_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 042 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 October 16, 2004 Yuchi Tsotohostane/corn ripening moon Blackfeet Sa'aiksi itaomatooyi/moon when ducks leave +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; NDNAIM, Indigenous Peoples Literature and Big Mountain Mailing Lists; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "We must step forward. We must speak loudly. We must call attention to our situation and show this situation up for what it truly is - a direct attack and desecration of our traditional areas where we hunt, fish and food-gather." __ Nora DeWitt, Vice President of the Organized Village of Saxman, speaking against the Gravina Island timber sales. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Thursday, September 30, I sent out a notice to several individuals and groups that have supported winter needs. I am sharing that notice with all readers and asking you to please let this space help you help our Peoples. ---- Greetings This brief email is being sent as winter nears. I distribute a newsletter, Wotanging Ikche; and each year before winter sets in through the first of January I run names, addresses and needs of our elders and children throughout Indian Country. I don't draw any lines such as rez/urban. If there is a need, it's included. Send the contact name, address, phone, email, website (or as much as you can) Include the need (clothing, toys for kids, food, fuel money...) If there is a limited run (like now to two weeks before Christmas) include that. Send your information to: gars@speakeasy.net Please make the subject: WINTER HELP (all caps) Get this information to me as soon as you can. Spread the word. I will also copy whatever I run in Wotanging Ikche to some of the Mailing Lists I'm on, like RezLife, NDNAIM, Rez_LIfe, FrostysAmerIndian... Thanks, gary ---- =================================== The first response came from our Mohawk brother, Frosty Deere. It is an important need to those Mohawk who call Kahnawake home. Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 19:52:51 -0400 From: "Frosty" Subj: Re: Winter Needs Rez & Urban http://www.tewateiahsatakaritat.com/pool/ Maybe you could include the above address, it explains everything. The Kahnawake Pool Project What happened to the Current pool? Its old, out dated, broken and cant be used in the middle of winter. How can people help? Well you can either buy a raffle ticket, donate money, or help find people to donate money for the pool. How can I help ? Well their are number of ways, one is just send a dollar to Indoor Pool Project, Box 821, Kahnawake Quebec J0L-1B0. Take a collection where you work. Get the company where you work to donate. Spread the word to as many people you know that can afford a dollar or more. Contacts: MacKenzie Whyte E-mail Address: Ronald Deere aka Frosty mackenziew@mck.ca E-mail Address(es): frosty@frostys.qc.ca Lou Ann Stacey frosty@kahonwes.com E-mail Address: louanns@mck.ca =================================== Date: Sunday, October 10, 2004 04:16 pm From: Lisa Mailing List: NDNAIM Greetings everyone, Happy Fall ! The cooler weather is setting in. Elections are next month, get out an vote. We still need to believe that our votes count. Two important votes next month, not only for the U.S. President but for all you Pine Ridge tribal members your presidential election. "VOTE" TOY DRIVE : Leonard wanted us to kick off the x-mas toy drive for Oglala. Grandmother Roselyn will be hosting this event again this year. "NEW" toys will be accepted for children of all ages. Clothing items that are always needed such as socks, stocking caps, gloves, shoes and underware (new) will be given to the Loneman School Nurse to be given on a "needed" basis. Roselyn says there are many children who come to school in the middle of a South Dakota winter wearing sandels. So the school nurse will be able to handle these items better as needed. Roselyn will also accept Wal-Mart and K-mart gift cards. These will help with specific items that she can purchase. Everything should be mailed directly to Roselyn's house. Roselyn Jumping Bull PO Box 207 Oglala, SD 57764 (605) 867-2231 (Note: FYI: Grandmother Roselyn's will be celebrating a birthday in Nov. I could be off on this a day but I think it is Nov 15, and she will be 74.) Dohiyi Ani 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 ---------- - Indian Health Agency - PK Code of Conduct barred New-Voter Drive for Public Consultation - Bingaman chides IHS, Thompson - Native Groups slam Gravina Logging - 200 Protesters arrested - Happy hunting for Metis at Columbus Day Parade - Details scarce - National Native American on new Aboriginal Health Funding Veteran's Day - This Mold House: - Stockbridge-Munsee A Community at risk to appeal Size Ruling - Editorial: - Gathering opposes Youth Detention Horror must end Nuclear Waste Storage - BIA blamed for - Blackfeet welcome breaches of 'Humane' Jail Decree in Hurricane-tossed Florida - Violent crime on Rez plunges - Bison-hunt protests promised - FBI investigating death - Development grows at Rocky Boy Jail at Indian Reservations - Inmate death puzzles Family - Rules lapse for collection - Indian Teen could face of N.Y. Indian Taxes Death Penalty for Murder - Review Journal: - National Native American ENERGY ISSUES: Power struggle Veteran's Day - The First Indian ever - Native Prisoner to go to College -- Native American - DOREEN YELLOW BIRD: Volunteers needed In the Realm of the Spirits -- Interpreters Give Voice - Native American Indian Songs to the Indigenous - New Lakota Times - History: Carlisle Indian School - Mohawk Tribes announce - Rustywire: It is Morning Land Claim Settlement - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Kahnawa':ke Membership Law - Spiritdove Poem: comes into force My Beloved Husband --------- "RE: Indian Health Agency barred New-Voter Drive" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 08:27:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IHS STOPS VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE" http://www.washingtonpost.com//A9946-2004Oct5.html?sub=AR Indian Health Agency Barred New-Voter Drive Democrats Question Motive of Decision to Ban Registration on Federal Property By Jo Becker Washington Post Staff Writer October 6, 2004 Officials at a federal program that runs hospitals and clinics serving Native Americans this summer prohibited employees from using those facilities to sign up new voters, saying that even nonpartisan voter registration was prohibited on federal property. Staff members at several Indian Health Service hospitals and clinics in New Mexico, a presidential battleground state where about one-tenth of the population is Native American, were trying to register employees, patients and family members who use the facilities. In a July e-mail, Ronald C. Wood, executive officer of the program's regional Navajo office, told his hospital and clinic directors that "we are in a very sensitive political season" and outlined a policy that he said came from Indian Health Service headquarters. "There have been recent questions about whether we can do nonpartisan voter registration drives in our IHS facilities during non-duty hours," Wood wrote. "The guidance from HQs staff is that we should not allow voter registration in our facilities or on federal property." Several of those involved in the registration effort questioned what they saw as a double standard, given that the federal government encourages registration on military bases, where voters traditionally have favored Republicans. Democrats and civil rights groups yesterday said they had been unaware of the directive and were concerned that the motive was partisan. Native Americans have become an important constituency for Democrats. "Why should it be permissible to conduct voter registration on one type of federal facility - military bases - but not on another?" asked Elliott Mincberg, legal director at the People for the American Way Foundation. The Indian Health Service, a program under the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement yesterday that outside groups are not prohibited to register voters at IHS facilities. As to Wood's instruction to the program's employees, the statement said: "No IHS employee will be registering voters as part of his or her official duties." Wood did not return phone calls, but in his e-mail he referred employees' questions to Jeanelle Raybon, director of the IHS office on integrity and ethics. Raybon declined to clarify the agency's statement or answer questions about whether Wood's instructions reflected IHS policy. She would say only that employees are expected to follow the Hatch Act. That law restricts partisan activity by federal workers but does not speak to nonpartisan registration drives. A 1992 memo by the General Services Administration, which controls federal buildings, authorizes voter registration on federal property. Defense Department spokesman Glenn Flood said that service members must comply with the Hatch Act but that the military encourages them to take part in registering others "on or off-base," so long as the activity is nonpartisan and does not interfere with official duties. Joseph E. Sandler, general counsel for the Democratic National Committee, said that the Hatch Act does not apply in this case and that he plans to investigate the matter. Also yesterday, the DNC outlined an aggressive legal strategy it says is needed to protect minority voters from intimidation at the polls. It unveiled an ad to air on African American radio stations implying that President Bush cares only about getting white voters to the polls. Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, the first black Republican elected statewide in Maryland, rebutted that charge. Both the GOP and the administration want to get out the vote, he said, "black or white." Several Bush administration agencies have been criticized after taking steps to block or question other registration efforts. The Homeland Security Department sought to block a nonpartisan group from registering new citizens outside a Miami naturalization ceremony in August. The Justice Department has launched inquiries into new registrations submitted by Democratic-leaning groups in several key states. Democrats say the probes are politically motivated. Copyright c. 2004 The Washington Post Company. --------- "RE: Bingaman chides IHS, Thompson" --------- Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2004 21:35:18 EDT From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Bingaman chides IHS, Thompson Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_14546.shtml Bingaman chides IHS, Thompson By The Daily Times October 9, 2004 WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman chided Health and Human Services for prohibiting the use of Indian Health Service facilities for voter registration recently. Bingaman told Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson Friday that he is concerned about an Indian Health Service policy that prevented nonpartisan voter registration drives from happening on their premises. According to the Washington Post in a story that ran Friday, the IHS ruled that none of their hospitals and clinics could be used for voter registration efforts because such a move would have been in violation of a federal law that prevents federal workers from using government resources for partisan work. However, Bingaman pointed out to Thompson that voter registration takes place regularly on U.S. military bases, and if done in a nonpartisan way it should also be allowed at IHS facilities. In his letter, Bingaman wrote: "It is well-known that the Defense Department has undertaken efforts to make sure that as many of its employees are registered to vote and participate in next month's elections as are eligible to do so. The Defense Department's efforts, like those proposed by Indian Health Agency employees, are designed to increase citizen involvement in one of the most important elections in our history. These are admirable goals that should be encouraged, not prohibited." Bingaman asked Thompson to expeditiously issue a directive that makes it clear IHS will not prohibit nonpartisan voter registration from taking place at IHS facilities in the future. "Changing course so close to Election Day won't have an impact on voter registration in Indian Country this year, but it will send a consistent message about the conditions under which voter registrations can take place at federal facilities," Bingaman said. Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: 200 Protesters arrested at Columbus Day Parade" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 08:41:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DENVER PARADE FOR MURDERER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2457763,00.html 200 protesters arrested at Columbus Day parade 600 cops keep order amid peaceful demonstration By Karen Rouse and Monte Whaley Denver Post Staff Writers October 10, 2004 More than 200 protesters were arrested on charges of loitering and disobeying orders Saturday during a peaceful demonstration against the annual Columbus Day parade in downtown Denver. The arrests of 205 adults and 25 juveniles was no surprise. Members of the American Indian Movement of Colorado, which organized the protest, had promised that members were prepared to be arrested. "We're going in the street," AIM member Glenn Morris told protesters on the steps of the Capitol, where the rally kicked off Saturday morning. "Those of us prepared to go to jail will stay." All those arrested were given citations and dates to appear in court, then were released. About 500 marched against the Columbus Day parade, which was organized by the Sons of Italy-New Generation. Protesters argue that Columbus was a rapist who orchestrated the genocide of thousands of Native American people through colonialism. His name should be removed from the parade, they said. But members of the Sons of Italy-New Generation, which obtained a city permit to hold the parade, said they were within their right to continue using references to Columbus as they celebrated their Italian heritage. Parade organizer and Sons of Italy-New Generation founder George Vendegnia said the protest would not thwart the annual showing of Italian pride. "It will just get bigger and bigger," he said. "There ain't no stopping us now." But he admitted there was frustration that protesters were able to stall the parade for more than an hour. The protesters marched from the Capitol, through downtown, and stopped at 19th and Blake streets - the middle of the parade route. The protesters linked arms and knelt in the street. When they refused orders to leave, police escorted them to Sheriff's Office buses parked along 19th Street. Other protesters cheered loudly for each arrest. The Rev. Reginald Holmes, president of the Greater Denver Ministerial Alliance, a coalition of black churches, said he was standing alongside the American Indians because he realizes "there is not much difference between the reservation and the plantation." Columbus "should be remembered, not celebrated," he said. "We can't (celebrate) one who committed genocide for your people and for mine." Nearly 600 Denver police officers lined the route, many of them dressed in riot gear. Shortly after 11:30 a.m., with most of the protesters removed, the parade started. Others who were not arrested remained along the route, many of them exchanging insults with participants in the Columbus Day parade. Vintage cars, motorcycles and silver-haired ladies carrying Italian flags made their way down Blake Street. Several who came out to enjoy the parade said they were irritated. "This is the only parade they pick on, and I'm just getting sick of it," said Mickie Lava-Clayton. "When I moved here in 1953 I thought Denver was a utopia. But not anymore, because Denver has become anti-Italian." Steve Antonuccio called the protest a "scripted event." Antonuccio said he supports the Indians' right to protest, "but when they interfere with our rights to have a parade, that's when I have a problem." Buoyed by the strong police presence, the parade passed without incident. ---- Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-820-1684 or at krouse@denverpost.com. Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 303-726-8674 or at mwhaley@denverpost.com. Copyright c. 2004 The Denver Post or other copyright holders. --------- "RE: National Native American Veteran's Day" --------- Date: Sat, 09 Oct 2004 21:01:49 -0400 From: Janet Smith Subj: proposed holiday Rick Renzi of Arizona has put a bill on the floor of the House of Representatives suggesting Nov. 7 as a National Native American Veteran's Day. An article about it is in today's Farmington Daily News The Navajo have apparently been lobbying hard for the Congress to honor Navajo soldiers, and this was the outcome. Don't know if it will pass...but Renzi's from the majority party, which is worried about the Indian vote, and so far as I can tell, it doesn't require any significant budget, so it may have a chance. http://www.daily-times.com/artman/publish/article_14541.shtml Congress passes bill recognizing American Indian veterans By Valarie Lee/The Daily Times October 9, 2004 WASHINGTON - Less than three weeks after members of the Navajo Nation Council's Human Services Committee and staff from the Navajo Nation Washington Office met with senators and representatives to lobby on behalf of Navajo Veterans, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Concurrent Resolution 306. The bill, which passed on Tuesday, honors the service of American Indians in the United States Armed Forces. Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., introduced the bill that suggests Nov. 7, a date during the National Native American Heritage Month, as the National American Indian Veterans Day. Renzi, speaking on the House Floor in support of House Concurrent Resolution 306, stated, "It is a privilege to stand before the House today to recognize our Nation's Native American veterans ... Today in the communities on the Navajo Nation, (Navajo Code Talkers) are revered and are respected elders among the entire Navajo Nation because of their service to this country ... I rise today to give them our respect and the honor due from this Nation to those Native American veterans, whom we are so grateful and appreciative of their service." In the spirit of true bipartisanship, Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., also spoke in support of the bill. "(Navajo Code Talkers) risked their lives for our freedom at a time when some considered them second-class citizens," Udall said. "This concurrent resolution, which calls for the establishment of a National Native American Veterans Day, is a fitting way to honor America's first sons and daughters in arms. This concurrent resolution's adoption will serve as a tribute not only to the Native Americans who have served our country well but also to their families and communities who have supported them," Udall said. During the week of events celebrating the opening of the Nation Museum of the American Indian, Milton Bluehouse Jr. a NNWO Legislative Associate, led a group of distinguish Navajo veterans and leaders throughout Capitol Hill, pushing for the bill's support. "It's great to see that our efforts in walking the corridors helped in bringing forward the recognition of our Native sons and daughters and the sacrifices they made to protect our country's freedom," Bluehouse said. "To that I say Semper fi!" Bluehouse is also a veteran, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1991 to 1995. Navajo Nation Council Delegates included in group were: Veterans' Affairs Committee Chair Young Jeff Tom, Vice Chair Elbert Wheeler, Tom White, Philbert Tso, Woody Lee and Kee Allen Begay Jr. Valarie Lee: vlee@daily-times.com Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Stockbridge-Munsee to appeal Size Ruling" --------- Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 08:24:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REZ SIZE DIMINISHED" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/local_18127256.shtml Tribe to appeal ruling on size of reservation The Associated Press October 7, 2004 SHAWANO - The Stockbridge-Munsee Indian Tribe says it will appeal a federal court decision that reduced its Shawano County reservation by about three-quarters, to about 15,000 acres. "It is such a complicated matter that the court ruling was 147 pages long," Tribal President Bob Chicks said of last week's decision by U.S. Magistrate Patricia Gorence. "We are taking our time to review all of the details. We believe in the merits of our case and will continue to persevere." Chicks said the ruling would be appealed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The state went to court in 1998 after the tribe began operating slot machines at its Pine Hills Golf Course, on land the state claimed was ceded in the last century. The tribe claimed much larger borders for its reservation and had argued there was no explicit, unequivocal, or substantial and compelling evidence that its boundaries did not include all of the towns of Red Springs and Bartelme. The tribe contended because the tribally owned golf course was on property it considered to be within its reservation boundaries, it could legally operate the gambling devices. But the federal court issued an injunction a short time later ordering the tribe to stop operating the slots at Pine Hills. In her summary judgment ruling, Gorence said the Act of 1871 diminished the two-township Stockbridge-Munsee reservation to 18 continuous sections, or about 15,000 acres. In that act, Congress authorized the sale of 54 sections, or three-quarters of the reservation, to lumber barons. The ruling did not give an acreage for those sections. Chicks and the tribe contended that Stockbridge-Munsee lands were taken in 1871 without the knowledge of most tribal members. Copyright c. 2004 Appleton, WI Post-Crescent. --------- "RE: Gathering opposes Nuclear Waste Storage" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 08:41:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANTI-NUKE DUMP RALLY" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0%2C1249%2C595097300%2C00.html Gathering opposes nuclear waste storage By Tiffany Erickson Deseret Morning News October 10, 2004 SKULL VALLEY, Tooele County - Fighting sandstorms, wind and rain, representatives of environmental groups from Utah and other states gathered this weekend on the Goshute Indian Reservation here to oppose plans to store nuclear waste. Private Fuel Storage (PFS), a corporation that represents eight nuclear utilities, has contracted with the Goshutes to store 40,000 tons of nuclear waste in above ground canisters on the reservation, located about 75 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. But some tribe members and dozens of environmental groups vehemently oppose bringing waste into the state. Margene Bullcreek lives on the reservation and has been one of the leaders opposing the waste storage. She said it is important for the public to know there are tribe members who do oppose it and that it is an issue that has divided the tribe. "PFS is a large corporation targeting our small traditional Native American reservation for its dangerous project, and taking advantage of our sovereignty," Bullcreek said. "Sovereignty isn't selling your heritage to the highest bidder. . . . The dump will threaten our tribe's health, cultural traditions and reservation community life." But on the flip side, storing the waste could spell economic prosperity for the impoverished reservation. Aside from money, Pete Lister, coordinator of the Nuclear Free Great Basin Campaign, said it is also a chance for tribe members to assert their rights as Native Americans to use their lands how they see fit. That view is understandable, Lister said, but the nuclear industry is exploiting that sovereignty and fails to support those who have a spiritual tie to the land. "People say 'We can get rich off this . . . why is Utah against it?' " Bullcreek said. "But it is poisonous and it's going to affect our small reservation, the only small piece of land that is left for us. We welcome the states' contentions to oppose the waste." The site would be a "temporary" storage site inasmuch as the contract is for 20 years with an option for renewal. Utah officials and other groups, who are fighting the proposal, are concerned it will become permanent. "They say it will just be temporary, but there are no plans for an exit strategy, and that should be a red flag for everyone," said Jason Groenewold, director of Healthy Environmental Alliance or Utah (HEAL Utah). "We need to remember and be very clear that once the waste gets here, no one else is going to take it." In March 2003, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission denied PFS its license to begin construction of the dump, citing a risk of accidents involving F-16 fighter jets that routinely pass over the valley en route to Hill Air Force Base. In May 2003, PFS appealed the decision and offered to reduce the size of the site. But it was turned down due to the process in which the appeal was filed. The proposal remains on the table. "We need to stop the nuclear industry from targeting vulnerable communities - that's what they do," Lister said. "We don't want this impression to be left - whether it's in the press or in public policy - that these communities are just going to roll over. There is in fact solidarity behind them." Lister said events like the Skull Valley gathering are organized to help demonstrate that there is support for people who struggle in these indigenous or vulnerable communities. About 60 people attended the three-day event, including representatives from HEAL Utah, the Goshute and Wind River reservations and environmental groups like the Washington, D.C.-based Public Citizen, Oregon-based Peaceworks and Citizen Alert of Reno, Nev. Saturday's was the second protest gathering in Skull Valley since 2001. E-mail: terickson@desnews.com Copyright C. 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company. --------- "RE: Blackfeet welcome in Hurricane-tossed Florida" --------- Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 14:47:37 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BLACKFEET CREWS IN FLORIDA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.goldentrianglenews.com//glacier_reporter/news/news1.txt Blackfeet crews a welcome sight in hurricane-tossed Florida By John McGill Glacier Reporter Editor October 7, 2004 "It started Sept. 15 when I got a call from Robert DesRosier, head of Blackfeet Utilities Commission and Disaster Emergency Services, who was at a meeting of the Tribal Emergency Response Commission (TERC) in Helena Sept. 10 and heard about the possibility for people to go to Florida for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)," said Andrea Gilham, Fire Management Officer for the Blackfeet Tribe. Gilham said she was on a conference call that morning with FEMA officials to find out if the Blackfeet would fit the agency's requirements. "FEMA was looking for a citizen core group of volunteers to help with the hurricane efforts," she said. Gilham said the federal agency wasn't looking for firefighters, her first offer, but they were looking for people trained in Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), as well as people who could help in medical and security capacities. "I told them we had people to fill their requirements," she said. The opportunity was advertised and Gilham reports there was no shortage of applicants for the four-to-six-week assignment. They were required to supply $500 apiece to take care of the first few days' needs while gone, as well as meet physical and other requirements, and Gilham said she checked with the authorities at the Bureau of Indian Affairs who okayed sufficient credit to make it happen. Fifty applicants were selected, Gilham said, through a screening process conducted by herself, DesRosier and Tyson Running Wolf, eventually choosing about two thirds from their pool of firefighters and the rest from CERT-qualified people in the community. While it had started only two days before, a group of 49 volunteers found themselves in Atlanta, Georgia, filling out federal forms at the FEMA center there. "They were all ready for us," said Gilham, who described lines of people waiting to see if they would be hired. "They asked if we were the Blackfeet and put us right at the head of the line," Gilham said. By Sept. 21, the group was deployed to Jacksonville, Fla., and split into "modules" of two people each, equipped with cell phones and vehicles, but assigned various missions. Gilham said those staying for four weeks should begin arriving back home sometime next week while the rest will return through the rest of this month, unless they elect to stay longer. At this time, Gilham said, FEMA isn't asking for more assistance. The Blackfeet crew represents a unique partnering of state and federal agencies with the Blackfeet Tribe, the first time it's happened. And that first time could equate to greater opportunities for the Blackfeet in the future. "CERT is big business," Gilham said, "especially with Homeland Security. It means the future could be big for the firefighters, and it's a great example for the value of cross-training." Gilham extended credit to DesRosier for seizing the opportunity when it appeared. Members of the Blackfeet crew, many of whom are still on the scene in Florida, include Gloria Bear, Joe Bear, Mike Bird, Shelden Brewer, Michael Bullcalf, Darrell Bullshoe, Leo Bullshoe, Red Bullshoe, Sheldon Carlson, Shirley DeRoche, John Fitzgerald, Larry Fish, Charlie Farmer, June Goss, Ted Griffin, Roger Gray, Gene Guardipee, Shawn Heavy Runner, Rick Horn, Robert Kemmer, Jeri Lawrence, John Murray, Kelly No Runner, Angie Old Person, Carl Old Person, Edna Osbourne, Mary Reevis, Mercedes Red Horn, Tyson Running Wolf, Joe Rutherford, Jackie Singer, Alfred Still Smoking, Glenn Still Smoking, Melvin Still Smoking, Joe Tallwhiteman, Josephine Wagner, Alden Wells, Eugene Wells, Leo Wells, Lydia Wells, Roberta Wellman, Steve Williams, Leon Vielle, Corwin Yellow Kidney, Ray Hart, Andrea Gilham and Roy H. Doore. Copyright c. 2004 Golden Triangle Newspapers. --------- "RE: Bison-hunt protests promised" --------- Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 14:47:37 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BISON HUNT RESPONSE" http://www.billingsgazette.com//2004/10/10//35-bison-hunt-protests.inc Bison-hunt protests promised By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press October 10, 2004 On a spring day in 1990, there was chaos near the border of Yellowstone National Park, and D.J. Schubert was in the thick of it, leading protesters who were trying to keep hunters from killing bison that had left the park. Animals were running. Hunters and activists squared off. And cameras, he said, captured it all. Schubert, a wildlife biologist with The Fund for Animals, believes media attention and public outrage played a big role in the state's decision in 1991 to halt bison hunting. And he and other activists promise that it will happen again - including more bad publicity for Montana - if the state allows hunting to resume this winter as planned. "Once again, you're going to give the state of Montana and hunters a black eye," he said. "It's going to be an embarrassment for the state and hunters." "I can guarantee you lawsuits. I can guarantee you public outcry," agreed Mike Mease of the Buffalo Field Campaign, which plans to document the hunt. "These animals are sacred to a lot of people." The controversy surrounding bison heats up each winter around Yellowstone when the animals leave the park in search of forage. Ranchers in Montana worry that the bison will transmit brucellosis, a disease that can cause cattle to abort, although activists say it's never been proven that bison can spread the disease to cattle in the wild. A plan carried out by several state and federal agencies allows for hazing and capture of Yellowstone bison that wander out of the park and for testing the animals for brucellosis. Bison that test positive are sent to slaughter. But some hunters feel that if bison are to be killed anyway, they should have the opportunity to take a rare trophy. And wildlife commissioners voted tentatively this week to allow up to 25 bison to be killed during a monthlong season to start in January. The public has until Nov. 26 to comment. Future hunts would go from about Nov. 15 through Feb. 15, with the number of permits varying each year. The hunts of the 1980s drew outrage in part because of the way they were conducted. Wardens led each hunter to a specific animal, which often was peacefully grazing when it was shot at close range. This time around, state wildlife officials insist, the hunt will look much different. There will be no wildlife officials guiding hunters. Hunting will occur in areas where state and federal officials are not hazing the bison, both measures intended to address the issue of a "fair chase" hunt, said Pat Flowers, a regional supervisor for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "In order to re-engage sportsmen in managing bison, I think it's important to offer them an opportunity to hunt bison," he said. Wildlife and hunting groups say interest is bound to be high. But support is not unanimous; some hunters fear what it could do in its current form to the image of hunting. "The hunters of Montana don't want to be caught in this whirlwind and be the bad guy," said Craig Sharpe, executive director of the Montana Wildlife Federation. From 1985-89, about 670 bison were killed in the hunts - most in the winter of 1988-89. Just 18 were killed the following two winters, the department said, but the attention surrounding the hunts continued. Photos and video footage of the confrontations between hunters and animal rights activists made national news, and many felt the publicity was a blight on Montana's tourism industry. The Montana Legislature halted the hunts in 1991, changing it from sport to a disease control program implemented by state and federal officials. Even that is documented by the Buffalo Field Campaign, an activist group that exists to protect Yellowstone bison. Add in a hunt, the activists say, and the scrutiny will intensify. "This is no longer a little slipped-under-the-carpet Montana issue," Mease said. "This is a national issue and an international issue and people are pissed off." Copyright c. 2004 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Development grows at Indian Reservations" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 08:27:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REZ BIZ" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://online.wsj.com/~ZunaoCGaauFm5%2C00.html Development Grows At Indian Reservations Lower Lease and Tax Rates And Land Draw Builders; Tribes Welcome Income By SHEILA MUTO Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL October 6, 2004 American Indian reservations are getting an economic boost from an unlikely source: sprawl. With land hard to come by in Scottsdale, Ariz., office and retail real- estate developers have leased about 700 acres in the past year from tribal members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community near Scottsdale, who own land near a new six-lane freeway extension that bisects the community. "We now have legitimate developers who see it's worth their time and money to build projects here," says Hans Klose, the community's development director. Everyone Benefits American Indian reservations, whose main commercial activity has been casino and related operations, are beginning to see interest in other types of development and business activity from outside. Developers, who are having an increasingly difficult time finding land on which to build, are pursuing sites on tribal land, primarily in the West, for new office, retail and hotel projects. They find that available land is abundant and the tax rates generally are lower as tribal leaders seek to encourage economic development on their reservations. What's more, quick building approval processes on the reservations help counter the sometimes lengthy process of signing land-lease deals. Tribal governments, looking to build and diversify their economies, are welcoming developers with open arms. For many tribes, the trend represents a growing source of tax revenue outside the casino businesses. And it provides commercial projects where tribal members can rent space for their business and attracts businesses that provide more employment options for members. Landowners - many of whom are elderly and don't have pension funds - receive income from the leases. A growing group of tribal governments, many of them well-seeded with revenue from casino operations, have added roads and other infrastructure and beefed up services. Tribes also have modified and expanded their political and legal systems so they function more like municipal governments, making the reservations more attractive to businesses and developers. To be sure, some tribal members would much rather see development projects built by home-grown, Indian-owned operations. Still, many home- grown operations don't have the wherewithal to tackle large projects. What's more, many tribal members who own land on reservations prefer to lease to outside developers because "they are paying more than ever before" due to competition for land in the area, says Herbert Chiago, who owns land in the Pima-Maricopa community and serves as a spokesman for several landowners. Outlets and Offices Chelsea Property Group Inc. is building an outlet shopping center next to a casino on the Tulalip Tribes reservation, about 35 miles north of Seattle, where Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. already have opened stores in the past few years. The Tulalip reservation "is close enough to Seattle for an easy drive" and is visible from the freeway says a spokeswoman for the Roseland, N.J., company. Alter Group, a Chicago development firm, in a joint venture with Apex Park at Pima LLC, a Scottsdale investment group, is about to start construction of a two-million-square-foot office and retail development on 187 acres of land leased from some 200 families in the 53,600-acre Pima- Maricopa community. Construction of the $400 million project, called Talking Stick, is expected to start in a few months, says Kurt Rosene, Alter's senior vice president of national development. (A talking stick is a wooden branch that's carved to designate significant events in a year.) Alter also is pursuing other reservation land sites in Arizona and Southern California. Ernest Noia, a real-estate attorney who for the past few decades has helped Indian landowners lease out their land to developers and businesses, has become a developer himself. He's leasing nearly 300 acres from members of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians in Palm Springs, Calif. - a growing desert city where most of the available land is reservation land - - to build the Indian Oasis Resort, which includes a hotel, golf course, retail, and office and industrial space. Tribes "have long had certain tax and regulatory advantages, but those alone have been inadequate to entice outside investment," says Joe Kalt, a co-director the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. "What's happening now is the tribes that are succeeding in their economic- -development efforts are revising their political and legal institutions." Many tribes and tribal members have gotten the authority to approve land leases of 50 years or more. Many also have adopted planning laws of nearby cities or counties and are changing their legal systems to allow disputes to go to arbitration or the federal courts, making them virtually "no different than working with any other municipality," says Mr. Rosene. The land that makes up the 331 reservations in the U.S. is owned by 567 federally recognized tribes or individual American Indians. The 55 million acres held in trust by the U.S. government for Indian tribes, families or individuals for the most part cannot be sold to nontribal entities. That means outside companies must lease the land on which they construct their projects from landowners. Nationwide, leases on tribal land and land owned by tribal members generated about $42 million in 2003, up from nearly $28 million in 2000, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The tribes in Arizona alone generated nearly $21 million in income from leases in 2003. 'Sizable Sum' Tribal landowners welcome that income. Richard E. Old Horse, a Laughlin, Nev.-based lawyer who advises many tribal landowners in the Southwest on lease agreements, says land within the Pima-Maricopa community generates about $1.50 per square foot annually in rent. Robb Horlacher, a principal at Apex Park, says comparable land in nearby Scottsdale is difficult if not impossible to find to lease or buy. But if you can find it, it would sell for at least $10 a square foot, he says. Still, the rents are "quite a sizable sum for these families," says Mr. Chiago, who leased some of his land to the Talking Stick project developers. He also has a small development firm that builds primarily homes for low-income families. While he'd like to do bigger projects like Talking Stick, he says his firm "isn't big enough to do projects of that size." Nearby, Opus West Corp., the Phoenix-based unit of developer Opus Group of Cos., has been particularly aggressive leasing up land in the Pima- Maricopa community. The company broke ground earlier this summer on Calendar Stick, a 250,000-square-foot office park on nearly 24 acres of land leased from tribal members. (A calendar stick is another name for a talking stick.) Opus West also has plans to begin construction later this year on a 1.5- million-square-foot office park called Pima Center on 209 acres leased from more than 200 tribal landowners. Negotiating the leases for the land for the Calendar Stick and Pima Center each took several years because of the number of landowners involved and because all the agreements had to pass muster with the tribal government and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, says Keith Earnest, Opus West's vice president of real-estate development. But it was worth it, he says, particularly since reservation land is just about the only land left in the Scottsdale area. He says the cost of leasing the land "is much more attractive" than buying land. That, in turn, allows Opus West to offer tenants lower rents than most other office landlords in the area. Rural/Metro Corp., which provides ambulance, fire and other safety services, has leased a 46,000-square-foot building at Calendar Stick, where it plans to relocate its Scottsdale headquarters next spring. The firm was attracted by the proximity to its existing location and because it will see a 20% savings on its leasing costs. That's "a significant savings," says a company spokeswoman. Write to Sheila Muto at sheila.muto@wsj.com Copyright c. 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved --------- "RE: Rules lapse for collection of N.Y. Indian Taxes" --------- Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 14:47:37 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PATAKI ADMIN LETS REGULATIONS LAPSE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.nynewsday.com/~story?coll=ny-statenews-headlines Administration let rules for collection of Indian taxes lapse The Associated Press October 9, 2004 ALBANY, N.Y. - The Pataki administration has allowed regulations to lapse governing how the state would collect taxes on motor fuel and cigarette sales by Indian vendors to non-Indians. The state Department of Taxation and Finance was ordered last year by the Legislature to start collecting the taxes by Dec. 1, 2003, but the agency never collected a penny amid a series of delays in adopting the regulations. Tax officials' latest guidelines on how they proposed to collect the taxes expired on Sept. 23, tax department spokesman Tom Bergin said. That means the lengthy rule-making process can start all over again, if the tax department chooses to go that way. "We are reviewing all potential options for addressing this issue through cooperation, not confrontation," Bergin said. While Gov. George Pataki once favored collecting the taxes, his stance in recent years has been to put off having the tax department go after the revenues and to try to negotiate deals with tribes where they voluntarily raise the prices for gas and cigarettes to bring them closer to what nearby non-Indian vendors have to charge after taxes. His administration has failed to reach such "parity" agreements with any tribes, however. Indian tribes say they are sovereign nations that are not subject to paying state taxes on sales by their vendors, whether purchasers are Indians or non-Indians. Pataki's efforts to get the revenues in the mid- to late-1990s resulted in violence, especially among Seneca Indians. Allowing the latest regulations to expire was interpreted by proponents of collecting the taxes as another example of the Pataki administration's bad faith in answering legislative mandates to make good on the tax revenues in financially shaky times. "That was not a request, it wasn't a recommendation, it wasn't a suggestion," said James Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores. "It was a law. The executive branch is bound by the constitution to execute the laws that are duly enacted by the Legislature." Democratic state Assemblyman William Magee of Madison County said the administration's refusal to seek the revenues is "getting absolutely ridiculous." "I think at some point someone's got to bring a (court) case against the state" to compel compliance with collection edicts, Magee said. Court rulings have recognized the right of states to recover the taxes on Indian sales to non-tribal members. Calvin, who is also part of a pro-Indian-tax coalition called Fair Application of Cigarette Taxes, said more and more people are obviously buying gas and cigarettes from Indian vendors. State tax department data shows monthly collections of cigarette taxes are running below levels recorded between March 2000 and April 2002, even though the per-pack tax was $1.11 then and is $1.50 now. "There certainly has not been a proportionate drop in consumption," Calvin said. "What that says to me is the tax evasion stampede grows stronger every day." The state charges nearly 29 cents tax on a gallon of gasoline. Calvin's FACT group estimates the amount of revenue not being collected by the state at upward of $1 billion. Bergin said state tax officials believe it is about $60 million or less. Seeing the Pataki administration ignore their 2003 directive, lawmakers voted earlier this year to put their mandate to collect the Indian taxes into statute. The 2003 measure was part of the 2003-04 state budget, and they hoped that making it a law would put more teeth into the measure. But the Republican state Senate has yet to send that bill - given final legislative approval in June - to Pataki. In part, that is interpreted as keeping the Indian tax issue on the back burner until past the November legislative elections. A spokesman for Senate Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said it is unknown when the Senate will forward the bill to Pataki. "We are just assuming the governor won't get the bill until December," Calvin said. "We are also assuming that the governor will veto the bill." The Sept. 23 lapsing of the tax collection regulations was first reported by the Buffalo News. Copyright c. 2004, Newsday, Inc. --------- "RE: Review Journal: ENERGY ISSUES: Power struggle" --------- Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 05:21:43 +0000 From: Robert Dorman Subj: Review Journal: ENERGY ISSUES: Power struggle Mailing List: Big Mountain Please visit my website, http://www.twincougars.com for health and wellness information and products. ___________________________________________________ http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004//24665228.html From: Condor952@aol.com ENERGY ISSUES: Power struggle Government wants plan to cut pollution or shut Laughlin plant, but closure could hurt community. By JOHN G. EDWARDS REVIEW-JOURNAL Don Laughlin has conflicting feelings about the Mohave Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant that towers over the Colorado River town that bears his name. "I have mixed emotions on it," Laughlin said, noting how the plant provides jobs and tax money to the town. "If they could clean up the air, we would welcome the business." The plant, operated by Southern California Edison and partly owned by Nevada Power Co., was completed in 1971. It employs 325 workers, earning an average of $25 an hour. Laughlin, who arrived a few years before the power plant was finished, recalls that the construction workers for the Mohave plant were good customers at his Riverside hotel-casino. "It's a landmark. It's a friendly neighbor," he said of the plant. "Pollution is the only problem." The Environmental Protection Agency this summer disclosed that the Mohave plant causes more lead pollution than any other coal- or oil-fired power plant in the nation. Those pollution problems may go away along with the plant, though. The power plant is tentatively scheduled to shut down, at least temporarily, by Jan. 1, 2006. The Mohave plant must close or install pollution-reduction equipment costing $1.08 billion by that date under an agreement between the plant's owners and the Sierra Club, the National Parks and Conservation Association and Grand Canyon Trust. The plant's owners reached the agreement to settle a lawsuit the environmental groups filed. If the pollution controls are installed after the deadline and shutdown, the plant could be reopened. Air pollution reduction, however, is only one challenge the plant faces. Questions remain about the availability of water and coalused by the plant. Coal now used to generate power at the plant is shipped by a 273-mile slurry line from the Peabody Western Coal Co.'s Black Mesa mine in northeast Arizona on Hopi and Navajo land, Edison officials said. The coal is ground, mixed with water and pumped through the line to the Mohave plant. The coal supply agreement between Mohave and Peabody expires at the end of 2005. About 4,000 acre feet of water is used yearly to ship the coal from the mine to Mohave. (An acre foot is 1 acre of water 1 foot deep.) The Hopi Tribe opposes the continued use of underground water from the so-called N-Aquifer, which includes springs with religious and cultural importance to the tribe, Edison reports. The Mohave plant's owners are providing money to study the use of another underground water source, the C-Aquifer, as an alternative water supply. Questions about Mohave's future were debated during hearings held this summer by the California Public Utilities Commission. During the hearings, Edison explained that it's not ready to give up on Mohave. A document Edison filed explains that the utility "believes there is potential value in extending the life" of Mohave, as do the tribes and Peabody. The power company, however, disagreed with the tribes and the coal mining company on whether the California Public Utilities Commission should grant a conditional certificate for the plant that would declare continuing to operate Mohave is in the public interest "provided certain vaguely identified circumstances come to pass." Edison argued that a conditional certificate for Mohave would give Peabody and the Indians leverage in negotiating terms for water and coal. Secondly, Edison attorneys explained that issuing a certificate could cause Mohave's owners to spend "unspecified millions of dollars" and would not reduce the period that the plant's operations are shut down. The loss, temporary or permanent, could have significant ramifications for the tribes, Laughlin and Nevada Power customers. Coal is a low-cost fuel and helps offset the volatile price of natural gas, another key fuel used to generate electricity for Southern Nevada. The power plant also is an important part of the Southern Nevada tax base. The state, county, school district and other agencies get an estimated $1.45 million in property taxes each year from the Mohave plant, the Nevada Department of Taxation reports. If the plant were dismantled and the land left vacant, property tax revenues probably would decrease. Local governments also would lose sales-tax revenue from the plant. On the other hand, the Southern Nevada Water Authority would receive the Colorado River water allocation that the plant now uses. The Mohave plant uses 1,600 acre feet of river water each year in its operations. That is 5.3 percent of the 300,000 acre feet allocated to the water authority. "It would certainly reduce the demand on the 300,000 acre feet and give us flexibility to deliver that water elsewhere," water authority spokesman Vince Alberta said. Mohave does benefit Laughlin economically. But casino owner Laughlin said the loss of the plant probably wouldn't cause as big an effect as it once would have, given all the new real estate development now under way in the city. Other local leaders said the plant would still be missed. "The majority of residents here will be very unhappy to lose the generating facility," Don Hendren, Mohave's community affairs director in Laughlin, said. "It's going to be a big loss." The tribes also would hurt if the plant is closed, even temporarily. "Should that happen, it's going to bring devastation to the Hopi economy," Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor said. The mine provides the tribal government about $7.7 million in annual revenue and the loss of that money would cause the layoff of 150 tribal government workers, he said. "Right now, we have about 50 percent unemployment rate," Taylor said. "Our people are leaving the reservation. So we have a brain-drain situation." The Navajo Nation reported that it received $16.8 million in taxes and royalties from the Black Mesa Mine in the last budget year. "Even a temporary closure of (Mohave) would wreak havoc to our governmental financial picture," one Navajo official said in the testimony. About 300 Navajo workers at the mine would lose their jobs, the Navajo Nation estimated. Edison acknowledges that a Mohave shutdown would adversely affect the Indians, but the utility said it must first consider the costs that its customers would have to pay to keep the plant open. Hopi attorney James Ham said: "Southern California Edison has acknowledged that the plant should be saved if the water and coal issues can be resolved. Edison compared a refurbished Mohave to the next cheapest alternative, which is a new combined-cycle, natural-gas-fired plant. Mohave is likely cheaper than natural gas but it may be very close." Edison and Ham rejected proposals from another group to replace the 1,580-megawatt coal-fired plant with a 1,000-megawatt solar power plant on the Indian reservations. Participants in the case expect the California commission's administrative law judge to make a written recommendation by year's end. Action by the commission would come later. ---- Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue. To post to the list, email your message to redorman@theofficenet.com. To subscribe, send an email to: BIGMTLIST-subscribe@topica.com. --------- "RE: The First Indian ever to go to College" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 08:27:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MARIGOLD LINTON" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=5249 The first Indian ever to go to college Book profiles woman who started it all Sam Lewin October 5, 2004 Most Indian students going through college this semester probably don't know who Marigold Linton is, but the woman is a true trailblazer. In 1954 Linton became the first member of a California Indian tribe to attend college, an accomplishment she achieved after growing up on the Morongo Reservation in Southern California, a place she recalls as "scary" yet "comfortable." "You are surrounded by people who are two degrees of blood from you so you know everybody, but I was frightened by the violence," Linton told the Native American Times. " A lot of it was white-on-Indian violence, but there was also Indian-on-Indian violence. There was alcoholism. All the males drank." As recounted in a recently released biography detailing her life, Linton's eighth grade teacher visited Linton's mother, who did not have a phone, and told her: "Your daughter is very bright. You must make sure she attends college." Those words left an impression, even though Linton wasn't even sure at the time what college was. She soon found out, enrolling in the just- opened Riverside Campus of the University of Southern California. It was time for another scary experience. Her family was supportive but cautious, with her father telling Linton that she would be welcome back home when she eventually dropped out. Fate had other plans. Eschewing a social life, Linton plunged deep into her textbooks, putting forth such a stellar effort that she earned straight A's her first semester. She immediately went to the registrar's office and told them there must be a mistake. Linton simply could not believe she had succeeded "That was the only time a registrar had a kid come to them and say something like that. But my father was a very honorable man and he would never take anything that wasn't his," Linton said. " I had gotten something that was like a gift from God-but I was sure it was not mine." The registrar assured her the grades were correct. Other anecdotes from the time seem humorous now. Linton's college experience was also her first encounter with running water. She literally did not know how to use a toilet. "We didn't have running water or electricity or indoor toilets on the reservation. I was in someone's house and I'm wondering-when am I supposed to flush? I had no idea how to get on in the white man's world- I'm wasn't even sure how to flush the toilet," she recalls. Linton eventually made her way in the world and then some, attaining tenure at San Diego State University and the University of Utah in cognitive psychology. Linton also co-founded the National Indian Education Association and is currently the Director of American Indian Outreach at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Her story caught the attention of authors Sharon Cook and Graciela Sholander. "... The teenage Linton had to muster all the courage she could to overcome her fears, defeatism, and a whole new culture to enter the University of California-Riverside in 1954," said Sholander. " Nobody living on an Indian reservation in California had even entered college, much less graduated. Everywhere she turned, she faced discouraging words, and nobody on the Morongo Reservation in Southern California could even tell her what college was." Today Linton is 68 and just returned from the 50th reunion of her high school graduating class. The reservation she grew up on is currently home to a massive 27-story casino. Linton says that even though gaming money had helped alleviate poverty, it has not helped education. "Bizarrely enough, many in the casino-rich tribes still aren't sending their kids to college because now that they have enough money they feel they don't have to," Linton states. "I see no evidence that my own tribe is making sure that kids are being educated." Dream It Do It: Inspiring Stories of Dreams Come True by Sharon Cook and Graciela Sholander is available from Planning/Communications, $16.95, 2004, www.dreamitdoit.net, 888-366-5200. Native American Times is Copyright C. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: DOREEN YELLOW BIRD: In the Realm of the Spirits" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 08:41:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: SPIRITS" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforksherald/news/opinion/9874952.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: In the realm of the spirits October 9, 2004 It was a balmy 80 degrees when I followed the Corps of Discovery's North Dakota journey up the Missouri River. Wasps, with legs dangling and stingers ready, hovered over me while red dotted ladybugs crawled the walls of Fort Lincoln State Park, where my search for the Native American perspective of Lewis and Clark began. In my journey, I took a side trip to the site of old Fort Manual Lisa, just south of the North Dakota/South Dakota border, where scholars say Sakakawea, the Shoshone Lemhi woman who was instrumental in the success of the Corp of Discovery, is buried. The site has been exposed because water in Lake Oahe is low. It was there I discovered ancestral spirits. When my interviews at Fort Lincoln were complete, I drove to the Standing Rock Reservation to visit one of the Sundance elders, John Eagle Shield. I was looking for the Native perspective. After a supper of excellent stew, we sat around his kitchen table with coffee and diet Coke, talking. The Fort Manual Lisa site is exposed and only a few posts mark its place. It is one of the places where Sakakawea and her husband, Charbonneau, lived. The old fort was moved a few miles south and became Kenel, S.D. When the Missouri River was dammed, Kenel was moved several more miles south to a high hill that overlooks a valley and the Missouri River. John told me his uncle, Ernest Eagle Shield, worked on the excavation of Fort Manual Lisa with archaeologists. The entire area was charted into squares. They sifted through the dirt and rummaged around in the area like birds looking for scraps. His uncle brought home some of the things he found at the site - beads, brass bells, some spoons and utensils and a pipe bowl. John, who was a young boy at the time, said Uncle Ernest thought these items would be good keepsakes. His uncle had wrapped them carefully in white butcher paper and kept them in a cupboard in his two-room log house. It was just a bedroom and a room where they ate. There was no living room, John said; they always sat around the kitchen table to talk - like we were doing that evening. Ernest called John's father. There was something strange he wanted them to see. They wouldn't believe it, Ernest said. They arrived. The uncle took them to his bedroom. There were kerosene lamps there and on the kitchen table. They visited quietly, waiting. Suddenly, John said, they heard the dogs barking like crazy. The dogs ran toward something. Soon they heard the dogs coming back, whimpering as though they were scared. The dogs went behind the house and stopped barking. The men could hear shuffling feet like someone was coming to the door. The door was latched by a piece of chain attached to a nail on the doorframe. The sound of a door opening and the shuffling feet continued. They could see the door and the kitchen table from the bedroom. There was no one there, just the sounds. They heard the kitchen chair being pulled out and then the butcher paper being unwrapped, but nothing moved on the table. It was just the sounds, John said. Finally, they heard paper as if the objects were being wrapped again and then the sound of shuffling feet, again this time toward the door. The dogs raced out again, barking wildly as if they were following someone. Then, silence. This had happened to Ernest before and he wanted witnesses. When they told their grandmother, Louise Takes the Hat Eagle Shield, she told them to return the spirits' things to them. So they returned the artifacts to the area and the uncle heard no more ghosts. When John and I drove out into the roadless area to the old Kenel, there were remnants of streets, water mains and a monument to a Catholic priest who had converted the Lakota. It was silent there except for the sounds of birds and the Missouri - sluggish now from the dam. I looked toward the site of the fort, where the Hunkpapa Creek intersects the Missouri. A large bird perched on a fence post watching us. John's story of the spirits helped me realize how tied we - all of the tribes - are to our ancestors. Their spirits still are here. So they, too, must be acknowledged and given their rightful place in the commemoration of the Corps of Discovery. ---- Yellow Bird writes columns Tuesdays and Saturdays. Reach her by phone at 780-1228 or (800) 477-6572, extension 228, or by e-mail at dyellowbird@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2004 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: Native American Indian Songs" --------- Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 14:47:37 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SONGBOOK & CDs" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041006/newfns_1.html 'Native American Indian Songs' Guidebook and CDs Published for Schools, Music Teachers October 6, 2004 SANTA FE, N.M., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ - Louis W. Ballard, a renowned American composer of Native American heritage whose works are performed throughout the world, has published a guidebook for music teachers with detailed instructions and CDs on teaching 28 Native American songs. Entitled "Native American Indian Songs," the package is geared toward teachers and students of all levels and includes a detailed guidebook, two CDs, photos, cultural notes and other resources to enable teachers - elementary, secondary and college - to teach students these important songs. "This guidebook means a lot to me, and to Americans everywhere, including Native Americans," said Ballard. "This is America's cultural heritage. I want the tradition of our songs and our music to live on, and the best way to do that is to teach all teachers how to teach them. Simple as that." Ballard, whose works are performed regularly by major symphony orchestras, choral societies, chamber music ensembles and ballet companies, including premieres at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Smithsonian Institution and Hollywood Bowl, has been honored with awards, grants and commissions for his music. His works include "Scenes from Indian Life," and "Incident at Wounded Knee," which was performed at Carnegie Hall in 1999. He will be inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame November 12. But this recent work and guidebook - to help carry on the tradition of Indigenous Native American songs - is one of his most significant, he says. The guidebook includes theoretical analyses of each work, including form, scale, range, type, meter and text, as well as dance diagrams, cultural notes and English translations from the original language. "Native American Indian Songs" is an authoritative and creative work for teachers, libraries, scholars, vocal ensembles, singers and other musicians. Ballard says it also has the potential for cross-cultural disciplinary studies such as anthropology, dance, education, history, languages, sociology, and religion/philosophy. Ballard, who was born near Quapaw, Oklahoma in 1931, is of Quapaw, Cherokee and French-Scottish ancestry. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The package (photo attached) costs $100 plus shipping and can be ordered through New Southwest Music Publications' website, http://www.nswmp.com or by calling (505) 986-3984. The company accepts credit cards, including Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Contact: Louis W. Ballard (505) 986-3984 / ogx@earthlink.net Source: Louis W. Ballard Copyright c. 2004 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: New Lakota Times" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 08:27:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAKOTA TIMES" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.rapidcityjournal.com//2004/10/06/news/local/news03.txt New Lakota Times prints today By Dan Daly, Journal Staff Writer October 6, 2004 KYLE - Even before its first edition rolls off the press today, the Lakota Times is already an award-winning newspaper. As many as 25 plaques adorn the walls of the new publication's office in Kyle. Amanda Takes War Bonnet, editor and publisher of the Lakota Times, said she and other staffers won the state and national awards when they worked for the original Lakota Times, the newspaper Tim Giago founded on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1981. She said Giago, her mentor through 14 years on the staff of the first Lakota Times and its successor, Indian Country Today, recently delivered the awards to her. "He brought me the plaques; he gave them back to me," she said. She said Giago will serve as an adviser to the new Lakota Times, and the paper will carry his syndicated column. But otherwise, she said, Giago has no business interest in the new publication. The new Lakota Times is the brainchild of Takes War Bonnet, Patty Pourier said. She and her husband, Bat Pourier, are the paper's financial backers. They own the Big Bat's convenience stores in Pine Ridge, Hot Springs and Chadron, Neb., as well as Muddy Creek Oil & Gas Co. in Pine Ridge. "We saw a need for objective and positive journalism on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations," Patty Pourier said. However, she said about Takes War Bonnet: "She is the paper. Amanda, during one of our first meetings, said her vision was when you read the paper you want to have a good feeling afterward. "She wants people on the reservation to have a good feeling. She wants people off the reservation to have learned something and have a good feeling." Takes War Bonnet left the newspaper business 10 years ago and has been working as director of communications for Little Wound School. While at Little Wound, however, she kept an eye on the newspaper business, which has gone through a number of changes. The original Lakota Times moved to Rapid City a number of years ago and became a national publication called Indian Country Today. In 1998, Giago sold Indian Country Today to the Oneida Nation of New York, and the paper's headquarters later moved to New York state. In 2000, Giago started Lakota Journal, a Rapid City-based weekly newspaper that is now owned by the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe but printed in Rapid City. Meanwhile, competing American Indian publications have sprung up. The Native Voice is published in Rapid City. In Pine Ridge, Black Hills Peoples Press is also publishing. Despite the crowded market, Takes War Bonnet said she believes there's room for the new Lakota Times, which she said would stress positive news and a local emphasis. "Today, the Lakota communities of the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations are striving to preserve and promote their rich cultural and spiritual heritage, and we envision the Lakota Times promoting this cultural awareness as we did in the old days, and we will bring news important to the Lakota people." ---- For more information, call 455-1868. (The phone number, by the way, is not a coincidence, Patty Pourier said. It's a reference to the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, in which the United States ceded the Black Hills to the Lakota people.) Or see www.lakotatimes.net. Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Mohawk Tribes announce Land Claim Settlement" --------- Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 08:24:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MOHAWK LAND SETTLEMENT" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=292723 Mohawk councils back settlement with state Pact could open door to creation of Catskills casino; tribe would get $100M, land added to reservation By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau October 7, 2004 ALBANY - The St. Regis Mohawk tribal government expects to remove a key obstacle to creating a Catskills casino by entering into a land claim settlement with the state, but unresolved issues still stand in the way. The three Mohawk councils that are plaintiffs on the land claim announced Wednesday their support for a deal giving them $100 million from the state and the New York Power Authority. The state would also give St. Lawrence and Franklin counties a total of $10 million to help pay for lost taxes and other costs associated with the Mohawks adding up to 14,778 acres to their reservation. Not included are any agreements to have tribal cigarette and gasoline retailers collect sales taxes from non-Indians or raise prices to help off-reservation businesses be more competitive, a key issue for the Legislature. The settlement terms do not include a gaming compact for the Catskills, but Gov. George Pataki has maintained he won't grant casino rights without resolving land claims. Elected chief James Ransom stressed the deal is still subject to a tribal referendum, set for Nov. 27, as well as ratification by the state Legislature and Congress. That could take at least a year. "Our agreement with the governor's office is a verbal agreement," he said. The deal applies to the St. Regis Tribal Council, which is the federally recognized government; the Mohawk Council Nation of Chiefs, a traditional group; and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, based in Canada. The land claim suit was lodged 22 years ago, alleging the state wrongly took 11,000 acres of reservation land plus islands in transactions more than 200 years ago. The settlement calls for the three groups to share $70 million from the Power Authority and $30 million from the state, half of which the state hopes to get from the federal government. The state and authority would grant two islands and 215 acres at Massena Point on the St. Lawrence River to the Mohawks. Sen. Elizabeth Little, R-Queensbury, who represents the reservation area, said she is unsure if she supports the deal. She said some communities could lose large chunks of taxable property if the Mohawks reacquire reservation land. The taxation issue, she said, could be worked out at a later date. "It has to be resolved," she said. The deal also promises the Mohawks continuous use of nine megawatts of low-cost power from the authority and free tuition at state colleges and universities. Pataki spokesman Kevin Quinn said it is unclear whether the governor will sign a bill requiring the state to collect taxes from Indian stores. A similar bill passed last year was never implemented by the state, and the regulation expired late last month. James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com. Times Union materials Copyright c. 1996-2004, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation, Albany, N.Y. --------- "RE: Kahnawa':ke Membership Law comes into force" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 08:41:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KAHNAWAKE MOHAWK MEMBERSHIP LAW" http://www.easterndoor.com/vol13/36.html Membership Law Comes Into Force With Delay On One Clause By: Kenneth L. Williams Eastern Door Volume 13 No. 36 October 1, 2004 Although the Mohawk Council Resoltion bringing the Kahnawa':ke Membership Law into force (MCR#42-2004/2005) was signed this past Monday, it was specified that the implementation of section 7.2 - one of the clauses pertaining to non-member residency - would only come into effect at a later date. Section 7.2 currently reads as follows: "A person who has no Kanien'keha:ka or Indigenous lineage, but whose name appeared on the Mohawk Registry, immediately before coming into force of this section of the Law, as a result of having married a member prior to May 22, 1981, will have his or her name automatically placed on the non-member resident list." (not in force) Some of the concern about this particular section has to do with the word "automatically." Its use in the wording of this section may well be contrued as reaffirmation (or at least recognition) of Membership creiteria in force prior to the Moratorium (which was held on the aforementioned date). It should be noted meanwhile, that in accordance with the new Law, there is some difference between being considered a non-member resident and being included on the (new) Kahnawa':ke Kanien'keha':ka Retistry. This is as indicated by the second sentence in the previous section, 7.1, regarding the non-member resident list itself. Section 7.1 of the Law states: "The Registrar will also keep a list of names, addresses and telephone numbers of those persons who have been given permission to be non-member residents and will record any conditions that are attached to that permission. This list will not be considered to be part of the Kahnawa':ke Kanien'keha':ka Registry and will be updated by the Registrar on a regular basis, as required by this Law and the Regulations." Incidentally, the Definitions section of the Law defines the term non- member resident as follows: "'Non-member resident' means a peson who has been confirmed to have permission to reside within the Territory and to receive those privileges as provided in this Law, provided the person's permission to be a non- member resident has not been suspended or revoked." Furthermore, regarding the actual Kahnawa':ke Kanien'keha':ka Regiatry established by the new Law, which replaces the previous Kahnawaa':ke Mohawk Registry, section 6.3 states (and take note of the initial exception): "With the exception of any person who has no Kanien'kehja':ka or Indigenous lineage, all persons who, as of the date on which this section of the Law comes into force, were listed on the Kahnawa':ka Mohawk Registry and who reside or maintain ties with Kahnawa':ke, will be members of the Kanien'keha':ka and will be listed on teh Kahnawa':ke Kanien'keha':ka Registry." Wendy Mayo Two-Axe of the Council of Elders, which was instituted in accordance with the new Membership Law, said that the Law was "long in coming." She added, "We can't continue to let the Federal Government keep making Indians." In the meantime, Mayo Two-Axe also pointed out that any delay with section 7.2 would not have any effect on any other sections of the Law, but that anyone directoy affected by section 7.2 would be notified that their application would be put on hold until such time as concerns about the section are addressed and resolved. As for any delay involved in actually amending section 7.2, Mayo Two-Axe explained that because this is the People's Law, the changing of even one single word would require its own lengthy process. Grand Chief Mike Delisle Jr. described the Law's coming into force as "timely," adding that the intent of the Law is to introduce compassion to the Membership process. Regarding section 7.2, he said that it was the only clause, which the Council of Elders felt "took something away" from the Law. For now, it is expected that applications for instatement and reinstatement under the new Law will begin by mid-November. Meanwhile, for more information, contact Membership Registrar Alexis Shackleton at 638-0500. Copyright c. 2004 The Eastern Door, Kahnawake, Mohawk Territory. --------- "RE: PK Code of Conduct for Public Consultation" --------- Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2004 08:24:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KAHNAWAKE CONDUCT DRAFT" http://www.easterndoor.com/vol13/35.html PK Code of Conduct for Public Consultation By: Kenneth L. Williams Eastern Door Volume 13 No. 35 September 24, 2004 This past Monday, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake released a 12-page draft for development (i.e. consultation) purposes entitled, "Kahnawa'kehro':non Ratitse'nhaienhs Disciplinary Measures Regulations" - basically, a Code of Conduct specifically intended for Council chiefs. Monday;s release began a 30-day period of consultation on this draft document, which is now availabe at the front reception desk of the Mohawk Council's main offices. As per the related news release, this document "was prepared with the intention that it would provide the chiefs with a clear set of guidelines that would help ensure proper conduct. It also clearly outlines measures that may be taken if a Council chief contravenes the Code.". Essentially, the document outlines the major offenses for which any of the 12 members of Council could be disciplined. These items include: acting in bad faith, betraying the public trust, criminal offenses, and failing to fulfill the responsibilities and duties of office. The document also outlines three possible methods of disciplinary action, which are: recall election, act of censure, or impeachment and removal from office. It is very important to note that this draft Code of Conduct includes numberous provisions recognizing and reaffirming the powers and responsibilities of the People of Kahnawake over their duly elected representatives. More specifically, this draft document includes articles respecting the right of any person listed as a member on the Kahnawa:ke Registry to initiate any of the aforementioned proceedings against any Council chief suspected of any of the aforementioned wrongdoings. This by itself is an extremely important responsibility, which is not to be taken lightly or to be misused in any way. Moreover, including such provisions in this type of document clearly demonstrates the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake's recognition and respect for the ultimate authority of the Mohawk People of Kahnawake. MCK Political Press Attache' Joe Delaronde explained that this code of conduct is for major infractions, and therefore "needs to be strong." He expressed hopes that people will take the time to offer their input to the development of this important document. Any and all questions, comments or inquiries should be brought to the attention of MCK Communications by phone at 632-7500, or by e-mail at communications@mck.ca or in person at the MCK Communications office (former Dickson residence near the main MCK building) Copyright c. 1997-2004 The Eastern Door. Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. --------- "RE: Native Groups slam Gravina Logging" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 08:41:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NO PRIOR CONSULTATION" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.adn.com/alaska/v-printer/story/5658637p-5590284c.html Native groups slam Gravina logging APPEAL: Southeast leaders say Forest Service did not adequately consult with tribes. The Associated Press October 11, 2004) KETCHIKAN - Alaska Native leaders from Saxman, Metlakatla and Ketchikan have come out against Gravina Island timber sales, saying they would threaten their subsistence lifestyle. The Organized Village of Saxman and the Metlakatla Indian Community are appealing a U.S. Forest Service decision to harvest about 38 million board feet of timber from 1,800 acres on Gravina. The City of Saxman and the Ketchikan Indian Community voiced support for Saxman's appeal during a news conference in Ketchikan on Thursday. The Gravina Island project is the second Alaska harvest to be approved since a rule preventing logging in roadless areas of the forest was lifted earlier this year. Nora DeWitt, vice president of the Organized Village of Saxman, said Gravina is a food pantry of fish, deer, berries, seaweed, clams and crab for people in Saxman, Metlakatla and Ketchikan. "We must step forward. We must speak loudly," she said. "We must call attention to our situation and show this situation up for what it truly is - a direct attack and desecration of our traditional areas where we hunt, fish and food-gather." DeWitt said the Forest Service failed to adequately consult with tribal representatives as required by a presidential executive order. "There were times that they met with a Native individual and then came back and called that tribal consultation," she said. "There were times they met with only the president and not the tribal council in the tribal community and called that tribal consultation. All of those things are not tribal consultation according to the executive order." In the decision, Tongass Forest Supervisor Forrest Cole wrote that he personally met with tribal leaders and took their opposition to the project very seriously. Based on those concerns, the Forest Service didn't put a log transfer facility in Bostwick Inlet and is closing roads during deer hunting season. Tongass spokesman Dennis Neill said the Forest Service had to balance an array of issues, concerns and strongly conflicting desires in making the decision. "We certainly tried hard to hear what people were saying and made changes in the decision based on what they said," he said. "From our standpoint, we feel that the consultation was very effective because the folks being consulted with were effective at getting changes made in the outcome." Copyright C. 2004 The Anchorage Daily News (www.adn.com) --------- "RE: Happy hunting for Metis" --------- Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2004 05:20:25 +0000 From: Robert Dorman Subj: Metis Hunting Rights Mailing List: Big Mountain Please visit my website, http://www.twincougars.com for health and wellness information and products. ___________________________________________________ http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/News/2004/10/06/657530.html Happy hunting for Metis JERRY WARD, LEGISLATURE BUREAU October 6, 2004 Metis in Alberta can now hunt, trap and fish for food unlicensed and out of season, the Sun has learned. "(Cabinet) signed it off the other day," Aboriginal Affairs Minister Pearl Calahasen told the Sun. Premier Ralph Klein's government signed an interim deal with the Metis Nation of Alberta and the Metis Settlement General Council, permitting Metis to hunt on unoccupied Crown lands, privately owned lands with permission, and in protected areas where there's a hunting designation. Metis - of proven native and European descent - are also permitted to engage in recreational fishing and domestic fishing whereby nets can be utilized on bodies of water where the practise is permitted. "We've got this (interim deal) in place for the fall, and then we're going to go back and see if we can get something more permanent in place," Jay O'Neill, spokesman for the Aboriginal Affairs Department, said. Calahasen said the deal requires Metis to provide proof of heritage through membership in the MNA or the MSGC. Metis must also abide by existing conservation and safety rules. Calahasen said the Alberta government was forced to act after a test case in Canada's high court. Aboriginal rights had only been granted to those who existed prior to European contact. But the Supreme Court modified the pre-contact test to reflect the distinct history of Metis settlements. Justice Minister Dave Hancock said "there needs to be appropriate management of wildlife issues, and that can only be managed by one group and provincial governments have been the one to do it." ---- Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue. To post to the list, email your message to redorman@theofficenet.com. To subscribe, send an email to: BIGMTLIST-subscribe@topica.com. --------- "RE: Details scarce on new Aboriginal Health Funding" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 08:41:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HEALTH PLAN FUNDING" http://www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/topnews-Oct-2004.html#anchor13234485 Details scarce on new health funding Paul Barnsley, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Ottawa Volume 22 - Number 7 October, 2004 The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and the federal Indian Affairs minister both came up a little short when they were asked for details about how the promised injection of money into Aboriginal health care-as much as $1 billion-will occur. Prime Minister Paul Martin had announced the funding on Sept. 13, just before he and provincial and territorial leaders sat down with representatives from national Aboriginal organizations to discuss the state of Native health and health care programming. Martin announced that a $200 million transitional fund will allow federal, provincial and Aboriginal governments to sort out jurisdictional battles that have hindered the effective delivery of health care in the past. A $100 million human resource fund will allow more Aboriginal doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to be educated and prepared for the workforce. And a $400 million fund was announced to deal with issues that seem to be prevalent in all regions of the country, such as diabetes, youth suicide and maternal and child care. It was also promised that an "escalator clause" would allow Aboriginal groups to get their share of new monies transferred to the provinces as a result of any agreement between the federal and provincial and territorial governments. This escalator clause will allow for money beyond the $700 million to be targeted at improving Aboriginal health. "If you put the two together we're talking about a financial commitment of over a billion dollars," said national chief Phil Fontaine. Reporters wanted proof that the money wouldn't disappear into a bureaucratic sinkhole. Fontaine said the money would not stay in Ottawa, but would go out to the communities. "What I'm confident about is that a large percentage of the funds will go directly to the First Nation governments to deliver directly to their citizens in our communities," he said. "But that won't necessarily be at the front end in some cases. For example, the $100 million for health human resources, that's directed to ensuring that we have more Aboriginal doctors and nurses and other health professionals. That won't necessarily at the front end go to First Nation communities, but the long-term benefits are going to be substantial. But the $400 million for diabetes, youth suicide and maternal and child care, that goes directly to First Nation citizens and hopefully a good effort will be made to ensure that we have a more effective public education program with respect to diabetes." Minister Andy Scott said the government will judge the success or failure of its attempt to improve Aboriginal health by the results achieved. "This is going to be measured against outcomes, not about how much money's spent. Everybody today was talking about this isn't about just spending money; it's about changing various health and wellness outcomes in the Aboriginal community where they fall well behind the rest of the country. My sense is that's going to require us to make sure this gets to the ground because otherwise the outcomes won't be affected," he said. But when he was asked how that would work, he was not prepared to offer any detailed response. "The one thing that everybody agreed on is it won't be one size fits all. The needs in some areas of the country are very different from others," the minister said. He defended spending $200 million to sort out jurisdictional disputes among the three levels of government. "My most personal experience around this had to do with a task force I did as a backbencher in the mid-1990s on disability and, quite frankly, it was awful to the extent to which people, human beings with needs, were being subjected to all kinds of jurisdictional wrangling that got in the way of any government's ability to offer what would be fundamental support. This has to be attended to. It's real. It's a real challenge, and the first thing you do with a real challenge is to acknowledge it. Then people with good will and creative intelligence can figure out how to deal with these things. And I think today was a step in the right direction in that regard," he said. "Ultimately, it's to get to a place where the systems that exist in your part of Canada-some delivered by the provinces, some by us and some delivered by First Nations-so that those support systems that exist are done in a much more integrated way so that they're really based on the need of the client. It's going to cost money to get from here to there," he said. He was asked if he saw the poor housing situation as a health issue. "I would agree completely that to look at health or wellness exclusively from a perspective of illness is a mistake. There are a number of educational issues, housing is particularly important, even the kind of hope that comes from knowing that there are economic opportunities out there, all of these things bear on well-being," he said. He was asked if bureaucrats would use the funding preparing plans and doing studies. "We're not talking about studying anything. We're actually talking about having different players from the community, from the provinces and from the federal government sit down and actually get the job done," he responded. "The prime minister announced today that the government of Canada put $700 million of new money on the table to dig holes and do things and get the outcomes that we're talking about. We can't do it by ourselves. We have to do it collaboratively, otherwise we'll get all kinds of attention but we won't get the outcomes that we want, and that wouldn't be good for anybody." When he was asked who would check to see the money goes where it's supposed to go, Scott said that as vice-chair of the Cabinet committee on Aboriginal issues he would have a large role to play in that area. Some regions of Health Canada have sizable deficits. Scott was asked if any of the "new money" would be used to pay down old debts. "Those are the details that the Prime Minister of Canada has asked officials from the provinces and officials from the government of Canada to solve now. . . We're working out those details now," he said. Asked if non-insured health benefits (NIHB) funding would be restored, he repeated that the government is "working out the details." The NIHB are health goods or services not covered by other federal, provincial, territorial or third-party health insurance plans, and include drugs, medical transportation, dental care, vision care, medical supplies and equipment, and crisis intervention mental health counselling. Phil Fontaine said "NIHB has always experienced a shortfall. It has ranged from $31 million to $115 million. So we want that particular part of [First Nations and Inuit Health Branch's] mandate to replenish, to secure an appropriate resource level so that it will be able to deliver according to its mandate and responsibilities." Restoration of previous cuts to non-insured health benefits is "part of our strategy and success will be very much dependent on how successful we are in putting the story together and that's something we're going to have to work out with Health Canada," explained Fontaine. "I get the sense though that we have the ear of government. I'm confident that we're going to be able to produce even better results in the next while." Copyright c. 2004 Windspeaker, AMMSA - Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: This Mold House: A Community at risk" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2004 08:41:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="UNHEALTHY HEALTH BAY" http://www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/topnews-Oct-2004.html#anchor13234485 This Mold House: A community at risk Debora Steel, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Kwicksutaineuk B.C. Volume 22 - Number 7 October, 2004 In a classic case of irony, the community of Kwicksutaineuk First Nation, in which the water is undrinkable and the houses are unlivable, rests on the shores of a place called Health Bay. Health Bay is located in a remote area on Gilford Island near the northern tip of Vancouver Island accessible only by float plane or boat. Respiratory illnesses caused by the mold-infected homes send small children and the elderly out of the community to hospital with regularity. A water system in disrepair for the last eight years has the 40 residents, determined to maintain a presence there, bathing in salt water, their skin prone to rashes and other ailments. Drinking water is shipped in from Fanny Bay, and has been for five years at the cost of the water and a $300 cargo fee each month. The health centre is infested with mice, and the doctor, who has been visiting the community for the past 28 years, is concerned about hanta virus and other diseases such infestation brings. The community health rep lives in one of the 21 homes in the community. Tacked to her door is a warning: "Attention Visitors. It has been found that I have MOLD in my home," it reads. "Please be aware when you come to my house that you are putting yourself at risk." She's been made to sign a waiver freeing the government of liability for any health complaints if she continues to reside there. There is no safe alternative housing in the community in which to move. She could pick up sticks and settle in an apartment in Port McNeil on Vancouver Island, in theory at government expense until new accommodations in Kwicksutaineuk can be built, away from her job, her family, friends; off reserve with all that means. Or she can stay, and breath in mold spores as she sleeps, cooks her meals, watches TV, knowing that in Kwicksutaineuk she is not alone. The homes there are not safe. The houses at Kwicksutaineuk were built in the 1950s and '60s and the shoddy construction of them was such that it created a comfortable environment for mold to live and breed. The naturally moist climate certainly plays a role in creating that environment, as does the lack of vapor barrier and adequate insulation in the homes, but so does over-crowding. People create moisture through bathing, cooking, being, said Jamie Clark, a consultant with a hazardous waste removal company called Envirovac who has inspected the homes. He points to one two-bedroom, 600 sq. ft. home and says seven people live there, two adults and five children. Ella, just two years old, spent every second weekend being flown out to the hospital last year with ear infections, bronchitis and such, said her mother as she bounced her youngest, Shania, on her knee. Shania had just returned to the community from the hospital that week. Kwicksutaineuk First Nation Chief Henry Scow has had enough. Despite years of negotiation with Indian Affairs, over which time countless proposals for improvements to his community have been rejected, his community remains in difficulty. Despite warnings from the community's third party manager that he would embarrass himself, said Scow, he decided to make Kwicksutaineuk's plight public. He flew Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, regional Chief Shawn Atleo and media representatives in to his community on Sept. 24 to see the living conditions there first hand and to speak to residents about the grievances. Scow greeted Fontaine at the entrance to Kwicksutaineuk with a speech seething with frustration and despair. "We are in dire straits for no unearthly reason," he said, his voice breaking with emotion. "The public has to understand." Chief Scow seems a sturdy man of gentle demeanor, but he has no love of the department of Indian and Affairs, and particular disdain for a third party manager in charge of the community purse from Campbell River; a third party manager who, Scow says, hasn't stepped foot in the community in all the time he has been chief, and probably at no time before that. At a luncheon in the Big House after the tour of the community, Scow let loose on the department. "It's criminal why we have to fight for anything we need on reserve," he told Fontaine and guests. "Indian Affairs is our worst enemy. They want to push us over the edge and leave us there." Fontaine seemed sympathetic to the community's plight. "It's not a happy situation you find yourselves in," he said, and promised to speak with the new Minister of Indian Affairs, Andy Scott, at the earliest opportunity. "That's what we wanted to hear," responded community member Lucille St. Germain, whose father, carver Sam Johnson, later presented the chief with a talking stick to encourage him to present Kwicksutaineuk's case in Ottawa. When pressed for details on the course of action Fontaine would be asking the minister to take, the national chief said there were three steps. The first was to get rid of the third party manager and give full control of the finances back to the community, saying to not have that control was like going back to the days of the Indian agent. The second, said Fontaine, was to deal with the situation with the drinking water, saying there was sure to be an economical way to provide potable water to the community. And the third step was to address the terrible housing situation. Fontaine told reporters that while Kwicksutaineuk's case was one of crisis, it was not unique. At least 100 First Nation communities in Canada live under a boil water advisory, he said. At least 20,000 new housing units are needed and 85 per cent of the existing housing stock on reserve is in desperate need of renovation. He said Indian Affairs and Canada Mortgage and Housing needed to get out of the business of providing First Nations housing. There have been "whispers" that a First Nations housing authority will be soon established, he confided. "That's the only way this can be dealt with." He acknowledged though that Kwicksutaineuk's housing situation was urgent and promised to tell Scott what he had seen there. In speaking with the media after Fontaine's speech, Scow became emotional. "It shouldn't be like this in the year 2004," he said. Copyright c. 2004 Windspeaker, AMMSA - Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: Editorial: Youth Detention Horror must end" --------- Date: Tue, 5 Oct 2004 07:46:54 EDT From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Editorial: Youth detention horror must end Masiling List: NDNAIM http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20041005/opinion/1357700.html Youth detention horror must end October 5, 2004 EDITORIALS The condition of jails and detention centers on Indian reservations has been a concern for some time, but new allegations about treatment of juveniles in a facility in Browning take that concern to a whole new level. If the complaints are borne out, they suggest a new priority for tribal councils and, if needed, Congress: Fix the problems. The allegations include common use of several methods of restraint that are forbidden or sharply limited in other juvenile detention centers. Earlier this year a national report documented abysmal conditions in jails and prisons throughout Indian Country. That was bad enough and underscored the need for remedies, including better funding. But now come the complaints from families of teenagers at the White Buffalo Youth Detention Center - things such as a 17-year-old shackled for almost two weeks, or a 14-year-old confined to a "restraint chair" with a towel stuffed in his mouth and a pillowcase over his head. Upon his release the 17-year-old received medical treatment for swelling of his ankles and wrists; last week he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his incarceration. Some of these kids are bad actors, and many have serious addiction problems. But there can be no justification and should be no tolerance for such treatment - of adults, much less of children. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is investigating, as is a Senate committee, which last week heard America's reservation jail system called a "national disgrace" similar to systems in Third World countries. This isn't a surprise to victims of that system, but it should serve as a wake-up call to the rest of us. Ending the maltreatment of juvenile prisoners, wherever it occurs, should take precedence over other corrections and justice-system issues. Such institutional abuse is just plain wrong, and it sows seeds of discontent that will haunt our society for years to come. Copyright c. 2004 Great Falls Tribune. --------- "RE: BIA blamed for breaches of 'Humane' Jail Decree" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 08:27:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA AT FAULT" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.gallupindependent.com/100404biablamed.html BIA blamed for breaches of 'humane' jail decree Part two in a series By Kathy Helms Dine' Bureau FORT DEFIANCE - Being a small Navajo Nation police district without a detention facility has its disadvantages, as members of the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement in Dilkon well know. One drawback is that it can place the officer in a volatile situation if the person being arrested has been through the system before and knows what's in store. It also could potentially place the tribe in a monetary liability situation. "When we do make an arrest on these people and they know where they're going to go to they're going to Window Rock or to Tuba City Jail sometimes they get rude and say, 'I'm not going because I don't want to hitchhike back,'" Sgt. Calvin Begay of Dilkon Police District recently told tribal oversight committees. "Sometimes they don't catch a ride and it takes them about two days to get back here. To us, it's a good thing because while they're out of the area for two days it's kind of quiet. But we do have that risk of what happens if something happens to them while coming back? Who is going to take the blame for it? Who is the liability going to fall on, the police department or Corrections or who? We don't know that. "What we do tell them is, 'You're going to jail.' Then they get hostile, which means the officer is going to have to do one of two things: Either he's going to have to fight or he's going to have to use some type of use- of-force to control the prisoner," Begay said, which could place the arresting officer at risk of a violation-of-civil-rights complaint. On Nov. 17, 1992, Navajo Nation District Court Judge Allen Sloan issued a Consent Decree to ensure that all persons housed in Navajo detention facilities were detained under humane conditions. The decree was the result of a class action lawsuit by inmates. Conditions of the decree held that if funds were not available to take the necessary steps to house people under humane conditions, the jail population must be reduced so that remaining inmates are housed accordingly. The federal government, as outlined in the Treaty of 1868, has trust responsibility for funding and maintaining law enforcement and detention facilities, according to the decree. "As a result of this lawsuit, evidence of chronic and repeated underfunding and neglect by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has come to light, especially that of the Bureau's failure to adequately fund detention under the current Public Law 638 ..." the judge wrote. Hope MacDonald-Lonetree, council delegate for Tuba City and Coalmine chapters and chair of the Public Safety Committee, commented about the government agency's failure to meet its trust obligation during the joint Judiciary/Public Safety meeting. "BIA is supposed to fund all of our programs 100 percent like the way they are funding their own. What has happened though, nationally, is BIA has been mismanaging. We all know they have been mismanaging the funds and their facilities, so they're in big trouble in Washington. What they haven't been doing is funding our facilities, so it makes us look bad and as if we're not taking care of our own facilities, but yet they have not even funded us to build the facilities," she said. "So, that is a message we have been trying to get across to all of our congressional delegates, across to the Senate, to let them know that we are severely underfunded. That's why on Navajo we're under these conditions." MacDonald-Lonetree said it's a different story with BIA facilities. "It's mismanagement and neglect on their behalf. For us, it's really underfunding, so that's what we're trying to hit hard on with congressional delegates and work with them on. We are pushing them to fulfill their contracts." She said she met recently with Sen. Ted Daschle and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., on the issues of law enforcement and facilities and that follow-up meetings are being pursued. "None of us want to see our officers put through these conditions, because No. 1, we don't have enough of them; and No. 2, they're our family, so we want to take care of them as well as make sure that the people who are incarcerated are treated humanely. Those are the issues we wanted to get across to our congressional delegates," MacDonald-Lonetree said. The 1992 decree closed the Tuba City and Chinle jails except for short- term temporary confinement not to exceed 48 hours. Tuba City's maximum capacity was set at 30 inmates, while Chinle's cutoff was 20, except in emergency situations in which failure to detain the person could create a risk for others. In those cases, the inmate could be housed up to another 12 hours. "The Tuba City and the Chinle Jail shall remain closed until Respondents, upon motion of the Court, can prove that these jails meet the standards set forth herein," the decree states. Standards for holding cells were set in stone not to be exceeded for any reason. The standards stipulated that each inmate is entitled to 50 square feet in holding cells and 15 square feet per person housed in a jail drunk tank. Also, confinement could not exceed 48 hours. Cells offering less than 50 square feet per inmate were limited to 48- hour use, and then only for health, safety, or disciplinary purposes. After 48 hours, the action which led to solitary confinement must be reviewed by the commanding officer. The consent decree mandated new jail capacities which were to have been met by Jan. 1, 1993. In total, Navajo Nation detention facilities could house 237 inmates. If reopened, Tuba City Jail could not exceed 34 inmates and Chinle, 31 inmates. Shiprock's limit was set at 40, Crownpoint's maximum capacity was limited to 37, and Window Rock, by far the largest, was issued a capacity of 95 inmates. The Department of Law Enforcement was instructed to come up with a plan on overcrowding, which had to be implemented by June 1, 1993. The plan was to ensure that jail capacity would not be exceeded even in times of high arrest periods such as fairs. Delores Greyeyes, director of Navajo Nation Department of Corrections said that most times, Corrections is not able to meet the demands of the consent decree due to lack of manpower. "When it comes to square footages, when we have to maintain a long-term inmate, we have to have 50 square feet around the inmate, space availablilty. That's more than most of what our own community people live in, much more than what many of us probably were raised in. Many of us were raised in hogans that were cramped with 15 to 20 people and less than that footage." The need for detention facilities across the reservation is tremendous, Greyeyes said. In areas where facilities are located, "they're sinking because they are sitting in flood areas, so the buildings basically have sunk through the years." The trailer which houses Dilkon's police services was hit by a tornado within the last couple years, according to Lt. Ronni Wauneka. Sewer systems and water and sewer infrastructure have deteriorated at many of the detention facilities built during the 1950s. "For example, in Shiprock, we had a backup in the kitchen. We brought Facility Maintenance in. They pulled up the pipe. It was basically rust powder when they pulled it up," Greyeyes said. That rusted-out section was replaced but, "We don't know what the rest of the building looks like and how long that's going to last. In Tuba City, we have a crack in the wall that's getting bigger and bigger. You can actually see from the inside to the outside. Those are the conditions of our Public Safety facilities across the Navajo Reservation. Often, when an officer makes an arrest, Greyeyes said, "We (Corrections) turn around and have to release them because we have no place to hold them. As a result, the crime rate continues to increase," she said. According to the consent decree, jail operators can request money in each annual federal and tribal budget for detention personnel training. "Respondents shall actively pursue and request additional federal and tribal funding for the building of new jails and the renovation of existing jails (and) shall request adequate funding in each yearly budget for at least three detention officers to be on duty at all times in each facility." Upon violation of the consent decree, a cell or jail may be ordered closed or the overall population of the jail may be ordered reduced, the judge wrote. Copyright c. 2004 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Violent crime on Rez plunges" --------- Date: Thu, 07 Oct 2004 10:20:33 -0400 From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Violent crime on Rez plunges Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=95560 Violent crime on Rez plunges By LARRY HENDRICKS Sun Staff Reporter October 7, 2004 TUBA CITY - A combined federal and tribal crackdown on bootleggers and meth abusers on the Navajo Nation is being linked to a dramatic drop in violent crime on the Rez. Murder showed the biggest drop, from 63 cases in FY 2003 to 13 in FY 2004, And in areas such as Tuba City that were targeted by bootlegging stings, violent felonies such as murder and assault fell from 22 in 2003 to seven in the first nine months of 2004. During the three-year crackdown, 75 people across the reservation were arrested on bootlegging charges. Although most offenders received probation and fines as punishment, some were later sentenced to a year in prison for bootlegging again while on probation. Lori Black of Tuba City said she has seen a difference in her quality of life. Her neighborhood used to be too dangerous for her children to play. She would see women looking for their men who were out drinking booze, the old public drunks freezing from the cold, and the green glitter from broken rot-gut wine bottles. She said she's thankful to law enforcement for changing that. "They've really proved to make a positive difference in our community," Black said. Yet Tuba City and much of the Navajo Nation continues to be awash in a flood of alcohol and drugs. It is illegal to possess, buy or sell alcohol on the Navajo Nation and Hopi Reservation. A tour Wednesday of several Tuba City neighborhoods turned up sites that overflowed with hundreds and hundreds of bottles of Thunderbird wine and 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor. Intoxicated people moved in and out of the brush. Children on the way home from school passed the mounds of discarded bottles of booze. PARTNERSHIPS FIGHT CRIME Navajo Nation officials said the combined effort with federal authorities is just the beginning in a long series of partnerships with a multitude of jurisdictions to fight alcohol- and drug-related crime on the reservation. Paul Charlton, U.S. Attorney for Arizona, as well as Navajo Nation officials and Tuba City residents met for a press conference Tuesday morning to laud the results of a three-year effort to put a dent in violent crime by going after bootleggers and drug abusers. Charlton said that bootlegging cases initially will be prosecuted federally so it can be better determined if cracking down on bootleggers, and eventually the bootleggers' suppliers, will reduce violent crimes on the reservation. "We can say we've had a great deal of success over the last three years," Charlton said. The numbers appear to bear him out. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office annual report on Indian Country, criminal prosecutions declined sharply between fiscal years 2003 and 2004, which run from July 1 to June 30. Among cases filed and/or completed in 2003, 63 were for murder, 35 manslaughter, 118 aggravated assault, and 169 abusive sexual offenses. Among cases filed and/or completed in 2004, 13 were for murder, 18 manslaughter, 118 aggravated assault, and 53 abusive sexual offenses. Charlton said that more important is the benefit received by residents of communities like Tuba City, and Lori Black's testimony was proof. Hope McDonald-Lonetree, chair of the Navajo Nation Public Safety Committee , said the bootlegging crackdown's success was because federal authorities approached the problem in terms of common goals that fit the needs of the Navajo people. The fact that the effort was a collaboration between federal and tribal authorities dispelled perceptions that outsiders were trying to impose their values to Navajo culture. "We want to see this as a model to be used by other communities across the reservation," McDonald-Lonetree said. More collaborations are planned for the future to include all jurisdictions among counties in the three states on which the reservation sits. CHANGES TO CRIMINAL CODE NEEDED But the law enforcement efforts must be backed with more jails, more officers and a comprehensive change of the Navajo Nation criminal code, which is decades out of date. In current Navajo Nation criminal codes, methamphetamine is not listed as an illegal drug, forcing the U.S. Attorney's Office to handle prosecutions. Meth, known as Glass or G on the Navajo Nation, has seen a tremendous surge in use, according to federal and tribal officials. In a prepared statement, Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. stated: "Our communities and our schools on Navajoland do not need bootlegging; we have enough problems as it is. Bootleggers need to know that our law enforcement agencies will continue to work together and will not let up until all bootleggers are behind bars." After the press conference, Greg Adair, investigator for the Department of Criminal Investigation in Tuba City, took a tour of several areas in the city where people congregate to drink bootlegged booze or "Ocean." Ocean is a drink made by alcoholics desperate for a drink. A can of hairspray or Lysol, both of which contain alcohol, is sprayed into a gallon of water and then drunk. Of the bootlegging effort, Adair said, "It's been effective. The problem is, when we stop, it's a matter of supply and demand, and (bootleggers) will resume." ---- Crime comparisons, 2003-2004 Among cases filed and/or completed in FY 2003, 63 were for murder, 35 manslaughter, 118 aggravated assault and 169 abu