From gars@speakeasy.org Mon Jul 26 10:09:37 2004 Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2004 15:48:21 -0700 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.030 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 030 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 24, 2004 Mvskogee Hiyucee/little harvest moon Potawatomi We'shkitdaminkese/moon of the young corn +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; Frostys AmerIndian Mailing List; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "I am now an obscure member of a nation, that formerly honored and respected my opinions. The path to glory is rough and many gloomy hours obscure it. May the Great Spirit shed light on yours - and that you may never experience the humility that the power of the American government has reduced me to, is the wish of him, who, in his native forests, was once as proud and bold as yourself." __ Chief Black Hawk, Sauk and Fox +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Walt Kelly's cartoon character, Pogo Possum, paraphrased it well: "I have met the enemy and he is us." The United States, Canada, and all of Central and South America have screwed the indigenous Peoples of their respective lands from the moment Euro-toes touched soil. Rather than rally against a common enemy the First Nations allowed the invader to divide and conquer. It hasn't changed much. Tribe is still pitted against Tribe and even citizens within a Tribal Nation are set against each other - usually Euro-greed is the motivator. Sad. Witness the recent disenfranchising of (former) members of several Califiornia Tribes and Rancherias, most notably Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians. Witness the payoff to the Western Shoshone for lands the BLM sought control of, despite the fact many members want to keep their ancestral lands. Witness recent land claims settlements with the Deh Cho and Dogrib in Northwest Territory. You can practically hear business interests smacking their lips over the gas rich Deh Cho claims and diamond mines in the Dogrib settlements. The history of pitting one tribe against the other is absolute and unending, yet we continue to buy into it and let it happen, each time believing there will be some illusionary reward awaiting the Nation that was most beneficial to the dominant society. The Cherokee reward for helping route Redstick Creek out of Alabama was the Trail of Tears in 1836. The reward for ongoing and future dances with the Washington/Ottawa/ Mexico City/Brazillia... devils may not be a death march, but it will be just as unfulfilling. Yet, nation after nation plays into the same damn suicidal pacts. If you think Natives will necessarily win playing by dominant society rules, think again. The Cobell Indian Trust case that the Department of Interior continues to fight should tell you how totally lacking in honor "their" side is. Their own expert has estimated that up to $40 billion is owed. The truth is that fraud, graft and corruption have pervaded the management of our trust assets for over 100 years. (Cobell July statement) Finally, a few tribes are getting the message and finding ways to, when necessary, turn dominant society programs and needs into more than just an income filtered through non-Indian fingers, or property managed by some Washington bureaucrat. Instead they build skills, communities, relationships and reputations that can't be so easily embezzled or bullied away from their rightful owners. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw began creating infrastructure and industries before they ever built their lucrative casino. If the casinos are taken away tomorrow the Mississippi Band of Choctaw will have jobs and income for their members. The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma is establishing housing that members build and own. The article in this issue explains how well the program is going, and how it is leaving communities with homes, job skills, and a sense of unity undreamed of before. Tribal Nations have got to stand on their own, and now several of our nations have the ability to make that possible, and in the process advance their claim of sovereignty. More about that next week. The examples of success using federal programs are exceptions. For every one of these, there are many more examples of federal programs ending in distrust, disharmony, and disappointment -- usually with a tribe stripped of just a little more of its language, tradition and identity, and receiving little of value in return. The treaties have been broken too many times to count. Tribes and individuals and families within tribes have got to quit fighting each other and stand as one. Otherwise, the enemy will continue to be ourselves. 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 ---------- - Police: We will find Tamra - The Corruption of the BIA - Where is Tamra?: - Land for Tribe/ Disappearance is baffling Fields for Prior Lake - Officials meet here - Opinion: to fix Indian Trust Program Reforming Native Education - Complexity of Trust Funds - Chuculate: Cosby's warning loom over Hearing echoes with Indians - Tim Giago: Eloise Cobell - Requesting a Donation tops my list of Heroes - Prayers for Jimmy, - Tribal Leaders: Piute Wrongfully Jailed Cycle of abuse must end - Seat still open for Deh Cho - Omaha Tribe struggles - Ipperwash facts will emerge in shadow of Namesake City - History lesson - Hopi future hinges at Ipperwash inquiry on Economics of Energy - Kanehsatake Police incident - Right to vote under Investigation is dear to Native Americans - Klamath Dispute: - Native Americans Single Speaker for ALL Tribes build Political Clout - South Dakota Indians - A great injustice sue Churches over Abuse against the Wyandotte Nation - Judge: Janklow was on Duty - History shines - FBI: No charges yet at Little Bighorn Monument in Rocky Boy Death - Tribe wants its own Nation - Native Prisoner in North Carolina -- Is There Equality in - Complaints about Religious use the SD Justice System? of Bear Butte - Rustywire: - Ute History, Leaders In the Midst of Them Yeis highlighted at Center - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Cherokees - Rustywire Poem: Broken Thoughts building a better Tomorrow - 77th Niagara Boarder Crossing --------- "RE: Police: We will find Tamra" --------- Date: Wed, 14 July 2004 08:25:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MISSING GIRL" http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/~7fb-4330-a2cb-d08d78fa36b1 'We will find Tamra' Police, prepare, for the, worst Veronica Rhodes, with files from Anne Kyle Leader-Post July 14, 2004 More than a week since Tamra Keepness vanished, Regina police Chief Cal Johnston says it is unlikely the five-year-old's disappearance was accidental and "human interference" is suspected. "As many have hoped against but also quietly feared, criminal interference with Tamra is a distinct possibility," Johnston told a press conference Tuesday afternoon. "If so, this grossly offends our society, our community and each and every one of us at an absolutely fundamental level." Emphasizing the first priority of the police is Tamra's safe recovery, Johnston said their second priority is to bring to justice anyone involved in her disappearance. "We will find Tamra and, if there has been criminal conduct, we will find those involved," he said. As the investigation intensifies, the Board of Police Commissioners is offering a $25,000 reward for information that will lead directly to the discovery of Tamra. The ground and air search for the child was suspended at 9 p.m. Monday evening. Deputy Chief Clive Weighill said trained volunteer searchers, uniformed officers, police canine members and RCMP cadets spent 5,600 hours searching for Tamra since her disappearance was reported to police July 6. "To date, no sign of Tamra or her personal effects have been found," said Weighill. The investigation has led police to interview family members, friends, and neighbors as well as Regina residents who have a history of sexual offences. Weighill said investigators will now review surveillance tapes from the bus depot, convenience stores, taverns and gas bars. There are more than 60 interviews still to be done and hundreds of tips to follow up. While police say the family was notified Tuesday morning of the suspension of the search, Hanya Peigan, Tamra's great aunt, contended the family first learned about it from the media Tuesday morning. Peigan called on the aboriginal community to continue to search for her missing niece. "I would ask them myself, personally, please don't quit. This is a little girl, we are talking about Tamra Jewel Keepness. She is alive, a human just as we are. I would also ask if we can't get them to look, let all our own people get together and look for Tamra Jewel Keepness. It is very important we find her," Peigan said. Johnston said all searches have not stopped completely but will now be conducted on "best judgment". The police will focus on the investigation, which may reveal areas that need to be searched. Tamra was last seen in her home in the 1800 block of Ottawa Street on July 5 around 11 p.m. For the past week, ground searches have been conducted in the area surrounding her home, and water and air searches have been done of Wascana Creek and outlying areas. Johnston said there is no single, particular suspect and no one has been taken into custody. In the course of the investigation, the police must have a "complete and thorough understanding" of all activities that took place in or near the home when Tamra disappeared. "There were comings and goings from the house that night that remain not fully explained to our satisfaction and we continue to ask those questions. At this point in time, it looks like it was family or extended family (at the house) but there is also the possibility there could have been others involved," said Johnston. Copyright c. 2004 CanWest Interactive Inc. All rights reserved --------- "RE: Where is Tamra?: Disappearance is baffling" --------- Date: Mon, 19 July 2004 08:56:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MISSING GIRL" http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/35f-85e7-27aca9769002 Where is Tamra?: Disappearance is baffling Barb Pacholik, with files from Veronica Rhodes and Anne Kyle Leader-Post, with files from Canwest News Service July 19, 2004 On top of a 1970s-era television set inside Tamra's home lies a hand-made picture collage that epitomizes her baffling disappearance. Pasted on a piece of cardboard is a newspaper clipping of the smiling five-year-old - one of several that have been widely circulated since she vanished almost two weeks ago. There's also a headline, which originally read, "Tamra, where did you go?," but now the "where" has been replaced by a handwritten "why." And taped in one corner is a child-size, purple rosary, while a feather decorates another - signs of hope in the face of a situation that's increasingly desperate. "I ask that you push back those dark forces," one woman prayed at a vigil inside the Keepness home last week. To date, just what "dark forces" may have played a role in the child's disappearance are as much a mystery as her whereabouts. Tamra Jewel Keepness was reported missing to Regina police just after noon on July 6. Her mother Lorena Keepness said her daughter was last seen inside the family's home at 11 p.m. the night before. In a city where most missing-persons cases are solved within hours, expectations were initially running high. That day, officers searched her house, nearby family homes, and the neighborhood as well as issuing a brief missing-person report to the media. On July 7, the search intensified with more officers, canine members, and trained volunteers with search and rescue groups. It soon became clear this case was far from routine. One week into the search, about 40 people gathered for a vigil in the living room of the home Tamra shared with her mother, stepfather, and five siblings, including her twin sister Tanis whom their mother often dressed alike. The sparsely furnished, run-down, two-storey home in the inner city speaks of the family's obvious struggle with poverty, but the pictures hung neatly on the wall are also testament to their resolve to go on in spite of it. While the youngest in the family, nine-month-old Alicia McArthur, drank her bottle and chortled in her playpen at teddy bears - gifts from the makeshift memorial outside the family's home - women, men, aboriginal and non-aboriginal offered tears, songs, prayers, and Bible readings for Tamra's return. Those present included Lorena, her partner of two years Dean McArthur, and Tamra's birth father Troy Keepness, who lives nearby. Crying as she held one of her other children, Lorena said she was thinking about the person "who has Tamra." She prayed for him too - "to bring her home. To do what's right." For a week, more than 100 police and volunteer searchers from across the province plowed through dumpsters, dilapidated buildings, abandoned appliances, even sewer catch basins in hopes of finding Tamra. Some locations, like Wascana Creek, were guided by visions from Indian elders. Fears that the little girl, known for her curiosity, had met with something more menacing than playful misadventure grew. It's a neighbourhood where it's easy to have those suspicions. Just a block from Tamra's street - and walking distance from the local park - is a halfway house that pedophiles and other criminals call home. On those same streets where legitimate businesses ply their wares, working girls solicit passers-by, drug addicts cut deals and alcoholics stumble into a bar with a street-tough reputation. But it became apparent police were also focusing their investigation closer to home. Earlier in the day before the July 12 vigil, Tamra's frustrated mother lashed out at police for questioning her 10-year-old daughter Summer Favel. "They're pointing their fingers at us, and we've been totally co-operative," she told the Leader-Post. "Investigate me all they want, but when they're taking my baby without me knowing, and they're submitting her to a barrage of questions and lies ... then that's going too far," she said, adding "it's like we're suspects." At a news conference the next day, it was Regina police Chief Cal Johnston's turn to field some tough questions. Asked point-blank if family members were suspects, he skirted around the issue, saying police need a "complete and thorough understanding of all activities and all actions and everything that took place in the area of this home." As with any investigation, police were looking at "people who have access, opportunity, past behaviour," he said. (No doubt that "past behaviour" would have included McArthur's appearance in a Regina courtroom April 28 when he was sentenced to three months in jail for assaulting his wife four months earlier.) One woman told the Leader-Post there was a gathering at the Keepness home July 5 and a fight. Johnston wouldn't confirm it, but did admit that "there were comings and goings from the house that night that remain not fully explained to our satisfaction." By the next day with tensions rising, the family was also lashing out at the media. Lorena and her partner have since repeatedly declined interviews. Hanya Peigan, Tamra's great aunt, condemned the scrutiny the family has been under. "Who gives them (police) the right to judge anybody. This is a family that is hurting," she told reporters. "Lorena doesn't know anything about the disappearance of her daughter. All she wants is her daughter back." At that same July 13 news conference, police indicated searching would take a backseat to investigating given the 5,600-hour fruitless ground and air search. "As many have hoped against, but quietly feared, criminal interference with Tamra is a distinct possibility," Johnston said. A $25, 000 reward was offered for information leading to her discovery. Despite the plan to end the large-scale search, it did indeed continue. Led by First Nations organizers and assisted by a half-dozen police service members, the search has taken volunteers into Regina and surrounding areas, working under intense heat and threat of severe storms. The original decision by police to back off the search sparked accusations of racism. Kara Benson, one of many people who stopped by the Ottawa Street house to show support for the family, wondered if the case was handled differently. "I think it's because it's a native kid, and they didn't jump on it right away," she charged. But another woman from the neighbourhood pointed out, "There were lots of cops there." Indeed, it's impossible to measure since there's never been a missing child investigation of this scope in Regina. Police are tight-lipped about the investigation, refusing to confirm or refute any of the rumours making the rounds, including a kidnapping by an elderly white woman, and drug and/or gang involvement. Some area store owners have said a detective has come by with a photo of a middle-aged white man named Roch, who goes by Rocky. There's no confirmation it's related to the case. About the only thing that's clear is the outpouring of support and sympathy from the community for a lost or abducted child. "My heart goes out to the little girl, and I hope she is okay," said a neighbourhood resident as she dropped off a stuffed animal. Copyright c. 2004 The Leader-Post (Regina). Copyright c. 2004 CanWest Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Officials meet here to fix Indian Trust Program" --------- Date: Wed, 14 July 2004 08:25:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIAN TRUST" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com//state/37-trust-program.inc Officials meet here to fix Indian trust program By MIKE STARK Of The Gazette Staff July 14, 2004 Navigating the federal Indian trust fund program isn't for the faint of heart. Convoluted accounting systems, confusion over land ownership, countless delays, disputes over payments - the program is a bureaucratic tangle that, in recent years, has become the focus of a class-action lawsuit and mounting political pressure for change. This week, local residents will have a chance to voice their frustrations and questions to federal officials and others who are looking for ways to change the system for the better. "There are lots and lots of problems," said Alice Koskela, of the Intertribal Monitoring Association on Indian Trust Funds (ITMA), the group hosting a two-day conference in Billings this week. "We want to hear the real-life problems experienced by real people on the ground." The two "listening sessions" hosted by ITMA are intended to help shape policies and practices at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Office of the Special Trustee and Congress. The sessions will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Holiday Inn Grand Montana in Billings. Allotted land ownership The issue stems from federal policies that started in the late 1880s, when thousands of Indians were allotted ownership of land with the federal government acting as trustee. In that role, the government was required to keep track of revenue generated mining and oil and gas development on the land. The government was also in charge of dispersing the money. In 1996, Eloise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet tribe, filed a class action lawsuit aimed at forcing the Department of Interior to provide a full accounting of funds for an estimated half-million Indians and their heirs. "The legacy that has been generated over decades if not more than a century is one of general neglect," Koskela said. Finding fixes As federal agencies and Congress wade deeper into finding fixes for the system, ITMA wants to make sure tribal voices are heard - especially about what the key problems are and what potential solutions might be. Similar sessions have been held in Oklahoma and North Dakota with more to come in Wisconsin and Arizona. "There's a level of frustration," said Ross Swimmer, head of the Office of Special Trustee, an Interior department agency established in 1994 to improve the management and accountability of the Indian trust funds. Swimmer attended earlier listening sessions but will not be coming to Billings because of a scheduling conflict. Other representatives from his office will attend, he said. At the other sessions, Swimmer said he heard a wide range of questions and complaints, including from tribal members wanting to know information about accounts, payments, probate dealings and appraisals. "It's a little bit of everything," he said, adding that some come looking for answers to specific questions and others want to vent. "The typical one is not there to say you're doing a good job." The conference in Billings will focus on trust funds and assets, including problems with Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts, leases of trust land, trespassing, probates and appraisals. The local session is also likely to include issues with "highly fractionated" land - where several people own a single parcel. The Crow reservation has some of the most "highly fractionated" land in the country, according to the ITMA. That creates significant problems, especially when all of the owners have to sign off on a lease or checks have to be cut to all of the owners. "If you have an 80-acre tract owned by 500 people," Swimmer said, "you have to set up accounts for all 500 people. This 80 acres may bring in $1, 500 or $2,000 a year that has to then be divided among those 500 people." The process gets more convoluted in probate proceedings, where, in some cases, the costs in dealing with the accounts are more than the money that's actually in the accounts, Swimmer said. Federal officials are making improvements, though, according to Swimmer. Technological upgrades will provide more streamlined information on several fronts, such as titles. A toll-free line is also being set up for beneficiaries and "trust officers" and "deputy superintendents for trust" will be hired around the country to specifically deal with individual Indian trust issues. The changes will help with management of the accounts, Swimmer said, but there are still fundamental issues about the trust funds that need to be addressed. "In a sense, we're doing crazy things better. We're going to be able to handle the fractionated issues better and more efficiently but the bigger question is should we be doing them at all," he said. Coming to places like Billings will give everyone a chance to hear what some of the key issues are on the ground, he said. Ultimately, that helps as the job continues to reshape the Indian trust program, he said. Steps toward improvement may seem painstaking but they are moving the program in the right direction, he said. "It's slow, but I think we're making progress," Swimmer said. Details Federal officials and tribal advocates are in Billings this week to hear public input about the federal Indian trust program. The Intertribal Association on Indian Trust Funds will host "listening sessions" from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Holiday Inn Grand Montana in Billings. The sessions are intended to gather input about frustrations, problems and questions about the Indian trust system. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Complexity of Trust Funds loom over Hearing" --------- Date: Fri, 16 July 2004 08:22:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIAN TRUST" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com//build/local/30-indian-trust.inc Complexity of trust funds loom over hearing By MIKE STARK Of The Gazette Staff July 16, 2004 Undoing the 100-year mess of the Indian trust fund system won't happen overnight. Everyone - government workers and tribal members alike - will need a good dose of patience and endurance. Congress, though, has to do its part. It will also take more federal money and more federal employees. That was a key theme Thursday during a daylong session in Billings that was meant to gather input from tribal members about how to improve the often frustrating trust fund system. Tribal leaders from Montana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and North and South Dakota testified during a "listening session" hosted by the Intertribal Monitoring Association on Indian Trust Funds (ITMA). The session continues at 9 a.m. today at the Holiday Inn. "It's going to take extraordinary effort to solve this problem," said Barney Old Coyote, an elder in the Crow tribe. "It's not just going to take diligence but extraordinary diligence. It's going to take resources, extraordinary resources." Steps are being taken to make the system more accountable to tribal members. Among them are including the establishment of local trust agents to answer questions and an upgraded computer system that will make accounts easier to track, But the intrinsic complications in the system - keeping track of hundreds of accounts for a single piece of land or delays in sorting out probate proceedings - still loom large. "The complexities are almost overwhelming," said Robert Upton, who was recently hired to oversee the handling of trust operations in the Rocky Mountains by the Office of Special Trustee, a government agency established in 1994 to make the system more manageable. Upton's first big task is to help hire 50 "trust officers" by the end of September to provide on-the-ground help for tribal members struggling to navigate the trust fund system. The Office of Special Trustee is also hoping to improve communications about the trust fund program and help implement technological fixes that make the system more streamlined. The changes, though, take time. "It's taken 100 years or more to get to the state we're in. It's going to take time to correct that," Upton said. The Indian trust system began in the late 1880s when thousands of Indians were allotted ownership of land but with the federal government acting as trustee. In that position, the government was charged with collecting and dispersing money from revenue generated from oil and gas development, mining, timber harvests and other work. Frustration with the system grew, and soon the Bureau of Indian Affairs was accused of mismanaging and neglecting the system, leaving many without payments they were due. In 1996, Eloise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet tribe, filed a class action lawsuit aimed at forcing the Department of Interior to provide a full accounting of funds for an estimated half-million Indians and their heirs. John Berrey, chief of the Oklahoma-based Quapaw Nation, recently spent a year with other tribal officials investigating every aspect of the system. What they saw in that yearlong "snapshot" was discouraging. "It's a bad picture," he said. There was not a standardized record-keeping system, workers weren't trained properly, computer systems were outmoded, unresolved probate cases numbered about 23,000, and offices were understaffed, he said. Berrey, though, said he's encouraged by the steps taken in recent months, including efforts to improve the computer systems. He praised BIA workers, including local director Keith Beartusk and his staff, for doing their best with limited resources. Like others at Thursday's conference, Berrey said the frustration with the Indian trust system isn't necessarily for those working at the local offices but with lawmakers who haven't done enough to make sure employees have what they need to do their jobs. "Neglect by the U.S. Congress has created a lot of these problems," Berrey said. Beartusk agreed that BIA offices lack resources. One positive aspect of the Cobell case, he said, is that it has focused attention on the need for reform of the trust system and has highlighted the need for more staff and funding. Working with the Crow tribe, local BIA officials face particular challenges because of "fractionalization," where multiple people own a single piece of land. The average Crow member, Beartusk said, has interest in 80 tracts of land. One tract has more than 1,000 owners. And recently, the single owner of a piece of land died and the interest was then split between 300 of his relatives. In each case, BIA officials have to track down each additional member to manage the leases or doling out payments. "It's complicated," Beartusk said. Despite efforts to improve the program, calls continue to make the system more accountable. More needs to be done to deal with the staggering backlog of cases that holds up the progress on Indian lands, said Andrew Old Elk of the Crow Tribe. "What we want is for the U.S. government to live up to their trust responsibilities," he said. "The BIA needs to identify who their customers are." Delays in dealing with probate cases causes unnecessary strife for tribal members, said Allison Sage, a council member of the Arapahoe Tribe of Wyoming. "It causes family fights," said Sage, who urged the BIA to deal with a number of other issues beyond the trust fund. Jim Gray, chief of the Osage tribe in Pawhuska, Okla., said the problems with the Indian trust system go back generations, with each subsequent family member forced to deal with the same delays in collections, convoluted accounting and frustrations with finding answers about specific accounts. "Obviously in order to fix a problem, you have to admit it's broke," Gray said. "It's a broken system of trust." Billings resident and former BIA employee David Henry said the problem isn't simply one of neglect. "This was a massive fraud, a massive crime against Indians," he said, adding that a criminal investigation should be conducted. "It's a horrible crime that's worth, I think, about a half-trillion dollars." The listening session at the Holiday Inn continues today. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Tim Giago: Eloise Cobell tops my list of Heroes" --------- Date: Thu, 15 July 2004 08:29:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: COBELL" http://www.lakotajournal.com/notes.htm Eloise Cobell tops my list of Heroes By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji) Copyright c. 2004 Lakota Media Inc. Lakota Journal Volume 5, Issue 29, July 9 - July 16, 2004 "Who are your heroes?" a young Lakota lady asked me last week. I told her that I have so many it would fill the pages of this column to list all of them. Many of the old tribal leaders who fought so hard for the survival of the Indian nations have journeyed to the Spirit World. Warriors such as Roger Jourdain, the longtime Chairman of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe, and Wendell Chino, a Chairman who served more than 30 years for the Mescalero Apache have passed on but their legacy is still with us. These two warriors were bones in the throat of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and halted many of this bureaucracy's poorly thought out schemes before they could bring more harm to the Indian people. But the battle they fought the hardest and lost was the Congressional approval of the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. They believed, until the day they died, that this Act would severely strain the sovereign status of the Indian nations, and in my mind, their fears have proven to be correct. Lakota long distance runner Billy Mills, who won the 10,000 meters Gold Medal at the 1960 Olympics in Tokyo, the last American to do so, is high on my list. He did not sit back and rest on his laurels, but used his fame to start Running Strong for America and he has helped fund many Indian youth programs through his foundation. In the field of journalism Jodi Lee Rave and Tom Arviso are standouts. Rave just completed a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard and I see her as one of the new leaders about to emerge in the field of Indian journalism. Jodi is a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, N.D. and works for the Lincoln Journal in Nebraska. Arviso is about to take the Navajo Times, one of the oldest and largest tribally owned newspapers in America, private. Tom, a member of the Navajo Nation, has been the editor and publisher of the Times for many years and he recently completed a journalism fellowship at Stanford University. But my current hero is Eloise Cobell of the Blackfeet Nation. Here is a lady who sacrificed her personal money and everything she could beg or borrow to bring a class action suit against the United States of America by challenging the way the government has mismanaged the Indian Trust Funds. Her suit against Gale Norton and the U. S. Department of the Interior was brought in the name of more than 300,000 American Indians. In a statement sent out to the "Indian Trust List" last week, Cobell said, "I wish I could report that we have made progress in our negotiations with the government. But, unfortunately, the government, so far, acted with the same bad faith in mediation that it has shown in administering the trust and litigating the Cobell case. It has become obvious that the government wants to resolve nothing." Cobell sued the government over the billions of dollars it had collected for the past 100 years in the name of the Indian people. This would include oil and other natural resources and land leases where the money was collected and mysteriously disappeared or was misappropriated. According to Cobell, "The truth is that the government likes using our money. The truth is the government leases our land and assets far below market to Fortune 500 energy companies. The truth is that fraud, graft and corruption have pervaded the management of our trust assets for more than 100 years. The truth is that the current trustee-delegates have proven themselves as incompetent and dishonest, just like their predecessors. These are not mere allegations, they are facts established in a court of law." Cobell is concerned because many of the litigants of this class action lawsuit are dying without ever seeing justice or without ever reaping the financial rewards stolen from them. She said, "If there is a chance that mediation may bring a fair and just resolution of this case faster than the court system, I owe it to you to try." The federal government is trying to settle the case for about $2 billion, according to Cobell, but she considers this a token settlement that is an insult to the Indian people. She said that the government's own expert has estimated the money owed to be closer to $40 billion. Financial experts retained by Cobell estimate that more than 50 million acres of land was allotted to Indian people and held in trust. That equals a landmass that could swallow Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C. "Today there's less than 11 million acres held in trust. Explain to me where the other 39 million acres went," Cobell said. She said, "We are not asking for an entitlement, for reparations or for special treatment. We only ask for what is ours, money generated from our land. The U. S. Government doesn't need to appropriate the funds to pay us. They already have the money. They took it from us." Cobell is adamant in her advocacy for the Indian people. She concluded, "I want to make a pledge to you, my fellow beneficiaries. I will not sell our trust, `the legacy of our ancestors,' down the river for even a few billion dollars in settlement. To do so would make me no better than them - and I will not breach the trust you have shown in me." Now that is why Eloise Cobell is on the top of my list of Indian heroes. ----- Tim Giago, Oglala Lakota, is editor and publisher of the weekly Lakota Journal, the largest Indian newspaper in the Northern Plains. He is the author of The Aboriginal Sin and Notes from Indian Country Volumes I and II. He can be reached at editor@lakotajournal.com or P.O. Box 3080, Rapid City, SD 57709 Copyright c. 2004 Lakota Journal. --------- "RE: Tribal Leaders: Cycle of abuse must end" --------- Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 18:43:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ENDING ABUSE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/07/18//news06.txt Tribal leaders: Somewhere, cycle of abuse must end By MICHAEL MOORE of the Missoulian July 18, 2004 PABLO - The news came to Fred Matt in the hazy mingling of present and past. Two 11-year-old boys, Frankie Nicolai and Justin Benoist, dead in a frozen field on the east side of Ronan. Matt, chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal council, cycled through his emotions - sorrow and loss, rage and vengeance. Worst, most uncomfortable of all, guilt. Could he, a leader of his people, have done something to improve the lives of those boys and their families? Had the tribes' various departments done all they could to help those families? "I had to wonder if we'd done everything we could for these folks," Matt said recently. "Had they somehow slipped through the cracks?" Then his own past crept in. "It occurred to me how many times I might have been those boys," he said. "How many times I was that close to death because of alcohol." This is Fred Matt's first memory: His older siblings dunking his head in an irrigation ditch that ran through St. Ignatius. Fred was 5 years old and drunk on Seagram's 7. His brothers force-fed him the whiskey, thinking it might be funny to see little Fred drunk. "Could have killed me," he said. Over the next two decades, with alcohol at his side, Matt fought in bars, wrecked his car in ditches, went to jail, passed out along roadsides. At 28, lucky to be alive, he quit the bottle. "I think so many of us here on the reservation have been through this, either in our own lives or with someone in our family," Matt said. "When it hits our children, I think it hurts even more. It's not easy, to know what to say, to know what to do." The damage alcohol has done on America's Indian reservations can't be overstated. The numbers - statistical charts filled with abusers, deaths, health problems - stagger the mind. Soaring figures for alcoholism, for alcohol-related deaths, for alcohol-caused brain problems. But the numbers aren't new; the toll continues. Even the deaths of children are heartbreakingly common. This story of death in Indian Country has become so pervasive, some say, that imagining a new story, one guided by hope rather than fatalism, is no longer possible. The deaths of four boys in five months might seem to cast that story into timeless stone on the Flathead Reservation. Instead, the story is being turned inside out. "We need a new story," Tony Incashola, who heads the Salish Cultural Committee, said recently. "This story has grown old. We've lived it for too long. Alcohol wasn't part of the Indian story in the beginning, but we've watched as it has come to dominate us. It's time to fight back, to tell a new story." The terrible chapters are already in place. The story needs balance. "We have to write a new ending, one where hope and health win the day," Incashola said. "It's time to write." So much has been written already. When Frankie Nicolai and Justin Benoist headed for school in Ronan on the morning of Friday, Feb. 27, they did so as part of a heavily studied demographic - Indian children. How will they do in school? What influences most affect their performance? Will they graduate? What sort of dangers do they face growing up? Will they experience overt racism? What's the makeup of their households? What percentage will start drinking? How many will use both drugs and alcohol? We know most of the answers, and they hold little comfort. Indian children are the nation's most endangered. They die in numbers that dwarf those of white children. Names of boys on the Flathead Reservation make those numbers real. Tyler Benoist, 14 years old. Dead in a burned-out trailer in Pablo on Nov. 28 of last year. Curled up on the trailer floor, dead of smoke inhalation, his blood-alcohol content at 0.23. Frankie Sonneah Nicolai, 11 years old. Dead on Feb. 27 of alcohol poisoning. Slumped in the stubble of a snowy grain field, his blood- alcohol content at 0.5, an amount likely fatal to someone twice his size. Justin Benoist, 11 years old. Dead on Feb. 27, of hypothermia brought on by alcohol poisoning. Sprawled near his friend Frankie in a cut-over field, his blood-alcohol content 0.248. Joseph "Joey" DuMontier Jr., 15 years old. Dead May 1 at his girlfriend's home on North Crow Road. Passed out in a lounge chair, a bottle of whiskey beside him, his blood-alcohol content at 0.394. Five months, four dead boys. If we know so much about these children, why can't we keep them safe? Does knowledge not translate into solutions? Ultimately, of course, statistics don't save anyone. If numbers don't translate into effective programs or renewed personal responsibility, they can verge on useless, critics say. After the Feb. 27 deaths of Justin Benoist and Frankie Nicolai, the tribes found themselves in the unenviable position of assessing whether their social service programs were working. Beyond that, an internal review focused on how those service programs had interacted with the victims' families. Where did the tribes' responsibility mesh with the personal responsibility owed by the boys' parents? "We very definitely got the message that we needed to make sure that we'd done everything we could for these families and children," said Kevin Howlett, who heads the tribal health department. "We needed to make sure that our contacts with these families, to the extent that we had them, were the best we could do." While the Bureau of Indian Affairs handles many services on some of America's Indian reservations, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes are self-governing. As such, the tribes, often hailed as a model government in Indian Country, administer programs that fall to the BIA on some reservations. For families with social service needs, the tribes have a health department, a department of human resources and development, and a housing authority. Those departments provide, among other things, comprehensive health care, public assistance of every stripe, employment services and subsidized housing. Child protective services, the service that has faced the most scrutiny since the deaths, has for the past eight years been part of the health department. In mid-April, however, protective services was transferred to the tribal Department of Human Resources and Development. Although the tribes interacted with all the boys' families in some way, most of the review has focused on tribal contacts with Norma Lefthand Fox and her children, including Tyler and Justin Benoist. By her own accounting, Fox's family is deeply enmeshed in tribal service programs, including housing, public assistance, employment and juvenile justice. The tribes have strict privacy regulations regarding contact with families and can't speak publicly about actions agencies may have taken regarding those families. "We're very protective of our families' privacy," said Teresa Wall- McDonald, director of human resources and development. However, through extensive interviews with Norma Fox and a review of tribal paperwork in her possession, a picture of how the tribes dealt with Fox's family emerged. In the past two years, several of her children have been counseled and placed in a tribal attention home. Fox's 16-year-old son, Chris, recently spent time in a substance-abuse counseling center in Kalispell, and he's still doing outpatient counseling. Both Justin and Tyler were involved in low-grade crimes and ran afoul of tribal law enforcement. Justin was on juvenile probation for vandalism at the time of his death. Tribal housing has dealt with Fox repeatedly, attempting to keep her in subsidized housing despite repeated violations of tribal conditions for such housing. The family's housing crisis was so dire in April 2003 - they lived in a run-down trailer without running water and power - that Fox asked to have the children temporarily taken away from her. The tribes refused, Fox said, noting that she was not neglecting her children. "I was still feeding them, but that's about all I could do for them," she said. Most recently, the tribes removed Fox's two juvenile children, 13-year- old Leah and Chris, for a short period. Chris is living with relatives in Kalispell after completing in-patient counseling at Pathways. Leah has been at Second Circle, the tribes' group home for juveniles, but the tribes recently have been seeking to place her in a secure, in-patient treatment center after she ran away from the group home and was found extremely intoxicated over the July 4th weekend. "I wasn't very happy about it at first, but it seems like it's working out for the best right now," Fox said recently. "I think we're all doing some work that will let us get back together one day." Roxana Colman-Herak, who serves as a mentor for Fox through the tribal housing and human resources departments, said the tribes have always had a hand extended to Fox's family. "Norma hasn't always been in the position to make the best use of the help that's been offered to her, but I think she's turned a corner now," said Colman-Herak, who spoke to the newspaper with Fox's permission. "This family has survived the worst of tragedies, but there is still a lot of work to do. I don't think anybody finds it acceptable that we lost two boys in this family." Howlett, the tribal health director, took those deaths personally, but he also holds a long view of the tragedy resonating inside the bleak history of America's reservation system. "This is not the first time boys have died on Indian reservations," he said recently. "All of us need to look at both the immediate circumstances that led to their deaths and the greater set of circumstances. Why are Indian reservations still so deadly for children? I think this has opened a lot of people's eyes to the problems that children face, but that's just a start. This has taken a toll for generations and you have to look back over that history to see how we got here and where we might go." Parsing the complex equation that is child mortality and alcohol isn't easy. But most researchers agree that one of the most important variables is poverty. Poverty is linked to alcohol and health problems in nearly every culture, but nowhere is the link more evident than in Indian Country. From there, the causes fan out to home life, education, high-risk behaviors and access to health care, and culture. "American Indians and Alaska Natives are the most impoverished ethnic minority group in the United States. Although no causal links have yet been demonstrated, there is good reason to suspect that the history of oppression, discrimination, and removal from traditional lands experienced by Native people has contributed to their current lack of educational and economic opportunities and their significant representation among populations with high need for mental health care," said a 2001 U.S. surgeon general's report that assessed mental health issues facing Indians and Alaska natives. Indian reservations, often tucked away in the American boondocks, are rarely a picture of prosperity. The unemployment rate for Indians on the Flathead Reservation is 41 percent, a number that seems alarmingly high except when compared with rates on other reservations in Montana, which hover around 70 percent. "The issue concerning poverty is, in part, hopelessness," said Howlett. "If you don't think you have an opportunity for employment, alcohol is just one of the refuges that you might seek." A state Department of Health and Human Services study in 2002 found that unemployment on Montana Indian reservations varied from the low of 41 percent on the Flathead to nothing less than 60 percent on the six other Montana reservations. "Our rates are much lower, but they are still far too high," said tribal chairman Matt. And it's not just unemployment. Lake County's per capita income hovers just below $18,000, but the figure is likely much worse for Indians. In Arlee, for instance, more than 43 percent of families live in poverty. In Hot Springs, on the reservation's west side, the number is more than 38 percent, about the average for Indians on the reservation. The Flathead Reservation differs from many Indian reservations in that it's located in a tourist destination. That, by itself, has created more opportunity, and the tribes have moved to capitalize not just on their natural resources but on the reservation's scenic splendor with their KwaTaqNuk Resort in Polson. The tribes also have a handful of successful businesses, including S&K Electronics and S&K Technologies, and the tribes are at work setting up their own bank. Still, poverty cuts a broad swath that falls along racial lines across the reservation. For instance, the general unemployment rate for Lake County is about 6 percent compared with the tribal rate of 41 percent. "That tells you something about the willingness of the mainstream culture to hire Indian people," said the tribes' Howlett. "And if the expectation is that you won't be hired, you eventually quit looking there. We can't afford to do that." The tribes employ many of their own - of the approximately 4,500 tribal members living on the reservation, more than 1,000 work for the tribes. "The problem is, the tribes simply cannot employ everybody, nor should they," said Howlett. "It becomes just another kind of subsidy if the tribes put everybody to work. It creates a disincentive for educational achievement. And education is part of the equation that keeps people sober." The point is that employment is a predictor for both sobriety and better general health. "If people have work, they have stability," Howlett said. "If they have stability, their family stays together. Stronger families will hold up better in the face of the problems that Indians face. It just feeds on itself." Today, however, instead of success breeding success, the breakdowns of the past dictate the failure of the present. Indian children became a heavily studied demographic because they experience an inordinate number of problems, most of which are born in the generations before them. For instance: An Indian child in Montana has an increased likelihood of living in poverty, in a single or no-parent household, in a household where substance abuse is common. The child has a greater chance of dying young and a shorter expected lifetime. Some numbers put together by the Bureau of Indian Affairs put the situation in Indian Country in stark relief: The alcoholism rate for Indians between ages 15 and 24 is more than 17 times the comparable rate of other Americans. About 50 percent of Indian children graduate from high school, and only 4 percent graduate from college. One in six Indian children has attempted suicide. Thirteen percent of Indian deaths involve those under the age of 25. The national average is 4 percent. According to statistics compiled by the Montana Fetal, Infant and Child Mortality Review, Indian children from ages 1 to 19 are 58 percent more likely to die than white children. Montana already has a high mortality rate for children, and Indian children in the state have a higher death rate than the national average for Indian children. Often, alcohol is an acute factor in those deaths. And often, those deaths are part of a larger pattern, of familial breakdown, of generations of substance abuse. "When we see alcohol abuse, we see a symptom," Howlett said. "It's a symptom of a much deeper problem and situation that people have been raised in and that their parents and grandparents have likely been raised in. The problem is generational." Alcohol abuse on Indian reservations is well documented, but there's a bit of mystery, too. Researcher Fred Beauvais, in a paper for the Journal of the Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation, called it a study in "perplexity and ambivalence." The perplexity is this: Why does a culture that understands the depth of its alcohol problem remain mired in it? Alcohol serves as a "social bonding agent" in some Indian cultures, yet causes incalculable harm, wrote Beauvais, senior research scientist at the Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research at Colorado State University. "An essential element of this ambivalence is the fact that it was not possible for these people to form a judgment that alcohol was good or bad, rather the feeling that it was both good and bad at the same time," he wrote in assessment of another researcher's findings. For children, the situation is even more complicated. "Given the history of alcohol use and the visibility of inebriation in many Indian communities, young people grow up thinking that alcohol abuse is simply part of Indian life," Beauvais wrote. That, he said, leads to a fatalism that makes alcohol abuse seem inevitable. "The results of several studies have shown that both Indian adolescents and adults have a more fatalistic attitude about the possibility of Indian people remaining sober," Beauvais wrote. This impression - that Indians are destined to drink - also exists outside the Indian culture in the form of racial bias; even Indians who don't drink are stigmatized by those who do. "In addition to the enormous physical and emotional tolls, the problems also have led to an unfortunate stereotype that has further burdened Native communities of North America," wrote Beauvais. "This stereotype has perpetuated the image that all Indian people are afflicted with alcohol problems; even scientific inquiry, with its emphasis on problem definition, has not focused on the vast number of Indian people who maintain sober and productive lives." In fact, Beauvais' research indicates that white Americans often drink more frequently than members of some Indian tribes. Many Indians, having drunk to excess as youths, have quit by middle age. Among juveniles, non-Indians and Indians drink in about the same percentage. Beauvais has found that about 20 percent of Indian students between the seventh and 12th grades are heavy drinkers; another 20 percent are recreational drinkers. More than 70 percent had tried alcohol, and 55 percent said they'd been drunk at least once, Beauvais found. Lake County Sheriff Bill Barron said his officers see white and Indian children drinking in similar numbers. "I'd say the problems come earlier with Indian children, but by the later high school years, I'd say the white kids are drinking more," Barron said. "What people need to realize about this whole situation with children drinking is that it's not just an Indian problem. It's everybody's problem." While the frequency with which children drink is troubling, that pales next to the amount they consume. The common and deadly phenomenon that researchers have studied in Indian children and that cops too often see on the ground is so-called "binge" drinking. "When Indian youth drank, however, they appeared to drink heavier amounts and experience more negative consequences from their drinking than did their non-Indian peers," Beauvais wrote. That overindulgence often comes in a binge, an extremely dangerous endeavor where kids drink as quickly as they can, often with the goal of passing out. "Many researchers have reported a style of drinking frequently engaged in by both Indian youth and adults in which drinkers consume large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time and continue drinking until the supply is gone," Beauvais wrote. The recent deaths of Frankie Nicolai and Justin Benoist outside of Ronan, and Joey DuMontier at a house outside Pablo, met that description with deadly accuracy. From what law enforcement pieced together in both cases, the younger boys drank an extraordinary amount of hard liquor in a very short time. A boy drinking with Nicolai and Benoist said the two drank most of a half- gallon of vodka in less than two hours. DuMontier drank most of a fifth of Southern Comfort whiskey in about an hour. "That sort of drinking is typical of the binge drinking that we've encountered in our studies," Beauvais said. "It's extremely dangerous, often because you have children who are not familiar with their limits." A common thread in the research into alcohol use by Indian children is the influence of both family life and peers. Increasingly, peer pressure is thought to dominate the reasons for childhood alcohol abuse, but the role of the family is also prominent. Ronan teenagers who spoke to the Missoulian at a gathering at the Ronan High School in May said they're more likely to drink because their friends are drinking. However, several also said that alcohol has been a constant presence in their lives because family members drink. Beauvais has noted that while considerable research is focused on family life, more work should be done assessing the effects of peer pressure. Sadly, Howlett said, many Indian children grow up in homes where alcohol abuse is part of daily life. Norma Fox's children, for instance, saw both parents drink to excess, and they sat front row to their father's alcohol- induced suicide. "Our children have been growing up in these homes, so this behavior seems normal to them," said Tony Incashola, of the Salish Culture Committee. "Even though they may hear a different message at school, this is their life at home. Maybe they've lost a parent, or maybe both, to alcohol. So they see a home life that is without good models." And it's not just alcohol that creates problems. Part of what's gone wrong inside Indian families is a direct result of federal policy. For generations, a series of outside forces has allied to alter the historic model of Indian parenting. According to researchers, Indian tribes generally distributed the parenting role across the family. Tribes tended to live together - often on reservations, for better or worse - and many members of a family usually clustered close to one another. At home, the parents traditionally didn't take on the disciplinarian role - that was often left to grandparents, whose voices held a higher authority, or aunts and uncles. The familial model also extended into the greater tribe; people generally looked after one another's children in a way that the dominant culture did not. "If you were a kid and you were at someone else's home, that person was expected to treat you as their child," said Incashola. "If discipline was required, you doled it out. If it was time for a meal, the child was included." That tribal, more familial way of life has been badly damaged by the demands of the modern world - the wage economy, more formalized schooling, the ability to move around more. The social controls that the tribe at large once placed on children - the pressure to take their place in the adult structure of the tribe - disintegrated slowly. Part of the disintegration occurred in the era of boarding schools, when Indian parents were encouraged to pack their children off for most of the year. On the Flathead, that often meant kids went to the Ursuline Catholic school in Mission. "This was at a time when a lot of Indian parents were having trouble," Incashola said. "The government wanted Indians to be farmers and ranchers and give up the lives they had been living. Boarding school seemed like a way to ensure that your children would be dry, sheltered and fed. In some ways, parents were just making sure their kids were cared for." The schools began in the late 1800s, and the Indian Reorganization Act of 1935 placed an even greater emphasis on "Americanizing" Indians at boarding schools. "To this end, many more Native American children were sent to learn 'American ways' at government or church run boarding schools that were often thousands of miles from the 'detrimental influences' of their home reservations," the 2001 surgeon general's report concluded. Whatever the intended effect, the boarding schools had the unfortunate consequence of further devastating Indian culture. "They are the beginning of a serious decline for Indian people," said Joyce Silverthorne, who runs the tribal education department. "The point now is not to criticize the schools themselves, but to figure out what happened because of them." Tribes have a litany of complaints about boarding schools, but two things stand out: parenting and language. "Many of the schools insisted on English as the only language, so you had children that eventually came home to households and could barely communicate with their parents," Silverthorne said. "The pressure to conform to the dominant culture was huge. The loss of language has a far more damaging impact than we ever expected. If you want to destroy a culture, language is the best place to start." Often, Incashola said, Indian children were punished for speaking the language they grew up with. "When you are trying to control someone, taking his language away is a powerful weapon," he said. The other loss was just as sinister - children and parents lost their sense of connection. Parents abdicated their historic roles, and children found themselves looking to whites as their secondary parents. Worse, they were not "parented" in any normal sense of the world at the boarding schools, some of which were run with military severity. "This is not very complicated," Silverthorne said. "If you lose your children, you lose your connection to parenting. And if you are the child, you no longer have a role model. When your time comes to be a parent, you don't have a reference point." Incashola put it this way: "When your time comes to be a parent, you look at this store of things that you have built up to pass on. The boarding schools robbed that store. When the time came to parent, what did the child who grew up that way have? Fewer parenting skills, no language and a loss of your sense of your own history." Perhaps, Incashola and Silverthorne said, this is an oversimplification of a process that isn't yet fully understood. Still, it explains part of what's happened to family life on reservations. It also fits snugly with what came next - the creation of a culture of dependence. "The federal government has created a set of policies in trying to assimilate Indian people that has led to this," said the health department's Howlett, a Harvard graduate. "Basically, as a matter of policy, you have taken away independence and created dependence. People have become dependent on housing, diet, health care, even basic decision- making. So we've taken what should be personal responsibility and put it on government." Incashola said because the tribes work so hard to take care of their members, some members refuse to take care of themselves. His theory is that the dependence has entwined dangerously with the instant- gratification, easy fix ethic of the dominant culture. "The message, in both cases, is that if something is too hard, there's probably someone else there to take care of it for you," he said. "The best and worst example is parents who just sort of throw their hands up when they have a hard time with their children." Norma Fox lost two boys in three months. She's had more than enough reason to throw up her hands, and at times she has. Usually, someone from the tribes is there to grab them. Fox's story, which embodies the generational pain inflicted by alcohol and its accompanying death and displacement, presents a worst case scenario (see accompanying story). It's indicative of the double-edged sword that federal Indian policy and the tribes' own social programs have been. Fox lives in subsidized housing, receives public assistance and recently got a job cutting lawns through the human resources and development office. Two of her children are in tribal custody and a third is in jail. Nearly everything that happens in her life is somehow affected by tribal government. But what if that wasn't the case? What if when Norma Fox threw up her hands, no one grabbed them? "Our model is to keep trying, no matter what," said Teresa Wall-McDonald, who heads the human resources and development department. "I think we go beyond what most governmental services provide because we don't want to see people fail. A consequence of that instead of just ridding our programs of people who fail, we keep trying to bring them in. That creates the perception that programs sometimes aren't working, but it's mainly because we stayed involved with people that most government services would just give up on." It's a daunting challenge, trying to undo generations of dysfunction and grief. It's enough to make anyone throw up her hands. On the reservation, however, you don't get far before someone uses the word "family" to describe the most critical aspect of Indian life. Like any family, the tribal family is rife with disagreement and petty feuds. It's also full of love and devotion, even for the irredeemable relative, the one who's course has veered the furthest from the family heart. That devotion explains someone like Roxana Colman-Herak, the tribal employee who is never more than a phone call away from Norma Fox. Colman- Herak has held Fox's hand through the very worst a parent can experience. "Norma's family has lived through something most of us couldn't survive, " Colman-Herak said recently. "People can make judgments about the life this family has lived, but I'm not going to do that. I love Norma. I just can't let go if I can give them a hand." Fox smiled as Colman-Herak spoke. Later, when she was gone, Fox told a visitor: "You know, she's the very best thing about the tribes. She never turns me away. I'd have to say she saved my life." And that is a great victory. In saving Fox, Colman-Herak and others who've worked with her may have saved the remaining children. Even so, the victory is Pyrrhic; two of her sons are still dead and the remaining children need more help. "And that's the real issue," said Howlett. "Maybe we figure out what happened with these boys, and that's good, we need to do that. But if another boy dies, we're right back where we started. We can't just review the problems of the past. We have to make sure they don't dominate our future." Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or mmoore@missoulian.com Copyright c. 2004 Missoulian. --------- "RE: Omaha Tribe struggles in shadow of Namesake City" --------- Date: Mon, 19 July 2004 08:56:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OMAHA" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=1638&u_sid=1151295 Tribe struggles in shadow of namesake city BY HENRY J. CORDES WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER July 18, 2004 OMAHA INDIAN RESERVATION, Neb. - A proud member of the Omaha Tribe, Wayne Webster spent more than three decades in the big city that goes by the same name. He remembers that most of the white folks he met had never heard of his tribe, often looking confused when he said he was "an Omaha Indian." "They'd say, 'You mean, you're an Indian from Omaha?' I'd just change the subject." Dennis Hastings, historian for the tribe, said he once met a schoolteacher from the city who thought she had come face to face with a historical relic. "I thought the tribe died," she told him. As urban Omahans mark the 150th birthday of Nebraska's largest city, many are vaguely aware that the city's name comes "from an Indian word." But that word also is the name of an Indian tribe - a tribe that once inhabited the very land on which the city now sits. A tribe that is very much alive, with about half of its 6,000 members residing on a reservation barely an hour's drive away. The same 1854 treaty that opened much of eastern Nebraska for white settlement also created the Omaha Indian Reservation, nestled in the verdant Missouri River bluffs of northeast Nebraska. But as Omahans toast their city's founding, the 150th anniversary of the reservation's creation is passing with little notice. It's an anniversary that's hardly viewed as cause for celebration. While Omaha the city has become a regional economic powerhouse, the tribe's members struggle on the reservation against joblessness, alcoholism and poverty. For the tribe, the 1854 treaty was nothing short of a disaster. Over time, the tribe has lost most of its reservation land and much of a culture that revered the land and all living things. "Are we supposed to jump for joy?" Hastings asked of the reservation's unrecognized anniversary. "Most people here are just surviving." But Hastings and other Omaha say that despite hardships, reservation life is not all bleak. While many tribes were relocated, the Omaha still live on part of their ancestral homeland. Among the Omaha, there is a cohesiveness and sense of community that would be the envy of any town, including Omaha. As she recently watched her 6-year-old son, Hayzautuh, whose traditional Omaha name means "shining horns," Calsandra Tyndall spoke of the dichotomies of reservation life. It's been hard to watch family members struggle against alcohol, a battle she also has fought in her past. But she said the bonds of tribal kinship make the reservation truly "one big family." "This is my home," the 28-year-old said. "I am at peace." "Now the face of all the land is changed and sad. The living creatures are gone. I see the land desolate, and I suffer unspeakable sadness. Sometimes I wake in the night and feel as though I should suffocate from the pressure of this awful feeling of loneliness." - White Horse, Omaha Indian, 1912 For centuries, the great Omaha nation ranged the plains, eventually settling in the hills along the Missouri River in eastern Nebraska. Tribal legend has it that the name, which in their language means "those going against the current," came from a tribal split that occurred at one point in their history. Those who went upstream became the Omaha. If the legend is true, it would not be the last time the tribe would find itself going against the current. The first white men on the plains found the Omaha living in earthlodge villages, raising corn, beans and squash, and going on summer buffalo hunts. Their main village in the 1840s was just northwest of today's downtown Bellevue. Their very identity was tied to the land. But by the 1850s, the Omaha stood in the path of Manifest Destiny. White settlers were eager to till the fertile land of eastern Nebraska. The Omaha were struggling, decimated by smallpox, loss of buffalo herds and attacks from a bitter enemy, the Sioux. Not wanting to go to war against the white men with whom they had enjoyed peaceful relations, tribal chiefs reluctantly signed a treaty ceding nearly all their land north of the Platte River. They were left with a 300,000-acre tract in northeast Nebraska that would become the Omaha Reservation. Although the treaty granted the land in perpetuity, subsequent treaties and federal policies would reduce that total. Reservation land was allotted - divided into parcels to be farmed by individual families - years before Congress passed a law allotting other Indian lands. With no equipment to farm and no money to buy it, the Omaha in most cases leased or sold their lands. White settlers and land speculators, often with the assistance of state and federal elected officials, "used every means at their disposal to separate the Indians from their real estate," wrote Judith Boughter, who documented the land loss in a 1998 book, "Betraying the Omaha Nation." By the time the federal government brought an end to the failed allotment period, only a fraction of the land within the reservation boundary was actually owned by the Omaha. Although the city of Omaha boasts the headquarters of five Fortune 500 companies, a visitor would be hard-pressed to find five businesses of any kind on the Omaha Reservation. Macy, the seat of the reservation, has a tribally owned convenience store and a small grocery. Unemployment runs about 30 percent. Nearly all tribal members who hold jobs work for the tribal government, at the tribe's small casino in Iowa, or for some other government agency. Many live in tribal housing. Those who leave in search of a different life often drift back, unable to cope on the outside. Webster, who for the past six years has worked as a mental health counselor for the tribe, said he often deals with the "learned helplessness" that reservation life can breed. "People are often fascinated by reservation life from the outside," Webster said. "But if they were to live here they would realize the devastation of the living situation here." Alex Huyck, who works with Webster at the tribal clinic, said there is no doubt reservation life has dealt the Omaha many hardships and injustices. Even so, Huyck said, he finds a remarkable sense of peace and harmony among the Omaha. A member of the Michigan Chippewa who has worked with 80 tribes across the country, Huyck said he has never met a kinder, more generous people. "It's the heart that counts here," he said. "They don't care about material things. . . . They don't like bad hearts or arrogant people." And there's a lot of hope on the reservation. Especially for the children, there is always hope. On a recent summer day, more than two dozen young Omaha were gathered outside a tribal wellness center painting a sign: Omaha Youth Against Litter. When center staff asked the kids what they didn't like about reservation life, they identified adult alcohol and drug abuse, and Macy's litter problem. They could do little about the substance abuse, but the kids initiated a cleanup and painted the colorful sign to plant along Macy's main street. "We want people to look at this sign and say, 'Look at our youth,'" said Barry Webster, who was overseeing the project. "They're making a statement." Last spring, Omaha youth made another statement. Fifteen graduated from Omaha Nation High School, the most anyone could remember for years at a school that has been a state leader in the dropout rate. A recent multimillion-dollar school addition includes an earthlodge- shaped classroom, where Omaha children learn about the culture lost over the years. It's part of an effort to instill the pride and build the self- esteem they will need for future success - on or off the reservation. The walls of the new addition are lined with old black-and-white photographs of their ancestors, astride horses, beside their earthlodges, just beginning to take on the trappings of the white man's life. As Hastings, the tribal historian, walked the halls, he straightened pictures that had been knocked askew. The kids can't help reaching up to touch the pictures, he said. It's like reaching out to touch their past. Copyright c. 2004 Omaha World-Herald. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Hopi future hinges on Economics of Energy" --------- Date: Mon, 19 July 2004 08:56:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOPI/PEABODY" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic//0716taylor15.html Hopi future hinges on economics of energy Wayne Taylor July 15, 2004 The Hopi Tribe of Arizona regards the newborn as being very sacred. When a child is born in the Hopi way, the mother and baby are protected and cared for by the members of the village. There is a naming ceremony involving the parental aunts. The aunts each wash the baby's hair, and as they do so each says a prayer for the child. Basically, the prayer asks that the baby prospers and lives a long life, without pain. Of course, Hopi traditions surrounding the birth of our children are fading away, victims of modern life. Many of us don't even teach Hopi anymore. Our language is vanishing. Our young people are being forced to leave by poverty and the lack of jobs on the reservation. Our children are growing up without being exposed to the culture and traditions taught by their elders. Fifty percent of our adults do not have jobs. Our villages lack adequate water, sewers and utilities. We have no roads or infrastructure to support commercial and industrial development. Many young people no longer regard the Hopi homeland as a place where they can live a quality life. It does not have to be this way. There is a plan to maintain the cultural and economic viability of the Hopi homeland for generations to come. The Hopi Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy of 2001 is a guideline for the Hopi to plan for the future while respecting the past. For thousands of years the Hopi people have looked to traditional beliefs and practices to guide our lives. When recently presented with the opportunity to generate millions of dollars by operating a casino or leasing slot machines, the Hopi people said, "No. To profit from gambling is not the Hopi way." Stewardship over the land is very much a part of our religious tradition. So much so that we can no longer allow operators of the Black Mesa Mine to use the Navajo Aquifer - the Hopis only source of drinking water - to slurry coal 273 miles to the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nev. We have demanded that Peabody Energy stop using the aquifer by the end of 2005. We make this demand despite the fact that royalties from the mine generate $7.7 million a year, more than a third of the tribal government's operating budget. The California Public Utilities Commission is deliberating whether to allow the coal-burning Mohave plant to continue operations, supplying low- cost energy to growing markets in Southern California, Arizona and Nevada. Along with the installation of $1.1 billion worth of upgrades to reduce emissions from the plant, the CPUC needs to be certain there is an adequate supply of coal to fuel the plant and a reliable source of water to deliver the coal. The Hopi and Navajo Indian nations, Peabody Coal and experts in the field of energy-plant operations and hydrology believe that a pipeline from the Coconino Aquifer in Flagstaff would provide a sufficient supply of water to slurry coal from Black Mesa to the Mohave plant. After passing on to ratepayers the cost of the pipeline construction and emission- -control upgrades, the price of energy to customers of the Mohave plant would still remain much lower than what is paid for energy produced by a natural gas-fired plant. Shutting down the plant - forcing closure of the mine - would have a devastating impact on the Hopi Tribe. Our situation is dire. We are working aggressively to implement our economic development strategy, to bring needed roads and infrastructure to the reservation to support housing and new businesses, and to do it in such a way that it does not erode our culture and traditions. But we need help. We need a commitment from the public, Congress and policymakers in California, Arizona and Nevada to keep Mohave operating. We also need a commitment from the federal government to help the Hopi find a long-term solution to economic problems on the reservation. The Hopi Tribe believes the federal government, recognizing its trust responsibility to American Indians, should finance an expansion of the pipeline so additional supplies of water could be diverted to the Hopi and Navajo nations. We need assistance in building roads, sewer systems and utilities necessary to sustain development on tribal lands. As do all Americans, the Hopi want a bright and sustainable future. We want our homeland to remain a place where Hopi children, their children and generations to come can find opportunity. We want our Hopi babies to live a good, long life, a Hopi way of life, rich with our culture and traditions. We want to keep alive the Hopi prayer. ---- The writer is chairman and chief executive officer of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona. Copyright c. 2004, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Right to vote is dear to Native Americans" --------- Date: Fri, 16 July 2004 08:22:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARIZONA INDIAN VOTE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic//0716nativevote16.html Right to vote is dear to Native Americans Judy Nichols The Arizona Republic July 16, 2004 Lucinda Denny, 61, of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, never misses an election. When she steps into the voting booth, it is with the knowledge that her father won the right for Native Americans to vote in Arizona. It was 56 years ago this month that the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in favor of Denny's father, Frank Harrison, and the tribe's chairman, Harry Austin, giving Arizona Indians the right to vote. On Thursday, tribal leaders honored the families of both men, now gone. At the gathering, Gov. Janet Napolitano, who attributes her victory to critical Native votes, kicked off the Native Vote 2004 campaign, urging Indians across the state to register and vote in the coming presidential election. Denny has instilled her sense of civic duty in her children. "I'm very proud," said Dwayne Denny, 37. "My mom told us our family was always outspoken and that we should be proud of it." Dwayne Denny is still amazed that his grandfather, a private first class, returned from World War II and had the courage to walk into the Recorder's Office and try to register. "It had to be scary." Indians were not considered citizens until 1924, when Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act, in part due to more than 8,000 Native Americans who served in World War I. But citizenship still did not allow them to vote in Arizona. In 1928, Peter Porter, a Pima Indian from the Gila River Reservation, filed a lawsuit seeking that right. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled against Porter, saying Indians were under federal guardianship and that the Arizona Constitution denied the vote to "mental incompetents and people under guardianship." Peter Porter's granddaughter, Joelene Juarez, 55, of Chandler, was at Thursday's kick-off. She now works for the Maricopa County Elections Department. "He told us what he had done, how he was an educated person and wasn't allowed to vote," she said. "I get mad when I know people who don't vote." In World War II, more than 25,000 Indians served, including Ira Hays, the Pima famous for raising the American flag at Iwo Jima. Still Indians were not allowed to vote in Arizona. When Harrison returned from the war, he was concerned about elderly tribal members, who were denied federal benefits for the aging over the "guardianship" ruling. Harrison and Austin, an outspoken fighter for Indian rights, walked into the Maricopa County Recorder's Office on Nov. 8, 1947, asking to register. They were denied and filed suit, winning on July 15, 1948. For many Native Americans, voting today is recognition of the sacrifices of the three men who fought for the right. In 2002, voter turnout in the Gu Achi District of the Tohono O'odham Reservation was 79 percent, one of the highest turnout rates in the state. Statewide, 56 percent of voters went to the polls. Ella Doka, 62, Austin's daughter, attended Thursday's celebration with several of Austin's grandchildren, including Tina Austin, 18, who will soon be the newest Yavapai on the voting rolls. Copyright c. 2004 The Arizona Republic, azcentral.com. --------- "RE: Native Americans build Political Clout" --------- Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 18:43:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="POLITICAL AWARENESS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com//0717indianfriends17.html Native Americans build political clout Indians learning workings of power through alliances Frank Oliveri Gannett News Service July 17, 2004 WASHINGTON - More than ever, American Indian tribes are forming alliances with like-minded national groups. Through these alliances, Indian leaders have used their voices to challenge a judicial nominee, fight drunken driving, get out the vote and promote Native Hawaiian recognition, among other things. By doing so, Indian leaders are learning valuable lessons about how to promote their issues on Capitol Hill. This education is important because Indians have had few legislative victories on their own as they push issues such as tribal sovereignty, improving health care and education, and reducing poverty on reservations. "We've made a concerted effort because we knew we weren't winning any battles within Congress," said Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, which represents hundreds of tribes in Washington. "We are clearly behind . . . the learning curve." To make their case, tribes operating casinos have turned to political contributions to boost their influence and obtain entree with power brokers on Capitol Hill and in the Bush administration. Indian leaders have increased political contributions tenfold from 1992 to 2002, according to federal records. If Indian country had a coming out of sorts, it occurred in February when NCAI joined 63 other groups to oppose the nomination of William Myers to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court hears cases for California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Hawaii and Alaska. It also covers Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The coalition of 64 groups opposing the Idaho attorney and former Interior Department solicitor included tribes and advocates for civil rights, disability rights, seniors, women's rights, human rights, and planning and environmental organizations. It was the first time that NCAI, which represents more than 500 tribes, had come out against any judicial nominee. In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 3, the Indians argued that Myers "devoted his career to advancing the interests of grazing and mining industries at the expense of the environment and the rights of Native Americans and tribal governments." Tribes did not lead the letter-writing campaign, but their concerns were mentioned in the document's first paragraph. Myers' nomination remains tied up in the Senate. Johnson said the tribes entered the fray over Myers with some trepidation because Indian leaders did not want to stray from core concerns like tribal sovereignty. She carefully watched what other interest groups did to marshal resources for the fight and decided that there was much to learn from the process. "There are groups that know what they want, and they are talking about things they want to do," Johnson said. "And we are trying to figure out how to participate." She said Indian leaders learned through the Myers fight the "levels of magnitude of the time and energy that goes into following these issues." Indian leaders also have sought mentoring from people such as Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, considered the premier coalition on these issues. The leadership conference boasts 180 members, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Organization for Women among others. Henderson's message to Indian leaders: "Coalition politics is the politics of the 21st century. No organization has sufficient strength unto itself to move the broad social agenda." Indian leaders have taken that message to heart, forging several alliances on issues important to tribes and others. For example: - The National Indian Gaming Association, which represents tribes that operate casinos, has joined with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and others to battle drunken driving, association Chairman Ernest Stevens said. - The National Congress of American Indians joined other civil rights groups in calling for Native Hawaiian recognition, which is important because Native Hawaiians are indigenous peoples like American Indians and Native Alaskans. - Tribes joined a national effort to get out the vote for the November elections. Although Indians represent only a small percentage of voters across the nation, they could make a difference in South Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma and Arizona, where Indians are a significant population group. - Tribes are working with other groups to help reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which needs to be done in 2007. This effort is at the beginning stages, but NCAI will work with the leadership conference to promote the issue. Specifically, Congress must extend a portion of the law that requires states with a history of discriminatory voting practices to get approval from the Justice Department before changing their election laws or regulations. Approval is given only if the changes are shown not to dilute the strength of minority votes. At the local level, tribes, such as the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua in southwestern Oregon, have joined groups to promote environmental concerns. Sue Shaffer, chairwoman of the Cow Creek Band, said she has used her access on Capitol Hill to promote local efforts to prevent devastating forest fires. These fires "fuel the next fire," said Michael Rondeau, Cow Creek government operations officer. "It scars the soil and causes a barrier for growth. When you don't have that canopy, you get floods, erosion and drought in the summer." He said Cow Creek forged a relationship with Communities for a Healthy Forest, a local grass-roots organization, to make its case. Copyright c. 2004 The Arizona Republic. --------- "RE: A great injustice against the Wyandotte Nation" --------- Date: Wed, 14 July 2004 08:25:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KANSAS RAID" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=4722 Oklahoma Chief slams Kansas AG before Congress "A great injustice...against the Wyandotte Nation," says Congressman Sam Lewin July 13, 2004 Harsh words for Kansas officials and the Bureau of Indians Affairs as Wyandotte Nation Chief Leaford Bearskin testified before a congressional committee Tuesday. The House Resources Committee held an Oversight Hearing on Gaming on Off-reservation, Restored and Newly Acquired Lands. Bearskin has been battling it out with Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline over a casino the tribe opened in downtown Kansas City. Kline ordered the casino shut down and had General Manger Ellis Enyart arrested. Enyart subsequently saw a felony charge of commercial gambling and a misdemeanor charge of possessing a gambling device against him dismissed last week. "...Laws only apply to the Wyandottes if they can be used against us. We have followed the law to the letter. Right now the law is being distorted and used against the Wyandotte Nation, and this is not right, but historically, that has always been the case. Whenever an Indian nation has something that someone perceives to be of value, it is usually taken away using legal and political means," Bearskin told the committee. "We have followed the law, and are being harassed and attacked by the leaders of the State of Kansas, simply because they think they can get away with it." The Wyandotte 7th Street Casino had a 46 hundred square foot gaming floor and 153 machines when it was forcibly shut down the casino on April 1. Tribal attorneys claim that state and local authorities have no jurisdiction over the casino because it is on trust land. The National Indian Gaming Commission said the land in question couldn't be used for gaming. The tribe maintained the NIGC issued an "opinion" and not a "ruling," and that Kline took the law in his own hands when he ordered the closure. Bearskin found at least one likeminded individual on the committee in outspoken Alaska congressman Don Young, one of the original authors of the landmark Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The Republican used harsh words in concurring that Kline jumped the gun. "A great injustice has occurred in Kansas against the Wyandotte Nation," Young said. He also chastised BIA Assistant- Secretary Indian Affairs Aurene Martin. "This could have been avoided and it happened because somebody dropped the ball. Somebody better get their act together," he said. "We are right, and we will continue to fight this out, because we are right and because our rights are being trampled by a state attorney general who decided that without following the law, he could attack my Nation and close down our casino located on trust land," Bearskin said. "I also hope that my testimony here today will stir this committee to action, to protect and defend those of us that are playing by the rules, and aspiring for the right of economic freedom and prosperity." Bearskin's entire testimony is as follows: Chairman Pombo and Members of the Resources Committee. Thank you for inviting me to testify here this morning. It is a great honor and privilege. My name is Leaford Bearskin. I am the elected Chief of the Wyandotte Nation. I have been the Chief for almost twenty-one years, having been first elected in 1983. I understand that the purpose of my testimony today is to discuss gaming on off-reservation, restored, and newly acquired lands. My Tribe, the Wyandotte Nation, opened a Casino in Wyandotte County, on August 28, 2003, after a long and bitter legal struggle. Although there are probably others who are more qualified than I to speak about Indian Gaming, perhaps none share the scope of magnitude, fears or frustrations that I and my people have encountered. On April 2, 2004, 204 days after we opened our doors and created 48 full time jobs, the Attorney General of Kansas ordered 23 armed troopers to raid our facility, threaten patrons and workers alike. His men seized all of our assets and arrested our Manager, Ellis Enyart. Phill Kline, the highest-ranking law enforcement officer in Kansas, later explained his actions as "enforcing the Laws of the State of Kansas". How can this happen, you may ask? It turns out that the Attorney General's actions, namely that of invading our sovereign lands, were precipitated by a legal "opinion" drafted by a part time attorney working for the NIGC. This "opinion" in short stated that our reservation, located in Wyandotte County, Kansas, on land that my ancestors named, was "quote" not Indian Land because it was not land acquired "in settlement of a land claim". I believe that the United States Government should follow the law and not let bureaucrats interpret the laws contrary to what congress has passed. The law that the Wyandotte Nation is following was passed by Congress, not an attorney at the NIGC who arbitrarily decided she had the power to harm my nation and then did so. Over the years, the Wyandottes have signed 19 Treaties with the government, and of these, we have a perfect record, there are 19 that have been broken, and none of them by the Wyandotte Nation. I believe there are legal and political attempts to break another agreement, not a treaty, but a law, Public Law 98-602 passed October 30, 1984. I was here when this passed, and so were many of you. It was a land claim settlement bill. We have land in trust in Kansas City. This land was taken into trust for the Wyandotte Nation following every law, every statute, and every standard given by the United States for us to follow based on a law passed by this body, through this committee in 1984, Public Law 98-602. But it seems that laws only apply to the Wyandottes if they can be used against us. The legal twists and turns in this case have been so numerous, and in some cases so ridiculous that it is hard for me to try and explain them in detail, but rest assured we have followed the law to the letter. Right now, the law is being distorted and used against the Wyandotte Nation, and this is not right, but historically, that has always been the case. Whenever an Indian has something that someone else perceives to be of value, it is usually taken away using legal and political means. This statement is indisputable, and the horrific history of this nation in regards to the way my people, the Wyandotte people, and the rest of the Indian Nations have been treated is very real, and very well documented. In the other chamber of this body, there is a resolution apologizing to the American Indian for the way we have been treated by the United States government. I appreciate the gesture, but I would just as soon that this nation follow the laws that it made, and stop the harassment of my people through illegal means by some of the leaders of the State of Kansas. We have followed the law, and are being harassed and attacked by the leaders of the State of Kansas, simply because they think they can get away with it. We are right, and we will continue to fight this out, because we are right and because our rights are being trampled by a state attorney general who decided that without following the law, he could attack my Nation and close down our casino located on trust land. I also hope that my testimony here today will stir this committee to action, to protect and defend those of us that are playing by the rules, and aspiring for the right of economic freedom and prosperity. All I know is that the Congress of the United States passed Public Law 98-602 on October 30, 1984. It was a land claim settlement bill. I know, because I was there. So were some of you! We as a nation have struggled now for almost twenty years, ever since the Congress of the United States passed Public Law 98-602 in October of 1984. That law was passed by the Congress to settle a decades old land claim for lands that were taken from my ancestors illegally. Over eight years ago, the secretary of the Interior, signed a deed of trust for lands that the Wyandotte purchased in accordance with Law 98-602 in July 1996. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs that land could be used by the Wyandotte for economic development purposes. As we sit here today, every conceivable effort has been made by competing interests, Politicians, and even Legal Authorities to deprive the Wyandotte of their legal rights. In short, these people have used every means to deprive my people of a chance, no, of the right, to economic prosperity that congress declared we had over twenty years ago. I'm not here for a hand out. All I ask is that this country, the United States of America live up to their word, the word written in Public Law 98-602, and allow the Wyandotte Nation to move forward with their economic development. Specifically, I ask this committee to reaffirm that Public Law 98-602 was a land claim settlement bill. Enough is enough! Thank you. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: History shines at Little Bighorn Monument" --------- Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 18:43:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LITTLE BIGHORN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=83749 History shines at Little Bighorn monument Recent changes to the park reflect a more balanced viewpoint JAMES DAY Statesman Journal July 18, 2004 CROW AGENCY, Mont. - Sometimes the facts of history don't change, but the truth does. Take the Battle of the Little Bighorn for example. There's no dispute regarding what happened on a hot day on the Great Plains of what now is southeastern Montana on June 25, 1876. More than 200 soldiers and attached personnel under Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer were killed in a battle with an Indian force of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors that outnumbered them by more than five to one. Newspaper accounts at the time characterized the battle as a massacre by savages that must be avenged. And clearly it was avenged, as the history of the relations between American Indians and the United States government shows. Custer was bathed in a heroic light, with his "last stand" serving as a symbol of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. The truth was far more complex: treaties broken, rights ignored, a way of life all but destroyed. Should history have turned out differently? It's too late for that, but one of the seminal facts of history is that when two cultures fight over the same land, one usually wins (and it should be noted in fairness that American Indians fought brutal turf wars with each other long before the cavalry showed up). Near the banks of the Little Bighorn River, the truth has changed as well. The national monument erected on the site of the battle changed its name from Custer Battlefield National Monument to Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in 1991. Battlefield markers noting the spots where two Cheyenne warriors fell - Chief Lame White Man and Noisy Walking - were added in 1999. In June 2003, in the culmination of an effort that began in 1925 to find a way to honor American Indians as well as Custer and his men, the Indian Memorial was dedicated adjacent to Last Stand Hill, the spot where Custer and the last 40 or so soldiers died. The proximity of the two sites provides an emotional counterpoint for park visitors and helps tell the story of the battle in very personal terms. There is a marker on the battlefield that identifies the spot where every soldier fell. A granite obelisk on Last Stand Hill lists every soldier by name. Inside the Indian Memorial, a circular earth and stone mound, every American Indian who fell is listed. Even the tribes who sided with Custer and served as his scouts are noted. Visitors have attached mementos to a sculpture depicting American Indian warriors. The effect is eerily similar to visiting the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. The other attribute of the park that lends power to the experience is the fact that you can see the key locales just by turning your head. You can look down from Last Stand Hill and see where the Indians were encamped along the river. You can look along the ridges to the north and south and see how warriors led by Sitting Bull, Gall and Crazy Horse surrounded Custer's men. And you can see into the Indian Memorial via a walkway that was designed to allow the spirits of the soldiers to join with the American Indians in the world to come, a conciliatory gesture of astonishing power. jday@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801 Copyright c. 2004 Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon. --------- "RE: Tribe wants its own Nation in North Carolina" --------- Date: Wed, 14 July 2004 08:25:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TUSCARORA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=51173&SecID=2 Native American tribe wants its own nation in Wilson Co. By: Ken Derksen & Web Staff July 13, 2004 A Native American tribe wants to create its own nation in Wilson County. In May, a group of Tuscarora Indians from Robeson County purchased land near Elm City. Timothy Jacobs is the tribal spokesman and wants the Tuscarora Indians to have its own nation again in eastern North Carolina. "We are a new generation of Tuscaroras. And the younger generation of Tuscaroras are standing up in this state. Because we're more prepared, we're more educated, and we're more politically connected." Jacobs activism first made headlines in 1988 when he and a friend used sawed off shotguns to hold 17 Robesonian newspaper employees hostage in Lumberton. He was convicted on state charges, but found not guilty on federal charges. "There was discrimination at that time in Robeson County. There were a lot of unsolved murders of Native Americans and non-Native Americans. It was forced political pressure, and North Carolina had been ignoring us and ignoring the conditions in Robeson County for many years." The Tuscarora tribe is native to eastern North Carolina. After fighting a war with colonists in the 17th century, many members were forced to move to New York State. "In many ways, we were abandoned by our northern relatives. And we are here today to say, our ancestors who were the ones who stayed in North Carolina never gave up their rights," Jacobs said. In May, Jacobs and two other Tuscarora's purchased 10 acres near Elm City. The tribe plans to build homes, a traditional longhouse for worship, and a learning center to educate visitors on their culture. Some neighbors said they were against any efforts the tribe was making to become its own nation. Other neighbors said as long as they don't break any laws and develop the land by the books, they're more than welcome to stay. Glen Gobble is neighbors with the tribe. He said, "If they got their permits and they build down there, then they'll need to pay county taxes just like everyone else. Until they're recognized as a nation." Trying to getting federally recognized is expected to take years. The tribe hired a renowned Indian lawyer to help them in their efforts. Jacobs hopes becoming a Tar Heel Indian nation again will finally give his people a home. The tribe said its most immediate challenge is getting power run onto the property. The Elm City Town Council declined the request, at least until the tribe can show them more in-depth plans for future land development. Copyright c. 2004 TWEAN Newschannel of Raleigh, L.L.C. dba News 14 Carolina --------- "RE: Complaints about Religious use of Bear Butte" --------- Date: Fri, 16 July 2004 08:22:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BEAR BUTTE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/9164341.htm Legislators hear complaints about religious use of Bear Butte JOE KAFKA Associated Press July 15, 2004 PIERRE, S.D. - An American Indian medicine man said Thursday that some way must be found to regulate nonIndians whose copycat - and sometimes suspect - religious beliefs interfere with sacred Indian ceremonies on Bear Butte near Sturgis. Sonny Richards of Box Elder, who has been observing his religion at Bear Butte State Park since 1965, said the antics of some who practice "New Age religions ... are an insult to our beliefs." Those people should either be located in a separate area of the park or the length of their stay on the butte should be limited, he said. Richards said many nonIndians drawn to Bear Butte by the romantic image of Indian culture have no respect for the tremendous significance tribal members attach to the peak, which is an ancient volcano that never erupted. "There is something that happens there," he said. "You have a sense of peacefulness, calmness." Doug Hofer, state park system director, said the potential to violate religious freedom makes it difficult to put restrictions on non-Indians who go to Bear Butte for religious practices. State Rep. Stan Adelstein, R-Rapid City, suggested that state officials consider transferring an area of the butte used for Indian religious ceremonies - such as vision quests - to some other form of ownership. Hofer said that could be done, but he said any such action should first be considered by a joint group of state officials and the 17 tribes that place special significance on Bear Butte. The group has been able to solve many tribal concerns in recent years over use of Bear Butte, he said. Hofer said the peak is popular not only with Indians but also campers, tourists, hikers, geologists and many others. Those competing interests make it difficult to manage the park, he said. "It's a lot of things to a lot of people," Hofer said. The park manager, Jim Jandreau, a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, said he deals as swiftly as possible with conflicts between Indians and nonIndians over use of Bear Butte. "The hardest thing to create was trust," he said of his dealings as a state employee with tribes. "We have a nation of people who feel like they are oppressed," Jandreau said. "I understand where the distrust comes from." Established in 1961, Bear Butte is the only state park in South Dakota that was created by using general tax revenues to purchase the land from private owners. Copyright c. 2004 Aberdeen American News. --------- "RE: Ute History, Leaders highlighted at Center" --------- Date: Wed, 14 July 2004 08:25:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HERITAGE CENTER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_12643.shtml Ute history, leaders highlighted at Heritage Center By The Daily Times July 14, 2004 DOLORES, Colo. - Portraits and artifacts representing Ute history will go on display at the Anasazi Heritage Center in the special exhibition "Ute Leaders and Legacies" beginning July 19 and continuing through Sept. 12. The exhibit includes a series of rare, old photographs donated to the Anasazi Heritage Center by the Taylor Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs, according to a news release. Pictured are Ouray, Chipeta, Posey, Ignacio, Severo, Buckskin Charlie, Andrew Frank, and others who struggled to preserve tribal integrity and Ute traditions during difficult times. Other photos illustrate home life in teepees and log cabins, boarding schools, ceremonial dress, gambling, horsemanship, and women's games. The photographic prints were donated to the Anasazi Heritage Center by the Taylor Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs, and will be available in the future for loan to other institutions. Historic artifacts and modern Ute artistry in beadwork also form part of the exhibit. The Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park, the Museum of Western Colorado in Grand Junction, and Fort Lewis College's Center for Southwest Studies have each loaned items from their collections. The distinctive Ute culture reflects elements from both Southwest and the Great Plains lifeways. The Utes may have been the first tribe to adopt a life on horseback, thanks to contact with early Spanish colonists. Nomadic bands occupied much of Colorado, Utah, and northern New Mexico until the mid-19th century. Later Anglo emigrants from the eastern U.S. also impacted the Utes. Expanding settlement and the discovery of gold created conflicts leading to the loss of most of their ancestral territory. Today there are three Ute reservations - two in southwestern Colorado and one in northeastern Utah. The Anasazi Heritage Center is three miles west of Dolores on Colorado 184, and is open daily from 9 to 5. Cultural programs and tours of Escalante Pueblo take place daily throughout the summer season. Special events and exhibits are made possible by the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program. Information: (970) 882-5600, or visit the Center's Web site: www.co.blm.gov/ahc. Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Cherokees building a better Tomorrow" --------- Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2004 18:43:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHEROKEE DEVELOPMENT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.newsok.com/article/1280400/?template=home/main Cherokees building a better Tomorrow [Editor's Note: This is the fourth in an occasional series profiling the history, accomplishments and struggles of Oklahoma's 39 American Indian tribes.] By Tony Thornton Staff Writer July 18, 2004 FAIRFIELD - Until a few months ago, Brenda Locust never had used a measuring tape, much less a nail gun or table saw. Today, she's proficient in most aspects of basic construction, and soon, she'll have a new four-bedroom home to show for it. It will replace a cramped, two-bedroom rental house where Locust and nine family members live. Locust is among 14 Cherokee families benefiting from a federally funded program never before attempted in the United States. Participants agree to spend at least 20 hours a week working on their future home and those of others within the program. A team leader decides where the next day's work will be done. The project has three main goals: provide homes to low-income tribe members, teach them the skills to maintain them, and build a community. The third goal also satisfies an initiative of Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith, who has spent several hours doing construction work for the project. Smith hopes to build 100 strong Cherokee communities "to withstand the pendulum of federal policy and public sentiment" regarding American Indians. Smith's goal seems to have been met. "We're like a big family out here," Locust said. The project also has taught the future residents job skills for a possible new career. "Some of these guys chase chickens in chicken houses" for a living, Smith said. "Now they have a skill that they can do as well as anybody else." The tribe provides the materials and the land. Recipients "provide the muscle and the back," said Brian Cooper, who is overseeing the project for the tribe. Cooper's staff makes technical drawings based on basic designs done by each family. For George and Tobie Teehee, that meant placing two bedrooms on each side of the living area and kitchen. "I've lived in apartments all my life, and they always have all the bedrooms on one side," Tobie Teehee said. On a recent Wednesday, George Teehee, a Tyson chicken hatchery worker, took measurements for an exterior wall. How much home construction knowledge did he bring to the project? "This much," he said, forming his thumb and index finger into a circle. Idea not new for Cherokees The project is the first of its kind nationally, said Brent Kisling, Oklahoma director of the U.S. Agriculture Department's Rural Development division. "This is one of the neatest housing programs we have going," Kisling said. It was even highlighted in a meeting between state rural development directors and President Bush. The concept isn't new for the Cherokee Nation. In the late 1970s a few years before she became chief then-tribal administrator Wilma Mankiller was approached by the tiny Bell community near Stilwell. The community's water lines needed replacement. Residents offered to do the labor if the tribe would supply the pipes. Mankiller helped them secure a federal grant and the necessary technical assistance. That episode resonated with some of the residents' children, who grew up and became the adults who asked the tribe for help building the homes at Fairfield. Hence the name, the "Our Generation" project. "They said, 'We can do that, too. This is our generation,'" tribe spokesman Mike Miller said. The first 1,350-square-foot home was finished last month at a cost of $35,000 for Richard and Melissa Stahl. A few miles away, several more homes are in various construction stages on a heavily wooded, 10-acre plot the tribe bought. Recipients are mostly low-income laborers who work at the Stilwell Mrs. Smith's pie plant or at a Tyson chicken farm a few miles over the Arkansas border. They will repay the tribe for the materials, but not for the labor required for anything that requires a licensed professional, such as plumbing, electrical work and laying the foundation. Per the residents' request, the tribe will put aside their house payments for future repairs or as seed money for more self-help home construction. Smith is keen on the latter suggestion. His administration also has helped eight rural Cherokee communities build community centers, using residents' labor and materials funded by the tribe and the federal government. He wants every tribal program to include a self-help component, saying it stretches the tribe's federal money while instilling pride and a sense of community. Both have happened at Fairfield. Since finishing the first home, work has doubled as participants gain knowledge and confidence. "This has been more successful than even I imagined," Smith said. Copyright c. 2004 News 9/Oklahoman, Produced by news0k.com --------- "RE: The Corruption of the BIA" --------- Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2004 13:34:06 EDT From: CBrurud@aol.com Subj: The Corruption of the BIA (Osage Nation Minerals Trust) >To: gars@nanews.org Dear Editor: (Native American News) I am a Native American & a U.S.. taxpayer in Oklahoma The following is an email, dtd 07/11/04, sent to Mr. Henson (American Studies Today, Vienna, VA) : The BIA Regional Office ( Muskogee, OK) & the BIA Field Office (Pawhuska, OK) are currently UNDER AN INVESTIGATION by the OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is corrupt starting from the Secretary of Interior (Gayle Norton) all the way to the BIA Regional & Field Offices (Muskogee & Pawhuska, Oklahoma, respectfully). Mismanagement practices of the BIA being exposed during the Cobell vs. Secretary of Interior (Gayle Norton) case in Washington, D.C., the same management philosophy has surfaced in the BIA's mishandling of the Osage Minerals Trust for the Osage Indian Tribe. As a result, the royalties of the Osage Indian from Oil & Gas revenue has been significantly depleted due to the corrupt fiduciary management philosophy of the BIA. This substantiated in the Oklahoma Marginal Well Commission (Norman, OK) study entitled, THE OSAGE ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT, dated April , 1999. This can shown from their Website. Their Website is as follows: http:www. state.ok.us/~marginal/osageaudit/htm My Website (Equinox, LLC) also exposes the same corruption of the BIA. The address is as follows: http://hometown.aol.com/cbrurud/myhometownpage/business.html Respectfully, Clark Brurud Equinox, LLC Bartlesville, OK 74003 Phone/ Fax: (918) 338-3658 --------- "RE: Land for Tribe/Fields for Prior Lake" --------- Date: Wed, 14 July 2004 08:25:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MUTUAL TRADE-OFF" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.startribune.com/stories/332/4872146.html Deal would mean land for tribe, fields for Prior Lake Shira Kantor, Star Tribune July 13, 2004 The city of Prior Lake and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community are discussing a potential agreement that would leave the city with new athletic fields and the tribe with more land to develop. The city would allow the tribe to convert to trust status 186 acres of Prior Lake land it owns in fee title, so that the tribe can develop much of it into housing for tribal members. In exchange, the tribe would be responsible for building six adult-size softball fields on 36 acres of the land that the city would use and maintain. Both entities have burgeoning populations and each need more space: Prior Lake lacks athletic fields, and the tribe, owner of the Mystic Lake Casino, needs land to build more homes. "It's a very, very significant intergovernmental cooperative agreement," said Prior Lake Mayor Jack Haugen. The preliminary agreement was the result of more than a year of in