_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 13, ISSUE 004 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 January 22, 2005 Potawatomi mkokisis/moon of the bear Western Cherokee unolvtana/cold moon Mvskogee rv'fo cusee/moon of winter's younger brother +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; Indian Trust ListServ, Soveriegn Nations, NDNAIM, Triballaw and Chiapas95-English; 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "If you can educate yourself as much as you can ... that is the way to sovereign independence," Shirley said. "Standing on your own two feet." __ Joe Shirley Jr., Navajo Nation President +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! From a Rocky Mountain News item: `Name change is sore subject' Chivington Drive residents lambaste Longmont officials By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News January 11, 2005 LONGMONT - Residents of Chivington Drive don't want their street renamed, even if some people think it honors a mass murderer. No one has ever "come to my house and asked, 'Why do you live on this terrible street?' " Rita Drish told city officials Monday. --- Since the residents of Chivington Street don't see a problem living on a street named after the coward who lead the Sand Springs massacre, and want the rest of us to butt out, I have some suggestions for future picturesque street names to help continue this proud tradition. Please feel free to print copies of this editorial and send them to the Longmont City Council. I'm sure they will want to appease the voters of their community and this list will help achieve that purpose. Hitler Boulevard, and don't forget Buchenwald Lane cul-de-sac Idi Amin Drive David Berkowitz or Son of Sam Street Pol Pot Place Kim Il Jung Terrace Joseph Stalin Route Christopher Columbus ... oops, he doesn't count. His victims were also Indians. Maybe Rita and other residents of Chivington Drive will think I'm over-reaching. After all, it is just one little Colorado street. Mighty white of them, don't you think? 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 ----------- - Mohawk Border Problems: - Indian Activists in Bolivia Trip to the States? stage Major Protests - O'odham Border - First Nations Groups Rights Activist Handcuffed critical of Adoption Ruling - Tribes review - Idea could solve Declaration of Rights on-reserve Housing Shortage - Letter from Elouise Cobell - Child Poverty Problem to Trust Beneficiaries continues to grow - Two Cases come down - Stonechild Family on side of Indians asks for Settlement - Court rules for - Lawyer seeks new Trial Samish Fishing Rights in slaying of Anna Mae - Young refiles ANWR Bill - Graham's fate could hinge - Commission cancels Bison Hunt on Looking Cloud appeal - Montanans hunker down - Supreme Court alters - 'Snowbowl Effect' Screening set Federal Criminal Sentencing - New Policy clears way - Native Prisoner for Roads on Reservation -- Native Pen Pals - YELLOW BIRD: - History: Carlisle Indian School Casinos seem safe bet - now - Rustywire: A Piece of Pottery - Jodi Rave: - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Indians needed in Politics - Spiritdove Poem: Buffalo - Eddie Chuculate: Big payoffs - Webstreaming Native Radio Program - Alaska Natives use Data - Chickasaw Language to guide Future Preservation Efforts - Zapatistas keep Vision - 7th Annual NAMMYs --------- "RE: Mohawk Border Problems: Trip to the States?" --------- Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 17:58:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="US CUSTOMS JERKS MOHAWK CITIZENS AROUND" http://www.easterndoor.com/vol13/49.html Making a Trip to the States? By: Jordan Standup Eastern Door Volume 13 No. 49 January, 2005 On Wednesday morning, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake sent out a public press release notifying community members who were planning on travelling to the United States to have some specific important documents with them. According to the press release, several Kahnawa'kehro':non who were claiming North American Indian citizenship have been asked to provide a document that proves that the person possesses at least 50 percent blood quantum, were not allowed to enter the U.S. until they were able to provide these specific documents. For Christmas vacation, Lorna Delaronde and boyfriend Shawn Kirby decided to take a trip to Florida, but were denied access to the States when they were stopped at the Lester B. Pearson Airport in Toronto. "I gave them my birth certificate, my band card and a temporary letter that I had from the Band Council, and I still wasn't allowed in," said Delaronde. Delaronde says that she and Kirby had been stopped when a Customs officer asked Kirby why he was going to Florida. Kirby told the Customs officer he was a Iron Worker and was planning to look for work, and take a vacation. According to Delaronde, the Customs officer then entered Kirby's name into the computer and found that Kirby again, asking him why he had been crossing the border so often. Kirby once again explained that he was an Iron Worker, who had previously worked in New York, and had to cross often to go to work. The Customs officer then turned his attention to Delaronde, and began to pummel her with questions as well. "They told us we needed a certain paper from the Council stating that we were Native American, and had over 50 percent Aboriginal blood quantum," Delaronde said. Delaronde decided to contact her sister, Iris Jacobs, and explained their situation; she then asked Jacobs if she would be able to contact someone from the MCK to notify them of their situation. "I wasn't sure if she was going to be able to get a hold of anyone, because everyone was still on vacation," said Delaronde. As luck would have it, Jacobs was able to contact Chief Mike Bush. He immediately contacted Alexis Shackleton of the Membership Department and explained the situation to her. Shackleton and Bush both went to the Council office to begin working on the case. During that time, Shackleton and Delaronde spoke on the phone and Delaronde was able to better explain the situation. After plenty of work, Shackleton was able to fax the Membership letter to the Customs officer at the Toronto airport. But, by that time, it was already too late as the flight Delaronde and Kirby had planned to board, had taken off some time before. "We missed our flight, and we had to spend the night in Toronto, as we were to board another flight the next day," said Delaronde. "I am really grateful that Chief bush and Alexis were able to help out. I would also like to thank Dodi Gilbert and my sister Iris for all their help," added Delaronde. U.S. Customs officers may ask for any, or even all of the following documents at the border: Certificate of Indian Status (Status Card), photo I.D., long-form birth certificate or a letter from the MCK Membership Department stating that the bearer has at least 50 percent Aboriginal blood. Anyone planning to travel to the U.S. is advised to obtain the MCK Membership letter beforehand. Any community member who does not meet the 50 percent blood quantum cannot be issued such a letter at this time. The U.S. Immigration staff in this region rarely asks for this type of documentation; however, this has not been the case in other areas. Recently, U.S. Customs officers, expecially those at airports, have begun applying the "letter of the law" when our people have attempted to cross the border. Currently, the MCK is working with both Canadian and American officials to reach an agreement of creating a system that would allow for easier border passage. Anyone wishing to obtain more information, or, if planning on travelling to the States would like to request a Membership letter, can contact the MCK Membership Department at 638-0500. Copyright c. 1997-2004 The Eastern Door, Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. --------- "RE: O'odham Border Rights Activist Handcuffed" --------- Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 17:58:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="US BORDER HARRASSMENT OF TOHONO O'ODHAM" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=2072&blz=1 U.S. Human Rights Alert: O'odham Border Rights Activist Handcuffed and Threatened by Police January 16, 2005 Ed. Note: Ofelia Rivas, the "subject" of this article, has been advised to refuse to speak to the Press and that her life may be in jeopardy. We are placing the story - with her consent - in the hope that if more people are aware of her danger, that danger may cease. Sells, Arizona - Internationally known Tohono O'odham border rights activist Ofelia Rivas, organizer of the "O'odham Voice Against the Wall" was handcuffed, roughed up, told to cooperate and then released by tribal police working closely with Homeland Security. "They wanted to intimidate me, threaten me and abuse me to stop my voice," said Rivas, who has taken the grassroots voice of traditional O'odham to the United Nations and human rights community. "It is the voice of the elders, it is not my voice. I just carry the message." The incident began when the U.S. Border Patrol was driving back and forth in front of Rivas' mother's home, on tribal land in Arizona near the U.S. border on Dec. 27. Rivas began photographing the patrol units, which she considers unwarranted intimidation and harassment of tribal members on tribal land. Border Patrol agents approached her and warned her that it was a violation of law to photograph the U.S. Border Patrol. Rivas then began driving to the family's other residence in the desert area, the equivalent of three city blocks, to deliver a prayer ribbon to her mother. As soon as she turned on to the paved road, she saw a tribal police car tailgating her. "We weren't doing anything, but driving in our community," said Rivas, who was traveling with another woman who witnessed what happened. After pulling off the road, non-Indian police officer J. Branshure, working for the tribe, accused her of failure to stop when he turned on his lights. Then he twisted her arms up high behind her and began to handcuff her. "I started screaming because of my arthritis," said Rivas, who has severe rheumatoid arthritis. "He started pushing me up against the car and saying, `You are under arrest, get in, if you don't get in, I'm going to charge you with threatening an officer.'" Rivas told him he was hurting her, as she continued to ask him what she was being arrested for. Then he began reading her rights. "He said, `I'm not going to take you to jail if you cooperate.'" Officer Branshure threatened to charge her with multiple charges: failure to stop, failure to show identification, interfering with the U.S. Border Patrol (for taking photographs) and two counts of aggressive behavior and threatening an officer. As Branshure pressed her to cooperate, he said, "So you have a problem with authority?" He told her he did not understand her agenda. "He said, `You don't have to be arrested today if you cooperate. I want to understand what your agenda is. If you cooperate, then I will `un- -arrest' you.'" When another tribal police officer arrived at the scene, Rivas was released without being charged. Rivas documented the bruises with X-rays and attempted to file a federal complaint of abuse in Tucson. However, she was told that since a tribal police officer is the accused, no action could be taken. "The U.S. Border Patrol has the tribal police carry out their dirty work. That way they can get away with anything," Rivas said. In the heavily militarized region, the U.S. Border Patrol is now under Homeland Security, and working in conjunction with the Tohono O'odham Nation Police Department. O'odham tribal members live in fear of arrest and entrapment by federal agents. Rivas said O'odham can no longer walk freely on their land, explore their territory, as they once did, or gather their traditional cactus fruit because of the fear of the tribal police and federal agents' harassments and arrests. "People can't go out on their homelands, the place they grew up. You step outside your yard and you have to have documents or you will be suspected of being as an illegal and harassed." The "O'odham Voice Against the Wall" gained international attention after the grassroots group of elders and youths opposed the United States plan to build a huge "Berlin-style wall" along the U.S. border. The wall would have divided O'odham communities in the United States and Mexico. Rivas testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in Nogales, Ariz., in August. She described the abuse by the U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security. Earlier, a Border Patrol agent held a gun to her head as he threatened her in front of her grandchild. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to send federal agents onto tribal land. U.S. Civil Rights advisory board members said the large number of border crossers onto the Tohono O'odham Nation from Mexico, are the result of failed U.S. immigration policies. A bottleneck was created on O'odham tribal land, as agents and walls were intensified elsewhere between El Paso, Texas and San Diego, Calif. U.S. Civil Rights advisory board member Jose Matus, Pascua Yaqui, criticized the Tohono O'odham Nation for working with Homeland Security, which resulted in the acceleration of human rights abuses. Rivas said although the Tohono O'odham Nation claims to be a sovereign nation, it is currently controlled by Homeland Security and the federal government. "They only use the word `sovereignty' when it works for them." Regardless of the threats and intimidation, Rivas continues to speak out. "I would rather live a life with truth." Rivas said the O'odham Voice Against the Wall was formed to advocate traditional O'odham rights for safe and free passage on O'odham territory in the United States and Mexico. The elders and Ceremonial leaders have not been a part of the decisions regarding military buildup and the plan to build the wall. The proposed wall would cut family ties and restrict access to routes for O'odham to attend annual ceremonies. The O'odham Voice Against the Wall is building a strong youth group that is promoting education on human rights, traditional O'odham rights and training youth to document abuses occurring on O'odham territory. The Tohono O'odham Nation in Arizona has 74 miles of United States and Mexico international boundary. The boundary was established in 1853 by the Gadsden Purchase, known as the Treaty of La Mesilla. Rivas said, "O'odham communities in Sonora, Mexico, are not supported by the Tohono O'odham Nation although they are enrolled at the headquarters in Sells, Arizona. "Many of the O'odham communities in Mexico have contaminated drinking water and all communities face encroachment by Mexican ranchers, farmers and miners and now drug traffickers and human traffickers." UN OBSERVER and International Report --------- "RE: Tribes review Declaration of Rights" --------- Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 17:58:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OAS" http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=101696 Tribes review declaration of rights before state talks By LESLIE HOFFMAN Associated Press Writer January 14, 2005 ST. MICHAELS - Carlos Chex knows well the struggle of indigenous tribes to control their land, resources and destiny. His fellow Mayans in Guatemala have fought for years for such rights. "Unfortunately, up to now, there have been few advances," the young lawyer said in Spanish. Chex is among tribal representatives from across the Western Hemisphere who gathered on the Navajo Nation this week. Their discussions about some of most fundamental issues in Indian country are aimed at helping guide governments in their dealings with indigenous peoples. The road that led to this week's meeting began years ago with the Organization of American States' draft declaration on the rights of indigenous people. Next month in Washington, the OAS will hold the latest round of negotiations on the declaration. This week's gathering was a chance for Chex and fellow indigenous leaders to agree on proposals they'll bring to the table. "We're trying to get countries to change the way they treat Indian people and other indigenous people," said Robert Coulter, executive director of the Indian Law Resource Center in Helena, Mont., and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. "We're trying to make this new international law so that it will push ... countries to do better." Tribal representatives have worked for years to incorporate their perspectives into the declaration, which was first released for public comment in 1995. They hope for adoption by the 34 member countries of the OAS within the next two to three years. Tribes are also participating in the United Nations' ongoing effort to draft a global declaration. The discussions strike at the heart of indigenous concerns - from the recognition of the individual rights of indigenous people to their collective rights to land and resources. Joining Navajo leaders at the table this week from the United States were representatives of the Blackfeet Indian Tribe in Montana and members of the Iroquois Confederacy from the Northeast, among others. Tribal representatives from Canada, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Brazil and Argentina also attended. "Indigenous people are being dealt with as serious actors, effective actors, in the world community," Coulter said. "There's a significant awareness that indigenous leaders are a really significant force in the Americas." Hector Huertas, a Kuna Indian from Panama who helped lead this week's meeting, agreed and said he has seen change in his South American region over the last decade. "There's been a certain evolution in the role of states with indigenous people. There has been constitutional reforms, which have changed and really have created a new relationship between states and indigenous people," he said in Spanish. But much work remains in what Lottie Cunningham calls a complicated process. The Miskito Indian is an attorney for the Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast in Nicaragua. Speaking in Spanish, she said the process is a difficult one because states have historically lacked understanding of indigenous rights and the internal mechanisms to honor them. Putting into "one voice" the various indigenous perspectives on core issues such as self-determination also is a challenge, said Navajo Nation Council delegate Rex Lee Jim of Rock Point, Ariz. For South American tribes, self-determination can mean guaranteeing the right to participate in national systems. "We already have that, so for us it means having our own government," Jim said. Self-determination among Navajos and other North American tribes often involves questions of jurisdictional control over tribal issues and those who travel across tribal lands, he said. And "the umbilical cord" among those perspectives at the table this week is one of the main agenda items - land, said Costa Rican indigenous leader Jose Carlos Morales. "A community without land dies; it disappears," he said in Spanish. "This is the heart of it." In working to establish legal principles for property rights, tribes want to make clear their belief in the indivisible connection among lands, territories and resources. "It's not simply something to be used or sold for economic benefit," Coulter said. "It is something that is spiritual, that is cultural, that is very complicated and that is, perhaps, unique to indigenous people." There is also the important question of history when discussing indigenous rights to lands and resources since many modern tribal reservations are not on tribes' traditional land because of government relocation. "We have to talk about the past, present and future," said Navajo Nation Council delegate Ervin Keeswood Sr. of Hogback, N.M. Copyright c. 2000-2005 Arizona Daily Sun. --------- "RE: Letter from Elouise Cobell to Trust Beneficiaries" --------- Date: Friday, January 14, 2005 9:36 AM From: list-owner@list.indiantrust.com on behalf of Indian Trust ListServ Subj: Cobell v. Norton - Letter from Elouise Cobell to Trust Beneficiaries Mailing List: Indian Trust ListServ My fellow trust beneficiaries, As we move into 2005, we have much to reflect upon, as Indian trust beneficiaries and as plaintiffs in the Cobell v. Norton lawsuit. With two recent U.S. Court of Appeals decisions, a nine-month attempt at mediation, and a presidential election, it was quite a busy year. We expect the coming year to be just as eventful, with considerable progress in our efforts to force the United States government to account for more than a century of income that has been collected by the government from property we own - including income from leases, grazing, mineral rights, and the outright sale of our land. On two successive Fridays in early December, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued decisions that resoundingly affirmed the authority of U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth to preside over our case. Some have tried to paint these decisions as a setback, but nothing could be further from the truth. Although the appeals court decisions overturned several of Judge Lamberth's procedural rulings, we were extremely pleased that the court otherwise affirmed many of the central principles of our case. For example: after almost two years of the U.S. government arguing that Judge Lamberth has no further jurisdiction over the case, the Court of Appeals once and for all rejected this notion. The government had argued that Judge Lamberth is some sort of "rogue" judge, forcing his will upon the U.S. Department of the Interior, and that he has no authority to reform the grossly mismanaged Individual Indian Trust. The government lost that argument, and they will be unable to make it again. In fact, in the first of the two decisions, the appeals court definitively stated that the district court retains "substantial latitude" to fashion an equitable remedy, because the lawsuit is "both an Indian case and a trust case" in which the trustees have "egregiously breached their fiduciary duties." The court also upheld Judge Lamberth's authority to grant relief to Indian Trust beneficiaries by identifying breaches and management deficiencies and "ordering specific relief for those breaches." And in the most significant aspect of the decisions, the appeals court clearly recognized we have the right to full interest on all funds held by the government in trust. This resolves a longstanding dispute in this case, and makes clear the ultimate resolution or settlement will be in the tens of billions of dollars. This particular ruling is critical to our case. You may have heard the government claim that its review of certain beneficiary accounts found little money missing. This notion is laughable. The government's so-called "analysis" was based upon their false, misleading and incomplete trust fund data. No self-respecting accountant would take this finding seriously. Under their system of analysis, Enron's books would have balanced! Make no mistake, we will make the U.S. government prove it's numbers, and provide a real accounting, with interest, on money that has been taken from us over the course of more than a century. Finally, the Court of Appeals also ruled that the legislation enacted last year to stop further proceedings in Cobell v. Norton (the so-called Midnight Rider) was constitutional only because of its temporary nature. This is an explicit endorsement of the underlying validity of judicial authority over this case. There are clear limitations on the ability of Congress to interfere with this case. Regarding the presidential election: I would like to thank all of the Native people that came out in unprecedented numbers in the election to show that the Native vote counts! It was inspiring to go around the country and see my fellow Indians registering to vote and looking forward to Election Day with renewed hope. With the Bush re-election and Interior Secretary Gale Norton's decision to remain for a second term, we pledge to build on the positive momentum of the past year and demand public accountability from our elected officials. I know this has been a long fight, a seemingly endless round of court hearings and appeals. But we all must remember that with each new district court decision and each new Court of Appeals ruling, we establish new rights for American Indians - rights that have been denied native people since this country was founded. Rights other Americans routinely take for granted. But our work is far from over. We must stay the course. If we do, I am confident that the government will someday honor its 100-year-old fiduciary duty. The courts agree, and they have now ruled that the district court has the authority to compel Secretary Gale Norton and her colleagues if they continue to flout their trust duties. We must stand united and refuse to give up until we achieve justice for each and every one of our 500,000 beneficiaries in this case. I pledge to you that I will not give up this fight. The government has taken our money and mismanaged it for more than a century. We only want what is ours - as American citizens, we cannot be deprived of the land and resources we own. I refuse to sit by as our fellow beneficiaries - our mothers, grandparents, sisters and loved ones - die without receiving what is legally theirs. We are encouraged that the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that Interior must fix what they admit is a seriously broken trust management system, and that Judge Lamberth retains considerable authority over all aspects of this case. We believe that these appeals court decisions open up an entirely new phase of this litigation, with full discovery to determine specific breaches of trust. We look forward to heading back to district court so that we may finally get a resolution of the case - and the justice our friends and relatives so rightly deserve. Sincerely, /s/ Elouise Cobell Elouise Cobell --- To view the latest information concerning this case, go to www.indiantrust.com --------- "RE: Two Cases come down on side of Indians" --------- Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 2:35 PM From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: Two Indian Child Welfare cases come down on side of Indians Mailing List: Sovereign Nations Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=5799 Two Indian Child Welfare cases come down on side of Indians Experts predict far-reaching consequences PIERRE SD Ruth Steinberger Lakota Times Correspondent January 12, 2005 Two South Dakota Supreme Court decisions released last week signaled strong victories for the Indian Child Welfare Act. Both decisions have far reaching implications for Indian Tribes and families. In both cases, actions by the South Dakota Department of Social Services that resulted in family terminations were deemed by the South Dakota Supreme Court to have been handled outside of the provisions of ICWA. In one case a family termination was reversed and will be sent back to the lower court. The cases involved are extremely complicated, but most of those involved consider them victories for the Indian people. In a case involving a Rapid City family, a judge overturned a lower court decision that preempted the federal law known as ICWA by a federal law called the Adoption Safe Families Act (ASFA), a 1996 law intended to speed up family terminations and adoptive placements in cases where there is no hope of family reunification. In the second case involving a Sioux Falls family, the court upheld standards for individuals who are used as an, `expert witness' in an ICWA case and overturned a family termination that was based on someone who the parents and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe contended was not qualified to be used as an expert witness. Both cases involved children who were eligible for enrollment as members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the families of the children filed the appeals. In the case of the Rapid City family the South Dakota Supreme Court opinion upheld the judges ultimate decision to terminate parental rights but found the judge had committed legal error in saying that the Adoption Safe Families Act overrode provisions of ICWA by releasing the state from following ICWA's requirement for active efforts to try to work with the family to try to find placement for the child. Although the opinion found legal error in the lower court action, the opinion noted that the state had made active efforts although the earlier decision did not compel them to do so and so the termination was upheld. Peg Egan, Attorney for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe said, "We disagree and believe that active efforts were not made to the level that they could or should have been. But the important thing is that ruling was not allowed to stand." Egan continued, "In the lower court the state claimed that ASFA applied and that under ASFA the court is allowed to release the state from following reasonable efforts to reunify the family if the circumstances that generally apply under AFSA exist. The judge accepted that argument and said that as long as AFSA releases the state from having to provide reasonable efforts it doesn't make sense that we should have you continue to provide active efforts and he released the state from having to make any efforts. And ultimately sometime later the judge terminated." Last week's decision found that ASFA does not release the state from having to follow the mandates of ICWA regarding making efforts to locate appropriate family or tribal placements for the child. In the court opinion Justice Konenkamp wrote, `Under the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), enacted in 1997, "reasonable efforts" to reunify a family are not required before termination of parental rights when a parent has a pattern of abusive or neglectful behavior constituting an aggravated circumstance. On the other hand, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), enacted in 1978, provides special rules for the needs of Indian children and families. ICWA requires "active efforts" to reunite families before a parent's rights may be terminated. In this abuse and neglect case, the father, a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe, appeals the termination of his parental rights. During the proceedings, the trial court ruled that ASFA "preempts" the requirements of ICWA, such that "active efforts" were not required in the circumstances. We conclude that ASFA does not override the requirements of ICWA. We affirm the termination of parental rights, however, because despite the court's erroneous ruling, the record reflects that the Department of Social Services (DSS) continued to provide "active efforts" to reunify the family, but such efforts were unsuccessful.' Egan said, "In the intervening time after the initial ruling that the state no longer had to do active efforts the state workers continued to provide services to the family that the higher court felt did indeed meet the active efforts requirement. They felt that even though the ruling released the state from making active efforts, the state did so anyway. So they upheld the termination even thought they said that ruling was a legal error. If the state had said refused to continue working with this family that termination may have been overturned as well, but since they went ahead and continued to work with the family the termination did hold because they in fact met the guidelines that would have been imposed under ICWA had ICWA been upheld properly." Egan said, "The important thing for the tribe is that ruling of legal error and the clear language that says that in no way does a finding that AFSA applies to the case overall release the state from following the provisions of ICWA, particularly regarding the provisions calling for active efforts to place the child with family or within the tribe." Peg Egan said, "The federal AFSA includes five circumstances in which the state is relieved from making active efforts to reunite the family. They are violent offenses, for example if a parent kills the sibling of the child. But South Dakota added three more circumstances, so in South Dakota there are eight circumstances in which AFSA applies and hastens family terminations." Egan emphasized, "The state added three more circumstances and two of these fall disproportionately on Indian families. These circumstances under AFSA release the state from making reasonable efforts to reunify the family." Egan said she is not aware of the legislative history of those provisions, but said that if this case had been decided differently the added circumstances of AFSA would definitely increase Indian family terminations. She said, "This put a stop to it." Egan explained, "Even if any of those circumstances, even if all eight of them, are found in a case and therefore AFSA applies, and even if the state is released from making reasonable efforts under AFSA, if the case involves an Indian family the state will still be required to provide active efforts to reunify the family under ICWA." The point of AFSA, a law that was heavily supported by the private adoption lobby in congress, is allegedly to be to get stability for the children. According to Egan, "ASFA tries to accomplish this by accelerating the process toward termination and adoption, whereas ICWA tries to accomplish the same thing for the child by slowing things down and searching for relative contact and by trying to place the child within the extended family or within the child's tribe." Preliminary findings of a recent GAO study reveal that when efforts are made to reunify the family by searching for relatives and find kinship placement through the tribe, although it takes longer, the resulting placement tends to be more stable than if there is a rush to adopt out and sever contact with the tribe. The report was commissioned by Senator Tom Delay (R- Texas) in his efforts on behalf of the private adoption industry, to learn how ICWA was slowing down placement of Indian youth. Egan noted that the private adoption industry, with notable Republican support, has supported efforts to make family terminations and adoptions easier and faster. In the second case, filed by a Sioux Falls family, the court upheld a standard for individuals providing expert witness in a case involving termination of parental rights of an Indian family. Egan explained, "ICWA requires expert witness testimony in two circumstances. One is before the state places an Indian child in an out of home placement. Those hearings are never held in South Dakota, which violates ICWA, but they just do not occur. The second circumstance is in the event of termination. Prior to termination the state must provide expert witness testimony. The question asked is if continued custody by the parent or custodian result in serious physical or emotional damage to the child." ICWA does not spell out who may be considered an `expert witness.' BIA guidelines give three examples, but the legislative history of ICWA makes it clear that congress intended this to be somebody who is ideally from the child's tribe. According to Egan, "This is to be someone who can look at the family and comment within the context of the tribes culture, the tribes values, the kinship structure and answer if continued custody may endanger the child physically or emotionally. The purpose of the `expert witness' testimony is to assist the state judge by giving them a perspective on how the tribe would view this family." Egan continued, "Ideally ICWA wants cases transferred to tribal court, but when you can't transfer to tribal court, and state judges and non-Indian people sit in judgment of an Indian family they must come up with an expert witness who will help the judge understand the tribe and how the tribe would view the family. That is the intention." Egan said, "We argued was that the person's area of expertise be related to the question that they are answering. In some places the state uses DSS workers as `expert witnesses. They cite the fact that 60% of DSS cases involve Indian families, making the caseworker an expert in Indian families. In some places they routinely use the caseworker who is involved in the removal of the child. In Sioux Falls they were using a non-Indian lawyer whose contact with Indian kids had been placing them in jail as a prosecutor for several tribes as the expert witness. In court I asked James Eirinberg what he knew about Lakota kinship and he claimed he read a hundred articles on ICWA, but he could not name any of them. He said he had contact with a couple thousand Indian people-well, what does that mean? Did you go to the Denver pow-wow? Ultimately he said he was not an expert in what he called, ` Sioux culture.'" Last week's opinion calling for higher standards for `expert witnesses' states, `The necessity of requiring compliance with the terms of ICWA is reflected in its purpose, to protect the tribal interest in its children, therefore, we must remain vigilant because, in large part, the members of the tribe are its culture. ...This is in accord with the general legal doctrine that each tribe needs "to control their own internal relations, and ...preserve their own unique customs and social order."' The original decision in this case was reversed and remanded, meaning that termination of parental rights were reversed and another hearing will take place on that case and if the state wants to move for termination they will have to come up with another expert witness. Steve Emory testified for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Emery recommended against termination, but also against placing the children back with the parents at that time. Egan said, "What is important is that the court came out and although they did not go so far as to say the expert witness must be a tribal member, they did say it must be someone with specific experience and knowledge of that tribe and that knowledge must be related to child rearing and kinship. In other words the person must have bearing on the question being asked." She concluded, "In the Sioux Falls case the question was did the trial judge abuse their discretion. The fact that the court found that she had abused her discretion was a powerful statement on this issue. Both of these decisions were ground breaking opinions." Andrew Small of BlueDog, Olson and Small, is a consultant on ICWA and trains professionals on ICWA. Commenting on last week's decisions Small said, "It was really, really good news. It was not such a surprise on the expert witness case. There is a lot of confusion in the courts about the person being an expert in ICWA, versus the person being an expert in child rearing and family structure of a specific tribe. It's not that hard of a question. So often people are qualified for the wrong reason." According to Small sometimes social workers or lawyers are qualified and they talk about ICWA rather than the values and beliefs of the tribe. Small said, "I think the more significant of the two decisions was the question of whether the Adoption Safe Families Act trumped the active efforts requirement of the Indian Child Welfare Act. That decision was completely appropriate and very helpful." He explained, "This conflict is unavoidable for states and social workers and courts because there is an AFSA mandate that makes termination and permanency the two most important factors in child welfare decisions, and ICWA has a clear requirement that you cannot make placement or permanency determinations in the absence of showing that you have engaged in `active efforts' rather than the ` reasonable efforts' that are typically required of the state workers in those cases. Small noted that, "There has been a difficulty in those cases partially because the AFSA performance is tied to the money that states receive e for placement and adoption services. Lack of compliance can mean a decrease in the amount of money that they get. To move quickly with termination and adoption is the purpose of ASFA, which was meant to protect children who languish in foster homes for years with no hope of reunification with their families. There is a line of thinking that is popular right now that a much shorter timeline for kids so they don't languish in foster care is beneficial to them, and that's not something that anyone would typically argue with. But in the context of Indian children and families, and the way that tribes provide for and support their kids is different than it is in other cultures, especially the dominant white culture." Small concluded, "Not withstanding any of that, the imposition of the mandate to move quickly that is in AFSA has caused a reduction in the kind of efforts that are extended on behalf of Indian children. There's nothing in the law that indicates that the timelines in AFSA are to trump the active efforts requirements in ICWA, there is not legislative history whatsoever." Terry Cross, Executive Director of National Indian Child Welfare Association said, "We are every pleased with these findings. The provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act were affirmed and the protections for Indian children and families were held in place. The Indian Child Welfare Act is intended to prevent the unnecessary break up of Indian families and the key word there is unnecessary." Cross continued, "It does not dictate outcomes but it does set up a process of checks and balances. We are happy that the courts found that those checks and balances are appropriate, and that the federal law does hold precedence in cases affecting Indian children. I would also add that NICWA applauds the good work of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Oglala Sioux Tribe for their protection of tribal children and Indian family's rights." Virgena Weisler of the South Dakota Department of Social Services said that her department had not had time to review the decisions and she could not comment on them. She did not have an estimate of when the department would be able to comment. Peg Egan concluded, "Any Indian child from any tribe in this state is now better protected and other tribal attorneys from around the country can rely on the language in these cases as they fight these questions." Native American Times is Copyright c. 2004 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Court rules for Samish Fishing Rights" --------- Date: Thursday, January 06, 2005 11:09 PM From: MJLaBurt@aol.com Subj: 9th Circuit panel rules Samish should have treaty fishing rights Mailing List: Sovereign Nations Mailing List: NDNAIM > Mailing List: Triballaw http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002143671_websamish06.html 9th Circuit panel rules Samish should have treaty fishing rights By Gene Johnson The Associated Press January 6, 2005 SEATTLE - A federal appeals court panel today helped clear the way for the Samish Indian Nation to acquire a share of the state salmon catch - 30 years after the tribe was excluded from a historic decision on treaty fishing rights. In the 2-1 ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that the tribe was unfairly denied federal recognition at the time of U.S. District Judge George Boldt's 1974 ruling allocating tribal fishing rights. The lack of recognition helped preclude the San Juan Islands-area tribe from obtaining the fishing rights, the court found. The Samish had been recognized by the federal government as a treaty tribe under the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. Those rights evaporated in 1969 when the Samish, and several other tribes, were dropped from a list of tribes prepared by a Bureau of Indian Affairs clerk. The Samish regained federal recognition in 1996 after an extensive court battle, but their treaty rights to fish were never restored. They sued in 2002 to regain their fishing rights, but U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein rejected their case, saying that the tribe could have obtained treaty rights by other means. She also said granting the rights so late in the game could require changing scores of orders and management plans, thereby affecting other treaty tribes, as well as federal and state governments. Today's decision overturned Rothstein's ruling. "The Samish would almost certainly have won the right to exercise its treaty fishing rights had the tribe been federally recognized," Judge A. Wallace Tashima wrote for the majority. Samish lawyer Craig Dorsay of Portland, Ore., said the ruling was an important victory for the tribe, which numbers about 1,000, but that its full impact remained to be seen. "It looks like a wonderful decision for the Samish," he said. "The court finally heard the tribe's story. They decided the tribe has struggled long enough." The case was remanded to U.S. District Court, which was expected to grant the tribe the right to intervene in United States v. Washington, the case that resulted in Boldt's decision. The next step would be to determine the scope of the tribe's historical fishing grounds, Dorsay said. "This is certainly a large part of what the tribe needed to accomplish, but it's not there yet," Dorsay said. The state and 10 tribes opposed the Samish in the case. A lawyer for the tribes did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Copyright c. 2005 Seattle Times. --------- "RE: Young refiles ANWR Bill" --------- Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 17:58:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANWR ALL OVER AGAIN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~2656891,00.html Young refiles ANWR bill By SAM BISHOP News-Miner Washington Bureau January 16, 2005 WASHINGTON - Rep. Don Young has refiled his bill to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and, in a biennial bit of insider's irony, has once again secured for it the title "H.R. 39." H.R. 39 was a bill backed by environmentalists in the late 1970s that would have made ANWR's coastal plain an official wilderness area. Congress instead passed a bill in 1980 that set aside the 1.5 million acres for study of both their wilderness value and petroleum potential. Debate has continued ever since, with competing wilderness and oil leasing bills being filed in each session of Congress. Young's most recent offering is identical to the one he offered for the 108th Congress, which expired last year, but the bill differs from versions passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in recent years. Young's bill suggests no change to the existing federal law that would give 90 percent of the oil royalties to the state of Alaska. The federal government would retain 10 percent. That split dates back to the Alaska Statehood Act, approved by Congress in 1958. However, during recent sessions, the U.S. House has approved legislation that would split the revenues 50-50 between the state and federal governments. Such a reduction in the state's share of what could be billions of dollars has been controversial within the state for decades. In 1983, for example, the Alaska Statehood Commission issued a report warning against such changes. "Congress may attempt to change the formulas contained in the Statehood Act for revenue sharing," the commission said. The Interior Department tried to do it unilaterally on the Kenai Peninsula in 1975, the commission noted, but was rebuffed by the U.S. Supreme Court. "But we are concerned with the court's language suggesting that these percentages can be changed in the future, at Congress' discretion," the commission said. "The Alaska Statehood Act required the consent of Alaskan voters to become effective. Similarly, Alaskan voters should have the opportunity to pass upon suggested changes to the Statehood Act." However, in 1996, the U.S. Court of Claims dismissed that argument. Judge Eric Bruggink, ruling on a lawsuit filed in 1993 by former Gov. Walter Hickel, said Congress could change the 90-10 split unilaterally. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia dismissed the state's appeal the next year, saying, "Nothing more needs to be said." The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case in 1998. The House-approved ANWR bills in recent years also have limited development footprint on the coastal plain to 2,000 acres. Young's bill doesn't mention such a limit. Young's bill would also divert up to $5 million a year to a fund to help the North Slope Borough, the village of Kaktovik and any other communities in Alaska deal with the environmental and social effects of oil development. Other provisions of Young's bill include: - The secretary of the Interior, in writing an environmental impact statement, shall only analyze a preferred leasing plan and one alternative leasing plan. No other plans can be considered, and the analysis must be done within 18 months of the bill becoming law. - Areas of up to 45,000 acres with special biological value can be designated. - At least 200,000 acres must be offered for lease to oil companies in the first sale, which must come within 22 months of the law's enactment. - The government's royalty share of any oil pumped cannot be less than 12.5 percent. - Hiring of Alaska Natives and Native corporations must meet the quota set by Congress for the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. - No oil from the refuge may be exported. - Oil companies and contractors must negotiate with organized labor for a project agreement, though no such agreement is mandated. - Exploration must occur between Nov. 1 and May 1 each year on ice roads or snow adequate to protect the ground, except in special circumstances. Washington, D.C., reporter Sam Bishop can be reached at (202) 662-8721 or sbishop@newsminer.com. Copyright c. 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc. and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Inc. --------- "RE: Commission cancels Bison Hunt" --------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 08:56:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BISON HUNT CANCELED" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.greatfallstribune.com//20050111/NEWS01/501110302/1002 Commission cancels bison hunt By MIKE DENNISON Tribune Capitol Bureau January 11, 2005 HELENA - The newly constituted state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission voted Monday to cancel Montana's first scheduled public bison hunt in 15 years. The vote was not unexpected. Commissioners voting to cancel the hunt near Yellowstone National Park said they worried that this month's hunt of up to 10 bison would go poorly, jeopardizing any future bison hunts for the public. "I'm not against hunting bison," said Commissioner Shane Colton of Billings. "I worry that this start may actually be a quick finish to bison hunting. That is my biggest fear." Colton was part of a 4-1 majority of the commission that voted to cancel the hunt scheduled to start Saturday and to plan for a longer hunting period this fall and next winter, near Yellowstone Park. The current proposal called for 10 licenses to be issued to hunters from Jan. 15 through Feb. 15. Hunting would be restricted to a 23,000-acre area east of Gardiner and north of the park border. Tim Mulligan, a commissioner from Whitehall, said he was concerned that the small area and time period could subject hunters to scrutiny from the media or protesters. "We would be putting hunters in a very bad situation," he said. "It's simply a logistical problem this year." More than 8,000 people paid $3 to apply for the 10 bison hunting permits, which were to be chosen in a drawing. The commission also voted Monday to refund the application fees. The only commissioner voting against the cancellation, John Brenden of Scobey, said canceling the hunt is "succumbing to blackmail" by anti- hunting forces and others who oppose grazing of livestock on public land. "I don't think you ever, ever want to get in a fight with agriculture in Montana," he said. "We need to get people back on Montana ranches and farms. We won't need to make Montana the national park state." The controversy over bison migrating from Yellowstone National Park into Montana has centered on the potential threat of bison spreading the disease brucellosis to domestic cattle. Brucellosis causes cattle to abort their calves. The Montana livestock industry has argued strongly for controlling the bison, either through hunting or other means, to keep them away from cattle. Others have said cattle should not be grazing on public lands near the park, thus allowing the Yellowstone bison herds to have a larger range outside the park. Monday's vote was the first action taken by the five-member commission in Helena after Gov. Brian Schweitzer last week appointed three new members. He appointed former state Sen. Steve Doherty of Great Falls as chairman of the commission and new members Colton and Vic Workman of Whitefish. After those appointments, the commission quickly held a conference call and voted 4-1 to reconsider the bison hunt, scheduled to begin this Saturday. Commissioners met in Helena Monday morning, at the Colonial Hotel. A dozen people testified on the bison hunt. Most said they supported the cancellation. David Stallings of the Montana Wildlife Federation, a sportsmen's and conservation group, said it's "pro-hunting" to cancel the hunt, because it's not a fair-chase hunt and would give hunting a bad name. "We don't think a fair-chase hunt can occur until management (of bison) is turned over to the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and (bison) are given more room to roam," he said. Management of the bison in Montana is now under the state Department of Livestock. Mike Mease of West Yellowstone, a member of the Buffalo Field Campaign, said the state has "been looking at the bison as a rodent, as a pest, for too long." "Let's have a fair-chase hunt," he said. "Let's get a resident herd outside of the park ... and we'll back you to the hilt on this fair-chase hunt." But one hunter who had applied for a bison permit urged the commission to go ahead with the hunt this week. Harmon Ranney of Helena said holding the hunt now will allow state wildlife managers to learn from any mistakes, to help plan future hunts. Ranney also said the commission is caving into pressure from anti- hunting groups. "Opposing groups will see that their threats work," he said. Steve Pilcher, executive vice president of the Montana Stock Growers Association, which represents the livestock industry, said the state needs to persuade the Yellowstone Park managers to address the problem of brucellosis before it can have a free-range hunt. "The issue that is being overlooked is one of disease, and it is an issue that cannot be overlooked," he said. Dennison can be reached by e-mail at capbureau@mt.net, or by phone at (406) 442-9493. Copyright c. 2004 Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Montanans hunker down" --------- Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 08:46:37 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RETURN OF BIG CHILL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.greatfallstribune.com//20050113/NEWS01/501130301/1002 Montanans hunker down By KAREN OGDEN Tribune Regional Editor January 13, 2005 In Glasgow, school closed early. In Wolf Point, residents topped off their gas tanks and slammed the grocery store. In Browning, volunteers flocked to an emergency response center, ready to answer calls for help. Across the region Wednesday, folks took no chances as temperatures plunged as much as 20 degrees in 45 minutes, starting a days-long cold snap. "It's really scary. You don't know - your gas line could freeze, or your car just stops," said Connie Loucks, office manager at Frontier Elementary outside Wolf Point, where school was dismissed at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Temperatures in the Glasgow area were expected to dip as low as 25 below zero Wednesday night, according to the Weather Service. The Cut Bank area could reach 30 below by this morning. But the most extreme conditions are expected under clear skies tonight, said Jason Schaumann, meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Temperatures could sink to minus 30 in Great Falls and as low as minus 36 in Havre. On the Blackfeet Reservation, where some of the most severe conditions were expected Wednesday, tribal officials teamed up with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Glacier County Sheriff's Office to launch an emergency response center at the tribal headquarters. Almost 200 people were involved in the effort, including dozens of volunteers, said Gayle Skunk Cap, spokesman for the All-Risk Management Team. Officials were especially concerned about the potential for power outages that could leave the elderly, infants and people with special medical needs without heat or electricity. The tribe's community health representatives gave emergency officials a list of vulnerable households, Skunk Cap said. Fish and Wildlife staff patrolled the reservation in four-wheel-drive vehicles to look for stranded motorists, and emergency shelters were identified in remote communities in case of power outages. By Wednesday evening, volunteers had helped a handful of rural kidney dialysis patients get into town for their appointments, driving ahead of them to break the trail and following them home to make sure they arrived safely, Skunk Cap said. The aggressive response grew out of the aftermath of a freak storm in June 2002 which dumped more than 4 feet of snow on the mountains, downed power and phone lines, flooded farmland and washed out roads. "That's what this was all about," Skunk Cap said. "I think it caught a lot of people off guard then. We just want to be on our toes this time." Although severe blizzard conditions didn't materialize in most areas, the storm lived up to forecasts of dangerous cold. A National Weather Service spokeswoman said it was 23 degrees before noon at Essex, along the southern border of Glacier National Park, and dropped to a wind chill equivalent of 28 below zero two hours later, with wind gusts to 50 mph. At the airport in Great Falls, the mercury plummeted from 25 degrees at 7:50 a.m. to 5 degrees at 8:35 a.m., according to the Weather Service. "We got reports from all over central Montana of blowing and drifting snow, moderate to strong winds and poor visibility, below a half-mile at times," Schaumann said. The storm stretched from the Continental Divide to the North Dakota border, dropping 2 to 3 inches of snow across most of the region. In areas along and east of the Rocky Mountain Front, the snow and blowing snow advisory was continued through the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, and a wind chill advisory was issued for Blaine, Hill, Liberty and Toole counties. Icy roads and blowing snow led the Montana Department of Transportation to close several roads Wednesday night. Interstate 15 from Clancy, south of Helena, to Great Falls was closed to all but emergency travel, as was Interstate 90 from Lookout Pass east to Alberton. Highway 2 from Essex to East glacier also was closed, the Highway Patrol said. The MDT said only emergency travel was recommended along U.S. 191 southwest of Malta. Later, the highway was closed between Malta and Lewistown. Road closures also were reported in the Harlowton area. Snowfall was expected to continue south of Great Falls toward Bozeman through midnight Wednesday, dropping 3 to 4 inches on the Little Belt and Big Belt mountains. Snowfall was heavier in extreme eastern Montana and North Dakota, where a blizzard warning remained in effect Wednesday evening. Glendive, Sidney and Miles City saw temperatures dip as far as minus 10 Wednesday evening with sustained 35- to 40-mph wind gusts. That amounts to wind chills of 30 below to 40 below, Schaumann said. On the Hi-Line, where conditions were somewhat milder, most schools remained open Wednesday, and districts delayed decisions on possible school closures until this morning. However, the Glasgow School District canceled its rural bus routes Wednesday morning and decided by midmorning to dismiss classes altogether, sending roughly 785 students home shortly after noon. The Brockton School, on the eastern end of the Fort Peck Reservation, was closed all day Wednesday. Schools in the Sun River district west of Great Falls also were closed. And many districts canceled rural bus routes. In Browning, buses on canceled routes cruised neighborhoods in town, picking up kids who would normally walk to school, Superintendent Mary Johnson said. In Cut Bank, kids were kept in for recess and prohibited from walking home after school. "When the winds blow like this it just gets so brutal," said Barb Cain, a secretary in the superintendent's office. Although Cut Bank held high school basketball practice Wednesday afternoon, tutoring and other activities at the elementary school were canceled as temperatures dipped below zero. Bible studies and Wednesday-night youth meetings were canceled at churches across the region. Back in Wolf Point, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, business was brisk at Albertsons as shoppers stocked up on staples, said bookkeeper Kathy Neven. "A lot of people are really concerned about what's going to happen in the next couple of days weatherwise," Neven said. "Some of them are thinking they're not even going to be able to make it into town." Farther east in Poplar, the Tribal Express convenience store was hopping as customers stocked up on water, anti-freeze and HEET, said manager Harry Three Stars Jr. "We're getting ready for it," Three Stars said of the storm. The Fort Peck Tribe sent several hundred tribal employees home at noon as did Indian Health Service clinics in Poplar and Wolf Point. Greg Holler-Dinsmore, pastor at First Lutheran Church in Wolf Point, was still considering whether to cancel church activities Wednesday morning. He said the church wasn't making special plans and trusted that parishioners will keep an eye on each other, especially elderly members. "We're in such a rural area that that just happens all the time anyhow, especially when the weather turns nasty like this," he said. "We're always ready for it up here. It comes with the territory if you're going to live in northeastern Montana in January and February." At Showdown ski area, roughly 15 people had the slopes near Neihart all to themselves, enjoying temperatures in the teens and 4 to 5 inches of new snow, General Manager George Willett said. "It was so nice and warm up here, but very few people came up because it's so cold everywhere else," he said. Because colder temperatures sink, the mountaintops were some of the warmest spots in the state. Willett said class trips for 300 children scheduled for Wednesday, today and Friday were postponed because of wind chills and driving conditions. Forecasters said the surge of winter weather resulted from a mingling of an arctic cold front from Canada and a moist air mass over western Montana. A winter storm warning was canceled for Beaverhead County and other areas of southwestern Montana, but the warning remained in effect until midmorning Thursday for Broadwater, Lewis and Clark, Gallatin, Jefferson, Madison and Meagher counties. "Any travel is strongly discouraged," the weather service said. Tribune correspondent Rich Peterson, Tribune Staff Writer Kim Skornogoski and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ogden can be reached by e-mail at kogden@greatfal.gannett.com, or by phone at (406) 791-6536 or (800) 438-6600. Copyright c. 2004 Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: 'Snowbowl Effect' Screening set" --------- Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 08:42:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EFFECTS OF PLAN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gallupindependent.com/2005/jan/011005snowbowl.html 'Snowbowl Effect' screening set By Kathy Helms Dine' Bureau FORT DEFIANCE - The Navajo Nation Museum and Indigenous Action Media will host a special premiere screening of "The Snowbowl Effect," a documentary exploring the controversy surrounding a proposed expansion of the ski resort in Flagstaff. The screening, which is free and open to the public, will be in two showings beginning at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., Friday, at the Navajo Nation Museum Auditorium in Window Rock. A panel discussion will be sandwiched between the two shows and is set for 6 p.m. The discussion will feature film director/editor, Klee Benally, who is also project director of Indigenous Action Media. Tribal representatives and individuals featured in the film also will be on hand for this special screening. "The Snowbowl Effect" explores the proposed expansion of the ski resort and use of wastewater on the sacred San Francisco Peaks to make snow. Native American tribal officials and spiritual leaders, Forest Service officials, and concerned citizens are featured in the documentary and discuss the issues: sacred lands protection, public health concerns associated with groundbreaking studies on wastewater, economic misconceptions, threats to the environment, global warming and a small community caught in the conflict. Today, the San Francisco Peaks are part of public lands managed by the U. S. Forest Service, which includes winter recreation in its mission by leasing out 777 acres of the mountain to the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort. The film features comments from biologists, economists, tribal officials and traditional practitioners, ski resort representatives, environmentalists and a former U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Information: www.savethepeaks.org/snowbowleffect Copyright c. 2005 Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: New Policy clears way for Roads on Reservation" --------- Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 08:55:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REZ ROADS POLICY CHANGE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com//2005/01/15/news/local/top/news01.txt New policy clears way for roads on reservation Janklow administration had sued over tribal fee charged to DOT. By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer January 15, 2005 PIERRE - Agreements the state of South Dakota has signed with six American Indian tribes have cleared the way for highwayconstruction projects that had been stalled and in some cases hung up in lawsuits, the director of the state Tribal Government Relations Office Roger Campbell told lawmakers Friday. "The (state) DOT can proceed with many road projects that were held up due to some litigation," Campbell told the Legislature's Joint Appropriations Committee. "A policy change Gov. Rounds has proceeded with is to enter into the agreements with the tribes so the infrastructure - which he feels is a very important part of economic development - can proceed and not be held up." In 2004, the state signed all six of the agreements that cleared the way for a series of construction projects on state highways that cross reservation land to proceed, Campbell said. Agreements between the state and Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Yankton Sioux Tribe, Sisseton-Whapeton Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe mean that eight highway construction projects are now under way or about to begin, Campbell said. The agreements cleared the way for more than $35 million in construction, including these projects: - A 19-mile resurfacing project between Interstate 90 and Big Bend Dam. - A bridge improvement project over LaRoche Creek on U.S. Highway 83. - A 10-mile grading and surfacing project on U.S. Highway 18 near Lake Andes. - A 17-mile resurfacing project on South Dakota Highway 63 between U.S. Highway 212 and the Moreau River. - A 22-mile resurfacing project on U.S. Highway 83 between Mission and the Nebraska state line. - An 11-mile reconstruction project on U.S. Highway 18 between Okreek and Carter. - A 21-mile resurfacing project on South Dakota Highway 63 between U.S. Highway 18 and Norris. - A seven-mile resurfacing project from U.S. Highway 83 north of Mission. Campbell's office is currently working on similar agreements with the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, which he expects to be completed this year. An agreement with the ninth tribe in South Dakota, the Flandreau Sioux Tribe, is unlikely, he said. The tribe has decided that its small land mass in eastern South Dakota doesn't warrant an agreement, and state officials agree, he said. During the eight years of the Janklow administration, the state's policy was to refuse to pay tribal taxes comparable to the state's own contractor's excise tax. Most tribes call it the Tribal Employment Rights Office fee, or TERO, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe calls it the Tribal Employment Contracting Rights Office, or TECRO. After Rounds was elected in 2002, he decided to pay the fees, Campbell said. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Putnam, R-Armour, said Rounds' policy change allows the state to maintain its infrastructure and allows the tribes to fund their governments. "The governor is willing to work with tribes for taxation for their governments and to keep our roads and bridges up, to keep the maintenance ongoing," Putnam said. In addition to negotiating the highway agreements, the Tribal Government Relations Office in the past year has hired a deputy director, Hedi Bodga- Cleveland. She came to the job from her post as associate regional counsel for the EPA. Campbell said his office has started early negotiations on gaming compacts with three of the eight tribes that have compacts with the state. "Those negotiations are very introductory at this point," Campbell told the committee. Contact Denise Ross at 394-8438 or denise.ross@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2005 Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Casinos seem safe bet - now" --------- Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2005 12:31:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: CASINOS" http://www.grandforks.com//columnists/dorreen_yellow_bird/10595546.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Casinos seem safe bet - now January 8, 2005 What a difference a few hundred miles makes. Thursday, I listened to Gov. Tim Pawlenty try to mend his frayed relationship with Minnesota's Indian tribes, as he wooed three of the tribes toward a casino partnership with the state. At the same time, the chairman of the Standing Rock Lakota Sioux saluted his tribe's relationship with the state, telling the North Dakota State Legislature that the relationship between tribal casinos and the state was working well. Several months ago, Pawlenty issued a press release suggesting that some tribes in Minnesota should pony up about $350 million of their gaming revenue. Pawlenty seems to be backstepping and moving instead toward negotiations with the Red Lake, White Earth and Leech Lake tribes. Eight of the 11 Minnesota Chippewa tribes haven't indicated a desire to develop a partnership with the state. Why? According to 2003 estimates, the net incomes for the tribes are: Shakopee (Minneapolis-based), $400 million; Mille Lacs, $120 million; Fond du Lac, $40 million, and so on. These are the tribes that are in good locations. On the other hand, the income estimates for the three tribes negotiating with Pawlenty are Red Lake, $2 million; White Earth, $2 million; and Leech Lake, $6 million - peanuts compared with tribes located in densely populated areas. Thursday was a sunny day for my road trip to White Earth. The temperature still was hovering near zero, and there was ice on the winding, curving roads that led deep into the reservation. Ice covered all of the small lakes beside the road. During warmer, greener days, it is a drive I enjoy. The purpose of the meeting was to talk about a plan for Red Lake, White Earth and Leech Lake. The plan would build a casino in or near the Twin Cities, and the state and tribes would share the revenue. Some representatives from Red Lake and White Earth told me they were skittish about Pawlenty's proposal. One of their concerns is the chance that the state gaming compact would be changed. Pawlenty promised not to change the compact, but also said they could make supplements to the compacts. I wondered, and I suppose the tribes did, too, what that meant. The tribes are armed with their own lawyers and no slouches when it comes to negotiations. So, I suspect that in the next year, Minneapolis will have another gaming casino, and the state will have some gaming revenue. While Pawlenty was wooing and handshaking the Chippewa tribes, Charles Murphy, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Fort Yates, N.D. was talking to the North Dakota Legislature about the state of the reservations. Murphy used Prairie Knights, Standing Rock's casino, as an example of what these enterprises have done for the tribes. The casino, he said, had added 2,000 full-time jobs to an isolated rural reservation area, where unemployment was as high as 75 percent. That is a lot of people living hand-to-mouth. Forty percent of the current casino employees are former recipients of welfare, which means their casino jobs take them off the welfare rolls, saving welfare dollars. I can see "Charlie" look up with a big smile when he told the Legislature that the five casinos in North Dakota bought more than $40 million in goods and services. So, not only are the casinos taking people off the welfare rolls, but the money flowing in is going back into the communities. Reviewing the compacts has been a point of contention, but Murphy said they are careful to review their compacts every two years with the Legislature and governor. As a tribal member of the Three Affiliated Tribes, I understand how important casino funding can be. When my mother passed away, the funding put aside for funeral expenses was extremely helpful. The tribal college, along with the alcohol, gaming, elder and housing programs and the tribal government benefit from the gaming income. Our reservation is one of those in isolated areas where the income sometimes matches the expenses, but the casino does provide jobs and programs. Yet, as Judy Roy, councilwoman from Red Lake said Thursday, this is a temporary fix. That temporary fix should not become the culture of our great-great grandchildren, when they examine our history and ways years from now. Copyright c. 2005 Grand Forks Herald/Grand Forks, ND. --------- "RE: Jodi Rave: Indians needed in Politics" --------- Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2005 08:31:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: POLITICS" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.rapidcityjournal.com//2005/01/08/news/opinion/opin488.txt Jodi Rave: Indians needed in politics By Jodi Rave, Journal columnist January 8, 2005 "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead, anthropologist MISSOULA, Mont. - On Monday (Jan. 3), Brandon Woodenlegs stepped into an arena where he can potentially affect tens of thousands of Montana residents. The University of Montana student is the first intern assigned to work with the Montana Legislature's Native caucus, a group of eight elected officials from across the state. Woodenlegs, a Northern Cheyenne from Lame Deer, said he's honored by the selection, which will allow him to assist legislators and witness the role state government plays in shaping the world of Native people. His newly created position marks a beginning point for Native participation in state government. Montana is at the forefront. Its eight Native lawmakers arguably give Natives there the highest per-capita legislative representation in state governments. But other states could do better. The National Conference of State Legislatures counts only three Natives in the Arizona legislature - and that state has a Native population of 255,000 (Montana has a Native population of 56,000). Colorado, North Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Washington have between zero and four Native legislators. The lack of Native representation in state politics is owed, in part, to the youthful misconception that it's not "our world." It's a misplaced belief. Policymakers create the cause-and-effect in our lives, including the quality of schools, transportation and health care systems. Their decisions extend into and beyond reservation boundaries. Politicians wield power, for better or worse. Fortunately, hundreds of opportunities exist for high school and college students to experience democracy in action. They can serve as interns and pages at the state and national levels. In Montana, for instance, 250 high school students will spend one week of the legislative session working for state leaders. In many states, high school students can also participate in Boys State or Girls State programs, where they get familiar with the democratic process. They can continue to gain experience while in college. Typically, a student intern or page must have at least one government course, be a junior at a four-year university or sophomore at a two-year college. Students get the chance to analyze bills, prepare bill summaries and do research. The truly motivated student can also seek work in Washington. Ben Kappelman of Missoula spent nearly six months in 2004 as a U.S. Senate page. Working in the Senate chambers gave him the chance to watch senators deliver moving speeches and present arguments on legislation. He returned excited about government and politics, his mother said. "As a mom, I hoped it wouldn't turn him into a cynic," said Brenda Desmond. Kappelman was among some 30 students selected nationally to serve as Senate pages. Native college students can also participate in congressional internships through the Morris K. Udall Foundation. The deadline for the 10-week program is Jan. 31. Twelve students will be chosen for the Washington internship. Youths are expected to take lessons home to their tribes. As legislative sessions get started across the country, now is the time for students to become engaged with the system. We live in a complacent society, typically allowing others to make decisions for us. In Native communities, politically minded youths ought to be thinking about more than a seat on the tribal council. Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado - the nation's only Native senator - is leaving office. And recent state elections didn't produce a single Native leader for the U.S. Senate. Let the training begin. Jodi Rave reports on American Indian issues for Lee Enterprises and the Missoula (Mont.) Missoulian. She can be reached at (800) 366-7186 or jodi.rave@missoulian.com. Copyright c. 2005 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Eddie Chuculate: Big payoffs" --------- Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 08:46:37 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHUCULATE: CASINO PLANS" http://www.abqtrib.com//0%2C2565%2CALBQ_19865_3464841%2C00.html Eddie Chuculate: Big payoffs Casino sought by Jemez Pueblo would benefit all By Eddie Chuculate January 12, 2005 Under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1998, tribes can operate casinos off their reservation on other land they own, under certain conditions. Two of those include the Interior Department and a state's governor determining that a casino would be in the tribe's best interest and that the operation wouldn't harm the community. Obviously, the proposed casino in Anthony, to be owned and operated by Jemez Pueblo, would fly under both stipulations. The pueblo, blessed and cursed by its off-the-beaten-path location - read: away from interstates - would benefit financially, which is in its best interest. Any money coming in would help a tribe where 38 percent of members live in poverty. And a casino employing 1,000 locals would certainly increase Anthony's per-capita income of around $6,500 annually, which ranks among the nation's poorest. It's impossible for the operation not to be beneficial for Anthonians: Even a 7-Eleven would be beneficial. The best thing is that most of the bucks gambled away would come from Texans and Mexicans around El Paso and Ju rez and would fatten Anthony, Jemez, Do?a Ana County and state of New Mexico coffers. The Quinault in Washington were one of the first tribes to run off- reservation gaming, at Ocean Shores in 1996. It's wildly successful. The Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa own a casino in Detroit. Smash hit. I know people moan that New Mexico has enough casinos and that the lure of a roulette table will force people to blow whole paychecks. Well, I've been here two years and have thrice been to casinos - Sandia, where I won $50, by the way, and Isleta and Route 66, where I lost said $50. And as far as I can tell, there aren't a lot of paychecks to be blown around Anthony anyway, and the only casino south of Isleta is at Mescalero. Man buys piano with gambling winnings, hocks piano to shoot more dice, loses money and piano. Addict, or stupid? Your guess is as good as mine. But by the same token, would you prohibit liquor sales at Albertsons because a few alcoholics may be attracted? Any such casino deal is likely years away - maybe light years, considering that Gov. Bill Richardson has said New Mexico already has enough casinos and Interior Secretary Gale Norton is wary of such agreements. Norton in 2002 refused to sign - but let take effect - a pact between the state of New York and the Seneca allowing off-reservation gambling. Each situation is different. Sometimes even jealousy among tribes gets in the way of agreements. But there are no competing New Mexico tribes in Anthony, and everyone involved benefits: the county, the town, the state, the tribe. Everyone, of course, except that loser who rolls 8 while looking for 7. You can reach Eddie Chuculate at echuculate@abqtrib.com. Copyright c. 2004 Albuquerque Tribune - The E.W. Scripps Co. --------- "RE: Alaska Natives use Data to guide Future" --------- Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 08:46:37 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ALASKA NATIVES" http://www.indianz.com/News/2004/006024.asp Alaska Natives use data to guide future January 14, 2005 A report released last Friday seeks to help Alaska Natives understand their social and economic status and prepare for a better tomorrow. Our Choices, Our Future is the first publication of the Alaska Native Policy Center, a project of the non-profit First Alaskans Institute. The report follows the Status of Alaska Natives, a comprehensive study of the state's Native population that was released last July. The study, prepared by the University of Alaska at Anchorage, summarized population, health, economics and education statistics for the nearly 120,000 Alaska Natives in the state. It confirmed for many that Natives are still falling behind on many key indicators. But Native leaders wanted to take the data further so they held a series of meetings throughout the state to share the findings with the Native community. The goal was to present the information from a Native point of view for a Native audience. "We tried to capture interpretations of the data that reflect what Alaska Natives see every day and that they intuitively understand," said Byron I. Mallott, president of the First Alaskans Institute, and Greta L. Goto, director of the Alaska Native Policy Center. "In seeing the data compiled in a whole piece, may gain insights and new perspectives that serve to make the trail ahead brighter." Our Choices, Our Future is broken into four major sections: population, health, economy and education. Each section presents the data as reported by the University of Alaska and the response it generated during the community meetings. POPULATION The data shows Alaska Natives are young and highly mobile. More than 44 percent of Natives are 19 years of age or younger, according to the report. And while a majority still live in rural village, 42 percent of Natives have moved to urban areas. The population is also growing at a fast rate. Currently, Natives make up 19 percent of the state population, and their numbers are expected to increase in the coming decades. With life expectancy improving, the population growth means there are more elderly Natives than before. These statistics gave rise to three major themes: youth, elders and migration. Participants in the community discussions relayed concerns such as jobs for youth, care for elders and opportunities and services available in rural areas versus cities. HEALTH The data here painted a mixed portrait of the health status of Alaska Natives. While some indicators were positive -- immunization rates of Native children are much higher than the rest of the U.S., life expectancy has increased significantly and infant mortality rates have fallen dramatically -- others indicated a need for progress. For example, rates of fetal alcohol syndrome doubled from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. Tobacco and alcohol usage is extremely high, even among teens, and diabetes cases doubled between 1985 and 1999. Based on these numbers, Alaska Natives wanted to learn how these problems impact certain age groups and affect education and economic conditions. They also wanted more data on HIV infections, suicide rates, mental health, elders and veterans. ECONOMY Data on economic status was also mixed. It showed that Natives have a 33 percent unemployment rate, a per capita income less than half of that of non-Natives and suffer from poverty nearly three times the rate of non- Natives. At the same time, Natives own 11 percent of all businesses in Alaska, a higher percentage than for Indian businesses in any other state. Alaska Native regional and village corporations are powerhouse in the state, generating $3 billion in annual revenues and employing 13,000 people. With a high cost of living in rural areas, meeting participants voice concern about the cost of home heating, electricity and transportation. "People need to understand how the whole energy system in rural Alaska compares with the urban situation," the report states. Natives were also concerned about the impact of subsistence on food economies, jobs and decreasing federal funds. EDUCATION Improvements were seen in a number of areas. According to the report, 71 percent of Natives have high school diplomas, up from just 48 percent in 1980. And the number of Natives who have gone to four-year colleges has more than tripled since 1980. Still, the high school dropout rate almost doubled recently and Native students have a hard time passing standardized tests. Far fewer Native males go to college compared to Native women and few Natives are in teaching careers. This data raised the importance of having more Native educators, providing more training for teachers and understanding how successes in testing and cultural immersion can be replicated. CONCLUSIONS Based on the information, the Alaska Native Policy Center said there is "no single answer" for addressing the issues raised. "The data indicate a seeming paradox: that many of the changes have been for the better, and yet, there are disparities and new challenges," the report said. But the center identified three immediate issues: improving public education, health issues, creating jobs and lowering the cost of living in rural Alaska. The center also wants more feedback on the analysis. Comments can be emailed to policy@firstalaskans.org. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Zapatistas keep Vision" --------- Date: Friday, January 14, 2005 12:05 PM From: Chiapas95-english [owner-chiapas95-english@eco.utexas.edu] Subj: UPI,Zapatistas keep vision,despite Fox claim,Jan 13 Mailing List: Chiapas95-English This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 16:45:30 -0500 From: Michael D. Adams To: hmcleave@eco.utexas.edu Subject: Zapatistas keep vision, despite Fox claim Zapatistas keep vision, despite Fox claim By Eliza Barclay UPI Correspondent Mexico City, Mexico, Jan. 12 (UPI) - Though the image of faces hidden behind the ski masks of ragamuffin soldiers who tore down from the highlands in 1994 survives as a powerful visual relic of modern Mexican history, the Zapatista movement, according to President Vicente Fox, is "a thing of the past." In a tour of the southern state of Chiapas, home to the tiny army of indigenous people known as the Zapatista National Liberation Army, or EZLN - a logo which today can be found emblazoned on t-shirts in liberal outposts in the United States - Fox said Tuesday that the people of Chiapas "say no to the politics of weapons and yes to the political weapons of dialogue, solidarity and harmony." Though Fox's Tuesday statements seemed to indicate that the Zapatistas no longer have power nor are as adamant about pursuing their goals as they once were, evidence of their sustained social influence in Chiapas is abundant. The EZLN, who received international attention in the 1990s with its armed rebellion against the Mexican government and became a symbol of resistance to authority on par with Che Guevara, was only active on a military scale for a few weeks in January 1994. In its first act of armed resistance, the EZLN, lead by the enigmatic Subcomandante Marcos, stormed and occupied the Chiapas city of San Cristobal de las Casas, which lead to several standoffs with the Mexican army and the development of a volatile relationship between the government and the Zapatista leaders. In their original statement, the Zapatistas called for the government to recognize the needs and rights of the indigenous people of Chiapas who make up about 40 percent of the state's population. Chiapas remains the poorest and most marginalized region of Mexico. A tumultuous dialogue ensued in the late 1990s, with the Zapatistas offering the government the San Andres Accord, an indigenous rights bill asking for more rights to the land and natural resources the Zapatistas said the local people had tended for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. The government dodged the approval of the accord, claiming it granted too much autonomy to the region's people. When Fox campaigned for the presidency in 1999, he said he would be able to resolve the conflict in Chiapas "in 15 minutes." His attempts for reconciliation were bolder than his predecessors, but the Zapatistas ended talks with Fox administration officials in 2001, after Congress approved an abbreviated version of the San Andres Accord. Today, the Zapatistas still tend to think of themselves as managing an autonomous region, and maintain control over several small villages in the highlands of Chiapas, particularly in the extremely remote Lacandon jungle region. On one November visit to Oventic, one of the five Zapatista capitals, United Press International was denied entrance to the town and the permission to speak with any of its residents until credentials and objectives had been fully verified by the town's junta, or Zapatista council. Junta members still wear the black ski masks synonymous with the Zapatista movement when filling official roles. After meeting with the junta, UPI was given a piece of paper, equivalent to a tourist card, indicating entrance to the Autonomous Zapatista village of Oventic. According to Micoela Jimene Patistan, a member of an artisan weavers' collective in Oventic, she is part of the Zapatista movement because it's about living in dignity. "Before 1994, we were not organized, but now we have a cooperative and there are equal rights for women and everyone in our community," Patistan said. "We make very little money selling our crafts, but at least we live with dignity." In a small shop in Oventic, Patistan and her fellow weavers sell pillowcases, blouses and blankets with intricate, colorful designs. The women make less than $1 per hour for their work, which requires painstaking attention to detail. But the abundance of cooperatives like Patistan's in Oventic and other Zapatista villages suggest that the social goals of the Zapatista's movement have infused themselves in a small way into the lives of the indigenous people in Chiapas. Coffee farmers, weavers and medicine producers all work together in ways they did not 10 years ago toward common community goals of equality and preservation of tradition. Still, a tone of standoffishness remains in the way the Zapatistas and the government talk about each other. During Fox's tour, Luis H. Alvarez, the Fox administration's representative for the dialogue with the Zapatistas, said that although the government has not established formal communication with Zapatistas leaders, particularly with the elusive Marcos who continues to live deep within the jungle, the government's actions have given reply to the social demands of the Zapatista communities. According to a Zapatista junta member in Oventic who would not provide his name, the government has not done all it can to bring social justice to the people of Chiapas. "They gave us land to farm ruined by their chemicals so we remain very poor," the junta member said, adding, however, "We are ... working toward a better, more just way of life." --- To subscribe to this list send a message containing the words subscribe chiapas95 (or chiapas95-lite, or chiapas95-english, or chiapas95-espanol) to majordomo@eco.utexas.edu. Previous messages are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html or gopher to Texas, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Economics, Mailing Lists. --------- "RE: Indian Activists in Bolivia stage Major Protests" --------- Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 08:46:37 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BOLIVIA NATIVE ACTIVISTS SHOWDOWN" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5183787.html Activists block roads in Bolivia in showdown Hector Tobar and Oscar Ordonez, Los Angeles Times January 13, 2005 LA PAZ, BOLIVIA - Indian groups and civic activists sealed off Bolivia's two largest cities with barricades Wednesday, demanding wide-ranging economic and social reforms of President Carlos Mesa. The challenge presented Mesa with his severest political crisis since an Indian-led uprising drove his predecessor from office and brought him to power 15 months ago. The mostly Aymara Indian residents of the city of El Alto blocked all the roads leading to La Paz, the administrative capital, while civic activists in Santa Cruz shut down the country's commercial capital with a general strike. In the mining city of Potosi, civic organizations took control of the regional police headquarters. The showdown between Mesa and leftist and regional leaders in this impoverished country has been building since the president ordered increases in the price of diesel fuel and gasoline two weeks ago. Anger over the price hikes has set off a variety of other demands, including calls for increased autonomy for eastern Bolivia and for the takeover of a local water company. In an impassioned televised speech Sunday, Mesa said he would rather resign than call out the army and police to restore order. Dozens were killed when President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada used force to clear the streets and highways of protesters in 2003. Late Tuesday, Mesa agreed to terminate the contract of a French-owned utility company that provides water services to El Alto. El Alto leaders also have demanded that Mesa rescind the price increase in fuel, something which the president has said would bankrupt the treasury. Mesa said Bolivia can no longer afford the subsidies that kept diesel and gasoline prices below market prices. The country's artificially low prices, they added, had led to shortages caused in part by the smuggling of fuel to Bolivia's neighbors. In Santa Cruz, civic leaders are demanding more control over the region's affairs. Eastern Bolivia has the country's most fertile farmland and holds its most valuable natural resources: oil and gas reserves. Leaders there also have demanded Mesa rescind the price increase on fuel. Instead, Mesa made a series of concessions this week to farmers in the region, including lower interest rates on loans. "The government is retreating because in the weak position it finds itself, it is the only option possible," said Cesar Rojas, a political scientist in La Paz. Rojas said the government is caught between two extremes: a radicalized labor and Indian movement which will be satisfied only when the country's utilities and natural resources are nationalized, and business leaders who want the president to use force to restore order. Copyright c. 2005 Star Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: First Nations Groups critical of Adoption Ruling" --------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 08:56:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ADOPTION EXCLUSION RULING SLAMMED" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://sask.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/adoptions040110.html First Nations groups critical of adoption ruling January 11, 2005` CBC News PRINCE ALBERT - Saskatchewan Indian groups are criticizing a recent court decision that said it's unconstitutional for the provincial government to allow bands to block adoptions. "We believe the judgment could have detrimental effects on all First Nations communities," Prince Albert Grand Council Chief Gary Merasty said in a news release. On Monday, the Sturgeon Lake First Nation and its child welfare agency, Nehiyaw Awasis Sicica Cistinna (NASC), filed an appeal against Queen's Bench Justice Jacelyn Ann Ryan-Froslie's Dec. 10 court decision dealing with the placement of five Sturgeon Lake children. Dec. 31, 2004: Court rules against First Nations adoption veto Following its longstanding policy, the province had asked the band for permission to have the children adoped by non-native families. The band's concern was that the children would lose connections to their culture and community. It denied its consent. But the judge said the government policy allowing band vetoes left some children in foster care "limbo" and violated their constitutional rights to equality, liberty and security of the person. The band and the child welfare agency want the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal to overturn Ryan-Froslie's decision. They want an injunction to keep the government from registering First Nations children for adoption without the consent of their band. Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Alphonse Bird said FSIN supports the appeal. He said the ruling, if allowed to stand, will have an effect on similar decisions across Canada and will impact every First Nation child and family service agency. The province hasn't said yet how it will respond to the notice of appeal. Copyright c. 2005 CBC. --------- "RE: Idea could solve on-reserve Housing Shortage" --------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 08:56:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COMMUNAL CONSTRUCTION" http://www.ammsa.com/sweetgrass/topnews-Dec-2004.html#anchor1343237 Idea could solve on-reserve housing shortage Paul Barnsley, Sweetgrass Writer, Blood Reserve Dan McGinnis has a dream. If he can make it come true, a lot of other Native people will benefit. McGinnis, 40, and his wife, Karren Shouting and three other southern Alberta Blood reserve residents make up the total current membership of the Aboriginal Homeowners Association, a not-for-profit group dedicated to creating an industry that will produce low cost, high quality homes on First Nation territories. McGinnis' partner, Pat Eagle Tail Feathers, has his council's blessing to harvest logs up on the slopes of the Rocky Mountain foothills located on the Blood reserve, the largest in the country by land mass. They're using some of those logs as the supporting beams of the first home the association will build. There's a story behind that. The first home will be tiny, a 540 square foot, two level hut on the rolling prairie a few minutes' drive south of the Trans Canada Highway just west of Lethbridge. They're building that little house a stone's throw away from the foundation of a much larger 3,400 square foot post and beam constructed home with four bedrooms, three bathrooms and vaulted ceilings. Once the smaller structure is completed, they'll qualify for an infrastructure grant that will help them get their real home under construction. "The band made a grant available to its members for infrastructure: roads, sewer, water, power, gas. It was supposed to be $20,000," McGinnis said. But council's policy is that any grant recipients must already have a house built. "I said, 'Fine, I'll build a 20 by 20 and when it's built, I want my grant,'" he said. The project will eventually, if all works out, provide a permanent home for McGinnis, his wife and their three children, ages 11 to 14, that far exceeds the standards of current Indian Affairs housing. The association has no assets to speak of, although some local media coverage has attracted the attention of supporters on and off the reserve who've helped with small donations of material and loaned equipment. Having no money is a problem, but it would be a much bigger problem if they were trying to build a conventional house in the usual way. Instead, they're using the logs that survive the forest fires that burn in British Columbia each year-logs they get for free-and another commodity that's not exactly in short supply on the Prairies, straw bales. Free wood for the frame, free straw for the walls and providing most of the labor yourself cuts the costs down considerably. It's still a struggle to proceed with little or no cash; they were hoping to have the smaller house erected before the winter set in and didn't make it due to mechanical breakdowns. The project started three years ago when Eagle Tail Feathers, who owns a log skidder, asked McGinnis, an electronics engineering technologist who graduated at age 28 from the DeVry Institute of Technology, for some business advice. "He's got the access to the raw materials. There's a dire need for something here. I just put the two together. If we can take the raw materials and build something that's got some value, then we should be able to make money," McGinnis said. "The thing that's needed the most is housing. In order to build a stick frame house you've got to have a lumber mill and all that sort of good jazz. And well, we don't have that." They took on some decorative log projects to get experience working in construction and were successful there. "My whole focus since I've been down here has been to try and get a business going and try to employ some people and contribute to this community in some way. To that end, that was the whole reason I went back to school," McGinnis said. He's a member of the northern Alberta Saddle Lake First Nation and now lives in his wife's community. "I want to help my community. My community needs infrastructure; my community needs technology. I went back to school so I could apply what I learned and help my community. And isn't that what we're all supposed to do?" Having to go through the charade of building the mini house to get the grant for the real project is not the only bureaucratic hoop they've had to jump through. "When we went to go see CMHC [Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation], they immediately referred us back to Indian Affairs. And when we went to see Indian Affairs, they referred us back to CMHC," he said. But work continues on the project, with occasional unplanned interruptions for weather or mechanical problems. "If we had money, we wouldn't have these problems," he said. "It doesn't have to be this way. With the ease of construction, there's no reason in the world why we couldn't be building hundreds of homes every year and employing hundreds of people to do it. You don't need to have a degree to chuck bales." He believes he can build his dream house for about $40,000, far below current housing costs. And he is convinced he can train others to do the same thing, both inside and outside his community. "What really struck me was a television program I watched years ago where there were these 15 Mexican women that got together and built each other a house," he said. "They were women with children and no husbands but they banded together and they collected materials and they started building. In the end, each family had a house of their own. I thought, 'That's a great thing. And if they can do it, I can do it.'" He wonders, since so many government reports lament the horrid state of First Nation housing, why no one else has looked at alternative forms of construction. "I can't understand why either this or any other innovative way to build homes hasn't been explored. I think maybe people are just afraid or else there's a vested interest in keeping it this way. That's what I assume," he said. How bad is the housing situation on the Blood reserve? "All we hear is rumors," Dan McGinnis said. "The rumor two years ago was around 1,800 people. My brother-in-law's been waiting 20 years now. He applies every year." McGinnis refuses to wait 20 years to get a house the usual way. He's living with his in-laws right now and is in a hurry to get his family into their own home. "I can't understand why we're running into the roadblocks we are. I mean, we can build for less. You'll get a better quality house, I would think, for less of a price and that would save the reserve money," he said. He wants the word to get out that he's attempting to start this revolution in First Nation housing. If he can prove the validity of his ideas by successfully completing his own house, he expects to attract interest from many other communities. "The whole idea behind the association was to create a vehicle that we could export to other communities verbatim. This is how we do it and we want to bring it to your reserve and help you out as well," he said. Copyright c. 2004 Alberta Sweetgrass, AMMSA - Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: Child Poverty Problem continues to grow" --------- Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 08:56:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CANADIAN CHILD POVERTY" http://www.ammsa.com/sage/topnews-Dec-2004.html#anchor1332262 Child poverty problem continues to grow Cheryl Petten, Sage Writer, Ottawa Just under 16 per cent of Canadian children-more than one million-live in poverty. Among Aboriginal children living off-reserve, that percentage jumps to 40 per cent. These staggering figures are only part of the story told by a recent report by Campaign 2000, a non-partisan organization formed in 1991 to build public awareness and support in the fight to eliminate child poverty and to remind all elected officials of their responsibility in that fight. One Million Too Many-Implementing Solutions to Child Poverty in Canada- 2004 Report Card on Child Poverty in Canada was released on Nov. 24, the 15th anniversary of the unanimous passing of an all-party resolution in the House of Commons to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000. The report states that not only is the government not making significant progress in reaching its goal, it is actually losing ground. After five straight years of declining numbers, the poverty rate among children actually increased in 2002. And, despite a commitment to deal with the problem from all parties at the federal level, the number of children in poverty is higher now than it was in 1989 when the resolution was passed. The government doesn't get any passing grades in the Campaign 2000 report card, which indicates the situation is either remaining static or worsening for families with children. One-third of all children in the country have been exposed to poverty for at least one year since 1996, the report states. The poverty rate among couples with children has remained unchanged, sitting at 10 per cent. On average, low income couples with children would need to earn $9,000 more a year just to reach the poverty line. The situation is worsening for single mothers with children. More than half of all single mothers and their children live well below the poverty line and would need to earn, on average, another $8,800 a year to even reach that indicator. The report card shows no progress in closing the gap between the rich and poor, and food bank usage is at an all-time high. It also points to child poverty rates among Aboriginal, immigrant, visible minority and disabled children at more than double the national average. Almost half of the children living in poverty are in families where at least one of the parents works full-time, year round, but still isn't able to earn enough to rise above the poverty line. The situation is compounded for Aboriginal people, who continue to face barriers that keep them unemployed or underemployed. According to figures plucked from the 2001 census, Aboriginal people are less likely to find employment than the general population and when they do find employment, they are likely to be paid less-two-thirds of the average wage for any given position. Among the recommendations made in the report to improve the situation for Canada's working poor is an increase in the minimum wage to $10 an hour. Currently the minimum wage varies from province to province and territory to territory, from a high of $8.50 per hour in Nunavut, to a low of $5.90 per hour in Alberta, for an average of about $7 per hour. Revamping the Employment Insurance system to make it easier for a person to qualify when they are out of work is another recommendation, as is finding ways to eliminate barriers that prevent excluded groups-including Aboriginal people-from finding meaningful employment. The report also calls for creation of an effective child benefit system, with an increase in the benefits available per child, and an end to the practice of denying federal child benefits to families receiving social assistance. It also speaks to the need for a strong, universal system of early learning and child care, something the federal and provincial government's have committed to do through their Multilateral Framework on Early Learning and Child Care announced last year, with a $2.2 billion commitment over five years. Such a system would provide children with learning opportunities early in life and parents with child care so they can work or attend training to increase their employment options. Access to affordable housing is another piece of the puzzle. According to the report, 20 per cent of families with children live in housing that isn't affordable. Among low income families that number jumps to 68 per cent. To be considered affordable the cost of keeping a roof over your head must take up 30 per cent or less of your total income. "A renewed cross-Canada housing strategy with a substantially increased funding envelope and federal leadership is desperately needed," the report states. "Provincial governments must not only help to increase the supply of affordable housing, they must also raise housing allowances for social assistance recipients to reflect rental costs in communities." The Campaign 2000 report also recommends the federal government improve access to post-secondary education by freezing or lowering tuition and increasing student aid funding. Development of an urban Aboriginal strategy, created by federal and provincial governments in consultation with Aboriginal communities to provide financial support for community- based, off-reserve Aboriginal services is recommended, as is creation of an agenda of inclusion of children with disabilities, to be developed in consultation with Aboriginal leaders. There is no quick fix to the problem of child poverty in Canada, but according to Peter Dinsdale, ensuring children get a good education is an important part of the solution. Dinsdale is executive director of the National Association of Friendship Centres, one of the partners in Campaign 2000. Dinsdale calls the low levels of education attainment among Aboriginal people an epidemic, and questions the government's lack of commitment to do something about it. "There's virtually no action on a national basis to help our kids finish high school and to give them a meaningful start to address child poverty in a generational way. And that's the kind of stuff that has to occur," he said. "With our kids, I mean, they aren't even graduating from high school. So where are they going to be 10 years from now? And they're going to start to have kids. And what kinds of conditions are those kids going to be living in? I believe the greatest thing we can do is make sure our kids finish high school. And that will give them such a heads up." Copyright c. 2004 Saskatchewan Sage, AMMSA - Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: Stonechild Family asks for Settlement" --------- Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 08:55:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SETTLEMENT AND APOLOGY" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.cbc.ca//2005/01/13/stonechildsettlement-1013.html Stonechild family asks for settlement January 13, 2005 CBC News SASKATOON - The family of Neil Stonechild is asking for a six-figure settlement from the Saskatoon police force to compensate for his 1990 death, and the way police handled the investigation. The 17-year-old was found frozen to death in a field on the outskirts of Saskatoon. The original police investigation was brief - it concluded the aboriginal teenager died while trying to walk to an adult jail to turn himself in for being at large from a youth home. Police claimed they had had no contact with Stonechild the night he disappeared. But a public inquiry into Stonechild's death was highly critical of the police. Justice David Wright concluded in his report released in October that there is evidence Stonechild was in police custody the night he was last seen alive, and that marks on his body were likely caused by handcuffs. The family's lawyer, Greg Curtis, says Stonechild's family is "not really looking for a pound of flesh." They simply want vindication and to get on with their lives. They also want a written apology. Copyright c. 2005 CBC. --------- "RE: Lawyer seeks new Trial in slaying of Anna Mae" --------- Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 08:42:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARLO LOOKING CLOUD" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/10612461.htm Lawyer seeks new trial in slaying of Indian activist BETSY TAYLOR Associated Press January 10, 2005 ST. LOUIS - The jury that convicted Arlo Looking Cloud of killing an American Indian activist based its decision on prejudicial, irrelevant testimony and hearsay, Looking Cloud's lawyer told a federal appeals panel Monday. "There's nothing to indicate he was intentionally part of a murder plot," lawyer Terry Gilbert said during a hearing before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis. He asked the three-judge panel to release Looking Cloud or grant a new trial. Activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash was killed in 1975. A rancher found her body in 1976 on property near Wanblee, S.D., on part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Looking Cloud, 51, a member of the Oglala Sioux tribe in South Dakota, was convicted last year of first-degree murder committed in the perpetration of the kidnapping of Aquash. He was sentenced to life in prison, which he is serving in Colorado. The investigation languished for years until a break came when the former common-law wife of one-time AIM leader Dennis Banks came forward. Gilbert said the prosecution worked to convict Looking Cloud by putting the American Indian Movement on trial. Aquash's death came amid a series of bloody clashes between federal agents and the AIM, which called for treaty rights and self-determination for American Indians. Aquash was among the American Indian militants who occupied the village of Wounded Knee for 71 days in 1973. Prosecutors said AIM leaders ordered Aquash's killing late in 1975 because they suspected she was a government informant. AIM and the government both denied that. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Mandel said the trial judge did not err in allowing testimony about AIM activities because it related to the case against Looking Cloud. "I don't think this case was an indictment of AIM," Mandel told the appeals panel. Witnesses at Looking Cloud's trial testified that he, John Graham and fellow AIM member Theda Clarke took Aquash from Denver to Rapid City, S.D., and eventually to the Badlands, where Graham shot her in the back of the head. Graham is also charged with Aquash's killing. He has pleaded not guilty and is fighting extradition from Vancouver, British Columbia. Clarke has not been charged in the case. Gilbert said Judge Lawrence Piersol improperly allowed hearsay evidence, and failed to tell jurors how to handle that testimony. He argued Looking Cloud's lawyer at the time, Timothy Rensch, failed to object when prosecutors put into evidence a videotape of his client talking about the killing. Gilbert said the videotape should not have been included on legal grounds. He said Rensch also failed to object to hearsay statements or leading questions related to a prosecution witness. In a telephone interview Rensch said, "I don't know that it would be in my former client's best interest to comment on that. I stand by what I did at the trial." Mandel told the judges that there had been evidence at Looking Cloud's trial that he heard Aquash begging for her life before she was killed. "It was clear at that point that there was knowledge," he said. A ruling isn't expected for several weeks. Copyright c. 2005 Aberdeen American News. --------- "RE: Graham's fate could hinge on Looking Cloud appeal" --------- Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2005 08:42:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JOHN GRAHAM EXTRADITION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/regionalnews/caches/jan10graham01102005.html Graham's fate could hinge on Lookin