From gars@speakeasy.org Wed Sep 10 01:13:34 2003 Date: 9 Sep 2003 23:21:19 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews11.037 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 11, ISSUE 037 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 September 13, 2003 Mvskogee Otowoskucee/little chestnut moon Western Cherokee Dulisdi/nut or black butterfly 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; Frostys AmerIndian and News Gathering Mailing Lists; Newsgroup: alt.native; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "The earth has received the embrace of the sun and we shall see the results of that love." __ Chief Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! Canada's history and current action toward its indigenous peoples is about as schizophrenic as anyone can imagine, especially when the criminal justice system is concerned. On the one hand, some Canadian areas have established sentencing and indigenous criminal treatment programs that emulate traditional justice systems of the local tribes -- and they've been proven to work. Saskatchewan, however, continues to be a focal point for the "just us" variety of white man's "justice." That's the province where the local cops like to strand nearly unconscious Indian men on foot miles from any help in the dead of winter -- sometimes after urinating on them. That's where the legal machinery works hard to cover up such deeds when the dead Indian is found, rather than exposing these murders. Now we have an incredible "slap on the hand" sentencing of one of three perpetrators of the attempted rape of an Indian child and the aquittal of his accomplices. (see the 9/5/03 Globe and Mail story, "Conditional sentence for sex assault on 12-year-old" for full details). Let's turn the situation around a little and imagine how it would play with cultural roles reversed. Let create a pre-teen Saskatechewan girl and call her Sally White. She lives with her parents in local white middle-class community and she likes to hang out with her buddies. She's 12 and physically small (under 90 pounds, which is generally the low-end weight where adolescent changes begin to happen). Three Indian guys in their 20s pull over in their truck and entice Sally to come ride with them. They offer her beer and she takes it. After a few drinks, Sally is thoroughly drunk and so are the guys. Then each man in turn attempts to use this drunk child sexually, and she is only protected by their alcohol- induced inability to perform. I don't care HOW provocative our hypothetical little Miss White is -- and we've all see the 12-year-old-going-on-25 kids out there grasping at opportunities to seem more "grown up." To borrow a phrase from a friend of mine, grown men are supposed to be responsible enough to withstand the lures of children. If they can't do that, there's something wrong with them. Can any of us honestly forsee the future of three Indians who molested a white kid walking anywhere other than behind bars for a long, long time except maybe in the company of a local lynch mob or down a lonely road at the business end of her father or uncle's shotgun? Can any us of honestly forsee speculation admitted into evidence by a court hearing our hypothetical case that Mr. White may have abused Sally sexually? If such "evidence" was admitted, is there any way to imagine any judge basing a lenient sentence (much less acquittal) on the basis of a defense psychiatrist's testimony that IF Sally had been abused by her dad, she MIGHT have become a sexually provocative pre-teen who MIGHT have initiated sexual conduct herself? Canada's aboriginals are outraged about this, and so are women's groups. It's not hard to figure out that anti-Indian and maybe anti-female prejudice played a role in this judge's decision, and one doesn't need to be this child's relative, or even an Indian to "get it." Women see a foot in the door to the old "blame the victim" mentality. I don't know how much they care about an Indian child -- their comments make it clear they're afraid the judicial tendency to rape the victim again will spread beyond shrugging off the victimization of indigenous children. It will be interesting to see how an appeal plays (or even if it is attempted-- remember, the prosecutor will have to initiate this, and he's part of that same Saskatchewan "just-us" system). ----- See "Wrist Slap for sex assault on 12-year-old" for the Globe and Mail article (first article in this issue). 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 ---------- - Wrist Slap for sex assault - Building new Homes on Pine Ridge on 12-Year-Old - O'odham need for Housing is Acute - Grassy Narrows continues Protest - Dismissed Mille Lacs Reservation - Rights group demands Lawsuit appealed Ipperwash Inquiry - Reason for bold B.C. Offer - Northern Premiers to sign to the Haida Co-Operative Pact - Haida reply to B.C. Offer: - Aboriginal Self-Government See you in Court takes hold in N.W.T. - Janklow still hasn't been booked - What Price Drilling for Fatal Crash - Sacred Birthright - OST considers helping Police of Indigenous Peoples in Whiteclay - Mining company wants BLM - Kayenta Woman dies to buy Sacred Hills after hit by Ambulance - Indian firefighters take pride - Tsosie's killer: - Health concerns I don't want to die for Tribal Fishermen - Native Prisoner - Yellowbird: Failure of reform -- Inmates seeking Pen Pals in Native Schools - Rustywire: Laughing Girl's Blanket - Museums concede - Poem: Not all Kisses are Kisses Dark role in Looting - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Tribal Land Law causes uproar - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Wrist Slap for sex assault on 12-Year-Old" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 08:09:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IF SHE WAS WHITE..." http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/~/National/?query=aboriginal&disp=e&end Conditional sentence for sex assault on 12-year-old Canadian Press Friday, Sep. 5, 2003 Melfort, Sask. - A Saskatchewan judge drew accusations of racism Thursday when he said a 12-year-old aboriginal girl may have been a willing participant or even the aggressor in sexual activity with the 26-year-old man accused of assaulting her. Dean Edmondson will be confined to his house for two years rather than a jail cell after receiving what Justice Fred Kovach conceded was a rare conditional sentence for sexual assault. Mr. Edmondson will be electronically monitored during the sentence but will likely be allowed to go to work or leave the house for other reasons if given prior permission by his supervisor. He will have to perform 200 hours of community service, take alcohol and sex offender counselling, and pay a $500 victim surcharge. As Mr. Kovach read the sentence, supporters and family members of the now 14-year-old aboriginal girl stormed out of the courtroom shouting and accusing the court of racism. The girl's enraged father walked out of the courthouse and punched in the headlights of his own van before being led away by supporters. "The young white man was sitting there with the judge protecting him," a family spokesman told reporters outside court. "Who has justice served here? It sure wasn't our aboriginal child. "There's racist lawyers and racist judges in the justice system here in Canada. Those guys don't belong here. They ought to be kicked out," he said. Mr. Edmondson waited more than an hour before leaving the courthouse with his parents by a back door. The case has attracted national attention for the last two years. In September 2001, Mr. Edmondson and two friends were drinking heavily and driving on country roads near Tisdale, Sask., when they met the girl on the steps of a small town bar. The 89-pound girl accepted a ride and the men, all in their 20s, gave her several beers to drink. Shortly after, she ended up in Mr. Edmondson's lap in the driver's seat and the two kissed. Outside the truck, Mr. Edmondson attempted to have sex with her but could not get an erection. His companions also tried unsuccessfully to have intercourse with her. Mr. Edmondson was convicted in May of being a party to the sexual assault, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. The other two men were acquitted in a separate trial, which also led to outrage in the aboriginal community. On Thursday, Mr. Kovach noted that this sexual assault was on the more severe end of the spectrum, and these types of crimes almost always result in lengthy penitentiary sentences. "I think it's clear from the authorities that a conditional sentence would be rare indeed," Mr. Kovach said. But he then cited earlier testimony suggesting the girl was frequently abused by her father. He quoted the testimony of a pediatrician who said an abused child may show "unpredictable sexual behaviour." This suggests the girl may have been a "willing participant" or "the aggressor" in the incident, he said. "That in no way condones Mr. Edmondson's conduct, (but) in my opinion is a factor in sentencing." The girl also got into the men's truck willingly, drank beer, and lied about her age. These factors all must be taken into account in sentencing, he said. It would have been much more serious, for example, if a girl had been snatched off the street on her way home from school and forced into sexual activity. "No one has any business involving themselves sexually with anyone that age," Mr. Kovach said. "That being said, there are clearly degrees. There is a difference from a sentencing perspective." Mr. Edmondson's 53 letters of support from friends and family filed in court shows he has substantial community support, Mr. Kovach said. He noted Mr. Edmondson had been deemed a low risk to reoffend by a psychologist, and said he would not pose a danger to the community. The very unusual facts suggest a jail term is "not necessarily required," he said. In a brief statement to reporters, Crown prosecutor Gary Parker said he'll pass the file to justice officials in Regina to consider an appeal. Defence lawyer Hugh Harradence said he feels the sentence was just and Mr. Edmondson was relieved. Advocacy groups on hand denounced it. "This is a (decision) against all children in Canada," said Kripa Shekar of the Saskatchewan Action Committee for the Status of Women. "We should all be very, very concerned. Blame the victim is the message we got from the court." Bob Hughes of the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism predicted the sentence would worsen racial tensions. He said Mr. Edmondson should have been forced to spend time in the aboriginal community and to speak to young children about responsible attitudes and behaviour. "The process has blamed the child and her family. We are treading on very serious ground," Mr. Hughes said. Copyright c. 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Grassy Narrows continues Protest" --------- Date: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 11:49 pm From: Frosty Subj: Fw: Grassy Narrows continues protest Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian ----- Original Message ----- From: Russell Diabo Grassy Narrows continues protest By Peter James Miner and News Staff Members of the Grassy Narrows First Nation and the Christian Peacemakers demonstrated along Highway 17A at the junction with Highway 17 Friday to make light of their fight against the provincial government and Abitibi- Consolidated. The peaceful and non-violent protest was marked with signs reading "No clear-cutting" and "The Treaty is Forever Let's Protect It." The event was called a traffic slowdown, but after consultations with the OPP the protesters did not make any aggressive attempts to slow traffic down, instead they had flyers on hand to give to any curious passers-by who decided to stop. "The police said not to block the road," organizer Roberta Keesick said. About a dozen members of the First Nation and three Christian Peacemakers demonstrated on the shoulder of the road from noon to 4 p.m. Keesick said the purpose of the event was to educate more people to the plight of those on the reserve. "We're trying to get more public support, and I think we're building that up," she said. Keesick said the ongoing blockade at the Slate Lake site, which has been in place since last December, has attracted attention from across the country. She said it has been featured on campus radio stations in Winnipeg and Toronto. There have also been supporters who have driven from Toronto to join the blockade. "We constantly have people coming to the blockade," she said. Michael Fobister made the trip from Grassy to join the action Friday. He said people in Kenora don't understand what it's like to have clearcuts right around their community. "They would see it more if we had a logging company that was logging around Kenora," he said. Fobister, 19, said he came to Friday's protest to support his mother. He has also spent time at the Slate Lake blockade earlier this year. Keesick said the reception the protesters received Friday from passing drivers was positive and she was heartened by those who honked as they drove by. "We got lots of honks and thumbs up," she said. "It feels good, it sounds like they understand what we're fighting for." Keesick said the band members are still fighting an uphill battle as logging continues in what they consider their traditional land use area. "They're still cutting out there and they're still not listening to us," she said. "We're not really getting anywhere." She said the protesters will continue with blockades, demonstrations and speaking engagements until the province stops the clearcutting. "The roving roadblocks will continue, but they will always be peaceful and non-violent," she said. Jessica Phillips, from the Christian Peacemakers, said her group continues to support the Grassy Narrows protesters and joins them at all their demonstrations. "You can't ignore what's happening to the people," she said. Currently there are three members of her organization on site, but she said it will be up to five later this month. Copyright c. 2003 Kenora Daily Miner and News. --------- "RE: Rights group demands Ipperwash Inquiry" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Sep 2003 08:09:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IPPERWASH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aboriginalcanada.gc.ca/abdt/~//?query=aboriginal&disp=e&end Rights group demands Ipperwash inquiry By JEFF GRAY With a report from Graeme Smith Friday, September 5, 2003 - Page A6 TORONTO - The human-rights group Amnesty International renewed its demand yesterday for a public inquiry into the killing of native protester Dudley George by the Ontario Provincial Police in 1995. The call, just days into Ontario's provincial election campaign, comes two weeks before a wrongful-death suit related to the same incident goes to court. Mr. George's family is suing former premier Mike Harris, three others who were cabinet ministers at the time, several OPP officers and the provincial and federal governments. "Eight years is simply too long to wait for answers," Alex Neve, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada, told a press conference in front of Queen's Park. With party campaign buses parked behind him, Mr. Neve said both the provincial and federal governments have been ignoring their responsibilities to get to the bottom of Mr. George's death, even defying a request in 1999 from the United Nations. He said the issue is hurting Canada's efforts to pressure other countries on human rights and cited this country's dispute with Iran over the death of Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi as an example. Sam George, the dead man's brother, repeated his offer that the George family would drop its $2-million civil lawsuit, set to go to court Sept. 22, if the government called a public inquiry. "They're not very hard questions. All we're looking for is answers as to why our brother was killed that night," he said. The lawsuit alleges that Mr. Harris directed police to remove the protesters, a charge the former premier has denied. Mr. George acknowledged that there is little chance Premier Ernie Eves will call for a public inquiry as an election campaign begins, but said: "I think it's the right thing to do now. And I hope that [Mr. Eves] gets the message." MPP Gerry Phillips, native affairs critic for the Ontario Liberals, said his party, if elected, would call an inquiry. He said the public has a right to a full explanation of what happened at Ipperwash. Just a few months into Mr. Harris's first term as premier, members of the Kettle and Stoney Point Indian bands occupied Ipperwash Provincial Park on Lake Huron. They said the park contained a native burial ground, a claim the provincial government rejected. Records from both the federal government and the provincial government later upheld the claim. On the night of Sept. 6, 1995, just two days into the occupation, OPP officers entered the park to evict the protesters. Dudley George, who was unarmed, was shot and killed. Acting OPP Sergeant Ken Deane was convicted of criminal negligence causing death in 1997. Questions about the incident, and the involvement, if any, of the government in the decision to evict the protesters, have dogged the Conservatives ever since. Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton said an inquiry would answer a number of questions, including why the OPP went against its own policy of not forcing a confrontation in this kind of situation. "Those questions need to be answered, because an innocent, unarmed man was killed. An innocent, unarmed man was shot. And I think it is disgusting and disgraceful in the history of Ontario that a public inquiry hasn't already been held on that issue," Mr. Hampton said. The Ontario government has refused to call a public inquiry because a civil case is before the courts. But Mr. Neve said the George family launched the lawsuit only because the government refused to call an inquiry. The government allowed a public inquiry into deaths from tainted water in Walkerton, Ont., even as other court proceedings were going ahead, he added. The issue was back in the headlines last week when a provincial information watchdog accused the government of wrongly suppressing photos and videotapes of the incident. Public Safety Minister Bob Runciman and Attorney-General Norm Sterling were asked to explain their actions by today. Copyright c. 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Northern Premiers to sign Co-Operative Pact" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 08:24:35 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NWT PACT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/regional/~accord03092003&disp=e&end Northern premiers to sign co-operative pact WebPosted Sep 3 2003 08:51 AM CDT WHITEHORSE - The premiers of the three northern territories are scheduled to meet Wednesday to sign a Northern Accord. The agreement is meant to strengthen the voice of the North on the national stage. Dennis Fentie of the Yukon, Stephen Kakfwi of the Northwest Territories and Paul Okalik of Nunavut are meeting in Cambridge Bay. They hope the Northern Accord, which will run for three years, will give their jurisdictions more clout. It commits the three governments to work together on issues ranging from economic development to social policy. It includes provisions for a yearly meeting of the premiers. Earlier this year, the three premiers walked out of a federal-provincial meeting on health care. FROM APRIL 2, 2003 : Ottawa, territories cut health-care deal They insisted there wasn't enough in it for the North. The federal government later committed an extra $60 million for northern health services. Copyright c. 2002 CBC. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Aboriginal Self-Government takes hold in N.W.T." --------- Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 08:05:57 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TLI CHO" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.theglobeandmail.com/~/?query=aboriginal&disp=e&end Aboriginal self-government takes hold in N.W.T. By BOB WEBER Canadian Press August 31, 2003 Rae-Edzo, N.W.T. - Quietly, almost unnoticed in southern Canada, a bold experiment in aboriginal self-government is sweeping through the Northwest Territories. "We lead the world as far as aboriginal and treaty rights," said Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault after this week's signing of the Tli Cho agreement, which will transfer control of a Belgium-sized chunk of the west-central Arctic to about 3,000 members of the Dogrib band. Tli Cho is just the start. When the process is complete - N.W.T. Premier Stephen Kakfwi suggests perhaps within five years - virtually the entire territory will live under some form of aboriginal government. What will be left for the N.W.T.? What will it be like to live and work in a land run by a half-dozen or more different governments? "At the beginning, we didn't know where we were going," said Prime Minister Jean Chre'tien after the Tli Cho signing. "Now, we see the evolution." The recent agreement gave the Tli Cho significant control over about 39, 000 square kilometres of lake, river and tundra between Great Slave and Great Bear lakes that includes both of Canada's diamond mines. In addition to ownership of the area's resources, including the ability to levy royalties, the agreement also contains unique provisions for the Tli Cho to govern themselves. In the Mackenzie Delta, where intense energy development has spurred a mini-boom, the Inuvialuit and Gwich'in have teamed up to add self- -government to their land-claim settlements. The Sahtu area immediately to the south is taking it community by community. An agreement in principle was recently signed for the village of Deline on the shores of Great Bear Lake. In the southwest corner, straddling the route of a proposed Arctic gas pipeline, the Deh Cho First Nation is well into its combined land claim and self-government talks. Meanwhile, the N.W.T. Metis Nation and the Akaitcho Dene are divvying up the tundra and forest off the eastern shores of Great Slave Lake. The Dogrib model won't be copied exactly across the North, said Barry Dewar, Indian Affairs director-general for comprehensive claims. "Different regions will implement self-government in somewhat different ways." But regardless of the structure, each government will probably want powers similar to those of the Dogrib. That means changes for the territorial government in Yellowknife. "The government of the Northwest Territories is being transformed, willingly sometimes and sometimes against its will, into a government that's going to be partnering," said Mr. Kakfwi. So while aboriginal governments will have control over local services such as education and health, they will contract with the territorial government to actually deliver them. Mr. Kakfwi insists aboriginal self-government will strengthen - not dilute - the legitimacy of the territorial government. He points out the 1975 Dene Declaration contained a clause stating that the various Dene groups did not recognize the government of the N.W.T. The deals are also important because they will incorporate the aboriginal right to self-government in Canada's existing legislatures to bring aboriginal people into Confederation for the first time. "It's the first time anywhere in Canada that First Nations people are an explicit part of the public government," Mr. Kakfwi said. Jim Antoine, the N.W.T.'s resources minister, said the aboriginal governments will become allies in the territory's fight to win control of its resources - and the associated royalties - from the federal government. "The only way we can get what we want is to work closely with the aboriginal governments," he said. How those revenues will be divided no doubt will be the subject of bruising future negotiations. Kakfwi already provoked a stir earlier this year when he suggested Ottawa, Yellowknife and aboriginal governments all take equal shares. Mr. Dewar insists the governments will be able to work together - without strangling the N.W.T. with conflicting rules and jurisdictions. "Everything we negotiate is done with an eye to maintaining a viable territorial government," he said. The Tli Cho agreement forbids the Dogrib from passing laws that contradict national or territorial acts. Although the Dogrib have some powers over justice, the federal Criminal Code will apply without restrictions. Basic health, education and social services will remain common throughout the N.W.T. But the new aboriginal governments will reduce bureaucracy, Mr. Dewar suggested. In many cases, they will combine municipal and band councils in the same body. "It's actually going to result in less government." Northern businesses seem to agree, if somewhat cautiously. A recent survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business suggested 42 per cent of its northern members considered self-government positive, although 35 per cent conceded they don't yet understand the full impact. Only seven per cent viewed self-government negatively. "It may be too early to tell what those impacts will be," said federation spokeswoman Corinne Pohlmann. "Nobody knows how self-government will deal with private enterprise." The world is watching. After Monday's Tli Cho signing ceremony, Dogrib officials met to discuss the deal with a delegation from Australia. Governments in Mexico and South America have also inquired about the Canadian process, said Mr. Nault. "No one else has gone as far as we have in this direction." Copyright c. 2003 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: What Price Drilling" --------- Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 22:17:43 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANWR" http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/05/opinion/~Nicholas%20D%20Kristof What Price Drilling? By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF September 5, 2003 ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Alaska In March, Interior Secretary Gale Norton described this area as a "flat white nothingness" that could best be used as an oil spigot. I thought about that as I rafted down a river here, a giant grizzly bear on my left and a herd of caribou on my right. A bit earlier, I had cooked lunch with my backpacking stove on a sandbar as four musk oxen, huge buffalo-like creatures, observed me as intently as I watched them. A bush pilot set two friends and me down on a sandbar on Saturday just north of the Brooks Range, and since then we've been rafting and hiking through this wilderness, perhaps the wildest place left on earth. I want to understand this land - whose future is hotly debated, mostly by people who haven't seen it - and figure out whether it should be opened to Big Oil. Here on the ground, it's obvious that this refuge, far from being a barren wasteland, is actually teeming with wildlife, even as winter begins. At one spot, I saw grizzly and wolf tracks side by side, a tribute to the way this South Carolina-sized refuge preserves a patch of America as it was before Europeans arrived. Moreover, the animals seem completely unused to humans. The first time we spotted a distant herd of caribou, we hauled in our raft downwind and crept up silently. Finally the caribou spotted us, and immediately approached for a closer look. They seemed to be trying to determine whether we were pitifully deformed caribou, and I think the females were encouraging the males to ask us for directions to the rest of the herd as it headed south. The same thing happened when we sailed our raft as close as we dared to the first musk ox we saw, which came in for a closer look and called its pals to share the excitement. This land is truly an Arctic Serengeti. Still, I believe that the environmentalists exaggerate the damage that drilling would do to the wildlife. The fact is that humans and animals can coexist. Around Prudhoe Bay, the center for oil drilling west of here, caribou, grizzly and polar bears, and even musk oxen are also plentiful. The same is true of the area around the two permanent native villages to the north and south of the refuge, Kaktovik and Arctic Village. Indeed, Kaktovik sometimes has polar bears on its airstrip, and a grizzly was found last year on the second floor of the Prudhoe Bay Hotel. A few months ago a major panel of scientists, oil consultants and environmentalists ended a two-year study of the impact of oil drilling on the Arctic coast. It concluded that wildlife had adapted well to drilling, but that the land itself and the sense of wilderness were far more vulnerable. Drilling technology has improved tremendously in ways that could limit the damage. In 1970 it took a 65-acre above-ground presence to extract oil from 2,010 acres at a depth of 10,000 feet. At one recent Alaska installation, Alpine Pad 2, a 13-acre pad extracts oil from 32,154 acres. But still, the tundra is exceptionally sensitive - vehicle ruts from decades ago are still visible. The oil presence and the security that would go with it would fundamentally change the area. It's true, as the oil industry says, that drilling, if it occurred, would be confined to the 1.5-million-acre coastal plain in a refuge of 19. 5 million acres. And frankly, the coastal plain is the least picturesque - mostly just barren tundra. But as I write this with numb fingers, I'm wrapped in my sleeping bag in my tent on that coastal tundra, and it's still majestic - and I've seen more wildlife in the area that would be drilled than in the hills and mountains I traversed upriver. I confess that there are times - when the rapids drench the raft and turn my feet into blocks of ice, when the chilling fog obliterates a view of anything - when I'd be ready to trade this landscape to Big Oil for a hot drink and a pizza. But then I warm up, the sun comes out, the mountains emerge from the fog, the caribou approach, and this land warms my heart with its pristine loveliness. All week, we've seen no sign of humans in the refuge, not even footprints. This is a rare place where humans feel not like landlords or even tenants, but simply guests. And that's an issue. As an oil industry geologist told me: "We can build cleanly, and we can drill without hurting the caribou. But we can't drill and keep this a wilderness. So that's the choice: Do you want drilling and oil, or do you want to keep this a wilderness?" My answer? Stay tuned for my next column. Copyright c. 2003 The New York Times Company --------- "RE: Sacred Birthright of Indigenous Peoples" --------- Date: Sat, Sep 6, 2003 9:45 AM From: www.frostys.qc.ca Subj: Birthright Newsgroup: alt.native Newcomb: The sacred birthright of indigenous peoples Posted: August 15, 2003 - 6:09pm EST by: Steven Newcomb/Indigenous Research Coordinator/D-Q University at Sycuan Distinct and diverse, indigenous peoples are nations, born of the Earth (the Sacred Life Giver), placed by the Creator in sacred relationship with our homelands and territories throughout time. Our ancestors lived free and independent of western colonialism and subjugation for an untold succession of ages, until the empires of Christendom invaded our region of Earth, which is commonly known in the foreigners tongue as the "Western Hemisphere." Our ancestors gave us the gift of a sacred birthright - which is our very being as naturally existing nations of people. This sacred birthright is comprised of our languages, cultures, lands, deserts, mountains, forests, and our relatives such as the buffalo, caribou, salmon, cedar, sage, sweet grass, and corn pollen, as well as all other forms of animal, plant, and bird life, even the trees, flowers and tiny insects. Our sacred birthright includes our spiritual and ceremonial traditions, our songs and sacred ceremonial places, our oral histories and the burial places of our ancestors. Our sacred birthright includes our philosophies and sciences, our economic systems and agricultural practices, our petroglyphs and artifacts. And our sacred birthright also includes the rivers, streams, springs, lakes, aquifers, seas, bays, inlets, oceans, and all bodies of water, the precious and sacred liquid that flows through the veins of Mother Earth, that sustains all life, and without which life itself cannot continue. In totality, our sacred birthright is an inherent right to live in peace, free of domination, subjugation, colonization, hate and war. In short, it is our sacred birthright to live the spiritual way of life bequeathed to us by our ancestors. Yet for more than five centuries, dominating political systems from Western European Christendom have worked to maliciously and thoughtlessly destroy our sacred birthright, while heedlessly disrupting the balance, harmony, and beauty of life in the process. Despite the onslaught they suffered from the invaders of Christendom, our indigenous ancestors handed us, to the best of their ability, the knowledge and wisdom accumulated by the experiences of our nations and peoples since the beginning of time, (or, in western terms, for thousands and thousands of years). The myriad aspects of our sacred birthright have been passed down, generation-by-generation, through the children and young adults of our nations. However, under the twisted guidance and leadership of the Vatican in the 15th century, the empires of Christendom declared war upon our respective nations on the basis of religious racism. For example, in 1452, the Vatican issued the papal bull dum diversas, which instructed the Portuguese monarchy "to invade, capture, vanquish, and subdue, all Saracens, pagans, and other enemies of Christ, to put them into perpetual slavery, and to take away all their possessions and property." This was a declaration of holy war and crusade against non-Christian peoples throughout the globe, based on passages from the Old Testament of the Bible, such as Psalms 2:8: "Ask of me and I will give to you the heathen [nations] for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." The above biblical passage is the belief that one nation or people has the divine right to possess many other nations and peoples as property. This strange viewpoint - when combined with Genesis 1:28 mandate "to subdue the earth and exercise dominion over all living things" - is premised upon the idea that one people has been hand-picked by "God," to take over and possess all the parts of the earth, even those parts already in the possession of other peoples. This kind of thinking gave birth to such Vatican documents as the dum diversas, and to Christendom's so-called "Right of Discovery." We see the above way of thinking also reflected in the Inter Cetera papal bull issued by the infamous Borgia pope, Alexander VI, on May 4, 1493. This bull called upon the Catholic monarchs of Aragon and Castile (Isabella and Ferdinand), to subjugate the barbarous (non-Christian indigenous) nations, and colonize them for the Catholic faith and Christian religion, for the economic benefit of the "Christian Empire" ("christianii emperii"). Three years later, in 1496, King Henry VII of England, imitated the Inter Cetera bull of 1493, by granting a royal charter to John Cabot and his sons, authorizing them "to seek out, discover, and find, whatsoever isles, countries, and regions of the heathen and infidel that before this time have been unknown to all Christian people." This same principle is found in various charters of England, such as the charters issued to Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh, the Virginia charters, the Mayflower Compact, and many other such documents. When the 13 British colonies along the east coast of North America successfully broke away from Great Britain, by declaring and winning recognition of their independence, those colonies became 13 free and independent states. However, the colonial charters of England remained the organic law of the original 13 states of the United States. In 1823, the United States Supreme Court, in the great case Johnson & Graham's Lessee v. M'Intosh, handed down a ruling that defined the nature of Indian nationhood and land title. Looking back to English charters and the "Right of Discovery," the Court said that although the Indians had a title of "occupancy," nevertheless, the first "Christian people" to discover lands occupied by "natives, who were heathens" had the right to assert "ultimate dominion" over heathen lands. Based on this bizarre theory, our very existence as Indians is now assumed to be subordinate to, ruled by, and possessed as property by, the political and legal successor of the first Christian "discoverers," namely, the United States. Today our respective Indian nations and peoples are regarded as subject to Christendom's linguistic categories and system of classification, which remain at the deep structure of present day U.S. Indian law and policy. Accordingly, U.S. law and policy presumes that we Indians have no right to directly challenge and overturn the linguistic basis of our subjection to the colonial system of the United States. Our sacred birthright, which we shall never freely forfeit, includes the right to heal from the trauma of colonization, and to one day be free and independent of all forms of colonial domination. We have a solemn responsibility to use ever fiber and breath of our being to uphold and protect the sacred birthright of our own children and young people, for the benefit of our future generations, and for the benefit of all Life. Steven Newcomb, Shawnee and Lenape, is Director of the Indigenous Law Institute, and Indigenous Research Coordinator at D-Q University at Sycuan, on the Reservation of the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation and is a columnist for Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Mining company wants BLM to buy Sacred Hills" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 08:11:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SWEET GRASS HILLS" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.greatfallstribune.com/~/localnews/181721.html Developer offers Sweet Grass Hills to BLM For more information: By JENNIFER PEREZ Tribune Hi-Line Bureau September 3, 2003 SWEET GRASS HILLS -- After a century-long-attempt to tap gold from the culturally rich Sweet Grass Hills, a mining developer has proposed a buyout that would turn the pristine hills into a state park. The Minnesota-based Mount Royal Joint Venture wants Congress to appropriate funding to the federal Bureau of Land Management to buy out all of its interests in the East Butte portion of the hills near the Canadian border. The nearly 900 acres -- land considered sacred by the Blackfeet, Chippewa, Cree, Assiniboine and many other Plains tribes -- would then be given to the state Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks to be managed as a state park. Today, mineral development of the Sweet Grass Hill is locked in federal court in light of a 1996 decision by the BLM that made nearly 20,000 acres of federal land off limits to new mining claims until 2017. "We were trying to think of some way that would seem to meet the needs of everybody concerned and get this off dead center and hopefully not go on with endless litigation," said Ernest Lehman, co-owner of Mount Royal Joint Venture. Lehman declined to say how much Mount Royal wants to be paid for its 891 acres of land, but said it should also be compensated for an estimated 1. 75 million ounces of gold and silver. "That's our estimate of the resources of the property that we control," Lehman said. No land appraisals in the Sweet Grass Hills have been conducted. "My feeling is there's not enough gold in there to mine and he realizes that he wants to get some money out of it before he leaves," said Arlo Skari, president and co-founder of the Sweetgrass Hills Protective Association. "He realizes that as far as mining he can't do it," Skari said. Standard appraisal techniques are used whenever BLM acquires interest and land, said Dave Mari, Lewis and Clark district manager of the BLM office in Lewistown. "We have to pay fair market price -- no more no less," Mari said. An unofficial buy-out cost of $25 million has been floating around, Skari said. "It looks very expensive," Skari said. "It's almost laughable." The company proposes that the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks make a formal request to Montana's congressional delegation to sponsor the move, Lehman said. But before the agency goes on board, several things must happen, said Doug Monger, state parks administrator for FWP. The process starts with a public involvement process to see whether such a park qualifies and includes a cost-analysis of operating the park, he said. The results then go before the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission and a Board of Land Commissioners for approval, he said. But discussion with the BLM, the state of Montana, and Montana's congressional delegation are in early stages and land exchanges are generally difficult and timely, Lehman said. "It looks like it's a long way from today to any resolution after court hearings, administrative hearings, funding and whatnot," said Monger. The proposal suggests the funds come from the federal Land and Conservation Fund. "We are definitely for using these funds for a buyout -- but it has to be within the law," Skari said. "We just hope he makes a reasonable proposal that the BLM feels that they can afford." But Mari said the BLM's land use plans don't call for giving up property. "It would be inconsistent," he said. Only two state parks have been created in the past dozen years, Monger said. The most recent park -- Traveler's Rest, south of Missoula -- came about two years ago but it took a 10 to 15 year grassroots effort to get the Lewis and Clark campsite under private ownership, he said. Even though it's a long shot it's something that's worth pursuing to protect sacred hills, said Skari. "The hills are just so important to the rancher around here, to Native Americans, to people who just love to hike and camp in the hills," said Skari, who lives in the Sweet Grass Hills north of Chester. "That's why we would like to see a buyout." To learn more about the Sweet Grass Hills log onto Web sites such as www.blackfeetnation.com, www.deq.state.mt.us or www.nationaltrust.org. Copyright c. 2003 Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Indian firefighters take pride" --------- Date: Tue. Sep 2, 2003 10:15 PM From: bravesheart@aol.com (BravesHeart) Subj: NDN FIREFIGHTERS Newsgroup: alt.native http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=71851 Indian firefighters take pride in putting out wildfires 08/24/2003 ZUNI PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) -- Rugged boots shuffle and tap anxiously among the duffel bags scattered along the front of Zuni Pueblo's tribal headquarters. Dozens of men and women are waiting their turn to walk through the double doors, get a quick check over and be sent to their next firefighting assignment somewhere in the northwest United States. It's a dangerous job and it's far from home, but those are some of the reasons Zunis continue to sign up year after year to be emergency wildland firefighters. Gerald Noche, 47, has been fighting fires for 20 years. He has been as far east as Tennessee, west to California, up to Montana and several places in between. "You get to meet a whole bunch of people and go out of state. It's like going on vacation without spending the money," Noche said jokingly. "It's interesting to me." Noche and the others know it's far from vacation. Each year, they go through weeks of training from September into November and again from January through March. By that time, the fire season is beginning. Training includes new ways to be safe and how to recognize changing fire behavior, said Don Geesling, the Bureau of Indian Affairs' fire management officer in Zuni. He said fire assignments can also be considered training exercises since crews learn from their experiences. A lot is expected of Zuni crews. "I look at us as paramilitary. We require that kind of discipline," Geesling said. "We can go react and respond and blend in with any other type of team in a crisis situation. Fire, hurricanes, floods, it doesn't matter." Geesling is trying to find $150,000 to put the finishing touches on an advanced firefighter training center in Zuni. The new building on the east end of town will house fire management operations, classrooms and firefighting equipment. Geesling also wants to continue encouraging the pueblo's younger members to consider firefighting careers. Royden Latone, 30, and most of his cousins are members of the Zuni crews. "It's a rush," he said. "It's a different feeling when you're out on the head of the fire and the fire is coming at you and you have to work hard." Zuni also has an elite hotshot crew, which is expected by the end of the fire season to be classified as a national resource crew. They helped during the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and worked from April through October during last year's fire season. Many in Zuni follow in the footsteps of their grandfathers and fathers who were called on in the early day of the program some 50 years ago, said Zuni Head Councilman Carleton Albert Sr. "Zuni has really been known for its firefighting expertise," said Albert, who has fought fires along with his five brothers. "It takes a lot of hard work when you're out there." "In a sense it really makes you appreciate nature," he added. "You see fire just go up the trees and what effects it has on wildlife and how devastating it is when fire burns the soil." Zuni's economy also benefits from the program. BIA Superintendent Clayton Seoutewa said the pueblo has an unemployment rate that ranges between 40 and 60 percent but firefighting offers many tribal members the chance to work during the fire season. The program, which is funded with federal dollars, brings about $1.5 million a year into the local economy, Seoutewa said. Officials in Zuni want to ensure the pueblo's tradition of producing top-notch firefighters. It's something that's stressed each time a crew gets on the bus. "When they go out I tell them, 'Remember who you are. You're Zuni, you're a tribal member. You're representing yourself, your family, your tribe and this organization,"' Geesling said. "I tell them, 'Leave with your head held high and come back with your head held high.' And it seems to work. --------- "RE: Health concerns for Tribal Fishermen" --------- Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 08:16:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CONTAMINATION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2234743,00.html For tribal fishermen, health may be the one that got away By Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press September 5, 2003 MAUPIN, Ore. - The rapids of the Deschutes River thunder below Elmer Scott Jr. as he balances on a rickety fishing platform over the ancient fishing grounds of the Warm Springs Tribe. He grasps the end of a thin pole in his hands as the stick's other end - a sort of giant butterfly net - bobs and twitches in the roiling current, a trap for unsuspecting salmon. "Them big guys, they'll shake the whole scaffold," said Scott, 53, who as a child camped at the fishing grounds with his family five months out of the year. "They can really scare you." Net fishing goes back centuries in this Columbia River tribe, where fish such as salmon, sturgeon and lamprey eels make up the core of the tribe's diet and cultural heritage. But dozens of contaminants recently discovered in the fish themselves threaten to destroy those traditions and endanger the health of Columbia River tribes in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, said Scott and other tribal leaders. A report released last year found 92 of 132 targeted contaminants in fish species critical to the Warm Springs, Umatilla, Yakama and Nez Perce tribes. The most frequently detected toxins were metals, PCBs, banned pesticides such as DDT, and byproducts from chlorine bleaching and water chlorination. Some tribal leaders believe the high levels of fish contamination could qualify as a violation of the tribes' treaty rights to catch fish at their traditional spots. "The tribes need to stand strongly together," said Charles Hudson, spokesman for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, an umbrella group for the four tribes. "Fish are of paramount importance to tribal culture, and we will not accept having fish contaminated or being removed from our diet." The results of the study have spurred the tribes to begin several multiyear research projects with two goals: to educate tribal members about the comparative risks of eating fish so that they don't abandon a centuries-old lifestyle, and to use pollution data to target polluters and revise water-quality standards. "The last thing any tribal organization wants to do is rap on the door of a tribal elder and say, 'Your fish aren't safe to eat,' " Hudson said. "This whole organization, this whole effort, is to prevent that from ever happening." The fish contamination study, a joint effort between the Environmental Protection Agency and the intertribal commission, studied a sampling of fish taken from 24 tribal fishing spots in the mid-1990s. The tribes worry that the sampling was too limited and not specific enough to any one tribe. Chris Gannon, a scientist for the Warm Springs Tribe, said tribal members may stop or limit traditional fishing because of concerns over contamination - even though existing information is incomplete. For example, he said, the study didn't focus on the Deschutes River, a Columbia tributary where the Warm Springs Tribe harvests most of its fish. And it didn't compare the risks of a fish-heavy diet with a diet of processed foods or hamburgers that could be equally unhealthy. "The study only said, 'Look, these fish are contaminated.' It didn't really say what else you might eat or what foods are also contaminated," Gannon said. "This is a big, big issue." Under his leadership, the Warm Springs Tribe hopes to secure up to $1 million in federal funding for a three- to five-year study that would resample fish at sites used in the EPA study, but would test fish in the Deschutes River, too. The study would do more extensive testing for contaminants in fish cheeks and heads - parts eaten almost uniquely by tribal members - where contaminants are more likely to build up in the fatty tissue. Scientists also may grind the fish to test for contaminants - the earlier study tested only fillets. "You don't want to bias your sample by looking at only one part of the fish," Gannon said. "We want to sample the whole fish, particularly as it applies to the tribal uses." The results will allow the tribe to draw up recommendations for fish consumption and preparation that would reduce or eliminate the amount of toxins tribal members consume, Gannon said. The project represents a massive undertaking for the Warm Springs Tribe, which hopes to work with tissue labs in Idaho and possibly Canada. The tribal council must still approve the proposal, which could occur as early as this fall, he said. "The things we're doing today are to protect people who aren't even born yet," he said. "We've never done anything like this at Warm Springs. It may be the biggest challenge I ever face in my job here." The mid-Columbia tribes also want to pinpoint polluters and use that data to influence state and federal discharge and water-quality standards, tribal officials said. They are working with the EPA on a separate study and map that could take years to complete. The tribes and the agency are collecting samples of sediment and water from the Columbia River's main stem and key tributaries, said Patricia Cirone, a Seattle-based EPA biologist who is leading the joint federal- tribal project. Scientists are testing for 12 of the 92 contaminants identified in last year's report, she said. By comparing that information with a detailed map of every industrial, mining and agricultural site on the mid-Columbia, the scientists should be able to pinpoint polluters and crack down on them, Cirone said. Scott said most tribal members aren't willing to give up their ancient fishing traditions - no matter what. "If you tell a tribal person they can't fish, it's like a punch in the gut," said Scott, who eats fish three to four times a week. "And if you really have no clear choices in terms of toxicity, then maybe it's better to eat the fish after all." Copyright c. 2003 Rocky Mountain News, The E.W. Scripps Co. --------- "RE: Yellowbird: Failure of reform in Native Schools" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2003 22:15:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCHOOLS" http://www.grandforks.com/~/dorreen_yellow_bird/6704924.htm Dorreen Yellowbird September 7, 2003 DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Some thoughts on failure and reform in Native schools Last year 18 of 23 North Dakota schools with high Native American enrollment, many of them Bureau of Indian Affairs or tribal schools, scored below the standard on national tests. The failure of the Native education programs became painfully clear in my recent visit to the Turtle Mountain reservation. It was suggested that reservation schools might take a look at some exceptional urban ghetto schools that have produced high-scoring students. Why can't reservations do the same? Somewhere in the back pages of that question is an implication that perhaps Native people don't have the capacity to learn. Not true. Turtle Mountain is a good example of how Native people have put hand over hand and climbed the degree ladder. Richard Monette, the tribal chairman of this reservation, is a lawyer and a law professor. In North Dakota there are more than a dozen Native American physicians who practice in Bismarck, Fargo, Minot, Grand Forks and on reservations. Three of the five presidents of tribal colleges have doctoral degrees. There are Native Americans professionals in almost every field. More important, the number of success stories is growing. That said, it is also true there are problems with the Native American educational systems. We are failing to teach enough of our children to read, write and do math. The national tests are the most visible measure of how badly we are failing. I attended a Catholic Indian mission school in South Dakota. I went there after 10 years of public school in Minot. I couldn't believe how far behind the mission school was compared to Minot. The classes were too easy. In my experience as a teacher on the reservation and off, I found one of the problems to be the low expectation of Native children by some teachers and administrators. When I worked in Washington, D.C., I had dinner one night with a girlfriend who was in my class at mission school. Painfully, she told me that the principal, who was a nun, had told her she would never make it in college and should go into a trade such as hair styling. Today she has her master's degree and is the program director for a large state-wide education program. There weren't high expectations for my friend because she came from a reservation. Many of the teachers and administrators on reservations - this includes Native Americans - believe the stereotype about Native children and the youngsters are turned toward trades or the military. Many of the reservations are in isolated areas and it is difficult to entice good teachers and administrators to live there. There's not enough academic competition with other schools, and a student who is valedictorian in a tribal school might be average in a public school. Some teachers are not comfortable in reservation situations. They can be bullied by parents and administrators to "pass" or go easy on some students for political reasons. History plays a role in the school systems on reservations, too. Some say what happened to Indians is history. Get over it, as it doesn't affect our students today, they say. Untrue. We are just barely moving away from the taint of the years where we were pawns between the churches who were responsible for our education and the government who wanted tribes suppressed and under control. It was the edict of the government to destroy tribalism and the communal lifestyle of Indian people. What that policy did to Native children is to disconnect them from their families. Then these children became parents who hadn't learned parenting skills. They were taught religion vigorously, but reading, writing and arithmetic and how to parent wasn't a part of our boarding-school life. So parents today have had to relearn parenting skills. They have had to learn that in order for their child to succeed, they must provide them with all the support that most middle-class parents give their children. Some children come from homes where alcohol and drugs affect their lives dramatically - a lifestyle set in motion during the 1800s, when the government needed to subdue Native people. One of the things that has begun to reverse the trend is a better understanding of who we are as Native people - our spirituality and culture. That may not help the youngster read or write, but it gives them a foundation. From there they can jump to the next step. That new and encouraging trend can be seen in some children today. They have role models to help them realize that a career as a teacher or doctor is within their reach. It is time now for those Native American experts who returned to the reservation to learn from their experience and change the systems that aren't working. Yellow Bird writes columns Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at 780-1228, (800) 477-6572 ext. 228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com. --------- "RE: Museums concede Dark role in Looting" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 08:11:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MUSEUM GRAVE ROBBERS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~11676~1605219,00.html Museums concede dark role in looting of Indian relics By Anne C. Mulkern, Denver Post Washington Bureau September 2, 2003 WASHINGTON - Deep in the storage rooms of Harvard University's prestigious Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology rests a dark- haired doll in a wooden coffin, a child's prized possession with a sad and sordid past. Buried with a Klamath Indian girl - and likely put in a coffin to mirror that child's death - the doll was yanked from its grave by an early 20th- century tomb raider, who passed it to a dealer, who then gave it to Harvard. The doll drew scant attention for decades. Now it's part of a 21st- century mea culpa by the nation's top museums. Some of America's most celebrated institutions - including Harvard's Peabody, The Field Museum in Chicago and the American Museum of Natural History in New York - are indicating for the first time in reports to the U.S. government that they were more involved in the looting of Native American burial grounds than they have previously admitted. Those institutions now are in the process of returning hundreds of thousands of artifacts and human remains to tribal groups around the country. Historians and anthropologists have acknowledged for years that various burial objects, human remains and other sacred tribal items somehow made their way into museum collections. But a growing cache of federal documents reviewed by The Denver Post shows the widespread scope of the practice and the complicity of museums in acquiring Indian items, for both scientific reasons and financial gain. "There's a whole really seedy and hideous history here that most people - most Indians really - don't know even now," said Suzan Shown Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based Indian rights group. Widespread plundering of Indian graveyards and religious sites was no secret to the tribes who watched it happen in anger and despair. But it was not until near the end of the 20th century that tribal leaders gathered enough political clout to demand an accounting of the thefts and the return of stolen bodies and artifacts. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 requires federal agencies and museums that receive federal funding to inventory certain Native American belongings in their possession, then publish lists of those items. Tribes that can show an affiliation with the sacred items, human remains or other relics may then request that the item be returned. The law also requires museums to detail how Indian items arrived at the institutions. Their findings are now being reported to the federal government. Documents indicate that some of the most vaunted museums - the Field Museum, the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Robert S. Peabody Museum of Archaeology at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. - bought Native American items, including human remains, from collectors who had just dug them up from graves. Others filing reports under the Graves Act include Harvard's Peabody, the Denver Art Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, the Museum of Western Colorado in Grand Junction, the Heard Museum in Phoenix and the Utah Museum of Natural History. Some museums bought Native American items and remains from collectors. Others took sacred items during their own archaeological digs. In other cases, the museums contracted with anthropologists or explorers to open specific gravesites on their behalf. There was trade among the museums and even - in the case of the Field Museum - the sale of excess human remains. Some institutions bought prized pieces in the mid-20th century's thriving native art and antiquities market. In the 1940s and '50s, for example, the Denver Art Museum purchased Native American artifacts from third-party dealers, several of whom could not or did not provide information about the items' origins, known in the industry as provenance. Such information is necessary to show that items were not stolen or otherwise illegally obtained. Archaeologists and museums say they collected the tribal grave and sacred objects when doing so was widely considered not just allowable but admirable because they were saving artifacts from deterioration, loss or destruction. "It never crossed (anthropologists') minds that digging up ancient stuff would be anything anyone would object to," said Vin Steponaitis, an anthropology professor at the University of North Carolina and past president of the Society for American Archaeology. A century of theft The type of grave robbing described in the federal reports spanned more than a 100 years, from the late 19th century through the closing years of the 20th century. The U.S. government endorsed much of it. In fact, the U. S. military, acting on the orders of the surgeon general, routinely dug up Native American graves in the late 19th century as part of an experiment that historians say sought to prove that Native Americans were inferior based on the size of their skulls. It was more than a coincidence, Harjo said, that medicine bundles and other religious items started appearing in museums shortly after 1880, when U.S. law declared the practice of Indian religion illegal and gave the military the right to seize tribal items interpreted to be "heathen." Such government edicts, she said, were "free shopping authorizations" for the museums. "Take what you want and pass some of it on," she said. "The newly founded museums in the U.S. were competing with each other to go out and appropriate anything they could possible find in the name of science," said Walter Echo-Hawk, an attorney for the Boulder-based Native American Rights Fund. "It's a very troubling period in American history." In some cases, Echo-Hawk said, bones were not even buried before they were taken, as in a skirmish he described between the Pawnees and the military in 1869 in Kansas, after which soldiers rushed in to decapitate the bodies and take the skulls. The museum community did not begin to reconsider its practices until around 1970, when tribes began to gain more political influence. But even in 1985, Harvard's Peabody was accepting items that had been taken from graves early in the century. Records show that Harvard accepted an iron hatchet and iron-carving tool from a Pawnee grave in 1985 from Boston benefactor William H. Claflin. They came from the collection of his father, William Chaflin Sr., who had sponsored excavations of Native American sites. Claflin Sr. had purchased these two items from the widow of another collector. That person had bought it from a military general, who had collected them sometime prior to 1878. The doll in the coffin at Harvard was unearthed from a Klamath grave in California around 1903 by Grace Nicholson, a dealer with no training in anthropology or ethnology. She gathered items on behalf of collectors and museums and, biographical accounts say, to protect the Indian culture from disappearing. She is estimated to have retrieved about 2,000 items from tribal sites. Changing attitudes The Denver Post reviewed hundreds of records documenting how tribal possessions were taken. The 1990 law requires museums that receive federal funding to return certain items that were taken improperly from Native American tribes, including human remains, items used in funerals, relics of great cultural significance and objects that are used in important tribal ceremonies. The law was passed after tribes demanded the return of their religious items, ancestors' bones and other relics. They threatened to sue museums for wrongfully taking the items, but that was ruled out after tribes and museums decided to work together to draft the legislation. Sponsored by then-Rep. Morris Udall of Arizona and co-sponsored by then-Rep. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado, the legislation was signed into law by the elder President Bush. Before returning an artifact, museums are required to document how they acquired it. In Senate hearings before the law passed, various museum officials testified that they did not know exactly what they had in terms of Native American items, or how the museum had acquired them. To get those answers, curators have been combing museum records, reviewing notes and diaries from collectors, and checking outside historical records. All told, 130 museums have reported they are ready to return 13,471 Native American human remains and 330,991 objects found in burial places. The total number of human remains and associated burial items held in museums is not known. The items ready for return also do not include sacred objects, items of cultural importance and funerary items not associated with specific burials, which also must be returned. Museums and federal agencies together have counted 27,312 human remains and 543,081 burial objects. Remains returned to tribes have been reburied in somber ceremonies, and many returned ceremonial items are again being used. >Many of the details that emerged from the research have been uncomfortable, if not unexpected, for some in the museum community. "Much of it I found personally appalling," said Jonathan Haas, the Field Museum's Americas curator. "But I have also worked in and around museums for more than 30 years, and found none of it particularly surprising. "Museum practice at the turn of the century was determined by different sets of ethics," he said. "While these ethics cannot be defended today, they were pretty standard at the time." Re-evaluation of American museums" claim to possess and display Native American artifacts comes as groups worldwide are questioning who really has the right to hold a variety of sundered art treasures. Greece wants Britain to return the Elgin marbles, pieces of the ancient Parthenon seized around 1800. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador at Constantinople at the time, won authority from the ruling Sultan to cart off certain sculptures. Across Europe, museums, nations and individuals are seeking the return of art stolen by Nazis during World War II. At the time when many of the Indian items were taken, they were not considered the property of the tribes but rather the archaeological resources of the American people. Some credit the 1990 law with shifting attitudes. "Before the legislation passed, I don't think many museums thought about the inappropriateness of collecting items from graves," said James Pepper Henry with the National Museum of the American Indian, a part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. "Museums are conscious now there are certain items that are not appropriate to be in museums." Anthropologists say that what they do has scientific value and is separate from the actions of collectors and museums that buy and sell, driving the market for grave looting. But Native Americans don't see that distinction. "To me it's sort of disingenuous to talk about native remains as something with just pure scientific value," said D. Bambi Kraus, president of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers in Washington. "The people in academia built their (professional careers) on this stuff." Anthropologists now commonly confer with local tribes before digging, and most museums have enacted policies that ban the type of collecting done when many of Native American items were acquisitioned. In 2000, the American Association of Museums published a book in 2000, "Code of Ethics for Museums." A major tenet of the code says that museums should only accept items they have the legal right to hold. "I think there is a tremendous increase in cultural sensitivity among museums and a different set of values in collecting," said Edward Able, president of the American Association of Museums. Harvard's Peabody now routinely rejects bequeathed collections And "if we know the collector has been purchasing on the antiquities market, as a general rule, we will not touch it," Gerardi said. "Essentially we don't purchase things on the antiquities market, period." Those policies were not the case when museums were acquiring items in their massive Native American collections. The Field Museum, federal records show, purchased human remains several times. In 1903, for example, it bought the remains of four people from Franz Boas, a German immigrant and anthropologist. Boas had purchased those remains from another collector, F.M. Noe. They had been dug from a gravel bank in Muncie, Ind., and were identified in Noe's notes as "Muncie Indians." Sometime before 1921, the Field also excavated remains of at least seven people sometime before 1921that it sold to the Milwaukee Public Museum. "For some reason, people see Indian graves as archaeological finds rather than graves," Campbell said. In passing the repatriation law in 1990, Congress said it was concerned that museums - and state and federal agencies that also have Native American artifacts - were not sufficiently investigating how collectors and benefactors had come into possession of those items. "This practice has contributed to the continued growth of a black market in the sale and trade of objects illegally removed from Indian burial sites," lawmakers said in a 1987 Senate report. A House report from the same period shows the profit motive: Art dealers confirmed that a shirt with scalp locks would sell for about $200,000. As late as the 1950s, the new federal records show, institutions such as the Denver Art Museum were buying Indian relics without requiring detailed histories. The Denver museum did not have any skulls or skeletons but did buy what tribes consider sacred objects. In 1941, the Denver Art Museum purchased a painted skin cap, with feathers attached, from M.J. Kolhberg & Co., a Denver antique dealer. Museum records state "it is not known how M.J. Kolhberg & Co. acquired the painted skin cap." A few years later, the museum bought three ceremonial masks from Altman Antiques, a Los Angeles antique dealer. The museum catalog card identifies at least two of the masks as Apache. But the museum does not know how the antique dealer acquired the items. "Everyone tries to go by the ethics of their time," Nancy Blomberg, Denver Art Museum's curator of native arts, said when asked about the practices of the museum in earlier years. "I'm not going to go back and question my predecessors." Most museums are much stricter now about requiring specific histories of items, said Able, president of the American Association of Museums. In the 1950s, he said, "they were not strict at all. They were trusting and fairly naive, I think. They were simply not aware of the implications of accepting some of the objects they did." Museums often took bones and artifacts given to them by others, sometimes knowing their origin and sometimes without much information. Harvard's Peabody, for example, inherited many items and remains taken by the military from the Army Medical Museum, a precursor of the National Museum of Health and Medicine. Private collectors also donated their holdings to institutions such as the Peabody. They helped Harvard accumulate the largest Native American collection in the United States, apart from the Smithsonian. Harvard's Peabody has 6 million items in its collection, 25 percent of which come from North America. It also had the third-largest collection of human remains, behind the Smithsonian and the University of California at Berkeley, according to the records. Harvard's Gerardi rejects the claim that many sacred items were "stolen" from tribes. Individual Indians sold artifacts to collectors, she said. Tribal representatives, however, said museums should be blamed for their role in the acquisitions because "they turned a blind eye." "For the most part, they had a pretty good idea what they were getting, and that in all likelihood it was something they weren't supposed to have, " said Harjo of the Morning Star Institute. The interaction of museums and Native Americans over the years has been a "love-hate relationship," attorney Echo-Hawk said. Museums did preserve the culture of Native Americans when it was in danger of being destroyed, he said. But at the same time, museums must accept some blame for encouraging the plundering of graves. "It was very, very troubling and very, very dark and grisly circumstances," Echo-Hawk said. Copyright c. 2003 Denver Post. --------- "RE: Tribal Land Law causes uproar" --------- Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2003 08:16:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAND LAW" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/6688651.htm Tribal land law causes uproar CRITICS: INDIANS WOULD HAVE TOO MUCH POWER TO HALT DEVELOPMENTS By Steve Johnson Mercury News September 4, 2003 A proposed state law that would give Indians unprecedented power to halt developments near sacred tribal land has builders, local government officials and others howling. Indian groups - whose political clout has grown as they have made major campaign contributions in recent years - say the bill is essential to keep their cultural and religious areas from being despoiled. "These places are disappearing as we speak, and there are so few left," said Sally Palmer, spokeswoman for the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, which is one of the primary supporters of the bill. The measure has passed the Senate and is likely to be taken up by the full Assembly shortly. Gov. Gray Davis has indicated he will sign it. But opponents, including builders and local government officials, say it would delay everything from new highways to housing developments, driving up construction costs by millions of dollars a year. Some of these opponents are particularly concerned about provisions in the bill that would impose criminal penalties - a $10,000 fine and a one- year jail term - on anyone who publicly discussed these sacred sites. They say that could make it difficult for community groups, city planners and others to learn about and challenge claims that particular sites need protecting. In an Aug. 22 letter to a Davis aide, the California First Amendment Coalition called the bill "the most wide-ranging incursion into settled law protecting open government, open court proceedings and free speech that CFAC has encountered in a single piece of legislation." (The Mercury News belongs to the coalition.) The bill, SB 18, would give the Native American Heritage Commission - a nine-member body established in 1976 and appointed by the governor - broad new powers to veto or alter public and private building projects. The commission already offers advice on developments. But under the bill, state and local agencies doing environmental reviews of projects would be required to consult with it on whether "traditional tribal cultural sites" would be significantly affected. If the commission concluded that the site would be harmed, the project would have to be turned down or altered, unless the state or local agency could show there was an overriding public interest in building it. That process could take months, developers say. City and county government officials are concerned, too. Some say they fear their oversight of development could be partly usurped by the commission. And they worry that the secretive process could diminish their input. The types of sites that would be covered is unclear. Under the bill, the commission would have to come up with a definition within a year. Nonetheless, Larry Myers, a Pomo Indian and executive secretary of the Native American Heritage Commission, said he believed the sites could include rock formations, lakes and other places - not just burial grounds. The commission has compiled a list of 1,500 possible sites. However, Myers said he would be inclined to add others without heavily questioning their authenticity, because he wouldn't want to judge the beliefs of other Indians. Once sites are approved by the commission, they could be hard to challenge. State law already requires many Indian sites to be kept secret to discourage vandals and looters. But under SB 18, anyone disclosing information about the spots would be subject for the first time to criminal penalties. The governor's support of the bill has also aroused concerns about the growing political influence of Indian tribes, some of California's biggest campaign contributors. On Tuesday, the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians handed $1.5 million to Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who wants to replace Davis if the effort to recall him succeeds. Two other tribes recently gave him more than $500,000. Davis, who vetoed a similar bill last year, received more than $1 million from Indian groups for his re-election campaign last year. And his endorsement of SB18 in July - shortly before the recall effort qualified for the Oct. 7 election - suggests to some critics that it was intended to woo more money from the tribes. "I found it curious that the governor would come out so early on this with his support," said Richard Lyon of the California Association of Realtors. Davis spokeswoman Amber Pasricha acknowledged that the governor has mentioned his support of the bill in recent meetings with Indians. But she denied a quid pro quo was involved and added that when Davis vetoed the bill last year he promised to help draft a better one this year. "They've spent about 10 months reviewing language with developers, with tribes, to try and make sure there is a balance between the need to preserve a traditional tribal cultural site and the legitimate need of the property owner and developer," Pasricha said. The bill - introduced by Sen. John Burton, D-San Francisco - is sponsored by more than 50 Indian groups, which dispute the claim that developments will be severely affected. "I don't think it's going to bring the economy of California to a screeching halt," said Myers, of the commission. Currently, Indians have to fight piecemeal battles to preserve their cultural spots. In 2000, for example, state lawmakers passed a bill to halt construction of a San Diego County landfill near an area Indians had declared sacred. Davis vetoed that measure. But a year later, tribes won a major victory by persuading the federal government to declare another site, near Temecula, off-limits to a proposed high-voltage electricity line. Some observers worry that the commission's decisions could trigger numerous lawsuits, with one major area of contention being whether the bill unconstitutionally gives preference to Indian religious practices. For instance, a church whose development plans were vetoed by the commission might consider suing on these grounds. "I could see just endless court challenges over this thing," said Steve Delva, president of Standard Pacific Homes' South Bay division. "I'm absolutely stunned that it's gotten this far." Contact Steve Johnson at sjohnson@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5043. Copyright c. 2003 Mercury News and wire service sources. --------- "RE: Building new Homes on Pine Ridge" --------- Date: Tue, Sep 2, 2003 8:11 PM From: bravesheart@aol.com (BravesHeart) Subj: Building new homes on Pine Ridge rez Newsgroup: alt.native FROM AOLS FEATURE PAGE: PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. and Partners Turn Promises into Homes on Pine Ridge Reservation KYLE, S.D.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 2003--PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., along with Fannie Mae and First Mortgage Company, announced the launch of Gateway Initiative specifically for use by the Oglala Sioux Tribe, during a wall-raising ceremony on the Oglala Sioux Tribe Partnership for Housing construction yard. The Gateway Initiative will provide a revolving fund in the amount of $175,000 that the Oglala Sioux will draw upon to build new homes or purchase and rehabilitate existing homes on the Pine Ridge Reservation. As each housing unit is completed, the fund will be reimbursed from the proceeds of sale providing an opportunity for the Oglala Sioux to start a new project and work with the next designated family to make its dream of affordable homeownership a reality. "This venture with Fannie Mae and First Mortgage Company is important to PMI because it is an affirmation of our basic corporate mission to expand homeownership opportunities. It is also a demonstration that the private sector is able to meet the needs of underserved segments and do so in a sound business-like fashion," said PMI Chairman and CEO Roger Haughton. During the 1999 Shared Visions Native American Homeownership and Economic Development Summit, Mr. Haughton pledged that PMI would increase its efforts to expand homeownership opportunities for Native Americans. Since then, PMI has made considerable strides to work with lenders and tribal governments to make funds available for Native American tribes across the country. Today, PMI and its partners helped fulfill Haughton's specific commitment to the Oglala Sioux. "I am especially pleased to make this announcement, as it is the fulfillment of a promise that I made to your tribe on this Reservation, four years ago," said Mr. Haughton. Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, who shares PMI's commitment to assisting Native American communities, was the featured guest speaker for the event. "Pine Ridge Reservation residents have often heard the promise of economic growth and affordable housing," said Sen. Johnson. "But today, we are celebrating the transformation of these lofty promises into real partnerships that can make the American dreams of homeownership a reality on the Pine Ridge Reservation. "I applaud the efforts of the partners, especially the relentless efforts of the Oglala Sioux Tribe Partnership for Housing, to bring this dream to within reach for all its members. With more hard work and perseverance, the partnership we celebrate today will continue to pave the way for sustained economic growth not only on Pine Ridge, but throughout Indian Country," said Sen. Johnson. PMI established the Gateway Initiative in October 2000 to create homeownership opportunities in select under served communities across the United States. PMI has successfully established Gateway in Oakland, CA; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; San Antonio, TX; Chicago, IL; Flint, MI; and on Native American tribal lands: Navajo Partnership for Housing of St. Michael, AZ and Pueblo of Acoma, N.M. Additionally, PMI announced that it has granted the Red Cloud Indian School $10,000 to ensure that students of Pine Ridge receive the best education possible. This money will be used to acquire books for Red Cloud's Accelerated Reader Program. PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of The PMI Group, Inc. (NYSE:PMI), headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif. PMI is an international provider of credit enhancement products and lender services that promote homeownership and facilitate mortgage transactions in the capital markets. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries and unconsolidated strategic investments, The PMI Group, Inc. offers residential mortgage insurance and credit enhancement products domestically and internationally, lender services and financial guaranty reinsurance. PMI is an advocate of affordable housing and supports a number of organizations that foster greater access to affordable housing. PMI's approach to affordable housing lending is to develop products and services that assist responsible borrowers who may not qualify for mortgage loans under traditional underwriting practices. CONTACT: The PMI Group, Inc. Josh Wozman, 925-658-6863 (Media) SOURCE: The PMI Group, Inc. Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet with Hyperlinks to your home page. URL: http://www.businesswire.com --------- "RE: O'odham need for Housing is Acute" --------- Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 22:14:46 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: O'odham need for housing is acute (Fwd) - - - - - - -- - - - - - - Mailing List: News Gathering http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=local&story_id=090 303d1_tohono&PHPSESSID=6ece3796fcd4b6cd5fa1aec297d0cacf O'odham need for housing is acute Wednesday, September 3, 2003 The problem is so widespread on all Arizona reservations that the governor met with representatives of 21 tribes in the high school gym south of Sells yesterday. LARRY COPENHAVER lcopenha@tucsoncitizen.com Corrected version; properly identifies Johnny Endfield SELLS - More than 700 members of the Tohono O'odham Nation share a dream, a passion to someday own homes that are warm in the winter and dry in the rain. But many cannot find the cash to buy even the plainest of modern living, said Josie Chavez, acting director of the Ki:Ki Association, the arm of the tribe that heads housing development. Ki:Ki in the native language means "home." Most of the people needing homes are living with family members or friends, crowding into limited space to get a roof over heads, she said. The problem stems from lack of economic development, she said. Infrastructure, such as running water, sewage disposal, telephones and sometimes electricity, is not there to even make modern living possible. It's a Catch-22, no homes because of the lack of jobs, no jobs because of lack of commerce, and no commerce because of the lack of infrastructure. The problem is so commonplace among American Indians across Arizona, that 21 tribes yesterday gathered in the high school gym south of Sells near Topawa to discuss the situation with Gov. Janet Napolitano. The event was called the Governor's Tribal Housing Summit. Last year, the tribe was able to build only 15 new homes, although it was forced to spend $1.3 million in infrastructure, said Vivian Juan- Saunders, chairwoman of the nation, which counts 28,000 members, half of them living on 2.8-million acres of reservation in southern Arizona. The process is very slow and costly, she said. The people are so spread out over the large territory, it costs a bundle to bring services to them. But the nation is working on a plan to minimize infrastructure development, Juan-Saunders said. The idea is to create developments, clusters of homes in a central location where infrastructure can serve many families. Members do not want to leave family traditional lands, she said. "We are getting resistance, but some younger families just want a house, and I predict they will take a home in a heartbeat if it's available." An example of that was carried out at Miguel, a village east of Sells. Modern plumbing was installed and a sewage treatment facility was built. The cluster can accommodate several hundred homes if money is available to build them. Yet, there are nearly 350 homes on the reservation that have no kitchen or inside plumbing, she said. That means there are no inside toilets, no wash basins and no showers. Some old structures used for living space even have dirt floors. The primary funding source of homes on the reservation is the U.S. Department of Housing and Development, which requires an annual family income of $14,000, Chavez explained. "But there is a big gap between the $14,000 and what they have." And many cannot make the payments, Juan-Saunders added. "This is not possible for many O'odham families." If the funding does not come from HUD, members have to apply for a bank loan, noted Johnny Endfield, representative to the summit from the White Mountain Apache Tribe. And lenders are reluctant to loan money to people living on the reservation because the land on which homes sit belongs to the tribe, not the homeowners. It's a problem that has far-reaching effects, the governor said. "Tribal housing deficits mean difficulties in attracting teachers to reservation schools, problems securing health-care workers to meet tribal health needs and waiting lists that can span several years before tribal members have a place to call home," Napolitano said. The housing summit is the third tribal summit the governor has convened this year. Another summit in Yuma on Dec. 19 will focus on tourism and economic development on reservation lands. --------- "RE: Dismissed Mille Lacs Reservation Lawsuit appealed" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 08:24:35 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MILLE LACS LAND" http://www.millelacsmessenger.com/~854600&S=506&PubID=14133 Dismissed reservation lawsuit appealed by Joel Patenaude, Messenger Staff Writer September 3, 2003 County, bank argue dispute real enough Making a late August deadline, Mille Lacs County and the First National Bank of Milaca formally appealed the May 7 dismissal of their reservation boundary lawsuit against the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. In their appeals filed with the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the county and bank repeated their assertion that the original 61,000-acre reservation, established by treaty in 1855, was disestablished by treaties in 1863 and 1864 and by the 1889 Nelson Act. This history was recounted in a 1913 U.S. Supreme Court decision the plaintiffs wish to see upheld by way of a declaratory judgment. Minnesota District Court Judge James Rosenbaum dismissed the case on the grounds that no actual jurisdictional dispute existed between the band and the county to warrant him declaring whether the old reservation does or doesn't exist. Attorneys for the Mille Lacs Band persuaded the judge to throw out the lawsuit by arguing that the county has not been harmed by several federal agencies recognizing the continued existence of the 1855 reservation. But Tom Tobin, the South Dakota attorney pursuing the reservation boundary case for the county, wrote in his appeal, "Uncertainty concerning reservation boundaries can present substantial harm if left unresolved. The county wishes to resolve this issue before it or others are faced with irreparable injury or liability." Tobin argues that if a Mille Lacs reservation exists today, it is confined to about 4,000 acres of trust lands held by the federal government in Kathio and Isle Harbor townships. On the other hand, Tobin wrote, "The position of the band is firm: The 1855 reservation has not been disestablished. The band asserts and intends to assert jurisdiction accordingly, at least in many significant respects." The band ceded and relinquished the reservation in the treaties of 1863- 64. But both treaties included a provision that band members could remain on condition of their "good conduct" toward white settlers. Soon thereafter, the federal government began issuing non-Indians patents for land within the former reservation. In 1899, Congress passed the Nelson Act which created a commission to obtain from several Ojibwe bands further cession of reservation lands in exchange for the promise of land allotments to individual Indians. Mille Lacs Band members had lost nearly all of their land by 1914 when Congress appropriated money to purchase allotments for them. Over time, the band established its tribal government, two profitable casinos and won a legal victory from the U.S. Supreme Court upholding its treaty-derived hunting and fishing rights. While the band has gained political and economic clout in recent years, it has bought more land inside and outside the original reservation boundaries. A 120-acre site for a regional sewer plant was the first property in more than a decade that the band asked the Department of Interior to place into trust, thereby taking it off the local property tax rolls. As the band's influence and land base has increased, so too have the concerns over jurisdiction held by the county and many non-Indian residents. County officials and their supporters argue that the band's agenda is to "resurrect" the original reservation on the south end of Mille Lacs Lake, about 80 percent of which is still owned by non-Indians. WHY THE APPEAL? Despite the general uncertainty over the reservation boundaries, Judge Rosenbaum failed to see a specific or "ripe" jurisdictional dispute between the county and band for the federal court system to "fix." In the county's appeal, Tobin wrote that Rosenbaum erred by concluding the county's case "was one of abstract injuries." He said Rosenbaum failed to see that the case "requires little, if any, factual development." Nevertheless, the judge ignored the "evidence of real impending injuries" the county would experience if the boundary dispute were not resolved, Tobin wrote. Tobin insists the county has legal standing to bring the reservation lawsuit. He said the county's property interest in the disputed area was recognized in the Minnesota District Court's 1993 decision in the treaty rights case. "In terms of dollars and consequences, what was at stake in the treaty- related litigation pales in comparison with the consequences of resurrecting the 61,000-acre Mille Lacs Reservation in this rural Minnesota county," he wrote. In their accompanying appeal, attorneys for the First National Bank protested that the band has enacted statutes that "apply directly to the bank's day-to-day business." Bank president B.P. Allen Jr. believes his family-owned financial institution is burdened by the jurisdictional uncertainty that exists. The bank, he said in an affidavit, "is reluctant to take out a mortgage on certain properties within the disputed area because of the potential for conflicting land use regulations." The bank's attorney contends that not until the county threatened litigation did the band pay for a handful of outstanding building permits and "comply with county zoning ordinances. There is, however, no guarantee that the band will not resume its rebuff of county zoning laws." CONTROVERSY NEEDED? Tobin cites as precedent two Eighth Circuit cases affirming that federal declaratory judgments can be used to settle reservation boundary disputes that do not hinge on specific jurisdictional issues. In Tobin's words "it was not necessary" in City of North Town, ND vs. United States (1972) and Rosebud Sioux Tribe vs. Kneip (1977) "to focus on any controversy beyond the legitimate and concrete dispute between governmental entities regarding the status of reservation boundaries." "On appeal," he continued, "the county maintains that the New Town and Rosebud precedent controls and that this case is clearly fit for declaratory relief - even without a specific controversy underlying the dispute over the existence of the reservation boundaries." Tobin described as "misplaced" Rosenbaum's citations of other reservation boundary cases dismissed by lower courts for lacking sufficient controversies. CAUSES FOR CONCERN In any case, Mille Lacs County does have reason to worry that the band could gain civil regulatory authority - over traffic violations committed by Indians, for example - if the area is declared a reservation once again and, by extension, is treated legally as "Indian country." Public Law 280 already gives the state of Minnesota broad criminal and limited civil jurisdiction on reservation lands. But the county worries its sheriff's deputies could be sued by the band over law enforcement actions taken against band members. "How the county is expected to continue to protect the citizenry and avoid possible constitutional wrongs is puzzling without knowing where the reservation begins and where it ends," Tobin wrote. The appeal conceded that former Mille Lacs County Sheriff Dennis Boser in a deposition said his deputies have not been hindered in enforcing the law without regard to whether the reservation is 4,000 or 61,000 acres. Tobin said Rosenbaum was simply wrong when he concluded that the band had "neither threatened nor demonstrated an intention to enforce band statutes beyond its 4,000 acres of trust land." Tobin pointed out that the band has sought "memorandums of understanding" with the state agencies concerned with natural resources, pollution control and transportation. "In each instance, the authority of the band was dependent upon the continued existence of the 1855 reservation," he said. Because band officials and their attorneys consider the old, much more expansive, reservation to still exist, Tobin said it's reasonable to assume they believe they could exercise authority over lands owned by non- Indians. Absent the 1855 reservation boundaries, however, the band could not begin to assert jurisdiction even over band members living on band-owned fee land on the former reservation, Tobin wrote. Copyright c. 2003 Mille Lacs Messenger All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Reason for bold B.C. Offer to the Haida" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 21:36:50 -0400 From: Frosty Subj: Fw: The reason for 'bold' B.C. offer to the Haida Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian ----- Original Message ----- From: Russell Diabo ----- Original Message ----- From: Don Bain http://www.canada.com/~/story.asp?id=C8C4BED2-738A-4997-B840-370CD6AC44E2 The reason for 'bold' B.C. offer to the Haida Vaughn Palmer Vancouver Sun Thursday, September 04, 2003 VICTORIA - The B.C. Liberal government on Wednesday offered 20 per cent of the Queen Charlotte Islands to settle the land claims of the Haida First Nation. Attorney-General Geoff Plant, the minister for treaty negotiations, said he hoped the offer would be seen as a "bold move." Though the Haida negotiations have not advanced to the phase where land would usually be under discussion, Mr. Plant said the object was to "jump- start negotiations." The B.C. offer encompasses some 200,000 hectares of provincial Crown land, concentrated on the northwest side of the Charlottes. Half would be transferred outright to native ownership, the rest would consist of land use tenures and resource rights, such as a tree farm licences. The approximately 3,700 Haida, about half the population of the islands, currently occupy 1,700 hectares on reservations. The provincial transfer, amounting to 20 per cent of the Charlottes, combined with the Haida's existing joint management of the South Moresby National Park, would give the band control over one-third of the archipelago, according to Mr. Plant. He said the province is prepared to negotiate details and trade some parcels of land for others. There remains ample room to discuss other elements of a settlement, such as hunting and fishing rights, land use and other regulatory regimes. But he cautioned that the Haida response to the offer of 200,000 hectares of Crown land should not be "we'd like x per cent more." The province, the minister said, had put "its entire land package and land mandate on the table all at once." The province held back subsurface -- i.e. mineral and petroleum -- rights, meaning they might be reserved for a subsequent negotiation, perhaps involving the contentious issue of offshore development. Moreover, B.C. acted unilaterally, without the participation of the other essential party to treaty settlements, the federal government. Victoria and Ottawa have been working more closely on treaty talks this year. Their effort to "fast-track" talks with half a dozen bands has paid off with several agreements in principle, the penultimate step to achieving a formal treaty. B.C. tried to engage the feds in what it was attempting with the Haida as well. But the province was nevertheless engaged in a solo turn at the bargaining table. Explaining why, Mr. Plant complained about an increasingly "dysfunctional" situation in the Charlottes, amounting to a non-working relationship with the Haida. The band has rebuffed provincial efforts to alleviate the impasse, including the recent offer of timber-cutting rights worth almost $2 million. The province has been hearing complaints from Weyerhaeuser about an inability to gain access to its timber tenures in the islands. But Victoria's central concern is with a brace of high-profile legal actions. The Haida are in court pursuing a sweeping claim to outright ownership of the islands and all offshore waters. "Lock, stock and barrel," as some native leaders like to put it. Mr. Plant hopes the band will put that action in abeyance pending discussions on the land offer. On a second front, the province is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court of Canada in December, seeking to overturn a lower court ruling that gave the Haida a de facto veto over all land-use decisions. And there, if you like, is the other audience for Wednesday's move by the province -- the judiciary. Judges have shown a willingness over the years to tie up Crown land, block development and otherwise hold the economy hostage to the interest of preserving native claims. By flinging 20 per cent of the Charlottes on to the bargaining table in a single gesture, Mr. Plant is hoping to demonstrate that the province is serious about settling claims this side of lock, stock and barrel ownership. Or, as he put it, he wanted to show "the extent we are prepared to go," and, no less, "to put limits around what the province is willing to do." The offer stands until March. Barring progress at the bargaining table, Mr. Plant says the province may have to become more "cheerfully aggressive" about asserting its authority over provincial Crown land. But he's surely hoping that the courts will act to define and constrain native hegemony as well. vpalmer@direct.ca Copyright c. 2003 Vancouver Sun. --------- "RE: Haida reply to B.C. Offer: See you in Court" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 08:05:57 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HAIDA:NO" http://www.canada.com/~/story.asp?id=DBA03647-327E-4E8F-9EDC-F712C9B92DE4 Haida reply to B.C. offer: 'See you in court' Vaughn Palmer Vancouver Sun Friday, September 05, 2003 VICTORIA -- The Haida First Nation wasted no time this week in rejecting the province's offer of 20 per cent of the Queen Charlotte Islands as a land claim settlement. "Mischief-making and political posturing," said Guujaaw, president of the Haida, in a statement right after provincial representatives presented the offer Wednesday in Skidegate. "That's been a pattern of theirs," he said, referring to the B.C. Liberal government, "making offers without any discussion." He recognized -- rightly, I'm thinking -- that the province was not really expecting the offer would "jump-start treaty negotiations with the Haida," though that was the justification given to reporters by Attorney- General Geoff Plant. Rather, the province was hoping to be able to demonstrate, for the purposes of a couple of major court actions involving the Haida, that it had at least made a serious offer in treaty negotiations. In any event, Guujaaw pledged Wednesday that the most far-reaching of those court actions, the so-called "rights and title case," will go ahead. The case, variously described as "ground-breaking" and "unprecedented," was launched in B.C. Supreme Court in March of 2002. A more detailed statement of claim followed in November of that year. As a response to this week's offer from the provincial government, the statement of claim leaves no doubt why 20 per cent was a non-starter. For the Haida are claiming the entire Queen Charlottes, or Haida Gwaii ("Islands of the People"), to use the name they prefer. Specifically: "The land, inland waters, seabed, archipelagic waters, air space and everything contained thereon and therein," to quote the statement of claim. Which is a pretty succinct legal summation of the claim of "lock-stock- and-barrel ownership," as the position has been characterized by advocates and opponents alike. "No treaty has ever been concluded between the Crown and the Haida Nation," continues the statement of claim. Therefore "the Defendants" -- Canada and B.C. -- "have unlawfully occupied and exploited the resources of Haida Gwaii and interfered with the culture and livelihood of the Haida Nation." And so on, through "the defendants have trespassed ... appropriated lands and resources ... collected taxes ... conveyed land to third parties ... failed to protect and manage resources." For which list of offences, the Haida ask the courts to award a no-less extensive degree of redress. One: "Compensation for unlawful occupation of and appropriation of Haida Gwaii." Two: "Damages in trespass for wrongful interference with Aboriginal Title." Three: "Damages in nuisance for unlawful interference with the Haida Nation's use of and enjoyment of Haida Gwaii and damage to Haida Gwaii." As to how the foregoing might be calculated, the statement helpfully suggests that the court begin with an accounting of "all profits, taxes, stumpage dues, royalties and other benefits in connection therewith acquired by the defendants and/or their servants, agents and contractors in respect of Haida Gwaii." The court is further asked to quash all forestry, mineral and fishing tenures and, if necessary, to eject the holders of those tenures. Plus interest, costs and "other relief." There, in a few excerpts (the entire statement runs nine pages), is the hard-line native position, translated into the language of the courts. One can see why a First Nation, having embarked on that ambitious a course, would be unlikely to bargain seriously for considerably less. But it is hard to think of a realistic counter-position for the federal and provincial governments, at least one they could take to their voters. Especially because similar claims could be made by other First Nations for the entire land mass, offshore waters and airspace of British Columbia. Negotiate? Yes. But the process has been painfully slow and expensive. Make more generous offers? Perhaps. But if 20 per cent isn't enough, one wonders what would be. Let the courts resolve it? That's been the fallback position for government and native leaders alike, but with demonstrable lack of progress and growing frustration for all sides. vpalmer@direct.ca Copyright c. 2003 Vancouver Sun. --------- "RE: Janklow still hasn't been booked for Fatal Crash" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 08:11:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JANKLOW NOT BOOKED" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15154-2003Sep2.html S.D. Public Doubts Fair Treatment For Janklow Favoritism Expected For Congressman By T. R. Reid Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, September 3, 2003 FLANDREAU, S.D., Sept. 2 -- Rep. William J. Janklow (R-S.D.) went to court for the first time today to face a charge of manslaughter after the accident last month that killed a motorcyclist on a rural road. Prosecutors pressed the toughest charge available against Janklow, but many people here are concerned that the powerful politician, who also has served as governor, will receive special treatment. Letters to newspaper editors and callers to radio talk shows complain that he has already received preferential treatment. Janklow, who police said had been speeding in the Cadillac he was driving and ran a stop sign, killing the cyclist, said nothing during the four-minute hearing at the Moody County Courthouse. His lawyers declined to enter a plea on the felony and the three misdemeanor charges against him. Circuit Court Judge Rodney Steele released Janklow without requiring bail and set a preliminary hearing to review the evidence for Sept. 25-26. The 63-year-old congressman, the state's dominant Republican politician for the past quarter-century, leaned on friends for support as he walked, slowly and shakily, into the rural county's only courtroom. As TV cameras homed in, he covered his face with the cast on his right hand. A four-term governor who won the state's at-large House seat last November, Janklow faces as many as 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted on the felony charge. His political career is also in jeopardy. A statewide poll recently showed that a large majority of South Dakotans want him to resign from Congress if he is found guilty of causing the crash; 45 percent said he should resign now. If Janklow were to resign, a special election would be called. Analysts here say the seat might well switch to the Democrats if that happened. Lawyers who handle traffic cases in this area say many cases like Janklow's would be resolved through plea bargaining, with the driver pleading guilty to some charge in return for a promise that he would not go to prison. But such a deal may be difficult for prosecutors to accept in Janklow's case, because of a widespread public view that the four-term governor will get special treatment because of his political connections. "If any of us had committed the crime he has, and with his driving record, we wouldn't be walking the streets without having posted a significant bail," read a letter to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader from reader Tim Borger. "But, because Mr. Janklow is part of the 'good ol' boy' network in this town, he is likely to get off without any serious ramifications." There was no sign of special treatment in the charges against Janklow. In bringing a felony charge of second-degree manslaughter, Moody County prosecutor William Ellingson used the most serious charge available in this state for a fatal accident where alcohol is not involved. The congressman was also charged with misdemeanors for speeding, running a stop sign and reckless driving. But the public remains doubtful. "There are some people that, no matter what happens, are going to think there is preferential treatment. We hear that on our show," said talk show host Randy McDaniel of Sioux Falls station KSOO. There has also been speculation that Janklow's driving record, with several speeding tickets and accidents, might be doctored. Janklow's son and spokesman, Russ Janklow, felt the need to make a statement denying it: "I can assure you that no state employee was directed to clean my dad's records. That's ridiculous." While his fellow members of Congress were reconvening in Washington today, Janklow came to the Moody County seat of Flandreau, a dot on the vast prairie where the highest structure is the grain elevator and the most popular shop is the town bakery, with fresh doughnuts priced at 28 cents. The sign greeting visitors at the city limit reads: "Flandreau -- hometown of U.S. Representative William J. Janklow." About two dozen Janklow supporters, bearing signs that said "We Still Love Bill," lined the lobby of the courthouse and encouraged him as he entered. Janklow now lives in an even smaller town, Brandon, about 30 miles south of here along county road 13. It was on that road, which he has driven thousands of times, that Janklow ran a stop sign, police said, and killed Randolph Scott, a 55-year-old Army veteran, on Aug. 16. The state patrol accident report estimates Janklow was driving about 70 mph to 75 mph -- the speed limit is 55 -- and did not slow down at the stop sign. Copyright c. 2003 The Washington Post Company. --------- "RE: OST considers helping Police in Whiteclay" --------- Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 22:17:43 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PINE RIDGE PATROLS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2003/09/06/news/local/news03.txt Tribal officials consider helping police in Whiteclay September 6, 2003 LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska officials and Oglala Sioux tribal officials in South Dakota plan to discuss using Pine Ridge Reservation police to help enforce the law in the border village of Whiteclay. The village has been a point of contention over stores selling alcohol to residents of the reservation in South Dakota, where alcohol is banned. The reservation is a few miles to the north of Whiteclay. A Sept. 29 meeting will be held to discuss issues such as training tribal police for duty in Whiteclay, Nebraska State Patrol Superintendent Tom Nesbitt said. The nearest Nebraska law enforcement personnel are stationed in the Sheridan County seat of Rushville, more than 20 miles away. By contrast, tribal police are located two miles away in Pine Ridge. Nesbitt said he will be among state officials to meet with Sheridan County leaders and tribal officials regarding the state deputizing tribal police. Any such arrangement would require approval from the tribal council, said Oglala Sioux President John Steele. Deputizing tribal police would be only one step in dealing with the alcohol problem, he said. Copyright c. 2003 the Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Kayenta Woman dies after hit by Ambulance" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 08:24:35 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IHS AMBULANCE" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.gallupindependent.com/09-03-03kayentawomandies.html Kayenta woman dies after hit by ambulance Jim Maniaci Dine' Bureau September 3, 2003 TUBA CITY - An Indian Health Service ambulance from Kayenta, in Tuba City late Friday night, hit a pedestrian at a busy intersection and the 43- year-old Tuba City woman died at 5:45 a.m. the next morning at the Tuba City Regional Medical Center. The death of Tsinnie Ladell of Cul-de-Sac No. 1 in Tuba City was one of two Labor Day weekend traffic fatalities on the reservation, according to Navajo Nation Law Enforcement reports. The IHS ambulance from the Kayenta clinic was at the intersection of Main Street and Navajo Boulevard around 11:45 p.m. Friday, the Tuba City District report said. Ladell suffering massive head and body impact injuries in what the responding officer called an alcohol-related incident. Tuba City Criminal Investigations District detectives are investigating the pedestrian fatality in which Lynette Takala, 30, of Rough Rock drove the ambulance with Melissa Crank, no age listed, of Monument Valley, Utah, listed as the witness. The officer's report did not indicate any patients in the ambulance, nor which direction the emergency vehicle was headed. A sergeant and four officers were called to the scene, according to the report. Copyright c. 2003 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Tsosie's killer: I don't want to die" --------- Date: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 22:17:43 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KILLER PLEAS FOR LIFE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.daily-times.com/~/view.cgi?archive=90&num=2432 Fry: I was a bastard By Debra Mayeux/The Daily Times Sep 5, 2003, 09:34 Pleads with jury `I don't want to die' ALBUQUERQUE - Robert Fry is sorry Donald Tsosie is dead. "There was no damn excuse for what happened to him," the 30-year-old death row inmate said looking at Tsosie's family. "I pray to God you can find peace in your life and move forward." Fry was found guilty of first-degree murder in the April 1998 kidnapping, beating death and attempted robbery of Tsosie. The former Farmington man, also convicted in the June 2000 death of Shiprock resident Betty Lee, is also a suspect in the 1996 Eclectic double homicide of Matthew Trecker and Joseph Fleming. He spoke with emotion and an appearance of sincerity when he asked a jury to let him live. "I've come to know who Robert Fry was. He was an out and out bastard, who would get drunk and didn't know how to act in society," Fry made this statement Thursday during the sentencing portion of the Tsosie trial. He could be sentenced to death. "I ask you today, God, please don't kill me. I don't want to die," he said. The jury also heard tearful testimony from Fry's family and friends, who characterized him as a good man and a loving son and brother. "He was happy, always happy - a good kid," said Vickie Rogers, Fry's sister. "He had a big imagination. He wanted to be a movie star and a rocket scientist." Fry was always an entertainer and a storyteller. He sang in his church choir and he put on performances for his family. At 3 years old he used a tennis racket for a guitar and sang "The Rhinestone Cowboy" for his grandmother, Gloria Fry said of her son. Jeanne Winchell, Fry's sister, said her brother had an "innocence about him ... a carefree attitude." He was good with other children. He didn't like to fight. "He wasn't angry at the world; he wanted to defend the world," Gloria said. This is the side Fry admitted to sharing with his family. But he also said there was another side - a da