From gars@speakeasy.org Wed Mar 3 09:57:31 2004 Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2004 15:03:58 -0800 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.010 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 010 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 March 6, 2004 Kiowa kaguat p'a/bud moon Anishnaabe bebookwaadaagame-giizis(oog)/snow crust moon +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you 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; Big Mountain, Frostys AmerIndian, Metis, Rez Life and Oneidas for Democracy Mailing Lists; 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "Give wisdom and understanding to my leaders. Protect my warriors and bring them back safe. Give to the young, love and contentment. Give health and long life to my old people so that they may remain with us for a long time. Make my enemy brave and strong, so that if defeated, I will not be ashamed. And give me wisdom so that I may have kindness for all. And let me live each day, so when day is done, my prayer will not have been in vain." __ Big Lodge Pole, Blackfeet +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Why is it necessary to protest and file Environmental Impact briefs to stop the use of waste water snow on what the dominant society calls San Francisco Peaks outside Flagstaff? Once it was known Mount Agassiz was sacred to the People of that land, whose ancestors speak to them from that grandfather mountain, was any further discussion even required? The answer is simple, and simply damning. The non-Indian operators of Snowbowl do not hold the mountain as Sacred. They only hold the money skiers bring as sacred. To them snow, no matter the source, means white that turns green. It should not have to be determined there may be a long-term detrimental result of using waste water, no matter how carefully filtered. It is desecrating a place of burial and sacred ceremony that goes back centuries before a Spanish, English or other European descendant laid eyes on this desert mountain. These same people would be outraged if you pissed on the altar at their place of worship. They cannot or will not, however, make the same connection to this 2300 foot altar. Cherokee were marched out of Georgia in the name of greed. Paha Sapa was stolen from the Lakota in the name of greed. Greed must not continue to be the only measure of the value of a place, especially one that holds the prayers of so many people for so long. Lend you voice and your prayers to this struggle. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith Night Owl (*,*) gars@speakeasy.org P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30010, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Congress Investigate BIA - Aboriginal Budget at $8 Billion - Anderson praises Cobell Suit - Treaty 3 Chief - BIA facing another charged for sexual assault Federal Investigation - 9th rules on Alaska - Accounting long overdue Native Land Selections for Indian Trust Funds - Last Minute - Tribal Chair denies Gaming Compact Measures special treatment for BIA - Saugeen Ojibway - Tribal Health Centers at Risk claim Water Rights - Monitoring poor in Chemawa Death - From Danielle: - Students lend a leg March 2 Circuit Court Hearing to fight Diabetes - Navajo Water Settlement is delayed - BIA sets funding - Cheyenne charge for Gym at Crow Creek Rez BLM failed to seek Advice - Save the Peaks effort draws 200 - Janklow appeals verdict - Some Church Rock wells to S.D. Supreme Court are Radioactive - Native Prisoner - Buffalo return beyond the Range -- Alaska Jails in State Project hold Natives longest - She's already an Inspiration - History: Carlisle Indian School - Racism Editorial: - Rustywire: She has Flashing Eyes These are their Stories - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Handling of Residential - Larry Kibby Poem: abuse Claims Wasteful An Expression of Warmth - Business savvy - California State University, spurring Tsuu T'ina Success Fullerton Powwow - First Nations' New Wave - Humbolt State U. Powwow taking Art to the Edge - Modesto and Merced Powwows --------- "RE: Congress Investigate BIA" --------- Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2004 08:13:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA UNDER SCOPE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-3786049,00.html Interior Dept., Congress Investigate BIA By DON THOMPSON Associated Press Writer February 25, 2004 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Interior Department and Congress' General Accounting Office said Tuesday they are launching probes into alleged conflicts of interest involving officials of the regional office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Interior Department investigators hope to fly from Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to begin interviews and gathering documents, after The Associated Press disclosed that regional bureau officials padded the membership roll of the Ione Band of Miwok Indians and authorized a new leadership election. As a result, original tribal members have no representatives among the tribe's new leadership, which now is seeking to build a $100 million, 2, 000-slot machine casino in Plymouth, in one of California's fast-growing wine regions. The Interior Department's inspector general conducted no significant review of similar allegations raised by four congressmen two years ago. But the office is acting now because of the weekend AP story; a congressman's subsequent call Monday for a renewed probe; and a citizen's complaint, said Steve Hardgrove, director of the program integrity division. U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf said the General Accounting Office told him Tuesday it would open a probe at his request. Wolf, a Virginia Republican whose subcommittee oversees the budgets of the FBI and Justice Department, called Monday for investigations by the inspector general, FBI and GAO. Acting against the wishes of original tribal members, the regional Bureau of Indian Affairs office opened the tribe's membership rolls. The then-acting regional director who approved the tribal election was then added to the tribal roll along with 68 relatives, including an uncle and a niece who also work for the bureau. A different bureau official who oversaw the election had three relatives added to the tribe. Meanwhile, after more than a year, the FBI has assigned a new agent to review allegations of alleged bureau conflicts involving a nearby but unrelated Amador County tribe that also is seeking a casino. The inspector general's office conducted its investigation of the Buena Vista Me-Wuk band about the same time congressmen raised questions about the bureau's involvement with the Ione band, but says completion of that probe has been stalled by the FBI's review. Guardian Unlimited Copyright c. 2004 Guardian Newspapers Limited. --------- "RE: Anderson praises Cobell Suit" --------- Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2004 08:13:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DAVE ANDERSON AT NCAI" http://www.indianz.com/News/archive/000326.asp Anderson touts benefits of Cobell trust fund case February 25, 2004 The new head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs praised the the long-running trust fund lawsuit on Tuesday for having positive effects on his agency. In his first appearance before the National Congress of American Indians, assistant secretary Dave Anderson attributed improvements at the BIA to the seven-year-old case. "A lot has happened because of Cobell," Anderson said. Anderson, who hosted dozens of tribal leaders at his public swearing-in ceremony on Monday, singled out changes in the BIA's information technology system. Without the lawsuit, he said the agency would still be a "musky relic" that continues to be left behind. "I really believe that Cobell has been a good thing for the bureau," Anderson told attendees. "That's probably the first time you've heard somebody say this publicly." To emphasize some of the improvements, Anderson is taking tribal leaders on tours of the BIA's new IT center tomorrow. Located in suburban Washington, D.C., he said the facility's computer network, which ties all regions and agencies together, was the "most sophisticated" within the Department of Interior. "We have actually a computer command center that looks like NASA," he beamed. "When I saw it, I said Indian Country doesn't understand what we have here. We really need people to come see where we are today compared to where we were." In the past two years, the BIA has allocated more than $50 million for a complete overhaul of its computer system and network. Brian Burns, the deputy assistant secretary for information technology, has overseen the installation of firewalls and other protections that are meant to safeguard billions of dollars in Indian trust data. The changes were prompted by a court report that detailed how easy it was for anyone with an Internet connection to break into the BIA. In the summer of 2001, court-appointed hackers tapped into systems housing land title, ownership and royalty information without detection. They were able to create a fake Individual Indian Money (IIM) account. Despite being warned about the problem by their own experts, private consultants and the court, higher-ups at Interior did little to change the situation. That prompted U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to order the department to ensure that Indian trust systems were not accessible from the Internet. Officials responded by cutting off every system, a move that left account holders, many of whom are elderly and rely on their payments for their livelihood, to go without money in the winter of 2001. It took several months for checks to be written. Anderson said the BIA is working to get approval from Lamberth to reconnect to the Internet. In the meantime, the systems have been running off-line. Beyond computer systems, Anderson cited other reforms in trust management. He said the probate backlog would be reduced in four years. He also pointed to the national archive of electronic trust records that is being created in Kansas with the partnership of Haskell Indian Nations University. But not everyone in Indian Country is satisfied with the latest initiatives. Most tribal leaders oppose the ongoing reorganization at the department because it is drawing resources from the BIA while expanding the Office of Special Trustee. BIA's budget has been static while OST's has mushroomed in the past couple of years, leaving critical Indian programs at flat or decreased funding levels. When there have been boosts in the BIA budget, it has been in information technology. With his tours, Anderson hopes to show tribal leaders that they are benefiting from that investment. At NCAI yesterday, Harold Frazier, the chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, disputed the claims of progress that Bush administration officials attribute to the reshuffling. He said the reorganization will create, not reduce, backlogs in probate, appraisal and land title. The probate backlog has doubled in the past five years alone, according to BIA statistics. "The current reorganization plan is a waste of money and resources," Frazier said. Tribes in his region, the Great Plains, have developed an alternative that would bring resources to the local level, he said. "The solutions are not in Washington or Albuquerque, but at home," he said. Frazier said the thinking behind the national records archive is misplaced. In the 1990s, most tribes gave up their documents to the BIA and have not seen them despite promises to the contrary. "We need to bring our IIM records back home," Frazier said. Keith Harper, a Native American Rights Fund (NARF) attorney handling the Cobell suit, agreed with Frazier's views on the reorganization. He said bureaucrats in Washington will push the changes on Indian Country unless tribes develop their own plans. Harper also said the plaintiffs have withdrawn a contempt motion relating to the computer systems. The two sides are currently discussing mediation of the suit. "This is a small step in the right direction," he told tribal leaders. In an interview, Harper took heart with Anderson's comments about the lawsuit, which was filed in 1996 by Elouise Cobell, a banker from the Blackfeet Nation of Montana. "We welcome his involvement," he said. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: BIA facing another Federal Investigation" --------- Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 08:40:25 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CONFLICT OF INTEREST CHARGES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/news/022804ap_nw_tribal_gambling.html Bureau Of Indian Affairs Facing Latest In Series Of Federal Investigations February 28, 2004 (AP) - Conflict of interest investigations launched this past week into a regional office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs are just the most recent probes of an agency that has faced repeated allegations of ethics violations and incompetent management. The FBI, the Interior Department's inspector general, and Congress' investigative arm, the General Accounting Office, all have begun exploring allegations that regional BIA officials in California essentially commandeered the Ione Band of Miwok Indians and its leadership. The reengineered tribe, which now includes several BIA officials along with dozens of their relatives, wants to build a $100 million casino in one of California's burgeoning wine regions with the BIA's assistance agency. The tribe's hereditary chief opposes the plan, and went to Washington asking Congress to intervene. Other allegations involving tribal recognition entangled the Clinton administration's BIA director and top officials, one of whom allegedly illegally backdated documents granting federal recognition to a Seattle tribe seeking to open a casino. The bureau has been reorganized over the last year, and this month was taken over by a businessman who is promising reforms. "There have been all sorts of problems in the bureau for years. It's been underfunded basically since Day One, and the policy shifts in the administration and Congress have created problems in creating any sort of continuity," said Robert Anderson, director of the University of Washington's Native American Law Center. But the last decade has seen the rise of Indian casinos, a multibillion- dollar industry that has given tribes money and recognition while also highlighting problems in BIA. "It used to not be popular to be a member of a tribe, nor lucrative," said Anderson, a Chippewa who was a top policy adviser in Clinton's Interior Department. Rep. Frank Wolf, a longtime critic whose appropriations subcommittee oversees the FBI and Justice Department budgets, said the latest development "again shows how the Indian gambling issue is exploiting Indians and potentially corrupting government officials." Wolf, a Republican from Virginia, has called for a halt to all new tribal recognitions - a necessary step toward opening a casino - until reforms are made, something he has unsuccessfully sought since a scathing Interior Department report about BIA activities in the closing days of the Clinton administration. Just before he left his job as head of the BIA in January 2001, Kevin Gover granted four tribes recognition - over the recommendations of BIA staff - making the tribes eligible for federal benefits and possibly casinos. A federal investigation found another top official, Michael Anderson, had already left office when he returned to sign and backdate documents recognizing the Duwamish tribe of Seattle. The Justice Department declined to prosecute, the same decision it reached when the Interior inspector general said former BIA deputy commissioner Hilda Manuel violated lobbying laws by representing the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts after leaving the agency. The BIA also faces allegations of systemic mismanagement. The Bush administration proposes to increase spending on the agency's handling of Indian trust funds after Interior Secretary Gale Norton was held in contempt of court by a federal judge who said she lied about progress on reforms. That ruling was overturned on appeal. The government and more than 500,000 Indian account holders agreed this past week to mediate allegations that the Interior Department mismanaged billions of trust fund dollars. Meanwhile, a pending lawsuit seeks $25 billion from the government on behalf of perhaps thousands of students allegedly abused at BIA boarding schools. A 16-year-old girl died in December after she was placed in a holding cell at Chemawa Indian School, near Salem, Ore. "There's no question there are problems that have plagued the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but there is no question we need to be solution-oriented," said Dan DuBray, a spokesman for new BIA chief Dave Anderson. Anderson, a Native American who founded Famous Dave's restaurants, took over Feb. 2 as Interior's assistant secretary for Indian affairs after a career that included co-founding a company that ran a Minnesota tribal casino. He remains friendly with his former business partner, Lyle Berman, who has several major casino projects awaiting BIA approval. Anderson has promised to recuse himself from consideration of those projects, and is bringing to the bureau "a message of accountability and responsibility and solutions, not problems," said DuBray. "I think there's a lot of confidence that we're going to be able to turn that corner." Copyright c. 2004 by Associated Press. Copyright c. 2004 ABC Inc., KGO-TV Inc. --------- "RE: Accounting long overdue for Indian Trust Funds" --------- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 08:11:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRUST DELAY" http://www.indiantrust.com/ Accounting long overdue for Indian trust funds February 24, 2004 When I went to Washington on a hot, sultry June day in 1996 to file a lawsuit over the billions of dollars of trust funds that the government had lost, misplaced and otherwise grossly mismanaged for hundreds of thousands of American Indians, I had no idea I would still be in court seven years later. Yet today, after three Cabinet secretaries have been held in contempt by a federal judge and after four lengthy trials and a successful defense on appeal of our claims on the merits, the federal government has failed to clean up the trust records. It cannot certify the accuracy of a single one of the estimated 500,000 current individual Indian trust accounts. That's the sad bottom line on how the federal government has continued to treat the nation's first citizens. All I and three other Indians are asking the government to do is account for the tens of millions of acres of land the government forced into trust and to account for and distribute - to the proper trust beneficiaries - the correct amount of funds it received and invested from the leases it arranged for timber sales and for oil, gas, minerals and grazing rights on Indian trust lands in the West. I may not be a lawyer, but I was a small-town banker in Montana. I know that the most basic of duties of any trustee is to account for all trust assets, including the funds they hold for the beneficiaries. Unfortunately, the commissioner of the Bureau of Public Debt, a senior Treasury Department official, testified in our case that the United States has used our trust funds to reduce the national debt. But no one knows how much of our money was used to reduce the debt load of this country or how many years the U.S. government used our trust money for these and other important government purposes, such as building dams and major power projects in the West. We hope an accounting will finally tell the true story of how the government has used Individual Indian Trust funds for more than 100 years. And, we also hope that we will learn what really happened to 40 million acres of Individual Indian Trust land that simply vanished, according to the testimony of the head of Interior's Office of Historical Accounting. Seven years later, Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the government's trustee-delegate for the nation's first citizens, has done nothing to provide us answers to this and other important trust accounting issues. Why the delay? Why the deception? Why the disdain for the obligations Norton owes to hundreds of thousands of Individual Indian Trust beneficiaries, many of whom live in Washington state? Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and others have said it's because Indians lack political clout in the nation's capital. Any other interest group would have had this problem resolved immediately, McCain has said. There is no dispute about the evidence. Study after study has warned Congress that our trust funds were being horribly managed by the Department of Interior. Billions of dollars are missing. In 1989, the Senate Special Committee on Investigations found that "fraud and corruption pervade" the Interior Department. The General Accounting Office warned both Republican and Democratic administrations for years that this is a very serious problem. In 1994, Congress ordered Interior to account for the missing funds. Nothing happened. So we Indians did what others similarly situated would have done. We turned to the courts for help to straighten out an obdurate and dishonest executive and an uninterested Congress. Since we filed our suit, we have won several significant victories. In 1999, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth declared the government breached its trust responsibilities to us and ordered the interior secretary and the treasury secretary to provide us a complete accounting of all trust assets, including the revenues generated from our trust lands since the creation of the Individual Indian Trust in 1887. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously agreed with Lamberth and found that the interior secretary had engaged in "malfeasance" and has unduly delayed the accounting, causing irreparable harm to all of us. The government's record as trustee for Indians is "a long and sorry story," Lamberth declared. "... It is fiscal and governmental irresponsibility in its purest form." Tough words, to be sure - but they are utterly meaningless unless Norton is compelled to do what she is required to do by law. Continuing to rely on the good faith of the interior secretary is an exercise in futility. There is enough wrongdoing, malfeasance and incompetence in the way the Department of Interior has handled our monies to fill a thousand accounting school and law school textbooks, the courts agreed. Records have been, and continue to be, lost, systematically destroyed, corrupted and, in many cases, never kept. In short, the government has no idea what the proper balances in our trust accounts should be. It doesn't know how many trust beneficiaries there were in the first place and it doesn't know how many trust accounts it should be managing today. It has admitted, however, that at least $13 billion in nominal dollars has been collected from Individual Indian Trust lands. But it doesn't know what happened to this money or the compound interest this money was earning for generations. And remember these are accounts the government created for some of the poorest Americans. We Indians had no choice in the matter. The government unilaterally decided we were incompetent to handle our own funds and created the trust in 1887. Would anyone in his right mind voluntarily give his or her life savings to unqualified bureaucrats and political appointees in Washington, D.C? Never! What has stunned me is the steadfast resistance and hostility of Democrats and Republicans alike, first to our lawsuit and then to the rulings, now numbering more than 50, that we have won. As our victories in court have increased, so has the government's resistance and open hostility to a just and fair resolution. What are they afraid of? Exposure of another Teapot Dome scandal? After concluding another trial - 44 days - in July on accounting and trust rehabilitation issues, we are moving closer to the long-overdue accounting, the government seems to be, pardon the cliche, circling the wagons. Every ruling reinforcing the trust obligations of the United States to us trust beneficiaries is ignored - whether the rulings are made by the trial court, the appellate court or the U.S. Supreme Court. As Lamberth lamented, "this is not our form of government." We can settle this case, but the government first must participate in settlement talks with integrity, something they have refused to do for the seven years this case has been litigated. It must stop hiding behind disingenuous excuses, defending the indefensible and protecting incompetent and dishonest officials. Any settlement must be fair and just to make Indians whole for monies that have been collected by the United States for 116 years. It is, after all, our money. It is our property right. Elouise Cobell Copyright c. 2004 Blackfeet Reservation Development Fund, Inc. --------- "RE: Tribal Chair denies special treatment for BIA" --------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 08:22:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA IONE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/8045325.htm Tribal chair denies special treatment for employees of Bureau of Indian Affairs DON THOMPSON Associated Press February 26, 2004 SACRAMENTO - Bureau of Indian Affairs officials whose actions helped themselves and their relatives gain membership in a tribe now seeking to build a casino did not receive any special treatment, the tribe's chairman says. Chairman Matt Franklin defended the Ione Band of Miwok Indians on Wednesday as the FBI began probing alleged conflicts of interest involving the regional bureau officials, who opened the tribe's membership to add 465 people, all of them unrelated to the original 70 members. On Tuesday, the Interior Department's inspector general and Congress' General Accounting Office said they were launching investigations. "All 535 members of our tribe went through the same recognition and enrollment process as any other. No member, whether or not they worked for the BIA, was given any preferential treatment," Franklin said in a letter to The Washington Post in response to an Associated Press story published there and elsewhere Monday. The AP article did not allege the tribe gave bureau officials special treatment, but pointed out that the officials' decision to expand the Ione Band's rolls - over the objections of the tribe's leadership at the time - allowed the officials to become tribal members and some of their relatives to become tribal leaders. Four of the five Ione Band leaders elected in 2003 are related to Amy Dutschke, who authorized the election as the bureau's acting regional director at the time. The election was overseen by another bureau official who had three relatives added to the tribe. Original tribal members have no representatives among the new leadership, which now is seeking to build a $100 million, 2,000-slot-machine casino which would enrich the tribe. The tribe's "historic" or "hereditary" chief, Nicolas Villa Jr., was in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, lobbying congressmen to intervene against the regional BIA office's actions. Villa opposes building a casino. Franklin said there should be no distinction between "original" members who lived on 40 acres outside Ione, and the later addition of Dutschke's relatives, who are American Indians with roots in the Ione area, and others. "The 'original tribal leaders' were (federally) recognized at the same time as Amy Dutschke, the rest and myself," Franklin wrote. "How these individuals can claim they were any more 'original' than anyone else in our tribe is hard to fathom." Franklin, who is not related to Dutschke, has said he can provide documents proving the legitimacy of the tribe's expanded membership, but has not done so despite repeated requests over several weeks. Bureau officials have not responded despite repeated requests, including a letter sent by the AP nearly a month ago to Dutschke and other officials. Congressmen, county supervisors and casino opponents don't dispute there is a decade-long factional dispute over the tribe's leadership. But they allege it was compounded and even prompted by regional bureau officials with a clear conflict of interest. Congressmen and county supervisors note that the bureau officials who approved the tribal makeup would benefit from the estimated $185 million a year the casino could generate. Amador County Supervisor Mario Biagi, one of the officials alleging a conflict of interest, said he was contacted Wednesday by the FBI. FBI spokeswoman Karen Ernst said agents have begun "looking into" the allegations, but "we haven't officially opened an investigation" despite a request Monday from Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., chairman of a subcommittee that oversees the FBI's budget. Copyright c. 2004 Mercury News/San Jose, CA. --------- "RE: Tribal Health Centers at Risk" --------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 08:22:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CASH CRUNCH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.spokesmanreview.com/~section.Tribal_news Indian health care in cash crunch Tribal health centers at risk Kevin Graman Staff writer February 25, 2004 A proposed $46 million increase in federal spending on Native American health care does not begin to keep pace with medical costs, Indian leaders and health care providers say. "It's almost a cut because budget increases have not been keeping up with inflation," said Lillian Spark of the National Congress of American Indians. She said annual medical spending nationwide has fallen to about $1,500 per Indian, less than the government spends on federal prisoners. "It is definitely not enough to take care of the health disparities or the basic services that our tribal community needs," Spark said. The Bush administration has asked for $3 billion in fiscal year 2005 for the Indian Health Service, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. That is a 1.6 percent increase over 2004, at a time when total national health care spending has been growing at about 7 percent. Adding third-party payers, such as Medicare and Medicaid, raises the agency's budget to $3.7 billion. Of the proposed $46 million increase in Indian Health Service funding for 2005, $36 million is earmarked to cover the increased cost of federal employee pay and to allow tribal health programs to provide comparable pay raises to their employees. This leaves less than a $10 million increase to cover other costs. Spark said Indian leaders have estimated it would take $19.4 billion annually to adequately fund Indian health nationally. The Indian Health Service is the principal health-care provider for approximately 1.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, a trust mandated by numerous treaties, laws, Supreme Court decisions and executive orders. But regional Indian health officials said the U.S. government has not kept its promise to a population that is growing at about 2 percent annually. "The budget increases have never kept up with demand, let alone the inflation rate in medical care," said Debra Hanks, executive director of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's Benewah Medical Center in Plummer, Idaho. She said the inflation rate in pharmaceuticals alone is more than 14 percent. Like all Indian health service units, the reservation clinic is required to treat any patient who can show descendency in any tribe. This puts added pressure on the Plummer clinic and the Spokane Reservation clinic in Wellpinit, which are near Coeur d'Alene and Spokane with large urban Indian populations, Indian health officials said. Bob Brisbois, a Spokane Tribal Council member and vice president of the Northwest Portland-Area Indian Health Board, said the proposed budget is particularly bad for Northwest tribes, which are dependent on contracts for care only regional hospitals can provide. Unlike other parts of the nation, there are no large Indian Health Service hospitals in the Northwest, and tribes here depend on contract health services to pay for specialty care, including most surgeries. "Contract health is a big problem for Northwest Indian tribes," said Jim Murphy, finance director for the Benewah Medical Center. Since Aug. 1, the David C. Wynecoop Memorial Clinic in Wellpinit has been on "priority 1" status, limiting contract health service to life- threatening conditions, said Kay Moyer, the clinic's executive director. Priority 1 services include emergency surgeries or acute trauma care, renal dialysis, emergency psychiatric care for people who are a threat to themselves or others, obstetrical deliveries and acute prenatal care and neonatal care. Others, Brisbois said, are on a waiting list. "You could be on that list for two to three years unless your health deteriorates to priority 1," he said. The proposed Indian Health Service budget includes $497 million for contract health services nationwide, an $18 million increase over 2004. "That doesn't come close to covering mandatory costs or medical inflation," Brisbois said. "Our contract health funds are not meeting the needs of the people." Brisbois said the federal government funds the clinic to treat 2,117 patients a year. The tribal health budget is about $4.5 million annually. Moyer said about $1.1 million of that comes from third-party billing. Because of Washington state cuts in Medicaid funding last year, the clinic has had to curtail things like general eye and dental care and other preventative services, said Barbara LeBret, the clinic's contract health administrator. "We restrict what services we do pay for," she said. Last year, the Wellpinit clinic, which had more than 23,000 visits, saw a $14,000 increase in overall Indian Health Service funding. The clinic also serves 280 Kalispel Indians, but since their reservation is 75 miles away, most of the 160 Kalispels living there rely on contract health care providers in Newport or Spokane. "But what really eats up our resources" are more than 2,000 additional Indians coming to the Wellpinit clinic from off the reservation, Brisbois said. "There's just not enough money," he said. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe, which is able to provide health benefits to its employees, is in better shape financially. Hanks said the Indian Health Service provides 54 percent of the budget of the Benewah Medical Center. The clinic, which treats both Indians and non-Indians, has more than 12,000 registered patients, 7,000 of whom are active patients, Hanks said. Indian health money cannot be spent on non- Indians. The Benewah Medical Center typically begins the fiscal year at priority 3, providing contract care for chronic conditions. Examples of priority 3 services include eye glasses, dermatological care and physical therapy. But during the year, the clinic has to review its financial situation and make adjustments in its contract health services budget, Murphy said. At the end of January, four months into the fiscal year, Murphy said, the clinic was exceeding its contract budget and had to "adjust downward." The clinic had to go to priority 2 for all its patients except the very young or very old. Cancer screening, diabetic maintenance, mammography and HIV testing are examples of priority 2 services. "We are experiencing the same things other tribes are," Murphy said, "habitual shortfalls in contract health services." He calls this system of health care funding "a crapshoot." "We are obligated to provide referral services to eligible patients, irrespective of cost," Murphy said. "But if we have a patient that has a catastrophic case, we are on the hook for it." In this regard, the Coeur d'Alenes and Spokanes are in the same $18 million boat as all other American Indians. For the past two years, Murphy said, that's how much the IHS has had in its catastrophic health emergency fund. If a patient's medical bills exceed $23,800 -- a figure that is adjusted annually -- Indian health care providers are reimbursed from this fund on a first-come-first-served basis until the $18 million is gone. It typically runs out by June 1. "This puts tribal health centers at considerable risk," Murphy said. "Either they have to come up with the funds, or patients don't get the care." Kevin Graman can be reached at (509) 459-5433 or by e-mail at kevingr@spokesman.com. Copyright c. 2004 Spokesman-Review. --------- "RE: Monitoring poor in Chemawa Death" --------- Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 08:40:25 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOLDING CELL DEATH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.oregonlive.com/~/base/front_page/1078059511279050.xml Monitoring poor in Chemawa death Documents reveal an intoxicated teen at the Salem school died after being left unsupervised in a cell that has generated years of concern KARA BRIGGS and KIM CHRISTENSEN February 29, 2004 Cindy Gilbert Sohappy's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit for Oregon drivers when Chemawa Indian School staffers placed her in a holding cell at 8:20 p.m. Dec. 6. Less than an hour later, the cell's video surveillance camera captured the Warm Springs teenager flailing on the floor. A Chemawa dormitory worker was stationed at a video monitor just outside the cells and, according to Bureau of Indian Affairs records obtained by The Oregonian, was supposed to "get up from the desk and step inside the room to check on the student" every 15 minutes. But no one came to her aid as she thrashed around -- and no one entered the cell to check on her as she lay motionless for the next two hours. At 11:20 p.m., the dorm worker discovered that Sohappy had stopped breathing. By then it was too late. Neither a Bureau of Indian Affairs police officer who began CPR nor Salem firefighters who rushed to the boarding school minutes later could revive her. Sohappy was dead of alcohol poisoning at the age of 16. The account of her final hours is gleaned from a timeline compiled by Chemawa officials -- and examined by The Oregonian -- as well as from other documents, and interviews with federal officials who are familiar with the surveillance tape's contents. Much remains unknown about the circumstances of the girl's death. But it is clear that officials at Chemawa, the BIA and the Indian Health Service, which operates a clinic on the campus, had for years been aware of the dangers of locking up intoxicated and unruly students. The BIA operates the 318-student school in Salem. Documents obtained by The Oregonian show the BIA's own inspectors sounded alarms that caught the attention of top agency officials but prompted little, if any, corrective action. One BIA inspector eight years ago called it "amazing" that no one had sued over the cells' use and recommended they be converted into a detoxification facility. That did not happen. When Chemawa's then-supervisor relayed the inspector's concerns to BIA's regional head of education in Portland, he said, he got no response. Even as the warnings mounted in the past 10 years, Chemawa's nationally recognized alcohol- and drug-treatment program was gutted, leaving the cells as virtually the only treatment option for hundreds of troubled students. Chemawa's problems also were well-known by some regional BIA education officials, as witnessed by a memo one of them wrote three days after Sohappy died. "We are aware (of) a problem at Chemawa in the use of alcohol, drugs and smoking," Joy Martin, the BIA's Oklahoma education line officer, wrote to her boss in Washington, D.C. "It appears they do not do anything about this situation." Sohappy's death has sparked a criminal investigation by the FBI, which will help determine whether anyone is culpable for a death the state medical examiner has ruled as an accident. Agents seized the videotape and handwritten logs in which students' conditions are to be recorded after they are checked every 15 minutes. The entries for Sohappy read "sleeping." The FBI has jurisdiction in the case because Chemawa's 400-acre campus is federal property. The inspector general's office of the Interior Department, which oversees the BIA, is conducting a separate investigation to determine whether policies and procedures -- as well as the conduct of school employees -- contributed to her death. In the meantime, many of those closest to the case have little to say about it. Jesse Renteria, 40, the dorm worker assigned to monitor the cells that Saturday night, is one of four school employees who were immediately put on paid leave. In a brief interview with The Oregonian, she confirmed that she was on duty, but would say only that she had done nothing wrong. "I just did," she said, "what I was supposed to do." Teen starts drinking at Chemawa Cindy Gilbert Sohappy grew up on the Warm Springs Reservation in Central Oregon, the granddaughter of chief tribal Judge Lola Sohappy, a nationally recognized advocate for the welfare of Native American children. The teenager attended Madras High School through her sophomore year and participated in ROTC. Friends and family say she did not drink alcohol before transferring to Chemawa for her junior year last September. It was there, they say, that she fell in with the wrong crowd, and was drinking the day she died. About 8 p.m., as several friends were helping Sohappy walk back to her dorm, two Chemawa staffers confronted them. The workers brought Sohappy in for a Breathalyzer test, which measured her blood-alcohol content at 0.192 percent. Officials have not released the results of an autopsy, which would more precisely measure the alcohol in her system. About 8:20 p.m., Sohappy was placed alone in one of the cells. The other three were occupied by seven boys, according to records reviewed by The Oregonian. School and BIA officials have repeatedly declined to discuss their procedures. However, the memo that Martin, the education line officer, wrote three days after Sohappy's death describes Chemawa's regimen. "Each room has a live-time video monitor accessible by the staff sitting at a desk so they can track the student's behavior," Martin wrote. "Every 15 minutes, the staff person is required to get up from the desk and step inside the room to check on the student." The videotape shows no one entering the cell for more than two hours before the dorm worker went in at 11:20 p.m. and discovered Sohappy was not breathing. She radioed to the school's lone BIA police officer, who raced to the holding facility with a campus security guard. As they began CPR, someone from the school called 9-1-1 at 11:23 p.m., records show. Salem firefighters, who are trained as emergency medical technicians, arrived six minutes later. They were unable to revive the girl and canceled a call for an ambulance. FBI agents showed up a short time later, taped off the cell as a crime scene and began their investigation. The FBI has declined to release details of its investigation, the results of which will be forwarded to the U.S. attorney's office in Portland. Federal prosecutors could seek involuntary manslaughter charges against anyone deemed responsible for Sohappy's death. To support the charge prosecutors must show that someone was criminally negligent, or was so reckless that the risks to Sohappy were known but ignored. Chemawa administrators and BIA officials referred all questions to Nedra Darling, the BIA's spokeswoman in Washington, D.C. She said she was not aware of the videotape's contents and declined to comment on other aspects of the investigation. Cells a symptom of larger problem Holding cells have been part of life at Chemawa for decades. The school used to have cells in its old infirmary, but moved them to the Indian Health Service clinic when the campus was razed and rebuilt in 1980. The IHS tore them down in the mid-1980s because of concerns about liability, according to Myron George, a social worker at the clinic since 1985. Chemawa built its own cells in 1990. The four rooms measure 7-feet-by- 10-feet each and are attached to a maintenance building located a quarter- mile from the dormitories. Gerald Gray Sr., who ran Chemawa from 1982 to 1994, said the holding cells are symptomatic of the school's larger problem -- having more troubled children than it could handle and lacking the resources and professional staff to provide the mental health care they needed. "You were almost terrified when you let students in, knowing that you didn't have the programs to help them," Gray said last week. Founded in 1880, Chemawa was among the first government-run boarding schools. Most U.S. treaties with tribal nations promised education for their children, and in the late 1800s and early 1900s that meant boarding schools. The government at one time ran 200 such schools, which aimed to not only educate tribal children but also assimilate them into white culture. Calls for reform began in 1928 and by the 1960s, the government had stopped forcing Native American children to attend. Since then, most boarding schools have closed or have been taken over by tribal governments. Some of Chemawa's students, who come from throughout the Midwest and West, are drawn to the school by family tradition or a desire to live in an all Native American environment. Many arrive with drug and alcohol problems or are from abusive and neglectful homes. Some have been ordered by courts to attend. Even those who have been critical of the cells acknowledge that Chemawa has few options for dealing with its large number of intoxicated and unruly students. "Given the overall lack of appropriate local facilities available to Chemawa," a 2002 IHS inspection report noted, "the holding cell seems to currently be the best answer for its needs." One BIA inspection report provides a snapshot of the cells' heavy usage. Between September 1995 and January 1996 the school detained 338 students for an average stay of seven hours. Of the 338, 193 had been drinking. During his time at the school, Gray started a nationally recognized alcohol and drug treatment program, which had seven counselors. The program dwindled after he left in 1994. In 2000, then-Supervisor Louis King closed the program amid declining federal funding and a dispute with its director, whom he fired. Chemawa's staffing for alcohol and drug abuse counseling has since dropped from seven to one, whose services are augmented by one IHS doctor. King was later replaced by Larry Byers, who joined the staff in 1976 as a teacher and football coach, and had been principal since the mid-1990s. Byers has declined repeated requests for interviews. Officials said the cells have not been used since Sohappy's death. Danger known for years Documents recently obtained by The Oregonian show that the Bureau of Indian Affairs had been aware for years that the cells posed a danger to students and potential legal liability for the school. The cells have been the subject of repeated warnings since 1989 by Indian Health Service officials and Bureau of Indian Affairs inspectors. "It is amazing that the program has not been sued, because its window of liability is wide open," a BIA inspector reported in 1996. "It has no detention personnel, no support staff, no operational descriptions, no funding and no clear authority to be used as a correctional institution." Jack Fry, then Chemawa's acting supervisor, relayed the inspector's concerns about the cells in a letter to his boss, John Reimer, the BIA's education line officer in Portland. "In the verbal exit interview, he stated that we would be open for a lawsuit if we used the facility for many of the purposes that we have used it for in the past," Fry wrote. "He specifically listed the alcohol and drug involved students and further included the violent, angry students, and the potentially criminally involved students." Fry wrote to Reimer that "a lack of trained staff and adequate facilities" made it difficult to maintain a campus free of alcohol and drugs. "At issue here is the ability of Chemawa Indian High School to ensure that the students are really being kept safe and healthy throughout the school year," Fry wrote in July 1996. Fry, who is now principal of the Quileute Tribal School in Washington state, said recently that he received no response to that letter. Reimer's office on Friday referred calls to Darling, the BIA spokeswoman, who would not comment on the inspection report. The BIA has refused for nearly three months to release even the most basic information about Sohappy's death and Chemawa's policies and procedures for dealing with intoxicated students. But according to a BIA memo distributed at a January meeting of BIA educators, none of the four federally operated Native American boarding schools had adequate policies and procedures for dealing with intoxicated students, and Chemawa, under Supervisor Larry Byers, was singled out as particularly lacking. "Schools need to strengthen their policies and procedures; overall, they are weak and they said they did not have policies/procedures," the memo states. "This is a surprise, but they insisted they did not have policies/procedures. Mr. Byers was especially adamant about it." News researcher Lynne Palombo of The Oregonian contributed to this report. Kara Briggs: 503-221-4353; karabriggs@news.oregonian.com Kim Christensen: 503-294-5131; kchristensen@news.oregonian.com Copyright c. 2004 The Oregonian/OregonLive.com. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Students lend a leg to fight Diabetes" --------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 08:22:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DIABETES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://cgi.citizen-times.com/cgi-bin/story/news/50544 Students lend a leg to fight diabetes among Cherokee By Jon Ostendorff, Staff Writer February 25, 2004 CHEROKEE - Physical education teacher Judy Castorena points to a cardboard thermometer that runs up one wall of the gym at Cherokee Elementary School as the sound of jump ropes smacking the floor fills the air. The tick marks start at zero and end at $15,000. "We are trying to turn our thermometer orange," she said. "It's going to be a big thing." The students jumping furiously behind her want to turn the thermometer orange by Tuesday in a fund-raising campaign to fight diabetes. Last year the students jumped for the American Heart Association, but tribal leaders this year decided to use the money for an issue that hits closer to home. Twenty-five percent of the 13,000-member Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has been diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Health experts estimated the actual rate is one-third when undiagnosed cases are included. Currently, 26 children younger than 18 have been diagnosed with the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Indian Health Service last year said better health campaigns and education targeted at American Indians is needed. A CDC study found that the adult diabetes rate is two times higher than the national rate, 15.3 percent for American Indians. Kathy Wolfe, chairwoman of the tribe's school board, and Nancy Taylor, a school board member, spent Monday afternoon watching the students jump. "We are so excited," Wolfe said. "We are just really proud that they are doing something for the community." "And what better problem than diabetes?" Taylor said. Last year, the tribe raised $22,000 for the heart association. The tribe set the goal lower this year because it is the first time the students have raised money for diabetes. The campaign is called "Jumping Against Diabetes . It's a Native Thing." Diabetes causes high levels of glucose in the blood, which can damage just about any organ in the body. Complications from diabetes can include damage to the eyes, kidneys, nervous system and vascular system. Students are going door-to-door in their communities, asking for help from family members and tapping businesses to meet the goal. Contributions are not based on the amount of time a student pledges to jump, a common fund-raising setup used in the past. The donations will be counted Tuesday during a party for the students featuring music, door prizes and a performance from the tribe's jump-rope teams, the Jumping Braves and Bouncing Braves. Students will be awarded prizes ranging from a water bottle to a Mongoose bicycle based on the amount of money they raise. The top fund-raiser will get to throw a pie in the face of Robert Thomason, the elementary school's assistant principal. The party starts in the elementary school gym at 6 p.m. and the community is invited. Jeff Bachar, program manager for Cherokee's REACH 2010 grant, a federal program to eliminate health disparities in minority populations, said the money from the campaign would be used for fitness equipment, training and education. He said the money is great, but the students will have the biggest impact by educating the community about diabetes. "Diabetes can be prevented is the message these kids are communicating," he said. Want to help? Students in Cherokee are trying to raise $15,000 by Tuesday to fight diabetes. Twenty-five percent of the 13,000- member Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has been diagnosed with diabetes. Send donations to Cherokee Elementary School, "Jumping Against Diabetes . It's a Native Thing," P.O. Box 134 Cherokee, 28719. Facts about Type II diabetes The chance of developing Type II diabetes can be reduced through diet and exercise. Members of the Eastern Band are urged to get tested for the disease. The disease can lead to kidney failure and vision problems. Tips for avoiding and living with Type II diabetes include: - Exercise 30 minutes a day, three times a week. - Cut down on fast food. - Switch to diet sodas. - See a doctor once a year For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/diabetes Copyright c. 2004 Ashville Citizen-Times. --------- "RE: BIA sets funding for Gym at Crow Creek Rez" --------- Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2004 08:13:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA RELENTS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/8028567.htm BIA sets funding for gym at area tribal school Associated Press February 24, 2004 MITCHELL, S.D. - The Bureau of Indian Affairs has earmarked emergency funding to replace the Crow Creek Tribal School gymnasium in Stephan, contingent upon approval by the U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The current gym was deemed unsafe recently by the BIA. Crow Creek superintendent/CEO Scott Raue said the dilapidated building had been used only for practices in recent months. The school has rented gym space from nearby towns for its home games. Raue said he hopes to break ground on the gym within the next two months. He estimated the cost at $1 million to $2.5 million. Two weeks ago, Crow Creek Sioux Tribal chairman Duane Big Eagle met with BIA and other federal government officials in New Mexico and Washington, D. C., and asked for their financial help because the high school and elementary school buildings also are in poor condition. He requested emergency funding that would at least allow for construction of a gymnasium because he said it's a center of community activities and is important to students who live in dorms at Crow Creek High School. Copyright c. 2004 Aberdeen News. --------- "RE: Save the Peaks effort draws 200" --------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 08:22:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBES, OTHERS TAKE STAND AGAINST DESECRATION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.navajohopiobserver.com/~898484.asp?S=392&P=898484&PubID=12040 Save the Peaks effort draws 200 S.J. Wilson The Observer FLAGSTAFF - A crowd of approximately 200 gathered to listen to tribal representatives assert a message that they've repeated again and again ever since the first ski lodge was erected on the San Francisco Peaks approximately five decades ago. The message to the Forest Service is clear - the Peaks are sacred and economic interests of a handful of investors cannot outweigh the spiritual and cultural interests of 13 Arizona tribes. On Feb. 13, Robert Tohe and Berta Benally of the Save the Peaks Coalition organized a public meeting to once again allow native and non- Indian activists to express their frustration with the Forest Service's proposed DEIS. The document outlines a tentative decision to recommend that owners of the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort be allowed not only to expand existing ski trails within the facility, but to use reclaimed wastewater as a source to create snow on the peaks. This proposal would require 1.5 million gallons of reclaimed water to be pumped from the Rio de Flag Treatment Plant from the beginning of November to the end of February through a 15-mile underground pipeline. This would allow the ski area, Snowbowl owners assert, to remain open 125 days per year. What is not taken into consideration, tribal members say, is the spiritual and cultural value of these sacred peaks to the indigenous people of this region. Voices in opposition Bill Jordan represented the Navajo Medicine Man Association, saying that at its Feb. 11 meeting, the organization unanimously passed a resolution stating that it opposes development and expansion on the peaks. This has been that organization's stand over the past three generation. Vice Chairman of the Hopi Tribe Caleb Johnson echoed this stand. "The Hopi Tribe believes that we should not use wastewater to make snow at the ski resort. The mountains are sacred. The Kachinas live in the mountains. The San Francisco Peaks are a sacred place, a holy place, like the sanctuary of a church, and they should not be desecrated." Aside from spiritual and cultural concerns, Johnson pointed out the Native American contribution to this country - whose social structure helped to form the U.S. Constitution - and to the defense of this country. On a more local level, Johnson reminded attendees that the various tribes in this area make a large economic contribution to border towns such as Flagstaff. As an example, Johnson stated that the Hopi Tribe owns two malls and the Heritage Square in this city. "We have spent millions of dollars in this community, yet we [tribes] were not consulted on this decision. Our opinions deserve to be weighed carefully," Johnson said. "Based on this, our recommendation should be heard. The Hopi Tribe is absolutely opposed to this venture that Flagstaff is about to take," Johnson concluded. The Yavapai-Apache were represented by Theodore Smith, a member of the tribal council. "Our tribe is the same as the Hopi," Smith said. "The Peaks are a sacred place. This is where the Holy People come from. They come down and we have ceremonies. We do not condone using effluent on the mountain - it is disrespectful. If you have a church, you respect that church. You don't want that kind of stuff on your church." In the DEIS, the Forest Service acknowledges that the San Francisco Peaks has cultural and spiritual significance to 13 tribes, including the Navajo, Hopi, five Apache nations, the Hualapai and Havasupai. The Forest Service, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), consulted these tribes in preparing the DEIS. Public meetings were held in Tuba City and Kykotsmovi, while letters and telephone meetings as well as a dozen meetings with representatives of the Navajo, Hopi and Yavapai- Apache officials were conducted - but representatives of these sovereign nations who attended the press conference questioned whether this effort was enough, and even considered. Cora Maxx Phillips, aide to Joe Shirley, Jr. - the president of the Navajo Nation - told those in attendance that Shirley has great concern for the San Francisco Peaks. "We cherish the Peaks as a place of worship," she said. "Our hope for the future is to keep the delicate balance of nature and respect for cultural diversity. We might be the last generation of Native Americans to live in the way we choose," Maxx-Phillips added. Later, in response to a question from the press, Maxx-Phillips offered her personal opinion that many Native Americans enjoy coming to Flagstaff to shop, but that their contribution is not respected - and that perhaps only through a boycott could Flagstaff realize the impact area tribes have on its economy. Tribal impact Flagstaff has no way of measuring the economic impact of area tribes - monies spent by tribal members who spend the night in motels, who enjoy a meal with their families, are counted as tourism dollars. This is a double-edged sword - monies spent by Native Americans elevate the importance of tourism - measured by dollar value - to Flagstaff. Meanwhile, the importance of Native American spirituality regarding the Peaks is often swept aside for fear of a loss of tourism dollars. Ironically, it's Native Americans who are spending money each and every day in Flagstaff. Two nights before the conference, Louise Yellowman dreamed of the Peaks - which she described as the home of the sacred Abalone shell. "I've sat in these same chairs and worked with the Forest Service and we've made some progress," she said. "Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't. Today I want to tell them to listen - to respect our sacred sites, mountains, forests, animals and all that is sacred, including our pristine water." There are limits to the use of resources, set by ecology, Yellowman said. "You must respect these limits," she added. Adverse effects One of the major concerns held by tribal members is their belief that using reclaimed water on the peaks will have a detrimental effect on the spiritual entities, plants, soil and animals that make their homes on the Peaks. This concern is not lost on the Forest Service, as the DEIS admits that the use of reclaimed water would have an adverse effect on these values, effects that would be irreversible. Although representatives of the Forest Service and the Snowbowl insist that reclaimed water is safe - even to drink - according to EPA and ADEQ standards - this means nothing to members of the Arizona tribes who are protesting business on the mountain. "We use water in many ways that these people will never understand," said Roland Manikaja, a member of the Hualapai Tribe. Manikaja represented the interests of the people known as the guardians of the Grand Canyon. "We all agree that what is sacred to other tribes is sacred to us. We as indigenous people will not tolerate further desecration to the Sacred Peaks. I ask for forgiveness for you so you can see us as who we are - guardians of the Sacred Peaks," Manikaja said. Caleb Johnson later added that the Forest Service decision to even consider further development on the San Francisco Peaks is a reflection of American society. "Americans decide things on an economic scale. We're reminding people that there is another side of life - the spiritual," Johnson said. "The Forest Service doesn't really believe there's something up there on that mountain. They tell us, `well, we're just going to use a little piece. Butwe [Native Americans] don't believe you can divide spiritual things in to little pieces." Comment period The DEIS notice appeared in the Federal Register on Feb. 13, making it the first day of the designated the 60-day comment period. Copies of the DEIS may be obtained at the Coconino National Forest Supervisor's Office or at the Peaks Ranger District office. They are also available at www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/nepa or in hard copy by contacting the Coconino National Forest address below. Written comments, accepted through April 14, should be addressed to Nora B. Rasure, Forest Supervisor, Coconino National Forest, Snowbowl DEIS Comments, 2323 E. Greenlaw Lane, Flagstaff, AZ 86004; 928-527-3600; 928-527-3620 fax. Oral comments may be provided to the office during normal business hours via telephone or in person. Electronic comments should be addressed to comments-southwestern-coconino-paks@fs.fed.us. Comments will be included in the public record. Copyright c. 2004 Northern Arizona Newspapers, Inc/Navajo-Hopi Observer. --------- "RE: Some Church Rock wells are Radioactive" --------- Date: Friday, February 27, 2004 09:13 pm From: Robert Dorman Subj: Some Church Rock wells are radioactive Mailing List: Big Mountain http://gallupindependent.com/022604churchrockwells.html Church Rock wells are radioactive By Kathy Helms Dine' Bureau FORT DEFIANCE - Two unregulated wells out of 12 tested in Church Rock area in October, exceed safe drinking water standards for radioactive contaminants, while a third exceeds safe levels for arsenic, according to Gerald Brown, project administrator for the Church Rock Uranium Monitoring Project. Tuesday evening, chapter residents were presented information from the well-sampling project, an ongoing radon monitoring program, and an upcoming, year-long air particulate monitoring project. Brown said field reconnaissance for the water sampling was conducted in July and August 2003, with samples actually collected in August and October. The sampling program was a joint effort of a water assessment team made up of Church Rock Chapter officials and representatives from Navajo Nation Water Resources, Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, New Mexico Environmental Department, Southwest Research and Information Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Las Vegas, and the University of New Mexico. "Unregulated water resources was their target," Brown said. "Water in these wells are not regulated, tested, or treated to be safe for human consumption. It's called livestock-only wells. Those are windmills, developed springs, and drilled wells." The Navajo Nation discourages human consumption from livestock wells. "The wells were evaluated for human, domestic, and livestock use. Some of the wells were near abandoned mines," Brown said. In all, 13 wells were chosen but at the time of sampling, one well was dry. During Tuesday night's meeting, Perry Charley of Din College's Uranium Education Program in Shiprock, translated information presented by Chris Shuey of Southwest Research. "Eight wells in the Church Rock Chapter area were sampled," Brown said, along with two in Coyote Canyon Chapter, two in Pinedale Chapter, and one in Standing Rock Chapter. The results were classified into three separate categories: good water, hard/salty water, and bad water. Only one well out of the total 12 wet wells sampled made it into the "good" category. "Well 16T-559, a windmill located in southern Church Rock Chapter on a hill near a mine, met all primary and secondary drinking water standards except secondary standards for pH. The water may have a slight alkaline taste, (but) it does not pose any health hazards to people, " Brown said. Even so, there are other matters that must be taken into consideration. "We did not test for bacteria solutions, oils and gas. This well is located south of Sundance in the old mining area. Even though it's considered good drinking water, the water tank itself does not have a cover. And yesterday, while we were out there we saw some disposed diapers. So even though this is considered 'good' water,"he said, it doesn't take into account "beer cans, bottles, dirty clothes, old clothes, rocks, brush whatever anybody throws in there." The second category was hard/salty water. "These waters meet primary and secondary drinking water standards but exceed several secondary standards. Secondary meaning smell, taste, and discoloration. The water will have an unpleasant taste to people and may smell bad, but is not unhealthy. The water is suitable for livestock but it is moderately alkaline and cows and sheep may not like the water from this well," Brown said. There were eight wells which fell into the hard/salty water category. "These are spread out all over," he said and are located in such areas as the arroyo south of the Kerr-McGee mine, about a half-mile north of the Church Rock Chapter, one in the Hard Ground, and two in the Superman Canyon Road area. Four wells fell into the category of "bad water," meaning water which approaches or exceeds drinking water standards for primary contaminants. "The Lime Ridge water well, right across the King's Ranch, exceeded uranium standards. Well 16T-606 exceeds the radium standards and Well 14K- 586 exceeds the arsenic standards," Brown said. There also are secondary contaminants such as total dissolved solids, calcium, fluoride, iron and phosphate. This water is primarily used for livestock, according to Brown. "As of today, we know that nobody drinks this water. The recommendation was not to have even livestock use that. A lot of what we were looking at was: Water that is good for people; water that is good for people and livestock; water that is not good for people but good for livestock; and then the 'bad water' is for cattle and people NOT to use at all," he said. Chapter officials will release the actual data at a later date, as that information is still being compiled. "One of the things Navajo Nation is stressing is not to utilize unregulated water resources," Brown said. Officials are working with Navajo Tribal Utility Authority to get all residents served by NTUA. "I'm not sure how many people are being served in this area, but a lot of these areas are on NTUA's water resource," he said. Brown and John Plummer of Navajo Nation EPA are continuing to test homes in the Church Rock area for radon. "We're about 50 percent completed with our radon program testing. Our goal is to test 175 homes," Brown said. Results from the radon testing could be available in April. Results of a survey for gamma radiation conducted in October are still coming in and also are not expected to be available until late March or early April, he said. The Church Rock Chapter also is working with Annabelle Allison of the Tribal Air Monitoring Support Center to set up air monitoring stations."We have two air monitors that came from the Las Vegas EPA center. One is going to be set up on Water Pond Road and the second is going to be set up on Pipeline Road," Brown said. A site reconnaissance to determine the locations for installation was conducted on Tuesday. The monitors run off electricity, so the chapter will be working with residents and Continental Divide Electric Co. to power the monitors. Anyone interested in assisting with the air monitoring is encouraged to contact the chapter. The monitors are tentatively set to be installed in mid-March, and a training date will be scheduled, Brown said. "They go out once a week and change the filters," which then will be sent to Las Vegas for analysis. Results will be given to the chapter on a monthly basis once monitoring gets under way. Brown said students from Wingate High School and a teacher at Gallup Junior High have expressed interest in the monitoring program. By working with students, he said, it would give them hands-on laboratory experience and insights into particulate monitoring, which might lead to interest in a career with EPA, he said. "You never know." ========================================= Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue. To subscribe, send an email to: BIGMTLIST-subscribe@topica.com. --------- "RE: Buffalo return beyond the Range in State Project" --------- Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 16:16:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OKLAHOMA BUFFALO ART" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=1186391 Buffalo return beyond the range in state project By Tom Lindley The Oklahoman February 26, 2004 Across the untamed stretches of the Osage, the buffalo scatter in small bands this time of year in search of cool-season grasses. The cows, which are expecting, generally remain separated from the bulls, which boast a thick mane and an impressive topknot of hair on their foreheads. Their wanderings occasionally take them to the crest of a hill, where at sunset their distinctive western profiles are outlined in a golden sheen silhouetted against a red sky. "At times like that, they are truly captivating," said Harvey Payne, a longtime fan of the buffalo and director of the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. "It's easy to understand then why they always have been considered a spiritual animal." Now, the prairie romantics have found an unusual way to share the spirit of the buffalo and stress the importance of conservation without trying to drive a whole herd of incorrigibles to town. By May, more than 100 life-size fiberglass buffalo will be on display in downtown Oklahoma City and statewide in an attempt by The Nature Conservancy to celebrate civic pride and artistic creativity and to promote the conservation of Oklahoma's natural landscapes and waterways through the sale of corporate and individual sponsorships. "Some of the region's most talented artists will bring to life these magnificent ambassadors with our message to protect the last great places in Oklahoma," said Jenny Hendrick, project co-chairwoman. Even so, faux buffalo are not to be confused with the current species, which has roamed the range for more than 5,000 years. Faux buffalo will get blown over in a high wind. Real buffalo are hardy, robust and rooted to the ground. Faux buffalo will require sunblock to keep their paint from fading. Real buffalo are oblivious to the elements. Faux buffalo aim to delight and entertain. For example, the "Wiley Post buffalo" will have a patch over its left eye. One tip of the "van Gogh buffalo's" horn will be missing. The "OG&E buffalo" will wear a hard hat and tool belt. Another buffalo will wear roller skates, dispelling the notion that you can't roller-skate in a buffalo herd. Real buffalo, conversely, take their job way too seriously. "The selective grazing habits of bison is what has shaped the prairie over time," Payne said. "They are exclusively grass eaters that don't eat broad-leaf plants, so they have allowed wild flowers to sparkle on the prairie, which has supported the biotic diversity of prairie life." Indeed, a young state with a big prairie and a storied past can learn a lot about survival from the buffalo. Distinguished Oklahoma City artist Mike Larsen, who was commissioned by Devon Energy Corp. to paint its buffalo, said the "revitalization of this creature on earth is something we did right." Cave drawings around the world attest how the buffalo long has been savored for the nourishment of its meat and the warmth of its hide. It also has been shot at for sport and barely saved from extinction. For all the trouble it's been put through, Larsen said it's finally time to salute the buffalo by celebrating its patriotism. That's why Larsen's buffalo will wear the red, white and blue in the form of acrylic paint. The front half will be painted in a field of blue. Thirteen red and white stripes, following the contours of his body, will comprise the rest of the United States flag. Its two horns will be gold- leafed. Monday, employees of Devon Energy started showing up at his Paseo studio to add the key ingredient -- their handprints, which will be substituted for the flag's 50 stars. "Putting regular stars on it would have been dull," Larsen said. Chris Biagi, an environmental health and safety remediation specialist, pressed down long and hard as he put his mark on the buffalo. "He left a heckuva handprint," said Larsen, whose other subjects also are known for their strong facial features and powerful hands. Devon employees submitted entries in a contest to name the buffalo. The winning name? "Roughneck." The animal sat untouched in Larsen's studio for two weeks before the idea to "go with the flag" hit him about 3 o'clock in the morning. "The concept is the hard part," Larsen said. "Then, it is a matter of enjoying the application." The flag and the buffalo appear to be a natural coupling for Larsen, a patriotic man who says his clear love for Oklahoma is grounded in the state's "people, the space and the calmness." "People are not the same everywhere," he said. "People here don't really care what you do for a living. They just like the fact that you work." Larsen said he learned a lot about the nature of Oklahomans at an early age when he tagged along with his uncle, who was delivering some cattle to the Oklahoma City Stockyards. "Some cows went down in the trailer and my uncle had to get them up before one was killed," Larsen said. "When he finished, he was covered from head to toe in cow crap." After unloading the cattle, the pair went to Cattleman's Restaurant for breakfast, which was their custom on sale day. Uncle Floyd, sensitive to how he smelled, went to the back door in hopes of getting to eat in a corner in the kitchen. But to their shock, the restaurant owner ordered them to the front of the restaurant, where they were seated at a table. There were empty tables all around them because of the odor, but Larsen got to eat a proper breakfast that day. "The owner said he wouldn't turn away my uncle because it was people like him who built his restaurant," Larsen said. Larsen now is among those who have not forgotten that the time has come to put the buffalo first in line on the Oklahoma prairie. Copyright c. 2004 News 9, The Oklahoman, Produced by NewsOK --------- "RE: She's already an Inspiration" --------- Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 16:29:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TYLEE SHAY TWO BULLS" http://www.lakotajournal.com/alc.htm She's just a kid, but she's already an inspiration By Dottie Potter Lakota Journal Associate Editor Volume 5 * Issue 10 * February 27 - March 5, 2004 RAPID CITY - A young Indian girl from the Pine Ridge Reservation has already had many exciting "once in a lifetime" experiences, but will soon embark on even more this summer. Tylee Shay Two Bulls, Oglala Lakota from Rapid City, was one of five chosen to compete in the Millie Lewis American Modeling and Talent Convention that will take place June 29 through July 5 at the Marriott World Center in Orlando, Florida. She was selected during a talent search in mid-February in Rapid City at the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn. There were 1,500 to 2,000 individuals who participated in the recent event with approximately 100 in Tylee's age group. "I about fell over when they called the next morning and said that Tylee had been chosen," Doreen "Brandy" Two Bulls said in response to her daughter's selection from so many who competed. Tylee had only one word to describe how she felt about the upcoming experience when she responded, "Exciting!" Two Bulls added that it was the opportunity they had been looking for to help Tylee get into a modeling career. They have been trying for the past five years to get Tylee into the modeling business. She has auditioned for movies such as the latest Disney film, "Peter Pan" and appeared in the movie "Skins." Talent scouts from around the world attend the Millie Lewis Convention where the family now hopes that a future in modeling or acting for Tylee will begin. She will be competing in the "Female Young Miss" category for TV commercials, catalog, runway and photographs. The company also recommends that Tylee compete for Soap Operas and Sit Com's in addition to spoke's model and lifestyle where she will be dressed in her Native American Pow Wow regalia. According to information in a letter sent to school principals, the "Millie Lewis American Modeling and Talent Convention has been internationally recognized since 1982 as the most outstanding convention of its type in North America." It's designed to foster the careers of young men and women through educational programs, seminars, scholarships, competitions and actual jobs. The Millie Lewis Agencies have been in existence since 1960 and are members of the Better Business Bureau in the Atlanta, Georgia area where the company's administrative office is located. They claim to have worked with every major modeling agency in the world as well as many major talent agents. Tylee credits her family for helping her achieve in school and elsewhere. She said, "My mother and grandmother Melvina have always encouraged me to do my best and my grandma Melvina always told me to never give up and to always try to do my best." Two Bulls added that, "Grandma Nellie (Two Bulls) has always been such an inspiration to me and now she also inspires Tylee." Tylee's father is Dennis Janis and she is second oldest in her family of four sisters and one brother. Her grandparents are Louis "Louie Boy" and Melvina Winters of Pine Ridge, Pat Pourier of Rockyford and Helen Jamison and Oliver Janis of Pine Ridge. Her great-grandparents are Nellie Two Bulls, the late Matthew Two Bulls and Ailene Janis, all of Pine Ridge. The family lived at Pine Ridge where Tylee attended school until moving to Rapid City the past year. She attends Rapid Valley Elementary School where she is in the 4th grade and the only Native American in her class. Two Bulls said her daughter is a straight A student and makes her class studies a high priority in addition to participating in many extra circular activities that includes playing basketball and running in track, as well as dancing at Pow Wows. Tylee is also part of a dance group called the K-Roo's in Rapid City. They perform mostly at the Civic Center games. She has won numerous awards including "Student of the Month," "Star of the Week" and was selected as "Honorary Conductor for the Black Hills Symphony" in January of this year. Two Bulls said another person who has been instrumental in assisting Tylee is Beverly Chapman who has been her sponsor for the past five years. They were connected through the "Circle of Children" organization which Winters is associated with because of her work with children at Pine Ridge. "Beverly has just been wonderful. She has taken Tylee on trips to Washington, D.C., New York City and she has done so much for her," Two Bulls said. Chapman lives in Chicago and pays for Tylee to fly there for visits and they travel elsewhere together. She also comes out here and stays with the family for a period of time each year. Two Bulls said that Chapman takes Tylee on shopping sprees for clothes, buys her school supplies and takes her to restaurants of her choice. She has had the opportunity to see places like the White House, the Capital, the monuments and other famous sites in the Washington area. While visiting New York City, Tylee had the opportunity to visit the United Nations and perform an Indian dance before the delegates gathered there. When asked if she was nervous while performing before such a group of dignitaries, she responded, "No." Tylee toured the famous Twin Towers just days before the terrible tragedy of September 11, 2001 and flew out of the city only four days before the horrible event. That experience left her mother in a panic about future plane travel for her daughter. But a long flight is planned for this summer following the competition in Florida when Chapman has arranged for Tylee to spend some time with her in Chicago before the two will fly over to Hawaii for a vacation and sight-seeing on the Islands. "Beverly is so good to her. Tylee has gotten to ride in limousines when picked up from the airports and she has met famous people. Beverly has done so many things for her. We just can't express our appreciation enough, " Two Bulls said. She added that Chapman has also provided school supplies for Tylee's sisters and brother and has taken the older sister along on trips. Chapman said, "Tylee has been an honor student and a pleasure to be around. She should be featured as a roll model to all Indian children as an encouragement to keep on trying even when things get hard." "She has seen her share of hardships, death, poverty and sadness, but in spite of her experiences, she goes to school, stays on the honor roll, helps her mother with the children, stays out of trouble and always thinks of others first," Chapman added. Chapman is half Apache and said that she understands the concerns, disappointments and ways of the Plains Indians. She has worked with the Pine Ridge Sioux Tribe for five years and in that time has helped to build an orphanage and acquire $80,000 for the Headstart program. Through Senator Daschle's office and the Appropriations Committee, Chapman said she was able to acquire $2.5 million for a public transportation system. "Currently I am working on money for a private clinic, a library and sponsorships for six elderly," Chapman said. Tylee's opportunity at the United Nations came when Chapman was invited to speak at the United Nations Indigenous Peoples Forum in New York. Chapman said with pride that, "Tylee was present during that time and was photographed and put on the United Nations Web page." Tylee has an exciting spring and summer coming up. She concluded by saying that, "Even though I travel a lot, I always make time for my school work no matter what and I am a true believer in God and so is my family. When times for me get stressful, I take time out to pray to Jesus because I know in my heart He's listening and watching over me." Two Bulls said the family is looking for and in need of local sponsors to assist with the upcoming modeling convention because the family is responsible for all of her expenses, including travel to and from, lodging and meals. She said a fund has been set up at a local bank where donations can be made. The address is: Tylee Two Bulls AMTC Donation Fund Care of U.S. Bank 2001 W. Main St. Rapid City, SD 57702 Copyright c. 2004 Lakota Journal. --------- "RE: Racism Editorial: These are their Stories" --------- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 08:11:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RACISM" http://www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/windeditorials.html These are their stories Windspeaker Editorial February - 2004 We've been kicking and screaming about racism and cops and Indians for quite some time now. In fact, we are sick to death of reporting on the "isolated incidents" the authorities insist on labeling the police brutality and racism towards our people. We continue to write about it, however, because the kind of racism we are talking about is the deadly kind, and if not fatal, fatally flawed because the people who love to hate have the power of life and death over the hated. It was with more than a bit of disgust that we watched the Ontario Provincial Police video aired on the CBC in late January, but it was with a sense of vindication. We told you so. There it is, right on tape, racism in the police force, racism that we have written about so frequently. The 'I told you so' isn't going to drive any point home, however, so let us try to persuade Canadians to shrug off that mantle of denial they've cloaked themselves so comfortably in and take a close and critical look at a real problem in their 'just society.' If they don't, more people will die-many more. And respect for law enforcement officers will continue to plummet. If Canadians choose to open their eyes, they'll see the racism polluting the police forces across this land as plain as the nose on their collective face. Donald Marshall, Winston Wutanee, Helen Betty Osborne, J.J. Harper, Darrell Knight and all the other starlight cruisers; Lucy Pedoniquott, Shelley Napope, Eva Taysup and Calinda Waterhen, all the women whose remains have finally been found at the Pickton farm near Vancouver, and Frank Paul who died of exposure after police dumped him in a back alley in that city, despite his obvious inability to care for himself at the time. There's more, many more. And Dudley George. We don't know who spoke those ugly, racist things caught on videotape just hours before Dudley died at Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995 (if you haven't heard about it, please see page 8 of this edition for details), because those police officers were protected. There was no public repercussion. One officer got sensitivity training and we suspect paid to attend those classes. The other's contract wasn't renewed. And where is this racist now? Is he wearing a different uniform? Is he a ticking time bomb waiting to go off on another Native family? Cops always complain about how the courts let the bad guys they work so hard to catch just walk away with a rap on the knuckles. What do you call sensitivity training after a man is executed for no reason by a police officer? What do you call eight years of burying the evidence in mounds of red tape so people wouldn't be able to view it? There were 200 cops at Ipperwash that Labour Day weekend, and according to the investigation, not one of them saw which of their colleagues beat Counc. Cecil George so badly that his heart stopped? Cops talk about honor a lot. But when one of their own dishonors the uniform and job, they form a blue wall. And that dishonors them all. If you make a career out of serving and protecting, you're supposed to be someone special, someone who commands the respect and appreciation of the community at large. If there are clowns and incompetents and criminals in your midst and you protect them, you're just as bad as they are and you command no respect at all from anyone. You have no honor. You shouldn't be able to become a cop if your mind is poisoned with racism and ignorance. You shouldn't be able to become a leader of cops if you turn your back on the racism and ignorance that stinks up the shop. As long as nothing happens to people like the two anonymous OPP bigots that taped themselves at Ipperwash that day, there can be no pretence that there is accountability in the Canadian system. Remember accountability. The government authority has been beating that drum in the direction of our people for a number of years. Shine the light on yourselves, boys. And the media has to take a good long look at itself as well. Print off all the news stories about David Ahenakew and his racist bile and then all the print stories generated about the OPP watermelon brothers. Put those stacks side by side and then ask yourself why the OPP racists generated so little attention across the country. Denial? Or more racism? As long as nothing happens to bigots in uniforms or in government offices or in newsrooms only one thing is guaranteed: there will be more injustice. And there will be certainly more funerals. For God's sake Canada, snap out of it. Copyright c. 2004 Windspeaker, AMMSA - Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: Handling of Residential abuse Claims Wasteful" --------- Date: Wed, 24 Feb 2004 08:13:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OTTAWA SPENDING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://cbc.ca/stories/2004/02/22/residential_schools040222 Handling of residential abuse claims wasteful: lawyer February 23, 2004 OTTAWA - The federal government is spending far more on the administration of residential abuse claims than on actual settlements, according to documents obtained by CBC News. Ottawa is facing at least 12,000 claims from former students of the schools, which attempted to assimilate aboriginal children into mainstream culture. Young native boys and girls were taken from them homes and put into the schools, which operated in different parts of Canada from the 1890s to the 1980s. The schools, run by various churches, were funded by the federal government. A lot of the former students have died. But many of those still alive say they were beaten, tormented and sexually abused by teachers and clergy. Over the past three years, Ottawa has spent more than $200 million managing the claims, according to documents obtained through Canada's Access to Information Act. One-third of that amount has gone to government lawyers and their staff. During the same period, only $38 million has been paid out in claims to victims of the abuse, according to the documents, which are often marked "secret." It's another example of waste and incompetence on the part of the government, says Regina lawyer Tony Merchant, who represents about 6,000 former students. "It's bad for the victims. It's bad for the government. It's just become another sort of boondoggle program," he says. Merchant accuses the federal government of using delay tactics, and says 150 of his clients have died waiting for a settlement. But federal officials point out that all claims of abuse have to be checked thoroughly. And given the growing mountain of lawsuits, they argue that the millions spent on administration are unsurprising and justified. "Yeah, the numbers are big. But frankly they're appropriate given what we're trying to resolve," says Shawn Tupper of Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada. Ottawa has previously estimated total claims could end up costing just under $1 billion. But a secret government document now warns that claims filed so far are seeking at least $14 billion. In one report, civil servants say they're "surprised at how quickly costs mounted." Attempts to move cases out of the courts and into mediation have merely prompted "claims that otherwise would not have surfaced," according to notes written by federal lawyers. Written by CBC News Online staff Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Business savvy spurring Tsuu T'ina Success" --------- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 08:11:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TSUU T'INA BUSINEES SAVVY" http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/CalgarySun/News/2004/02/24/358514.html Business savvy spurring success By Michael Platt, Calgary Sun February 24, 2004 Being overlooked by the metropolis next door hasn't stopped the Tsuu T'ina from finding opportunity among the people who live in the city. A blend of business acumen and a savvy sense of what their 900,000 neighbours want has placed the Tsuu T'ina in the enviable position of offering lucrative products to an almost unlimited audience. The Nation's first venture into tapping Calgary riches came in 1976, when Redwood Meadows Golf and Country Club opened to the public, on a section of reserve land near the town of Bragg Creek, 20 minutes west of Calgary. Designed by top course architects Bill Newis and Stan Leonard, the 18- hole championship course is rated among the top five in Western Canada by both the Canadian and Alberta golf associations. The par 72, 7,000-yard course, which can accommodate 450 golfers a day, was named Redwood Meadows after the land it was built on -- the site of a 1940s forest fire where the trees grew back with a reddish tinge to their bark. The course, including the restaurant and banquet rooms, employs 30 Tsuu T'ina, and brings in more than $1 million a year, money which is used in part for social programs and housing on the reserve. The Redwood Meadows golf course isn't the only Tsuu T'ina business venture in the Bragg Creek area, and an entire town exists alongside the course. It's also called Redwood Meadows. The only place of its kind in Canada, and the envy of First Nations across Canada, Redwood Meadows is regarded as a major business accomplishment, showing First Nations can work together with non- Aboriginal Canadians. "It's a big success, and it's unique," said Stan Ogrodniczuk, Redwood Meadow's townsite manager. "They came up with the idea of a residential community -- now we're a self-sufficient little town." Ogrodniczuk is obviously proud of Redwood Meadows, which has its own fire station and emergency services, as well as sewer and water, cable and garbage pickup. Getting federal permission for a non-Native town to be built on Aboriginal land required a lot of red tape to be broken -- the Tsuu T'ina had to first surrender the townsite to the Crown in 1974, under a 75-year lease agreement. The Crown then leased the land back to Sarcee Developments Ltd. -- a company fully owned by the Tsuu T'ina Nation -- which in turn subleased to non-reserve residents. While federal rules say the First Nation can't own the town, a First Nation-run company can. This somewhat confusing multiple-lease arrangement allowed the Tsuu T'ina to reap the rewards by developing an upscale, rural town, with 1,150 residents leasing 351 homes, which now market for at least $250,000 each. The money raised in 1976 went towards developing the golf course. Redwood Meadows townsite, now only a few kilometres outside of Calgary, is attractive for people working in the city who want a rural home. Ogrodniczuk, who has had ample opportunity to learn about the Tsuu T'ina and their way of doing business, said he isn't surprised to see nation ventures doing so well. "They understand Calgary better than Calgary thinks they do, and they react to what Calgary wants," he said. The Tsuu T'ina and Redwood Meadow's residents are starting to negotiate for Sept. 5, 2049, when the lease expires. Homeowners are currently paying $25 a month towards a contingency fund for that date, and Ogrodniczuk said he expects the town will continue to thrive as before. "There is a willingness on the part of both parties to get together on this," he said. In more recent years, the Tsuu T'ina decided to see if they could sink another ace, and in 1998 they opened the Buffalo Run Golf Course on the edge of Calgary, along 37 St. S.W. near Anderson Road. A nine hole, par 32, 3,000 yards long course cashes in on Calgary's infatuation with golf, and is helped along by a location beside one of the city's fastest growing areas. The flood of Calgary cars past the once quiet Tsuu T'ina gateway hasn't gone unnoticed by band business leaders, and a bustling gas station, with bargain prices, lures the Calgary drivers who have turned the former country lane into a major artery. Given the Tsuu T'ina's success in cashing in on Calgary, it's now looking like Redwood Meadows and Buffalo Run will be just the tip of the iceberg, and projects worth hundreds of millions are being discussed. A multi-million dollar, 70,000-ft. casino planned for reserve land near Glenmore Trail and 37 St. S.W. has caused conflict between Calgary and Aboriginals. City aldermen argued the development would cause more traffic problems. Calgary's existing traffic woes are linked to the casino's development, as negotiations creep along for a public highway through reserve land. The Tsuu T'ina would like the casino to use the same highway for customer access, and the road may also be used to connect shoppers to a multi-million retail centre being considered for the area. Nearby, a piece of land left over from much darker times is being considered for development, either for commercial use, or for homes along the lines of Redwood Meadows townsite. Once known as Harvey Barracks, and now called Black Bear Crossing, the land was sold by the poverty-stricken and near starving Tsuu T'ina First Nation to the Canadian military in 1913 for a paltry $50,000. The land was returned to the Tsuu T'ina in the 1990s, and the old military buildings currently house Aboriginal families. One plan under consideration will see the Tsuu T'ina residents rehoused elsewhere on the reserve, and the entire 470 hectare area redeveloped and leased to Calgarians. Copyright c. 2003, Sun Media Corporation / Netgraphe inc. --------- "RE: First Nations' New Wave taking Art to the Edge" --------- Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 13:15:53 -0500 From: Frosty Subj: Fw: First Nations' new wave taking art to the edge Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian ----- Original Message ----- From: Russell Diabo http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/~4cc1-8c7e-e5ac585c18f8 First Nations' new wave taking art to the edge Writers of erotica and actors who don't play aboriginal roles are among the new wave in First Nations media, Lyla Miller reports. Lyla Miller The Ottawa Citizen February 29, 2004 Aboriginal artists gathered at an Ottawa conference this weekend are leaving tradition behind as they create erotic fiction, digitally altered photographs and provocative television programs -- inviting challenges from within and outside their communities. Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, an Anishnaabe writer, editor and publisher, spoke about why she decided to publish Without Reservation, a collection of aboriginal erotica. "I thought, I'm inundated with all these images of aboriginal people whose sexuality comes from a place where we're seen as victims, and that keeps getting perpetuated over again," she said. "We're trying to heal ... and I think one way to do that is to present other images and to allow people to embrace that side of themselves." However, Carleton University student Jaime Koebel, also a writer of aboriginal descent, cautioned that she could see why some First Nations people might not yet be ready to embrace aboriginal erotica. "A lot of us are still going through issues of sexual abuse, or abuse in general, and residential schools," she said. "I think that maybe you're ahead of the game at this point." Darrel Dennis, who hosts Bingo and a Movie on the Aboriginal People's Television Network, said he's part of a national movement of young aboriginal artists who are "trying to show stories, no matter how gritty they are, with reality." Mr. Dennis has received angry letters over Moccasin Flats, a series he's writing about the lives of teens in a Regina slum. Some of the characters are pimps, prostitutes and drug users, and there are those who fear the show will reinforce negative stereotypes. Despite such criticisms, Mr. Dennis said the edgy program is breaking important ground. "I think a lot of young aboriginal people are more interested in cutting to the truth and starting to really question some of the things we've upheld as the truth, and starting to question what is our responsibility in our future," he said. Tamara Podemski, a singer and actress who starred in the musical Rent on Broadway, said the largest problem facing aboriginal actors is that they are usually cut off from roles that aren't specifically designed for them. "It's a celebration every time I get cast in something that has nothing to do with my race. It's a cause for me and every other native performer to celebrate, because it doesn't mean that I play a white character, it means that I play a human being," she said. The conference was organized by Prof. Allan J. Ryan, who holds the New Sun chair at Carleton University -- the only endowed university position in Canada dedicated to promoting aboriginal arts. Mr. Ryan said there's a lot of buzz around the five artists he invited to participate in the conference, now in its third year. "The artists are saying, 'Where are the depictions of our experiences that we don't see? I have to create these images,'" said Mr. Ryan. "These are the people who are making a difference and pushing the boundaries." Copyright c. 2004 The Ottawa Citizen. --------- "RE: Aboriginal Budget at $8 Billion" --------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 08:22:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEW BUDGET" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/~30a9-470b-9cd0-178d85e1f4da&disp=e&end Aboriginal budget at $8 billion Vancouver Sun February 25, 2004 OTTAWA - The federal budget for aboriginals will surpass $8 billion a year following a more than $800-million increase announced Tuesday. The figures include a near doubling of the budget for the office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution, which is under fire this week for spending more money on administration than it does on settlements. The office's budget is now pegged at $99.8 million, according to Ottawa's main estimates for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2004. At Indian affairs and northern development, the annual budget is up 8.5 per cent to $5.8 billion, while Health Canada's First Nations and Inuit Health Branch is in line for a $269-million increase to $1.7 billion a year. Copyright c. 2004 The Vancouver Sun. --------- "RE: Treaty 3 Chief charged for sexual assault" --------- Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 08:40:25 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHIEF JOURDAIN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/HTML%20files/newsfront.html Jourdain charged for sexual assault By Janet Gibson Miner and News Staff February 29, 2004 Kenora OPP have charged Leon Jourdain, Chief of Grand Council Treaty 3, with sexual assault. A news release issued by the local OPP detachment said the charge is in connection with an incident in the Kenora area dating back to Feb. 4. The Kenora OPP laid the charge as the result of an investigation after receiving a complaint on Feb. 19. Jourdain, 49, was released from custody with conditions and is to appear in court April 5. "We've had better days around here," said executive director of Grand Council Treaty 3 Reid Thompson. "The Grand Chief is to adhere to some conditions which include not talking to anyone at the office or attending the office. "I haven't had the opportunity to hear from him the nature of the charge or what his intentions are. "At the Grand Council, we consider this a serious matter and I can assure people it will be the subject of serious consideration. There are mechanisms that exist that will ensure that we receive the direction from the leadership. And I will receive that direction on Wednesday at a meeting of the executive council. "More broadly, we're as interested in the truth of the matter as anyone else. We hope the truth can be revealed quickly." Thompson said Jourdain is being represented by Winnipeg lawyer Greg Brodsky. Brodsky said Friday morning Jourdain will contest the charges. "I'll speak to the Crown (in Kenora) today to expand his travel restrictions so he can come to my office," Brodsky said. Thompson added the administrative offices of the Grand Council are open and "will continue to function with very little disruption." Copyright c. 2004 Kenora Daily Miner and News. --------- "RE: 9th rules on Alaska Native Land Selections" --------- Date: Sun, 29 Feb 2004 16:29:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ALASKA NATIVE LAND" http://www.indianz.com/News//archive/000384.asp 9th Circuit rules on Alaska Native land selections Friday, February 27, 2004 In a unanimous decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled in a dispute over the selection of lands by Alaska Native village corporations. The case stems from a difficult and drawn-out selection process among five village corporations in Cook Inlet, the most populous area in the state. The village corporations were unable to select desirable land around their villages under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, so agreements had to be drawn up affecting the way the Cook Inlet Regional Inc. (CIRI) divvied up land among the villages. The 9th Circuit considered one of these agreements, the Deficiency Agreement of 1976. CIRI and the village corporations sought to select lands in Appendix C of the agreement but Interior refused until the lands in Appendix A were exhausted. A three-judge panel of the court agreed with Interior's position and ruled that the Agreement required all Appendix A lands to be selected before turning to those in Appendix C. Copyright c, 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Last Minute Gaming Compact Measures" --------- Date: Sat, 28 Feb 2004 16:16:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANTI-INDIAN TRICK BAG" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=3922 Anti-Indian legislator slips last minute gaming compact measures into bill Tribes having to pay million dollar fines defended OKLAHOMA CITY OK Sam Lewin February 27, 2004 The Republican member of Oklahoma's House of Representatives who added language to the just-passed gaming compact says it will help tribes and the state, even though his measures could add significant costs to the plan. Edmond Representative Wayne Pettigrew sought to require tribes agreeing to the compact to pay any outstanding fines from the National Indian Gaming Commission. Pettigrew says a tribal official told him that even with the added conditions, Indian gaming comes out on top. "It guarantees that for 15 years the tribes will have no competition except for the tracks," Pettigrew told the Native American Times. Some tribes, such as the Seminole Nation, have incurred huge fines from the NIGC. The Seminoles joined the Choctaws in lobbying heavily for the passage of the measure. How the added language will set with them is uncertain; Seminole officials did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. A Choctaw spokeswoman said the tribe does not owe any money to the NICG. Pettigrew also defended a caveat that earmarks the first quarter-million in gaming proceeds to go to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health for gambling addiction treatment. He says the tribes can contribute "voluntarily" to the fund. The compact was approved Thursday afternoon by a vote of 52-47. The bill, passed by the Senate last week, allows state racetracks to operate the same types of games that Indian casinos do. A gaming compact tied into the proposal allows specific electronic games and some non-house bank card games to be played at the casinos. Although the legislation faced staunch opposition from a large share of Republicans senators and house members, Pettigrew said he felt "really good" about it. "The Indian nations involved were really wonderful to work it. They came with the attitude that they were all Oklahomans," he said. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2003 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Saugeen Ojibway claim Water Rights" --------- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 08:11:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WATER RIGHTS LAND CLAIM" http://www.ammsa.com/birchbark/topnews-Feb-2004.html#anchor1035625 Bands claim water rights Roberta Avery, Birchbark Writer, Owen Sound February - 2004 The Saugeen Ojibway have filed a huge new claim for title to a vast expanse of water and lakebed on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. "This claim is part of a long-term plan to return our people to complete self sufficiency by righting one of the wrongs of history," said Ralph Akiwenzie, chief of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation. The legal basis of the claim is that the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation and the Nawash First Nation never signed treaties that dealt with their territory under those waters. The claim covers a huge area of Lake Huron from south of Goderich, across the lake to the United States border, around the Bruce Peninsula and east to the middle of Georgian Bay, and south to the southernmost point of Nottawasaga Bay. "This claim is a natural progression of how we have always felt about this area of the world and now we believe we have the evidence to test that it court. We owe it to our people to correct an old injustice," said Saugeen First Nation Chief Randall Roote. If the claim succeeds, it could mean that anyone who uses the territorial water could be subject to a fee. It also means that the bands would own mineral rights to the lakebed if oil or gas were ever discovered there, and possibly even the salt in the salt mine under the lakebed near Goderich, said Akiwenzie. "We don't want to make the idea of charging a fee to use the water the focal point of the claim, but yes, that's one of the things we are looking at," said Akiwenzie. Because of concerns that a big draw on the water could upset the lake's delicate balance, his people have strongly opposed a proposed $100 million pipeline to supply drinking water from Colpoys Bay to Sauble Beach and then Walkerton. But if the pipeline goes ahead, Akiwenzie would like to see the water taken from traditional waters metered, and a fee paid to the First Nations people. "Water meters are a common thing, so if they are taking the water, there should be some expectancy that it will be paid for." The same could apply to a pipeline in Collingwood, where millions of litres of water from Georgian Bay are pumped annually to Alliston about 60 kilometres to the south, to help that community supply the Honda plant. The legal claim is against Canada as a descendent of the Crown that negotiated treaties with First Nations in Ontario and against Ontario, which has assumed possession of lands. The First Nations exclusively occupied their traditional territory at the time of the assertion of British sovereignty. "When First Nations people lose their lands, a good part of their identity of themselves is lost," said Roote. "From the waters we derived our livelihood by fishing, and activity we have pursued for thousands of years and one that reaches into the core of our culture," said Akiwenzie. The federal government has filed notice that it intends to defend the action, said Gary Penner, legal counsel to the Attorney General of Canada. On May 9, the government will ask the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto to quash the claim, based on the Great Lakes being navigable waters, said Penner. "They are shared in common by all citizens, and the law, in our view, precludes exclusive ownership," he said. The First Nations are asking that the claim be heard at the same time as a Bruce Peninsula land claim filed in 1994. It does not affect land owned by private citizens but it does claim Crown land. In lieu of land available for reparation, the bands are claiming its monetary value plus compensation for loss of its use, plus a sum for punitive damages. The monetary value of the claim is $90 billion. Roger Townsend, a lawyer representing the bands in both claims, said that some of the legal issues overlap. There are legal precedents for Aboriginal title being awarded if the Aboriginal people can prove that they had exclusive occupation at the time of British sovereignty, he said. Copyright c. 2004 Ontario Birchbark, AMMSA-Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: From Danielle: March 2 Circuit Court Hearing" --------- Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2004 16:14:27 EST From: HistorysMsStory@aol.com Subj: FROM DANIELLE: Please Distribute Mailing List: Metis From: Dan Pat Subj: 2nd circut court NYC hearing March 2, 2004. 10 am Mailing List: Oneidas for Democracy Sent: Monday, March 1, 2004 3:48 AM Sken:kwo, Greetings all! I would like to update everyone of the set hearing regarding the Onyota'a:ka Oneida Indian Territory demolitions at the Federal 2nd circuit court of appeals in NYC on March 2, 2004 at 10:am. I am requesting that all those who may be attending please do not bring cell phones, recording devices or camera'a. A lot less trouble when everyone enters the court room. I am glad I will be seeing my family and community members at the hearing since I have been working in MA. I am requesting a prayer for all those who have supported the Oneidas for Democracy and the families of the 32 acres Onyota' aka Oneida Indian Territory at 8:am this coming Tuesday's hearing. I will be saying a prayer for the truth to be heard and for peace not only be restored for territory residents and the Oneida people, but for all nations and all of creation. My mother Maisie Shenandoah (Oneida Wolf Clan Mother) health is not well and if everyone could please send her good thoughts and prayers as well. Ny^wen (Thank you) to all who have envisioned and who have worked on behalf for Sken:non (Peace) and an end to all mistreatment of the people of the 32 acre native community, and all those who have suffered at the hands of those who are in power by money and corporate control. Oneh:ki wa, Danielle Schenandoah Patterson Here are directions for anyone who plans on attending the hearing: - Please Distribute: In keeping with the Great Laws of Peace and the path walked by the Oneida Traditionals You are all invited to come quietly support during the following event: Tuesday, March 2, 2004 10:00am 1114 03 7862 Maisie Shenandoah, et al (12) v. Arthur Raymond Halbritter, et al (12) Room 1705 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS, SECOND CIRCUIT THURGOOD MARSHALL U.S. COURTHOUSE 40 Foley Square New York, NY 10007 (212) 857-8500 Downtown Manhattan near City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. TRAVEL DIRECTIONS Per COURT web site: The U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, is located at 40 Foley Square (Centre Street), New York, NY. Canal Street is accessible from West Street (the West Side Drive) and from the Holland Tunnel. Garages are available throughout the immediate area (Canal Street to South Street Seaport). Worth Street provides the closest crosstown access, and Canal Street is also accessible via the FDR Drive. ---- Foley Square is one block east of Broadway; two blocks north of Chambers Street at the Brooklyn Bridge IRT subway stop, and three blocks east of Church Street, near the IND (A and E) subway stop. - See also www.nysd.uscourts.gov-and mapquest.com for Travel Directions. --------- "RE: Navajo Water Settlement is delayed" --------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 08:22:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO WATER SUIT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_8969.shtml Navajo water settlement is delayed By Jim Snyder/The Daily Times February 26, 2004 WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. - The proposed Navajo Nation water rights settlement on the San Juan Basin in the Four Corners has been delayed from reaching Congress for several weeks, Navajo Council Delegate George Arthur said. "The final draft has not been formulated," Arthur, chairman of the Council's Resource Committee, said Wednesday. He added, however, the tribe would meet its March deadline of getting the proposal to Capitol Hill. "It will be about the third week of March in order to get it to the national level." Navajo water rights attorney Stanley Pollack and the Navajo Water Commission are currently in negotiations with the New Mexico state engineer and the Interstate Stream Commission in Albuquerque on the settlement. "The (Navajo) Nation and the state are in real intense negotiations at the present time about problem concerns. They're in negotiations as we speak," Arthur said. A two-day Navajo Council combined work and special session, set t