From gars@speakeasy.org Tue Aug 17 18:07:09 2004 Date: Tue, 03 Aug 2004 16:09:23 -0700 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.032 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 032 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 August 7, 2004 Hopi paamuya/joyful moon Blackfeet pakkii'pistsi otsiai'tssp/moon when choke berries ripen +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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 and NDNAIM Mailing Lists; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== It is the general belief of the Indians that after a man dies his spirit is somewhere on the earth or in the sky, we do not know exactly where, but we are sure that his spirit still lives. ..." "So it is with WakanTanka. We believe that he is everywhere, yet he is to us as the spirits of our friends, whose voices we can not hear." __ Chased-by-Bears, Santee-Yanktonai Sioux +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! For two issues this space has discussed the need for tribes to work together, to help our mutual needs and tribal economies grow. Now comes evidence cooperation, support and enabling hasn't even come together at a minimal level. This is pathetic. No wonder we keep getting beat down and abused. Read the first article in this issue, "What kind of message do tribes give (to American Indian Businesses?)" and get a first hand appreciation of what is wrong in Indian Country. Then resolve to end this absurdity by working with, relying on and developing business interests with one brother or sister at a time - one tribal entity to another - one tribal nation with another until we are truly free of the dominant society and their controls designed to keep us impoverished and third world. 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 ---------- - What kind of message - Fort ignores Indian History do Tribes give... - Lewis & Clark: - Getting out Indian Vote It's no Celebration to some a daunting Task - Native Americans honor God - Native America holds with Prayers, Dance Swing Vote Potential - Indian Movement - Sovereignty Issue loses way in Ecuador has Friends on both sides - Seigneury File: - Dancing on graves Canada admits to Seven Breaches of missing Native Americans - Fish feud looming - Indian Health Worker - Vigil shows support has a Sad Story to tell for Keepness Family - ICT Editorial: - Keepness Family prays Democrats look good, as race begins for Tamra's safe return - Peltier not on Radar Screen - Second missing Child in Regina in Boston - Oglala Sioux Police - Vicenti: Moving out facing major Funding Loss of the `Sovereignty Ghetto' - Native Prisoner - Commissioners refuse -- NAPN Prison Pen Pals Charter School Endorsement - History: Carlisle Indian School - Navajo Tribe's Emergency Fund cut - Rustywire: - Historic Dialogue Sundance Night Before First Dawn between Indigenous Groups - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Report says Klamath Fishkill - Winddsong Poem: worse than thought Warrior who is Bear - Muscoplat: Wildrice, - Working to save - or revive - This is a clash of Culture fading Traditions - America and the 'Savages' - Videos including - Judge sides with Tribes American Indian Languages on proposed Water Spill - August 7 Event at Mound Bottom --------- "RE: What kind of message do Tribes give..." --------- Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 17:09:57 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LACK OF SUPPORT" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/index.php?1091216974 Thayer and Warren: What kind of message do tribes give to American Indian Businesses? July 30, 2004 by: Tom Thayer/Co-owner/Eagle Feather Environmental Enterprises, Inc. by: Debra Warren/Co-owner/Eagle Feather Environmental Enterprises, Inc. As the co-owners of an American Indian-owned small business, we would like to ask a question of the tribal councils throughout the country: If it is the goal of the tribes to diversify their economies, to encourage individuals to start businesses and to keep tribal monies within the tribes, why do the tribes make it almost impossible for an American Indian company to do business with the tribes? Our question stems from a basic economic fact. The tribe or tribal members need a product. Question, where do they buy it? An American Indian company has the product at a competitive price. Answer, use the American Indian company. You see, it really is a simple solution that benefits all concerned and fulfills any number of goals set by the tribal councils for economic growth. But as an American Indian-owned company this simple economic transaction has become a nightmare of red tape, frustration and increasing aggravation. Our company was born from the negative impact NAFTA was beginning to have on a company that had been in existence for over 25 years. We realized the only way to remain in business was to diversify and look for new areas to develop and grow. This newly-evolved company is, quite literally, the only American Indian-owned company in the entire United States offering our particular product line. With this unique distinction, we believed our company had the potential to grow into a company that would benefit not only ourselves, but tribes and tribal members alike. Shortly after establishing our new company we attended the ONABEN (a Native American Business Network) conference in Portland, Ore. in September 2003. We heard repeated messages of how tribes were encouraging individual tribal members to start new businesses. With unquestioning faith in our skill and product knowledge, we ventured into the unknown territory of building business relationships with American Indian tribes. Our journey into developing business relationships with individual tribes has had one reoccurring theme. If you're a small American Indian- owned company, go away ... you can't play with the big boys. The major retail chains and the manufacturers already have an iron grip on tribal purchasing offices. Our first introduction into the quagmire of purchasing begins with finding out who's in charge of housing, who's in charge of the casino, who does the purchasing. We introduce ourselves, only to be told "Oh, we can't do business with you unless you've been certified by our TERO office." So we start the process of becoming TERO certified. (In case you don't know, TERO stands for Tribal Employment Rights Office and one part of their mandate is to ensure that a company is majority owned and actively managed by a registered American Indian.) To begin with, TERO may or may not be active within a particular tribe. But for those with an active TERO, each tribe has their own policies and regulations concerning the application process. One office may not charge anything for processing and the next one may charge $100. Sometimes the application is good for a year, sometimes for three years. We have even been told on two occasions that our application would not even be reviewed until we purchased a tribal business license and/or BIA traders license. The actual TERO application is dramatically different from one tribe to the next. With one it's just a matter of filling out a short form along with proof of American Indian ownership. With another it means completing a lengthy application and sending in certified company financials along with your corporation papers. Once it's filed, how long does it take to become TERO certified? It has taken as little as three days to as long as four months and still counting on one application - which was submitted in March of this year. OK, now we're TERO certified. We go back to the purchasing office only to be told we will only be used if we can beat the prices they get from Sears or Home Depot or Lowe's. There's even an instance where one tribe has a manufacturer-direct purchasing agreement. Yes, we can sell at our cost, with no profit, in order to compete with some of the major retailers, but bid against factories directly? Excuse us, but we decided we wanted to be a "for profit" company, not a non-profit entity. One door slams in our face, so we try another. We meet with the purchasing agent for another department within a tribe that boasts of an active TERO office. During a part of our presentation we let them know we are TERO certified with their tribe. Imagine our surprise when the tribal representative asks us what being TERO certified means. After we explained to him the purpose of TERO certification, we're told our certification is meaningless to him. Again we're informed, as before, that unless we can provide the same or lower prices as the major retailers, we won't be used ... we won't even be considered. Call us crazy, but we had thought the purpose of being TERO certified was to be given an equal chance to do business with the tribe. It seems ironic to us that the tribes which demand TERO certification are the very same tribes which politely tell us they are not interested in doing business with American Indian companies. So we have to ask ourselves, why did we spend all the time and money to become TERO certified? We really doubt that any of the major retailers were required to be TERO certified before they could do business with the tribes. And TERO certification aside, how many major retailers or manufacturers are owned by American Indians? And now you might ask, what about the tribes that don't have a TERO? Well, at least we do business with some of the smaller tribes in our area. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, our opportunities to do business with these tribes have been based on who knows who. It's discouraging that the product and pricing we offer has little to do with the decisions to purchase from our company. On the plus side, once they have used our company their continued business is based on our products and service. Although our business with the tribes has not materialized as we had anticipated, we still hold on to the slim hope that eventually it will become the business we visualized. In light of our experiences over the past year, I challenge all tribal council members to "walk the talk" and actively support and encourage American Indian-owned businesses. For if what we have experienced thus far is a typical scenario for a small American Indian-owned company, we can well understand why there are so few individuals willing to create a new life for themselves. ---- Tom Thayer, Chippewa, and Debra Warren are co-owners of Eagle Feather Environmental Enterprises, Inc. located in Auburn, Wash. Working with their consultant Mel Youckton, Chehalis Tribe, they have been in business for a year offering a full line of household and commercial major kitchen appliances. Copyright c. 2004 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Getting out Indian Vote a daunting Task" --------- Date: Wed, 28 July 2004 08:54:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GETTING OUT INDIAN VOTE" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.boston.com//getting_out_indian_vote_a_daunting_task?mode=PF Getting out Indian vote a daunting task By Deborah Baker, Associated Press Writer July 28, 2004 BOSTON - With the prospect of a tight presidential race in November, Democrats are courting Indian country with vigor. It's a daunting prospect, given that Indian voters are, literally, few and far between. The land occupied by the 250,000-member Navajo Nation, the largest tribe in the United States, covers more than 27,000 square miles in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Many of the farmers, sheep herders and others who live scattered across the reservation - an area larger than West Virginia - don't have telephones or televisions and rely largely on local Navajo- language radio stations for news. Some must travel up to 35 miles over bumpy roads to vote. "In some ways, our Indian reservations are more akin to a Third World situation in terms of communication and accessibility," said Duane "Chili" Yazzie, president of the Navajo tribe's Shiprock chapter and an alternate delegate from New Mexico. Still, Democrats say, Indian voters are worth courting. Although Indians make up about 1.5 percent of the U.S. population, they are sufficiently concentrated in certain states to flex voting clout. "In a close election, they're critical. In New Mexico, they're critical, " said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Such was the case in 2000, when Democrat Al Gore squeaked past George W. Bush by a margin of 366 votes in New Mexico, which has the largest total Indian population - 10.5 percent - of any of this year's battleground states. In 2002, a surge in Indian voter turnout was credited with helping elect Democratic Gov. Brad Henry in Oklahoma and with helping incumbent Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., keep his seat. "Without the Native Americans, I wouldn't be standing here today," said Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, who was elected by a close margin in 2002. The same year, voters approved a tribal-backed measure in Arizona ordering the governor to sign agreements expanding gambling at tribal casinos, and the heavy turnout helped elect Napolitano. "Indian country really does have these examples of, 'Hey, we came out and we voted - and we made a difference,'" said Alyssa Burhans, who directs the Indian voter organizing for National Voice, a coalition of nonprofit and community groups working to maximize the Indian vote. The challenge, she said, is that many get-out-the-vote models are aimed at urban areas, and Indian country tends to be rural. Phone banks don't work when voters don't have telephones, and traditional door-knocking campaigns can be a huge challenge. During a primary election this year, Burhans left voting information on 34 front doors in Porcupine, S.D., and "it took us 2 1/2 hours and a half a tank of gas to do it," she said. Copyright c. 2004 The New York Times Company --------- "RE: Native America holds Swing Vote Potential" --------- Date: Fri, 30 July 2004 08:31:59 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NA VOTE POWER" http://www.native-voice.com/ Native America Holds Swing Vote Potential By Lise Balk King The Native Voice BOSTON, Mass - The historic city of Boston, Massachusetts has been preparing for weeks for a deluge of visitors to the Democratic National Convention (DNC), including many tribal leaders, Native delegates, and members of the Native press. The Convention, which takes place July 26 - 29 at the Fleet Center in the heart of the city, includes a Native American Caucus, the strong support of which is in keeping with the official Democratic platform. The platform, which was completed and made public on July 16, includes strong language asserting tribal sovereignty and includes the statement "We honor the sovereignty of American Indians and reaffirm our commitment to respectful and meaningful government-to- government relations." Native voters are considered to hold the power to swing the vote in close elections in November in South Dakota, North Dakota, Washington, Alaska, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. As the Native vote was considered to be the crucial factor in the Democrats wins in South Dakota in 2002, with the successful re-election of Senator Tim Johnson, and recently in a special election June 1, 2004, with Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth, Native voters and Native issues are garnering more attention and clout in the state and nationwide. The South Dakota Native vote power has proven to be more than a one-time event, and the work done in South Dakota to motivate and educate the Native voter is now being used as a model for Get Out the Vote efforts across the US. At the center of the Native DNC effort is Anna Sorrell, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribe. (see exclusive Sorrell interview, page D1) Sorrell has taken a leave of absence from her tribal job and left her home and family in Montana to "pursue her dream" of serving as the Director of Native American outreach for the John Kerry for President Campaign. As the DNC does not have a Native outreach representative, Sorrell is also lending her expertise to provide support to the National Democratic Party. A strong showing of Native influence in the democratic process is reflected in the participation of 87 Native delegates, each of whom is appointed at the state level. The National Democratic Party directed the state parties to be sure that the "delegates reflected America," including "the diversity of our country," according to Sorrell. It was therefore expected that those states with a native constituency would have an appropriate number of Native representatives out of the 4,341 total delegates from all of the states. There are many Native tribal leaders and members of the National Congress of American Indians who plan to attend, and there is a full schedule of events and caucus meetings planned to discuss issues important to the native voter and to meet with US political leaders. The Native press is expected to turn out in full force, and The Native Voice will be in attendance to report on the issues and events. Many of those participating from the tribal and Indian organizational level will also be attending the Republican National Convention which will take place in August in New York City. As Gay Kingman, a former Executive Director for NCAI and successful lobbyist for Indian gaming explained, " The Democrats have been historically more supportive of legislation that is good for the tribes," but, she explained, "Right now, the Republicans are in power, and you have to work with both parties in order to be effective in achieving our Indian agendas." Recently more than ever, tribes have donated funds to local, state and national political campaigns. Those tribes with gaming resources have been the largest players in the political game, and tribes donate on both sides of the partisan lines. Some tribes have donated more publicly than others, which choose to remain quiet about their political associations. Most notable on the radar at the moment is the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which donated campaign funds to Republican Larry Deidrich in the South Dakota special election on June 1st. Democrat Stephanie Herseth won that election, with all of the South Dakota tribes and the Native voters appearing to be united behind her. Under the direction of Chief Operating Officer John Guevremont, known to be a long-time Republican, the Mashantucket Pequots have taken the high-profile role of being a corporate sponsor of the Republican National Convention. Copyright c. 2003 Native Voice Media, all rights reserved. --------- "RE: Sovereignty Issue has Friends on both sides" --------- Date: Wed, 28 July 2004 08:54:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GAMING VOTE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://nativetimes.com/~article_id=4812 Indian gaming: which party is best for tribes Sovereignty issue has friends on both sides of the aisle BOSTON MA Sam Lewin July 27, 2004 The American Indians that are here attending the Democratic National Convention overwhelmingly believe that George Bush, and many Republicans in general, devise and carry out policies that while perhaps not intentionally hostile, do not help their people very much. Indians have always voted as Democrats, but the latest anger is due to the fact that funding for the government programs that provide for the poorest people in America, and many Native Americans are in that category, has been cut during the past four years. The Democrats know this, and in Boston they have handed out numerous facts sheets and reeled off figures showing their hold on the Indian vote. Delegates here would say that they have a reason to show off that support: they have earned it and consistently honor it. The National Anthem Tuesday night that opened the convention was sung in Tohono O'odham by two members of the tribe. The controversial issue of Indian gaming is an exception. Ask Mark Van Norman. Van Norman is the Executive Director of the National Indian Gaming Association. On their website, NIGA describes itself as "a non-profit organization of 168 Indian Nations with other non-voting associate members representing organizations, tribes and businesses engaged in tribal gaming enterprises from around the country." They lobby. "We are [in Boston] because it is important to be part of the process to make our interests known and make our voices heard. We thought it was very important to be up here at the convention because people are setting polices for the platform and this is where the outreach can happen with all your congressional members and key players as well as the Kerry campaign," Van Norman told the Native American Times. In August he will do the same thing at the Republican National Convention in New York. "What we find is that you have to work with your friends and reach out to your friends. We'll be in New York and reaching out to the Republican members of Congress and to the administration. We're in it for the long haul and whoever wins, we are going to have to protect Indian sovereignty, " he said. At the federal level, gaming essentially boils down to the sovereignty issue; most of the serious disputes occur at the state and local levels. On sovereignty, Van Norman says politicians of both stripes have been supportive. Congressional Republicans that Van Norman considers friendly to tribes are Richard Pombo of California and Dave Camp of Michigan. Both men recently put forward a measure that would give tribes the same ability as state and local governments to issue tax exempt bonds for infrastructure development. On the other side of the aisle, he singles out Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye and South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle. At the local level, the religious wing of the GOP is frequently the main opposition to Indian gaming. "I think there is always a hardcore group of conservative people who think gaming is wrong and they are morally opposed to any kind of gaming, except they kind of give state lotteries a pass, so they are not really too consistent on that one. But you are going to see that. They are opposed to horse racing and commercial gaming," Van Norman said. "But what we are seeing consistently is that sixty-five to seventy percent of the American public supports Indian gaming." If public support is that high, the issue between the two parties will probably become a wash. In that case, the Republican Party isn't going to make any leeway in the Indian vote anytime soon. There have been some notable exceptions. Citing dissatisfaction with Democratic polices in South Dakota, American Indian activist Russell said he would support the GOP in November. Others have similarly accused Democrats of taking the Indian vote for granted. Van Norman says that what he has seen this week in Massachusetts has convinced him the opposite is true. "The Native American Caucus on Monday was wonderful. The Democrats have made obvious efforts to include us." Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Dancing on graves of missing Native Americans" --------- Date: Wed, 28 July 2004 08:54:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HARJO: DESECRATING DEAD" http://www.indiancountry.com/index.php?1090594169 Harjo: Dancing on graves of missing Native Americans July 23, 2004 by: Suzan Shown Harjo / Columnist / Indian Country Today A bunch of white folks are dancing on the graves of missing Native Americans these days. The bodies are stashed in laboratories and other surrogate tombs, where adults experiment on them and use them in bizarre rituals. The first dancing white men are the federally-subsidized scientists who won a recent lawsuit and the reporters who are celebrating their victory of "science over religion" - the modern day metaphor for "cowboys and Indians" - in the case involving the Ancient One, the 9,000-year-old Native man who was found in 1996 near Kennewick, Wash. Northwest Native peoples want to rebury the Ancient One; Caucasian American scientists want to "study" him. Contorting federal Indian law and known history, the scientists convinced a handful of judges and a pack of reporters that the Ancient One is not Native American and that "study" is vital to determine whose hemisphere this is anyway. On July 19, the Indian tribes let the time run out to appeal the racially-biased decision to the Supreme Court. The scientists are clicking their heels and sharpening their knives and scrapers, poised to exercise their duty of white privilege. But, here's the thing. The Ancient One has been studied by no fewer than 25 scientists to date, and those are just the ones whose names have been documented in court proceedings. The first one who studied the Ancient One was Dr. James C. Chatters, who crowed his forensic findings from every available rooftop. Chatters since claims he was misquoted by every reporter who wrote that Kennewick Man was Caucasian, saying he only said the human remains were "Caucasoid." Chatters hinted broadly in an article in the New York Times this week that the Ancient One might have been the first man in this land - his own Caucasoid ancestor, he hopes - then came "the ones we call Native Americans now" who "didn't like him very much" and speared him. Chatters wants to study the spear point and get to the bottom of the case. He had full possession of the Ancient One and studied him in 1996. Someone lifted some of the human remains, which remain unaccounted for today, and may be the source of someone else's basement studies. One wonders what else could be gleaned from scrapings from the Ancient One's teeth or another look at the spear point he carried to his death. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has something to say about the kind of "studies" the scientists can conduct, is advocating a limit to destructive analysis. They are right to try to stem the tide of the free- for-all and should be commended for their efforts. Congress needs to back them up and to clarify the repatriation laws so that even judges and scientists can understand them. Another set of dancing Caucasians are members of the elite Skull and Bones Society at Yale University. Skull and Bones comes to media attention any time someone named Bush runs for public office. Today it is under increased scrutiny, with an anticipated presidential election between two Bonesmen, Pres. George W. Bush (Class of '67) and Sen. John F. Kerry (Class of '65). Skull and Bones legend has it that Bush's grandfather, Sen. Prescott Bush of Connecticut, and two fellow Bonesmen dug up the body of the great Apache leader, Geronimo, in Oklahoma in 1918, and stole his head. Bonesmen from later classes posed for photographs behind a skull and two crossed leg bones. It is said that Bonesmen open their meetings and perform cultish practices with Geronimo's skull. When the story of Geronimo's head surfaced in Vice Pres. George H.W. Bush's successful bid for the presidency, the candidate did not comment on any matters pertaining to the Skull and Bones Society or its secret practices. It is widely thought among Native Americans who worked on the national repatriation laws that he signed the 1989 and 1990 laws in order to atone for his family's desecration and theft of dead Indians. Based on the very public claims that Geronimo's head is in the Skull and Bones Society's tomb, the police in New Haven, Conn., and/or federal authorities should raid the joint and return Geronimo to his people. It is possible that Prescott Bush and the other grave robbers were lying about whose head they stole, and it may belong to another Apache person buried, but only in part, in the same burial ground at Fort Sill. It also is possible that the Skull and Bones Society has the head of Mangus Colorado, a relative of Geronimo's. The literature suggests that he may have been killed so "scientists" could study his head, which was of great interest to Caucasian men of the time because of its size - the same as that of Daniel Webster, who was known for having a large head, but the brain of Mangus Colorado was larger, as "scientists" proved. The skull of Mangus Colorado was stamped with an inventory number by the U.S. Army for its Indian Crania Study and given to the Smithsonian Institution. It was then loaned out for private study to some early version of the scientist who has the rest of the Ancient One. It has been missing ever since the early 1900s. Wherever the truth lies, the Skull and Bones Society owes Native America an apology. Pres. Bush and Sen. Kerry should be ashamed of themselves and should call for their Society to return the head to the Apache Tribe. Other Caucasians dancing on empty Native graves are the bunch running the repatriation office in the National Park Service. The National Congress of American Indians is calling for the NPS to be stripped of its repatriation duties, declaring in a resolution passed in June that the NPS cannot enforce repatriation law because of conflicts of interest and suppression of vital information. The NCAI has called for Congress to "provide a technical amendment to [repatriation law] clarifying that the definition of `Native American' includes all cultural items that are related to a group indigenous to the United States regardless of whether there is also a present-day Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization." It is time for Congress and all the would-be presidents to stop all the Caucasians from dancing on empty graves and to let Native Americans rest in peace. If they can't match up Native people with their own burial places, perhaps it is time for Congress to stop all the indecent probing of the deceased and for the United States to build an honorable place of rest, a Tomb of the Unknown Native American. ---- Suzan Shown Harjo, Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, is president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C., and a columnist for Indian Country Today. Copyright c. 2004 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Indian Health Worker has a Sad Story to tell" --------- Date: Thu, 29 July 2004 09:00:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BUSH COST-CUTTING" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.nativetimes.com/~article&article_id=4820 Where the impact is felt Indian health worker has a sad story to tell BOSTON MA Sam Lewin July 28, 2004 The true story of what the incessant cost-cutting of the Bush Administration has wrought rests with people like Barbara Namais. Namais, the type of woman you might describe as having a kind face, is the Director of the Community Health Program for the North American Indian Center of Boston. She can tell you first hand the horror stories: being forced to hold bake sales so an elder can afford to fill a prescription for eyeglasses. Putting out donation cans so a tribal member can pay for some needed dental work. NAICOB is in the Jamaica Plains section of the city. It's only about ten miles from the ritzy hotel district that many delegates are staying in, technically on the same street even, but it might as well be another country. North Huntington is an upscale tourist's locale with expensive seafood restaurants, steak houses and trendy shops. South Huntington, home of NAICOB, is run down and dilapidated. The only eateries around there are fast food joints. You can never be positive unless you ask, but several characters on the surrounding streets look like drug dealers. Many stores are boarded up, their owners long ago deciding to abandon the area for richer pastures. A visitor leaves the Copley Marriott on North Huntington and asks a Boston policeman how far Jamaica Plains is. "It's a haul," the cop replies in a thick New England accent. "I grew up there. What the hell do you want to go there for?" The reason for the trip is that the NAICOB is holding a clam bake for delegates attending the convention, although several tribes are the ones actually paying for the event. The clam bake takes place in the rear yard of the NAICOB building, a depressing-looking brick structure that gives off a prison-type vibe. NAICOB has been around since 1976. As Namais explains it, they serve several functions. "We have contracts with the United States Indian Health Service, the United States Department of Labor under the Workforce Investment Act, we have a Native American Head Start program and we run cultural and social activities for all of our community-our youth, our seniors and our general population at large," Namais, a member of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, tells the Native American Times. NAICOB has a 40 mile service area, a region with almost eight thousand people of American Indian heritage. About a quarter of them use the center. "They range from the very young to the very old," Namais said. What the center does for the kids is something that needs doesn't really need much money. "One of the things here in the Boston Public School System is that the busing is gone but the quota system is intact. So one of the problems that our student population faces is cultural isolation. Among the 437 schools in Boston there are 267 American Indian students. So what the school system does is they place an Indian student in each school and if they fill the quota they double up again. So if you have more than four students in one school it's a cluster. Our kids don't have a lot of identity," she said. The center serves that need well. Indian children goof off together in a nearby playground as Namais relates the saddest part of her situation. "Here in Massachusetts I have seen a noticeable impact in Medicaid. I have seen eye doctors dropped and I've seen dental services dropped. The federal money comes in the form of block grants, so when there is less, the state has to spread what is left around. So they reduce the income level for eligibility... because of the cuts from the Bush Administration they have had to cut back on much of the mental health funding. Much of the outpatient mental health services have been totally eradicated and what there is, there is a huge waiting line to get into," Namais said. There have also been reductions in fluoride treatment for children. With such cuts, Namais has looked for other ways to make do. "I have seen elders suffering. In the past they were used to getting free eyeglasses, and now they have to purchase glasses that cost two hundred dollars. We constantly put out donation cans. You don't want to say what it is for and embarrass the person, so we just ask people to make contributions," she said. Even if John Kerry defeats President Bush in November, things may not get better anytime soon. Democrats in Boston are tossing around a fact sheet entitled "George Bush Is Bad for Native Americans," that details reductions in funding to tribal colleges and Indian health programs. Democrats promise to change those policies, over and over again saying that John Kerry supports "increased funding" for this or that. Problem is how to pay for it? The Native American Times put that question to Anna Sorrel, the head of Native American outreach for the Kerry campaign. "I don't know where the money is going to come from," she admits. "That's a question I can't answer." She says those issues are being sorted out by "high-level" officials in the Kerry campaign. Of course, politicians make a lot of promises on the campaign trail, and it is unrealistic to think that everything Kerry proposes will be funded. No President has ever fulfilled every one of his goals. Remember Bill Clinton and health care? Barbara Namais hopes someone finds an answer soon. She is down in Jamaica Plains and waiting. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: ICT Editorial: Democrats look good, as race begins" --------- Date: Thu, 29 July 2004 09:00:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ICT EDITORIAL: DEMOCRATS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/index.php?1091049472 Editorial: Democrats look good, as race begins July 28, 2004 The Democrats got off to a great start this week in Boston. For American Indians, it was heart-strengthening to see Indian country represented by the Tohono O'odham singers' rendition - in their own language - of the "Star Spangled Banner." As observers witnessed and the camera showed in the panned crowd, there were people crying in recognition of what they were seeing. It was impossible to miss the approach to unity and inclusion in Boston. It was impossible except for the politically blind not to see that the Democrats have honed their message to a fine edge: with clarity, eloquence and cohesiveness they called out the Bush Administration, which stood accused of a lack of effective leadership. On issue after issue, eloquent and well-prepared speakers challenged the incoherence of President Bush's administration: the off-and-on-and-off again economy; the Devil-may-care attitude to the soaring trillion dollar deficit; the give-to-the-rich-and-damn-the-poor tax policies; the misinformed, ill-conceived and seriously flawed execution of the Iraq War. Former President Bill Clinton went even beyond himself, as he honed some of the best oratory in recent history, with extensive arguments and the simple yet resounding thought: "Strength and wisdom are not opposing values ... they go hand in hand." The former president sent out a message that embraced American Indian values; so did the much-heralded Barack ("Blessed one") Obama, the son of a tribal African man and American mother, a sharp new-generation activist who stands to become U.S. Senator from Illinois, and is a rising star. Obama, from all reports, including that of our own Associate Editor Jim Adams, who was on site, electrified the gathering with his masterful and finely crafted speech. The American Indian presence at the Democratic convention was hard to miss. Some 250 Indians attended the Native American Caucus meetings, among them 103 as Democratic Party delegates. Particularly in the aftermath of the Tohono O'odham singing, several commentators spoke of Indian issues on national television, most notably New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who emphasized the "swing" importance of the Indian vote in his own state and in South Dakota. On Wednesday, July 28, Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stewart Paisano addressed the Convention to assert tribal sovereignty, which has been firmly inscribed onto the Democratic Party Platform. One section "A Strong American Community" includes the statement, "We honor the sovereignty of American Indians and reaffirm our commitment to respectful and meaningful government-to-government relations." The statement raised criticism among elements of the right-wing media. However, people like Gwen Carr, Cayuga, Democratic political activist and member of the platform committee, were there to argue how it reflects basic American constitutional principles. Most importantly, Presidential candidate John Kerry has repeatedly stated respect for Indian nations and expressed his intention to keep a White House "open door" to tribal leaders. Calm, collected, highly intelligent and a man of obvious sincerity, Senator, now candidate Kerry, cuts a mature and dignified presidential figure. A veteran who "earned his medals the old-fashioned way," as wife Theresa reminded the audience, Kerry emerges as a formidable candidate from the Democratic Convention. No doubt, there will be some freedom-loving American Indians who will consider that Indians singing America's National Anthem for the whole country is something negative or, at the very least, naive, perhaps even intoning the old accusation that the mere participation in the American electoral system is to betray Indian sovereignty itself. We believe, however, that at this time in history sovereign American Indian governments are gaining exponentially in capacity with each passing day. Participation in all facets of life and politics, from within our own distinct and self-governing tribal nations and with other governments outside our tribal nations, is a crucial requirement of our times. American Indian nations need not stand apart so much as to re-affirm their free yet foundational role within the Americas, within Indian country. In that woven basket that America represents, the Indian fibers tie up the four first corners and represent the original cultural and historical linkages to the land. The tribal nations continue to signal the freedom of the human spirit that bind and define the American experience. To our editorial eye, this season, the Democrats are making serious advances in understanding and incorporating the concerns and aspirations common to our tribal objectives. This is to the good, and to see the welcomed participation of so many Indian delegates and attendees is doubly encouraging. More and more, we are intrigued and pleased by this Democratic Party outreach to Indian country. Where respect is given, respect is returned. That, along with a steady application of honor, is all America's first peoples have asked of those relatively new to these lands. Furthermore, we like the moderated yet firmly critical tone of the Democratic Party in this campaign. The convention of this week, we hope, is leaving American politics a little cleaner. This national mainstream issue, the integrity and quality of the American political discourse, is critically important. The appalling trend toward personal insult mixed with misinformation, led on television by pundits like the viperous Ann Coulter, and on talk-radio indoctrination shows by propagandistic Rush Limbaugh and his legion of imitators, we believe, has been extremely detrimental to a positive, unifying and constructive American dialogue. At the convention, a major surprise for anyone who had not heard her before was Theresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of Candidate John F. Kerry, who impressed with her personal maturity and depth of intelligence. Fluent in five languages, an ardent nature lover and environmentalist, Theresa has been much-reviled as a "loose cannon" by the far and not-so-far right-wing attack machine. Bill Kristol, the neo-con cheerleader who championed an Iraq war that most self-reliant thinkers recognize as a glaring mistake, immediately attacked her as "self-indulgent." In real time and in her own words, however, she projected a serious and believably compassionate character - much unlike what the pundits would have us believe. Her stirring call for respect for women's intelligence and leadership was broadly well received. We acknowledge her international experience and the good intentions of her words. It would be silly to pretend a "non-partisan" approach at any national party convention. But the Democratic Party Convention, gearing up for a three-month campaign to defeat the Republicans, projected a combative yet dignified approach. By contrast, the vast array of Republican attack dogs, particularly on talk-shows that seem to cover all the airwaves in this country, are unrelentingly nasty, personal and destructive. We encourage Indian country and all in America to reject their behavior as well as their invective. To be fair, Indian country has many good friends and loyal supporters among Republican luminaries, people we appreciate and respect, who have not succumbed to the extremists and fundamentalists within their midst. We look forward to covering that party convention as well. Furthermore, we respect and appreciate the Indian advocates working within the Republican Party and we certainly hope the GOP puts forth a compelling case for why Indian country should support its candidate for another four years. As of this past week, however, the odds are diminishing that Indian country will be convinced of that position. To paraphrase what President Bush told the Urban League recently in respect to African Americans, as far as Indian nations are concerned, "the GOP has a lot of work to do." Copyright c. 2004 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Peltier not on Radar Screen in Boston" --------- Date: Thu, 29 July 2004 09:00:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DNC/PELTIER" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.nativetimes.com/~article&article_id=4821 Peltier not on radar screen in Boston Activist battles uphill to lobby support BOSTON MA Sam Lewin July 28, 2004 Wanti Wancus-Waters is a voice in the wilderness. With a pretty female companion and infant child in tow, he mingles with a crowd of Indian delegates and other tribal members, clutching a stack of flyers concerning imprisoned Indian activist Leonard Peltier. No one pays Wancus-Waters much attention. Some politely take the flyers and surreptitiously dispose of them when he is not looking. The 70's are over with and Native American leaders consider the important issues of the day to be tribal sovereignty, Indian education and health care. Folks in South Dakota will always be interested in the case, but Peltier is virtually never discussed on an official level in New Mexico, Alaska or Oklahoma. Wancus-Waters, a member of the Long Island-based Montauk Tribe, came to Boston for the Democratic National Convention with hopes of thrusting Peltier back into the Indian Country limelight. "I think people have to be interested in this because it is a human rights issue," Wancus-Waters tells the Native American Times. "Everyone wants to view the case through what was in the trial and what was in the press as opposed to the fact that Leonard and the other members of [the American Indian Movement] were asked to come there by a traditional community that was under siege. Somebody started shooting that day, and a horrible thing happened, but it wasn't Peltier and it wasn't AIM." The Federal Bureau of Investigation certainly does not agree. Their version is essentially this: Peltier murdered two agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Wancus-Waters has a much different view, that Peltier was framed, a view that has been embraced by various activists nationally and abroad- most of them having one thing in common: they are not Native American. Wancus-Waters is not perturbed. He thinks interest in the case is growing. "We are getting a very good reception. Anyone I talk to, anyone I give these leaflets to, they are glad to see that things are happening again. Leonard is going to come out of prison one of two ways. He is either going to be able to walk out because he has gotten clemency or a pardon, or he is going to come out feet first," he said. Ironically, the day that Wancus-Waters pressed his flyers into the hands of Indian delegates, much of the conversation was about Bill Clinton, the man who at one time represented Peltier's best chance at freedom. Clinton had just delivered a stirring address to the Democratic National Convention and it seemed everyone is Boston was talking about it. Legend has it that prior to leaving office Clinton considered pardoning Peltier, but was talked out of it by then-FBI Director Louis Freeh. "[Clinton] made a mistake," Wancus-Waters says. To be fair, protestors in Boston addressed the Peltier issue earlier in the week, demanding his release while demonstrating in the special "Free Speech Zone" that has been set up adjacent to the Fleet Center. The protestors were justified in worrying that their message would fall on deaf ears; you literally cannot hear them when standing outside of the convention hall. Many of those making the case for Peltier appeared to be non-Indian. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Vicenti: Moving out of the `Sovereignty Ghetto'" --------- Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2004 21:52:02 -0000 From: "frostyca2000" Subj: Moving out of the `sovereignty ghetto' Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Vicenti: Moving out of the `sovereignty ghetto' July 30, 2004 by: Carey N. Vicenti / Columnist / Indian Country Today For three decades now I have endured political rhetoric about the importance of our Indian sovereignty, of self-determination, of economic development and their assurances that "our children are our future." Yet, in the same amount of time I have also witnessed the gradual erosion of sovereignty. I have seen "self-determination" become a meager "self- administration." Our economies have floundered. And I have watched children grow up in poverty, abuse, neglect, substance abuse and violence. The tribal politicians are hardly to blame. These words and phrases are part of the culture of tribal politics. Their true meanings seeped out long ago leaving the hollow resonance of the hope that once surrounded them. Culture always outlasts the living human being, and so it is that these words have survived to be used by another generation of politicians. For instance, "self-determination," when the phrase was coined, was intended to stand for the principle that historically, culturally and ethnically distinct peoples were entitled under international norms to determine for themselves how they wanted to live out their political existence. They could demand full independence, autonomy (within the context of a larger nation-state) or the kind of "domestic dependency" that Native peoples now experience here in the United States. It was a matter of choice, the kind we never truly had. After PL 93-638 (Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act), "self-determination" was co-opted as a phrase to mean that we could administer federal funding for ourselves. The phrase became deflated of all dignity. "Economic development," by contrast, appeared among us upon the tongues of attorneys, venture capitalists and scholars, as a cure-all for every type of tribal woe. What was never mentioned about such development was that it would require the general abandonment of our subsistence or barter economies, and create a type of economic dependency upon money, pop culture, consumerism, energy resources, and the various artifacts of Western existence that have questionable value to tribal peoples. As my grandfather once said to me, "we weren't poor until we were introduced to money." How the phrase "our children are our future" was contrived I do not know. Maybe it is the Indian analog to a politician kissing babies. It is certainly a truism. After all, every one of us hopes and prays that our children will outlive us and create the future of tribal existence. But these will always be false hopes and prayers so long as we do not demand political responsibility from the federal government and our elected leaders. What can our children become when the true nature of the world is withheld from them? How can they devise a meaningful future for all of us when they are deceived by their colonial education to believe the world is different than it actually is? But it is the word "sovereignty" that lies at the heart of our darkness. It does not possess an absolute meaning for us. Its meaning is not fixed. Most Native peoples are unaware that the U.S. Supreme Court has even attempted to correct our misunderstanding of the concept by stating emphatically that what we American Indians have is more precisely a "quasi-sovereignty" - an "almost" sovereignty. Our politicians, if they even knew this, failed to let us know about it. And so, we have all labored for these many decades under a misunderstanding. We are not entitled to independence of governance over our affairs. We are always at the mercy of U.S. national interests. We do not have a set of principled governmental rights. We have a ghetto form of sovereignty. And, accordingly, when the United States attempts to live up to its "trust responsibility," we receive a ghetto form of the trust. The federal government does a very poor job of protecting us from the states and the many corporations that it often sets us up to do business with. Federal prison inmates get more money per inmate for medical services than we get from the Indian Health Service - as a class of people in the U.S. we have a status lower than convicted felons. Much of the money the U.S. spends in "fulfillment" of the trust, sadly, is promptly reimbursed every April 15, as Indian peoples (who arguably were recognized in the Constitution as being beyond federal taxation), pay their taxes. Not only do we receive inadequate educational opportunities, but the U.S. allows the rest of its citizenry to remain ignorant of our circumstances, thus perpetuating a cycle of federal neglect for conditions it has caused. A ghetto trust will exist so long as a ghetto sovereignty is all that we muster to watch over things. But this is not an incurable state of affairs. Unlike mainstream Americans, addicted as they are to simplicity, though, we must be willing to endure complex solutions. Our leaders must demand more from the federal government. Our attorneys must abandon their risk-averse philosophies of tribal representation. Our people must each be committed to a course of political expression. We must find our vision and recognize that it may take generations to fulfill it. "Sovereignty," to be restored of vigor and meaning, is about the expression of political, cultural and social desires and not about their repression. It is not about adopting tribal codes that are loose mimics of state or federal laws, but about creating institutions that reflect our Native aspirations and our humane modes of interaction. To retain true sovereignty, we must recognize that it does not exist passively, but requires constant and deliberate action. A sovereign asserts authority over its territories and the affairs of life that it deems important. It stands defiantly against those who would deny it its sovereign prerogatives. It does not let go of its past, nor of those things to which it is entitled as a matter of principle, whether it is lost land, sacred sites, lost ancestors, cultural patrimony, or, in the end, a revelation of the truth. In spite of all appearances, we live in primitive times. America has not admitted to the illegalities of our subjugation. Its terminology of conquest continues to keep us down. This is a battle of the spirit. "Sovereignty" will be meaningful so long as we will it so. ---- Judge Carey N. Vicenti, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation of northwest New Mexico, currently serves as an assistant professor of Sociology at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. He sits as a judicial official for several American Indian nations and is a columnist for Indian Country Today. Copyright c. 2004 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Commissioners refuse Charter School Endorsement" --------- Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 17:09:57 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FREEMONT COUNTY DUMPS ON FOUR WINDS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.casperstartribune.net//760eb55eef92996687256ee200029346.txt Commissioners refuse charter school endorsement LABEL: FREMONT COUNTY LANDER (AP) - Fremont County commissioners refused to endorse a charter school on the Wind River Indian Reservation because they don't believe it will boost educational or career opportunities for Native American students. At its peak, the Four Winds Charter School is expected to house 250 students in grades 9-12 whose needs aren't being met by traditional schools, according to Dallas Myers, the school's newly hired principal. But first, Four Winds needs a schoolhouse. Myers approached commissioners to request endorsement of a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state to begin phase one construction - installation of a sewer line. He told commissioners it will be difficult to secure the grant without their approval. "Why don't you fix the broken schools that are out there (on the reservation) instead of building a new one?" Commission Chairman Doug Thompson asked. Myers responded by saying that had been attempted earlier this year, that the Arapahoe school district had considered incorporating St. Stephen's School. Absorbing the school, which is run by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, which would have resulted in increased funding for St. Stephen's. However, the plan did not materialize. He told Thompson the job of traditional schools is to prepare students for college - a reality, he said, that doesn't exist for many reservation students. "We need to prepare them for the world they'll face," he said. The vocational and cultural focus of Four Winds would be more relevant, Myers said, and could help reduce the high dropout rate on the reservation, which hovers around 60 percent. "I believe this will benefit these students more than a traditional high school will," he said. "I applaud you, but you're a dreamer," Commissioner Gary Jennings said. "I'm opposed to it, and I'll tell you why: Because this is the latest in a long line of ideas that have gone nowhere." "You're only treating the symptoms. We keep throwing money at problems. We're going nowhere, except we're spending millions of dollars." Responded Myers: "The problems aren't going to get better unless we give it a shot. We can't just do nothing." He said although Four Winds will have a vocational focus, students will still be required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act to make adequate yearly progress in core academic areas - science, social studies, reading and math. The vocational fields would include construction, health and human services, metals and woods, and business. Job apprenticeship programs most likely would be part of the curriculum, Myers said. He suggested students help refurbish and construct low-income housing units for senior citizens. The Northern Arapaho Tribe has a 400-person waiting list for such homes, he noted. Thompson still wasn't convinced. "You said the majority - 80 percent - come back to the reservation," he said. "Until the reservation decides it's going to have a market-based economy, those jobs (for which Four Winds would train) won't be there. The only jobs you're going to get are government jobs. "Unfortunately, that's what most of the reservation has. It needs an economy to give people those jobs." Myers agreed that the reservation economy is limited in scope and opportunities. "A high school diploma doesn't mean much to students when they're going to do the same thing with a diploma that they'd do without one," he said. Myers said he has talked to state-tribal liaison Ivan Posey and Burl Gies of the state Department of Workforce Services about increasing economic opportunity on the reservation, giving Four Winds and other reservation school graduates something to fall back on. "There's plenty of truck-driving jobs and a lot of small business opportunity out there," he said. Myers added that the proposed Arapaho casino, under construction outside Riverton, will provide many opportunities for tribal members. He said courses related to culinary arts and casino hospitality will be offered when the casino becomes a reality. Copyright c. 2004 by the Casper Star-Tribune. Lee Publications, Inc., a subsidiary of Lee Enterprises, Inc. --------- "RE: Navajo Tribe's Emergency Fund cut" --------- Date: Tue, 27 July 2004 08:30:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SOLVENCY PROBLEMS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gallupindependent.com/072604solvency.html Tribe's emergency fund cut; solvency an issue By Jim Maniaci Dine' Bureau July 26, 2004 Navajo Council Summary WINDOW ROCK - During the 20th Council's second summer session, delegates continued their outside-the-budget raids on the Undesignated Reserve Fund for $8 million, cutting the Navajo Nation's emergency account almost in half. Although they rejected a few of the almost dozen requests to remove money from the $16.26 million starting balance, the six allocations cut the account down to $8.26 million. A few requests were reduced because the end of the fiscal year is Sept. 30, but many had riders attatched that ballooned the withdrawals. Under a tribal law which has not been met in many years, the fund is supposed to contain half the previous year's net general fund and be used to keep the central government afloat financially for six months. This year it is supposed to hold about $58 million. For the coming year the total would be more than $60 million. Immediate past Controller Bobby J. White always cautioned delegates they needed to keep at least $15 million in the account to insure solvency. Taken out were: - $1.7 million for the five soil-water conservation districts (the original request of $159,100 was reduced to $50,000) and drought control ($1.65 million) to the chapters, through the 1998 Appropriations Act's 50- 50 formula by which half the money is divided equally among the chapters and the other half is divided in proportion to population. - $2.75 million for furniture, equipment and minor repairs for the 110 chapters, distributed through the 50-50 formula. - $2 million for college scholarships. - $100,000 for Crownpoint Institute of Technology. - $150,000 for the Veterans Department to buy and build a new office for the Western Agency in Tuba City because it is losing its current space in Grey Hills Academy. - $225,000 for the "Year of the Veterans," travel to Washington, D.C., for Veterans Day and to lobby Congress for more money, a Navajo Veterans Medal, and mileage for honor guards. - $1.2 million for Toyei Industries to renovate its ancient factory. In a related matter, which will affect the net general fund beginning in fiscal year 2006, delegates reserved $7.2 million a year for Dine' College ($4.2 million), CIT ($1.5 million) and college scholarships ($1.5 million) to be taken from the gross general fund before the council approves the net general fund budget. The goal is to stabilize funding for the three entities. The general fund consists of all tribally generated revenue and its approximately $140 million each year provides about one-fourth the comprehensive budget of $500 million-$600 million. Copyright c. 2004 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Historic Dialogue between Indigenous Groups" --------- Date: Tue, 27 July 2004 08:30:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DIALOGUE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://news.pacificnews.org/~067873a3ad5b9d7c59291649b1beb72b Historic Dialogue between Indigenous Groups Voice of the Valley News Feature, Eduardo Stanley, Pacific News Service, July 26, 2004 Traduccion al espanol. FRESNO, Calif.- Approximately 100 representatives of the Otomi', Mixtec, Zapotec, Catua, Mayan, Purepecha, Mono, Comanche, Ne'huatl, Yaki, Chipua, Orepago, Keetowah, Paiute, Chumasa, Hochuak, Navajo, and Apache tribes, among others, met on July 10 and 11 in Fresno to discuss the issues of "Culture and Development" and "Territory and Mobility." The meeting was called by the Pan Valley Institute (PVI) of the American Friends Service Committee (AFCS) in conjunction with the Frente Indi'gena Oaxaqueno Binacional (FIOB), an organization of indigenous peoples residing in the Mexican state of Oaxaca and in the United States. This gathering of well- known and respected indigenous and Native American leaders was the culmination of several months of careful preparation. "To speak about culture and development is to speak about a model of deficiency: the poor are blamed for their lack of development. Third world countries have to adopt the values of industrialized nations in order to escape from poverty," said Gaspar Rivera, an active member of the FIOB and professor at the University of California at Riverside. "Because of this," he added, "you still hear expressions like `Mexicans are lazy' and `Latinos are poor because they have so many children.'" One only needs to observe Mexican farm workers in the Central Valley to disprove these stereotypes, Rivera pointed out. But, he said, the dominant culture is constantly re-inventing these myths to maintain its stronghold. "Max Weber, one of the founders of modern sociology, wrote that there is something in the Protestant concept of discipline that ascribes a high level of development to certain cultures." Rivera was referring to the German sociologist Max Weber (1864 - 1920), professor and antisocialist member of the Prussian military, whose book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905) continues to be influential today. In his book Weber states that societies that are dominated by the Protestant religion - rather than Calvinism or Catholicism - achieve great advances in capitalism, because the Protestant religion creates a rational work ethic aimed at material benefits. American neo-racism, evident in Victor Hanson's book Mexifornia (2003) and Samuel Huntington's article "The Hispanic Challenge" (2004), re- creates this myth in describing Latino culture as a threat to Anglo- Protestant values. "It isn't laziness," Rivera observed, "but social and economic inequality that impede the economic development of indigenous peoples." Ron Alec, from the Mono tribe in the Central Valley, cited different strategies based on power that are used to perpetuate divisions among Native Americans. He explained that his own tribe had stripped him of membership, which meant losing access to the land of his ancestors. "Efforts to recuperate the sacred lands of our ancestors clash with the government's bureaucratic demands and indifference," he said. He added that young people no longer speak their native languages, thereby losing one of the last elements of cultural identity. The concession of Indian casinos to different tribes throughout California was also questioned. "They only help some, but not all, of us, and they are not always used for the common good," asserted Norma Turner, who said that while many tribe members have new cars, tribes that earn money from the casinos "do not invest in the land, in our trees." Turner underscored the relationship of Native Americans with their land. "Desecration of the land and pollution are unacceptable." "Culture is not limited to dressing up in traditional costume and performing traditional dances," said Rufino Dominguez, coordinator of the FIOB. "Nor do we want to be stereotyped as the `poor little Indian.'" Marginalized communities, he said, need to create a culture of participation. "Native peoples are not respected here or in Mexico, and because of this, I believe that we must join together and take action." Some Western concepts don't address the needs or interests of Native Americans and indigenous groups, according to some attendees. The word sovereignty, for example, ironically causes rifts among different tribes. "We are called `nations,' but in reality we are no longer nations nor do we have the infrastructure characteristic of nations," said Fresno resident Marta Frausto. "In the 1930s, the United States government granted us sovereignty - the same kind of sovereignty that was given to Iraq, ," said Sacramento resident Victor Yellowhawk. "Sovereignty isn't handed out - you either have it or you don't." The discussion also focused on the arrogance of governments on both sides of the border in determining the fate and even the definition of who is considered indigenous. For the Native American attendees, the issue of immigration is of little significance, because borders were created to represent the interests of the whites. This is why Native Americans do not consider the indigenous peoples of Mexico to be immigrants. But they agreed to continue to discuss immigration issues, which are of vital importance to the thousands of Mixtecs and Zapotecs and members of other indigenous groups emigrating from Mexico to the United States. The massive migration of people across the U.S.-Mexico border is the product of an economic model - defended by Max Weber - that also put an end to the coexistence of native peoples with the land, according to Mirna Valenzuela, who is of Mayan origin. "In our homeland in Sonora, Mexico, the mining industry caused the soil to dry up, and then they left. They left us nothing." Indigenous leaders hailed the dialogue as "historic" and said they would be meeting again to form plans that will be presented publicly this coming October 12. Copyright c. 2004 Pacific News Service. --------- "RE: Report says Klamath Fishkill worse than thought" --------- Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2004 08:33:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KLAMATH FISHKILL" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.times-standard.com/~257E2896%257E2306710%2C00.html Klamath fish died from dearth of water By John Driscoll The Times-Standard July 31, 2004 Fish and Game report says water the only tool to prevent repeat of 2002 event Far more salmon may have died in the Klamath River two years ago than was previously thought, and paltry river flows are at the heart of the tragedy. The California Department of Fish and Game released its final report on the 2002 fish kill Friday. Water flows are the only tool available to agencies to prevent outbreaks of deadly fish diseases, the report reads. As many as 68,000 chinook salmon died in September 2002, according to the 183-page report, dwarfing earlier estimates of 34,000 fish. Low flows packed an above average run of fish into the lower river, allowing the diseases ich and columnaris to spread rapidly. The fish may also have been impeded by riffles too shallow to swim over, or may have lacked a cue to push upstream, the report reads. The event stung communities on the lower Klamath, and sharply affected fishing on the river and its principal tributary the Trinity River. Commercial and sport fishermen worry quotas next year may be curtailed or eliminated if the returning offspring of the 2002 fish kill are too few. Providing more water from the Klamath and the Trinity can improve temperatures, fish passage and migration cues, and break up dense concentrations of fish, reducing disease transmission, Fish and Game said. "We're talking about flows from both sides," said Steve Turek, senior environmental scientist for Fish and Game. State and federal agencies, tribes and others have begun meeting to discuss how to prevent a repeat of the 2002 fish kill this year. Some water beyond the base Klamath River flows planned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is available to send down the river, and Reclamation is buying water from Central Valley contractors to be available to send down the Trinity. What criteria would trigger the increased flows is being worked out by the agencies. The Fish and Game report recommends that Klamath flows at Orleans and Trinity flows at Hoopa combined should be 2,200 cfs in September. The report also recommends figuring out whether low flows physically block salmon from migrating, what temperatures salmon can tolerate and implementing a flow study called Hardy Phase II. Irrigators on the central Oregon and California border have railed against the preliminary findings in the Hardy report, which calls for much higher flows on the lower river. They have held that releasing warm water from upstream reservoirs on the Klamath would only harm fish. In a letter last year to Oregon and California officials and U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Dan Keppen of the Klamath Water Users Association -- which represents irrigators in Reclamation's 220,000 acre project -- said hot water and a large run of fish probably sparked the disease outbreak. But Turek said water released from the Klamath's lowermost dam, Iron Gate, in September is generally cooler than the river's estuary. He also said that salmon seem to tolerate high temperatures in the middle reaches of the Klamath. "We're not seeing massive fish kills in those areas," Turek said. But salmon can't handle being bunched together when a disease is present, he said. The state report echoes many of the conclusions of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report released last year, but is more staunch in pushing for higher flows. The draft state report was peer review by state and federal biologists, and fisheries experts from Humboldt State and Oregon State universities. Still, some biologist have concerns about boosting flows in September, especially from only the Trinity, which is cleaner and colder than the Klamath. The worry is that salmon may be stimulated to migrate early by higher flows, only to get trapped in a shallow, hot, middle Klamath River. In the long term, some are concerned that Klamath fish may begin to stray up the Trinity, changing the face of the runs in the watershed. Yurok Tribe Chairman Howard McConnell said he believes federal agencies are beginning to listen to the tribe, which warned of a fish kill in 2002. But he believes the biologists are concerned about reprisals from high levels in the Bush administration, which has strongly backed upstream farmers. And he doubts there will be a change. "We don't see them changing until we go through court," McConnell said. "We're just going to have to do that process." Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said the fish kill's effects on commercial salmon catches from Washington to San Francisco are likely to be dire. "The sad part of the equation is that the Bush administration is still showing that they don't care about the downstream communities," Thompson said. Copyright c. 2004 Times-Standard, Eureka, CA. --------- "RE: Muscoplat: Wildrice, This is a clash of Culture" --------- Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 04:21:49 EDT From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: This is a clash of culture, worldview Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/4903753.html This is a clash of culture, worldview Charles C. Muscoplat August 1, 2004 At its core, the tension around the issue of wild rice research is not about wild rice. It's about the interactions between two dramatically different cultures and worldviews - Western science and Native American. It's about respect and inclusiveness. It's about people with different perspectives all trying to do the right thing, but not agreeing on what that is. I have explored the wild rice research issue with members of the Native American community, with scientists, ethicists and others in my five years as vice president for agricultural policy and dean of the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences. There is no definitive solution. The only answer is to keep talking, working together and learning from each other. A brief history of wild rice research at the University of Minnesota may be helpful: * In the early 1950s, farmers in northeastern Minnesota asked University of Minnesota researchers if there might be a way to domesticate the wild rice that grows in northern Minnesota lakes and streams so that it could be cultivated as a new crop, providing economic stability for farm families. * Using traditional plant-breeding practices, researchers then developed varieties that could be grown and mechanically harvested in paddies. These same breeding practices have been used to develop varieties of blueberries, world famous apples such as the Honey Crisp, cold-hardy azaleas and disease-resistant soybeans. * By 1967 Minnesota farmers were growing cultivated wild rice in paddies. Our state became the nation's top producer of cultivated wild rice until it was surpassed in 1986 by California. (Average annual production of processed cultivated wild rice in Minnesota over the past five years is between 4.3 and 6.2 million pounds; in California it's between 8.8 and 18 million pounds.) A small breeding program has continued at the university since 1972. * A second focus on cereal grains research resulted in publication of the wild rice genetic map in 2000. Researchers who study corn or Asian white rice, for example, are interested in wild rice because it is closely related to these other cereal grains. Knowledge about the wild rice genome - the set of all genes in the plant - contributes to knowledge about cereal crop genetics. Researchers use "comparative" genetics more broadly in plants, animals and humans to better understand disease and key traits. It is important to note that developing the genetic map of a species - the genetic map of humans was completed in 2000, for example - is not "genetic engineering." That is, mapping is the process that identifies and locates the position of genes; it does not involve moving genes or genetic material from one plant to another. Mapping assists breeders in their traditional approach to identifying traits that make a sweeter apple, a juicer blueberry or a hardier variety of cultivated wild rice or soybean. The study of genomes opens a vast expanse of new knowledge. As we think of our place on Earth as humans, it is profoundly striking to see the genetic similarities across a range of species. The implications for science, medicine, global sustainable development, philosophy and other areas are overwhelming. And this leads me back to those larger issues that confound the discussion of wild rice research. They, too, are profound. In the Ojibwe culture, wild rice is central to the origin stories of the Ojibwe and to traditional rituals, feasts and ceremonies. Wild rice is the sacred gift from the Creator. The Ojibwe know this to be true. They need not question. Alternatively, the culture of Western science is based on questioning. Those who enter fields of science, medicine and engineering are educated, trained, evaluated and rewarded on their ability to successfully pursue the unanswered question. Nothing is accepted without the proverbial "defense" and replication of methods that are published for all to challenge. In addition, the academic culture upholds the right of an individual scientist to pursue his or her interest, as long as that effort is consistent with procedural and ethical guidelines of the university, national accreditation requirements and federal requirements. This "academic freedom" ensures that the pursuit of knowledge is not hampered or subverted by political, ideological or other special interests. But what appears to be a vast cultural chasm has not stymied the success of Native American-university partnerships across the state. Programs involving Native American community members and colleagues from tribal colleges and the university help address the ravages of diet- related chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. Education and information on nutrition and traditional foods in the diet are developed and disseminated through joint efforts. Community gardening programs support intergenerational interactions and summer programs boost learning opportunities for young people through the combination of traditional knowledge and Western science, with university faculty, local elders and others working together. Programs joint with the university, tribal colleges and other groups support Native American students as they move through their K-12 years and on to higher education. With all of our strongly positive and successful collaborations - the university and Native American groups - there remains the issue of wild rice. It is impossible to re-create the details of history, but it seems likely that, 50 years ago, Native American voices were not included in the discussions with farmers and others about developing varieties of cultivated wild rice for paddy production. In this day, we are all finding our way toward a richer, inclusive and ongoing discussion. Now, I believe the most important step is for us all to keep working together, learning from each other, pushing to appreciate the similarities between Western science and traditional knowledge, supporting our young people, and expanding our strengths and partnership successes. Together, our deep and sincere efforts to include, value and respect all parties and all cultures will ensure that our small successes continue to grow. Our unique differences can become our collective strengths. --------- "RE: America and the 'Savages'" --------- Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2004 17:13:57 -0000 From: "frostyca2000" Subj: America and the 'savages' Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian America and the 'savages' Globe and Mail By PETER McKENNA Saturday, July 31, 2004 - The American Empire and the Fourth World By Anthony J. Hall McGill-Queen's University Press, 683 pages, $49.95 While Anthony Hall's The American Empire and the Fourth World is not exactly a page-turner, it is chock-full of engaging, thought-provoking and polemical gems of wisdom. In one of many memorable lines sprinkled throughout the text, Hall bluntly declares: "Many First Nations have lived and died in the dark, genocidal shadow of manifest destiny." Very early on, Hall, who teaches history at the University of Lethbridge, establishes the fact that the celebrated American Declaration of Independence actually set the stage for relations between the U.S. government and aboriginal people. Strikingly, it refers to First Peoples as "merciless Indian savages" -- and thus non-humans without any need for recourse to the Enlightenment's cardinal principles, the rule of law and self-determination. Even though hundreds of treaties were initially negotiated with indigenous peoples, successive U.S. governments would routinely violate them in the name of progress, frontier expansionism and political expediency. Besides, as Hall regularly reminds us throughout, Indians were regarded as a primitive, godless and uncivilized lot, and the U.S. government had the power and military capacity to do what it pleased. Colonized indigenous peoples, then, had little or no say over their own fate, or how exactly they would be incorporated into this emerging American empire. But in its first 150 years, Hall points out, the United States was determined to "de-Indianize its national personality." Hall outlines the litany of injustices committed against aboriginal people in great detail: Their lands were stolen from them, they were forced to relocate to remote areas, and they were slaughtered like animals in "Indian wars." "There can be no doubt that genocide, through direct killing, ecocide, and the assimilationist strategies of cultural genocide, has been instrumental in the colonization of the Indian Country," Hall writes. One of the interesting things Hall does here is to connect the unspeakable crimes visited upon indigenous people since the conquest by Columbus in 1492 to the issues of today's so-called U.S. war on terror and the ineluctable forces of globalization. In a lengthy introduction, he suggests that the ethnic and religious prejudices underscoring the current war on terrorism have their historical genesis in the horrific treatment of aboriginal people in the United States. Hall argues that, while the "demonized other" may have changed, the proclivity to exclude, civilize and, eventually, extinguish a class of people remains eerily familiar. According to Hall, "the imagery of terrorism replaced that of savagery and communism as the main explanatory catch-all to describe the real, illusory, or manufactured enemies of the American way of life." In terms of unfettered free trade, neo-liberal orthodoxy and the onset of globalized markets, Hall makes a similar linkage to the Indian legacy of dispossession, exploitation and cultural extirpation. He wants us to remember that what is happening today as a result of globalization is precisely what happened hundreds of years ago with the expansion of the Euro-American empires into Indian territory. He discusses the destruction of animal and plant species, the privatization of the commons, corporate expansion (through extinguishing of the rights and titles of aboriginal people) and the spread of a "commercialized monoculture" (displacing a First Nations way of life). And if history is any indication, and if Hall is correct, the world's distinct peoples are doomed to a similar extinction today. To help in guiding the "informal American empire" to avoid such a calamity, the author identifies the sage philosophy of what he calls the "Fourth World," a varied range of social movements and indigenous peoples. Like today's critics of globalization, this movement presents an alternative approach to the neo-liberal prescription advanced by the world's corporate and political elite. Hall is convinced that being slaves to private property rights, to a culture of consumerism and to "possessive individualism" is not the way to go. Instead, we need to embrace the ideas and principles rooted in thousands of years of aboriginal experience and knowledge, in ecological sensitivity and horticulture, "the democracy of all life" and cultural pluralism. This book has much to offer, but it is not an easy read. Setting to one side criticism about the palpable ideological hue in the analysis, the narrative has too many stated goals and objectives. After a while, it becomes difficult to find an overarching theme or thread that neatly ties up all the loose ends. The flow of the text is also interrupted by a tendency to jump around from the past to the present and then back to the past (there is a palpable need for a good copy editor). One of Hall's telling observations is that, with the exception of Vietnam, the United States has never experienced the kind of military setback that it witnessed in the War of 1812 at the hands of the Indian Confederacy. But his main point is that the American empire needs to be mindful of an increasingly frustrated Fourth World, which is increasingly unwilling to see the world as a single "bowl with one spoon." ---- Peter McKenna is an assistant professor of political studies at the University of Prince Edward Island. --------- "RE: Judge sides with Tribes on proposed Water Spill" --------- Date: Thu, 29 July 2004 09:00:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="A WIN FOR SALMON" http://www.indianz.com/ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001991704_bpa29m.html Court ruling favors fish over more electricity from river dams By Hal Bernton Seattle Times staff reporter July 29, 2004 PORTLAND - A U.S. District Court judge yesterday barred the federal government from a first-ever attempt to reduce the summer spill that improves passage of young salmon past dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. The government had wanted to push more water through turbines - rather than over spillways - during strong summer power markets, a move that could have raised up to $28 million in additional revenue for the Bonneville Power Administration, which markets wholesale power throughout the Northwest. Young salmon migrate from freshwater spawning grounds out to ocean feeding grounds. Biologists have said flushing the salmon over spillways rather than through turbines can improve their survival rates. U.S. District Court Judge James Redden's ruling was a strong rebuke to the National Marine Fisheries Service, which had concluded that spill could be reduced beginning Aug. 1 without harming the recovery prospects for an endangered fall run of Snake River chinook salmon. And the ruling was a significant judicial affirmation of the power of the Endangered Species Act, which has propelled a multibillion-dollar effort to restore wild salmon runs around the region. "I don't want anyone to walk out of here thinking I ignored the public interest in terms of ratepayer dollars," Redden said after announcing his ruling to a courtroom packed with attorneys and representatives of federal agencies, Northwest Indian tribes and conservation groups. "It's a difficult case, but my job is to consider the Endangered Species Act and the fate of juvenile salmon." The National Marine Fisheries Service on July 1 signed off on a BPA plan to forgo the summer spill in favor of less costly measures to help the salmon. The result would have been an estimated five to 40 fewer adult endangered salmon, which since 1989 have varied from a low of 78 returning adult spawners to more than 1,000 last year. It also would mean up to 12, 000 fewer fish from runs not under federal protection, according to a federal analysis. But a coalition of tribes, conservation groups, sport fishermen and the state of Oregon challenged the federal analysis, saying that alternate measures would not offer the same level of protection to salmon. Redden agreed, calling the plan "arbitrary and capricious." And, he said that the benefits of the spill to the long-term environmental health of the region outweighed the short-term economic benefits of increased hydroelectricity production this summer. The Columbia and Snake dams are operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. The dams have been a significant cause of the decline of Northwest wild salmon, which are now outnumbered by the millions of hatchery fish that make their way down rivers each year in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Despite an upsurge in numbers in recent years, the wild fish remain far below historical peaks. Spilling water is costly, sacrificing power generation at a time when the BPA could sell the electricity to California to reduce debt and at least put a dent in the need for Northwest rate increases. The BPA provides wholesale power to 130 Northwest public utilities, including Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power and the Snohomish County Public Utility District. In October, the BPA will announce its next wholesale rate move, which could range anywhere from a 7 percent decrease to a 7 percent rate increase, according to Ed Mosley, an agency spokesman. The plan struck down by Redden would have reduced spill next month at the Ice Harbor and John Day dams on the Snake River, and the Bonneville and The Dalles dams on the Columbia. Conservationists called the ruling an important, historic victory. "I think the people in this region understand that wild salmon in their rivers are more valuable than a nickel or a dime on their electric bills," said Todd True, attorney for Earthjustice, one of the environmental groups that filed the lawsuit. Kathryn Brigham, spokeswoman for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation, called the ruling a victory for both ratepayers and tribes. "All of us have to accept responsibility, and we need to figure out how to address it cooperatively," Brigham said of salmon-recovery efforts. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com Copyright c. 2004 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: Fort ignores Indian History" --------- Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 17:09:57 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FORT LARAMIE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=0&u_pg=1638&u_sid=1162733 Fort ignores Indian history, group says July 31, 2004 FORT LARAMIE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE, Wyo. (AP) - A parks advocacy group says the history of the Plains Indians is not adequately told at Fort Laramie, even though it was one of the first bastions of white America thrust into the heart of American Indian lands in the West. "The whole, difficult story about the U.S. government and American Indians must be told at Fort Laramie," said Patti Borneman, Northern Rockies Program coordinator for the National Parks Conservation Association. Established as an outpost for trading furs with tribes in 1834, Fort Laramie was later a refueling stop for emigrants and a military post during the Indian Wars. A report from the conservation association recommends the Park Service establish relationships with tribes that were affected by the fort, and in particular, the Fort Laramie treaties of 1851 and 1868. The report suggests doing so would allow the agency to better understand and interpret for the public the considerable influence of Fort Laramie on the fate of Indian tribes. Copyright c. 2004 Omaha World-Herald. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Lewis & Clark: It's no Celebration to some" --------- Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 02:48:30 EDT From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: It's no celebration to some Mailing List: NDNAIN http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=3D0&u_pg=3D1638&u_sid=3D1163784 It's no celebration to some BY PAUL HAMMEL WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER August 1, 2004 FORT ATKINSON STATE PARK, Neb. - Don't call what is happening here this weekend a "celebration" around an American Indian. There are still many negative feelings about Lewis and Clark's arrival in this area 200 years ago. "It was the death knell for the traditional way of life," said Kevin Locke, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation is in northern South Dakota. "It was the beginning of the end - look at what they did to us," said Sandra Little of Oglala, S.D., a direct descendant of the Sioux holy man Sitting Bull. Locke and Little were among the American Indians performing Saturday at the Corps of Discovery Festival. The site was chosen because the explorers had their first council with Plains Indians on a high bluff - "council bluff" - on Aug. 3, 1804. The site, 15 miles north of Omaha, later became Fort Atkinson. "Commemoration" rather than "celebration" was chosen to avoid offending native people. Many view Lewis and Clark as the first representatives of the American government to promise peace, a promise that rang hollow in a rush of gold prospectors and homesteaders. "History books don't tell the truth," said Little, a 60-something "unci" (Lakota for "grandmother"). "They massacred our people and called it a battle," she said, referring to the killing of more than 250 Sioux at Wounded Knee, S.D., just a few miles from Little's home. Yet, the mixed feelings of Little, a dancer with the Lakota Heritage Society, didn't deter her or 27 others in her dance group from performing at the Lewis and Clark event. "This is one country and one people," said another dancer, Sedric Young Bear Sr. of Porcupine, S.D. "Maybe other people don't believe that, but I do. "It's not the end," he said. "We're still here." The commemoration, Young Bear said, can help reconcile the red and white cultures. "To me, it's an educational experience, and we need to share that," said Gloria Little, of Red Shirt, S.D., the president of the Lakota Heritage Society. "We are survivors." So, under a blistering sun, the dancers, in face paint and wearing buckskins, performed a buffalo dance - a thank-you dance after a successful hunt - near a group of tepees. Nearby, on a huge performance stage, the contemporary Indian group, Brul'e, performed its New Age-style music to the thudding beat of a huge drum. Later, on the same stage, Locke, of Wakpala, S.D., performed a colorful hoop dance and played the flute. He also related his vision of the "hoop of life" that includes all people. Locke said it was probably inevitable that the Sioux and other Plains tribes would eventually clash with whites. The story of the conquest of native peoples, he said, has been repeated across the globe. Performing at the festival, Locke said, allowed him to connect with people and share part of his culture. "We have a whole new frontier to conquer, and that's peace," he said. Contact the Omaha World-Herald newsroom Copyright c. 2004 Omaha World-Herald=AE. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Native Americans honor God with Prayers, Dance" --------- Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2004 08:33:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVE SPIRITUALITY & CATHOLICISM" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.borderlandnews.com//20040731-149568.shtml Native Americans honor God with prayers, dance Leonard Martinez El Paso Times Borderland Saturday, July 31, 2004 It's common to see aspects of Native American spirituality incorporated into Masses in the Gallup, N.M., Catholic diocese. "After the Communion, an eagle dance is performed," said the Rev. Donald Pelotte, bishop of the Diocese of Gallup. "It's a prayer of praise to the creator, which also asks for strength and direction. It's very common in my diocese to have this kind of regular integration." Integrating Native American spirituality with Catholicism is one of the topics of the 65th annual Tekakwitha Conference this week in El Paso. About 1,000 Native American Catholics from the around United States and Canada are expected to attend the conference. Some Native Americans are hesitant about including their spirituality with Catholicism, said Pelotte, whose father was of the Abenaki tribe. His diocese ministers to seven tribes. Pelotte said that Vatican Council 2 in the 1960s made a strong effort to use native cultures in Catholic teachings. "For the last 20 years or so, the work of the conference has been to encourage, to persuade our native people you can be Catholic and Navajo. You can be Catholic and Tigua. It's OK." Pelotte said the change has not happened overnight. "For so long, native people were told by missionaries and priests and even family members the two couldn't be mixed -- that native spirituality was pagan," Pelotte said. Theodore Suina of the Cochiti Pueblo in northern New Mexico said his tribe usually has a big celebration as part of Christmas, and then a few days later, has Native American celebration dances. They also have feasts in honor of saints, followed by Native American dances. "Everyone accepts the combined culture," Suina said. "They (church officials) encourage us not to forget our culture." Paul Mullen, now living in Alabama but part of the Colville Reservation of Washington state, said it wasn't until later in life that he became reacquainted with his Native American culture and integrated it with his Catholicism. "It's very important all Native Americans keep their spirituality and carry it in our hearts and see how God wants us to live," Mullen said. "He made it for all the races. He didn't say, 'Do this thing, Native Americans, and Irish, you do it this way.' " Spirituality and Catholicism have been combined throughout the conference this week. After workshops Friday at the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, Apache war dancers from the Mescalero Apache Tribe danced in front of the Ysleta Mission. Today the conference will feature "smudging," in which sweetgrass is burned to ashes in pottery with coals. An eagle feather is then used to sweep the ashes into the air to bless the altar and people. Pelotte said the smudging is used in some churches in his diocese in place of incense usually used for the same purpose in traditional Catholic Masses. Although more and more Native American Catholics are accepting the notion that spirituality and Catholicism can work together, some non- -Catholics don't accept that, Pelotte said. "In my early days at the diocese, we had begun to use the liturgical dance and use smudging," Pelotte said. "Across the yard there was a group of non-Catholic natives hissing and booing. I was taken off guard. Many of the native Catholics said they had relatives who were on the other side of the yard. The non-Catholics said the two can't be integrated." Leonard Martinez may be reached at lmartinez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6152. Copyright c. 2004 El Paso Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Indian Movement loses way in Ecuador" --------- Date: Sun, 1 Aug 2004 02:45:20 EDT From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Indian movement loses way in Ecuador Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/2711325 Indian movement loses way in Ecuador After quick jump in power, groups lost momentum By BRENDA SEMPERTEGUI July 31, 2004, 6:55PM Reuters News Service A POOR LAND Ecuador statistics: * Population : 12 million * Poverty rate : 60 percent QUITO, ECUADOR - After ousting one government in a coup then serving a short spell as coalition partners in the current administration, Ecuador's once mighty Indian movement has lost its way. In a nation weary of upheaval, it has little popular support, and internal divisions have weakened its decade-old fight for the poor and those living in the poor countryside. A movement which in 2000 drew thousands of peasant marchers from the mountains into the capital Quito to help oust President Jamil Mahuad, was barely able to muster small crowds for anti-government protests this year. Leonidas Iza, president of the National Indian Federation for nearly three years, admits something is wrong. "It's like the car was left without a driver," he said. Ecuador's Indian movement is still among the most powerful in Latin America and has ties to groups in Peru and Bolivia. It became a major force in the 1990s, protesting to gain land rights and fighting tough economic policies backed by the International Monetary Fund. Indians formed a political party called Pachakutik, "new era" in the indigenous language Quichua. Pachakutik began winning local elections, giving Indians a visible face in government after centuries of discrimination by elites of European and mixed-race descent and now has several seats in Congress. Pachakutik is made up of the National Indian Federation, peasant groups and left-wing social movements. Losing steam But analysts say Indian leaders lost support as a result of their role in expelling Mahuad when their uprising received support from a group of army officers, including current President Lucio Gutierrez. Later, the movement's popularity took another blow because of the way Pachakutik first supported current President Lucio Gutierrez's election campaign in 2002 and then left his government in protest over austere economic policies. "These (two events) have weakened them enormously and given them a negative evaluation across the country," said Simon Pachano, political analyst at Quito's FLACSO University. Ecuadoreans especially are tired of political crises after seeing two presidents toppled in popular revolts since 1997. And the improving economy has made Ecuadoreans reluctant to take to the streets. The Andean nation's economy has grown steadily for the past four years and is poised for a fifth year of expansion in 2004 while inflation has slowed since the government adopted the U.S. dollar as its currency... a move Indians opposed. A time of change Without new leadership, analysts say, the indigenous movement faces a grim outlook in the near future. Iza's term at the head of the federation is expected to end in October. "There needs to be a serious renewal: returning to proposals for political reform and rethinking strategies for protest," said Fernando Garcia, a FLACSO anthropologist. Pachakutik could face a litmus test in local elections in October. Together with Iza's federation, it faces a battle with Gutierrez, who has sought ties with marginal Amazon Indian and Christian indigenous organizations in a "divide and conquer" strategy. But so long as Gutierrez stays committed to austere fiscal policies that are unpopular with the poor and a free trade deal with the United States, the federation says it will continue to fight. --------- "RE: Seigneury File: Canada admits to Seven Breaches" --------- Date: Thu, 29 July 2004 09:00:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MOHAWK LAND CLAIM" http://www.easterndoor.com/vol13/26.html Seigneury File Entering Nine-Month Exploratory Phase By: Greg Horn July 16, 2004 After many years the beginning of the negotiations into Kahnawake's Seigneury of Sault St. Louis land claim could be in sight. The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake and the federal government agreed to enter into a nine-month exploratory phase that would see the development of a specific process designed at dealing with Kahnawake's unique claim. "It's a big step in the right direction," Grand Chief Michael Delisle said. In 1995, the MCK submitted to the federal government the results of research relating to this historic land grievance. It took the federal government five years to respond with its legal opinion regarding the Kahnawake Seigneury Claim. In this legal opinion, Canada admitted to seven "breaches of lawful obligation." These breaches the Canadian government admitted to are: 1. The land was never surrendered; 2. The Mohawks were never properly compensated for loss of land; 3. The Treaty of Oswegatchie should have protected Mohawk land; 4. Rents were never properly collected; 5. Boundaries were not properly surveyed; 6. There was no compensation for loss of two islands, and; 7. The western boundary was never properly surveyed to include the concession from the Gray Nuns. Four years later, negotiations still haven't started mainly because a process could not be agreed upon on how this issue will be dealt with. Currently, Canada has two processes for dealing with land claims - specific and comprehensive. Specific claims used to deal with Canada's breach or non-fulfillment of lawful obligations found in treaties, agreements or statutes (including the Indian Act). Comprehensive claims deal with "unextinguished Aboriginal rights where no treaty has been signed." Since Kahnawake's Seigneury claim deals with aspects from both processes, it doesn't fit in either and is considered a special claim. On June 9 former Grand Chief Joe Norton, current Grand Chief Delisle, Sault St. Louis co-ordinator Frank Vieni and Alwyn Morris met with the assistant Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs. At this meeting three things were agreed upon. Both Canada and Kahnawake agreed that Canada will be at the negotiation table during aspects of the Quebec/Kahnawake Relations negotiations on issues that Canada is involved in, sich as policing. Both parties also agreed on a process for dealing with Kahnawake priority issues. They also consented to enter into a nine-month exploratory phase on the Seigneury issue. Delisle said he is pleased that the federal government, through the Department of Indian Affairs, has finally acknowledged, both in person and in writing, to the MCK that the Seigneury file is special and does not fit into Canada's two land claim systems One of the factors taken into consideration when the nine-month process was decided on was Kanehsatake. Both the federal and provincial governments have been busy dealing with the Kanehsatake situation, and public opinion in the area has not been very favourable. Unfortunately, this public opinion has spilled over to include all Mohawk people. Therefore, it was felt that the political climate was not right for the government to announce that it would be entering into land claims negotiations with the Mohawks of Kahnawake that could be, with cash and real estate, worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Over the next nine months, a Kahnawake model for dealing with land claims will be developed. During this phase, Kahnawake will be developing what it believes a final agreement could look like. When it becomes time to negotiate, each government (MCK and the federal and provincial governments) needs to give their negotiators clear mandates to deal with the issues at hand. Vieni said that any agreement for land that is reached cannot affect current landowners with the Seigneury, because they now have title to the land. Even though title to the land was given illegally, beginning with the King of France, current landowners are not at fault, Vieni said. Any agreement that is reached would ideally deal with all past issues between Kahnawake and Quebec and Canada, Vieni said. From that point on, a new relationship will exist between the three governments. Once negotiations begin, there are several issues that need to be dealt with. One is how any agreements will be ratified and who is affected by it. Since there is a discrepancy between Kahnawake's list and Canada's list of who Kahnawake Mohawks are, there will need to be some negotiations done in relation to this issue. Vieni said that another issue is how is Canada going to sell any potential agreement to the Canadian public when Canada cannot find enough money for health care. The MCK was also clear to point out that the Seigneury claim in no way affects or prejedices any future Mohawk Nation land claim. Delisle also stressed that the negotiations have not yet begun. The next nine months will deal strictly with the development of the process that will be used for the negotiations. Delisle also said that the community will be updated frequently on the developments in the Seigneury file. Copyright c. 1997-2004 The Eastern Door. --------- "RE: Fish feud looming" --------- Date: Tue, 27 July 2004 08:30:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BC FISH WAR" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/~3519AA32-1E6F-4B2B-A21C-05331BD37DCB Fish feud looming between B.C. aboriginals and commercial fishermen DIRK MEISSNER Canadian Press July 26, 2004 VICTORIA (CP) - The first net has yet to be cast in British Columbia's valuable Fraser River salmon season, but the insults between aboriginal and non-aboriginal fishing organizations are flying fast following a recent court ruling that upheld natives' right to fish for profit. Ottawa was accused Monday of sanctioning a race-based fishery that allows aboriginals to fish for valuable sockeye salmon while non- aboriginal fishermen are forced to stay home. But a spokesman for an aboriginal tribal group said comments about a race-based fishery by the B.C. Fisheries Survival Coalition neglect to consider that aboriginals have been fishing the Fraser River for 10,000 years. "It's not a race-based fishery, it's a place-based fishery," said Ken Malloway, a spokesman for the Sto:lo Nation fishery. "We've been in this place for 10,000 years," he said. "We've always made a living off of our fishery. We were here first and we were making a living off our fishery when the first Europeans got here." Phil Eidsvik, fisheries survival coalition spokesman, said he intends to be in court Wednesday filing an appeal of the ruling two weeks ago that allows aboriginals to fish for food and profit on the Fraser River, while other fishermen can't. "It's evil," he said. "The idea that race is going to determine who can go to work on a given day is odious. It's terrible. It's outrageous." Non-aboriginal commercial fishermen are expected to get the first opportunity Tuesday to catch the early runs of sockeye salmon in the lower Fraser River near Vancouver. Aboriginals are then expected to be given a chance to fish for sockeye in the same spots later in the week. A Department of Fisheries and Oceans spokesman said the federal government and Fraser River area aboriginal bands are on the brink of signing agreements that will allow aboriginals to fish sockeye for food and profit. The signing of the deals are "hours away," said Don Radford, the Pacific's acting regional manager of fisheries management. They come after the B.C. Supreme Court ruled July 12 that a native-only commercial fishery program has serious flaws but doesn't discriminate against non-native fishermen. The decision meant the reinstatement of charges against 140 non-natives accused of illegally hooking salmon during one of numerous protest fisheries by non-natives over the years. A controversial program which allows aboriginals access to the waters to fish for commercial purposes on certain days of the season was cancelled last summer when a lower court ruled it was discriminatory. But in his ruling, Justice Donald Brenner disagreed, saying the plight of aboriginals across Canada must be considered. They are a disadvantaged group, he said, suffering significant unemployment and poverty. Their take in the pilot sales is a fraction of what the non-native commercial fishermen haul to market, Brenner said. Malloway said the profit side of the salmon fishery could provide Sto:lo aboriginals with up to 850 jobs and net band members a total of $2.5 million this summer. "Roughly half of our allocation will be up for sale," he said. "It will be 150,000 to 175,000 sockeye." Aboriginal fishermen are expected to be on the Fraser River either Thursday or Friday, he said. Non-aboriginal fishermen are expected to be on the Fraser River Tuesday. "The (non-aboriginal fishermen) go out first," said Malloway. "They're the trigger. Once they go out, then we're allowed to go. I could see how they would say it's not fair if we went out two or three days before them." Eidsvik said the fisheries coalition is considering some form of protest on days non-aboriginal fishermen aren't permitted on the river, but wouldn't elaborate. "They seem to say they are back to having a race-based commercial fishery in which their fishery will open on certain days for a select number of aboriginal bands and every other Canadian, including members of other aboriginal bands, will have to stay tied to the beach," he said. The aboriginals and survival coalition agree on one thing: the salmon fishery issue is heading for the Supreme Court of Canada. Radford said the difference between the new Fisheries program and others is the new one will break up the aboriginal food and profit fishery into separate times. Aboriginals will be permitted to fish for food and ceremonial stocks on one opening, while other times will be set aside for a profit fishery, he said. The sockeye run lasts about three weeks. Copyright c. 2004 The Canadian Press. --------- "RE: Vigil shows support for Keepness Family" --------- Date: Wed, 28 July 2004 08:54:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MISSING GIRL: TAMRA KEEPNESS" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.canada.com/~id=fb23f13f-e5a7-41e9-a147-6c962112f3b1 Vigil shows support for Keepness family Canadian Press July 27, 2004 REGINA (CP) - Three weeks after five-year-old Tamra Keepness disappeared from her Regina home, close to 70 people turned out for a candlelight vigil in Regina's Wascana Park Monday night to show their support for Tamra and her family. Some parents pushed infants in strollers, while others held onto young children. Maxine MacPherson and co-workers at Saskatchewan Property Management Corp. organized the event. "We wanted to do something and bring the community together to send out a positive energy and love to Tamra and her family," McPherson said. "It's just the aching for everything that's going on. Pam Burns, a teacher whose students are around Tamra's age, was among the participants. "To me it's hope," she said as the group prepared for a silent march through the park. "It's a burning light of hope. With every day that we get up, it's the first thing that's on our mind. We think about her. We hope that this will be the day that she will be returned safely." Tamra was last seen on the night of July 5, when she was going to bed at her inner-city home. Extensive searches by police, civilians and volunteers have turned up nothing. Meanwhile, police have ruled out a connection between the case of a missing girl and a burned-up Volkswagen van that had been reported stolen the day her disappearance was reported. "If we get new information that changes that, we'll look at it (the van), but we don't have anything that connects it right now," police spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich said Monday. In an effort to follow up on anything that might be a clue, police asked the public last week to look out for a Saskatchewan licence plate reading 161 CDP, which was stolen from a Regina vehicle sometime between 11:30 p.m. July 4 and 7:30 a.m. July 5. "It's close enough to the time frame (of the last sighting of Tamra) and it's a question mark that can't be answered until it's been found," said Popowich. "There might have been events leading up to (Tamra's disappearance)." A thorough investigation of the badly damaged 1973 Volkswagen van RCMP recovered from the Fort Qu'Appelle area gives police no reason to believe the vehicle is connected to Tamra. The van was reported stolen July 6. Tamra was reported missing from her Ottawa Street home the same day. Police are still seeking a red 1989 GMC 1500 truck with silver sides that was stolen that day. Copyright c. 2004 The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon). --------- "RE: Keepness Family prays for Tamra's safe return" --------- Date: Fri, 30 July 2004 08:31:59 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TAMRA KEEPNESS" http://www.indianz.com/ http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=tamra_prayers040729 Keepness family prays for Tamra's safe return July 29, 2004 REGINA - While police continue their investigation for a missing Regina girl, her family is appealing to another power. Around 100 people marched with candles Tuesday night in a park just a short distance from the house where Tamra Keepness disappeared. The five-year-old girl has been missing since July 5. Her mother, Lorena Keepness, said a prayer for the officers who continue to look for her daughter. "I pray, Lord, just to have your hand on the police officers, Lord. I pray that they will come across a clue, Lord, that will find her safe and sound, and bring her home." Dozens of police officers are still working on the case, but Regina Police Chief Cal Johnston admits progress has been slow. "We have more than one working theory and we continue to work at either disproving or proving it as the evidence leads us," says Johnston. He says police receive daily tips about the missing girl. Officers have collected DNA samples from several people, and police are still looking for Saskatchewan licence plate 161-CDP. It was stolen from a car the night before Tamra disappeared. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Second missing Child in Regina" --------- Date: Wed, 28 July 2004 08:54:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MISSING BOY: SHELDON BLACKSIOUX" http://www.indianz.com/ http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=blacksouix040727 Second missing child in Regina July 27, 2004 REGINA - Police in Regina are looking for another missing child. Sheldon Blacksioux, 11, has not been home since noon on July 23. Police say he's about four-feet-10-inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. Blacksioux was last seen leaving his home in Regina's Glencairn neighbourhood, wearing jean shorts, a red tank top and black shoes. A five-year-old girl is also missing. Tamra Keepness disappeared from her home in central Regina on the night of July 5. Police say the two cases do not appear to be related. People are asked to contact the Regina Police Service at 777-6500 if they have any information about either missing child. Copyright c. 2004 CBC. --------- "RE: Oglala Sioux Police facing major Funding Loss" --------- Date: Tue, 27 July 2004 08:3