From gars@speakeasy.org Fri Sep 12 02:58:06 2003 Date: 19 Aug 2003 23:35:02 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews11.034 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 11, ISSUE 034 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 August 23, 2003 Klamath t-hopo/berries dried moon Mvskogee hiyo-rakko/big harvest moon +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; News Gathering, Native American Chat and ndn-aim Mailing Lists; Newsgroups: alt.native; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "I am inspired by the resiliency of Indian people throughout history to adapt and succeed. Pueblo engineers designed homes that stay cool in the summer and warm in winter. Anishinabek people built canoes light enough to be carried by two people, but strong enough to carry ten on the water. Europeans brought the horses and in only a few generations, Indian people became some of the best horsemen the world had ever seen!" __ D. J. Eagle Bear Vanas, Odawa motivational speaker +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! On a recent trip to Arkansas my wife and I passed a billboard, resplendent in its red, white and blue message of patriotism. The message was simple and powerful, "One Nation... Under God"; and contact information just in case you were stirred to support this stalwart flag bearer of American Democracy. Of course, there wasn't room to proclaim their anti-tribal sovereignty stance in Oklahoma. You get a clue when you log onto their home website http://www.onenationok.com and the banner greets you with a quote from Indian-hater Slade Gorton: "Citizens of the United States should not have their rights limited by separate governments within the United States." (as an aside, do you still buy Gorton frozen seafood products?) Next you are greeted with their proud statement of purpose which begins as follows: One Nation is a privately funded organization, the first and only advocacy-focused effort in Oklahoma and the U.S. created to "push back" against the massive expansion of tribal authority and the various disruptions and inequities created by sovereignty-based policies. Maybe a press statement might help convince you of their intent... "OKLAHOMA CITY - The un-level playing field that exists between tribally owned enterprises and the rest of the state's business community is the focus of a new coalition of thousands of working Oklahomans. The group, named One Nation, Inc., began today to speak out on what it calls "issues of basic fairness in the marketplace" and how the tax and regulatory inequities favoring the tribes threaten to thwart economic development efforts across the state." So, behind the seeming patriotic notice on the billboard, in the field, near the big old highway (apologies to country singer Del Reeves) stands a bigoted, racist, anti-Indian organization determined to bring down tribal sovereignty and tribal self-determination. Founding members of this organization are as follows: Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association Oklahoma Petroleum Marketers Association Oklahoma Farm Bureau Southern Oklahoma Water Alliance Oklahoma Grocers Association [in other words, they have deep pockets and support comes from such so-called service providers as Oklahoma Farm Bureau - greed draws out a lot of truth] Co-Chairmen are Jeramy Rich, Director of Public Policy, Oklahoma Farm Bureau Rusty Shaw, Owner, Shaw's Gulf, Inc. They link to other good ole' Amerikkan groups www.citizensalliance.org This group, out of Ronan MT wants full access to trust lands near Rez's. Here's how they phrase it.. "Federal policies currently deny millions of people living on or near Indian reservations their full Constitutional rights. It is therefore CERF and CERA's mission to advocate equal protection of the law so that this nation of many cultures may be one people, living under one system of laws." www.ucelandclaim.com The sole purpose of this organization is to fight the Oneida Land Claim in New York. [It was all right to steal the land. It really pisses us off those Indians want it back!] These groups all hide behind lofty notions of patriotism and fairness, meanwhile studiously ignoring WHY this "one nation" came to exist at all. They darn sure aren't wanting to pay attention to the demographics of the soldiers out in the Iraqi heat to protect oil interests back home. They've got to vex about the tax on a pack of smokes or a tank of gas. It seems to have escaped them that non-Indians are only in Oklahoma at ALL because this "one nation" broke treaties. "One, greedy, self-righteous, anti-tribal-sovereignty bunch of fat-cats" would be a more accurate name, but being upfront about themselves is not really high on their action list. Just be sure you know who they are, because knowing your enemy is the first task of any good warrior. 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 ---------- - Why is an Oklahoma Attorney - Mi'kmaq serve Ottawa sending Racist E-mails? with Class-Action Lawsuit - School Board VP scolds Public - NWT Dogrib on verge - Indians put hopes for Past of Self-Government on Reborn Agency - Navajo Police Academy - How best to share Culture graduates New Cops - Who do you go to for Advice? - Navajo Cops help Blackfeet Cops - Shirley negotiating with Peabody - Janklow Accident Report - Family's past lies in Coal Mine - DoI's Top Lawyer - Navajos regain possession under Ethics Investigation of Buffalo Shields - Denver Mayor apologizes - Rocky Boy Fires to Indian Family appear to be Man-Made - Suspects jailed - Please write the Arizona Republic in homicide of Indian Man - Santa Ana Pueblo - Native Prisoner doesn't fear Shortfall -- Critcal need for Legal Help - Faction fights eviction - Rustywire: Looking for Indianz from Tribal Homes - Poem: Hummingbird - A History Lesson - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days from Oneida Point of View - School proposed - Inferior Blackfeet Housing to preserve Fading Language under fire - Community works to raise - JTAC money - a Blessing or a Curse? Funds for Youth Centre - Guest Opinion: - Lakota Youth Gathering 'Buffalo Commons' idea takes Root - Gathering of the Good Minds - New ID Cards for Indians urged - This Week on First Peoples TV - GUEST: Candidates dismiss Public, - Specials This Week on APTN cost APTN - This Week on AIROS -------- "RE: Why is an Oklahoma Attorney sending Racist E-mails?" -------- Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2003 08:26:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RACIST" http://www.indianz.com/News/ IN THE HOOP: Attorney can't spell, but Natives are animals August 14, 2003 The Native American Times ran a story August 12 about an e-mail the Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism (TICAR) received from a local attorney. The story can't be accessed online but here's the text of the e-mail from Doug Embrey. I was offended once when a relative said the american indians are "useless and irrelevant." Although my family has indian blood, I think your wa wa, whiney a**ed attitudes justify your irrelevance. No more free tags and education. You people would still be smoking peyote and braying at the moon like animals but for the civilization whites built. Get an education, get a job, get a life, get respectuful of America or get the hell out! As far as I am concerned, we should get every vestage of your "culture" out of our history. Union Whiteskins would be OK with me. When contacted by the paper, Embrey confirmed his e-mail and had even more to say. "That's the way a lot of people feel, they just get tired of hearing this whiny butt s**t," he said. But that's not all! He also has some views on Indian gaming. "I come from a Christian heritage and I think it's a degradation of the Indians. It seems to be the only thing they can do is sell cigarettes and gambling. It wouldn't make me prideful," he said. Copyright c. 2000-2003 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: School Board VP scolds Public" --------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 21:02:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHITE VP-RED SCHOOL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_1715.shtml School board VP scolds public By Jim Snyder/The Daily Times Aug 17, 2003, 08:57 Tells residents not to write letters to the editor SHIPROCK - Central School District school board Vice President Gary Ray chastised community members during a work session Thursday night in the Shiprock Board Room for airing their grievances against the district in public. "I've been disrespected behind my back in the media. If you have a problem with me you don't go to the Farmington Daily Times. You don't go to the regional director of civil rights. Come to me," Ray said. Ray made his comments in response to community member Larry Emerson's claim during the meeting the district was negligent in its responsibility by not adequately consulting its Indian Education Committee on budgetary matters and bilingual education concerns. Ray referred to a guest column Emerson wrote for The Daily Times earlier this year about the Indian Education Committee and the district. "I have a hard time respecting you, Mr. Emerson, because you go to the newspaper and attack me," Ray said. Emerson said "I never thought of you when I made my comments ... there's nothing as far as I'm concerned disrespectful between you and me." Ray responded "Did you not have a guest column in the Farmington Daily Times?" This prompted Ray to begin a discussion on "respect" between the IEC and the school board. Ray said he respected Navajos but "respect is a two-way street." He added he sometimes wished he were a Navajo so he could help lead the Navajo people. Emerson, who is not an IEC member, told Ray "You have shifted it from a superintendent's function to the IEC to a board's responsibility. You're shifting the argument." Ray added "The IEC does not have the responsibility I do to make a decision ... the bottom line is it's my job as a board member to make a final decision." Ray's comments about the public speaking out also referred to a visit by John F. Dulles II, regional director for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Denver. Dulles listened to community concerns and gathered comments in Farmington and Shiprock Aug. 13-14 about the district. The administration and school board did not know about the public meetings. Dulles called the district "a colonialized education system" because it is 90-percent Navajo while the district-level administrators are Anglos with the exception of the bilingual program director and the Indian Education coordinator. Superintendent Linda Besett later called Dulles' remarks "inappropriate" because a majority of the school board members are Native American. "I was shocked to have a school district that is 80 to 90 percent Indian that is not controlled by Indians. It's controlled by the white man," said Dulles, the son of former U.S. Secretary of State John F. Dulles and nephew of former CIA Director Allen Dulles. "Navajos should direct the policies of the educational system. That is not the case." Just prior to Thursday's meeting Ray said he wanted The Daily Times to investigate a press release printed in the paper about anonymous district teachers asking for donations since the district had not paid them this summer to work on bilingual testing. When the article first appeared he said he was upset because he didn't know who wrote it, who the teachers were or that the district's response was not included. Hoskie Benally, former director of Our Youth, Our Future, a juvenile residential drug treatment center in Shiprock, said to Ray "We came here. We tried to give you input. There's always this defensive antagonism. You say you want input but you're not listening ... you talk about disrespect. Let's go down memory lane last year at a board retreat when bilingual education was attacked." Ray then attempted to move on with the meeting. "You're trying to cut me off," Benally said. "I'm asking for positive input," Ray responded. The IEC is made up of community members from 14 Navajo Chapters that fall within the district's 11 schools on the reservation. The district, part of the state Department of Education and not the tribe, also has six nonreservation schools. The district must have an IEC by federal law to collect federal funds from Johnson-O'Mally, Title 7 and Title 8. Besett mentioned twice during the four-hour meeting that the school board, because it has a majority of Native Americans, could constitute an IEC instead of the current committee. "It's a core function of parents to be involved in budgets," Emerson said to Besett. "There's a disconnect between us. It seems decisions are being arbitrarily made." He added "It's not promoting harmony." Besett said "What's not promoting harmony?" Emerson responded "To consult the IEC. That should be standard operating procedure." Absent during Thursday's meeting were board President Randy Manning and board members Bernadette Todacheene and Glenn Duncan. Board Secretary Stanley King was present but did not comment on the issue. The school board is expected to vote on the IEC's bylaws during its regular school board meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Kirtland Board Room. The district plans to divide the IEC into three separate committees. Jim Snyder: jims@daily-times.com Copyright c. 2003 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Indians put hopes for Past on Reborn Agency" --------- Date: Monday, August 18, 2003 01:42 am From: Lee Subj: Indians put hopes for past on reborn agency - TENN Mailing List: ndn-aim http://tennessean.com/growth/~/37793602.shtml?Element_ID=37793602 Indians put hopes for past on reborn agency By KELLI SAMANTHA HEWETT Staff Writer In thousands of areas all over Tennessee, history sleeps a few inches below ground - until the bulldozers come. As progress and development rumble into rural areas ripe for subdivisions, road expansions, schools and supercenters, more Native American burial sites are uncovered. In 2001 a state Court of Appeals ruling limited the role today's Native Americans can take in court to protect ancient remains. Some people say there should be no special treatment for unmarked graves of people without traceable relatives. But some frustrated Native Americans and their supporters are looking to the newly resurrected state Commission on Indian Affairs to regain political influence and help protect the past. "It's probably going to be one of the most important issues," said Tom Kunesh, a commission candidate from Chattanooga whose mother is a Standing Rock Sioux Indian. "In Native American ideology, the land is a life itself. There's a relationship, especially when our ancestors reside inside (the land) forever." The court ruling has meant quicker, easier construction for developers and landowners, who hire archaeologists to relocate the remains, often to nearby property. That's the case at sites such as the former Devon farm property along Highway 100 in Bellevue. Part of the land is being developed for the Ensworth High School, scheduled to open for the 2004-05 school year. There, teams of archaeologists are using kitchen spoons, paintbrushes and other tools to unearth the burial sites less than a foot below ground. Dozens of small holes dot the landscape, some revealing the embedded bones of the dead. The workers hunch over each grave to collect, record and tag the remains, any arrowheads and other burial tokens. They also bag the surrounding dirt and match it to the appropriate new grave for reburial, as specified by Native Americans. But remains are sometimes taken to government offices or labs for research, which outrages many Native Americans. Kunesh predicts more discussions with state environmental and road officials to amend the practices and perhaps legislation to protect the ancient burial sites. Others say they don't support new legislation. "I don't think there needs to be any special status for Native Americans any more than Irish or Scottish or anyone else," land-use attorney Tom White of Nashville said. White has represented developers and landowners in a number of Middle Tennessee ancient burial cases, such as the Charlotte Pike Wal-Mart Supercenter, housing subdivisions off Brick Church Pike and the Fieldstone Farms homes development in Williamson County. Despite the insult that many Native Americans feel the disturbance of the graves causes, this compromise is designed to help keep the spirit of the dead intact so it is not without a home. "It can get real intense," said state archaeologist Nick Fielder, whose division of the Tennessee Department of Environmental Affairs oversees the projects. The division also includes three Native American representatives who can visit the burial site developments but have limited authority. "There are more and more conflicts with Indian sites" as rural areas are developed. The new Commission on Indian Affairs, re-established earlier this year by the state legislature, is an unfunded government liaison of seven members. The members are expected to be appointed this fall by Gov. Phil Bredesen. Former Gov. Don Sundquist disbanded the commission in 2001 citing its ineffectiveness. Skeptics say it was because of the commission's criticism of him. Unlike the previous commission, this one will include members nominated by Native Americans throughout the state and give voice to Native American issues, such as promoting heritage tours and establishing cultural programs and burial site protection. The precedent-setting 2001 court ruling involved graves near the intersection of Old Hickory Boulevard and Hillsboro Pike, which the state wanted to widen beginning in 1999. Before the court ruling, Native Americans often filed concerns as "interested parties" and often initiated court proceedings that stretched for months, even years, while the projects stopped. Many Native American supporters see the ruling as a loss that needs to be reclaimed. "The fight isn't over," said Joe McCaleb, the Hendersonville attorney who represented a number of Native Americans in the road-widening case. "The effort is still being made in hopes a law will be passed to give them some right." Native American burial sites in Tennessee usually fall under state cemetery laws because they are on privately developed land. Because most of the ancient sites are unmarked, they are considered abandoned and not subject to the same notification and relocation process of marked graves or established cemeteries. In the few instances in which development includes federal grant money, stricter requirements protect the remains. Kunesh said the state law serves the purposes of the developers and private landowners and reflects an ideology of land as a thing to be possessed ? which is completely opposite of the Native American ideology of land being a living thing. Besides, Kunesh said, it was the federal government that forced Native Americans to leave those sites in the 1800s. "The right to preserve our ancestors was never given up," Kunesh said. "The Native Americans were forced out at knife point, at rifle point, at sword point. Native Americans were forced to remove themselves from their family lands. That changes everything." President Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy of 1830 forced a cross-country relocation of Native Americans in the eastern United States to the Western frontier. The Indian land, much of it in the South, including Tennessee, went to the surge of white settlers. Thousands of Indians died during the move, part of which the Cherokee called the "Trail of Tears" for the sorrows experienced along the way. But there is also hope for compromise, as some developers take a more collaborative approach. One success story is in Brentwood, where part of the Primm plantation property on Moores Lane is located. Part of the family land was sold for the Montclair subdivision, but when developers found slave and Native American graves, they redesigned the entrance to preserve the graves by creating a greenspace area that routed traffic around them. An adjoining piece of land that includes the Fewkes Native American mounds and the turn-of-the-century Boiling Springs Academy school building will be developed into an educational park by Brentwood and its historic commission. The area also will be incorporated into a bikeway trail. "It's a great example," said Mark Tolley, president of the Tennessee Ancient Sites Conservancy, which works to protect the Native American graves. "We are not anti-development. They can save the sites and build projects around them." It's a different ending than Brentwood's case in the late 1990s in which Native American remains were discovered late in the process of library construction. They were dug up and analyzed despite protests. Reburial costs as much as $1,000 a grave, according to Fielder, the state archaeologist. "We learned a long time ago that it's better to talk about things before you get too far along," Mike Walker, city manager of Brentwood, said. "It's cheaper and easier to ram something through, but you might win the (development) battle but lose the war." --------- "RE: How best to share Culture" --------- Date: Thursday, August 14, 2003 07:31 am From: Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_) Subj: Tribal officials pondering how best to share culture (Fwd) - - - - - - -- - - - - - - Mailing List: News Gathering http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/~/0806tourism06.html Tribal officials pondering how best to share culture Hal Mattern and John Stearns The Arizona Republic Aug. 6, 2003 12:00 AM They have opened casinos, hotels and golf courses. Now Native American communities throughout the nation are looking to develop cultural tourism programs to attract more visitors. But opening their lands to tourists requires a delicate balance between promoting and preserving their cultural heritage, a national Indian tourism official said Tuesday. "There are some in our communities who say we have to be careful not to sell our culture," said David Gipp, vice president of the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association. "We need to set a standard for what has to be shared and what has to be left for the members of the tribe." Gipp was a speaker at the fifth annual American Indian Tourism Conference at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa. The resort is on the Gila River Reservation south of Phoenix. The conference, which ends today, has focused on teaching tribal officials how to develop tourism programs and to make their often-remote communities more accessible to visitors. Participants agreed that tribes have to avoid being exploited by outsiders and becoming victims, as in the past. Janell Sixkiller said non-Indian tour operators used to bring visitors to the reservation and say, "The sky is blue, the people are brown, the rocks are red, we're going to have lunch in town." Sixkiller said tourists can sometimes frustrate tribal members with their questions and behavior, but she said most are respectful and want to learn about native people and their culture. She encouraged tribal members to reach out to tourists and make a good impression on them. Nels Lawson of the Tlingit tribe in Alaska said that sharing tribal culture and heritage can help spread understanding and reduce discrimination against American Indians. He said his tribe shares some of its ceremonial singing and dancing with tourists. "We look to our dance groups to do a lot of public outreach," Lawson said. Several participants pointed out that Native Americans have been in the tourism business for centuries, feeding and guiding explorers and settlers, and later ethnographers and archaeologists. Richard Narcia, governor of the Gila River Indian Community, said his people have been welcoming visitors to the Phoenix area for hundreds of years. "Only now we are charging by the night," he joked. But tribes also have to draw the line on letting outsiders exploit their religious and spiritual ceremonies and lands. Gipp said the key is for each tribe to develop its own tourism plan and determine how it fits that community. "We are the ones who can do the proper presentation of our culture and heritage, not somebody who read about it in a book," he said. "We are the experts." Copyright c. 2003 The Arizona Republic. --------- "RE: Who do you go to for Advice?" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 08:59:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ELDERS" http://www.ammsa.com/buffalospirit/February-2000/whodoyougoto.html Who do you go to for advice? By Terry Lusty Buffalo Spirit Contributor August 2003 Who is an Elder? The question is often raised and usually provokes superb discussion. The question cannot be simply answered, nor can any one answer be considered universal. While there are similarities across Turtle Island, there are many differences. What is important is that one understands the Elder's place in society and acknowledges the fact that they have a considerable impact on the values, morals, ethics, attitudes and behaviors of the people in their circle. They serve as guides and role models for others to follow in their journey through life. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Alberta Me'tis community looked upon Adrian Montrose Hope from the Kikino Me'tis Settlement as one of their most cherished and knowledgeable Elders. This highly respected man was an educated person of Cree/Scots ancestry who spoke fluent Cree and English, was a poet, orator, storyteller, philosopher and staunch cultural advocate. He became a mentor to many, including this writer whose future he influenced in terms of culture, history and media. Hope was a fine storyteller and keeper of his culture. As such, he frequently shared his knowledge and promoted Me'tis culture at every turn. For him, that was one of his chief duties as an Elder. He also served as a confidant, and counselled people with problems or issues that required his attention. Hope was not an Elder simply because of his age. He was viewed and accepted as such by the Me'tis community at large because of the knowledge acquired and experiences lived over many years and how that contributed to his wisdom. The late Rik Yellowbird, a writer and cultural person, said he used to listen to Elders and they would say, 'You are your own teacher, your own healer and your own judge.' He believed that there are Indian Elders and elderly Indians, but they weren't one and the same. Their behavior and actions, coupled with the knowledge and skills they possess is what counts, according to Cree Elder Alfred Bonais. He worked for years as cultural co-ordinator at Poundmaker Treatment Centre and Nechi Treatment Training Centre in St. Albert, Alta., and is often called on to conduct prayers and smudges. He says an Elder must have, "a clean spirit, a clean body, clear mind, good heart and good behavior." How one can tell whether an Elder is an Elder in this regard may be determined by other Elders who observe what and how things are done, Bonais explains. They look for accuracy in the kinds of information that is being passed along. Bonais said Elders work together, respect each other, and support each other. "It is up to us," to reach out and help the youth because they have lost so much of the traditional ways," Bonais said. Blackfoot Elder, Tom Cranebear, takes the role of Elder a step further, saying an Elder has to walk the talk. "They have to have outstanding conduct, understanding and patience, and be tolerant." They do not have to be a pipe holder or ceremonialist. There are other people who can do these things, he said. Cliff Pompana, a Saulteaux originally from Manitoba, is a pipe holder and claims there are a number of self-appointed Elders, people who do not have sufficient experience, knowledge and wisdom to practice as Elders. Cranebear points to many from the penal institutions "making like Elders." They no sooner get released from jail, he adds, "and they imitate Elders... get themselves a pipe" without going through the right procedures, without even having a ceremony with the Elders. Cranebear himself was one Elder who received a headdress and pipe in the mid-80s from one of Alberta's most respected Elders, the late Joe Crowshoe of the Peigan First Nation in southern Alberta. Still another concern he has is the mixing of men and women in sweats. "It's a strict no-no," he said. There are Elders too, he complains, who play bingo and drink in bars, then go out and talk to people the next day. It's just not right. "They play Jesus one moment and are John Dillinger the next," he charges. Cranebear explained that many Elders help in communities without asking for something in return. Just one example he uses regards sweats. They are supposed to be "without strings attached. No fee. Just prayers and tobacco," he said. As well, "young Elders should travel to many different tribes and learn from them." That is what he did and it was so valuable, he said. "I'm still spending a lot of time with them. You never stop learning." The late Dr. Anne Anderson, a Me'tis Elder, author and educator who was often called upon because of her knowledge and wisdom, used to say that Elders are sometimes selected by their communities for what they have to offer. If, for example, they have become skilled at something in particular and have also achieved a lot of knowledge and wisdom, they may be accepted as an Elder. This applies even if they appear to be too young to be an Elder. There are young Elders who may have grown up and spent a lot of time around other Elders and met the requirements at an earlier stage than most. That can qualify them, even if they are only in their 40s or 50s. Protocol should be followed when approaching an Elder. To obtain advice or direction from Elders, said Antoine Littlewolf, a Cree from Onion Lake, one should take a pouch of tobacco, offer a bit of it to the Elder. If one has no tobacco, it can be substituted with something else, like some cloth. Like Bonais and so many others, Littlewolf is saddened by the fact that "today's generation are not learning [the traditions]," which is why he tries to transfer what knowledge he has to young people. In closing, it is advised that Elders be given their due respect. Be considerate of their needs - comfort, company, food, gift, and acknowledgement. Copyright c. 2003 Buffalo Spirit, The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: Shirley negotiating with Peabody" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 08:59:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BLACK MESA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_1570.shtml Shirley negotiating with Peabody By Jim Snyder/Shiprock bureau Aug 13, 2003, 09:34 BLACK MESA, Ariz. - Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said Monday his administration has been studying what impact the tribe's $600 million lawsuit against Peabody Western Coal would have on Peabody's Black Mesa Coal Mine operations near Kayenta, Ariz. In addition, Shirley has been negotiating with Peabody to find an alternative water source for slurrying coal from Black Mesa more than 300 miles to the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nev., in an effort to keep both facilities open. Navajo grassroots groups have objected to Peabody using underground water, or the N-Aquifer, for their operations. The Navajo Council passed an Aug. 1 resolution supporting an end to the use of the N-Aquifer by Peabody at the end of 2005. The Black Mesa Mine would shut down without the N-Aquifer or a new source of water to slurry coal. The generating station, which relies on the mine to operate, could also be forced to close. The impact of the mine closure would be a loss of $35 million annually to the tribal budget and more than 740 jobs - primarily Navajo workers. "I will do everything in my power to avoid shutdown at the mine ... the negotiations I have initiated to ensure the continuation of the mine will continue," Shirley said. He added in a written statement he "was alarmed" the Council passed the resolution and "did not heed the advice of the attorney general of the Navajo Nation or its own water commission as to the impacts the resolution may have on negotiations with Peabody and with the efforts to find an alternative to the N-Aquifer." Shirley said negotiations were under way to find a new water supply source for the mine but wanted the Navajo Nation to take a reasonable position on the N-Aquifer. He added, "To have the effect of law, the Council would have to rescind the existing leases to stop pumping. However, as it stands now the Nation has binding leases which allow use of the N-Aquifer pumping beyond 2005 unless an alternative water source is identified and agreed to by the tribes and companies." The Navajo Nation officially is still pursuing the Peabody Coal lawsuit despite losing an identical $600 million lawsuit this spring with the United States in the U.S. Supreme Court. Jim Snyder: jims@daily-times.com Copyright c. 2003 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Family's past lies in Coal Mine" --------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 21:02:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COAL DESTRUCTION" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.gallupindependent.com/08-16-03familyspast.html Family's past lies in coal mine Pamela G. Dempsey Dine' Bureau August 16, 2003 TSE BONITO - The hogan is holding onto its logs and the wagon is still chained to the tree but the family who used them is no longer there. More than 25 years ago, Annie Lee, along with her brother, Charlie Reeder, and daughters, Naazbaa Snodgrass, Dorothy Benally, Margaret Kinlicheeny and Eleta Estevan, were forced to leave the land they called home, located halfway between Tse Bonito and Ya-Ta-Hay, to relocate nearby. Pittsburgh and Midway Coal Mining Company was the reason. Now the hills on which they herded sheep, prayed, and even married are scattered with large mounds of glittery coal. Cranes, conveyor belts, warehouses, holding ponds and water trucks have taken their place. "This was our stomping ground," Snodgrass said. "It was so peaceful. We herded sheep here and chased horses. I hope they take the whole thing with them (when they go)." P and M is scheduled to shut down in 2008, with removal and clean-up scheduled to last five more years. Plans have yet to be made for the land, and it is unsure if the Navajo Nation or the original customary use land holders will claim it back. Lee and her family are one of 10 families who were relocated from the main area of the mine lease. The family took a tour July 17 and asked to come back to specifically see their home. The family visited their home Friday with company permission, signed waivers of liability, and donned hard-hats. The entrance to their old road now has a stop sign and a guardhouse. A 'notice of right to search' is posted nearby. "The last time I was here, I was not getting out," Snodgrass said. "I was overwhelmed." She looked around, "What a mess!" Reeder, known as "Uncle Charley," doesn't speak much English, but he talked about his parents, Martha and Frank. He talked about when he was born there, Nov. 15, 1928. He pointed to an area where a crane stood behind tall power lines. "We used to live up there, we used to have fun up there," Estevan said. "We thought nothing would come up here when we were growing up." The tour guide took the family straight to the old hogan, passing by a parking lot and stopping next to a conveyor belt which towers over the area. A barbed-wire fence separates the machinery and the hogan, which Lee and "Uncle Charley," using a cane, walked carefully past. And there it was, their childhood home. The hogan's logs, weathered and gray, stood together. The family, grouped close near the front door, stared quietly at first and made small steps toward the structure. "No one has maintained it, 'cause we don't know how," the tour guide said. Lee, Uncle Charley, and her daughters spread out, inspecting the fallen sheep corral, the wagon, and the grounds. Uncle Charley points out a trough he carved from a log to feed the sheep with. Snodgrass picks up trash and an old coffee pot lid. The roar of diesel engines and an alarm welcomes them home. "This is bad, it won't be the same," Kinlicheeny said. "I hope my kids have (a place) to come back to." Right now, Lee and her family don't have a place to come back to. But as they looked over the land they once lived on, plans to rebuild their homes and their futures seemed as promising as the juniper bushes, the cedar trees, and the wildflowers which grew in the family's absence. "I really enjoyed it here," Snodgrass said. "It was so peaceful; there was no electricity and running water. We were really happy." Copyright c. 2003 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Navajos regain possession of Buffalo Shields" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 08:59:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REPATRIATED SHIELDS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510046348,00.html Navajos regain possession of ceremonial buffalo shields By Dennis Romboy August 12, 2003 Deseret Morning News Three ancient buffalo hide shields used by Navajo medicine men in traditional religious ceremonies are back in the tribe's possession. The National Park Service turned over the artifacts - the oldest leather shields known from North America - to Navajo officials last Thursday, ending a four-year long ownership dispute. The tribe's headquarters are in Window Rock, Ariz. "Indeed, a number of claims were made and the Navajo Nation claim prevailed," said Al Hendricks, Capitol Reef National Park superintendent. The shields were on display there for 46 years. Artifacts hunter Ephraim P. Pectol discovered the decorated shields in a shallow rock shelter below Boulder Mountain in south-central Utah in 1926. The three large buffalo hides were carefully padded with shredded juniper bark and covered with a layer of dirt. Carbon dating placed their construction between 1420 and 1640, likely toward the end of that range. Because the shields were found on federal land, they were placed at nearby Capitol Reef in 1953. They remained on display at the visitors center there until 1999 when the Navajo tribe claimed them, citing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Six tribes, including Utes from Uintah County and Colorado and Kaibab Paiutes from Fredonia, Ariz., filed requests for the shields. Also, some descendants of the man who found them contested the valuable antiquities leaving Utah. The artifacts were stored in a government repository in Tucson, Ariz., until the ownership question was resolved. After consultation with anthropologists and archaeologists over two years, the Park Service determined the shields belonged to the Navajos. "The strongest claim was made by the Navajo Nation," Hendricks said. The decision was based largely on oral tradition, specifically the recollection of an elderly Navajo medicine man thought to be the last of those trained in ancient rituals using the shields. The healer told officials his grandfather was the last man to have the shields before they were hidden. The three shields were created centuries ago for an ancient protection ceremony that included songs and prayers. They were handed down from generation to generation. During a U.S. Army roundup of the Navajo for interment in a New Mexico prison camp in the 1860s, the two medicine men responsible for the shields fled to Utah from Arizona. One of them stashed them in the mountains of what is now Wayne County. He died before he could retrieve them or tell anyone how to find them. E-MAIL: romboy@desnews.com Copyright c. 2003 Deseret News Publishing Company. --------- "RE: Rocky Boy Fires appear to be Man-Made" --------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 21:02:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ROCKY BOY FIRES" http://www.havredailynews.com/~/local_headlines/fires.txt Fires appear to be man-made By Patrick Winderl/Havre Daily News/pwinderl@havredailynews.com ROCKY BOY'S INDIAN RESERVATION - Local law enforcement officers and federal fire marshals are investigating a series of possibly man-made fires on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. Six or seven small blazes began in the Bear Paw Mountains late Tuesday or early Wednesday. All but one were put out Wednesday. Three fire departments continued to fight a 10-acre fire near Rocky Boy Agency this morning. Although the fires were relatively small, a critical shortage of personnel and the fires' locations made them difficult to put out, said Robert "Sonny" Belcourt, director of natural resources for the Chippewa Cree Tribe. The fires appear to be man-made, Belcourt said. Rocky Boy Police and fire marshals with the Bureau of Indian Affairs are investigating, he said. "We've never seen anything like this," he said. "We're really concerned. Our tribal council was made aware of the situation - and they are all very concerned." As of Wednesday, all forests within the reservation are closed to unauthorized use, Belcourt said. With the exception of firefighters and fire investigators, no one is allowed in the forests, he said. Violators may be arrested. Tribal police blocked forest roads Wednesday afternoon. The road leading to the largest of the blazes, the Muddy Creek Fire, was guarded by a uniformed officer. Only firetrucks and unmarked vehicles with U.S. government license plates were allowed access to the road. The Hill County Sheriff's Office is investigating a similar fire that occurred on private property adjacent to the reservation. The fire, reported at 6 a.m. Wednesday, burned some hay bales before being put out by the Bear Paw Volunteer Fire Department, Hill County Sheriff Greg Szudera said today. No was injured. "The cause is being investigated," Szudera said. "It's very suspicious." Deputies asked for help from the U.S. Border Patrol to locate a vehicle they believe may have been involved in the fire, Szudera said. Aircraft with the Border Patrol searched an area south of Havre Wednesday morning, but did not locate the vehicle, Border Patrol spokesman Mark Kemp said. Deputies later located a vehicle matching the description, but determined it was not involved with the fire, Szudera said. The fires on the reservation occurred in isolated areas of the Bear Paw Mountains, forming a rough semicircle around the agency. The first of the fires was reported around midnight Tuesday, Belcourt said. The Carrie Fire burned about 4 acres before being put out Wednesday morning. Crews continued to hose down hot spots Wednesday afternoon and firefighters camped out Wednesday night to ensure it did not flare up again. The fire started on a steep hill that runs parallel to a dirt road several miles from the agency. The fire burned up the west side of the hill, breached the crest, and began burning down the west side before it was put out. The area is steep and heavily wooded, making it inaccessible to trucks and bulldozers. Crews had to fight the fire by hand, Belcourt said, a difficult task with a shortage of available firefighters. The majority of Rocky Boy's trained firefighters, including its elite Hotshot crews, are deployed elsewhere, Belcourt said. More than 80 tribal firefighters are combating blazes in Glacier National Park and other fires near Bozeman, he said. About 18 firefighters with the tribe's natural resources department, and the Bear Paw Volunteer Fire Department responded to the Carrie fire, said tribal fire prevention technician Harold Watson. The crews built a fire line around the fire using shovels, then let the fire burn out, he said. Three or four smaller fires were reported early Wednesday morning, and burned out themselves or were easily contained, Belcourt said. With a shortage of firefighters, safety is the number one concern, he said. "We always keep safety in mind," he said. "If it looks like it's getting out of control, we will do something different. Most of our firemen are very fire savvy." The Muddy Creek Fire was reported about 7 a.m. Wednesday, Watson said. The fire may have burned for several hours before it was reported, he added. Firefighters had trouble with the fire Wednesday morning when it grew from 3 acres to about 10 acres, Watson said. Crews just off the Carrie Fire were sent to Muddy Creek, where they worked until relief arrived Wednesday evening. A specialized fire crew from the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation in Great Falls was called in to support the volunteer and tribal firefighters, Watson said. The crew, an initial attack team, consists of highly experienced firefighters specially trained to combat fires by hand, Watson said. The team arrived about 5 p.m. Wednesday. The fire lines set at Muddy Creek by teams Wednesday night still held this morning, Watson said, adding the fire was still burning within the fire lines. A series of arson fires on the reservation claimed hundreds of acres of grasslands last year. The largest, in April of 2002, burned more than 200 acres. Those fires were easily accessible, unlike the fires Wednesday, Belcourt said. Copyright c. 2003 Havre Daily News/Havre, MT. --------- "RE: Please write the Arizona Republic" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 00:56:08 -0400 (EDT) From: yael Subj: Please write the AZ Republic (fwd) >To: Gary Night Owl hi Gary! Our fearless "leader" came to Mt. Lemmon, amidst the burnt homes and suffering, to promote his so-called "healthy forests initiative." I didn't make the protest, but here's a fwd: from someone who did... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 17:30:48 -0700 From: Roxane George > To: Southwest Forest Alliance Dear friends: The rally and press conference in Tucson went very well yesterday. Mount Lemmon cabin owners, a firefighter, a Tucson State Representative, conservationists and about 250-350 people all spoke out creatively and articulately against the Bush Forest Plan and for real forest and community protection. We have seen a lot of good editorials in the New York Times, Arizona Daily Star and several Montana papers. Not surprisingly, the Arizona Republic ran a particularly bad one, which I have included below. Please take a few minutes and send a brief letter to the editor of the Republic. Your letter should be no more than 200 words. It can be emailed from the Republic website: http://www.azcentral. com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html We particularly need to repeat the message that the Republic keeps ignoring, which is that no-one, including conservationists, opposes thinning small trees, but the so- called "Healthy Forests Initiative is about letting the timber industry cut big trees even though they are not the problem. Other themes for an effective letter are: a.. Current forest conditions resulted from over 100 years of logging large and old growth trees and overgrazing combined with decades of fire suppression and the current drought, not environmental appeals. b.. c.. 95% of old growth has been logged already. 90% of trees are 12" and smaller. We support thinning small trees but the Bush Plan turns over thinning to the commercial timber industry that, in their own economic interest, will only want to cut the largest trees which are not the ones we need thinned. d.. e.. The Rodeo-Chediski fire, as they point out, started and burned extensively on land that was logged and not subject to environmental laws or appeals. f.. g.. The Republic is repeating the myth stated over and over by pro-timber politicians, that environmentalists oppose thinning. The real block to community thinning projects is lack of funding, which the Bush plan does nothing to remedy. h.. i.. The Healthy Forests Legislation does not limit exempted projects to small trees nor does it give guidance to prioritize community protection. Its definitions of projects that can be exempted from environmental protections is so broad that the only place where it doesn't apply is designated wilderness. Thank you for all your efforts to stop this destructive initiative. -Roxane AZ Republic: Stop fanning the flames All sides must recognize dangers to our forests Aug. 11, 2003 12:00 AM Today's planned tour of devastated Summerhaven on Mount Lemmon will help President Bush promote his Healthy Forests Initiative. But a view of the White Mountains, scene of last year's devastation, would have done more to underscore his proposals. There, the president could have walked along the stretch of U.S. 60, where a narrow thinning project conducted two years before the "Rodeo- Chediski" fire provided a propitious fire break. Many firefighters believe that project, which dropped the roaring crown fire dead in its tracks, stopped the conflagration from marching into Pinetop-Lakeside and beyond. He could have viewed the work of the White Mountain Apaches, true stewards of the forest, whose thinning efforts are unencumbered by the disastrously good intentions of outsiders. At the same time, he could glimpse the 19,000 acres of charred ponderosa pine - near communities and roads, but on federal and state land - that only now are being salvaged after months of costly, time-consuming court battles. The Apaches, he may note comparatively, have completed their salvage work. But Summerhaven will tell a story, too. Summerhaven and the 80,000 wooded acres charred by the "Aspen" fire will provide ample evidence that attempts to "wall off" woodland communities from conflagrations erupting deep inside fuel-choked forests does nothing to address the root problem, which is unhealthy, fuel-choked forests. Like most major Western fires, "Aspen" started deep inside the forest itself. The destructive, earth-sterilizing effects of massive crown fires would be a pre-eminent concern of environmentalists, one would think. But in their passion to demonize Bush and his Healthy Forests proposal as the lackey and tool of the almighty logging industry, deep-forest survival passes from the scene. That being the case, the president's tour of the Arizona fire damage should be instructive to the debate over national fire policy. It should inform the president that the comprehensive policy changes he seeks are especially valuable to the Southwest. It is in the Southwest that the drought-plagued Western forests are driest. And it is here that decades of mismanagement have done the most damage. Even when water here is "plentiful," it is plentiful only by the standards of arid lands. If it is unnatural for Western forests to have grown thick with hundreds of trees per acre, it is madness for such a thing to occur in the thin, dry soil of the Southwest. The only "winner" in a policy that does not relieve Southwest ponderosa-pine forests of their density is the bark beetle. And it is winning hands down. Hopefully too, the president's visit will instruct his environmentalist critics that thinning forests in the Southwest can have far more immediate value than thinning elsewhere. Under natural conditions, ponderosa pine forests can withstand fire. Thinning gives them life. More important, a presidential tour of Arizona's forestland should impress the Greens with another important fact: There is no demon logging industry here. If a national forest-health policy is overbroad, the national environmentalist response to it is even worse in its assumption that every attempt to thin forests is the work of insidious tree farmers. The Southwest is different. And more desperate. It's time both the politicians and the Green lobbyists in Washington started recognizing those facts. If you would prefer not to receive these messages, please reply with a polite request to be removed from the list. Thank you. Roxane George Outreach Director Southwest Forest Alliance P.O. Box 1948 Flagstaff, AZ 86002 (928) 774-6514 roxanegeorge@swfa.org www.swfa.org --------- "RE: Santa Ana Pueblo doesn't fear Shortfall" --------- Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 08:40:55 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="$87.6M DEBT" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.abqjournal.com/paperboy/noads/news/72623news08-14-03.htm Santa Ana Pueblo Doesn't Fear Shortfall By Thomas J. Cole Journal Investigative Reporter August 14, 2003 An Indian tribe that unsuccessfully sought a state loan faces a $52 million balloon payment three years from now unless it can find new financing. But Santa Ana Pueblo officials said that despite the loss of the state loan, they are optimistic about the prospects for eventually refinancing about $88 million in debt. They also said they are confident the pueblo could make the payments on its current loans if its bid for refinancing fails. "Obviously, it's going to be hard to make the balloon," said Bill Haltom, a lawyer for the tribe. "It'll be tight; no doubt about it." Gov. Bill Richardson killed the proposed loan to Santa Ana Pueblo last week but didn't rule out the state playing some part in a restructured deal. The pueblo, located just north of Albuquerque, wanted to borrow $62 million. Santa Ana has about $87.6 million in debt for its Santa Ana Star casino, Tamaya Hyatt Regency resort, Twin Warriors Golf Club, two ranch purchases and other expenses. Under the proposed state loan, the New Mexico Finance Authority would have refinanced some of the debt while the tribe would have paid off the rest with cash. Santa Ana has about $33.6 million in savings. The loan would have saved the pueblo an estimated $7 million a year in debt payments. One problem for Santa Ana Pueblo is that payments on its current loans are escalating, according to Finance Authority records. The scheduled payments total $11 million this year, $12.7 million in 2004 and $15.7 million in 2005, with a balloon payment of $52.4 million due in 2006. The question is whether the tribe will be able to make the payments given its income and the amount of cash it now has in the bank. Estimates far apart A financial consulting company that does work for the Finance Authority estimated the pueblo's casino, resort and golf courses will net about $10 million this year - less than the scheduled payments on the debt. But the tribe's estimate of net revenues is close to $16 million, which would be more than the scheduled payments. It is also double what the businesses netted last year. The pueblo also collects gross-receipts and other taxes from transactions on its land but, like any government, has expenses, such as police protection and waste-water treatment. Pueblo Gov. Myron Armijo, in a lengthy interview Monday, said he is confident the pueblo will eventually refinance its debt with the help of state and federal agencies, private lenders or a combination. "If you were going to refinance your home, would you take advantage of a lower interest rate? That's basically what we're doing," Armijo said. The pueblo is now paying as much as 12 percent interest on its largest loans with Wells Fargo & Co. The interest on the state loan would have been about 5 percent. State officials had said earlier the rate would be about 6 percent. Armijo said he also was confident that even if the tribe failed to refinance its current debt, it would be able to make the scheduled payments. If the state loan had gone through, Santa Ana Pueblo would have paid a constant $6.8 million a year over 12 years to pay off the refinancing. Richardson said he killed the state loan because the state shouldn't assume undue risk, compete with private lenders or place itself in the position of becoming part owner of a casino. 'A heck of a deal' Haltom, who was interviewed along with Armijo, said the governor's comments made it seem as if the loan were risky and that the tribe didn't have the money to repay its debts. "Neither of those is true," he said. "If the tribe were broke, why do we have $30 million on deposit? The state's turning down a heck of a deal." Santa Ana Pueblo hasn't missed a payment on its current debt, Armijo said. He and Haltom acknowledged that the pueblo hasn't fully recovered from a sharp financial downturn in 2001 and 2002. Net revenues from the casino- the tribe's major economic engine- slipped from $16.6 million in 2000 to $10.4 million in 2001 and to $6.7 million in 2002. At the same time, the recently opened Tamaya Hyatt Regency was losing money: $4.1 million in 2001 but just $53,000 in 2002. It is projected to make money this year. Armijo said payments to vendors were pushed out to 120 days during the worst of the crisis and are now down to 60 days in most cases. "What we've done, I guess, is try to push those accounts payables out a little bit so we can make sure that we have enough money to operate," he said. Armijo and Haltom blamed much of the financial squeeze on the economic fallout from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but said other factors, such as the overall downturn in the economy and increased competition from other gaming tribes, played a role. The tribe was particularly hurt when it expanded its casino and a projected increase in business didn't fully materialize. It closed a portion of the casino, laid off workers, canceled shows and stopped work on a casino hotel. Armijo said he has heard allegations of financial wrongdoing on the part of former or current tribal officials and that the Tribal Council wants to conduct some audits. "We're in that process," he said. "The tribe is moving to look at those allegations but are they true? I don't know." Armijo added, "It upsets me. It concerns me. If people choose to do something like that, well they choose to do that. But that's not what we're, the community, is all about." He said an audit is being conducted of Southern Sandoval Investments, a tribal board that has management responsibility for land leases and other economic development efforts by the tribe. Unlike the casino, the resort and golf courses, Southern Sandoval Investments hasn't been recently audited. Asked whether he was concerned about the operations of Southern Sandoval Investments, Armijo said, "As a tribal member, yes. As a governor, also, yes. We should try to perform at our best all the time. ... The priority should be the pueblo." Copyright c. 2003 Albuquerque Journal. --------- "RE: Faction fights eviction from Tribal Homes" --------- Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 08:40:55 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ONEIDA EVICTIONS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.syracuse.com/newsflash/regional/~/1060797547304091.xml Faction fights eviction from tribal homes The Associated Press August 13, 2003 ONEIDA, N.Y. (AP) - A group of Oneida Indians facing eviction from their reservation homes in central New York are taking their case to a federal appeals court, claiming they are victims of "cultural genocide" by tribal leaders. The group will ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stop the Oneida Indian Nation from forcibly inspecting houses, overturn the nation's housing ordinance, and prevent the nation from demolishing their homes, said the group's attorney, Donald Daines. The group claims Oneida leaders are violating the federal Indian Civil Rights Act by using nation laws to punish them for opposing Ray Halbritter, the Oneidas' federally recognized leader. A federal district court last week ruled against the group, which includes Halbritter's 71-year-old aunt, Maisie Schenandoah, a clan mother. A spokesman for Halbritter says the recognized Oneida leadership no longer considers Schenandoah a clan mother. "We are standing firm. These are our aboriginal lands and we are entitled to live here," said Diane Schenandoah, whose trailer home is one of four scheduled for demolition. The trailers were condemned by the tribe as part of a nearly decade-old nation housing improvement program and not as a way to suppress political dissent, said Clint Hill, a member of the tribal council. The dispute goes beyond housing. Those facing eviction are traditionalists who do not recognize Halbritter as the tribe's leader and claim he rules as a dictator. Under traditional law, chiefs are picked by the clan mothers and must have consensus approval. In 1993, the Grand Council of the Six Nations' Confederacy - the traditional governing body of the Iroquois tribes - stripped Halbritter of his leadership. Halbritter's spokesman said the Grand Council has no authority in this area and that each Indian nation is a sovereign state. However, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs continues to recognize Halbritter as the Oneida leader. "They are using their power to make people homeless, to steal their property, to take away their voices," said sister Vicky Halsey Schenandoah, another resident whose trailer was condemned. "They want to destroy anyone who wants to follow the traditional ways." The trailer homes are located on the Oneidas' ancestral 32-acre reservation, located 30 miles east of Syracuse. They were scheduled for demolition on Aug. 20 but that has been put on hold while the case is under appeal, said Oneida spokesman Mark Emery. The housing program was started because tribal members were concerned about safety and health issues, Hill said. He also noted that Halbritter lost another aunt and uncle in a trailer home fire in the mid-1970s. Hill said his trailer was condemned two years ago and he was required to move into new nation housing. Emery said so far 12 homes have been destroyed under the program so far. Those displaced are offered new subsidized housing. Since 1996, the Oneidas have built 20 new single-family homes, 10 duplexes and 40 townhouses, he said. Previously, only Danielle Patterson, another traditionalist, had contested the condemnation of her trailer, Emery said. Patterson, a 32-year-old mother of two, pleaded guilty to criminal contempt in tribal court in November after scuffling with nation police who came to evict her from her home. Patterson, like those presently facing eviction, refused new housing, Emery said. As a result of their past defiance, Maisie Schenandoah and her two daughters were among three dozen tribal members who in 1995 formally "lost their voices" in nation affairs. Such status means they are not eligible for nation programs and services and do not receive the approximately $5, 000 quarterly distributions paid to tribal members in good standing. Since 1995, about half of the 36 have regained their membership by appealing to the tribal council, a step the remaining dissidents can take at any time, Emery said. Last week, U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue ruled that he did not have jurisdiction to consider the case, adding that the complaint contained no facts to support the allegations. A tribal court judge previously ruled that he did not have jurisdiction over political or membership questions. "The tribal court is a charade. Halbritter appointed the judges. They aren't going to go against him," said Diane Schenandoah. "The federal court should have jurisdiction. It's their government that recognizes Halbritter," she said. Copyright c. 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2003 The Post-Standard/Syracuse, NY. --------- "RE: A History Lesson from Oneida Point of View" --------- Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 08:40:55 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WISCONSIN ONEIDA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gogreenbay.com/page.html?article=121397 A history lesson from a different point of view History conference seeks to educate people about Oneida past August 13, 2003 News-Chronicle Many people know that the Oneida Tribe of Indians live in Wisconsin, but why they came here might not be as well known. That's why the Oneida Nation is hosting the Oneida Journeys conference, part of a series of conferences designed to give people a sense of Oneida history. Oneida Journeys, which begins today and continues through Saturday, will address the period between 1860 and 1900. "History is written from the view of the victor," said conference coordinator Gordon McLester. "What we're saying is that doesn't necessarily cover all aspects. The stories have not been told yet, and these stories are becoming from our point of view." Through slide shows, discussion from academic experts and attorneys from Washington, D.C., participants will get a broader view of the Oneida experience. Topics to be addressed include the reason Oneida people left New York to come to Green Bay, the formation of the reservation, land loss and timber rights and the Oneida involvement in the Civil War. McLester said the Indian Allotment Act - in which the government broke down Oneida land allotments from 65,000 acres to 80 acres in a period of less than 30 years - also will be addressed. "We're trying to educate not only our own people, but non-Indians," McLester said. "Most of the time we're just a footnote in someone's overall view of tribal history." The event is co-sponsored by the Oneida Nation Arts Program. FYI: The Oneida Journeys History Conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. today- Saturday and continues to mid-afternoon with lectures and presentations throughout the day. All events are free and take place at Oneida Nation Elementary School (Turtle School), N7125 Seminary Road, Oneida. Food and entertainment will be provided. The event will feature a concert by the Green Bay Civic Symphony, performing Dennison Wheelock's "Suite Aboriginal" at 7 p.m. tonight. The Oneida Hymn Singers of Canada will open for the concert at 6:30 p.m., following an ice cream social. Copyright c. 2003 Green Bay News-Chronicle. --------- "RE: Inferior Blackfeet Housing under fire" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 08:59:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SICK HOUSES" http://www.indiancountry.com/ Inferior Blackfeet housing under fire August 13, 2003 - 3:44pm EST GREAT FALLS, Mont. - Two critical turning points are pending in a federal lawsuit filed here last year over substandard housing on the nearby Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Plaintiffs in the case allege that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Blackfeet Housing Authority in the mid- 1970s knowingly built and sold 153 homes using inferior and potentially harmful materials. Also named as defendants were the most-recent members of the tribal housing board. Despite the area's often-brutal winters, the homes were constructed on wooden foundations, many of which are now buckling and leaking. In some cases, the leakage has prompted stubborn growths of mildew and toxic molds. The basement wood is also treated with toxic chromated copper arsenate, or CCA, a substance the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 decided should be removed from commercial sale because of health concerns. Numerous residents contend they or their relatives have been sickened by the homes, most of which are still occupied and were mortgaged under HUD's Mutual Help Homeownership Opportunity Program. The residents, who want the case certified as a class action, say their complaints and attempts to get the problems rectified were largely ignored. The inaction prompted the litigation "as a last resort," said lead plaintiff Martin Marceau. "HUD has failed to fulfill its congressional mandate to provide decent, suitable, safe, and sanitary housing for members of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, a recognized lower-income group, and to provide housing of sound standards of design, construction and livability," court documents filed by Billings attorneys Thomas Towe and Jeffrey Simkovic allege. "The Housing Authority has sold homes to representative plaintiffs and other class members that are substandard, unsafe, unsuitable, unsanitary, unhealthy and uninhabitable." "The death and sickness is too numerous to be coincidence," Marceau explains. "We had no other means except to go to a lawsuit." But attorneys for the federal agency, HUD Secretary Mel Martinez and the housing authority, which has now been formally dissolved and incorporated under the wing of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council, contend there has been no wrongdoing. They're asking U.S. District Court Judge Sam Haddon of Great Falls to dismiss the case on a variety of grounds, including sovereign immunity. "Tribal agencies, as well as tribal officials acting in the representational capacity and within the scope of their authority, enjoy the same presumption of immunity as tribes themselves," housing authority attorney Steve Doherty wrote in one brief. "... As an arm of the Blackfeet Tribe, Blackfeet Housing is presumptively immune from this private lawsuit. " Doherty, a former Democratic lawmaker who served as minority leader in the 2001 Montana Legislature, is also seeking a protective order from Haddon to keep the plaintiffs from moving ahead with detailed discovery inquiries before the immunity issues are decided. Court records show Towe and Simkovic recently blasted the idea in reply briefs. "Plaintiffs have learned that Blackfeet Housing was ordered by HUD to require wooden foundations and was ordered to prescribe other cost-saving measures in the construction of 153 homes ... and the Blackfeet Housing Authority and the Blackfeet Housing (agencies) are both mere puppets following the directions of HUD and had no genuine independence on matters of policy or discretion," they argue. The attorneys add that a protective order would harm their ability to fully develop the facts of the case. Meanwhile, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Cavan, representing both Martinez and HUD, is arguing that issues raised in the lawsuit "either fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or are beyond the subject matter jurisdiction of this court." Court records also show that Cavan contends it was not until 1988, "well after the completion of the Blackfeet homes in question," that specific American Indian housing legislation was approved by Congress. Therefore, he argues, the federal government is not responsible for the disputed reservation housing, which was constructed in 1976 and 1977. In addition, Cavan argues that HUD Secretary Martinez is being sued in his official capacity even though he had nothing to do with housing decisions being made three decades ago. Towe and Simkovic, however, still maintain the agency - and whoever leads it - is responsible for the ongoing problems. "The Blackfeet Housing Authority was compelled by HUD to use the wooden foundations and other defective products, even though they also know all the wooden foundations were a violation of HUD regulations and state and local building standards," Towe and Simkovic argue in an April 4 filing. Haddon is soon expected to wade through the arguments, including contentions by Towe and Simkovic that Congress has "effectively waived" any sovereign-immunity claims that could be applied to the case. Once Haddon decides whether the case moves forward, a decision is also expected over pending class-action status. Towe says that after the plaintiffs' discovery actions are exhausted, he and Simkovic may request a quick end to the case. "We think the facts are so strong that summary judgment wouldn't be denied," Towe contends. Copyright c. 2003 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: JTAC money - a Blessing or a Curse?" --------- Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 08:08:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JTAC MONEY" http://www.lakotajournal.com/ JTAC money - a blessing or a curse? By Dottie Potter Lakota Journal Senior Staff Writer FORT YATES, N.D. - According to some enrolled members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, there's been a great deal of controversy over the spending of JTAC (Joint Tribal Advisory Committee) funds that the tribe began to receive a few years ago as compensation for damage when dams were constructed on the Missouri River and lands of tribal members were flooded. Some members think that certain districts are getting more than they deserve while others think the moneys should be given out per capita and their district isn't receiving their fair share, while still others believe the members who live off the reservation aren't getting anything and the funds are being mis-used. It seems that the distribution or lack of distribution of the JTAC funds has caused a lot of division among members living on and off the reservation. That may change now with a newly appointed Executive Director of the JTAC Oversight Office. John Wolf, SRST member, began his duties last week in the newly created office that some believe should have been in place at the beginning when the funding became available to the tribe. "I've definitely got my work cut out for me," Wolf said with a laugh as he began his second day on the job last week. Petra Reyna, SRST member said, "My mother (Phyllis Young) was 10 years old when the reservations were flooded and can still recall the day they had to leave their home and watch it be covered with water." She continued, "This is one of the reasons she was so passionate about her work in helping with the legislation and lobbying for the JTAC bill back in the 80's. It's just so very sad and disheartening right now. The compensation for the flooding was supposed to serve as a means of healing and to promote economic development. Instead, just the opposite is happening-there are people standing with their hands out waiting for their check!" Reyna gave examples of situations she knew had happened in regards to the disputes about the JTAC money. One involved her mother when she was threatened by a young man who was angry because he wasn't getting money that he believed should be his and came into the local district office where Young worked. "Then two older ladies who I have respected all my life were hollering around at one of the meetings. I can't even explain how sad that makes me feel to think that those are our elders and young people and they are acting this way," Reyna said. For the purpose of understanding the "how's" and "why's" of JTAC, one needs to look back at the beginning when the dams were built on the Missouri River and what happened as a result of that on up to the present time with what it means for the future of the people of the Standing Rock Reservation. There are other tribes who were also affected because of the dams and flooding of their land. However, this article will focus only on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their reservation. HISTORY OF JTAC The SRST suffered great loss of homes, communities and lands when the U.S. Government Corps of Engineers decided to build dams on the Missouri River to aid in controlling flooding of the river and to create electric energy to meet the increasing need. All of the reservations along the Missouri River suffered great losses and their land base was reduced when six main stem hydro power dams were constructed from Gavin's Point, South Dakota to Fort Peck, Montana. According to information on Standing Rock's web site, this began with the Flood Control Act of 1944, later known as the Pick-Sloan Plan with the purpose of flood control downstream, navigation, irrigation, the generation of hydropower, the provision of improved water supplies and enhanced recreation. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers oversaw the construction of the dams which took place in the early 1950's and the Corps continues to oversee the operation of the dams. A total of 23 tribes were affected as more than 200,000 acres of land was flooded in the Dakota's, including "56,000 acres of prime bottomland on the Standing Rock Reservation." It was the construction of the Oahe Dam and Reservoir of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River project that directly affected the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The Standing Rock Reservation is rather unique because it's land base is in two states-the reservation straddles South Dakota and North Dakota. In addition to the loss of the fertile bottomland from the dams and the flooding of land, the people also lost everything the land provided including shelter, wild game, water, herbs, medicines, sacred sites, grazing lands and the beauty of the land itself. At a hearing in Fort Yates concerning the possible mis-use of JTAC funding before the Committee of Indian Affairs United States Senate in April of 2002, Senator Kent Conrad, D-N.D. said in his opening statement that, "When the Oahe Dam was constructed, 56,000 acres of private land were lost and 190 tribal families were forced to relocate. Ninety percent of the timbered area on the reservation was demolished and thousands of acres of exceptional grazing and rangeland were eliminated. Of the ranchers at Standing Rock, 60 percent saw their land disappear." Conrad was instrumental in writing the legislation for JTAC compensation and getting it passed in the Congress. He believed that even though the landowners were compensated at the time the dams were built and the land was flooded, they were not compensated fully for their tremendous loss, therefore he worked hard to try and "right a wrong" with the bill he introduced. Mary Louise Defender Wilson and her adopted son, Dr. James Fenelon collected, wrote and printed a booklet title, "The Taken Land," a collection of stories from three individuals who lost their land on the Standing Rock Reservation. Only one of the individuals is living today. The booklet is a collection of touching memories of three elders who share the heartache and disruption to their lives and families from the loss of their homes that were never replaced. Harry Swift Horse, an elder now deceased was quoted in the booklet, "I had 180 acres, all prime bottom land here below where Chief See the Bear set up his village. Now I live below that hill, above the coulee. I bought 20 acres-they paid $6.00 an acre-across the river, they got $180.00 an acre. That's the white side." He also said, "My wife had 160 acres down near Wakpala and she got to buy 17 acres." Not only were they not properly reimbursed for their loss of land-they were never able to acquire an equal amount of acreage. Another tribal elder who shared his memories in the booklet was Reginald Bird House, also now deceased. He said, "The Army took my land away-put me here-but I am not happy in this place. No water, no trees, no timber. Now the Army wants to take our sacred canyons away." Bird House explained that the BIA put a cistern in for water behind his house, but he could not afford to fill it because of the cost involved-at that time $50.00 for a 1,000 gallons delivered and $100.00 to fill it-a lot of money for people on the reservation who had very little income. He had taken parts of his original home and used what he could for the one he built to replace it, but it was never the same. "The roof I took from my first house, down on the river. The beams of the house also. But these boards lie across, not like the logs before, they were upright. No chinking, no holes, no heat loss-I had to build this way-or no helping money from the government," Bird House was quoted as saying. Instead of living in a protected area, he was relocated on land exposed to the wind and snow without vegetation to break the cold. He had to cut the rough, rutted dirt road into his home area. He continued, "Yeah, they took this land and said we couldn't live here- had to move. Beyond that ridge there. The Army took all that land, even up and over those high hills. They put up stakes and told us all this was no longer our place to live." "They took all that land...pulled a church out too. Just took it apart. Never seen it again..." he said. Vernon Iron Cloud, still living, was quoted in the booklet. "All my land was taken and my brothers too. Here is my wife's land. Her father lost most of his ranch." He explained, "I was maybe 30 when they took our land. We went to big meetings at Fort Yates held by the Tribal Council. Only reservation people were there and they told us what we had to do-where to go-how much they paid for each acre." Iron Cloud shared his memories of the elders and the difficulty in having to leave their homes and relocate. "And old Ed Hawk never did move. Said he would never leave the land alive." He recalled, "They moved the younger ones first...Then the older people- slowly each gave in-started the long journey. The waters rising. But their heart stayed with the land. Only Hawk refused. Said he would die first-and he did-the waters rising down there, his house standing and nowhere to go." Lakota Journal - Volume 4 Issue 34 - Pages 1 & 2 for the rest of the story --------- "RE: Guest Opinion: 'Buffalo Commons' idea takes Root" --------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 21:02:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BUFFALO COMMONS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/~/guest.inc Guest Opinion: 'Buffalo Commons' idea takes root By PETE LETHEBY August 16, 2003 They're not laughing anymore. Back in 1987, when Frank and Deborah Popper traversed the Great Plains ballyhooing their "Buffalo Commons" prediction for the region, they were ridiculed. At some outposts, bodyguards were needed to ensure their safety. A Montana appearance was canceled because of death threats. Funny thing, though: parts of the Great Plains are evolving into a mid- 19th century wilderness dominated by grasslands and bison. The trend continues unabated 16 years after the Poppers' initial analysis. Depopulation persists. We are beginning to realize that, despite our greatest efforts, we are unable to conquer this vast expanse of middle America. "Instead of beating our land into submission," North Dakota researcher Gregory Wald once asked, "why not take what it gives easily?" Today, many people believe it is time for new thinking: Why not expedite the Poppers' vision and turn a portion of these Great Plains back to their natural grasslands? Why not re-establish a prairie where bison roam, other native wildlife is restored and people find incentive to build new lives? Maybe it's time, as the East Coast professors suggested, to embrace our heritage and our unique terrain. At one time, it is estimated, there were nearly 700,000 square miles of grasslands in the Great Plains. That was comparable to a Gulf of Mexico of bluestem and buffalo grass, or a Caribbean Sea of blue grama and switch grass - with some wildflowers splashed in. This grassland encompassed nearly all or part of 13 U.S. states and Canadian provinces - North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It would be difficult today to imagine the enormity of it all, the cornucopia of wildlife and the endless herds of bison. But many people are doing just that. A great Northern Plains grassland is the rallying cry of the Conservation Alliance of the Great Plains, based in Lincoln, Neb. With the future of Great Plains agriculture uncertain at best, the alliance says the time is right for change. A starting point for such a vision is the existing national grasslands - Buffalo Gap in South Dakota, Little Missouri in North Dakota, Thunder Basin in Wyoming and Oglala in Nebraska. There are huge chunks of tribal lands in the Great Plains, mostly in South Dakota and Montana, and the Native American aspiration is clear: Restore reservations to native prairie ecosystems, including grasslands, bison and prairie dogs. A coalition called the lntertribal Bison Cooperative became a reality in Albuquerque in 1992, and it now includes 42 tribes and thousands of bison. The Cheyenne River Sioux in north- central South Dakota have been active in prairie restoration and have reintroduced black-footed ferrets, once a vibrant species on the western Plains. The USDA's latest farm bill includes a new Grasslands Reserve Program, which offers incentives for ranchers and farmers to protect sensitive grasslands. It is small in scope, but perhaps another new beginning, Much more will be needed if a giant grandeur of grasses is to become a reality. Since 98 percent of the Northern Great Plains lands is in private hands, there would be a need to build public-private partnerships and establish conservation easements. "The impetus has to come locally," said Tyler Sutton, president of the Conservation Alliance. "None of this is going to happen unless local leaders allow it to happen. But do we rest our future on the single leg of agriculture?" Sutton and the Conservation Alliance foresee an economy based on "natural amenities," offering wildlife watching, hunting, hiking, horseback riding, tribal cultural practices, other forms of eco-tourism and, yes, some livestock grazing. The Conservation Alliance is not alone in its dream. The World Wildlife Fund has made a Northern Great Plains grassland one of its priorities and has compared the area to the African Serengeti. A nonprofit group called the Great Plains Restoration Council, with offices in Denver and Fort Worth, has dedicated itself to a "practical implementation of a Buffalo Commons." It has launched "The Million Acre Project" to restore and connect a million acres of native prairie. Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited have joined the chorus, the latter inaugurating a "Grasslands for Tomorrow" initiative to "achieve a sustainable landscape for wildlife, agriculture and rural economies." Collectively, there is a movement; the Poppers were on to something. Pete Letheby is a newspaper editor and columnist in Grand Island, Neb. He wrote this essay for Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). Copyright c. 2003 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: New ID Cards for Indians urged" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 08:59:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STATUS ID CARDS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.theglobeandmail.com/~/LAC/20030812/UNATIN//?query=aboriginal New ID cards for Indians urged to help fight fraud By KIM LUNMAN Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - Page A4 OTTAWA - It will cost Ottawa $17-million to modernize identity cards for status Indians in a move to stop widespread fraud that costs taxpayers $62-million annually, government documents reveal. The federal government wants to introduce updated Indian status cards to Canada's 700,000 registered Indians by spring, according to a Department of Indian Affairs report on the project done in April. The report, obtained by Access to Information researcher Ken Rubin, recommends issuing more secure Certificate of Indian Status cards countrywide. It states that the overall cost of issuing the cards to 2005 at $17.4- million and says the program also would require an annual continuing budget of $6.3-million. The report states that a decision must be made by next month on funding the program to issue the cards nationally. A status card confirms the cardholder as registered by the government of Canada as an Indian within the Indian Registration system. It determines that the person is entitled to federal services and tax exemptions totalling as much as $8,000 in benefits per year. That includes sales-tax exemptions for goods bought or delivered to reserves, drugs, dental work and eye exams. The cards also are used as identification for first-nations people seeking entry to the United States. That makes them prized on the black market, where they sell for $500 to $1,000, according to a 1999 study for Indian Affairs. A study commissioned by Indian Affairs in 1993 found that the status cards can be copied easily and that fraud by non-Indian cardholders costs the provincial and federal governments more than $62-million a year. Critics said that it is about time the government acted on the earlier report. "This is a no-choice item," said Canadian Alliance native affairs critic John Duncan. "They're going to have to do it." However, he was critical that it has taken the department as long as it has to bring the card up to date. "Indian Affairs has a status quo agenda," Mr. Duncan said. "They don't want to bring a lot of light to problems in the department." Indian Affairs officials did not respond yesterday to requests for interviews on the cards. Status cards replaced birth certificates in 1951 to identify registered Indians. Use of the cards, which have a photograph but no bar code or embossed number, was expanded over the years to become a ticket for federal and provincial programs. The current CIS card, which has been in use for more than 15 years, is a laminated paper document. A 2002 report by Indian Affairs found the card "is extremely easy to modify or replicate." Copyright c. 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: GUEST: Candidates dismiss Public, cost APTN" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 08:59:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AFN CANDIDATES" http://www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/windguest.html Candidates dismiss public, cost APTN August 2003 Dan David, Windspeaker Columnist The place is anywhere, another emergency meeting of chiefs. The specifics aren't important because it's happened so many times. Chief after chief rises to condemn the organization for "not getting the message out." The people have to know, they say. However, there's not a single reporter in the room. The chiefs threw them out. This happens all the time at national, regional and local meetings. It's more noticeable at national meetings, however, when you see CBC Newsworld crews tearing down their equipment in disgust. They want to be there. They know the issue is important for Canadians to know and to understand. They've committed time and money to be there. They've OK'd it with the organization. Then, a single chief rises and demands that the media leave the room. This is when the communications person cringes. The organization has just shot itself in the foot. It has not only damaged the perception of the organization, it's made the communications person look like a fool. The only thing to do is shrug, roll your eyes and throw yourself on the mercy of reporters with, "Hey, what're ya gonna do, eh? Those wacky chiefs..." Some reporters leave in a huff. They don't have to be treated like pond scum by some two-bit organization. They'd rather be treated like pond scum by some other, far more important, organization. The reporters who stay cool their heels in the lobby. They know they're still going to get the story. There are all kinds of weasels popping out of the meeting to give their particular spin. But that's not the point. The point is that it's so unnecessary, so counter-productive. In the end, the organization looks clumsy and amateurish. It's lost credibility, which is everything in the public relations business and absolutely essential for Aboriginal and minority groups that need the support of the Canadian public for political advantage. Can't they get it through their thick skulls that they need good relations with the media if they hope to gain public support? Isn't it obvious that without public support, white politicians don't have to listen to them? Apparently, not. This is just one version of the "nightmare scenario" that the communication expert has to contend with. There are others. A client never returns calls to reporters, makes appointments then breaks them, never shows up for scheduled interviews. A client is caught with his or her hands in the cookie jar (or beats his wife, or makes racist comments) and is unremorseful. A client stares in the face of the facts and then denies them. A client deliberately spreads distortions, disinformation and lies. There isn't a reporter covering Aboriginal affairs that can't provide examples, names of individuals and organizations that have committed all of the above. Nor is there a reporter covering Aboriginal affairs who hasn't looked the other way from time to time. Perhaps, even, most of the time. How many times have Aboriginal politicians said that their concept of "public relations" is to "control the media," meaning restrict access, deny information and refuse to answer questions? How many times have reporters shown up for "public meetings" only to be thrown out, while non- media, non-Aboriginal "observers" remain, take notes and report back to their ministers? There's only one word for this behavior-idiotic. Even when what is at stake is the national chief's office at the Assembly of First Nations, the idiocy continues. The news department at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network worked hard to arrange a nationally televised forum for the candidates. All of them, Roberta Jamieson, Phil Fontaine and Matthew Coon Come, committed to it a month in advance. APTN spent a lot of money on advertising to get people interested, involved and watching. It even rescheduled the forum to accommodate the candidates' plans. The candidates agreed to the debate, which included a question and answer period for reporters and for the audience, who sent by e-mail, phone and fax, questions of concern from across the country. There was no hint of trouble until an hour before the show. That's when Jamieson's media handler called to say they'd heard Fontaine was a no-show. No Phil? No Roberta. "We speak for Matthew as well," the handler said. APTN called Phil Fontaine's handlers. "Didn't you get the fax?" They said they faxed APTN to cancel Fontaine's appearance 90 minutes before the program was due to be taped. Fontaine was in Aklavik and his people hadn't bothered to contact the producers directly that he wouldn't be there. Matthew Coon Come and Roberta Jamieson give softball interviews to the CBC. Afterward, and separately, they wandered over to APTN expecting to be given air time. By now, however, APTN had pulled the plug on the debate. Carefully rehearsed messages-without questions-was not what APTN had promised its audience. Forget that Coon Come and Jamieson missed a golden political opportunity. Imagine one empty chair and the inherent message that would have implied. Instead, there were three empty seats. In the end, the message the candidates conveyed is that Aboriginal people don't matter to them. Who's to blame? The candidates and their so-called "handlers," who have shown they know nothing about public relations. All of them proclaim the need for "better communications" to inform the people. They profess to encourage more accountability to the people. When given the chance to do so, however, they failed miserably. As a journalist, it's an unfortunate part of my job to take this kind of treatment. What's unacceptable is that these candidates treated the Aboriginal audience this way as well. It was rude and disrespectful. People deserve better. Copyright c. 2003 Windspeaker, The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: Mi'kmaq serve Ottawa with Class-Action Lawsuit" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 08:59:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MI'KMAQ SUIT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Nfld-Mikmaq.html Mi'kmaq serve Ottawa, Nfld. government with class-action lawsuit August 12, 2003 ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) - Three men have launched a lawsuit against Ottawa and the provincial government seeking official native status for Mi'kmaq people in Newfoundland and back payment for benefits they say they've been denied since the province joined Canada. Jake Davis, Bert Alexander and John Oliver say the federal government has discriminated against them. "The federal Crown has withheld programs, benefits, and services from the plaintiffs, which programs, benefits and services were provided by the federal Crown to Indians in all other provinces and territories in Canada," says a statement of claim filed in Newfoundland Supreme Court in Corner Brook. "The federal Crown has discriminated against the plaintiffs due to their residence in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador." The 25-page statement of claim, filed late last month, says Ottawa has failed to establish bands for most Newfoundland Mi'kmaq and failed to provide education, medical services and family allowances. Ottawa has not established reserves, trapping areas or other economic development initiatives, it says. Indian Affairs officials ignored legal advice and knew they were violating the constitutional and Charter rights of Newfoundland and Labrador Mi'kmaq, says the lawsuit, served on the federal and provincial governments. Alexander, head of the self-proclaimed Alliance Indian Band in the town of Kippens, Nfld., said he wants equality. "We've had no movement from the federal or provincial governments," Alexander said in an interview Tuesday. "It's time we had a hearing." Davis is head of the self-proclaimed Sip'kop band. Oliver lives in Fort McMurray, Alta. The Mi'kmaq, as well as the Inuit and the Innu of Labrador, were not given native status under the federal Indian Act after the province joined Canada in 1949. In recent years, the Inuit and Innu in Labrador have received that recognition from the federal Indian Affairs Department. In 1984, the department recognized a Mi'kmaq reserve in Conne River, about 300 kilometres west of St. John's. There are just over 700 people living on the reserve. But thousands of other Newfoundland natives have been left out, say Mi'kmaq leaders. The lawsuit does not include members of the Conne River band or the Federation of Newfoundland Indians, a group that has had a separate legal action before the courts since 1989. Jerry Wetzel, lawyer for the plaintiffs, said it could take some time for the case to be resolved. But he said he hopes there will one day be more reserves like Conne River, where Mi'kmaq enjoy a form of self-government. "We run our own police system, our own school system, our own social services and health system and economic-development system," said Wetzel, a member of the Conne River band. The men are seeking an order from the court that they be registered under the Indian Act and granted any benefits and funding provided other aboriginals in Canada. They're also seeking damages and the payment of funds the federal Crown should have provided over the years, along with interest. No amount is named in the suit. The lawsuit also seeks $5 million and provincial Crown land for reserves from the Newfoundland government, alleging that the province failed to request funding or programs for Mi'kmaq people. Officials from the federal and provincial governments declined comment as the lawsuit is before the court. Allegations in the statement of claim have not been proven in court. Copyright c. 2003, CANOE, a division of Netgraphe Inc. --------- "RE: NWT Dogrib on verge of Self-Government" --------- Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 08:40:55 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DOGRIB" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.theglobeandmail.com/~/?query=dogrib NWT Dogrib on verge of self-government By BOB WEBER Canadian Press Thursday, August 14, 2003 When Prime Minister Jean Chre'tien signs a land claim and self-government agreement on Aug. 25 in the Northwest Territories community of Rae-Edzo, about 3,000 Dogrib will get powers, including taxation and land use, over a territory larger than Belgium. "...A new era starts for us," said John Zoe, Dogrib head negotiator, who has been working on the agreement for 10 of the 20 years it has taken to reach. "It's a new world based on old principles. The dreams that we have, we have the tools now to make a reality -- on our own terms." The agreement in principle was reached in January, 2000. The final agreement was reached about a year ago and overwhelmingly approved by the Dogrib in a vote on June 26-27. It comes into effect as soon as it is ratified by Parliament and the NWT legislature, expected to happen in the spring. The Dogrib will own 39,000 square kilometres between Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake, an area that includes both of Canada's diamond mines. They will receive $152-million over 15 years, plus annual payments likely to amount to about $3.5-million. In a first for northern settlements, the Tli Cho Agreement will give the Dogrib their own legislative bodies with the power to collect taxes, levy resource royalties and regulate everything from family law to native healers. Under the agreement, the four Dogrib communities will elect councillors and chiefs. Anyone may run and vote, but at least half of the councillors and the chief must be Dogrib. The chiefs and some councillors will form the Tli Cho government, which will oversee the entire area. The federal government will retain control of criminal law, and the NWT government will keep many powers over services such as health and education. Tli Cho laws will not be allowed to conflict with laws passed by other governments. But Tli Cho will control hunting, fishing and industrial development. It will be eligible for a share of revenues from extensive energy development along the Mackenzie Valley and will be entitled to all royalties on resources from its own lands, royalties that currently go to the federal government. Existing land ownership and use will be honoured under the new agreement. The agreement means the Dogrib will control issues that affect them most directly, Mr. Zoe said. "Growing up in an aboriginal community, you don't have a say in anything that happens there," he said. "This agreement says you have the ability to take on that responsibility." The Tli Cho Agreement also stipulates that new powers not covered in the agreement will be negotiated. "It's what we call a living agreement," said Mr. Zoe, and it's how he answers criticisms that the agreement extinguishes any further Dogrib claims in the area. He acknowledges the agreement establishes the primacy of Canadian courts and government. But he points out that 80 per cent of the Dogrib voted in favour of the agreement. "We recognize we live in Canada," Mr. Zoe said. "We're not a totally enclosed society that is a doughnut in Canada. "This agreement gives us enough of our culture, language and heritage to retain who we are without being totally swallowed up by the rest of Canada." Copyright c. 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Navajo Police Academy graduates New Cops" --------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 21:02:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO POLICE ACADEMY" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.gallupindependent.com/08-16-03navajopolice.html Navajo police academy graduates new cops Jim Maniaci Dine' Bureau August 16, 2003 TOYEI - The 43rd Navajo Law Enforcement Training Academy class was told at its graduation Friday here that being a police officer is like driving up a highway there are signs to follow so you stay on the straight path and don't get into trouble. This was the theme of new Public Safety Division Director Samson Cowboy's speech, one of many to the class of 16, including three women, which has spent almost a half-year in a grueling course of study and action that resulted in half of the original 32 cadets leaving. Cowboy credited John Holiday with being his mentor, starting more than two decades ago. The division director noted that the white stripe on the edge of the pavement "tells you something take the right path. Where is that at? Look up at the sky, the blue sky." He said, "The yellow lines also tell you something caution, when not to pass. So what ever you do, be cautious; think about your family, yourself. Treat people with respect." Cowboy said, "These should be a daily reminder when you are out there," since being a police officer is not easy. Although the officers have the tools, such a firearms and knowledge, the director urged them to "use them wisely." He closed by noting that there are "two things which will put you out of this job, misconduct and promiscuity." Cowboy, with the tribal police forces for 21 years, said he has been married for 24 years. Most of the 20th Council's Public Safety Committee attended, led by Chair Hope MacDonald-Lonetree. She told the audience of about 400 people tribal police are the Navajo Nation's military. "You help us battle drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, violent crime. The bottom line is, we want safe communities. Each graduating class is part of our groundwork for this," she said. The committee chair added a point almost every speaker made, offering thanks to the families because it takes strong support from the family, especially the spouse, for an officer to do the best job possible. Representing the class, Officer Wendell Bitselley noted the group was fulfilling its dream. Speaking for President Joe Shirley Jr. and Vice President Frank Dayish Jr. the latter went to the academy well before a 9 a.m. inspection but had to leave to go to Albuquerque was Executive Branch Chief of Staff Patrick Sandoval. He noted the class puts a small dent into the number of patrol vacancies, but said this means, "The sun is on the horizon for the department and the division." He repeatedly called the department "unique and beautiful," in many ways. To protect and serve, an officer needs "to be a good thinker, needs to be physically fit, needs to be mentally fit," he said. A lot of people don't see what it takes to be a police officer, who also becomes by the very nature of the job a leader in the community. He also said the goal should be to have a waiting list to be a Navajo Law Enforcement Department officer, not a job vacancy list. Department Chief Dorothy Fulton, an alumna of NLETA, pointed out no other U.S. Indian tribe has its own academy, which results in more officers graduating than sending cadets to off-reservation academies. NLETA graduates are more highly trained because they get certified by three states, the federal government and the tribe. As she often does, Fulton also cited the thin ranks of having only about one-third the national average for officers per 1,000 people. Combined with the detective force of the Criminal Investigations Department, there are only about 300 commissioned peace officers in the tribal police force, spread over seven precincts, with about 180,000 people on the reservation and another 130,000 Navajos living off the reservation, most of whom return to visit their families. Not many people chose as their road in life being a police officer and it takes a special kind of person to travel this route, she said. Top honors in the class went to Lamont Brown for physical fitness and "top gun" as the best firearms shooter, with Bitselley winning the academic prize. Brown will join the Tuba City precinct, now commanded by Capt. Bobby Etsitty who will soon become the academy commander; Bitselley will join the Dilkon precinct, commanded by Lt. Ronnie Wauneka, the highest ranking woman in the department after Fulton. Also joining the Tuba City precinct will be Glenn Smith and going to Dilkon will be Christopher Kaye and Irma Leonard. Going to Capt. Steve Nelson's Crownpoint precinct will be Calvin Brown, Christopher Sloan and Israel Tsosie. Joining Capt. Randy John's Shiprock precinct, the busiest of the seven districts, will be Lambert Deschine and Everett Gilbert. Capt. Edison Begaye's Chinle precinct will gain Rick Gravatt, Aaron Johnson and Mario St. Germaine. Lt. Kee Thinn's Kayenta precinct will pick up Nelson Martin. And Capt. D.K. Thomas's Window Rock District will add Dana D. Tome. Class advisors and instructors included Sgts. Darren Simeona (acting academy commander), Emmett Yazzie (master of ceremonies), Marvin Curley and Dave Johnson, Officers Gilbert Yazzie, Byron Coolie and Darlene Antonio of the NLED plus Hopi Resource Ranger Robin Lomatewama. The class took as its motto, "Courage To Protect, Will To Survive." Capt. Nelson, backed up an area band, sang several songs including, "I Fought the Law and the Law Won." We want you! The academy is currently recruiting for another class and would like to start with 65 cadets next month or October. Men and women who are interested should telephone Sergeant Marvin Curley at (928) 736-2611. Recruiting seminars will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the Shiprock police station, Sept. 8 at the academy and Sept. 22 at the Dilkon police station. Copyright c. 2003 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Navajo Cops help Blackfeet Cops" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 08:59:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO LAW SUPPORT" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.gallupindependent.com/08-12-03navajocopshelp.html Navajo cops help Blackfeet cops in Montana Pamela G. Dempsey Dine' Bureau August 12, 2003 WINDOW ROCK - Seven passengers, some armed, boarded a charted flight at the Window Rock Airport Monday morning on their way to a single destination: Cutbank, Mont. Their mission? To provide assistance to the Blackfeet reservation. The Navajo Nation Department of Law Enforcement sent Criminal Investigator Mark Scott (Shiprock Criminal Investigations) along with Officer Carlton Jim (Chinle District), Officer Harry Lee (Dilkon District), Officer Willis Martine (Crownpoint District), Officer Harold Moses (Shiprock District), and Officer Calvin Gishie (Tuba City District Department of Law Enforcement), to assist the Bureau of Indian Affair's Law Enforcement request for additional manpower. The BIA took over the PL-93-638 contract from the Blackfeet reservation in February and needed police officers to temporarily fill vacancies. The Navajo tribe answered the "call of duty" and sent the officers to Montana until early September. "It's a learning experience to understand other tribes and BIA law enforcement," Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley told the officers before take-off. Navajo tribal police have also served off the reservation in the Rodeo Chedeski Fire, Mescalero Fire and the Whiteriver Apache election. The BIA Law Enforcement Services will be paying for their salaries, meals, lodging, travel, and equipment, which will save the tribe $43,000. Although there is a need for public coverage locally as well, the officers are due back before the Navajo Nation fairs begin. "I'm proud of you taking on a call to duty," President Shirley said. "This is a sacred responsibility." The Blackfeet Nation has a population of about 10,000 and is located on 1.5 million acres. However, the Blackfeet tribe, as an independent service, reportedly did not enforce its laws, which may present a problem to the Navajo tribe's police presence. The officers are commissioned BIA Law Enforment officers and carry Special Deputy Commissions, which gives the officers enforcement authority. Blackfeet Chief of Police, David Spotted Eagle will oversee the operation. President Shirley, in a meeting with NDLE Chief of Police, Dorothy Fulton, expressed his support for the assignment "in light of promoting, improving, and strengthening partnerships and such mutual assistance among law enforcement agencies." "You all can serve the Navajo Nation by taking on this initiative," President Shirley said. Copyright c. 2003 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Janklow Accident Report" --------- Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 08:05:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JANKLOW CRASH" http://www.argusleader.com/news/Mondayfeature.shtml Highway Patrol: Days before Janklow crash report ready Peter Harriman Argus Leader August 18,2003 Accident reconstructionists from the South Dakota Highway Patrol spent much of Sunday collecting information from a car-motorcycle collision that killed a Minnesota man and injured Congressman Bill Janklow, who was driving. It could be several days before their report is complete and authorities determine whether to seek charges. The victim was identified as Randy Scott, 55, a farmer, trucker and military veteran from rural Hardwick. Janklow, 63, was not hospitalized but did suffer a head injury and fractured right hand and was knocked unconscious, his son, Russell Janklow, said Sunday. The congressman released a statement Sunday expressing "as much anguish for this gentleman and his family and friends as is humanly possible." Moody County State's Attorney William Ellingson said Sunday that he is waiting for the Highway Patrol's report before determining whether to seek criminal charges. Col. Dan Mosteller of the South Dakota Highway Patrol said the accident left extensive debris that reconstructionists were studying. The information will be analyzed by a computer program, and an accident report will be available "in a couple of days," Mosteller said Sunday. Janklow and Chris Braendlin, a senior staff member who was a passenger in the car, were wearing seatbelts, Mosteller said. Scott was not wearing a helmet. "There's no evidence or indication that alcohol or drugs were involved," Mosteller said. As is routine in fatal accidents, blood tests taken from Janklow and Scott are being analyzed at the state lab in Pierre and results should be available today or Tuesday. The accident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Saturday at a rural intersection 10 miles south of Flandreau and about 25 miles from Scott's home near Hardwick. Janklow was returning to his home in Brandon from Aberdeen, where he had attended a Korean War veterans' event, according to Russ Janklow, who lives in Sioux Falls. Janklow and Braendlin had stopped briefly in Flandreau, Janklow's hometown and the home of his mother and sister, then continued south. At the intersection of Moody County Highways 13 and 14, Janklow's Cadillac, traveling south, collided with Scott's motorcycle, headed eastward. North-south traffic at the intersection is controlled by stop signs. Moody County Coroner Tad Jacobs had said Saturday night that the car "ran the intersection going southbound and struck the motorcyclist," although the Highway Patrol had not confirmed that as of Sunday night. The impact forced Janklow's vehicle off the road into a bean field on the southwest corner of the intersection. Scott's motorcycle also ended up in a ditch, according to Russ Janklow, who visited the scene late Saturday. Janklow needed help exiting his vehicle, because of extensive damage to its door, according to his son. Russ Janklow said that when he saw his father Saturday evening, "he was unsure what had happened. He knew he had been in an accident and knew someone had been killed. He was not sure who it was. He was shaken up, concerned, and trying to figure out how the accident happened." In Hardwick, cynicism, as well as sadness, surrounds Scott's death, according resident Orvin Green. In town "they want to know if there is a coverup going on," he said. "That's what we want to know. If I would have killed somebody, the accident scene would have been opened by dark last night," Green said. But with Janklow involved, "they close it for 22 hours." Firefighters from Trent blocked the intersection Saturday and Sunday through midafternoon. This is not unusual, Mosteller said. "We have changed nothing in what we do with any other fatality. We are approaching it in exactly the same manner," he said. At the conclusion of the investigation, officers expect to know the point of impact and speed of the vehicles involved, Mosteller said. "There may be some unanswered details," he said. "Usually when accident reconstructionists finish with their mapping they have a good idea what happened." Janklow traveled extensively by car throughout South Dakota when serving as governor. "Frankly, besides a minor fender bender on Tenth Street in Sioux Falls, I can't think of an accident he has ever been in," his son said. Janklow, was governor from 1979 to 1987 and from 1995 to 2003. He was elected to the U.S. House in 2002. Copyright c. 2003 Argus Leader. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: DOI's Top Lawyer under Ethics Investigation" --------- Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2003 08:26:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ETHICS" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60306-2003Aug14.html Ethics Probe Opened on Interior Dept. Lawyer Environmental Groups Allege Conflicts of Interest By R. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, August 15, 2003 The Interior Department's inspector general yesterday opened a probe into allegations of conflicts of interest surrounding a series of meetings involving the agency's top lawyer, members of his former law firm and officials of the cattle industry he represented before joining the Bush administration, the department announced. Officials said Solicitor William Gerry Myers III, a former attorney for ranchers and other grazing interests, requested the review after two environmental groups complained he had violated his ethics agreement at the department. Friends of the Earth and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility lodged their complaint after obtaining Myers's office calendars through the Freedom of Information Act. The ethics inquiry by the inspector general is the third involving a top official of the department. Deputy Secretary James Steven Griles, a former lobbyist for mining, oil and gas interests, has been the focus of a probe since May into his own meetings with former clients on key policy matters, including energy development in Wyoming. Another ethics probe concerns whether Bureau of Land Management director Kathleen Burton Clarke, a former Utah director of natural resources, violated a promise to recuse herself from a controversial land swap with the state of Utah, which critics alleged was a boon to state business interests. A report by the inspector general concluded that the department had undervalued by $116 million the land it was giving to Utah. The land swap was canceled. The department spokesmen charged that the allegations were motivated by the fundraising needs of "partisan special interest groups." For the last two years, Myers has been at the center of controversy over the Bush administration's efforts to ease restrictions on the use of public lands for grazing. In May, President Bush nominated Myers to becom