From gars@speakeasy.org Tue Feb 3 23:31:32 2004 Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2004 14:58:18 -0800 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.006 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 006 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, WOTANGING IKCHE - Lakota - Common News Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2004 nanews.org Aboriginal/AmerIndian Perspective about the First Nations of Turtle Island February 7, 2004 Cree cepizun/old moon Passamaquoddy piyatokonis/moon when the spruce tips fall +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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 speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. 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; ndn-aim, Justice Network, Iron Natives and Rez Life 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "I say this for the smallest pieces to the largest, each one is important. Each one has a message. I hope this message connects with you." __ King Kuka, Blackfeet artist +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Now that the South Dakota vote has been certified, and proof-positive has been brought forward that the challenged signatures are genuine, can we expect Robert Novak to apologize for publicly claiming Indians had stolen the election - or Rush Limbaugh to recant his "me too" parrot of Novak's ridiculous claim? Not a chance. These right-wing, republican touting talking-heads are only quick to throw gas on the anti-Indian fire. Don't hold your breath waiting for them to a) admit they are wrong or b) douse the fire with truth. Truth is not their agenda - "ditto-head" pro-Bush rhetoric is their only mantra. Likewise, now that the Schaghticokes have BIA recognition, don't expect Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general, to get off the high (and mighty) horse he has been riding in opposition of the tribe's long sought federal status. He has, in fact, already filed court papers to overturn the ruling. The only way to stop Indian haters like Blumenthal is the way Washington Indians ended the career of fish peddler, Senator Slade Gorton ... by voting his sorry butt out of office. That is, unless the jerk self-destructs like Bill Janklow did. There are now four federally recognized tribes in Connecticut. They need to take a clue from Washington state and clean house next election. I know a lot of first people are opposed to voting, but a lot of damage has been dumped on many tribes by the current administrations, both state and national. It's past time we stop shunning voting as a way of endorsing the oppressor's system and use it to further the needs of our people. A smart warrior will always find a way to attack the enemy with his own weapons. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith Night Owl (*,*) gars@speakeasy.org P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Group helping with Fire Relief - AFN rejects nomination - No Child Left Behind of David Ahenakew tests Indian Schools - Aboriginal leaders - Tribes want Culture talk with Clarkson to be Curriculum - Gabriel crosses swords - Apaches teem with Tradition with Norton - Tribes cancel Housing Development - New Videotape - Two resign top New Mexico shows Suspect in Arson Indian Affairs Positions - SQ not involved in Kanehsatake - Beleaguered Heritage: Fire Investigation Aztec Ruins Ntl. Monument - Chile: Mapuche Leader Arrested - Red Lake Band - Killings focus attention receives $500,000 Grant on Slavery in Brazil - Charges dropped - Fort Belknap Tribe sues in Voter-fraud Case over Gold Mine Pollution - BIA recognizes - Mining Claim filed Fourth Tribe in Connecticut against Quapaw Tribal Members - More Briefs to be filed - Jurisdictional issues in Sovereignty Case handcuff Tribal Police - Superpower of Native Nations - Yaqui Police becoming more Yaqui is aim of Dine' Prez - Native Prisoner - N.Y. Oneidas feel threatened -- Urgent Support Still Needed: by Wisconsin Oneidas Kippy Joe Hill - Lewis & Clark -- FPPP: Let's fix America helped rob American Indians - History: Carlisle Indian School - Tribes get funds for Wildlife - Rustywire: Fry Bread Dreams - Native Alaskans - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days wary of new Rural Commission - Larry Kibby Poem: The Rez Car - Getting Cree back into the Bush - Penn Cove Water Festival - Metis Vote open to all Candidates in Coupeville, WA. --------- "RE: Group helping with Fire Relief" --------- Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 12:44:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BAKER FAMILY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/01/30/news/local/news05.txt [Editorial Note: All four of the children who began their Spirit journey are listed in this week's issue of companion newsletter "Native Crossings".] Group helping with fire relief January 31, 2004 RAPID CITY - The American Indian Relief Council will accept donations for the Mike and D'Anna Baker family. The Bakers lost four children and their home in a weekend fire in the Bear Creek Community of the Cheyenne River Reservation. Three children, ages 2, 11 and 12, and their parents survived the fire with little more than the clothes on their back. Donations of household goods, appliances and toys can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at American Indian Relief Council, 2230 Eglin St., over the hill east of Menards. Copyright c. 2004 Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: No Child Left Behind tests Indian Schools" --------- Date: Sun, 18 Jan 2004 12:44:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REZ SCHOOLS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.argusleader.com/news/Sundayfeature.shtml No Child Left Behind puts Indian schools to the test Brenda Wade Schmidt Argus Leader January 25, 2004 Students already struggle to achieve, and even higher expectations loom Some skip school to take care of siblings. Few have books at home to read. They live on South Dakota's Indian reservations, in the poorest counties in the nation. Sometimes, it is easier for students to pick a fistfight than to learn. "We have kids that come in here with a load of luggage," said John Cedarface, education supervisor at Wounded Knee School on the Pine Ridge Reservation. "We have a lot of students who are in the upper grades who cannot read." The scenario is played out to different degrees at Bureau of Indian Affairs schools across South Dakota and the nation. These schools serve some of the most vulnerable students under some of the most challenging conditions. "We try to make this a sanctuary, more or less," Cedarface said of his school. "What do we do with the kids who are sleeping? I tell them, 'Let them sleep. You don't know what they've been through at home.' " In an era of sweeping national education reform precipitated by President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, administrators such as Cedarface struggle. They must respond to external pressures and meet new student testing requirements that, in places such as Wounded Knee, seem impossible. Bush has demanded that states reform their public schools, but the federal government itself is leaving behind some of the very students the legislation is aimed at helping - the nation's poorest minority children. In South Dakota, that includes more than 7,000 students who attend 21 reservation schools funded by the BIA. Collectively, these students have the lowest test scores in the state. Economic conditions, a shortage of preschool opportunities, rural locations and funding shortfalls contribute to poor student performance in BIA schools. While the 2-year-old No Child Left Behind Act requires all children to meet standards in reading and math by 2014, the federal government does not have the same leverage to force change at BIA schools as it does with similar low-performing public schools. "If the federal government is holding states' feet to the fire on achievement for Native American students, is it holding the same standards to itself?" asked Kevin Carey, policy analyst with the Education Trust, a nonprofit group. BIA schools educate about 47,000 students, nearly 10 percent of the total school-age Native American population. Many of those schools aren't going to meet the proficiency standards, educators predict. It will take more time and a different approach if Native American schools are going to catch up, school officials say. "There are some qualities of that law that are unattainable," said Larry Gauer, superintendent at St. Francis Indian School on the Rosebud reservation. "Some of those kids aren't going to be proficient. It's our job to educate them as much as we can. And we will do that." Making changes Wounded Knee School is taking corrective actions as required under the No Child Left Behind law. School officials are planning changes that include aligning their course offerings with South Dakota's state curriculum standards. They hope to offer more teacher training if they get financial help. For a while, school staff members worried that they would be replaced under a complete restructuring, but they have since found out that they will stay. The Wounded Knee school is one of three BIA schools in South Dakota and 19 nationwide listed in the worst performance category. That means the school has failed to make the prescribed academic progress for five years in a row, including failures under a previous school accountability law. "I wanted to come back here and see if I can get this corrected," said Cedarface, a former BIA employee who returned to Wounded Knee last year. He said his school should have received more help from the BIA before now. "Whenever you are in corrective action, they are to help you with teaching assistance and funds. None of that has happened here." The BIA plans to provide additional money and technical assistance to its lowest-performing schools, said Sharon Wells, special assistant to the director of the Office of Indian Education in Washington, D.C. But those programs are just being identified. When money becomes available, Wounded Knee could get more than $200,000, Cedarface said. With an enrollment of about 150, Wounded Knee is plagued with high teacher turnover and a lack of continuity in the classrooms, he said. In the 1960s and 1970s, Black Hills State University offered a program to train Native American teachers, but the program was ended, Cedarface said. Wells agreed that it is difficult for bureau schools to recover from high staff turnover, which is 30 percent or higher at some. In order to make adequate progress next year, nearly one-fourth of Wounded Knee students have to show improvement - move from basic to proficient - in math, for example. That is unlikely, as is attaining a required 90 percent attendance rate. Seventy or 80 percent attendance is typical now. "We are going to make improvements," Cedarface said. "We're just pressed for time. "It's kind of like a losing game," he said. "It's like being a bull rider and the bull is already down inside the chute before you come out." Improvements made Gauer is proud of the improvements St. Francis students have made. The school revised its reading program several years ago, and test scores have gone up. In addition, St. Francis has cracked down on student absences, added staff training, started after-school tutoring and focused on closer parental communication. The school is one of 11 South Dakota BIA schools that have made adequate yearly progress, a term describing the incremental steps required for children to become proficient in reading and math by 2014. Nationwide, 121 of the 170 BIA-funded schools have made adequate progress and are not on the list of schools that need to improve. But the stakes are about to get higher. Under the federal law, the BIA can set its own standards. The bureau is studying a proposal to require BIA schools to follow the standards of the 23 states in which they are located, mostly in Arizona, New Mexico, South Dakota and North Dakota. "We want to know how our kids compare to the kids next door," Wells said. So far, the BIA is pleased with the number of schools that have met the bureau's current standards, she said. "We're not leaving them behind. We're trying to get these schools to make adequate yearly progress." Meeting South Dakota standards will be a tougher hurdle for the BIA students. The state's standards are higher than those used by the bureau. For example, students at BIA schools had to score at about the 23rd percentile in reading and math in order to be proficient. South Dakota public school standards require a higher score. The average score attained by South Dakota students was above the 50th percentile. The BIA isn't dictating how schools reach the goals, but officials are watching the outcome. Ed Parisian, who was appointed director of the Office of Indian Education last summer, is pushing more funds to schools and is offering technical assistance. "Then I'm going to hold those schools accountable for the results." The BIA spends just under $4,000 per student, similar to the amount South Dakota public schools get in state education aid. It doesn't stretch far enough in the bureau's mostly rural, higher-cost system, educators say. Sometimes, schools have to dip into instructional budgets to supplement transportation budgets in order to get kids to school. The BIA operates about one-third of its schools itself. The rest are run by tribes through a grant or contract process. About 80 percent of the BIA schools offer courses aligned to their states' curriculum standards. Many BIA schools also add their own specific goals for kids, based on tribal or cultural needs. St. Francis students take the state's test to measure proficiency. While they made adequate progress under BIA requirements, the students' standardized test scores were among the lowest in the state last year. The school's third-graders scored at the 11th percentile, while eighth-graders did the best, scoring at the 26th percentile on part of the test that was developed by South Dakota education officials. "You really don't have a much better score than if you would have guessed," said James Impara, mental measurement expert at Buros Center for Testing, University of Nebraska. "It's not easy to get a score in the teens." But Impara cautioned that standardized test results offer a narrow look at student performance. "There's a lot more going on in these schools than measured on this test," he said. "A performance level is not a score. A performance level is a definition of what kids can do." Parisian said scores at BIA schools have improved in the past year, but the trend must continue. "This administration wants to see some hard numbers," he said. "We're serious about accountability." Price of poverty Gauer is in his second year at St. Francis, located in the southwest corner of the Rosebud Reservation. It's a land of rolling prairie and sand hills, where buffalo herds once wintered. Like many teachers, he lives in school housing, rows of faded trailer houses that line a driveway inside a chain-link fence. Some of the government-built homes in the town have boarded-up windows and doors, even though they're inhabited. Graffiti covers some walls. Garbage is caught in the dry weeds that make up yards. Stalled cars are scattered around. The scene illustrates perhaps the strongest reason Native American children may never have the chance to thrive academically - poverty. Todd County, where the 700 people of St. Francis live, is the fifth poorest county in the nation. The per capita income is $7,026, about one- third of the national average, the 2000 U.S. Census shows. Poverty is the biggest factor preventing Native American children from achieving at a higher level, said William Demmert Jr., education professor at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Poor children don't have an opportunity to develop a language base. They have less access to preschools and fewer learning opportunities. Combine that with a native language other than English, and those children start out behind, he said. Demmert, a former director of the Office of Indian Education in the BIA, has been researching Native American learning for decades. One of the most successful education models, he said, is to allow children to learn in their native language in school. Culture shapes minds and provides the tools for learning, he said. "Learning, remembering, talking, imagining, all of them are made possible by a culture." 'Always ... at the bottom' Educators at schools such as St. Francis are trying to do that. All students learn about Native American culture and language, and one elementary class is taught in Lakota. Students in a multi-age Lakota culture classroom "smudge" before starting class again after recess. The practice involves burning a twist of sage, which produces an incense-like smoke that each child waves into his or her face to invite a cleansing of the mind and to open a student's mind to knowledge. In that classroom, rules are posted in Lakota and English. Lessons are delivered using two languages to teach the children academic subjects and the ways of their ancestors. Inside Theresa Poignee's fifth-grade classroom at St. Francis, a writing lesson uses an art project involving creepy creatures to give the students something to describe in a story. It's one way to bring visual learners into the lesson. That also is important for native children, educators say. Theirs is an oral and visual history told from generation to generation with a language that is descriptive in its nuances. Even surnames tell stories and paint images: Kills in Water, Blue Thunder, White Canoe and Crow Good Voice are family names in these classrooms. With 15 students and one education assistant, Poignee's classroom is typical of many BIA classes. The student-teacher ratio is better than in a majority of public schools. Her students read in small groups, look through encyclopedias to find a favorite animal, watch playground action outside the window, marvel at a plastic spider and vie for their teacher's attention much like kids anywhere. But their literature is taken from Native American culture, and they often ask the meaning of words many children their age would know. That's a critical learning difference for native children, experts say. Native children often are exposed to fewer language comprehension experiences as preschool children, a deficit that sticks with them as they take standardized tests aimed at children from other cultures, primarily white. "Our kids always end up at the bottom," said Sandra Fox, a retired educator who taught at Eagle Butte and now lives in Arizona. She writes reading curriculums for native students. "They enter school with vocabularies of about 3,000 English words, compared to affluent kids, who enter with 20,000 words." As a result, Indian children don't have a fair chance to succeed taking standardized tests, Fox said. Some words have a different meaning to native children. The word "roach," for example, can mean a bug, equipment used to smoke marijuana or, for a native student, part of the traditional regalia used at a powwow, Fox said. Children have limited access to books in their homes, and reservation communities may not have libraries. In St. Francis, the only library is at the school. "Our culture is usually an oral tradition with no reading attached to it," she said. "Many of the children come from homes where there is not a lot of reading." Serious consequences The consequences for public schools that fall short of the new federal standards are extreme. The schools can be taken over by the state or by a private company if test scores don't improve. But there's no similar provision for BIA-funded schools, said Carol Barbero, a Washington lawyer representing tribes. Without the threat of takeover, Barbero asked, how will there be true accountability? What happens if the BIA-funded schools run by the tribes don't improve? Will their federal funding be held up? "I don't know. A lot of these things may have to go to court," Barbero said. "There's nothing in the law that says the state can come in." That either leaves the law open to interpretation or means there simply is a hole in it, she said. It's a question that will need to be answered soon. Nineteen of the BIA schools already are in the second year of corrective action, a point at which public schools face the prospect of restructuring. Wells said specific ramifications for BIA schools may not be spelled out, but those schools will face pressure. "If you have a school that continues to fail, how can anyone in good conscience allow that school to continue to operate exactly as it is?" Uncertainty in the BIA system leaves some Indian educators distrustful. They worry that complicated accountability issues will mean the end of bureau schools. "Every few years, we get some movement toward getting BIA out of running schools," said Carmen Taylor of the National Indian School Board Association. "I think we are always wary of what might be the hidden agenda." Education department officials say no matter how daunting the task, the new law aims to deliver a quality education to every child. Even though Indian children in BIA and public schools have not performed well historically on standardized tests, they are bright and capable, said Darla Marburger of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary and secondary education office. Progress starts with clear and rigorous standards followed by accountability, she said. BIA schools can meet the prescribed goals by 2014 but might have to ask for help, she said. "When it says No Child Left Behind, that's exactly what it means," she said. "They are in no way forgotten schools." In places such as St. Francis, it probably will take more than tests and government standards to help students achieve. Knowing their Indian heritage and being self-confident are important first steps, educators say. Given that chance, reservation children can and will achieve. But will that be enough? "If you wanted those kids to really do well in school, they'd almost have to become white, and that's not what Indian people want," Fox said. Copyright c. 2003 Argus Leader. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tribes want Culture to be Curriculum" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:39:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TEACH ABOUT THE PEOPLE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.spokesmanreview.com/~cat=section.Tribal_news Tribes want culture to be curriculum Want Native American history, traditions to be taught in schools to improve understanding Richard Roesler Staff writer January 27, 2004 OLYMPIA - It was a child's innocent observation that bothered Martina Whelshula the most. Whelshula, a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, had gone to a Spokane area elementary school with her family's drum group to demonstrate a war dance. As the family, dressed in tribal regalia, drank water during a break, a 10-year-old student peered at them. "Wow," he said. "You drink water just like we do." "I'll never forget that," Whelshula said Monday, "because of what it implies as far as his perceptions." Trying to improve understanding between tribes and non-Native Americans, Indians from several tribes asked state lawmakers on Monday to require public schools to teach Indian culture, history and traditions. "It's weird, like we're a cartoon," said Whelshula, who eventually stopped making the cultural demonstrations. The Chevrolet-driving resident of a suburban cul-de-sac north of Spokane was tired of being asked if she lived in a tepee. State Rep. John McCoy, a member of the Seattle area Tulalip Tribes, is asking his fellow lawmakers to approve his House Bill 2406. If they do, school districts will be required to collaborate with local tribes -- those within a 100-mile radius -- to develop a tribal history and culture curriculum for all grades. "The tribes, in this state, are the best-kept secret," said McCoy. Public schools, several tribal members said Monday, aren't doing enough to educate students about Indian history. It would be good for non-Indians and Indians alike, they said. "If you want to leave no Indian child behind, do this," said Denny Hurtado, Indian Education Director for the state superintendent of public instruction's office. Only about 30 percent of tribal children graduate from high school, he said. Hurtado attributes that to the lack of tribal studies. So does Marsha Wynecoop, a Spokane tribal member whose two daughters dropped out of school in eighth and ninth grades. "My younger daughter said `I want to learn about what our own people did, not about a bunch of dead white guys,"' said Wynecoop, who lives in Wellpinit. She's tried to persuade her daughters, now 18 and 21, to go back to school. Neither will. "It broke my heart to see this happen," she said. Wynecoop's local school district says it's trying harder than most school districts to incorporate native history and culture into the curriculum. The 680-student district is 98 percent American Indian. Tribal Salish language classes are mandatory for all children, from kindergarten to eighth grade, and an elective after that. Every Friday afternoon is devoted to tribal studies, such as dancing, basket-making and learning from local cultural teachers. "I would honestly tell you the truth: The school district is doing their best," Penny Spencer, the district's cultural liaison. "We try and teach as much (native history and culture) as we can." In high school, she said, the required class in Northwest history includes extensive teachings about tribal history. One of the biggest roadblocks, Spencer said, is finding tribal members willing to come in and give cultural presentations. "We're trying to build a better relationship with the (Spokane) tribe," she said. Hurtado attributes some of the friction between tribes and schools to bitter memories of the notorious Indian boarding schools run by the federal government. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, thousands of Indian children were rounded up and sent to far-off boarding schools. Their hair was cut. They were stripped of their own clothes and made to wear uniforms. Tribal customs were banned, as was the speaking of tribal languages. Offenders were frequently beaten. "They were trying to kill the Indian out of the Indian," Hurtado said. Richard Roesler can be reached at 360-664-2598 or by e-mail at richr@spokanenews.net. Copyright c. 2004, The Spokesman-Review. --------- "RE: Apaches teem with Tradition" --------- Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 12:44:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="APACHE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/~/0201apache01.html Away from slopes and slots, Apaches teem with tradition Connie Midey The Arizona Republic Feb. 1, 2004 12:00 AM WHITERIVER - At 4 in the afternoon, a breeze rustles through brush on the hills surrounding the crumbling red-rock walls of Kinishba. The moon already is visible, and not another soul is in sight. The sounds of traffic don't reach the ruins of this pre-Apache village, and it's easy to enter into a child's game of make-believe, imagining life here hundreds of years ago. If you've skied at Sunrise, played blackjack at Hon-Dah Resort & Casino or hiked at Cibecue Creek, you've only begun to know the White Mountain Apaches. In addition to the gambling and outdoor activities that draw travelers to the Fort Apache Reservation in eastern Arizona, the tribe offers off- the-beaten-track but rewarding sites, such as Kinishba, where you can learn about Apache history and culture. "A lot of people want to know about our traditions," says Raymond Endfield, director of tourism for the tribe. Just the day before, he says, he was on the phone with an out-of-state history buff who wanted to know if the Apache shaman Geronimo once lived in the area. "I told him, 'Yes, Geronimo was here, and there were others, too, like Gen. George Crook, the commander of the Army in Arizona Territory, and (Army surgeon) Walter Reed, who operated a hospital here." Geronimo's Cave, believed to have been an Apache hide-out, has been closed to tourists to protect nearby burial sites, Endfield told the caller, but other sites remain open. Worries about lingering effects of the Rodeo-Chediski and Kinishba wildfires should not keep visitors away, he says. The fires and a severe drought last year affected the tribal economy but not what tourists will experience. "The tribe has done very good work in preserving natural resources," Endfield says. "People can still drive on the main highways and roads and see good terrain and wildlife. The burn area did not affect most of the tribal recreation area, the streams and the lakes." For groups wanting a closer look at Apache life, Endfield's office can arrange a presentation that includes a traditional meal with acorn stew and a performance by a Crown Dance group. The White Mountain Apache Cultural Center and Museum, on the grounds of the 288-acre Fort Apache Historic Park, is a good starting point. "It's a wonderful place," says Cheryl Barnes of Show Low, a teacher of blind and visually impaired students in the Whiteriver Unified School District. She has just emerged from the museum gift shop and holds an armful of books, beaded key chains and notecards while she looks at old photos of an Apache camp. "I'm in town every Tuesday and Thursday," she says, "and I try to stop in here once a week." The museum's current exhibits include more than 50 historic and modern western Apache baskets and, in a room off the main gallery, drawings and stories by Apache children who attended Cibecue Day School in the late 1930s. New exhibits will open in time for the Fort Apache Heritage Reunion on May 15-16 at the fort. Step outside the museum to take a self-guided tour through Fort Apache, which was established in 1870 and served as a military post until 1922, the last cavalry post in operation in the United States. Gen. Crook's cabin and the adjutant's office, now a post office, are among the 20 or so buildings still standing at the fort. From the fort, travel about two miles west on Arizona 73 to the Kinishba Road turnoff. Take a friend to help you navigate or change a possible flat tire, because the signs are hard to spot and the road into the ruins, about two additional miles, is more rock than dirt. But as long as you're not expecting a Disneyland-style attraction, you'll be glad you didn't let the road deter you. Kinishba was occupied from about 1250 to 1400, and in the late-afternoon shadows, you'll conjure up images of those who lived in the village's two main buildings and farmed, hunted and collected wild foods in the area. Top off a morning of cultural immersion with lunch at what Whiteriver residents call the Tailgate Cafe. Staff members at Cradleboard Elementary School describe it, with affectionate humor, as "Whiteriver's finest dining establishment." You won't find a sign, or an actual cafe, for that matter. Just keep an eye on the east side of Arizona 73. Next to the service station, the tire store and the only stoplight in Whiteriver, you'll see Native American women selling food from the backs of their pickups, and satisfied diners enjoying fry bread and burritos al fresco. Welcome to Tailgate Cafe. Years ago, the post office was here and people gathered, much as they do today, to replenish bodies and spirits with food and conversation. (A similar "cafe" is farther south on Arizona 73 in front of Bashas' grocery.) "I used to go to the Tailgate Cafe all the time when I was in high school," Cradleboard librarian Bridget Bones says. "I've been out of school for 20 years now, and I still go. All the food is cooked at home, it's good and it's fast." Reach the reporter at (602) 444-8120. Copyright c. 2004 The Arizona Republic. --------- "RE: Tribes cancel Housing Development" --------- Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 08:32:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GRAVES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/01/29/news/oregon/thusta03.txt Tribes cancel housing development By The Associated Press January 29, 2004 MISSION - A proposed housing development on Indian tribal land is on hold, after two sets of ancestral remains were discovered on the site. Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation voted Tuesday to stop construction on the Wyit View housing subdivision. Of the 398 tribal members who voted in the special election, 217 voted to halt the project while 181 said they wanted the project to continue. The "no" vote means the project will be abandoned, which will cost the Tribes an estimated $1.37 million, including repayment of about $1 million in federal grant funds. The tribes' Board of Trustees had initially supported the subdivision as a way to provide housing while promoting homeownership. When two sets of ancestral human remains were unearthed during construction, the project was halted and redesigned in accordance with the tribes' own procedural guidelines. But some tribal members voiced concerns about whether the project should continue at all after the remains were found. "We need to protect the land that contains the bones of our ancestors," a group of 15 individuals wrote in the Confederated Umatilla Journal. "Our belief system - the very thing that has kept us united through all aspects of adversity - should not be lost at the expense of money." The site for Wyit View was selected in 2001 as the most viable of eight tribally owned sites for the subdivision due to its proximity to water and sewer lines and cultural resources. Following a lengthy approval process and testing for human remains with ground-penetrating radar, construction began in September 2003. The remains were uncovered last Oct. 24 and construction was immediately halted. They were reburied Nov. 14 with the original soil after no lineal descendants claimed the remains. Copyright c. 2004 Corvalis Gazette-Times, Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Two resign top New Mex. Indian Affairs Positions" --------- Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 08:32:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RESIGNATIONS" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.sfnewmexican.com/print.asp?ArticleID=39529 Two Resign Top Indian Affairs Positions By BEN NEARY | The New Mexican January 29, 2004 The top two officials in the newly created New Mexico Indian Affairs Department have resigned, but neither the governor's office nor the officials themselves are saying why. Department Secretary Bernie Teba and deputy director Sam Cata both submitted letters of resignation to Gov. Bill Richardson last week. Richardson named Teba to head the Indian Affairs Department in January 2003 when the governor elevated the office to Cabinet-level status. The office serves as liaison between state and tribal governments. Before taking the department secretary position at a salary of $89,000 a year, Teba had served as director of the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council. Attempts to reach Teba for comment on Wednesday were unsuccessful. Cata declined comment on Wednesday. Cata had run the former state Office of Indian Affairs before the governor made the office a separate department. Cata's annual salary as deputy director of the department is $61,800. In a Jan. 22 letter of resignation to Richardson, Teba stated, "I strongly agree that you need an individual who you feel will take the newly created department to the next level. I will continue in the position until another individual is appointed." Teba, in his resignation letter, asks Richardson to allow him to transfer to another post in state government. Teba states that Richardson's Chief of Staff David Contarino and Bryon Paez, director of Cabinet affairs, both agreed that the governor could support such a transfer. Gilbert Gallegos, spokesman for Richardson, said Wednesday that the governor's office will make an announcement soon on replacements for both Teba and Cata. Both men will continue to serve until their replacements are named. Gallegos said he could not say anything about the reasons for the resignations. "The governor values Bernie's service and felt that in the short time he was there he did a lot and helped elevate the office to Cabinet-level status," Gallegos said. "The governor still feels that Bernie Teba has a lot to offer his administration, so he will be serving his administration in another capacity," Gallegos said. Copyright c. 2004 The New Mexican, Inc. --------- "RE: Beleaguered Heritage: Aztec Ruins Ntl. Monument" --------- Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 12:44:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AZTEC RUINS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/~/view.cgi?archive=270&num=8194 Beleaguered heritage By Darren Marcy/The Daily Times January 31, 2004 SANTA FE - Aztec Ruins National Monument has been listed as one of New Mexico's 10 most endangered places by the New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance. The alliance announced its annual list Wednesday. Last year, Chaco Canyon National Historic Park was on the list of places that are historically, culturally or architecturally significant and in danger of being lost, destroyed, or substantially altered. Don Goldman, volunteer coordinator for the endangered-places program, said Aztec Ruins made this year's list because the monument is in danger as the city grows up around it. According to the application, which was submitted by Aztec resident Anna Chavez, Aztec Ruins is at risk because of the city of Aztec's encroachment closer to the monument, threatening the cultural landscape and the ability of the Park Service to protect Aztec Ruins. The city annexed land near the monument last year and discussions are under way to develop the area into a housing development. Gary Brown, archeologist with Aztec Ruins National Monument, said the park hosts some 50,000 visitors per year. While the park has no control over the city's growth, there are unexcavated pueblo ruins on some of the land outside the park. Brown said a survey conducted in the 1980s of the area near the monument, but outside the boundaries, showed there are pueblo ruins, as well as subtle features like ancient roadways and shrines. "The roads and shrines and all, help tie this together into a big network indicating we had a pretty well planned out community," Brown said. Brown pointed out the park has no intention of pursuing acquisition of the area. "This is not a land grab," Brown said. "(But) we know there are more out there." The application was not formally supported by Aztec Ruins National Monument, but did receive nine letters of support from archeologists and Aztec residents. "We did not support the nomination," Brown said. "But we do welcome the recognition this provides as well as the opportunity to engage the alliance and city government and any other interested parties that can help us fulfill our mission." Goldman said the proposed development would destroy critical historical information needed for a better understanding of the ancient people who once called the area home. "If they do, it's going to eliminate an awful lot of subsurface evidence of what the prehistoric folks did there," Goldman said. "The monument will not be able to interpret it or preserve it. This is not in the protected national monument. But from a scientific and cultural standpoint, it's every bit as important as what's in the boundaries." Aztec Ruins was established in 1923 and was designated a World Heritage Site in 1997 by the United Nations. The alliance provides no money for preservation, but raising public awareness has helped get communities involved, Goldman said. - The Associated Press contributed to this article. Darren Marcy: darrenm@daily-times.com Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Red Lake Band receives $500,000 Grant" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:39:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.trftimes.com/archive/012804/red_lake_band_receives_50.htm Red Lake Band receives $500,000 grant January 28, 2004 The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) has announced a grant for $500,000 to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa for upgrading and constructing St. Mary's Mission School. The grant will assist the Tribal Council in its efforts to improve conditions on the Red Lake Reservation through the provision of education and services. According to a news release, St. Mary's Mission School is the only all Native American Catholic grade school in the state of Minnesota. For 115 years, it has provided Red Lake children with high quality education. "All monies received will be used for upgrading the facility, new construction and endowment," wrote Red Lake Chairman George W. King. The SMSC donation will support a number of components to upgrade the school by bringing lighting, electrical and plumbing up to safety codes; building a front entrance; and adding on a kindergarten room, a health room, office space, and a teacher's study room. The Red Lake Reservation, which consists of 1,259 square miles in northwestern Minnesota, has a population of over 6,000. Of that population, 99 percent are Ojibwe Indians. "We appreciate that the Red Lake Tribal Council wants to make life better for its members. It is very important to us to help other Indian people, particularly the youth. They are the best hope for their nation's uture," said SMSC Chairman Stanley R. Crooks. "St. Mary's provides a valuable service to the Red Lake Nation, and we are happy to have the opportunity to help." The SMSC has provided grants to a number of Indian nations, including several in Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming. Over the last six years, the SMSC has donated more than $31.5 million to Indian tribes and nonprofit entities. The SMSC is a federally recognized Indian tribe in Prior Lake. Copyright c. 2004 Thief River Falls, MN News & Northern Watch. --------- "RE: Charges dropped in Voter-fraud Case" --------- Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 08:32:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REAL SIGNATURES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/01/29/news/state/state04.txt Charges dropped in voter-fraud case By Carson Walker, Associated Press Writer January 29, 2004 SIOUX FALLS - Prosecutors have dropped charges against a woman hired by the South Dakota Democratic Party to register people to vote in the 2002 election, saying they believe she forged voter-registration applications but their expert witness doesn't agree. Rebecca Red Earth-Villeda of Flandreau, who also goes by the American Indian name of Maka Duta, was scheduled to stand trial in Sioux Falls starting Feb. 9 for eight counts of forgery. The state Democratic Party hired her as an independent contractor in 2002 but fired her after a county auditor alerted party officials that forged signatures were appearing on absentee-ballot applications. At a hearing Wednesday before Judge Glenn Severson, Chief Deputy Attorney General Mark Barnett said the state's handwriting expert concluded the people who testified under oath that their voter- registration cards were forged actually did sign the documents. "We've had a turn of events in this case like nothing I've seen in the past," he told Severson. "We went with our best case, and that's been shot out of the saddle." Barnett said he is obligated not to proceed with a case if his own witness disagrees with what prosecutors are alleging. "We are at a loss how the expert witness could be so diametrically opposed to what these people swore to," Barnett said. He said the state witness works in law enforcement but refused to give the person's name. Severson granted the motion to dismiss the charges against Red Earth- -Villeda and thanked state lawyers for not wasting time and money with a trial. "I do commend the attorney general's office, that it is the responsibility of the prosecutor to see there is a fair trial and not just win," he said. Barnett said prosecutors could still bring charges against Red Earth- Villeda related to other people who testified that they didn't register to vote. And Red Earth-Villeda admitted that she traced over some signatures when she realized that the wrong voter-registration documents were initially signed, Barnett told Severson. "I don't know if we'll go there or not," he said of the possibility of new charges. One other man charged after the 2002 election, Lyle Nichols of Rapid City, pleaded guilty to possession of a forged instrument, a felony, after Pennington County prosecutors in Rapid City dropped five counts of felony forgery in a plea agreement. The United Sioux Tribes hired Nichols to register new voters, and he farmed out some of the work to homeless friends who used the phone book to fill out forms. Nichols was sentenced to the 54 days he had already served in jail. Nichols acknowledged paying others $1 for each completed voter- registration card. He was paid $3 for each card he submitted as part of a voter-registration drive before the November 2002 election. Red Earth-Villeda was paid $2 for every person that she registered to vote. According to the Federal Election Commission, she received 18 paychecks totaling $12,867 for her work in July, August and September of 2002. The reasons given for the money were administrative or voter drives. Charges of vote tampering arose before the November 2002 election and intensified after Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., was re-elected by 524 votes over Republican challenger John Thune. Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: BIA recognizes Fourth Tribe in Connecticut" --------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:50:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCHAGHTICOKE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nytimes.com/~b9a7991de5ce7386&ei=5006&partner=ALTAVISTA1 U.S. Agency Recognizes a Fourth Tribe in Connecticut By STACEY STOWE January 30, 2004 The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs yesterday formally recognized the existence of an Indian tribe based in northwestern Connecticut, to the dismay of political leaders and residents who fear that the designation will lead to the creation of a third casino in the state. Richard L. Velky, the chief of the tribe, the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, based in Kent, said he wanted time to savor the news before tackling the topic of whether the tribe would pursue the gambling business, but he did not rule out the possibility of a new casino. "I've always said a casino might be within our view for economic development," he said. "But we would need a host community before we pursued anything." The Schaghticokes (pronounced SKAT-a-coke,) are the fourth tribe in Connecticut to receive federal recognition. Two of the tribes, the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegans, each operate a highly profitable casino. A third, the Eastern Pequots, was recognized in June 2002. The state's political leaders swiftly condemned the federal government's decision to recognize a fourth tribe and vowed to appeal. "I support the attorney general's efforts to overturn the ruling," Gov. John G. Rowland said in a statement released shortly after the decision was announced. "I also wish to make clear at this time my complete opposition to the further expansion of casino gambling in Connecticut." Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general, said federal recognition of the tribe was "astonishing and appalling because it is so clearly wrong." He said the tribe had failed to meet the criteria for federal recognition, which include showing consistent political leadership and evidence of an ongoing community. "There's a gap of 150 years, which the B.I.A. says can be overcome," Mr. Blumenthal said. "This is not the law, nor has it been." The Schaghticokes have sought federal recognition for 25 years. In December 2002, the federal government denied the request, but the group sent more than two dozen binders of evidence to fortify its claims, said Linda Gray, the tribe's genealogist. In a statement, the Bureau of Indian Affairs acknowledged that the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation had more than 300 members on a reservation "established by the Colony of Connecticut in 1737 and confirmed in 1752." Mr. Velky, the chief, said he had visited more than two dozen parcels of land, mostly outside of Kent, to gauge their suitability for economic development if the tribe achieved federal recognition. Such development could include a casino. "But only in a town that wants one," he said. That would appear to rule out the town of Kent, whose first selectwoman, Dolores Schiesel, flatly said there was no support for a casino. The tribe owns 400 acres of land in Kent, and its new status alarmed Ms. Schiesel for several reasons. "The tribe receiving federal recognition means change for us," she said. "If the decision stands, there won't be a community of Kent. You won't recognize it as it exists right now." Whether or not the tribe pursues a casino, recognition means that it is regarded as a sovereign nation, exempt from local control. It also entitles tribe members to federal benefits, like scholarships, low-interest loans and medical care. Steven Austin, the tribe's cultural anthropologist and a former employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said the federal status meant that land taken from the tribe could be restored. Since 1981, the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation has sought 2,000 acres adjacent to its reservation, claiming that it was taken from them. The bulk of the parcel includes land owned by the Preston Mountain Club, a private fishing club, and about half the campus of the private Kent School. It also includes acreage on the federally managed Appalachian Trail, and other town and private land. The town, school, and federal government are among the parties fighting the land claim. David J. Elliott, the lawyer for Kent School, said the school would contest the tribe's status. "The Kent School feels the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation does not satisfy the criteria for an Indian tribe under federal law," he said. Ms. Schiesel expressed concern that the recognition would bolster the tribe's claim on the land. Mr. Austin said it would indeed. "We expect it will back up our claim to land that was taken from us," he said. "The land could be returned to us as acreage or as part of a cash settlement." Copyright c. 2004 The New York Times Company. --------- "RE: More Briefs to be filed in Sovereignty Case" --------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:50:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WAMPANOAG SOVEREIGNTY CASE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2004/01/30/sovereignty_case_briefs.php Chilmark and Commission Will File Briefs in Sovereignty Case By JULIA WELLS Gazette Senior Writer January 30, 2004 The town of Chilmark and the Martha's Vineyard Commission will add their voices to the Aquinnah court appeal over sovereign immunity, which is now expected to come before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court this year. Chilmark and the MVC will both ask for court permission to file amicus briefs in the case, which will test the strength of a 1983 Indian land claims settlement agreement between the town of Aquinnah and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). Eight months ago the Hon. Richard Connon, an associate justice of the superior court, found that the tribe cannot be sued because of sovereign immunity. Two town groups have formally appealed the case - the Aquinnah/Gay Head Community Association Inc. (formerly the Gay Head Taxpayers Association), and the Benton Family Trust, a group of abutters to the tribally owned Cook Lands. Last month Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly announced that he would intervene in the case on behalf of the commonwealth. The case centers on a local zoning dispute, but the ramifications could be far-reaching and in the end it could represent a challenge to the power of the Martha's Vineyard Commission to review future development projects. The Wampanoags are the only federally recognized tribe in the commonwealth. "The selectmen are not acting in response to any perceived threat that the tribe would exercise their claimed immunity inappropriately, but to the fact that the community has a right to determine its own zoning. In so doing, the community decides what is detrimental to itself. It is the duty of the board of selectmen to defend that right," wrote the Chilmark selectmen in a letter to MVC executive director Mark London this week. The commission voted last week to ask the court to allow it to file an amicus brief - also known as a friend of the court brief - in the sovereignty case. A letter went out to five of the six Vineyard towns inviting them to do the same. "The commission does not perceive that the tribe wishes to exploit its claimed immunity from judicial process to undertake inappropriate development and notes that it has worked successfully with the tribe in the past. However, if allowed to stand, the exemption from land use controls would be in place for generations to come, and the commission believes that it is important to to maintain a unified system of land planning and regulation in light of the Vineyard's unique and limited resources," Mr. London wrote in the letter. Response to the letter has been mixed. Selectmen in Edgartown and Tisbury decided to not file amicus briefs. Oak Bluffs leaders were still undecided. "We just caught wind of it and we have asked our executive secretary to do some more research," said selectman Todd Rebello this week. West Tisbury selectmen discussed the issue at their regular meeting this week and board members agreed that they favored filing a brief, but selectman John Early was asked to consult with town counsel Ronald H. Rappaport before they take a formal vote. Chilmark selectmen voted without dissent to accept the invitation. "I thought it was interesting that the state came in as an intervener, and I thought it was proof conclusive of the validity of what Ron [Rappaport] has been saying all along - that this is a very important lawsuit. The state stepped up and said the same thing," said board chairman Alex Preston. Mr. Rappaport is town counsel to five of the six Vineyard towns, including Aquinnah. "I think it's an important issue that should be resolved. Clearly it has impact for Chilmark and the rest of the Island," Mr. Preston said. Notably absent from the case is the town of Aquinnah, whose three selectmen voted two months ago to abandon the town appeal of what is expected in the end to be a landmark case. Two of the three selectmen have relationships with the tribe, and the selectmen are now involved in closed-door talks with tribal members over zoning and land-use issues. The court dispute began in March of 2001 when the tribe built a small shed and a pier at its shellfish hatchery without obtaining a building permit. The hatchery is located on the Cook Lands, one of a group of Indian common lands that were transferred to the tribe in 1983 under the terms of the settlement agreement. Signed by the town fathers and members of the tribe, the agreement contains explicit language noting that the tribe must comply with state and local zoning laws. State and federal legislation was later enacted to ratify the agreement, and eventually the tribe won federal recognition. In the lower court ruling, Judge Connon found that the doctrine of sovereign immunity trumps the settlement agreement, although the judge also noted the contradictions, writing that the town had received "a right but no remedy." Now the case will move to a higher court. Attorneys for the two Aquinnah taxpayer groups who are appealing have filed formal requests to have the case heard by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Attorneys for the MVC filed a memorandum in support of review by the state's highest court. In a brief filed this week, assistant attorney general Thomas A. Barnico underscored the state's interest in defending its own legislation, and also the wider implications of the case. "The commonwealth has a direct and substantial interest in the enforcement of the order of the town," Mr. Barnico wrote. He also wrote: "The superior court held that the tribe is immune from the suit by the town of Aquinnah to enforce applicable zoning regulations. If the superior court is correct in its view that the zoning laws are applicable but not enforceable, such immunity may extend in the future to the use of property acquired by the tribe anywhere in the commonwealth." Copyright c. 2004 Vineyard Gazette, Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Superpower of Native Nations is aim of Dine' Prez" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:39:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STATE OF NAVAJO NATION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gallupindependent.com/012704superpower.html Superpower of native nations is aim of Dine' Prez Kathy Helms Dine' Bureau January 27, 2004 WINDOW ROCK - The Dine' are strong in number and strong in spirit. Now it's time to draw from that strength and move forward into an age of economic independence and true sovereignty, rather than continuing to exist "hand-to-mouth." This was the message Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. tried to impress upon the council during his State of the Nation address Monday. "Our people look to our Navajo Nation government for leadership guided by vision," Shirley told the 20th Navajo Nation Council as it convened for the winter session. While the United States is the superpower of the world, President Shirley said, the Navajo Nation, as the largest Native nation in the United States, should be the superpower of Native nations everywhere. "The Navajo Nation government has a responsibility to ensure the preservation of our culture and way of life for our people and other peoples who might learn from us," he said. "The Navajo people have invested their hopes for a better tomorrow in us, which requires working together ... Our success for the Navajo people will be a success for all Native peoples." But before the Navajo Nation can help others, it first must put itself beyond the need of help, the president said. "We must end the drifting that has eroded our resources, fractured our economy, and shaken our people's confidence. It is a daunting task to be self-sufficient, but our history proves that our strengths can overcome." The strength of the Din comes in part from the 4,000 Navajos who survived the Long Walk and returned to dwell within the four sacred mountains. "Because of that, today we are 300,000 members strong and growing. ... The spirit of our 4,000 Navajos who trusted in the Creator and in the strength of the Din is the force that will move our nation now," he said. Reduce dependency The Navajo people must do as their ancestors did, "and take our destiny into our own hands," according to the president. "Trust in the Creator, not in the federal government. We must invest in our people, create jobs for them, and prepare for their future ... Let us move forward to the destiny chosen by the Navajo people, not one handed out by the BIA." Taking command of Navajo destiny requires a change in thinking and a change in habits instilled in the Navajo people by the Bureau of Indian Affairs during the last 100 years, he said. "We must not expect something for nothing. There is always a price to pay for what is given to us. The federal government does not give money for nothing," he said. Bold steps The state of the Navajo Nation is strong, but it can be stronger and more independent, according to the president. One of the first of those bold steps on the path of self-determination is approval of six bond finance packages totaling just over $500 million. "With the six measures we will fund capital improvement projects, public safety complexes, economic development which will include help for small businesses, trauma centers, higher-education scholarship opportunities and elderly care," he said. While some say the bond package is too dangerous and will create debt the Navajo Nation cannot pay, President Shirley said the question is not "Can we afford to do this?" but, "Can we afford NOT to do this?" Bond financing is not a new tool or an unknown procedure. The federal government, states, counties, cities and towns all engage in bond financing to fulfill their dreams, Shirley said. "We must approve the bonds to help our people. A 'No' vote sends the message that our current hand-to-mouth operation is OK. I disagree, and I believe our people will disagree, too." No time to change Working toward solutions to the Nation's pressing problems is a priority, according to the president. However, one issue that is "sapping the energy of our government" is a bill currently before the council to remove Karen Dixon-Blazer as executive director of the Division of Education. "Rather than going for removal of the executive director or for a vote of no confidence in her abilities, let us really come together and work on those things which plague our Division of Education ...," he said. "This administration inherited a Division which, in the span of three years, had appointed six directors," according to the president. The Division of Din Education lacked direction, schools were unmonitored and left to fend for themselves, and major decisions regarding their livelihood were made outside the Executive Branch, he said. "The No Child Left Behind Act has impacted our schools Navajo Nationwide, and the BIA's Adequate Yearly Progress report has determined that our Navajo Nation schools are in crises. Of the 66 BIA-funded schools, 50 percent require improvement or corrective action. Further, out of 19 bureau-funded schools throughout the United States, 13 Navajo schools will face restructuring," the president said. "The Division of Din Education has been given the task of addressing the issues collectively with all schools serving the Navajo Nation. We are in mid-stream of working on and doing something about the woes related to our schools and there is no room and no time to change the directorship of our Division of Education." President Shirley asked council delegates to vote "No" on the bill to remove Dixon-Blazer, saying he specifically selected her because "she is effective,"and under her direction" we are expanding resources for education, exploring ways to dramatically increase funding and support for the schools of the Navajo Nation." The president also accused the bureaucracy of the Division of Education of complacency, saying believe the Division exists for the workers and not the students. But that is not the case, he said. "The individuals in the Division of Education are employed to ensure that Navajo youth get every opportunity ... Stand with me on this matter and watch the results over the next few rocky months." Of the 17,644 students who applied for Navajo Nation scholarships this year, only 6,520 received them. "With or without our bond initiative for scholarships for education, we must focus on narrowing the gap of those students who were denied," Shirley said. Local empowerment Another stumbling block on the road to progress is the governmental process itself, the president said. Former President Albert Hale started local empowerment initiatives in 1998, according to President Shirley. "Today, there are only three certified chapters on the Navajo Nation. Chapters who want to be autonomous and be self-sufficient. Our laws cannot continue to be a blockage to their efforts," he said. Copyright c. 2004 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: N.Y. Oneidas feel threatened by Wisc. Oneidas" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 08:46:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="THREATENING LETTER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gogreenbay.com/page.html?article=124108 New York Oneidas feel threatened by a letter from Wisconsin Oneidas By Ray Barrington News-Chronicle January 27, 2004 A letter obtained by The Green Bay News-Chronicle shows the Oneida Nation of New York thinks the Oneidas of Wisconsin has been threatening in its attempts to resolve a land claim in New York. According to the letter, sent Jan. 9 by the New York Oneidas to Wisconsin tribal chairwoman Tina Danforth, a letter of Dec. 4 from the Wisconsin Oneidas seeking a meeting came after steps the New York Oneidas called "highly divisive and provocative" that "certainly will prevent a settlement." However, Danforth denied the letter was a threat. "They're almost night and day," she said of the two letters. A copy of the Wisconsin Oneidas' letter to Raymond Halbritter, CEO of the New York nation, says the Wisconsin tribe wanted to "bring the claim to closure in a good way" and that it has been "consistent in our desire to realize both land in the homeland and damages." The Wisconsin Oneidas are part of a 250,000-acre lawsuit against the state of New York and two counties. The state Oneidas moved from New York in the 1800s after purchasing land in Wisconsin Territory, eventually losing most of the land. The Wisconsin Oneidas are willing to settle the claim for casino rights. The tribe wants to open one of three facilities in the Catskills, and announced last year it had purchased land in three different locations to establish a foothold in the area. One of the properties is near a New York Oneida casino development. The New York Oneidas don't think the Wisconsin branch has rights in the state. They moved to settle the case without consulting the Oneidas of Wisconsin or Canada. The New Yorkers' letter said that Wisconsin tribal vice chairwoman Kathy Hughes threatened "that things 'might not be so nice for us here'" if the New Yorkers did not give in to Wisconsin demands regarding casino and reservation rights. It refers to the Dec. 4 letter as a veiled threat that the Wisconsin tribe is "committed to any and all steps" to settle the land claim. The New York tribe said it is not. "We did not sell out Mother Earth 200 years ago and we are not willing to sell Mother Earth now. We will not trade or sell out our land claim for a casino in the Catskills and we will oppose efforts by you to do so." The letter, signed by nine tribal and clan officials, says the Wisconsin Oneidas need to provide a realistic proposal for the land claim before another meeting would be scheduled. "The phrase 'proceed with all steps necessary' was taken out of context, ' Danforth said. The letter tells the New York tribe "if there is a desire on your port to join with us in discussions focused on viable, equitable and proportional solutions, then we stand ready to meet with you." It offers to meet at a neutral, midway site such as Detroit. Danforth said that the New York Oneidas might be concerned about Wisconsin Oneidas trying to take over tribal government. "We have no intent to do anything that threatens government or the sovereignty of any other tribe in the state," she said. "There are three sites to be awarded to some tribe in New York, and we're hopeful to be one of the three." Copyright c. 2004 Green Bay News-Chronicle. --------- "RE: Lewis & Clark helped rob American Indians" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:39:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CORE OF DISCOVERY/CASING INDIAN COUNTRY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/158278_lewisclark28.html Lewis & Clark helped rob American Indians By ROBERT J. MILLER PROFESSOR January 28, 2004 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark sit high in the pantheon of American folk heroes. Even today, Lewis and Clark are viewed as brave adventurers who went where no one had gone before, exploring and conquering the wilderness for the betterment of America. There is another way to view Lewis and Clark, however, which is nearer to the truth. Lewis and Clark were military officers serving American empire and manifest destiny and they were the vanguard of American policies that ultimately robbed the indigenous peoples of nearly everything they possessed. Historian Bernard DeVoto stated, "The dispatch of the Lewis and Clark expedition was an act of imperial policy." This imperialism was directed at the Indians who inhabited the Pacific Northwest and the Louisiana Territory. The expedition was primarily concerned with Indian affairs. First, President Jefferson wanted to find a passage across the continent to greatly expand the American fur trade, in cooperation with tribes. Second, Jefferson wanted to establish American trade with tribes. Third, Jefferson ordered Lewis and Clark to gather information concerning tribal economies, diplomatic relations and more. Finally, Jefferson wanted to extend American sovereignty over the tribes. Thus, Lewis and Clark were American economic and diplomatic representatives spreading the news of the United States' new role as the controlling sovereign government in the Louisiana Territory. The expedition operated under a European legal principle called the doctrine of discovery. This legal principle rationalized the domination and outright conquest of indigenous, non-Christian, non-white populations because it provided that the first European country that "discovered" new territory gained an interest in the natives' property and became the sole government eligible to buy their lands and the sole government that could deal diplomatically with the natives. Thus, indigenous peoples lost property and sovereign rights without their knowledge or their consent to the "discovering" nation. Jefferson demonstrated his agreement with the doctrine when he wrote that after buying the Louisiana Territory, the United States had become its "sovereign" but that the purchase had not diminished Indian "occupancy rights" until the United States bought the land itself from the "native proprietors." Jefferson also showed his understanding of the doctrine when he sent Lewis and Clark beyond the Louisiana Territory into the Pacific Northwest to strengthen the American discovery claim to the Oregon Territory. Jefferson obviously had American empire in mind for the Pacific Northwest and for the Louisiana Territory. Thus, Lewis and Clark established American sovereignty in the Louisiana Territory and helped strengthen American discovery claim to the Pacific Northwest. First, they distributed "sovereignty tokens" of American flags, military uniforms and Jefferson medals to tribal chiefs. These gifts conveyed important messages of American sovereignty and tribal allegiance to the United States. Second, they informed everyone that Jefferson was now the "Great White Father" of his Indian "children." Third, Lewis and Clark organized visits of members of 26 different tribes to Washington, D. C., which were intended to intimidate Indians with the power of the United States. Fourth, they tried to manipulate the political relationships among the tribes to facilitate American commercial goals, and they consulted with tribes on trade issues designed to bring tribes within the American economic sphere. They even promised to trade with tribes located outside the Louisiana Territory, which demonstrates further the "imperial reach" of the expedition to areas that were then outside the United States. Finally, Lewis and Clark performed recognized rituals to advance America's discovery claim to the Northwest by leaving written announcements of their presence at the Pacific Ocean with the Clatsop and Chinook Indians and by branding and carving their names on trees and affixing notices thereto. The ultimate goal, then, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was the subjugation of Indian property and commercial rights. The expedition helped the United States claim its discovery sovereignty over the Louisiana Territory, institute concrete plans to begin exercising that authority and extended America's claim to the Northwest. The expedition was a major part of Jefferson's plan to assimilate Indians and their assets into American society, to remove the tribes from the path of American continental expansion and, if necessary, to exterminate the tribes to advance the American empire. Lewis and Clark opened the road to the domination of Indian tribes in the Northwest and the Louisiana Territory and to bringing Indian lands into the American empire. As a consequence, Indians lost valuable property and governmental rights and were ultimately subjected to official federal policies of forced removals, assimilation, armed conflicts, the reservation system and the termination of tribal governments. The cultural, religious, family and governmental oppression that Indian people have suffered since the expedition is well documented. American Indians have obviously suffered the detrimental effects of "American empire." Robert J. Miller is associate professor of Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland. Copyright c. 1996-2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. --------- "RE: Tribes get funds for Wildlife" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:39:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WILDLIFE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/~/build/state/68-tribeswildlife.inc Tribes get funds for wildlife Gazette Staff January 28, 2004 Tribes in Montana and Wyoming are among 60 in the country that will receive federal grants to help endangered, threatened and other wildlife on tribal lands. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton announced the $14 million in grants Tuesday. "We view this as a program that should become a regular part of our working relationship with the tribes," Norton said. Among the recipients are Fort Belknap, $250,000 for comprehensive wildlife management plans; Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, $225, 000 for swift fox restoration; Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, $212,000 for management of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and $200,000 for grizzly habitat; Chippewa Cree, $250,000 for fish and wildlife management; Blackfeet Nation, $152,000 for four wildlife projects; and Shoshone and Arapaho joint council, $190,000 to manage grizzly bears, wolves and sage grouse. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service awarded the grants under two new programs: the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program and the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program. About 200 proposals were submitted for the grant money. Federal officials said they will start working next month with other tribes to strengthen their applications before the next round of grants is awarded. Copyright c. 2004 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Native Alaskans wary of new Rural Commission" --------- Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 08:29:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RURAL COMMISSION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.adn.com/front/story/4697514p-4648843c.html Natives wary of new rural commission FUNDING: Sovereignty issues also might be at stake as legal system is revamped. By TOM KIZZIA Anchorage Daily News February 2, 2004 Alaska Native groups, wary of past congressional efforts to force consolidation of tribes and federal funding for Native programs, are gearing up to respond to the latest initiative: a law setting up a commission to draw up a new legal and governmental system for rural Alaska. The law, adopted by Congress in January as part of a massive federal spending bill, also calls for a government review of federal funding for Alaska Natives and seeks recommendations for consolidating and streamlining delivery of services. Another section of the budget rider, tacked on the spending bill by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, could eventually have a far-reaching impact on the flow of funds to rural Alaska. The law calls for creation of an Economic Development Committee, composed largely of finance and business people, who would funnel grants and loans to "promote private-sector investment to reduce poverty in economically distressed rural villages." Funding for this would pass through the Denali Commission, a Stevens brainchild that in the past has concentrated more on public health investments in the Bush. Since the federal spending bill was passed, most attention here has focused on the new Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission, which was told to complete its work by January 2005. In addition to studying law enforcement, alcohol control and domestic violence issues, the commission has been told to make recommendations on creating "a unified law enforcement system, court system and system of local laws or ordinances for Alaska Native villages and communities of varying sizes including the possibility of first-, second- and third-class villages with different powers." Some Native leaders already have said that sounds alarmingly like an assault on the sovereignty of tribally run villages. "People are still scrambling to figure out 'What the heck does this mean?' " said Heather Kendall Miller, a lawyer with the Native American Rights Fund. "When he says 'unified,' it sounds like he wants to do away with tribes in Alaska and do it by an appropriations rider." She said the proposal calls for "carving out a different policy for Alaska tribes from every tribe in the Lower 48." But Mike Irwin, a vice president with the Alaska Federation of Natives, called the mission wide open and said it would be up to appointees to the commission to give it focus. In remarks added to the bill on the Senate floor, Stevens said the commission was not set up to take sides in the dispute over the proper legal standing of tribes in Alaska. "Rather it seeks a practical solution to the issue of rural justice and law enforcement," he said. The nine-member commission is to be appointed by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and have one tribal representative. Alaska Attorney General Gregg Renkes is to be the state co-chairman. The commission is being administered by the Alaska Native Justice Center, an Anchorage-based nonprofit advocacy group. Denise Morris, the justice center's president, said Friday it's too early to say what direction the group will take in examining governance questions. She said conversations about appointing members have barely begun. Any recommendations would go back to Stevens and to the Alaska Legislature. Stevens has one more year to serve as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, though he is expected to remain a powerful committee member after he steps down. The challenge of merging state and tribal legal systems in Alaska has proved daunting, with neither side eager to give up its separate sovereign power. Political jockeying stepped up two years ago, when Stevens said funding for Alaska Natives was being dispersed too broadly among tribal governments. He called for consolidation of funding and even attached controversial budget riders to bills ordering consolidation. Stevens dropped the riders in exchange for the language creating the new commission. Native groups met last year in response to calls from Stevens for change. But few recommendations came forward. Most Native leaders have defended the status quo, saying federal self-determination policies have helped develop village-based economies by funding tribes rather than regional organizations. On funding matters, the new law says: * The Government Accounting Office will complete a review by April 30 of all programs benefitting rural communities in Alaska, with special attention on housing programs and the cost per house of different housing authorities. * The Alaska Federation of Natives and the Alaska Municipal League may meet and make recommendations for improving efficiency in delivering services. * The Denali Commission co-chairman will appoint a new Economic Development Committee, led by the AFN president, whose members will include the state commissioner of Community and Economic Affairs, a representative from the Alaska Bankers Association, the chairman of the Alaska Permanent Fund and a representative from the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce. Each of 12 regions will have a member, including representatives of tribes, regional Native corporations and nonprofits, and borough governments. Regional advisory councils, made up of officials from local government, Native corporations and the private sector, would apply for federal funds through the new committee to assist rural development. No money has yet been appropriated for these purposes, Irwin said. The rural development program will kick off with an economic summit in Alaska next July involving the World Bank, Irwin said. Reporter Tom Kizzia can be reached at tkizzia@ adn.com or in Homer at 1-907-235-4244. Copyright c. 2004 The Anchorage Daily News. --------- "RE: Getting Cree back into the Bush" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:39:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRADITIONAL DIET" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/search/story~49c6-99f0-a4cec7dc553b&disp=e&end Getting Cree back into the bush Hunting and fishing part of larger plan to foster healthy diet SUE MONTGOMERY The Gazette Tuesday, January 27, 2004 Eddy Tapiatic is driving along a smoothly paved road between Chisasibi and Radisson in his enormous V8 Chevy pickup. In the passenger seat beside him sits 62-year-old Bobby Pashagumeskum, dressed in camouflage jacket and pants and caribou-hide eeyishchin, or moccasins. "I was born out in the bush - with a gun in one hand and an arrow in the other," says the 52-year-old Tapiatic, the director of the Cree Trappers Association. Their mission on this bitterly cold but sunny January day is to kill a caribou and, for the first time, donate the meat to the local hospital, where patients crave a taste of their traditional food. It's part of a larger plan to get the 14,000 Cree of northern Quebec eating healthier - less of the prepackaged, processed food found in grocery stores and more caribou, ptarmigan, fish and berries. Their diet and lifestyle have changed so dramatically in the past 25 years - mainly because of hydroelectric development in the area - they now face a major health crisis. More than 15 per cent of adults 20 years old and over suffer from diabetes, more than three times the rate for other Canadians, and 60 per cent of children age 6 to 12 are either overweight or obese. "We never used to have the pot bellies we have now," says Tapiatic, patting his own paunch, which reaches to the steering wheel. "We are really out of shape. "The Ski-Doo replaced the dogsled, then when the (hydroelectric) project started, people had money to buy trucks and chain saws." It has resulted in a nation that barely moves. The Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay fears obesity might be a greater public- health problem than any other issue in the region. "Young people don't eat traditional foods anymore," Tapiatic says. "They prefer store-bought, and we're trying to get away from that. How do you do that? It's a very good question." As elders die and more youth develop a taste for junk food, the number of hunters has dropped dramatically. Just 20 years ago, about 75 per cent of the population lived off the land - hunting, fishing and trapping. Today, Tapiatic estimates, only 30 per cent of the population are full- time hunters. Now, the only time most young people go out into the bush is in the spring, during the two-week "goose break." It was also agreed, in the 1975 accord between Hydro-Que'bec, the Cree and the Quebec government, that the Cree would be paid to spend a minimum of 120 days a year in the bush, up to a maximum of 240. But the Cree Hunter and Trappers Income Security Program is run on the honour system and, administrator Allen Neacapo says, a lot of people sign up not so much out of a love for hunting, but because there are no other jobs to be had. At minus 30C, the heavy coating of salt on the road Tapiatic is driving along does little to alleviate the slick coating of black ice, but the caribou love it. Sitting in the back seat behind Tapiatic and Pashagumeskum is a bit like watching two dogs on high alert for rabbit or squirrels. Both heads snap to the side as the men sense something has moved in the bush, even though the truck is doing 80 kilometres an hour. Every once in a while, Tapiatic stops the vehicle, reverses and peers through the sparse black spruce trees. "The Cree believe that the animal will show himself to us," Tapiatic says when asked why they don't get out of the truck and walk into the woods. And sure enough, after about an hour and a half of driving, two caribou "show themselves" ahead in the middle of the road. Tapiatic stops the vehicle and Pashagumeskum hops out, rifle in hand. He kneels, fires a shot, but misses. The caribou keep licking the road, seemingly unaware their lives are in danger. Two more shots ring out, and the caribou saunter off the road into the woods. Tapiatic and Pashagumeskum, while not exactly taking chase, strap on their snowshoes and follow the caribou tracks across the bright white snow into the woods. About 50 metres in, a caribou lies on its side, blood trickling thinly from between its shoulder blades and landing on the snow. Pashagumeskum pulls out a tiny Swiss Army knife - its blade no more than eight centimetres long. He cuts the throat, then slits the animal down the middle. The animal has to be gutted immediately to prevent contamination of the meat, Tapiatic explains. Pashagumeskum removes the insides, empties the stomach of its contents, then stuffs the intestines and other organs into an orange garbage bag. The whole process takes about 15 minutes. Then the two men wrap a heavy rope around the animal's snout and legs, and drag it to the truck - its engine still running. The animal is loaded into the cab, along with the bag of entrails, and the two men climb into the massive vehicle. Pashagumeskum, his hands covered in dry blood, opens a thermos of tea and unwraps a tinfoil package. As Tapiatic tunes the radio into a tense town-hall meeting about health care, being broadcast live from Chisasibi, Pashagumeskum devours his snack of three cold hot dogs. smontgomery@thegazette.canwest.com Copyright c. 2004 Montreal Gazette. --------- "RE: Metis Vote open to all Candidates" --------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:50:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="METIS VOTE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/~9409-4a93-ac9d-7011b07e5bac&disp=e&end Metis vote open to all candidates: judge Canadian Press January 28, 2004 A judge has ruled a new election for president of the Manitoba Metis Federation will be open to all qualified candidates. Justice Perry Schulman will decide Wednesday if the vote should be held immediately or be delayed until the federation can appeal his recent decision to nullify last year's election because of several irregularities. Current president David Chartrand beat former Manitoba lieutenant- governor Yvon Dumont by 20 votes. Dumont originally asked for a recount, but when the result was upheld, he challenged the election's validity in court. Among other things, Schulman ruled the federation failed to establish advance polls, wrongly allowed 657 people to vote by mail, and amended the list of electors without authority. Chartrand says a new election will be costly and should not be held until after the Manitoba Court of Appeal hears the case. Copyright c. 2004 Canadian Press. --------- "RE: AFN rejects nomination of David Ahenakew" --------- Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 08:32:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AHENAKEW NIXED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/~41106019-fd6d-4a6e-8170-b51010e9e2db&disp=e&end AFN rejects nomination of David Ahenakew for seat on aboriginal board TIM COOK Canadian Press January 27, 2004 REGINA (CP) - The Assembly of First Nations doesn't want a former aboriginal leader who was suspended from office and faces hate crime charges to sit on a federally funded aboriginal commission. The assembly said Tuesday its goal is to steer the newly formed renewal commission in a positive direction and that cannot be accomplished by accepting David Ahenakew's nomination. "We felt it was inappropriate, given his unfortunate words that he used a year or so ago with regard to the Jewish community," said Joe Miskokomon, co-chairman of the commission. "It would be inappropriate that we would take somebody on and create that kind of controversy before we even start." Ahenakew pleaded not guilty last fall to a charge of publicly promoting hatred against an identifiable group. The charge stemmed from comments he made in December 2002. Following a speech at a conference in Saskatoon, he was quoted as saying that Hitler was attempting to "clean up the world" when he "fried" six million Jews in the Holocaust. Ahenakew, who is a member of the Order of Canada, was the senate chairman for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations at the time. Jewish groups were outraged and he later tearfully apologized for his comments. He also resigned from his positions with the federation. Some senators unsuccessfully tried to reinstate Ahenakew, arguing he had been appointed to the organization for life. That prompted a proposal by the federation's executive to look at changing its membership rules. Miskokomon expressed frustration over assumptions Ahenakew would be on the commission simply because he was nominated. He pointed out it was the Saskatchewan federation that put the name forward during an open nomination process and it is the assembly that has the final say. "I think they should take perhaps a more mature position and contact either the AFN directly or the people responsible to verify this," Miskokomon said. "We were hoping to start this commission on a more positive note, rather than fighting a rear-guard action." Federation Chief Alphonse Bird said the group was following procedure when it submitted Ahenakew's name, which was suggested by his home band, the Ahtahkakoop First Nation. "We received two names," Bird said in a release. "Ahenakew's name was one of them. Both names were submitted for consideration." The Canadian Jewish Congress Tuesday welcomed the decision of the AFN to decline Ahenakew's nomination "All is well that ends well," said president Keith Landy. "But one has to question why anyone thought he was a serious candidate and put his name forward." The AFN Renewal Commission was formed in December to oversee an arms- length makeover of the assembly and its policies. A tentative list of commission members was to be released Wednesday. Ahenakew was 35 when he became the youngest man ever elected as chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations in 1968. He served a record 10 years in that job and was seen as part of a new generation of well- educated, energetic young aboriginal politicians. He served as chief of the Assembly of First Nations from 1982 to 1985. Copyright c. 2004 The Canadian Press. --------- "RE: Aboriginal leaders talk with Clarkson" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:39:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TALKS WITH GOVERNOR GENERAL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/~991b-4f1b-aae6-5d054ddeb127&disp=e&end Aboriginal leaders talk with Clarkson Shauna Rempel Saskatchewan News Network; CanWest News Service January 27, 2004 SASKATOON - Relations between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people took centre stage during the Governor General's third day in Saskatoon. Adrienne Clarkson said it's only fitting that her trip to the city should focus on issues relating to aboriginal people. As the Queen's representative in Canada, Clarkson is a modern symbol of the treaties signed in the 1800s that saw aboriginal groups sign over land to the Crown in exchange for payments and promises of benefits. "The relationship with the Crown is very important to aboriginal people and I think that that's another reason why I'm there to listen," said Clarkson in an interview. Clarkson and husband John Ralston Saul met with elders at the Office of the Treaty Commissioner to discuss issues facing the over 20,000 aboriginals living in Saskatoon. Statistics Canada data indicates that nearly 62 per cent of Saskatoon's aboriginal children live in poverty, and a recent report commissioned by the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) indicates that gang activity has reached mammoth proportions. The meeting, held behind closed doors, opened with a traditional smudging ceremony in which Clarkson presented each elder with a tiny beaded bag of tobacco. Meanwhile, Grade 2 students from St. Volodymyr School and Willow Cree Education Centre on Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation were busy learning a song in the new Office of the Treaty Commissioner Learning centre. With Their Excellencies each perched on a semi-circular bench, the schoolchildren sang a welcoming song in Cree and English. Afterwards, Clarkson and Saul reflected on the impact that educational programs such as the ones run by the treaty commissioner's office can have. "Could you imagine if we'd been allowed to learn some of these things?" said Saul. "They're learning by absorption," agreed Clarkson, adding that songs and other "soft learning" techniques can be very effective in breaking down cultural barriers. Darren Gardypie hopes so. Gardypie is a teacher's associate at Willow Cree and has a son in the class. "Public awareness is very much needed, because I grew up in Saskatoon and there was a lot of racism growing up in Saskatoon. It was very brutal, " he said, watching his son play with other students in the learning centre. Events such as the ongoing inquiry into the death of aboriginal teen Neil Stonechild have put aboriginal and non-aboriginal relations into a spotlight. "There's a number of issues that show up in the news on a daily basis that say that the relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in Canada and Saskatchewan Saskatoon is flawed," said Treaty Commissioner Judge David Arnot. "Many people are looking for answers. I say the answers are actually in the treaties." Arnot said the treaties are like blueprints for relations between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people. Later on Monday, Clarkson visited the Muskeg Lake urban reserve, which began in 1988 through precedent-setting negotiations between the City of Saskatoon and Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. Some of the original negotiators were present at the closed-door meeting, along with members of the Saskatoon Tribal Council, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the Sutherland business community. Mayor Don Atchison said rather than looking at problems, the meeting focused on positive initiatives in the areas of economic development, education and youth. Gardypie said he hopes his son Justice will be able to reap the benefits of a stronger relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people. "We're making strides to move forward with our treaties and our people and our children." Copyright c. 2004 The Leader-Post (Regina) --------- "RE: Gabriel crosses swords with Norton" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 08:39:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KAHNAWAKE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/search/story~5f68-4564-a8f8-3530dca0d49d&disp=e&end Gabriel crosses swords with Norton Living under guard. Exiled Kanesatake grand chief suggests Kahnawake leader was involved in ouster LYNN MOORE The Gazette January 27, 2004 Two weeks after his home was torched and he was essentially run out of town, Kanesatake Grand Chief James Gabriel says he has almost finished sorting out who betrayed him in his battle with the lawless "goons" of his community. But that process won't end, Gabriel said yesterday, until he has figured out the role played by Kahnawake Grand Chief Joe Norton in a plan that saw the removal of outside aboriginal police officers Gabriel and his candidate for police chief, Terry Isaac, had brought into Kanesatake for a federally funded anti-crime campaign. "What's his role and what are his ties to Quebec (government) and what did he gain out of it? I don't know ... but I certainly don't stick my nose in his business," Gabriel said yesterday. "I certainly wouldn't form an alliance with a minority of his council to try to topple his government. That's unacceptable." Norton worked with provincial officials and aboriginal leaders on a plan in which Isaac and almost 60 other police officers left the Kanesatake police station where they had been surrounded by protesters, ending a volatile two-day standoff. Among those supporting the plan was the Kanesatake police commission, which Gabriel contends supports the three chiefs who have steadfastly opposed him and his law-and-order campaign. Norton wants to meet privately with Gabriel to discuss issues, said Timmy Norton, a spokesperson for the Kahnawake grand chief. But Joe Norton won't comment on Gabriel's stance because "he doesn't want to have a media battle with him," the spokesperson said, adding the Kahnawake grand chief has repeatedly tried to contact Gabriel over the past two weeks without success. Gabriel, who spent the weekend with his wife and their four children, said he feels "absolute rage" over what has happened to his family and his community. His children, who are to begin receiving counselling this week, are scattered - one had to change schools - and all have lost irreplaceable possessions in the fire. "As soon as I can get some stability here, I'm going to get some counselling, mostly for anger management and some kind of grief counselling," Gabriel said. He'd like to know who told the Surete' du Que'bec not to provide the backup promised to Isaac and the aboriginal peacekeepers two weeks ago, but doesn't expect an answer. "We still don't know (the facts) of 1990" and the so-called Oka crisis, Gabriel said. He repeated he intends to return to Kanesatake but only after he has assurances he will be safe. His current security measures - including two bodyguards - have been arranged by the federal government, he said. Gabriel, whose current mandate ends in July, said he intends to run for office again. "I'm not content to see my population suffer in silence under the thumb of those goons - no way." Gabriel contends that criminal activities, including gun-running and illicit drug operations, have corrupted the community. Gabriel didn't rule out an attempt on his life. "It's a very good possibility if they get into the same frenzy they were in (the night protesters surrounded the police station and arsonists set his house ablaze). They were pretty wild," he said. For Gabriel, the problems in Kanesatake revolve around the tolerance of organized crime. "It's not about political differences, ideological differences or differences in philosophies. It's about resistance to law and order." lmoore@thegazette.canwest.com Copyright c. 2004 Montreal Gazette. --------- "RE: New Videotape shows Suspect in Arson" --------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:50:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GABRIEL FIRE STARTER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/search/~432b-af4d-072d5baf3d57&disp=e&end New videotape shows suspect in arson Footage of chief's home before fire JEFF HEINRICH The Gazette January 29, 2004 A videotape image, obtained by Global TV, shows a man carrying a red gasoline can and an axe handle outside the home of Grand Chief James Gabriel before the building was torched during conflict on Jan. 12. More video footage has surfaced that apparently shows arsonists preparing to burn down Grand Chief James Gabriel's house the night of Jan. 12 in Kanesatake, the Mohawk community northwest of Montreal. And that footage - with clearer images of those on the scene, taken closer to the time the house went up in flames - should speed up the slow investigation by local Mohawk Peacekeepers, Gabriel said yesterday after viewing the tape. "I think it's probably going to go a little bit better now that there's the videotape," he said yesterday by cell phone from an undisclosed location. "It's a little clearer who the suspects are - to me, anyway. I think it should facilitate the investigation." Aired yesterday and Tuesday evening by Global TV in Montreal and by TVA, the 24 seconds of footage is cut into three sequences: The first shows several silhouetted figures standing in the snow outside Gabriel's house, whose lights inside are on. The second is a closer shot showing five people milling about in the snow, including a stocky man in jeans, coat and red ski tuque who is carrying a gasoline can in one hand and a long axe handle in the other. The third shows the right half of Gabriel's house on fire, before it was completely engulfed in flames. Global acquired the tape Tuesday. The network, which is owned by the same parent company as The Gazette, would not reveal how it came by the tape, except to say it was originally shot on 8-millimetre videotape. Previous footage - shot by an embattled Radio-Canada TV crew shortly before the house was set ablaze - showed what appears to be the same man with the gas canister, on the road in front of Gabriel's house. The new tape places the man on what appears to be the front lawn. Yesterday, Gabriel said he knows who the man with the gas canister is, but declined to name him. He also said he recognized his property in the background behind the man. "I know the layout of my property. I can see the telephone post in the corner of the property. I can see my tool shed. And I know (the man with the gas canister) is walking towards the house, clearly." The fact the tape has surfaced now is a good sign, Gabriel added. "If the tape was in fact brought forth by someone who was on the scene there, it shows that people are starting to come forward with information. Maybe people are having an attack of conscience." Global offered to show the tape to the lead investigator in the case, Kahnawake Peacekeeper Warren White, in return for an interview. But he declined, the network said. White did not return The Gazette's call yesterday asking for comment. jheinrich@thegazette.canwest.com Copyright c. 2004 Montreal Gazette. --------- "RE: SQ not involved in Kanehsatake Fire Investigation" --------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:50:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MOHAWK FIRE" http://www.easterndoor.com/story3.htm "SQ Not Involved in Kanehsatake Fire Investigation" - J.K. Diabo By: Dan Rosenburg Volume 13 Issue 1 - January 23, 2004 Surete du Quebec expertise is not being requested in the investigation into the January 12 burning of Kanehsatake Grand Chief James Gabriel's house. The Kahnawake Peacekeepers are handling the case without any intervention from the SQ. Kahnawake PK Chief J. K. Diabo corrected the rumour concerning SQ involvement in a telephone interview with The Eastern Door last Friday. "The SQ has no part in this," said Diabo, emphatically. The patrolling of Kanehsatake by Kahnawake PKs came about via a "loose agreement" that could be terminated at any time should the PKs meet with hostility during the course of their investigation. So said Kahnawake Grand Chief Joe Norton on the K103 Party Line Talk Show last Friday, and Diabo confirmed that assessment. "At first we were asked by the Kanesatake Police Commission for our PKs to go there for 48 hours," Norton disclosed at a media scrum last Friday morning. "Then it stretched to two weeks. Now our presence there could last for as long as 30 days," he estimated. The initial duty of the Kahnawake PK contingent sent to Kanehsatake was to escort newly-reinstated Mohawk Police Chief Terry Isaac, Assistant Chief Larry Ross and an estimated 60 other police officers to safety. At the time, they were holed up at the police station, surrounded by angry demonstrators. "We acted for the safety of the community," Norton said. "I'd rather be bombarded with criticism for participating in that exercise than for sitting back and doing nothing. People may say it was a betrayal or an undermining of (Gabriel's) political power on our part. But what this was really about was averting the SQ, the RCMP and the Army from going in there and possibly igniting a bloodbath. "We knew there might be flak (at Kahnawake's intervention), but I'd rather we err on the side of caution," Norton concluded. The evacuation went smoothly under the direction of PK Chief J. K. Diabo and the watchful eyes of MCK Chiefs Lindsay Leborgne and Melvin Zacharie. Diabo then returned to Kahnawake and left Warren White in charge. "But Warren was up there all week, and he needed a break," Diabo said last Friday. So Diabo and assistant PK Chief Dwayne Zachary were planning to drive back to Kanehsatake last Saturday to relieve White. "From now on, I'll be travelling back and forth," Diabo explained. "Right now, we're patrolling and policing in 12-hour shifts, along with our colleagues from Akwesasne and two remaining members of the old Kanesatake Mohawk Police force," he said last Friday. "We've got the radar out and we're giving out tickets. Everything is working out really well and the people seem happy we're there." A six-man PK team from Kahnawake is currently joint-patrolling the 1, 300-member community and Diabo says those numbers will not be stepped up "as long as it stays quiet and peaceful up there." Asked how many PKs are left to police Kahnawake, Diabo replied: "Enough to keep Kahnawake secure!" Leborgne noted at last Friday's press scrum that the MCK Chiefs and PKs who went to Kanehsatake last Monday "didn't pick sides. We explained that to the Police Commission. They are aware our PKs will uphold the law. We asked (Commission members) Mavis Etienne, Susan Oke and Barry Bonspille, and they all confirmed that they don't condone arson." According to Zacharie, "they (investigators) said they already know who did it, and warrants have been sworn out on the guilty parties." "We were asked to step in because they would rather have Mohawks patrolling their territory than outsiders," added Leborgne. "We were just there to keep the peace and make sure nobody was injured." "We're there by invitation only," observed Chief Mike Bush, "so our PKs won't be taken hostage and be put into the same position (as Isaac, Ross and company). They want Mohawks policing there, not Isaac and Ross." "Maybe there'll be some reaction and we'll hit some nerves, but we don't give a rat's ass about the political situation in Kanehsatake," Grand Chief Norton added. "Perhaps it's wishful thinking, but maybe Kanehsatake should dissolve its council and come up with completely new faces because bad blood exists there. That has been festering for over 100 years and the pattern hasn't gone away. "Here (in Kahnawake), we had two clearly defined groups winning seats in the last election. So we said fine, let's work with the hand we're dealt. This has not been the case in Kanehsatake. I guess we have more tolerance." "It's up to the people of Kanehsatake to decide who they want to elect," Leborgne remarked. "We're just there to keep the peace." "We're like a cop in a domestic dispute," observed Bush. "We're there to separate the two (quarrelling) sides." "And let cooler heads prevail," Leborgne added. "We don't want to get involved in their politics." Norton said that he and Public Security Minister Jacques Chagnon agree that it was not legal for Grand Chief Gabriel and the three Chiefs loyal to him to pass a resolution on January 2 ordering the reinstatement of Isaac and Ross to their policing duties in Kanehsatake. "You can't call part of council to a meeting when everybody is on holidays," Norton opined. "You have to notify everyone of the meeting. Then, if there's no quorum, too bad. "We don't want to create the image that we're interfering with internal politics," said Norton. "But these facts will emerge. They (Kanehsatake officials) need to clear this up with the media." Of a report that Isaac had asked the SQ to send its riot squad to his rescue, Norton commented: "If he indeed faxed them to intervene, it shows you the mentality of some of the people who were in there." Copyright c. 1997-2000 The Eastern Door, Kahnawake, QC, Mohawk Territory. --------- "RE: Chile: Mapuche Leader Arrested" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2004 18:01:00 EST From: Raulmax@aol.com Subj: CHILE: MAPUCHE LEADER ARRESTED Mailing List: ndn-aim For those who do not know the background of this. The Mapuches have had a runing battle for many years against large landowners that have come in to take over their lands. This process was stepped up after the 1973 overthrow of President Salvador Allende and the take over with US CIA help of General Augusto Pinochet. The Carabineros have been the forces that have thrown the Mapuche off their lands. There is evidence that they have received bribes from the landowners. CHILE: MAPUCHE LEADER ARRESTED Chilean Carabineros (militarized police) agents arrested Mapuche indigenous leader Pascual Pichun in the Temulemu community in Araucania on Jan. 14, a day after raiding his home and that of Mapuche leader Aniceto Norin. Pichun and Norin were sentenced on Sept. 22 to five years and a day of prison for the crime of "terrorist threat"; they had been acquitted earlier in the year on other charges relating to arson attacks on several estates in the region [see Update #689]. The Supreme Court upheld their sentences on Dec. 15. Norin has not been captured. [El Mostrador (Chile) 1/15/04] --------- "RE: Killings focus attention on Slavery in Brazil" --------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:50:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BRAZIL SLAVERY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/world/7828188.htm Killings focus attention on slavery in Brazil By KEVIN G. HALL Knight Ridder Newspapers January 29, 2004 RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Investigators began looking Thursday for the killers of three Brazilian judicial officials who were executed the day before while looking into allegations of slavery on ranches near the nation's capital. The murders shocked Brazilians, though the allegations the dead men were investigating did not. Brazilian workers, especially rural migrants, often are effectively enslaved by room, board and transportation debts they can't repay. Gunmen ambushed the three officials and their driver Wednesday in northwestern Minas Gerais state, in farmland about an hour southeast of the Brazilian capital of Brasilia. They were probing alleged debt slavery and inhumane working conditions among thousands of farm workers now harvesting beans. The murders add to tensions already running high across the Brazilian countryside. In recent weeks the nation's powerful landowners have been in armed standoffs with native Brazilians who are seeking a return of tribal lands and landless peasants who want to seize and occupy land that's not being farmed. The three inspectors were heading for ranches near the border of Minas Gerais and Goias with reputations for forced labor and unsanitary working conditions. As they rode along a dirt road in daylight, another car flashed its lights as if it needed help. As their car slowed, the inspectors were shot in the head at close range. Their gravely wounded driver escaped and found help about 12 miles away. The attackers had license plates from Brasilia, said the driver, who later died. In rural Brazil, government is largely absent and landowners rule like princes, often forming armed posses for security and to enforce their version of the law. Brazilians saw a clear message from a landowner or landowners in Wednesday's killings. "They try to say, `Nobody enters here.' This doesn't work in the 21st century," said Grijaldo Coutinho, the president of the National Association of Labor Magistrates. Coutinho's group asked for police protection Thursday in areas known for rancher posses. "We need a greater presence of the state," he said. If the killings were a message, the government's response was equally vigorous. The Federal Police agency sent 10 agents from the Tactical Operations Command to look for the killers. Vice President Jose Alencar ordered Brazil's justice and labor ministries to add their best investigators to the hunt. "This will not intimidate us," Jose Adercio Leite Sampaio, the head in Minas Gerais for the Brazilian attorney general's office, said in a telephone interview Thursday. Ranchers in the northwestern region of Minas Gerais have been under investigation for more than a year over allegations that they forced workers to live and work in unsanitary conditions. The region is also a recruitment hotbed for groups that represent the landless. "This is an area where there is the potential for social explosion," said Sampaio. "The paradox is that this is an area about an hour from Brasilia ... close to the political nerve center of the country." In Brazil, middlemen known as "gatos" - "cats" in Portuguese - create and control debt slaves by moving them from their homes to farms and ranches hundreds or even thousands of miles away. The "gatos" then act as foremen for the landowners and charge predatory rent, food and transportation costs. The Labor Ministry said its judicial workplace inspectors freed 4,932 workers from slavery last year, almost twice the number freed in the last year of the previous government. Last September, 800 debt slaves were freed from a coffee farm in Bahia state, 70 seriously ill. Debt slavery also has been reported in Brazilian orange groves. The killings call new attention to Brazil's stalled efforts to provide the poor with land. Previous governments have failed to redistribute land or otherwise aid the landless, sparking increasingly violent takeovers by squatters. Brazil's leftist president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has promised an end to debt slavery. But his Workers' Party, which once led the call for land redistribution for the poor, now rules with a congressional alliance that includes parties representing big landowners. Rural states make up a powerful voting bloc in Brazil's Congress, and rural landowners managed recently to thwart legislation that would allow land to be expropriated if debt slavery was practiced on it. Copyright c. 1996-2004 Macon Telegraph, Knight Ridder Corp. --------- "RE: Fort Belknap Tribe sues over Gold Mine Pollution" --------- Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2004 08:50:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="POLLUTION SUIT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/~/2004/01/30/build/state/40-tribeminelawsuit.inc Fort Belknap Indian tribe sues over gold mine pollution Associated Press January 30, 2004 HELENA - Tribal leaders on Fort Belknap Indian Reservation filed suit in federal court Thursday in an effort to force the cleanup of two abandoned gold mines near Malta. The tribes sued the state Department of Environmental Quality and the U. S. Bureau of Land Management, along with the mine site's current owner, Luke Ployhar. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Helena, claims the open-pit gold mines have violated the federal Clean Water Act and that polluted water continues to flow from the mines and onto the reservation. "The water pollution is just not getting cleaned up and we have to bring this lawsuit to protect our people and water," Benjamin Speakthunder, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council, said in a written statement Thursday. "The area is still so contaminated that even the water treatment plants are discharging polluted water." Jan Sensibaugh, director of the state Department of Environmental Quality, and Scott Haight, mineral policy specialist for the BLM in Lewistown, said they had not been served with the lawsuit and could not immediately comment. Ployhar could not immediately be reached for comment. The Assiniboine and Gros Ventre Tribes on the Fort Belknap reservation have been embroiled in a long-running dispute over the abandoned Zortman and Landusky gold mines south of Malta. The company that operated the mines, Pegasus Gold Inc., ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in 1998. The tribes say the company did not have a large enough reclamation bond to ensure adequate cleanup of cyanide contamination. Cyanide was used to leach gold from ore, a practice now banned in the state. The tribes contend polluted water continues to drain from the mines in the Little Rocky Mountains, along the southern end of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. They argue that the DEQ and the BLM assumed responsibility for the clean up in the 1990s, while Ployhar is responsible for residue currently leaking from the area. The BLM has said previously that it is cleaning up the site, spending about $800,000 a year to send water through treatment plants. Haight said in October that costs for restoring the ground will total about $34 million by this fall. Charlie Tebbutt, an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center of Eugene, Ore., which is representing the tribes, said the work being done so far is clearly not enough. "The lawsuit was filed to bring an end to the years of devastating pollution from these poisonous mine sites," he said. "Whatever the responsible parties have been doing in the name of reclamation is just not working." This is not the first lawsuit brought over the matter. In 1993 the tribes settled a lawsuit with Pegasus Gold that forced the firm to put machinery in place to clean up the sites. In 2002, the Fort Belknap tribes sued the state under Montana law, saying its cleanup plans were inadequate. That lawsuit is pen