From gars@speakeasy.org Fri Jul 16 01:13:13 2004 Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 15:45:47 -0700 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.029 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 029 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 July 17, 2004 Assiniboine Wasasa/red berries moon Kiowa Tagunotal p'a san/little moon of deer horns dropping off +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; News and Information Distribution 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "We told them we would rather die than leave our lands; but we could not help ourselves. They took us down. Many died on the road. Two of my children died. After we reached the new land, all my horses died. The water was very bad. All our cattle died; not one was left. I stayed until one hundred and fifty-eight of my people had died. Then I ran away with thirty of my people, men and women and children. Some of the children were orphans. We were three months on the road. We were sick and weak and starved. When we reached the Omaha Reserve the Omahas gave us a piece of land, and we were in a hurry to plough it and put in wheat. While we were working, the soldiers came and arrested us. Half of us were sick. We would rather have died than be carried back; but we could not help ourselves." __ Chief Standing Bear, Ponca +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! My half-side, Janet, has observed further evidence of "Just-Us" at work in the US. ------ Four stories published in the past week, and one not published anywhere, point to one conclusion -- Indians, regardless of gender and age, who are incarcerated in BIA-controlled tribal facilities or in state prisons have been suffering a death penalty, no matter how trivial their offense, for some time. On July 11, the Montana Standard reported on the troubled medical care provided by the Montana State prison system. The reporter (I am told) tried to interview Justin Wing, a Lakota inmate who claimed that for three years he was denied care for an enlarged and infected hernia. Unfortunately, he was swept into an isolated infirmary and hospital environment the very day she requested an interview, and he died this week. Since she had not spoken to him, she was not able to include his story. In the Northwest, according to the Statesman-Journal on July 10, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Yakama Nation, were ordered by the Department of Interior to close juvenile facilities due to "life threatening conditions." The Arizona Republic and Farmington Daily Times reported on July 9 that the DOI labelled two Navajo detention facilities "the worst." On July 7, the Gallup Independent reports about a Native inmate who only narrowly escaped becoming one of many Native inmate suicide statistics. It's encouraging that at last the Department of Interior has investigated and is finally acting on the abysmal conditions of its own facilities, not only crumbling, overcrowded buildings, but overworked and undertrained staff. It's good to know the DOI is closing down poorly-run juvenile facilities. What makes one wonder is why it took so long to notice that so many Indians were committing suicide in Indian jails. Why did a young girl have to die alone in a school cell, before the practice of locking up intoxicated youngsters came to light? Why are prisoners, including Native inmates, literally dying before their time in Montana state cells, allegedly without proper medical care -- and this while experts routinely inspect the facilities thanks to a 1991 medical neglect class action lawsuit? How do we dare be surprised that most inmates don't stay out of prison long before commiting another crime, given the example our corrections facilities provide? Janet Smith +/// owlstar@speakeasy.org P. O. Box 672168 /*/+ OwlStar Trading Post Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. + / * http://www.owlstar.com * + ------ Dohiyi Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) gars@speakeasy.org P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Regina Girl still missing - Miami Indian Tribe after Six Days to attend U.N. Convention - Family steps up search - Tribes heading to Scotland for missing Daughter to seek Salmon Passage - Navajo President reviews - YELLOW BIRD: proposed U.S. Apology Newcomers need a primer on Tribes - Indian Caucus prepares for Boston - Grant to help Ojibwe - Voter ID hearings set keep Mercury out of Diet - Thune/Daschle on Indian Country - Students work to preserve - IHS investigates missing Funds lost NA Languages - Lummis see Shortfall - Native Food Summit 2004 for Health Care at a Glance - Nipmucs will appeal - Press Release: US Tribal rejection NSAIE Summer Kickoff - Settlement to help Zuni Tribe - After 16 years, protect its Heaven Tribal Arts Festival canceled - Regulators to allow - Deal lets Ontario Me'tis Coal Mine expansion hunt, fish freely - County gives conditional OK - Sisters in Spirit for Bear Butte Road Walk the Talk through City - Commission Members - BIA: Shiprock, Tohatchi Jails to call for Leader's ouster among worst - Money for WWII Navajo - Tribal Police may gain new powers Code Talkers Memorials - Native Prisoner - Goshutes protest handling -- LAST Update on Justin Wing of Range Creek includes his written statement - President Bush signs law - Rustywire: Navajo Firedancer to pay Western Shoshone - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Apaches: Fires on 'Sacred' - Rustywire Poem: Red Gourds Mount Graham foretold - University of Oregon: - Trees near Telescopes thinned New Longhouse to call Home despite enviros - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Regina Girl still missing after Six Days" --------- Date: Mon, 12 July 2004 08:57:44 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TAMARA KEEPNESS MISSING" http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/07/11/canada/reginagirl040711 Regina girl still missing after six days July 11, 2004 REGINA - Despite an extended search area and hundreds of tips, police in Regina say they still haven't located a missing five-year-old girl. Regina police said it would keep searching even though there was a total lack of any evidence leading to Tamra Keepness. Areas being searched included various woods and meadows around the city outskirts and on Saturday, police even had a boat search Wascana Creek. The police insisted its was still treating her disappearance as a missing person case, but acknowledged the possibility Tamra could have been snatched by someone cruising the strip frequented by prostitutes near her downtown Regina home. There is also a halfway house for prisoners in the vicinity. Sunday marked the sixth day since Tamra disappeared some time during Monday night. Police confirmed they were following up on visions of aboriginal elders as the increasingly desperate team of 80 to 100 officers plus volunteers also renewed their search of downtown Regina. "Because Tamra [Keepness] is an aboriginal child, any information that comes to us through the First Nations community - whether it is through something like a vision or through some tradition - we're going to take that information and follow up on it," said Elizabeth Popowich of the Regina police. Friday's fruitless search of the marshy Wascana Creek area near Regina airport came as a result of such an aboriginal vision. Tamra's family meanwhile returned to its home after it was searched by police. There were no signs of forced entry or struggle in the house, police said. Tamra lives with her mother and five siblings, including her twin sister. She is described as a thin, 3.5 foot-tall girl, weighing about 20 kilos. Tamra has bobbed brown hair and brown eyes. She may be wearing a light- blue striped halter top with pink accents, light blue jeans, and pink and white shoes. Written by CBC News Online staff Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Family steps up search for missing Daughter" --------- Date: Mon, 12 July 2004 08:57:44 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DALEEN BOOSE MISSING" http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=sk_bosse20040709 Family steps up search for missing daughter July 9, 2004 Saskatoon - The family of a 25-year-old Saskatoon woman has hired a private investigator to help search for their daughter who has been missing for almost two months. Daleen Bosse is a fourth-year education student at the University of Saskatchewan and the mother of a three-year-old girl. She disappeared May 18 after an Assembly of First Nations function. In the 52 days since her mother, Pauline Muskego, has been meeting with police and trying to console their granddaughter. "Every time we come back she says 'Did you find my mom?'" she said. "And we say, 'Not yet, we're still looking.' We're continuing to tell her that we're looking for her mom, that we will find her and that she'll be OK." Frustrated by the lack of progress Muskego hired a private investigator earlier this month. Todd Hrabok of Saskatoon Private Investigations, said Bosse may have been spotted at a bank machine a couple of days after she disappeared, but her ATM card doesn't seem to have been used since then. He also said the discovery of the missing woman's car last month hints at foul play. "There's a lot of kilometers put on the car. There's a steering wheel cover that was missing. Some floor mats from the front, seat covers from seats, and a child seat in the back," he said. "Generally what I think as an investigator is that's a clean up of a crime scene. We wouldn't like to think of it that way but that's the way it's looking." The Onion Lake First Nation, where Muskego lives, has posted a $5,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of Bosse. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Navajo President reviews proposed U.S. Apology" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:40:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PROPOSED US APOLOGY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_12559.shtml Navajo president reviews proposed U.S. apology to Native Americans By The Daily Times July 11, 2004 WASHINGTON - Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr., met with Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., regarding Senate Joint Resolution 37, an acknowledgement to a long history of official depredations and ill- conceived policies by the United States Government regarding Indian tribes and offer an apology to all Native Peoples on behalf of the United States. Shirley praised the senator's effort to acknowledge the resentment many tribes continue to hold regarding past policies of termination, removal, relocation and neglect of trust obligations regarding the nation's first Americans. "This joint resolution, I hope will start a process of review and dialogue on how future federal government policy development will further assist and support tribal self-determination efforts," Shirley said "Sometimes a metaphorical clean slate is needed to build a better foundation for the future of relations between Native Nations and the United States." The resolution was introduced by Brownback, and is currently supported by Tex Hall, Three Affiliated Tribes chairman and president of the National Congress of American Indians. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee approved the language on June 23 and now heads to the Senate floor. Its companion bill, H. J. 98, was introduced on June 18th. Among the main points of S.J. Res. 37 include: - Recognizing the special legal and political relationship shared by Indian tribes and the United States; - Commending and honoring native peoples for the thousands of years they have stewarded and protected the United States; - Expressing regret for former offenses and express a commitment to build on positive relationships of the past and present to move toward a brighter future; - Acknowledging years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the U.S. government regarding Indian tribes; - Urging the president to acknowledge offenses against Indian tribes; - Commending state governments that have begun reconciliation efforts with recognized Indian tribes located in their jurisdictions and encourage all state governments to work toward similar reconciling relationships; - Specifying this measure does not authorize or settle any claim against the United States government. Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Indian Caucus prepares for Boston" --------- Date: Wed, 7 July 2004 08:37:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIAN CAUCUS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=4676 Indian Caucus prepares for Boston Set on networking, giving candidates an earful Sam Lewin July 6, 2004 The old adage states that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and Gwen Carr is planning on doing some squeaking in Boston later this month. The Madison, Wisconsin woman is the head of the Wisconsin Indian Democratic Caucus; an organization dedicated to making the voices of tribal interests heard above the fevered pitch of the national political discourse. "I believe part of my purview is to make sure that happens. When issues are on the table, it is our job to say `What about the tribes?' ", Carr, 49, told the Native American Times. As the former Executive Director of the Arizona Democratic Party, Carr is something of a political operative. She has been getting tribal members into Democratic conventions for years, starting with 1996 when she brought together some 90 Indian delegates to the national convention in Chicago. "We had statements from candidates on Indian issues and it was wonderful to see it happen because it brought Indians into the mainstream," said Carr, a member of the Cayuga Nation of New York. Fast-forward four years. This time over 100 Indian delegates attended the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. "Because of '96, we had a desk at the Democratic National Convention where we had someone who would work with tribes and be a voice within the national party." This year's convention is in Boston and Carr says she is rounding up the largest number of Indian delegates yet, although a final number is still to be determined. Carr believes that the number one issue of importance is the concept of tribal sovereignty, although she acknowledges that for some tribes, gaming runs a very close second. Other issues may simply not even be on the radar screen of most politicians. "There is what I call the elephant in the living room-the trust fund issue - that's not far from anyone's mind. You also have jurisdictional issues, you have law enforcement issues, you name it - it involves us," Carr said. As opposed to the Iowa Caucus, an Indian Caucus at a national convention is designed to solidify a position on issues-not choose a candidate. John Kerry has already been picked and barring a major problem will be nominated. "It's a different animal when you are dealing with a national caucus because that happens after you have a nominee. This is networking, communication and relationship building," she said. National Congress of American Indians President Tex Hall has vowed to bring one million Indian voters to the polls in November. A bold promise, but one Carr thinks just might materialize. "We are trying to help him. I think this is going to be our best year ever. There are a lot of people who feel that way. It is important for any Indian to get out and vote. We have a lot at stake." Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Voter ID hearings set" --------- Date: Thu, 8 July 2004 08:33:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VOTER REJECTION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/07/08/news/local/news02.txt Voter ID hearings set Signs at polling places should be regulated, secretary of state says. By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer July 8, 2004 Two state committees will hold hearings on the reported voting problems from the June 1 statewide election. The state Board of Elections will conduct a rules hearing on proposed changes in the administrative rules that govern elections, and the Legislature's State-Tribal Relations Committee will hold a separate hearing on the matter. The State-Tribal Relations Committee meeting is set for Thursday, July 15, at the state Capitol in Pierre. The state Board of Elections also will meet in Pierre, but Secretary of State Chris Nelson said he had not had time to select a date on Wednesday. Reports of voters who lacked a photo ID being turned away from the polls when state law allows them to sign an affidavit swearing to their identity has spawned the threat of lawsuits, generated media stories and prompted Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., to launch the Daschle Voting Rights Project. Nelson and state Board of Elections member Linda Lea Viken agreed Wednesday that the elections board should hold a hearing in time to make changes before the Nov.2 election, they both said. The elections board hearing will be devoted primarily to adopting rules to govern what kinds of signs could be posted at polling places to explain the state's voter ID law. People have complained that, at various locations, signs posted outside the polling place said "Photo ID required" but lacked any mention of the affidavit option. "Should there be signs up? If so, what ought they say?" Nelson said. He said people should understand that the board can't investigate specific incidents from June 1. "The parameters are narrow. If somebody was turned away, there's nothing the board can do about that. The board has no authority to conduct a law enforcement investigation," Nelson said. "We're looking for, what can we do to improve things?" In response to Daschle's request for an investigation, Nelson forwarded some complaints from June 1 to the South Dakota U.S. Attorney's Office. U. S. Attorney Jim McMahon said he would look into the complaints but said the initial information wasn't detailed enough to draw any conclusions. In addition to writing new rules, Viken said she believes the elections board can hear testimony about specific events from June 1, and board members might be able to recommend rules or legislation based on those accounts. "People need to be able to air this," Viken, a Rapid City attorney, said. "A rules hearing is the appropriate way to go. We also should hear other testimony about other problem areas." The board will meet again after the Nov. 2 election, and Nelson wants to discuss possible legislation for the 2005 session at that meeting, he said. Next week's State-Tribal Relations Committee will include an open forum where people can testify about the full range of their voting experiences, committee chairman Rep. Stan Adelstein, R-Rapid City, said. In addition, Nelson and Tom Shortbull will address the committee. Shortbull, of Rapid City, is on a board of advisers to the federal Election Assistance Commission and has called for the repeal of the state's voter ID law. Adelstein voted for the voter ID law in 2003 and said he probably would oppose a repeal. But he wants to hear testimony on the matter. If American Indians believe the law was meant to suppress their votes, Adelstein believes his committee should hear those concerns. "I had no sense this was an Indian issue. Had I felt that way, I would have spoken out against it," Adelstein said. Adelstein said he supported the voter ID law because in the early 1960s, he observed out-of-state workers temporarily living in Rapid City voting multiple times in an election. The sheriff collected photographs of the workers voting at various locations, but Adelstein said there was little that could be done at the time. "I went to Pierre asking for some way we could tighten the law. One old legislator said, `Young man, we would rather have two people vote who are not entitled to than have one be deprived of the franchise,'" Adelstein said. He disagreed at the time and still does, Adelstein said. Also on Wednesday, state Republican Party officials asked their Democratic counterparts to agree to dispatch bipartisan poll watching teams on Nov. 2. "Republican and Democrat volunteers would work as an observation team," GOP Chairman Randy Frederick said. State Democratic Party Chairwoman Judy Olson Duhamel said she had not seen Frederick's letter, sent late Wednesday, but she said she still supports the call for a nonpartisan voter education effort she made in April. "I say, `Yes, thank you,'" Olson Duhamel said. "In addition, we also should share the responsibility of educating voters." Contact Denise Ross at 394-8438 or denise.ross@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Thune/Daschle on Indian Country" --------- Date: Mon, 12 July 2004 08:57:44 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="THUNE VS DASCHLE POSITIONS" http://www.pechanga.net/homepage.html http://www.argusleader.com/sidebar/Sundayarticle2.shtml Thune/Daschle on Indian Country Compiled by Terry Woster Argus Leader July 11, 2004 Here are the issue stances of Sen. Tom Daschle and former Rep. John Thune on issues important to Native Americans in South Dakota. (Material from campaign Web sites, speeches, interviews.) - Compiled by Terry Woster Daschle On the relationship American Indians have long held a unique government-to-government relationship with the United States. This relationship, upheld by treaties, statutes and court cases, is essential in ensuring that the United States honors its obligation to provide services to Native Americans, such as education and health care. Tribal governments are sovereign nations. The United States should meet its treaty obligations and trust responsibilities and do all it can to improve the quality of life on the reservations. Safe water Bringing clean drinking water to South Dakota's reservations has been important. Daschle said he secured the federal money to build the Mni Wiconi water project in southwest South Dakota. Mni Wiconi is vital to tribal communities in South Dakota, providing a safe, reliable source of drinking water. Reconciliation Daschle has worked with tribes and community leaders to work toward better relations between Indian and non-Indian people. In October 2003, Daschle and Republican Gov. Mike Rounds organized the "Gathering and Healing of Nations" conference. In 1999, Daschle sponsored legislation to build the Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place in Fort Pierre. The facility is an attempt to foster reconciliation and preserve knowledge of tribal history. It could also house a Sioux Nation Supreme Court. Health care Efforts Daschle led to increase funding for the Indian Health Services in each of the past four years have been blocked by Republicans in the House and Senate. Daschle was successful in increasing funding for a special diabetes program for Native Americans from $30 million to $150 million and in securing $25 million for a fetal alcohol syndrome prevention program. Education Daschle's efforts brought $15 million in federal funds for five tribal colleges in South Dakota between 2001 and 2003. He secured additional funding for Bureau of Indian Affairs schools for technology and used his leadership position in the Senate to get emergency funding to build a new gymnasium at Crow Creek Tribal School and to fund the new Enemy Swim Day School on the Sisseton-Wahpeton reservation. ----- Thune On the relationship The virtues of self-sufficiency, freedom, hope and opportunity don't stop at the edge of Indian Country. Many federal policies have failed on the reservations. Failed policies should be changed to ensure that the federal government is part of the solution, and not part of the problem, for our Native American communities. Safe water Just like every other rural community in South Dakota, reservation communities need clean, reliable drinking water. As a congressman, Thune helped increase funding for the Mni Wiconi rural water project for 10 western South Dakota counties. As a senator, Thune said he would work with the administration and Congress to maintain the funding commitment. Reconciliation As a congressman, Thune supported legislation to provide opportunities for Indians and non-Indians to understand their common history in South Dakota as well as their need to forge strong bonds for the future. Thune said he led the way in the House to authorize and provide funding for the construction of the Wakpa Sica Reconciliation Place, which he said would hold a tribal Supreme Court, economic development center and historical archives. Health care Thune has supported efforts to improve health care for Native Americans. Thune worked with the president to secure construction money necessary to finance an Indian Health Service hospital in Sisseton. Education Thune has recognized the contributions that tribal and private schools have made in the state by supporting funding for Tiospa Zina High School and St. Joseph's Indian School, among others. He calls the No Child Left Behind Act a work in progress. He says it's good to have goals for improving academic performance, but the goals must be accompanied by the understanding that every student is different. How counties voted in 2002 Dewey County (Cheyenne River) Johnson: 73% Thune: 26% 2,299 total votes Corson County (Standing Rock) Johnson: 62% Thune: 36% 1,579 total votes Roberts County (Sisseton-Wahpeton) Johnson: 60% Thune: 39% 4,454 total votes Ziebach County (Cheyenne River) Johnson: 66% Thune: 33% 978 total votes Copyright c. 2003 Copyright Argus Leader. --------- "RE: IHS investigates missing Funds" --------- Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 22:16:28 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: IHS investigates missing funds (Fwd) Mailing List: News & Information http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/28594.php IHS investigates missing funds July 3, 2004 PHOENIX - Federal authorities are investigating the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked to build new clinics and to rehabilitate structures in four Western states for American Indian health care. Indian Health Service administrators in Phoenix said the investigation centers on whether a former director siphoned off a portion of those funds from the patient business office that serves part of Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. Health Service administrators won't say how much money is missing, how long the suspected embezzlement has been going on or detail how the funds were diverted. Copyrightr c. 2004 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 1999-2004 Arizona Daily Star and its wire services. --------- "RE: Lummis see Shortfall for Health Care" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:40:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LUMMI HEALTH DEFICIT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://news.bellinghamherald.com/stories/20040710/TopStories/197770.shtml Lummis see shortfall for health care $1.9 million deficit blamed on rising medical costs Jon Gambrell, The Bellingham Herald July 10, 2004 Blaming rising costs and stagnant government funding, Lummi Nation is forecasting a $1.9 million deficit this year for its health-care programs. The Lummis receive nearly $8 million a year from the federal government for health care. However, the tribe predicts its actual costs for providing care to more than 5,000 members at $13 million, said treasurer G.I. James. To control costs, Lummi officials are looking at cutting administrative positions in the tribe. James cautioned any personnel cuts would not be enough to handle all the expected costs next year, so funding cuts in the tribe's social programs could be possible. He said outside consultants are examining the tribe's financial crunch. James, who became treasurer in February, said miscommunication between policy makers and health-care providers kept the deficit hidden until now. While funding for a clinic and pharmacy has been adequate, rising health-care costs off the reservation and nationwide have hurt the tribe. Care off the reservation, called "contract health," will cost the tribe more than $6 million of its $9 million budget this year. The tribe pays that money to off-reservation health-care providers when tribal members need care and service isn't available at tribal facilities or is so specialized, such as surgery, that it isn't offered by the tribe. The tribal clinic is open every weekday except Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On Thursday the clinic is open from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. "We're suffering along with everyone else with increasing health-care costs," James said. "Since 1994, the health-care costs have skyrocketed. Our population has increased substantially. Those tend to be things that eat up whatever reserves you may have." Currently, the Lummis are $1.7 million over their original budget for the year, with more federal funds still three months away. While some contract health services, such as organ transplants and consultations with specialists, must be performed off-reservation, James said the tribe wants to educate its people on how to control costs. He said one way is to find alternatives for off-reservation emergency room care, which can cost the tribe from $800 to $1,000 a trip. The tribe pays for tribal members using the emergency room when the Lummi clinic is closed. If a member of the tribe has health insurance from a private employer, tribal health care acts as a compliment to that coverage, James said. The federal government has paid to provide American Indians with health care since 1787. Based on treaties, laws and court decisions, the federal government recognizes tribes as sovereign, self-ruling governments. In 1994, tribes won the right to manage how their federal health-care funding would be spent. While off-site medical costs were only $2 million then, they've slowly consumed most of the federal funding the Lummis receive, James said. A 2003 study by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found American Indians received roughly $1,914 of health care per person yearly, while federal prisoners received $3,879. The Lummis say they receive about $1, 440 per person. "We have to figure out how our people's health care is going to be taken care of," James said. "We were promised health care, not half of what it takes, but what it takes to be healthy. We don't even get funded as much as federal prisoners do. It is a shame." Across the nation, almost every tribe is struggling with funding woes. According to National Indian Health Board Executive Director J.T. Petherick, the roughly 2 percent increase a year in funding "doesn't even begin to address inflation." "We're not really a funding priority," he said. "We don't foresee at any point an increase. The disparity will continue." The board, based in Washington, D.C., claims $1 billion is needed nationally for off-reservation care, though only $497 million is budgeted for next year. With American Indian men and women having the highest prevalence of obesity, smoking, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, Petherick believes problems will continue until the federal government fully funds health care. Representatives at the federal Indian Health Services office in Portland, Ore., were unavailable for comment. Meanwhile, the Lummis will examine their budget and try to find a way to offset their increasing costs. While the tribe's Silver Reef Casino does raise money, James said it couldn't support both rising health-care costs and all of their social programs. "People point to our casino and say 'you must have millions of dollars and jobs,'" James said. "That creates problems too. It is not going to be the panacea for all of our problems." Reach Jon Gambrell at jonathan .gambrell@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2263. Copyright c. 2002, The Bellingham Herald. --------- "RE: Nipmucs will appeal US Tribal rejection" --------- Date: Thu, 8 July 2004 08:33:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NIPMUC" http://www.boston.com/~/nipmucs_will_appeal_us_tribal_rejection?mode=PF Nipmucs will appeal US tribal rejection By Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff July 8, 2004 Leaders of the state's largest group of Nipmuc Indians said yesterday the US Bureau of Indian Affairs acted unfairly and was carrying out "an anticasino agenda" when it denied the group federal recognition as a tribe. The group, which wants to build a casino in Central Massachusetts, announced its appeal of the bureau's decision and blasted the federal government during a news conference at the State House. "I stand before you defeated by the United States government," said Chief Walter Vickers of the Sutton-based Hassanamisco band of the Nipmuc Nation. Nipmuc Nation councilor Ken Hamilton called the June 18 decision "downright disgraceful." "It was as if they didn't even read our petition," said Hamilton, 67. "This determination was made with an anticasino agenda. They didn't just deny us. They beat us up. They humiliated us." A spokeswoman for the Bureau of Indian Affairs did not immediately respond to the group's remarks yesterday. But according to the Associated Press, Aurene Martin, the agency's deputy assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, said she knew of no instance in which the internal appeals board overturned a negative finding. The Nipmuc Nation and a Dudley-based group calling itself the Nipmuck Council of Chaubunagungamaug have been attempting to gain federal recognition for nearly 25 years. Last month, the federal bureau's decisions stated that neither group could prove it had been active politically and socially as a tribe since historic times, as required under the federal recognition standards. Officials at the Chaubunagungamaug group's headquarters could not be reached for comment yesterday, but have said recently that they were also considering an appeal. Unlike the Chaubunagungamaug group, the Nipmuc Nation has made no secret of its desire to build a casino and of its partnership with Lakes Entertainment, a Minneapolis-based firm that is one of the country's most successful gambling companies. Lakes Entertainment has bankrolled the Nipmuc effort with more than $6 million in upfront costs in the hopes of becoming a partner with the group in a full-scale casino on land owned by the Nipmuc in Worcester County or across the border in Connecticut. Guy Conrad, a longtime adviser to the Nipmucs in their quest to build a casino, said he believed the decision was fueled by politicians opposed to casinos, including several lawmakers from Connecticut who don't want other tribes to share in the riches enjoyed by the two Connecticut tribes who already run casinos. "We've sent troops overseas to help gain the sovereignty of foreign countries while here at home we're putting up massive walls . . .to deny the same sovereignty to people in our own Commonwealth," Conrad said. Christopher Sullivan, a lawyer for the Nipmuc Nation, said the group would file its appeal with the Interior Board of Indian Appeals by mid- September, within the 90-day window for challenging the Indian Affairs Bureau's decisions. Because the internal appeals board has never ruled against the agency, Nipmuc officials predicted that the case will eventually end up in US District Court. Sullivan said the Nipmuc Nation and its supporters were surprised by the denial, which reversed several preliminary decisions that had appeared to go in the tribe's favor. The bureau's recent decision also narrowed the definitions for determining who was a member of the tribe. Copyright c. 2004 The New York Times Company. --------- "RE: Settlement to help Zuni Tribe protect its Heaven" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:40:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ZUNI LAKE AGREEMENT" http://64.62.196.98/News/2004/003319.asp Settlement to help Zuni Tribe protect its 'Heaven' July 9, 2004 Leaders of Zuni Tribe of New Mexico join Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Assistant Secretary Dave Anderson for signing of water rights settlement. A water rights settlement finalized on Thursday gives Zuni Tribe the ability to protect one of its most sacred sites, officials said at a signing ceremony. Tribal leaders joined federal and state officials in Washington, D.C., to mark the end of a long battle over water rights in eastern Arizona. The tribe, based in New Mexico, asserted claims on the Little Colorado River more than 20 years ago. But rather than keep the dispute tied up in the courts, officials said they worked to find a solution that respects the tribe's religious rights. The $26.5 million package, signed into law by President Bush a year ago, will protect the final resting place of the Zuni people, said a tribal leader. "They are the most important lands from time immemorial," said Wilford Eriacho, chairman of the tribe's water rights negotiating team. The place is known as Zuni Heaven. Located about 50 miles from the main reservation in New Mexico, tribal members make regular pilgrimages to the area, considered a window into heaven. Tribal ceremonies and culture revolve around Zuni Heaven, which provides water, animals, plants and other materials needed for religious activities. Yet Zuni Heaven has been missing a crucial ingredient for much of the 20th century - water. Tribal history, photos and other documents show water was once plentiful there. But dams upstream and other diversions have dried up Zuni Heaven, threatening he very existence of the site. The tribe hopes to reverse course by restoring the area to a wetlands state. While Zuni Heaven may never be returned to its original condition - when elders recalled waist-deep, swift-moving streams - the tribe sees the deal finalized yesterday as a "good step forward," said Eriacho. "The water rights settlement will start to ease the hearts and minds of the Zuni people," he said at the Department of Interior. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the agreement helps the tribe and non-Indian water users by clearing up all unresolved issues related to the tribal claim. She said it was an example of how the federal government can work in partnership with tribal and state governments. "It's important to protect and restore a sacred area," she said. "We need to have traditions that are long-standing and for our cultures to remain vibrant. Today's event has great significance for the cultural and natural future of the Southwest." Under the settlement, the tribe can purchase up to 3,600 acre-feet of water in addition to existing rights at Zuni Heaven, which has been held in trust since 1984. The tribe also draw up to 1,500 acre-feet from particular wells. The federal government is responsible for $19.2 million of the settlement, with the state of Arizona providing $1.6 million and Salt River Project, a power and water utility, will contribute $1 million. The money will create the Zuni Indian Tribe Water Rights Development Fund to provide for restoration activities and to purchase additional water rights from willing sellers. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Regulators to allow Coal Mine expansion" --------- Date: Thu, 8 July 2004 08:33:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REJECT TRIBAL OBJECTIONS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/state/9099615.htm Regulators affirm decision to allow coal mine expansion DALE WETZEL Associated Press July 7, 2004 BISMARCK, N.D. - State regulators have affirmed a decision to allow a 17,000-acre expansion of North Dakota's largest coal mine, saying the plan included sufficient protections for American Indian graves and cultural artifacts. The Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes had challenged the permit, which the state Public Service Commission first granted in April. The tribes argued they were not notified about the approval of a cultural resource protection plan that is part of the document. The Defenders of the Black Hills, a Rapid City, S.D.,-based organization that represents American Indian interests, also had asked North Dakota regulators to reopen the mining permit debate. The commission held a June 9 hearing to consider the arguments. In a unanimous ruling Wednesday, the three-member commission rejected the tribes' arguments and affirmed its earlier decision to issue the permit to Coteau Properties Co., which operates the Freedom Mine. "The commission has made a great effort to listen to the concerns of all parties," Commissioner Susan Wefald said. "We know that the issues involved are very important." Wefald said she believes the permit's terms have safeguards for dealing with American Indian graves and artifacts, including cairns and stone rings. Byron Olson, a Standing Rock Sioux tribal archaeologist, said the tribe was mulling over its next move. "We will look at our options, to see what other ways we could work to preserve at least some of the important things out there," Olson said. "It's a tremendous destruction of Native American heritage ... Once that kind of stuff is destroyed, there's no replacing it. Gone is gone." Charmaine White Face, coordinator of the Defenders of the Black Hills, could not be reached immediately on Wednesday for comment. Albert LeBeau III, an archaeologist for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in Eagle Butte, S.D., declined comment. The mine supplies lignite to three electric power plants and the Great Plains Synfuels plant, which makes synthetic gas from coal. Last year, it produced 15.9 million tons of lignite, out of total state production of almost 31 million tons. Joe Friedlander, Coteau Properties' environmental manager, said the company was pleased by the ruling. Coteau is not scheduled to begin digging on the property until 2007. Commissioner Kevin Cramer participated in the decision. White Face had asked Cramer to recuse himself because he is an adopted member of the Mandan tribe. The Mandan are members of the Three Affiliated Tribes, which supported the mine expansion. "I pledged to (decide) all issues based on the application of law to the facts in the record," Cramer said. "Neither my biological nor my adopted heritage has any bearing on my ability to judge fairly." Copyright c. 2004 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: County gives conditional OK for Bear Butte Road" --------- Date: Thu, 9 July 2004 08:39:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHEYENNE BEAR BUTTE ACCESS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/07/09/news/local/news15.txt County gives conditional OK for Bear Butte road July 9, 2004 STURGIS - Northern Cheyenne Tribe officials received tentative approval this week to build an access road to its property near Bear Butte. The tribe owns 160 acres northwest of the butte and wants to improve a section line to gain access for various religious ceremonies. Bear Butte, northeast of Sturgis, is considered a sacred area by many American Indian tribes nationwide. Meade County commissioners told tribal officials that improvements would have to meet county specifications, and the that county would not pay for nor maintain the 1/2 to 3/4 mile road. The area has already been disturbed - there is a trail on the section line - so the requirement for an archeological study could be waived. Tribal and county highway officials will meet next week to examine the property and decide what engineering issues exist. Tribal officials would like to flatten a steep hill somewhat, and county officials are concerned with several creek crossings. Tribal officials Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Commission Members to call for Leader's ouster" --------- Date: Thu, 9 July 2004 08:39:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TENNESSEE INDIAN AFFAIRS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://tennessean.com/~/04/07/54051567.shtml?Element_ID=54051567 Indian commission members to call for leader's ouster By ANITA WADHWANI Staff Writer July 9, 2004 Seven months after a new state commission on Indian affairs was appointed by the governor, two petitions are circulating to disband the group, and at least three members say they will call for their chairwoman to resign at their next meeting on Saturday. So far the group has had one meeting to which the police were called and one meeting boycotted by the majority of its members. Commissioners and Indian community members say they are frustrated that the only state group charged with Indian affairs is marred by infighting instead of addressing some of the pressing issues facing some 40,000 American Indians in Tennessee: from methamphetamine use and the need for job training to deciding which Indians will receive coveted state recognition. "Pretty much, I see all seven commissioners are working in their own directions, and there is not one cohesive unit," said Jimmy Reedy, a commissioner representing Nashville. "There's been no progress on the issues and concerns of the Indian community," said John Hedgecoth, a commissioner from Crossville. Hedgecoth blames commission leader Teri Rhoades-Ellenwood for some of the bumps along the way and plans to introduce a resolution at the group's meeting in Chattanooga this weekend calling for her to step down as leader, although he says he wants her to remain on the commission. Rhoades-Ellenwood says some commission members would like to disregard the rules governing their group. She also said she doubts the resolution calling for her to step down will get the two-thirds vote needed to pass. Beyond the conflicts among commissioners, the group has been unable to completely shake controversy since it was resurrected by Gov. Phil Bredesen last fall. First, the commission was accused of convening in violation of open- meeting laws when some members gathered informally over a turkey dinner in November. In January, one American Indian group tried to serve an injunction against the commission's first meeting, and police were called. Four commissioners boycotted a March meeting because, they said, Ellenwood picked a Memphis location over their objections. A previous commission was disbanded by former Gov. Don Sundquist, who cited infighting, while commission members then said the governor was retaliating against their lawsuits over burial sites in the path of road construction projects. "I think our constituency ... may be dissatisfied with our performance because we haven't had a chance to do much of anything yet," said Commissioner Evangeline Lynch, who represents West Tennessee. "But there's still hope. They elected people they truly wanted. We have a lot of work to do." All seven commission members were democratically elected by caucuses of American Indians across the state before being appointed by the governor last December. Anita Wadhwani can be reached at 259-8821 or at awadhwani@tennessean.com. Copyright c. 2004 The Tennessean, A Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Money for WWII Navajo Code Talkers Memorials" --------- Date: Thu, 9 July 2004 08:39:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CODE TALKER MEMORIALS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/breaking/070804_codetalkers.html Group trying to raise money for WWII Navajo Code Talkers memorials The Associated Press July 8, 2004 MESA - An Arizona group is trying to raise $200,000 for two memorials to honor the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II. The independent nonprofit foundation has support from the Arizona Legislature and the Navajo Nation to place the memorials at the state Capitol and in Window Rock, headquarters of the tribal government. Prominent American Indian artist Oreland Joe of Kirtland, N.M., already has finished his design - a 9-foot statue of a single Code Talker speaking into an Army radio. But the group has received only $10,000 in donations and commitments for an additional $20,000, said state Rep. Sylvia Laughter, I-Kayenta, lead sponsor of the memorial legislation. A Prescott Valley foundry has stopped its casting of the bronze statues because the memorial foundation hasn't paid at least half of a promised $100,000 for its share of the work. That has forced the group to postpone a September dedication of the Window Rock memorial, probably for a year. Former Arizona House Speaker Jeff Groscost of Mesa heads the group and said the delay is relatively minor. The foundation still plans to dedicate the state Capitol memorial in January and a growing number of people want to see a permanent Arizona monument to the code talkers, Groscost said. The Navajo Code Talkers developed and used a military communication code based largely on their native language. The code was never broken by Japan, and military historians have long credited the Code Talkers, members of the Marines, with playing a key role in the Pacific campaign. The contribution of the Code Talkers was unknown for decades because the U.S. military kept the entire effort a secret. Only in recent years have the Navajos been honored with medals for valor. The original 29 Code Talkers, the first platoon to graduate, were honored with Congressional Gold Medals on July 26, 2001, in Washington, D.C. More than 300 Navajo Code Talkers who were not part of the original group were honored with silver medals. Copyright c. 2004 Tucson Citizen, All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Goshutes protest handling of Range Creek" --------- Date: Thu, 9 July 2004 08:39:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GOSHUTE/BLM" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://166.70.44.66/2004/Jul/07082004/utah/181891.asp Goshutes protest handling of Range Creek By Greg Lavine and Michael Yount The Salt Lake Tribune July 8, 2004 The Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians on Wednesday issued a statement questioning whether the land transfer of property in eastern Utah containing ancient Fremont Indian sites violated U.S. historic preservation laws. Leon Bear, chairman of the band, and Melvin Brewster, tribal historic preservation officer, said the transfer of land, from private to federal to state ownership, violated the National Historic Preservation Act, the Indian Sacred Sites Act and the Native American Grave and Repatriation Act. "It was done in complete silence and secrecy as if native Indians of Utah do not exist," the pair said in the statement. The Skull Valley Band officials said Indian groups should have been notified before any federally funded work began. "They haven't consulted with anyone for two years," Brewster said in an interview. Kevin Jones, Utah's state archaeologist, said the work being done at Range Creek, near Price in the Book Cliffs, does not require consultation with Indian groups because no excavations have been made. Teams in the field now are conducting field surveys, trying to document the hundreds of sites scattered along a 12-mile stretch. Archaeologists have said there are no immediate plans to excavate, which they acknowledge would require consultation with Indian groups. Plans are in the works to involve Indian groups in the site's future, Jones said. The Goshute Band is one of several tribes that have claimed to be descendants of the Fremont. Jones said the site was mentioned during a Native American Remains Review Committee meeting in late 2002 or 2003, but that the comments generated little interest and did not make the minutes of the meeting. Indian groups are represented on that committee. "We have had regular consultations with the Goshutes," said Shelley Smith, a resource manager for the Bureau of Land Management. But those talks, she said, covered a broader scope and were not specific to the Range Creek site. Smith, echoing comments from archaeologists involved, said no legal triggers had be tripped requiring specific tribal involvement at Range Creek, but "it would be appropriate to invite the tribes [to the site]." The state Division of Wildlife Resources in February took possession of the Range Creek property from the federal Bureau of Land Management. Archaeologists have been cataloging Fremont sites on the DWR land and on adjacent lands owned by the BLM, by the state School of Institutional Trust Lands Administration and by private parties. Ownership of the land is an issue with regard to human remains since government agencies are required to notify Indian groups of any remains found on their property. Private landowners do not face the same requirements. Archaeologists at Range Creek found a few bones poking out of the ground, but "none are on state land," Jones said. Any human remains found have been left untouched, he added. Brewster said without American Indian representation at the site, groups cannot be sure that no digs have begun or that no bodies have been found on state land. Nearly 50 years ago, the parents of Waldo Wilcox purchased the Range Creek property. The Wilcox family spent several decades keeping looters away from the Fremont sites, which probably were occupied about 1,000 years ago. The Trust for Public Land, a land conservation group, two years ago brokered a $2.5 million deal for the property with the BLM. The BLM later transferred the land to the Division of Wildlife Resources. Brewster said when the BLM owned the land, Indians should have been notified. Copyright c. 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune. --------- "RE: President Bush signs law to pay Western Shoshone" --------- Date: Thu, 9 July 2004 08:39:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MORE LAND FOR MONEY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/07/08/news/the_west/thuwst04.txt President Bush signs law to pay Western Shoshone for ancestral lands By The Associated Press July 8, 2004 LAS VEGAS - Some Western Shoshone tribe members pledged Wednesday to refuse federal payment for their ancestral land, after President Bush gave final approval to paying more than $145 million to settle a decades-long land dispute. "I'm not taking the money," said Carrie Dann, a tribal member active in the Western Shoshone Defense Project in Crescent Valley. "That land is sacred to us. This Earth is our mother. It's not for sale." Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., who backed the Western Shoshone Claims Distribution Act, hailed Wednesday's signing of the law authorizing payments that some American Indians call long overdue. "For years, members of the Western Shoshone tribe have been asking us to pass this legislation," Reid said in a statement. "Today, their efforts and hopes have become a reality sr... and now the money can finally be distributed." An apparent majority of the 6,000 eligible tribe members support the measure, contending that seeking the return of millions of acres is not realistic and the money would help buy basic necessities. "The needs of our people are simple. Most of our homes don't have telephones, 98 percent don't own computers," Nancy Stewart, co-chairwoman of the Western Shoshone Claims Steering Committee, said after the House of Representatives passed the bill in June. But some say that accepting the federal money would mean giving up legal claims to ancestral lands in present-day Nevada, California, Utah and Idaho. "I am utterly disappointed," said Raymond Yowell of the Western Shoshone National Council. "Individuals cannot sell out a nation and the bill, although a threat politically, does nothing to change our inherent rights or our treaty rights. "The fight is not over." Gibbons said the law "finally ends the delays in the distribution of funds that were awarded by the Indian Claims Commission over 25 years ago and ensures the Western Shoshone will receive the funds due to them." The Indian Claims Commission, established in 1946, determined that Western Shoshone lands had been taken through "gradual encroachment" during settlement of the West. It awarded $27 million to the tribe - the 1872 value of the 24 million acres of lands - and the money has been collecting interest in a bank account since 1979. Tribal members unwilling to relinquish their claim to the land took the case to the Supreme Court, where they lost in 1985. The Western Shoshone ancestral lands ranged from the Snake River Valley in Idaho to Salt Lake Valley in Utah, across most of eastern and central Nevada, and into Death Valley and the Mojave Desert in California. Tribal members' fight to retain the land included the high-profile efforts of Mary and Carrie Dann, two aging sisters who grazed their horses for decades without paying fees on federal land in northeast Nevada they contended belonged to the Western Shoshone. The Bureau of Land Management finally seized the horses in 2003. Copyright c. 2004 Corvallis Gazette-Times, Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Apaches: Fires on 'Sacred' Mount Graham foretold" --------- Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 01:32:14 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: Apaches: Fires on 'sacred' Mount Graham foretold (Fwd) Mailing List: News and Information http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/~story_id=070804a4_fire_apache Apaches: Fires on 'sacred' Mount Graham foretold PAUL L. ALLEN pallen@tucsoncitizen.com July 8, 2004 Some San Carlos Apache tribal members say the fires atop Mount Graham is the mountain's expected response to being disturbed. "Medicine people predicted that bad things would happen on the mountain," said Michael Davis, executive director of the Apache Survival Coalition, formed a dozen years ago to oppose installation of the telescope and observatory complex atop Mount Graham. Apache spiritual beliefs hold mountain peaks, particularly Mount Graham in the Pinalenos and peaks in the White Mountains and San Francisco Mountains, to be sacred. "The mountain is a lifegiving force," Davis said. "It was like a virgin mountain for a long time, and nothing happened until they started destroying sacred ground, trees, animals. "The most important thing was the sacred sites there, and when they were disturbed, grave consequences can happen that non-Indian people don't understand." Davis said the medicine people and elders didn't specify the form of the "bad things," but said they would involve "the mountain itself, Mother Nature, the mountain will be striking back." He added, "The Forest Service, the University of Arizona and the rest would never accept the Apaches' words. They have been ignored. Our people today are saying this is what we warned you about; we foretold, and you should not be surprised." Ronnie Lupe, former chairman of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, said Mount Graham is of primary importance to the neighboring San Carlos Tribe, but added, "We Apaches are all concerned about sacred ground area. High ground is so significant to our culture and traditional values. Nature has its own way of speaking to all of us. "Could this be the Creator getting back at us for putting the scopes there? Nature has its own judgment to make." Both men said they are concerned for the safety of firefighters. Said Lupe: "I have high regard for those on the front line. I'm an old firefighter myself." Davis said, "If the fire gets close enough to the scopes, they will put a lot of personnel up there, and it's a very small area up there. There is only one escape route. If the fire jumps that road, I don't know what kind of escape plan they have. It's like elevator rules: You should only have so many people in a small area." --------- "RE: Trees near Telescopes thinned despite enviros" --------- Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 02:30:48 -0700 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: Trees near telescopes thinned despite enviros (Fwd) Mailing List: News and Information ttp://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/29360.php Trees near telescopes thinned despite enviros By Mitch Tobin ARIZONA DAILY STAR July 9, 2004 The Nuttall Fire's threat to Mount Graham's telescopes prompted fire crews to clear 1,000 to 1,500 trees around the site and complete in a few days a thinning proposal many environmentalists had vowed to fight prior to the blaze. Fire managers, telescope officials and the Forest Service scientist who drafted the thinning plan said it had to be done - before or during a fire - so flames and heat wouldn't damage the $200 million complex. The Gibson Fire was spreading from treetop to treetop Tuesday evening in a crown fire, but when it reached the area around the telescopes that had been thinned, flames dropped to the ground, said Jack Cohen of the Forest Service's Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, one of the nation's leading experts on defending structures from wildfire. Had the trees not been removed, the inferno would have come within 50 feet of the $110 million Large Binocular Telescope and "would very likely have caused at least some external damage," he said. But some activists who fought the telescopes in the 1980s and 1990s believe suppression tactics meant to protect the observatories have done more damage to endangered Mount Graham red squirrels than the wildfire itself. All the thinning around the telescopes was done in federally designated critical habitat for the imperiled rodent. "When these fires are done, they'll be celebrating at the university because they've achieved what they hoped for," said Robin Silver of the Center for Biological Diversity, a telescope foe for two decades. "Supreme firefighting efforts to save their telescopes created a protective barrier for them at significant cost for the forest and the squirrel." Asked Thursday if fire managers had the right priorities on Mount Graham, Gov. Janet Napolitano said, "I have no reason to question how they're going about this fire. "The telescope array up there is a multi-hundred-million-dollar complex, probably some of the most significant telescope setups in the world for interplanetary research," she said. "When you have a structure like that, you obviously have to do everything you can to protect it." The telescope complex's 8.6-acre footprint and the surrounding forest has been one of the most-litigated and contentious patches of land in the Southwest. But in the past few days, the top of the Pinalenos has been transformed in a way not seen since 1685, the year of the last stand-replacing wildfire in Southern Arizona's most extensive spruce-fir forest. Before the fire, telescope workers were forbidden from entering the surrounding forest and any felling of trees faced lengthy governmental reviews. The UA did gain clearance over the past two years to clear about 850 trees 100 feet out from the telescopes. The UA then proposed extending that work another 100 feet, asking the Coro-nado National Forest to approve the project with only a limited environmental study. The proposal was still under review when the Nuttall and Gibson fires began, but once flames neared the telescopes, fire managers were able to use their emergency authority to essentially complete the project. "If anything, they've done a little bit more than we would have," said Anna Spitz, special assistant to the director of the UA's Steward Observatory. The UA didn't formally request that firefighters thin the forest, she said, and nearly all the trees removed were already dead from insects. Firefighters also cleared along a Forest Service road near the telescopes, perhaps using bulldozers, and set intentional fires to consume fuel before the main fire did, Spitz said. "If they hadn't done this, the fire would have come over and taken everything out. This way they hoped to save some of the area," Spitz said. The two smaller telescopes may have needed only a 100-foot buffer, but the 13-story Large Binocular Telescope required more clearance, Cohen said. "When you get something sticking up in the air 130 to 150 feet, 200 feet away is not that huge," he said. But critics contend the squirrel would have suffered less damage from the natural fire were it not for the telescopes and efforts to defend them. "They've sterilized an area that's now a 200-foot radius around what was supposed to be their 8.6-acre limitation," Silver said. "Of course they're taking advantage of the situation." "This once again proves the university was wrong when they said the telescopes wouldn't harm the squirrels," added Scotty Johnson of Defenders of Wildlife. After the April 1996 Clark Peak Fire, which charred 6,716 acres and burned within 200 yards of two telescopes, Silver filed public-records requests to determine what damage had been done to squirrels. Years later, documents he received from the Forest Service estimated that 27 squirrels were killed by the fire or through its suppression. A survey this spring estimated the Pinalenos' squirrel population at 284. Deputy incident commander Paul Summerfelt said the trees may have been 200 to 300 years old, and firefighters were advised which to cut by two resource officers from the Coronnado National Forest. He said the intentional fires would be less intense and damaging to squirrel habitat than the wildfire. "It's a Catch-22," said John Koprowski, head of the UA's squirrel-monitoring project. While intentional fires might hurt some individual squirrels, he said, they're likely to benefit the larger population if they stop the blaze from spreading. Red squirrels' lives center on middens, the piles of debris where squirrels cache their pine cones and other food. Although the middens are on the forest floor, they typically survive ground fires because they're cool and moist inside, Koprowski said. Damage to the mountaintop and squirrels may not be known for weeks, but forestry and fire experts said it was clear the Pinalenos were enduring some of their most profound changes in centuries. "It's going to be something very similar to what occurred in 1685," said Henri Grissino-Mayer, a tree-ring researcher at the University of Tennessee who extensively studied Mount Graham while at the UA. Lower-elevation forests of ponderosa pine and mixed conifer trees used to burn once or twice a decade, but the cooler, damper spruce-fir forest's fire cycle is 200 to 300 years, he said. When that forest burns, it's usually a stand-replacing event. "This is a good thing for the mountain, and it's bound to happen," he said. "There are refugia on that mountain where squirrels can escape to, and they've done that in the past." Star reporter C.J. Karamargin contributed to this story. Contact reporter Mitch Tobin at 573-4185 or mtobin@azstarnet.com. Copyright c. 1999-2004 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star. --------- "RE: Miami Indian Tribe to attend U.N. Convention" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:40:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MIAMI TO UN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.indystar.com/articles/1/161462-8221-093.html Miami Indian tribe to attend U.N. convention Associated Press July 10, 2004 PERU, Ind. - A delegation of Miami Indians from Indiana will attend part of the U.N. Geneva Convention in Switzerland to seek international support of its attempt to gain federal recognition as an Indian nation. The designation for the Miami Nation of Indians, headquartered in Peru, Ind., could mean educational assistance, economic development and qualification for other government services for tribal members. The Miami Indians of Oklahoma are a recognized tribe and receive the benefits, but Indiana's tribe is not. About 5,500 Miami live in the U.S., with half in Indiana, Chief Brian Buchanan said in a press release. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Indiana Miamis recognition in 2001. A bill introduced in 2002 by U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., has stagnated in the House, Buchanan said. That bill stipulates that the tribe gives up its right to establish casinos in the state. Buchanan said tribal elders do not favor casinos. But he said the tribe has given him authority to go back to Souder and ask to have the bill rewritten for full recognition without the provision that gives up any other rights, including establishing casinos. "Congress is our last hope of getting our federal recognition reinstated, to correct the injustice that has been given to us in the last hundred years," he told The Post & Mail of Columbia City. "Why are we any different from any other unrecognized tribe? We're not. We're not giving up any more rights." Nearly 300 years ago, before the Miami Indians were relocated to Kansas and later Oklahoma, the tribe had well-established settlements along the southern rim of Lake Michigan. University of Texas historian R. David Edmunds found records of settlements from the late 1600s to the early 1700s along the St. Joseph River in South Bend, along the Kankakee River, and around Elkhart and LaPorte. The opportunity to attend the Geneva convention with the theme, "Indigenous Peoples and Conflict Resolution," came about when the tribe's Web site designer introduced Buchanan to another client, Wilda Spalding. Spalding is the heiress to the sporting goods fortune and also senior United Nations/non-governmental organizations head of international delegations. Buchanan and Spalding talked, and she invited his group to go to Geneva as part of her delegation and attend the Working Group of Indigenous Populations at the U.N. Tribal Council member Dani Tippmann of Columbia City said she hopes the trip will produce the results the chief desires, but she stressed that the state needs to acknowledge the tribe as well. "They're being recognized internationally," Tippmann said. "It would be good if they were recognized in Indiana." Joining Buchanan's delegation is vice chief and tribal historian John Dunnagan, and William Bradford, an attorney and professor at the Indiana University-Purdue University School of Law, who has a Chiricahua Apache heritage. "If we don't get anything accomplished, exposure and presence of attending the United Nations under this theme is a necessity for the Miami. Not only to its community at home, but worldwide," Buchanan said. Copyright c. 2004 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved --------- "RE: Tribes heading to Scotland to seek Salmon Passage" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:40:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KLAMATH DAMS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20040710-0417-klamathsalmon.html Tribes heading to Scotland to seek salmon passage over Klamath Dams By Jeff Barnard ASSOCIATED PRESS July 10, 2004 GRANTS PASS, Ore. - American Indian tribes, commercial fishermen and conservationists are going to Scotland to pressure utility PacifiCorp's parent company to give salmon a way over dams on the Klamath River. The group plans to make its case at the July 23 annual general stockholders meeting of Scottish Power in Edinburgh. "They need to see we have culture and traditions that have been here since the beginning of time," said Troy Fletcher, executive director of the Yurok Tribe, whose reservation lies along the lowest reach of the Klamath. "And they need to see that their actions have very real impact on our people." The tribes, conservationists and fishing organizations have met with PacifiCorp over the past two years discussing their desire to open 350 miles of habitat upstream of the dams to salmon. But when the utility sent its application for a new operating license to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last March, there was no proposal for restoring salmon passage. The coalition, which includes the Yurok, Hoopa, Karuk and Klamath tribes, hopes to be able to get into the Scottish Power meeting as guests of stockholders and make their case to the company, said Craig Tucker of Friends of the River, a conservation group. They are also talking to investment groups that hold major blocks of stock in Scottish Power. "Scottish Power has an international reputation as a green energy provider," Tucker said. "I'm hoping that once they hear the story of what is happening on the Klamath directly, that they'll want to help." Glen Spain of the Pacific Federation of Fishermen's Associations, which represents California commercial salmon fishermen, said it was important to educate the managers of Scottish Power about the cultural and economic harm their outdated dams were causing people in the Klamath Basin. Once the third-largest producer of salmon on the West Coast, the Klamath River has produced only a fraction of its historic runs since the series of six dams was built was built between 1908 and 1962. To protect the struggling salmon runs, federal fisheries managers have long cut back sport and commercial seasons off Northern California and southern Oregon. PacifiCorp has estimated that it would cost $100 million to build fish ladders to help spawning adults swim over dams, and screens to keep young fish migrating downstream out of turbines. It has said it would be more willing to consider hauling fish around the dams in trucks. PacifiCorp CEO Judi Johansen, who will attend the stockholders meeting, is willing to meet with the tribes beforehand to discuss a settlement process for license renewal, said spokesman Jon Coney. "The tribes are free to do this, but it's not really necessary, because we believe their best opportunity to air and resolve these issues surrounding the Klamath project is right here in the U.S.," Coney said. Coney said Scottish Power takes "very seriously" the tribes' desire to restore salmon runs, as well as a $1 billion lawsuit the Klamath Tribes have filed against PacifiCorp for damages from the loss of salmon. Copyright c. 2004 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Newcomers need a primer on Tribes" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:40:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: NEWCOMERS NEED PRIMER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/news/opinion/9122315.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Newcomers need a primer on Indian tribes July 10, 2004 Sometimes, just the corner of my mouth turns up in a smile. Sometimes, I laugh full out, way down in the belly. Sometimes, I hold my breath waiting for those awful stories of North Dakota to begin. Most of the time, though, I think "here we go again" when new people come into our state and into our systems. Why do I say here we go again? Because it is usually a re-education process. Yes, it snows in North Dakota as it does in many of the Northern states, and it gets down right chilly during some parts of the winter months - some years. North Dakota is a Plains state, but it is not a treeless land with few people and billions of mosquitoes. It is a land of rolling plains, where you can see gigantic, ebony thunderheads that flash with lightning. The storms can build hundreds of miles away yet you can feel their power moving toward you. Ahead of the deluge is a clean scent of wet earth. In midsummer, it is a land where the big bluestem, Indian and sweet grass and side oats roll like the waves on an ocean. It is a land where the lush green of the Red River Valley sits smartly on the flat floor of what once was a lake so large, it invaded land of three states and Canada. And yes, some of us have a rather unique way of speaking, "you betcha we do." But we are understandable - most of the time - as are, "ah say," most of the Southerners who come our way. I had lunch with one of those new Southerners who is joining North Dakota's population. Robert Potts is the new chancellor of the North Dakota higher education system. Potts will be the new Larry Isaak, who moved on to a new job in Minnesota. Potts has settled in Bismarck, not far from the Missouri River, he said, and seems wide open to learning about our state. For me, what I would like him to know - he will learn about our weather, some of the people and land soon enough - is the uniqueness and importance of the state's largest ethnic or minority population, American Indians. Not only are we the largest minority population, but we have five of the largest land bases in the state. Two spill over into South Dakota: the Standing Rock home of the Lakota in Fort Yates, N.D., and the Sisseton/Wahpeton Oyate Dakota Sioux, whose agency is in Sisseton, S.D., and touches North Dakota in the southeastern part of the state. The tribes are the fastest-growing populations in the state. The Lakota in Fort Yates now count 13,419 members. There are 10,759 Dakota listed in Sisseton, S.D. The Three Affiliated Tribes - the Arikara (Sahnish), Mandan and Hidatsa at New Town, N.D. - number 10,789; the Spirit Lake Dakota in Fort Totten, N.D., are at 6,279, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in Belcourt, N.D., count 29,087. That is a total of about 70,000 people. Some of those people aren't of voting age, and some do not live on the reservation or even in the state, but they are members of those tribes. If you add the land of these five tribes together, it totals about 1.5 million acres. Standing Rock has the largest land area, with 841,700 acres; the Three Affiliated tribes are second with 422,830 acres. Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake have smaller land bases. This information is from the Bureau of Indian Affairs' December 2003 directory.There are five community colleges, one on each reservation, that have helped students get two-year degrees. These students have gone on to use their educations as steppingstones to places such as UND and special programs in medicine, nursing, psychology, communications, law, geology and others. Tribes in North Dakota are not immune from social problems. Alcoholism and drug abuse, suicide, unemployment are a few. Our tribal governments are patterned after the federal government. They are, however, a mere 60 years old and certainly have had growing pains. It is those young people who are attending colleges and universities who'll go home and began to improve our systems. As you know, the current name and logo for UND has caused frustration and disillusionment for many of the American Indian students. Most tribal councils in North Dakota and South Dakota have requested that the university not use "Fighting Sioux." The tribal councils speak for the people. Some students have transferred because of continuous harassment. I believe it is one of those thorny issues that will continue to plague the relationship between Indian people and the university. Tribes are becoming a more integral part of the state's political system and certainly are a growing population at colleges and universities. North Dakota winters aren't as cold as you might think, and people do live here and love it. And the tribes should be respected and will respect you in return. ------ Yellow Bird writes columns Tuesdays and Saturdays. Reach her by phone at 780-1228, (800) 477-6572, extension 228, or by e-mail at dyellowbird@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2004 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: Grant to help Ojibwe keep Mercury out of Diet" --------- Date: Thu, 9 July 2004 08:39:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OJIBWE/MERCURY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/local/9114456.htm Grant aims to help Ojibwe keep mercury out of diet NEWS TRIBUNE July 9, 2004 For centuries, fish were an important part of the American Indian diet. Today, with mercury raining down from coal-burning power plants, eating too much can cause irreversible harm. To help prevent that, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission a $445,830 grant to create a culturally sensitive program to reduce the risk of eating mercury-contaminated fish. The Great Lakes commission and the Midwest Center for Environmental Science and Public Policy will use the three-year grant to improve methods of warning Wisconsin's Ojibwe about the dangers of mercury while encouraging them to continue fishing. Mercury is a byproduct from burning coal at power plants. In water, bacteria convert mercury to a more toxic form, methyl mercury, which accumulates in fish. Eating too much mercury-laden fish could damage kidneys and the nervous system. The risk varies with the concentration of mercury and with how much, and what kind, of fish a person eats. "Unfortunately, many fish in Wisconsin have concentrations of mercury high enough to pose risk to developing fetuses and young children," said toxicologist Jeffrey Foran, president of the Midwest Center for Environmental Science and Public Policy. The commission comprises 11 Ojibwe bands in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. While the project is focused primarily in Wisconsin, the commission also plans to test fish from lakes in Minnesota and Michigan. The commission has tested fish for mercury for 16 years. The commission produces color-coded maps illustrating where mercury levels are safe and unsafe. "We want to evaluate how that map is being used," said the commission's biological services director Neil Kmiecik. "Based upon the feedback we get from a survey that we will do, we will re-evaluate our intervention program." Fish remain an important part of the diet of tribal members, especially in the spring, Kmiecik said. The commission is finishing a five-year study to determine how much fish tribal members eat. In some areas, the cultural importance of fishing may clash with consumption advisories, Foran said, "so the challenge is to determine how we can best reduce exposure, perhaps through shifts to fish that are less contaminated, harvesting in lakes where there are lower levels of contaminates while still encouraging the traditional tribal activities of harvesting and consuming fish." Copyright c. 2004 Duluth News Tribune. --------- "RE: Students work to preserve lost NA Languages" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:40:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BERKELEY LANGUAGE PRESERVATION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/9130675.htm Berkeley students work to preserve lost Native American languages By JACK CHANG Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, Calif.) July 11, 2004 BERKELEY, Calif. - In front of hundreds of indigenous people and linguists from around the world, California Indian Bill Combs held a sheet of paper in front of him and nervously spoke the lost language of his ancestors. While his cousin Norma Yeager translated, he read the Wintun words for frog, deer and other animals, complete with the glottal stops, or deep- throated clicking sounds, that he had practiced all week. The 34-year-old man wearing a T-shirt and shorts finished his presentation by looking up at the audience gathered in Pauley Ballroom at University of California, Berkeley, and telling them in Wintun what he had recently learned to do after being denied the opportunity all his life. "I am speaking my language." Since mid-June, the university's linguistics department has been helping about 50 Native Californians learn to read, write and speak their languages, many of whom have not been used for decades and are considered "dead languages." For many "Breath of Life" conference participants, the experience has been emotional as they dig through the university's archive of language recordings to find traces of their lost tongues. In some cases, they have come across recordings of grandparents and other family members speaking their languages decades ago into the microphones of UC Berkeley anthropologists. Some have become the first people to speak their ancestral languages since the early 20th century. Mike Lincoln who lives in the Round Valley Indian Reservation in California, said he hopes to raise from the dead the language of his father's tribe, the Nomelaki. "I look at it as something missing," Lincoln said. "(The U.S. government) took it away from us. They didn't let us have it. It's part of our culture. Without it, you're lost." Throughout the 20th century, the federal government aggressively tried to stamp out the languages, sending native children to boarding schools where only English was permitted and prohibiting the teaching of the languages in public schools. Mamie Elsie Powell, a 72-year-old resident of the Grindstone Indian Rancheria in Glenn County, Calif., said she grew up without speaking her native tongue of Nomelaki although she remembered hearing her father and other relatives speak it while growing up. As it turns out, her father who died at age 101 in 1987 was aware of the importance of his language and made hours of recordings of himself speaking it. "I am one of the few people around who remember what my language sounds like," Powell said. "I have my father's tapes." Lincoln pointed to Powell who was sitting next to him in a UC Berkeley cafeteria. "She is going to help us a lot to learn our language," Lincoln said. Since the 1980s, the campaign to rescue dying or dead languages has become a movement among Native Americans, said Leanne Hinton, chairwoman of UC Berkeley's linguistics department. Language has become an integral part of Native Americans shedding harsh stereotypes imposed on them and rediscovering their heritages, Hinton said. "The languages had been crushed so badly," she said. "Only in a more tolerant era on the part of the government has this opportunity to rediscover arrived." Still, many California Indians remain apathetic about their culture, and getting them excited about it is often an uphill battle, said Yeager also from Grindstone. "If they show interest, we'll teach them," he said. On a Thursday in June, UC Berkeley launched a companion conference - "Stabilizing Indigenous Languages" - drawing several hundred indigenous people and linguists from around the country and the world to learn how to rescue their own fragile languages. The two conferences merged the next Friday morning, and Californians such as Combs and Yeager nervously climbed onto the Pauley Ballroom stage to show what they had learned during the week to the international audience. Among the crowd were young people such as 26-year-old Michelle Martin, an Aborigine from northwest Australia who said she has been trying to preserve some of the 25 spoken indigenous languages in her part of the world. Her motivations were the same as the native Californians'. "It's who we are," Martin said. "You can say you're an Aborigine, but what it really means is your culture and your language." Martin said many of her elders still speak the old languages although few try to pass on their knowledge. That's why Martin is working to preserve the languages while there's still time by recording them onto tape and creating dictionaries for them. In that way, what she has seen so far in California has been a warning to her. "If my people don't take an interest now, we'll be in the same situation as you." WORD TRANSLATIONS Transcribed by California Indian Norma Yeager and UC Berkeley graduate student Jenny Lederer. Nomelaki was spoken among Northern Californian natives. Tree - mee Deer - nopoom Flowers - kalal Bear - waymahl Jaybird - chiek-chiek Rabbit - patkeelee Part of a Nomelaki prayer using the words: Hlesin mem mee nopoom kalal way Hlesin mem waymahl chiek-chiek patkeelee Water-spirit make the tree, deer and flowers grow. Water-spirit feed the plant life to the bear, jaybird and rabbit. Copyright c. 2004 Aberdeen American. --------- "RE: Native Food Summit 2004 at a Glance" --------- Date: Thu, 8 July 2004 23:13:18 -0800 From: firstnations.org Subj: NA News Item Join Us for a Gathering That Will Change the Way Native America Eats and Lives. The traditional Native diet has sustained our health and spirits for centuries. This September, you'll discover how Native food systems can help improve the health and economic issues facing Native America. [To view the complete conference brochure and agenda in PDF, please click here .] Register today for First Nations Development Institute's Native Food Summit 2004 First FOOD Nations: Creating a Recipe for Change September 9- 11 The Pfister Hotel Milwaukee, WI The Native Food Summit 2004 will be held at Milwaukee's historic Pfister Hotel, in tandem with this year's Indian Summer Festival - one of the country's largest, most popular Native celebrations. Loretta Barrett Oden and other Native chefs will be demonstrating their culinary skills at the Festival on Saturday, September 11, directly following the Native Food Summit 2004 wrap-up. The hotel's convenient location makes it easy for Food Summit participants to walk to the Festival and catch it at its peak! At the Native Food Summit 2004, First FOOD Nations: Creating a Recipe for Change, you'll network and build partnerships with peers and leaders who are working to build and sustain food systems in Native America. You'll hear speakers ranging from Native chefs to experts in sustainable agriculture. You'll roll up your sleeves and learn about the business of food and about culture, diet and health in Indian Country. You'll learn how to finance Native food systems. You'll see - and sample - cooking showcasing Native recipes. http://www.firstnations.org/~/nafsi-summit/NAFSI_food_summit_frame.html Invitation September 9-11, 2004 Native Food Summit 2004 "First FOOD Nations: Creating a Recipe for Change" September 9-11, 2004 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Native Food Summit 2004 at a Glance Wednesday, September 8 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Registration and Welcome, Reception - The Taste of Native, Foods DAY 1 - Thursday, September 9 7:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Registration 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Program Morning Plenary - A Native Food Movement: Creating the Recipe for Change . Building From Our Traditions . Ingredients for Change: Elements of a Native Food Movement Luncheon Session - Seasoned With Spirit Afternoon - Workshops and Networking 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Reception at Potawatomi Casino DAY 2 - Friday, September 10 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Registration 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Program Morning - Workshops and Networking Plenary Session - Exciting Tried and New Recipes: Native Food Systems Models Luncheon Session - Building a Healthy Future With Native Youth Afternoon - Workshops and Networking DAY 3 - Saturday, September 11 7:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Registration 8:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Program Closing Plenary - Creating a Recipe for Change: Policy Reform . Rebuilding Native Food Systems: A New Role for the BIA . Our Food Systems and the Environment: What Is Safe to Eat or Use? . Our Food Systems and Tribal Governments . Traditions Are Key Ingredients 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Cooking Demonstration andTasting at Indian Summer Festival Choose a Workshop Track That Fits Your Goals Track 1: Marketplace and Business Workshops: . Understanding the Value Chain in Agricultural Related Businesses . Starting an Agriculture- or Food- Related Business . Adding Value to Your Agricultural Business . Marketing 101 . Selling to Institutional Customers Track 2: Culture, Diet and Health Workshops: . Using Traditions and Regaining Good Health . Understanding the Nutritional Value of Native Foods . Building Native Food Systems Into Education . Native Chefs and Their Role in Native Food Systems . Indigenous Aquaculture Network Track 3: Finding Funding Solutions for Your Native Business or Nonprofit Workshops: . Fundraising 101 (Part I) - Program Development . Fundraising 101 (Part II) - Proposal Writing . USDA Funding: Beyond Commodity Cheese . In Search of Private Funding for Your Project . Capitalizing Your Food Business Track 4: Nuts and Bolts Workshops: . A Measure of Food Sovereignty: Conducting a Community Food Assessment (Parts I & II) . Revitalizing Traditional Food Systems . Communicating for Change (Parts I & II) Who should attend . Tribal leaders . Native food program staff . Foundation representatives that support Native food projects . Advocates for Native culture, food and health . Traditional farmers and food business owners . Native foods suppliers Register by July 16 and save $100 off the onsite registration price. Registration fee: $350 - Before July 16, 2004 $425 - After July 16, 2004 $450 - Onsite Register http://www.firstnations.org/narc/iniatives/Nafsi/nafsi-summit/Native%20Food %20Summit%20reg%20form%20(Red).pdf form and fax or mail it with your payment to First Nations. See registration form for group and exhibitor registration fees. Conference Location The Pfister Hotel 424 East Wisconsin Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53202 (414) 273-8222 Special Food Summit Group Rates: $120.00 Single-Quad Occupancy/night $170.00 Master Suite/night Rooms at the Pfister Hotel will be in high demand - make your reservations early! Call 800-558-8222 and mention First Nations Development Institute's Native Food Summit 2004. Discount room rates are available through August 16, 2004. (Be sure to notify the hotel of any special needs you may have.) Invited Speakers Dave Anderson (Choctaw/Ojibwe), U.S. Department of the Interior Nephi Craig (White Mountain Apache), Chef, Founder, Native American Culinary Association Bea Medicine, Ph.D. (Lakota), Anthropologist and Historian Billy Mills (Lakota), Running Strong for American Indian Youth Loretta Barrett Oden (Potawatomi), Chef, Restaurateur, Food Historian Mark Ritchie President, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Gus Schumacher, U.S. Department of Agriculture Paul Smith (Oneida), Heifer International Sponsors The Native Food Summit is an integral part of First Nations' Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (NAFSI), and is made possible with primary support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. NAFSI strives to increase food security by supporting Native projects that focus on local community food systems projects; agriculturerelated business enterprises; and building community connections around culture, food, diet and health. Through this initiative, First Nations will award more than $1 million in grants to Native food and agriculture programs. For additional details about Native Food Summit 2004, please visit our website at: www.firstnations.org --------- "RE: Press Release: NSAIE Summer Kickoff" --------- Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2004 18:57:07 -0500 From: "NSAIE" Subj: Press Release We would really appreciate if you could include this press release in your newspaper. Thanks, NSAIE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Kimberly Rideaux National Society for American Indian Elderly (602) 307-1865 FAX-(602) 253-9135 kimberly.rideaux@nsaie.org www.nsaie.org info@nsaie.org National Society for American Indian Elderly Summer Kick Off (Texas, June 2004) This summer the National Society for American Indian Elderly is hosting a variety of events and kickoffs to expand the organization and provide a strong support to improve the quality of life for on-reservation American Indian elderly. The NSAIE, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a non-for-profit group that provides resources to tribal programs that serve American Indian elderly in order for them to have access to services that support them in their homes, and as respected members of their communities. Established in 1987, NSAIE currently provides resources to tribes throughout the United States. Services such as delivered meals to seniors living in isolated areas on tribal lands and healthy promotion activities are vital to the well being of the elders. NSAIE depends on private donations and memberships to continue helping elders receive these services. The summer kick off events include an online auction of authentic Native American artwork, sculptures, and music; to browse and bid on the auction items, visit the NSAIE website at www.nsaie.org. Also, NSAIE is hosting a corporate sponsor kickoff to secure sponsors for upcoming NSAIE events and efforts. The National Society for American Indian Elderly membership campaign is also in full swing, adding members to support our efforts in assisting to improve the quality of lives for Native American Indian elderly. To learn more about NSAIE and how you can help, please visit our website at www.nsaie.org by telephone, (602) 307-1865 or by mail at 1326 North Central Avenue, #208, Phoenix, AZ 85004. --------- "RE: After 16 years, Tribal Arts Festival canceled" --------- Date: Wed, 7 July 2004 08:37:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NORTHERN PLAINS CANCELED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.argusleader.com/storyarchive/Wednesdayarticle1.shtml After 16 years, Tribal Arts festival canceled Jennifer Sanderson Argus Leader July 7, 2004 Donald Montileaux feels as if a good friend has died. This fall, for only the third time in 17 years, the Rapid City man will not make the drive east on Interstate 90 to Sioux Falls and the Northern Plains Tribal Arts festival. "I don't go there just to sell my artwork," says Montileaux, though he's come to count on Tribal Arts sales. "I go to talk with fellow artists. I have friends there. ... It was a real hurt to find out it wasn't going to happen this year." American Indian Services, the nonprofit organization that has hosted the festival since 1988, will ot sponsor a 2004 event. A past winner of governor's and mayor's awards for art advocacy, Tribal rts is a premier showcase for fine artists and the only festival reserved for members of the Northern Plains' 33 tribes. Its traditional three-day September run includes live entertainment, a powwow and as many as 100 artists' booths. It's also the group's largest fund-raiser, with entry fees generating money in an annual budget of less than $500,000. Board members call the decision a hard one, saying the festival was taking too much time, energy and money from the agency's mission: supporting social programs that serve native peoples. Those efforts include transitional housing at Dakota and Lakota Houses, as well as partnerships with 35 other agencies. Gallery owners, arts advocacy groups and artists call the decision a huge loss whose effects will be felt culturally and economically on many levels. "We had heard vague rumors, but we didn't know specifics," says Deb Klebanoff, executive director of the Sioux Empire Arts Council. "It almost leaves you a speechless, to think this isn't going to happen." Agency leaders say the show will return in 2005, although it might have a different look and work harder to recruit new artists. But many worry Tribal Arts will follow the pattern they've seen in other cities nationwide. They fear a missed year soon will become two and then three, until it's all but impossible to renew interest in the event. "There are a lot of tribal artists who have counted on the show in Sioux Falls for a good share of their annual revenue," says Craig Anderson, a member of the volunteer council that helps the AIS board run Tribal Arts. The Merrill, Iowa, man is working with fellow council member and Sinta Gleske University Registrar Jack Herman of Mission to secure the college's help in sponsoring an independent Sioux Falls show instead. "If we can put together a show - even for one year - so the artists have a place to show their work and have a sale, we'd like to do that," Anderson says. Montileaux, a multiple award winner at Tribal Arts, also serves on the festival's artist advisory committee. He, too, is putting his knowledge to use for the offshoot exhibition. "We don't want to say, 'We don't need AIS anymore.' This isn't a competition," Montileaux says. "We want to continue the show, and if AIS comes back, we will welcome them." However, some wonder whether Tribal Arts has outgrown the American Indian Services umbrella. Linda Boyd, who has run Prairie Star Gallery with her husband, John, for seven years, has heard the question raised more than once. Anderson has been part of similar conversations, though he praises the AIS structure and the job its staff has done. Others are more critical and point to years of controversy about the way the agency has represented itself and the show. Wayne Star Boy and his wife, Dana, opened Lakota Art and Bead Gallery downtown in January. "I've seen a lot of these fail, all over, and it's always management. Something is wrong," Wayne Star Boy says. "Tribal Arts needs to be similar to the one down South, an open market. If they want to have a festival specific to who wins a blue ribbon, that's totally different." Sioux Falls artist James Starkey shares that belief. In 2001, he was part of a small group of artists who boycotted the festival when a former Best of Fine Arts winner was told not to come. Starkey says Tribal Arts was geared toward collectors, not artists. He wants to see a restructured show without ribbons, open to all who are enrolled tribal members. Money awarded as prizes in past years, Starkey says, should help pay entry fees for emerging artists who can't afford hundreds of dollars to reserve a place for themselves. "It would be more like relationship-building in the traditional indigenous ways," he says. "You'd still award artists who show consistency. Instead of elevating a core group of elite artists away from the people, you give them responsibility to the people." Marilyn Lonehill-Meier, who last fall took over as executive director of American Indian Services, is aware of the criticism. At last year's festival, she spent much of her time getting feedback from artists. "We're sending a letter to all our past artists, just asking for their support," Lonehill-Meier says. "We hope that they're going to come back when the show is up and running again in 2005. ... I think some felt that the show was dropping across the board, in attendance and quality." Lonehill-Meier and the board's vice chairwoman, Karla Abbott, say this weekend's planning sessions with the Sioux Empire United Way will help the agency refocus on its mission. "The whole purpose is to think about our social problems and how we can best help Native Americans in our community," says Abbott, enrolled with the Cheyenne River Sioux at Eagle Butte. "Part of the criticism we heard is that we were helping only artists. We need to rethink some things, but we will never turn our backs on our artists." Boyd, whose gallery represents represents 60 to 75 artists who have shown at Tribal Arts in the past, said canceling the 2004 show ignores larger issues. "By deciding and announcing not to support the festival at this late date, AIS leaves little time for organizations to step in," Boyd says. "People from all over the country and the world plan a year ahead of time to come to this event, and I'm sure that's why Donald (Montileaux) and others are saying it can't not exist." ---- Reach reporter Jennifer Sanderson at 575-3629. What is AIS? American Indian Services is a nonprofit organization that assists Native peoples with referrals to social services and directly through its transitional residential programs, Dakota House and Lakota House. Since 1988, the agency has sponsored the Northern Plains Tribal Arts, a festival and juried show open only to enrolled members of the 33 Northern Plains tribes. What happened with the festival? American Indian Services board members, along with executive director Marilyn Lonehill-Meier, worried the festival took too much time, money and effort from the agency's social services. The nonprofit announced it will not host Tribal Arts this year and instead will reorganize, returning with a 2005 festival. What's next? Members of the Northern Plains Tribal Arts Council and its artist advisory committee hope to join with Sinte Gleska University to host a stand-alone show of Northern Plains artists in late September or October in Sioux Falls. Copyright c. 2003 Argus Leader. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Deal lets Ontario Me'tis hunt, fish freely" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:40:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ONTARIO METIS HUNTING/FISHING AGREEMENT" http://ww.indianz.com/News/ http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/07/08/canada/metis_hunting040708 Deal lets Ontario Me'tis hunt, fish freely July 8, 2004 THUNDER BAY, ONT. - After months of talks, Ontario's Me'tis reached a deal with the provincial government Wednesday that will allow them to hunt and fish more freely. From now on, the Ministry of Natural Resources will recognize the use of Me'tis licences known as "harvester certificates," which will prevent hunters from being charged or having their game or weapons confiscated during a hunt. They will not be able to sell the game they catch, however. Similar rules will apply to Me'tis who fish for their own use, even out of season. The Me'tis Nation of Ontario will issue no more than 1,250 of the certificates over the course of the two-year interim project to provincial residents of mixed native and European descent. Tony Belcourt, president of the Me'tis Nation of Ontario, said the deal was reached after an eleventh-hour phone call from provincial Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay. The Me'tis group had been ready to announce a plan to defy provincial authorities and launch a round of unapproved hunting and fishing this fall, after months of talks bogged down. Belcourt said the agreement will put an end to the harassment Me'tis people have experienced for years. "Think what we are going to be able to do now that we have a government that respects us as a people," he said to a crowd of cheering supporters meeting in Thunder Bay. Jason Madden, a member of the Me'tis negotiating team, said the move sets a precedent other provinces should follow. "I think other governments should take notice of one government sticking its neck out and saying, 'Yeah, we'll do it this way. We don't want a recipe for confrontation.'" The Manitoba Me'tis Federation is looking for a similar deal to let it issue harvester cards. Wednesday's deal in Ontario follows a Supreme Court decision last fall that gave nearly 1,000 Me'tis in the Sault Ste. Marie the right to hunt or fish for food without licences and regardless of season. Native fishing and hunting rights have been making headlines in Canada since 1999, when the Marshall decision said Mi'kmaq treaty rights dating from 1760 gave Mi'kmaq in the Maritimes and eastern Quebec the right to earn a "moderate livelihood" from commercial fisheries, even outside of normal fishing seasons. Violent confrontations followed in New Brunswick as non-native fishermen worried about the future of stocks clashed with native lobster crews. Thousands of traps were vandalized and three fish plants were burned down as the conflict escalated. Aboriginal groups in the Maritimes have since sought to apply the Marshall decision to logging and hunting rights as well. Written by CBC News Online staff Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Sisters in Spirit Walk the Talk through City" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jul 2004 18:40:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WALKING/REMEMBERING" http://www.ammsa.com/sweetgrass/topnews-May-2004.html#anchor783890 Sisters in spirit walk the talk through city Debora Steel, Sweetgrass Writer, Edmonton Kurt Ahenekew Gold lost his mother to the violence of downtown Edmonton before he was five years old. "It's hard looking at a picture of your mother and not remembering her face," he said standing next to his younger brother Dallas, both choking back tears. He was thanking a group of people who had come to honor the memories of women like his mother. He and Dallas, his aunt, uncle and cousin joined about 40 others in the Sisters in Spirit candlelight walk and vigil held in the city on April 28, organized by the Edmonton chapter of the Alberta Aboriginal Women's Society. Sisters in Spirit was established by the Native Women's Association of Canada to pay tribute to and raise awareness of the 500 Native women who have gone missing or have been murdered in Canada over the past 20 years. Literature from the organization states that in Canada, Aboriginal women continue to be targets of hatred and violence because of their gender and their race. "They continue to be objectified, disrespected, dishonored, ignored and killed, often with impunity." Kurt and Dallas' mom, Bernadette Ahenakew, 22, was found strangled in a ditch on a rural road near Sherwood Park in 1989. Hers is one of many unsolved murders police are investigating, looking to the possibility that a serial killer is at work finding victims among vulnerable women in Edmonton's sex trade. Nancy Masuskapoe is Bernadette's sister. She mourns not just Bernadette, but another sister, Laura Ann Ahenakew, 22, who met a violent end in 1990. "The pain is so great sometimes," said Masuskapoe about when she thinks about her sisters. She said too many women are being violated and abused, too many have lost their lives to violence. "It has to stop." "One way is to teach our children, especially our boys and men, that violence is unacceptable...Women need to teach their children to be gentle, to respect life," Masuskapoe said. When her daughter, JoAnne Ahenekew, vice-president of the Edmonton chapter of the women's society, saw Bernadette's and Laura Ann's names on the Sisters in Spirit posters sent from the national organization, she was very excited and phoned the family right away. "My family, we grieved so hard, and we still do for them," said JoAnne. "It was nice to know that there were sisters out there that are bringing awareness, other than our family. It was nice to know that our sisters out there in Canada care about getting this to stop, and it felt really good. It was really uplifting," who add she felt a part of a bigger, stronger picture. The walkers began at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples and made their way down one of Edmonton's most desperate stretches of road-96 Street. Walkers passed shelters and centres where the down and out, addicted and afflicted find some relief from their harsh lives. It was a quiet night, with a few cars passing and a few Native men on bicycles peddling by. "Come and join us," invited one of the walkers. Some walkers tried to sing, but most just walked in silence. They made their way to the Edmonton City Police building where they posed briefly for a picture to commemorate the occasion. Muriel Stanley Venne, president of the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women, was among the participants. She said the event was important to raise some level of awareness of the barriers faced by Aboriginal women in Canada today. "Awareness is just the first stage. The next stage has to be the solutions and the changes in attitudes and the changes in opportunities, and the respect for our women and a lot of things that have to happen, you know, after the awareness." Muriel Stanley Venne said poverty, isolation and discrimination are at the heart of the difficulties Aboriginal women experience. "And isolation is both psychological and physical, all stemming from poverty, because if you haven't got enough money then you haven't got opportunities for your children or yourself." Her organization is proposing that the next decade, 2005 to 2015, be proclaimed the decade of difference. "The decade for Aboriginal women in which we address the issues that they are faced with...If there are no resources and no political will to help the women, then nothing will happen. And that's what Canada is faced with now. They have the policies. They don't put any amount of realistic resources into helping the women. "And it's quite astonishing for the Canadian government to say that this is the best country in the world, but at the same time to have Aboriginal women in this country with the highest mortality rate, the highest death rate... You know, it's the blight on Canada," she said. Stanely Venne thought the police station was an appropriate place for the walkers to pause. "We did a study with the RCMP and with the City of Edmonton Police force into the impact of the cross-cultural training of their members in regards to Aboriginal women. We weren't even on the radar map, so what we came up with was that the training has to be geared to point of contact. In other words, it's all nice to know about Aboriginal culture, but if it doesn't help you when you are dealing with the people that you have to deal with, the Aboriginal people, then it's that, just nice to know." Jackie Loyer is president of the Edmonton chapter of the Alberta Aboriginal Women's Society. She said the walk went to the police station as an outcry to say, "'Hey, we need help with our missing sisters. When are you going to start doing something?" Loyer wants the police to understand that Aboriginal people should be treated with respect and courtesy and not looked at as just another drunken Indian, another doped-up person off the street. "We are all human beings. We all bleed the same. And it doesn't matter what color you are. Just because our skin is brown, doesn't mean that we don't have feelings, we don't hurt." Copyright c. 2004 lberta Sweetgrass, AMMSA-Aboriginal MultiMedia Society. --------- "RE: BIA: Shiprock, Tohatchi Jails among worst" --------- Date: Thu, 8 July 2004 08:33:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA JAILS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_12472.shtml BIA: Shiprock, Tohatchi jails among worst By Jim Snyder/The Daily Times July 8, 2004 Many Navajo correction officers still uncertified SHIPROCK - The Shiprock and Tohatchi detention centers have at least five correction officers who are not certified by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to properly do their jobs, according to a recently released interim report by the Department of the Interior. Inadequate training and under staffing combined with prison overcrowding and deteriorating facilities is endangering the lives and safety of correction officers and inmates at Native American jails, the report adds. The Shiprock and Tohatchi facilities, although operated by the Navajo Nation, must meet BIA Office of Law Enforcement Services detention program standards. "The Bureau of Indian Affairs director of law enforcement has oversight authority for BIA-operated and 638-contract detention facilities," the report read. One Shiprock correction officer, hired in 1999, had not yet attended the mandatory BIA detention officer training at the Artesia Training Academy, according to the report. Four Tohatchi officers are still not certified because their background checks are still being done - even though one officer had been there for three years. Employees at the Tohatchi facility told officials it took two to three years to send a correction officer to the academy. Interior officials found numerous problems in 14 Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal jails - including Shiprock and Tohatchi - inspected this year throughout the Southwest. The report cited correction officers who do not know what procedures to follow in the event of an inmate suicide, attempted suicide or escape. Further it added serious incidents are routinely not documented or reported up the chain of command. "(The) detention program is riddled with problems and continues to be a national disgrace with many facilities having conditions comparable to those found in third-world countries," the report read. What's not mentioned in the report The problems cited in the report are well-known to Navajo officials, prosecutors, police officers, judges and other court personnel. The report did not mention that the Navajo Nation - including Council Public Safety Committee Chairwoman Hope MacDonald-Lonetree - has been asking the federal government for monetary help for years to build new detention centers. It also did not mention Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. had proposed a $500 million bond to build infrastructure on the Navajo Nation - including new detention centers reservationwide. His proposal has not gone before the full 88-member Council for consideration. The report also did not mention the Shiprock community had considered allowing a private company to build a 1,000-bed prison on Mesa Farm Road in Shiprock. The idea, kicked around for more than a decade, has not been approved by the Shiprock Chapter. There are no prisons on the 27,000-square-mile reservation. What exists today are 45-year-old detention centers with a total of 103 beds reservationwide. Inmates at the Shiprock Detention Center sometimes serve 45 days or more of a 365-day sentence in a facility built for a 15-day maximum sentence. Shiprock prisoners - including DWI offenders - are often let out early to make room for incoming inmates, Shiprock Prosecutor Daryl Junes said last week. Navajo Council Delegate LoRenzo Bates of Upper Fruitland described the justice system as a revolving door because there is no place for convicts to serve out their sentences. "People arrested for DWI and other serious charges get released," Shiprock Police acting Lt. Nora Nolan said Wednesday. "We don't have facilities here to house them." Nolan added the public often blames the police department when inmates get released early. "Why are you letting people out?' They blame us. I wish people out in the community would realize we need a new building," she said, adding the air c