From gars@speakeasy.org Tue Mar 9 18:37:36 2004 Date: Tue, 09 Mar 2004 15:22:00 -0800 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.011 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 011 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 13, 2004 Cree migisupizum/eagle moon Lakota i`sta< wi`ca niyan wi/moon of snow blindness +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; Frostys AmerIndian and ndn-aim 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "Clearly the Indian reservation isn't who we are. It is a filth created by the subjigation of our people since they were created for us, these reservations were meant to hold animals and dehumanize our race in the eyes of American society." __ Frank J. King, Rosebud Sioux, III co-Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of "Native Voice" +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! This editorial space is where I usually share a few of my own views. However, there are occassions where another's words are so strong they deserve being featured. Tex Hall, President of the NCAI, National Congress of American Indians, has stepped forward with some insite that needs to be read and taken to heart by every single person in Indian Country. I really do try to avoid political stances and political views in this newsletter, but this is one of those times I am definitely taking a stance against the current ferderal administration. Read Tex's words and understand why the Bush gang is NOT good for Native America. Gary ----- http://www.billingsgazette.com/rednews/2004/03/07/build/opinion/guest2.inc Guest Opinion: An assault on sacred lands, tribes By TEX G. HALL National Congress of American Indians March 7, 2004 President Bush has nominated William G. Myers for a lifetime appointment to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears public lands cases from the nine Western states that contain the majority of our nation's public land. For Native Americans, Myers is the worst possible choice. The U.S. government, as steward for millions of acres of Western lands, has accepted responsibility for maintaining and protecting religious sites of significance to Native Americans. This responsibility is clearly recognized not only by treaty and custom but also in laws such as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. Unfortunately, the nominee, while serving two years in the Bush administration as solicitor of the Department of the Interior, trampled on law, religion and dignity. In his official capacity he orchestrated a rollback of protections for sacred native sites on public lands, although such places have been central to the free exercise of religion for many American Indians for centuries. Most notably, despite his stewardship responsibility, with the stroke of his pen Myers reversed a crucial departmental decision that had been arrived at over a period of years with substantial public input. His action cleared the way for a massive hard-rock mining operation employing cyanide to extract gold from enormous heaps of rock. This mine, run by Canada's Glamis Imperial Gold Company, stands to contaminate thousands of acres and destroy a vast swathe of land in the California desert that is sacred to the Quechan tribe. In one of only three formal opinions in his two-year tenure at Interior, Myers argued that the agency's Bureau of Land Management did not have authority under the FLMPA law to prevent the undue degradation of public lands that sometimes accompanies such mining operations. But this is contrary to the specific wording of the legislation, which requires the Department of the Interior to protect against public land degradation that is "unnecessary or undue." While specifically addressing only the Glamis project, Myers's opinion, if followed, would block the Bureau from preventing undue degradation across millions of acres of public land. It's hard to imagine a more fundamental misreading of the language and intent of the law. As federal district Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. - the only judge to have reviewed Myers's handiwork - declared, "The Solicitor misconstrued the clear mandate of FLPMA." Furthermore, the court held: "FLPMA by its plain terms, vests the Secretary of Interior with the authority - and indeed the obligation - to disapprove of an otherwise permissible mining operation because the operation, though necessary for mining, would unduly harm or degrade the public land." Equally troubling to Native Americans is the shameful exclusion of the Quechan Indian Nation from the decision to reconsider the Glamis project. Neither Myers nor Interior Secretary Gale Norton engaged in government-to- -government consultation with the Quechan Indian Nation or other Colorado River tribes before reopening and reversing the Glamis debate. The Ninth Circuit Court encompasses a huge area. It contains scores of reservations, more than one hundred Indian tribes, millions of Indian people and millions of acres of public lands. Judges on this court must understand and respect tribal values and the unique political relationship between the federal government and tribal governments. Myers' actions and legal advice in the Glamis matter trample on tribal values, raise serious questions about his judgment, and demonstrate a clear lack of the impartiality necessary to decide cases affecting public lands. For these reasons, the National Congress of American Indians, the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments, approved a resolution of its full membership opposing Myers' nomination. The organization has not so soundly opposed any other judicial nomination made by this president - but no other nominee has acted with such blatant disregard for the law and for our sacred places. ---- Tex G. Hall is chairman of the Mandan-Hidatsa-Arikara Tribe of Fort Berthold, N.D. He is president of the National Congress of American Indians. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith Night Owl (*,*) gars@speakeasy.org P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30011, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Thousands of Fish die in River - Kanehsatake Chiefs Sue Feds, - Oklahoma Action Alert Other Chiefs - New Puyallup Hatchery - Akaitcho Jurisdictional dispute gets back to Nature fires up - Court Settlement - DEW Line: gives County control to Rez Black Hole in Canadian History - Field Hearing set on - Inquiry Resumes: Osage Membership Bill Aboriginal Teen's freezing Death - Chief Leschi: - Worry about Legislators right Historical Wrong Fake Indian Art and Jewelry - Why is it so important - Firefighter gets 10 Years to exonerate Chief Leschi? for setting Fire - A fight over Land and History - Boys found Dead were not Suspended - Schaghticoke process - Boy found dead keeps grinding along at South Dakota School - Six Virginia Tribes - Teen kills Mother, hangs Himself seeking Federal Recognition - Killing has Victim's Family - Tribes honor Heroes of Cedar Fire asking many Questions - Traditional Iroquois Farming - Native Prisoner methods still work -- Indian culture training - Jesuit cites in works "Loose" Native Culture in Suit - History: Carlisle Indian School - United Mi'gmaq Nation - Rustywire: By the Shiprock Bridge Press Release - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - NASC and Partners missing $700,000 - Phil Goldvarg Poem: - Quebec Metis "Rights" to Fish This Night y Mi Hijo - PKs now Legal in Kanehsatake - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Thousands of Fish die in River" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 08:02:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SOUTH DAKOTA FISH KILL" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.argusleader.com/news/Tuesdayfeature.shtml Thousands of fish die in river Ben Shouse bshouse@argusleader.com March 2, 2004 EPA, tribe investigate huge foam heap in Big Sioux FLANDREAU - Thousands of dead fish and a quivering mound of foam have stirred concerns that something is polluting the Big Sioux River here, but officials say they have not ruled out natural causes yet. Dead fish started turning up Wednesday and by Friday became numerous enough for officials from the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe to call The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA sent an emergency team, which arrived Saturday to take water samples, tribal officials said. The team left Monday morning, just before a mound of foam appeared at the base of Flandreau Dam . The foam was 20 feet high by some estimates. By afternoon, the foam pile had shrunk, but a few dead fish still rolled over the dam every minute - from fat carp to tiny shiners. "I would bet money that there isn't a live fish in here," said John Bechen, assistant director of the tribe's Department of Natural Resources. "Something has been discharged, we just don't know what yet." However, Doug Day of the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks said the fish could have died from winter kill, which happens when rivers and lakes ice over, depriving fish of oxygen. Foam is also a natural occurrence below dams and falls. "This is not completely unexpected, but it is unusual," Day said. Bechen said an EPA official had estimated the fish kill at 30,000 to 50, 000, the second-largest that official had ever seen. Bechen said area anglers told him the kill could hurt fishing for years to come, but Day was more optimistic. "Depending on the extent of the death, the fish throughout the system can quickly move in," he said. Finding the cause will have to wait for test results from the EPA, due sometime next week. One candidate is phosphates from farm fertilizers. Phosphates are also found in detergents, so their presence would explain the unusual amount of foam. However, initial test results suggest winter kill is still a strong candidate - dissolved oxygen was only four parts per million at the dam on Saturday, long enough to kill fish. Dissolved oxygen rose to 12 parts per million Monday, slightly above normal, said tribal water quality specialist Vickie Kujawa. She was not ready to blame winter kill, though. For one thing, the dead fish were of all sizes and species, not just large catfish and carp, which are most vulnerable to low oxygen. The number and location of the dead fish also concerned her. "We've never seen anything of this magnitude come through, especially in a river. Most of your winter kills are in lakes," she said. Sioux Falls officials also were concerned, since the city gets drinking water from the river. When they learned of the fish kill over the weekend, they shut off underground wells nearest the river for a level of extra safety. If something was in the water causing fish to die, it would then bypass city drinking water, said Lyle Johnson, director of public works. Sioux Falls also hasn't been taking water out of the Big Sioux for about a month because it wasn't flowing, Johnson said. The use of river water resumed Monday when the river had enough flow again. Brenda Wade Schmidt contributed to this report. Reach Ben Shouse at 331-2318. Copyright c. 2003 Argus Leader. All rights reserved --------- "RE: Oklahoma Action Alert" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 03:02:33 -0600 From: jkdowell Subj: OKLAHOMA ACTION ALERT Rally to Protect Citizen Rights and Indian Sovereignty... OK Capitol Bldg (south plaza steps) Friday March 26, 2004 1 p.m. Stand with labor groups, Oklahoma citizens and Tribal Nations against the state's attempts to curtail our rights to legally address industrial pollution of Tribal and residential lands, air and water! The state of OK is siding with Continental Carbon (a Taiwanese corporation owned by one of the richest famillies on the planet) against the Ponca Tribe, plant workers and non-Indian landowners near Ponca City who have brought civil complaints against the foreign corporation, Continental Carbon Black. The Oklahoma Dept. of Environmental Quality has asked a federal district court to throw out a civil complaint filed by the Ponca Tribe, PACE Union, and other Ponca City area citizens! A front group for industry, The Environmental Federation of Oklahoma, has also asked the courts to deny citizen, worker and tribal rights and throw out the civil complaint. Farm Bureau, the largest member of the anti-Indian sovereignty group One Nation is also a member of EFO. The consequences of throwing out the civil complaint will have the effect of abolishing the rights of ANY citizen, Indian and NON-Indian to legally address corporate pollution of their properties! Take a stand against corporate colonization and contamination of our Oklahoma communities! We are not the dumping grounds for foreign corporations! Take back our state offices from the Taiwanese Koo family, owners of Continental Carbon Black and others who would sell our right to a clean environment in order to protect the bottomless pockets of polluting corporations against Oklahomans! Join the Eagle & Condor Indigenous Peoples' Alliance, Ponca Tribe, PACE union, and a diverse coalition of concerned citizens on March 26 at 1pm, on the South Plaza steps of the OK capitol to protect citizen rights and Indian sovereignty! For more information call JK Dowell, ECIPA, 918-457-5542 Todd Carlson, PACE Union, 580-763-2160 --------- "RE: New Puyallup Hatchery gets back to Nature" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2004 08:28:27 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PUYALLUP HATCHERY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.tribnet.com/entertainment/story/4811601p-4752607c.html New Puyallup hatchery gets back to nature JEFFREY P. MAYOR; The News Tribune March 4, 2004 The Puyallup Tribe of Indians is close to opening a new hatchery that will raise chinook salmon in a more natural setting. The $2.5 million hatchery is being built on Clarks Creek, about one mile upstream from where it flows into the Puyallup River. Tribal fisheries managers hope to move fish to the new hatchery in April. When the fish do arrive, they will not be put into the typical concrete runs. Instead, they will be placed in pond-size rearing areas complete with gravel bottoms, large rocks and tree stumps. "The natural ponds rear fish that are a little more savvy than a normal hatchery fish," said Blake Smith, enhancement program manager for the tribe. The more natural setting give the young chinook a more realistic setting in which to grow. The result is more savvy chinook. "By re-creating their natural environment at the hatchery, juvenile salmon will learn skills that will help them survive in the wild," Smith said. "For example, most hatchery fish associate shadows with the hatchery staff that feed them. But in these nature ponds they won't associate shadows - which could turn out to be from a predator - with food." Salmon raised in similar ponds also have darker colors, which will help protect them when released. "Juvenile salmon take on the color of their surroundings, so when they're surrounded by logs, rocks and other natural elements, they tend to be darker," Smith said. "On other hand, salmon raised in concrete ponds tend to be lighter in color, and when they are released into the wild, it's easier for predators to see them." The tribe plans to raise 400,000 fall chinook at the hatchery. "A lot of chinook we'll raise at this facility, we're hoping to reintroduce to the upper stretches of the Puyallup (River). This facility will help us rear the fish to do that," Smith said. But those fish will benefit anglers throughout the Puget Sound. "The fall chinook are caught in all the fisheries in the Puget Sound, based on the tracking of tagged fish," he said. Several other tribes have been using nature ponds for years. Results from the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe indicate that survival rates increase with salmon raised in a more natural setting. The Clarks Creek site was chosen for its habitat and water resources. Because the creek has ample streamside vegetation, the chinook released from the nature ponds will find little difference between the ponds and the creek. "Because chinook can hang around in the river for as long as four months to a year before they leave for the ocean, they depend on quality freshwater habitat to grow. Salmon need good freshwater habitat as well as good hatchery practices," Smith said. This will be the tribe's second major hatchery. The Diru Creek hatchery in Puyallup raises chinook and chum salmon. "It's going to be a nice tool to use in the future." Smith said of the new facility. "It will give us a chance to help some stocks that are in trouble." Jeffrey P. Mayor 253-597-8640 jeff.mayor@mail.tribnet.com SIDEBAR: Chinook facts Basics: Chinook are the largest salmon, with lengths ranging up to 58 inches and weights up to 126 pounds. Scientific name: Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Common names: King salmon, tyee salmon, Columbia River salmon, black salmon, chub salmon, hook bill salmon, winter salmon and blackmouth. Status: Puget Sound chinook are listed as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act. Description: The chinook salmon is blue-green on the back and top of the head with silvery sides and white bellies; black spots on the upper half of its body with gray/black mouth coloration. They can be to 58 inches in length and weigh up to 126 pounds, although chinook are generally up to 36 inches in length and weigh up to 30 pounds. Range: Chinook salmon range from Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, to Santa Barbara, Calif. Spawning and rearing chinook are found in most of the rivers in this region, with significant runs in the Columbia River, Rogue River and Puget Sound. Life cycle: Chinook salmon may spend one to six or more years in the ocean before returning to their natal streams to spawn, though the average is three to four years. Spawning usually occurs in deep, fast water with cobble-size gravel. Average nest sizes can range between 43 and 162 square feet buried approximately 7 to 8 inches in the gravel. An average nest can produce between 3,000 and 7,000 eggs. Young chinook like to rear in side channels where they can find areas where water runs slow and cool. As they grow, the young fish gradually move into deeper, swifter water. Once they have put on enough weight and size, chinook "smolts" migrate to the ocean. Source: Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission Copyright c. 2004 Tacoma News, Inc., a subsidiary of The McClatchy Company. --------- "RE: Court Settlement gives County control to Rez" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:11:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROW CREEK" http://www.indiancountry.com/?1078346121 Court settlement gives county control to reservation March 3, 2004 by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today FORT THOMPSON, S.D. - The majority population of Buffalo county will now have a say in how the county is run, thanks to a court settlement. For the first time in decades, Buffalo county could be under the control of the large number of American Indians that populate the county. The Crow Creek Reservation is largely in Buffalo county. It is the poorest county in the United States. "We consider this a great victory for the residents of the Crow Creek Reservation. Their rights to a voice in their county government have long been denied and by this decree are finally being acknowledged," said Jennifer Ring, executive director ACLU of the Dakotas. A lawsuit filed in March 2003 stated that county redistricting had not taken place for decades. The process should happen every 10 years, following the census results. "The districts for county commissioners were unequal. All Indians were placed in one district, the other two controlled by whites," said Bryan Sells, staff attorney for the ACLU. The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of plaintiffs of the Crow Creek tribe. The lead plaintiff is Crystal Kirkie. Sells said there are 2,200 people in the county and 1,700 of them were in one district, the one which has a population of 83 to 85 percent American Indian. There were 30 in one district and 100 in another, "everyone was white," Sells said. It was evident the commissioners liked the way things were and ignored the requirement of redistricting. If the districts are drawn according to the plaintiff's plan, all three districts could be headed by American Indian commissioners. "After the next election all the commissioners will be tribal members," said Duane Big Eagle, chairman of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe. In the new drawing the highest district will have 90 percent American Indian and the lowest, 65 percent. Even with the high American Indian population in the districts there is no guarantee that an American Indian will be elected. Sells said there is a history of low voter turnout among the American Indian population. "I don't know how the voter turnout will be this time." South Dakota has become known as a leader in American Indian voters, especially in the 2000 and 2002 general elections. Voter organizations on all reservations are now working to increase that voter turnout for a primary election on June 1 to elect a replacement for Rep. William Janklow, who resigned his seat in Congress following a felony conviction for manslaughter. Another part of the settlement makes sure that election polls are located where they are more accessible to American Indian voters. Also election postings are required to be placed where American Indian voters are most likely to see them. Under state law it is not required to publish election notices where the American Indian population might see it. "This is to make sure they have access," Sells said. The settlement requires a special election to be held for two of the three seats this year. A third seat term is up in November, the other two would not have expired until 2007. A final requirement of the settlement was to authorize federal officers to monitor the special election process. "I hope other cities and counties and school boards get the message. If they have not redistricted in 2002 they should think about complying. "Court expenses are not a good use of taxpayer's dollars, they could be used for roads and schools," Sells said. Copyright c. 2004 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Field Hearing set on Osage Membership Bill" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 08:13:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OSAGE CITIZENSHIP DECISIONS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=4009 [Editorial Comment: Before you decide what is right or wrong about this field hearing, take the time to acquire and read "The Deaths of Sybil Bolton: An American History" by Dennis McAuliffe.] Field Hearing set on Osage membership bill set for north Tulsa Tribe seeks to change 1906 law which restricts membership to original allottees PAWHUSKA OK Sam Lewin March 8, 2004 Officials with an Oklahoma tribe are applauding a proposed field hearing on legislation that would allow the tribe's government to set its own membership standards. The House Resources Committee will discuss Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas' bill on the Osage Tribe during a meeting in Tulsa this month. The measure would clarify a 1906 federal law that officially recognized the Pawhuska-based tribe. The law limited the membership of the tribe to only individuals who inherit a share of the Osage mineral estate. Currently, only Osages who own a headright interest in the Osage mineral estate are able to vote or run for elective office. Lucas said that leads to many individuals who are of Osage descent but are not officially members of the tribe. Since past court rulings require Congress to modify the existing law for the tribe to change its membership rules, tribal officials asked Lucas to introduce legislation to make the proposed changes. The bill by Lucas reaffirms the sovereign rights of the tribe to determine its own membership and form of government. "If this bill becomes law and as a result the Osage tribe decides to change its membership requirements, it could affect thousands of Oklahoma," Lucas said. "I wanted to make sure we had an adequate airing of the bill to the people affected right in their own backyard." "Heck, I've wanting to get this done since last year, and the year before," said Osage Councilman and Membership Committee Chairman Mark Freeman. "We have the backing of people in Washington. We hope that this will be enacted after the hearing. It's simple piece of legislation. It gives us the right to determine our own membership just like every other tribe does." The hearing is March 15 at the Post Oak Lodge in Tulsa, 5323 West 31st Street North. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2003 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Chief Leschi: Legislators right Historical Wrong" --------- Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 22:27:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHIEF LASCHI EXONERATED" http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20040305/opinion/8000.shtml Legislators right historical wrong Legislature exonerates Nisqually Chief Leschi of charge that cost him his life SCOTT GUTIERREZ THE OLYMPIAN The Olympian Online March 5, 2004 About 25 Nisqually tribal members and descendants of Chief Leschi quietly listened Thursday as legislators prepared to throw out the murder conviction that led to the tribal leader's execution nearly 150 years ago. Tears welled in their eyes as state senators apologized for the actions of their predecessors in the 1850s, saying Leschi was a courageous and honorable tribal leader during a dispute between the Nisqually tribe and the Washington territorial government. Tribal members were invited to watch as the Senate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 8727, which recognizes that an injustice was committed against Chief Leschi when he was convicted and executed in 1858. An identical resolution was passed in the House. "As they were reading that resolution, for every Nisqually it's pretty emotional," said Dorian Sanchez, chairman of the Nisqually tribe. "It was something that we all know should never have happened." Leschi was convicted of murdering a soldier during the Battle of Connell's Prairie. War broke out when he refused to agree to a treaty that would have moved the tribe to a reservation far from its fisheries and livelihood on the Nisqually River. Leschi's first trial ended with a hung jury after jurors were instructed that killing a combatant during wartime is not considered murder. He was convicted in a second trial when the territorial court refused to provide the same instructions and allow proof that he couldn't have shot the soldier. The Territorial Legislature then enacted a law allowing local authorities to hang Leschi after the Army refused to execute him. "This was war. How many people would they have hung today with all the wars going on in the world?" asked Faustine Edwards, whose uncle was a direct descendant of Leschi. Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen, D-Eatonville, one of the sponsors of the resolution and whose district includes most the Nisqually Reservation, called Leschi a "truly great and courageous leader." Several South Sound legislators spearheaded the resolutions in both chambers. "This is a chance to say we are truly, truly sorry as a state," Rasmussen said. The group of Nisqually tribal members met with legislators and distributed booklets about the history of Leschi and the tribe, including pieces of evidence that weren't allowed at his trial. "It was a good step in starting the healing that needs to be done," said Tom Iyall, a tribal member and descendant of Leschi. The next step is to ask the state Supreme Court to vacate the conviction and remove the case from the state's records. The tribe hopes the Legislature's support will help them achieve that goal, said Cynthia Iyall, chairwoman of the Leschi Exoneration Committee. "There was a lot of hurt and pain over it," she said. Copyright c. 2004 The Olympian. --------- "RE: Why is it so important to exonerate Chief Leschi?" --------- Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 22:27:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EXONERATING CHIEF LESCHI" http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20040305/opinion/8000.shtml CYNTHIA IYALL Why is it so important to exonerate Chief Leschi? This is the question I get asked the most from people throughout the Northwest and beyond. It really pleases me to have an opportunity to share the rich history of the Nisqually Indian Tribe, mainly because it includes the history of my own ancestors. Even more exciting is the interest from such a variety of people including Indian and pioneer descendants, individuals and organizations from the historical community and those who enjoy knowing the history of this beautiful land they call home. The reason it is so important to exonerate Chief Leschi is for the multiple generations of tribal ancestors who have lived a lifetime with the frustration and anger of knowing what happened to the last Chief of Nisqually. They lived during a time that wouldn't cater to considering exoneration. Many of them lived during a time that would not assist or recognize the good in Native Americans at all. The treaty descendants lived with great pride in their heritage and did not forget the tragedy of Leschi and his brother Quiemuth. They kept the story alive by telling their children and their grandchildren, as Leschi requested in his last speech. His descendants carried his name with great honor and respect. They have carried it very well. It is out of respect and honor that we continue the effort to exonerate Leschi. It is the respect for our grandparents, great aunts and uncles and great- grandparents and the culture and traditions they worked to keep alive. It is to honor the work they did to continue the development of the tribe. It is to honor the legacy they have left for future generations and ours. We also work toward exoneration for today's children and the future children of the tribe. Chief Leschi is our historical icon. We want him to be portrayed honestly and correctly. Having a man of such importance portrayed as a murderer is not fair to the descendants of Medicine Creek. They descend from a great man -- a man who was known for his intelligence, his ability to reason, being a good father and husband and being a man of great leadership. It is important to have Leschi portrayed correctly so that the future, our children, have a true sense of where they come from -- so that they can inherit and feel the strength, pride, tenacity and intelligence that Leschi left us. The request to exonerate Chief Leschi has been very well published by the media, including newspapers, radio and television. This has brought inquiries from all over the country. I have had descendants of Lt. Kautz, Ezra Meeker, Leschi and many other pioneers and Indians of that time contact me to express their interest and support in clearing Leschi's name. I greatly appreciate the support from this and so many other communities. We will continue to work this honorable task until it is complete. We do this so the spirit of Leschi can finally be free. ----- Cynthia Iyall, a descendant of Chief Leschi and member of the Nisqually Tribe, is a member of The Olympian's Diversity Panel. She can be reached at ciyall@netzero.net. Copyright c. 2004 The Olympian. --------- "RE: A fight over Land and History" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:11:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MILLE LACS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://news.mpr.org/features/2004/03/08_hemphills_reservation/ A fight over land and history by Stephanie Hemphill, Minnesota Public Radio March 8, 2004 People around Lake Mille Lacs are waiting for a court ruling on a painful question: does the Mille Lacs Ojibwe reservation really exist? Mille Lacs County says it doesn't. The Ojibwe band says the reservation was promised to its children forever. The court is expected to rule any day now. It's the latest chapter in a long history of friction and distrust. Mille Lacs, Minn. - The dispute is about who's in charge around Minnesota's favorite walleye lake. It's about history. It's about fish. And it's about money. It's in court because people have different ways of interpreting various laws, court rulings, and treaties, going back 150 years. That's when the Ojibwe agreed to turn over most of northern Minnesota to white settlers. They kept the right to hunt and fish on the lands they gave up. And the Mille Lacs band was assigned a small reservation to live on, at the south end of Lake Mille Lacs. But eventually even that land was settled by white people. Don Wedll has researched the band's history in detail. Don Wedll "It was really that they wanted to try to move Mille Lacs (members) out of here," Wedll says. "And they did almost everything possible except killing them to do that." Wedll says band members signed treaties guaranteeing they would be able to stay on their land forever. But the county focuses on a law from the 1880s, decades after the treaties were signed. That law allowed individual Indian families to own pieces of land. The county argues it also dissolved the reservation. County attorney Jan Kolb says the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in 1913 that the reservation had been disbanded. "Why is it okay to rewrite history, why is it okay to question Supreme Court rulings?" she asks. "They are as they stand." Janice Kolb Kolb says the county is not motivated by racism. "People like to spin it that way and it's not," she says. "It's a legal issue that needs to be answered, both for Indian people and non-Indians alike." The Supreme Court ruling focused on the federal government's poor record at protecting tribal members. The Mille Lacs band says the ruling didn't address the existence of the reservation. The fight isn't just about a line on a map. The answer could change who gets to enforce environmental regulations, who issues building permits, who collects taxes. This isn't the first time the Mille Lacs band has been in court opposite non-Indians. Just five years ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Ojibwe are entitled to their own fishing and hunting seasons. To make sure the band can catch its quota of fish, the regulations on Lake Mille Lacs are changed every year. PERM sign That's made for resentment among some non-Indian anglers and the businesses that cater to them. Tim Chapman has a resort in Isle, at the south end of the lake. "You just get sick of the negative," Chapmans says. "If the fish don't bite, people say the Indians got them all. Well, they didn't." But Chapman says what really bothers people is when band members use nets to catch fish in the spring. "We can't fish when the walleyes are spawning, with just a little hook and line, but they can put out a 100-foot gill net across there when they're full of spawn. It just irks a lot of people, and we hear about it, day in and day out," he says. Chapman says a few places have gone out of business. Others are working to bring in new customers. Tim Chapman "And you've got to upgrade your buildings, keep them clean, and advertise," he says. "The lake isn't going to just bring your business to you." Things have been changing on Lake Mille Lacs. Back in 1991, the band opened a casino and hotel. Two million people come to the casino every year. Some non-Indian businesses say the casino has hurt them. Others say it's good for business. It's hard to measure the impact, but everyone has an opinion. The band is using profits from the casino to buy land. They're trying to put back together the land base they lost a hundred years ago. And that's led to the lawsuit. A quarter of the property taxes in Mille Lacs County come from around the lake. The band can ask the federal government to put land in trust, and then the county can't collect taxes on it anymore. The band says it's only buying from willing sellers, and it'll never own all the land within the boundaries of the reservation. Jim Clark is a band member who moved back to the area after working most of his life in the Twin Cities. He comes to the casino often for lunch. Clark says he can't imagine the reservation not existing anymore. "Even when I was overseas, in Germany and France during the war, I thought about the reservation here," he says. "You know, 'I want to go back someday.' I feel kind of easy here, I feel at ease. The roots of your people have something to do with it." The lawsuit is holding up construction of a state-of-the-art waste water treatment plant. It's a joint project of the city of Garrison and the Mille Lacs band, and it will serve the casino as well as homes and cabins on the west side of the lake. Because the plant is on trust land, its operating permit comes from the federal Environmental Protection Agency rather than the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Mille Lacs County is protesting the the permit. The county says letting the federal permit stand would amount to a de facto recognition of the reservation. The larger legal question, about the existence of the reservation, went to court two years ago. A federal judge threw the case out. He said the county couldn't show it had been harmed by the reservation. But the county appealed, and a ruling on that appeal is expected any day. Copyright c. 2004 Minnesota Public Radio. --------- "RE: Schaghticoke process keeps grinding along" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:11:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCHAGHTICOKE RECOGNITION " http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rep-am.com/top/7v5m.htm Concerned residents await rulings on land claims, casino TRIBE: A long process keeps grinding along Sunday, March 07, 2004 By Richard Urban Copyright c. 2004 Republican-American The Bureau of Indian Affairs says the Schaghticoke are a tribe, a sovereign nation immune from state and local laws and whose members are entitled to federal programs developed specifically for native Americans. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says the Schaghticoke are not a tribe, citing the bureau's initial rejection of the their claim late last year and deficiencies in the petition that he says the bureau ignored. So does U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, whose 5th District encompasses northwest Connecticut, where the tribe's current 400-acre reservation is. She says the recognition process, which Congress delegated to the bureau, has a woeful history of inconsistent decision making. Schaghticoke Chief Richard Velky says the tribe played by the rules and proved its status through a long and expensive process. The bureau's decision affirms what he has known all along and what his people have known for more than 300 years. Now he and his 273 members are ready to take their place among the 560 recognized Indian nations across the United States. What is at stake, however, is more than an arcane process, tribal affirmation or whether the Schaghticoke can apply for federal housing, education and welfare grants. Recognition also allows the Schaghticoke to pursue a nearly 6-year-old federal suit claiming 2,150 acres that includes prestigious property in Kent. The land claim in turn is central to plans the tribe might have for a casino. Caught in the middle are property owners around Kent who do not want their bucolic lifestyle disrupted by a casino or an inappropriate housing development along the Housatonic River. All they can do is wait while the legal fighting plays out among the state, the tribe and the federal government. Blumenthal and Johnson, who oppose another casino, say the bureau's recognition process needs fixing. It is broken and influenced by lobbyists representing the $14.5 billion tribal gaming industry, though neither cites details. Reports show an agency that is underfunded, understaffed and takes too long to reach a decision. The criteria that form the basis for tribal recognition are vague and subject to interpretation, the reports conclude. Congressional hearings have resulted in bills, but none has been acted upon. Blumenthal and Johnson cite the subjective nature of the recognition process in objecting to the bureau's decision to recognize the Schaghticoke. Specifically, they contest the bureau's finding that the Schaghticoke have existed as a social or political community since its first contact with European settlers three centuries ago. The Schaghticoke's recognition and last year's recognition of the Eastern Pequot in southeastern Connecticut illustrate the arbitrary nature of the federal process that decides who is a tribe and who is not, they say. Blumenthal is appealing both decisions, and Johnson is requesting a federal investigation into the Schaghticoke decision. She also wants Congress to hold hearings on the recognition process. Schaghticoke Tribal Nation Chief Richard Velky says his tribe followed the rules governing a recognition process that has been in place since 1978. His tribe has spent 25 years researching its history and filing thousands of documents working toward the day that came Jan. 29, when the bureau announced its decision. He complains that just because Blumenthal or Johnson or anyone else does not like the outcome does not mean they get to change the rules and make the tribe start over. Debating points are clear. What is not so clear is the Schaghticoke's status as a federally recognized tribe and what that portends for its land claim and plans it might have for a casino. "The regulations seem to indicate that (recognition) is not final," said Robert Anderson, who spent six years providing legal advice on Indian affairs under former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and now heads the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington. Appeals go to the Interior Board of Indian Appeals, a division within the Department of Interior and separate from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Most appeals are decided in four to six months, but currently more than 100 appeals are before the board. Only one involves tribal recognition, Blumenthal's appeal involving the Eastern Pequot. Most deal with issues ranging from tribal government disputes to land claims. Appeals follow a course prescribed by regulation with deadlines along the way to allow both parties to present their cases in writing. Two administrative judges assigned to the board eventually decide all appeals. However, their decisions can be reviewed by the Secretary of the Interior, who can intervene at any point. Blumenthal's appeal of the Eastern Pequot decision was filed in 2002. The case is ready to be decided but it has not yet reached a judge. "Then there could be judicial review," Anderson said. Blumenthal vows to take it to court if he loses his initial appeal. Anderson said he knows of no court overturning a favorable recognition decision or even kicking it back the Department of Interior for reconsideration. "I've seen tribal challenges to agency decisions where the courts sent them back to Interior for reconsideration, but I've never seen the opponents of recognition try to overturn a secretarial decision," Anderson said. While the recognition appeals process runs its course, the land claim in federal court remains stalled. "If I were a federal judge, I'd say, `Well, you can proceed with your land claim, but I'm going to stay the proceedings until the results of that recognition are decided,' " Anderson said. He said a judge, in this case U.S. District Court Judge Peter C. Dorsey, is unlikely to invest the court's time hearing the case while the Schaghticoke's status as a tribe is still in question. The Schaghticoke base their claim on a 1752 Connecticut General Assembly declaration reserving land on the western banks of the Housatonic River "at a place called Scaticock." According to a narrative published by the Appalachian Trails Conference, the land was first surveyed by Samuel Adams and Roger Sherman, who signed both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. The General Assembly did not do the tribe many favors. Rocky cliffs rise abruptly from the river banks, leaving few paths that humans can negotiate and fewer places for dwellings. The sparse patches of flatland are strewn with weathered bolders that rise like free-form monuments to the glaciers that left them behind. The tribe acknowledges that the more attractive lands were sold off, but without the congressional approval required by the Nonintercourse Act of 1790, the sales were not valid, they say. "Any land that was conveyed and that the tribes had the right to use or possess after 1790, if Congress didn't ratify the treaty it's an invalid treaty and the tribe can now sue for their land," said Marilyn Ford, a Quinnipiac University law professor specializing in Indian law. The Schaghticokes filed their first land claim in 1936, covering 1.2 million acres in Litchfield and New Haven counties and parts of New York. That case was dismissed in 1962. A 1975 claim for land surrounding its current 400-acre property was combined with a 1985 suit that the National Parks Service filed over land held by Preston Mountain Club that was within the Schaghticokes' claim. The park service was seeking to take it by eminent domain to widen a section of the Appalachian Trail. The case was dismissed, but Judge Dorsey left the door open to refile the suit if the tribe could establish that it met federal guidelines for recognition. The tribe filed a recognition petition in 1994. Four years later, the tribe filed suit claiming 1,900 acres north of the reservation held by the Kent School, the Preston Mountain Club, Connecticut Light & Power Co., a 15-acre estate and land held by Barbara Bush. Sang M. Kwak acquired the property last September. In 2000, the tribe added 148 acres south of the reservation that the U.S. government claims. After years of awaiting a Bureau of Indian Affairs decision, Dorsey said he would not decide the recognition issue unless the bureau met his deadline, which it did with its Jan. 29 decision. The federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 reserves the right to establish gaming operations only to federally recognized tribes and generally limits gaming to lands within a reservation. Newly recognized tribes such as the Schaghticoke can acquire lands through a federal suit or purchase as part of a reservation and put them into the federal trust for gaming operations. Generally, lands must be on or adjacent to a reservation and designated for gaming at the time they are taken into trust. Waterbury, Danbury and Bridgeport, where billionaire Subway Restaurant founder Fred DeLuca is focusing his efforts, have been mentioned as casino sites. DeLuca has invested $10 million to finance the tribe's quest for recognition. In exchange, the tribe agreed to consider Bridgeport for a casino. It will be difficult for the Schaghticoke to put up a casino in any of those cities, said Nell Jessup Newton, dean of the University of Connecticut School of Law and an expert in Indian law. The Department of Interior, which must accept a tribe's reservation into the trust, has been reluctant to accept off-reservation sites for gaming unless the tribe and the state agree, she said. "This secretary hasn't been great about taking land into trust off reservation," she said of current Interior Secretary Gale Norton. "Could they somehow say to the secretary that we're newly acknowledged, the reservation we have is godforsaken, useless, we want our new reservation in Bridgeport? I'm not sure that would work at all," Newton said. Velky avoids talk of a casino. "If there's a host community that would like to give the tribe some land to develop and an economic package, we would look into something like that," he said, making sure he was not talking about the land in Kent. "This has nothing to do with the 2,500 acres," he said. Conditions at the Schaghticokes' 400-acre reservation in Kent are hardly amenable to a casino. Velky figures 35 acres are usable and he plans to put up housing for tribal elders in the next year if he can get private financing. The terrain within the tribe's 2,150-acre claim is also likely to be unsuitable for large-scale development without earth moving that would require blasting tons of rock. Its remote location is served by a winding two-lane Route 7 that would make it hard for employees and gamblers to get there. "So we would just be looking to build our homes up there and move back to our homeland," Velky said. Kent First Selectman Dolores R. Schiesel is willing to take Velky at his word. "I honestly believe that if he gets everything else he wants, that's all he wants in Kent. But that's an awfully big if." If the tribe can find somewhere else to build a casino, she can live with a housing development if it complies with zoning regulations. But she understands that local laws don't apply to Indian lands, so all she can do is hope the tribe will work with the town. What really worries Schiesel and her constituents is the possibility of a casino. "You tend to look at Foxwoods and wonder if that's what's coming," she said. "The mood right now is to go cautiously, be active, be involved and protect Kent to the extent that we can." As Richardson W. Schell, Kent School headmaster for 22 years, said, this has been going on for more than 30 years. "We're monitoring the developments that affect us, and we're in discussions with the state as far as what the state is doing." In the meantime people wait. "People should not overreact and just wait and see what happens," Schiesel said. Copyright c. 1997-2004 Republican-American Inc. --------- "RE: Six Virginia Tribes seeking Federal Recognition" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:11:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VIRGINIA TRIBE HOST RECEPTION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.prnewswire.com/~/03-06-2004/0002123296&EDATE= The Six Virginia Indian Tribes seeking Federal Recognition Host Reception for Special Guests Including Rep. Jo Ann Davis and the Jamestown 2007 Commission at the College of William & Mary Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis along with the Tribal Chiefs will speak on the history and meaning of Indian Sovereignty at a reception that will host community leaders from Jamestown 2007 and the Lewis & Clark Commemoration and other special guests at the College of William & Mary, in Trinkle Hall, Saturday March 13, 2004, 6:00-8:00 pm Press is invited. WILLIAMSBURG, Va., March 6 /PRNewswire/ - The Six Virginia Indian Tribes seeking Federal Recognition will host the historic societies of Virginia involved in the planning of the Jamestown 2007 commemoration. Chief Stephen Adkins of the Chickahominy Tribe located in Charles City, Virginia will present an historical overview of Indian Sovereignty and pending federal legislation that would acknowledge the sovereign status of the Virginia Tribes. "There is a need for more communication between the Tribes in Virginia and those that will be planning the Commemoration of Jamestown 2007," said Chief Adkins. "Sometimes we are asked some very basic questions about what Indian Sovereignty means and we decided to host an event where we could talk to people about the long standing federal policy that supports Indian Sovereignty and the perpetuation of our culture. We feel our history has not been sufficiently told, and hope that the Commemoration of Jamestown will provide us with an opportunity to explain what Federal Recognition will mean to our people." A recent article in the Washington Post dated Sunday February 15, 2004, highlighted the natural dilemma the Tribal communities face as they are asked to participate in an event commemorating the early settlement at Jamestown. For the indigenous people of Virginia the commemoration brings mixed feelings. "We must tell our story. We need to ensure that the stories about Virginia's indigenous people are told from the Virginia Indian perspective. This event at the College of William & Mary will be an attempt for us to do just that." SOURCE Virginia Tribal Alliance for Life Web Site: http://www.liz-walker.com Copyright c. 1996-2004 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved. A United Business Media company. --------- "RE: Tribes honor Heroes of Cedar Fire" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:11:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FIRE HEROS HONORED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20040307-9999-1m7firethan.html Indian tribes honor heroes of Cedar fire By Chet Barfield UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER March 7, 2004 DOWNTOWN - With prayers, songs and gratitude, the Sycuan and Viejas Indian bands hosted an elaborate awards luncheon last week to salute firefighters, tribal workers and others who helped combat the Cedar fire. The "Honoring Our Heroes" luncheon for about 550 guests was the first large event at the U.S. Grant Hotel since Sycuan purchased the historic downtown landmark in December. Leaders of the two East County tribes - both of which narrowly escaped major damage from the blaze - were joined by county and state officials, including Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, in thanking more than 200 awardees for responding valiantly to the most destructive fire in the region's history. "We come together today to honor these men and women who fought for us," said Sycuan tribal Chairman Daniel Tucker, "these men and women who are all, really, warriors." Recipients got certificates, plaques or gifts such as mounted arrows with inscriptions. In addition to local firefighters, praise was offered to those from distant states and cities. A fire engineer from the Northern California town of Novato was killed and his captain severely burned when flames overtook their unit near Julian. Viejas gave $7,000 apiece to those two men's families. Novato Fire Chief Jeff Meston addressed Thursday's audience, thanking the tribes and people of San Diego County for their concern and support for his crew members and their families. Viejas Chairman Anthony Pico, whose Alpine-area reservation became a base camp for hundreds of firefighters, said far more lives and property could have been lost without their efforts. "We can honor their heroism by living in gratitude each day," he said. Copyright c. 2004 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. --------- "RE: Traditional Iroquois Farming methods still work" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2004 08:28:27 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="3 SISTERS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.zwire.com/~11057687&BRD=1996&PAG=461&dept_id=459492&rfi=6 Traditional Iroquois Indian farming methods still work The 'three sisters' cropping system embodies all the things needed to make crops grow in the Northeast. March 4, 2004 ITHACA, N.Y. - Most agronomists look to their laboratories, greenhouses or research farms for innovative new cropping techniques. But Jane Mt. Pleasant, professor of horticulture and director of the American Indian Program at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., has taken a different path, mining her Iroquois heritage for planting and cultivation methods that work for today's farmers. Three sisters. Mt. Pleasant studies what traditionally are known as the "three sisters": beans, corn and squash. These staples of Iroquois cropping are traditionally grown together on a single plot, mimicking natural systems in what agronomists call a polyculture. Though the Iroquois technique was not developed scientifically, Mt. Pleasant notes that it is "agronomically sound." The three sisters cropping system embodies all the things needed to make crops grow in the Northeast, she said. Grow together. Corn and beans are used throughout the Western Hemisphere, said Mt. Pleasant. "Both do better when they are grown together." Corn provides protection from weeds and insects and acts as a scaffold to support twining bean plants. The beans, in turn, produce nitrogen, essential for plant growth. Adding squash to the mix also controls the growth of weeds, and recycling crop residues (the "leftovers" of a harvest) back into the soil promotes fertility. A new technique. A monoculture, in which only one crop variety is grown on a plot of land, is a relatively recent agricultural technique, noted Mt. Pleasant. Though it is suited to high-yield mechanized harvests, it leaves crops vulnerable to disease and insects. A polyculture reduces the risk of an entire harvest being wiped out in this way. How it works. The role of the three sisters in the Iroquois diet is mirrored by the crops' place in Iroquois worldview and culture, where they are visualized as three siblings with very different personalities. Corn is austere, standing straight and tall; shy beans clings to her legs; squash is the "wild and impish" troublemaker. Lore. In the Iroquois creation story, they are the seeds that issue life on Earth, and they are woven into the laws that bind the Iroquois Confederacy. The three sisters are thanked for the sustenance they provide in the Thanksgiving Address recited at the beginning and end of ceremonial Iroquois meetings. Native science. Indigenous culture holds broader lessons for our relationship with our environment as well, said Mt. Pleasant. Iroquois people have always recognized that they are part of an ecological system, she observed. "As we watch a lot of the ecological problems coming," like global warming and water contamination, "we recognize that we have a contract" with the Earth, "not domination" over it, she said. This realization, she said, has fueled an upsurge in interest in native science. Life's link. "More and more young native people are ... questioning conventional science" as tribal colleges include native teachings in their curriculums, said Mt. Pleasant. She noted, however, that only a few non-Native American scientists attend symposiums on the subject. As scientists begin to recognize the connections between systems they formerly studied in isolation, Mt. Pleasant hopes they will see what indigenous peoples have known all along: "We're all in this web, and when you pull on one part and it breaks, the whole web falls apart." Copyright c. 2004 Farm and Dairy, Salem, OH. --------- "RE: Jesuit cites "Loose" Native Culture in Suit" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:11:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EXCUSING SEXUAL ABUSE" http://www.news-miner.com/~/0%2C1674%2C113%257E7244%257E2002438%2C00.html 'Loose' culture cited in abuse suit By DAN JOLING Sunday, March 07, 2004 - Associated Press Writer ANCHORAGE - The former supervisor of a Jesuit priest accused of fondling Alaska Native boys told attorneys in a deposition that he thought the alleged abuse wouldn't have much effect on the victims because their culture was "fairly loose" on sexual matters. The Rev. William "Lom" Loyens, 77, who holds a doctorate in cultural anthropology, commented in a deposition that is part of a lawsuit brought by eight men who claim they were abused as boys in Western Alaska villages. The men contend that the late Rev. Jules Convert, a Jesuit village priest, fondled them as they slept, or in one case, watched a movie, between 1955 and 1977. Seven of the men were altar boys in St. Marys, Kaltag or Unalakleet. The eighth lived in a Holy Cross orphanage overseen by Convert. Loyens is a former Jesuit Superior of Alaska. He was the provincial, or head, of the Jesuit Oregon Province, which covers Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska, from 1976 to 1980. He taught in the anthropology department of the University of Alaska Fairbanks from 1966 to 1974. Loyens, now retired in Spokane, Wash., was called as a witness by an attorney for the Northern Alaska Diocese and was deposed at law offices in Spokane on Jan. 6. The entire transcript, which covered about three hours of questioning, was released to The Associated Press by attorney Kenneth Roosa, who represents the men. Reached by phone in Spokane, Loyens had no comment on the deposition and suggested that it was unethical for the plaintiffs' attorney to release it. Loyens said he had not reviewed or signed off on a transcript, and a spokesman for the Jesuit order in Oregon said the comments were only a small part of a long deposition. Convert died in France in 1995 at age 85. The Society of Jesus has denied the men's charges, saying no allegations of misbehavior by the priest were ever reported to his religious superiors. Church lawyers also say the standard two-year statute of limitations should apply and the lawsuit should be dismissed. As Convert's supervisor, Loyens said in the deposition, he had no indication or suspicion that Convert might have acted inappropriately. But when asked whether a white priest fondling an Alaska Native boy would have an impact, positive or negative, Loyens said that the Athabascan Indian and Yupik Eskimo cultures were "fairly loose" on sexual matters. He said he knew mothers in villages who played with their baby boys' testicles "and the little boy was enjoying this immensely." Loyens said there was a different attitude for sexual matters, with "older boys breaking in younger girls, and older girls breaking in younger boys." Asked how that applied to a priest accused of molesting boys 6 to 12 years old, Loyens replied that, 30 or 40 years ago, "that would be less impressive than it would be for, say, somebody in Fairbanks or Spokane." "So basically, it wouldn't have, in your view, much of an impact?" asked plaintiffs' attorney John Manly. "That's what I'm inclined to say in terms of the anthropological background," Loyens replied. Plaintiffs' attorney Roosa said the explanation from a church leader such as Loyens underlines that the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church still has not accepted responsibility and has not yet been held accountable for the harm it has done. "It is absolutely unacceptable and beyond belief that after all the publicity, all the anguish, all the scandal, and all the pain caused by priests who have raped and abused children, that Father Loyens ... would try to justify, minimize and excuse the sexual abuse of my clients by a priest on the basis of their culture," he said. Catholic officials said Loyens' statement did not reflect church views. "We consider sexual abuse in any culture as evil," said Fairbanks Bishop Donald Kettler. "I, as the bishop of Fairbanks, am committed to doing whatever I can to see that sexual abuse of youth is eliminated." He does not know Loyens but wondered if he were quoted out of context. "I don't feel he would feel any different than we do," he said. The Rev. Brad Reynolds, spokesman for the Oregon Province, said what was presented of Loyens' comments amounted to small slice of long deposition and the comments were made as a cultural anthropologist. "They don't reflect his personal disgust with abuse, nor do they reflect his views as a priest," Reynolds said. Anthropologists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks distanced themselves from Loyens' comments. Peter Schweitzer, chairman of the UAF anthropology department, said the views expressed in the deposition do not reflect the university's. He said anthropological arguments that excuse child molestation are nonsense. Cultural anthropologist Phyllis Morrow, dean of the UAF College of Liberal Arts, said other cultures have different rules concerning sexual behavior. But neither Athabascan nor Yupik Eskimo culture would justify the behavior described by Manly in his questions to Loyens. "It's not a culturally acceptable practice for adult males to satisfy their sexual urges with boys," she said. Discussing sexual rules in other cultures is a sensitive topic, she said. But applied to the circumstances described in the lawsuit, she said, Loyens' logic is also flawed because the situation involves someone who was not part of the culture, as well as someone in a position of power over the boys. The lawsuit names as defendants the Catholic bishop of northern Alaska, and the Oregon, Alaska and California Jesuit provinces. The lawsuit seeks damages of more than $50,000 for each man. Copyright c. 2004 Fairbanks News-Miner. --------- "RE: United Mi'gmaq Nation Press Release" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 08:12:40 -0500 From: "Frosty" Subj: Fw: United Mi'gmaq Nation Press Release Mailing-List: Frostys AmerIndian ----- Original Message ----- From: Russell Diabo ----- Original Message ----- From: pang http://www.gatheringplacefirstnationscanews.com/PressReleases/022704_05.htm United Mi'gmaq Nation FROM: United Mi'gmaq Nation Dear, Mr. Prime Minister, It is of utmost urgency that your government cease negotiating Mi'gmaq land claims and resource agreements with the Indian act Chiefs and Councils within our territories. We the Mi' gmaq peoples of the 7 Districts are the original inhabitants and owners of our ancestral Lands and resources. Furthermore our title to these lands and resources have never been ceded by our peoples, nor have the Mi'gmaq ever been conquered or defeated in any wars by any foreign nation. Therefore as representatives of our peoples or the Mi'gmaq 7 districts, we the District Chiefs of the United Mi'gmaq Nation hereby declare that these negotiations being held with the Indian Act Chiefs and Councils are illegal! Our primary concern is the land claim negotiations by D.I.A.N.D., and commercial fishery agreements with the D. F .0. and the Band Councils. Our opinion is that your government misread the Supreme Court ruling in R. V. DONALD MARSHAL,. JR. and assumed that Indian Act Chiefs and Councils were the legitimate authority to negotiate fishery agreements. In fact the Supreme court never addressed that question of who would be the appropriate authority. Could the authority be the Mi'gmaq Nation Government, or the independent 7 Districts within the nation" or.just the Band Councils? Canada.jumped the gun in assuming that the Indian Act Chiefs and Councils were the appropriate or legitimate authority. If the Chiefs and Councils then are supposedly the authority, we have to look at certain legal problems that need to be addressed. for Instance the Band Councils authority is regulated by the Indian Act and can only apply within the boundaries of the federally created reserves. In R. V. LEWIS THE SUPREME COURT made it clear that there is no basis for Band Councils to think that they have authority to excrcise any control in respect to off reserve activities of its members. Why then is your government continuing to negotiate these contribution agreements with the Band Councils? When the snow crab and shrimp fisheries are being conducted hundreds of miles off Band reserves. The other illegal process in negotiations is the comprehensive Mi'gmaq land claims with D.I.A.N.D. The government of Canada has been in a conflict of interest in negotiating with the Indian Act Chiefs and Councils because the two bodies of governments are actually one created under federal legislation. Canada created the Indian Act Chiefs and Councils under the Indian Act, which is an extension or arm of the federal government. Canada sets the rules on how Indian land claims should be settled, and Indian affairs enforces these rules rigidly. Where is the impartiality when it comes to our interests in these land claims'? Canada holds all the cards in this process. These land claims should be settled outside of Canada in order for the process to be fair, perhaps they belong in the world court where there would be no conflict of interest. Mr Prime Minister, it has been the policy of your government and the provinces not to recognise and negotiate with our Traditional Tribal Governments in land claims and resources.By creating the Indian Act in the 1800 and the Chiefs and Councils under it, you only manage to eclipse our Traditional Mi'gmaq governments.This was an illegal process meant only for your government to have full control over our lands and resources. Our tribal governments are very much intact and alive despite the underhanded tactic's used by Canada to eradicate our systems forever. We the United Mi'gmaq Nations have been following recent world events and are very encouraged and supportive of the courages and bold stance that the United States of America took in Iraq and Afghanistan in regards to democracy. The United States is not only removing dictatorial governments, but also providing humane and financial assistance in bring back Traditional Tribal Governments in these two countries. Our people since creation of the Indian Act and the Indian Act Chiefs, have suffered economic and cultural genocide that still continues this very day. Our people no longer have any say in the management of Band monies and the distribution of fisheries monies from the sale of several species. Most of these band Chiefs ( not all) and Councils rule with Iron fists and have created personal empires from these mi'gmaq monies. The majority of these Band Councils with in the 7 Districts are well in a financial mess, deficits in Band Administrations date back to 1980's. During your term as Minister of Finance, I am sure you are fully aware of these financial issues that have plagued not only the Mi"gmaq's , but all First Nations across Canada. Mr Prime Minster, as leader of Canada, you have a duty to ensure that past injustices done to our Traditional Tribal Governments are corrected. That the right of the inherent self government of the United Mi'gmaq nation is recognised without delay and all negotiations with Canada and the Indian Act Chiefs be terminated in regards to land and claim and resources. Future negotiations must include traditional tribal governments from all the Mi'gmaq districts to ensure that interest of all the Mi"gmaq people are protected. Canada can no longer avoid or turn a blind eye on the dictatorial rule of the Indian Act Chiefs. Recent events in Iraq and Afghanistan is recognizing the sovereignty of Traditional Tribal Governments by the United Nations should be a road map for Canada to follow in recognizing traditional tribal government in the 7 Districts of the Mi"gmaq Nations. Yours truly We Remain, United Mi'gmaq Nation SENT TO: Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada pm@pm.gc.ca Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations sg@un.org or ecu@un.org John F. Hamm, Premier of the Province of Nova Scotia premier@gov.ns.ca George W. Bush, President of the United States of America president@whitehouse.gov --------- "RE: NASC and Partners missing $700,000" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 08:13:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MONEY MISSING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nor_assets20040308&disp=e&end NASC and partners missing money, claim filed March 8, 2004 YELLOWKNIFE - More than $700,000 is allegedly missing from the Northern Aboriginal Services Company and its partners, Shehtah Drilling and Atco- Frontec. The companies have filed a claim in the N.W.T. Supreme Court against Brian Fraser. Fraser managed the companies' ventures through a contract with the Denendeh Development Corporation. The court ordered that all Fraser's assets in the Northwest Territories be frozen, including bank accounts, real estate and the Portage Inn, in Fort Smith. Fraser's bank records are to be turned over to the joint- venture partners. The Denendeh Development Corporation also claims its offices were broken into last weekend. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Quebec Metis "Rights" to Fish" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 08:12:13 -0500 From: "Frosty" Subj: Fw: Quebec Metis "rights" to fish Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian ----- Original Message ----- From: Russell Diabo=20 ----- Original Message ----- From: Peter Di Gangi http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=3Dqc_metis20042702 Fishing dispute turns into Me'tis debate QUEBEC CITY - An illegal fishing case in the Lower North Shore region is turning into a debate over aboriginal rights to hunt and fish. A dozen Me'tis fishermen were in court in St. Augustin this week, facing charges of illegal fishing. The men said they were fishing for survival, not for commercial reasons. They pointed out that this is their aboriginal right. Guillaume Karl, the grand chief of the Native Alliance of Quebec, said that recent court decisions have reaffirmed the Me'tis right to hunt and fish. "Whenever some of these people have been practising these rights for a long, long time, and your great-grandfather was doing it and it was passed on to your grandfather, and from then to your father, it limits their abilities to understand why they are now harassing the hunters and the fishermen," he said. Karl said he wants to discuss the matter further with the provincial and federal governments. Copyright c. 2003 CBC. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: PKs now Legal in Kanehsatake" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 08:02:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KANEHSATAKE PEACEKEEPERS" http://www.easterndoor.com/story1.htm PKs Now Legal in Kanehsatake By: Ross Montour Volume 13, Number 6 - February 27, 2004 Chief John K. Diabo is the first of a number of Kahnawake Peacekeepers to swear an oath that ends speculation raised by provincial legal advisors about the legitimacy of their operations in Kanehsatake. The swearing in came after a meeting was held earlier this week in Montreal between the technical staff of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake and their counterparts from the Quebec Ministry of Public Security and the provincial Native Affairs branch. The meeting was called as a result of direct communication between Grand Chief Joseph Tokwiro Norton and Public Security Minister Jacques Chagnon. Norton said he reached an agreement in principle with Chagnon by telephone Monday night. "I explained our position to Mr. Chagnon that if there was to be a swearing in, it would not, could not take away from our existing policing agreement with Canada and Quebec," Norton disclosed yesterday. The Tuesday meeting resulted in an accord that paved the way for Kahnawake's Peacekeepers to swear the oath to the duly recognized authority of Kanehsatake, rather than to Quebec. "The oath was given to the constituted authority, which is the people of Kanehsatake through the Kanesatake Mohawk Police Commission," Norton further clarified. Kahnawake Commissioner of Oaths, Christine Deom Zachary, presided over Diabo's swearing-in ceremony in Kanehsatake on Wednesday. According to MCK communications attache' Joe Delaronde, the oath will also be administered to about two dozen Peacekeepers when they begin their shifts in Kanehsatake. "It (the oath) makes it very clear that our Peacekeepers are operating with a proper mandate, to the satisfaction of everybody," Delaronde said. "This swearing in process is consistent with police agreements in Akwesasne and Kanehsatake and ensures the authority for Chief Diabo to maintain his role as the Chief Peacekeeper in the territory of Kanehsatake until March 31, 2004," Delaronde added. At a press conference held at the Sheraton Laval yesterday, Kanehsatake Grand Chief James Gabriel told reporters that, as far as he was concerned, the swearing in seemed to solve the problem of the Peacekeepers' jurisdiction in his community until March 31. Copyright c. 1997-2000 The Eastern Door, Kahnawake, QC, Mohawk Territory. --------- "RE: Kanehsatake Chiefs Sue Feds, Other Chiefs" --------- Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 22:27:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KANEHSATAKE CHIEFS SUE" http://www.easterndoor.com/story1.htm Kanehsatake Chiefs Sue Feds, Other Chiefs By: Kenneth Deer Volume 13 Number 7 March 5, 2004 Three Kanehsatake Chiefs have filed a $90 million suit against Grand Chief James Gabriel, three other Chiefs, the federal and Quebec governments, PriceWaterhouseCoppers and others. Chiefs Steven Bonspille, John Harding and Pearl Bonspille state that Grand Chief James Gabriel et al have breached an agreement reached between Kanehsatake and Canada following the 1990 Oka Crisis. In 1991 an agreement in principle was signed which was followed in 1994 by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and Kanehsatake which outlined rules on how negotiations would be conducted between the two parties. The three chiefs claim that these rules have not been followed and therefore any decisions made are invalid. "The MOU states clearly that the community of Kanehsatake must be informed and involved in any decisions that affect them," said Chief John Harding. "It is a breach of their fiduciary duty to consult the community. The community is being kept in the dark about what is going on. With Canada and Quebec only dealing with Grand Chief James Gabriel and his three chiefs, they are not dealing with the Mohawk Council of Kanehsatake or the community." Harding says that when Gabriel does inform the rest of council or the community, it is after the fact. "Canada is aware of this and is guilty of breaching the agreement," said Harding. In addition, the third -party manager, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), has also not kept the community informed, which is part of their responsibility. PWC handles the funds that come from the government of Canada for Kanehsatake. They were hired about a year ago after Kanehsatake posted a $1.3 million deficit. Canada appointed PWC, with no bidding process, to manage the funds to assist in reducing the deficit. PWC only cuts the cheques after requests from program managers in areas such as health or education. PWC is supposed to ensure that the money is spent in the appropriate amounts and applied to the correct program to avoid budget deficits. But instead of just paying for the requests, PWC asks Grand Chief James Gabriel which invoices to pay, giving him total control of the budget. However, since PWC has been third-party manager, the deficit has ballooned to $3.1 million in one year, according to Harding. PWC is paid $4,000 a week to do this job which translates into $208,000 a year which must come out of Kanehsatake support funds which is only $450, 000 per year. This fund pays for the operations of the band office. To further complicate matters, Hartel Finance Management Corporation has been hired by Gabriel to submit a remedial management plan to replace PWC. Harding says that the three chiefs have not been informed about, nor have seen, the remedial plan. In the meantime, the Department of Indian Affairs has rejected the first plan submitted by Hartel. "At this time requests from the Kanehsatake Police Commission have been denied, our travel expenses and the expenses of Barry Bonspille, the Executive Director of the Mohawk Council of Kanesatake, are being denied," said Harding. "This is political interference with our work. PWC has no business to deny our requests." The case is being represented by Steve Reynolds of Reynolds Dolgin of Ottawa. Reynolds has taken many Native causes to court and has won a number of them. He is working pro bono, meaning that it will not cost the community any money for his work. Reaction to the suit from Grand Chief Gabriel is one of reconciliation. In a press release Gabriel states, "We must reestablish peace instead of fueling the seeds of discord and suspicion between us. The Mohawk Council of Kanesatake must come to an agreement with the governments of Canada and Quebec over the police agreement on our territory and the selection of a permanent Chief of Police before the Peacekeepers' mandates come to an end on March 31. This type of lawsuit is disrupting the imperative administration of these pressing matters." Also mentioned as a defendant in the lawsuit is Gabriel's public relations firm Communication & Strate'gie. Suits of this nature take many months and will not be heard before the Kanehsatake elections scheduled for July. Results of the election may alter or end the suit. Copyright c. 1997-2000 The Eastern Door, Kahnawake, QC, Mohawk Territory. --------- "RE: Akaitcho Jurisdictional dispute fires up" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2004 08:28:27 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AKAITCHO/METIS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nor_akaitcho20040302&disp=e&end Akaitcho jurisdictional dispute fires up March 2, 2004 YELLOWKNIFE - A jurisdictional dispute has erupted between the Akaitcho and the south slave Metis and relations have hit a new low. At issue is the Akaitcho insistence that Metis should be granted no Aboriginal treaty rights within Akaitcho territory. The dispute was triggered by a letter the Akaitcho sent to former Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault late last year. In it, Dettah Chief Peter Liske writes that it's only been since the late 1970s that some people in Akaitcho territory have started identifying themselves as Metis. Liske calls on Nault for assurance that negotiations with the Metis will not lead to constitutionally-protected treaty or land rights or rights to hunt and fish. In response, Metis leaders called the Akaitcho's letter shocking and back-stabbing. The Metis are asking for hunting and fishing rights within the area being claimed by the Akaitcho. Rob Tordiff is president of the NWT Metis Nation, which represents the Metis of the south slave. "We've made sure we account for Akaitcho interests, but we can only really do that most effectively if they're aware of the steps we've taken, " he says. "That'll only take place when they agree to have these discussions with us." Tordiff says the south slave Metis negotiations with the federal government include protection of Akaitcho rights. "Our people, they're intermarried, they have children together, they hunt together, they're on the land together, they live together," he says. "To have a letter that bears the tone of what we've seen in the three letters that have been sent out is hurtful. The response that's come from within the NWT Metis Nation demonstrates just how deep that hurt is." Tordiff says so far, the Akaitcho have not been willing to sit down and discuss the issue of overlapping jurisdiction. The Akaitcho chiefs were unavailable for comment on the issue. Despite the reaction to the initial letter, last month Liske sent an almost identical letter to Nault's successor, Andy Mitchell. Liske referred questions about the letter to Akaitcho chief negotiator Sharon Venne, who says she needs permission from all Akaitcho chiefs before speaking publicly. Calls to find out whether the chiefs had given their permission were not returned. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: DEW Line: Black Hole in Canadian History" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:11:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ENVIRONMENT DAMAGED" http://www.nunatsiaq.com/news/nunavut/40305_09.html DEW line "black hole in Canadian history" Research project probes impact on life in the North JANE GEORGE March 5, 2004 The impact of the early warning defence radar sites, which sprouted like mushrooms across the Arctic in the mid-1950s, is the focus of a research project the Arctic Institute of North America, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami and the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies hope to undertake. "My dream is to have this enormous gap in our national history filled," said Bob Williamson from the AINA in Calgary. "It's embarrassing that it's a black hole in Canadian history." Fifty years ago last month, Canada and the United States approved the construction of the distant early warning line. These 58 sites, known as the DEW line, were strung from Alaska to Greenland along the 68th parallel, and were intended to serve as a radar shield to detect Soviet bombers. The McGill fence, later referred to as the Mid-Canada line, was built at the 55th parallel to confirm the direction of bombers detected by the DEW- line. The two lines would be the primary air defence warning during an "Over- the-Pole" invasion of North America. But by the time the $600-million DEW-line was finished in 1957, it was already obsolete. Even though the DEW-line offered no guarantees that the enemy bombers would be shot down, the sites were an effective deterrent until they were replaced in the 1980s by the unmanned North Warning System. The DEW line had already changed the Arctic environment, which was left contaminated by debris, leftover fuel and toxic substances forever. It also altered Inuit society in profound ways, said Williamson. First, there was the "the sudden presence" of a DEW line site in places that had never seen a building. "It was quite an upheaval. This was a quiet part of the world except for the wind," Williamson said. During "Operation sealift" in the early 1950s, 120 ships in two convoys delivered 23,000 construction workers, 42,000 tonnes of steel, 337 million litres of fuel and 12 acres of bedding to the sites. Inuit gravitated toward the activities at the sites. "The DEW line was built in a hurry and they hired as many people as they could," said Williamson, who was working in the eastern Arctic as an anthropologist during that period. "A lot of the Inuit were quite keen to get work and have money and get housing, as well as medical facilities. Times were pretty hard then. This was the time of the really dreadful TB epidemic. Life was very hard for the people. Fur prices were not good then and the federal government was just starting to assume responsibility." Williamson said it's easy for people to get sentimental about the old way of life before the DEW line and criticize the forces of change, but he doesn't think all the changes that started around the DEW line were bad. For one thing, the DEW line opened up air transportation in the Arctic. And, as a result, the DEW line was ultimately responsible for the development of cooperatives because it made the transportation logistics possible. The changes were, however, profound. "People were encouraged to move into the communities, and suddenly there was urbanization," Williamson said. "My real life seems like something somebody once told me about," a DEW line employee told a journalist after six months on the DEW line. Williamson said Inuit need to be heard in the story of the DEW line. "But not too many of the older people who were directly affected by the arrival of the line are alive," he said. The research project Williamson and his colleagues are proposing, which is called "The DEW-line Sea-Lane Project," has a double purpose. It's also intended to examine the potential problems of the next wave of development in the Arctic. This will be caused by global warming, melting sea ice and the expected opening of the Northwest Passage to year-round shipping. "We want to see what lessons we can learn from this experience all begun by this first initiative of the DEW line and to see what impact the recession of the sea ice which will permit large amounts of shipping will have," Williamson said. "That will be a very large industrialization." Copyright c. 1995-2003 Nortext Publishing Corporation (Iqaluit). --------- "RE: Inquiry Resumes: Aboriginal Teen's freezing Death" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:11:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STONECHILD INQUIREY" http://news.yahoo.com/~/20040307/ca_pr_on_na/stonechild_inquiry_2 Inquiry into aboriginal teen's freezing death resumes in Saskatoon March 7, 2004 SASKATOON (CP) - Two police officers who were once considered suspects in the 1990 freezing death of aboriginal teen Neil Stonechild are expected to take the stand when an inquiry into the case resumes. Constables Lawrence Hartwig and Bradley Senger are two of the six remaining witnesses scheduled to testify sometime within the next two weeks. The inquiry, which resumes Monday, has already taken nearly twice as long and cost nearly twice as much as originally expected. It is hoped the remaining witnesses will be finished testifying by March 19. Closing arguments will follow at a later date. "It's been excruciating," said Don Worme, the lawyer representing Stonechild's mother, Stella Bignell. "There was hope that the original time scheduled would have been maintained but, due to circumstance beyond our control, it was lost." Stonechild, 17, was found frozen to death on the outskirts of Saskatoon in November 1990. Some people believe he was taken outside the city and abandoned on a so- called "starlight tour" - the name given to what some say was an unwritten police policy of quickly and easily handling suspected troublemakers. The inquiry was called to examine what, if any, role officers played in Stonechild's death and how the subsequent investigation was carried out. Justice David Wright cannot assign blame, but can make recommendations to be used in the future. Since the inquiry began last September, 57 witnesses have taken the stand and more than 6,500 pages of transcript have been compiled. The budget has ballooned from $800,000 to an expected $1.9 million. The inquiry has heard how Saskatoon police investigated Stonechild's death for three days and then closed the file, declaring the Salteaux teen froze to death while trying to walk to a correctional facility. But it also heard testimony from a man named Jason Roy, who said he was with Stonechild the night he disappeared and saw him being taken away in the back of a police car. Roy said Stonechild was screaming, "They're going to kill me!" Members of Stonechild's family have testified that when they saw the teen's body at the funeral home it looked as if he had been beaten up, and that he had two cuts across his nose that looked like they could have been made by handcuffs. The inquiry has also heard about speculation Stonechild was beaten and left in the area by acquaintance Gary Pratt. But Pratt took the stand and denied any involvement in Stonechild's death. That claim was backed up by an RCMP investigator. City officers Hartwig and Senger were questioned at length by the RCMP during their probe. Investigators went as far as tapping their phone lines, but it was determined that there was not enough evidence to press charges. Both have legal standing at the inquiry. Deputy police Chief Dan Wiks is scheduled to resume the testimony he was giving when the inquiry last sat in January. In his earlier testimony, Wiks was critical of the Stonechild investigation and said more time should have been spent on the case. Stonechild is one of three aboriginal men to freeze to death under similar circumstances. In 2000, Rodney Naistus, 25, was found frozen to death south of the city. Five days later, the body of social work student Lawrence Wegner, 30, was found frozen to the ground in the same area. Inquests into those deaths were inconclusive. A third man, Darrell Night, came forward after Wegner's body was found. Night reported he had been dropped off by police south of the city on a bitterly cold night, but had managed to get to a nearby power station for help. The cases sparked outrage in the Saskatoon aboriginal community and led to one of the largest RCMP investigations in provincial history. Two Saskatoon police officers - Dan Hatchen and Ken Munson - were found guilty of unlawful confinement in the Night case and sentenced to eight months in jail. They were fired from their jobs. Copyright c. 2004 Canadian Press. Copyright c. 2004 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Worry about Fake Indian Art and Jewelry" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 08:13:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BOGUS INDIAN ART" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=316&num=9280 Artists, others worry about fake Indian art and jewelry By The Associated Press Mar 8, 2004, 11:30 am SANTA FE (AP) - A Navajo jeweler says cheap imitations of American Indian art - much of them mass-produced in Mexico or Asia - are giving New Mexico a bad reputation and hurting artists. "Santa Fe is not the same place it used to be," Tommy Jackson said. "I wish there was something I could do. When I turn this business over to my children I don't want them to have to worry about this stuff." Some are pushing for tougher enforcement of the 14-year-old federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which prohibits sellers from misrepresenting imitation Indian art or jewelry as genuine. Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, said the amount of money lost to cheap knockoffs should warrant the cost of legal action by the state. "We're losing millions, there's no question about it," she said. "When you think about the millions of dollars the Tourism Department is pumping into making people want to travel here so they can get here and have a bad experience, it's a serious concern." The Tourism Department's marketing director, Jon Hendry, said Indian art and culture are two reasons tourists come to New Mexico. Imitation art and jewelry could hurt the state's economy by detracting from its tourist industry, he said. "People are coming here to experience Native American culture and art," Hendry said. "I've never seen anybody who came here to buy fake Native American art." An average of 12.5 million tourists each year contribute $3.9 billion to the state's economy. Tourism is second only to oil and gas in economic benefit. The Indian Arts and Crafts Association, a national board which promotes authenticity and ethical business practices, helps businesses ensure they are buying from legitimate artists. But association vice president Hubert Hill said it has no authority to reprimand those who sell fakes. "It's affecting all of us in the business, especially in recent years," he said. "There is more jewelry with glued-on, cast parts, and you're seeing the label Indian hand-assembled instead of Indian handmade. There is already an act on the books that's not being enforced." The state attorney general's office, which is responsible for enforcing the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, prosecuted six businesses in Santa Fe, Gallup and El Prado after undercover operations in February 1999. Sam Thompson, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Patricia Madrid, said violations of the law are difficult to prove and often require help from Indian art experts. The attorney general's office hired such experts during the 1999 sting with $150,000 from the Legislature, but those funds were not renewed the next year. Only three formal complaints have been filed since, two of which were settled by advocates from the attorney general's consumer protection division. "Basically, we mediate between the consumer and the business," Thompson said. "In most cases, the consumers have received their money back." Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Firefighter gets 10 Years for setting Fire" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 08:13:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RODEO-CHEDISKI" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.casperstartribune.net/~/006ebc5c07d566cc87256e51007accc2.txt [Editorial Comment: The white woman who set the other half of this fire got a slap on the wrist and probation... Amerikkan Just-us.] Firefighter gets 10 years for setting fire By ANABELLE GARAY Associated Press writer Tuesday, March 9, 2004 PHOENIX - A firefighter who admitted igniting a fire that became part of the biggest wildfire in Arizona history was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday. Leonard Gregg, a part-time firefighter who told authorities he was trying to make work for himself, pleaded guilty Oct. 20 in federal court to two counts of intentionally setting a fire. Gregg made no plea agreement to reduce the possible charges or sentence and was given the maximum prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay $27 million in restitution for damage caused by the fire. Gregg's attorney previously argued that Gregg suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome and that he functions at a low level emotionally and intellectually. Gregg, a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, admitted starting the Rodeo half of the Rodeo-Chediski fire on June 18, 2002. That fire merged with another started by Valinda Jo Elliot, a woman who was lost in the woods and trying to get the attention of a helicopter. The Rodeo-Chediski fire charred 469,000 acres in eastern Arizona, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing 30,000 people to evacuate. The blaze also burned sacred Apache sites and accelerated the expected demise of the White Mountain Apache Tribe's timber business. Gregg had been a part-time firefighter for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, earning $8 an hour. Before starting the Rodeo fire, Gregg sparked a blaze near Cibecue, in hopes of being called to work. When he was not called to fight the fire, which was quickly contained, Gregg started the second fire, prosecutors said. He was arrested about 10 days after the Rodeo fire began. Federal prosecutors found there wasn't enough evidence of criminal intent on Elliot's part and declined to prosecute her. She does, however, face a civil complaint in tribal court. Copyright c. 2004 by the Casper Star-Tribune, Lee Publications, Inc. --------- "RE: Boys found Dead were not Suspended" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Mar 2004 08:28:27 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ALCOHOL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com/~/build/state/50-boysfound.inc Official: Boys found dead were not suspended By JOHN STROMNES Of the Missoulian March 4, 2004 RONAN - Two 11-year-old boys who were found dead near Pache Homesites in Ronan on Monday had not been suspended from school, contrary to a report from Lake County Sheriff Bill Barron, a school official said Wednesday. "Both boys were in school Friday, and had lunch at school. They may have skipped last period," said Julie Cajune, Indian Education Coordinator for the Ronan School District. They may have left school together Friday afternoon, she said. They had no history of alcohol use in school, she said. Cajune said the two children, Justin Benoist and Frankie Nicolai, were enrolled members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. They attended Ronan Middle School and were in sixth grade. Cajune said family members had been looking for their children when they didn't come home and had made a report to tribal authorities that the children were missing. According to official reports, Justin Benoist's mother had reported him as a runaway to tribal authorities Thursday night, but he'd returned home later in the evening and attended school on Friday. Those reports indicate that Frank Nicolai, the father of the other boy, called tribal police Friday reporting his son missing. Like Benoist's mother, Norma Fox, Nicolai filed a written runaway report with tribal officials. Frankie Nicolai's name was entered into the National Crime Information Center system, and both tribal and local authorities should have been advised, although the sheriff said Tuesday that the boys had not been reported missing over the weekend. The boys' bodies were found in a snow-covered field late Monday afternoon near Ronan. Autopsies indicated Benoist died of hypothermia, with alcohol toxicity a contributing factor, and Nicolai died of alcohol poisoning. The investigation is continuing, with tribal police, the sheriff's office and Ronan police involved. Funerals for both boys are scheduled for 10 a.m. today at Elmo Hall in Elmo. Copyright c. 2004 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Boy found dead at South Dakota School" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Mar 2004 08:13:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CRIME SCENE DEFILED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=4004 Boy found dead at South Dakota school Not everyone agrees with suicide ruling FAITH SD Sam Lewin March 8, 2004 An American Indian child was found hanging to death at a school that has been accused of encouraging an atmosphere of racism. The official cause of death is suicide, but not everyone is so sure. Faith, South Dakota is located in the northwestern part of the state. There are only 517 people living in the community, which borders the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation. On Friday morning, a substitute teacher found a 16-year-old boy in the playground hanging by a leather belt. Activists say the child was left exposed while police investigated. "Kids were allowed to continue to go to school. The crime scene was defiled-it was horrific," said Christine Rose, Executive Director of the Connecticut- based Students and Teachers Against Racism. STAR has been involved with the school ever since Callie Johnson, a Cheyenne River Sioux tribal member, reported that her three children have been repeatedly harassed over their ethnicity. Johnson said one of her children was picked up and stuffed into a garbage can and told to stay there until he came out "stinking like an Indian." She said other incidents involved racial slurs and sexual taunting. The child found dead Friday is not related to Johnson. Rose said she wonders about the way authorities acted when the body was found and the suicide ruling itself. "This kid was a social kid-he had girlfriends, he played basketball regularly. He is not the profile of a kid who would kill himself," Rose said. The case is now being handled by the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation. The investigator handling the case, Pat West, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Rose hopes public outcry will result in a complete probe, as well as a look at Faith School. "I think if we make enough noise, a good investigation will be done," she said. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2003 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Teen kills Mother, hangs Himself" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2004 08:02:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TEEN KILLS MOTHER" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.sfnewmexican.com/print.asp?ArticleID=41335- Teen Kills Mother, Hangs Himself Associated Press March 3, 2004 MESCALERO - A teenager hanged himself after getting into an argument with his mother and killing her at their home on the Mescalero Apache Indian reservation in southern New Mexico, police said. Mescalero Police Chief Troy Bolen said Christian Aldava, a 17-year-old student at Mescalero High School, used a knife to fatally stab his mother, 47-year-old Agnes Aldava, on Sunday night. The argument ensued after the teen returned home and discovered that his mother had hidden a handgun he had brought into the home, where he lived with his mother and 15-year-old brother. "There had been some minor incidents before but nothing that would have led anybody to think something like this would happen," Bolen said. The chief said the teen had previous run-ins with police, including involvement in a shooting incident on the reservation last year. Officers discovered Agnes Aldava on Sunday night after receiving a 911 call. Bolen said the 15-year-old brother was home at the time of the incident. Authorities, however, could not immediately find Christian Aldava. Bolen said investigators later learned that he had stolen a vehicle at knifepoint and then wrecked it. He also stole a bicycle before finding his way to the Mescalero forestry division, where he took one of the agency's trucks. Aldava used the truck to drive more than 40 miles to a home in Alamogordo that belonged to his uncle. Authorities spotted the forestry truck outside the home Monday. A search warrant was executed and they found Aldava inside. He was hanging from a rope. Mescalero police said the incident is being classified as a murder- suicide. Official results from the Office of the Medical Examiner were pending, and Bolen said toxicology reports on Christian Aldava could take as long as three months. The incident comes on the heals of another mother's murder on tribal land. In January, federal investigators arrested a Laguna Pueblo man on allegations that he killed his mother by hacking her body with an ax and burning her remains in a wood stove. In Mescalero, Agnes Aldava's death has hit the community hard. "I think they're shook up a bit. But as with all Indian communities, they're very close and they're taking care of each other," Bolen said. Content c. 2004 The New Mexican, Inc. --------- "RE: Killing has Victim's Family asking many Questions" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 09:11:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANSWERS SOUGHT IN BRUTAL SLAYING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.shawanoleader.com/articles/2004/03/07/news/news1.txt Killing has victim's family asking many questions By Nathan Falk, Leader Reporter March 7, 2004 A brutal slaying on the Menominee Reservation Thursday has the victim's family searching for answers and justice. The death of 70-year-old Monroe "Buddy" Weso was under investigation Thursday and Friday, after he was murdered at his home at Highway 47 and VV Thursday. A 17 year-old boy, Robert S. Pamanet Jr. of Keshena, is under arrest in connection with the death, under the adult tribal charge of battery. Pamanet was arraigned in Menominee Tribal Court Friday and is currently being held without bond, pending trial, according to a statement issued Friday afternoon by the Menominee Tribal Police Department. Because Pamanet is a juvenile, the matter is under review by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin, which will determine if federal charges will be sought. Copyright c. 2004 The Shawano Leader. --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, Mar 8 2004 19:18:40 -0700 From: Janet Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040306/localnews/25650.html Indian culture training in works By MIKE DENNISON Tribune Capitol Bureau March 6, 2004 HELENA - By next month, the state Parole Board may approve new rules for training its members about Native American issues, the board's executive director said Friday. The rules stem from a bill passed by the 2003 Legislature, which expanded the Board of Pardons and Parole membership and said all members must "have knowledge of American Indian culture" because of the high proportion of Native American inmates in the state prison system. Craig Thomas, executive director of the board, told the State-Tribal Relations Committee that the rules could be in place by the end of April. However, he said the board wants to maintain some flexibility in the rules and not necessarily require all of its members to undergo training. For example, board members who are Native Americans probably don't need to undergo training about Indian culture, he said. The board also hasn't decided the exact training curriculum yet, Thomas added. Thomas distributed figures showing that 17 percent of male prison inmates and 26 percent of female inmates in Montana are Native American. That's compared to about 7 percent of Montana's population as a whole. Rep. Carol Juneau, D-Browning, pointed out that Indians in the state prison system are drawn from the Indian population that lives off reservations. Those who commit crimes on reservations end up in federal prison. The off-reservation population of Indians in Montana is about 3 percent to 4 percent of the state population, so the disproportion of Indians in the state prison system is even higher, she said. The new law passed by the Legislature added two "auxiliary" members to the Parole Board, which now has three regular members and four auxiliary members. Auxiliary members stand in when regular members can't attend hearings. The Parole Board decides whether to release inmates eligible for parole and also makes recommendations on pardons. The two new auxiliary members appointed by Gov. Judy Martz are former state Rep. Matt McCann, D-Harlem, and Daryl Dupuis of Polson, a retired educator and member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Thomas said five of the board's members and auxiliary members have good knowledge of Indian issues, and two are tribal members. The Parole Board moved its records onto a computer system last year and is attempting to report on racial data regarding parolees. The Legislature asked for reporting on this data going back to 1999, but Thomas said that won't be possible. Thomas also said the Parole Board does not consider an inmate's racial background when deciding whether to parole him or her. "The majority of offenders denied parole are denied based on their criminal history," he said. Thomas showed the committee preliminary figures that indicate very little difference between the percentage of Indians granted parole and the percentage of white inmates granted parole. ---- Dennison can be reached by e-mail at capbureau@mt.net, or by phone at (406) 442-9493. Copyright c. 2004 Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: History: Carlisle Indian School" --------- Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 05:47:47 -0500 From: Barbara Landis Subj: February 20, 1891 INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle Indian School. [Editorial Note: These reprints are being included in this newsletter so that you might know the mind of those who ran institutions like Carlisle.] THE INDIAN HELPER ~%^%~ A WEEKLY LETTER FROM THE Carlisle Indian Industrial School To Boys and Girls. ================================================ VOL. VI. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1891 NUMBER 24 ================================================ THE path that leads to a Loaf of Bread Winds through the Swamps of Toil, And the path that leads to a suit of Clothes Goes through a flowerless soil. And the paths that leads to a Loaf of Bread And the Suit of Clothes are hard to tread. And the path that leads to a house of Your Own Climbs over the bouldered hills, And the path that leads to a Bank Account Is swept by the blast that kills: But, tho men who start in the path to-day In the Lazy Hills may go astray. In the Lazy Hills are trees of shade By the Dreamy Brooks of sleep, And the rollicking River of Pleasure laughs, And gambols down the steep; But when the blasts of the winter come, The brooks and the rivers are frozen dumb. Then woe to those in the Lazy Hills When the blasts of winter moan, Who strayed from the path to a Bank Account And the path to a House of their own; These paths are hard in the summer heat, But in winter they lead to a snug retreat. ====================== THE CHIEFS. ------- Yes, they have "been and gone." Forty-one persons in all arrived Saturday afternoon. The party included: Rev. Chas. Cook, Native Missionary, Robert American Horse and Clarence Three Stars, old pupils of Carlisle, Chiefs American Horse Fast Thunder, Spotted Horse, Fire Thunder Big Road, Young-Man-Afraid-Of-His-Horses, Little Wound, Spotted Elk, White Bird, Grass. Turning Hawk, He Dog, Capt. Geo. Sword, Chief of Police, and Louis Shangrau, and Baptiste Pourex, interpreters, all of Pine Ridge; Chiefs John Grass, Mad Bear, Louis Primaux, interpreter, and Mrs. Louis Primaux of Standing Rock; Louis Richards, interpreter, Chiefs Hollow Horn Bear, Two Strikes, Good Voice, High Hawk, Quick Bear, High Pipe, and He Dog, of Rosebud; Rev. L. C. Walker, Native Missionary David Zephier and Alex Rencounter, interpreters, Chiefs One-to-Play-With, Big Mane and Medicine Bull of Lower Brule; Chiefs White Ghost and Wizi of Crow Creek; Chiefs Little-No-Heart, Straight Head, and Hump of Cheyenne River. Some in the above list will be recognized as "friendlies." Why have they been so called? Because in the recent disturbance among the Sioux Indians in Dakota, although they have felt for many years that they were being driven to the wall, promise after promise of the Government having failed to be carried out; although they have suffered abuse heaped upon abuse, still in the heat of the excitement when their homes were being burned by a frenzied mob of Indians excited to this condition by the presence of ten thousand soldiers, who were sent as they supposed to wipe the Sioux from the face of the earth, notwithstanding all this the leading men among them whose bitter experiences in former years had taught them that to fight the unmerciful whites would do no good, concluded it wise to smile and turn the other cheek also, and so have been denominated "friendlies." Then there were hostiles in the party - men who bore as kindly faces as the friendlies, but who, when starvation was threatening, and their little ones were dying daily because of not having proper care when sick and for want of food, hesitated for a time as to whether it were not better once more to fight for liberty and the right to live. While here, comfortable quarters were given them in the old chapel. Each man had a bed and toilet set, the room was heated by steam, and they were made as comfortable as Carlisle could make them, and the chiefs who themselves gave many evidences of appreciation of kindly attention from officers and pupils. Not until evening did they meet the whole school. Then all gathered in the new chapel where a little programme gotten up hastily in the afternoon was carried out. As the different boys and girls performed their several parts the Man-on-the-band-stand ------------------------------------------- (Continued on Fourth Page.) ====================================== (p.2) The Indian Helper. ----------------------------- PRINTED EVERY FRIDAY, AT THE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, CARLISLE, PA. BY THE INDIAN PRINTER BOYS. --> THE INDIAN HELPER is PRINTED by Indian boys, but EDITED by The-Man-on-the-band-stand, who is NOT an Indian. ----------------------------- Price: - 10 cents a year. ============================== Address INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle, Pa. Miss M. Burgess, Manager. ============================== Entered in the P.O. at Carlisle as second class mail matter. ============================== The INDIAN HELPER is paid for in advance, so do not hesitate to take the paper from the Post Office, for fear a bill will be presented. ============================= Miss Dittes who returned last week from a visit among the farm girls, is delighted with the homes she found them in, and says that nearly every one is doing grand, good, work. She brings back such words as these that the farm mothers say about the girls: "Just as good as she can be." "Interested in all that pertains to the home." "Like her very much." "The best girl we ever had." "Would like to keep her as long as Captain will let her stay." Miss Dittes only wishes that all the Indian girls could have the individual training that nearly all of the country girls are experiencing. The bread-baking and cooking they are learning will make little women of them all. -------- Raymond Stewart writes from Rosebud Agency that White Horse Little Bull was killed by cow-boys. He had gone with some ghost dancers to interpret for them. They rode up to the cowboys' ranches and bought some sugar. As they were on their way back other cowboys rode around the hill and shot at them, and Little Bull was hit, dying the next morning from the effects. Raymond seems ashamed of the fact that he was with the ghost dancers and insinuates that the boy who reported it was perhaps no better than he, but we are in hopes that the severity of the lesson learned will help him to do right hereafter. The foolishness of the ghost dancing has brought great sorrow upon his people, and this no doubt he sees. -------- A subscriber asks if we care to receive answers to the enigmas. We are glad to get anything that shows an interest, and we do receive many answers to enigmas. -------- "Your delightful little paper ought to go into every family." SUBSCRIBER Good for Genoa. Out of 305 pupils returned from this school to the Sioux reservation, it has been ascertained that not one was engaged with the hostiles in the late rebellion. Several aided the government in the capacity of scouts, and many exerted a strong influence in keeping relatives and friends from joining the revolt. This concert of commendable action on the part of those Indian children who have been given educational advantages and civilizing influences speaks volumes for our institutions of learning and ought to be an eye-opener to the fossil who still maintains that "education will not educate" the Indian race. -[The Pipe of Peace. --------- Carl Leider writes to a friend saying that he has just returned to the Agency or Ft. Custer from the Sioux campaign, where he was sent as a scout. He now has two positions offered him - herding cattle and surveying. He will probably take the latter. Albert Anderson has enlisted as a scout, and Joe Stewart is married. --------- Lieut. Wotherspoon, in charge of Indian prisoners at Mt. Vernon Barracks says Talbot Goday and Burdette Tisnah, who recently returned to their people there, after spending a few years at Carlisle are doing well and have steady work. He speaks well of Lot Eyelash, who had just arrived a few days before he wrote. --------- Esther Miller sends from Quapaw a dollar for two subscriptions for the *Red Man.* She says to the Man-on-the-band-stand. "Old pupils of Carlisle seldom forget 'Grandpa' as some call you, nor can they do without your newsy paper." --------- An encouraging letter has been received from Mr. Standing in regard to returned pupils at Pine Ridge, Dak. --------- The HELPER is always appreciated by us, in fact it is read before the larger journals received by us." - SUBSCRIBER. --------- Eva Stanton and Nellie Bates of H