_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 12, ISSUE 049 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 December 4, 2004 Hopi kyaamuya/respect moon Cree papiwatiginashispizun/moon when young fellow spreads the brush +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; NDNAIM and Indian-Heritage-L 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "I don't remember learning anything about who I was as an Indian person," "It probably wasn't until I was in college that I began to realize I had a right to learn about our history and begin that process," she said. __ Carol Juneau, Hidatsa and Mandan +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! The first article in this issue was going to be about Ross Swimmer's recent audacious statements about plans to "rebuild" the trust system. This lame parrot of his boss, DOI Secretary Norton, and her boss, the President, would be laughable, if they all had not proven to be so successful at foisting off big lies to avoid ugly truths. The Trust System doesn't need a few tweaks from Madam Secretary or her "around the fort" Cherokee shuffler. Trustees must be paid in full for past and current land use, and all the damn melodrama can be shoved under the same carpet US officials continue to try to shove the truth. The first article, instead, is from Thomas Speer, asking all real humans to support the Lower Elwha S'Klallam as they try to save their ancestors resting place from desecration at the hands of an uncaring government. Read it - support the Lower Elwha S'Klallam in any way you can. We must stand up against the Fat Stealers. Their true god is greed. Wally World is doing what hundreds of years of environment did not... it is bringing down Casa Grande. Don't stand idle while yet another burial ground is bulldozed in the name of greed, mislabeled as "progress". 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 =================================== 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 ---------- - Desecration - Salmon returns weak at Klamath of Lower Elwha Cemetery - Annie Mae Pictou Aquash Award - Swimmer tries - Reservation School to fix Indian Trust System looks to reap the Wind - Magazine Article sparks Firestorm - 100 Year Birthday Celebration - Indian Cultural Education - YELLOW BIRD: rare despite Law Talking Turkey about Holiday Food - Schweitzer names - Canadian First Nations American Indians to Posts Natural Gas to U.S. - Ownership dispute - 'Bed and breakfast' Jail System over Montana Riverbed - Violent Crime - Funds restored a way of life in Indian Country to United Tribes Technical College - Awaiting justice: - Indian Band seeks to regain 'A Brutal, Brutal Crime' its Birthright - Native Prisoner - Homes on their way to Reservation -- Woman dies in Tribal Jail - Casa Grande Ruins stand in Peril - History: Carlisle Indian School - Trujillo: - Rustywire: She was Seneca Indians are treated like Teenagers - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Tribes work together - Hawkdancer Poem: Thankful to produce Canned Seafood - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Desecration of Lower Elwha Cemetery" --------- Date: Sunday, November 28, 2004 7:46 PM From: Thomas R. Speer [trspeer@yahoo.com] Subj: Washington Native ancient village & cemetery desecration I am writing to you to ask for your help in alerting the public about a tragedy unfolding in Washington State. Please find enclosed news articles explaining how the state government has desecrated the largest ancient Native village and cemetery ever discovered in Washington State. This ancient village and cemetery belong to the Lower Elwha S'Klallam Tribe, one of three S'Klallam communities in Washington State. This week the Bush Administration decided to support the state in its ongoing desecration of the human remains. We are trying to contact the Honorable Frances Charles, Chair of Lower Elwha S'Klallam Tribe to offer support and ask what help she and the other Elwha leaders would like to have in their struggle for justice. I will keep you informed. Thank you, in advance, for publicizing this situation through Wotanging Ikche. Be well! Tom Speer TRSpeer@Yahoo.Com ----- Original Message ----- Date: Friday, November 26, 2004 10:07 PM From: "Thomas R. Speer" Subj: Feds back State's desecration of Lower Elwha cemetery State wins federal backing on Hood Canal Bridge project By Erik Lacitis Seattle Times staff reporter November 25, 2004 The federal government has sided with Washington state in its plans to build atop tribal remains at a Port Angeles site for building pontoons in the reconstruction of the Hood Canal Bridge. "I'm angry for trusting them. We're defending our ancestral remains. Once again, our land was taken," said Frances Charles, chairwoman of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, about Tuesday's preliminary determination by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). In a letter, the agency said the state doesn't need to renegotiate an agreement it reached with the tribe in March about the scope of recovering archaeological remains. Doug MacDonald, the state's secretary of transportation, said the state wants to work with the tribe to reach a satisfactory solution, and the two parties will meet next week. He said the FHA letter "is a place where additional discussions can begin." The FHA is involved because the federal government is paying for most of the $276 million bridge reconstruction. The agency will make a final determination after hearing comments from the state and the tribe, as well as from a federal historic preservation advisory council. At issue is what a state Department of Transportation spokeswoman described as "a giant concrete bathtub," covering 9.6 acres, where 17 pontoons, each 300 feet long, would be built. Within weeks after work began in August 2003, workers began unearthing artifacts and remains, inadvertently discovering the largest prehistoric tribal village ever found in the state, with portions dating back more than 1,700 years. The tribe doesn't want any remains of its ancestors to be covered by the concrete pit. About one-third of the site would be excavated to a depth of 30 feet below ground level, a channel used to float finished pontoons out to the canal. Two-thirds of the project would be excavated to a depth of 2 to 7 feet, where the pontoons would be constructed. The shallower portion concerns the tribe, which wants the state to dig deeper - "maybe a couple of more feet" - to determine whether there are more remains to be removed, said Charles, the tribal chairwoman. The FHA letter cited a conclusion by Allyson Brooks, the state's historic-preservation officer, that "compaction" from concrete "will not adversely affect the burials beneath." MacDonald said the state was willing to use ground-penetrating radar and do boring samples to find what's below and then reach an agreement with the tribe about how to proceed. He said the letter didn't mean the state was going "to order up gravel trucks. ... This world doesn't work that way." When the state and tribe reached the March agreement, about two dozen burials had been discovered. Excavators now have found 264 intact human skeletons. In addition, more than 5,000 artifacts - from tools to pins - have been found. Concerning a possible resolution at next week's meeting, MacDonald said, "This project has a life of its own." Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 Copyright c. 2004 Seattle Times. --------- "RE: Swimmer tries to fix Indian Trust System" --------- Date: Sunday, November 21, 2004 11:46 PM From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Swimmer tries to fix Indian trust system Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.newsok.com/article/1366818/?template=news/main Swimmer tries to fix Indian trust system By Judy Gibbs Robinson The Oklahoman Ross Swimmer prefers fixing the broken Indian trust system for the future rather than dwelling on past mismanagement. "That's where we are focusing our attention now, regardless of the lawsuit," the special trustee for American Indians said last week, referring to the 8-year-old Cobell v. Norton case. The multibillion dollar class-action lawsuit already has produced court orders requiring the government to reform the trust system and to give Indian trust beneficiaries an accurate, historical record of their accounts. As special trustee, Swimmer presides over both tasks, reporting directly to Interior Secretary Gayle Norton. In telephone interviews last week, the Tulsa resident and onetime Cherokee Nation principal chief reported steady progress in both areas. He said the Interior Department has located nearly 500 million records and is preparing them for the huge account-reckoning job. As a test, the government reconciled a few hundred accounts - including those of all five named plaintiffs in the Cobell litigation, Swimmer said. After comparing every transaction, the government found only one error of less than $70. "We identified money received but put into another person's account. It was a mistake that had been made by the agency," Swimmer said. The special trustee acknowledged that Cobell plaintiffs are as concerned about mismanagement of their trust land as they are about accounting irregularities. "That is a big issue, but it's not part of the lawsuit," Swimmer said. Swimmer said his goals include better communication with trust beneficiaries and proactive land management. He pointed out that of Oklahoma's 53,000 Indian account holders, 40 percent are owners of land that is not earning anything. "It's potentially land that has some income value but is not being leased for some reason or other," Swimmer said. "That's one of the things we're focusing on now: making contact with beneficiaries and seeing if we can generate revenue where it's not now." Copyright c. The Oklahoman | News 9, Produced by NewsOK.com. --------- "RE: Magazine Article sparks Firestorm" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:57:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BELATED APOLOGY NOT ENOUGH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=577&num=15381 Magazine article sparks firestorm By Valarie Lee/The Daily Times November 22, 2004 DURANGO, Colo. - Dozens of Native American students met at a classroom on the Fort Lewis College campus Thursday. They were there to provide taped testimonies with the intention of showing it to college President Brad Bartel, The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and the Ballatine Foundation. The reason for the taping stems from an incident that began months ago. It began when Professor Andrew Gulliford, director of Center for Southwest Studies, submitted an article to a university publication in Washington that featured Fort Lewis College Native American students. In the article, which was titled "The Kokopelli Conundrum: Lesson Learned from Teaching Native American Students" appeared in the American Studies International, June/October 2004 double issue. The magazine was published by the George Washington University American Studies Department. In the article, several Fort Lewis College Native American students were quoted and the article featured many of the comments and stories they shared. The students said they never gave permission for Gulliford to use their comments - or share the traditional stories they told. It was only after the article was printed the students became aware of its content. Matt Nehmer, media relations, said the college was unaware of the article and no longer prints the magazine. Nehmer read an official statement on behalf of the university. "The publication ASI (American Studies International) is a very small publication of less than 1,000 and is a two-person operation. ASI, incidentally is the last one George Washington University will be publishing, which was decided well before this (current) issue was published. The ASI will be going to the University of Kansas to another American Studies program." When asked if the university or department knew of the event surrounding the concerns of Native American students, Nehmer said, "I did talk to the department and they did not publish the submission with the knowledge of any wrong doing," Nehmer. Repeated calls to Shelly McKenzie, one of the two staff members of the magazine, were not returned. The incident has caused even the college president to become involved. Speaking officially on behalf of President Brad Bartel, who is on vacation for the Thanksgiving holiday, Dave Eppich said the content in the article caused the college "real concern." "The president was informed of those concerns and started a procession with the Institutional Review Board," Eppich said. The board concluded the article "Kokopelli Conundrums" did not fit inside federal policy and fell out of guidelines, which protects students in regards to what they share in the classroom or with a professor. "It (the article) did not violate any federal policies or regulations concerning human subjects because the article did not meet the criteria under those guidelines. We also had a ruling internally that the student federal privacy act, called FERPA, was not violated," Eppich said. The president is in the process of calling each student mentioned in the article and is talking, or has talked to them about contents of the article. Some of the students are not at the college anymore and others mentioned in the article are current students, Eppich said. "The process is still continuing. On Dec. 1, there is a regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting, and when they go into an executive session, Dr. Bartel, the president, will be briefing the board of the process of this incident," Eppich added. "No action by the college has been determined yet, as the process is continuing." Eppich said Gulliford met with a group of students this week and a formal public apology was issued for the contents of the article. Gulliford said in a telephone message left at The Daily Times, "This whole episode has been disheartening and depressing. I never wanted to hurt anyone. As difficult as its been, I'm grateful to have received the support of many student and others." Yet, for some Native American students, Gulliford's apology is not good enough. "Dr. Gulliford has proven that he grossly misrepresented the Native American people by making generalizations and stereotypes in the article," said Bill Mendoza, a Oglala Sicangu Lakota and senior at Fort Lewis College. "Native American students here on campus feel violated by the trust they placed in him by sharing with him these stories that were featured in the article," said Mendoza, who added the he had no confidence in the professor for his insensitivity towards the Native American students. Despite the feelings among some Native American students, Gulliford had his supporters at the meeting on Thursday. "I see Andrew Gulliford as an ambassador and a bridge builder in our community. You can't be in a room with him without knowing how much he values and respects the Native American culture," said Paula Church, who participated in the video testimonial session. Two other people testified to Gulliford's character and love of Native American people and culture. Earlier in the week, the Fort Lewis College Student Senate, Faculty Senate, Institutional Review Board, and the Intercultural Committee met in an informative discussion on the issue. Valarie Lee: vlee@daily-times.com Copyright c. 2004 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. --------- "RE: Indian Cultural Education rare despite Law" --------- Date: Sunday, November 28, 2004 11:59 AM From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Indian cultural education rare despite law Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.greatfallstribune.com/~article=/20041128/NEWS01/411280302/1002 Indian cultural education rare despite law Great Falls school one of few complying with state constitution, recent court order By SARAH COOKE Associated Press Writer November 28, 2004 It started out as one bookshelf. Thirty years and hundreds of donations later, Longfellow Elementary's American Indian resource library has become a key tool for students to learn about tribal history and culture - a unique mandate for public schools under the Montana Constitution. Thousands of Native American books, videos, newspapers and magazines line the cement block walls of Longfellow's Indian library. Artifacts like chunky rock hammers and weathered leather dolls, along with miniature teepees made by students, sit atop rows of book shelves. "We're almost half museum and half library," said Principal Cal Gilbert, a Chippewa-Cree Indian. "I actually have parents transferring kids into our school just so they can have an education that's diverse." But Gilbert knows this school is an exception. Longfellow is one of just a handful of Montana schools fully complying with a state constitutional mandate unique in America: that all public school students - not just Indians - be taught about the cultural heritage of Indian tribes. The mandate became part of the Montana Constitution in 1972, when a constitutional convention updated it. But in the 32 years since then, critics say, very little has actually been done. The only mandatory Indian education classes for teachers, adopted in 1973, were abandoned before the end of that decade. In 1999, state lawmakers approved the Indian Education for All Act, intended to spell out requirements of the constitutional language. But a lack of money and training, combined with what some describe as years of apathy at the state level, essentially crippled the measure. Now, however, the state Supreme Court may force state lawmakers to act. Under an October decision that found Montana's public education funding system unconstitutional, the court also ruled Montana had failed to provide enough money for schools to meet requirements of the Indian education act. Indian lawmakers and education leaders rejoiced. Many had argued for decades the state wasn't fully complying with the constitutional language and watched in frustration as proposals to help pay for and apply the mandate fell by the wayside. "Nothing really was ever pushed through or implemented," said Norma Bixby, a state lawmaker from the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in southeast Montana. "Even though we recommended and recommended, it never happened, so I think the lawsuit is going to help get this constitutional language implemented," she said. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch says the constitutional provision is the only one of its kind in the United States. It was meant, in part, to address years of intolerance. After herding most tribes onto reservations, the government sent many of their children to boarding schools to assimilate them into white society. Native dress and language were discouraged, and many students were stripped of their tribal names. Even when boarding schools began to close, Indian students learned little about themselves in public schools through most of the 20th century and often had to repress their Indian identities. "I don't remember learning anything about who I was as an Indian person," said Carol Juneau, a state lawmaker and member of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes who lives on northwest Montana's Blackfeet reservation. "It probably wasn't until I was in college that I began to realize I had a right to learn about our history and begin that process," she said. That growing sense of self-determination was a driving factor behind the constitutional measure. It says the state "recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of the American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity." Legislation sponsored by Juneau in 1999 was intended to implement it. The purpose was to make Indian students feel more valued and accepted, and to promote understanding of different cultures. By doing so, education officials hoped to close the growing achievement gap between Indian and non-Indian students and cut Indian dropout rates. Indians make up 11 percent of Montana's public school students. "When racism starts to be eliminated, you're going to start to see students performing better, and achievement is going to increase," McCulloch said. Leo Bird, a Blackfeet science teacher at Browning High School, has seen firsthand the difference Indian education can make. He started incorporating Blackfeet stargazing into his astronomy classes five years ago, taking students to historic sites on the surrounding reservation and teaching them how Indians used the stars to navigate. He also incorporates Greek and Roman teachings but said the Native lessons strike more of a chord. "(The students) have more to tie to than just memorization," Bird said. "They internalize it because the stories mean something to them." The classes are now among the school's most popular, with a waiting list. Bird, like many Indian educators, believes more money for teacher training and curriculum is the key. Many teachers try to follow the law, he said, but don't have the resources. "Probably 99 percent of our teaching force out there is non-native so they're not comfortable teaching what they don't know," Gilbert said. McCulloch has asked the governor's office for $500,000 to fund the act over the next two years, but the Montana Indian Education Association doesn't think that's enough. Bixby expects to ask for several million dollars. She also expects opposition. But she's also buoyed by a rare Democratic takeover of the state Senate and the election of Gov.-elect Brian Schweitzer, the first Democrat to hold the job in 16 years. Bixby thinks both help her chances of success. "It's been way too long in coming," she said of the funding. "If we had done this years ago, we probably wouldn't be in this situation today." Joan Andersen, a Republican legislator and retired teacher, said she feels the state has enough materials on American Indian heritage and culture. She voted against funding Indian education curriculum and professional development when it came before the 2003 Legislature and couldn't rule out doing so again this session. "I'm not so sure (the curriculum) is going to be used," Andersen said. "I think teachers are already using a lot of materials and ideas that are very well done and well received." But some say they need better reporting from districts to even determine what school administrators are doing to comply with the law. "There's always opposition when it comes to Indian issues, but with the education of our children and of all children in Montana, this really needs to happen," Bixby said. Copyright c. 2004 Great Falls Tribune. --------- "RE: Schweitzer names American Indians to Posts" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:59:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MONTANA GOVERNOR-ELECT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com//build/state/40-na-posts.inc Schweitzer names American Indians to posts By JODI RAVE Missoulian November 23, 2004 Gov.-elect Brian Schweitzer has tapped three women from Montana's reservations to help lead his transition team. Anna Whiting-Sorrell will take on the role of deputy policy director; Nancy L. Warneke-Gaynor will become deputy office manager and coordinator of the transition tribal advisory committee; and Lena Belcourt will be deputy policy adviser. Whiting-Sorrell and Warneke-Gaynor are citizens of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. Belcourt is a citizen of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boys Reservation. "We're thrilled to have these three women," said Sarah Elliott, communications director for Schweitzer. "It's great to have the perspective of our first Montanans at the table." The women are now part of a 14-member team. Their appointments have not been lost on tribal leaders. "This is the first time that I can remember, and I've been working with the Chippewa-Cree Tribe for 32 years that tribes have actually been involved in the transition teams," said Richard Sangrey, chief of staff for the Chippewa-Cree. "This here is blazing a new trail on behalf of tribal governments in working with the governor." Fred Matt, Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council chairman, echoed similar thoughts. "We are pleased with Gov.-elect Schweitzer's efforts to reach out to the American Indian communities of Montana." In a press release, Matt said he was confident that the Salish Kootenai women would be "outstanding representatives ... for all tribes across the state. We are confident that they will clearly express the needs and concerns of the first peoples of Montana." As deputy policy director, Whiting-Sorrell will assist in reviewing policy and initiatives. She recently returned to Montana from Washington, D.C., where she was the national director for Native American outreach for the John Kerry-John Edwards presidential campaign. Warneke-Gaynor will manage the overall offices of the transition team, and will coordinate the transition Tribal Advisory Committee, which is comprised of one representative from each of Montana's seven reservations, including the Little Shell Chippewa. She was director of the Tribal Business Assistance Center at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo. Belcourt is the Chippewa-Cree Tribe's legislative analyst for the Rocky Boy Health Board. She's worked on state and national legislative agendas. All three women "play important parts in their tribal structures," Sangrey said. Copyright c. 2004 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Ownership dispute over Montana Riverbed" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Nov 2004 08:49:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NORTHERN CHEYENNE REZ BORDER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041129/APA/411290576 Ownership Dispute Over Montana Riverbed By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press Writer ASHLAND, Mont. November 29, 2004 For the Northern Cheyenne, it's about defending a special resource and the border of their reservation. For an energy development firm, it's about business. And for Montana's governor, it's about protecting the state's financial interests and assets, which she insists include the bed of the Tongue River. Ownership of the riverbed, along the eastern border of the tribal reservation in southeastern Montana, is at the heart of a legal dispute over leases the state sold to Fidelity Exploration & Production Co. for natural gas development. The big question: When the boundary of an Indian reservation is a river, who owns the riverbed? The tribe insists it owns at least half the width of the riverbed. The state believes it owns the entire riverbed and had the right to sell leases to Fidelity. "The ramifications are huge," said Eugene Little Coyote, the tribe's newly elected president. "It could affect everything - our culture, our sovereignty, our water quality. ... This is probably the most pressing tribal issue we have now." Denver-based Fidelity filed a lawsuit in July, asking a judge to determine who owns the riverbed. The company did so after its attorneys noticed an apparent conflict in ownership: While the state sold Fidelity the mineral leases in 2002, a federal order signed in 1900 that extended the reservation's eastern boundary to the river said the Northern Cheyenne had interest in at least half the width of the riverbed. Mike Caskey, Fidelity's executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the company sees itself as a "innocent third party" that got wrapped into a dispute over ownership. "We can't do anything until we know who owns (the land)," he said. Giving up the leases now isn't an option, Caskey said. Though officials are not sure what gas potential the leases hold, they do consider them valuable, and the company is supporting efforts by Gov. Judy Martz to intervene, he said. The governor's chief legal counsel, James Santoro, argued in court documents that the state needs to protect ownership rights to the riverbed and royalties and taxes from any natural gas development that occurs. The argument is based in part on the "equal footing doctrine," which Santoro said gives the state ownership of the bed of all navigable rivers in its boundaries, including the Tongue River. But some tribal members see the state's effort as an affront to their sovereignty and as having the potential to strain the relationship between the state and the tribe. "I am totally appalled," said Geri Small, the former Northern Cheyenne president. Fidelity named as defendants the federal government, including the Interior Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Dave Anderson, the assistant interior secretary for BIA. The company argues that while the tribe's claim dates to 1900, Montana has a "prior and superior ownership claim" as a state government since 1889. A call to attorney Patricia Miller with the Justice Department was referred to a department spokesman, who declined comment on pending litigation. The situation bothers Kenny Medicine Bull, who lives near the Tongue River. He worries about potential problems stemming from pollution. Drilling for coal-bed methane involves releasing groundwater to relieve pressure holding gas in coal seams. Some farmers and conservationists argue that water released is often salty or of poor quality and could harm crops or other vegetation. Development has been a concern for the tribe. Last year, it sued the federal government, claiming the Bureau of Land Management failed to fully study how coal-bed methane development in the region could affect the environment and way of life on the reservation. The Tongue River is a part of the Northern Cheyenne's cultural identity, according to Little Coyote. Growing up, he fished in the river, which flows behind his childhood home south of Ashland, and leapt from its grassy banks to swim. A sweat lodge stands along the water's edge so participants can bathe afterward. Plants used for tribal ceremonies grow near the river, he said. "Personally, having grown up along the river, it's tied to my identity. It's attached to our sovereignty as well," said Little Coyote. Copyright c. 2004 The Ledger - Lakeland, Florida. --------- "RE: Funds restored to United Tribes Technical College" --------- Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 15:55:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="UTTC FUNDING RESTORED" http://www.indianz.com/News/2004/005497.asp Funds restored to United Tribes Technical College November 24, 2004 News from the United Tribes Technical College in North Dakota. Good news for United Tribes Technical College; Congress has restored federal funding for the current fiscal year. UTTC funding was included in the omnibus appropriation bill passed by Congress November 20. The spending bill provided $3.5 million for the college, which is $500,000 more than last year. "Our staff and students can continue our programs with confidence," said UTTC President David M. Gipp. "We have less to worry about now." The Congressional action reversed a recommendation by the Bush Administration for the third consecutive year that the college's funding be eliminated. The appropriation is for FY 2005, which began October 1, 2004. "Our Congressional delegation worked well to build bipartisan support," said Gipp. Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-North Dakota) helped restore the funds in the House. Sen. Byron Dorgan, (D-North Dakota) increased the appropriation to $3.5 million in the Senate. "We also received strong support from local and national tribal leaders," said Gipp. The National Tribal Advisory Budget Council supported UTTC's funding. Support also came from individual tribal leaders including Jim Gray, Principal Chief of the Osage Nation, Tex G. Hall, President of the National Congress of American Indians and chair of Three Affiliated Tribes, Geri Small, former chair of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and Wallace Coffey, chair and CEO of the Comanche Nation. "It's been four years since we've had any increase in funding through the BIA," said Gipp. "It means that we can continue expanding our campus and increasing enrollment to provide services for the growing numbers of tribal people seeking education and training." The omnibus bill also included approval of $53.9 million in funding for the nation's 22 tribally controlled colleges, including four in North Dakota: Sitting Bull College, Fort Berthold Community College, Turtle Mountain Community College, and Cankdeska Cikana Community College at Sprit Lake. UTTC does not receive funding under the tribal colleges act. Months of work by tribal leaders helped the Congress restore funding for numerous other programs in the BIA and IHS with budgets different than Bush administration recommendations. "This should be a message to the administration that these are the priorities in Indian Country," said Gipp. "There's a need for UTTC and the tribal colleges to prepare the workforce of the future." The House vote on the spending bill was 344 to 51 and the Senate voted 63 to 50. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Indian Band seeks to regain its Birthright" --------- Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 15:55:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WINNEMAN WINTU" http://www.pechanga.net/homepage.html http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/11597637p-12490981c.html Indian band seeks to regain its birthright By David Whitney - Bee Washington Bureau November 28, 2004 REDDING - The Winnemem Wintu call their village Kerekmet, and though the couple of dozen people who live there are as poor as the rundown collection of buildings and trailers suggests, they occupy hallowed ground. Ancient spirits are invoked in the smokehouse. Stories and songs passed down for dozens of centuries are taught to children with the hope that the Creator will make sure that their children, too, know them. There is grave doubt that that prayer will be fulfilled. This band is the guardian of the Wintu Indians' traditional ways, and as their attorney said, the Winnemem are desperately close to the end. "The odds against them are very high," said Jerry C. Straus of Washington, D.C., a prominent Indian law attorney who regards their needs as so grave that he represents them for free. "Nobody is really willing to go to bat for them," Straus said. Kerekmet is reached by passing through a gate along Dry Creek Road, over a brook, past curious horses and around a curve in the once graveled road until it dead-ends at a collection of old trailers. There's an old ranch house dating from the 1930s nearby. That's where the visitor is told to wait for Caleen Sisk-Franco, the band's 52-year-old spiritual leader. The former schoolteacher is late for an interview. Children are dispatched to find her. In the crowded kitchen, its floorboards exposed by disintegrating linoleum, two women chop onions and peppers for a salsa that will be served later with a dinner of beef, chicken and salmon. Karen, who is mentally disabled, sits eating cereal. Marjory, who is 78 and blind from birth, feels her way to the table to sit with her friend. Marjory is the daughter of Florence Jones, the Winnemem's former spiritual leader, who built the farmhouse that serves as the band's communal dining center and gathering spot. When Florence Jones died at age 95 a year ago, the New York Times carried her obituary. "Ms. Jones was revered among many tribes for her healing abilities using native plants and her strict adherence to traditional ways," the obituary read. Now it is up to Sisk-Franco to carry on the traditions. Under the ways of the traditional Winnemem, she takes her instructions directly from the Creator, said her husband, Mark Franco. This day, she has been delayed by problems far removed from the spiritual world. A propane tank went dry in one of the trailers, and she is on her hands and knees trying to hook up a refill and light the pilot. When she finally shows up, dinner is well on its way. Cars and trucks carrying distant band members are arriving for the evening gathering. Sisk-Franco settles into a chair at the kitchen table and begins to explain how things got so bad. Somehow, in the band's recent past, the Interior Department concluded her people were not a tribe, she said. How they reached that conclusion is unclear. One day the band was recognized as an Indian tribe, and its members received federal health, housing and education benefits. She graduated from California State University, Chico, because of education aid to Indians, and worked with her husband in recruiting Indians to the campus. And then benefits for the Winnemem disappeared. They want this recognition restored, the mistakes corrected, the wrongs righted. What's made the situation so desperate for the Winnemem is the proposal to raise the height of nearby Shasta Dam. A bigger Shasta Lake will flood more of their sacred lands and herbal gathering grounds, their last grip on the old ways they celebrate. When legislation authorizing the dam was approved by Congress in 1937, it contained a promise to acquire property for the Winnemem to replace the 4,480 acres of tribal and allotment lands that would be inundated. That promise was never fulfilled, Sisk-Franco said. As Shasta Lake rose, 183 Winnemem graves were moved to a cemetery on higher ground. Sisk-Franco believes that cemetery is Indian country, which alone should qualify the band for tribal recognition. But that is being hindered by apathy, compounded by a persistent case of mistaken identity. Every time the Winnemem or their attorneys talk to the Interior Department about restoring their tribal recognition, the Bureau of Indian Affairs answers with a letter saying the tribe's petition for tribal restoration is still pending. The petition, however, was filed by a different Wintu band, calling itself the Wintu of Northern California. They're related, but not the same. "We are split from the Winnemem, but Caleen is still spiritual leader for a lot of our people," said Carol Martin, who sits on the Wintu of Northern California's tribal council. "But we are not together." When Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked Interior Secretary Gale Norton about the Winnemem in an October letter, the Bureau of Indian Affairs responded on Nov. 1 with the same old refrain, linking them yet again with the Wintu of Northern California. The Winnemem don't want to petition for tribal recognition, a process that for the Wintu of Northern California began in 1993 and still is a long way from finished. They want the Interior Department to correct a long-ago mistake, give them what they should have gotten before Shasta Lake began to rise, and return to them their tribal recognition. That would make them eligible for $160,000 to begin putting back together their struggling tribe. Barring that, the Winnemem have appealed to Congress to order their tribal restoration. Rep. Wally Herger, R-Marysville, whose district includes the Redding area, has said he believes the Winnemem should exhaust their administrative remedies through the Bureau of Indian Affairs before expecting any congressional help. Feinstein says she will hold up any Indian legislation, including the Winnemem effort, until Congress acts on what is for her a higher priority - her measure aimed at unraveling a deal that gave the small Lytton Band of Pomo Indians the right to develop a huge casino at San Pablo. To the Winnemem, the process denies them the voice they are entitled to on a matter that could spell the death of their traditional ways. "They're crippling us even before we get started, and then they are taking everything we have left," Sisk-Franco said. The Bee's David Whitney can be reached at (202) 383-0004 or dwhitney@mcclatchydc.com. Copyright c. 2004 Sacramento Bee. --------- "RE: Homes on their way to Reservation" --------- Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2004 08:42:08 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ROSEBUD FAMILIES IN NEW HOMES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/11/24/news/local/news13.txt Homes on their way to reservation By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer November 24, 2004 Four American Indian families will celebrate the holidays in new homes on Rosebud Indian Reservation. On Nov. 22, in a coordinated effort between Ellsworth Air Force Base and Walking Shield American Indian Society, four excess military housing units were transported from Ellsworth Air Force Base to Rosebud Indian Reservation. Depending on weather conditions, the houses may get to the reservation today, according to Amos Prue, chief executive officer at Sincangu Wicoti Awanyankape Corporation, Rosebud's housing authority. "They were supposed to be here today, but they're caught in a snowstorm somewhere," Prue said. "They can't move the houses at night." Karen Hoffman, assistant realty officer at Ellworth Air Force Base, said the base was contacted in mid-October about sending houses to Rosebud. "This is the first time excess houses have been donated to a reservation by Ellsworth," Hoffman said. She said the three-bedroom homes, built in 1961, were well-maintained and offered more than 1,000 square feet of living space. "Walking Shield provided the transportation, foundations and set up the utilities," Hoffman said. "The families should be moved in by Dec. 15." According to a news release, the housing project is part of Project Care that was created by Walking Shield American Indian Society to help provide decent, safe and sanitary housing on reservations. SWA Corporation has received about 120 houses from Walking Shield in the past. With more than 21,000 people living on the reservation home, half of them are younger than age 21, housing is limited with a wait of two to three years before applications are considered. For rental housing, 500 applicants are waiting for 50 homes that are being repaired, and 129 applicants are seeking homeownership on three houses. And 250 applicants are waiting for private home assistance for repairs and rehabilitation of their own homes. "Just going off of our waiting list, this isn't everyone who needs housing," Prue said. The new homes will be delivered to the families of Norman and Wayne Black Spotted Horse, Frantz Joe Stone, Alfred Bone Shirt and Earl Siers. "It helps, but it's never enough," Prue said. For Alfred Bone Shirt's family, it's an opportunity to breathe a little easier. Bone Shirt, 50, who lives five miles west of St. Francis, said construction crews dug the foundation of his new home to prepare for the house to be set up soon. He said construction workers had told him it would take anywhere from two weeks to 30 days to get the house ready for the six-member family. "I have to commend President Charlie Colombe for doing his job," Bone Shirt said, "not only to thank him in allowing us a house not only to my family but these other families as well." Seven years ago, the Bone Shirt family moved into a reconditioned 1974- model trailer home. Within a year, black mold began spreading across the family's bathroom floor, walls and window. "The carpets were taken out and the floors, walls and sinks had mold growing on them," Bone Shirt said. Moisture fed the mold and rotted the floors in the kitchen, living room and bathroom. When a group of volunteers arrived to help the Bone Shirts, the project's carpenter fell through the floor. Bone Shirt, his wife, Duana, and their grandchildren have suffered respiratory problems. It is a situation that Bone Shirt has lived with because he knows many Rosebud families have worse conditions. "When you're homeless or basically reduced to living in cluster housing, you accept anything they offer," he said. Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Casa Grande Ruins stand in Peril" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:57:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WALLY WORLD/DEVELOPMENT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1122ruelas22.html Casa Grande Ruins stand in peril Development Threatens Monument November 22, 2004 COOLIDGE - Nobody predicted the Casa Grande Ruins could go down like this, that after hundreds of years of surviving the elements, standing as testament to a civilization that thrived in the desert more than 700 years ago, the adobe walls could crumble because of a Wal-Mart across the street. But there they were, holes about the size of a half-dollar burrowed underneath the Great House, the signature structure at the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, 50 miles south of Phoenix. Squirrels are digging their way under the four-story building, threatening to undermine the structure's foundation. Squirrels have always been a part of the landscape here. But their numbers were controlled by coyotes that now stay away. "Look around us," said Paige Baker, who became superintendent of the monument seven months ago. "We're completely encircled by development, and it took away the natural predators." advertisement The squirrels aren't able to claw into the hardened caliche walls of the Great House. But by burrowing through the dirt under the walls, they create pockets for water to pool. That can dissolve the clay walls. It's Baker's job to figure out what to do to save the ruins of the sophisticated Hohokam society that lived here. He's bringing in experts to survey the worsening situation. He refused to hint at any methods but said a plan would be in place within two months. There were at least three holes around the Great House and several more around other structures. The dirt on the grounds, particularly by the large oval mound that archeologists believe served as some sort of ball court, looks like a honeycomb. A footstep crumbles the earth. As we talked, a visitor asked about the holes that are leaving the ground pockmarked. When told they're caused by squirrels, he mentioned he spotted a dead one by the block of structures known as Compound A. "Good," Baker said flatly. Modern development came slowly to the Casa Grande Ruins. For years, the closest business was the Ruins Village Store, a bar that became a drive- through liquor outlet. Coolidge annexed land that included the monument in 1983, setting the stage for Wal-Mart's entrance in 1999. That's when the city approved construction of a 107,000-square-foot store, with its massive, RV-friendly parking lot, right across the street from the monument. A Blockbuster Video followed, as did a Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Safeway expanded a small grocery store south of the ruins and turned it into a strip mall. Park employees give directions like this to the monument: "Go just past the Wal-Mart and turn right at Blockbuster." Officials with the Casa Grande park saw problems with the Wal-Mart- sparked development across the street. But they did not foresee a squirrel infestation. "I don't think anyone realized what the natural resource implications would be," said Carol West, the chief ranger. The development turned "these cute little rodent squirrels" into pests, she said. Wal-Mart, the self-proclaimed low-price leader, is also the leader of unintended consequences. It has blinded consumers to the perils of its cost-cutting strategy, which includes pressure to move manufacturing jobs to China to cut costs. Wal-Mart is the leading employer in Arizona. But its wages are such that it is also the company with the most employees using the state's health care system for their kids. It has undercut the foundations of society. Both this one and one from several hundred years ago. The Casa Grande Ruins are thought to have been built by Hohokams around 1400. In his notes from 1694, Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, the Spanish explorer, wrote of the castle-like structure surrounded by smaller buildings and a ball court. Kino said there were similar structures in the region, but this is the only one still standing. In the late 1800s, settlers of the land looted the buildings of wooden beams and carved graffiti in its walls. Those reports prompted the federal government to pass the Antiquities Act and preserve Casa Grande in 1906. The signature ruin, the Great House, got a canopy to protect it from rain in 1932. But there is no protection from this current problem. "We have no real control over development around the park," Baker said. What the park's administrators can do is preach the importance of preserving the ruins, not just as a draw for 130,000 visitors each year, but also as "an educational opportunity to see what cultures were like and hopefully learn from those cultures." As one of only two Native American park superintendents in the system - the other being his brother, who runs Mount Rushmore - Baker is especially attuned to this aspect. He is hoping to collect oral history from tribal elders to flesh out the story of the Hohokam people, who had disappeared from this area by the time Kino arrived to discover their ruins. "If we don't watch and care for the environment," Baker said, "then we're going to go the same way that cultures previously have gone." There are lessons to be drawn from the previous peoples who lived here. But furthering that study involves saving these ruins from the current culture, which is also in danger of eroding from underneath. Luckily, if Baker chooses to study this current decay, he has a living laboratory across the street. Reach Ruelas at richard.ruelas@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8473. Copyright c. 2004, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Trujillo: Indians are treated like Teenagers" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:57:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ENERGY INDUSTRY" http://www.gallupindependent.com/112204trujillo.html Trujillo: Indians are treated like teenagers By Stan Bindell For The Independent November 22, 2004 PRESCOTT, Ariz. - Arvin Trujillo, executive director of the Navajo Nation's Natural Resources Division, said tribes need to know what they're getting into if they go into the energy business. Don't get Trujillo wrong, he thinks it's a good idea. But he feels that when Native Americans succeed some non-Native Americans respond by asking how they can get a piece of the pot. Trujillo said this can be seen when Native Americans became active in the gambling business and it can also be seen as they assert their water rights. "People start asking: Heaven forbid, do we have to pay Native Americans (for water)?" he said. Trujillo said just as some don't like tribes having gambling or water rights that they also won't like them owning energy companies. "They'll ask: Do we want tribes to have that influence?" he asked. Trujillo said the BIA has grown to the point it now treats Native Americans as if they are teenagers. But Trujillo sees the energy business as a wonderful opportunity for Native Americans. He is for the idea, but he wants tribes to know they can face a lashback. Trujillo said many tribal people prefer to use cash instead of credit because new economic concepts sometimes land Native Americans in debt. "They can overextend as I see with my own teenagers," he joked. Charles Vaughn, a member of the Hualapai Tribe, echoed Trujillo's comments. "They want us to learn capitalism, but then some non-Indian says: You've learned it too well," he said. Vaughn criticized a political advertisement by Congressman Rick Renzi for making fun of candidate Paul Babbitt's idea to invest millions into windmills. "It's sad he (Renzi) couldn't be truthful about renewable energy needs," Vaughn said. Derrick Watchman, a spokesman for Bank One, said most tribes don't know how to buy bonds in order to come up with the funding it takes to get an energy company going. But, he emphasized, as tribes move from a casino/hotel economy to an energy based economy that Wall Street will show more interest in backing tribal endeavors. Watchman, who is Navajo, said no one bank will back a project if it costs more than $100 million. This means that a diversity of funding is needed for such an energy project. Watchman, who also sits on the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority governing board, said that if the federal government guarantees tribal loans that they will be a lot easier to come by. "Then you can get the loans overnight," he said. Watchman noted that in order to obtain loans that tribes have to wave their tribal sovereignty in terms of allowing themselves to be sued. Federal law currently precludes tribes from being sued unless they agree to be sued. He said no lender will agree to loan out large amounts of money without having the power to sue if there is a problem. He added that jurisdictional problems can also make a difference on whether or not large loans are approved. The governor's tribal energy group will meet again to review the progress, grade themselves and come up with more plans. Copyright c. 2004 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Tribes work together to produce Canned Seafood" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:57:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBAL CANNERY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/sited/story/html/179055 Peninsula tribes work together to produce canned seafood November 22, 20042004 by BRENDA HANRAHAN LAPUSH - When the Quileute tribe decided to begin selling canned salmon, it turned to the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe for help. Quileute Tribal Chairman Russ Woodruff said the tribal council had been talking about canning salmon for some time, but faced the problem of not having a cannery. "We really didn't want to build an expensive cannery, and the Elwha Fish Co. already has the canning equipment," Woodruff said. "There is no sense in two tribes having the same thing, so we agreed to help each other." Quileute Executive Director Walter Jackson said the tribe benefits from having a product they can sell at a variety of outlets, and the Elwha tribe receives a financial boost for its canning services. "We have been working with all of the tribes to promote all of our products together," Jackson said. "Tribes need to work together more so everyone benefits." Quileute label The result of the verbal agreement between the tribes is canned wild king salmon, coho salmon and smoked coho and king salmon under the Quileute Seafoods label, Woodruff said. The label, which features the Quileute Seafoods logo and photographs of James Island off First Beach and Second Beach, was created by Port Angeles graphic artist Laurel Black. Copyright c. 2004 Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, WA. Horvitz Newspapers, Inc. --------- "RE: Salmon returns weak at Klamath" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:57:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DISEASED CHINOOK" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article=/20041122/STATE/411220331/1042 Researchers find more disease among river's young Chinook BY JEFF BARNARD The Associated Press November 22, 2004 HORNBROOK, Calif. - Walking the banks of Bogus Creek, state fisheries biologist Mark Hampton stopped and pointed to a black-and-white shape in the shallow water - a battered female chinook salmon lying on its side and thrusting its tail into the gravel to dig a nest for its eggs. This fall, the returns of chinook salmon to Bogus Creek and the Shasta, Scott and Salmon rivers - Northern California tributaries to the Klamath River - have been disappointing. Estimates based on fish and carcass counts are showing less than 25 percent of last year's returns and less than 10 percent of the strong returns of 2000. The reasons are difficult to nail down, but the more researchers look, the more disease they are finding in young chinook migrating down the Klamath River. The fish that survive to reach the ocean are finding less food than they did a few years ago. Meanwhile, an El Nino building in the South Pacific could reduce the mountain snowpack that feeds the Klamath River and make food even more scarce for salmon in the ocean. The disease and ocean conditions come on top of the continuing struggle to balance scarce water between threatened coho salmon and farms on a federal irrigation projected along the Oregon-California border. A drought in 2001 prompted the federal government to shut off water to most farms on the Klamath Reclamation Project. The health of the Klamath's chinook salmon also has widespread effects because when runs are down, harvests in the ocean off Southern Oregon and Northern California are cut back to allow more to return to the river to spawn. Declines blamed on habitat loss, poor water quality and overfishing prompted Congress to initiate a rebuilding effort in 1986, which led to increased research that has uncovered an alarming rate of disease. Understanding the role that diseases play in salmon returns is becoming increasingly important in the rebuilding effort, said Nick Hetrick, fisheries program leader for Fish and Wildlife in Arcata, Calif. That's where Scott Foott comes in. He is a fish pathologist at the agency's California-Nevada Fish Health Center who has been studying fish diseases in the Klamath Basin. Samples taken from traps and seining indicate that as many as 80 percent of young Klamath chinook are infested with the parasite parvicapsula minibicornis by the time they reach the ocean. It doesn't appear to be fatal, but it weakens fish by making their kidneys less efficient at filtering their blood, Foott said. Another parasite, Ceratomyxa shasta, infests the intestines. Between 30 percent and 40 percent of young chinook swimming down the Klamath get infested with it, and nearly all of them die. Biologists don't know how many salmon are spawned in the wild in the Klamath Basin, so they cannot estimate how many are being killed by disease. Overall, though, the chances of salmon surviving from egg to spawning adult generally are tiny. The numbers of chinook smolts released from Iron Gate Hatchery on the Klamath River that survived to return to the hatchery averaged less than 1 percent from 1979 to 1999, said Hampton, a biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game. "This disease problem hits much harder in some years than other years," he said. "We're just now finding out what it's doing." The fish do not appear to become infested with C shasta in their home tributaries, Foott said. It all appears to happen after they enter the Klamath. The rate of infestation appears to be related to the prevalence of a tiny worm, found in fine sand at the bottom of river pools and in algae that grows on rocks, that serves as an intermediate host for the parasite. "The general thought is, if you have high concentrations of (the worm) in the upper river ... you are creating this condition of a higher rate of infection than you normally have," Foott said. "It could be a cyclic phenomenon. It could be due to a lack of flushing flows in winter. These are just open questions right now. "A river is a very dynamic creature. When you turn it into a drainage canal, it doesn't operate like it used to." Diseases could become another issue in the debate about water allocations in the basin. Right now, the timing and amount of flows down the Klamath River are dictated by the needs of coho salmon under the Endangered Species Act. That could change if the Yurok Tribe wins a lawsuit against the Bureau of Reclamation demanding more water for chinook and other fish to fulfill tribal trust responsibilities. Also, PacifiCorp is seeking a new license to operate dams in the basin. Beyond anyone's control are changing conditions in the ocean based on climate drivers such as El Nino in the South Pacific and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation in the North Pacific. Because an El Nino is building, the Northwest might see a warmer winter and less precipitation, producing less snowpack in the mountains to feed salmon streams. The ocean is likely to be warmer close to shore off Oregon California and Washington, making for less upwelling. Copyright c. 2004 Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon. --------- "RE: Annie Mae Pictou Aquash Award" --------- Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 15:55:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANNIE MAE PICTOU AQUASH AWARD" http://www.native-voice.com/fullstory.cfm?ID=693 Mourning Those Who Have Passed, Honoring Lives: Annie Mae Pictou Aquash Award By Winona LaDuke Special to The Native Voice Amidst songs, celebration and tears, the third Annie Mae Pictou Aquash Award ceremony was held in New York, on May 13th, 2004. Three hundred Indigenous delegates and their friends crowded into a reception area across from the United Nations to honor Native women - those in the spirit world, those recognized specifically by the award, and those yet to come. The event was sponsored by the Indigenous Women's Network, in coordination with the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples and the Flying Eagle Woman Fund's celebration in honor of Indigenous Women; and the award ceremony, honoring both the late Annie Mae Pictou Aquash and this year's recipients, featured Inuit singing, Hawaiian chanting, traditional social drum and honor songs, and Maori haka. The three award recipients included Mililani Trask, a leader in the Native Hawaiian movement and representative of the Permanent forum on Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations; Katrina Cantrell, a Shoshone Native health advocate who operates a women's clinic in northern California; and Noeli Pocaterra, Second Vice President of the National Assembly Bolivarian Republic of Venuzuela and a Wayuu organizer. The Award ceremony was also marked by the presence and closing speech of Denise and Debbie Maloney Pictou, daughters of the late Annie Mae Pictou Aquash. The ceremony opened with Mohawk midwife and past Annie Mae Award recipient Katsi Cook singing a women's honor song, followed by a traditional song in Native Saami. As Mililani Trask received her award in recognition of her extensive work with Indigenous women, the Native Hawaiian delegation broke into a series of chants and songs, honoring her as well as all of those assembled. Trask's acceptance speech was sprinkled with anecdotes and fond memories of how she first began to work with Indigenous women from the mainland; her stories highlighted the links between Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders' work to de-colonize their territories and Native American struggles for the same. Trask has worked tirelessly in the international arena on behalf of Pacific Islanders, many of whose nations have recently been colonized. The presence of the Native Hawaiian delegation, in full force during this ceremony, and comprised of many new Hawaiian organizers who are now able to present formal work at the United Nations, served as a powerful and touching testament to Mililani's connection to her community and her great talent at mentoring blossoming leaders. Katrina Cantrell was acknowledged for her continuing work to provide reproductive rights and health services to Indigenous women, including advocating for the right of freedom of choice. She directs Women's Health Specialists, a feminist women's health clinic in northern California that provides a broad array of services to Native women. Within a period of five years, this clinic was the site of four arson fires. As Cantrell describes her work, "self-determination is a guiding principal of the Feminist Women's Health Center, we have a way of honoring women which is consistent with my tribal teachings." Katrina also serves on the board of both the Native Women's Health Education Resource Center and the National Women's Health Network. During her acceptance speech, Cantrell emphasized that it is imperative to have an environment in which women can achieve their reproductive goals free from coercion, fear or prejudice. "I accept the award for all the women in my life," she stated, "who have given me strength, admonition and wisdom as needed. I am grateful for the wisdom of feminist activists that encouraged me to expand the vision of women's health to include abortion." "I am a Native Wayuu, a mother, grandmother and great grandmother," began Noelli Pocaterra as she took her place at the microphone. Acknowledging Indigenous women who lost their lives defending the rights of Indigenous peoples, including Ingrid Washinawatok and Lahe'ena'gay, Pocaterra recognized the strong history of Native women's resistance, and urged Native women to continue this work: "Sisters, we cannot make a mistake, we cannot be seduced and overwhelmed by this model of life, by this society that wants to globalize us. We cannot abandon our native spaces, our wombs, our land, the place of our sacred cemeteries as well as our ancestral traditions..." Pocaterra called on Indigenous peoples everywhere to strengthen work to make October l2 an annual day of resistance, noting that while the struggle for Native rights in Venezuela continues, "we cannot remain with the celebration of a day of Indigenous resistance and then sell our forests, leave our territories in the hands of compa nies that exploit gold and petroleum..." As a strong advocate for women's, children's, and Indigenous rights who has influenced many positive policy changes in her home country, Noeli's words struck a deep chord with each person in the hall. The Indigenous Women's Network (IWN) established the Annie Mae Award in 1997 as a way to honor the slain activist and the many struggles that she represented. The organization has given this award on three separate occasions, with past recipients including Katsi Cook, Mohawk midwife and environmental activist; Cecilia Rodriguez, Chicana activist and representative of the National Commission for Democracy in Mexico; and the late Nilak Butler, an Inuit activist who was a friend of Annie Mae Aquash. In the face of ongoing investigations into Aquash's murder thirty years ago on Pine Ridge Reservation, the organizers wanted to ensure that the award was given in honor of her life. This spring, Arlo Looking Horse was convicted in the murder of Annie Mae, and John Graham faces extradition from Canada. The murder case also raises questions as to the integrity of past leaders of the American Indian Movement, some of whom may be implicated in the court proceedings. IWN as an organization supports the conviction of those involved in the murder of Annie Mae, and points to the present Patriot Act as a re- -enactment of the time of the COINTELPRO era, during which the FBI and other agencies waged a covert war on the American Indian Movement, creating a climate of fear and resulting in the deaths of many people, including Annie Mae. The late Nilak Butler once remembered, "Annie Mae did not seek self glory but worked quietly doing anything that was needed to matter how small or great the task before her. She never complained when times were hard. Rather, she gave of herself and her humor and wisdom took the sharp edges off of difficult times. Her gifts, her strength, her beauty live on today through many people." At this year's ceremony, John Trudell, a Santee poet and Annie Mae's good friend, likened Annie Mae's work and death with that of Ingrid Washinawatok, declaring that the two women "exemplified the heart, strength, spirit and coherency of our cultural movement... It is important that the truth be seen and heard regarding the murders of Annie Mae and Ingrid. Wherever these truths may lead there is a lesson to be learned. And this lesson has something to do with the soul of our movements and the spirit of our culture. It has to do with the integrity of our future, the clarity of coming generations and the well-being of our people. We need to know what happened so we can learn from it..." In her statement on behalf of the family, Denise Mahoney Pictou said, "In the last 36 hours of our mothers' life she suffered indignities no human being should ever have to suffer. The brutal kidnapping, interrogation, rape and murder or our mother had sat unresolved for an incredible 28 years. The silence and secrecy that surrounded our mother's death for 25 years left a void and a sense of loss of ownership for her family and nation. We have waited in silent mourning for 27 years for justice. We are entering a time of discovery as her murderers are brought to justice. There will be many questions and difficult times. We ask that you remember Anna Mae and all that she stood for and represented. A strong women with a voice that was silenced. Anna Mae Pictou Aquash did not die at the hands of some Government conspiracy. The only conspiracy that existed is that which was developed to protect her murderers.For Anna Mae's family and Nation this award represents the support that we have f rom our sisters in that we are not alone in our quest for justice and truth." Copyright c. 2003 Native Voice Media, all rights reserved. --------- "RE: Reservation School looks to reap the Wind" --------- Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 08:48:24 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OGLALA LAKOTA COLLEGE" http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/11/22/news/local/top/news01.txt Reservation school looks to reap the wind By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer November 22, 2004 KYLE - Oglala Lakota College has collected its first month's worth of data in its year-long wind-energy study on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. According to Jim Taulman, an OLC conservation biology instructor, the college will collect data on wind speed and direction using its $10,000 anemometer tower for a year. The information will help school officials evaluate the potential of generating its own electricity with a wind turbine at the Piya Wiconi center, seven miles southwest of Kyle. "We'll get a good idea of what the potential is for wind energy," Taulman said. Financed through the college, the tower is part of plan that would allow the college to generate its own renewable power within the next two to three years, he said. "The whole reservation is just an ideal place for energy," he said. With help from Jim Brignolo of the Foundation for the American Indian, an organization involved in promoting wind energy on reservations, the college has started recording wind speeds and directions. The averages will help officials determine whether a turbine is feasible. "That's the next step after collecting wind data," Taulman said. He said Brignolo contracted Second Wind to assemble and erect the 50- meter, or 165-foot-tall tower, on Sept. 10. The anemometers, or wind recording devices, were placed at elevations of 10-, 30- and 50-meters. The base, a galvanized plate, was bolted together and driven into the ground. The weight of the tower keeps the base in place. The tower was then anchored with guy wires attached to a series of six ring collars that are snugly attached to the pole. Six-foot-long anchor screws were driven into the ground, and the guy wires were secured to the screws to keep the tower from toppling during high winds. Unlike the Oglala Sioux Tribe's proposed $300 million wind farm with Invenergy of Chicago, the college will build its own wind turbine with money from private donations and grants, Taulman said. The time frame for all of this is about a year for technicians to accumulate the weather data and then two years to gather resources to buy the wind turbine, he said. "The funding institutions want to see the actual data. They don't want to put money into a project that doesn't produce energy," Taulman said. He said that he would use the tower as an example of renewable resources for energy. This would also include getting the best wind turbine to fit the job. "There are all sorts of turbines - those that provide power for hundreds of homes and smaller versions that would power the campus," Taulman said. He said an average home uses 30 kilowatt-hours in a day or 1,000 kilowatt-hours each month. Depending upon the wind, a moderate turbine would generate about 200 to 300 kilowatts an hour - ample energy to power the campus, he said. Once generated, the college can use the power or sell what they don't need to area power companies. Taulman said the college would probably negotiate with LaCreek Electric Association, the local electric company in Kyle. "We're working out the details with the utility grid," he said. "It's like a small power plant. The excess power we produce, we hope to sell to them." Representatives of LaCreek Electric Association were unavailable for comment. KILI Radio station uses 50,000 watts of power to broadcast its daily dose of Lakota-language talk shows, tribal music, sports coverage and rock 'n' roll. The station has joined a consortium that plans to buy and install a wind turbine. Tom Casey, KILI radio station manager, along with Honor the Earth, the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy or COUP, NativeEnergy and Midwest Renewable Energy Association, wrote a proposal to determine whether the renewable resource would be viable to power the station. They learned that there is continuous wind, enough to power a turbine and generate "buy back" from the local power company. "We're in the final throes of that proposal," Casey said. If data supports the theory of constant wind power, the consortium will buy a $95,000, 65-kilowatt Vestas wind turbine. The group hopes to complete construction as early as next spring. "The final piece of the puzzle has just been submitted to them," Casey said. Oglala Lakota College will have to establish policies for their utility needs, consider fee connections to the power grid and negotiate a buy-back rate with the power company. With the rising costs of traditional power sources, Taulman said, OLC will break away from the dependency of fossil fuels and foreign oil for a much cleaner, more efficient, renewable resource of energy. As fossil fuels and oil reserves dwindle, the college has grasped a power source that will pay back benefits to OLC, the environment and the economy, Taulman said. "We're going to have to go down this road eventually," Taulman said. "Why wait?" Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2004 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: 100 Year Birthday Celebration" --------- Date: Sun, 28 Nov 2004 15:55:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MARY MAYES" http://www.kansascity.com//cities_neighborhoods/olathe/10257656.htm?1c Olathe woman marks 100 years with 2 parties, lots of loved ones By ALICIA B. MCGARRY Special to The Star November 28, 2004 Friends and family gathered Saturday afternoon at the Good Samaritan Towers in Olathe to celebrate the 100th birthday of Mary Louvenia "Babe" Sanders Mayes. Mary is one of 12 original enrollees in the Cherokee Nation and is a descendant of Nancy Ward, a Cherokee tribal leader who is revered by the tribe as the most beloved and powerful Cherokee woman in history. But at her birthday party Saturday, it wasn't Mary's proud American Indian lineage that was the topic of conversation. It was her hair, and, of course, her age. "Did you notice that head of hair on her?" exclaimed one Good Samaritan Towers resident. "Oh, we're all just so jealous of her," chimed in another. Mary Mayes swears by no secret to her gloriously full head of hair, or to becoming a centenarian. Friends and family agree she hasn't lost her quit wit or sharp sense of humor - which she certainly doesn't keep a secret - on her journey to triple digits, either. Larry Williams, director of resident services at the Good Samaritan Towers, recalled a most recent example of Mary's wit: "When she came back from a birthday party that was held for her in Oklahoma a few days ago, she looked right at me and said, `You're a good guy - when you're asleep!'" Mary was born to Jessie Alice Adair and Moses Frye Sanders on Nov. 16, 1904, in the Adair Colony of Sequoyah District in the Cherokee Nation. Following her mother's death just one month after Mary's birth, her maternal grandparents, Rachel Louvenia Twist and Edward Everett Adair, raised her. Mary's grandfather, Edward Everett Adair, served as Clerk for the Sequoyah District and later as councilor from the same District for the Cherokee Nation. He was also a successful farmer and cattleman. In 1922, Mary married Huey Vernon Mayes. Together, they had three children - John Ed, Doris Lanell and Betty Jo. In 1943, the family moved to Wichita, where Mary worked on some of the world's first `computing machines' while her children completed school. "I worked for Boeing and IBM, on the keypunch payroll machines," Mary said. "When we started, no one knew anything about those IBM machines, but they were just like typewriters to me." Now, more than 50 years later, Mary says she finds herself living life much in the same way as always, according to one simple philosophy - perhaps one that we should all take to heart: "I do what I want to do, and what I don't want to do, I don't do it!" In reaching the age 100, Mary joins an estimated 70,000 centenarians alive today, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The number has grown from 37,000 just since 1990, revealing an almost exponential increase in people who have been alive for an entire century - and then some. Ginger Carnes, a Good Samaritan resident and friend to Mary, hopes to join the centenarian group. "I am going to ask Mary to attend my 100th birthday party!" she said Saturday. Copyright c. 2004 The Kansas City Star. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Talking Turkey about Holiday Food" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:57:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: HOLIDAY FOOD" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/editorial/10250893.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Talking turkey about holiday food November 23, 2004 Have you ever been to one of those Thanksgiving feasts where polite smiles and vague compliments described the meal? I have served one such meal. My first roasted turkey for my new husband many, many years ago was underdone - OK, cold - inside where the giblets, still in the bag, were nestled. When I bought the turkey, it was frozen. And who would have thought there was anything behind that ice in the turkey's cavity? I thought that if I let the bird sit in hot water for an hour or so, it would thaw. It did, and it looked good ... from the outside. So I tossed it into the oven. Then I had visions of walking into the kitchen, where I had set a table for my new husband and a couple of his college buddies. I would have my new apron on and carry this golden roasted bird into a room of "ahhs" and "ohhhs." They were polite, all right, but the meal was pretty bad. I need to say my cooking, over the years, has gotten much better. Too bad the old husband only tasted the learner's meals. We usually have a big family meal in White Shield, N.D., on the holidays. It is especially important this year that the family gather because our mother is in the hospital again and struggling. There are big meal plans in the air. We all know each other's specialties and know there probably won't be any food catastrophes. I say this because a relative who lives in the big city told me this: She was invited to the home of a friend for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. After the first taste, she found the turkey dressing hard to swallow. She stirred it around her plate, she said, and tried to hide it under the potatoes and gravy. She didn't want to hurt the hostess' feelings, but she didn't want to eat that dressing, either. It also was hard to be thankful when the slice of turkey on her plate was slightly rare, she told me. I laughed at her exaggeration. But I do know that in our family we are of the common "giblet dressing clan." That means giblet dressing and don't fool with anything else. There are other dressings, I know. I know this because I'm an "Emeril Live" fan. I don't know if it has something to do with my age, or if I just want something pleasant to watch before I go to sleep. Emeril, a New Orleans master chef, has been on this Thanksgiving meal kick - "kicking it up several notches," as he would say. Anyway, he made this dressing using spinach and some corn meal bread. He made the bread first and crumbled it into the dressing. I couldn't taste what he made, of course, but he was putting together spinach and corn meal for dressing. It sounded healthy but not very tasty. Emril does make some strange dishes, but maybe they only are strange to me. You develop a taste for the foods that your family cooks. I know there are some Norwegian foods I've come to really like, especially the pastries, and there are others that my taste buds haven't taken to. I am talking about lutefisk. My feelings about lutefisk have nothing to do with whether it isn't prepared correctly or is underdone. It's just that lutefisk is, shall we say, an acquired taste. Over the years, my sisters and I have done some strange things with food, most of them by accident. One time, one of my sisters put salt instead of sugar into her piecrust. Fried bread seems simple, but it can be tricky to get it just right. I have tasted a lot of hard or soggy fried bread. And right up there on the top of the list of poor fried breads was served in Washington, D.C., at the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian. I hope they have improved since I had my serving. Well, we are heading into the holidays and feasts certainly are a part of them. Although I'm chuckling and snickering at some cooks' mistakes, I'm reminded that the food brings us together - and more important, that no matter how meager or kingly the feast, this is a time to be thankful for all the good things the Creator has provided for us. WetikooshkawiitIt, Ati'Ux Neeshanu'tinachitakUX (which means "I thank the Creator, the Chief up above" in Sahnish.) ---- Dorreen Yellow Bird's column appears Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2004 The Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: Canadian First Nations Natural Gas to U.S." --------- Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:57:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IGDC MARKETS FN GAS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://sanfrancisco.dbusinessnews.com/php?newsid=4482&type_news=latest IGDC Obtains $12 Million Investment to Market Canadian First Nations Natural Gas to United States November 22, 2004 San Francisco - Indigenous Global Development Corporation today announced its second phase of its purchase and transport of Cree Energy, Ltd., Canadian First Nation's natural gas from Canada to the United States. IGDC's Phase II purchase will include additional sales and transport of Canadian natural gas into the U.S. Indigenous Global can purchase a total of 92,700,000 MMBtus (90 billion cubic feet) of natural gas per year, at a discount to the U.S. spot market, for the next 25 years under their contract with Cree Energy. IGDC will sell the natural gas to established purchasers and use it to fuel its power plant program. Its current purchase is $3 million of natural gas per month. This will increase to $6 million by the next quarter and increase to $9 million of natural gas per month within 18 months. This second phase catalyst included a line of credit up to $12 million provided by a private fund that specializes in the Energy Industry. IGDC sees this first opportunity with the private energy fund as being the first of many for the IGDC's Energy Program. Projects under current development include the power plants for base load and peaker opportunities, wind and hydropower projects. "We are pleased to support solid and economically viable projects in Indian Country that create returns to our fund, as well as, empowering the tribes through sustainable resource management," said Taylor Flynn, a Principal with the investment group. "We are providing four million and up to 12 million dollars to support the natural gas trading of IGDC and its First Nations partners. We look forward to reviewing additional power projects by IGDC and the start of a mutually beneficial relationship." "Phase two is a clear milestone in our relationship with the Canadian First Nations," said Deni Leonard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Indigenous Global Development Corporation. "This truly launches our efforts to provide a model for self-management of Canadian First Nations natural resources by Canadian tribes. We are all excited by the possibilities this brings to the future of Canadian and United States Indigenous trade." About Indigenous Global Development Corporation Indigenous Global Development Corporation (IGDC) is the first majority owned publicly traded Native American corporation. IGDC's goal is to provide strategy, financial and investment tools to deliver economic development, empowerment and financial self-sufficiency for Native Americans across the U.S. and for indigenous people worldwide. Investment financing, tribal energy creation and pharmaceutical development for Native American communities are its primary tools to create positive change in Indian Country. Its parent company is United Native Depository Corporation. You can find more information about Indigenous Global and United Native Depository Corporation at www.igdc1.com and www.undc1.com. Copyright c. 2004 dBusinessNews. --------- "RE: 'Bed and breakfast' Jail System" --------- Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 08:48:24 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REZ JAILS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.thenavajotimes.com/_content/bednbreakfast.php 'Bed and breakfast' system Officials lament lack of money for new jails By Jason Begay Navajo Times WINDOW ROCK - Most convicted criminals on the Navajo Nation do not serve more than a fraction of the sentences imposed on them, officials say. In fact, corrections administrators say that less than five percent serve a complete sentence. Though most, if not all, of these individuals are convicted of misdemeanor crimes, the Navajo Nation Corrections Department sees an alarmingly high number of repeat offenders that administrators said could be deterred if given more financing. "The facilities are no longer meeting the goals they were set out to: To deter crime," said Delores Greyeyes, Department of Corrections director. Instead, both repeat offenders and corrections staff half-jokingly refer to the Navajo Reservation's six facilities as "bed and breakfasts," she said. Perpetrators of serious felonies, including murders and sex crimes, are usually handled in federal courts and held in federal facilities. Greyeyes, who has led the department for a year, lays much of the blame on lack of financing. The corrections department is allotted $2.8 million from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which covers salary costs, Greyeyes said. This year, the Navajo Nation paid about $517,213 for operating costs, an average amount, said Greyeyes, who estimated the daily cost to house an inmate at $65. Despite the flow of inmates that go through the tribal jail system - by up to 2,000 people in recent years Greyeyes estimated - funding has flat- -lined and remained at the same level for the past several years, leading to limited staffing and almost no rehabilitation programs. This is common amongst American Indian jails, according to a report by the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of the Inspector General. The report detailed the conditions at 14 reservation jails, many in the Southwestern United States, including the Hopi, Zuni and San Carlos Apache reservations. Among those sites the jails in Shiprock and Tohatchi each logged the highest number of suicide attempts - seven and six, respectively - than any other facility in the last three years. In total, the Shiprock jail logged the highest total of serious incidents, 10, including a death by suicide and two escapes. The report detailed a 2001 incident when an individual detained in the Shiprock facility attempted to hang himself seven times using articles of clothing and towels left in the cell. As a result, the detention officer on duty took away each item the inmate tried to use in each attempt "until the inmate remained in his cell without any clothing or towels," the report states. During her year leading the Department of Corrections, Greyeyes said she has focused on officer training. The department employees about 130 officers and has sent 15 to Artesia, N.M. for mandatory basic training in the last year increasing the percentage of certified officers to 90 percent. Most of the remaining officers and new hires and are expected to be sent to training in January, Greyeyes said. "In Tohatchi, there were not a lot of officers who were certified," Greyeyes said. The Inspector General report stated that officer training is "inconsistent and unpredictable" in Indian jails. "The majority of the detention officers at the sites we visited have yet to attend mandatory basic training," the report states. On the Navajo Nation, the lack of jail space is one of the biggest concerns. Among the crimes committed by criminals in Navajo Nation facilities are petty theft, child neglect/abuse, and domestic violence, depending on the severity of the incident. Average jail sentences range from six months to a year. In all, tribal facilities can hold up to 103 inmates on a long- term basis, but with limited space, most, if not all, inmates are rushed out of the jails to make room for others. "There are a lot of individuals out there who are dangerous and should be behind bars," Greyeyes said. For instance, Ophelia Begay, a detention officer and training specialist coordinator, said, barring any serious incidents, a convicted criminal sentenced to six months might serve one month before detention staff begin to initiate parole proceedings. "Nobody is completing their full sentence," Greyeyes said flatly. "They won't be unless the conditions are improved with more space and better facilities." In October, a member from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget toured two Navajo jail sites. Tribal administrators hope the visit will help focus more attention and eventually federal funding, to the reservation. Ultimately, Greyeyes would like to see all six of the department's facilities replaced with new buildings as opposed to constructing one central jail that would serve the entire reservation. The separate facilities serving each major community better fits into the rehabilitation portion of the corrections department, she said. "We want to keep the individual close to their community," she said. "We want to focus on local community needs." For instance, Greyeyes would like to implement rehabilitation programs like traditional services, as well as public service programs, where inmates would perform work outside the jail. "Rather than getting a free bed and breakfast, they would be providing a service," Greyeyes said. Copyright c. 2004 Navajo Times Publishing Co. Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Violent Crime a way of life in Indian Country" --------- Date: Sunday, November 28, 2004 12:13 PM From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Violent crime a way of life in Indian Country Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.billingsgazette.com//2004/11/28/build/local/32-violent-crime.inc Violent crime a way of life in Indian Country By BECKY SHAY Of The Gazette Staff November 28, 2004 Recent federal reports show that people in Indian Country are about twice as likely to become victims of crime, especially violent crime, as those outside tribal boundaries. Indian Country statistics on violent crime have been steady for more than a decade, while violent crime in other areas of the nation has declined. Violence in Indian Country often is considered just a way of life, said Jacklyn Littlebird, coordinator of the Crow Victims Assistance Program. "It's so normal to them, they just live it," she said. The federal Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that in 2000, American Indians and Alaska Natives experienced violence at about one-third again as great a rate than the country as a whole. According to the same set of statistics, aggravated assault among American Indians and Alaska Natives in 2000 was roughly twice that of the country as a whole. Indian Country crime numbers have dropped slightly from the mid-1990s, when then U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said high crime rates created "a public safety crisis in Indian Country." Indian Health Service studies showed that the American Indian rate of homicide in the mid '90s was 63 percent greater than the figure for all races combined and 178 percent greater than for whites. Matthew Pryor, agent in charge of law enforcement for the BIA's six- state district that includes Montana, said a major part of the crime problem is that there simply aren't enough officers and investigators. Few officers working large territories can only react to crime rather than work to prevent it, Pryor said. ---- Here are updates on some American Indian homicides in the area reported recently in The Billings Gazette. VICTIM: William Alvin Wick, 43, of Busby SUSPECT: Orville David Morrison, 26, of Busby CRIME: Wick died Oct. 3 of a shotgun wound to the head while he and two women were at Morrison's father's house near Busby getting spare parts for a car. PROSECUTION: Morrison was arrested Oct. 13. On Oct. 22, Morrison pleaded not guilty in federal court to second-degree murder, using a firearm during a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held without bond; no trial date has been set. VICTIM: Paul Dexter Morning Jr., 17, of Crow Agency SUSPECT: Mitchell Chandler, 22, of Crow Agency CRIME: Morning, a senior at Skyview High School in Billings, was stabbed to death at a party near Dunmore, along the Little Bighorn River, early May 27 PROSECUTION: Chandler pleaded not guilty Aug. 30 in federal court to second-degree murder. VICTIMS: Wayne Evan Not Afraid, 26, killed; Floyd Daniel Grant, 25, injured SUSPECTS: Vincent "Vinny" Whiteman, 14, of Lame Deer and Detrich Shoulderblade, 21, of Lame Deer CRIME: Not Afraid was beaten to death with a baseball bat and Grant suffered severe head injuries in the attack Feb. 6 outside a trailer house in Hardin. PROSECUTION: Whiteman was arrested March 2 in Lame Deer. Shoulderblade was arrested there March 18. Whiteman, who turned 14 on Feb. 26, is charged as an adult in Big Horn County District Court and pleaded not guilty on March 4 to deliberate homicide and aggravated assault. The transfer of his case to adult court was appealed to the Montana Supreme Court. He is being held on $1 million bond in Billings. Shoulderblade pleaded not guilty April 6 to deliberate homicide and aggravated assault. He is being held on $1 million bond in Big Horn County. Shoulderblade's trial is scheduled March 21, 2005. Investigators have said they believe the attack stemmed in part from a longstanding family feud involving the slaying of Franklin Whiteman Sr. in Hardin in 2001. VICTIM: Emerson Ira Pickett, 30, of Garryowen SUSPECT: Quinton Birdinground Jr., 24, of Crow Agency CRIME: Birdinground fatally shot Pickett, an uncle, on Feb. 8, 2003, during a three-way struggle after he found him with his estranged girlfriend at a house on the Crow Reservation. PROSECUTION: Birdinground was convicted in federal court on Dec. 18, 2003, of second-degree murder, assault resulting in serious bodily injury and use of a firearm in a crime of violence. He was sentenced in March to 24 years in federal prison. Copyright c. 2004 Billings Gazette. --------- "RE: Awaiting justice: 'A Brutal, Brutal Crime'" --------- Date: Sunday, November 28, 2004 12:15 PM From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Awaiting justice: 'A brutal, brutal crime' Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.billingsgazette.com//build/local/30-awaiting-justice.inc Awaiting justice: 'A brutal, brutal crime' Story by GREG TUTTLE and MIKE STARK Photos by JAMES WOODCOCK Of The Gazette Staff November 28, 2004 HARDIN - A storm rolled in a few days before Thanksgiving last year, dropping temperatures into the teens and leaving behind several inches of snow. On a lonely stretch of County Road 50A south of Hardin, the snow hid one of the most violent crimes in recent years in Big Horn County. Two friends, Koren Diebert, 26, and LaFonda Big Leggins, 23, were bludgeoned to death with a tire jack and their bodies dumped in a ditch. Family members were urged not to view the bodies; their faces had been obliterated. "This was a brutal, brutal crime," said Terry Bullis, Big Horn County coroner. It has been a year since the bodies of the young women were found frozen in the snow last Thanksgiving. Since then, three Hardin brothers identified as suspects in the murders have been in and out of custody, and no one has been charged. There is controversy, criticism and frustration among those close to the case. In Hardin and on the Crow Reservation, the unsolved murders have opened new wounds over old scars. Frightened and angry family members wonder if they'll ever see justice. "We're not giving up," said Koren's mother, Naomi Costa. "I want some kind of justice for my daughter." The top Crow tribal official says the case has exposed racism toward American Indians by the federal authorities responsible for solving violent crimes on the reservation. It's not the only case, he said, that has failed to receive enough attention from federal law enforcement. "It's just blatant, blatant racism on their part," said Crow Tribal Chairman Carl Venne. "There's no other way to explain it." Federal authorities who have jurisdiction in the case say they are frustrated, too. Rumors that the double homicide investigation was bungled or not taken seriously are countered with angry denial. The former top FBI agent in Billings said the murder investigation has been and remains a priority for the agency and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which shares jurisdiction in the case. Dan Vierthaler, who recently stepped down as the FBI's agent in charge for Eastern Montana, called the accusation of racism offensive. "It is a real slap in the face," said Vierthaler, who remains a special agent in Billings. "When you work that hard ... to be told you don't care or worse yet, you're racist, it's not true." The case has also strained relations between the local and federal law enforcement agencies that are forced to work together investigating crimes that cross state, federal and reservation boundaries. "I think it's really soured both sides," said Big Horn County Sheriff T. Larson Medicinehorse. "I think law enforcement agencies that work here, we need to get together and visit and iron out our differences." Frustration over the case led to a protest in Billings last week in which about 300 Crow tribal members converged on the offices of the U.S. attorney and FBI. Tribal members vowed to continue pressing the federal government for progress in the murder case. The day after the protest, U.S. Attorney Bill Mercer said the decision to file charges in the double murder will be made only when the investigation is complete and prosecutors are prepared to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. "I certainly don't want people to believe these things are tied to a timeline," Mercer said. "What they're tied to is completeness and thoroughness." As the investigation and the controversy continue, Koren's mother tries to stay busy raising her granddaughter, Brooke, who was 7 years old when her mother was murdered. "Not a day goes by when she doesn't cry for her mom," Naomi Costa said. *** Koren Nola Diebert was born March 22, 1977, at Crow Agency, the youngest of five children. When she was 3 and her brother, Jethro, was 5, the two left their mother's home in Crow Agency to live with their father outside Great Falls. Jethro said his father, Richard Diebert, who is not Indian, was an abusive alcoholic. But Jethro said his father loved his children, especially Koren. In elementary school, Koren was quick to make friends and fond of teasing her older brother. She loved animals, especially ones down on their luck. "She'd go around town and take in all the stray puppies," her mother said. "Sometimes people would get mad and come looking for their puppies." Koren and Jethro also learned about prejudice at a young age. As the only Indian kids in their small, rural school, Jethro said, they were often picked on by the other children. "But I was more sensitive to that than she was," he said. In the summers, Koren and Jethro returned to Crow Agency to be with friends and family. Her ties to the reservation remained strong despite her split family and mixed heritage. At 16, Koren moved out of her dad's house and attended St. Labre Indian School in Ashland. After two years, she got pregnant, dropped out and had a baby girl. She moved in with her mother when she was 18, and soon had another daughter. In time, hope stirred in Koren to turn her life around. "She was trying to make a good living ... but it's hard to do in Hardin, " Naomi said. As she reached her mid-20s, Koren decided to turn her love for animals into a career. She planned to move to Billings where she could learn to be a veterinary assistant. Her friend, LaFonda, wanted a chance for something new, too. LaFonda Rose Big Leggins was born in Wolf Point on Sept. 23, 1980. Her mother was an alcoholic and her father wasn't around, so when LaFonda was 4 months old, she was placed in the foster care of Gilbert and Marion Miller. "She was my little girl," Marion Miller said. Over the next two decades, LaFonda had five sets of foster parents in Wolf Point and Billings. "She was a happy, cheerful girl, always smiling," Miller said. "She just played with her little friends, what little girls do, and went fishing and camping with us on our vacations." LaFonda attended elementary school in Wolf Point and moved to Billings when she was 9 or 10 years old, Miller said. The Millers kept in contact with Lafonda, talking on the phone about once a month and taking her shopping when they visited Billings. Lafonda returned to Wolf Point three years ago and spent a few months reconnecting with friends and family. "She was still cheerful but she was different," Miller said. LaFonda's mother died at age 37 at a care center in Poplar in December 2002. In March of that year, LaFonda became a suspect in a hit-and-run accident in Lockwood that seriously injured a pedestrian. She denied that she was driving when the car hit the woman but refused to say who may have been driving her car. She spent 20 days in jail for not having insurance on the car. Koren and LaFonda liked to party, friends and family said. Autopsy results showed that both women were intoxicated when they were killed. LaFonda and Koren rented a small house together. They hung out with a crowd at a Hardin tavern and pool hall called the Corner Pocket. The women's friendship was a natural pairing of opposites: LaFonda was small and scrappy with a quick wit and sharp tongue. Koren was large and affable with an easy laugh and a preference for the underdog. In the fall of 2003, the friends had made a plan to leave their life in Hardin behind. They would move to an apartment in Billings and Koren would attend veterinary classes. LaFonda would join the Job Corps. "The last time I talked to her was the 5th of November," said Miller, LaFonda's first foster mother. "She was telling me how excited she was to move to Billings." A friend had agreed to drive the two women to Billings on Nov. 19 to find a place to live. LaFonda and Koren never showed up. *** Big Horn County Sheriff's Detective Harvey Dalton was called a few days after Koren and LaFonda missed their ride. He sensed this was more than a missing persons case. "I knew there was something very, very wrong with these women," Dalton said. "I would have been very amazed if the girls had been found alive." Koren's family was relieved that someone was taking the disappearance seriously. Koren's mother had tearfully tried to report her daughter missing three times within two days at the BIA office in Crow Agency. "She was worried, she was frightened, she was exasperated," Dalton recalled. "She was afraid the tribal cops weren't doing anything." Dalton's first task was to chase down the origin of a rumor: The two women had been taken to a party spot south of Hardin and beaten to death. The rumor led Dalton to someone connected to the three Hardin brothers, Eugene, Moses and Randy Rising Sun. The person said one of the brothers told how the women were killed and where the bodies were dumped. Dalton believed the informant, who gave a taped statement, and began building a list of people to talk with. One of Dalton's first calls was to Bob Pease, a veteran investigator with the BIA. "I told him when he walked in, 'We've got some dead girls,' " Dalton said. Pease listened to the informant's statement and agreed. The story that emerged put Koren and LaFonda with the Rising Sun brothers early on the morning of Nov. 19. No one had seen them since. Earlier that evening, the five were at the Corner Pocket. The Rising Suns left after a confrontation at the bar. It's unclear whether Koren and LaFonda left with the brothers or met up with them later, but all five ended up at a house party in Hardin. They left together at ab out 2 a.m. and drove south of town to a remote area on the reservation known as Pussy Pond, investigators were told. Pease, Dalton and two other officers went to the pond, which is five miles off Highway 313 on Road 50A, not far from the Bighorn River. It was late in the day, though, when the officers arrived. They didn't find anything suspicious, but decided a more thorough search was warranted. On Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving, about 50 people, including members of Koren's family, converged on the area surrounding the pond to look for the missing women. The snowstorm had passed, but it remained bitter cold. Divers from Casper, Wyo., broke through the ice and searched most of the two-acre pond. Amid snowdrifts and with temperatures in the teens, the search was ended midafternoon. Pease, Dalton and others on the search prepared to return the next day. At about 8:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, an off-duty BIA employee on his way to rejoin the search spotted clothing protruding through the snow in a roadside ditch about a mile from the pond. He called Pease. Word of the discovery spread quickly and the search was called off. As the area was cordoned off, Naomi Costa and her sister, Jessica, were stopped by an officer a few miles away. Venne, the tribal chairman, who was helping in the search, met them at a cattle guard. He hugged Naomi Costa and told her she should go no farther. "You probably want to remember her as the last time you saw her," Venne said. Copyright c. 2004 The Billings Gazette. --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 08:03 AM From: Janet Smith [owlstar@bellsouth.net] Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - As recently as July of this year, there was a national uproar over a published federal investigation of BIA detention facilities. It deplored the condition of the 74 facilities that were inspected and the "laissez-faire" attitude of BIA officials. Numerous deaths, both from suicide and other causes, were attributed to jail conditions, including lack of sufficient supervision. The tragic death of a young girl in a "drunk cell" at a boarding school in Washington state is still mentioned in the news occasionally. And still, this week's story shows that preventable deaths continue in BIA jails. What more incentive is needed to spur BIA and tribal officials to run responsible detention facilities? Woman dies in tribal jail Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. - Federal officials are investigating the death of a 27-year-old woman in a U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs jail cell on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Misty E. Ford, who was receiving medical treatment for a heart and lung condition, complained of chest pains the day before she was found dead, family members say. An ambulance crew was summoned to the jail but didn't treat the inmate, concluding "she was faking it," family members contend. Ford, a former resident of the Rocky Boys Indian Reservation in Montana, was found dead Nov. 14. The FBI, which investigates deaths on Indian reservations, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are both looking into circumstances surrounding Ford's death, authorities said. BIA officials who supervise the jail said they couldn't discuss the investigation. The victim's fiance, Steve Andrews, said Friday that he had visited his girlfriend for the 15 minutes allowed at the jail in Wellpinit the day before she died. "She said, 'There's something wrong. I know my body. I need to go to the hospital,' " Andrews said. Misty Ford's sister, Randi Ford, and their mother, Ethel "Vonnie" Ford, also visited her that day and tried to convince the jail staff that she needed treatment. Misty Ford was arrested by tribal police in early August on charges of attempting to elude an officer and driving under the influence. In tribal court, she was sentenced to seven months in jail, to be followed by two months of substance abuse treatment. On at least two other occasions since she landed in jail in early August, Misty Ford had been taken by ambulance from the BIA jail in Wellpinit to the emergency room at Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane. Andrews said Ford was suffering from pulmonary hypertension, a disease that prevents oxygen from traveling from the lungs to the bloodstream. Copyright c. 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises --------- "RE: History: Carlisle Indian School" --------- Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 08:06:33 -0400 From: Barbara Landis Subj: October 23, 1891 INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle Indian School. [Editorial Note: These reprints are being included in this newsletter so that you might know the mind of those who ran institutions like Carlisle.] THE INDIAN HELPER ~%^%~ A WEEKLY LETTER FROM THE Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa. ================================================ VOL. VII. FRIDAY, October 23, 1891 NUMBER 7 ================================================ OCTOBER is the month that seems All woven with midsummer dreams; She brings for us the golden days That fill the air with smoky haze. Now half the birds forget to sing And half of them have taken wing, Before their pathway shall be lost Beneath the gossamer of frost; Now one by one the gay leaves fly Zig-zag across the yellow sky; They rustle here, they flutter there, Until the bough hangs chill and bare. ========= IF INDIANS ARE STRONG IN BATTLE, HOW ABOUT THIS KIND OF BATTLE? --------- A Great Man and His Fight With a Cigar. Why did the Man-on-the-band-stand cut out of an exchange these words about Chauncey M. Depew? Why did he keep them so long in his vest pocket? After hearing the strong words from Captain last Saturday evening at English Speaking - strong words against the habit of using the harmful weed, the Man-on-the-band-stand knew EXACTLY why he had cared so tenderly for this bit of experience. The story was made to FIT RIGHT ON to those earnest and TRUE words we heard from the captain. Read it and see if it fits! Every one knows that Mr. Chauncey M. Depew is a great orator and a Railroad president and a very popular president and a very popular gentleman: HE says: "I used to smoke. I became worn out. I didn't know what was the matter with me and physicians that I applied to did not mention tobacco. I used to go to bed at two o'clock in the morning, and wake at five or six. I had no appetite. I was in the habit of smoking at my desk and thought that I derived material assistance in my work from it. After a time I found that I couldn't do any work without tobacco. I also found that I was incapable of doing any GREAT AMOUNT of work. My power of concentration was greatly weakened, and I could not think we