Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews12.046 From: gars@speakeasy.org (Gary Night Owl) To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Message-ID: _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 046 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 November 13, 2004 Mvskogee Echolee/Frost Moon Cree Kaskatinopizun/Moon when rivers begin to freeze +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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 s ch mA mL tL squee Lux -- Okanogan -- News from the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; Big Mountain, News and Information Distribution, RezLife, NDNAIM and Sovereign Nations 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "When I see these boarding school children, it hurts my heart. I am the product of a mother who experienced the evil side of boarding schools. I have read the articles and books. I have talked to the other grandparents. While our schools today may not have the abuses anymore, the institutional mentality still creates a dearth of familial intimacy that is so necessary in developing complete human beings." __ Faye Lone, Tonawanda Seneca Nation, Nativision Learning +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! This issue's editorial comments come from a friend, Art Durand. Art is the host of "Turtle Island", heard on UC Santa Cruz community radio at 88.1 Sunday nights from 6:30pm to 8:30pm Pacific Time. The station is also webcast at http://www.kzsc.org/ in wm3 and wma formats. Date: Friday, November 05, 2004 11:34 AM From: Art Durand Subj: What has happened, what can happen Dear Friends, The events of last Tuesday left many of us angry, disillusioned and with our hearts on the ground. Many of us are grieving and almost immobile in our grief. Where do we go from here? What can we do? Miki (Peace Eagle) and I recalled a time when our son Andy, who was living with us, was being fed incredible amounts of disinformation about us and our ways of being by his birth father, a born again christian. We chose, rather than fight fire with fire, to be the best humans we were capable of being. We did not disrespect the man's ways or attitudes. We gave Andy the opportunity to spend as much time with his dad as his dad was willing to invest. Six years later, this year, Andy chose to give up his senior year at his High School in California, all of his friends, and relatives to travel with us to live in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe this election was flawed. It may be that voting machines were rigged. It is beyond dispute that the mainstream media has become a tool of the wealthy and powerful corporations spreading disinformation. Whatever the truth of that it is clear that many, many, many of our relatives are celebrating what they see as a victory for God and Country. Perhaps our victory lies in allowing these relatives their happiness for this time. Soon enough they will see their old ones suffering for lack of health care and affordable medicines, their children becoming dumber than dirt in crumbling schools filled with discouraged teachers, their futures cold and bleak as their masters take more and more of their income to sustain the war machine, creating the very terrorists they have sworn to kill. Soon enough our celebrating relatives will be in need of our support as they wonder what in the world they were thinking of. Let us continue to encourage each other, love each other and maintain the links we have established since we first decided to work for a better way of life for all. We will be needed. Soon. Soon. In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Peace Eagle & Nanalq (White Bear) ------- Please note: My primary email address has changed ... from gars@speakeasy.org to wotanging@bellsouth.net. ------- Thanks to John GrosVenor for the newest language featured in the newsletter banner. John had to work hard to represent the characters in straight ASCII, so I thank John for this gift and his extra efforts. If you want your Nation to be included simply email me the words that mean the equivalent of News of the People, the language and literal translation. Okanogan News from the People s ch mA mL tL squee Lux =================================== ANNUAL WINTER APPEALS 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.) =================================== Date: Tuesday, October 12, 2004 01:25 pm From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: Winter Needs Greetings Gary, Honor Your Spirit, Protect The Children (HYS) is working on a new winter project for the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in MT. I will send you the request as soon as it is ready. I pray that once again many people will send help to all the places with children, elders and families in need of support. We do have a Christmas catalogue which is ready for people who wish to order First Nations art and crafts items. These items make very nice gifts for Christmas. They are authentic First Nations artwork and items like horsehair hatbands or belts can also be handed down from generation to generation. ALL the proceeds from the sales are used to help the elders and children in need. The founder of HYS is Northern Cheyenne and our contacts on the reservation are Northern Cheyenne also. It would be very much appreciated if you could regularly enclose the url to the HYS catalogue in your newsletter. HYS Arts and crafts catalogue http://www.geocities.com/honoryourspirit/fncrafts.html "Honor Your Spirit, Protect the Children" Manuel Redwoman, Northern Cheyenne/Lakota/Arapaho http://www.geocities.com/honoryourspirit/home.html Thank you for your message and continued support. With kindest regards to you and Janet, Respectfully, Brigitte <>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o "Honor Your Spirit, Protect the Children" Manuel Redwoman, Northern Cheyenne/Lakota/Arapaho http://www.geocities.com/honoryourspirit/home.html STOP CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT http://www.geocities.com/honoryourspirit/stopabuse.html Adult Children of Child Abuse http://groups.yahoo.com/group/adult_children_of_child_abuse/ HYS Arts and crafts catalogue http://www.geocities.com/honoryourspirit/fncrafts.html <>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) wotanging@bellsouth.net 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 ---------- - Powwow channels strength - Update: Support needed for Resister - U.S. wants no Warming Proposal - Moron Alert: GOP's Eibensteiner - GOP says it has votes heads Slot-Machine Firm to authorize ANWR drilling - Haskell Students aim - Report to predict to tackle Diabetes big changes in Arctic - Indian Jewelry - and Life - MOHAWK: Hopi Prophecy - on display pointed to Climate Change - Miss Indian NAU - Alaskan Villages in Hot water advocates Native American Culture - Indian leaders call for healing - Onboard with the Zapatistas following election - Bands share Title to Rez - JODI RAVE LEE: - NB Natives seek Protecting rights of Native Voters bigger cut of Forestry Industry - YELLOW BIRD: - Indian Relations at Heart of Case Tribes show some Poll Clout - Supreme Court: Race in America - Voter ID Suits remain unfiled - Supreme Court - A Reservation's relentless Poverty denies County's Appeal - Tribe approves - Limited Reform 42 possible replace Names to Trust Land probate process - Oregon Indians acting - Navajo Nation No. 1 in Crime to remove Offensive Name - BIA Cop charged in Handgun assault - S'Klallam Tribe - Reservation Shooting celebrates 100-year Vision leaves one in Hospital - Colville tribes, Utility - Native Prisoner settle fight over Dam -- NAPN Pen Pal Requests - Coquille Tribe - Rustywire/Tishroo: Grandfather seeks suggestions from Crowd - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Two movies - Tali Unole Verse: chronicle Wounded Knee events Voices from Long Ago --------- "RE: Powwow channels strength" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 21:22:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VETERANS HONORED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.jdnews.com/Templates/Details.cfm&StoryID=27085&Section=News [Editorial Comment: Remember your veterans every day - not just November 11. Our Nations have long history of taking a warrior stand for this ground.] Powwow channels strength November 7,2004 CHRIS DE NITTIS DAILY NEWS STAFF by christopher de nittis Every warrior needs a support system. Some cultures provide support through parades, discounted college tuition, ballroom dances or special holidays. But the strongest and often most effective energy base for a warrior is a spiritual one. American Indians are one group that honors the warrior class through both structured ceremonies and informal daily meditation and prayer. It's intrinsically spiritual and goes beyond the physical realm but still retains an important earthy feel. At the Onslow County Fairgrounds on Saturday one such powwow - or "gathering," as ceremony leader John Blackfeather calls it - was held with hundreds of dancers, singers and musicians of American Indian descent. The powwow will continue today at the fairgrounds. The grand entry is at noon. The crowd of onlookers Saturday stretched into the thousands. To many, the singing and drumbeats at first appeared to be a recording. But a quick listen revealed an amazing vocal range that constantly changed rhythm, tempo and even structure. The big speakers surrounding the sacred circle were used only to amplify the channelings of dozens of spiritual mediums entranced underneath pavilion tents around the perimeter of the circle. Inside, dancers moved in time with the spirits - swooping and spinning with the drumbeats. It's this kind of ceremony that has comforted American Indian veterans since creation. Just ask Roger Willie, an American Indian and Army veteran. "The powwow holds the warrior status," he said. "There is a connection between the powwow and veterans." Willie recalled the domestic aftermath of Vietnam, when American veterans returned home to mixed and often negative reactions. "People have wondered why Native American veterans had a faster rate of healing when they came back home," he said. American Indian culture supported those returning from Southeast Asia with a spiritual energy that was often non-existent in white culture, Willie said. "They had powwows, while mainstream society would spit on you," he said. After serving four years at Fort Bragg with the Army, Willie entered the film industry - most notably as an actor in the movie "Windtalkers." He was honored Saturday for his work, which has highlighted American Indian culture and history. "Windtalkers" explored the feats of the Navajo in the Pacific theater during WWII. The American Indians used their native tongue as an unbreakable radio code to defeat Imperial Japan. Willie, himself a Navajo, relished the role and though he's gone on to work in other films such as "Adaptation," he still calls his tribe's New Mexico reservation home. "The four points of the reservation - that is always my home," he said with more than a hint of nostalgia. A look into his eyes reveals the man's spiritual home is indeed still along the Continental Divide in New Mexico. And home is where all spirits eventually end up - that's the message the powwow sent to families of prisoners of war and those deemed "missing in action." Former presidential candidate and Texas business magnate Ross Perot was honored by the Great Saltwater American Indian Heritage group Saturday for his work with families of POWs and MIAs. Afterwards, Rolling Thunder - a motorcycle club dedicated to POWs and MIAs - presented a unique ceremony to North Carolina military families. A table with five place settings to represent each branch of the armed services - Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard - was set up in the middle of the sacred circle. Members of Rolling Thunder presented each setting with the service's respective cover. Next to each plate, they placed a pinch of salt and a pair of blank military ID tags. "The tags symbolize that this can be any one of us," a Rolling Thunder spokesman said. "The pinch of salt symbolizes the tears that family members have shed for their loved ones." And though the chairs remained empty and the goblets turned-down, Rolling Thunder assured families that the table was filled in spirit. Undoubtedly, many left Saturday's ceremony - the weekend before Veteran's Day - fortified in both mind and spirit. Contact Christopher De Nittis at cdenittis@jdnews.com or at 353-1171, Ext. 239. Copyright c. 2004 by Freedom ENC Communications. --------- "RE: U.S. wants no Warming Proposal" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 08:13:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARCTIC TARGET" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23541-2004Nov3.html?sub=AR U.S. Wants No Warming Proposal Administration Aims to Prevent Arctic Council Suggestions By Juliet Eilperin Washington Post Staff Writer November 4, 2004 The Bush administration has been working for months to keep an upcoming eight-nation report from endorsing broad policies aimed at curbing global warming, according to domestic and foreign participants, despite the group's conclusion that Arctic latitudes are facing historic increases in temperature, glacial melting and abrupt weather changes. State Department representatives have argued that the group, which has spent four years examining Arctic climate fluctuations, lacks the evidence to prepare detailed policy proposals. But several participants in the negotiations, all of whom requested anonymity for fear of derailing the Nov. 24 report, said officials from the eight nations and six indigenous tribes involved in the effort had ample science on which to draft policy. The recommendations are based on a study, which was leaked last week, that concludes the Arctic is warming much faster than other areas of the world and that much of this change is linked to human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment - produced by a council of nations with Arctic territory that includes the United States, Canada, Russia and several Nordic countries - reflects the work of more than 300 scientists. Several individuals close to the negotiations said the Bush administration - which opposes mandatory cuts in carbon emissions on the grounds that they will cost American jobs - had repeatedly resisted even mild language that would endorse the report's scientific findings or call for mandatory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions. An early draft of the policy statement - which is set to be issued two weeks after the 144-page scientific overview is released Monday - included a paragraph saying that to achieve the goals set under a 1992 international climate change treaty known as the Rio Accord, the "Arctic Council urges the member states to individually and when appropriate, jointly, adopt climate change strategies across relevant sectors. These strategies should aim at the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases." The administration has pushed to drop that section. As one senior State Department official who asked not to be identified put it, "We're bound by the administration's position. We're not going to make global climate policy at the Arctic Council." The World Wildlife Fund's Arctic Program director Samantha Smith said the council's scientific conclusions, which said temperature increases in some parts of the Arctic increased tenfold compared with the last century's worldwide average rise of 1 degree Fahrenheit, justified immediate action. "This is the first full-scale assessment of climate change in the Arctic and it shows dramatic changes in the region, with worse to come if we don't cut emissions," said Smith, an observer at the negotiations. "We challenge the Arctic governments to come up with a real response to the science, before the foreign ministers meet in Iceland in November." Administration officials said they are hesitant to endorse policy recommendations before examining the full 1,200-page scientific report on the Arctic. Paula Dobriansky, the undersecretary of state for global affairs who will be leading the U.S. delegation to Reykjavik, Iceland, later this month, said that "the report has not been finalized or released to governments." U.S. officials have received regular briefings on the full report, according to Arctic Council officials, and have submitted comprehensive comments on it over the past 18 months. Some council participants have begun to grumble about U.S. resistance to articulating a global climate policy. One European negotiator said the administration is trying to "sidetrack the whole process so it is not confronted with the question, 'Do you believe in climate change, or don't you?' " He added that while the other member nations will try to press the United States on the matter in the final talks, "I cannot see any solution to this unless [the administration] clearly changes its position." And Sheila Watt-Cloutier, head of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference and an Arctic Council representative, wrote council chairman Gunnar Palsson of Iceland in August that a recent draft of the report "tries and often fails to be all things to all people and in so doing shies away from policy recommendations, the one thing it was designed to do." Some Senate Republicans, including Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (Ariz.) and fellow committee member Olympia J. Snowe (Maine), are also lobbying the administration to back a strong policy document. In late September they and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) wrote to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell saying, "In order to fulfill our responsibilities to the American people, it is critical that we, as policymakers, have access to the latest scientific information and associated policy recommendations." Dobriansky said the administration supports publication of the policy report this month. "Allegations that the United States is seeking to suppress the policy recommendations are simply not true," she said. Palsson said in an interview that the public controversy over the U.S. climate position was complicating his efforts to achieve a consensus among top ministers, who are supposed to sign off on the policy findings within a matter of weeks. "This is such a highly sensitive political issue," he said. "Ministers have to be able to sort these things out behind closed doors." Copyright c. 2004 The Washington Post Company --------- "RE: GOP says it has votes to authorize ANWR drilling" --------- Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2004 16:59:58 +0000 From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: GOP says it has votes to authorize ANWR drilling Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.indianz.com/News/2004/005219.asp GOP says it has votes to authorize ANWR drilling November 5, 2004 Republicans in the Senate have enough votes to approve drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) said. Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Tuesday's election shifted more power to the GOP. He plans to add a pro-drilling provision to an appropriations bill, which can't be filibustered and can pass by a simple majority vote. The GOP-controlled House has approved drilling in the past but Democrats in the Senate have blocked it. Thanks to the election, the GOP now has 55 seats in the Senate. Inupiat Eskimos who own land in the refuge support drilling because they stand to benefit financially. Gwich'in Natives who depend on caribou in the refuge oppose it, saying it will wreck their way of life. Get the Story: http://www.adn.com/front/v-printer/story/5747187p-5681237c.html Republicans strategize on ANWR SENATE: GOP election victories give backers new hope to pass bill allowing drilling in refuge. By DON HUNTER Anchorage Daily News November 5, 2004 Buoyed by victories in U.S. Senate races Tuesday, Senate Republicans are expected to try again to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to petroleum exploration early next year. Marnie Funk, spokeswoman for the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and its chairman, Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico, said Republicans likely will try to make ANWR drilling part of a budget bill, a strategy that requires only 50 votes for passage and cannot be filibustered. The tactic was tried at least twice before. In 1995, President Bill Clinton vetoed a budget bill that included ANWR exploration, and last year the Senate fell two votes short of including it in a budget bill. Interest in reviving the ANWR fight has "only increased with oil at $50 a barrel," Funk said. ANWR drilling accounted for a significant measure of the rhetoric in the Senate campaign that ended here on Tuesday. Newly elected Sen. Lisa Murkowski said at a press conference Wednesday that pushing for an ANWR bill would be her first order of business when Congress convenes next year. In a written statement, she said, "I have been fielding phone calls all morning from my colleagues in the Senate, and in all of the conversations I have had, we were talking about ANWR." "The most likely scenario is, it would be during the budget reconciliation process, when we only need 50 votes," Murkowski campaign spokeswoman Kristin Pugh said Thursday. "It now appears we will be able to reach that hurdle." Attempts to reach Sen. Ted Stevens for comment on this matter Wednesday and Thursday were unsuccessful. While drilling supporters were enthusiastic, they were not as happy as when President Bush was first elected and listed opening ANWR as one of his energy priorities. "The net effect of (this) election is positive," said Kevin Hand, executive director of the pro-development lobbying group Arctic Power. "It doesn't provide any assurances by any means ... but considering the condition we could have been in if various folks had won, it's quite optimistic." Republicans will have 55 seats in the next U.S. Senate, and they also expanded their majority in the House. With three seats still undecided Thursday, Republicans had won 231 of the 435 seats in the House. Congressman Don Young said Wednesday he is excited about the prospects for ANWR legislation next session. "I think there is a strong possibility of this occurring," he said. "I think this changes the whole demographics of the program," he said, adding that prospects also look good for additional gas pipeline legislation with Stevens chairing the Senate Commerce Committee. But opposition to drilling in ANWR won't fade away. Alaska Conservation Foundation executive director Deborah Williams said she continues to believe most Americans want the Arctic refuge protected. "We believe that level of support will ultimately prevail," she said. "We're analyzing our options right now in terms of senators whom we believe will understand the critical values associated with protecting America's most precious Arctic coastal plain area," she said. Williams emphasized that the environmental community isn't opposed to all development in Alaska. "We support oil and gas development on state lands," she said. "We support balanced oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve. We support the gas pipeline. And at the same time, we believe balance requires protecting some areas." Republicans claimed Senate seats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and, perhaps most significantly, in South Dakota, where Tom Daschle, the Senate's minority leader and an ardent ANWR opponent, was upset by John Thune, a former Republican congressman who used the issue in his campaign. "We did end with a net gain in terms of senators in support of development in ANWR," said Hand, of Arctic Power. "But by no means do we have the ability to just roll through." Arctic Power is focused on getting the level of support in the Senate to 60 members, the number needed to defeat a filibuster, he said. "That way, we know that when the time comes, we have what it takes despite whatever vehicle is used on Congress." Daily News reporter Don Hunter can be reached at dhunter@adn.com. Copyright c. 2004 The Anchorage Daily News. --------- "RE: Report to predict big changes in Arctic" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 11:42:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARCTIC REPORT" http://www.aborinews.com/contenu/accueil/show.asp?lang=en&id=1722 Report to predict big changes in Arctic By JEFF SALLOT November 1, 2004 OTTAWA - Some time this century, polar bears may disappear from Hudson Bay. The Northwest Passage may become a busy shipping lane, posing a challenge to Canadian sovereignty. The Inuit of the Arctic may suffer higher rates of skin cancer because of increased exposure to ultraviolet rays. These are some of the possibilities outlined in a massive scientific study to be presented next week to senior government officials from Canada and seven other countries with Arctic territory. It predicts profound changes to the climate, wildlife habitat and human living conditions in the Far North because people living to the south are polluting the air. The four-year study also suggests that what's happening in the North is the harbinger of changing climate conditions that, if unchecked, will eventually alter living conditions everywhere on Earth. The 1,400-page report, dubbed "the brick" by the more than 250 scientists working on the project, is to be released Nov. 9 in Reykjavik at a ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council. The council countries are Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States. Portions of the report were leaked Friday to The New York Times by scientists in Europe, who said they were trying to thwart efforts by the Bush administration to keep the study under wraps until after the U.S. presidential election tomorrow. Canadian officials familiar with the study say there was no political interference from Washington on the timing of the release, but they agree that the Bush administration has generally been out of step with an emerging global consensus on the risks of global warming. The report warns that gases from factory and vehicular emissions are accelerating environmental changes in the Arctic - shrinking glaciers, melting sea ice, thawing permafrost and changing weather patterns. Robert Corell, an American oceanographer who headed the study, detailed some of the climate changes in testimony before the U.S. Congress this year. He said the average winter temperature in the Alaskan and Western Canadian North has increased an average three degrees Celsius in the past 60 years. This is twice the rate of temperature increases globally. Arctic sea ice has shrunk by 10 per cent in the past three decades, he said. The permafrost line, which is important for transportation, petroleum exploration and construction, will retreat north by about 300 kilometres this century - if trends continue. The research, which has been previewed in technical publications and at seminars in recent months, suggests that people living in the Arctic will find their world radically altered within a generation or two. With warming temperatures and pools of stagnant water in the summer, they'll have to worry for the first time about diseases carried by mosquitoes. The beaver population in Alaska is moving north, causing worries about the kinds of diseases it carries. Inuit hunters are falling through ice more frequently. In European Nordic regions, birch trees are supplanting lichen pastures that have been the main food source for reindeer. Dr. Corell told the Commonwealth North education group in Alaska that dramatically shifting wind patterns mean indigenous people can no longer depend on the wind to help them make their way across an Arctic landscape that has few distinguishing physical features to help navigate. As sea ice disappears, polar bears, which rely on the ability to move on ice to hunt seals, will be forced ashore. But they don't have the ability to forage for food on land, Dr. Corell said. Copyright c. 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. --------- "RE: MOHAWK: Hopi Prophecy pointed to Climate Change" --------- Date: Fri, 05 Nov 2004 12:19:16 -0500 From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Mohawk: Hopi prophecy pointed to climate change Mailing List: NDNAIM Mohawk: Hopi prophecy pointed to climate change Copyright c. Indian Country Today November 5, 2004. All Rights Reserved November 5, 2004 by: John C. Mohawk / Indian Country Today http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096409807 Beginning about 70 years ago, some traditional Hopi formulated a message to the rest of the world that there was a rising danger that humankind's lack of spiritual attention to the world was going to lead to disaster. The form this disaster would take was that there would be violent storms and all kinds of disruption that would eventually threaten human beings around the world. It had happened before, they said, and all signs, including ancient prophecies, are that it will happen again. The individual who emerged as spokesperson for this was Thomas Banyacya. A very interesting element to the message was that proof of their message was to be found in the American's own libraries and scientific papers. There is every evidence that this is happening, just as the traditional Hopi predicted, and the major leadership of the world is not acting in an effective way to meet the threat. This August, the Bush administration finally issued a statement acknowledging that human activity may be contributing to global warming. If you think that radical Islamic terrorism is scary, wait until you see global warming. Scientists are certain that greenhouse gasses, especially CO2, have a history of altering global climate patterns, a history that goes back perhaps at least 900 million years. A dramatic but widely-held theory is that 600 million years ago the earth was an ice ball trapped in a glacial period and that it escaped this seemingly permanent condition when volcanoes released enough CO2 into the atmosphere to create a greenhouse effect which warmed things up to perhaps an average temperature of 120 F, causing hundreds of thousands of years of rain which trapped the CO2 and put it back in the earth. Eventually the earth stabilized. That was when the dramatic proliferation of life forms, including multi-cellular animals, appeared. There is pretty good evidence to support this theory. The ice may have been a kilometer thick. Greenhouse gases do cause climate change. The earth is getting warmer and its average temperature has risen about one degree Fahrenheit since 1830 - at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The last 20 years have been the warmest in 12,000 years and the warming trend is worldwide. People who study tree rings find evidence that in the last 20 years there has been an unprecedented rate of change in the climate and among the best evidence for the effect of this change is that glaciers, worldwide, are receding and disappearing. There are glaciers in the Central Andes. Even there, glaciers have been retreating dramatically. Some are retreating at the rate of almost 100 feet per year. They could be gone entirely in 50 years. Forty percent of the ice has disappeared in some places. In others, numerous glaciers have already disappeared. For thousands of years, glaciers have maintained a record of what has happened over the centuries. Scientists collect ice cores from the tropics and the polar regions. They contain the history of climate going back to a half million years. Ice cores record that CO2 never got higher than 300 parts per million. Today, we find 360 ppm, strong (even irrefutable) evidence that humans are contributing to dramatic changes in the composition of the atmosphere. Scientists suspect there is a threshold beyond which dramatic and irreversible and unpredictable climate change could be triggered. The impact of the climate change we have already can be seen in Alaska. In just 30 years, Alaska's temperature has risen an average of five degrees and glaciers there are melting. Since 1995 some have receded 10 to 20 feet a year. And the rate of change may be accelerating. Climatologists are alarmed. In 50 years there may be no glaciers in Glacier National Park. Fossil fuels are changing the chemistry of the atmosphere. It is the northern areas that will experience this warming first. In Alaska, the first thing is the melting of the permafrost. This thawing could spread in just five years. Already telephone poles are leaning and the ground is opening up in places, leaving holes in the land. The Alaska pipeline was built on the permafrost, but there was no planning for the possibility the permafrost might melt and the pipeline is threatened. But the most devastating short-term impact may be from the unexpected. There are 120 million acres of forest in Alaska, and these forests are beginning to die on millions of acres. The destruction has been rapid and devastating and trees on three million acres have already been killed by insect infestation. Some species which threaten forests thrive in warmer weather, like the spruce bark beetle, which eats the bark. These beetles arrived with the onset of warmer weather and in some places there are so many beetles that people have been forced to abandoned their homes and cabins. In southern Alaska, more trees have died in a few years than in the previous 70 years. In East Africa it rained excessively in traditionally arid lands and this led to extensive flooding which overwhelmed the water management systems. One result was a cholera epidemic from contaminated water. The mosquito population exploded and a malaria epidemic ensued in places in Kenya where mosquitoes were previously rare or unknown. People blamed El Nino, but global warming probably had a hand in the disasters. The problems didn't end there. As the earth heats up, the land dries up. Moisture is released through evaporation into the atmosphere, making it available for weather events. Thus there is flooding, record rainfalls and sometimes storms stronger than previously. While one place is experiencing flooding, other places experience drought. California is flooded, while Indonesia experiences drought. It is just like the Hopi warned. The natural climate system can change rapidly. If it happened rapidly in the past, it could happen in the future. Temperature records are being broken. It seems inevitable that we will reach four times the CO2 levels in the atmosphere from a century ago and maybe soon. Of all the emissions sent up today, fully half will still be in the atmosphere 100 years from now. By the time we can prove beyond a doubt that human activity is causing the warming, it will be far too late to do anything about it. American politicians, who compete among themselves selling visions of wishful thinking from everything from the economy to terrorism have not performed well in facing this threat. Earlier this year a movie, "The Day After Tomorrow", dramatized (and action-adventurized) sudden global freezing (an after effect of warming), but even if the climate changes are much less dramatic than depicted in this movie, the question arises: what about the day after the day after tomorrow? The U.S. governme nt does see climate change as a national security threat, but it's actually much greater than that. It is a threat to species survival. Ours, and many others. John C. Mohawk Ph.D., columnist for Indian Country Today, is an author and professor in the Center for the Americas at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Copyright c. 2004 Indian Country Today --------- "RE: Alaskan Villages in Hot water" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 21:22:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARCTIC MELT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/11/07/MNG3Q9MDPD1.DTL Alaskan villages in hot water Rising temperatures melt ice barriers, imperil communities Tomas Alex Tizon, Los Angeles Times November 7, 2004 Newtok, Alaska - The boys hunt for mastodon bones on the tundra as the women and girls gather salmonberries from their secret spots in the hills. The men keep busy with various manly things, fishing and fixing roofs and hauling water from the community well. It's another sunny afternoon in this Inuk village of 340 on Alaska's west coast, and there isn't the slightest hint that life is approaching a cataclysmic change. In as few as 10 years, the whole village will be swallowed up by a torrent of water from the Ninglick River, and an ancient way of life will be erased. "It's like a razor blade down there, just chopping away at the beach," says Phil Kusayak, the school custodian, eyeing the waves in the near distance. "Pretty soon, it'll all be water." For thousands of years, ice shelves and permafrost along Alaska's coast acted as shields against storms and tidal forces, but rising temperatures have melted much of these natural barriers, leaving Newtok's shoreline vulnerable to a relentless barrage of waves. The Ninglick River, which has eaten away 3,320 feet of beach in the past 50 years, is accelerating toward Newtok at a rate of 110 feet a year. The town dump was washed away, and now the barge landing, critical for receiving supplies, has begun to crumble. Villages all across Alaska have been affected by the warming trend. Temperatures in polar regions have risen about 2 degrees per decade over the past 30 years. This has exacerbated the naturally occurring erosion that plagues more than 180 of Alaska's coastal and riverine villages. According to a report released 10 months ago by the General Accounting Office, now the Government Accountability Office, about two dozen villages are threatened and four are in "imminent danger" - and none more so than Newtok, where the erosion rate is faster than anywhere else. But Newtok residents aren't panicking, because they have a plan: to move the entire village, buildings and all, to a spot across the river, 9 miles away on the north end of Nelson Island. Villagers obtained the site for their new home in a land swap with the federal government in April. The town, which proposed the swap, got 11,000 acres on Nelson in exchange for giving up their village plus 12,000 adjacent acres, all of which will become part of a wildlife refuge that is already mostly tundra and marsh. The move would be unprecedented - if it happens. Tribal leaders, who commissioned an engineering study this year, said the move could cost $50 million to $100 million. Estimates from the GAO indicate the number could be as high as $400 million. Nobody knows where the money will come from. After Newtok, there would be Kivalina, Koyukuk, Shishmaref and 20 others. The cost to relocate, or barricade, all the villages threatened by erosion would be unimaginable. Officials acknowledge the urgency of the situation, but the cost and complexity of relocating a village have proved daunting. It would require the coordination of several state and federal agencies, and no agency or politician has dared to take the lead. By default, the Newtok people have been left to save themselves. Right now, their relocation fund stands at zero. Stanley Tom knows better than anyone what is at stake. Tom, 44, is the village grocer. He is short and bespectacled, with a wispy black mustache and eyes that, of late, have been twitchy. The village has placed the entire burden of the relocation on his shoulders. Ask villagers about the move and they will respond with some version of "Ask Stanley." He is a Yupik Inuk, born and raised in this community on the outer fringe of the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta. He is a two-time college dropout, but one of only a few in town with any education past high school, and, most important, the only one who remotely understands the language of bureaucrats. In a village that depends on government funding for its most basic services, Tom is the lifeline to the outside world. He has initiated much of the planning for the move. "I'm it," Tom says with a sigh. "There's no one else here who can do it." Ted Stevens, one of Alaska's U.S. senators, convened a hearing in Anchorage this summer so village leaders could plead for assistance from local, state and federal officials, but there was no resolution. "Of course we're concerned. We don't want these villages to be washed away," says Stevens aide Courtney Schikora. "But it's not something we have a solution for right now." If the village can't be relocated for economic or other reasons, the only viable alternative, government officials say, would be to move the residents (but no buildings) to an existing community, such as Bethel, population 5,700, about 100 miles east. Village leaders say such a move would mean the end of the Newtok people as a distinct tribe. From the air, the village looks like a cluster of barnacles clinging to the edge of an immense green plain. On the ground, Newtok is a motley collection of about 70 small wood-frame homes built along several hundred feet of boardwalks that roll and bend with the terrain. The Newtoks, whose ancestors called themselves Qaluyaarmiut, or "dip net people," have occupied this region for at least 2,000 years. The people here know about moving. At least the older ones. Like all traditional Yupik Inuit, the Newtoks were nomadic until the 20th century, although they confined their travels to campsites on and around Nelson Island and along the Ninglick. When the Newtoks moved from camp to camp, they brought only what they could carry on boats. Their homes were made of sod. Newtok became permanent 55 years ago. Western ways, such as mandatory school attendance, required a stationary existence. Now the Newtoks have something they've never had before: infrastructure. The plan, in theory, calls for relocating those buildings that would be more economical to move than to rebuild, such as the school, built in 2001; the new medical clinic, finished just this year; the "washeteria," with its washers, dryers and water tanks; and the town's two electrical generators and their outbuildings. Why new facilities were built even though the Ninglick was fast-approaching is a testament to poor planning and, in some ways, to a collective denial that the village was doomed. In addition to those buildings, villagers would like to move their homes. Only houses built on pilings would be considered. Many of the older homes may be too fragile to uproot. Large buildings would likely be broken into sections, then transported either by barge during the summer or on giant sleds pushed or pulled by tractors across the frozen Ninglick during the winter. The move could take place over months or even years, as funds become available. "What's being talked about here ... hasn't been done before," says Christie Miller of Alaska's Department of Community and Economic Development. Miller visited Newtok in August, and was alarmed at the erosion rate. Andrea Elconin, project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers in Anchorage, says everyone is waiting for Congress to "tag one agency to take the lead" in dealing with the problem of threatened villages. Without a guiding agency, she and others say, projects such as Newtok's relocation could drift for years. Meanwhile, Stanley Tom spends much of his time talking on the phone and corresponding by e-mail. "I guess I'm the lead agency," he says. He communicates with a large array of engineers, scientists, politicians and bureaucrats. After one phone call, he takes a trip to the barge landing, a short ride away on an all-terrain vehicle. The ground is mushy all the way to the river shore. The Ninglick, an unusually wide, slate- colored waterway that connects Baird Inlet with the Bering Sea, spreads out to the horizon, with the shore of Nelson Island visible as a thin, dark line in the distance. "Where's the landing?" someone asks. "We're on it," Tom says. Where once there was a gently sloping beach with a dock, there is now an abrupt cutoff, like a small cliff. The dock, its foundation undercut by waves, has fallen to the bottom of the cliff. Next to the old pilings lies a shipping container on its side. It, too, has fallen off the edge. Two more shipping containers sit at the edge, ready to fall any day. All it will take is a storm or a strong wind. Copyright c. 2004 San Francisco Chronicle. --------- "RE: Indian leaders call for healing following election" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 08:13:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIONAL HEALING" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=5440 Indian leaders call for healing following election "Effects that political rhetoric...have on American Indian business people" Sam Lewin November 3, 2004 Stressing they are not calling anyone a racist, a group of American Indian leaders have called for a conference following comments made in the heat of California's election by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Officials with the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California say they want to address the environment of "racism against American Indian business people that has been fueled by Governor Schwarzenegger's remarks against American Indians in California." Schwarzenegger said "the Indians are ripping us off" while speaking against Proposition 70, a measure that according to the California Secretary of State "grants exclusive tribal gaming rights; no limits on number of machines, facilities, types of games on Indian land," The legislation, rejected by the California voters, would have given tribes compacts that last 99 years. Chamber representatives say they have received "numerous racist comments and actions against us as a minority people while attending meetings and events as part of our efforts working on behalf of American Indian businesses." "We are not calling the governor a racist, however, we are compelled to address the "racist" effects that his political rhetoric has had on American Indian business people - a long misunderstood minority who are working towards the American dream like any other group," said Chamber President Tracy Stanhoff, an enrolled member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation and a small business owner. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE LEE: Protecting rights of Native Voters" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 08:13:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: NATIVE VOTERS" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/11/03/montana/a11110304_01.txt State's native voters face challenges By JODI RAVE - Missoulian November 3, 2004 RONAN - They lost a Native voter. "He's large. He's really dark. And he has a really booming voice," said Ruth Quequesah, a volunteer vote coordinator on the Flathead Indian Reservation who has worked for months to register voters and get them to the polls Tuesday. Quequesah felt the citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes was treated unfairly at the polls because he was Native. And when an election judge in Polson failed to offer him a provisional ballot, the man left the polling place upset. He never did return to vote. It was just the sort of situation Get-Out-the-Vote volunteers hoped to avoid. And it was the reason students at the University of Montana's Indian Law Clinic canvassed Montana's seven reservations on Election Day with nearly 50 lawyers and student volunteers. A volunteer assigned to the Polson site was traveling between polls when the tribal citizen failed to present proper identification. The Indian Law Clinic students' effort to protect Native voters was part of a national plan organized by the Native American Bar Association and the National Congress of American Indians, said Eli Parker of the Indian Law Clinic. The three most common barriers preventing Native people from voting are restrictive state election laws, poorly prepared election officials and misinformed voters. Native voters received increased attention from political candidates this fall, particularly in tight elections. And considerable effort went into making sure their votes were counted. On Election Day, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol issued a restraining order against Republican poll workers who were charged with intimidating Native voters on South Dakota's Yankton Reservation. Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., was counting on the Native vote in his race against Republican John Thune. "The Flathead Reservation isn't as contentious as other reservations," said Rhonda Swaney of the Indian Law Clinic. "We're a smaller problem than other reservations. We're not as visible." Yet Quequesah and Anita Big Springs, a coordinator with Native Action, a nonprofit Get-Out-the-Vote organization, could rattle off a list of tribal citizens who met "antagonistic" election judges on Tuesday. In Lake County, with 22 precincts and 88 election judges, there are less than a handful of Native judges although tribal members make up nearly 25 percent of the population. If the ratio was balanced, there would be at least one Native election judge in every precinct, said Big Springs. She said complaints to the Lake County election administrator have fallen on deaf ears. But that hasn't stopped poll watchers from taking a seat at precincts to put Native people at ease, said Big Springs. "Through this process, we've made major inroads." Months of registering voters and getting them to the polls paid off. In Lake County, which encompasses most of the Flathead Reservation, some 2, 200 new voters were registered. Quequesah and Big Springs said their 60 volunteers alone registered about half those new voters since September. Copyright c. 2004 Helena Independent Record; a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Tribes show some Poll Clout" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 11:42:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: TRIBAL VOTES" http://www.grandforks.com//dorreen_yellow_bird/10113183.htm COLUMNIST DORREEN YELLOW BIRD: Tribes show some poll clout November 6, 2004 Ahh, the week after elections; losers scratch their heads, and winners are misty-eyed with victory. Me? I'm both disappointed and glad at the outcome of some the election results. I am extremely pleased with the growing numbers of American Indian voters. It means we are recognizing how mainstream America affects us. It means we are realizing we can make a difference. I am disappointed we are saddled with another four years of the Bush administration. In the pit of my stomach, there is a foreboding - the feeling the nation is in for a rough ride. And I am disappointed with South Dakota: The state lost a good man in Sen. Tom Daschle. Daschle had worked his way into a very powerful position that benefited the state. I interviewed him a few years ago, when he cut the ribbon for a new Indian health clinic in Sisseton, S.D. I was impressed with him. I looked at the county-by-county results of the Senate race and found Indian people came out in big numbers for Daschle. That was true in the 2000 election, when Republican John Thune took a beating at the hands of the Lakota and Dakota. Sen. Tim Johnson's support from the tribes pushed him over the top. Apparently, Thune took another look at the tribes and realized they were a force to contend with. Then, he did some work on the reservations. There were significant numbers of voters in Sioux, Rolla and Rolette counties of North Dakota for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Joe Satrom, but it wasn't enough. Satrom did get around to the reservations and showed his concern for our needs, but we are a state of the status quo: If the guy in office isn't doing too badly, we keep him, I was told. I learned about this status-quo inclination on North Dakota's part from James Neilson, a retired history and economics professor at Mayville (N.D. ) State University and Sunday's "Prairie Voices" interview subject. In addition, of course, Gov. John Hoeven has been pretty good governor. I like Satrom, but I don't think North Dakota will be disappointed with Hoeven's governorship. But I do wish he were a little more concerned about the needs of Indian people - we are, after all, part of the state, too. Minnesota, the state that elected independent Jesse Ventura, showed they were not status quo and supported John Kerry. On reservations, the Red Lake and White Earth tribes upset state Rep. Doug Lindgren, R-Bagley, who had led late into election night. When the reservations votes arrived that night, Brita Sailer won by a wide margin over Lindgren. Sailer probably still is smiling. Part of the Indian turnout in Minnesota was stimulated by Gov. Tim Pawlenty's strong-arm approach to tribes regarding casino revenue. Pawlenty wants a big share of the casino revenues and said that if the state doesn't get it, he would work to bring in private casinos. Before all that publicity about casinos paying into the state hit the news, the Prairie Island Indian community gave the national Republican convention event $10,000. After some mean and what some Democrats called race-baitng ads - ads that said "They (the Democrats) would rather tax average citizens than have tribal casinos pay their fair share" - Prairie Island asked for their money back. Tribal leaders weren't pleased with the GOP's attitude, I suspect. I chuckled at their response and would have raised my hand for a winner slap, if I were at Prairie Island. Indians' voting strength and mention in the news tells me we are beginning to take our place at the big table. Indian people are a new trend in political systems. Yet, we should remember to maintain that vision of who we are. Remember tribal governments held us together for thousands of years and in times of great adversity - they were good governments. Today, our new tribal governments, which were fashioned after the federal government in the middle 1900s, are struggling to find a way to good government. Last, we need to remember we have a responsibility to the nation and people - we are, after all, still stewards of Turtle Island. ---- Dorreen Yellow Bird's column appears Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2004 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: Voter ID Suits remain unfiled" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 08:13:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SOUTH DAKOTA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/11/05/election/issues/934issue.txt Voter ID suits remain unfiled GOP official expects more charges of voting problems. By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer November 5, 2004 South Dakota Republican Party executive director Jason Glodt said he expects more charges of voter intimidation on Nov. 2, even though the group that made those charges after the June 1 election has not made good on its promise to sue. "When those allegations were first made, they were baseless," Glodt said. He was referring to charges made in the media by the nonprofit American Indian voting-rights group Four Directions Committee. Days after South Dakota's special U.S. House election on June 1, Four Directions executive director Bret Healy said his group had identified between 15 and 20 voters wrongfully denied the right to vote because they lacked photo identification. "Something broke down in South Dakota's election process, and we're going to do everything we can to ensure this doesn't happen again," Healy said a week after the election. Healy said then that Four Directions would file lawsuits in federal court in Rapid City, Pierre and Sioux Falls on grounds of civil-rights violations. At the time, Healy said he wanted a federal court to overturn South Dakota's voter ID law. Under the state law passed in 2003, voters should present a photo ID when voting. In lieu of presenting a photo ID, voters can sign an affidavit attesting to their identity. On June 1, the first statewide election under the new law, reports were prevalent of election workers turning away voters rather than offering them an affidavit. Glodt said he doesn't believe Four Directions officials ever intended to sue. "They were simply playing politics. Unfortunately, we expect it to happen again," Glodt said. Healy said Friday that he decided to back off the lawsuits after the state Election Board passed a regulation that requires signs explaining the affidavit option to be posted in polling places. And he said Four Directions didn't have enough money to pay for the suits. "We never filed suit because I didn't put enough money together yet. I emphasize 'yet,'" Healy said. "The fact of the matter is, those aren't baseless. Just because they didn't go to the courthouse door ... we chose to use the process to address it. That's why we have the sign requirement; it's, in large measure, because Four Directions was pushing for that kind of information to be out there." Contact Denise Ross at 394-8438 or denise.ross@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: A Reservation's relentless Poverty" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 08:52:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PINE RIDGE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002084906_indians08.html A reservation's relentless poverty By Evelyn Nieves The Washington Post November 8, 2004 PINE RIDGE, S.D. - When the president came to town, Geraldine Blue Bird was lucky enough to be living in a four-room shack with 28 other people. Had she been better off, President Clinton's 1999 summer "poverty tour" to the Oglala Lakota Sioux reservation might have overlooked her house among all the other cabins and trailers doing hard time in her neighborhood. But even in the poorest patch of the poorest place in the country, the Blue Bird residence stood out. Children spilled out the doors, plywood covered the windows, and an outhouse stood near the wreck of a pop-up camper - used as an extra bedroom - in the back yard. When Clinton touched down here to point out that parts of the United States were as in need of help as developing countries, he called on Blue Bird. Soon after, she received a call from Ronald Dozoretz, a Washington psychiatrist and husband of a major Democratic Party fund-raiser. He was buying her a four-bedroom double-wide mobile home - what color did she want? Now, Blue Bird's double-wide, baby blue with black shutters, is the biggest house on her block. It only looks small, since she still takes in about two dozen children and young people, along with her son, daughter and four grandchildren. Pick a day and kids are sprawling and roller-skating across the living room, running around the bald front yard and climbing on the pine ramp out front that Blue Bird, who is 48 and has congestive heart failure, needs for her wheelchair. Still, she and everyone else here will tell you that her house was the best thing to come out of the first presidential visit to a reservation in more than 60 years. Many people say it was the only good thing. Five years after that visit, all the hopes Clinton stirred have amounted to very little. The house across the street from Blue Bird's still has no windows and no running water. Same goes for the one next to it, and the one next to that one. Beyond this neighborhood of brittle hovels, the Pine Ridge reservation is besieged by problems decades in the making and beyond its ability to fix. More Lakotas who had left are returning to the Plains, preferring to live among their own people rather than in relative comfort on the outside. But failings of the federal government - from mismanaging Indian money held in trust to shortchanging programs it is legally bound to fund - continually undermine efforts at self-help here. Things are not much better on some other reservations. The Navajos in the Southwest, the Crow tribe in Montana and the Comanches in Oklahoma are also poor, while some other tribes - even without casinos - have seen their living standards rise in recent decades. But Native American poverty rarely makes the national political agenda. The federal government has acknowledged it has grossly mishandled money it began collecting in the late 1880s, when it leased reservation land to oil, mining and timber interests and held the proceeds in trust for Indians. The government owes Native Americans billions, but a class-action lawsuit filed eight years ago on behalf of nearly 500,000 Indians is still unresolved. Meanwhile, on Pine Ridge, three and four families live in single-family houses, more than eight out of 10 people are out of work, and more than half the people, helpless against disconnect notices, have no phone in any given month. The Lakota can revel in a few hopeful signs. Tribal culture is undergoing a renaissance, after decades during which the federal government put Indian children into English-language-only boarding schools and banned sun dances. The Oglala Sioux Tribal College graduated 179 students this spring, its largest class since it was accredited in 1983. And the bison, nearly killed off during the Gold Rush and the westward expansion, are returning. In June, a seed herd of 15 yearlings was brought to the reservation in the hope that they will become multitudes. But barely a week passes here without a fresh roadside cross going up for yet another car-accident victim, or a cloud of black smoke rising from yet another trailer fire. One afternoon, as the remains of two trailers smoldered on the horizon - propane fires, most likely - Blue Bird was sitting in her kitchen, minding eight children, from 4 months to 12 years old, as they watched a "Scooby Doo" cartoon. The screen door kept banging open and shut, with kids going in and out, letting the flies inside. Fingerprints were all over the walls, footprints all over the floor. "Auntie Geraldine" was grateful the house was still in one piece. "A lot of people get donated trailers," she said, "but the trailers are already falling apart when they get them." Blue Bird gets by on $1,480 a month in Social Security disability benefits and boxes of food the Agriculture Department hands out in poor rural communities. Her wards - children of relatives or neighbors whom she takes care of for weeks, months or years at a time - keep her creative with money, she said. "I can stretch one can of soup to four," she said. Still, she is always worried. Blue Bird was due to drive to Rapid City, 118 miles away, the next day to have a tumor removed from her back, and she was feeling her mortality. Even after she had gastric-bypass surgery and lost nearly 200 pounds in three years, her body, burdened with diabetes and hypertension as well as heart problems, was always betraying her. If she were to die the next day, she wondered, what would become of all these children? "We all try to help one another here - that's our way," she said. "But life is so hard." People in Pine Ridge pour their energies into trying to make things better. The reservation needs help with everything: infrastructure, housing, health care, education, economic development. Yet federal money that is supposed to go to the Indians, under treaties or laws, keeps getting cut. The most glaring example, the Indian Health Service, was created by treaties drawn more than a century ago that promised high-quality health care (along with high-quality education and decent housing) for every Native American in exchange for the federal government's taking vast swaths of Indian land. But the health service, run by the Department of Health and Human Services, is funded at less than $2,000 per Indian each year, half of what federal prisoners get. This year, Congress rejected legislation to increase its budget. The administration redirected Indian Health Service funding to homeland security and the Iraq war. Indian Health Service hospitals operate under a "life or limb" policy. For lesser ailments, people write off a day of their lives in a clinic waiting room. Often, they just give up and go home. Deferred health problems take their toll. Life expectancy on the reservation is 47 to 56 years, the nation's lowest. Infant mortality is twice the rate of the rest of the country. Diabetes afflicts about half the population, and people here talk about their blood-sugar levels the way other Americans mention their cholesterol counts. Alcoholism is rampant - some figures place it at 80 percent of the population - yet on a reservation about the size of Connecticut, there is no alcohol-treatment center. The roadside crosses are too often the result of alcohol-fueled car accidents, which are nearly three times as common here as in the general population. The Pine Ridge Economic Empowerment Zone, which was the best hope for an economic shot in the arm after Clinton's visit, came with a promised grant of $2 million a year for 10 years as seed money for businesses. But this year, when the zone began to see long-term plans get off the ground, the Bush administration cut its grant to $1.5 million. It allocated no money for the zone in its proposed budget for next year. Some people blame politics for the funding slights. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., his junior colleague, have proposed bills to increase funding for Indian programs, only to see them defeated in the Republican-controlled Congress. In 2002, Johnson beat Republican John Thune by 524 votes based on late returns from Pine Ridge. Last week, Daschle, facing Thune in a nail-biter race, counted on the Democratic voting bloc on South Dakota's nine reservations to win, but went down to defeat. Indian programs have been cut or underfunded over many administrations, Democratic and Republican. Last year, the bipartisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights published a report criticizing the federal government for underspending on Native American programs over generations. Between 1975 and 2000, the study found, funding for Indian programs declined when adjusted for inflation. The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council, a source of complaints ever since federal law established the tribal-council system to help make tribes self-determining, is never stable, since the whole 16-member governing body faces election every two years. It is also on the verge of bankruptcy. Copyright c. 2004 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: Tribe approves 42 possible replace Names" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2004 08:15:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="S-WORD" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.oregonlive.com//news-8/1099383546237840.xml&storylist=orlocal Tribe approves 42 possible words to replace offensive name The Associated Press November 2, 2004 BEND, Ore. (AP) - The word "squaw" has long been considered an offensive term for women by American Indians. Yet that is the name of Squaw Creek, which traverses the ancestral land of the Warm Springs tribe. Now, after years of internal debate, the Warm Springs Tribal Council has finally approved a list of 42 words that could be used to rename the creek and other nearby squaw place names. The tribal council of Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, which is comprised of the Wasco, Paiute and Warm Springs tribes, passed a resolution last week accepting the translation of 15 of the 42 words into the three distinct languages of their people. Although the tribes have long wanted to change the creek's name, this is the first time the tribal council has approved a list of possible replacements, said Bobby Bruno, the tribes' director of natural resources. The names were decided by a group of tribal elders, Bruno told The Bulletin. They include the words for animals, plants and physical features that can be found near the creek. To balance the formerly offensive name, the tribes also made sure to include positive references to women, said Sally Bird, an archaeologist for the tribes. The word laughing was included to signify "happy women working together." Translated it appears as akayaulal in Wasco, ti-yat in Sahaptin, the language of the Warm Springs tribe, and soowi'ena in Paiute. Although the creek doesn't flow through the reservation, it does run through the ceded lands of the Warm Springs tribes. That means the tribes may get preference when the Oregon Geographic Names Board chooses the name, said Champ Vaughan, president of the names board. The board will also listen to input from the U.S. Forest Service and city of Sisters, Vaughan said. But Sisters City Manager Eileen Stein said some of the names the tribes submitted may be too difficult to pronounce. Several of the Wasco names use unconventional symbols, such as an "l" with a diagonal line through it, that aren't included in most word processing programs. Bird, the tribe's archaeologist, counters that even spellings that seem difficult can be pronounced by non-Indians. "What I don't want them to do is to discount Wasco words because they think they're unpronounceable," Bird said, noting that "wixat," the Wasco word for road, is pronounced "wicut." Once the Oregon board makes its decision, the U.S. Geographic Names board will take six to 12 months to give final approval, Vaughan said. Because of that lag time, it's unlikely the tribes will meet an Oregon deadline for changing the squaw names. The Oregon Legislature passed a law in 2001 banning cities and other public bodies from using the term "squaw" in organization or property names. The law set a deadline of Jan. 2, 2005, for changing the name. In the Deschutes National Forest, there are 26 squaw place names, with eight of those in the Sisters Ranger District. Copyright c. 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2004 2004 The Oregonian, OregonLive.com. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Oregon Indians acting to remove Offensive Name" --------- Date: Wednesday, November 3, 2004 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" AkimelOodham@EarthLink.net Subj: Renaming Squaw Creek: Oregon Indians acting to remove offensive name Mailing List: News and Information http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/46385.php Renaming Squaw Creek Oregon Indians acting to remove offensive name THE ASSOCIATED PRESS November 3, 2004 BEND, Ore. - American Indians have long considered the word "squaw" an offensive term for women. Yet that is the name of Squaw Creek, which traverses the ancestral land of the Warm Springs tribes. Now, after years of internal debate, the Warm Springs Tribal Council has approved a list of 42 words that could be used to rename the creek and other nearby "squaw" place names. The council of Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, comprising the Wasco, Paiute and Warm Springs tribes, passed a resolution last week accepting the translation of 15 of the 42 words into the three distinct languages of their people. Although the tribes have long wanted to change the creek's name, this is the first time the Tribal Council has approved a list of possible replacements, said Bobby Bruno, the tribes' director of natural resources. The names were decided by a group of tribal elders, Bruno told The Bulletin, a Bend newspaper. They include the words for animals, plants and physical features that can be found near the creek. To balance the formerly offensive name, the tribes also made sure to include positive references to women, said Sally Bird, an archaeologist for the tribes. The word "laughing" was included to signify "happy women working together." Translated it appears as akayaulal in Wasco; ti-yat in Sahaptin, the language of the Warm Springs tribe; and soowi'ena in Paiute. Although the creek doesn't flow through the reservation, it runs through the ceded lands of the Warm Springs tribes. That means the tribes may get preference when the Oregon Geographic Names Board chooses the name, said Champ Vaughan, president of the names board. The board will also listen to opinions of the U.S. Forest Service and the city of Sisters, Vaughan said. But Sisters City Manager Eileen Stein said some of the names the tribes submitted may be too difficult to pronounce. Copyright c. 1999-2004 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star and its wire services. --------- "RE: S'Klallam Tribe celebrates 100-year Vision" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 21:22:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LONGHOUSE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.thesunlink.com/bsun//article/0,2403,BSUN_19088_3311746,00.html Tribe celebrates 100-year vision with completion of Longhouse More than 500 people turn out to see the new gathering place. By Eric D. Williams, Sun Staff November 7, 2004 A steady drizzle greeted young and elder members of the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, as they congregated to celebrate a new gathering place that will last for centuries to come. The new indoor facility was the perfect spot to convene on a dreary Saturday afternoon. A sea of tribal elders, public officials, volunteers and local community well-wishers, some 500 strong, packed into the new $1.2 million Longhouse. "I think it's good for when we have powwows and the people from the other tribes can come and see how we've done it," said Angelina Ives, 11, a member of the S'Klallam tribal dancers. Ives and others came to sing songs, dance, chant, reminisce and say thank you to everyone who helped contribute to the completion of the new 5,700-square-foot anchor of the community. Public officials on hand included County Commissioner Chris Endresen, former County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido, a representative for U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge, and members of the North Kitsap School District board. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, also delivered a video message. "We're about halfway there," Ron Charles, S'Klallam tribal chairman, said during his opening comments. "But we're very, very pleased with what has happened so far. The S'Klallam people like to get together and have a good time, have good food and visits with our friends and relatives. "And that's the type of building we wanted to build here. A place where we could do those ceremonies have funerals, weddings, celebrations and different types of big events that will take place in the Longhouse here." Charles said it's the first major building constructed on reservation land in 150 years. The Longhouse is the centerpiece of the $4.5 million, four-building House of Knowledge project, so named to celebrate the pursuit of education, of S'Klallam tribal heritage and the future. The first S'Klallam longhouse in over a century, the facility was custom designed and built with wood from Douglas fir trees harvested from the reservation. A tribal carving of an owl adorns the wide doors of the east entrance of the building. The owl is in honor of Martha John, a tribal elder who recently passed, and was instrumental in keeping alive the tribe's culture. The west doors feature a killer whale with a thunderbird. Four regal totem poles erected around the complex honor jobs tribe members worked to make a living, and depict the significant influence nearby Port Gamble Bay has had on the tribe's lifestyle. Adjacent to the Longhouse is a 3,420-square-foot career and education center, which will include a computer lab, distance learning center and staff offices. Future projects include a tribal elders center and the expansion of the well-used Little Boston Library. Bea Charles and Adeline Smith came up with the S'Klallam tribal name for the new complex, Xcntax (pronounced Haa-Chi-nought), because of its focus on knowledge. Tribal officials and S'Klallam tribal dancers honored everyone involved with the projects with dances, speeches, songs and storytelling. After the 3-hour ceremony, everyone gathered for a salmon dinner. "My grandfather used to say that the S'Klallam people are almost going to disappear," said Adeline Smith, one of the tribal elders. "But when they come back, they are going to come back strong. Now I see that." Reach reporter Eric D. Williams at (360) 792-3343, or at ewilliams@kitsapsun.com. Copyright c. 2004 The Beaverton Sun. --------- "RE: Colville tribes, Utility settle fight over Dam" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2004 08:15:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBAL LAND USAGE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002079482_tribe02m.html Colville tribes, utility settle fight over dam By SHANNON DININNY The Associated Press November 2, 2004 YAKIMA - The Douglas County Public Utility District and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation announced an agreement yesterday in a nearly two-year dispute involving payment for use of tribal land near Wells Dam. The PUD holds the license for the 840-megawatt dam, which was built in 1967 on the upper Columbia River. The license requires that the utility make annual payments to the Colvilles for use of tribal lands. The two sides have differed over how much compensation has been paid over the years, as well as which land the Colvilles own. Last year, the tribe sought $950 million from the utility district as compensation for fishing grounds flooded by the dam. Under the agreement, the utility will pay a lump sum of $13.5 million to the Colvilles within six months after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approves the settlement. The tribe then will release all past and present claims regarding annual payments against the utility for use of lands within the Wells Dam project. Since 1994, the Colvilles have received $21 million a year from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) for tribal land flooded by Grand Coulee Dam, also on the Columbia River. "We are fortunate that conditions allowed us to work out a solution with the Colville tribe," Douglas PUD Manager Bill Dobbins said in a news release. "This settlement fulfills a license requirement that has been outstanding since the Project was originally licensed in 1962." The Indians have said they have rights to 27 percent of the project's 11, 275 acres, while the utility contends it purchased most of the land in question. The two sides also differed over whether the Colvilles or the state owns the riverbed, which accounts for about 11 percent of the land in question. The utility paid the state for use of the riverbed, and that question was not addressed in the agreement, said utility spokeswoman Meaghan Vibbert. Under the agreement, the tribes will affirm all land rights previously conveyed to the utility district, including the right to impound water over the beds of the Okanogan and Columbia rivers, according to the release. The tribes also will support the utility's efforts to get a new 50-year license for the dam. The dam is up for relicensing in 2012. Joe Pakootas, chairman of the Colville Tribal Business Council, said he was pleased. The Colvilles finally will get significant compensation for past damages, he said. "A lot of our members may not feel complete with it, but at least compensation is started," Pakootas said in a news release. "The settlement is far better than years of litigation." Pakootas did not return a phone call for additional comment. The utility plans to sell revenue bonds to finance the obligation. It also plans to transfer about 466 acres of surplus land to the Colvilles within 30 days of FERC approval. Earlier this year, FERC approved a 50-year habitat conservation plan as part of the relicensing process for Rock Island, Rocky Reach and Wells dams. The agreements were developed by the Chelan County and Douglas County public-utility districts. Copyright c. 2004 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: Coquille Tribe seeks suggestions from Crowd" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 11:42:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COQUILLE DEVELOPMENT MEETING" http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2004/11/05/news/news01.txt Tribe seeks suggestions from crowd By Howard Yune, Staff Writer November 5, 2004 With the former Weyerhaeuser Corp. sawmill property in hand, the Coquille Indian Tribe on Thursday night began the process of planning what to build there. The tribe opened a crowded forum to ask locals whether they prefer retail stores or interpretive centers, expansive bay views or densely packed developments amounting to a new Bay Area neighborhood. An overhead projection screen hung from the ceiling displayed the subject of discussion for the next two hours: the 50-acre finger of land between U.S. Highway 101 and the North Bend bayfront, once a hive of lumber cutting but now mostly a hive of weeds. In March, the Coquille Indian Tribe purchased the abandoned sawmill and dock site from Weyerhaeuser. Eight months later, consultants hired by the tribe were beginning on the lengthy path toward finding the waterfront plot's new purpose - and starting by asking questions of more than 150 people gathered at The Mill Casino-Hotel, built from the very mill the old owners had left behind. Before the forum on Thursday night, members of the tribe's economic arm, the Coquille Economic Development Corporation, had said little of the tribe's plans to redevelop the site. Opening the question-and-answer session, Nicole Faghin, a Reid Middleton planner who helped redevelop another former Weyerhaeuser mill in Washington into a business park, immediately cautioned the audience not to expect shovels in the ground right away. Instead, she emphasized the need first to identify not only the opportunities but also the market for them, as well as the laws and restrictions applying to the area. "That's why you're here tonight, to help us think that through," said Faghin. She outlined four phases CEDCO must pass through before construction begins: site assessment, concept planning (which she said can begin as early as June 2005), setting design guidelines and implementation, which she estimated to be about 18 months away. With audience members invited to speak, their ideas for the old mill site came one after the other, ranging from the popular to the unlikely, like a factory outlet retail center or a hydroponic farm. But almost all who spoke accepted the Bay Area's movement from timber-industry powerhouse to tourist area, and their suggestions reflected that: restaurants, small storefronts, a maritime museum, extra moorage for yachts, even an art gallery. "This is the most valuable property in the Bay Area, more than the North Spit," said Melvin Lesher, a North Bend resident. "It can make us all money," he continued, calling tourism-related businesses "the cleanest dollar we can make" on the formerly industrial site. "I'd like to see the Indians get involved in a winery," said Geno Landrum, owner of Oregon Wine Cellars Etc. in Coos Bay, who suggested the Coquille tribe could keep a vineyard in the Powers area to produce wine to sell in North Bend. "I like the idea of not only attracting tourists from Highway 101 but also providing uses for residents," said Caddy McKeown, a member of the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay board of directors, who proposed "a scaled-down Pike's Place Market" where fishermen could sell their catches at the dock. Many of the suggestions shared a common theme of using shops and eateries to stimulate the street activity of the old-town districts of Bandon and Florence. When Faghin asked whether a big-box retailer such as Costco would be acceptable on the waterfront, the audience immediately blurted out, "No!" "Not there!" "Put it on Ocean Boulevard." Any chain store with a huge footprint would destroy the ease of pedestrian access and with it the chance of creating a vital street life on the CEDCO property, one audience member warned. "Having a community depends on a pedestrian scale," said Anne Donnelly. "One reason people are opposed to big-box stores - and I'm one of them - is the acres and acres of parking surrounding them." The solution, she suggested, is "clustering parking, clustering buildings and creating a good, strong pedestrian corridor." Another audience member favored making the waterfront property more tourist-friendly - so long as the development creates a gateway, not a screen, to the view of Coos Bay waterway. "Whatever is there," said Peggy Black, "needs to be for everyone to see the water and get to the water to enjoy it." In whatever form development takes, the site ought to reflect the Bay Area's local character, according to Mike Vaughan, a landscape designer and site planner in Coos Bay. "Tourists are interested in seeing what the locals do, and not in a Disney way," Vaughan said. As the forum wound down, Faghin remarked at how quickly residents' aspirations for the old sawmill site have gelled so early in the planning. "As you understand, there's lots and lots of information to work with," she told the audience. "It's a wonderful thing when you go through the rounds of meetings and talk to people, and find out everyone is on the same page of music." Though the Coquille tribe was not legally required to hold a public meeting on its North Bend development, Deana Scott, CEDCO's marketing and communications director, said doing so was the surest way to gain the community's good will. "This development is something that, down the road, will be a big asset, so their input was important," Scott said today. "We felt it was important to be a good community partner." A second public meeting on the project is likely between March and June, she added. Copyright c. 2004 Southwestern Oregon Publishing Company. --------- "RE: Two movies chronicle Wounded Knee events" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 18:34:48 EST From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Two movies chronicle Wounded Knee events Mailing List: Sovereign Nations Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.argusleader.com/news/Sundayarticle5.shtml Two movies chronicle Wounded Knee events Peter Harriman Argus Leader November 7, 2004 Indian festival showcases works from South Dakota South Dakota's modern history with Native Americans can be bracketed by seminal events at Wounded Knee. The 1890 massacre signaled the end of traditional tribal nomadic existence, and the 1973 American Indian Movement occupation propelled a rebirth of commitment to tribal sovereignty and traditional culture. And both were featured on the opening day of the 29th annual American Indian Film Festival. It began Saturday at the Galaxy Theater in San Francisco. "Ghost Riders," a documentary on the annual Big Foot Memorial Ride commemorating the 1890 massacre, is directed by V. Blackhawk Aamodt and narrated by Benjamin Bratt. "A Tattoo on My Heart," a documentary about the 30th anniversary of the 1973 Wounded Knee occupation, is directed by Rapid City lawyer Charles Abourezk and Brett Lawlor. Both films were shown Saturday. "It will be quite a night. It will be South Dakota night," said Michael Smith, founder and director of the American Indian Film Institute organizing the festival. Since it began in 1975, the festival has shown more than 800 films. "It's good for the film to get some recognition of some sort," Abourezk said of "A Tattoo on My Heart," which was premiering. "More important is the contact at film festivals. A lot of TV people and movie production companies will be there at the festival looking for products to purchase." The documentary also has been submitted for entry into the Sundance Film Festival in January. "Both films are done very nicely and will be well received," Smith said. "Ghost Riders" is the third documentary on the Big Foot ride to be shown at the festival, according to Smith. That ride began in 1986 when Birgil Kills Straight and four other Lakota riders reprised the December 1890 trek across South Dakota by the Minneconju leader Big Foot, his followers, and Hunkapas who fled the Standing Rock reservation when Sitting Bull was arrested and killed. The Indians were trying to link up with the Oglalas in hopes of finding safety by spending winter with them in the Badlands. But they were intercepted by the Seventh Cavalry outside Wounded Knee, and an estimated 300 were massacred when the soldiers' attempt to disarm them erupted into violence. Kills Straight and other riders made the ride from 1986 to 1990 to fulfill a spiritual leader's vision that the four-year journey would set to rest the souls of the people killed. Since 1990, the Big Foot Ride has continued, primarily as a way to keep Lakota youth in contact with their history. "This film has a lot of emphasis on how the ride is put together. Our jury found that very intriguing, how it comes together and the support the riders have back there," Smith said. 1973 occupation "A Tattoo on My Heart" is a series of recollections of participants in the 1973 occupation who returned to attend the 30th anniversary celebration in January 2003. "We decided to interview those people who were still interested enough to show up at the 30th anniversary," Abourezk said. "We did not interview anybody who would be considered AIM leadership, and we did not interview people on the government side in this first documentary, although we have considered doing additional segments in the future. "We just thought we were interested in hearing the voices of those everyday people who decided to be involved in Wounded Knee: what moved them to take that risk and make the sacrifices they did." Three decades after the occupation, participants, for the most part, still take great pride in the standoff with state and national law enforcement agencies at Wounded Knee, and individuals tend not to embellish their own roles. "You find that sort of humility in the film," Abourezk said. "The stories are undertold, if anything. Somehow, that translates into giving them a lot of dramatic power." Abourezk's father, former U.S. Sen. James Abourezk, helped resolve the Wounded Knee standoff and held Senate hearings on it. Before law, Abourezk was a minority-affairs producer with South Dakota Public Television, and his first documentary, in 1989 ,examined the prevalence of AIDS on Indian reservations. Waiting for interviews He said he and Lawlor held off on making a Wounded Knee film until now because the interviews couldn't have been done earlier. "People were still concerned about prosecution or the government using these interviews against friends or family," he said. During the 30th anniversary celebration, the filmmakers set up a studio at the Wounded Knee studio and interviewed the documentary's subjects there. The film was edited in Seattle, and a final cut was completed only about a week ago, when a new song was added to the soundtrack. "I'm glad we laid these interviews down on film," Abourezk said. "Since we made it, three or four participants have passed away. It was timely. If we wanted to lay down a piece of South Dakota history, it was important to get down there on the 30th anniversary." Smith says "A Tattoo on My Heart" basically is retrospective but lends itself to the mood of Native people today. Because it has the potential to connect young people with the spirit of political activism exemplified by AIM at Wounded Knee. "It is certainly a film for the ages," Smith said. Abourezk said he and Lawlor tapped into the universal literary theme of the heroic journey with their documentary. "What I learned was, these people were all afraid, but they overcame their fears," he says. "The resulting experience they had transformed not only their lives but the lives of Indian people all across the U.S." He said he thinks the accounts of the Wounded Knee participants, seasoned by 30 years, illustrate this: "The treasures in life are always on the other side of taking huge risks." Reach Peter Harriman at 575-3615 or pharrima@argusleader.com Copyright c. 2004 Argus Leader. --------- "RE: Update: Support needed for Resister" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2004 15:23:46 EST From: redorman@medscape.com Subj: Update re: URGENT: Support Needed for Resister... Mailing List: Big Mountain From: Condor952@aol.com [Please, Distribute. Thx, byk] October 31, 2004 Big Mountain, AZ Supporters for the traditional Dineh resisting forced relocation have reported that BIA Hopi Agency Law Enforcement Rangers have been monitoring the resistance area intensely. On Sunday, October 31st, an elder woman was forced not to collect vegetation for ceremonial use. These supporters reported that it was unusual to see law enforcement personnel very active on a weekend. It is assumed that this is a campaign to stop "un-permitted wood cutting" in the areas but it goes further than that by keeping up the pressure of harassments and intimidations to remind the Dineh resisters to: "Give up. They lost the battle to keep their lands!" The supporters monitored the area to see why there was an active surveiliance and perhaps an impoundment of animals might be taking place. A BIA-Hopi Ranger vehicle was suspiciously driving very slowly on a backroad as it spotted a fresh tire tracks leading into the woods. Moments before, a group of small children were noticed playing in a ravine and the supporters remembered the stories about wood cutters being confronted or charged. So, they waited just a short time when they saw the Ranger truck approaching a local resident's truck in the woods. The little children had already summoned the grandma about the approaching police. The grandma tried to explain that she was just collecting a few sticks of willows but the Officer insisted that she was taking vegetation from "Hopi Land." The Officer then asked if she knew the supporters who were witnessing this encounter from a distance. The supporters were not able to get the complete exchanges between the Officer and the elder woman. It is presumed that the elder lady was fearful of being charged and decided to leave the area while her little grandchildren had also witnessed what just transpired. [Addition to this Report] It is still suggested that support can still be generated by continuing to make calls to the BIA-Hopi Agencies, its courts, and to the US Department of Justice. They need to know that the world is watching this violation of Human Rights unfolding in the name of Peabody coal expansions. Demands should be made noting that the control over wood cutting endangers families to health risks by having cold homes. Also, 99 percent of the Black Mesa communities rely on wood to warm their homes. There are no gas lines or gas delivery service out there, or that there are no alternative means provided to the area residents to warm their homes. Nearly, 85 percent of the Black Mesa areas' full-time residents are elders over the age of 70 and most are traditional. This still constitutes as an act of genocide according to the Geneva Conventions on International Human Rights Policies. Furthermore, demands should also be directed to the Navajo Nation and the BIA-Hopi Agency to provide alternatives like notifying residents about acquiring permits to cut wood or use other natural resources, and/or deliver permit-forms to these traditional elders to fill out. The 'Gestapo' tactic of the BIA and its tribal agencies needs to stop and it is only putting many traditional indigenous elders at a health risk. [End Note] This report was delivered today by some supporters who were in the Big Mountain area visiting friends and delivery some food. Finally, this message is being forwarded via Unpopular Activist Page. -Bahe Bahe Y. Katenay Dzil'ni't'saa de' Dineh (Dineh from Great Mountain) Professional Sheep Herder, Dineh Pre/Historical Researcher, Cultural and Western Science Interpreter, and Deep Rooted Grassroot Activist. REPLY TO: iindon49@hotmail.com & CC: byk@dana.ucc.nau.edu ========================================= Please visit my website, http://www.twincougars.com for health and wellness information and products. ----------------------------------------- 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: GOP's Eibensteiner heads Slot-Machine Firm" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 11:42:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MORON ALERT: GOP DUPLICITY" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5071650.html MORON ALERT: GOP's Eibensteiner heads slot-machine firm GOP's Eibensteiner heads slot-machine firm Pat Doyle and Patricia Lopez, Star Tribune November 5, 2004 Ron Eibensteiner, the head of the Republican Party of Minnesota and a critic of the state's casino compacts with Indian tribes, is chairman of a firm that sells slot machines to casinos. The firm, Spectre Gaming, is involved in the gambling machine market at a time when Gov. Tim Pawlenty has threatened to open a nontribal casino to compete with Minnesota Indian casinos unless the tribes give the state $350 million a year. Asked by the Star Tribune about his role in the gambling business, Eibensteiner said Friday that he is concerned about "the perception factor, " and intends to resign from Spectre's board of directors as two additional board members are recruited. "There's going to be some discussion in the Legislature about Indian gaming next year," he said. "I don't want anybody to think that I have any dog in this fight one way or another." Eibensteiner said his firm has no business deals with Minnesota tribes, hasn't sought any and won't in the future. He also said his firm has no plans to seek business with a nontribal casino if one were built in the Twin Cities. But John McCarthy, director of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, said, "He can say all day long he doesn't do any business in Minnesota. That's today. Maybe tomorrow he does business in Minnesota." Spectre, with headquarters in El Cajon, Calif., and an office in Minneapolis, says it sells machines to charitable-gambling markets as well as tribal casinos. It reported losing $1.8 million in the six months ending June 30, according to statements that the company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The losses stemmed primarily from expenses that the company incurred for employees, consulting and other costs as it began operations. "We're a startup company at this point," said Brian Niebur, its chief financial officer. "The company designs and develops networks, software and content that provide its customers with a comprehensive gaming system," according to SEC documents. "The company anticipates that it will generate revenues starting in the third quarter of 2004." It announced a new financing deal in September, and on Monday said it had begun operating games at a tribal casino in Oklahoma. Niebur declined to comment on whether deals with other casinos are in the works but said the firm has no intention of selling to Minnesota casinos. Eibensteiner said the company has never applied for a license to sell gambling equipment in Minnesota and has no plans to do so. He has taken a lead role on Indian gambling issues in Minnesota, unveiling a statewide radio ad last week that supported Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposal to obtain a share of tribal casino revenues. Tribes in other states pay a share of their revenues to state government, he said, and so should tribes in Minnesota. Compacts agreed to in 1989 and 1991 between Minnesota and its Indian tribes did not require the tribes to share casino profits with the state. Eibensteiner said Spectre grew out of a telecom company that he had headed and liquidated in 2000. The writers are at at pdoyle@startribune.com. and plopez@startribune.com Copyright c. 2004 Minneapolis Star Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Haskell Students aim to tackle Diabetes" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 08:13:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DIABETES RISKS" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=5444 Haskell students aim to tackle diabetes Educating youngsters about risks, prevention Native American Times November 4, 2004 Students at Haskell Indian Nations University are launching an effort to prevent diabetes among school-age children living on Indian land. The collegians will travel to the Royal Valley Elementary School in Hoyt for Health and Wellness day, an inaugural event marking the beginning of the implementation of the diabetes educational program. Haskell is located in Lawrence, Kansas. The daylong program in Hoyt features hands-on activities focused on healthy eating, prevention of type 2 diabetes, the benefits of physical exercise, differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes, how diabetes affects people, and how to modify a traditional tribal recipe to make it a healthy choice. The event is sponsored by Haskell's School of Education as part of the Diabetes Based Science Education in Tribal Schools Grant. The primary goal of the grant is diabetes prevention in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Pre-service student teachers in the School of Education at Haskell are required to take a class which prepares them to teach holistic health, fitness and leisure. According to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, about 15 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives who receive care from the Indian Health Service have been diagnosed with diabetes, a total of 105, 000 people. On average, American Indians and Alaska Natives are 2.6 times as likely to have diagnosed diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of a similar age. Forty to 70 percent of American Indian adults age 45 to 74 were found to have diabetes in a recent screening study in three geographic areas. Data from the Navajo Health and Nutrition Survey, published in 1997, showed that 22.9 percent of Navajo adults age 20 and older had diabetes. Fourteen percent had a history of diabetes, but another 7 percent were found to have undiagnosed diabetes during the survey. Type 2 diabetes is becoming increasingly common in youth. Researchers studying 5,274 Pima Indian children from 1967 to 1996 found that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in girls ages 10 to 14 increased from 0.72 percent i n the period 1967 to 1976 to 2.88 percent in the period 1987 to 1996. Reports include an increasing incidence in First Nation populations in Canada. In 1998, about 70,000 of the 2.3 million self-identified American Indians/Alaska Natives who receive care from the IHS had diabetes. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Indian Jewelry - and Life - on display" --------- Date: Monday, November 1, 2004 From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" AkimelOodham@EarthLink.net Subj: Indian jewelry - and life - on display Mailing List: News and Information http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=local&story_id=11 0104a8_nativejewelry&toolbar=print_story Indian jewelry - and life - on display The Associated Press November 1, 2004 NEW YORK - Pins in the form of clan animals. Bracelets shaped to reflect family totems. Native American jewelry for centuries has represented more than simply an aesthetic ideal. It has carried meaning and reflected tribal culture. It's a tradition that today's Native American artists continue. Both traditional and contemporary jewelry pieces went on display Saturday in an exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History. "Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts of the Northwest and Southwest" will be on view through July 10. The show, which contains more than 500 pieces of jewelry and other artifacts, is designed to demonstrate how the tribes in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest portray their cultures and beliefs through their work. "Art is integrated into their culture. There is not a separation of art from life," said Lois Sherr Dubin, one of the show's curators. The show examines both similarities and differences in the two regions. Jewelry from the Southwest - which includes Navajo, Hopi, Zuni and Pueblo - uses more color, and the lines tend toward the angular. For Northwest tribes, such as the Haida, Tlingit and Salish, jewelry is more like sculpture. Pieces feature images carved or hammered into metals with little or no additional color and use more fluid and curved lines. But there is commonality as well. In both regions, artisans used jewelry to reflect their view of the world around them. The animals in the designs reflected their clan or family totems, or creatures from their mythologies. Some of the material, such as California abalone shell, was used in both regions. It's "all about orienting people," Peter Whiteley, another of the show's curators, said of the jewelry. "It corresponds with a system that places you in the world." Another aspect of the exhibit aims to connect traditional pieces with the work being done by contemporary Native American artists, showing how crafts people today hold on to the artistic traditions while trying to be innovative as well. One display case has a contemporary bracelet next to a pendant that's about 900 years old. Both pieces use similar colors and techniques. Another belt is in traditional concho form, but the metalwork has modern astrological imagery. The artists represented in the show were selected because they were rooted in their cultural traditions, Whiteley said. "The artists we chose had to be people engaged in their communities who were involved in their traditional life, not just somebody living in a city who happened to have that heritage," he said. Native artists Jim Hart of the Haida and Jesse Monongya of the Navajo were consultants on the exhibit. Monongya said he hoped viewers of the exhibit would leave with a greater appreciation of Native American craft. "Even through hardship, we have always designed beautiful things," he said. The museum planned a number of events to coincide with the exhibit, starting with an opening day celebration on Saturday, lectures and children's workshops. On the Net - American Museum of Natural History: www.amnh.org. Copyright c. 2004 Tuscon Citizen. --------- "RE: Miss Indian NAU advocates Native American Culture" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 08:13:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TARA KITCHEYAN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.lumberjackonline.com//display.v/ART/2004/11/04/418a6da91c855 Miss Indian NAU, advocates Native American culture by Laurai Gill November 4, 2004 Sure, Miss Indian NAU will be advocating Native American culture in November. She has been toiling at it since her crowning. November is designated Native American Heritage Month. The tribute was authorized in 1990 by former president George Bush. This year's focus will be on the life ways and historical contributions of Native Americans and Alaska's Native Americans. Tara Kitcheyan, a sophomore applied indigenous studies major crowned last April, comes from the San Carlos Apache tribe. "Heritage is important to Native Americans because it makes us who we are, and if we didn't have our cultures it wouldn't make us who we are or give us something to call our own," she said. "My Apache culture and Native American heritage is important to me because it is my identity and if I didn't have that who would I be?" Kitcheyan was featured in Teen Magazine last month in an article about her experience of coming into puberty. The article was composed of different experiences of girls around the world "rights of puberty." The article described her participation in a traditional Apache ceremony while she was developing from adolescence and entering womanhood. Kitcheyan said her crown gave her a sense of accomplishment, and said she felt she could tackle any challenge in her yearlong reign. That challenge came to Kitcheyan at the Veteran's Western Region conference. It was then she realized not many people are aware of her title or familiar with the Native Americans United sponsored pageant. "There were two women who attended the conference and told me I needed to get my name out there and let everyone know who I am," Kitcheyan said. "I feel good when people ask me who I am. I like to take the time out and educate them about my role and of the pageant." Since then, Kitcheyan has labored to get her name and the pageant noticed. "I want to give a loud cry and say, `Hey I'm over here. I am Miss Indian NAU'," Kitcheyan said. Vernon Davis, an employee for NAU Printing Services, sees her every week during NAUnited club meetings. "She's enthusiastic about her role and really loves it," Davis said. Jocelyn Billy, former Miss Indian NAU and current president for NAUnited, also said Kitcheyan is enthused about her title. "Tara has raised the Miss Indian NAU pageant program to the degree of excellence the pageant committee and NAUnited had envisioned," Billy said. Kitcheyan's passion to help her people came from watching her mother. Kitcheyan's mother was the first woman to become a chairperson of the San Carlos Apache tribe. Kitcheyan's goal is to become a lawyer to help represent American Indian people. In September, Kitcheyan traveled to Washington, D.C. with her mother, who served as an ambassador and a representative for the Apache tribe, during the opening of the National American Indian Museum. Kitcheyan said she watched her mother in meetings in enjoyed the environment. Kitcheyan said the museum represented eastern tribes more than western tribes, but she was glad to be surrounded by many people from different tribes. "It was really nice for all the indigenous people to come together," Kitcheyan said. "Everyone agreed we had waited too long." Since Kitcheyan was crowned, she has traveled to pow-wows and spoken at various functions and schools. Last summer, Kitcheyan returned home to San Carlos, Ariz. to speak to high school and elementary students about the importance of education. She discussed NAU, the college experience and what to expect while away from home. "The majority of high school graduates don't leave home so I really stressed education," Kitcheyan said. "I went home and let students know that you can be successful if you put your mind to it." Kitcheyan has set a goal to recruit as many girls as she can to run for next year's pageant. Last month, Kitcheyan appeared in the Miss Indian Arizona Pageant and the Native Recognition parade, both in Phoenix, and the Western Navajo Parade in Tuba City, Ariz. Kitcheyan's role as Miss Indian NAU will conclude April 2005 when she will crown the next winner. She is proud of her role and hopes turnout will increase next year. "I am more confident now and don't let anything discourage me," Kitcheyan said. "It helped me manage my time and along the ways it helped me grow up." Applicants must be unmarried, have no children, be affiliated with a tribe and knowledgeable of their customs and traditions. The applicant also must be 18- to 29-years-old. They may not be in active military duty or hold any other title. Copyright c. 2004 Lumberjack Online --------- "RE: Onboard with the Zapatistas" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 08:13:38 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ZAPATISTA FREEDOM FIGHTERS" http://www.indiancountry.com/~CFID=223509&CFTOKEN=64484946 Onboard with the Zapatistas November 1, 2004 by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today Reporter's notebook The toughest Indians in the world HERMOSILLO, Mexico - Seated on the motel bed with her backpack ready, Maria Garcia, great-grandmother who packs sack lunches for these trips, said she was prepared to die for this cause, the struggle for indigenous rights in Mexico. The year was 1995. The Zapatistas had emerged in armed struggle the year before, and now, the military and paramilitary were executing Mayans in remote villages. Garcia was on an indigenous delegation to Chiapas and all were volunteering to serve as human shields. They were also delivering thousands of pounds of food to mountain villages. But all things go better with good friends, even looking down the barrels of the Mexican military's automatic weapons on isolated dirt roads. Maria's husband Jose Garcia, Tohono O'odham, was joined by Dennis Ramon, then chairman of the Tohono O'odham Legislative Council in Sells, Ariz. and Tohono O'odham tribal councilma