From gars@speakeasy.org Fri Jun 18 10:51:25 2004 Date: Tue, 01 Jun 2004 15:35:59 -0700 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.023 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 023 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 June 5, 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; Frostys AmerIndian Mailing List; 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "If a man loses anything and goes back and looks carefully for it he will find it, and that is what the Indians are doing now when they ask you to give them the things that were promised them in the past; and I do not consider that they should be treated like beasts, and that is the reason I have grown up with the feelings I have." __ Sitting Bull (Tatanka Lyotanka), Hunkpapa Warrior and Medicine Man +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! The President of the United States of America, George W. Bush, spoke from Carlisle, PA Monday, May 24, 2004. My half-side, Janet, found what was not said to be of great interest and importance.... ------ The evening of May 24, President Bush spoke to the United States from the War College at Carlisle, PA. He spoke of plans for the United States to provide stability (in other words, U.S. military presence and enforcement) in Iraq while the country, under U.S. supervision, builds infrastructure that mirrors that of the United States. He even goes so far in his speech as to claim that all people, when given a choice, would choose a way of life like that in the United States. In a diatribe against those in Iraq, whom he described as terrorists, who oppose U.S. military occupation, he incidentally mentioned the shocking acts committed against prisoners taken by U.S. military personnel as acts uncharacteristic of U.S. military practice. I suspect most Indian people are beginning to hear an echo of the experiences of their own nations by now. President Bush either had no idea of the history of the place where he made this speech and how it had been a microcosm of the very process he was proclaiming, right down to torture tactics, or he was hoping no one else did, and that no one would spot the irony. He got away with it, thanks to the abysmal lack of information and disinformation about the history of Indian people in this country. He spoke of the Carlisle War College that provided many generations of officers an education in strategy and warfare, but he neglected to speak of the others who were sent to the same site for education from 1879 to 1907 (for more information about Carlisle Indian School online, please see http://home.epix.net/~landis/index.htm). Few people other than descendants of the first inhabitants of this nation know this military institution was once an Indian school. Few know of the scores of Indian children still buried under the parking lot in that school. And I'm betting our President has never seen the children's cemetary at Carlisle where other Indian children have headstones that list only their English names. Bush may not have known of the period of our history when one of the generals who defeated the great Indian chiefs of the plains went back and enticed them to send their children to a school in Carlisle, PA, ostensibly so they could learn English and no longer be cheated by treaties written in a language they did not read. He perhaps did not know that the general lied to those parents -- he planned to "kill the Indian" in their children, turning against their own parents and their teachings and remaking them as slightly tanner versions of white men in the general population. Or perhaps Bush does know -- and sees nothing wrong in it. He must not have known that those children, some as young as five years of age, were beaten, forced to eat lye soap, or even locked into the Revolutionary-war era prisoner-of-war dungeon at Carlisle for days on end -- for the great crime of speaking their tribal tongue or practicing their families' religious traditions. Perhaps he does not count that as torture. Perhaps he does not count as brainwashing or coercion the practice of holding small chidren essentially captive hundreds of miles away from their parents love for years on end, and taught that the ways their parents and grandparents practiced were wrong. There are many Indian soldiers fighting in Iraq, a war we were told was to defend our land against terrorists stockpiling deadly weapons of war (that were never found). Our warriors have always been among the most numerous to rise in defense of this land, and Indian people are proud of them. The week before this Memorial Day, they did not need a President standing amidst the ghosts of hundreds of Indian children who died far from home so the Indian in them could be killed, telling the world that forcing a country at gunpoint to accept U.S. lifestyles is what "any person with a choice" would choose. Or claiming that torture is not an accepted part of this country's military policy. Indian soldiers could tell the rest of their compatriots about the value of promises from U.S. politicians and bureacrats. There is already an example in the news. This past week, an untimely leak exposed a White House memo instructing a number of administrative departments to plan for reductions, including a 3 per cent reduction in veterans programs, to begin the year following the upcoming election. Janet Smith +/// owlstar@speakeasy.org P. O. Box 672168 /*/+ OwlStar Trading Post Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. + / * http://www.owlstar.com * + ----- 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 ---------- - Missing Daughter: - Former Cherokee Chief Trisha Lee Roubideaux still making a Difference - Protection of Bear Butte - Indian Teacher shares Tradition focus of meeting through Art - Delaware Nation wants - All-Indian TV channel planned out-of-state Land in Trust - Inuit Naming Project to go online - Appeals Court tells State - Exploration Application to wait for BIA review worries Deh Cho - Civil Rights Panel - Treaty 3 selection process to look at Indian Bias begins Wednesday - Western Shoshone: - Quebec Minister's comments War is not just in Iraq spark outrage - At Leech Lake, - DeMain Motion Filed hope is emphasized - Message from Leonard - Upper Sioux gaining ground - Native Prisoner in Minnesota Prairie -- Warsoldier Freed - Own Telecoms -- URGENT medical issue: seen as Sovereignty Issue Justin Wing - Gibbons defends -- USP Atlanta needs NA Videos Shoshone claims Bill - History: Carlisle Indian School - Tribes: Feds' plan for Coos Head - Rustywire: whatdoyouwanttobe? violates Law - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Ponca Tribe seeks - Rustywire Poem: First Thunder support in Lawsuit - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Missing Daughter: Trisha Lee Roubideaux" --------- Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 08:56:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MISSING DAUGHTER" http://www.indianz.com/News/archive/002400.asp Indian family worried about missing daughter May 26, 2004 Police in the Washington, D.C., area are investigating the suspicious disappearance of an 18-year-old member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Trisha Lee Roubideaux was last seen Friday when she left for a job interview and never came back. Her mother, Gail Veney, said it was "uncharacteristic" for her not to return to the family's Northern Virginia home. "We're Indians living here in the city," Veney said yesterday. "We really only have ourselves." Veney, an employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said she waited until Saturday morning to contact police because she thought her daughter might have spent the night at a friend's house. But when the friend said he hadn't heard from Trisha, Veney panicked. "In Indian Country our kids are raised by everybody," Veney said. "She trusted everybody. That makes me worried." Trisha has spent most of her life between the Washington area and the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, her mother said. She finally made a permanent move a year ago after finishing high school back in South Dakota. "She had family," Veney said. "She loved it here." Police in Fairfax County put out a missing person's bulletin yesterday, hoping that the public comes forward with information about Trisha. "Obviously it's suspicious if somebody doesn't come home when they're expected to," said officer Ryan Morgan. "There's no evidence of foul play," he added, "but it's definitely unusual. We would ask the public for assistance and if they would contact us if they know of Trisha's whereabouts." Detectives have taken Trisha's computer in hopes of finding any clues to her disappearance. Trisha often chatted on the Internet with friends, said her mother, who gave police a list of her usernames, e-mail accounts and contact information of her friends. "The investigators are attempting to see if there's been any communication since she was reported missing," Morgan said. There was no word yesterday whether Trisha contacted anybody, he said. Police are treating the case as an adult missing person's report because Trisha is 18. She turns 19 on June 6. Trisha left her family's home in the 8500 block of Bound Brook Lane in the Mount Vernon area of Alexandria around 8 a.m on Friday. She had an 11 a.m. job interview at Reagan National Airport in northern Virginia. She took a Fairfax County Connector bus to get to the Huntington stop on the Washington Metro, her mother said. From there, it was a short train ride to the airport. "This was actually the first time she took the bus and the first time she took the Metro [alone]," Veney said yesterday. "She was determined to do it by herself. She wanted to be independent. My husband offered to take her and she said, 'Dad, I gotta do this on my own otherwise I'll never grow up.'" Police have confirmed that Trisha made it to her job interview at the airport. They have reviewed airport surveillance tapes, which show her entering the facility. The restaurant where she sought a job, the Great Steak and Potato, also confirmed she showed up for the interview. The security tapes show Trisha leaving the airport around 1:30 p.m. From there, she would have hopped on the train to get home. But Trisha's family and friends are worried that any evidence of her next move may be lost because the Metro erases its surveillance tapes -- which are separate from the airport's -- after 72 hours. The policy has been in place since 2002, said a spokesperson. Trisha's mother said the Metro tapes would be crucial to the investigation. "I kind of find it hard to believe she got sidetracked," Veney said. The airport is connected to the Metro stop. Word of Trisha's disappearance spread quickly yesterday at the BIA, where Veney and her three sisters are employed. Veney, a member of the Tonawanda Band of the Seneca Nation from New York, has worked at the agency for 16 years. Trisha's grandmother lives on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation but family in South Dakota has not heard from Trisha either. Veney said she didn't think her daughter would have tried to go back to the reservation "but you never know what a kid is going to do." "She always called me and let me know where she's at," Veney said. "She always called. I don't care what she was doing she always called." Trisha Lee Roubideaux is 5- feet 1-inch tall and weighs about 130 pounds. She has long, straight black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a white shirt and tan pants the day she was last seen. Anyone with information on Roubideaux's whereabouts is asked to call Fairfax County, Virginia, police at (703) 691-2131. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Protection of Bear Butte focus of meeting" --------- Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 20:13:42 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAVING BEAR BUTTE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/~/05/28/news/local/news11.txt Protection of Bear Butte the focus of defenders' meeting By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer May 28, 2004 STURGIS - It's the other landmark, west of the world's largest biker bar. Defenders of the Black Hills invites concerned members of the public to discuss ways to protect Bear Butte from urbanization and excessive development at its Bear Butte All Nations Gathering. Charmaine White Face, coordinator, said that the group would discuss ideas to keep the state park, historic and sacred site protected from commercial development. "It wasn't until a firing range was nearly built that we became aware of the seriousness of urban sprawl," White Face said. Ken Rost, district park supervisor, said private land on Bear Butte's northwest and west sides could be developed. "It concerns us, too," Rost said. The Bear Butte All Nations Gathering will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 29 and 30, at the Elk Creek Resort and Campground, 1 mile east of Interstate 90 on Elk Creek Road near Piedmont. Participants are asked to bring chairs and camping gear. Morning snacks, beverages and an evening meal will be provided. Donations will be accepted. Bear Butte no longer dominates the landscape as housing and commercial areas develop, but it is happening all over the Black Hills, Rost said. "We'd prefer that there wasn't a campground being built out there, but it's a free country," Rost said. "We talk about it a lot, but there isn't a lot of local people who show interest in this." Currently, a Texas-owned 40-acre campground is available for sale. Although park officials would like it returned to its natural state, that won't happen. The state of South Dakota is not interested in acquiring land. Rost said. "Our hands are tied on this," he said. Other topics at the All Nations Gathering include sacred place designation, land trust for all tribes and federal legislation. For information, call Defenders of the Black Hills at 399-1868. Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Delaware Nation wants out-of-state Land in Trust" --------- Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 08:27:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DELAWARE LAND" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2004/05_24-28/TOP Opposition to Indian landfill deal in Odenton growing By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer May 24, 2004 A Silver Spring developer intends to pay an American Indian tribe at least $1.4 million a year in exchange for using its name and protected status to open a rubble landfill in Odenton. County and state officials say that and other details in the tribe's three-volume application to the federal government support their concerns that the deal is a "blatant" attempt by the Halle Cos. to sidestep zoning and environmental laws. Since a copy of the application started circulating around Annapolis, several government leaders have fired off critical letters to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. "Approval of this application would be a serious disservice to the citizens of Maryland and Anne Arundel County," Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. wrote in a 10-page letter to the bureau. His letter represents a new level of opposition to the proposed Chesapeake Terrace landfill. Neighbors and county officials have fought the proposal in zoning and legal cases for 15 years. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is considering approval of a transfer of the Odenton property from the Halle Cos. to the Delaware Nation of Anadarko, Okla. Halle wants to turn over the land to the tribe to speed up the process of opening the landfill. Halle officials are banking on the idea that the project won't require local or state approval if it is on Indian land. The tribe's 2-inch-thick application offers several insights into the deal that worry elected officials: - The tribe would pay nothing for Halle's land. - A joint partnership between Halle and the tribe would own the landfill business, but Halle would be responsible for the day-to-day operations. - Halle would give 10 percent of the proceeds - at least $1.4 million a year - to the tribe. - Halle is paying all the costs and legal fees associated with the application. - The tribe suggests it might also try to build a residential or commercial development on the property to cater to the -public or possibly Delaware Indians. The deal would drastically increase the tribe's income. Currently, its only source of revenue besides government assistance is $1.7 million a year from a small casino in Oklahoma, according to the application. The Bureau of Indian Affairs must approve the deal because the federal government technically would hold the title to the land, though the tribe would have the right to develop and use the land. The tribe will have a chance to respond to the letters before the BIA rules on the application. Stephen Fleischman, a vice president with the Halle Cos., said he hadn't seen the letters yet. He said County Executive Janet S. Owens and other politicians should stop wasting their time opposing the project. He noted that the county Board of Appeals recently issued a zoning ruling in favor of the landfill. "Ms. Owens needs to get a life," he said. In Ms. Owens' latest letter to Indian Affairs, she said the deal is a "relationship of convenience." "The relationship between the Tribe and Halle is nothing even remotely resembling a partnership," Ms. Owens wrote in the letter last week. "While these types of partnerships may have the short-term benefit of providing the Indian tribes with funds for essentially doing nothing, the citizens who reside in the affected areas will be adversely affected," she continued. Mr. Ehrlich attacked the application as containing "numerous omissions, factual errors and misrepresentations." The governor wrote that he's worried that if the county and state can't oversee the landfill, it could have serious environmental problems. "Absent proper construction and operation, the landfill has the potential to pollute groundwater supplies and impact local domestic drinking water wells, could harm wetland areas located on the property ... and could harm several plant species identified by the State as endangered, " he wrote.Greenip's concerns State Sen. Janet Greenip, who represents the area, echoed the governor's concerns. The Crofton Republican wrote earlier this month that the deal is a "blatant attempt to sidestep state and local environmental protection laws." She also raised concerns about gambling. Among the tribe's promises in the application is not to seek gaming on the land "unless the State of Maryland recognizes the legalization of gaming." Mrs. Greenip said Odenton is no place for a casino, especially considering the narrow roads leading to the site. "I cannot think of a more inappropriate location for a gaming establishment. Any application that opens the door in the slightest to gaming must not be approved," wrote Mrs. Greenip. Regional Indian affairs Director Franklin Keel - who will decide the fate of the deal - could not be reached for comment. The deputy director, Howard Beamer, previously said a decision won't come for at least several more months. Legal experts say the tribe does not have to prove ties to the land, but the huge distance from the tribal headquarters - nearly 1,400 miles - automatically triggers more scrutiny from the BIA. The American Indians, for their part, say they believe they and Halle will benefit equally from the deal. Tribe President Bruce Gonzales said his economic development committee thoroughly researched Halle and found it to be trustworthy. The application includes a glowing three-page history of the Halle Cos. and National Waste Managers, a Halle subsidiary pursuing the project. pwood@capitalgazette.com Copyright c. 2004 The Capital, Annapolis, Md. --------- "RE: Appeals Court tells State to wait for BIA review" --------- Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 08:17:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EASTERN PEQUOT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/stories/20040526/localnews/501527.html Appeals Court tells state to wait for BIA review By Brian Lyman Norwich Bulletin May 26, 2004 The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to intervene in the state's appeal of the Historic Eastern Pequots' recognition, saying the state would have to wait for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to complete its internal review. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal argued in federal court in April that a directive from the BIA Feb. 11, 2000, instructing staffers to stop accepting evidence from outsiders after the recognition process began, violated due process by establishing an arbitrary cut off date. Blumenthal had made the same argument in district court last year, but the court then ruled that it lacked jurisdiction. The Court of Appeals Monday agreed, noting the state had already filed an appeal with the Interior Board of Indian Appeals. "This administrative appeal is still pending," said the summary order by Judges Joseph McLaughlin, Robert Sack and Nina Gershon. "We conclude that until the board's review is complete, the plaintiffs neither have suffered nor will suffer harm sufficiently concrete to warrant judicial intervention in the BIA acknowledgment proceedings." The court did say the state raised "substantial questions about the fairness of the process" and the Feb. 11, 2000, directive, which Blumenthal seized Tuesday. "We now have more ammunition for our argument that the BIA's recognition of the Eastern Pequot and the entire BIA recognition process defies fairness and law at every level," Blumenthal said in a prepared statement. Nancy Tyler, a spokeswoman for the Historic Eastern Pequot Tribe, declined comment, saying the tribal council had not had a chance to review the decision. -- bmlyman@norwichbulletin.com Lawyers for the Department of the Interior and the Eastern Pequot tribe argued last month the deadline was needed to allow the office to complete its work, and that the state needed to allow the appeal process. -- bmlyman@norwichbulletin.com Copyright c. 2004 Norwich Bulletin. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Civil Rights Panel to look at Indian Bias" --------- Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 08:17:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEAR REZ CIVIL RIGHTS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=58515§ion=News Panel to look at Indian bias By Mike Nowatzki, The Forum May 26, 2004 Frank White watched his daughter leave their home on the Fort Berthold Reservation to attend junior high school in Fargo, only to see her drop out in frustration less than a year later. "If something happened, she was more or less kind of blamed for it," he said. "She got expelled twice within three months, so she quit." White, 47, said he tried to reason with his daughter's counselor, but it was always her word against his. Soon, American Indians such as White will have the opportunity to put their stories of discrimination in North Dakota on the record. During a meeting Tuesday in Fargo, the North Dakota Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted unanimously to join a regional project studying discrimination against American Indians in towns bordering reservations. Five of the seven states in the commission's Rocky Mountain Region already are participating in the project: Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming. Utah has yet to join. Despite a large American Indian presence in border cities, non-Indians typically control their governments, schools and economies, often creating a situation of "tremendous inequity," said John Dulles, the commission's regional director in Denver. The commission, formed in 1957 at the height of school desegregation in the South, has no authority to enforce civil rights, Dulles said. Rather, it serves as a fact-finding and advisory body that makes recommendations to federal, state, and local officials and agencies. "We may not be able to solve the problem, but we expose it and document it and tell the people in authority, 'What are you going to do about it?'" he said. Committee member Refugio "Pete" Padilla said his immediate reaction after reading the project proposal was, "It's about time." "We took away the land, we're trying to take away the culture, and a lot of times we still take away the rights - not as a group, but individually," said Padilla, case manager for Native American programs at the Family HealthCare Center in Fargo. The project will involve taking testimony from American Indians and others at public hearings in border cities. Locations will likely include Devils Lake, Dunseith, Bismarck-Mandan and Minot, said Carole Barrett, chairwoman of the advisory committee and a professor of American Indian studies at the University of Mary in Bismarck. Tuesday's gathering at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Fargo provided a glimpse of what the public hearings could entail. Several of the roughly 25 audience members shared sometimes emotional stories of discrimination. Sandi Berlin of Fargo, field organizer for the Minnesota Indian Ecumenical Ministry, said her 15-year-old son had a disciplinary problem in the Fargo school system. He's now staying with his eldest sister and going to school in California, she said. Berlin said she frequently hears horror stories about how local American Indians are treated in their jobs, schools and hospitals. "I know that something needs to be done," she said. Jennifer Ring, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the Dakotas, urged the committee to study how non-Indians people use "police power" - not only law enforcement, but also discipline in schools - to maintain control over border cities and make them "absolute hotbeds" for discrimination. Committee members agreed Tuesday to seek input from tribal members about which issues are most important to study. Education and economics seemed to receive the most support. Barrett said the federally funded project, expected to last more than three years, won't detract from the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition's class-action lawsuit against the state Department of Labor. The coalition claims the department has failed to properly pursue discrimination complaints. White, whose 17-year-old daughter is now working on her GED, said he believes the project is worthwhile, but he wonders if it will actually happen. "Talking and doing are two different things," he said. Copyright c. 2004 Forum Communications Co. Fargo, ND 58102. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Western Shoshone: War is not just in Iraq" --------- Date: Mon, 31 May 2004 22:56:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WESTERN SHOSHONE" http://www.indiancountry.com/?1085081562 Western Shoshone: War is not just in Iraq May 20, 2004 by: Brenda Norrell/Southwest Staff Reporter/Indian Country Today CRESCENT VALLEY, Nev. - United States Congressmen are mirroring the same deceptive tactics in Western Shoshone territory as in Iraq, said Western Shoshone as legislation was pushed to compensate tribal members for Aboriginal land in an effort to seize it and open it up for mining, energy and nuclear corporations. While Western Shoshone maintain their Aboriginal land claim secured by the Treaty of Ruby Valley of 1863, their sacred Yucca Mountain is being gutted for nuclear dumping, their horses and cattle seized to make way for geothermal industries and the earth mutilated for gold extraction. "If the war on terrorism is about protecting this country, then why is our own government trying to take away our homelands?" said Mary McCloud, Western Shoshone elder. "Our Indian children are over in Iraq supposedly fighting for their country. And yet our Nevada Congressional leaders through the Western Shoshone Distribution Act are trying to take away the Western Shoshone homeland. "What are our Shoshone kids going to come back to? What are they fighting for?" McCloud said. Current legislation before the United States Congress, the Western Shoshone Distribution Bill, H.R. 884/S. 618, is described by tribal members as an attempt to strip away U.S. treaty obligations and their connections to their homeland with a one time payment of cents per acre. "Under the guise of bi-partisanship, Senator Harry Reid and Congressman Jim Gibbons are once again gearing up to force this one time payment on the Western Shoshone people for 24 million acres of land at approximately 15 cents an acre," said Julie Fishel of the Western Shoshone Defense Project. Reid is Democrat and Gibbons is Republican. Fishel said the push for passage of the distribution bill is being made at the same time that Gibbons is sponsoring other legislation, H.R. 2869 and H.R. 2772, which would open Shoshone lands to privatization by multinational mining companies and massive geothermal energy development, with no provision for Western Shoshone interests or concerns. Simultaneously, the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste repository is being pushed forward, regardless of whistleblowers exposing inherent dangers. Western Shoshone elders are the victims of the schemes to seize the land. During May, Robert Healy Sr., Mary Dann and Carrie Dann received federal notices of intent to impound their livestock. Carrie Dann said it is domestic terrorism designed to steal the dignity of the people. "Economically we were a self-sustaining people. With these recent actions stealing our livelihood we are now facing economic starvation designed to remove us from our lands. To me, that is terrorism. Domestic terrorism. This behavior is designed to steal our dignity, our honor and to make us feel that we are less than or lower than human - we are treated like animals. We are being dehumanized." Dann said the distribution bill is an unconstitutional, unjust and unwanted payment. "As Western Shoshone, we have been fighting for many years to simply remain who we are - Western Shoshone. The earth is our mother and land provides us with life, like the water and the air. To take this land from us will be to lead us into a spiritual death. The distribution bill could come up for a vote in the U.S. House in May or June. The fear of many Western Shoshone people and the majority of Councils is that money is being used by Congress to silence Western Shoshone concerns over U.S. violations of the Treaty of Ruby Valley. By treaty, Western Shoshone maintain their ancestral land base - where they still live and pray - approximately 24 million acres of land, most of which the U.S. classifies as "public" lands. Steven Newcomb, Shawnee/Lenape co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute, said neither Congressman Gibbons nor Senator Reid wants to address Western Shoshone land rights based on the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. "After personally researching the Indian Claims Commission records in the Western Shoshone case, I could not find one shred of historical documentation to support the `finding' that Western Shoshone lands described in the Ruby Valley Treaty were ever `taken' by `gradual encroachment,'" Newcomb said. In order to force the people off the land, the Department of Interior has conducted armed roundups of Western Shoshone livestock for the past two years. Western Shoshone say the beneficiaries of this theft of Aboriginal Shoshone lands are the mining, energy and nuclear industries. Western Shoshone land encompasses the world's third largest production of gold, cited in 1999 as the number one investment opportunity for mineral extraction companies. In the past 40 years, $26 billion dollars in gold has been extracted from Western Shoshone aboriginal lands defined by treaty. Open pit cyanide leach mining for gold is destroying the water and air, said Carrie Dann. Multinational gold companies Kennecott, Placer Dome, Barrick and Newmont and others, take the water out of the water table at a rate of 30 to 70 thousand gallons of water per minute. One Nevada politician described these lands as the next "Saudi Arabia" of geothermal energy production. If that wasn't enough abuse, the U.S. has selected the land for nuclear dumping at Yucca Mountain, the proposed site of the nation's nuclear waste repository and the Nevada Test Site. The Bush administration has referenced possible renewed nuclear weapons testing. Although one excuse for the war in Iraq was the violation of human rights, Western Shoshone point out that the United States government abuses its indigenous peoples at home. Last year, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that with regard to the Western Shoshone, the U.S. is currently in violation of rights to property, due process and equality under the law. In the fall of 2003, a federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of Western Shoshone in the U.S. District Court in Washington. (Western Shoshone, et al. v. U.S. Case No. 03-CV-2009). It has been a long fight for Western Shoshone elders, and in the eyes of the world, they are winners. McCloud said, "The elders before us stood up for life and their understanding of the treaty and this elder and others still stand for the treaty and life." Copyright c. 2004 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: At Leech Lake, hope is emphasized" --------- Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 08:17:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LEECH LAKE" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.startribune.com/stories/103/4797941.html At Leech Lake, hope is emphasized Larry Oakes, Star Tribune Northern Minnesota Correspondent May 27, 2004 CASS LAKE, MINN. - Mayor Elaine Fleming wept for the young people in prison and the cemetery. Leech Lake Reservation Chairman Peter White beat his ceremonial drum and sang an Ojibwe song of hope and strength. Gary Charwood inspired nine teenagers, on the spot, to take a pledge to be drug- and alcohol-free for at least a year. Sienna Mulbah, 23, who had just graduated from college, said she's living proof that "a lot of young people here are doing good." They were among dozens of leaders and ordinary people who stepped up to microphones Tuesday and Wednesday at the Palace Casino near Cass Lake to respond to "The Lost Youth of Leech Lake," a series of stories in the Star Tribune in late April. Many came with ideas and proposals, including banning the sale of alcohol on the reservation and visiting area young people in prison to tell them that the community expects them to return and lead productive lives. The three-day series documented how an alarming number of the reservation's young recently had been lost to alcohol, drugs, prison and early death. It also told some of their stories, along with the stories of children who were trying to stay on track. This week's two-day forum, sponsored by the tribal government of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, was titled "We Are Not Lost." About 100 people attended each day. The forum's purpose was to "bring to light the good and positive sides of life" on the northern Minnesota reservation and "change the perception" created by the articles. Although some of the 35 speakers complained that the series unfairly singled out Leech Lake and didn't reflect enough of the many good kids and positive things there, the majority credited the stories with jolting many of the reservation's people into more honestly facing the problems underlying the high per-capita rates of chemical abuse, child removals and crime. "If you want to change something, you have to have a sense of urgency," said Randy Finn, a Cass Lake community activist and business owner. "It's like somebody has relit that flame, and all of you are here today because of it." During a panel discussion, elder Lucille Wakanabo said: "I commend the people who had the courage to tell their stories to the reporter. The paper has no reason to apologize. They were true stories. In fact, they were sugar-coated. They were actually worse." Good not emphasized Several speakers took the paper to task for not also telling the stories of some of the many teenagers who stay in school, don't use chemicals and lead productive lives. "I can't dispute what's in the paper, but they left so much out," said Priscilla Ross, a young adult. "It was presented like there was nothing good. I know where I came from, and it's not that bad a place." John Day, an Ojibwe college professor, had a similar view. "Unfortunately, the stories painted with a broad brush," he said. "Yes, there are many problems, but there are also many positive activities. ... Most of the Leech Lake area is a very comfortable, supportive, beautiful place to live." Others said the series did a service by forcing people to see the suffering of an unacceptable number of the reservation's young people, who often represent just the latest generation in their families to fall victim to chemical abuse and violence. "We'll continue to lose our children until we start looking at what's going on and dealing with it," said Melanie Harper, whose 21-year-old daughter, Leah Jenkins-Harper, is serving a 30-year sentence for a killing she took part in while intoxicated on drugs and alcohol. Jenkins-Harper hasn't seen her 5-year-old daughter since being sent to prison last year. Melanie Harper is now raising the girl. Melanie Harper said that a hopeful sign is that her daughter, after a period of anger and denial, now takes responsibility for what she did and wants to help her community after she gets out of prison, perhaps by counseling young people to stay away from alcohol and drugs. Going back Many speakers emphasized that the reservation's Indian parents need to take lessons from the old Ojibwe ways, in which large extended families and villages looked out together for all their children. Many also advocated a broad return to the type of traditional Ojibwe spirituality that was outlawed by federal policies in the early days of reservations. The loss of spirituality - along with the loss of land and resources - is cited by many as a root cause of some of today's high rates of poverty and chemical dependency. "Our ways of doing and our livelihood were continually stripped," said tribal Chairman White. "... But it's not a lost cause. The spirits are all around us Anishinabe [native] people. I don't think the Anishinabe will ever be lost." Said elder Wally Humphrey: "We have to be better examples for our young people. If you care about spirituality, live it." The loudest applause was given to Tara Hare, one of the struggling teens featured in the series. She came to the front of the room, said she was nervous and then overcame it. She told the crowd she wanted people to know that she is still in school and "doing good." She also wanted to say thanks. "I got cards and letters from all over the state," she said. Larry Oakes is at loakes@startribune.com. Copyright c. 2004 Minneapolis Star Tribune. --------- "RE: Upper Sioux gaining ground in Minnesota Prairie" --------- Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 08:17:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="UPPER SIOUX" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/8757366.htm Upper Sioux gaining ground in western Minnesota prairie RENEE RUBLE Associated Press May 25, 2004 GRANITE FALLS, Minn. - It takes only a few minutes to tour the new housing development on the Upper Sioux Indian Community. The circle of homes is a speck in the vast prairie. Children run and jump on shiny new playground equipment, bracing themselves against gusts of wind that rake the freshly plowed soybean fields. Helen Blue-Redner, the band's chairwoman, drives slowly through the small neighborhood, pointing out details on the two-story homes, the new septic and water systems. She motions beyond, to the surrounding fields, where she hopes someday to see more homes, a store, roads. "It's not ours yet," she said of the land. "But it will be." The Upper Sioux are one of the smallest and poorest of Minnesota's 11 American Indian bands. They struggle with their health; they worry simultaneously about the effect of casino money on their kids and that casino revenues might dwindle someday. And they're grateful for the help that comes their way from their fellow Dakota bands. "All we're trying to do is make sure the Upper Sioux is here - we have a future," said Tom Ross, a member of the tribal Board of Trustees. "There's no untangling us from the area now." Nearly all of the Upper Sioux's 414 members live within 15 miles of the community they call Pejuhutazizi Kapi, or "the place where they dig for yellow medicine" in the Minnesota River Valley. ("Yellow medicine" means moon seed plant, used for medicinal purposes.) Half of the band members are younger than 18. Tribal leaders are giving them special attention, hoping to break the grip of long-running problems like alcoholism and school dropout rates that range from 50 to 70 percent. There also are new concerns, Blue-Redner says, about a generation growing up with per capita payments, or the monthly checks the tribe cuts to share casino profits. The Upper Sioux run after-school programs that require a pledge to stay chemical-free. The band offers trips to places like Arizona and Hawaii, hoping that young people will venture beyond the reservation, learn, and someday want to return and share what they've learned. "Sometimes you don't know you're home until you leave," Blue-Redner said. The band offers scholarships for higher education, but a more significant move may be a new requirement that band members must graduate from high school in order to begin receiving casino payments when they turn 18. The requirement starts with this fall's ninth-graders. Band leaders won't reveal the size of the payments, and several band members also declined to reveal them. "Receiving per capita should be gravy," Blue-Redner said. "Some have used it wisely. Some have not." The Upper Sioux was the poorest band in Minnesota in 1990, with a median household income of $7,600. That dramatically rose over the next decade to $25,625 fueled by revenues from their Firefly Creek Casino, which recently closed and was replaced with the Prairie's Edge Casino and Resort. Still, that was only enough to lift the band into 10th place, ahead of just Red Lake ($22,813), according to census figures. While the band's casino hasn't been as profitable as those near the Twin Cities, the Upper Sioux have benefited from at least $23 million in loans and grants - mostly loans - from another Dakota band, the Shakopee Mdewakanton, that is near the metro area. The latter tribe has grown into one of the wealthiest in the country on profits from Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake. The money has gone toward a community center, public works and land purchases. From the original 746 acres the government returned to the Upper Sioux in 1938, the band now owns 1,250 acres - some of it purchased at inflated prices because local farmers know the band wants it. "We have needs and Shakopee is attuned to those needs," Blue-Redner said. "Without them, we wouldn't have a lot of the development we have today." The Upper Sioux is one of Yellow Medicine County's largest employers with their casino - where the jobs outnumber band members. It has brought tourism to the region, and the band is working with state and local officials to create a state trail along the river, said David Smiglewski, mayor of nearby Granite Falls. The Upper Sioux has made donations to local police and treatment centers, and helped the city when it was hit by floods and a tornado in recent years, the mayor said. But he also recognizes the Upper Sioux's success has been modest compared with other reservations. "Everybody has Prior Lake in their sights with big checks being handed out; that's not the case here. It's some pretty decent jobs and a definite upgrade in the standard of living on the Upper Sioux Community," Smiglewski said. Like many other bands, the Upper Sioux worry about maintaining their culture. Only 10 of their elders remain who are fluent in the language of the Upper Sioux, the youngest in her 70s. One of them, 74-year-old Carolynn Cavender Schommer, holds weekly language classes that attract a handful of children at the community center. Surrounded by drawings of bison, owl, snake and turtle, with their Dakota names, Schommer described how some Dakota words cannot be translated into English. "You might know the culture, but if you don't know the language, how do you understand your culture?" she said. Less than a decade ago, Dallas Ross, then-chairman of the Upper Sioux, told the Minnesota Legislature that most tribes in Minnesota were struggling with inadequate housing, drinking water and wastewater systems. The Upper Sioux have come a long way, but they have far to go, they say. "We're still getting acclimated to capitalism and we're getting better at it," said Blue-Redner, who was elected by other tribal leaders as president of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, the official liaison between tribal and state governments. Like many bands across the state, the Upper Sioux worry that the Legislature may open the gambling market to others. They're working feverishly to acquire land, build infrastructure, provide social services and map future development in preparation. "We've got to diversify to ensure the future of the tribe," Blue-Redner said. "We're mindful of the fact that as much as we can succeed, we can fail." Copyright c. 2004 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2004 Duluth News Tribune. --------- "RE: Own Telecoms seen as Sovereignty Issue" --------- Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 08:17:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REZ TELECOM" http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2004/05/26/news/state/sta04.txt Tribes see starting own telecoms as sovereignty issue By DIRK LAMMERS, Associated Press Writer May 27, 2004 RAPID CITY, S.D. - If tribes want decent phone and Internet service on their reservations, they should either start their own telecommunications companies or establish regulatory commissions to oversee them, a panel of American Indian leaders said Wednesday. J.D. Williams, president of the National Tribal Telecommunications Association, said Indians have the right to govern their own people as well as every business that comes onto tribal land. "To tribal leaders, it's another sovereignty point that we must step forward," said Williams, general manager of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Telephone Authority. The discussion came during the opening session of the Federal Communications Commission's two-day Indian Telecommunications Initiatives workshop and round-table at Rapid City's Rushmore Civic Center. The FCC also was in town for a Wednesday night public hearing on how local broadcasters are serving their communities. During his keynote address, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said many tribal lands have trouble getting into the analog era let alone the digital age. He said although 94 percent of U.S. households have a telephone line, that number drops to 67 percent in Indian communities. "And that's not right. We have to fix that," said Adelstein, a Rapid City native. "We've made progress, but we have a long way to go." Mark White Bull, telecommunications project manager for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, said Standing Rock is underserved by Verizon Wireless, which he said has just one tower to cover 2.2 million acres. "There's hills and valleys so there's a lot of dead spots," White Bull said. "I always hear that commercial, 'Can you hear me now?' Come to Standing Rock." The tribe has had to address other issues with service providers, such as customers being charged long distance fees for calls within the reservation. Standing Rock straddles the South Dakota-North Dakota border. White Bull wants the tribe to start its own company because others don't understand Indian issues. "They don't know how they think," he said. "They don't know what they want. They don't know what's out there." Vernon James, CEO and general manager of the San Carlos Apache Telecommunications Utility, said his tribe began pursuing its dream of forming its own telephone company in the early 1990s, mostly because no one else would provide service. James said requests for new hookups on the Arizona reservation drew estimates of $3,000 to $6,000, as no companies would invest in the infrastructure to build a network. By 1997 James' dream became reality, and San Carlos Apache has since grown from 700 to 2,700 access lines. The tribe has dial-up Internet service and is getting ready to roll out high-speed digital subscriber line (DSL). The tribe's investment through loans has been about $24 million. "It's a utility that's very capital intensive," James said. "There's a lot of money that must be put into the infrastructure." Tony Rogers, executive director of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Utility Commission, said if tribes can't start their own companies, they should at least create a commission to watch over the ones who provide service. Rosebud is served by four telephone companies, and Rogers would like to see an arrangement for calls between the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Indian reservations to be classified as local. FCC Chairman Michael Powell was scheduled to deliver the keynote address, but he flew back to Washington Wednesday morning after receiving a call Tuesday from the White House. Dale Snowden, chief of the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, said Powell met with tribal representatives for about an hour Tuesday evening, discussing such issues as companies' use of universal access fees and local number portability. Copyright c. 2004 Bismarck Tribune. --------- "RE: Gibbons defends Shoshone claims Bill" --------- Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 08:27:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WESTERN SHOSHONE LAND" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.elkodaily.com/articles/2004/05/24/news/local/news4.txt Gibbons defends Shoshone claims bill By ADELLA HARDING, Staff Writer May 25, 2004 ELKO - U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said Saturday that a claims bill he supports for Western Shoshone "is merely for distribution of money. The money doesn't do any good sitting in the bank." He told a handful of Western Shoshone and Western Shoshone Defense Project representatives at his town hall meeting that the Western Shoshone can still seek more land under separate legislation. "Nothing stops land distribution. We're for that," he said. Gibbons recently announced he would support the Western Shoshone claims bill introduced by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., to expedite passage in the House, rather than push his own similar bill. There is more than $143 million to be distributed. The Senate has already approved the bill, and House approval would eliminate the need for a conference committee to work out differences. "When and why was this bill decided it will be good for the Western Shoshone?" asked Mary Gibson, who sat with longtime opponents of cash distribution Mary and Carrie Dann of Crescent Valley. Gibbons said the bill's purpose is to distribute the money that was set aside for land the Western Shoshone lost, and he said he introduced his bill and now supports Reid's bill because Western Shoshone people came to him requesting the bill. "I don't have a vested interest. It won't affect me," he said at the meeting at Elko City Hall attended by roughly 50 people. Gibson said the bill doesn't address land issues, and she wondered why people such as herself weren't consulted. Gibbons said he talked to a number of tribal members, and the House held a hearing on the bill, which was introduced in the last session, also, but didn't make it through the House before adjournment. "There were a number who don't want to distribute the money and want land and those who say the money is ours," he said regarding the testimony. Those who want the cash now don't want to wait another 30 years for the Western Shoshone to decide which sections of land they get, the congressman said. He also said the courts decided the land issue. The Indian Claims Commission set aside $26 million in 1977 to compensate the Western Shoshone for land. The money has grown with interest. Estimates have put that number at 5,000 to 6,000 eligible Western Shoshone, which means they would receive between $24,000 and $29,000. Julie Fishel of the Western Shoshone Defense Project asked Gibbons why his office didn't tell a delegation of tribal leaders in Washington about his plan to support the Reid bill at about the time the news broke. Gibbons said he hadn't given final approval to the letter at the time the leaders were in his office. He also told the Western Shoshone their "emotional arguments are sound within your beliefs," but the bill is about cash distribution, not land issues. Land sales Also Saturday, Gibbons said in an interview that his Northern Nevada Development Act may not make it through this session of Congress, but he would try again next year if it doesn't. "Hopefully in a nonpolitical year, we can have dialogue," he said of the bill that designates land for Placer Dome Inc. and Graymont Western to purchase from the federal government, with future royalties attached for minerals extracted. Gibbons said his bill is a form of mining law reform that other companies are interested in pursuing. "I think it is the first time there is an opportunity to modify the 1872 Mining Law. This is our attempt to bring about what everybody sought, an end to patenting and an end to mining without royalties," Gibbons said. "Everybody is saying they want to be part of the process," Gibbons said. During the town meeting, Christopher Sewall of the Western Shoshone Defense Project questioned Gibbons on the land bill. Sewall said the way the bill reads, the U.S. Department of Interior has already determined the agency is willing to sell the roughly 100,000 acres. Gibbons said the U.S. Bureau of Land Management would still have to follow the National Environmental Policy Act process on the land parcels before they are put up for sale, and Interior hasn't yet made a determination on the land. The congressman also said that the bill isn't "blanket coverage," and BLM can withhold lands that have historic significance or cultural significance. The land in question involves land Placer Dome would purchase at fair market value for the surface rights at its Cortez, Bald Mountain and Getchell operations and land Graymont Western wants near West Wendover. "Here we have a bill for more land than all the reservations," Sewall said. Copyright c. 2004 Elko Daily Free Press. --------- "RE: Tribes: Feds' plan for Coos Head violates Law" --------- Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 08:27:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COOS HEAD" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2004/05/24/news/news01.txt Tribes: Feds' plan for Coos Head violates law By Andrew Sirocchi, Staff Writer May 24, 2004 The Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians are fuming over a General Services Administration proposal to split up the former Coos Head Air National Guard station into parcels and deed it only a portion of the now-unused land. Tribal Administrator Frances Somday II said the tribes received communications from the GSA indicating the federal agency would support granting about one-third of the 43-acre property to the tribes. The two- paragraph memo does not indicate what the GSA intends to do with the remainder of the site but Somday said the tribes, which entered an application to have the entire property deeded over, believe the proposal conflicts with federal laws. "It probably is their attempt at a compromise," said Somday. "Our position is if they can support (our) proposal then it should be a transfer of all the property." Somday said the tribes requested a meeting with the GSA and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, the tribes' sponsor, in order to determine what basis the agency used for making its determination. The BIA did not return repeated phone calls for comment. GSA Regional Director Bill Du Bray said that after reviewing the tribes' application, it appears they can accomplish their goals of using the property for education and historical use with the parcel that has been offered. He said the only thing holding up the transfer is a request by the tribes to have the property deeded at no cost. "Our analysis of their request, of what they're going to use the property for, the piece of land ... we've offered them, we feel meets their needs," Du Bray said. Located near the Charleston headlands, the 43-acre Coos Head property was closed by the Air National Guard in 1996 and has been coveted for its sweeping vistas of the Oregon coastline. In 2003, several groups applied for the property, which is being disposed of by the federal government. In addition to the tribes, Coos County, the South Slough National Estuarine Interpretive Center and the Oregon Coastal Environments Awareness Network expressed interest in the property. Du Bray said GSA plans on beginning discussions for the disposal of the remainder of the former air base. "We're going to proceed to start negotiations with the county for the rest of the property," Du Bray said. The tribes already would have the property in ownership were it not for a secretarial error on the part of the BIA. The three-stage disposal process of federal property requires the GSA to consider federal agency requests before all others and the tribes' application should have been at the top of the list. The tribes had worked for years on developing a proposal for the process and submitted it to the BIA, but that federal agency failed to mail the tribes' request for the property to the GSA within the necessary deadline. That opened up the surplus phase of the disposal, when the property became available to any entity that could garner federal sponsorship, including Coos County and the Oregon Coastal Environments Awareness Network. The tribes sued, hoping to force the federal government to consider the application for Coos Head. In September 2003, the tribes' lawsuit was dismissed after the GSA consented to entertain their bid. Somday said the tribes believe any decision to parcel out the property is in conflict with the Indian Self Determination Act and the process used for relinquishing excess federal property. He said the tribes believe the GSA is mandated to give priority to other federal agencies who have requested property slated for excess, in this case, the tribes' request through the BIA. "The excess phase is to provide that land to another federal agency in need of it so that the federal government doesn't need to spend money to get that property. The GSA has disregarded that requirement," Somday said. The disposal of the property has been delayed, partly due to benzene that leaked from underground storage tanks owned by the military and contaminated the groundwater. The government has worked for several years to clean up the spill sites. The property is not expected to be cleared for disposal until 2006. Documents regarding the cleanup indicate the government expects to clean the benzene to meet air-quality standards but not the more stringent water-quality regulations. Copyright c. 2004 Southwestern Oregon Publishing Company. --------- "RE: Ponca Tribe seeks support in Lawsuit" --------- Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 08:17:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PONCA ENVIRONMENT" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=1250559 Ponca Tribe seeks support in lawsuit May 26, 2004 The Ponca Tribe and its allies met Tuesday with the state secretary of the environment, trying to convince the state official that Continental Carbon Co. has been polluting tribal land unchecked for years. Rick Abraham, a consultant to the tribe and also to the Paper Allied- Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union, said the state Department of Environmental Quality is wrongly taking the side of the company. The tribe and the union together filed a lawsuit against Continental Carbon last year. The litigants claim the state is threatening citizens' rights to take polluters to court under federal laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. The state is siding with Continental Carbon in the lawsuit. In an informal legal opinion, an assistant state attorney general said the law bars the kind of relief requested in the tribe's lawsuit. Specifically, the state's position is private citizens aren't allowed to bring the type of lawsuit filed in this case. The tribe's lawsuit seeks to force Continental Carbon to stop operations at its south Ponca City plant they claim leaves black soot on people's property. Miles Tolbert, state secretary of the environment, said the litigants' complaints against the state will not help their lawsuit. "If I can, I would recommend you focus on what subsequently needs to be done out there," Tolbert said. The tribe and its supporters say the company -- which makes carbon black, a substance used in rubber products -- has allowed the dust to blow onto neighboring property. "The dust turns the springs black, and that runs off into the river," said Wally Shatz, who has lived in the area more than 50 years. "Someday it's going to pollute something downstream." Shatz talked to Tolbert about how his grandchildren no longer visit, afraid of the black soot that covers the swing set and trampoline he bought for them. "I have a table out back and you could write your name on the top of it in the dust," he said. Copyright c. 2004 News 9/The Oklahoman, Produced by NewsOK. --------- "RE: Former Cherokee Chief still making a Difference" --------- Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 20:13:42 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WILMA MANKILLER" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.imdiversity.com/Villages/Native/Daily_News.asp#5 Former Cherokee Chief Still Making a Difference By Julie Hubbard, Muskogee Daily Phoenix & Times-Democrat May 28, 2004 Stilwell, Okla. (AP) - She just returned from South Africa and now Wilma Mankiller prepares for the release of her third book cataloguing powerful native women. Relaxing in her modest ranch-style home, wearing intricate beaded earrings and her flip flops, Mankiller, the first female elected principal chief of an American Indian tribe, says she's no different than any other. She loves to cook, even collects coffee mugs. Although her name was the million-dollar question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," she's just a regular woman, she says, who chose to speak up for her people, something innate in everyone. "Every single person has leadership ability," she says. "Some step up and take them. Some don't. "My answer was to step up and lead." It never mattered to her that she was poor, Cherokee or a female. Her life was whatever she made of it. And she chose to be an Indian chief. Under her reign from 1985 to 1995, more Cherokees registered as tribal members, doubling the tribe's size. She started gaming, built a million-dollar Job Corps Center for Cherokee teens to learn skills, and taught her people to care, says those who know her. "They thought a woman would have a hard time attaining the position," said Cherokee elder and former Cherokee Deputy Chief John Ketcher, who served as the second in command under Wilma and remembers her opposition. "With her administration, she brought pride in being Cherokee back to the nation." Wilma first stood out as a Cherokee employee when she helped a small Cherokee community without plumbing build a waterline, Ketcher said. "She got the community to donate sweat equity," Ketcher said. "This was a new thing. We had never had Cherokees involved in that way. But people had the will to get out there and get their hands dirty. They built ditches, whatever they could." Although Mankiller has always been interested in politics and American Indian issues, she initially never thought she would run the second- largest American Indian tribe. She was the middle child of 11 kids, who grew up poor in the foothills of the Ozarks in Adair County. The family lived on her grandfather's original 160 acres of allotted Cherokee land off Tenkiller Lake in northeastern Oklahoma. When famine struck in the fall of 1957, the Mankiller family became part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Relocation Program, a movement to find American Indians jobs in cities like New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Detroit. The BIA found her father a job in an assembly line rope factory. "We got on a train, then landed in downtown San Francisco," Mankiller says of her life at 10. "It was like landing on the moon. That world and our world could not have been more different." She was a country kid with an Oklahoma accent and brown skin living among flush toilets, kids on roller skates and big-city attitudes, she said. But the move taught her to overcome and have a deeper sense of self- identity. "The move caused our family to develop a lot of resilience," Wilma says. "Our main social life became the San Francisco Indian Center." From then on the family was always interested in tribal issues. "My dad was advocating for a health center," she said. "We were always around Native people. That's how I became interested in Native American issues." It was only inevitable that Wilma, at 24, and her brothers and sisters took part in the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz Island, a sit-in so that American Indians could speak out on the government's abuse of treaty and land rights. "It was a watershed moment for our family and for me," she says of the turning point. "It was life changing. It was the first time I saw Native people stand up and say we will hold up this island until people notice us. "Before that I had a lot of feelings and didn't know how to articulate them or frame them. And I saw a lot of people felt like me." A little later, Wilma's marriage was disintegrating. By then, she had two daughters and was volunteering for the California Pit River Tribe. She also had tried her hand at social work. "That's when I thought about coming home," Wilma says. "I didn't have a plan. I had no job. No money. No car." When she returned to her mother's home, she started out working at a low-level management job recruiting Cherokee kids to go to junior college. On a leave of absence from work, she drove to the University of Arkansas one day for her graduate classes when a car emerged from a hill, passing three cars. The car hit her head on. The driver, who died in the ambulance, turned out to be one of Wilma's friends. The accident left Wilma clinging to life, with broken ribs and the possibility of losing her leg. "It was a dark time," she says. "I had survivor's guilt." But the crash also inspired her. "Before the accident I had a political edge. It was an 'us' and 'them' view of the world," she says. "After the accident, it made me different. I had a broader view of things, was more focused. It leveled me." Still on crutches, then Principal Chief Ross Swimmer promoted Wilma to the planning department and eventually community development, where she worked on the infamous self-help projects. There, she also met husband, Charlie Soap. In 1983, Swimmer asked Wilma to be his running mate. They won. "We revitalized the marshal service, contracted with the BIA for health services, rejuvenated the court system, proceeded with our own foster homes, re-established the tax commission and built a lot of initiatives of government," she said of her work in office. When Swimmer was appointed by the Reagan administration to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Wilma stepped up as chief, despite the opposition. "I never thought about me being a woman, or the first one in the position," she said. "I just thought about doing the job." In 1985, she ran on her own. She won, and served three more terms as chief. Since, she's fought cancer twice, stomach lymphoma and breast cancer. She also had a kidney transplant. But Wilma hasn't strayed from the political scene, serving on the boards for the Freedom Forum and Ford Foundation, where she just returned as a guest speaker in South Africa. She still lives on her grandfather's original allotment, always evaluating the issues of the American Indian people. At 58, she and Charlie are helping an Indian church find resources for indoor plumbing. "I use the skills the creator gave me," she says. "And I defined for myself what it means to be a woman in all its complexity. I was never forced into a role society subscribed for me. "I figured out that role for myself." Copyright c. 2004 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2004 IMDiversity Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Indian Teacher shares Tradition through Art" --------- Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 20:13:42 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRADITION THROUGH ART" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.imdiversity.com/Villages/Native/Daily_News.asp#5 Indian Teacher Shares Tradition Through Art By Anne Wallace Allen, Associated Press Writer May 28, 2004 Richford, Vt. (AP) - Teacher Judy Dow held up a bulky plastic package billed as a "Native American warrior wig." The picture on the front showed some black hair and a ferocious-looking man's face. "At Halloween, do you see people dressed up as Bosnians or Frenchmen?" asked Dow, who collects _ as part of her work _ the books, toys, and memorabilia that reinforce stereotypes about American Indians. "No," Dow said. "You see them as monsters, cute objects, something like that ... or Native Americans." Dow, an Abenaki basketmaker who lives in Essex, served as an artist-in- residence at the Richford Elementary School for a week this spring. She wants to correct the way Indian traditions and culture are perceived in and out of school, but her work brings constant reminders of how difficult that challenge is. To illustrate, she holds up a kit she bought at Wal-Mart to make a dream catcher, a popular item of Indian origin that has become a staple at craft fairs and gift stores. The dream catcher is sacred, Dow said _ too sacred to be sold as a kit at Wal-Mart or made by schoolchildren. "You'd never see one of these teachers making a popsicle-stick crucifix or a pipe-cleaner menorah," she said. On school visits, Dow carries books, toys and memorabilia that represent common stereotypes and myths regarding Native Americans. The children's books, and most of the toys, tend to show Indians as warriors. Dow's box includes plastic knives with painted-on blood, bow- -and-arrow sets and tomahawks aplenty. She finds the latter especially discouraging. "People are pulling away from buying their kids guns, but they don't pull away from buying their kids tomahawks," Dow said. Copyright c. 2004 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2004 IMDiversity Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: All-Indian TV channel planned" --------- Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 20:13:42 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="APTN LIKE PROGRAMS IN US" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/052704_news_faces.shtml All-Indian TV channel planned By Jeff Commings Tribune Reporter May 27, 2004 Harlan McKosato likens his quest to start an American Indian cable station to the famous first line in "Field of Dreams." "I keep saying: 'If you build it, they will come,' " said McKosato, 38. And come they will, McKosato is certain, to a cable and satellite channel filled 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with nothing but American Indian programming. "People are starting to look for a specific slice of our (American Indian) society," he said. He's so certain that on April 9 he gave up his nine-year gig as host of the locally produced syndicated radio show "Native America Calling" to focus on getting this channel into the homes of the 105 million cable and satellite subscribers in the United States, and a few more around the world. "If we get the European market, we think that's going to bust it loose because of the interest they have in Native American history," he said. After some fairly quiet planning and number crunching, McKosato and business partner Kelly Wade are ready to ask for the money needed for capital expenses and programming expenditures. The initial amount will be $2.8 million - and that's just to get an office and a staff, and fund the research and development stage of the First Americans Cable Entertainment System, or FACES. But once the station is ready to roll - sometime in 2007, McKosato says - the investment capital will soar to about $60 million, pretty normal for running a new cable station. The idea to create FACES wasn't the result of a late-night brainstorm or desire for a midlife career change. McKosato, a member of the Sac and Fox tribe in Oklahoma, has been analyzing the numbers for more than five years, waiting for the best time to pounce on a cable market that's specializing in niche programming. "I think they (TV viewers) are looking for something different that's also entertaining," McKosato said Wednesday. "If (Home & Garden Television) can be successful, I think a Native American channel has a chance." Add in the popular reception of American Indian programming on the broadcast networks ("Dreamkeepers," Tony Hillerman's "Skinwalkers"), and McKosato is fairly confident FACES will find an audience, not only among the American Indian population, but the white, black, Asian and Hispanic population. "Even if every Native American watched, it wouldn't be enough to keep us going," said McKosato. "We're hoping to get those who have long been entertained by Native American culture." In the ensuing months, McKosato and Wade will focus on four areas of development: Programming acquisition. Not only will FACES show the many feature films dealing with American Indian issues (such as "Little Big Man" and "Smoke Signals"), but McKosato is hoping to start a shopping show and produce some original shows for the station. "There's a lot more (American Indian programming) out there than people realize," he said. Distribution planning. Until FACES gets a cable and/or satellite distributor, McKosato says "we're just some local show on public access." He's gunning for distribution on cable giant Comcast and working his way down from there. "If we get Comcast, then all the others will hopefully fall in line," he said. Advertising. The Ford Motor Co. and Anheuser-Busch are just two of the corporations McKosato hopes to lure to his station. He doesn't want companies that gear their products specifically to the American Indian market. Since FACES will be a channel for all ethnic groups, McKosato will go for the advertisers that make products for the mass public. Venture capital. That's the cool-sounding phrase that translates to "$60 million," used to acquire talent for original programming, get rights to air existing programming and other expenses that a round-the-clock cable channel needs. Once the channel gets on the air, McKosato said, he hopes Ward, as vice president, and the rest of the staff can handle most of the duties while McKosato focuses on producing original programs. One of those could be a television version of "Native America Calling," he said. "It could be produced on television," he said, "a la 'Larry King Live.'" Copyright c. 2004 The Albuquerque Tribune. --------- "RE: Inuit Naming Project to go online" --------- Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 08:17:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ID OLD PHOTOS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=no_inuit_naming20040525 Inuit naming project to go online May 25 2004 OTTAWA - Library and Archives Canada is preparing to launch a website to help identify Inuit in hundreds of photographs, some of which are up to 80 years old. It's the latest stage of a project launched in 2001 by the federal and Nunavut governments to put names to faces in photographs stored at the Library and Archives Canada building in Ottawa. "It was offending to have Inuit pictures whose [subjects] were not identified," said Peter Irniq, the commissioner of Nunavut. He said it's important that "Project Naming" happens now while the knowledge may still be around. To identify the people in the images, young Inuit have travelled around Nunavut showing the photos to elders. Tommy Akulukjuk, 21, brought 40 photos to Pangnirtung last Christmas and discovered someone close to him. "My dad just said that they were related," said Akulukjuk. "So I asked, 'How were you related?' And my dad goes, 'He was your grandpa!' "For me it has created friendships and bonds with family." While names have been attached to hundreds of photographs, the archive still has more than a thousand photos of Inuit that have yet to be identified. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Exploration Application worries Deh Cho" --------- Date: Tue, 1 June 2004 08:53:52 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DEH CHO LAND" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nwt-horne30052004 Exploration application worries Deh Cho May 31 2004 YELLOWKNIFE - People in the Deh Cho region of the N.W.T. say they are prepared to fight to protect Edehzie, also known as the Horn Plateau. The area was given interim protection two years ago while the Deh Cho First Nations negotiated their land claim and self-government agreement. But an Alberta woman applied to explore for minerals, oil and gas in the traditional hunting ground before the protection was in place. The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board is now considering that application. The chief of Fort Providence, Berna Landry, is one of the local leaders who opposes the exploration permit. Landry is upset that fuel and equipment are already being stored in the area. "There's a lot of game, good water, lots of fish, lots of berries," said Landry. "It's a beautiful place up there." Herb Norwegian, the grand chief of the Deh Cho First Nations, said he will let that review process run its course. "Of course if they get their land use permit approved, well then it becomes pretty difficult for them because then we would just kick it up a notch," said Norwegian. "There are other things that we can do and we want to play by the rules." Other people have opposed the application, including the chiefs of Fort Providence and Wrigley. The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water board will meet this week to discuss the land use application. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Treaty 3 selection process begins Wednesday" --------- Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 08:17:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TREATY 3" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.kenoradailyminerandnews.com/HTML%20files/May25news1.html Treaty 3 selection process begins Wednesday By Mike Aiken Miner and News Staff May 26, 2004 The drama surrounding Treaty 3 leadership will open a new chapter Wednesday, as chiefs and councillors from 28 First Nations gather for a traditional selection process on Pow Wow Island. Grand chief Leon Jourdain's term in office appeared to be cut short by delegates to last month's National Assembly. However, Jourdain continued to act as head of the nation during a visit to Ottawa, and he recently sent a letter directly to members asking for an opportunity to continue working towards his vision of a more independent and sovereign Ojibway nation. The grand chief was selected for a second consecutive term in office last October, but members questioned his ability to govern as personal issues mounted. Jourdain's first term was marred by a challenge from First Nations in the southern part of the treaty area, who focused on a personal loan granted to him by Treaty 3. His second term has been clouded by two criminal charges against him - a conviction for impaired driving for which he is to be sentenced in June and a charge of sexual assault now before the courts. Fort Frances area chiefs are also upset by his handling of land claims, which resulted in member First Nations squaring off in court. During last month's National Assembly, leadership candidates emerged from the shadows to offer their services such as: former Wauzhushk Onigum chief George Kakeway, as well as former grand chiefs Peter Kelly, Francis Kavanaugh and Eli Mandamin. Pauline Big George of Big Island ran last fall and has also been mentioned as a possible successor. There is always a certain amount of mystery surrounding the process, since candidates must be nominated on the morning of the event. Until then, it isn't known exactly who will run or how long the proceedings will last. Last October, there was a total of six candidates. After elders constructed the traditional circle and blessed it, eligible delegates were allowed to enter and show their support by literally lining up behind their favourite entry. In a process similar to convention balloting, the last-place candidate dropped off and their delegates dispersed to support others, until only one emerged victorious. In the end, 115 of 130 eligible leaders cast their vote, with Jourdain winning by a 66 to 49 margin over George Kakeway. Copyright c. 2004 Kenora Daily Miner and News. --------- "RE: Quebec Minister's comments spark outrage" --------- Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 17:38:54 -0000 From: "frostyca2000" Subj: Quebec minister's comments spark outrage Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Quebec minister's comments spark outrage Canadian Press Quebec - A Mohawk chief and opposition politicians expressed outrage Tuesday after a provincial minister said aboriginals were more violent than the rest of Canadian society. Public Security Minister Jacques Chagnon made the comments in the legislature during remarks about the embattled Mohawk community of Kanesatake, west of Montreal, which is embroiled in a tense policing dispute. "I don't think it's a secret to anyone that in aboriginal societies and in Kanesatake society, there is a level of violence that is not found elsewhere," the minister said during Question Period. The minister made similar comments in an interview published Tuesday in Le Journal de Montreal in which he said Kanesatake is "a much more violent community then the rest of society." Mr. Chagnon also told the newspaper that "when a crow flies by [in Kanesatake] and someone isn't happy, they pull out their 12 [gauge shotgun] and fire at the crow. We don't see that anywhere else." Mr. Chagnon refused opposition demands for an apology, saying his comments were based on facts. Kanesatake was the scene of a 1990 land-claims standoff where armed warriors confronted provincial police and an officer was shot and killed. Grand Chief James Gabriel, who was forced out of the settlement in January when his house was torched by dissidents, said he was insulted by the minister's comments. "He's treating us like savages by saying that we're more violent than the rest of Canada," Mr. Gabriel said in an interview with Radio- Canada, the French-language service of the CBC. "If the public security minister...doesn't support us in our efforts to allow Mohawk police to enter [Kanesatake], there will be civil disorder." Earlier this month, masked protesters wearing army fatigues hurled stones and other objects at recently-appointed Mohawk officers trying to enter Kanesatake. Mr. Gabriel has been governing in exile since his house was torched during a standoff in the community last January that was touched off when he brought in 50 aboriginal police officers to crack down on organized crime. The Mohawk officers have yet to begin their patrols, and provincial officers have been policing the community in the interim. Action de'mocratique du Que'bec Leader Mario Dumont said Tuesday he was shocked by Mr. Chagnon's comments and called for Premier Jean Charest to fire him. "These are preposterous and irresponsible comments," said Mr. Dumont, adding Mr. Chagnon's handling of the policing dispute was a "comedy of errors." Parti Que'be'cois critic Ste'phane Be'dard said Mr. Chagnon's comments were a "crude error" that would only inflame an already tense situation. The minister has taken heat from natives and political adversaries during the five-month dispute. Earlier this month, he announced that a joint force of the RCMP, provincial and Mohawk police would begin patrolling Kanesatake, but Mr. Gabriel quickly denied the announcement after dissidents warned of violence. --------- "RE: DeMain Motion Filed" --------- Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 21:11:28 -0400 From: info@leonardpeltier.org Subj: DeMain Motion Filed From Harvey Arden: 05/25/04 Motion to enforce filed in Peltier's lawsuit against editor Paul DeMain In a lawsuit filed over one year ago, a settlement agreement was filed today with the Eighth U.S. District Court of Claims in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between Native American activist and political prisoner Leonard Peltier and Paul DeMain, editor of News From Indian Country. A member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), Peltier was charged for the June 26, 1975, shooting deaths of two agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Peltier, who still maintains his innocence, was convicted of the killings in 1977 and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. He is currently imprisoned at the United States penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. "Statements were authored by DeMain that were false, defamatory, and malicious. They were then circulated by DeMain's newspaper with reckless disregard and with the knowledge that they were false," explained Barry Bachrach, Peltier's attorney. "DeMain stated, as a matter of fact, that Mr. Peltier was guilty of shooting the two FBI agents when the government itself has repeatedly admitted that it did not and cannot prove that Mr. Peltier shot the agents," Bachrach added. "DeMain also has implied Peltier's involvement in the Pine Ridge murder of fellow AIM member Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash in 1976." According to Bachrach, DeMain had avoided giving a deposition for several months. Just before a deposition was finally to take place, on or about April 9, 2004, the two parties began settlement negotiations. With nothing further to negotiate, an agreement was reached on April 16th. DeMain himself proposed that he issue a statement that affirms that: 1. "there has been widespread misconduct in the judicial system historically in cases involving Native Americans; 2. Leonard Peltier did not receive a fair trial; 3. he is entitled to one; 4. there have been numerous instances of questionable conduct by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in connection with the prosecution of Native Americans in this country; 5. the legal/social/political environment prevailing on the Pine Ridge Reservation during the 1970s could be legitimately compared to a 'war zone'; [and] 6. he [DeMain] neither believes nor feels that Mr. Peltier ordered, or was capable of ordering, the death of Ms. Pictou-Aquash, nor does he believe according to the evidence and testimony he now has, that Mr. Peltier had any involvement in her death." In exchange, Peltier agreed to dismiss with prejudice his lawsuit against DeMain. However, to date, DeMain has not issued his statement. With the exception of a call from DeMain's attorney indicating only a brief delay, Demain and his attorney have not answered Bachrach's telephone calls. Therefore, a motion to enforce performance of the settlement agreement was filed with the court. Leonard Peltier's case has been the topic of several books - In the Spirit of Crazy Horse by renowned writer Peter Matthiessen, for example - and documentaries, most notably Incident at Oglala produced by Robert Redford. Amnesty International, convinced that he did not receive a fair trial and will not receive fair consideration for parole or executive clemency, has called for Peltier's immediate and unconditional release. Leonard Peltier, noted for his continuing activism and humanitarian works, also was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. "Justice is possible for both Anna Mae and Leonard Peltier, but justice won't be done in either case by people falsely pointing fingers of blame. Leonard's only concern is for the truth, which is why monetary damages are not a part of this settlement. We believe that Anna Mae's murder was the direct result of FBI misconduct on Pine Ridge during the 1970s." --------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a blank message to lpdc-on@mail-list.com --------- "RE: Message from Leonard" --------- Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 21:14:07 -0400 From: info@leonardpeltier.org Subj: Message from Leonard - as reprinted from May Newsletter Message from Leonard http://www.leonardpeltier.org/main.html Leonard Peltier #89637-132 USP-Leavenworth PO Box 1000 Leavenworth, KS 66048-1000 May 6, 2004 Hello friends and supporters, As I sit here writing and rewriting this response to the Supreme Court denial of my appeal, I can't help but remember you, my supporters, friends and allies. Many people have come and gone in my life, some I may never see again in this lifetime and some have left and come back again. I have come to recognize that true relatives aren't always related by the blood that flows in your veins, but by the blood, sweat and tears that is given for the common good of all. It is never easy to deal with these setbacks and as you get older and the realities of mortality set in, time becomes increasingly important. It goes so exceeding slow waiting for justice and so fast when you look at what's left. From inside this prison I have done my best to help raise my kids and grandkids and yet maintain a level of commitment to raising awareness to the plight of my people and all Indigenous Peoples who face on a daily basis the cruel realties of a technological world where might makes right and morality be damned. I want you to know that whether we win this battle for me or not, you my relatives have my heart always. I am almost 60 years old, but I'll tell you now the oppressors will know we're here. They'll know they are challenged at every turn. Sometimes it's not up to us to decide whether we are winning or losing; it rests within the will of the Creator. What is up to us is our will to continue the battle. The battle will never be over so long as one person is a victim of this oppressive, exploitive mind-set that has engulfed so much of the world. I'm a realist; I know that I'm not the cause; I'm only a focal point of the cause. The cause is the cause of all, and with the latest turmoil in government you will soon become acutely aware of the ramifications of these illegal decisions in Washington for as they have done to me, they'll do to others and have done to others. There are other prisoners that you haven't heard of because the misdeeds of the FBI and other governmental entities aren't as well documented. This government has literally passed retroactive laws that have prevented the legal release of myself and others, but I also want you to know that we have other strategies that we are working on. We have a Habeas Corpus filed in Washington that will soon be in litigation regarding these constitutional violations. I want to encourage you to help in whatever way that you can. We need funds for the preparation of legal briefs, legal research, filing fees, attorneys and travel expenses as well as for the ongoing cost of maintaining our committee and info center. Those that can't contribute on a monetary basis can pass out pamphlets, hold meetings, and help the staff organize events. Any and all help is so much appreciated. My relatives - stay strong and remember: for the sickness of the world, we are the antidote. In The Spirit Of Crazy Horse, Mitakuye Oyasin --------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a blank message to lpdc-on@mail-list.com --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, May 31 2004 10:53:36 -0700 From: Janet Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - http://news.yahoo.com/~/ap/20040527/ap_on_re_us/brf_inmate_suit_2 American Indian Inmate Freed From Jail Thu May 27, 7:52 AM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo! LOS ANGELES - A federal appeals court has ordered the release of an American Indian prison inmate whose sentence was extended because he refused to cut his hair. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Billy Soza Warsoldier, a member of the Cahuilla tribe, whose faith prohibits him from cutting his hair except if someone in his family dies, said Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites), which sued the Department of Corrections on the inmate's behalf. "We're very gratified by the court's decision," Wizner said Wednesday. "Delaying Mr. Warsoldier's release for even one day as punishment for his adherence to his faith was a gross violation of his rights." Warsoldier, 55, who was serving a 19-month sentence for drunken driving, 55, had challenged the grooming policy at Adelanto Community Correctional Facility by refusing to comply with a rule restricting hair length on male inmates to 3 inches. Since 1971, Warsoldier has cut his hair just once - when his father died in 1980. Warsoldier had been scheduled for release May 21 but was given additional time after a lower court ruled he was violating the grooming policy. =================================== Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 6:37 AM From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: URGENT medical issue: Call for Action - Justin Wing From Justicenetwork@ifrance.com - URGENT CALL FOR ACTION - May 26th 2004 Greetings, We need your active support to put an end to another appalling case of medical neglect, against the Chairman of the Prayer Warriors (the Native American circle at Montana State Prison). Please take a few minutes of your time to save a life. Justin Wing, AO # 12082 is in need of immediate medical attention. He has had a hernia growth for over three years in the stomach area. It is infected causing the skin to break open. From this open wound there is drainage, puss. He also has Hepatitis very bad. This additional health condition prevents him from eating. His normally yellow skin tone is now very pale. He is also an elder which adds to his risks. The prison refuses to assist him medically. His stomach is swollen to the size of a football right in front. Dr. Goldstein, a physician who saw Mr. Wing a while back, was upset because the prison could have done something a long time ago. Justin's condition has been at this stage for 2 days now and it seems to now be a life threatening stage. He needs immediate and proper medical attention. To allow anyone to endure a condition like this without treatment is inhumane, and as anyone can easily see...life threatening. ---------------------------------------------------------- Points to include when writing to the officials listed below: - Mr. Justin Wing, incarcerated at Montana State Prison, has had concerning health problems but is not getting adequate medical care. This elder is in need of immediate medical attention. - He has had a hernia growth for over three years in the stomach area. It is infected causing the skin to break open. From this open wound there is drainage, puss. His stomach is swollen to the size of a football right in front. He has Hepatitis and his current problem is preventing him from eating. - Because of the medical neglect, his condition has worsened. Dr. Goldstein, a physician who saw Mr. Wing a while back, was upset because the prison could have done something a long time ago. - Mr. Wing needs immediate and appropriate medical care. It is an emergency, a life threatening situation. - Please request that Mr. Wing be seen by a specialist and receives proper treatment without further delay. Please contact the prison officials as soon as possible. ==> Important: Please do NOT forward the entire message to the officials, OR use our email address when emailing them. Please copy and paste your personal letter into new emails. <== If you wish, you can send us a copy separately at justicenetwork@ifrance.com . Thank you. Contact Information: Please write to: Bill Slaughter, Director of Corrections tward@state.mt.us Warden Mike Mahoney mmahoney@state.mt.us Associate Warden Myron Beeson mbeeson@state.mt.us You can also send a copy of your email to the following MT senators/legislators: Jerry O'Neil, oneil@in-tch.com Arlene Becker, arlene_becker@yahoo.com James Corson, james_corson@baucus.senate.gov Sue Dickenson, SUEDICKENSON@YAHOO.COM Carol Juneau, CSJUNEAU@3RIVERS.NET Tim Callahan, intic@sofast.net Joey Jayne, jayne57@hotmail.com Tim Dowell, timjdowell@hotmail.com MT Reporter Eric Newhouse, ENEWHOUS@ad.gannett.com THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT - PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU RECEIVE A RESPONSE FROM THE OFFICIALS =================================== Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 6:37 AM From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: URGENT medical issue: Call for Action - Justin Wing Please forward From Justicenetwork Update on Justin Wing 5/27-28: Please continue to write letters to save Mr. Wing's life. There has been no change, except the worsening of Justin Wing's condition. He is in severe pain, has very little energy and his wound is getting worse and .....He STILL has not received any medical care! It seems the administration does not care that Mr. Wing is being treated inhumanely, or that he is deliberately being abused... there must be attorneys out there that could make them care about the liability factors in medical negligence. There is a very good chance that Mr. Wing is being denied treatment because he is Chairman of the Prayer Warriors, and because of all he has tried to do for the Prayer Warriors. He has done a lot to get things as they should be for the Sweat Lodge. We were told that he never asks for help, but he is fighting for his life right now and needs our help urgently. Besides writing to the officials and contacts listed, you can also call the prison and the Department of Corrections. Please complain about this case of medical neglect and request that Mr. Justin Wing be immediately given appropriate medical care, before it is too late... ! Previous Update, and points to incude in your complaint: - Mr. Justin Wing, AO # 12082, incarcerated at Montana State Prison, has had concerning health problems but is not getting adequate medical care. This elder is in need of immediate medical attention and it has been denied to him. - He has had a hernia growth for over three years in the stomach area. It is infected causing the skin to break open. From this open wound there is drainage, puss. His stomach is swollen to the size of a football right in front. He has Hepatitis and his current problem is preventing him from eating. Mr. Wing is starting to get a hole going into his stomach. The wound is even more infected now and when the bandage is being changed, you can see that the infection is going deeper. It hurts too much to change the bandage anymore. - Because of the medical neglect, his condition has worsened. Dr. Goldstein, a physician who saw Mr. Wing a while back, was upset because the prison could have done something a long time ago. - Mr. Wing needs immediate and appropriate medical care. It is an emergency, a life threatening situation. - Please request that Mr. Wing be seen by a specialist and receives proper treatment without further delay. Please contact the prison officials today, as early as possible. (addresses and phone numbers are in the original message above) ==> Important: Please do NOT forward the entire message to the officials, OR use our email address when emailing them. Please copy and paste your personal letter into new emails. <== If you wish, you can send us a copy separately at justicenetwork@ifrance.com . Thank you. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT - PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU RECEIVE A RESPONSE FROM THE OFFICIALS =================================== Date: Thursday, May 27, 2004 4:23 AM From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: URGENT UPDATE medical issue: Call for Action - Justin Wing From Justicenetwork URGENT Please help Update on Justin Wing: We were just told that Mr. Wing is starting to get a hole going into his stomach. The wound is even more infected now and when the bandage is being changed, you can see that the infection is going deeper. It has gotten to the point that it hurts too much to change the bandage anymore . Mr. Wing, Chairman of the High-Side Prayer Warriors, has been fighting for the religious rights for the Native Americans at MSP. He has done a lot to get things as they should be for the Sweat Lodge. Mr. Wing now needs us to fight for medical attention for him. There is a very good chance that he is being denied treatment because he is Cha irman of the Prayer Warriors, and because of all he has tried to do for the Prayer Warriors. We were told that he never asks for help, but he m ay well be fighting for his life right now and needs our help urgently. We are grateful to everyone who contacted the officials yesterday but it seems that we need to continue contacting these officials (respectful ly but firmly) to make them aware of the emergency. Please contact the prison officials today, as early as possible. ==> Important: Please do NOT forward the entire message to the officials, OR use our email address when emailing them. Please copy and paste your personal letter into new emails. <== If you wish, you can send us a copy separately at justicenetwork@ifrance.com . Thank you. =================================== Date: Sunday, May 30, 2004 5:57 PM From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: Justin Wing: More Letters Needed From Justicenetwork UPDATE on Justin Wing May 30th In response to the letters sent in support of Justin Wing, the prison administration has been sending the following reply: "Thank you for writing to express your concern for Montana State Prison inmate Justin Wing. Mr. Wing is currently being closely followed by prison medical staff as well as by an outside specialist. Additional information regarding Mr. Wing cannot be provided due to confidentiality concerns." If you have received such a response, and to help Mr. Wing, please contact the prison and Department of Correction to let them know that apparently nothing has changed: Mr. Wing is still being denied appropriate and intensive medical care, and this is a disgrace. You can also tell them that we are not requesting medical information on Mr. Justin Wing. We are requesting immediate medical ACTION. Being in close contact with Mr. Wing, we know that he is still not receiving proper medical treatment. We also know a prior physician, Dr Goldstein, accessed Mr Wing's condition and his assessment was the issue could have been easily addressed, but due to the neglect and negligent treatment by MSP medical staff, the medical situation has worsened to the point of becoming life threatening. Therefore, this is why we feel we must intervene. We will continue to raise awareness of Justin Wing's situation and the negligent treatment of other Native American inmates. You can also send a copy to the legislators to inform them that Mr. Justin Wing is still not receiving appropriate medical care, in spite of the responses of the prison administration. Please contact the prison officials again (addresses and phone numbers are in the original message above) ==> Important: Please do NOT forward the entire message to the officials, OR use our email address when emailing them. Please copy and paste your personal letter into new emails. <== If you wish, you can send us a copy separately at justicenetwork@ifrance.com . Thank you. =================================== PRISONERS IN USP ATLANTA NEED NATIVE AMERICAN VIDEO MATERIAL RESOURCES Gary and I are volunteers for Native American prisoners in USP Atlanta. We have been asked to help them obtain videos with Native American storylines and particularly those with Native American cultural or spiritual content. Earlier this year, officials at USP Atlanta removed nearly all the video material (for all spiritual groups) from the Chaplain's library on the basis that much of it violated copyright. A few videos were also R-rated for violence, which is against prison regulations. The Chaplain's service is slowly rebuilding its video inventory, but is encountering significant problems particularly with Native American videos. First, we have been able to find only a very few wholesale distributors of Native American films, and those we have found have limited inventories. Secondly, obtaining videos that can be located that have been cleared for group use is becoming a problem. The copyright violation is due to the fact that most of the lower-cost videos the prison originally had and that are available at modest cost are marked for home use only. Group use -- specifically in schools, churches and the like -- must be either be cleared through the film distributor or the group must purchase a version designated for that use, usually at a cost from three to five times greater than that of the home-use version. If anyone has leads for a distributor of Native American films on video (excluding Crazy Crow and Rich-Heape, who have already been contacted), we would appreciate knowing about them. Please contact either owlstar@speakeasy.net or gars@speakeasy.net with information. --------- "RE: History: Carlisle Indian School" --------- Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 22:52:43 -0400 From: Barbara Landis Subj: May 8, 1891 INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle Indian School. [Editorial Note: These reprints are being included in this newsletter so that you might know the mind of those who ran institutions like Carlisle.] THE INDIAN HELPER ~%^%~ A WEEKLY LETTER FROM THE Carlisle Indian Industrial School To Boys and Girls. ================================================ VOL. VI. FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1891 NUMBER 35 ================================================ MAY-TIME. ----- May time, May-time, Merry, merry May-time! Bumble bee the happy rover Buzzing over fields of clover Bee and butterfly together Work and play through May-time weather. Song time, song-time, Happy, happy song-time! Bobolink among the grasses Warbles while the bright day passes, Bird and brooklet sing together Of the sunny May-time weather. Flower-time, flower-time! Lovely, lovely flower-time! Garland for the queen of May-time, Brightest, gladdest, sweetest play-time, Birds, blossoms, wee ones, all together, In the sunny May-time weather. =========== A FIGHTING BOY'S PUNISHMENT. -------- He Did Not Like It. A boy came home red, excited, bruised and rumpled. "Come, my son," said his fagther, "what is the matter? You seem to have been fighting. Was the boy larger than you are?" The boy looked uneasy and mumbled "No, sir; I don't know that he was." "Really, and what did you fight for?" A long delay, then he blurted out the truth: "Cause he wouldn't give me half of his apple." "Indeed! Didn't give you half of his apple." So you have set up as a highway robber, taking your neighbor's goods? And a bully and a coward, whipping a small boy! Go, now, and get washed and dressed." "He deserves a whipping," said his sister. "Not at all, he has not lied; he told the truth frankly." The boy glad of getting off so well, soon returned to the tea-table wearing a smiling face. "There is no place for you here," said his father calmly. "Such principles as you act are not proper at the table. You will find proper food for a boy who conducts himself as you have done on a stand in the corner of the kitchen." But breakfast and supper so arranged proved to be unendurable to the boy. "Can I never come back?" asked the poor child. "Certainly when you have made your affairs right." "But how can I do it?" "Take your own money, buy the little boy an apple, and give it to him with an apology. Then you will be once more an honorable fellow and we shall be glad of your company." And so they settled it. ============== FROM OUR BREAD WINNERS, AND WE ARE PROUD OF THEM. ------ The good patrons of the school, with whom our 374 are living and earning their own way, report to the office every month how each pupil is getting along. We get a great many good reports and some bad ones, of course. We would like to publish all we get, for they are so very interesting to the Man-on-the-band-stand that he thinks the readers of the HELPER would be as interested as he is, but we have room for only a few, occasionally. Here are some that have just come in. "He has finished plowing a twelve-acre field for corn, the workmanship of which whould be a credit to any boy. Every furrow he ploughs he finds the nearest way across the field." "I have found him more advanced in all kinds of work than any boy I have ever had, needs less looking after, in fact attends to his own business." "K. is commencing his new year good: he is up the first one in the morning and seems as though he never was tired, works so cheerfully all the time, so thoughtful and kind to both people and stock that I can trust him anywhere and with anything." "Charles is a steady boy, does as well as could be expected for a boy out on a farm for the first time has everything to learn. If he continues to improve will increase his wages next month; he is not a good miler but is kind to cattle and horses and is anxious to learn to work." "I feel glad in transferring E. to be able to say that such a change I have never seen, she is not the same E. who came to me eight months ago; is willing, kind and affectionate and so yielding and obliging." ------------------------------------------------ (Continued on Fourth Page.) ====================================== (p.2) The Indian Helper. ----------------------------- PRINTED EVERY FRIDAY, AT THE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, CARLISLE, PA. BY THE INDIAN PRINTER BOYS. --> THE INDIAN HELPER is PRINTED by Indian boys, but EDITED by The-Man-on-the-band-stand, who is NOT an Indian. ----------------------------- Price: - 10 cents a year. ============================== Address INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle, Pa. Miss M. Burgess, Manager. ============================== Entered in the P.O. at Carlisle as second class mail matter. ============================== The INDIAN HELPER is paid for in advance, so do not hesitate to take the paper from the Post Office, for fear a bill will be presented. ============================= PINE RIDGE ITEMS. A letter from Pine Ridge says that the Indians are generally preparing to plant their crops, but their ponies are poorer than usual this Spring and not at all fit for work. This comes from the destruction of their hay crops and unusual exposure during the winter, and is another item to be added to the sum of Indian losses consequent upon the late disturbance. Frank Twiss has resigned his position at the school and entered the store of Mr. Dawson as clerk. Clarence Three Stars is also employed by Mr. Dawson, both being original Carlisle boys. Miss Dickson and Miss McCreight, two Presbyterian missionaries who occupy a station about forty miles from Pine Ridge say that their work is more encouraging to them than ever before. --------- Robert American Horse writes from his station, forty miles from Pine Ridge Agency, that he is very well indeed and enjoying his work. He has charge of a new church and holds services every Sunday. Robert conducts the service in the Dakota language. Not being obliged to use his English he finds it a little difficult at times to express himself in his letters, but they are non the less interesting. For instance, in describing his new church, he says: "Rev. C.S. Cook send me over there take charge of church was building up last summer, but nothing inside yet, no bell, no sit on, or anything else, but I make some boarding sit on myself, so we have service in church every Sunday." This, the Man-on-the-band-stand calls pluck, and it is such a spirit that brings men out at the top. --------- The small boys wish to thank Mrs. G.B. Townsend of Chicago, for packages of papers so kindly sent to their reading room, and in this connection they wish also to express gratitude to Miss Paull for revewing the *Wide Awake,* which they so much enjoy. --------- For five subscriptions for the HELPER and a 1-cent stamp extra we will send the pretty picture of an Indian baby all done up in baby-board as you see them in camp. It is a handsome little picture. Some Very Funny Things That The-Man-on- The-Band-Stand Saw This Week. Brooms for tennis posts. Emily Peake strike the ball. Frank Everett's base-ball cap. Miss Cooke's picnic cheese knife. Miss Paull's pupils out to bleach on the grass. Grace Dixon helping to carry big bags of clothes. The boys chewing gum when they got excited on the ball-ground. The dust on the teachers when they came in from their ride, Saturday. The poor cracked hospital bell trying to call in the convalescents to meals. Women of the fishing party, Saturday, with big rubber boots wading the creek. Miss Rote climbing out for the first early market, in the wee hours of the morning. The printers trying to keep up fire with a stream of water leaking into it from the boiler. Roger Silas pulling the mail wagon up the little rise into the barn, then the wagon going back on him. The young Undine who was so badly hit with the ball, Saturday, that he had a *lame* excuse not to run. Mr. Goodyear running to the office when summoned by the electric bell accidently hit by the orderly, and his rage at the same. Men and women who have only four little hours in school each day, (and that time so interrupted) strolling around and going on picnics when they should be down to double duty, because the time between now and vacation is short. --------- One of our good Oneida friends, who had not the advantage of an education when young that his children are now receiving, writes from his Wisconsin home thus kindly for our little paper: "The INDIAN HELPER sense expired I getting sleepy I cooden go with ond it so to keep me alive I renew the helper, butt the head this way immeadley."(sic) --------- We would like to extend a big vote of thanks to Mr. G. Klackner, of New York, who has sent to the school fourteen large etchings, all good but some exceptionally fine. The art class wonders if Mr. Klackner has heard of their picture making, and sent these beautiful specimins to show them what possibly they may do after years of patient labor. When framed they will be placed where all may enjoy their beauty. --------- Henry Phillips, the Alaskan boy who came to Carlisle some four years ago, although not through his course and having only half learned his trade leaves for Sitka in a few weeks to take a position as foreman on *The North Star,* the little paper published by the Sitka Indian Training School. Henry is now in Philadelphia taking lessons in printing from engravings. He will do as well as a young man with very limited experience could be expected to do, but we are sorry to see him undertake such a responsible work so illy prepared. He has a stout heart full of purpose, a resolute will, a quick mechanical mind to see the thing to do in emergencies, and we can but wish him great success in his undertaking. ========================================= (page 3) Boo! Winter again! Of course, because winter coats have been put away! The Captain made a business trip to Philadelphia on Monday. Miss Richanda is staying with Daisy Dixon in her mamma's absence. Robert Mathews and Lawrence Smith went fishing Saturday and claim to have had good luck. Ulysses Paisano, Phillip Mann and Martinius Johns have gone to their homes in the West. The ball game on Satuday between the Undines of town and the Union Reserves resulted in a score of 12 to 11 in favor of our boys. Mrs. Crane, Sarah Pratt's mamma's mamma, took the baby to their new home at Steelton on Friday evening, the family having moved over the day before. Misses Cook and Stanton took their schools to the cave on Monday afternoon for a little picnic. the pleasant little change from everyday routine was enjoyed very much by both teachers and pupils. Luke Bearshield has gone to the country for the summer and Sam. Noble takes his place as mail-carrier for the school. This is a responsible position and none but trusty boys are given it. We shall all enjoy the new flower-bed placed in the alcove back of the offices. Miss Hunt engineered it and the flowers are going to improve the appearance of that part of the yard very much. It looks as though we were really going to have some splendid walks; rumor says 3000 yards of concrete pavement are to be laid shortly, but we do not intend to say anything about it till it comes. The graduating class of the High School in town of which Eva Johnson is a member held its class picnic on Friday. Katie Grinrod was an honored guest, and the young ladies returned with loud praise of the time they had experienced. A Bible Training Class, to meet weekly has been organized by the Y.M.C.A. with Dr. Dixon as leader. About a dozen of the boys were present at the first session on Tuesday evening. The object of the organi