From gars@speakeasy.org Fri Jun 18 10:52:18 2004 Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 15:32:31 -0700 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.022 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 022 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 May 29, 2004 Pomo umchachich-da/seeds ripen moon Yuchi deconendzo/mulberry ripening moon +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; ndn-aim, News and Information Distribution, Frostys AmerIndian and RezLife 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "No tribe has the right to sell....Sell a country! Why not sell the air, the great sea, as well as the earth? Didn't the Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?" __Tecumseh, Shawnee +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Sometime ago an elder expessed concern there was only bad news in this newsletter, and I should include stories of give-aways by the Peoples. I did just that for a few months... it wasn't long. Readers were generous with their stories of help to one another, but the contributions dwindled down and finally came to an end. All too soon it ended. The following article is very much about such a give-away, and in honor of my elder it will be granted this editorial space, instead of some comment from myself or my half-side, Janet. Enjoy . Let your heart take in someone doing a good thing. Maybe, just maybe, some other good news will find its way. ----- http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=4455 Cherokee Nation Collects Donations for Troops Overseas Donations accepted at the Cherokee Nation Veterans Affairs Office TAHLEQUAH OK Jennifer Tedlock May 17, 2004 If you're planning to visit Greg Bilby at work anytime soon, bring your own chair. "My office is full," Bilby told the Native American Times. "I have no place for people to sit." The Lost City tribal citizen is collecting donations to send to Cherokee soldiers overseas. What started as a small collection of ketchup and mustard packets to send to a few friends in the service has turned into something no one could have anticipated. Now Bilby has boxes of condiments, soap, shampoo - even duct tape, which he joked fixes everything. He's even including pictures and letters, he said - all the little things the soldiers need. Bilby has entirely too much stuff to send to just a few friends. So, according to a published article, the Cherokee Nation employee will pick some random Cherokee soldiers from the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma's "Support Our Troops" section on their website to send donations to as well. Bilby said that he plans to continue to send the care packages as long as there is momentum behind it. If you are interested in donating items, or in sponsoring the shipping on a package, you can contact Greg Bilby at 918-456-0671 ext. 2381 or via e-mail at gbilby@cherokee.org. Donated items can be dropped-off at the Cherokee Nation Veterans Affairs office in Tahlequah, room 138 of the Tsa-La-Gi office complex. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. Dohiyi Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) gars@speakeasy.org P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Descendants of imprisoned Apaches - AFN wants action tell Story from Indian Affairs - Apology from U.S. requested - Police Chief encourages - Giving back what was Theirs Treaty 3 research - Tribes still fighting - Kanesatake Chiefs for Government Recognition call for Urgent Meeting - Yaqui Tribe uses - Mother rejects Police apology Traditional Healers at Center for Dead Son - Court won't rehear challenge - Northern Arapaho to Tribal Land Base won't relinquish Jurisdiction - Nez Perce: Snake River settlement - Amnesty offered for return - Editorial: Snohomish, Tulalips of stolen Indian items make more History - Lower Sioux P.D. - YELLOW BIRD: expands to five Officers Pine Ridge Woman earns Degree - Tribal Officers can make stops - Frank J. King III: off Reservations Slow Progress of Understanding - Death of Girl part of - Teen's death helps steer Youths Indian Prisons inquiry toward Sobriety - Tribal Police kill 1 of 2 - Avoiding the dead-end Path Suspects in Carjacking - Women are Walking to honor Water - Woman arrested in stabbing death - Tribe wants to revive of young Son Arapaho Language - Activist begins extradition - Tesuque Pueblo awarded funds hearing in December to preserve Language - Native Prisoner - County works to preserve -- Indian Justice Yamassee Site Difficult to Find - AllNative.com opens Retail Store -- Interior: Abuse Ruled Out - Haida help First Nations in Prison Deaths repatriate remains - History: Carlisle Indian School - Major award for Saskatoon - Rustywire: Shaa AlChin e' Metis Writer - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Aboriginals threaten - Rustywire Poem: They Scare Me B.C.-wide Blockade - Uniting Warriors Past and Present - Rainy River Natives win $71-Million Land Claim --------- "RE: Descendants of imprisoned Apaches tell Story" --------- Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 08:14:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHIRICAHUA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_11188.shtml Descendants of imprisoned Apaches tell the story on film By Richard Benke/Associated Press Writer May 18, 2004 SANTA FE - Descendants of imprisoned Chiricahua Apaches, who were the last American Indians to lay down their arms in the late 1800s, are telling their forefathers' story on film for the first time. Crews ultimately comprised mostly of Apaches will shoot the documentary called "Wild Justice," featuring interviews with the last few living ex- prisoners and prisoners' relatives. Some of it will be filmed aboard a train along routes that began 28 years of confinement for the Apaches in Florida, Alabama and Oklahoma. "To tell the story correctly, we'll travel that route again with the Apaches on board," said producer Daniel Ostroff, a veteran of the film industry. "We're going to take the children of the prisoners to tell us what happened along the way." The Indians, led by Geronimo and others, had surrendered to U.S. forces voluntarily, expecting to serve two years for leaving the reservation. But the imprisonment lasted longer. Roughly 300 Chiricahuas died during the imprisonment "They had sort of like dungeons," said Fred Kaydahzinne, a descendant of the great Apache leader Cochise. "The kids were separated from their parents and sent to (Carlisle Indian School in) Pennsylvania. ... Some never saw their parents again. Many of our people got sick and they died - horrible, horrible conditions." Those imprisioned had been the last Indians in North America to lay down their arms. "We want to tell the world what happened to us ... the whole story," Kaydahzinne said. "We were at one time a great nation that went down to only a few hundred." Ostroff, who recently helped produce the Apache-assisted film, "The Missing," was asked to get involved in the current project by the Chiricahua descendants, who now live on the Mescalero Apache reservation of New Mexico and near Fort Sill, Okla. Plans are for the documentary to be released next year. There will be no script, no rehearsal, no re-enactment, no actors - just Apaches telling their story, Ostroff said. And Apaches will help at every level of production. He said he will train Apaches as technicians during the first part of the project so that, eventually, crews will be mostly Apache. Often-unreliable Army records suggest 500 to 535 Chiricahuas - men, women and children - were taken aboard five trains to Florida. The first several months of imprisonment were the deadliest. Women and children were separated from the men, breaking another promise, then the children were taken from their mothers. At Fort Marion, cesspools polluted the Apaches' water. Appeals by the fort commander and Indian advocates seeking humanitarian relief to stop the dying went unheeded by President Grover Cleveland. Ultimately, the Apaches were transferred to Alabama, where conditions were worse. Some were also kept at Fort Pickens, Fla. Finally, they were sent in 1894 to Fort Sill, still prisoners of war. Meanwhile at Carlisle, dozens of Chiricahua children were falling ill and dying. When Congress threatened to cut off the school's funding, headmaster Richard Henry Pratt put the most critically ill on trains to Fort Sill so they would not be counted as having died at his school, said historian Henrietta Stockel, author of "On the Bloody Road to Jesus: Christianity and the Chiricahua Apaches." Some died on the train and were handed to parents who showed up at the train station expecting a reunion, Stockel said. In 1913, selected Chiracahuas were allowed to settle part of the Mescalero reservation. The prisoners who remained at Fort Sill were not freed until 1914. Few full-blooded Chiricahuas remain at Mescalero, Kaydahzinne said, but "we still carry the names." The documentary is the Apaches' first chance to tell their own story on film. Kaydahzinne said earlier films about Geronimo were just wrong. Chiricahua descendants believe greed and a land-grab were involved in the persecution of the Apaches. Kaydahzinne acknowledges that Apaches were aggressive in protecting their lands, which they believed were god-given. Three Mescalero Chiricahuas, including Kaydahzinne, and three Fort Sill Apaches are co-executive producers on "Wild Justice," which is directed by French filmmaker Eric Valli, a two-time Oscar nominee. Two Mescalero executive producers, Berle Kanseah and Elbys Hugar, served as technical advisers on "The Missing," the Ron Howard film that featured Tommy Lee Jones speaking Chiricahua and pursuing slave traders headed for Mexico with his granddaughter. This year, Ostroff moved his office from Los Angeles to Santa Fe and began work on several films including "Wild Justice," a story Ostroff knew from working with Kanseah and Hugar, grandchildren of prisoners. Kanseah died of cancer April 5. Co-producers include New Mexico State University anthropologist Scott Rushforth and UCLA Pulitzer Prize-winner Jared Diamond. Other executive producers, besides Kaydahzinne and Hugar, include Robert Haozus of Santa Fe, artist son of the late Fort Sill Apache sculptor Allan Houser; Jeff Houser, president of the Fort Sill Apaches; and Michael Darrow, archivist-historian for the Fort Sill Apaches. Asked why no screenplay, Ostroff replied: "We're not telling the story from books because books have never told the story correctly." "It's their story, and who can tell it better?" he added. "They have an oral history tradition. I've yet to meet an Apache with a memory problem." Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Apology from U.S. requested" --------- Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 08:20:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="APOLOGY" http://www.indianz.com/News/archive/002310.asp Resolution offers apology for 'ill-conceived policies' May 19, 2004 Tex Hall was in North Dakota last fall when he received a call on his cell phone. He was surprised to hear who was on the other end. It was Sen. Sam Brownback, the Republican from Kansas whose name rarely appears on legislation affecting Indians. In recent years, in fact, the conservative lawmaker has been on the opposing end of tribes, particularly when it comes to gaming. So Hall was even more surprised to learn why Brownback was calling. "We talked about some of the historical wrongdoings [against Native Americans] and he wanted to know what we could possibly do," Hall said. The discussion intrigued Hall, the president of the National Congress of American Indians. "I said, 'You know the United States has never really formally apologized'" for its treatment of Native people, Hall noted. "And he obviously did his homework," Hall said of Brownback. "He said 'Yeah, I know.'" That gave Hall, who also serves as chairman of his tribe, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota, an opening. "Why don't you do it?" challenged Hall. Brownback wholeheartedly accepted the offer. For several months after that call, his staff worked with NCAI and some tribes to develop a formal apology to the first Americans. Introduced last month, it is backed by Sens. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), two respected figures in Indian Country. "This is a resolution of apology and a resolution of reconciliation," Brownback said in his statement on the Senate floor. "It is a first step toward healing the wounds that have divided us for so long - a potential foundation for a new era of positive relations between tribal governments and the federal government. It is time - it is past time - for us to heal our land of division, all divisions, and bring us together as one people." The resolution cites a number of "official depredations and ill- conceived policies" towards American Indians and Alaska Natives. Among them: - Hundreds of broken treaties with Indian nations. - The Indian Removal Act of 1830, which forced Eastern tribes from their homelands. - The Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, in which the U.S. military killed 150 Cheyenne men, women and children. - The Long Walk of 1868, which caused the deaths of hundreds of Navajos. - The General Allotment Act of 1887, which broke up the tribal land base. - The Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, in which the U.S. military killed 300 Sioux men, women and children. - The failed 19th- and 20th-century policies of assimilation, termination and relocation. "It's an historic, tremendous occasion ," Hall said of the measure. "When you finally apologize, you acknowledge those past sins and those violations and crimes." The resolution is quick to note that the apology won't authorize money damages or other payments to tribes of individual Indians. "But it does recognize the negative impact of numerous deleterious Federal acts and policies on Native Americans and their cultures," Brownback said in his statement. "Moreover, it begins the effort of reconciliation by recognizing the past wrongs and repenting for them." The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which is chaired by Campbell, will consider the measure at a business meeting today. Hall said he hoped lawmakers would act this summer so that an apology can be ready when the National Museum of American Indians opens in September. "The timing could have a really tremendous impact," he said. The apology is written as a joint resolution so it would need approval in the House as well as the Senate before heading to President Bush for his signature. There is currently no accompanying resolution in the House. ---- Consideration of U.S. apology resolution delayed May 20, 2004 Consideration of a resolution to apologize to Native peoples for "official depredations and ill-conceived policies" of the United States was delayed on Wednesday. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee was to take up the measure at a business meeting. But due to a lack of a quorum, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado), the panel's chairman, said it would be put off until a later date. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) was unable to attend the meeting because he was returning from a flight from Hawaii. The apology, introduced by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and co- sponsored by Campbell and Inouye, would offer a formal apology on behalf of the federal government. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Giving back what was Theirs" --------- Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 20:24:43 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WIYOT/TULUWAT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127~2906~2165746,00.html Giving back what was theirs May 22, 2004 "Whereas, the sacred lands of Tuluwat comprise the physical and spiritual center of the Wiyot world, and there is factual evidence of Wiyot Tribal presence on the island for at least 1,000 years ..." With those words, the Eureka City Council, in part, laid the basis for returning a portion of Indian Island (Tuluwat) to the Wiyot Tribe. The resolution acknowledged "the intolerable historical injustices suffered by the Wiyot people on Tuluwat and elsewhere." Indeed, Tuluwat is a black mark on the history of the North Coast. It was the last Saturday of February in 1860 when a small band of white men, known to have been landowners and businessmen, used axes, clubs and knives to slaughter between 60 and 200 women, children and elders. Now, 144 years later, the city of Eureka resolves that "Tuluwat will return as a tribal gathering place for all Wiyot people." The brutal massacre ended centuries of ceremonial dancing and celebrations. U.S. troops gathered the surviving Wiyot people and confined them to the Klamath River Reservation. Over the years, they were moved to other areas. They ceased performing their ceremonies and speaking their language; their culture was almost completely forgotten. Today, there are more than 300 enrolled members of the Wiyot Tribe struggling to restore their culture and identity. The action taken by the city of Eureka is a big step in helping the members of the Wiyot Tribe reclaim what never should have been taken from them. The City Council, staff and audience all rose for an emotional standing ovation after the council passed the resolution. A few people shed tears of joy. It will never erase history. History should not be rewritten. It should serve as a reminder of the past and help aim us in the right direction for the future. Copyright c. 2004 Times-Standard, Eureka, CA. --------- "RE: Tribes still fighting for Government Recognition" --------- Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 20:24:43 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WINTU" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.heraldonline.com/24hour/nation/story/1387303p-8641204c.html Some Indian tribes still fighting for government recognition By ANGIE WAGNER, Associated Press May 22, 2004 REDDING, Calif. (AP) - The fog dips low into the snowcapped mountains as the emerald McCloud River meanders through the valley, a silent guardian over the graves and culture of the Winnemem Wintu tribe. The tribe's spiritual leader, her face etched, walks to its bank and looks at the rock where children have received wisdom over the centuries, the grave sites only they know of and the land that sustained her ancestors. Once, there were 14,000 Wintu. By the 1900s, massacres, disease and starvation wiped out all but 395. Today, just 125 remain. The Wintu are a tribe in every sense of the word: They eat meals together, pray together, gather for ceremonies and business. Their ancestors lived along the McCloud River in Northern California, and the river is still where the Wintu gather. They bring their children, swim in the still water, pray and visit their sacred sites. It is their purpose, they believe, to protect the McCloud. But despite their history and traditions, the federal government says the Wintu tribe does not exist. They are not a federally recognized tribe, and thus aren't entitled to land, grants, subsidized housing, sovereignty, or the benefit they want most - validation. "We're a traditional, historic tribe. We still live and follow our traditions and culture that has been handed down generation by generation, " said Caleen Sisk-Franco, the tribe's spiritual leader. "We're put here to protect the sacred places, for there to be snow on the mountain, fish in the river." But they have no protection for their sacred land, no way of ensuring their survival. "They still can't see us," she said. And now, they face the greatest threat to their history, a threat that springs from the McCloud River itself and could erase the Wintu forever. --- A few miles from the McCloud, 23 Wintu live in a collection of rundown trailer homes on 42 acres of land. The Village of Kerekmet, they call it. They congregate in the main kitchen inside an aging house with a slumping roof. This day, the greasy flavor of bacon beckons them. It's breakfast burritos, and Mark Franco, tribal headman and today's chef, serves up his creation as members line up for the communal meal. Neighbors complain there are too many dogs and too many people living here; the county has issued citations. But the Wintu have no reservation, no other place to go. The Wintu have never gone through the process of applying for federal recognition because they claim it doesn't apply to them. They say they have always been a recognized tribe. Across the country, there are 562 federally recognized Indian tribes. Most were recognized through 19th century treaties, ratified by the Senate. But in 1978 the Department of the Interior established what is called the acknowledgment process to decide whether any more tribes, those without treaties, should have a government-to-government relationship. Since then, 294 groups have sought federal recognition. Just 16 have been acknowledged; Congress gave recognition to another nine. Nineteen were refused. Some recognition problems date back to the treaty days. In California, 18 treaties were never ratified by the Senate, leaving more than 100 tribes without the structure of a reservation. They were homeless, landless Indians. Today, California has 57 groups seeking federal recognition - the most of any state. To be declared an Indian tribe, groups must meet seven conditions, including proof it has been a tribe continuously since 1900, existed as a distinct community and maintained political influence and authority over its members. It's up to nine people - anthropologists, genealogists and historians - in the Interior Department's Office of Federal Acknowledgment to decide who is a tribe and who isn't. The process has been criticized as cumbersome, political and inefficient. The government says it takes a minimum of more than two years to reach a decision. But it took 25 years for the Cowlitz Tribe in Washington to gain recognition. Some tribes claim the office is reluctant to grant federal status because federal money for Indian programs would be diluted; more tribes means a smaller piece of the pie for everyone. "The whole process is totally corrupt. It's an abomination," said Alan Leventhal, an archaeologist and anthropologist at San Jose State University who works with tribes seeking federal recognition. "These Indians are constantly being defrauded and nobody sees it." Lee Fleming, director of the acknowledgment office, said some delays are the fault of tribes and not the government. Several representatives and senators have said the process is flawed, underfunded and in need of stricter deadlines. Interior Secretary Gale Norton called for an internal review after a Bureau of Indian Affairs staff memo was released detailing how the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation in Connecticut could be recognized even though it did not meet criteria. The tribe was given federal status in January. House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., suggested Congress deal with the issue, saying "no one should wait three decades to process an application for anything." "We can only do so much with what resources we do have," Fleming replies. The Wintu believe one reason the process is so slow is because the government assumes tribes just want to open casinos. They have no plans for a casino, but say recognition isn't about that anyway. "I want just to be able to protect the bones of my ancestors," Sisk- Franco said. Fleming, a Cherokee Indian, would not discuss specific tribes' claims, but said he can sympathize with tribes seeking recognition. He called the process "necessarily thorough," but said it can always be improved. The Winnemem Wintu say they have always been recognized by the government, and their lack of that status now is simply because they were left off a list by mistake. "It was a clerical error," said Franco, Sisk-Franco's husband. Over the years, the government has certainly had a relationship with the Wintu. The government holds a cemetery in trust for them. They have a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to use eagle feathers in their ceremonies, a right granted only to Indians, and another permit from the Department of Agriculture to practice religious ceremonies on federal land. A few members have land held in trust by the government and receive payments for grazing rights. The Wintu even receive limited health care from the Indian Health Service. But, legally, they are not a tribe. "How can you be Indian if you don't have a tribe?" said Sisk-Franco, 51. "It is the wackiest thing I've ever heard." -- In a dim, wooden prayer house, smoke wafts from the top as the Winnemem Wintu fall silent, their leader speaking in a hush. Four sets of human remains stuffed in pillow cases sit at the edge of the fire. They have gathered to pray for these ancestors who were rousted from their graves by loggers and looters. Then, they return to the river. As an early evening chill settles in and the sun slips between the mountains, Franco and four other Indians trudge up a steep mountainside to rebury the remains. They wonder how much longer their sacred sites will be here, how many more ancestors they will have to rebury, how many indignities their tribal spirits must endure. A toilet was erected on top of one of their graves. Every August, they go to a sacred spring for spiritual renewal, but now it is crowded with New Agers who dip their babies and sprinkle cremated remains in the water. The future may be worse. Shasta Dam, to the southwest, already forced the Wintu to abandon their historic community once. When the dam was completed in 1945, the rising reservoir flooded their homes. Now, the Bureau of Reclamation is considering raising the dam another 18 feet to help solve California's water woes. That would add 600,000 acre- feet of storage to the Shasta Lake reservoir. And the McCloud River would back up more, swallowing what remains of their traditional homeland. "There won't be a whole lot left," Sisk-Franco said. "When does it stop? When we're gone? When we have nothing left?" Federal recognition, they say, would help them fight the dam expansion. They have been to Washington, D.C., seven times, met with congressional staff members and fasted for their cause. They have no money to file a lawsuit. They can only hope Congress will grant them tribal recognition and that the dam project is never approved. "We're nonpeople," said Wintu member Mark Miyoshi, 53. Federal acknowledgment, said Les Field, anthropology professor at the University of New Mexico, is an affirmation of tribal identity. "They endured a terrible genocidal history. To get that kind of formal acknowledgment is to really begin the work of healing for these terrible, historical wrongs," said Field, who also works with unrecognized tribes. It's simpler to the Wintu. "If you don't have your culture, there's no sense in even being an Indian," Sisk-Franco said. Copyright c. 2004 The Associated Press. Copyright c. 2004 The Herald, South Carolina The Herald is owned by The McClatchy Company. --------- "RE: Yaqui Tribe uses Traditional Healers at Center" --------- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 12:26:28 EDT From: ErthAvengr@aol.com Subj: Yaqui Tribe uses traditional healers at health center Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.indianz.com Yaqui Tribe uses traditional healers at health center May 21, 2004 Traditional healers are part of the services offered by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona. The tribe's Alternative Health Care Clinic brings in healers to help patients with their ailments. Dolores A. Flores, 63, uses herbs and medicinal plants as part of her treatments. Arturo Valenzuela, 78, is a traditional massage specialist. The clinic has been using traditional healers for several years. ---- http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/allheadlines/22104.php Yaqui herbalist wants to pass her gift to others By Carmen Duarte ARIZONA DAILY STAR Dolores A. Flores, traditional healer and herbalist, would like to pass on her gift of holistic medicinal practices to other Yaquis. But the search for people to teach is a slow process - something that worries Flores because she does not want the practice of traditional and spiritual healing in her tribe to die. Meanwhile, the 63-year-old healer, or curandera, is part of a team that specializes in holistic treatments at the Alternative Health Care Clinic under the Pascua Yaqui Tribe's Health Department on the reservation southwest of Tucson. There, Flores treats patients for headaches, stomach and back problems and muscle cramps. Others come because they suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes. Flores began treating patients at the clinic in 1997, and is part of a staff that includes Maria Garcia, a chiropractic physician; Carol Revak, a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist; and Nancy Duran, a community health nurse. Since January, traditional healers from Rio Yaqui, Sonora, have gone to the clinic at 7474 S. Camino de Oeste to see patients and share their treatment methods and knowledge. Flores said this makes her happy because there are few curanderos practicing here. "I have offered to teach others, but there have been no takers," said Flores. "But if the tribe can utilize the knowledge of healers from Sonora, then maybe others will come forth eventually to learn the practice." On Wednesday, Arturo Valenzuela, who calls himself a sobador, or massage specialist, treated patients all day. He has treated more than 60 people at the clinic since May 3. His last day there is Friday. "I calm people with deep massages. I pinpoint nerves and work the spine and central nervous system," said Valenzuela, 78, sitting on a small bed in an examination room during a break from seeing patients. When needed, Flores translates for Valenzuela when he is treating patients. Valenzuela speaks Spanish and Yoeme, the Yaqui language, and he says his gift of healing comes from God. In Flores' office, jars of dried medicinal plants and jars of alcohol and olive oil mixed with herbs used for treatments stand on a counter. She pointed to a jar of rose hips, which she said is a good source of vitamin C. "Rose hips helps fight off infections, colds and respiratory problems. I combine it with other herbs and make a tea," said Flores, who remembers helping her grandmother gather medicinal plants near the Santa Cruz River when she was a young girl living in South Tucson. Flores said her grandmother, Carlota Tapia, attended St. Augustine Catholic School and became a county-licensed midwife. She said her grandmother learned about alternative medicine and holistic practices from others and by studying books. Tapia passed on her knowledge to Flores. "My grandmother died in 1992 at the age of 94. I still remember the beautiful scents in her garden where she grew herbs," said Flores. Flores said medical doctors who are open to holistic treatment can work with traditional healers to treat patients. Flores said she questions her patients about their medications to make sure herbal treatments do not interfere with their health. The National Institutes of Health established an office in 1992 to investigate and evaluate promising unconventional medical practices, said Revak, the naturopath who works with Flores at the clinic. "The truth of it is that some of these practices have been around for thousands of years in the Americas and other cultures," said Revak. "Some medical doctors are schooled in alternative therapies, and for others it is more esoteric." More medical schools are starting to teach alternative treatments and the cultural and historical traditions of herbal remedies among minorities, but more needs to be done, Revak said. Unconventional remedies are growing in general, said Revak, who said that trend is patient-driven. "People are very educated in these alternative therapies. They want both," Revak said. "That is the best world anyway - Western and alternative practitioners working together." Contact reporter Carmen Duarte at 807-8414 or at cduarte@azstarnet.com. Copyright c. 1999-2004 Arizona Daily Star. --------- "RE: Court won't rehear challenge to Tribal Land Base" --------- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 08:48:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MILLE LACS LAND" http://www.indianz.com/News/archive/002356.asp Court won't rehear challenge to tribal land base Friday, May 21, 2004 A federal appeals court has dealt another blow to a Minnesota county seeking to wipe most of the Mille Lacs Ojibwe Reservation off the map. Officials from Mille Lacs County, who have spent more than $1 million in taxpayer funds on the case, asked the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear the dispute. But on Wednesday, the court denied the request. The move sets up a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has not heard a reservation diminishment case since the late 1990s. The county has up to 90 days to file its challenge. In the meantime, an earlier ruling in favor of the tribe will stand. A three-judge panel of the appeals court said the county and a local bank lacked standing to bring the suit. "The county board wasted nearly $1.3 million of taxpayers' money on this lawsuit at a time when its budget was under pressure from a sluggish economy," said Mille Lacs chief executive Melanie Benjamin in the tribal newspaper. The tribe, which owns two casinos, held a series of celebrations after the March 9 ruling. The county claims the reservation is, at most, 4,000 acres in size. On the other hand, the tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs recognize a total of 61,000 acres. The disagreement, according to the county, places a cloud over law enforcement, taxation and other issues. The bank says it shouldn't be subject to regulation by the tribe. The appeals court rejected the claims as mere speculation. "Neither the county nor the bank has shown that it is in immediate danger of sustaining threatened injury traceable to an action of the band," wrote Judge Lavenski R. Smith. The suit, however, was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled in the future. Minnesota attorney general Mike Hatch, a Democrat, sided with the county as did South Dakota attorney general Larry Long, a Republican. Both officials cited a 1998 Supreme Court ruling that reduced the size of the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Since then, the Supreme Court has refused to hear several tribal land cases. In recent years, officials from Connecticut and Idaho sought to reduce or limit the size of reservations in their state but were rebuffed by the high court. Several states, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho and Connecticut, are currently backing the state of Rhode Island in a dispute involving the Narragansett Tribe. The states claim the tribe is forever limited to an 1,800-acre reservation. A federal judge said tribe could increase its land base but the decision is being appealed to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. The National Congress of American Indians and Native American Rights Fund have submitted an amicus brief in the tribe's favor. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Nez Perce: Snake River settlement" --------- Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 08:23:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PRESERVE SALMON/NEZ PERCE WATER RIGHTS" http://www.spokesmanreview.com/~ID=s1520428&cat=section.tribal_news Tribe, agencies agree to Snake River settlement Compromise will help salmon, recognize tribal water claims Associated Press May 16, 2004 BOISE - The Nez Perce Tribe and state and federal agencies have agreed to augment Snake River flows to aid endangered salmon, improve fish habitat in the Salmon and Clearwater rivers, and officially recognize some of the tribe's claims to water in the Snake River Basin. Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and Nez Perce Tribe Chairman Anthony Johnson announced Saturday that a proposed settlement had been reached in one of the largest water rights cases in the West. Kempthorne said the agreement preserved existing state and private water rights while it established a framework for water use and timber management compliance under the federal Endangered Species Act. "This is one of the single most important milestones in our state's 114- year crusade to control its water," Kempthorne said. "What we've achieved here is sovereignty, certainty and opportunity for Idaho to chart its own destiny with regard to water and the future of this state." The state has been sorting out 180,000 claims to river water rights for nearly two decades. In 1993, the Nez Perce laid claim to most of the water in the river, including its tributaries. The proposed settlement - set to take effect next spring and last for 30 years - still must be approved by the U.S. Congress, Idaho Legislature, the tribe and the Snake River Basin Adjudication court. Though the agreement does not resolve all the contested water issues in the Snake River, it addresses the bulk of the concerns raised by the tribe. "Water has been fundamental to the livelihood and culture of the Nez Perce people for over 10,000 years. It is essential to our economic and cultural health today," Johnson said. "Clean water in sufficient quantity is necessary for the Nez Perce people to exercise our treaty-preserved rights." -- Spokane, Wash., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and the Inland Northwest Copyright c. 2004, The Spokesman-Review. --------- "RE: Editorial: Snohomish, Tulalips make more History" --------- Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 08:14:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SNOHOMISH/TULALIPS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/~/2001931463_snohed18.htm Editorial Snohomish, Tulalips make more history No one expects the disagreements to end, but the Tulalip Tribes and Snohomish County agreed yesterday to keep small problems from turning into big lawsuits. Meeting at the 1855 site of the reservation-shaping Treaty of Point Elliott in Mukilteo, Tulalip Tribes Chairman Stanley G. Jones and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon committed both sides to talk out their differences. Snohomish and the tribes have a long list on which they can agree to disagree and opt to mediate, not litigate. They include shorelines issues, environmental cleanup, water management and conservation, tidelands, and watershed management. The signed agreement, backed only by the good faith of the parties, builds off the fence-mending work of former County Executive Bob Drewel. Lots of friction exists for the two entities. In some cases they share jurisdictions, in others, the county issues permits and regulates property owned by non-tribal members inside reservation boundaries. Always, the risk is push will come to shove. The county and tribes worked three years on a land-use agreement, and 14 months on a memorandum of understanding between tribal and county law-enforcement agencies. Another recently completed agreement identifies the regulatory turf between Indian Health Services and the Snohomish County Health Board for inspections and enforcement of non-Indian-owned restaurants on reservation land. Hard feelings between governments and the tribes can fuel expensive disputes that rage for years. A protracted fight about the 41st Street overpass between the city of Everett and the Tulalips likely had its roots in a grudge from an earlier, soured land deal. Based on that experience, the city and tribes last fall signed their own good-neighbor pact. Still, the negotiations on the 41st Street project were only wrapped up this past February. Both sides believe they can make more progress built on a handshake and a pledge of mutual support than they can achieve in court. Another bit of history at Point Elliott. Copyright c. 2004 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Pine Ridge Woman earns Degree" --------- Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 08:23:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: WOMAN BEATS ODDS" http://www.grandforks.com/~/columnists/dorreen_yellow_bird/8691266.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Pine Ridge woman beat the odds to earn degree May 18, 2004 Rae Ann Red Owl is the first Lakota to graduate from the nursing program at UND. She is also the first woman from the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota to complete her master's degree in nursing. It wasn't an easy path for her. When I was told about this extraordinary woman, I was expecting someone strong and bold. What I found was an unassuming, pretty and petite woman who wore her waist-length, coal-black hair tied back with a simple tie. As we sat in her small apartment in student housing to talk about her journey, I walked with her on that long road from the South Dakota reservation to Grand Forks. From our conversation, I don't think she realizes how special her achievements are. I could see she is grounded in her culture and family, and that family especially is one of her strengths. Home still is Pine Ridge, and she plans to return. As a teen, she had problems with alcohol and drugs. One hundred percent of her family has been affected by alcohol, and 95 percent of the deaths in the family have been alcohol-related - accidents, cirrhosis or suicide, Rae Ann told me. But she remembers exactly when she knew she would go to college. When she was in the fifth grade, she overslept and missed the bus. She woke up her grandfather, Kenneth Red Owl, who was a paraplegic, to drive her to school. She could tell he was disappointed with her by his serious tone. Education is the most important thing in life, her grandfather told her. That statement stayed with her ever since. Another influence was seeing a relative who was quadriplegic get put in a nursing home because there was no place for him on the reservation. He was too young to be in a nursing home, she thought. Her first choice was to be a physical therapist so she could help people like her relative, but physical therapy schools were hard to find. Then UND popped up as a place with that field. She set out to attend UND. "My mother gave me her only car," she said. It was in poor condition; the car had to be babied, cajoled and prodded. Repairs would cost $200, which Rae Ann couldn't afford. So without the repairs, she set off driving at about 30 mph down the interstate. The car smoked and complained all the way. She had her 3 1/2 - and 1-year-old daughters with her and a niece as babysitter. She hadn't even heard of Grand Forks before she started her search for a college and certainly never had been here. When she pulled into Grand Forks, she had a smoking car with a spare tire tied to the roof and commodities - U.S. Department of Agriculture canned food - in the trunk. That night, the car blew up and died. Rae Ann had little money and was thankful that UND's Indians into Medicine or INMED people helped her get settled. "I didn't know if I belonged in INMED," she said. She could hear the medical students talking about complicated math problems and felt intimidated. It was a culture shock. She was used to being on the reservation and was very homesick. She knew her family didn't have the money to visit her, and she didn't have the money to go home. With a laugh, Rae Ann said when she got her first Indian Health Service stipend, she paid her fees and bills and had $20 left over and thought that was great. She graduated from UND in 1989 and, as promised, returned home to work in the Indian Health Service or IHS hospital. It was an eye-opening experience. IHS is a government system and a place where it's hard to make changes. After 12 years, she realized she needed more education. She needed to leave before she got that "beaten-down" feeling like so many she knew. She returned to UND in 2002 for her master's degree. With that diploma on the wall, she'll be moving to Albuquerque, N.M., to pursue a law degree. There are things that need to be changed in the reservation and Indian Health Service systems, and one way to do that is with a law degree, she said. Statistics say Pine Ridge is the poorest reservation in the nation. The media's only news about Pine Ridge describes the alcoholism and poverty. But quietly, Red Owl is reshaping that image. She is emerging as someone to watch - someone who will change Pine Ridge reservation. ---- Yellow Bird writes columns Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at 780-1228; (800) 477-6572, ext. 228; or dyellowbird@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2004 Grand Forks Herald/Grand Forks, ND. --------- "RE: Frank J. King III: Slow Progress of Understanding" --------- Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 08:20:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KING: UNDERSTANDING" http://www.native-voice.com/fullstory.cfm?ID=78 Editorial: The Slow Progress of Understanding By Frank J. King III The times, they are a changing, evolving slowly like the ocean pounding the shores of our inner islands. It has always been difficult for human beings to comprehend the illusion of time. Like the little animals we are, we seldom realize that our existence is but the second hand clicking past the notches of the clock of universal nirvana. Hate, anger, jealousy, drama - all these things exist as human-made psychological pollution filling the subconscious air with the emotional soot of our own personal ignorance. And so we exist today trying to grasp the meaning of life out of the everyday rubble of politics, racism and stress. These factors forbid our emotional spirituality to grow from our evolved seeds that were planted for us by our ancestors long ago. We destroy ourselves unknowingly by misleading our own inner child into believing that adulthood is nothing more but a responsibility best left unprovoked. In this way the ignorant adults remain childish and the angry remain violent. Hate, as it seems, is easier to express then compassion. Through this we sever the spiritual plant at the root and allow the weed of Indian reservation to pollinate the seeds of our next generations. I have often said that alcoholism is a factor in the destruction of our people but these words, spoken or written, fall on deaf ears and unconcerned personalities. Alcoholism is the destroyer of our children, it is the emotional torturer of our children, and it is the bruise on the face of our grandchildren, yet many still evoke this demon every day to possess our sacred beings. Such is also true with racism. We cannot justify our racism toward another race because we aren't strong enough to confront the discriminator with pride and compassion. We cannot look at the issues if we are racists ourselves. Hate breeds hate; it's an evil that contaminates the walls of your soul. It seems that many have become the image of that which they have been advocating against, no matter what color they are. Isn't it ironic that we are all supposed to be civilized and yet we act out uncivilized behavior? Even the word civilized is looked upon as a racial slur just as the word god is. The obvious reasons we learn to hate other people is because of a total lack of the spiritual understanding our parents had of their religious teachings; many children today aren't taught that racism is against all religions, even native. All religions teach humanity. The key to solving the issues of humanity doesn't lie in a leader, or a government, but sit silently within us all. When we discover this sacred part in ourselves then we can see the truth in it all. We become confident in ourselves and so we find that we have been wasting a lot of time, energy, stress, and life fighting ourselves and our own insecurities when we could have been finding the answers in the teachings of the Great Spirit. When we awaken within ourselves and keep it to ourselves and discover that spirituality isn't something that we sell, or use against others or gain an ego from, then we can confront our addictions to the drugs of drama, stress, racism, and low self esteem. Only after this can we begin to heal the physical health of our nations. Spirituality is the all-curing medicine for all humanity. Yes, the times are changing, we are changing, but in order for us to have a small piece of nirvana we must use our spiritual teachings to look beyond the color of skin. We are all born with a gift to see beyond the issues; it is important that we seek truth in the lessons of everyday life. Take a good look around you and ask yourself `what do I see?' Look at the reservation, the community, the land that is our life giver; look at the leader and the children and you will see that we have been overlooking the reality that plagues us all. Humans today live in a reflection of themselves, and if it is an unhealthy environment then their health is physically effected; if the land is littered then they are internally littered with sickness; if the communities are violent then they are accepting violence as a normal behavior; if the people are consumed by alcohol then the minds of the people are hidden from all this reality. But also this applies to other races. If the parents are bigoted toward other races then the children become unknowingly taught and comfortable in their racist behavior, and how many times have the words `I am not racist' drifted from the lips of the ignorant like leaves in the fall? Human beings cannot unite; it's an impossibility, because the ego eats at the confidence of the soul replacing it with the root of racism and hate. When people hate themselves they develop an ego for a mask to hide their insecurities, they become the abusers of other human beings and are their own worst enemy because eventually they destroy themselves. Reconciliation isn't a useable term; it's a solvent to clean the dirty issues of racism. We must rely on the common ground in which we all live and together change the issues that divide us as a community. It is only through open dialog that we can mend the issues that affect our lives. Copyright c. 2003 Native Voice, all rights reserved. --------- "RE: Teen's death helps steer Youths toward Sobriety" --------- Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 08:12:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SOBRIETY VISION" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.argusleader.com/lakota_rose/Sundayfeature.shtml Teenager's death helps steer youths toward sobriety Robert Morast Argus Leader May 23, 2004 Movement carries on girl's dreams LITTLE EAGLE - A chair sits next to Lakota Rose Madison's grave. Excused from whatever dining set it was created for, the four-legged, metal framed chair offers visitors a view of the 17-year-old's life and continuing influence as a hopeful martyr for youth sobriety. Lakota Rose drowned in the nearby Grand River in north-central South Dakota one summer night in 2001 after a life of struggling to stay sober and encouraging others to do the same. A cousin pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is serving time for the death. Beyond the grave site is Little Eagle, a community of about 300 people on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, and Lakota Rose's home for most of her life. Pushing up against the horizon, one can see the hills where she would use an old car hood to sled during the winter. There are the powwow grounds where Lakota Rose played - she would become an award- winning grass dancer. One can see the neighborhoods where Lakota Rose began encouraging other teens to respect themselves and their elders. And one can see her home, a plain split-level that blends into the blocks of similar homes. That home is the last place her family saw her alive. Lakota Rose's gravestone is inscribed with "Tatanka Wijnyan" or "Buffalo Woman," her Lakota name. It's also the title of a documentary that has helped transform her into the symbolic leader of a burgeoning national youth movement, the symbol of which is beaded bracelets bearing her name that teens wear, pledging to stay sober. Formed by friends in Ohio shortly after Lakota Rose's death, the Lakota Rose Madison Project already has obtained land in that state to build a safehouse for teens trying to escape addiction. A similar one is planned in Little Eagle. Addiction is a common problem on South Dakota's Indian reservations, where alcoholism rates are eight times higher than the rest of the nation, according to the federal Indian Health Services. So far, more than 4,000 red, yellow, white and black bead bracelets have been distributed across the country. Young people accepting the bracelets pledge to be drug-, alcohol- and gang-free for one year. They then pass the bracelets on to others. The bracelet project recently was adopted by White Bison, a Colorado organization promoting sobriety and wellness in Native American families. Lakota Rose had dreamed of opening safehouses for teens. At an Ohio youth conference a few months before her death, she had talked to other youths about her own struggle with drugs and alcohol and the challenges of changing that path of her life. Ultimately, the struggle killed her. The night she died, Lakota Rose was drinking at a party. Even though she fought to maintain her own sobriety, Lakota Rose's name is inspiring Native American youths to stay sober. Kermitta Miner, an eighth-grader at Little Eagle Day School, says she would wear a bracelet in honor of Lakota Rose. Perhaps, say counselors, it was her failures that made her believable in life and after death elevated her to an inspirational role model for youths. Her attempts to break free from addiction and to inspire others are depicted in the documentary by filmmakers David Weinkauf and Mary Ann Angel, from Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. The film, splicing images of Lakota Rose speaking at a 2001 youth conference in Dayton, Ohio, with testimonials about her life, has become required viewing at various youth conferences around the country. "She knows there are a lot of youth around here who don't have no place to go, and they don't know what to do," says Lakota Rose's aunt and spiritual counselor, Helmina Makes Him First. Her grieving relatives still talk about her in the present tense. Appropriate name Lakota Rose's mother wanted to name the youngest of her seven children "Dolly Rose." "My mother got mad," recalls Josephine Madison with a laugh. "She said, 'Name yourself Dolly. Her name is Lakota Rose. That's going to be her name, and she's going to grow up to her name.' And she did." For some, carrying the name of your heritage could be overwhelming, but Lakota was intrigued by the "Lakota way," asking her mother to say something in their native tongue and then repeating it. With long, black hair that was sometimes braided, and a thin, strong frame, Lakota Rose grew up to be a "real Lakota woman" determined to carry on her heritage. "She's with us every day here. Spiritually, she's here," says her father, Marles, wearing a baseball cap and sleeveless shirt as he props a chair up against the wall. "(Josephine) wakes up sometimes and forgets and sits there and waits. But Lakota's not coming back anymore." Her mother says she seldom had to wait up for Lakota Rose. The teenager would call home if she was staying out later than expected, telling her parents where she was going and when she would be home. Energetic and involved, Lakota Rose often walked around town talking with friends. And when she couldn't find anyone in Little Eagle who wanted to play volleyball, she joined the team at the school in Fort Yates, N.D., about 30 miles north of Little Eagle on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. There, she began to develop a reputation as an outspoken leader in class and for her UNITY (United National Inter-Tribal Youth) group - which promotes interaction among Native American youths of different tribes. It is also where drugs changed her life. Keeping out of trouble Little Eagle is in a valley surrounded by prairie hills that - even with lines of barbed wire fence - look untouched. The small town has a school, a powwow grounds, an outdoor basketball court and little else. Some youths turn to drugs and alcohol for entertainment. While attending school in Fort Yates, Lakota Rose was caught with a bag of marijuana. Marles Madison says his daughter wasn't charged, and rather than betray any friends, the then-15-year-old Lakota Rose voluntarily entered the drug rehabilitation program at the Abbott House in Mitchell. Even hundreds of miles away, Lakota Rose called her mother to let her know everything was fine and that she'd be home soon. But when she returned to Little Eagle six months later, instead of going home, she stayed in a McLaughlin foster home for a short time. "The thing I remember most is that she was at home in our place," says foster parent Colleen Buskley, director of public health and nursing in McLaughlin. "It's like she was one of our kids." Lakota Rose moved around to different schools, attending Flandreau Indian School for one year, and then entering the JobCorps in Box Elder for a month before returning to Fort Yates. Her family said they noticed a change in Lakota Rose after the stay in Abbott House. She seemed more determined to stay clean and true to her culture, they said. "She had to change her friends. She started studying her culture. She got different, sober. And she tried to inspire her friends to stop drinking," says Georgianne Madison II, Lakota Rose's older sister. That sometimes caused resentment. "A lot of her peers made fun of her because she tried to stay on the Red Road and not drink," says Fern White Buffalo, a teacher at Little Eagle Day School, who regularly talked with Lakota Rose at powwows. The Red Road is a Lakota term for staying substance-free. But Lakota Rose struggled. Occasionally, she would wander off the Red Road to drink or smoke with her friends. In the documentary "Tatanka Wijnyan," Lakota Rose says, "I try to stay on the Red Road, too, but it's not something that's going to happen in one day or overnight. I have to keep working on it one day at a time." Her aunt, Makes Him First, guided Lakota Rose. A matriarch of Lakota culture in Little Eagle, Makes Him First conducts sweat lodges and sun dances in Little Eagle. It was common for Lakota Rose to join her during the ceremonies or for the teenager to simply hang out at home with Makes Him First. "When she wants to learn something about the cultural or spiritual ways, she comes here and sits down and we talk about it," Makes Him First says. "Then I have a hand drum, and I get that, and she sings right there with me." As they became closer, Lakota Rose asked to accompany Makes Him First to a conference in Dayton, Ohio. It was there she found - and became - inspiration. Surprise speaker Lakota Rose Madison wasn't supposed to be the star attraction at the University of Dayton's Circle of Light conference in March of 2001. Conference director Mary Ann Angel had invited her and her aunt to add Native American perspective to the program, which brought together about 200 teens and elders of different social and racial backgrounds in an effort to build communion. Angel had met Makes Him First in 1999, while filming tribal elders on Standing Rock. Somehow Lakota Rose, who never had spoken at such an event, captured the audience with her personal tales. "When she spoke, she had people in the palm of her hand," says "Tatanka Wijnyan" co-director David Weinkauf. In front of a group of strangers, Lakota Rose recounted her Native American culture and an upbringing on a reservation not immune from alcoholism and poverty. She laughed about the "wannabe" gangs that roamed her town. She detailed how alcohol has ravaged her people and personalized her address with tales of her own family life. When mentioning how she tried to influence youths not to drink or take drugs, Lakota Rose acknowledged that she also struggled. "She walked her talk in terms of being honest with her own weaknesses," Angel says. "I think this creates a more realistic role model for children." Afterward, at Angel's house, Lakota Rose was inundated with calls from other teens at the conference wanting to hang out with her or hear more about reservation life. They saw her as a leader. Lakota Rose began thinking about life off the reservation. Angel told Lakota Rose that she could enroll in college and escape the burdens hounding her on the reservation. Lakota Rose told Angel she wanted her friends and family from Little Eagle to come to Dayton and experience life there. And she wanted her friends from Dayton to experience life in Little Eagle. The talk gave birth to the idea of sister safehouses, one on the Standing Rock Reservation, the other near Dayton, where at-risk youths from each area could be removed from their threatening environments. The hope was that exposure to a foreign culture could enlighten the troubled youths as it did for Lakota Rose. She returned to Little Eagle, but she and Angel planned to reunite in the summer, when Lakota Rose would return to Dayton and live with Angel while she did more public speaking to drum up support for future safehouses. "On June 12 (2001), I called Lakota and said I was coming to the reservation and was going to get her and bring her back. She said her bags were already packed," Angel says. "Three days later, we got there." Angel arrived in Little Eagle on June 15, unaware Lakota Rose had been missing during the duration. Lakota Rose's body was found on a sandbar in the Grand River. She had gone out drinking with some friends, but the casual party ended with Lakota Rose drowned by her cousin, O'Neil Iron Cloud. Angel stayed in Little Eagle long enough to attend Lakota Rose's funeral, then returned to Dayton alone. Powerful symbol Sitting in her house, wearing a "Red Road" T-shirt, Lakota Rose's aunt Helmina Makes Him First delicately lifts up a "Lakota Rose" bracelet. "When you wear one, you can feel the energy in these bracelets," she says. "(Lakota Rose's) energies are in here." Even to the most skeptical observer, it is clear that something special is driving the Lakota Rose Madison Project . Conceived and operated by Lakota Rose's friends in Dayton - including Angel and project coordinator Lori Bakara - the project is a way to remember Lakota Rose and honor her wishes to protect the youths on her reservation. A movement co-opted by several nonprofit organizations, including the Circle of Light at the University of Dayton, White Bison and the Miami Valley Council for Native Americans, it debuted at a New Mexico sobriety and wellness conference in 2003 where the first Lakota Rose bracelets were handed out. Bakara and others began making the bracelets themselves, but when the demand grew, they found help from volunteers - including a group of Native American inmates at a prison in Allenwood, Pa. "We didn't want her to be forgotten. But more important, we didn't want her vision to be forgotten," Angel says. Those associated with the project agree that Lakota Rose's story drives this movement. The youths can relate to her desire to be clean, while struggling with peer pressure to drink or do drugs. And when they see that alcohol use played a part in Lakota Rose's death even as she fought it, they realize a shocking desire to stay sober. "Kids really do want broken leaders," says J.C. Chambers, a Sioux Falls psychologist and counselor. "We live in a generation now where kids don't trust squeaky-clean leaders. They're more likely to trust someone who is struggling." Some say Lakota Rose is no different from other Standing Rock youths who have met tragic deaths. "We don't know if she was any more special than anyone else," Bakara says from Dayton. "I think it was the people who she was connected to. We brought the story out." Yet with Bakara and others, there's a belief that this project is much more, that Lakota Rose's spirit lives through them and compels them to succeed. "Do you know what synchronicity is?" asks Angel. "We believe that Lakota's warrior spirit is driving this project because things are happening in such a synchronous way. It's beyond belief." For instance, when the project was having trouble finding funds to secure land for a safehouse, 30 acres outside Dayton were donated. "Something happens like this every day," Angel says. Next year, ground will be broken for the construction of the safehouse in Xenia, a community east of Dayton. Help for reservation As the project blossoms in Dayton, it has yet to take hold on Lakota Rose's home reservation. "Part of the vision has always been to build one in Standing Rock," Angel says. "I think it will happen." There's a strong belief such a safehouse, if run properly, could help the community. There's also a worry that few people would participate in it. "It's hard to answer that," says Memoree LeCompte of Fort Yates, N.D., Lakota Rose's friend. "I saw a lot of kids outside the reservation taking the bracelets. That's good. But what about our kids here?" A student at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, N.D., LeCompte wants to return to Standing Rock after college to be a youth coordinator. Like Lakota Rose, LeCompte decided to stop drinking and using drugs. She has ordered bracelets and plans to distribute them on the reservation. Jasmine Spotted Horse, an eighth-grader at Little Eagle Day School, thinks the bracelets are needed because, "A lot of young people drink today." When asked if she would wear a bracelet and pledge to be sober, Spotted Horse and two of her friends don't hesitate to say "yes." Lakota Rose often mentioned the prophesy from Lakota elder Black Elk who predicted that the seventh generation of Lakota following the Wounded Knee massacre (which some think is the current adolescents) would return hope and balance to his people. She believed the Seventh Generation was the kids who walked her community's streets, and she wanted to preserve their promise. Angel and others believe Lakota Rose's spirit is now driving a movement her body never got the chance to pursue. "Not to be cruel or anything, but this is probably her destiny," says teacher Fern White Buffalo. "Because look at all the positive things now that are developing from her death. Maybe this is the way her ideas and goals are coming true." Reach reporter Robert Morast at 331-2313. Copyright c. 2003 Argus Leader. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Avoiding the dead-end Path" --------- Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 08:20:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WALKING THE GOOD PATH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/05/20/montana/a05052004_01.txt Avoiding the dead-end path By MICHAEL MOORE - The Missoulian May 20, 2004 RONAN - They walked a straight shot Wednesday, from Ronan to Pablo. More than 200 strong - kids, teenagers and adults - they hewed to the path, never veering into the darkness that Salish and Kootenai cultural leader Johnny Arlee described as "dead-end trails." Everybody knows what's down those paths; lately, too many have walked them. Natosha Burland, dead in December 2002 of alcohol poisoning. She was 15. Tyler Benoist, dead in November 2003, passed out drunk in a trailer that caught on fire. He was 14. Frankie Nicolai, dead of alcohol poisoning in a field east of Ronan on Feb. 27. He was 11. Justin Benoist, Frankie's friend and Tyler's brother, dead the same day, intoxicated and hypothermic. He was 11. Most recently, Joey DuMontier, dead of alcohol poisoning in a home near Ronan. He was 15. That list is woefully incomplete, but it makes the point that Arlee stressed after Wednesday's walk ended at the Pablo headquarters of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. "Keep telling your children about the dead-end trails," Arlee said. "Keep a tether tied to them so that you can pull them back." Wednesday's walk is the latest in a string of events spawned by a wave of child deaths across the Flathead Reservation. From Arlee to Elmo, reservation communities have come together to talk about ways to end the plague of children falling prey to alcohol. Pearl Caye, a coordinator for Montana Educational Talent Search, saw what was happening and had an idea. "I thought our kids needed a visual connection between what had happened and what we could try to do about it," Caye said Wednesday. "They needed to see that people cared about them." That could hardly have been clearer Wednesday, as people made their way from Ronan to Pablo. Michelle Spotted Eagle, of Ronan, walked the highway with her 11-year- old son, Jacob. To passing motorists, she held out a picture of her stepson, Eli Finley, who died intoxicated in a car crash in October. "I've been to 11 funerals this year" she said. "We've suffered enough on this reservation. I want to say, `No more deaths.' We have to be accountable for our kids." Kids need to know that adults care, and that, Spotted Eagle said, means holding both adults and children accountable. "We have to help our children understand that there are consequences to their actions," she said. That sentiment was appreciated by teens like Sheldon York and Blake Chaffins, Ronan sophomores who made the walk. "It's nice to see that people care," York said. Said Chaffins: "It means a lot that we're trying to do something. We're not just saying, well, a few more kids died." That, everyone agreed, is not acceptable. "I'm not going to sit back and watch these things happen in my community," said Jolene Houle, a grants manager at Salish Kootenai College. Wednesday's walkers, many of whom carried signs with sentiments such as "Honk if you're alcohol free," drew a loud response from passing motorists, who honked both long and loud. No one, however, drew a bigger response than two teenagers who spoke after the walkers gathered on the lawn outside tribal headquarters. Steven Hernandez and Lynsey Inmee both live in St. Ignatius, and they have known hardships no child should experience. Both children live with grandmothers. Their moms, they said, chose alcohol over them. Steven was close friends with Joey DuMontier; he wore sunglasses to the funeral to hide his tear-stained eyes. "That was the last thing I thought he'd do was alcohol," Steven said of his friend. "He didn't deserve to die so young." Joey was going to be in Steven's band. But no. Lynsey's mom left her for the bottle. "It's pretty heartbreaking to come home and have your mother not want you," she said. "She loved alcohol more than she loved her kids and now she doesn't take care of us anymore. She lost us." Like her elder, Johnny Arlee, Lynsey invoked the image of a path. "Choose the right path," she said." You want to be able to come back and see your family again.`` Always remember, Arlee said, that someone is watching you as you walk your path. If you walk it straight and true, those who follow will know the proper way. "If you stagger, others will stagger," he said. This reservation, he said, has staggered enough. Time to walk straight. Copyright c. 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. Helena Independent Record; a division of Lee Enterprises --------- "RE: Women are Walking to honor Water" --------- Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 08:20:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WALK FOR WATER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.record-eagle.com/2004/may/19walk.htm BAY SHORE: Women are walking to honor water By KEITH MATHENY Record-Eagle staff writer May 20, 2004 BAY SHORE - A group of American Indian mothers and grandmothers is walking along the Great Lakes to raise awareness about the need to value and protect water resources. The Mother Earth Water Walk started from Walpole Island, Ont., near Port Huron earlier this month. The journey brought them to Manistee, Frankfort and Peshawbestown over the weekend. Carrying a copper bucket filled with water, the group walked through Charlevoix and to Petoskey Tuesday. Their final destination is Escanaba. The copper pail is filled with Lake Michigan water. The group walked around the Lake Superior basin in 2003, carrying its water. The plan is to ultimately walk around every Great Lake, members said. Josephine Mandamin, "lead Water Walk grandmother," said it is right for women to take up the cause of protecting water. "Just as a mother gives life to her children through her blood, our mother, the Earth, gives us life through her water," said Mandamin, 62, an Ojibwe from the Wikwemikong reservation of Thunder Bay in the Canadian province of Ontario. The women are accompanied by male supporters and other participants. "We love, honor and respect our grandmothers," said Mark Bruder, a Water Walk supporter. "The grandmothers are standing up because society has become complacent about all of the toxic spills and degradation of our lakes, rivers and streams," he said. "It is up to the original people of this land, and all like-minded people, to stand up and demand change." The walkers have visited American Indian communities throughout the state on their journey, including the Little River Band of Ottawas in Manistee, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians at Peshawbestown and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa near Petoskey. The walkers earlier this week canoed across Grand Traverse Bay to Elk Rapids, as their ancestors had done, Bruder said. Charlevoix resident Jo Anne Beemon, a local environmentalist and Charlevoix County's drain commissioner, accompanied the Water Walkers Tuesday. "I'm here to learn," Beemon said. "The thing I've learned is, I need to get back to my own Judeo-Christian heritage and learn the ancient ways to take care of the Earth. I need to go back to my own roots, as these women are doing." The group has received permission from the state to walk across the Mackinac Bridge early Friday. Raising awareness of the need to protect fresh water is a cause worth "walking the talk," Mandamin said. "I want to leave what I am doing for all of the future generations, so that they will know somebody cared enough to say something," she said. Copyright c. 2004 Traverse City, MI Record-Eagle. --------- "RE: Tribe wants to revive Arapaho Language" --------- Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 08:23:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAVING ARAPAHO TONGUE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.casperstartribune.net/~/8bde50ae4a0bcb6a87256e9900069a70.txt Tribe wants to revive Arapaho language By WHITNEY ROYSTER Star-Tribune staff writer May 19, 2004 JACKSON - Unless drastic changes are implemented on the Wind River Reservation, the Arapaho language will die within 15 years, a language professor said Tuesday. Eugene Ridgely Jr., director of the bilingual education program for the Wind River Tribal College in Ethete, said the key is to speak Arapaho in the home and elsewhere as much as possible. "Without the language, you don't have the culture," Ridgely said. "The stories, even everyday conversation, it's different than we're going to have with English." An Arapaho language revitalization effort is being undertaken by the tribe members and was spearheaded by a Council of Elders concerned with the culture loss. A meeting with the Arapaho Business Council, Council of Elders, Arapaho Language and Cultural Commission, school officials and teachers will be held today at 11 a.m. at the college. "First, we've got to get the people to care," Ridgely said. "If they don't care then we have a big problem. We need to lay down the groundwork to address those (language) concerns. ... We need cooperation from every entity that we're going to talk to." Ways of infusing the Arapaho language in schools and in homes is the group's primary focus. Ridgely said the college conducted a survey in 1995, asking students, parents and grandparents in the community about the language they spoke. "From there we drew some conclusions that (the Arapaho language) was in a sense declining very rapidly," he said. "This was also foreseen back in the years of the 1970s." In the 1970s, the level of language loss was determined to be a "three" on a scale of one to five, with five being a level of total extinction. The Arapaho language was flourishing until the 1950s. "It's gotten worse really fast," Ridgely said. "Now we maybe have about 15 years of fluency left, maybe less." Years of fluency are determined by the age of elders who are still fluent. Of the nearly 8,000 tribe members, less than 1,000 are fluent and at a conversational speaking stage, according to the college. Ridgely said some words don't translate into English. He said some stories told in the Arapaho language don't translate readily to English, and those stories are important in the history of the tribe. The loss of native languages are the result, in part, of the U.S. government and churches infusing reservations with European thinking and the English language. The "No Child Left Behind" act also makes teaching native languages in schools difficult, because so much emphasis is placed on traditional curriculum, Ridgely said. Language revitalization efforts have been successful for tribes in the Hawaiian islands. "It starts with total immersion from the little ones up, gradually working their way to speaking adults," Ridgely said. "Those revitalization efforts will take several years; it won't happen overnight." Non-speakers and non-tribe members need to be concerned about the disappearance of the language, too, Ridgely said, if people want to experience native cultures. One way to ensure the viability of the language is to pair children with fluent, Arapaho-speaking elders, Ridgely said. "This is going to be the first step in many," he explained. "We want to get the word out that it needs to be addressed soon or else we will all be English speaking within 15 years. It's going to be an uphill struggle." Copyright c. 2004 by the Casper Star-Tribune, published by Lee Publications, Inc. --------- "RE: Tesuque Pueblo awarded funds to preserve Language" --------- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 08:48:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PRESERVING LANGUAGE GRANT" http://www.krqe.com/pueblos-tribes/~5424 Tesuque Pueblo awarded funds to preserve language Location: Tesuque Pueblo Source: AP May 22, 2004 Tesuque Pueblo will receive a $150,000 grant from the federal government to ensure the future of its native language. The pueblo will use the grant to develop a plan that will expose future generations to the native language of Tewa. The upper Rio Grande Tewa dialect is also spoken in the pueblos of San Juan, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Nambe and Pojoaque. The grant is part of the Health and Human Services Department's Native American Languages Program. The program is designed to ensure the preservation and enhancement of Indian languages. Copyright c. 2003 KRQE News 13, Albuquerque, NM. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: County works to preserve Yamassee Site" --------- Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 08:12:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YAMASSEE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.heraldonline.com/~/story/3606669p-3208387c.html County works to preserve site where Yemassee Indians once lived May 24, 2004 HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) - Clues about the culture of the Yemassee Indian tribe that settled several towns in colonial Carolina may lie beneath the packed sand of a parcel of land Beaufort County hopes to purchase for preservation. County officials voted to purchase a 100-acre parcel this month from the LandPlan Partnership, a company developing luxury homes on the 615-acre property. The Trust for Public Land, the nonprofit organization that manages Beaufort County's $40 million land-buying program, plans to purchase and conveyed to the county this summer, officials said. Part of the parcel county officials are negotiating to buy for $3.1 million was settled in 1690 as a town called Altamaha, named after the chief of the Yemassee tribe. Altamaha is one of about 10 towns the Yemassee, originally from Georgia, settled in what are now Beaufort, Jasper and Colleton counties after Spanish colonists burned their settlements on St. Helena Island. The Yemassee left the Lowcountry towns around 1715 after losing a war they waged with English colonists in Charleston and fled to Georgia and Florida. Many of the Yemassee towns now are buried under residential developments, said Chris Judge, archaeologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. "We've got an opportunity here to protect the chief's town," Judge said. The Department of Natural Resources' Heritage Trust has approved a contribution of $300,000 toward the Altamaha purchase price, county officials said. Because none of the Yemassee towns has been excavated fully, archaeologists do not know much about them and are not sure whether the chief's town is different from the others. They hope to find some answers if private funding becomes available for more extensive research at Altamaha, Judge said. No such research is planned now. "We'd hope to uncover a house site to find out what it looks like, whether they were square houses or round houses," said Bill Green, who researched the Altamaha site extensively while working on a master's degree in anthropology at the University of South Carolina in the late 1980s. Judge said the Yemassee towns probably had single-family homes spread across agricultural fields. But archaeologists do not know whether the tribe only hunted wild animals or kept livestock as well. "There's nothing you can see above ground, but there's archaeological remains that, when excavated, can contribute greatly to an understanding of a culture," Judge said. Green said the site could contain pottery pieces and other everyday materials the Yemassee used that would reveal some of their habits and influences from Europeans. In past digs, Spanish, English and American Indian pottery pieces have been found. The site the county plans to buy also contains two American Indian mounds, an African-American cemetery and a European-American cemetery, Green said. The Altamaha site probably will be fenced off once the county purchases it, said Russ Marane, project manager for the Trust for Public Land. It will be open to the public for picnics on the river, but officials want to secure the land so people do not wander the property or damage it at night. The county also is negotiating the $3.25 million purchase of 37 acres of mostly freshwater wetlands. Copyright c. 2004 The Herald, South Carolina. The Herald is owned by The McClatchy Company. --------- "RE: AllNative.com opens Retail Store" --------- Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 08:14:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HO-CHUNK, INC." http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/~/a7aa8f1cf6ed8f1e86256e980019dcfc.txt. AllNative.com opens retail store at Southern Hills Mall WINNEBAGO, Neb. - AllNative.com, an e-commerce site for Native American products, has opened a second brick-and-mortar retail store, this one in the theater wing at Southern Hills Mall in Sioux City. The first is in Winnebago, the company's headquarters. The store offers the variety of products offered by AllNative.com and will feature a variety of Native American themed products as well as those goods hand-made by Native American artists. The products range from traditional to modern and include clothing, jewelry, music, home decorative items and more. In 2000, Ho-Chunk Inc., the economic development company of the Winnebago Tribe, saw the need for an on-line marketplace specializing in Native American products. By setting up a Native-themed e-store, it was not only giving those interested in Native goods a place to shop, but also gave Native artists a forum to present their work to a worldwide audience. When AllNative.com started, it offered a select number of products, including handmade star quilts and Native coffee. In a little more than four years, the product offering has grown to thousands of products ranging from jewelry to home decor to music and clothing. As interest in the products started to grow, AllNative added a catalog company. Today, the company said, it annually sends more than 300,000 catalogs out across the nation and around the globe, generating more than $600 million in revenues. Copyright c. 2004 Sioux City Journal. --------- "RE: Haida help First Nations repatriate remains" --------- Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 11:48:32 -0000 From: "frostyca2000" Subj: Haida help First Nations repatriate remains Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=3Dbc_remains20040521 Haida help First Nations repatriate remains May 21 2004 OLD MASSETT, B.C. - After bringing home the human remains of hundreds of their ancestors from museums across the continent, B.C.'s Haida want to help other First Nations do the same. Haida burial boxes being brought to a repatriation ceremony They're hosting a repatriation conference that is bringing together First Nations and curators from museums that have human remains in their collection. The Haida have a lot of experience in repatriating remains. They've brought home 400 of their ancestors. FROM OCT. 10, 2003: Haida ancestors home again Andy Wilson says his people want to share what they've learned. The conference has lots of practical information as well as emotion. "I know for sure when the Haida people talk about it, it will be very emotional," he says. Wilson says the Haida will talk about how they overcome the initial mistrust of museum staff. "When we went to the museums, there was a lot of fear =96 they thought we were there to make a big public display about what went on before." Some say what went on before was grave robbing. But the Haida have now built close relationships =96 even friendships =96 with museum staff who helped prepare their ancestors for the trip back home. Tim McKeown is in charge of protecting and returning Native American remains in the United States. He says the Haida's most recent repatriation from Chicago impressed everyone in the museum community. "It sounds to me like it was just fantastic =96 everyone was happy with the way it went." American museum collections still hold the remains of 200,000 aboriginals. --------- "RE: Major award for Saskatoon Metis Writer" --------- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 08:48:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BOOK" HALF-BREED" http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=campbell040519 Major award for Sask. Metis Writer May 19, 2004 REGINA - Maria Campbell of Batoche has won a Molson Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, worth $50,000. Campbell is one of the first aboriginal people in Canada to build a career in writing, theatre and film. Her career began in 1973 when she published her autobiography, Half-Breed, about what it's like to be a Metis woman in Canada. Campbell says she's overwhelmed by the prize in honour of her life's work. "I guess what means the most to me is that somebody thought it was worth something," says Campbell, laughing. She currently teaches at the University of Saskatchewan, where she is also finishing a master's degree in native studies. Campbell will receive the Molson Prize on May 30 at Wanuskewin Heritage Park near Saskatoon. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Aboriginals threaten B.C.-wide Blockade" --------- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 10:04:51 -0000 From: "frostyca2000" Subj: Aboriginals threaten B.C.-wide blockade in treaty protest Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Aboriginals threaten B.C.-wide blockade in treaty protest VICTORIA (CP) - The threat of a provincewide blockade by angry aboriginals was delivered Thursday during a protest outside the B.C. legislature. The crowd of about 1,500 aboriginals from across the province cheered loudly when a treaty leader said anger towards the provincial government is rising and huge protests are being planned. "It's going to grow bigger and we are going to build a blockade right across British Columbia," said Justa Monk, who is from northern B.C. "We're going to make uncertainty." The protest at the legislature was organized by the Title and Rights Alliance, an ad hoc group of B.C. aboriginals concerned about what they believe are government infringements on aboriginal rights. The protest drew a sharp rebuke from Forests Minister Mike de Jong, who said the group has many of its facts wrong and is more interested in protesting than solving issues of concern to both aboriginals and the government. "It's sad that there are people who seem more content to continue to engage in inflammatory statements than actually getting down to the tough work involved in moving forward," he said. Since September 2002, the government has signed agreements with nearly 50 B.C. First Nations, sharing more than $55 million in forestry revenues and providing access to timber, de Jong said. Many First Nations have told him they have made more economic progress with the current Liberal government in the last three years than they have with any other previous B.C. government, he said. "It takes courage on the part of First Nations who have over these last six months negotiated agreements," said de Jong. "Others seem more comfortable lobbing criticisms and accusations." The alliance said Thursday its members are fighting to prevent infringements of treaty rights arising from the recent forest and land agreements. They also vowed to fight government and industry attempts to attack the resource and land rights held by aboriginals. The leader of the largest aboriginal organization in British Columbia said governments and resource companies are arguing in court cases that aboriginals don't have the right to be consulted about potential industrial activity on their traditional lands. "They have to abandon their policy of denial and replace it with a policy of recognition," said Grand Chief Ed John, First Nations Summit spokesman. Geoff Plant, B.C.'s treaty minister, said the provincial government has signed more than 300 agreements with B.C. aboriginals in the last three years. Many of the agreements are related to economic development, but at least four represent full treaty blue prints, he said. Less than 20 of the province's almost 200 aboriginal bands have signed treaties with the government. Most treaties were signed in the mid 1800s, and the only modern treaty was signed in 1998 with the Nisga'a people of northwest B.C. Plant said the treaty negotiation process is lengthy and costly, but will provide lasting benefits for aboriginals and non-aboriginals. He said many aboriginals are embracing the treaty process, but others favour protests. "This has always been a complicated file," he said. "The single dominant characteristic of aboriginal British Columbia is its diversity, just like the rest of British Columbia." Copyright c. 2004 The Canadian Press. --------- "RE: Rainy River Natives win $71-Million Land Claim" --------- Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 08:23:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAND CLAIM" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.theglobeandmail.com//20040518/NATS18SB/~/aboriginal&disp=e&end Rainy River natives win $71-million land claim By Richard Mackie May 18, 2004 One of Ontario's more self-sufficient native bands, the Rainy River First Nation, has won a 90-year struggle to regain land wrongfully taken from it by the province, band Chief Albert Hunter said yesterday. A land claim settlement that Mr. Hunter and Attorney-General Michael Bryant signed on the weekend is worth $71-million and will give the band 18,600 hectares in Northwestern Ontario, including help to buy some of the original land back from the private owners who now hold it. Mr. Hunter said the band's 735 members are very proud to have righted a wrong that was committed against their ancestors when the province was seeking land to give, free of charge, to white settlers a century ago. Copyright c. 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: AFN wants action from Indian Affairs" --------- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 08:48:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AFN/INDIAN AFFAIRS" http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=indian040520 AFN wants action from Indian Affairs May 20, 2004 SASKATOON - The federal minister of Indian Affairs says the government will work collaboratively with First Nations leaders to solve housing and other problems on reserve. The minister addressed a meeting of the Assembly of First Nations in Saskatoon on Wednesday. But while Andy Mitchell spoke about processes and working together, he didn't come right out and promise specific solutions for the future. AFN Grand Chief Phil Fontaine says he's willing to continue working with the government, but he says the time has come for real solutions. "We're saying that's enough. We want to fix what's broken and the answer in our view is First Nations controlled and managed institutions - not government institutions. We're talking about First Nations control." The Indian Affairs minister says there are some areas that lend themselves to control by First Nations - areas such as housing, education and economic development. He says the government will to work with the AFN to move forward. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Police Chief encourages Treaty 3 research" --------- Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 08:23:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RETALITORY ACTS" http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/HTML%20files/newsfront.html Police chief encourages Treaty 3 research initiative By Mike Aiken Miner and News Staff May 18, 2004 Kenora Police Chief George Curtis says he's happy to see Treaty 3 Justice co-ordinator Rhonda Kelly gathering information on violence against street people. "We're very, very supportive of what she's doing," he said Friday. In recent weeks, police acknowledge there's been an increase in reports relating to assaults against the homeless. In response, Wauzhushk Onigum First Nation (Rat Portage) Chief Ken Skead and Treaty 3 issued a media release, asking residents for their input on the situation. However, Curtis denies racism is playing any role in the attacks, and challenges any allegations of wrongdoing against his officers. Instead, the chief thinks the results of the investigation will show what the service has been saying for several years. In particular, he feels that the violence on the street centres on alcohol, and the reports often involve First Nation people assaulting other First Nations. The comments by Curtis and the increase in violence come on the heels of a critical report filed by Justice Peter Hambly in March regarding the Carambetsos case, which involved the death of an aboriginal man. In it the judge heavily criticized the criminal investigations unit of the local police service. This has led aboriginal leaders at all levels to focus in on allegations of racism regarding law enforcement in Kenora. A report by the OPP on the Carambetsos case focusing on the activities of officers involved in the case is expected shortly. There are also reports that community residents are afraid to lodge a complaint against officers. This is an allegation Deputy Chief Dan Jorgensen denies, saying the number of complaints registered have been stable for the last two years at five. Police Services Board member Colin Wasacase said Thursday he's been trying to get together with police and community leaders to open discussions on race relations issues, which would include a review of complaints procedures. "I think we have to work together to develop a strong, positive process, but I think people affected should be part of it, so we can help them," he said. He added nobody has talked with him about a fear of reprisals. Copyright c. 2004 Kenora Daily Miner and News. --------- "RE: Kanesatake Chiefs call for Urgent Meeting" --------- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 08:48:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KANEHSATA:KE POLICE" http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/May2004/18/c4873.html Kanesatake Mohawk Chiefs Call for Urgent Meeting with Anne McClellan and Andrew Mitchell KANEHSATA:KE MOHAWK TERRITORY, May 18 /CNW Telbec/ - Kanesatake Mohawk Chief's have called on Public Safety Minister Anne McClellan and Indian Affairs Minister Andrew Mitchell to meet with them in Kanesatake so that they can both evaluate the situation for themselves. "We have written the Ministers today and have asked that they come to our Territory to see for themselves how their boondoggle on policing has affected our Community", said Chief John Harding. In their stern letter to the Ministers, the Chiefs blame Canada and Quebec for the mismanagement and unjustifiable spending of millions of dollars on the policing situation prevailing at Kanesatake. There are currently three police forces situated on the boundary of the Territory of 1000 people. The Chief's estimate that Quebec is spending approximately $170,000.00 a day for 58 "so called" officers to continue the policing effort. They put the cost currently at $2,000,000.00 to $3,000,000.00 (million) dollars - which is well beyond the yearly budgeted amount for policing in the Community. In their letter, the Chiefs remind the Minister's that there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that the Community is run by organized crime, is over-run by drug operations, immigration smuggling or is in a state of lawlessness which has been erroneously reported in the media and apparently accepted as fact by Canada. Quebec has now realized that the issues in the Community are political and not about policing and lawlessness. In fact, Quebec Public Security Minister Jacques Chagnon recently visited the Community and commented that the situation remains peaceful. The Chiefs state that many of the 58 "so called" police officers currently reside in hotels in the Montreal area at public expense. They say that a number of the "so called" officers do not meet the policing standards of the Province of Quebec and have not been allowed by the Community to enter the Territory. Some of the "so called" officers have been charged with criminal offenses. They have asked for proof that the officers are qualified and acceptable to police their Territory. They accuse Ministers McClellan and Mitchell of placing Community members and the general public at risk by continuing to support the policing boondoggle and to allow unqualified officers to police. For further information: Chris Raymond, (613) 729-7052 Copyright c. 2003 CNW (Canada NewsWire) Telbec Lte'e. --------- "RE: Mother rejects Police apology for Dead Son" --------- Date: Fri, 21 May 2004 08:48:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEIL STONECHILD" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=stonechile040520 Police apology scant comfort, says Stonechild's mother May 20, 2004 SASKATOON - Neil Stonechild's mother says an apology from Saskatoon city police is too late and does not make up for the way they treated her in the past. Stella Bignell was speaking at the end of the judicial inquiry into the death of her son. Neil Stonechild was 17 when he was found frozen to death in a field in Saskatoon's north industrial area. During the inquiry, it became clear the police investigation into the teenager's death was botched. Two men who were senior members of the police force at the time admitted that they misled the public about the case. The police have offered a formal apology. Bignell says the apology is nice, but it doesn't answer any questions about her son's death. "We wouldn't be here if they had done a thorough investigation like they were supposed to, like they should have, when I kept telling them at that time that something had happened to my son." Bignell says even after the inquiry, she doesn't know how her son died. Meanwhile her lawyer has hinted there could be a civil suit after the commissioner's report comes out late this summer. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Northern Arapaho won't relinquish Jurisdiction" --------- Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 08:27:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHILD WELFARE" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.billingsgazette.com/~/05/25/build/wyoming/35-contract.inc Dispute stalls tribe's child-abuse contract Associated Press CHEYENNE (AP) - The Northern Arapaho tribe is preparing to turn over responsibility for child protective services to the state because the two sides have been unable to reach agreement on a new contract. Under the existing contract, which expires June 30, the state gives money to the tribe to hire advocates to look into child endangerment complaints. The state wants the new pact covering Arapaho members on the Wind River Indian Reservation to contain language allowing any disputes to be heard in state District Court. "They insist that there has to be an agreement by the tribe to waive its sovereign immunity and agree to be sued in state court in the event of a dispute," said Mark Howell, a Phoenix, Ariz.-based lobbyist and consultant for the tribe. Gov. Dave Freudenthal has said the new language treats tribal members like all other citizens of the state. Howell said it's not that simple. "Yes, the citizens of the tribe are citizens also of the state of Wyoming, but the tribe itself is a sovereign government. ... We're not willing to waive that sovereign immunity." The tribe would prefer language that remains silent on the courts, he said. "As has always been the case in the past, the state could simply withhold the funding from the tribe" if there were a dispute, he said, adding there have been no child services disagreements that reached the courts, either state or tribal. Another sticking point is the tribe prefers any dispute be handled through binding arbitration, while the state wants nonbinding arbitration. Tony Lewis, deputy director of the state Department of Family Services, said "nearly every other contract and agreement that involves the exchange of state funds, with DFS, has that language, has the same language that they're objecting to." "All of the contracts say that neither the state nor the tribe waive sovereign immunity by entering into the contract," he said. "I personally have looked at language in surrounding states - Montana, South Dakota - and find that it's very similar to the language that Wyoming has in its contracts." Regardless of whether a new agreement can be reached, the state is ready to step in, Lewis said. "We're not going to leave children and families unserved on the reservation, that if the tribe doesn't want to fulfill those functions, we're prepared to take them on, but we will take them on in cooperation with the tribe." The Northern Arapaho aren't completely relinquishing those tasks, however. A portion of the tribe's gaming profits will be used to hire two child and family advocates who will serve as initial contacts with tribal members, Howell said. In the past, before tribal officials were involved, tribal members were reluctant to cooperate with the state, he said. "The state social workers have not been culturally sensitive, and so many members of the tribe have been very reluctant to enter into that state system, and we're concerned that that will happen again," Howell said. In the meantime, the tribe is seeking federal and private funds so it can again assume responsibility for child protection services. "It is absolutely the desire of the tribe to have this program back, but not under the conditions that the governor is insisting upon," Howell said, "and that's why the tribe is making a diligent effort to sources outside the state to get funding for these services." Howell said he takes umbrage at insinuations by state officials that he may be manipulating the tribe. "The fact of the matter is the tribe's business council made this decision, not the lawyers, not the public affairs consultant," he said. "And to intimate that we're leading the tribal business council around is just really demeaning to their intelligence and their intellect." Copyright c. 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2004 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Amnesty offered for return of stolen Indian items" --------- Date: Sun, 23 May 2004 20:24:43 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STOLEN SACRED ITEMS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/~local&story_id=052204a4_amnesty Amnesty offered for return of stolen Indian items May 22, 2004 The federal offer runs 90 days for the return of cultural objects which are sacred to Native Americans. PAUL L. ALLEN Tucson Citizen The federal government is offering a 90-day amnesty period for possessors of stolen sacred American Indian cultural objects to return them, no questions asked and no prosecution - and a tribal leader has added a disquieting post-script to the offer. Paul Charlton, U.S. attorney for Arizona, said the amnesty runs through Aug. 18, adding that certain specific items are particularly targeted. "Without the recovery of these sacred objects, the affected tribes are not able to practice ceremonies and to continue the teachings of their forefathers," he said in a statement. Once the amnesty has expired, he said, his office and various law enforcement agencies will campaign to identify and prosecute those taking or possessing the objects. Specific items taken from both the San Carlos Apache and Hopi reservations are sought. Amnesty periods also are being offered in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, where similar thefts have occurred. Kathy Wesley Kitcheyan, chairwoman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, added an ominous note. "If anyone knows anything about any of these sacred items, I encourage them to return them," she said. "If you are in possession of any of these, it does have side effects that could be detrimental to your health. It has happened before." The tribe is seeking return of a number of Ga'an headdresses, religious amulet pendants and other religious items stolen over several years. Conviction for theft of such items can carry a penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. Those who knowingly purchase, sell or use such items for profit could face similar penalties. "It is from the roots of our ancestors that the community today places a tremendous value on the protection and preservation of significant resources," said Richard P. Narcia, governor of the Gila Indian River Community. "Simply put, these resources are who we are." Among Hopi items sought for return are a wooden altar framework with wooden human figures and two twisted wooden depictions of lightning, a stone panther figure and a shield with red trim. Items may be returned to public and private museums or to federal and tribal land management agencies around the state. More information on the program is available at 1 (800) 242-2772. Examples of the types of items sought for return are shown on the U.S. attorney's Web site, www.usdoj.gov/usao/az/. Copyright c. 2004 Tucson Citizen. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Lower Sioux P.D. expands to five Officers" --------- Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 08:23:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBAL POLICE EXPANSION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.redwoodfallsgazette.com/articles/2004/05/18/news/news2.txt Lower Sioux P.D. expands to five officers By Joshua Dixon May 19, 2004 Two years ago, the Lower Sioux Tribal Police Department consisted of one officer. Today, thanks in part to a federal grant, the tribe has been able to expand its force to five officers. Officers Linette Tellinghuisen and Joshua Gartner started with the department at the end of January. Both bring different backgrounds and strengths, and both acknowledge that cultural differences will be a challenge and an opportunity for different reasons. Tellinghuisen, a member of the Sisseton - Wahpeton Dakota tribe of South Dakota, worked as a deputy in Murry County before coming to the Lower Sioux reservation. Before that, however, she was a full-time mother of three. Five years ago, while living in Marshall, Tellinghuisen began taking law enforcement classes. She became a licensed police officer two years later. "I've always been kind of in awe of law enforcement," she said, sitting in her office in the Lower Sioux community center last week. "I've always had a high interest in law, even in the way they're written. When I was a little kid, I used to sit and read the encyclopedia - I'd read the Constitution again and again." Growing up in Pipestone, Tellinghuisen said she was aware of cultural ties between the Sisseton - Wahpeton Dakota tribe and the Lower Sioux, "but I didn't know a lot. I've been learning new things about the Sisseton here." Gartner, a 1997 graduate of BOLD high school, decided he wanted to go into law enforcement when he was in eighth grade. "When I was 15 or 16, I got to know some Renville County deputies, and I decided that's what I was going to do." Gartner worked part-time in the Clara City and Hector police departments, and spent three years working security at Jackpot Junction. He is also a licensed ATV instructor and hopes to teach classes in four- wheeler safety. He and his family will be moving to Redwood Falls this summer. Giving an example of the cultural differences Gartner has learned about in the last few months, he said, "If the Dakota offer you food, it's sort of an insult to not accept it." The new officers will spend much of their time patrolling the few square-miles of reservation. "Being visual deters a lot of crimes," said Gartner. "It's a small area, so we'll be seen a lot. The council wants me to be visible at the casino and do a lot of walk-throughs." Tellinghuisen said she has already spent a lot of time in the new community center playing basketball with youths who use the building as a place to socialize. "(The other officers) told me I should leave some basketball shoes here in the office," she said. According to Senior Chief of Police Vincent Merrick, the Tribal Police Department has a Mutual Aid Agreement with other regional law enforcement centers and the two new officers will be available to help out wherever needed, off as well as on the reservation. "(Having the two additional officers) gives us a little more self- -sufficiency, a little more self-determination," said Merrick. "We've taken a little bit of the burden off the Sheriff's office." Merrick said the two new officers are available because of federal cost share program, with the Lower Sioux Community providing 75 percent of the funds, and the government the remainder. "Policing is much more than patrolling," said Merrick. "We want to contribute to this area's public safety." Copyright c. 2004 Redwood Falls Gazette. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tribal Officers can make stops off Reservations" --------- Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 08:23:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OFF REZ STOPS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=1877678 Ruling says tribal officers can make stops off reservations May 18, 2004 Tribal police officers with state law enforcement certification can make brief traffic stops off reservations, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. The Court of Appeals upheld a Maricopa County Superior Court judge's refusal to suppress evidence that led to a woman's conviction for aggravated driving while under the influence of alcohol. Trisha D. Nelson had been stopped by a Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community officer after a dispatcher alerted officers of a possible drunken driver traveling in Mesa on Feb. 2, 2003. The officer pulled Nelson over. Mesa officers arrived within minutes and arrested her. Nelson argued that the stop was unlawful because the Salt River officer was not in hot pursuit and because he had not been cross-deputized by state, county or city police agencies. The Court of Appeals rejected that argument, ruling that Arizona law allows tribal officers with state certification to act as law enforcement officers. The case is State vs. Nelson, 1 CA-CR 03-0469. Copyright c. 2004 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2003-2004 WorldNow and KVOA, Channel 4, Tucson, AZ. --------- "RE: Death of Girl part of Indian Prisons inquiry" --------- Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 08:12:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PRISONS PROBE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-05-23-indian-prison-probe_x.htm Death of girl part of Indian prisons inquiry By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY May 23, 2004 WASHINGTON - A federal probe into deaths, abuse and neglect in the Native American prison system is focusing on about 20 of the system's 74 prisons, and it includes the death of a 16-year-old girl in Oregon last December, two Interior Department officials with knowledge of the inquiry say. Cindy Gilbert Sohappy, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, was put in a holding cell attached to the Chemawa Indian School, a boarding school in Salem, Ore., when she was found to be intoxicated the night of Dec. 6. She was found dead about three hours later from alcohol poisoning. Her death raised questions about the monitoring of cells at the facility. Earlier this year, The Oregonian of Portland reported that a video surveillance camera of the cell showed the girl flailing on the floor about an hour after she was placed there. Despite guidelines that require workers at the facility to check on those in cells every 15 minutes, Sohappy was motionless on the floor for two more hours before someone came to her aid, the newspaper said. The FBI has been investigating the incident because it occurred on federal land. Corinna Sohappy, Cindy's aunt and legal guardian, said Sunday that FBI agents told her a week ago that the bureau had completed its probe and had referred the matter to U.S. prosecutors. It was unclear Sunday what the agents had recommended. The two Interior officials, who have access to details of the department's probe, say the Sohappy case is among a range of issues being investigated. Corinna Sohappy, 44, said she was unaware of the Interior Department's review of her niece's death, but she said, "I think somebody should be held accountable." The Interior Department has said the problems it is examining include inadequate supervision of inmates, facilities with no running water or toilets, and 30-year-old cell blocks in which the doors no longer can be locked. The department and its Bureau of Indian Affairs oversee tribes on 55 million acres of Indian lands. In 2002, tribal detention centers held 2, 006 prisoners. Dave Anderson, Interior's assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, said last week that Interior's probe involved an examination of an undisclosed number of deaths. He declined to describe the victims or how they died. The department recently ordered jail officials to stop housing juveniles in the same cellblocks with adult inmates. Previously, juveniles often were put at risk of abuse when they were forced to share quarters with adults because of a shortage of jail space. Copyright c. 2004 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. --------- "RE: Tribal Police kill 1 of 2 Suspects in Carjacking" --------- Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 22:16:26 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (AkimelOodham@EarthLink.net)" Subj: Tribal police kill 1 of 2 suspects in carjacking (Fwd) Mailing List: News and Information - - - - - - -- - - - - - - http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0511 evbriefs11.html Tribal police kill 1 of 2 suspects in carjacking May. 11, 2004 12:00 AM GILA RIVER RESERVATION - Gila River Indian Community police shot and killed one of two carjacking suspects after the suspects fired at two patrol cars during a chase about 3:30 a.m. Monday. Officers attempted a traffic stop that led to a vehicle pursuit, said tribal police spokeswoman Sgt. Stephanie Nelson. The shooting occurred on Nelson Road just west of Horseshoe Road in the Casa Blanca area, Nelson said. The names of the three male officers and the suspects have not been released. --------- "RE: Woman arrested in stabbing death of young Son" --------- Date: Mon, 24 May 2004 08:12:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STABBING" http://www.pechanga.net/NativeNews.html http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=1888929 Woman arrested in stabbing death of young son May 23, 2004 A 29-year-old woman is being held by tribal police on the San Carlos Reservation pending federal charges in the stabbing death of her five- year-old son. Officials with the Bureau of Indian Affairs say Rachael Jones was taken into custody Saturday. Three teens told authorities that they saw a mother and her son walk behind a mesquite tree Saturday and then saw only the woman walk away. The boys went to investigate and found the five-year-old dead with multiple stab wounds to the upper body. BIA agents have taken the body to the Pima County Medical