-acre blaze, firefighters won't consider it officially contained until there is enough rainfall to cool the flames, firefighters spokesman Wendell Peacock said. "We're pretty confident the fire will stay within the perimeter," said Larry Humphrey, commander of the firefighting team. The blaze was among about 40 large, active wildfires burning around the West on Friday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. A lightning-caused wildfire in Southern California destroyed several structures in a sparsely populated region of steep, brush-covered hills about 60 miles northeast of San Diego, officials said Friday. It continued to threaten about 50 homes and 50 other structures and was 17 percent contained Friday. The 12,900-acre fire destroyed a building and several small structures at a research station operated by San Diego State University, as well as two mobile homes used as offices, California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Lora Lowes said. The fire also destroyed five tents and a storage container at a summer camp, she said. In Washington state, two brush fires flared near a subdivision in suburban Seattle, and nearby residents were told to be ready to evacuate, fire and police officials said. No evacuations were ordered, and firefighters had the upper hand by Friday evening. Firefighters in Wyoming were trying to contain fires in three corners of the state, including three fires in Yellowstone National Park. Only one trail in the park had been closed Friday, but officials banned smoking and backcountry campfires until further notice. Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado has been closed since Tuesday because of a fire reported at 2,000 acres Friday. It was not threatening any structures or ruins. Find anything and everything on StarNet by visiting our site map: www.azstarnet.com/sitemap Subscribe to the StarNet Newsletter to receive news bulletins and an e-mail each weekday with links to the top new content on StarNet. Copyright c. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star and its wire services and suppliers. - - - - - - -- - - - - - - --------- "RE: Agencies mobilize to combat Drought" --------- Date: Fri, 11 July 2003 08:22:27 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DROUGHT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.navajotimes.com/0710drought.html Agencies mobilize to combat drought By Marley Shebala The Navajo Times WINDOW ROCK - Tribal, state and federal agencies are mobilizing to help prepare for and manage worsening drought conditions. Edison Wauneka, director of Navajo Nation Emergency Management, said on Wednesday that he just got a telephone call from New Mexico Gov. Richardson's office for two representatives from the Navajo Nation to sit on a state drought task force. Wauneka said his office is already involved in the Arizona governor's drought task force and two emergency management employees, Johnny Johnson and Dave Nez, are attending a task force meeting at the state department of water resources in Phoenix today (July 10). The Ramah Navajo Chapter has a $70,000 request to the Navajo Nation Council for drought relief. The council's summer session is from July 21 to 25. Wauneka said last year's the Navajo Nation Drought Declaration is still in effect. He said the emergency management office had not reviewed Ramah's request, which is part of the drought assistance protocol. Dr. Don Wilhite and other staff of the National Drought Mitigation Center were scheduled to conduct a workshop this morning in Phoenix on how to develop a long-term drought plan and pitfalls to avoid. Wilhite, a nationally and internationally known drought expert, has helped many other states develop drought plans. Dr. Julio L. Betancourt, a member of the Arizona Drought Task Force and U.S. Geological Survey and University of Arizona Desert Laboratory, reported in a historical perspective that the Southwest has been in a persistent drought since 1999, particularly in 2002. Betancourt said on Tuesday that climate changes will push the drought into next summer. Last summer, the drought literally knocked livestock to their knees across the reservation. The Navajo Nation Agricultural Department, in response to the suffering of animals and the concerns of livestock owners, sponsored several emergency livestock sales. A sale was held in Shiprock at the end of June and a sale will be held in Tuba City next weekend. Today (July 10), the Agriculture Department's tribal ranches program will be conducting a "Ranching With Drought or How to Handle Risk in the Livestock Industry" workshop from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Navajo Nation Museum resource conference room. Fritz Roanhorse, ranch program manager, said the workshop is free and all participants will receive a 200-page reference notebook and a computer disk of software tools. Roanhorse said the seminar is for livestock owners and anyone that's interested in ranching. Cattle ranching is a risk because it ultimately depends on rainfall and grazing land, which is why the whole objective of the workshop is for individuals to have good record keeping, he said. Roanhorse explained that good record keeping involves maintaining an overall record of a ranch's operations, including the number of animals, size of land, vaccinations, assets and income. He said the workshop participants will be given that tool. And if individuals want more education, the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is willing to work with them, said Roanhorse. The Navajo Nation's Agriculture Department is jointly sponsoring the ranching with drought workshop with the University of Arizona and U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management. Roanhorse said if the reservation's livestock owners are serious about ranching then there wouldn't be unproductive cows and unused horses grazing across the reservation, especially during a water shortage. He explained that a productive cow is a cow that has a calf every year. Because of the drought, livestock owners need to seriously think about selling their herd, advised Roanhorse. Tribal Agriculture Department tri-state coordinating extension agent Gerald Moore noted that the workshop can help livestock owners actually see how long it will take them to buy back their herd if they get a loan. Moore said livestock owners will also be able to calculate if they are financially better off selling their animals or keeping them and buying hay and feed. He said the same workshop was held in Tuba City last weekend and was well attended. This is a hands-on computer workshop, emphasized Moore. According to the ranching with drought brochure, computer experience is not necessary. Copyright c. 2003 Navajo Times/Window Rock, AZ. --------- "RE: Cayugas seek $1.7Billion for Trespass" --------- Date: Wed, 16 July 2003 08:15:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CAYUGA LAND CLAIM" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/~/1058344579274410.xml Cayugas Appeal Cases Indians seek evictions in claim area, $1.7B for trespass July 16, 2003 By David L. Shaw Staff writer The Cayuga Nation of New York and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma should be awarded $1.7 billion in trespass damages. The state and private property owners in the 64,027-acre Cayuga land claim area should be evicted. Lawyers for the nation and tribe made those arguments in their joint, 247-page brief filed July 11 with the federal 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. The two groups, plus the defendant state, Cayuga and Seneca counties and 7,000 private landowners are all appealing decisions made by U.S. District Judge Neal P. McCurn of Syracuse over the past 22 years. McCurn has presided over the Cayugas' claim to former reservation land in Cayuga and Seneca counties since it was filed in November 1980. He has upheld the validity of the claim by rejecting all defenses argued by the defendants. A trial jury awarded the tribe $36.9 million in damages in 2000, and McCurn added $211 million in interest in 2001. He then ruled the case could be appealed. The Cayugas and Seneca-Cayugas say McCurn's rulings upholding the claim should be affirmed. They say McCurn was right when he said the state illegally acquired the land in 1795 and 1807 because the transactions were not ratified by Congress, as required by the 1790 federal Indian Non-Intercourse Act. They also point to the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua between the Cayugas and the federal government that formally recognized Cayuga rights over the claim area. But they said McCurn was wrong when he ruled that eviction of current occupants would not be allowed, even though the claim was ruled valid. McCurn limited damages to a monetary award. "The decision of the district court denying ejectment should be reversed and a decree and judgment ejecting the state from all state land within the claim area should be entered," it states. They also said all non-state defendants should be evicted from the claim. The nation and tribe lawyers also argue that McCurn's determination of damages and interest was improperly calculated, saying he was wrong to arbitrarily reduce the award by 60 percent. They argue that a judgment of $1.7 billion should be entered instead. They also argue that if the damages award is substantially reduced or other arguments of the state are upheld, there should be a new trial at the district court level. If so, they will ask for a change of venue to some place other than Syracuse. The state, counties and private landowners submitted their briefs in March. They urged that McCurn's rulings upholding the claim be reversed. The defendants also argued the damages award should be maintained or reduced. Oral arguments before the appeals court will be held sometime after Nov. 17. Copyright c. 2003 The Syracuse Post-Standard. Used with permission. --------- "RE: Lakota sues Nebraska over Beer-Rich Whiteclay" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:54:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHITECLAY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=2604 Lakota sues Nebraska over beer-rich Whiteclay Whiteclay reaps millions in beer sales as Native murders go unsolved LINCOLN NB Jim Kent 7/16/2003 Lincoln, Neb. - Tom Poor Bear is willing to do whatever's legally necessary to resolve the situation at Whiteclay, including going to federal court. The Oglala Sioux tribal member filed a civil lawsuit against the State of Nebraska in federal court on July 7 objecting to violations of his Constitutional rights as well as to the very existence of the reservation border town. Poor Bear noted that an 1882 Executive Order written by President Chester A. Arthur set aside a 5-mile buffer zone next to the Pine Ridge Reservation, which included the present site of Whiteclay, in order to protect Native Americans from the ravages of alcohol. That zone was dissolved by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1904. Today, the 14-person village makes most of its money - estimated in excess of $4 million - by selling 11,000 cans of beer every day to Lakota residents of the Pine Ridge Reservation. Poor Bear commented that part of his lawsuit addresses President Arthur's Executive Order. "More or less, I'm suing the state of Nebraska for illegally taking Whiteclay," he explained. "I'm also suing them because they violated my rights on the marches that were held back in 1999." Poor Bear was among 8 people arrested for taking part in a protest march in Whiteclay in June 1999. The march was organized after the bodies of two of Poor Bear's relatives, Wilson Black Elk Jr. and Ronald Hard Heart, were found in a roadside ditch between Whiteclay and the village of Pine Ridge. As far as Poor Bear is concerned, his arrest was illegal. "I felt that I had every right to walk down that highway," he remarked. "They violated my freedom of speech, my right to assemble, and my freedom of religion. They have violated my right to travel freely from the Pine Ridge Reservation to the town of Whiteclay as secured by the First, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments. They've also violated the right of myself, my family and my extended family to be safe and secure in their persons by equal enforcement of criminal and regulatory laws of the state of Nebraska as afforded by Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments." The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, assembly and religion, the Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure, the Fifth Amendment guarantees due process of law, the Ninth Amendment states that the rights of the Constitution shall not deny or disparage others (rights) retained by the people, and the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law. Poor Bear's lawsuit also includes a demand that Nebraska create a task force to investigate the deaths of Black Elk and Hard Heart, which remain unsolved. "This Task Force should consist of individuals who specialize in the investigation of homicides and crimes of violence," Poor Bear commented. "And individuals with a familiarity and respect for the Oglala Lakota traditions and history. It should develop and implement a plan to fully investigate both the murders of Wilson Black Elk and Ronald Hard Heart, as well as any other unsolved murders that have occurred in or near the Nebraska towns that border the Pine Ridge Reservation." Omaha attorney Bruce Mason explained that the civil rights action is designed to seek compensatory damages for deprivation of Poor Bear's Constitutional rights (the sum to be determined by the court), rectify a pattern of discriminatory actions that have existed in the area, and to also address the core issue that Whiteclay should actually be a part of the Pine Ridge Reservation. "This has been an injustice that has lasted for many years and needs to be rectified immediately," Mason remarked. "Unfortunately, state officials have done nothing. This lawsuit is merely an attempt to bring that to their attention. It has tremendous impact because it's part and parcel of a policy of violation of Native American treaties, particularly those of the Lakota people." The Nebraska Attorney General's office refused to comment on the issue, noting that the state has yet to be served with Poor Bear's lawsuit. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2003 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Judge orders change in Plan to Distribute Klamath" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 11:15:33 -0500 From: "Carter Camp" Subj: Judge Orders Change in Plan to Distribute Klamath River Water Mailing List: ndn-aim Judge Orders Change in Plan to Distribute Klamath River Water July 18, 2003 Judge Orders Change in Plan to Distribute Klamath River Water By DEAN E. MURPHY OAKLAND, Calif., July 17 97 A federal judge here has ruled that a Bush administration plan for distributing water from the Klamath River, where 33,000 salmon died last year in one of the country's biggest fish kills, must be revised because it is based on a biological opinion that violates the Endangered Species Act. The ruling by the judge, Saundra Brown Armstrong of Federal District Court, was made public today and hailed by opponents of the water plan as a major environmental victory. But administration officials also expressed satisfaction with the ruling, particularly because the judge indicated that water deliveries this year would not be affected. "We are glad to see operations can continue through this summer," said Blain Rethmeier, a spokesman for the Justice Department, which represented the National Marine Fisheries Service, one of the federal agencies named in the lawsuit and the one that was the author of the biological opinion. For more than a year the Bush administration has been at odds with fishermen, conservation groups and some Indian tribes over water flows for the river. Those flows are managed by the Bureau of Reclamation; the river runs through southern Oregon and northern California. The groups argue that the administration's management plan sets aside too much water for the irrigation of farmland in the Klamath basin at the expense of fish, including the coho salmon, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The groups took the administration to court in an effort to keep some of the agricultural diversions in the river. Central to the conflict has been the biological opinion by the Fisheries Service, which is the basis of the plan's water allocations. Judge Armstrong said parts of the opinion were "arbitrary and capricious" and ordered that they be amended. Specifically, the judge said the biological opinion relied improperly on the states of California and Oregon and private parties to ensure that fish in the river received enough water over the long term. Environmental groups had made the same argument. "A promise to provide a fraction of the water salmon need, sometime in the future, from somewhere, meets neither the requirements of the law nor of science," Kristen Boyles, a lawyer with Earthjustice, one of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit, said in a statement. "The fish in the Klamath are in real trouble right now; they need real action, not vague promises." The fight over the river has grown intensely partisan, with Democrats accusing the Bush administration of siding with farmers for political reasons and suggesting the Klamath water policy reflects a broader Republican agenda against the environment. Representative Mike Thompson, a Democrat from California who represents some of the Klamath basin, supported the lawsuit, and some state biologists with the California Department of Fish and Game also publicly questioned the scientific analysis behind the federal policy. "On one hand I am pleased with the result," Mr. Thompson said of the judge's ruling, "but on the other, it is sad commentary that you have to go to this extreme in order to get the agency that is charged with protecting fish and wildlife to come to the table and try to hammer out a solution." Mr. Rethmeier of the Justice Department said it was unclear whether the ruling would be appealed. But he said there was no doubt that the National Marine Fisheries Service could address the problems raised by the judge. Jeffrey S. McCracken, a spokesman for the Bureau of Reclamation, said the agency expected that the judge's ruling would have no immediate effect on water for farmers. Copyright c. 2003 The New York Times Company. --------- "RE: Freudenthal opposes giving Bison to Tribes" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:54:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BISON" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/rednews/2003/07/17/wyoming/30-bison.inc Freudenthal opposes giving bison to tribes July 17, 2003 CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal refused Wednesday to support giving bison from overcrowded herds at Yellowstone National Park to American Indian tribes, saying he feared spreading the cattle disease brucellosis. The Intertribal Bison Cooperative, a nonprofit group dedicated to returning bison to Indian country, suggested the idea during a meeting with Freudenthal on management of Yellowstone's bison. "If you don't want them, just give them to us," said Fred DuBray, the South Dakota-based group's executive director. But Freudenthal said that would be too risky to the nation's cattle industry, which has nearly eradicated brucellosis from its herds. He told the group to wait until better testing methods were developed. Yellowstone's bison are considered the last reservoir of the disease, which can cause cows to abort their calves. It also causes undulant fever in humans. The infection in the herd is the reason Yellowstone bison have been killed by state and federal authorities when they leave the park and enter cattle country. "It's a pretty steep canyon to jump off of without knowing if you have a parachute," Freudenthal said. "I don't think as governor of Wyoming I can take that risk. ... I don't think any states would take that step to endanger their brucellosis-free status." Cooperative members proposed building quarantine facilities, where vaccine and other research could occur, and said the bison would be tested for brucellosis before being sent anywhere. "We think (brucellosis) has been blown out of proportion," said DuBray, who called the slaughter of bison "an unnecessary and needless approach to the problem." Currently, livestock officials can kill bison if they stray into Montana from the park out of brucellosis concerns. Even so, Yellowstone's herds have grown to near record levels. The park's bison management plan calls for a population of 3,000 -- but the herds are near 4,000 animals. DuBray argued that the herds, which contain valuable genetic information, must be protected from other diseases and said moving some of the animals elsewhere could prevent its decimation. "Usually, when you have a small gene pool, you like to spread it around so it's not wiped out," he said. The cooperative also lobbied Freudenthal for a position on the Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee, saying it deserves a spot at the negotiating table. A memo creating the committee excluded tribal interests as members, though federal law encourages Indian representation in such groups. Freudenthal appeared more open to that proposal, but said he needed time to think about it. "I wouldn't link these two issues because you don't know which one will move on at which pace," he said. The cooperative, which represents 51 tribes in 16 states, also plans to speak with governors in Idaho and Montana about their proposals. Copyright c. 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2003 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Official compares One Nation to Aryan Nation" --------- Date: Tue, 15 July 2003 08:11:07 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RACIST ORGANIZATION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=2576 Farm Bureau official compares One Nation to Aryan Nation, quits Cherokee man angered over support TAHLEQUAH OK Sam Lewin July 14, 2003 A Cherokee man has resigned from a state office, angered over their support of a group dedicated to fighting tribal sovereignty. Gary Fisher said he disagreed with the Oklahoma Farm Bureau's endorsement of One Nation One Nation is a recently formed organization dedicated to opposing Oklahoma tribes on everything from gaming compacts to tobacco and gasoline sales. "The purpose of One Nation is to raise public awareness of the growing threat to our state's economic future posed by the unprecedented expansion of the power of these Native American tribes," reads an excerpt from a One Nation publication One Nation lists the Oklahoma Farm Bureau as a member. The Cherokee County Farm Bureau operates under their direction. Fisher said he left because of the One Nation link. "I resigned because of their association with One Nation. They are very much anti-Indian and I'm a tribal member," Fisher told the Native American Times. One Nation maintains they are not a racist organization. Asked about that claim, Fisher laughed. "Have you seen their website? It looks like something from the Aryan Nations to me," he said. A Cherokee County Farm Bureau agent who refused to be identified confirmed that Fisher quit, but said he did not know why. He said operations would not be disrupted. "We got a vice president whose ready to take over. It's not a big destructive ordeal for this office by no means," the agent said. In addition to the Farm Bureau, One Nation also claims the Oklahoma Independent Marketers Association, the Oklahoma Petroleum Marketers Association, the Southern Oklahoma Water Alliance and the Oklahoma Grocers Association as members. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2003 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Methane-well fight pits Reservation, EPA" --------- Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2003 20:04:27 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="METHANE-WELL FIGHT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1520886,00.html# Methane-well fight pits reservation, EPA officials By Mike Soraghan, Denver Post Washington Bureau July 20, 2003 LAME DEER, Mont. - The cold blue waters of the Tongue River carve the eastern border of the Northern Cheyenne reservation into the Montana soil. But the stream also shapes the life of the tribe. The Tongue nourishes tribal members' crops, and many of the sacred herbs and roots used in tribal rituals grow along its banks. "We normally go swimming in the water, wash our clothes in it and drink it," said Levando "Cowboy" Fisher, a former tribal president who lives along the banks of the Tongue. But now Fisher and his tribe fear the river is being polluted by drilling for coal-bed methane - a form of natural gas - in the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming. The 7,000-member tribe has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow it to regulate water pollution on the river more strictly than the federal government would. The tribe's proposed standards would reduce the number of wells allowed upriver by one-third. But those efforts have stalled and some tribal officials suspect that the Bush administration is blocking them to ensure that the methane keeps flowing. "The bottom line is, our president and vice president, their big priority is opening up the Powder River," said tribal President Geri Small. The tribe's application, she said, was cruising toward approval from regional EPA officials in Denver until the agency's headquarters got involved. Now, the tribe must either start all over again, or proceed with a proposal that local regulators have approved, but Washington officials hint they will likely reject. The gas company whose production would be slashed has hired a law firm with close ties to the Bush administration to fight the tribe's proposed standards. The firm argues that granting the tribe's wish would be inconsistent with the Bush administration's pro-production energy policy. But federal officials deny that they're rejecting the tribe's wishes. They say they just want it done right. "It's unfortunate it's taken such a long period of time," said Max Dodson, EPA's assistant regional administrator in Denver. "It will ultimately be concluded." The impasse also concerns U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., who chairs the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and has written the EPA in support of the tribe. Campbell, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, blames bureaucratic fumbling. "I think the feds are wrong," Campbell said in an interview. "The bureaucracy never trusts anyone to make a decision." As a matter of political philosophy, the Bush administration might be expected to eagerly grant the tribe's request. President Bush and Interior Secretary Gale Norton have repeatedly said those closest to the land know best how to take care of it. Under Bush, the EPA has tried to hand off enforcement power to states. The administration also has supported an effort by Campbell, the only Indian in the Senate, to let tribes do their own environmental regulation of energy projects. "Increased tribal regulation and responsibility for their resources is consistent with tribal sovereignty," Theresa Rosier, a Bush administration official for Indian affairs told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in March. The gas fields upstream of the Northern Cheyenne reservation are among the country's richest sources of coal-bed methane. The Powder River Basin is believed to contain enough gas to supply the nation for a year, and the administration expects as many as 69,000 wells in Wyoming and Montana over the next 20 years. Fidelity Exploration & Production Co. is at the heart of the energy boom in southeastern Montana. The company hired Bracewell & Patterson, a Houston-based firm, to lead its charge against the tribal restrictions. Former Montana Gov. Mark Racicot, Bush's 2004 campaign chairman, is a partner at the firm, which is well-known for representing Enron. Tribal President Small says she's troubled by the relationship. But Bracewell officials say Racicot is not lobbying federal officials on the Northern Cheyenne matter, only lending his expertise on resource issues. "Our dealings with the administration have only been with the appropriate jurisdictional agency," said Bracewell partner Gene Godley. "Anyone with any political profile has not been involved." Fidelity complains that the process the tribe is using to seek strict water standards doesn't allow for the input the federal government would take from affected people and companies. The tribe's neighbors, energy companies and even the Wyoming state government, which regulates the upper Tongue, don't have a say in the process. "Since there's such important national interests here, we would hope EPA would find a way to open the decision-making," Godley said. The state of Wyoming also has objected, noting that the tribe's plan could restrict energy development. The state complained that the proposed water standards aren't meant to protect farming or other activities, but simply to keep the water pristine. The Northern Cheyenne are seeking "treatment as a state," or TAS, which allows the EPA to cede authority over water-quality regulations to a tribe. Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA often allows state governments to enforce water-pollution rules. It does the same for tribes. "Water is so sacred to our people," Fisher explained on a recent evening as he took a break from fixing the fence that corrals his small herd of buffalo. The river, fed by the snowmelt of the Bighorn Mountains to the south, is thought to have spiritual qualities, and members of the tribe make offerings to it. It wouldn't be the first time that the Northern Cheyenne have set high environmental standards. Their 700-square mile reservation already uses the same air pollution standards as national parks. Following a similar path for its water, the tribe applied for TAS status for the Tongue in April 2002. In September 2002, Small said, EPA officials in Denver said the request would be granted in 30 days. The EPA's regional office approved the application in January 2003. By June, with the application still unapproved, Small and other tribal leaders flew to Washington, where the EPA's top lawyer sent them back to the drawing board. EPA general counsel Robert Fabricant told the Northern Cheyenne that their request was legally insufficient even though regional EPA officials had suggested the approach. Fabricant did not respond to requests for an interview. But Campbell's letter to the EPA says Fabricant told the Indians their proposal was weak because it represented a "novel legal argument" and raised issues "of national significance." The tribe's next meeting at EPA headquarters was with the agency's assistant administrator for water, G. Tracy Meehan. As the meeting began, Meehan tossed a newspaper on the table, recalled Dave Millegan, the tribe's director of environmental protection. The paper was turned to a story about Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's warning that gas shortages could damage the economy, Millegan said. Meehan did not respond to requests for comment. But other EPA officials say they're simply trying to make the tribe's request less vulnerable to legal challenge. "The tribe put together an application based on a legal theory that we've never seen before," said Dodson of the Denver office. "There's some deep-seated legal issues." Dodson also acknowledged that the concern about the tribe's request was coming from administration officials in Washington. "There was a signal from Washington that there might be some concerns," Dodson said. But he said that pressure from energy companies has not factored in his decision-making. "It's not affecting me," Dodson said, noting that he couldn't speak for any other EPA office. The standards the tribe is recommending could put a crimp in the basin's coal-bed methane boom. To get methane out of the ground, huge amounts of water must be pumped out of a coal seam. But the "produced water," as it's called, is often high in sodium. The salty water is generally fine for people and animals but it can damage surrounding agricultural land. The cheapest way to deal with salty water is to let it flow into nearby rivers, driving up sodium content. More expensive solutions include storing the water in big ponds to let it evaporate and seep back into the ground, or treating it to remove the sodium. The amount of salt in the water is measured as a "sodium adsorption ratio" or SAR. Montana has proposed that the SAR in its rivers not go above three, said Abe Horpestad, a recently retired Montana environmental regulator. The Northern Cheyenne want to set a SAR of two. That would mean either one-third less coal-bed methane production, Horpestad said, or more expensive drilling. Copyright c. 2003 The Denver Post or other copyright holders. --------- "RE: A forgotten Tribe, a lost Homeland" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 08:54:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WENATCHI" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001128281_wenatchi17m.html A forgotten tribe, a lost homeland By Emily Heffter Seattle Times staff reporter July 17, 2003 LEAVENWORTH - Every May, the Wenatchi Indians drive 100 miles to a tiny cemetery here to tend the gravesite of their last chief. They cut the grass and decorate the tombstones in the small, fenced plot, squeezed between an apple orchard and Highway 2. Wenatchi Chief John Harmelt died in 1937 hoping his people wouldn't have to travel so far to see his burial plot. The people buried alongside Harmelt in the tribe's homeland represent the forgotten tribe's past, but members have their hearts set on the same future Harmelt envisioned - a long-promised reservation in the Wenatchi homeland near Leavenworth. "It's important to me that we kind of hold the government's feet to the fire and make sure they keep those promises," said Mathew Dick, Harmelt's great-grandson and a full-blooded Wenatchi. This spring, both houses of the state Legislature passed resolutions addressing the tribe's situation. State government can't change laws to affect the tribe, but the resolutions showed that government is starting to pay attention. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is considering legislation to begin a study into the Wenatchi band's proposal. The study, involving the U.S. departments of Agriculture and the Interior, would include public hearings and historical research to determine whether it would be feasible to transfer some national forestland to the Wenatchis. Eventually, the tribe wants as many as 20,000 acres of the Wenatchee National Forest near Leavenworth for a reservation. Instead of a separate Wenatchi Reservation, the Colville Confederated Tribes would control the land. The proposal hasn't drawn much public criticism so far, although some forest users question whether they would lose access if the tribe were to take ownership. The most potent opposition is from the Yakama Nation, which is in a legal battle with the Wenatchis over use of the traditional Wenatchi fishery. Because the Yakamas and the Wenatchis both signed the Walla Walla Treaty in 1855, the Yakamas inherited fishing rights the Wenatchis believe should be theirs. Boundaries marked The treaty guaranteed the Wenatchis a 36 square-mile reservation around their fishery - where Icicle Creek and the Wenatchee River converge in a rush of whitewater near what is now Leavenworth. Government officials marked boundaries for the reservation between 1856 and 1858 - but they were never surveyed by the federal government, according to research by Richard Hart, a historian hired by the tribe. By the late 1800s, whites were settling in the area, and the railroad was making its way toward the fishery. Smallpox and other epidemics had reduced the tribe from about 2,000 in 1780 to a few hundred. The Wenatchis almost got their reservation surveyed in 1892, when President Benjamin Harrison signed an executive order. But President Grover Cleveland took office the next year and his administration stopped the process, Hart said. A newly appointed federal agent tried to move the reservation into the mountains, where there were few salmon and the winters were too cold to survive. The Wenatchis wouldn't move there. Finally, Chief Harmelt met with federal officials and the Yakamas to talk about the reservation. Hart said the Wenatchis agreed to nothing, but after they left to travel home, U.S. agents led the Yakamas to believe the Wenatchis had agreed to give up their land. The Yakamas signed the paperwork to sell the Wenatchi land. Later, the Wenatchis were offered $9.30 each for their share of the reservation. Almost all of them refused to take it. Harmelt spent the rest of his life fighting for the lost reservation. He traveled to Washington, D.C., twice to ask federal agents for his tribe's land. Finally, in the early 1900s, destitute tribal members began to move 100 miles northeast to the Colville Reservation. In 1931, the tribe voted to sue the U.S. government. "We hereby request that full government rations be issued to all old Wenatchee Indians who have not sufficient funds to care for themselves," tribal leaders wrote to the Office of Indian Affairs around the time of the lawsuit. But the government voided the contract the tribe had with its attorney, making the lawsuit impossible. In 1937, Harmelt, about 80 years old, died in a house fire. He never left the Leavenworth area, though he saw many of his tribe move away. Strained ties Now recognized as one of the Colville Confederated Tribes, most of the Wenatchis see their homeland on road trips. But even those ties have been strained. Sixty-year-old Dick, Harmelt's great-grandson, remembers his mother's tears on a childhood trip to Camas Prairie, near Leavenworth, where they went to dig for wild carrots and camas, an edible root. As their car rounded the last corner of the road, they saw vehicles covering the clearing. "She sat there and cried," Dick said. The same sadness pierces Mary Marchand, 76, a Wenatchi elder, when she sees rock-climbers on the Peshastin Pinnacles, sandstone boulders shaped like salmon and other animals. The Wenatchis believe the salmon were stuck there, their giant mouths open to the sky, when the Indian spirit Coyote led them to the rivers. And tribal elder Tillie George, 74, presses her hands to her chest to show the heaviness in her heart as she watches hatchery salmon swim on the other side of a chain-link fence at the site of the tribe's traditional fishery. The salmon at the fishery are off-limits to everyone but the Yakamas. "It's hard for other races to understand the way we feel about our land, " she said. Except for a city park with some historical markers about the tribe, the Wenatchis' history in Leavenworth has disappeared. The place by the river where a main tribal village once stood is now filled with the tourist destination's Bavarian-themed downtown. Polka music pours from restaurants and beer gardens, and tourists stroll the flower-lined sidewalks eating ice cream cones and sausages. The tribe offered a video presentation about its lost reservation earlier this summer to try to educate the Leavenworth locals. Milt Anderson, a semiretired Leavenworth radio broadcaster, said he didn't know about the Wenatchi history in Leavenworth until he watched the film. In the end, he found himself siding with the tribe. "Given ... all the yanking around that it seems like the federal government has given them over the years, I don't have a problem with a little advantage going their way," he said. Some Leavenworth residents say they are concerned that the tribe will limit public access to land or build a casino. The tribe hasn't ruled out either, though members say they intend to keep land public unless it has spiritual significance to the tribe. That probably would include the pinnacles, popular with climbers and hikers. The tribe's lack of specifics has some outdoor enthusiasts concerned, said Brian Behle, who owns Leavenworth Mountain Sports. "I think that a lot of people really respect their intentions," he said. "But at the same time, since they don't have any specific plans, you feel kind of wary about it." The Wenatchis are one of 12 bands that make up the Colville Confederated Tribes. With more than 8,000 enrolled members, the Colvilles live on a 1.4 million-acre reservation in North Central Washington. If the Wenatchis get their reservation, it will be controlled by the Colville tribal government. The Colvilles have three casinos in northeastern Washington, and tribal leaders say they don't have immediate plans for a casino near Leavenworth. There is a running joke about tribal members wearing lederhosen and dealing blackjack in a Bavarian-themed casino. In addition, the Wenatchis are in a bitter battle with the Yakama tribe over fishing rights in their Leavenworth fishery. After a U.S. District Court temporary restraining order issued last month, the Wenatchis cannot fish for salmon at the fishery. The judge is urging the tribes to talk and work out a compromise, but so far they haven't. The Wenatchis' fight for a new reservation has become one of public relations and political lobbying. "We've equalized ourselves through education," said descendant Tony Atkins. "We've learned the laws. We've learned how to articulate in the English language. We kind of gave up for a little while, but we're back now." Emily Heffter: 206-464-2420 or eheffter@seattletimes.com Copyright c. 2003 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: Wild Horse Deaths investigated" --------- Date: Wed, 16 July 2003 08:15:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HORSES BLM STOLE FOUND DEAD" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.rgj.com/news/printstory.php?id=47012 Wild horse deaths investigated Associated Press By Scott Sonner ASSOCIATED PRESS July 15, 2003 Federal agents and sheriff's deputies were investigating the deaths of 47 horses in northeast Nevada that might have starved and been dumped on federal land after they were rounded up in a dispute with two American Indian sisters. Necropsies were planned to determine the exact cause of the deaths of the horses - mostly foals - found at two sites on Bureau of Land Management land in the Little Smokey Valley about 18 miles south of Eureka, BLM spokesman Mike Brown said Tuesday. Most of them "appear to have died from malnutrition or trampling," Brown told the Associated Press from Elko. As many as 10 were adults and the rest young offspring, some newborns. Death by trampling in a corral "is what would happen to foals that are too weak and they just don't get up after they are born," Brown said. There's no indication any of the horses were shot or otherwise physically harmed, he said. "The BLM is concerned about the dumping on public land," he said. "We're working with the Eureka County sheriff's office. "There were reports in May that some of the animals being held at a temporary location (after the roundups) were in poor condition," Brown said. Sheriff's deputies discovered the dead horses over the weekend. A veterinarian estimated some had been dead for two to three weeks, but some may have been dead for as long as two to three months, Brown said. He said the horses do not appear to be federally protected wild horses and most likely once belonged to the Shoshone sisters Mary and Carrie Dann, who've been at odds with the BLM for years over horses they grazed on land they claim belongs to the Western Shoshones. An official for an animal rescue group that found homes for some of the horses the BLM rounded up suspects the horses already were in bad shape and became malnourished after a California rancher failed to make good on his agreement to transfer them from a holding corral at Fish Creek Ranch near Eureka to his own ranch in Buellton, Calif. "It's very tragic," said Jill Starr of Lifesavers Wild Horse Rescuers in Lancaster, Calif. "When horses are rounded up by helicopters it stresses out the mares so they often abort, have still births or give birth to weak foals. Some of them were just too far gone to make it," she said. A lawyer for the Danns blamed the BLM Tuesday for rounding up the horses in the first place. "Those horses were fine out on the range where they were. This is the result of misguided federal policy - your taxpayer dollars at work," said Julie Fishel of the Western Shoshone Defense Project in Crescent Valley. The BLM rounded up more than 500 horses belonging to the Danns in February. Last fall, the agency seized and sold 227 cattle belonging to the elderly grandmothers. The BLM maintained the Danns had been grazing hundreds of cattle and horses illegally for decades, to the detriment of the range and other ranchers who have permits to graze livestock in the region. The Danns contend the land still belongs to the Shoshone tribe under the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley and that the BLM has no authority to regulate their grazing practices. Starr said her rescue group ended up taking about 150 of the 500 horses. Fishel said the California rancher, Slick Gardner, had agreed to take the rest and had arranged to keep them temporarily at the Fish Creek Ranch near Eureka, not far from where the dead horses were found. Copyright c. 2002 The Reno Gazette-Journal. --------- "RE: State to Work With Acoma Pueblo on Interstate" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 08:12:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ACOMA I-40 PROJECT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.sfnewmexican.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=285&ArticleID=30049 State to Work With Acoma Pueblo on Interstate Project Associated Press Thursday, July 17, 2003 SANTA FE - An agreement between the state Transportation Department and Acoma Pueblo to look into improving an Interstate 40 interchange has been approved by the state Department of Finance and Administration. Acoma will provide $450,000 to the state for the study under the agreement. "This is a historic agreement between a sovereign pueblo and the state of New Mexico that will benefit all New Mexicans," said Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught said. "We hope this will set a positive precedent toward more cooperation between the pueblos, tribes and the state on projects that are important to both of us." The Acomita interchange at exit 102 was built in 1967 and provides access to Acoma, Cubero and Encinal, Faught said. The interchange was not built to handle the increasing traffic load that uses it due to a casino and other business activities in the area, she said. The feasibility study is expected to take about 18 months. If the study is approved by the state and both parties agree to proceed, Acoma intends to donate $7 million to the department to assist with funding the project. "This governmental partnership will demonstrate that projects combining the resources and talents of both entities enhance community life, the safety of all travelers on I-40 and will certainly contribute to local prosperity," said Acoma Pueblo Governor Fred S. Vallo Sr. Copyright c. 2003 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2003 The Santa Fe New Mexican. --------- "RE: The Trail of forced Patents" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 08:12:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LIBRARY of CONGRESS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.goldentrianglenews.com/ The trail of forced patents leads to the Library of Congress BY JOHN MCGILL GLACIER REPORTER EDITOR July 18, 2003 It's been a personal project for Bob Juneau and Edward Spotted Eagle, but the end of the road is in sight, and the infusion of only $1,200 could provide the evidence they need to prove that much of what was once the Blackfeet Indian Reservation was purloined from the Tribe by means of what they call "forced patents." The conspiracy to defraud Blackfeet members of their land began after the Reservation was divided into allotments in the 1910s. It is widely accepted today that Indian reservations were originally divided into parcels owned by individual members because that land could more easily be removed from the reservation than communally owned tribal land. Juneau's most direct evidence to date comes from letters relating to the sale of Peter Tail Feathers' allotment, in which he was judged competent to sell his land by the Blackfeet Agency Superintendent. "The justification of the supervisor (Horace G. Wilson, Superintendent, Blackfeet Agency) in saying that he [Tail Feathers] appeared to be able to take care of his land quite evidently gave to the Department the wrong impression of this man's ability," said Senator Lynn J. Frazier, Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the U.S. Senate. "There was apparently no justification for such a statement being made about him and the very opposite is true. It would seem that to any right thinking public official that this man would give the impression that he was not able to take care of his affairs in any particular." This is just the tip of the iceberg, said Juneau, and many more instances of officials lying can be found in the Senate investigations of the 1920s, proving that as much as 250,000 acres of tribal land was thus lost. Those records are available to Juneau, and anyone else who might want them, but it costs 50 cents a page to get copies from the Library of Congress, and the total needed for the job is around $1,200. Once that money is paid out and the evidence collected, Juneau said, it will be presented to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee and redressing the injustices done to Blackfeet families might be closer. Juneau said the Blackfeet Tribal Council resolved in 2001 to support his efforts, but so far he and Spotted Eagle have been unable to get financial support from that body. For more information or to make a donation, call Edward Spotted Eagle at 338-2698. Copyright c. 2003 Golden Triangle Newspapers. --------- "RE: Dine' Prez blasts fed Energy Bill as Underhanded" --------- Date: Tue, 8 July 2003 08:11:09 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BAD ENERGY BILL REBUKED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gallupindependent.com/07-07-03dineprezblasts.html Dine' Prez blasts fed energy bill as underhanded Larry Di Giovanni Staff Writer July 8, 2003 WINDOW ROCK - Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. continues to press his strong opposition to the federal Energy Omnibus Bill before the Senate that he terms "underhanded and nefarious" and believes will hurt all tribes, including those who are raking in high revenue rates from mineral leasing. Shirley said the Energy Omnibus Bill, S. 14, lets the Interior Secretary off the hook where it regards federal liability to ensure that the nation's 560-plus federally recognized tribes have their best interests represented on the energy front. "This bill is a very sad attempt that lets the federal government reign environmental havoc on Indian lands," Shirley said. "Worst yet, it would place blame and misdeed on us for responsibilities well under federal government purview." The bill that Shirley is concerned over federal liability waivers is a 468-page opus of proposed rules and regulations introduced by New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici in April. The Navajo Nation is concerned about a number of its language provisions that have been supported by powerful Indian leaders including Colorado Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell. On Wednesday, Shirley was part of a conference call involving himself, National Congress of American Indians President Tex Hall who supports the Navajo position and members of Campbell's staff including Paul Moorehead. Shirley's press officer, Deana Jackson, said President Shirley had to end his involvement with the conference call because of the impasse that has been reached over the bill's language. "Would Sen. Campbell consider our concern over the bill's current language that waives federal liability," Shirley asked Moorehead during the call. According to Jackson, Moorehead pre-empted the senator he works for by declaring the matter one "not open for discussion." Shirley asked all tribal leaders within the United States, including the continental United States and Alaska, to take another serious look at the bill. "The Navajo Nation cannot be part of something that diminishes our relationship with other First Nations," Shirley said. Some tribes do support the Omnibus Energy Bill, including Colorado Utes, and Shirley said he respects all positions. "We're not basing out decision on whether other tribes accept or don't accept," Shirley said. "We're involved in the largest civil suit ever brought against the United States for failing to hold our trust above the interest of energy companies willing to engage in fraud." He was referring to the United States v. Navajo Nation case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. In a 6-3 split decision against the Navajos, the highest court ruled that the Interior Department had not conspired and failed in its trust responsibility when deciding on a coal royalty rate during the mid 1980s that went in favor of Peabody Western Coal Co. That royalty rate, 12. 5 percent, still exists today. The Navajos believed they were entitled to the BIA-recommended rate of 20 percent. The Navajo case against Peabody is a civil suit for a $1.8 billion claim involving triple damages that is before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Peabody has filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that clearly there was no conspiracy or breach of trust responsibility, and therefore is no Navajo case left to decide. The Energy Omnibus Bill may be considered again by the Senate in the fall, Jackson said. "I will not stand idly by and permit this (continued erosion of federal responsibility) to happen to us or any indigenous tribe," Shirley said. Copyright c. 2003 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Dene join Navajo at Uranium Conference" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 08:02:13 -0600 From: Canadian Aboriginal News Subj: Dene join Navajo at uranium conference --------- forwarded message---------- Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 17:09:22 -0500 From: "Brenda S. Norrell" Mailing List: Canadian Aboriginal News Legacy of death Dene from Canada join Dine' in United States to say `No' to uranium mining SHIPROCK, N.M. - Navajo comedians kick off "Honoring and Healing our Dine' Elders and Families," Friday night. The message of the conference, however, is a serious one: Bringing an end to the legacy of death from uranium mining. "Navajos have been dealing with the uranium issue for the past 60 years, longer than any other community in the world, because this is where the push for Cold War uranium began," said Navajo grassroots organizer Norman Brown. "The most important thing is for the Navajo legislative, executive and grassroots people to come together and create a united front to address the uranium issue on the Navajo Nation. We need to strengthen our environmental laws for the regulation of uranium," Brown said. Phil Harrison, consultant for the Navajo Uranium Radiation Victims Committee, said every Navajo community where Cold War uranium was mined has suffered. Every Navajo family in nearby Cove and Red Valley, Ariz., has had a family member suffer illness or death from uranium mining and strewn radioactive tailings. One elderly woman still has a radioactive fireplace in her home in nearby Oak Springs, Ariz. Harrison said the push now is to have Congress recognize those families who are still suffering from uranium contamination. The gathering begins with a concert and comedy night Friday, July 18, featuring Navajo comedians Ernie Tsosie III and James June, along with musician Tasha Terry, at the Shiprock Chapter House, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Navajo President Joe Shirley, along with state and tribal officials, will join grassroots Navajos at the gathering. Dene from Canada and Western Shoshone are among the speakers. Saturday begins with a sunrise prayer for Navajo veteran warriors and families and posting of colors at 5:30 a.m. The blessing and daylong events will be held at Shiprock High School auditorium. Lunch will be provided. Brown said the conference is the beginning of a task force to examine the environmental impacts of uranium mining. "We also want to focus on the importance of mines never reclaimed," Brown said. The effort is aimed at halting future uranium mining, now in the planning stages of corporations. "We want to assist Crownpoint and Church Rock Navajos and halt the proposed uranium mining in those communities," Brown said. "This conference is also to remind the federal government of its trust responsibilities to address the health and environmental impacts," he said. It is sponsored by Dine Bidziil Coalition (Navajo Strength), Eastern Navajo Dine' Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM) and Dine College Uranium Education Office. Contact for more information: 505-368-5728 --------- "RE: Hawaiians and Navajos share Same Struggles" --------- Date: Wed, 9 July 2003 08:30:21 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO/HAWAII" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gallupindependent.com/07-08-03samestruggles.html Hawaiians and Navajos share same struggles Stan Bindell Special to the Independent July 8, 2003 PHOENIX - Eric Manuelito plays the flute softly. He also speaks softly, but when it comes to Native Hawaiians his position is clear: Native Hawaiians have the same struggle as other indigenous tribes. Manuelito, who is Navajo, recently played the flute as the guest musician at the 23rd Arizona Indian Town Hall at Embassy Suites North in Phoenix. Last year, Manuelito attended a hula dance school in San Francisco where he learned the Aloha Pumehana O'Polynesia style of dance. Manuelito said as he has come to know native Hawaiians he has learned that their struggles are the same as Navajos and other tribes, especially when it comes to land issues. Manuelito has been the co-chair of Native American Recognition Days, an annual event in the Phoenix area. Last year, a community luau was part of Native American Recognition Days as he brought in Hawaiian friends from San Francisco who performed the ancient style of kahico hula. Manuelito said a comparative study showed that Navajos and native Hawaiians have similar lifestyles. "They live on homesteads, but it's not their own land," he said. Manuelito has been playing the flute for 12 years and continues to play it daily. Most of his gigs are in the Phoenix valley, but he goes wherever he's called to perform. Manuelito has performed for schools and churches in China and South Korea. He has performed at numerous schools, universities and private organizations throughout America. Manuelito began taking piano lessons at the age of five. He continued with vocal and instrument training throughout his school years. Manuelito's musical involvement made him interested in the role that music plays in Navajo ceremonies. His maternal and paternal grandparents, along with other family members, passed that traditional knowledge on to him. Manuelito has also become known for his art work and pow wow dancing. His beadwork can be found at the Heard Museum and much of his time is spent traveling to and competing in pow wows. His family is from New Mexico, but his father worked for the BIA in San Carlos and he graduated from Globe High School. He then attended Cook College Theological School in Tempe, where he also helped the college with public relations. He continues to work there as a flute instructor. Manuelito is pursuing a degree in communications, with an emphasis in public relations, at Grand Canyon University. Manuelito has also worked as an educator at the Heard Museum. He has worked at Grand Canyon University as a lecturer on Navajo culture and arts through the Elderhostel program. He is of the Water Flows Together Clan, born for the Red House Clan. Copyright c. 2003 The Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Argentina's Indians seek end to Poverty" --------- Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2003 18:51:46 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARGENTINE INDIAN TRIBES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?id=13202947 Argentina's Indians seek end to poverty Friday, 18 July , 2003, 18:07 Buenos Aires: Argentina's Indian tribes, now a tiny minority of the country's population, gathered this week for a national summit to consider how to lift their people out of poverty and reclaim their lost lands. Epulef Zapata, an official of one of Argentina's Mapuche Indian communities, speaks of white men as if they were still the colonialists who arrived on their land with conquering General Julio Roca at the end of the 19th century. Zapata, 49, comes from the southwestern oil-rich province of Neuquen on the border of the Andes. Despite their region's natural wealth, he says the Mapuche "are very poor people" who live off ostrich, raising goats, growing vegetables, and pot-making. He wears a woven cloth around his neck, called a "tailongo", to express "the headache" his people are experiencing due to their unfortunate dealings with the "white man," which he says include unfavorable working conditions. But he said, "thanks to community support," his three sons can study -- and one of his daughters is currently studying law at the National Comahue University -- "to continue defending our rights." "Unfortunately this is an exception. The Mapuches are submerged in intellectual and labor poverty. The only way to turn things around is for us to stick together and call for what belongs to us," he said. Other Mapuche communities based near the mountains have had a better deal, setting up a ski slope at Bateu Mahuida to earn money from tourists at prices below those of Argentina's more famous winter sports centers. German Canhue, a 71-year-old Ranquel Indian, has a similar story of his ancestors' stubborn fight to keep hold of their land in Argentina's La Pampa heartland, nearly 1,000 years after his ancestors arrived there. He tells how his indomitable great-grandfathers resisted for decades being conquered by invading Europeans, in the face of the "conquest of the desert" led by Roca in 1878. General Roca went on to become a president of Argentina and moved on the lands, known as Patagonia, in southern Argentina whence new President Nestor Kirchner hails. The lands he conquered have been divided among military and patrician families. "At that time, there were three important tribal chiefs who guided the destinies of the Ranquel people: Ramon Cabral, Epugner Rosas and Baigorita. Only the first one agreed to join the white man's life; the others resisted giving up their lands and their customs," Canhue said. With three children and 10 grandchildren, Canhue explains how the first loss of land was due to an opportunistic, "greedy storeholder who for years sold merchandise to the aborigines of the area." The man "found out that none of us had titles of property to the land and one day appeared with a judge and a group of police with papers signed by the government of Buenos Aires certifying him as the owner of thousands of hectares (acres) belonging to us in Emilio Mitre" -- an area 200 kilometers west of La Pampa's capital Santa Rosa, Canhue said. The Ranquel lost half of the 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres) they had occupied before the desert conquest. "With what we had left we reorganized our lives and really things went quite well for us. Slowly we began to carry out shearing work with wool- producing livestock. "We dedicated ourselves to crops and to herding beef, but all that changed from the 1940s," he said. With the arrival of technology, jobs were taken away from the Ranquel forcing young people to head to the cities to look for work. "It was a key moment because we thought our community was heading for disintegration." "Worst of all, during the 1970s, a governor of La Pampa issued a decree handing the land to people who could best work it, and we found that a new landlord burned ranches and took down wire fencing around our property," Canhue said. The remaining 300 Ranquel Indians went to Buenos Aires, managing to get the ex-dictator Alejandro Lanusse (1969-73) to finally give them property titles. "Today our fight continues because we are aware that there are companies that want to exploit the riches of our lands. If we resist, we could recover definitively the thousands of hectares that were taken from us by unilateral decisions made by the government of the time," he said. Copyright c. Sify Ltd, 1998-2003. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Aboriginal University unveiled" --------- Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 08:42:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FIRST NATIONS UNIVERSITY" http://indiancountry.com/?1057263550 Aboriginal university unveiled July 03, 2003 by: Matt Ross / Correspondent / Indian Country Today REGINA, Saskatchewan - Highlighting his five-day visit to Saskatchewan, Royal Highness, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, unveiled the podium officially designating the re-naming and opening of North America's first all-Aboriginal university in Regina. On Canada's National Aboriginal Day, June 21, more than 2,000 attended to see a member of the Royal Family start a new chapter in Canadian Native education. What had been the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC) since 1976 that was originally housed in a one-room building has now become the First Nations University of Canada, a $25 million four-story, 150,000-square foot architectural marvel. The prince's ceremonial duties culminated a morning complete with tributes and honors to those elders, educators and politicians who've assisted since plans to expand SIFC occurred 13 years ago. With more than 500 students on the Regina site (there are three other SIFC campuses throughout the province), there was an obvious need for their own larger facility, one that would be more accommodating to their cultural requirements. Leading the agenda was Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. Saying education was a right that dates back to 1874 when the local tribes signed Treaty 4, and this university is a necessity toward the re-building of Native nations. "The first (type of school) is the kindergarten through grade 12 and the post-secondary education with the maths and the sciences and everything else. But equally important is that which our elders talked about, the languages, the traditions and the culture, this is a good balance and that's what this institution teaches us," Bellegarde said. One of the major financial contributors to the university was the federal government and representing Ottawa was a Member of Parliament from Regina, Ralph Goodale, who holds the cabinet position of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. He was aware of the importance and symbolism in conducting this unveiling during National Aboriginal Day. "In a very tangible way, this day helps fulfill the dream of ancient leaders who, seeing the disappearance of the ancient buffalo, saw that for their people's future the new buffalo would be education," Goodale said. Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert spoke of how these ceremonies ranked among the milestones of his province's history, including the openings of the legislature and the universities of Regina and Saskatchewan. Though the name has changed, the First Nations University remains affiliated with the University of Regina as it has for the past 27 years. Addressing the audience was University of Regina President, Dr. David Barnard, who won immediate praise for his fluent use of Cree in several sentences. One of the last dignitaries to speak was the school's President, Dr. Eber Hampton, who also received the greatest applause. Saying that his heart was "full of pride and joy," there was a distinctive choke in Hampton's voice as he delivered his message calmly without the aid of a prepared speech. He stated this day was important not only for First Nations, but for all people, the province of Saskatchewan and Canada as a whole. Hampton also honored the school's past by acknowledging the previous name, specifically looking at one word from Saskatchewan Indian Federated College. "Federated in the literal translation is to accompany and invite our siblings to accomplish something. Today we can say we did this ourselves and nobody did this for us," quietly, though boldly, emphasized by Hampton. Copyright c. 2003 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: What Fontaine's return means for the AFN" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 18:01:33 -0400 From: "Frosty" Subj: Fw: What Fontaine's return means for the AFN ----- Original Message ----- From: Russell Diabo Mailing-List: Frostys AmerIndian What Fontaine's return means for the AFN Friday, July 18, 2003 On one side is a man who bills himself as a conciliator and says he doesn't support Ottawa's pro-posed First Nations Governance Act. That would be Paul Martin, the Liberal MP expected to be Canada's next prime minister. On the other side -- pardon the repetition -- is a man who bills hims elf as a conciliator and says he doesn't support Ottawa's proposed First Nations Governance Act. That would be Phil Fontaine, who was elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations on Wednesday. The 555 chiefs who voted for Mr. Fontaine on behalf of Canada's 650,000 status Indians, whom the chiefs have not yet entrusted with the power to cast their own votes, chose the least confrontational of the three candidates. Fewer than 20 per cent on the first ballot wanted Matthew Coon Come to get a second three-year term, evidently feeling his belligerent style was counterproductive. Mr. Coon Come repaid the favour