Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.025 From: gars@speakeasy.org (Gary Night Owl) To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Message-ID: _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 025 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 19, 2004 Passamaquoddy nipon/summer moon Algonquin twowa kesos/moon when they hill Indian corn +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; Big Mountain, Frostys AmerIndian, ndn-aim and Justice Network Mailing Lists; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "I do not wish to be shut up in a corral. It is bad for young men to be fed by an agent. It makes them lazy and drunken. All agency Indians I have seen are worthless. They are neither red warriors or white farmers." __ 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! Sometimes it is really difficult to create this short editorial piece. Other times, like this issue, the piece nearly writes itself. The first four articles gathered for this issue repeated some flavor of the same theme. See if you can figure it out. - Doreen Yellow Bird writes some great columns for the Grand Forks Hearld. Every single one of them feels like she is sitting across the fire talking directly to you. That's a gift. This past Tuesday her feature was titled "All people are created equal -- or are they?" In it she discusses the Civil Rights Act and its ramifications. - From the Idaho State Journal we read about a Fort Hall student who was denied the right to receive his graduation diploma with his fellow students because he wore a beaded feather. - Windspeaker brings us the anger of chiefs who are seeing their people denied health care to preserve budget cuts in "Region saves Money while Patients' needs go unmet". - Eddie Chuculate is a coulumnist with the Albuquerque Tribune who focuses on Native issues, primarily in the state of New Mexico. His Wednesday, June 9 column was headed "Indian Health is being Bushwhacked". In it, he describes the situation facing Albuquerque Indian Health, which serves a population of 20,000. It was already suffering from being underfunded, yet it saw its budget cut even more. This, in spite of increasing medical costs. Now that you've got the theme - Indians are still being short-changed - see if you can also figure out the solution. Indian voters in South Dakota did. They need to keep making their voices known at the polls, as do the rest of us. Use the dominant society's tools to tear down their own corrupt castles. 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 ---------- - CHUCULATE: Indian Health - Native Report is being Bushwhacked demands half of B.C. Fish - Election Day Allegations - First Nations signing on - Native Student protests for Strength in Unity graduation removal - More confusion - Alert from in Me'tis Nation Election Defenders of The Black Hills - Vancouver hosts largest - Coeur d'Alene Tribe National Aboriginal Day cries foul on Lake plan - Mohawks Propose to Talk - Activists honor about Peace & Prosperity Western Shoshone Sisters - BIA reassigns top Cop - Concerned for Navajo Aquifer - Two Border Agents found dead - 136th Anniversary of Long Walk - Looking Cloud imprisoned - Big debate - Native Prisoner over a Tiny Park in Suquamish -- Update on Justin Wing and ALERT - Victims of BIA and Mission - History: Carlisle Indian School Boarding Schools Dying - Rustywire: Navajo Jets - YELLOW BIRD: - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days All People are created equal...? - Phil Goldvarg Poem: - Region saves Money Not in Our Name while Patients' needs go unmet - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: CHUCULATE: Indian Health is being Bushwhacked" --------- Date: Wed, 9 June 2004 08:15:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHUCULATE: HEALTH" http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/opinions04/060904_opinions_eddie.shtml Indian health is being bushwhacked Eddie Chuculate June 9, 2004 Instead of cutting staff and services at Albuquerque's Indian Health Services clinic, officials should be doubling physicians, nurses and space to serve the city's growing American Indian population. But that's kind of hard when President Bush is spending twice as much medical money on federal convicts as he is on American Indians to whom he is obligated to provide care under U.S. treaty. The acting chief executive officer of the Indian Health Services bureau in Albuquerque said recently she has proposed cutting half of the clinic's 143-employee work force, which would include most of the 14 doctors. I guess that means instead of waiting four months to get on a waiting list for eyeglasses, it'll be about a year. Gross underfunding means many times patients are not seen unless it's a life-or-limb situation, and that's not a figure of speech. There are enough horror stories to fill a volume of encyclopedias. A stillborn baby boy was delivered in an Eagle Butte, S.D., facility after strangling on its umbilical cord. An ultrasound would have discovered this in time, but the baby's mother wasn't allowed it because she had already had her one ultrasound per pregnancy. Years ago, my sister nearly died of Rocky Mountain spotted tick fever in an Oklahoma City children's hospital after a physician in an Indian Health Services hospital failed to diagnose it. Tom Daschle, the Democratic senator from South Dakota, recently proposed that Bush increase the agency's funding $3.44 billion to bring it to barely operable levels. He said a slight reduction in Bush's tax cut for millionaires would have easily funded this. Instead, in his 2005 budget proposal Bush upped the agency's budget to $2.1 billion from $2 billion. This has prompted the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to declare: "The anorexic budget of IHS can only lead one to deduce that less value is placed on Indian health than that of other populations." A proposal in Albuquerque would have Bernalillo County's indigent American Indians be seen at the University of New Mexico Hospital. Is going homeless and roving Central Avenue, or flopping around in front of the old Blue Spruce or in a Downtown park, what it takes to get prompt medical attention? Someone needs to explain how a brand new Indian Health Services clinic with medical, dental, diabetes, pharmacy, X-ray, maternal and child health care can be built in Tulsa, Okla., yet Albuquerque, a similar sized if not larger city serving more than 20,000 Indians, is cutting staff in half at a dilapidated, hand-me-down facility dating to pre-World War II. Face it, the urban Indian population is only going to grow as Indians spurn reservations to find jobs and better health care. More money needs to go there. With the billions of dollars Bush is throwing away in Iraq instead of on suffering Americans, one could do worse than move to Baghdad. Reagan remembered: Ronald Reagan was a likable old Joe, granted, but he'll always be remembered among many American Indians, this one included, for telling students in 1983 at Moscow State University in Russia: "We have provided millions of acres of land for what are called preservations, or reservations I should say. . . . and they're (Indians) free also to leave the reservations and be American citizens among the rest of us, and many do. . . . Maybe we made a mistake. Maybe we should not have humored them in wanting to stay in that kind of primitive lifestyle. Maybe we should have said, no, come join us, be citizens along with the rest of us." As I said, this was 1983, not 1883. ---- Eddie Chuculate (Creek/Cherokee) is a Tribune copy editor who writes about American Indian issues. His column appears on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. Reach him at 823-3677 or echuculate@abqtrib.com. Copyright c. 2004 The Albuquerque Tribune. --------- "RE: Election Day Allegations" --------- Date: Thu, 10 June 2004 08:36:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OLD POLLING TRICKS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail2817.cfm?Id=22,32553 Election Day Allegations June 9, 2004 A group that spent Election Day encouraging people to vote says a ballot box was tampered with and many people were turned away from the polls. The violations reportedly happened last Tuesday in at least half a dozen South Dakota counties. We tell you to bring a photo ID when you vote because it helps poll workers make sure you are who you say you are. But if you forget one or don't have one, you're allowed to sign an affidavit, swearing legally to your own identity. Voters in some counties say they were never given that option. And that's just the beginning of their election day allegations. It's easy to take your right to vote for granted. You don't expect to be turned away at the polls. Bret Healy, executive director of theFour Directions Committee, says, "But election workers hired by the state and by the county were turning voters away, violating their civil rights." A group that aims to increase Native American turnout says Native voters were most of the victims. According to their sworn statements, if they didn't have a photo-ID they were told they couldn't vote instead of being offered an legal affidavit. So far the group says there were similar problems in at least six South Dakota counties. Healy says, "Those are where we know there's problems already and every day more calls come in." Legal papers also tell of an incident in Mellette County, where two women say they saw poll workers take the ballot box key, open the box and start counting ballots at the polling place instead of the county courthouse. Healy says, "The very heart of American democracy was violated when that ballot box was opened by election workers." Now, the group says it's taking legal action to protect the integrity of future elections. Healy says, "It's a stain on South Dakota's election system that we need to fix and fix now before we have another election." The committee will ask the Mellette County state's attorney to investigate the alleged ballot box incident. They also plan to file federal lawsuits for civil rights violations when people were turned away, but they aren't sure how many. We spoke with the secretary of state, who said he was aware of a couple problems early on Election Day, but thought they'd all been resolved. The group would like to hear from anyone else who had trouble voting. You can call 605-332-4408. ---- Jodi Schwan Copyright c. 2004 KELOLAND TV. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Native Student protests graduation removal" --------- Date: Wed, 9 June 2004 08:15:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BEADED FEATHER" http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2004/06/09/news/local/news10.txt Native American student protests graduation removal By Emily Jones - Journal Writer June 9, 2004 FORT HALL - The Fort Hall Tribal Attorney's office is investigating whether a Century High graduate's civil rights were violated when he was not allowed to participate in graduation ceremonies Monday wearing a cap adorned with an eagle feather. Derek No-Sun Brown said his grandmother beaded the cap, which featured beading on the corners and an eagle feather that was blessed by his grandfather next to the tassel. When it came time for graduates to proceed into the ceremony, Brown said he was told to switch caps or not participate. Brown chose to leave, and was escorted out by a police officer and Idaho State University campus security. In an earlier interview, Century High School counselor Scott Tyson said students were told several times not to wear anything that would draw attention to themselves, and to wear the caps and gowns given to them by the school. "We tell them verbatim, no student may come in with a lei or a headdress or a sombrero or a kilt or a kimono, not anything they hadn't gotten from their high school," he said. Brown said he knew he might be asked about his cap, but he did not think he would be barred from participating. "I didn't think they would make such a big deal about a plume," he said. Brown said Tuesday that his eagle feather is a religious symbol, no different than the crosses around some students' necks or the CTR (Choose the Right) rings worn by some LDS students. "I didn't understand why," Brown said. "Why wouldn't they let me represent my culture?" In October, Brown plans to enroll in the Institute of Native American Art in Santa Fe, N.M. He attended Idaho State University this year as part of a dual-enrollment program. In a press release from his family, they stated they are proud of Brown. "Many parents witnessed their child cross the stage, but not many will ever witness their child standing up for civil rights," the release continued. "Don't schools teach cultural diversity?" Brown said. "Then they pull me out of my graduating class because of a feather and some beads." Copyright c. 2004 Pocatello Idaho State Journal. --------- "RE: Alert from Defenders of The Black Hills" --------- Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2004 15:29:12 -0500 From: aesitsi-icg@webtv.net (Dale Mitchell) Subj: Fwd: Alert from Defenders of The Black Hills....prayers needed! -----Original Message----- Date: 06/07/04 23:02:31 From: LaurieNapewastewin Wheeler Alert from Defenders of the Black Hills on the Coteau Mine Area Sacred Place This past Thursday, June 3, the Bureau of Land Management held a public meeting at Prairie Knights Casino on the Standing Rock Reservation regarding the Coteau Properties Company Federal Coal Lease Application for West Mine Area, Freedom Mine, in Mercer County ND. The BLM will conduct another hearing at the Heritage Center, ND State Capitol on Wed., June 23, or written comments can be sent to: Coal Team, BLM, ND Field Office, 2933 Third Avenue West, Dickinson, ND 58601 by June 23. The Company wishes to strip mine coal on 17,000 acres. However, the activities will destroy 1,700 (one-thousand seven hundred) sacred sites and burial places. However, two (2) burial sites of white people will have a 100 foot buffer zone built around them. Native American burial mounds will be destroyed by heavy equipment, the rocks stockpiled in two small set-aside areas; one of the small set-aside places being out of the large mining area. The North Dakota Public Service Commission has already granted approval for this `surface disturbance'. The North Dakota State Historic Preservation Officer has also given approval. The NDPSC is acting as the lead agency in this combined federal, state, and private undertaking. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's Historic Preservation Office, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe's Cultural Preservation Office, and the Defenders of the Black Hills have requested and were granted a Hearing of the NDPSC's decision. On Wednesday, June 9, at 1:30 pm CDT, a Hearing will be held at the ND State Capitol, 12th Floor, Bismarck, ND. The Hearing room will hold 50 people. A Prayer Gathering is planned for 1:00 pm CDT on the steps of the ND State Capitol, Bismarck, ND, to pray for our ancestors who are buried in this area, the sacred places located there, and that only good decisions will be made with respect for this sacred place, and for ALL the people who will be affected by these decisions. Anyone who cares about the respect for these burial sites and sacred places is asked to join us in prayer at 1:00 and to show their support during the Hearing and outside on the Capitol grounds. In order for many of us to arrive prior to 1:00 on Wednesday, it is suggested that those traveling from far distances should arrive on Tuesday. As gas prices are increasing, Defenders will assist with some gas for vehicles bringing people to the prayers and Hearing. We have also asked for, and have secured space to camp on Tuesday (June 8) night at United Tribes Technical and Educational Center. We are currently in the process of trying to secure dormitory or other sleeping quarters for those who are unable to camp. If you need assistance with gas, or have a vehicle that can carry many people, please call (605) 399-1868 - Defenders' office number. You may also call (605) 399-1851, however that number cannot take messages. Defenders was able to stop the shooting range project at Bear Butte because of prayers. We need to pray together again to stop this largest destruction in the nation of a sacred place. Thank you. Charmaine White Face, Coordinator ---- A Nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground, then it is done. No matter how brave its warriors or how strong its weapons. ~ Cheyenne~ --------- "RE: Coeur d'Alene Tribe cries foul on Lake plan" --------- Date: Fri, 11 June 2004 08:11:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAKE COEUR d'ALENE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.cdapress.com/articles/2004/06/11/news/news03.txt Tribe cries foul on lake plan June 11, 2004 By MIKE McLEAN Staff writer Its spokesman says state is acting alone despite agreement COEUR d'ALENE - The state of Idaho is breaking its promise to the Coeur d'Alene Tribe with its unilateral plan to manage Lake Coeur d'Alene, tribe officials say. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is acting alone, despite a 2002 agreement to work jointly with the tribe to develop a Coeur d'Alene Lake Management Plan, said tribal chairman Ernie Stensgar. "Idaho has not only broken its promise," Stensgar said, "but we don't think the state ever intended to keep it." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has called for a collaborative, locally driven lake management plan to avoid Superfund cleanup activity in Lake Coeur d'Alene, which fuels the North Idaho tourism economy. The lakebed has an estimated 75 million tons of sediment contaminated by heavy metals washed downstream from historical mining practices in the Silver Valley. Metal levels in the lake, however, are below drinking water limits. A fully implemented Coeur d'Alene Lake Management Plan would protect the water quality of the lake and keep metals on the lakebed from entering the water column. Toni Hardesty, state water quality administrator for DEQ, said the state is moving forward with an update that was issued for public comment 14 months ago. The draft plan is an update to the 1996 Lake Management Plan, which was unfunded, largely voluntary and never implemented. "We provided a draft to the tribe hoping to be able to issue a joint plan," Hardesty said. "The original was a joint effort." She said the draft plan reflects new information, an updated project list and decision-making capability. She said the tribe and state are close on most standards proposed in the plan. "There are not huge technical differences," she said. The main hurdle is money. "DEQ can't guarantee the funding commitments the tribe is seeking," she said. Robert Matt, lake management director for the tribe, said the plan must include a long-term funding strategy, commitments to monitoring and enforceable regulations. Matt said the tribe was informed May 24 that the state is proceeding with its own plan. The tribe received a draft plan early this week with a request to submit comments by next week. The tribe, which is represented on the multi-jurisdictional Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, has veto power over any plan brought to the commission. "The tribe is going to stand firm," he said. "There won't be a substandard plan substituted for the Superfund status for the lake. Without a collaborative plan, the shadow of Superfund will hang over the lake indefinitely as opposed to the state and the tribe taking over lake management." The tribe was the first partner with Idaho to sign onto the seven-member commission, which was developed by Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, to provide local authority in the basin cleanup and lake management plans. "The governor continues to be eager to work with the tribe on a bilateral plan," said Kempthorne spokesman Mike Journee. Sheila Eckman, EPA team leader, said she hasn't seen the tribe's complaint or a unilateral plan from the state. "We're counting on them to get together and come up with something," she said. "It's going to take a collaborative effort." Lake management will be discussed Thursday morning at the National Academy of Sciences Coeur d'Alene Basin Committee meeting in Coeur d'Alene. The NAS committee is looking into the science and methods used by EPA to develop the cleanup plan. "Because they are doing a review of the remedy, they need to look at what was omitted from the remedy," said Phil Cernera, restoration coordinator for the tribe. "We don't have a remedy for the lake." In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the tribe owns the southern third of Lake Coeur d'Alene, which is the portion within the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation. "It was Idaho's poor stewardship of the lake and basin that prompted the tribe's successful lawsuit over ownership of the lake," Stensgar said. Mike McLean can be reached at 664-8176, ext. 2011, or by e-mail at mmclean@cdapress.com. Copyright c. 2004, The Coeur d'Alene Press. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Activists honor Western Shoshone Sisters" --------- Date: Thu, 10 June 2004 08:36:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Jun-10-Thu-2004/news/24074273.html WESTERN SHOSHONE: Activists honor sisters Report cites fight for ancestral land By SAMANTHA YOUNG STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU June 10, 2004 WASHINGTON - Rights groups Wednesday applauded Western Shoshone sisters Carrie and Mary Dann for their efforts to reclaim ancestral land in Nevada and neighboring states. The Danns were among 12 individuals and organizations profiled in a 170 page report that supporters said highlighted abuses by the U.S. government. "Indigenous people do not have the same rights as other people have," said Carrie Dann, who traveled from her Nevada ranch in Crescent Valley to Capitol Hill for the release of the report. Front Line, The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, based in Dublin, Ireland, has authored reports detailing rights abuses in Brazil, Sierra Leone and Indonesia. The decision to address cases in the United States came amid concern the federal government was limiting freedoms in the name of a war on terrorism, Deputy Director Andrew Anderson said. The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights also issued the report. Alongside Dann were New York attorney Lynne Stewart, who faces trial on charges of providing material support to terrorists; Brenda Henson, a lesbian from Mississippi who alleges harassment by her community; and Enrique Morones of San Diego, who alleges he was fired from his job for promoting immigrant rights. "These are stories that need to be told," said Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass. "It's important to raise the awareness level because if you don't, things are not going to change." In the case of the Danns, the rights groups faulted the U.S. government for denying the Western Shoshone legal claims to 23.6 million acres of ancestral land in Nevada, California, Utah and Arizona. "The United States of America is offering us money for the sacred things to us, our spiritual things, approximately 15 cents an acre," Carrie Dann said. "We don't want to sell it." The Danns and other Western Shoshone argue the U.S. government should abide by the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, which recognized the Western Shoshone and its land holdings. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against them in a 1985 case. Nevada's congressional delegation argue the Western Shoshone have had their day in court and should accept the settlement, which including interest has accumulated to $143 million. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., have been pushing for passage of legislation that would unlock the payment, giving qualified Western Shoshone up to $30,000 apiece. Copyright c. 1997-2004 Las Vegas Review-Journal. --------- "RE: Concerned for Navajo Aquifer" --------- Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 10:25:25 +0000 From: Robert Dorman Subj: BIGMTLIST Navajo Times: Letters to Editor, Concerned for Navajo Aquifer Mailing List: Big Mountain Delivered-To: redorman@theofficenet.com From: Condor952@aol.com Navajo Times: From Letters to Editor Concerned for Navajo Aquifer My concern for the Black Mesa Coalition has brought me to writing this imperative letter. I have been reading about that area for sometime now and I have heard about how the U.S. government has tried to move our people off of their own lands, in order to get the coal which lies beneath them. I am also concerned about the U.S. government pumping water out of the Navajo Aquifer. They are pumping an estimated 300 gallons every 10 seconds. This means over a billion gallons are being pumped every year. Most of us don't know it, but we are losing our only reliable source of water very rapidly. If this continues it could be gone in 10 years. When the water is pumped up from the Navajo Aquifer, the U.S. government uses it to slurry coal to Nevada. When it gets to Nevada, the burn is sending it to Page, Ariz. Then it is sent to Phoenix, Ariz., where they sell the electricity back to us. I know the Hopi Tribal Council has passed a resolution to stop them from slurrying coal from the Navajo Aquifer. I also know that the present Navajo government is not in agreement with the Hopi government, and has voted to continue using our water in this negligent way. As a Dine', the president of the Navajo Nation, Mr. Joe Shirley, should be aware of our association with Mother Earth. If he concedes the option to save our lands from corporate destruction, he is throwing away all the hardships our ancestors went through to get us this far. I wrote this letter to inform the people on the Navajo Nation about the issues going on around them. We need to take all these different mattress in to consideration and work together as a people to try to solve them. I think this letter should be taken seriously and I hope you fell the same way. Natasha Grail Fort Defiance, Ariz. ========================================= Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue. To post to the list, email your message to redorman@theofficenet.com. To subscribe, send an email to: BIGMTLIST-subscribe@topica.com. --------- "RE: 136th Anniversary of Long Walk" --------- Date: Mon, 14 June 2004 08:44:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LONG WALK" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/~cgi?archive=415&num=11845 136th anniversary of Long Walk to be marked By Valarie Lee/For The Daily Times June 13, 2004 FARMINGTON - On June 18, 1868, thousands of Navajo people were released from Fort Sumner, to began making their way back to their beloved land, Dinetah. That journey would forever be remembered by the Navajo people as the Long Walk and despite plans by the U.S. Peace Commissioners to relocate the Navajo to the lower Arkansas territory, the Navajo insisted on going back home to their own land. Now, 136 years later, the Dine' Nation Bikers want to hold a memorial biker run to honor the history of the Long Walk by going back to Fort Sumner. The DNB says there are many reasons why they are doing this. "We want to help educate people about the plight that Navajo people endured and to honor their memory," said Etta Arviso, co-coordinator of the run. Harold Hoskie of Newcomb said his reasons are personal. "Part of my interest is my great-grandma was a part of the Long Walk, for that reason, I'm interested in going." While the event is being toted as a biker run, that shouldn't stop anyone from joining the run. "You can travel by motorcycle, car or bus, whatever, this is about experiencing an important part of our history and culture," said Irvin Tsosie, co-coordinator of the "Hweeldi Beenilniih" run. "We want all people to feel free to ask questions and observe," Tsosie said. The group has no intention of turning this into a yearly event. "This is not going to be an annual thing. We're not playing around with this because we need to stay reverent to who we are," said Kathy Johnson, co-coordinator for the event, "and we need to be reverent to those spirits because we come from those spirits." The group also feels it may become too commercialized and lose its significance. "I think people shouldn't go there all the time. It may become like Grand Central Station, if people go there all the time," Tsosie said. For Mae Tsosie, the journey back is a tribute to those who suffered and an opportunity to share with others the culture and history of the Navajo people. "We are a legacy of survivors and we want to educate the younger generations, even for ourselves, we don't really know the history about what actually happened." Mae Tsosie has been to Fort Sumner before and wonders if others will experience some of what she went through. "When we went there, I wasn't really prepared," Mae Tsosie said, "our people endured hardship and terrible treatment and if it wasn't for their sacrifice, I wouldn't be here today." Mae Tsosie was also surprised at the flat emptiness of the site. There's no evidence of what horrific events took place over the course of four years, nor evidence of some of the 2,000 people who were buried there - in unmarked graves. The only official records people can read today come from the government or oral history taken from the grandchildren ... passed along verbally or in books. Mae Tsosie said no one really knows what happened and that's part of the reason for the biker run. Even with fellow Navajo people discouraging the group about going back. "When I mentioned Hweeldi (Fort Sumner), they would say, `eeee-yah,' meaning scary or don't go back there. I don't feel what we're doing is bad," said Mae Tsosie "So, to the critic, we say, our group is focused on the positive benefits and our intentions are good." "It's a natural healing process and a part of closure. We want to respect their memory and to offer prayers, not only for them but for all Navajo people," added Johnson. Johnson has never been to Fort Sumner but knows the history through reading books. She said she is looking forward to actually seeing where they lived and what the landscape is like. She also knows it is going to be emotional. "We expect to be touched with the spirits, to communicate with them and let them know were here with reverence and to offer prayers," Johnson said. Even though there are plenty of critics and supporters both, Fort Sumner is a part of the history of the Navajo people and considered a sacred site by some. "A rebirth happened there. We lost a lot of our Navajo people, yet we lived and we continued on and that should be remembered. In a way, our battles continue even today," said Johnson, who cited education deficiencies, federal funding and the loss of speaking the Navajo language by the younger generation, as repercussions of the Long Walk. The group nods in agreement with Johnson, as Mae Tsosie expounds a little more. "Back when I was younger, I tried to ask questions (about her culture) and I was scolded or chastised. We wanted to learn more about our heritage." That experience was empowering for Mae Tsosie and she in return encourages Navajo youth to keep asking questions. "If anyone has questions, keep asking," Mae Tsosie said, "continue with: `Why did this happen?' or `What happened and why has our nation evolved into what we are today?'" There will be two groups leaving Friday. The Kirtland group will depart at 9 a.m. at Cafe 550 and go through Cuba. The Fort Defiance, Ariz., group will meet at the Scouts Football Fieldhouse and leave at 9 a.m. The two groups are scheduled to arrive late in the afternoon to set up camp. A healing ceremony, open discussions, and story sharing/telling will take place in the evening. On Saturday, the group plans on leaving Fort Sumner early in the morning and return back to Window Rock, Ariz., in time for a cleansing ceremony, supper and gourd dancing. Information: Irvin Tsosie (505) 598-1273, or Leonard Reeder, (928) 871-2251. Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. --------- "RE: Big debate over a Tiny Park in Suquamish" --------- Date: Mon, 14 June 2004 08:44:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SUQUAMISH TRIBAL LAND" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/177708_gcenter14.html?source=rss Big debate over a tiny park in Suquamish may be settled soon State nears decision on tribe's request to control acre By LEWIS KAMB SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER June 14, 2004 It's only an acre, but to folks in Suquamish, it carries a world of significance. Now, the long-running battle over a tiny waterfront plot known as Old Man House State Park is drawing to an end. This week, the final public meeting over a request to return the last remnant of open space on Agate Passage to the Suquamish Indian Tribe will be held. And in August, the state parks commission will be left to decide once and for all a prickly question: Should the park -- the site where an ancient tribal village once stood and a long-gone longhouse once served as Chief Seattle's home -- be returned to tribal ownership? Or should the beachfront plot, where Boy and Girl Scouts held meetings and families picnicked and cavorted for more than 50 years, remain under public control? Either way the volunteer commission decides, hundreds of residents will be left unsatisfied. It came to be this way, some say, because of deep- seated mistrust that built over the years between some of those who call Suquamish home. What's ironic is that rivals over the park believe it's the future of this very piece of land that could bring this community -- both Indians and non-Indians alike -- together. They just don't agree on the way that it could. "At this point," says Rob Purser of the Suquamish Tribe, "I guess we just have to agree to disagree." The value of the land is undeniable. Situated within a stretch of affluent homes, its sloping tree-lined patch of grass gives way to more than 200 feet of sandy shoreline at the inlet of Agate Passage, offering views of Port Madison Bay and access to Puget Sound. For hundreds of years, the site and much of the surrounding land where homes now stand served as what the Suquamish called D'Suq'Wub -- "a place of clear water." It was where the tribe's "mother village" stood for 2,000 years, Purser says, and where the man named Sealth -- the son of a Suquamish chief and his Duwamish bride -- made his home. "It's the home site of our ancestors," Purser says. "Having it returned would uplift our tribal members and help heal a great injustice we've lived with for 100 years." In 1904, the federal War Department took control of the land, with ideas to build a lookout base to protect its Navy yard in Bremerton. The military compensated the tribe with some money. But "we were given no option," Purser says. "They just said, 'We're taking the land and this is what you're getting.'" The military never built its base and eventually sold the land to developers, who in the late 1930s platted a new subdivision hailed as "Chief Seattle Park." Beach cabins initially built have since given way to dozens of privately owned homes. But three legal lots on the water remained undeveloped, and in 1950 the state bought the one-acre site to create Old Man House State Park. It wasn't long after that William and Virginia Whiteley moved to the area, settling with scores of other non-Indians in the place called Suquamish. And the park nearby served as a focal point for community, they say. "It has been well used by everyone," Virginia Whiteley says. Over the years, the park has been used for scout cookouts, family gatherings, school field trips and visitors seeking to soak up the area's scenery. "The history of this property really belongs to all of us," she adds. Facing prospects of a slashed budget two years ago, state parks officials identified several parcels to trim from its rolls. Old Man House seemed ideal -- a satellite park with no permanent staff and small annual maintenance costs. State parks officials agreed to consider the tribe's request to take ownership and management of the park -- the third such request the tribe had made in 15 years. And soon, another dispute divided the community. The squabble over the park is only the latest in recent years that has pitted the Indians called Suquamish against some non-tribal residents who live in the area. Over the years, Indians have clashed with non-Indians over everything from development of the tribe's Clearwater Casino to a federal lawsuit questioning the modern-day Suquamish's existence as a true Indian tribe. There's been charges of racism from the tribe, and countercharges of hidden tribal agendas to drive the many non-Indian residents from within the Suquamish's traditional reservation boundaries. Yet the stated intentions of both sides involved in the latest dispute seem identical: to keep Old Man House a park and keep it open to the public. "We are not anti-tribe," Virginia Whiteley notes of opponents against tribal park ownership. "We just savor the park and hope it remains in public ownership." The dispute really seems to come down to a question of trust. In the Suquamish's proposal to own the park, the tribe has agreed to maintain it, keep it open to the public and establish an advisory board that would include non-tribal residents. The tribe even has waived its rights of sovereign immunity over ownership of the land, so that if the tribe breaks its promise to keep the park open, the state can reclaim it. "Legally we have to keep it open as a park," Purser says, "and that's what we intend to do." Still, many citizens here don't like the idea that the tribe would ultimately have final say over park decisions for everyone, non-Indians included. "We won't have any say about what happens," says William Whiteley. Last year, about 80 non-tribal residents formed a "friend of the parks" group, proposing to state parks officials that they would take over upkeep and oversight of Old Man House. State parks officials denied the application, saying the tribe's request first must be considered, said Randy Person, a state parks planner. Two opposing factions over the matter have since grown. Whiteley says she's helped gather some 667 signatures on a petition to keep Old Man House in public hands. The tribe, meanwhile, has garnered support from another community group, the Suquamish Olalla Neighbors, as well as a variety of religious groups. In the meantime, meetings have been held, hundreds of comments taken and state parks staffers nearing a July deadline to make a recommendation, which they'll present to the state parks commission for consideration. Ultimately, the seven-member citizen commission will decide the matter Aug. 12 in Port Angeles. Whichever the outcome, Indians and non-Indians say the future of Old Man House could be used as a way to heal this community. And perhaps, some say, that's common ground to build upon. "They're not going nowhere, and we're not going nowhere," Purser says. "Whatever happens, we've got to learn to live together. Maybe our kids will grow up and learn how to do that better than some of us adults have." WANT TO GO? State parks officials will hold a public meeting on Old Man House State Park at 7-9 p.m. Wednesday at the United Church of Christ, 18732 Division Ave. N.E., Suquamish. Parks officials also will accept letters from the public on their views about park ownership until Friday. Letters can be sent to: Randy Person; Washington State Parks; P.O. Box 42650; Olympia, WA 98504-2650; or by e-mail to: randy.person@parks.wa.gov. P-I reporter Lewis Kamb can be reached at 206-448-8336 or lewiskamb@seattlepi.com Copyright c. 1996-2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. --------- "RE: Victims of BIA and Mission Boarding Schools Dying" --------- Date: Mon, 14 June 2004 08:44:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DISAPPEARING SURVIVORS" http://yankton.net/stories/061404/opE_20040614013.shtml Victims Of The BIA And Mission Boarding Schools Dying Out By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji) Copyright c. 2004, Lakota Media Inc. June 14, 2004 It has been reported that the veterans of World War II are dying at the rate of 1,200 per day. Sadly, when the memorial to honor them was finally constructed in Washington, hundreds of thousands were no longer alive to see it or to appreciate it. The same can be said of the thousands of Indian children who were victims of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and missionary boarding schools that began with the Carlisle Indian School in 1879. Between 1879 and 1900 the BIA built 24 off-reservation boarding schools modeled after Carlisle. The man behind the boarding school concept was Richard Henry Pratt, a man who had been a commissioned officer with the Army 10th Cavalry, a black regiment with white officers. It was in this position that he supposedly formed a deep sympathy for minority people that guided his philosophy for the rest of his life, according to a recent autobiography of Pratt that was edited by Robert M. Utley. The book, "Battlefield & Classroom," highlights Pratt's efforts to de-Indianize the Indian children of America. Long before the word "outing" became popular in the gay community, it was used to describe Pratt's "outing program" of moving Indian children to live with middle-class farm families in order to participate in the day- to-day aspects of civilized living. Unfortunately, many of the middle-class families started to use the Indian children as a cheap labor force to increase the profits of their family farms. Did Pratt's concept of Indian education succeed? The foreword in the book reads in part, "What is clear is that some students, after receiving a heavy dose of the Carlisle regime, set their minds against it. One Apache student said, "We'd lost our hair and we'd lost our clothes; with the two we'd lost our identity as Indians. Greater punishment could hardly have been devised.'" Pratt himself saw his experiments in Indian education differently. He said to his charges, "I advise you to flee the reservation. ... Go out into the business of life of the country where personal rights and the light of civilization will constantly invite and help you on to higher, nobler, better things. Flee away from that which drags you down. Go where you will be free, where you will not be bound hand and foot to your past, but where you can rise and become individuals." This statement, more than any other made by Pratt in his lifetime, shows how very little he knew of the people that he had set out to save from themselves. Personal freedom was the thing that was most enjoyed by the Indian people of the Western Hemisphere. But it was a personal freedom tied to the survival of a people. In most Indian cultures the tribe or the tiospaye (extended family or camp) came before individualism. For thousands of years the people had survived by sacrificing all for the common good of the tribe. This was a philosophical concept alien to a society that considered itself the light of civilization. On the other hand, the missionary boarding schools used religion as the tool to "civilize" the indigenous children. The idea was that if the natural spirituality of the children was destroyed and replaced through the religious indoctrination of Christianity, not only would the child be saved intellectually, but also spiritually. The ancient spiritual beliefs of the indigenous children, beliefs that had been passed from generation to generation for centuries were discarded by the priests and preachers as something evil, something akin to paganism. The approach was to kill the "heathen spirit" and replace it with a Christian spirit. This religious immersion came in the form of Jesus Christ, the apostles and all of the saints. Now these were spiritual symbols the religious teachers felt that all Indian children would embrace without question. In many cases they were right. Soon they were sending American Indian preachers out amongst their own people endeavoring to turn them away from their ancient spiritual practices toward the now widely accepted principals of Christianity. Think back to what the young Apache boy said after leaving Carlisle, "We'd lost our identities as Indians. Greater punishment could hardly have been devised." And that is where the gap between those Indians who did not succumb to the brainwashing of the BIA and mission boarding schools grows large. Abuse comes in many forms and most of those who survived the boarding schools saw the loss of their identity as the worse form of abuse. The physical (beatings with leather straps and sexual abuse), emotional (being asked to reject everything their parents held sacred) and the psychological (being stripped of their spiritual and emotional identity) were bad enough, but when the children became so confused they did not know who they were or what was expected of them, their loss of identity took on different forms. It often manifested itself in alcoholism or drug abuse. The oftentimes- violent treatment and sexual abuse they sometimes received at the hands of their educators often turned the children as adults into the same type of abusers. Many of the problems now prevalent in Indian country, problems that are slowly starting to mend with the return of so many to their traditional forms of education and spirituality, can be traced directly to the BIA and missionary boarding schools. Those are the times that must be scrutinized in order for the Indian people of today to move past it. But, as I said, so many of us who experienced the de-humanizing lessons of the boarding schools are dying. In another generation there will be none left alive to speak of it. But I will continue to write about it before I die so that others will remember it as well. And I also hope to build a memorial to their suffering and to their survival. ---- Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota, is editor and publisher of the Lakota and Pueblo Journals. He is author of "The Aboriginal Sin" and "Notes from Indian Country" volumes I and II. He can be reached at editor@lakotajournal.com or at P.O. Box 3080, Rapid City, S.D. 57709. Copyright c. 2004 Yankton Press and Dakotan. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: All People are created equal...?" --------- Date: Tue, 8 June 2004 08:16:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: EQUALITY?" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/news/opinion/8866660.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: All people are created equal -- or are they? On June 19, 1964, just 40 years ago, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. The Act gave some very simple rights to all people. Strangely, these rights were prominently featured in the Declaration of Independence of the thirteen colonies way back on July 4, 1776. The words are: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights ..." And then, it seems, people gave their own interpretation to these words that perhaps some men are more equal than others. It seems, in this age, where our footprints can be seen in the desert sands of the Middle East, snowdrifts of Siberia or the lush forest of Africa, these words should hold more meaning for all people. The Civil Rights Act was one of President John F. Kennedy's legacies to our nation. It wasn't easy to get the act through Congress, with an especially difficult fight with legislators from the South. It was the mastery of parliamentary procedure of President Lyndon B. Johnson who finally got the bill signed July 2, 1964. As I read and reread the act, some parts amazed me. All people, including ethnic people, shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of places and activities. They are such simple words that we take for granted today. Were they really necessary 40 years ago? From conversation with my older brother, who fought in the Korean conflict in 1950, I learned there was a whole different world outside North Dakota. Neither of my brothers talked much about their war experiences - the other brother fought in Vietnam. My older brother told me of his experiences in boot camp in a city in the South. He said black people were treated like animals. He remembered an incident where a black soldier was killed or murdered because of his race. It was shocking to that North Dakota soldier. When the soldiers who were training were allowed to go to town, my brother was surprised to find that restaurants were divided into white and colored sections with big signs on the doors. Water fountains and bathrooms were the same way. He could go to either side of the restaurant - he was brown, he told me. He opted to sit on the colored side of the restaurant. When he came back from the military, I was wide-eyed when he told his stories about whites and colored people. In North Dakota, there were few black people and on the reservation, the only discrimination or poor treatment usually came from the federal government and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and usually because of their ineptness. The periphery of the reservation and reservation towns was a different story. There was racism. Things have changed for the better for Native people. I agreed with some of my colleagues about that, but it is not all that great, I tried to tell them. There still is discrimination; maybe it's whispered, but it still is there. As I reread the Civil Rights Act, "All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages ...," I also realized that doesn't seem to include gay people. Gender discrimination isn't included in the act. Consider the number of people who have been murdered - one hanged on a fence in Wyoming - merely because they were gay. Consider, too, those who have been beaten and certainly ostracized because of their sexual preference. Recently, two men were not allowed to receive communion in their church where they were longtime members. I guess that crosses the line from the state to church, but it seems unbelievable and short-sighted of people who are ancestors of people who wrote and supported the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and those who conceived and fought for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In this month of June, the 40th anniversary of the passing of the Civil Rights Act, it seems we need to take another hard look at those wise words " ... all men are created equal" and not some are more equal than others. ----- Yellow Bird writes columns Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at 780-1228, (800) 477-6572 extension 228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2004 Grand Forks Herald/Grand Forks, ND. --------- "RE: Region saves Money while Patients' needs go unmet" --------- Date: Tue, 8 June 2004 08:16:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ABORIGINAL HEALTH" http://www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/topnews-June-2004.html#anchor3548701 Region saves money while patients' needs go unmet Paul Barnsley, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Saskatoon, Sask. June 2004 - Volume 22 - Number 3 In the same week that Grand Chief Chris McCormick of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians told the United Nations that First Nations health in Canada is in pitiful condition, a British Columbia chief told Windspeaker that money allotted to First Nations health concerns was not distributed in the last fiscal year. "They sent money back this year and I'm really pissed off about that," said Sowalie First Nation Chief Doug Kelly on May 18. "Pacific region had a $2 million surplus on dental. They budget about $20 million and they only spent about $18 million. And a little bird who would know these things told me Health Canada nationally lapsed money." In other words, millions of dollars set aside for healthcare for First Nations people was not spent, despite the desperate need. Kelly and Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Phil Fontaine met with Ian Green, the deputy minister of Health Canada, on April 27. Kelly reports he told the department's top bureaucrat during the hour-long meeting how he felt about that situation. "I brought up the fact that federal bureaucrats get their bonuses whether they earn them or not and I told Ian Green he should have been paying us. I told him I expect a much better performance," Kelly said. "What's happened here is a reason to cut the pay of government officials, not give them bonuses. They should be disciplined." Federal officials receive what's called "at risk" pay of up to 25 per cent of their salaries each year. Although it's supposed to be an incentive that's earned for good performance, Conservative Party of Canada government spending watchdog John Reynolds has said that very few bureaucrats don't receive the extra pay. Ottawa sources say Green issued an edict to the regional directors general at the beginning of the last fiscal year that no deficits would be allowed. Whereas in the past Health Canada headquarters kept some money in reserve in case of emergencies or unexpected over-runs, Green's order caused increased conservatism within the First Nation and Inuit Health Branch [FNIHB] of the department. Kelly said he has uncovered two major problems with the provision of health care by the federal bureaucracy. "The program is underfunded. And there are winners and losers in the way Ottawa allocates the money," he said. A Native person's chances of receiving approval for expensive orthodontic care depends on which bureaucrat that person deals with. "It seems there's an angel who approves orthodontic care if there's a legitimate need, and a devil. If you get the latter, no matter how bad off you are, you won't get it," he said. "There should only be one standard." The Stolo Nation chief said it's obvious that the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada is severely underfunded. "How do I know it's underfunded? It's broke every year. And there have been cuts every year and they're cutting into the bone. There may have been some fat there at one point, but it's long gone. Very clearly there's a problem there," he said. Cuts to non-insured health benefits have been steady for the last number of years. Levels of dental care have been lowered and generic drugs are covered while more expensive drugs are not. Few areas have escaped funding cuts of one sort or another. Some programs have seen their funding levels frozen since 1996 even though the Native population is the youngest and fastest-growing in Canada. Kelly said the underfunding makes it difficult for bureaucrats to cope. Chris McCormick sees the same thing. In Ontario, the FNIHB is $9.7 million in the red with a forecasted deficit for 2004-2005 of $11 million. Al Garman, the regional director general [RDG], announced cuts to a variety of programs to make up that deficit. Some of the cuts were announced, McCormick said, but the funding was reinstated when the chiefs scheduled a press conference to express their outrage. McCormick told the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that Canada may rank 8th on the human development index but First Nations rank 63rd. "We are essentially a Third World society living in one of the top 10 countries in the world," he said. He told the international body that First Nations people have a suicide rate that is five to eight times higher than Canadian averages, five times more diabetes, 10 to 12 times as many communicable diseases and an infant mortality rate that is one-and-a- -half times as great as Canadian norms. He said poor housing, poor water and sewage systems and the harm created by the residential school system are among the reasons why Native people are not as well off as Canadians in general. He also told the permanent forum about the cuts that were announced to programs aimed at improving the health of children and then withdrawn. McCormick quoted from a letter written by the Ontario RDG. "[E]ven though children's programs will be reinstated, this does not relieve the obligation to find a way to balance planned expenditures to the budget available." Then continuing with his own remarks, McCormick said "This falls on the heels of program funding cuts to balance a deficit of approximately $9.7 million for the previous year. This is an example of the Canadian government's agenda. Cost containment, not improved health for First Nations." McCormick, in a letter to Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew that was obtained by Windspeaker, questioned whether bureaucrats have the right to pay down deficits with program dollars. "As we understand, Treasury Board allocates specific resources for specific program areas for [FNIHB]. As First Nations, we are constantly reminded by FNIHB staff that we [must] use resources for the exact purposes they are allocated for," he wrote. "If we do not, we are then considered in breach of our contribution agreement and these resources will then be recovered by Health Canada. If we as First Nations must follow stringent guidelines when spending funding, why then does the Canadian government, more specifically Health Canada [FNIHB], not have to follow these guidelines?" Problems in health seem to exist in every region. Manitoba's Sandy Bay First Nation Chief Irvin McIvor said it's a problem that must be confronted immediately. "Health is a very, very serious issue and it's not being addressed. Health has to go to the national level and we have to fight and we have to fight now," he said. He told Windspeaker that only two dentists are accepting non-insured claims in Winnipeg, a city with perhaps the highest number of Native people in Canada. "And there's 64 First Nations in Manitoba. How are these two dentists going to address the concerns of 64 First Nations? It's ludicrous how this government looks at First Nations. It's becoming more and more evident every day," he said. One of the greatest scourges afflicting Indigenous peoples in Canada is given only token attention, he said. "I think they gave us $5,000 last year to fight diabetes and it's ridiculous. It's hardly enough for one patient," he said. AFN health technicians are excited about a remark made by the health minister at a health policy summit held in Toronto on April 19 and 20. Pettigrew was the keynote speaker on the second day. In his speech, Pettigrew stated, "We have a profound duty to improve the health status of Aboriginal people. That is one of the reasons why the prime minister hosted a [Canada-Aboriginal roundtable] on Aboriginal issues yesterday...We know we must do more to achieve better outcomes for Aboriginal men, women and children." AFN health renewal policy analyst Cynthia Stirbys then asked him, "In your address, you mention involving new partners. Mr. Minister, can you then outline how you see First Nations people and First Nations leaders involved in achieving better outcomes in health status?" Pettigrew answered, "It is a good question and a timely one because of the [roundtable] held in Ottawa yesterday. The government has a fiduciary responsibility [to Aboriginals], as you know." The minister also mentioned he toured the country in January and was able to see first hand the special challenges in Aboriginal communities. Nice words, said Kelly, but they do not reflect the actions of officials in the minister's department. "The government of Canada seems to hear it when the provinces get up and raise hell about health funding but there's this refusal to hear when First Nations say FNIHB is underfunded," he said. "I've been telling them the funding has to be needs based. All I've been saying seems to be falling on deaf ears." He said the word is going to have to filter down through the bureaucracy if Native people are going to believe all the promises made by the prime minister in recent months. "I hear the Right Honorable Prime Minister Paul Martin tell me and all the other First Nation citizens he wants to make a difference, and I believe him. The problem we've got is the people he's got working for him aren't listening," Kelly said. He said Pettigrew has not been an active and effective minister. "He's been ducking me. I'm hopeful the Liberals get a majority government and that the prime minister will then give the job to somebody who wants it." Kelly believes Pettigrew's other responsibility as intergovernmental affairs minister is receiving most of the minister's attention. Kelly was outraged to learn that two senior Health Canada officials, Assistant Deputy Minister Ian Potter and Pacific Region RDG Dr. Jay Wortman, attended health conferences in Australia and New Zealand recently. "They can find the money to send two people on this trip but they can't find money to treat Native kids and adults who sorely need it," he said. "They should all be at home manning their posts." He noted that B.C.'s provincial health minister was actively lobbying for increases in health funding and suggested FNIHB officials should be doing the same thing instead of looking for ways to limit spending. "It's pay now or pay later, you know," he said. "We all know that what you spend today you save later." Copyright c. 2004 Windspeaker/AMMSA, Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: Native Report demands half of B.C. Fish" --------- Date: Fri, 11 June 2004 08:11:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="50% OF ALL B C FISH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.theglobeandmail.com/~/National/?query=aboriginal Native report demands half of B.C. fish Canadian Press June 10, 2004 Vancouver - First Nations should be given a minimum 50 per cent share of all B.C. fisheries on an interim basis, an aboriginal panel charged with considering possibilities for fish management in the province recommended Thursday. "Certainty in the fishery will not be achieved without a reallocation of fish for economic purposes to First Nations," said the report, produced by the First Nation Panel on Fisheries. "We are recommending that a minimum of 50 per cent of all fish over and above First Nations food, social and ceremonial requirements be reallocated to First Nations." The panel was appointed in January by leaders from the First Nations Summit and B.C. Aboriginal Fisheries Commission in January as a parallel to a federal-provincial task group that released its own report last month on the state of the West Coast fishery. That report recommended granting 25-year quota licences to individual fishermen and allowing aboriginals to catch up to one-third of annual sockeye salmon allocations. Federal Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan said at the time he'd consult with aboriginals and other stakeholders in the industry before deciding this fall on implementing the report's recommendations. The aboriginal panel aimed to come up with a workable framework for fish management to foster certainty in the industry and was set up after concerns were raised about lack of First Nations representation on the government task group. The report, released to aboriginal leaders gathered Thursday in North Vancouver, estimated the value of B.C. licences and quota to be about $1. 8-billion. Giving half of that to First Nations fisheries "would lead to stability and certainty in the fisheries," wrote the report's authors. While this may be portrayed by some individuals and organizations as too high a price to pay, it represents less than one year's production by the B.C. seafood industry, which generates about $1.04-billion annually." Not implementing the recommended interim fishery reallocations "will result in prolonged economic uncertainty for all fisheries sectors, time- consuming and costly court cases and ongoing tensions between parties as First Nations exercise their rights through `underground' fisheries." The report also recommended: - Canada increase treaty settlement funds to allow for the recommended fisheries reallocation and the purchase or buy-back of licences; - First Nations work together at a regional level to determine fishery allocations, rather than take direction from the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans; - Canada acknowledge in policy and negotiated settlements the "aboriginal right to manage fisheries" and ensure First Nations access to fisheries for food, social and ceremonial purposes; - A moratorium be put on new individual fishing quotas "unless First Nation interests including allocations in those fisheries are first addressed." Copyright c. 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: First Nations signing on for Strength in Unity" --------- Date: Fri, 11 June 2004 08:11:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TREATY HOPES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=yuk-firstnationtreaty06092004 First Nations signing on for strength in unity June 9, 2004 WHITEHORSE - First Nations from Northern British Columbia and the Yukon are putting pen to paper to sign a modern-day treaty. The Kaska, Tlingit, and Tahltan First Nations are working on the agreement in a bid to present a united front to a reluctant B.C. government and land-hungry resource industries. "We want to make sure that public governments and industries respect our traditional territories," said Dave Porter, Kaska-Dena Tribal Chair. Porter, speaking by phone from Vancouver, where the negotiations are taking place, says the Northern First Nations signing the declaration today want to send a message to B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell. "Resource development should not and ought not to take place until we've completed acceptable arrangements with government and industry." Porter is also hoping the treaty will help jump start negotiations for Yukon First Nations, including the Teslin Tlingit Council and the Champagne and Aishihik First Nation, which have claims to territory in neighboring British Columbia. Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie is scheduled to make a presentation in Vancouver at the First Nations summit. Porter says First Nation leaders will ask Fentie to help them convince B.C. to respect their treaty. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: More confusion in Me'tis Nation Election" --------- Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 23:47:00 -0000 From: "frostyca2000" Subj: More confusion in Me'tis Nation election Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian More confusion in Me'tis Nation election REGINA - Just when it seemed that the recent Me'tis Nation of Saskatchewan election could not get more confusing, it got more confusing. On Thursday, the Me'tis Nation said it had the official result of May's election. After much recounting and vote-tampering allegations, the electoral commission concluded that Robert Doucette was elected president with a 90-vote margin over Dwayne Roth. RELATED: Me'tis elect president in controversial vote But later Thursday evening, a news release purporting to represent the election commission said that the decision had been overturned, and that Roth was now president-elect. This isn't the first time there's been confusion in Me'tis elections. In 2001, Doucette was declared a vice-president, only to be stripped of the position after a recount. On Thursday, when he thought he was president, Doucette talked about the credibility of Me'tis elections. "You have to have your house in order," he said. "And if you don't have it in order nobody's going to take you seriously. So it impacts on our capacity to negotiate further resources." The Me'tis Nation said it declared Doucette's election in error because an electoral officer had overlooked some results from North Battleford. --------- "RE: Vancouver hosts largest National Aboriginal Day" --------- Date: Tue, 8 June 2004 08:16:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ABORIGINAL DAY" http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2004/21/c6297.html Vancouver Hosts Canada's Largest National Aboriginal Day Celebration VANCOUVER, May 21 /CNW/ - "National Aboriginal Day is held to coincide with the summer solstice, a traditional time of celebration and thanksgiving. We invite everyone to join us in Vancouver for Canada's largest National Aboriginal Day Celebration from June 18-21, 2004," Germaine Langan, Event Manager. Friday, June 18, 2004 - Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts For the first time ever, a new relationship has been formed between the Aboriginal Art and Culture Celebration Society and the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts to promote Aboriginal entertainment in Vancouver. National Aboriginal Day festivities begin at 6:30 pm with a VIP reception for the media and event sponsors, and at 8:00 pm a gala opening performance produced by Vancouver's own Renae Morriseau entitled "Aboriginal Language and Culture Through Music, Song and Dance". This production brings together contemporary and traditional Aboriginal singers, dancers, spoken word artists, and stand-up comics from Canada, the United States and Australia in a blend of westcoast Raven/Trickster mythology and theatrical and musical entertainment. This "ravens-eye view" portrays the power of language and music to heal Mother Earth. Performances include the contemporary folk songs of Juno Award Winner, Florent Vollant (Innu Nation), Keith Secola (Arizona), Tamara Podemski (Toronto), Tal-Kin-Jeri Traditional Dance Group (South Australia), Opikihiwawin & Call to the Future Hoop Dancers (Manitoba), and Inuit Throatsingers, Nina Segalowitz & Taqralik Partridge (Quebec). Support this Fundraising event: Purchase Tickets through Ticketmaster @ www.ticketmaster.ca or Charge by Phone @ (604) 280-4444. Cost: $25 (includes all fees) Saturday, June 19, 2004 - Monday, June 21, 2004 - Vancouver Art Gallery The 7th annual, free, outdoor National Aboriginal Day Art and Culture Celebration featuring continuous traditional and contemporary entertainment from some of North America's top Aboriginal entertainers each day is the largest in Canada. In addition to performances, Aboriginal artists sell their arts & crafts (9:00 am daily), teepees are on display, and you can enjoy some traditional Aboriginal cuisine at the site. Entertainment begins at noon daily, with a different performer every 45 minutes, and concludes at 8:00 pm. Come on down to the VAG for a fun and informative celebration of Aboriginal arts, music, food and dance. Monday, June 21st @ 8:00 pm - Yale Blues Club Once again, by popular demand, an evening of Aboriginal Blues at the Yale will wrap up the 2004 National Aboriginal Day festivities. This year, the internationally recognized Derek Miller Band from Six Nations, Ontario, will be the headliner for the show. Purchase Tickets by Phone @ 604-684-2532 or at the door. Cost: $10/person The Aboriginal Art & Culture Celebration Society's (AACCS) goal is to bring together people of all nations to learn, experience and share North American Aboriginal art, culture, values and spirituality, and to improve the professionalism, visibility and economic circumstances of Aboriginal artists, performers and cultural support workers. Thanks to our Sponsors: Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, CBC Television, BC Hydro Corporation, City of Vancouver, Celebrate Canada Committee, Holiday Inn Downtown Vancouver, SOCAN, Canada Post Corporation, National Film Board, and Robert Davidson. ---- For further information: Please contact Germaine Langan, Event Manager at (604) 684-2532 or visit www.aboriginalday-van.com Copyright c. 2003 Canada NewsWire Ltd. --------- "RE: Mohawks Propose to Talk about Peace & Prosperity" --------- Date: Thursday, June 10, 2004 06:39 am From: frostyca2000 Subj: Attention News Editors: Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Attention News Editors: Relations with Aboriginals is the Center of an International Event in Montreal - Mohawks Propose to Talk about Peace and Prosperity KAHNAWAKE, June 9 /CNW Telbec/ - "Conflict is not the solution for the future but rather Peace and Prosperity between peoples", said Andrew Thanaokate Delisle, Honorary President of the event Peace and Prosperity that will bring together, in Montreal, hundreds of people interested in Aboriginal questions. Peace and Prosperity is an initiative from Mohawks who want to offer new ways of increasing the relationship between Aboriginals and non- Aboriginals. This event is an opportunity for those interested in Aboriginal issues to participate in three days of information sharing, partnership building and collaborative work. The main activity of this event is a symposium where delegates will engage in a spirited dialogue on relevant legal and political issues. The theme of this symposium is: "Sovereignties in Conflict? Exploring the reconciliation of Aboriginal and Crown jurisdictions". The symposium will bring together Aboriginal leaders, government decision-makers, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal professionals, academics and students for dynamic and informative presentations and discussion about the concept of Aboriginal Sovereignty and the future of the relationship between Aboriginal governments and the Crown. The main objective is to allow debate over the political and legal aspects of the Aboriginal governance. A committee of sages, consisting of key leaders, will meet before and after the Conference. This committee will summarize critical issues and make recommendations for Aboriginal communities and governments to implement the ideas and solutions raised during the Conference. Special activities This event is to be more than just a conference and special activities will take place for those interested in cultural and commercial aspects. Therefore, an exhibit display area will be available for those interested in the opportunity to showcase information about their company or organization. Also, a banquet will be held April 26, to commemorate the achievement of Aboriginal leaders. The Honorary Presidents of Peace and Prosperity are Mr. Andrew Thanaokate Delisle OC and Honourable Aurelien Gill. Mr. Andrew Thanaokate Delisle received this year the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Aboriginal Achievement Award. He is currently working as special advisor to the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. In the 60s, 70s and 80s, he was Grand Chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. Mr. Delisle was awarded the Order of Canada in 1969. He wanted to make that announcement today, to give a different image of Aboriginal peoples, especially of the Mohawks, than that which is given in the news these days. Honourable Aurelien Gill is a current member of the Senate of Canada. He is a well-known Aboriginal businessman, a tireless community advocate and an ardent defender of the interests of Canada's Aboriginal peoples. A native of Mashteuiatsh (Pointe-Bleue), Quebec, Mr. Gill was founding President of the Conseil Attikamek-Montagnais and chief of the Mashteuiatsh Montagnais community from 1975 to 1982 and from 1987 to 1989. Throughout his working life, he has played a key role in various Aboriginal associations. He participated in the establishment of the Montagnais Cultural Educational Institute, the Amerindian Police Council, the Confederation of Indians of Quebec, the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations) and the Provincial and National Aboriginal Advisory Council. More recently, he has concentrated more on small business, and is co-founder and president of Les Gestions Gamac P.N. , a holding company that owns Air Roberval, Aviation Quebec-Labrador and Air BGM. Aurelien Gill was awarded the Ordre national du Quebec in 1991. This international event will bring together more than 400 people, on April 25, 26 and 27, 2005, at The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. For more information: (514) 277-4544 ext. 225. For further information: INTERVIEWS: Andrew Thanaokate Delisle is available for interviews in French and English; Source: Eric Cardinal, General Manager and Communication Director, (514) 258-2315 --------- "RE: BIA reassigns top Cop" --------- Date: Thu, 10 June 2004 08:36:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ECOFFEY TO SD" http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/06/09/news/state/news02.txt BIA reassigns top cop By Carson Walker, Associated Press Writer June 10, 2004 SIOUX FALLS - Robert Ecoffey, who has served as a U.S. marshal and head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, has taken a job in his home state of South Dakota. Ecoffey asked to step down as the BIA's deputy director of law enforcement services, according to Nedra Darling, spokeswoman for the agency in Washington. In that position, Ecoffey oversaw all aspects of Indian law enforcement nationwide. "He came to us voluntarily for a reassignment. We were able to accommodate him," Darling said Tuesday. Walter Lamar, a former FBI agent, was appointed acting deputy director. Ecoffey, who could not be reached for comment, is moving to Aberdeen as deputy regional director for Indian services. He will oversee BIA programs for South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska, including social services, transportation, law enforcement and child welfare, Darling said. Citing personnel policies, Darling said she could not say why Ecoffey asked for the transfer, which comes as the Interior inspector general conducts a nationwide probe into deteriorating conditions in tribal jails and several recent inmate deaths. Jails on tribal lands have been operating well beyond their capacity for the past several years. One jail in six held twice its recommended maximum of prisoners as of mid-2002, according to the latest figures available from the Justice Department. In all, 2,080 people were being held in 70 Indian jails, detention centers and other correctional facilities. Since 1999, the BIA's budget for such operations has grown from $25.6 million to $58 million, BIA officials have said. President Bush is requesting $65.8 million for the 2005 budget. Ecoffey, a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, began his law enforcement career on the Pine Ridge reservation in southwest South Dakota, where he grew up. He was named the state's U.S. marshal in 1994, the first Indian to ever hold the post. In 1996, he became Pine Ridge BIA superintendent, and in 2001, he took over as deputy director of the BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services in Albuquerque, N.M. His reassignment to Aberdeen was effective May 27. In the 1990s, Ecoffey resurrected the investigation into the 1975 killing of American Indian Movement activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash on the Pine Ridge reservation. Several grand juries heard evidence in the case, and in May 2003, two men were indicted on murder charges. Arlo Looking Cloud was convicted and is serving a life sentence at a federal prison in Florence, Colo. John Graham is free on bond in Vancouver, British Columbia, and plans to fight extradition. Ecoffey was the last prosecution witness at Looking Cloud's trial in February in Rapid City and testified that in July 1995, Looking Cloud showed him where Aquash was killed. After Looking Cloud's conviction, South Dakota's U.S. attorney, Jim McMahon, said Ecoffey "opened up a lot of lines of communication on the reservation" for the case. Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Two Border Agents found dead" --------- Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 00:06:50 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: Two border agents found dead: Their bodies are found in a vehicle on the O'odham Nation: Police say there are no suspects sought (Fwd) Mailing List: News and Information http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/~story_id=3D061204a4_dead_agents Two border agents found dead Their bodies are found in a vehicle on the O'odham Nation. Police say there are no suspects sought. GABRIELA RICO grico@tucsoncitizen.com June 12, 2004 Two Border Patrol agents found dead early yesterday on the Tohono O'odham Nation had gunshot wounds, and there are no suspects at large, the tribe's police chief said yesterday. "Since this is an ongoing investigation, the Tohono O'odham Police Department will not have further comment until the investigation is complete," tribal Police Chief Richard Saunders said in a statement. Saunders confirmed to the Tucson Citizen that the off-duty agents had gunshot wounds and there are no suspects at large. The agents were stationed in El Paso, Texas, said Doug Mosier, spokesman for the Border Patrol's El Paso sector. Mosier identified them as supervisory agent Arturo Betancourt, 45, and Border Patrol agent Elizabeth Granillo, 31. Betancourt has been with the agency for 15 years and Granillo for 2 1/2 years, he said. Both worked in El Paso, Mosier said. The two had relatives in Arizona and El Paso, but Mosier didn't know who had relatives in state. "But first and foremost, our hearts and prayers go out to the family, friends and colleagues of these agents," he said. The FBI sent an evidence team to assist tribal police but was not in charge of the investigation, said Susan Herskovits, an FBI spokeswoman. She referred all further questions to tribal police. The agents were found in a vehicle in the San Xavier District, about 10 miles southwest of Tucson, at 2:30 a.m. when tribal police responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle, according to a statement from the office of the chairman and vice chairman for the nation. Citizen Staff Writers Luke Turf and Irene Hsiao contributed to this article. --------- "RE: Looking Cloud imprisoned" --------- Date: Wed, 9 June 2004 08:15:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARLO" http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/06/09/news/state/news08.txt Looking Cloud imprisoned June 9, 2004 FLORENCE, Colo. (AP) - A man convicted of killing American Indian Movement activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash has been transferred to a federal prison in Colorado. Arlo Looking Cloud, 51, arrived at the United States Penitentiary in Florence, Colo., on Friday. A federal jury in Rapid City convicted him in February of first-degree murder committed in the perpetration of a kidnapping. He received a mandatory life sentence in April and could be eligible for parole after 10 years. His paternal aunt, Martha Featherman of Denver, said she was pleased he will be close enough to visit. "That's wonderful," she said. "I'm going to see him when I hear from him. He said he's going to call." Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, Jun 14 2004 10:53:36 -0700 From: Janet Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - This is not the first message I have passed on about Mr. Wing. I had inquired of the authorities after the first such message, because I was concerned. The symptoms described simply didn't match the treatment that was being rendered. I received the same boilerplate responses as those described by others. The prison refuses to reveal anything based on privacy concerns, and indeed, they are not free to divulge anything about an inmate's condition. So all we have to go on are the reports of informants within the prison, and they could be exaggerating. My problem with that line of reasoning is that they are describing a medically feasible progression of a fistula, and unless one of them has medical training or experience, they'd have no way to know how such a condition would progress. So I tend to trust this report, and believe that unless Mr. Wing receives intensive care immediately, he will very likely soon cross over. I can't imagine how, after all the assurance, the prison hopes to explain that away. By now they can't possibly hope we won't notice. Please write, following the suggestions provided by this note. Anger and vitriol will accomplish nothing. The true purpose of these efforts is to demonstrate, by sheer bulk of letters, that the world is watching, and yes, we are noticing that Mr. Wing's condition is deteriorating. Thanks, Janet ============== [This message may be forwarded to other lists under the condition that it is not altered in any way]==== From Justicenetwork June 12th, 2004, Update on Justin Wing and ALERT This update is coming in very few words, but these few words will be saying a lot. We have just learned that Justin Wing now has an infected substance (pus) oozing from his belly button. We can wait no longer .... immediate action is needed to save Justin's life. Justin needs to be *immediately hospitalized* and monitored while the infection is taken care of. Hopefully, with good medical treatment the infection will clear up and then he could have the surgery. He will need proper nutrition to get through the surgery, among other things. Background Information Mr. Justin Wing, AO # 12082, incarcerated at Montana State Prison, is an elder with very concerning health problems. He is in need of immediate *specialized* medical attention and it is being 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 and he started to get a hole going into his stomach. From this open wound there is drainage, pus. Now we have found out that pus is also oozing from his belly button; this proved that whatever medical care the prison says he has been receiving for the last few days was not enough. His stomach is swollen to the size of a football (some have even said the size of a basketball) right in front. He has Hepatitis and his current problem is preventing him from eating properly. The wound got even more infected and when the bandage is being changed, which in itself can be very painful, you can see that the infection is going deeper. Because of the medical neglect, his condition has worsened. Dr. Goldstein, an outside physician who saw Mr. Wing a while back, was upset because the prison could have done something a long time ago. In spite of all the awareness, phone calls and letters from several countries, the prison has not really done anything to change the situation. The prison administration, including Warden Mahoney, as well as the Native American Liaison, Mike Wetzel, are assuring people that Justin Wing is fine and getting proper care. Mr. Wetzel has met Justin Wing and now claims that he said he was just fine. Unfortunately we know from reliable sources that Justin Wing's words have been twisted around. What really happened during his meeting with Native American Liaison Mike Wetzel and the unit manager is that Mr. Wing went to stand up and the wound on his hernia tore open. Mr. Wetzel asked then if he was ok, and Justin said yes, as he was already up. The Liaison knew that Mr. Wing had trouble getting up and down, and yet he was put in a situation where his wound broke open. Due to the size of his hernia, he must plan everything out so that he completes all needed tasks before he sits down, or he lies down. The size of the hernia puts a lot of pressure on his lungs and makes it very difficult for him to change positions. A week ago it was reported that Justin Wing was getting worse by the day and is leaving his room less and less. Since the pain would otherwise keep him awake, he used to walk himself to the point of exhaustion so he could fall asleep at night . This week he was no longer able to do that. Instead, if he went outside now, he just leaned against a wall. He has been unable to go to chow the past few days and must now have meals brought to him. The wound has ruptured wide open, draining all over his clothing and causing extreme pain. It is a fact that if Justin was getting proper care, the hernia would have been taken care of 3 years ago, instead of letting it progress all this time and become life threatening. Bandages would have been kept clean and changed as sanitation and cleanliness would have been observed. His medications would have been adequate to control the infection and pain. Had proper and timely care been provided, none of these problems would exist now. The surgery would have been quick and easy. The prison allowed the hernia to get this big due to their negligence, and now Mr. Wing's life is at risk. His condition has been classified as critical and/or terminal for a while now, so how can anyone claim that he is fine? If the hernia bursts inside his body, the fluid will flood his lungs and probably be fatal. Two factors which are also adversely affecting his condition is that he is unable to eat very much at a time and he has a lot of difficulty breathing due to the huge size of the hernia, which is situated towards the top of the stomach area. He needs proteins to help fight off the infection and Hepatitis C but he can not eat as needed and required to do this. Without proper nutrition, his risks are obviously increased. He has a hard time breathing because the hernia is so big it pushes down on his lungs and stomach. The reason the specialist who saw him was upset with the medical care at the prison, is that the hernia should have been taken care of while it was still small. 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 help urgently. We are very concerned, knowing that Montana State prison is a facility where the Suicide Rate is one of the highest in the nation. In addition to this, there have been documented cases of severe mistreatment, abuse and neglect of mentally-ill prisoners. It is not surprising that there could be such a gross and inhumane lack of medical care, nor is it the first time that this is happening. Each time a case of medical neglect is reported, the administration tries to deny that there is a problem, as in the case of the 2 Native American veterans whose lives were in danger till outside pressure and awareness forced the prison to take better care of them. DOC and prison have promised they would take measures concerning the many suicides, but there are 3 or 4 suicide attempts every month that go unreported ! We wonder how many medical negligent cases go unreported? Awareness needs to be raised, and Montana State Prison needs to be monitored by all concerned citizens as well as the media. Please help saving Justin's life, by requesting his immediate hospitalization ! The contact information is below. Let them know that the medical neglect is being documented. Your help can save Mr. Wing's life and life of others in the future. Respectfully, Justicenetwork ==> 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 . If the addresses do no fully appear on some lists we can send them to you off list. If you have problems with addresses that do not work, please let us know. Thank you. ======================= HOW CAN YOU HELP ? 1) by calling and writing to the prison and MT DOC officials: Bill Slaughter, Director of Corrections (406) 444-3930; tward@state.mt.us Warden Mike Mahoney (406) 846-1320, ext. 2200 mmahoney@state.mt.us Associate Warden Myron Beeson (406) 846-1320, ext. 2454 mbeeson@state.mt.us 2) By sending a copy of your letter to the following legislators and senators: ONEIL@CENTURYTEL.NET GGOLIE@IN-TCH.COM arlene_becker@yahoo.com GUTSCHE@WILDROCKIES.ORG james_corson@baucus.senate.gov HANSEN_KENNETH@EMAIL.COM SUEDICKENSON@YAHOO.COM DANWHARRINGTON@IN-TCH.COM CSJUNEAU@3RIVERS.NET GALLATING@AOL.COM intic@sofast.net HALJACOBSONHD54@ATTBI.COM jayne57@hotmail.com KAUFMANN@MT.NET timjdowell@hotmail.com JESSELAZ@YAHOO.COM jamckee2@uswest.net LENHART@MIDRIVERS.COM MRB@3RIVERS.NET MONICA@LINDEEN.NET BERGREN@HI-LINE.NET MATTHEWS@MIDRIVERS.COM NORMA@RANGEWEB.NET MCCARTHYBEA@AOL.COM BRANAE@EARTHLINK.NET MUSGROVE@HI-LINE.NET REPBUZZAS@HOTMAIL.COM LNELSON@NEMONTEL.NET PCLARKHD72@YAHOO.COM BNEWMAN@IN-TCH.COM UTOPIAMT@PRODIGY.NET PARKMONT@HOTMAIL.COM COONEYEMAIL@AOL.COM PERRYSD16@AOL.COM SENATORBRC@HOTMAIL.COM HRASER@BIGSKY.NET LARRYCYR@EARTHLINK.NET 5RYAN@3RIVERS.NET BOBBEA@DIGISYS.NET SENATORDONRYAN@MSN.COM JONELLING@AOL.COM TRUDISD21@YAHOO.COM JIM@JIMELLIOTT.ORG BARVX@HOTMAIL.COM NANCRON@AOL.COM SQIGS@MSN.COM FACEY_TOM@HOTMAIL.COM EMSTONY47@AOL.COM RICEFRITZ@MONTANA.COM JONTESTER@YAHOO.COM GALLIK@IN-TCH.COM SAMT@MCN.NET GALLUS@IN-TCH.COM DAVEWANZ@MONTANA.COM KGALVINHALCRO2@AOL.COM WEISSFORHD13@HOTMAIL.COM JCGIBSON@IMT.NET MWHEAT@COKWHEATLAW.COM GLONKY@AOL.COM JONATHANWINDYBOY@HOTMAIL.COM 3) By emailing the media in and out of Montana (as many as you can) : In Montana: Enewhous@greatfal.gannett, (MT Reporter Eric Newhouse) irstaff@helenair.com citydesk@dailychronicle.com bwilke@dailychronicle.com irstaff@helenair.com editor@billingsnews.com news@billingsgazette.com speakup@billingsgazette.com newsdesk@missoulian.com oped@missoulian.com Rona.Rahlf@lee.net, Gerry.Obrien@lee.net jebrown@selway.umt.edu 4640twiggs@selway.umt.edu Native/Aboriginal media: dyellowbird@gfherald.com info@naja.com editor@lakotajournal.com lizg@okit.com louis@okit.com , rhsteinberger1@yahoo.com info@aptn.ca jcompton@aptn.ca, Other media Dateline@NBC.com 60m@cbsnews.com o'reilly@foxnews.com speakout@foxnews.com Newswatch@FOXNEWS.COM dhirsh@fortunesociety.org observer@coldreams.com 48hours@cbsnews.com truthradio@truthradio.com Nightly@NBC.com niteline@abcnews.com letters@time.com,2020@abcnews.com submissions@thenation.com gary.fields@wsj.com robin@emlenpub.net netaudr@abc.com lineNewsMail@CNN.com Site@CNN.COM shemingway@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com issues@ix.netcom.com peterjennings@abcnews.com dcave@salon.com samdonaldson@abcnews.com editors@statesman.com letters@thereporter.com tim@eudoramail.com letters@usnews.com editor@USAtoday.com WORLD@msnbc.com THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT - PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU RECEIVE A RESPONSE FROM THE OFFICIALS - --------- "RE: History: Carlisle Indian School" --------- Date: Monday, June 07, 2004 03:11 pm From: Barbara Landis Subj: May 22, 1891 INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle Indian School Newspaper. [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 22, 1891 NUMBER 37 ================================================ OH! how can I get to Shut Eye Town? There's never a tear and not a frown In the beautiful Land of Dreams, you know, So kind and good is the way to go. Oh! what can I wear to Shut Eye Town? The children dress in a white bed-gown; And farmer and pauper and gracious queen Look all alike in that land, I ween. Oh! what can I eat in Shut Eye Town? Sweet candied moonshine you'll swallow down, And star-beams, done *a la Russe,* you know, With fair ice-crystals just for a show. Oh! whom shall I see in Shut Eye Town? The poets and wise men of great renown, And dwarfs and fairies and every one nice, Too many, by far, to tell in a trice. Oh! take me off to Shut Eye Town? Just dress me up in my shite bed-gown, And set me afloat on the Dreamland Sea, That soon in the haven dear I be. [-*Mrs Clara B. Trowbridge, in Sunday School Times.* ============== A Practical Lesson. One summer afternoon a party of boys went down to the river K___ to enjoy a swim together. A row-boat was tied at the wharf near which they were swimming, and the boys thoughtlessly kept jumping in and out of the boat, thus wetting and soiling its seats. When they had dressed themselves again and were about leaving the wharf the owner of the boat came hurrying down in a towering passion, carrying a heavy cane in his hand. "Now," said he, "if I find the boy who has been in that boat I will throw him overboard." Then, turning fiercely to one of the boys, he asked, "Were you in it?" The boy was not in the habit of telling lies. If he had been allowed a moment to recover himself after the first fright he would not have answered as he did. But under the impulse of sudden fear he answered, "No!" The man put the same question to each of the other boys, and each denied having been in the boat till the question came to the last boy. He paused a moment. Then, looking the man straight in the eye, he answered, "I won't tell a lie anyhow! I was in the boat." The man clutched his cane and seemed about to carry out his threat but there was something in the manly bearing of the boy which made him pause. And after some more angry words he went away without inflicting any punishment. The boys were very quiet as they left the wharf, and there were some cheeks flushed with shame and some sorrowful hearts among them as they hurried home. And one of the boys, who is a man now, has been heard to say but recently, "I never think of that time wihtout blushing. It was one of the best sermons I have ever heard. ============= The Power of Kindness The old story of the wind and the sun both trying, for a wager, to force the traveller to divest himself of his cloak - the sun winning by warmth and kindness, where the wind only compelled a stronger resistance and closer enwrapping - points an ever new moral, and one which mothers and teachers cannot ponder too well. Many a child has been warped and soured for life by the want of the sunshine of praise and approval. "Teach what ought to be done," said an eloquent preacher, "and not what ought not to be done; let the good crowd out the evil." Kindness will melt, and reproof harden - this is an immutable law, and yet it is one of the hardest lessons that a conscientious parent or teacher can learn. A little boy who was the owner of a rather smart little trap, with pony and cart, was much annoyed by a "Mordecal at his gate," in the shape of a small, ragged urchin, whose shanty he had to pass daily on his way to the village, and who jeered at him with the versatile and cutting tongue of a born gamin. The owner of the little turnout was simply made ------------------------------------- (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. ============================= Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall. -[*Confucious. --------- The April - May number of the RED MAN was issued the early part of this week. --------- It was the 6th Cavalry, and not the 9th, as last week's HELPER had it, that a number of our returned boys enlisted in. --------- Frank Conroy, Pine Ridge Agency, writes us subscribing for the HELPER. He promises us a long letter in the near future. --------- Remark of a Y.M.C.A. boy: "If I thought we would have a building for our Y.M.C.A. this summer, I wouldn't go home." --------- Mr. A.S. Fasick of the class of '92 of Dickinson College will address our Y.M.C.A. this evening upon association work in general. --------- The report comes from a little girl in the country who gets stubborn fits once in a while, that at such times she will not move unless her companion speaks to her with a "voice of a fog horn." The smile is not so bad. --------- "Please change my address, etc., etc. Of more than twenty-five periodicals that I received regularly, none is more certain of being read by me than the HELPER, nor with greater interest; the doings and sayings of my young brethren in red as they are crowding up the hill we all had to climb, awaked my heartiest sympathies and admiration." SUBSCRIBER. --------- Sometime in June the contract will be let for the construction of the fine brick building that is to be erected on these premises at an expense of some $30,000. With the commencement of the work a fresh impetus will be given to business at Grant Institute, and it is anticipated that the spirit of enterprise will permeate all departments of the school, imparting to each an earnestness and determination for advancement, such as has never before been felt by our pupils. Beginning with July 1st, 1891, it is safe to predict there will be a year of general improvement at this institution not excelled by any in the history of Indian schools. [*Pipe of Peace*, Genoa, Nebr. The following letter from Mr. R.V. Belt, Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs, speaks for itself: CAPT. R.H.PRATT, SuPT. CARLISLE INDIAN TRAINING SCHOOL, CARLISLE, PA. DEAR CAPTAIN:- I received a few days ago, under cover addressed in your handwriting, a copy of "Stiya, A Carlisle Indian Girl at Home" by Embe, and have had great pleasure in its perusal. All praise to Carlisle and to Stiya! The graduating pupils of all the Indian training schools would do well to read of Stiya's trials and triumph, and gather therefrom courage and strength to resist the terrible down-pull of the uncivilizing influences and discouraging surroundings prevailing within the reservations to which they return. With kindest regards, I remain, Truly yours, R.V. Belt. --------- A kindly patron sends ten cents for the HELPER to give to a nine-year-old boy as a present for abandoning the smoking of cigarettes. It has been proven very often that cigarette smoking is injurious to growing boys. It makes them weak-minded and small bodied and weak hearted and weak lunged. The truth of this has become so apparent that laws are made to prevent boys from smoking cigarettes. We hope our young friend will be a man and say "I will not smoke another cigarette until I am twenty-one." If he lives so long wihout smoking, it will be easy for him never to use it again, and he will have the better health for doing without the poison. --------- The winner of the cow puzzle of last week is Amelia Haswell, who lives at Wellsville. In her own cute way she says, "I think I got it. The cow that looked back and had eleven pairs of horns behind her, no cow that can say those few words even the smartest cow can do it so the cow didn't say it. I was asked this question by Mrs. B. I couldn't answer no way. Oh but I think hard till I got it. She kept on laughing at me because she had found out before I did. I don't know if this is the answer that you are looking for. Mrs. H. has the best Jersey cows and yet they can't say they were 11 pairs of horns behind them, because cows can't talk." --------- A new Agent has been appointed for the Seminoles of Florida. In a private letter from a responsible person of that vicinity, we read the following startling words: "If there is anything that the Seminole Indian hates and is taught to hate by the old men of the tribe it is the United States Government or any one connected with it." The writer says, "We expect a great deal from Mr. J.L. Cutter, our new agent. He is a true man." --------- For us Indians whose mothers are not yet educated let us substitute the word "teacher" for "mother," in taking home to ourselves the following: A distinguished author says, "I resolved when I was a child never to use a word which I could not pronounce before my mother." He kept his resolution, and became a pure-minded, noble, honored gentleman. ---------------------------------------------------- At the Carlisle Indian school, is published monthly an eight-page quarto of standard size, called THE RED MAN, the mechanical part of which is done entirely by Indian boys. This paper is valuable as a summary of information on Indian matters, and contains writings by Indian pupils, and local incidents of the school. Terms: Fifty cents a year, in advance. For 1, 2, and 3 subscribers for THE RED MAN we give the same premium in Standing Offer for the HELPER. Address, THE RED MAN, Carlisle, PA. ========================================= (page 3) The schools, this week, passed an examination in music. Some of the teachers will go to Harrisburg tomorrow to take in the Gilmore concert. The Commencement will take place June 3rd., somewhat later than usual on account of the measles epidemic. The School nine expects to go to Harrisburg tomorrow to play the Harrisburg club of the Inter-state League. Miss Mary B. Worthington has returned from Sunbury, where she has been pursuing her art work for some time. The Union Reserves and Red Men are being measured for baseball suits, which they won as prizes in recent games. Mrs. Pratt returned from Logansport, Indiana, on Wednesday, having had an enjoyable visit among friends and relatives. The open air concert given by the band on Monday afternoon was in honor of the girls who were to leave for summer homes on Tuesday morning. Miss Schaeffner gave a reception at the Club parlor on Friday evening in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Forney, of Harrisburg, who spent the afternoon visiting the school. Prof. J.C. Price, D.D., President of Livingstone College, Salisbury, N.C., who lectured in town on Monday, was among the visitors to the school on the afternoon of that day. The three circles of our king's Daughters sent two dollars each to the missionary school at Tokio, Japan. Two dollars were also sent by Ella Rickert to the same school, making $8.00 in all. The Man-on-the-band-stand was minus the services of his chief clerk on Monday and Tuesday, Miss Burgess having taken a trip to Philadelpiha to see a relative who had just come from California. Thomas Barnett and John Frost were as heartily applauded for the masterly way in which they took down the screen from around the platform, on Friday evening as any performer of the exhibition. The Red Men expected to play a game of baseball with the Undines last Saturday. Whether the Undines feard that the experience of a previous Saturday would be repeated and they suffer a second defeat, or whether the threatening weather prevented, we are unable to say, but they failed to turn up. Martin Archiquette has the honored place at the head of the graduating class, this year. Charlie Dagenett is second and Etta Robertson third. Etta's delay in arriving from her home after vacation last fall has told on her standing throughout the year, which is high considering the time lost. Those who failed to attend the lecture at Bosler Hall on Monday evening by Dr. J.C. Price on the "Future of the Negro," missed a rare treat, and those who went were greatly pleased. We are glad so many of the advanced boys had this opportunity of hearing so eloquent a speaker and upon a subject they could not fail to understand, as many of the points presented by the speaker would apply to Indians as well as to the Negroes. Miss Forsman, teacher at Wilson College, Chambersburg, was the guest of Miss Wood, over Sunday. One hundred and twenty-four sets of double harness and five spring wagons were shipped this week to supply agencies in the west. The very pretty scrap-books made by the "Sunshine Scatterers" (Kings Daughters) were sent to Phebe Howell to be used by her in connection with her work at the Pennsylvania Hospital. We are honored with the prospect of a visit from Commissioner and Mrs. Morgan at the time of the Graduating exercises on June 3rd. The Commissioner will present the diplomas. Mr. and Mrs. Standing are attending the Hampton Commencement exercises. They stopped opn their way, to visit Miss Lida who is attending school at West Chester, this State. The Carlisle alumni, remnants of classes '89 and '90 who are still with us in one calling or another, held an enjoyable party in Miss Dittes' rooms, last Friday evening. But few of the teachers and officers recieved invitations. Miss Dittes accompanied the party of girls who left for country homes on Tuesday morning as far as Lancaster, and from there went to Millersville to see Cecelia Londrosh and Clara Faber. She found them progressing nicely and doing well in their studies at the Normal School. Miss Pond, daughter of a Presbyterian missionary to Syria, was a guest of Miss Schaeffner on Monday. Miss Pond is now a student at Wilson College, while her father and mother are still in Syria. Where is the person who says it is too bad to separate the dear Indian children from their parents to be educated? Here is an instance of an educated father sending his loved daughter thousands of miles from home across the deep, dark sea, and other people wiser and better than we, think that such a course when it can be pursued, is right and best. No one expected very much of an exhibition last Friday night after hearing numerous discouraging remarks from various teachers such as, "Ah, well, we have done the best we could, but we haven't done much," etc. Hence, the surprise of all not interested in the "get up" of the occasion, was quite marked when the speakers did very well indeed, and the intervening parts of sprightly little dialogues and songs were so well rendered. Didn't the violets, (live ones with bright faces and beaming eyes) look pretty? Quite the speech of the evening was that given by William Petoskey. A number of old but very good puzzles have just been received from our aged but much interested friend of the Indian, Mr. Osborn, of Salt Lake City. Those that seem appropriate for our little paper and come within the limits of our understanding, will be printed from time to time, and we are sure that our readers as well as the Man-on-the-band-stand himself will feel grateful for the amusement they will afford. The first of the series will be printed on the fourth page next week. =============================================== (Continued from the First Page.) ----------------------------------------------- miserable by the persecution, especially as it afforded great delight to a number of the smaller roughs of the neighborhood. "I would thrash him," said the child to his mother, "but I am afraid Jack (the pony) would run away." "I will tell you a much better way," suggested the mother; and after some persuasion she induced the boy to try her plan. The next morning, as usual, the enemy was waiting for his victim. "Hi!" began the urchin, "I s'pose you think that thing's a hoss!" "No," said the little boy, with a nod and a bright smile, "but he is a very good pony; won't you get in and try him?" The small rough came up and patted the animal. "He is a nice little feller," he admitted, in a shamefaced way; and in a second the boys were bowling together merrily down the road, and the feud was over forever. =========== A Fair Comparison of an Indian. An educated Indian has said: "You white people are not fair in your judgement, you judge us all by the worst men in the tribe - the vagabonds, the beggars, and scamps who go into town to gamble, who beg at your doors; you do not see our better class; we keep away. Would you like me to go to your city and judge you all from a walk through an alley, a look at your poor house, a glance at the people in a back street? We are just as much ashamed of the scamps as you would be; no matter among what people you go, there is always a worse and a better class; we are tired of always being judged by the worse. =========== What Says "The Book News," Published by John Wanamaker. "Stiya's story of her return from Carlisle to an adobe hut in Pueblo, the home of her parents, tells briefly and simply of the degrading conditions to be contended against if the years of training at the Indian school in the east are to benefit the future life of the student or her people. Her refusal to resume the Indian dress and attend the dance, brought upon her family the persecution of the governor, by whose order they were publicly whipped. Through her courageous endurance of this humiliating and unjust punishment Stiya gained her father's sympathy and his determination to win by labor the means to provide his family with comforts to which his daughter had by degrees accustomed them. This ends the story. The little book should encourage Stiya's brothers and sisters to a like struggle for freedom; thus will the civilizing efforts of each returned Indian boy and girl have as good effect." Price 50 cents; by mail 57 cents. Address INDIAN HELPER, CARLISLE, PA. ========== The Cow Question. The answer to this question is that none of the cows could look back and say, "There are eleven pairs of horns behind me;" because cows cannot talk. We have received several answers to the above from our country pupils. The name of the winner of the prize will be found on the inside. =========== Enigma. I am made of 12 letters. My 9, 7, 8, 6, 7, 10 is a machine that requires brains to run and steam to move. My 12, 11, 2, 3, 10 is something very useful in school. My 1, 5, 2, 6, 7 is something yellow that some Indian boys dearly love to wear. My 6, 4, 9 is frozen water. My whole is an amusement that some of our boys enjoy better than anything else these spring days. ============ The Name of a Popular Book and its Author. Very few were able to guess the above enigma, which appeared in the last week's HELPER. The answer is: *In-no-cence A-broad,* Mark Twain. ============ ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S ENIGMA: Blankets out to air. ================================================= STANDING OFFER: - For FIVE new subscribers to the INDIAN HELPER, we will give the person sending them a photographic group of the 17 Carlisle Indian Printer boys, on a card 4 1/2 X 6 1/2 inches, worth 20 cents when sold by itself. Name and tribe of each boy given. (Persons wishing the above premium will please enclose a 1-cent stamp to pay postage.) For TEN, Two PHOTOGRAPHS, one showing a group of Pueblos as they arrived in wild dress, and another of the same pupils three years after, or, for the same number of names we give two photographs showing still more marked contrast between a Navajoe as he arrived in native dress, and as he now looks, worth 20 cents a piece. The new combination picture showing all our buildings and band-stand, (boudoir) will also be given for TEN subscribers. (Persons wishing the above premiums will please enclose a 2-cent stamp to pay postage.) For FIFTEEN, we offer a GROUP of the whole school on 9x14 inch card. Faces show distinctly, worth sixty cents. For FIFTEEN, the new combination picture 8x10 showing all our buildings. (Persons wishing the above premium will please send 6 cents to pay postage.) For TWO Subscribers and a One-cent stamp, we send the printed copy of the Apache contrast. For ONE Subscriber and a Two-cent stamp we will send the printed copy of Pueblo contrast. Persons sending clubs must send all the names at once. ================================================= Transcri