_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 13, ISSUE 008 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, WOTANGING IKCHE - Lakota - Common News Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2005 nanews.org Aboriginal/AmerIndian Perspective about the First Nations of Turtle Island February 19, 2005 Hopi powamuya/purification moon Zuni onon u'la'ukwamme/no snow in trails moon Lakota cannapopa wi/moon when the cold cracks the trees +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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, Indigenous Peoples Literature and Iron Natives Mailing Lists; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "I have concluded that I can have the greatest impact to improve the future of Indian Country not by managing the day-to-day operations of BIA programs but by focusing my time on developing private sector economic opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs." __ Dave Anderson, resigned head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Choctaw Tribe and Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Chippewa +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Native Peoples have always been involved with the land. The Muskogee even feature a plow in their tribal banner. We grow heirloom tomatoes at our house. The old-time tomato flavor you get from these wonderful plants just can't be beat. To be honest, some of the tomatoes we grow are not true heirlooms in the sense that seed has been passed down through generations of growers, often within the same family like Brandywine. We also grow Arkansas Traveler and Bradley, both developed in the 1960's by the University of Arkansas to help promote pink tomato production in Arkansas. They are still open pollinated, and there lies the problem. Open pollinated plants allow you to save seed from the fruit produced this year and plant them next year, with the expectation that the resulting plants and fruits will be the same as those you enjoyed last year. The Monsanto Corporation and several other seed production companies do not want you to save seed, swap it with friends and repeat the cycle. They want you to come to them each year for seed, because you have no choice. Their plants are engineered to produce no plants from their seeds. Think it can't happen? Think again. ... A new patent law was forced on Iraq by the occupying US government that proibits seed-saving. It was presented as being necessary to ensure the supply of good quality seeds in Iraq and to facilitate Iraq's accession to the World Trade Organization. What it will actually do is facilitate the penetration of Iraqi agriculture by the likes of Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, and Dow Chemical - the corporate giants that control seed trade across the globe. Eliminating competition from farmers is a prerequisite for these companies to establish operations in Iraq, a condition that the new law has achieved. Taking over the first step in the food chain is the next corporate move. The new patent law also explicitly promotes the commercialization of genetically modified seeds in Iraq. (http://gnn. tv/articles/article.php?id=942) All the prophesies speak of the time when food production will be controlled by a few, when the mere act to following the path of your ancestors and working the land will be a criminal act. Ask the Maya of Chiapas. 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 ----------- - Cobell v. Norton - Muckleshoot Tribe Court Memorandum and Order trying to save Language - Bush Administration Budget - JODI RAVE: slashes BIA Programs Remarks only Part of Controversy - CHUCULATE: R.I.P., BIA - YELLOW BIRD: - Editorial: Famous Dave moves on Iron Horse hasn't run course - BIA says Recognition Bill - Gerald Yellow Hawk would lower Standards seeks to honor Indian Women - Backlog denies Recognition - Gonzaga Indian Education for Nansemond Outreach Program - Decision remains far off - Holiday honoring Native Americans on Wampanoag Petition - Call for Submissions: - Bill in Vermont seeks to Indigenous Women's Writing recognize Abenaki Nation - Rural Justice Panelist - No Man's Land resigns in Protest - Taylor: - Doubts loom over Mohawk Tax Talks Preserving Hopi will be our Legacy - Manufacturers react to RCMP Raid - U.S. snubbed - Aboriginals resume Traditional Diet over Indian Rights Issue - College dispute upsets Students - Appeals Court sides with Tribe - Private Eye plan in Land Dispute angers First Nations Man - Oakland Church - Native Prisoner bans Lakota Funeral -- New Pen Pal entry - When do Indians cease being Indians - Rustywire: Marion's - Local Tribe - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days turns down Federal Acknowledgment - Rustywire Poem: Tahlequah --------- "RE: Cobell v. Norton - Court Memorandum and Order" --------- Date: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 7:24 AM From: "Indian Trust ListServ" Subj: Cobell v. Norton - Court Memorandum and Order. Mailing List: Indian Trust ListServ U.S. SECRETARY OF INTERIOR GALE NORTON INVITED TO TESTIFY IN FEDERAL COURT TO PROVE SHE DIDN'T RETAILIATE BY WITHHOLDING INDIAN CHECKS Judge Lamberth's order comes in response to government's request to reconsider its prior finding that "the Secretary . . . retaliated against the Indian beneficiaries" by withholding trust checks WASHINGTON, DC (February 8, 2005) - The judge in the landmark Cobell v. Norton Indian Trust case has issued an order inviting U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton to testify in court proceedings to prove she did not retaliate against American Indians by stopping the disbursement of Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust checks in October, 2004. "The only evidence that might persuade the Court to reassess its determination about the Secretary's actions following the October 1st status conference would be direct evidence of the Secretary's intent. Such evidence, of course, can only be provided by the Secretary herself. If the Secretary wishes to testify at an evidentiary hearing on these matters, she is hereby invited to do so," Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. Federal District Court in Washington wrote in a Memorandum and Order dated February 7, 2005. The government has ten days in which to respond to Judge Lamberth's invitation. If they do not, the government's Motion for Reconsideration will be denied. Judge Lamberth's order comes as a result of a Motion for Reconsideration filed by the U.S. Government of an October 22nd, 2004 order in which Lamberth concluded that Secretary Norton's response to an order stopping the unregulated sale of Indian land caused the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to cease all communication related to the Indian Trust, and to withhold checks to beneficiaries. The Government argued that the Court's statements in the October 22nd order were "unsupported by facts presented to the Court by the parties." Elouise Cobell, lead plaintiff for the more than 500,000 trust beneficiaries who are class members in the Individual Indian Trust lawsuit, said: "Secretary Norton maintains she had nothing to do with the stoppage of checks. If she refuses to testify, we'll know the truth." IIM beneficiaries, many of whom are among our nation's poorest citizens and rely on Indian Trust payments for most or all of their income, were the victims of the government's retaliatory actions. In his February 7th order, Lamberth found such action deplorable. "These Indians are the poorest minority group in the country," Lamberth wrote in his February 7th memorandum and order. "The idea that Interior would either instruct or allow BIA to withhold trust payments, and then to stonewall the Indians who dared to ask why, is an obscenity that harkens back to the darkest days of United States-Indian relations." Lamberth continued: "But this idea, no matter how profane and repugnant to the foundational principles of our government, is amply supported in the record by evidence that remains uncontested by any factual proffer from Interior. The Court is offended that the individuals responsible for these acts would cite the Court's Orders as justification; but the perniciousness and irresponsibility demonstrated by blaming the Court pales in comparison to the utter depravity and moral turpitude displayed by these individuals' willingness to withhold needed finances from people struggling to survive and support families on subsistence incomes." "These actions," Lamberth wrote, "whether Interior ordered them taken or merely turned a blind eye and allowed them to occur, are a testament to the startling inhumanity of government bureaucracy." In the original decision, dated September 29th, 2004, Judge Lamberth ruled that an attempted BIA auction of Indian-owned land in Oklahoma violated a 2002 court order stating that DOI could not communicate with Cobell class members about matters relating to the court-ordered accounting or the litigation without prior approval of the Court. The Court found that the owners of some of the land that was scheduled to be auctioned were not fully informed of the consequences of such sales with respect to the lawsuit, and "in some cases it seems that the landowners may be fully unaware that their land is up for sale in the first place." A full copy of the Judge's February 7th Memorandum and Order is available at www.indiantrust.com . About Cobell v. Norton Cobell v. Norton was originally filed in 1996 by lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell, who had tried for years to get an accurate accounting of funds held in trust by the U.S. government for individual Indian-owned land that had been leased by the federal government for mining, grazing, oil and gas exploration and other uses. In two separate trials, a federal judge found that the U.S. Departments of the Interior and Treasury engaged in "fiscal and governmental irresponsibility in its purest form" in maintaining and accounting for the trust assets belonging to 500,000 individual Indians. ---- To view the latest information concerning this case, go to www.indiantrust.com --------- "RE: Bush Administration Budget slashes BIA Programs" --------- Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2005 08:36:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA BUDGET NUKED" http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/006410.asp Bush administration budget slashes BIA programs February 8, 2005 The Bush administration released its fiscal year 2006 budget on Monday, slashing the Bureau of Indian Affairs by nearly $110 million in order to pay for the increasing costs of trust reform. At a press briefing, Interior Secretary Gale Norton unveiled a $10.8 billion budget that reduces the BIA's funding to $2.2 billion. With trust reform a top priority of the administration, the money taken from the BIA is being funneled into the Office of Special Trustee. "The 2006 continues to strengthen Indian trust programs by investing $591 million into programs, an increase of $80 million over the 2005 appropriations," Norton said. "Most of this increase, $78 million, allows us to continue implementing our plan for historical accounting of individual Indian accounts and to continue our work on tribal accounting." The focus on trust means a wide range of programs are taking a hit in the budget. Education, tribal colleges, new school construction and tribal priority allocations are being reduced while OST's budget is growing by 33 percent to a total of $303.9 million. The only exception came in law enforcement. In response to the controversy over the poor conditions of Indian Country jails and high rates of violent crime on reservations, the budget seeks an additional $19. 2 million to expand law enforcement services, maintain new detention centers, place some juvenile inmates in more safe facilities and develop a national repair and improvement program. There are a handful of other bright spots in the budget, including $2 million to develop a pilot program for leadership academies at four BIA schools. The initiative was advanced by outgoing assistant secretary Dave Anderson, who resigns on Friday after just a year on the job. "The leadership academy is really a small part of an overall recognition that Indian education is not where it should be," Anderson said in an interview yesterday. He said he hoped the first pilot academy could be up and running by the fall. The budget also requests $500,000 to create an Economic Development Commission that will look at ways to eliminate barriers to tribal businesses. The idea was pushed by Anderson, an entrepreneur who tried to bring a more business-friendly vision to the BIA. But as far as numbers go, the cuts are more numerous and striking. The most obvious is an $89.5 million reduction to the BIA school construction account, leaving money for just two school projects -- replacement of the Porcupine Day School in South Dakota and the first phase of replacement of the Crownpoint Community School in New Mexico -- in fiscal year 2006. BIA officials said the reduction is needed to allow for the completion of school projects that have already been funded. Although the Bush administration has touted its pledge of nearly $1 billion to school construction, only nine new facilities have actually been built since 2001. The remaining 25 are still in the design or construction phase. "The schools aren't getting built as quickly so if we back off a litle bit, [we can] give them a little more time to get built," said Debbie Clark, the BIA's chief financial officer. Another cut that stands out comes to tribal priority allocations (TPA), the funds used by tribes to carry out day-to-day operations of their governments. The budget requests $760.1 million, which is $9.4 million less than the 2005 level and $10.5 million below the 2004 level. Coupled with the reduction is a proposal to overhaul the formula used to distribute TPA funds. Clark said tribes have complained that the current system, in place since the 1970s, is not fair. "It's not going to be an easy process to get through," Clark admitted. She said discussions would begin at the BIA-tribal budget advisory council meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, next month. The entire consultation process could take as long as a year, she said. The proposal now goes to Congress, where it is already being greeted with skepticism from members of both parties. In years past, lawmakers have restored President Bush's budget cuts to Indian programs. "Ironically, the budget document lists funding for Indian schools under the heading 'Supporting a Compassionate Society'," noted Rep. Nick Rahall (D-West Virginia), the ranking Democrat on the House Resources Committee. "But the level of dollars is anything but compassionate, looking to the most vulnerable to pay the price for overspending on its true priorities." Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: CHUCULATE: R.I.P., BIA" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:25:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHUCULATE: R.I.P., BIA" http://www.abqtrib.com//article/0,2565,ALBQ_19865_3534640,00.html Eddie Chuculate: R.I.P., BIA Kill useless agency and give the money directly to the tribes By Eddie Chuculate Tribune Columnist February 9, 2005 About the only thing the Bureau of Indian Affairs is half-good for these days is trying to improve or build schools for American Indians. And because the quality of an education at a BIA school is questionable at best, and President Bush is slashing $100 million from the agency's budget for building schools, it's time the agency was dismantled for good. Apparently Dave Anderson, who was sworn in as BIA head less than a year ago, saw no light at the end of the tunnel. In December, Anderson told The Associated Press he intended to stay in the position through Bush's second term. A month later, however, Anderson said he would quit, effective at the end of this week. It doesn't matter who's in that more-or-less powerless position in that toothless department. The BIA's original purpose was to rob American Indians of their traditions (assimilate them) and to manage (steal) their land and the resources (money) from that land. All that was accomplished decades ago. Even today, the BIA and its daddy, the Interior Department, are doing a damned good job mismanaging billions of dollars. It's time to get rid of the BIA and all the fat cats - American Indians or otherwise - who work there and distribute its $2 billion budget to Indian tribes, based on tribal enrollment. The tribes can take that money and do with it as they wish - after all, are not the tribes big boys now who have been taught well by their Great White Father? I know firsthand of the money wasted by the bureau. I went to visit a friend of mine years ago at the BIA in Muskogee, Okla. He made a lot of money and sponsored our fast-pitch softball team. After making it up to his sixth-floor office, I found him snoring head down on his draftsman's table. I hated to wake him up, he looked so peaceful. Before we went out for lunch, he showed me the little bridge he had been planning for months on some dirt road in New Mexico - a bunch of lines and arcs on onionskin. After lunch he called it a day, and we went to the lake. Years before that, I climbed the steps of that BIA in Muskogee with my great-uncle, a famous American Indian artist who was down on his luck. All Indians down on their luck in that area went to see a tall - to me, at least, at age 9 - man in a suit who gave out emergency bucks for the BIA. I guess my uncle took me along so we'd look more pathetic. After a lot of hemming and hawing, the man cut us a check for about $200, explaining that it was a once-in-a-lifetime grant - and that that was not a figure of speech. I figure he must have pulled down $60,000 a year. My buddy, the architect, probably made about $100,000. Everyone knows someone driving a fancy car who sits around at the BIA doing virtually nothing. It's high time to account for all the missing billions of dollars in Indian trusts, bury the BIA and hand over all the money to the tribes. ---- Eddie Chuculate (Creek/Cherokee) is a Tribune copy editor who writes about American Indian issues. His column appears on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. Copyright c. 2005 Albuquerque Tribune. --------- "RE: Editorial: Famous Dave moves on" --------- Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 08:39:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANDERSON EXIT" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.argusleader.com//20050208/OPINION01/502080323/1052 Editorial: Famous Dave moves on Strong background unable to outweigh agency's myriad problems February 8, 2005 Last year, we wrote, "Dave Anderson of Famous Dave's barbecue restaurants just might be the right person at the right time to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It would be a shame if he took the job under a cloud." He did take the job under a cloud - a potential conflict of interest over gaming - and a tenure that started out with great promise has ended a year later with a whimper. What a waste. Anderson announced he was leaving the post, saying he could do more for Native Americans in the private sector. "I have concluded that I can have the greatest impact to improve the future of Indian Country not by managing the day-to-day operations of BIA programs but by focusing my time on developing private sector economic opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs," Anderson wrote to Interior Secretary Gale Norton. Anderson, at least, is keeping his focus. "We found in Mr. Anderson a kindred spirit, someone from the reservation who saw that there were two things we really need to help ourselves - education and economic development. Not only for the tribe, but through entrepreneurship," said Steve Emery, senior lawyer for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. But what Anderson found at the BIA was that other issues needed attention. First, there was gaming, and Anderson recused himself from any gaming discussions or decisions, because he founded Grand Casinos Inc., the former casino management company for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in central Minnesota. That was the cloud, and it never moved away. But he also needed to deal with the Indian Trust Fund, still mired in federal court. Sovereignty issues. Health care. Funding. A reluctant Congress. A stifling BIA bureaucracy. Despite his background, Anderson really never got moving as assistant secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs - head of the BIA. Anderson is of Ojibwa and Choctaw heritage and an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Lake Superior Band of Ojibwa in Wisconsin. He's a self-made millionaire who - without a bachelor's degree - talked his way into Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where he received a master's degree in public administration. As CEO of Lac Courte Oreilles tribal enterprises in the 1980s, he turned around the business and doubled its revenue. He's been a member of a variety of commissions, boards and task forces that looked for ways to encourage and help minority business enterprises. Anderson established the LifeSkills Center for Leadership, a nonprofit group that works to help Native American youth become leaders in their communities. He's contributed millions of dollars to the effort and worked to make it a success. And he's been a success in business. The Famous Dave's chain he founded in 1994 has grown into a publicly traded company with 87 restaurants in 23 states. It just wasn't enough. And now we search for a new head of the BIA. Education and economic development remain vital, but maybe we need someone this time with a broader perspective. In any case, we need someone soon. Copyright c. 2005 Argus Leader. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: BIA says Recognition Bill would lower Standards" --------- Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 08:33:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="POMBO RECOGNITION BILL" http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/006488.asp BIA says recognition bill would lower standards February 11, 2005 A bill to speed up the federal recognition process for tribes who have waited more than two decades for an answer would weaken the system, a top Bureau of Indian Affairs official said on Thursday. Testifying before the House Resources Committee, principal deputy assistant secretary Mike Olsen said the Bush administration supported some of the goals of H.R.512. The bill was introduced by Rep. Richard Pombo (R- California), chairman of the committee, in hopes of providing finality for tribes whose recognition petitions have languished for years. But Olsen criticized provisions that require the BIA to issue a proposed finding on the tribes within six months and complete a final determination within one year. He said the bill wouldn't give agency staff enough time to carry out the work needed to research thousands of pages of historical, anthropological and other documents "We are concerned that the timeframes established by the bill would not allow the Office of Federal Acknowledgment adequate time to thoroughly review a petition, thereby lowering the acknowledgment standards," Olsen told the panel. Olsen said the BIA was willing to consider other reforms to the slow- moving process, such as establishing its own deadlines. The agency has been able to speed up the system in recent years, Robin M. Nazzaro, a director at the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed at the hearing yesterday. But Pombo, who has taken a sympathetic view of tribes that have been in limbo, said the changes aren't enough. "I don't care how busy the [Interior] Department is," he said. "At some point over the last 20 or 30 years, there should have been enough time to move forward on these." Pombo agreed with Olsen that a provision giving tribes a right of action in federal court could be viewed as drastic but said it was necessary. "I'm not too wild about bringing the courts into these, but [the tribes] have to have some remedy," he said. "There has to be some kind of hammer that follows," he added. Other committee members, Republican and Democrat, backed Pombo. Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Michigan) said it was a matter of "justice" that the tribes get an answer, noting that Congress has provided more money to the BIA in hopes of fixing the system. "I've been here for 29 years and have never ... seen a sense of urgency" at the BIA, he said. "That's very frustrating." Harry Sachse, an attorney who represents the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of California, also supported the bill. He blasted the "broken culture" that exists among the BIA and the Interior Department's Solicitor's Office. "I think it's awful," he said the current system. "I think that your bill is correct," he told Pombo. "You gotta do something tough with the department or nothing will happen. We hear excuse after excuse after excuse." Lance Gumbs, a member of the Shinnecock Nation of New York who serves as a tribal trustee, said the bill would help his tribe obtain justice. The tribe filed its petition in 1978, completed the documentation in the 1990s and has been waiting ever since. "The status of our petition sits in what I call the Black Hole," he said. The tribe is number 12 on the BIA's "ready for active consideration" list but Gumbs said there has been no movement in two years. "At this rate, without major changes to the process, the Shinnecock Nation will languish in an unrecognized state indefinitely," he testified. Pombo's bill is directed at the 10 tribes who filed for recognition prior to October 17, 1988, the date of the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The petitions for these tribes remain in the "Black Hole" that Gumbs identified. A nearly identical bill made it through the committee but never got a vote on the House floor. It was never taken up by the Senate. Over the years, several lawmakers have offered bills to reform the system and nearly all have run into opposition from the BIA. One measure would have stripped the agency of its recognition powers and handed them to an independent commission. Others would have imposed timelines on the BIA or modified the recognition standards to help tribal groups. In hopes of heading off some of the proposals, former assistant secretary Neal McCaleb offered an aggressive recognition plan in October 2002. It was primarily administrative, such as filling staff vacancies and improving technology. Nazzaro of the GAO said the BIA had implemented much of the plan except for creating a website that provides all documentation related to the petitions. However, Kildee called the claim into question when he pointed out that the BIA never beefed up the recognition staff from 11 to 33 as the plan envisioned. Olsen also confirmed that the BIA has lost some of its researchers and the OFA, formerly known as the Branch of Acknowledgment and Research, is now down to just nine people. In prior years, the staff hovered around 11 or 12. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Backlog denies Recognition for Nansemond" --------- Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 08:33:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NANSEMOND RECOGNITION REQUEST" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/print.cfm?story=81998&ran=208803 Backlog denies recognition for Nansemond tribe for years By STEPHANIE HEINATZ AND PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, The Virginian-Pilot February 11, 2005 It shouldn't take an act of Congress, but it might for the Nansemond Indians to receive federal recognition for their tribe. On Thursday, the investigative arm of Congress reaffirmed their earlier findings that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is backlogged in its efforts to get tribes the economic and social benefits a recognition can bring. "It just goes on and on," said Lee Lockamy, a Nansemond Tribal Council member who lives in Virginia Beach. "It's like you're gonna get it and then they ask for more information or there's another amendment." While the process is improving, many tribes are still waiting up to seven years. The Nansemond Indians have been waiting nearly four. Among other things, recognized tribes are eligible for federal assistance programs, an established government-to-government relationship, various exemptions from local and state laws for their tribal lands and housing and educational opportunities. In 2004 alone, Congress awarded $6 billion to the 562 recognized tribes for their various funding needs. Following the testimony Thursday by the Government Accountability Office before the House of Representative's Committee on Resources, the Nansemonds have all but given up hope of finding out their status anytime soon. The Nansemond Indians, along with five of the eight total state recognized tribes in Virginia, filed letters of intent with the bureau years ago, said Liz Walker, government affairs consultant for the Virginia Indian Tribal Alliance for Life. Then "in 2000 they filed more formal petitions and have heard nothing since then," Walker said. With the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown approaching, the lack of recognition makes Lockamy hesitant to help in festivities. "It's the principle of the thing," he said. "If 400 years later we still are not recognized, why should we bother with the celebration." To receive the recognition, tribes must prove to the bureau that they are historic and have "continuously existed as a political entity since a time when the federal government broadly acknowledged a political relationship with all Indian tribes." That shouldn't be hard for the Nansemond Indians. Their tribe dates back to the 1600s as part of the empire ruled by Powhatan, Pocahontas' father. The Government Accountability Office began reviewing the recognition process in late 2001 when it discovered that the Bureau of Indian Affairs was "ill equipped to provide timely responses to tribal petitions for federal recognition." Bureau officials estimated a few years ago that it could take as long as 15 years to wade through just the applications they had in hand. Limited resources and ineffective procedures, the report said, had severely clogged the system. The bureau's process for evaluating an application was originally designed to take two years. According to Thursday's testimony, additional staff have been hired to improve the response times. At current staffing levels, the Accountability Office estimates that it still could take as long as four or more years to work through the stacks of applications under review, not including what's still coming in. The bureau isn't the only way to receive formal recognition. Tribes can also get recognized through an act of Congress or by an executive order of the president. Because of the wait, six of the Virginia tribes have decided to start pursuing those other avenues. Reach Stephanie Heinatz at 222-5563 or stephanie.heinatz@pilotonline.com. Reach Phyllis Speidell at 222-5556 or phyllis.speidell@pilotonline.com. Copyright c. 2005 HamptonRoads.com/PilotOnline.com --------- "RE: Decision remains far off on Wampanoag Petition" --------- Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 08:33:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WAMPANOAG RECOGNITION REQUEST" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/decisionremains11.htm Decision remains far off on Wampanoag petition By SEAN GONSALVES STAFF WRITER February 11, 2005 MASHPEE - The good news for tribes seeking federal recognition is that the bureaucratic process is moving a bit faster since 2001. The bad news is that it will take several years to clear the existing backlog of petitions - including that of the Mashpee Wampanoag - according to a Congressional report on "Indian issues" released yesterday. The Mashpee tribe is third on the Bureau of Indian Affairs' "ready for active consideration" list - unchanged since 1996. Once their petition moves to top of that list, it will be deemed "under active consideration" with the bureau. As of last week, there were seven petitions under "active consideration" with another 12 on the bureau's "ready for active consideration" list. Yesterday's report, compiled by the U.S. General Accounting Office (the audit and investigative arm or Congress) is a follow-up to a 2001 GAO report that recommended ways the Interior Department could make the federal recognition process more timely. In response to those recommendations, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is part of the Interior Department, has increased staff. Staff shortages are at the heart of the backlog that has made it virtually impossible for the bureau to make decisions on tribal petitions within the bureau's own two-year time frame, the report said. In 2001, GAO auditors said it could take up to 15 years to evaluate the 19 petitions under review or "ready for active consideration" at that time. They also recommended the Bureau of Indian Affairs develop a strategy to improve the timeliness of petition decisions and that bureau officials be more responsive to municipal authorities or property-owners seeking information about the process and the impact federal recognition might have on their communities. Yesterday's report noted several improvements within the bureau since 2001. The improvements include hiring two new staff members, which enables the bureau to field a staff of three research teams, consisting of a cultural anthropologist, a historian and a genealogist. These research teams are the ones who recommend approval or rejection of petitions to the Secretary of Interior, who then issues a final ruling. Increased budget Among the criteria bureau researchers evaluate is whether the tribe demonstrated a continuous genealogical and cultural link to a historic Indian tribe. Noting that a positive finding on petitions "can dramatically affect economic and social conditions for the tribe and surrounding communities," GAO auditors noted that additional budget money was allocated to the agency in 2003 and 2004, which allowed the bureau to hire two outside contractors to respond to the many Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from media outlets, advocacy groups, municipal governments, and private citizens. Tribes that receive full federal recognition become quasi-sovereign governments and are eligible for educational and economic benefits, such as small-business assistance and health-care services. In some cases, federal recognition gives a tribe the right to run gambling operations on its land. The Mashpee Wampanoag have said they do not intend to open a gaming facility on Cape Cod should recognition be granted. Last week, the Interior Department unveiled an $11 billion Bureau of Indian Affairs budget proposal for fiscal 2006, which cuts the previous fiscal year's budget by $52 million as the Bush administration seeks to trim government programs. "While Interior Department's Office of Federal Acknowledgment has taken a number of important steps to improve the responsiveness of the tribal recognition process it still could take four more years, at current levels of staff, to work through the existing backlog," GAO Director of Natural Resources and Environment Robin M. Nazzaro said in the report. Yesterday, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council President Glenn Marshall disagreed. "I don't think the BIA, at its current rate, can clear up the backlog in four years unless everything (on each of the petitions) is in place and everything goes 100 percent right." Marshall estimated that it would take 12 years for the BIA to make a ruling on the backlogged petitions before the agency even considers the Mashpee petition. "And that's assuming they can handle three petitions a year." But one bill that may change that equation is H.R. 512, co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. William Delahunt, D-Mass., and Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the House Resource Committee. Mashpee hearing planned The bill requires the Department of Interior to give an expedited review for any unrecognized tribe that made its initial application before Oct. 17, 1988. The Secretary must establish a proposed finding within six months of the legislation's enactment and a final determination no more than one year after enactment, though the bill does not include extra money for the bureau. Yesterday, House Resource Committee Aide Matt Streit said the full committee plans to hold a public hearing on the bill in Mashpee in the near future. Marshall said he was told it would likely be held in April. Meanwhile, tribe members are preparing for tribal elections, which will be held on Sunday. Tribal president Marshall is facing off against Paula Peters, daughter of the late Russell Peters, who was at the forefront of the tribe's early struggle for federal recognition. Peters worked as a Cape Cod Times reporter until 2003, when she left to take another job. Marshall, who lobbied both Delahunt and Pombo to get the bureau to issue a ruling on the tribe's petition, says now is not a good time to change leadership. "I disagree this is not a good time to change leadership (within the tribe)," Peters said yesterday. "In fact, I think change would be refreshing. "Federal recognition has been a long process that began with my father in 1974 and I've followed it every step of the way." On Monday, tribal lawyers will be in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to present oral arguments in a three-year-old suit in which the tribe sought court intervention to compel the BIA to make a ruling on the Mashpee petition. That suit was initially ruled in favor of the tribe by Judge James Robertson, ordering the Interior Department to issue a final ruling on the petition by Dec. 31, 2001. But the Wampanoag lost on appeal. The appellate court sent the case back to Robertson for further review in 2002. Copyright c. 2005 Cape Cod Times. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Bill in Vermont seeks to recognize Abenaki Nation" --------- Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 08:42:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ABANAKI STATE RECOGNITION" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.timesargus.com//20050214/NEWS/502140320/1003/NEWS02 Vt. Legislature faces busy week ahead By Ross Sneyd Associated Press February 14, 2005 MONTPELIER - Senators expect to debate the fate of the Department of Employment and Training's regional offices this week as they consider midyear adjustments to the state budget. State energy policy will also be on the agenda in the Senate this week. And in the House a bill designed to protect consumers from fraudulent telemarketing practices is likely to be debated. In a Senate committee a perennial issue that always it politically touchy is scheduled for a hearing: whether the Abenaki Indians should be recognized by state government. Also this week, Gov. James Douglas is likely to be presented with a bill that has been at the top of the Democrats' list of priorities. Senate leaders said they expected to concur with changes made by the House in a prescription drug importation bill. The Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the House changes. Douglas has said he would sign the bill when it reaches him, which is expected to be the end of the week. Senators will be moving on by then to the budget adjustment bill. The Appropriations Committee supported most of the decisions made by the House in the more than $30 million in adjustments. But the Employment and Training Department issue was not resolved. The Douglas administration proposed reorganizing the department, sharply cutting back on its presence in six of the 12 communities where it has offices. A number of lawmakers opposed the plan, fearing that the offices slated to be closed or scaled back would end up offering fewer services to some of the state's areas of highest unemployment. Sen. Vincent Illuzzi, R-Essex-Orleans, has been one of the most vocal critics and he wants to address the issue as part of the adjustment of the state budget. He has been particularly concerned about the offices in Newport and St. Albans, which he says are areas of persistent unemployment that need easy access to state resources. He has prepared an amendment to the budget bill that would guarantee "delivery of services to employers seeking workers and the unemployed seeking work. You can't effectively deliver those services operating out of the trunk of your car." Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman Ann Cummings, D-Washington, said her panel would be looking into a couple of energy issues. It is scheduled to review a bill that would require the state's utilities to maintain a minimum portfolio of renewable energy in its mix of sources of electricity. Representatives of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant also are due before the committee as they seek permission to store nuclear fuel waste in so-called dry casks. The reactor is quickly running out of room in its current spent fuel storage area, which is a large pool of water. House Commerce Committee Kathy Keenan, D-St. Albans, said she expected a bill that would prohibit telemarketing companies from misrepresenting themselves in order to obtain consumers' bank account routing codes and then deducting money. Keenan said the practice had cropped up among companies operating outside the state. Indian affairs will be the topic of the Senate Economic Development Committee. It plans a hearing Tuesday on a proposed resolution by Sen. Julius Canns, R-Caledonia, that states the Legislature "recognizes the existence of the Abenaki people." That has been a politically touchy topic for years because the attorney general and others have feared that it could lead to federal recognition of the tribe, touching off potential land claims and a bid to operate gambling businesses. The resolution seeks to blunt such criticism. "While this recognition is not intended to confer any special rights upon the Abenaki people, such as claims to Vermont lands or privileges not extended to other minority groups, it is intended to ensure the Abenaki people receive the same recognition and privileges extended by the state of Vermont to any other minority group," the resolution says. Copyright c. 2005 Times Argus. --------- "RE: No Man's Land" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:25:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PAIUTE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.klastv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2914552&nav=168XW61c No Man's Land George Knapp, Investigative Reporter February 7, 2005 The U.S. Government has a long and ugly history of violating promises it has made to Native Americans, especially regarding the ownership of land. A Paiute family living in the Pahrump valley is learning that, even today, land ownership can change hands in the blink of an eye. There was a time when all of the land in the Pahrump valley belonged to the Paiutes, but it was taken away after white settlers arrived. For more than 50 years, the Sharpe family thought it had the title to 160 acres in the valley. Now, it has learned, the government is taking the land back. It's the kind of thing that been done to Indians for a long time, but who would think it might still be happening in the 21st century. "It was his dream to have 160 acres here and farm it," said Fred Sharpe. His father, Louie Sharpe, might be considered the original Pahrump valley land speculator. In 1946, Louie Sharpe homesteaded 160 acres of scrubland in the valley at a time when Pahrump consisted of a single building. The desolate valley meant a tough life for the Paiute family. Fred Sharpe said, "It was kinda hard, all of his children working, you know." The Sharpe family has lived in the valley since 1860. Fred Sharpe's great, great grandfather was Chief Tecopa, the leader of the southern Paiutes, whose decision to peacefully co-exist with white settlers earned him a special place in western history. Tecopa is buried in Pahrump, his grave is the site of an historical marker. His people owned all of the land in the valley before whites arrived. Tecopa's descendents say they tried to play by white rules when they homesteaded 160 acres that no one else wanted, at least, not in the mid 1940s. The family has lived in a modest dwelling on the land ever since, barely hanging on. "I hunted out there. My grandma taught me to hunt rabbits. We ate rabbits all the time. It's all we ever knew. Now they're tying to take this away," Sharpe said. But a disturbing letter received from the Nye County assessor has turned the Sharpe's world upside down. Nye County was informed by the BLM that the land did not belong to the family after all. The BLM investigated the land's title after inquiries were made by a prominent Pahrump developer. No wonder - the land is directly in the path of Pahrump's explosive growth, and someone could make a bundle if the grabbed it. In its files, BLM discovered a letter written in 1957 that informed the Sharpe's their original paperwork lacked a signature. No signature, no land. Back in the 40s there were no government people in the valley to sign anything. Daron Cox, a Sharpe family friend, says, "They didn't have anyone out here to proof it. No sheriff, or notary to check it out. I think he did get it proofed from what the family says but there is no record at the BLM." When BLM came out to inspect the land, it somehow concluded that no one was living here. It's unclear how anyone could miss the obvious evidence of a permanent presence on the property. The Sharpe family photo album documents the family's presence on the land dating back to World War 2. What's more, Nye County has listed the property on its tax rolls since 1960 as privately owned, patented land. Paying those property taxes was always the family's top priority, even if it meant foregoing luxuries, like a refrigerator or a new roof. Fred Sharpe said, "Grew up hard. It's all we know. Been trying to hang onto this for so long and now someone's gonna take it? Where we gonna go?" The BLM says its hands are tied and it can no longer give away land. Since the Sharpe's didn't respond to 1957 letter, it says, the land reverts to the federal government. In fact, Nye County maps show the land has already been reclassified as BLM disposable property, meaning land- hungry developers could come calling soon. The160 acres, after all, could be worth $10 million or more in today's market. Daron Cox adds, "Have they been told to get out? Not yet. It's coming. I can feel it. Any day they can come out here and say, we're putting in a school, get off. Just like that." "What happens to the family? I don't know. Out on the streets, I guess," adds Fred Sharpe. The Sharpe family has talked to a few lawyers but hasn't found one willing to go up against the BLM. They've also made inquiries to Senator Harry Reid's office. You may ask if it's just a matter of a missing signature, why can't the BLM accept a signature now? The way it was explained to the I-Team is that a few years ago, the law was changed regarding the transfer of government land to private parties. The BLM thinks that law is retroactive in the case of the Sharpe's and that the bureau doesn't have the authority to follow through on the original deal. The I-Team has seen correspondence that shows there is disagreement within BLM on this issue. A 60-year-old paperwork snafu could mean that a Native American family will soon be homeless. The Sharpe family has lived on 160 acres of homesteaded land in the Pahrump valley since the 1940s. But the BLM recently informed the family that the land doesn't belong to them, even though they've been paying taxes on it all these years. The property could end up in the hands of developers instead. "It's wrong. It's very, very wrong," states Ed Sharpe. His family has lived on the parcel in the Pahrump valley since homesteading the land in the mid 1940s. Although it's been tough to make ends meet, they've been paying thousands of dollars in property taxes each year for more than half a century. Nye County has listed the Sharpe's as the owners for decades. But the Bureau of Land Management has decided the land does not belong to the Sharpe's because of a paperwork oversight. Louie Sharpe, who filed the original homestead, failed to get a final signature from a designated official. The Sharpe's say that's not true. "I think my dad did sign but they lost it, you know," said Fred Sharpe. The BLM sent a letter to the Sharpe's in 1957 to tell them about the missing signature, but never communicated again. Now, with explosive growth in the Pahrump valley, a developer named Richard Hafen sparked an inquiry into the status of the Sharpe land, which sits on Hafen Ranch Road, next door to Hafen Elementary. The inquiry prompted the BLM to determine that the land belongs to the government. Already, maps show the land is on the BLM's list of disposable property and presumably will be up for grabs by developers. Daron Cox, friend to the Sharpe family, says, "It's just ridiculous. I can't believe anyone taking something like this." Daron Cox thinks taking away the Sharpe's land is all the more poignant since this family is directly descended from Chief Tecopa, the Paiute peacemaker who helped pave the way for white settlement of the entire region. The family thinks there are holes in the BLM's story. For one thing, in 1981, the BLM installed property markers there, but reported that no one was living there. Ridiculous, the family says. "Nobody living on the property? Look at these trees. Somebody's been living out here quite awhile," Fred Sharpe commented. Generations of the Sharpe family, in fact, have lived there. The family photo album proves it. BLM told the I-Team that it's hands are tied, and it can't return the land to the Sharpe's, yet it's own land expert is quoted in a letter as saying it shouldn't be difficult to do exactly that. "They should be given the patent the same way they were doing back in 1949. Just sign it and give it to them," Daron Cox stated. BLM told the I-Team that it offered to let the Sharpe's buy the land at fair market value - $10 million or more, which considering their financial position, is like telling them they have an option to buy some acreage on the Las Vegas Strip. It's not very realistic. Unless something dramatic happens, the Sharpe family will lose its land, a position not exactly unfamiliar to Native Americans. As Ed Sharpe puts it, "It's happened before." "The clock is ticking, I guess," were Fred Sharpe's words. The Sharpe's have contacted Senator Harry Reid, whose office told the I- Team the senator wants to help but isn't quite sure how to do it. An act of Congress might be needed, and that could take a few years. The BLM says it has no immediate plans to put the land up for sale, but admits there is nothing in the law to prevent such a sale either. Georke Knapp and the I-Team will keep you informed as the story progresses. Copyright 2000 - 2005 WorldNow and KLAS-TV. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Taylor: Preserving Hopi will be our Legacy" --------- Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 21:07:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TAYLOR: PRESERVING HOPI" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410334 Taylor: 'Preserving Hopi will be our legacy' by: Wayne Taylor Jr. / Hopi February 10, 2005 I have on occasion been both amused and disheartened at how non-Native people regard American Indians when it comes to environmental matters. There is the romantic notion held by environmental extremists that indigenous people are so at one with nature that we leave no footprints on the land: Iron Eyes Cody in the television advertisements, shedding a tear as he gazes over the polluted landscape. Then there are the environmentalists who turned the other way for decades as corrupt corporate and federal government officials exploited the vast timber, oil, water and coal resources on Native lands. David R. Lewis, in the American Indian Quarterly, noted the willingness of environmental activists to join with the Hopi Tribe to block mining of the San Francisco Peaks here in Arizona, yet oppose Makah tribal whale hunts in Washington state. "You find a lot of environmentalists who are only too happy to appropriate the words of Chief Seattle, or take the thinking of other great people of Native history about the environment," wrote Suzan Shown Harjo, a Cheyenne/Muskogee and director of the Morning Star Institute, an Indian rights group based in Washington. "There are people who are only too happy to adopt those trappings as their own and continue to disregard the living people who are related to that legacy." The Hopi Tribe is in the midst of a thirsty struggle for survival. A recent federal study confirmed that the Navajo Aquifer - our only source of water for drinking and ceremonial purposes - is not sufficient to sustain the Hopi people for the generations to come. Stewardship over the land is integral to Hopi beliefs. Water from the aquifer is used in Hopi ceremonies. The aquifer feeds springs and washes on sacred lands. It is crucial to the Hopi way of life that the aquifer be preserved. Yet water from the aquifer is being used to slurry coal from the Black Mesa Mine, located on Hopi and Navajo lands, to the Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, Nev. The Hopi Tribe is demanding that Peabody Energy, which operates the mine, stop using water from the aquifer by the end of this year. Meanwhile, lawsuits by the Sierra Club and others will likely force at least the temporary closure of the Mohave plant for the purpose of installing environmental upgrades. The Hopi people are not opposed to the environmental upgrades of Mohave being demanded by the Sierra Club and other plaintiffs to the suit. The energy leases were signed in the 1960s during the height of the federal government's paternalistic policies and during the infancy of our modern tribal government, and so it is to no one's surprise that a water slurry coal transport line was constructed. At the tribe's insistence, over concern of the impact to the Hopi's only water supply, a "transportation study" was conducted in the early 1990s. The study looked at various options and in the end ruled out a rail line as unfeasible, recommending an imported water supply for the continuation of the slurry line. A cash economy has changed the lives of the Hopi who once relied on subsistence farming. Today, the mine generates $7.7 million in coal and water royalties - about a third of Hopi's tribal government revenues. Closure of the plant and the mine will force the tribal government to initiate massive layoffs and cuts in essential government services, including education, law enforcement and programs for the elderly. The Hopi are a poor people. Closure of Black Mesa and Mohave will result in an economic disaster. The need to preserve the Navajo Aquifer is not in dispute. But what also is not in dispute is the need to import water to Hopi. We need imported water to prevent the permanent closure of the Black Mesa and Mohave. And we need imported water to generate additional economic development to ensure the viability of the Hopi homeland. Without imported water to provide for the future of the Hopi, our young people will continue to leave our homeland to seek opportunity elsewhere. Our economy, our culture and our way of life will shrivel and die. The Hopi tribal government - the Tribal Council and village leaders - has made great progress in the past year in seeing to it that the Hopi people will have the water they need for the future. We have been working with operators of the mine and power plant to develop a 120-mile pipeline to import water to Hopi from the Coconino Aquifer. The water will be used to slurry the coal and preserve the Navajo Aquifer. We also have acquired the rights to Colorado River water in the Cibola Basin. The C-Aquifer pipeline will prevent the permanent closure of the mine and the power plant. We also hope the pipeline can be expanded to provide water for economic development on Hopi. We on Hopi are continually confronted with environmentalists who have no grasp on the complexities of energy production. They contend the best hope for Hopi's future lies with renewable energy projects, yet they fail to realize we have no transmission infrastructure, no way to get the power to market, no current buyers and no contracts. Without contracts to buy the power, no one will finance the project. And no one will buy the power unless we can deliver it. We have embarked on a strategy to develop an energy economy on Hopi so that we can market our voluminous coal resources and create jobs and opportunity on our homeland for generations to come. We plan to produce and sell power through facilities owned and operated by Hopi people. We intend to use clean air/clean coal technology. We are meeting with potential investors in bio-diesel fuels and ethanol. We are investigating joint ventures in renewable energies such as solar and wind power. The exploitative agreements for coal and water royalties unwittingly entered into decades ago by prior Hopi and Navajo leadership will be a matter of history. We will succeed. And we will do so despite the opposition of environmental extremists who are fighting our every step toward progress. These environmental groups are using Hopi people as fronts to further their cause. They are twisting Hopi prophecies and teachings to further their own goals, with no regard for the Hopi people who are struggling to survive on the Hopi homeland. I find it offensive that environmentalists will appear at public hearings and speak of a concern for the future of Hopi and the need to preserve Hopi ways, then return to their upscale Scottsdale homes and man- made "water playground," leaving the Hopi to make do on a parched reservation with no infrastructure, no jobs, no opportunity and no future. These groups and individuals speak out against development of the Coconino Pipeline as a means of providing 6,000-acre feet of water per year to keep Black Mesa and Mohave operating, despite the fact the aquifer is already providing 60,000 acre feet of water per year to fuel three other power plants - 10 times the amount of water Hopi is seeking. These groups and individuals talk of the need to preserve the Navajo Aquifer, yet oppose every effort to import the water needed so that we can, indeed, preserve the aquifer. And they claim they are doing so in the best interests of the Hopi people. Stewardship over the land is very much a part of the Hopi way of life. We have lived on our ancestral lands for more than 1,200 years. We have learned to preserve our precious resources long before this country became the United States of America, and long before where we live was called the state of Arizona. Preserving our homeland will be the legacy of Hopi people, not the environmentalists. Wayne Taylor Jr. is chairman and CEO of the Hopi Tribe. Copyright c. 1998 - 2005 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved --------- "RE: U.S. snubbed over Indian Rights Issue" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:25:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BOYCOT: INDIAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/americas/10855938.htm U.S. snubbed over Indian rights issue Indian leaders from Latin America boycotted a U.S. reception to protest a U.S. stand on the rights of indigenous peoples. By PABLO BACHELET Miami Herald February 9, 2005 WASHINGTON - John Maisto, U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States, raised his glass to propose a toast. He wanted to "welcome and honor" the participants of an OAS conference on indigenous rights in the Americas. The United States was hosting a reception for about 150 indigenous representatives from the Western Hemisphere who are in Washington this week for a fifth round of negotiations on an Inter-American Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples. But most of the indigenous leaders had purposefully skipped the event Monday night to protest Washington's position on the declaration, giving the cavernous foyer of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian an especially empty feel. `WE ARE NOT HAPPY' "A boycott at the U.S. reception was our way of saying that we are not happy with the position taken by the United States," said Azelene Kaingaing, a Brazilian indigenous leader and vice president of the Americas Indian caucus. U.S. officials insisted that the boycott had little impact and that the reception was still a success. They said that about 300 people were invited and that more than 250 attended. "We didn't notice anything, of a large group of people not being there," said Olwyn Staples, the spokeswoman for the U.S. OAS delegation. The OAS declaration, if it comes to pass, would be a historic document. For the first time, it would enshrine the rights of the 40 million indigenous people in the hemisphere and perhaps set a legal precedent for Indians elsewhere. Unconcerned with the boycott, Maisto said in his welcome speech that the U.S. government was "proud of its long-standing commitment to tribal sovereignty." He also quoted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who said during her confirmation hearing that the Bush administration was "concerned about the indigenous peoples . . . trying to find their rightful place in a political and economic system." WORDING OPPOSED Earlier Monday, as the delegates from 34 countries discussed draft language for the declaration, U.S. officials had objected to proposed language that Indians have a "right to live in harmony with the environment." Kaingaing said that is a "defining characteristic that makes our people different." But the United States, considering the wording vague, put forward language on harmful contaminants and procedures to correct them. As no agreement was reached, the delegations decided to move on to other sections of the declaration. But the boycott of the U.S. reception also reflected just how the talks, which started in 2003, have become a grinding affair for one of the OAS's most ambitious initiatives. "Sometimes in a negotiation, you go slow and then you have a breakthrough," Maisto told journalists at the reception. "We're working very hard." The U.S. government isn't the only one being difficult, said Juan Leo'n, a Guatemalan diplomat of Indian origin. Many Latin American nations worry that giving indigenous groups too much, such as the right to rule their lands, could open the doors to autonomy or even independence movements. TOUGH ISSUES REMAIN Even what appears to be mundane semantics can stall talks at times. For months, negotiators discussed whether it was a declaration for indigenous "peoples" or for "populations." And the two sides haven't even begun to tackle some of the stickiest issues, like the territorial rights of Indians. "There are indigenous peoples who want absolute control over that territory, where the Indian authorities would be in charge," Leo'n said. Copyright c. 2005 Miami Herald - Knight Ridder Publications, Inc. --------- "RE: Appeals Court sides with Tribe in Land Dispute" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:25:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NARRAGANSETT" http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/006461.asp Appeals court sides with tribe in trust land dispute February 10, 2005 A federal appeals court on Wednesday handed the Narragansett Tribe a much-needed victory in one of its many battles with the state of Rhode Island. The tribe and the state have been at odds over gaming, jurisdiction, taxation and a host of other issues. Many times, the tribe has been at the losing end of the stick. But in a unanimous decision, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals backed the tribe's bid to have 31 acres placed in trust for a housing project. A three-judge panel rejected the state's attempt to block the acquisition, which has been tied up in litigation since 1998. The decision, however, left open a key question that is likely to lead to even more debate. The court cautioned that it did not determine whether the state's criminal and civil laws will apply to the parcel. That issue is at the heart of yet another tribal-state dispute before the 1st Circuit. On July 14, 2002, state police troopers raided the Narragansett Reservation in order to shut down a smokeshop deemed to be in violation of state law. A federal judge sanctioned the raid, saying the state was within its rights to enforce state criminal law on tribal lands. The 1st Circuit heard arguments in the case last September and a decision is pending. The trust land and the smokeshop cases both raise similar questions about the extent of the tribe's rights as a federally-recognzied entity. Like several others in New England, the Narragansetts fall under a land claims settlement act that grants the state certain authority over tribal lands. Gov. Donald Carcieri, a Republican, and local officials argued that the settlement act bars the BIA from taking land into trust for the tribe. But the 1st Circuit rejected this line of thought, saying there is nothing in the law to suggest that. The Rhode Island Indian Claims Settlement Act "does not preclude the [Interior] Secretary from acquiring additional lands in trust for the benefit of the Narragansetts," Judge Juan R. Torruella wrote for the majority. The court also rejected the state's numerous challenges to the constitutionality of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The state tried to strike down the provision of the law that allows the BIA to take land into trust, saying Congress didn't provide adequate standards. The court likewise dismissed the state's argument that the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 does not apply to the Narragansetts because they weren't recognized at the time. Newly-recognized tribes "shall be entitled to the privileges and immunities available to other federally recognized historic tribes by virtue of their government-to-government relationship with the United States," the court said, quoting the BIA's regulations. With the decision, the 1st Circuit joins the 2nd Circuit in rejecting state attempts to limit the rights of New England tribes In a trust land dispute involving the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut, state officials had unsuccessfully raised many of the same arguments presented in the Narragansett case. Tribes across the nation have been closely watching the Narragansett case for fear that the IRA's land-into-trust provision could be found unconstitutional. The issue has been up in the air ever since the state of South Dakota raised it in a case involving the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, a dispute still in litigation. The Native American Rights Fund and the National Congress of American Indians, through their joint Tribal Supreme Court project, filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Narragansetts. The Mississippi Band of Choctaws, who were in a similar situation to the Narragansetts in the late 1970s, also filed a brief. The 31 acres at issue are located in the town of Charlestown. The land is adjacent to the existing Narragansett Reservation but is separated by a town road. Town officials fear the tribe will try to start a gaming establishment on the land but the 1st Circuit said the worries were not supported by the record. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Oakland Church bans Lakota Funeral" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:25:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHURCH NOT SO AMERICAN INDIAN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_2559673 Oakland church bans Lakota funeral Pastor says Indian drum ceremony inappropriate for Christian institution By Laura Ernde, STAFF WRITER February 8, 2005 OAKLAND - It may be called the American Indian Baptist Church, but this Oakland house of worship has made it clear that a traditional Lakota funeral ceremony is not welcome there. Deacon Paul Brown said it would be inappropriate to have a Lakota drum ceremony inside a Christian church. And the deacon is not willing to hand over the pulpit to a medicine man without a pre-service interview. "It's like having two religions trying to meet at the same place," said Brown, 73, who is a Chickasaw Indian. "In the Bible, you can't serve two masters." As a result of the conflict, the family of American Indian activist Muriel Waukazoo said they'll hold her funeral elsewhere. "We'd like to do it in a traditional way. That's what my mother believed. That's what she fought for all her life," Martin Waukazoo said.Embracing tradition The church, at 1315 102nd Ave., was founded in the 1950s by Southern Baptists who wanted to provide a place of worship to American Indians who held Christian beliefs but were not accepted at white churches, Brown said. Brown said the incident made him realize the church needs to have a written policy on use of the church to prevent future misunderstandings. The church is affiliated with the California Southern Baptist Convention but has the right to make its own decisions about the use of its facilities, said Terry Barone, leader of the convention's communications group. Several members of the small congregation joined the Waukazoos at the church Monday night in an attempt to change church officials' minds. Cindi Adams of Oakland, a member of the church since the mid-1980s, said American Indians who embrace Christianity shouldn't have to give up their traditional beliefs. "I embrace my culture. I respect my culture, and I have a great love for my culture. And for someone to tell me there's something wrong with that, it was heart-wrenching for me," she said. Continuing the fight Martin Waukazoo said he sees the conflict as a continuation of the civil rights battles his mother waged in the name of preserving American Indian cultural traditions. In 1970, she climbed Mount Rushmore with other women elders to assert the Lakota claim to the Black Hills. A year later, the United Natives of America voted her Indian Woman of the Year. Born in Rosebud, S.D., her Lakota name was A Strong Hearted Woman. But she was known to many as simply "Grandma." She died Sunday at the age of 88. A wake will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Church of the Assumption, a Catholic parish in San Leandro. The church will host funeral services at 10:30 a.m. Friday. Copyright c. 2005 Inside Bay Area, Pleasanton, CA. --------- "RE: When do Indians cease being Indians" --------- Date: Saturday, February 12, 2005 6:29 PM From: ghwelker [ghwelker3@comcast.net] Subj: When do Indians cease being Indians --when do they lose their memory / language? Mailing List: indigenous_peoples_literature@yahoogroups.com http://www.indigenouspeople.net/indios.htm Bridging Worlds of Misunderstanding Our Uncle Joe remembers how Mama Mencha dried tobacco along a river, raising her hands to pray to grandfather sun. Mama Mencha, our great-great grandmother, was Kikapu Indian. U.S. history books say the Kikapua (as they are known in their own language) were first sighted by the "white man" in the Great Lakes region. Mama Mencha crossed south at "the pass of the eagle" (now Eagle Pass), giving us roots in two countries. She settled in Nacimiento, Mexico, when our people were pushed into Mexico from the United States while fleeing Indian wars. Our uncle, or "Tio Chema," as we call him, remembers her stories about seeing Santa Anna ride by on his horse. The Kikapu (as they are known in Mexico) were given land by the Mexican government and unrestricted passage between the two countries. Mama Mencha died at age 115 in 1937. She's buried without a marker in a private family cemetery in Waco, Texas. Tio Chema, who looks like the Indian head on an old nickel and likes to go to the powwows in Oklahoma, is a keeper of family stories. We are also Comanche from one of our mother's side of the family, but those stories have been lost. A people without stories is a people without memory or history. Sometimes all that remains of a people's history are names on birth certificates, sepia photographs and stone inscriptions that are later misinterpreted by archeologists. Often we have wondered, when do Indians cease being Indians--when do they lose their memory, their tongue? In the '40s, as the animals they had hunted for sustenance were killed off in Mexico, the Kikapua (which loosely translates as "the people who keep moving") were forced to follow the migrant stream into the United States. They camped under a bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas, and became known as "the bridge people." Our relatives, however, disliked the nickname. "We are not bridge people. We are not cardboard people," they'd say, referring to the cardboard homes that some migrants lived in. But the moniker has new meaning for us nowadays, as we find ourselves bridging nations at indigenous summits. At conferences, we are often asked to translate for Spanish-speaking southern indigenous nations and English-speaking North American Indians. As writers, we are also translators of cultures, within the Latino communities, between native people and mestizos, and between Latino communities and our mainstream readers. At other times, we bring to our readers knowledge from ethnic scholars that might otherwise remain locked in ivory towers. We often say we are "bridge people" who help to bridge wide cultural gulfs of misunderstanding. We remember being on a bus in Mexico City when a fair-haired mother screamed at her child, who was slow to board, "Don't be an Indian." We recall how an instructor friend of ours participating in the mother- daughter program in El Paso, Texas, told the girls they were all beautiful. When one girl asked, "Even if you look like an Indian, Miss?" the instructor replied, "Especially if you look like an Indian." It reminds us of our own childhoods, of thinking we were ugly because we were dark and Indian, washing our skin furiously, hoping we would wash our color away. A friend of ours remembers going to bed at night and praying she would wake up blond. Another friend says that's why some Latinas dress with garish clothes, makeup and baubles--to cover up the Indian. We see Chicanos and Latinos as people from four directions because most of us are a mixture of Indian, European, African and Asian. This mixture, however historically has generally been viewed by both Spaniards and indigenous people as contaminated blood. During the debate over the Columbus Quincentennial in 1992, left out of the discussion were the vast heirs--or rather--the product of the conquest of the Americas, the mestizos. We concluded then that the Americas will heal its racial wounds when mestizos not only stopped hating Indians, but stopped hating themselves. Part of the healing requires that we all start to view mestizos as one group, with multiple identities, cultures and histories, albeit begotten of war and conquest. Perhaps a better term for mestizos is bridge people who, because of their unique experience of coming to terms with the conflict that created their culture, can be bridges over the walls of prejudice. On the tree of humanity, there are many leaves and flowers, but to paraphrase Cuban patriot Jose Marti, our trunk will always be indigenous. ============ Indians and Mestizos in the Americas lfonso Perez Espindola Tenoch, a holy man of the Lakota nation spiritual tradition who lives in Laredo, Texas, languishes in a Mexican jail. His "crime" was having helped lead a "Peace and Dignity" prayer run across the Americas in 1992. On Oct. 11th of that year, thousands of runners from hundreds of Indian nations from North and South America met in the ancient pyramid city of Teotihuacan Mexico to promote indigenous consciousness. They denounced 500 years of abuses against the indigenous (otherwise known as Indian) peoples of the Americas. A year later, Perez was arrested in Michoacan, Mexico, for possessing peyote that he was taking to ceremonies with Huichol Indians. He was accused of possessing and trafficking drugs authorized only for use in religious ceremonies by Native Americans. The government ceded that indigenous people have the right to perform peyote ceremonies, but determined that the Mexican-born Perez was not "indigenous", and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Many governments define "Indians" as people who live in native communities and speak only a native tongue. When an Indian moves to a city and learns Spanish or another language, he or she is no longer considered "indigenous", but "mestizo." Government sources estimate that there are 40 million Indians in North and South America. Non-governmental sources put the figure at closer to 100 million. The discrepancy in numbers is attributed to the large amount of "mestizos," or racially mixed people, who consider themselves or can be considered Indian, yet are not recognized as such by their governments. While human rights groups throughout the Americas call for Perez's release, the issue of who is and who isn't "Indian" remains a familiar topic to Chicanos and other Latinos. Tupac Enrique, a Chicano from Phoenix, who is part of an international alliance fighting for Perez's release, says that governments can determine who is a citizen, but cannot determine people's identities. Enrique, who is of the Mexica spiritual tradition, says that people around the world determine identity differently from Western governments. For many he says, "It's not racial. We, not government, have been keeping indigenous identity alive for 500 years." Most Chicanos and Latinos are at least part Native American and descend from such nations as Mexica, Nahua, Chichimeca, Tarahumara, Pueblo, Kikapu, Tarascan, Tlaxcalan, Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya, Quechua, Mapuche or any one of hundreds of other Indian peoples. Many of our own friends can trace their ancestry. Jose Barreiro, born in Cuba and editor of the Native American journal "Akwe:kon Press" at Cornell University, is Guajiro. Although Cuba and other Caribbean governments claim that there are no Indians in their countries, Barreiro says they do in fact live in the countryside, where Taino traditions are upheld by Guajiros -- the rural population. Vivian Lopez, a counselor in Las Cruces, NM, who is originally from Tucson, is both Yaqui and Apache, and considers herself Chicana. "To be Chicana is be indigenous," she says, adding that she was raised among people who, as a form of cultural resistance, took pride in not being registered as Indians with the government. "I don't need to be on a Federal (Bureau of Indian Affairs) list to know who I am." And El Paso, Texas-born Arturo Flores, a high-school vice principal in Washington, D.C., is Huichol. His sense of identity was not forged simply by his physical features, but by ancient traditions which his family has upheld "I've been nurtured by the same food my ancestors were nurtured by for thousands of years." Like us, other friends can trace some, but not all of their ancestry. The reason, in part, is the role the Catholic church and missions played during the colonial era in "reducing," or culturally obliterating the Indian. The objective was to create a "Christian," and that meant to spiritually and culturally stamp out the Indian. One result was that Indians and mestizos developed a hatred towards all things Indian-- thus a hatred of themselves, which led to a denial of their ancestry. In this atmosphere, "Hispanicized Indians" became "mestizos" and mestizos became "Spanish." If you could claim one drop of European blood, you did. To this day, many Latinos or Hispanics claim they are "pure" white. Many Latino college students, aware of their history, have long identified with their indigenous roots. Chicano students at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, for example, recently staged a hunger strike. They demanded that the university eliminate the "Hispanic" classification. The term, they maintain, is a negation of their indigenous ancestry. As Barreiro says, "Every mestizo is one less Indian -- or one more Indian waiting to reemerge." ======================== "La Migra" Charts a New Trail of Tears "You're late. The rooster crowed all morning. I knew you were coming." Trini, a curandera, or healer, opens the screen door to her old farm. She lives not far from Hillsboro, Texas, where around 1919, a black man was burned at the stake by a mob. We met Trini a few years ago, while driving down a country road that's no more than a scratch in the earth. A handwritten sign that read "TAMALES" caught our eye. And that's how we ended up talking about the message of the rooster's crow, finding miracles in candles and, of course, her famous tamales. Trini's tamales have been known to attract people from as far away as Dallas to these black lands where sweet corn grows tall. "Tierra caliente, ," Mexicans call it--or "hot earth." Ever since she was a child she's also had the gift for divining. She once found Spanish gold buried under a stick. These days, white farmers sometimes ask her to show them where gold is buried on their land. They say they've seen lights dancing on the earth at night--a sign of buried treasure. But Trini refuses--for reasons rooted deep in American history- -"because of what the white man did to the black man, and for taking the land from Mexico." Trini's people have been here since before there were six flags flying over Texas. Her grandparents were Cherokee and Mexican Indians who liked to eat on the floor and asked to be buried in a mountain when they died-- the Indian way. Trini's skin is as brown and red as the earth. She looks like she's always been here. And at age 72, she can't remember a time when her relatives weren't here. Though she was born in these parts, she doesn't speak English well, and cannot read nor write. In other words, Trini would be a prime suspect for la migra--border patrol agents who constantly search for "illegal aliens"--even hundreds of miles from any border. If Congress has its way and adopts a national ID card for everyone, it is people like Trini who will be constantly asked to produce it. In a great irony of U.S. history, the true natives of this land have become the immigrants. People who can trace their ancestry back the farthest are stopped and questioned because "they look Hispanic"--meaning they look Indian. Canadian or European immigrants, though, are not hunted down by la migra in this way. To us, then, our nation's immigration policy is simply a continuation of the Indian removal policy of the 1800s, when Indians were removed from their lands and forced into Indian Territory. During that era, Native Americans were forced to walk the Trail of Tears--some 600 miles without food or shelter--to Oklahoma, which became a deportation center, according to Antonio Bustamante, an historian at the University of Arizona. Many fell along the way. As Bustamante says, "There were many trails of tears for each group that was removed." Today another trail of tears exists. People indigenous to the Americas are being removed again--through deportation. Mexicans and Central Americans going north to the United States die in boxcars, car trunks, crawl across mountains, and trust the rivers and deserts with their lives. They must risk this hazardous journey because U. S. laws have made it a crime for them to work here, and have branded them as criminals not worthy of human rights--in a land that was formerly theirs. And a man can still go free for shooting a Mexican in the back--as U.S. Border Patrol Officer Michael Elmer did in 1994, after killing an immigrant and then burying his body in the desert. In indigenous culture, migration is part of a people's evolution and spiritual journey. Certain places are deemed sacred because a people once passed through there. In ancient picture books that show the founding of Mexico, migration was depicted symbolically as footprints leaving seven caves, an area which many believe to be the present-day Southwest. Some Mexican Americans feel they are hated by "gringos" because their Indian faces are reminders that they once owned the land--that they were dispossessed and made illegitimate by an unjust war. Like Trini, Mexicans and Central Americans are not immigrants. They have the land written on their face, the age of the land etched in the deep color of their skin. And the Hopi of the Southwest say, they are just following their right to return home. And they still leave footprints in the desert. --------- "RE: Local Tribe turns down Federal Acknowledgment" --------- Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2005 08:36:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CRIC" http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/050208/tribe.shtml_ Local tribe turns down federal acknowledgment By Clyde L. Stancil DAILY Staff Writer cstancil@decaturdaily.com 340-2443 MOULTON - It's not that the Alabama Department of Revenue doesn't want a group of American Indians in Lawrence County to be exempt from sales taxes. It's just that the government lawyers want them to do it the right way. Cherokee River Indian Community officials must either become a federally recognized tribe or put some of their land in federal trust. "If they will do that, then we will recognize the property as an Indian reservation (for onsite purchases and deliveries)," said J. Wade Hope, assistant counsel and assistant attorney general with the Revenue Department. So far, they haven't done that, and CRIC leaders do not have any plans to place their land under the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It is mainly because the agency has a history of mismanaging funds, said CRIC Vice Chairman Steve Bison. Hope also wants county Circuit Judge Philip Reich to throw out an appeal for sales-tax exemption that CRIC made late last year. He also asked Reich to throw out the claim because CRIC made the same mistake as other groups by filing its appeal with the wrong office. He said the mistake resulted in those groups losing their appeals. It means that CRIC could lose its appeal on a technicality, if Reich sides with the Revenue Department. The department has twice denied CRIC the exemption, once through regular channels and once by an administrative law judge. Reich entered a default motion on CRIC's behalf in December, after the Revenue Department failed to appear in Moulton. He, however, gave the agency time to respond, which resulted in today's hearing. Hope said the agency was never notified because CRIC sent the appeal notice to the wrong office. Reich took the Revenue Department's request under advisement. Bison, whom THE DAILY talked to via telephone, was out of town to attend a funeral and could not attend the hearing. Reich wants him to call the Revenue Department's attorney when he returns. Without federal distinction, Hope said, CRIC's request is akin to a homeowners association asking for the exemption. But CRIC Ambassador Klieta Bagwell said the Revenue Department is still treating the tribe differently because they are Indians. "Like we're some sort of different people," she said. Bison said the Mowa Choctaw Indians, whose reservation borders Monroe and Washington counties, have a sales-tax exemption and are not federally recognized nor do they have land in federal trust. "At this point it's a case of equal protection under the law," Bison said. "How can one (group) be favored over the other?" Copyright c. 2005 The Decatur Daily. --------- "RE: Muckleshoot Tribe trying to save Language" --------- Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2005 08:36:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MUCKLESHOOT TRY TO SAVE WHULSHOOTSEED" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com//2002173798_muckleshoot08m.html Last few Whulshootseed speakers spread the word By Erik Lacitis Seattle Times staff reporter February 8, 2005 AUBURN - At age 81, she is a cultural treasure at the Muckleshoot Reservation, even though she doesn't act like one and her outward demeanor can sometimes seem a little gruff. Ellen Williams is the last person alive here fluent in the tribal language, the last one who can fully understand and speak a language that, with its clicking and consonants with popping sounds, is so vastly different from English. Throughout the 26 federally recognized tribes in this state that scenario is being repeated, with elders who are fluent dwindling to a handful in each tribe. When she recently visited the Muckleshoot Tribal College's native- language classroom, Williams was tearfully presented with a school T-shirt by Donna Starr, one of its two language instructors. Starr became tearful because she feels so strongly about preserving the language, Whulshootseed, which she teaches to high-schoolers four days a week. Starr learned the language from her mother and then took classes in the language, rating her fluency as intermediate. But she has Williams to ask for correct pronunciations and meanings. It's not an easy language to learn. It was only oral, not written, until it was laboriously recorded in the 1960s and 1970s using international phonetic symbols. The original work was led by Thom Hess, a now-retired linguistics professor at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. Williams was one of the 15 or so elder Native Americans in the project. She is a Snoqualmie but has lived with the Muckleshoots since her parents moved to Auburn in 1945. Hess and two others are the authors of the Lushootseed dictionary that covers the Native American language that was spoken from Olympia to the Skagit River Valley. Whulshootseed is one of its varieties. One of the motivations for Hess to spend years compiling the dictionary was his belief that a people's culture cannot endure without its language. "It's theoretically possible, but I can't think of an instance," he said. "The language is the best mirror of the culture. Each of our words encapsulates our view of the world." For example, regional tribes had more than a dozen words for salmon and trout. "Salmon were so very important to their way of life," said Hess. "They would refer to the different species, sex, degree of maturity, times of the year they returned, whether they came back on schedule or out of schedule." Language classes At the tribal college, eight to 12 high-schoolers from the Virginia Cross Native Education Center show up for the language classes. In tribes around the state, it is with such youths that there is hope for keeping the language alive. Often tribal leaders themselves cannot speak the native tongue. For the Muckleshoots, Willard Bill Sr. is the tribal historian, but he cannot speak the language. "My mother really understood the language, but then she went to boarding school, and, of course, the Indian language was not allowed. That's when the cycle was broken," he said. From the 1870s until the 1930s, many Native American children were taken from their families and placed in federal boarding schools, had their hair cut, and were punished for speaking their native tongue. Bill takes solace in hearing small success stories about preserving the language. He had heard that some kids were using it to talk on the playground, he said. "Day-to-day conversation. That's really a breakthrough." Starr is a very patient teacher. "They aren't used to making all these sounds together," she said of her students. "Nobody's ears have heard the language. We're waking it up, and waking it up carefully." Faith Minthorn, 19, one of the students at the language class, is a registered Yakama, but her family background includes the Muckleshoots. Recently, Minthorn said, she was using Whulshootseed words with her 2- year-old nephew, "little words, like, 'animals' and 'sit down,' 'stand up. ' " That's how she practices her language skills, she said. "I enjoy being part of bringing our culture back to life." During the class, Starr held up pictures with the tribal words under them: shoes, light, coyote, potato. "Remember, you make a kind of spitting sound," Starr said of one pronunciation, "You really have to spit that 'c' out." An evolution The language has had to evolve over the decades, even when there were many fluent speakers. "Refrigerator" is translated as "by means of making things cold." "Stove" is translated as "making things with fire." There were about 20 distinct tribal languages in this state at the time white settlers arrived, with each village having its own dialect, said Hess. Now, he said, there are 15 languages left. In 2003, the state's Board of Education began a three-year pilot program awarding a First Peoples teacher certification for individuals fluent in a native language. So far, 13 certificates have been awarded. But it's a daunting task, even for the large Yakama Nation. Mavis Kindness, language program manager, estimated there might be 100 elders left out of the 9,700 tribal members who can understand and speak the native tongue. "I am fluent for this time and age," Kindness said. "As far as ancient words, there are some that I don't understand or can even pronounce. They've become nonexistent in our daily conversation. Like preparing hand- tanned hides or gathering roots. The same thing with livestock, especially horses. Not too many tribal people own horses." And the high-schoolers, especially those attending public, not tribal schools, "are not crazy about learning the 'old ways,' as they call it," said Kindness. In the end, it comes down to priorities. The Muckleshoots, for example, are doing well financially because of income from their casino. Money has been spent on a child-care center, the tribal college, help for seniors and health care. In the midst of all that is Williams, having lunch each day at the tribe's Senior Center. "A long time ago, everybody talked Indian," she said. "After I'm gone, I don't know. My kids don't even talk Indian." Her friend Donna Starr politely disagreed. "I have hope for the kids," she said. "One of the parents saw me and they were laughing. Her daughter that takes my class asked her dad for money, but he didn't know what she was saying. She was talking Whulshootseed." Erik Lacitis: 206-464-2237 or elacitis@seattletimes.com Copyright c. 2005 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Remarks only Part of Controversy" --------- Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2005 08:22:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: WARD CHURCHILL" http://www.missoulian.com//2005/02/07/jodirave/rave64.txt Professor's remarks only part of controversy By JODI RAVE Lee Enterprises February 4, 2005 When Ward Churchill wrote a post-Sept. 11 "stream of consciousness" essay, it slipped into relative obscurity. Dusted off three years later, it has catapulted him to prime-time TV, prompted death threats and spawned protests from New York to Colorado. Churchill, a professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder, captured the national attention after his essay "Some People Push Back" was boiled down and translated to read: Sept. 11 victims deserved to die because they were the equivalent of Nazi henchmen. The professor said his comments were taken out of context. "I am not a defender of the Sept. 11 attacks, but simply pointing out that if U.S. foreign policy results in massive death and destruction abroad, we cannot feign innocence when some of that destruction is returned ... such attacks are a natural and unavoidable consequence of unlawful U.S. policy," Churchill said in a recent statement. That statement rings with truth, but Churchill's 5,600-word essay wasn't as kind. It contained smatterings of phrases that lit fuses, like his sentence that compared World Trade Center victims to "little Eichmanns inhabiting the sterile sanctuary of the twin towers." Churchill only captured recent attention after being invited to speak at Hamilton College in New York. The event was cancelled after university officials and Churchill received death threats. But that was only the first wave. Back home, Colorado's Gov. Bill Owens called for the tenured professor's firing. Although Churchill remains at CU, he did resign Tuesday as director of the university's Ethnic Studies Department. The state's board of regents issued an apology Friday over the professor's "disgraceful comments." Now the university is investigating a cause for dismissal. So far, Churchill stands strong on his right to free speech. But the bigger problem he faces is a question of identity. He's built an academic career writing about indigenous peoples. He often layers his academic discourse with anti-colonial sentiment, frequently comparing the Jewish Holocaust to the genocide of Native peoples. Churchill was originally scheduled to speak at Hamilton College on indigenous issues. He's typically described as an expert in the field, and his credentials have been built to represent the authenticity of a Native man. He's known as an American Indian activist, and has been a leader of the Colorado chapter of the American Indian Movement. His resume also includes a stint as director of CU's Indian Studies Department. He's tried to reinforce his Native-credibility factor by claiming tribal membership with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee. He recently told the Denver Post he's 3/16 Cherokee. But his story was different when I interviewed him as a CU journalism student. At the time, he said he was 1/16 Creek and Cherokee. When my story - which questioned his identity - was published November 1993 in the Colorado Daily, he was not enrolled with a tribe. In the past, he's denounced tribal enrollment practices, although he's actively sought enrollment. In May 1994, he was granted an "associate membership," or honorary status, with the Keetoowah. He would have had to show proof of having a 4/16 blood quantum to be granted full membership. By July that year, the tribal council stopped issuing associate memberships. Meanwhile, the tribe's honorary enrollment number has become his calling card. Several years ago, he showed up in the Lincoln Journal Star newsroom, where I worked. He was angry about a column in which I denounced his panel appearance at the University of Nebraska. He wanted a retraction. He flashed his honorary enrollment number to one of my editors. It wasn't worth a retraction. My column never mentioned an enrollment number. Blacks, whites, Asians or Hispanics can write about Native peoples, and they can do so with credibility and authority. The problem is Churchill wants us to believe him because he's Native. And unfortunately, he's now often sought on the national and international lecture circuit as an authentic representative of the Native perspective. In the case of his Sept. 11 essay, he would be hard pressed to find Native people who support his Nazi references. We all have a right to free speech. Some people, however, are better at conveying their message than others. And as Churchill wages a battle to defend his essay, CU officials ought to be prepared to launch a defense of their own. Several news articles have exposed Churchill's questionable identity. If free speech keeps him employed at CU, that's OK. The bigger issue confronting the academy rests with faculty credibility. Will they continue to be the front institution for a faux-Native professor? -- Jodi Rave covers Native issues for Lee Enterprises. She can be reached at (800) 366-7186 or jodi.rave@missoulian.com. Copyright c. 2005 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Iron Horse hasn't run course" --------- Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 08:42:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: IRON HORSE" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/opinion/10882871.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Iron Horse hasn't run course February 12, 2005 It is not just with nostalgia that I argue: Don't pull the life support for the "Iron Horse." Amtrak provides a needed, albeit a lesser known, transportation service for the nation, and it is especially important for rural communities. Those who believe train service has to go say choices have to be made because our deficit budget demands it. Some things will have to drop off the list, and Amtrak, perhaps, has run it course. Which is why President Bush has provided zero funding in his budget for Amtrack and train travel. There are far more important things needing funding, they say. Perhaps, they are right, but there are things to be said for the ol' Iron Horse and trains, too. I took my first ride on the train 50 years ago. I rode with my grandmother from Minot to Fargo to visit my aunt. It was a short ride, but my grandmother brought along a basket of food and snacks, a Hudson Bay blanket and a big purse that contained other emergency items. I remember how loud the clickety-clack of the train on the tracks sounded, but it was comfortable. The clickety-clack changed since that time to some air-floating system. It hasn't disappeared altogether, but certainly the track sounds are not as loud as they used to be. When I was assigned to cover the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington in August, I decided to try Amtrak -- the second time in 50 years. It definitely has an advantage over the crowded regular seats of an airline. Not only are the seats in the nonfirst class section of a train huge and comfortable, but they have leg and foot rests, and the seats recline to almost bed comfort. The train was late. That is common with trains, I found. I waited a couple of hours until about 2 a.m. Yes, the train arrives in Grand Forks in the wee hours of the morning. I fell asleep almost immediately after I climbed into my seat that night. I woke as the dawn began to bring light into the car. At first glance, I thought we were rounding some lake but as it turned out, we were following the Mississippi River. We followed it for some time -- at times getting so close to the edge I wondered how the banks held these monstrous cars. We chased the river for miles like a dog after a truck's exhaust pipe. Sometimes, the train was going too fast to get a good look at what was happening on the roadside, but generally, I was able to see the countryside -- something that doesn't happen on an airplane. You can walk up and down the aisles and move from car to car. I visited the snack bar two cars over and one level down. They have cars that are for viewing the countryside with big comfortable seats and wide windows. I say big comfortable chairs often because that is one of the differences in trains and planes. The first-class area has beds and even rooms where you can spend time with just you and your family. They have bathrooms including showers. A meal in the diner car is included. The meals certainly are not airplane food. They have a chef. I had a steak dinner that was excellent. I also ate sandwiches from the snack bar that were as good as any snack bar. They serve alcoholic drinks, too. In that extended time, it is easy to meet new people. On my ride, there was a group of people who regularly ride the rails. They do it because they can see the country and meet people at a very reasonable cost. Trains rarely are stopped by bad weather since they don't have to see the road in the snowstorm, and snowdrifts don't seem to slow them, I was told. Sometimes, flooding will take out a track, but then it takes our roads, too. When compared with airlines, a train ride is cheap. I think Amtrak could spend some quality time organizing its system a little better. Perhaps, that would cut down on the late arrivals, although late arrival and takeoffs aren't unheard of for airlines, either. Amtrak doesn't seem to do much advertising or promotion. There are no rails south from Grand Forks. The tracks mainly are around the periphery of the nation. Railroad rides from big cities such as New York, Boston and Washington are common and don't have a problem getting paying customers. I know there are times when it is important to reach your destination in record time -- so take an airline. But if you have time to travel, try a train. You might like it. Dorreen Yellow Bird's column appears Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2005 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: Gerald Yellow Hawk seeks to honor Indian Women" --------- Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 08:42:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="POSTER FEATURES TRADITIONAL WOMAN DANCER" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/02/14/news/local/news03.txt Artist Gerald Yellow Hawk seeks to honor Indian women By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer February 14, 2005 He calls it "Honoring the Third Circle." Using acrylics, colored pens and pencils, Gerald Yellow Hawk created a woman in a beaded traditional dress, a burgundy shawl on her left arm, an eagle-wing fan in her right hand. She faces two flags, one representative of the Lakota nation and the other of the United States. Yellow Hawk, 68, has captured a woman's undulating dance to the beat of the drum, the fringe of her dress and shawl swinging in time to an unheard song. In the Lakota way, children were at the center of the circle, Yellow Hawk said. The elders surround them. The women encircled all of the children and elders. "It's an honoring of women that I've wanted to portray most of all," he said. It struck a chord with people who attended the gallery showing of fine arts at the 2004 Black Hills Pow Wow, winning the People's Choice Award and the honor of being featured in this year's poster. Before committee members and volunteers, Yellow Hawk's "Honoring the Third Circle" was recently unveiled as the 2005 Black Hills Pow Wow poster. Organizers have scheduled the 19th annual powwow Oct. 7-9 at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Although it isn't an official theme of the powwow, recognition of women in Lakota culture has been represented in its new poster and princess' crown. Morning Star Zephier said that elements of the Miss He Sapa Wacipi crown represent Mother Earth and honor White Buffalo Calf Woman, who delivered the sacred pipe to the Lakota people. Zephier's father, Mitchell Zephier of Rapid City, designed the crown for a woman of good standing to wear it with honor and respect. "He mentioned that this is the time of the woman. I think it's a wonderful time for women, because they uplift our people," she said. Wayne Weston, fine-arts coordinator, was particularly moved by the painting and its meaning. "I've always wanted to do something special for women," he said. Weston said in his family is the story of a great-great-grandmother, who was berry picking with her grandchildren when a bear stumbled upon them and attacked. "She defended her grandchildren. She pulled out her knife, fought with the bear and eventually killed it," Weston said. Copyright c. 2005 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Gonzaga Indian Education Outreach Program" --------- Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2005 08:42:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY" http://www.gonzagabulletin.com/~Gonzaga.Program-861749.shtml Native American tribes benefit from Gonzaga program Gonzaga Indian Education Outreach Program works to bring educational opportunities to reservations By Jake Vollebregt February 11, 2005 "You need to go to the reservation," Dr. Raymond Reyes told Dr. Robert Prusch of the Biology Department and three of his colleagues several years ago. The five professors piled into Reyes' van, and drove out to the Nespelem School on the Colville Reservation. They were struck by what they found. "The reservation is a very grim place," said Prusch. It's been five years since he made that first visit to the Colville Reservation - he's been back many times since - and now Prusch is the dean of the College. "The tribal culture faces many challenges including poverty, substance abuse, gangs and high dropout rates." That's why Prusch and Reyes started GIEOP - the Gonzaga Indian Education Outreach Program. "I'd like to transform the culture," Prusch says. Prusch describes a learning environment on the reservation that would make many students of inner-city schools squeamish. A typical class starts in September with 22 students. By graduation about nine remain, and about four will graduate from high school. "We have students [at Gonzaga] that go to Jonestown and other distant places to help people in poverty," Prusch said. "I can take them an hour north. It's a whole different culture, a completely different worldview on the reservation." While Prusch reflects on the many possibilities of improving life on the reservations, Reyes looks at ways Gonzaga can benefit from GIEOP. "I would like to see the ethnocentric worldview - applying our value system on what we see - turn into an ethnorelativity - one that is more willing to listen and not to judge," Reyes explained. "Being able to have 'multiple perspectives' is very relevant to Jesuit education." Both Prusch and Reyes want to change the culture on the reservations, and tribal leaders agree. "Today, tribal leaders see education as a solution to their development," Reyes said. Reyes is the associate academic vice president for diversity. "It's often been said among Jesuits, 'Education is the great equalizer.'" Copyright c. 2005 Gonzaga Bulletin, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA. --------- "RE: Holiday honoring Native Americans" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2005 08:25:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NA HOLIDAY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=5964 Congressman launches bid for holiday honoring Native Americans Baca says country should follow California's example WASHINGTON DC Native American Times February 9, 2005 A Southern California lawmaker has introduced legislation to create a paid legal federal holiday for Native Americans. California currently has a statewide holiday recognizing Native Americans, and in a news release, the congressman said the feds should follow suit. "This resolution would provide the recognition that Native Americans deserve for their contributions to the United States, as individuals and as a people," said Rep. Joe Baca (D-Rialto). "Native Americans are the original inhabitants of the land that now constitutes the United States. They have helped develop the fundamental principles of freedom of speech and separation of powers that form the foundation of the United States Government. They have served with valor in all of America's wars, beginning with the Revolutionary war and through Operation Iraqi Freedom." The resolution requests that President Bush issue a proclamation designating a paid legal public holiday as Native American's Day and encourages school to teach about Native American history and culture. "This holiday bill is more than just a day off work and school. It will require our schools to teach students about Native American culture and history," said Baca. "It will bring nationwide recognition of the contributions of Native Americans to the United States, which are too often overlooked. "This bill will also further demonstrate a strong united government-to- government relationship between each of the Native American Nations and the Federal Government. By working together, Native American tribes and the federal government can both achieve their goals." This is the latest in a serous of attempts to create a similar holiday. An organization called United Native America has circulated an online petition asking for the same things. "We the undersigned come together before you to request that each of these governing bodies take all necessary action to bring about a Federal Holiday for Native American Elected Leaders, To include Congressional hearings on the racial exclusion of Native Americans in movies, television, sports advertising, music companies, etc. With the special government to government relationship between the Indian Government of America and the Federal Government it is fitting for the Federal Government to enact this holiday, and conduct Congressional hearings," the petition states. "Indian governments and the people they represent are requesting that the federal government bring about a National Holiday for Native Americans to be celebrated by all citizens of America and people around the world. This holiday would pay tribute to Indian Tribal Leaders to include Alaskan Leaders and Hawaiian Leaders. This holiday would also pay tribute to those that endured the world's longest holocaust and most co stly in human lives." Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Call for Submissions: Indigenous Women's Writing" --------- Date: Monday, February 07, 2005 10:45 PM From: George Lessard [media@web.net] Subj: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Indigenous women's writing - spreading the word Mailing List: Please circulate widely. All responses should be sent to indigenouswomen@hotmail.com Thanks Christine _________________________________________________ WRITE!SUBMIT!CREATE!SUBMIT!WRITE! Calling all Indigenous women and girls. We are looking for your creative works for an exciting new anthology entitled Father Tongue (working title). Our fathers and grandfathers are often overlooked in much of the writing that exists in Indigenous communities. The reasons for that are too many to list here, which is why we need you to share with us your stories of fathers. We are accepting your poetry, fiction, non-fiction, essays, narratives, songs, cartoons and other creative endeavours. We are looking for work from Indigenous women and girls from North and South America, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and anywhere Indigenous women are found, because we do tend to pop up in the strangest places. Deadline July 28, 2005 Submission Guidelines Please send your submissions and queries to indigenouswomen@hotmail.com. Please send submissions in a Microsoft Word file attachment with your full contact information including your name, nation affiliation, address, and email address. The co-editors of this book project are two Indigenous women writers. Chrystos (Menominee) is a renowned lesbian poet from the north-western US. Nancy Cooper (Ojibway/Irish) is a poet/photographer from central Canada. --------- "RE: Rural Justice Panelist resigns in Protest" --------- Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 08:39:34 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="URBAN-RURAL COURT RIFT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.adn.com/front/story/6137585p-6019572c.html Rural Justice panelist resigns in protest URBAN-RURAL RIFT: Kotzebue's Ross Schaeffer objects to the addition of Don Mitchell. By JOEL GAY Anchorage Daily News February 9, 2005 The Alaska Rural Justice and Law Enforcement Commission, created to help heal the rift between rural and urban Alaskans, developed a major crack when one of its members quit in protest. Ross Schaeffer Sr. of Kotzebue resigned in late January after the rest of the nine-member commission agreed to seat Anchorage attorney Don Mitchell on an advisory working group, representing the Alaska Legislature. Schaeffer, the mayor of the Northwest Arctic Borough and a former president of NANA Regional Corp., called the appointment a slap in the face to the state's indigenous people. "Most of us Alaska Natives view Don Mitchell just like you (non-Natives) view the Ku Klux Klan," he said. "He's anti-Native, and most of us don't want to have anything to do with him." Mitchell has long been a lightning rod for his stance on Alaska tribes, which he says do not have the same status as tribes in the Lower 48. Though his argument has not prevailed in state and federal courts, he remains the leading theorist behind efforts to oppose tribal status and minimize tribal authority in Alaska, including by the Republican legislative majority. Mitchell would not comment on Schaeffer's resignation and remarks, referring questions to Legislative Council leaders, who keep him on retainer. Sen. Gene Therriault, R-Fairbanks, said he was surprised by the reaction, saying he has known Mitchell for several years and doesn't think he's anti-Native. "You would hope both sides could be debated robustly" without people taking offense, he said. "That kind of thing goes on in this building all the time." But the resignation demonstrates the lingering tension between Native sovereignty advocates and those who question the legal power of tribes in Alaska. Law enforcement and justice have been a sore point in rural Alaska for years. Many village residents believe they get second-class service compared with urban areas, with too few police officers and court magistrates to keep the peace. A 1999 suit challenging the state program as unconstitutional is pending before the Alaska Supreme Court. The state says it can't afford officers and a court in every village. As a result, many villages have revived traditional tribal courts to handle minor disputes and have tapped federal grants to hire tribal cops. Congress formed the commission last year to sort out the overlapping jurisdictions and gaps in service. But to help with the gargantuan task, four working groups were named in late January. Each has about a dozen members and focuses on a separate element of the commission's work. Mitchell's appointment came after the commission's co-chairmen, U.S. Attorney Tim Burgess and state Attorney General Gregg Renkes, invited the Legislature to send a representative. Senate President Ben Stevens, R- Anchorage, and House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, asked Mitchell, their long-time adviser on tribal status issues, to take the seat. In a letter, they reminded Mitchell that a majority of the Legislature "does not believe that Congress ... has created 'federally recognized Indian tribes' in Alaska whose governing bodies possess sovereign immunity and governmental authority." The letter says the Legislature supports the existence of tribes "for the singular purpose of ... receiving and administering grants." But it urges the commission and Congress to steer clear of limits on the state's jurisdiction and authority. The commissioners approved Mitchell's appointment Jan. 26. Schaeffer quit immediately afterward. "The issue for me is that the rest of the commissioners were more worried about the leadership of the Legislature than with Native people," he said later. "For me, the issue is our credibility with our Native people." Last year, Renkes published a legal opinion on th