_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 13, ISSUE 009 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 26, 2005 Hopi powamuya/purification moon Mvskogee hotvlee-hv'see/wind moon Eastern Cherokee nvda kola/bone moon Blackfeet saommitsiki'somm/decieving moon +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People s ch mA mL tL squee Lux -- Okanogan -- News from the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; NDNAIM & Frostys AmerIndian Mailing Lists; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "We have secrets yet to be discovered." "Don't forget yourself; don't forget your way of life." __ Joe Shirley Jr., Navajo Nation President +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! Some poignant observations for my special lady and wife, Janet... The first story in this week's issue about the new fence ordered by the BIA around Chemawa Indian School, especially a fence with razor wire, raised several alarm flags. First there was a gut reaction that the feds were creating even more of a prison enviroment for Native boarding schools than already existed. Second, there was the sad realization that this was yet another example of the current administration's focus on incarceration rather than education. Chemawa is, after all, the same school that was in the news only a brief time ago when one of its students died in an unsupervised "holding cell" that was no better than a solitary-confinement jail cell -- since the school lacked adequate facilities to deal appropriately with intoxicated students. So when given $63,000 to spend on something -- razor wire surrounding the school was the priority. Third, there was outrage at the utter arrogance of the BIA. Not only did it not consult school officials most likely to be aware of school needs about this project -- it did not even notify them until the razor wire was rolled off the truck. Oh, the feds say that the fence, eerily reminiscent of the enclosures surrounding the federal prisons, is actually there to restrict people from intruding onto school grounds -- not imprison the students housed within it. Wonder if that's the emotional reaction of a twelve year old child away from a rural tribal family for the first time in her life as she enters. A day after organized protests -- the 8-foot fence remains, but the razor wire is gone (see the second story in this issue). Still, we can't forget that the BIA spent tens of thousands of dollars for a fence that would have done a maximum security prison proud, and that was supposed to be temporary, if we believe the current departmental spin, when they should have been -- could have been -- allocating resources to meet Indian kids' educational needs. And they want us to trust them. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) wotanging@bellsouth.net P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30009, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------- - Students protest fence at Chemawa - MORGAN: Collective Cultural Guilt - Barbed Wire - Native American Sorority removed at Tribal School offers support - Wally World at it again - Olmecs called - DoI won't accept claims of Mother of Indian Civilizations Trust Mismanagement - Akwesasne to Kahnawake: - Judge blasts BIA Make your own Claim for delays in Recognition Case - Petition demands - Iraq Vets Natuashish Council must resign face worse conditions on Rez - Task Force to study - Native Americans back from Iraq Metis Rights defeated decry Cutback - Jurisdiction debate - Developer accused of persists despite Pact damaging Tribal Sites - New Mexico Supreme Court - American Indian activists takes on Jurisdiction oppose TVA Land Swap - Six Nations unites - Pawlenty talks of in taxation protest using Tribes to import Drugs - Two slain, - Editorial: three charged with Homicide Pawlenty's Drug Option turns Heads - Cibola Center goes after - Sacred status of Navajo Nation Inmates Black Hills discussed - County wants to restore - Order blocking Gas Tax on Tribal Police authority Reservations to stand - Vancouver Man - Tribe backs out of faces extradition to U.S. proposed Airplane Deal - Native Prisoner - Bills to require -- American Indian slot Local Tribal History be taught urged for parole board - Catawba tribe strives to - Rustywire: save Pottery Tradition Winter Boarding School Nite - GIAGO: Diabetes: - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days an Epidemic in Indian Country - Jack Miranda Poem: - YELLOW BIRD: Walking the Path of Death A question worth revisiting - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Students protest fence at Chemawa" --------- Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:16:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CONCERTINA WIRE ON A SCHOOL????" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2005/02/19/news/oregon/state01.txt Students protest fence at Chemawa February 18, 2005 SALEM (AP) - Chemawa Indian School students are protesting a federal decision to surround their school with an 8-foot-high fence topped with razor wire. "Chemawa means happy home," student Jeremy Cummings said. "It doesn't make a happy home with a fence around it." The Bureau of Indian Affairs ordered and paid for the $63,000 fence, which is intended to protect students at the federal boarding school from unwanted visitors, Supervisor Larry Byers said. But school board members who held their quarterly meeting on campus this week were shocked to see crews digging post holes near the school buildings. Federal officials apparently did not ask or inform the board about the fence. "They're not fencing the problems out. They're destroying the morale of the students by fencing them in," said board member David Harding, a tribal judge on the Coeur d'Alene reservation and a Turtle Mountain Chippewa. Fred Lane, a board member and Chemawa alumnus, said the school "deserves more money spent on education, not a $63,000 fence that does no good." Officials at BIA headquarters in Washington, D.C., were not immediately available to comment on Friday. Student leaders hastily gathered 250 signatures from their peers Wednesday night and presented them to the board Thursday, complaining about the fence. A parent committee also sent a similar letter to the board. The board, which acts only in an advisory capacity, unanimously approved a resolution protesting the fence. It will be sent to the BIA with the student and parent letters. Scott Arnoux, a Blackfeet from Browning, Mont., said the school already has a bad image in Salem. "They're going to think it's a disciplinary school," he said. "Like they are trying to keep animals in here from escaping." The fence is being constructed around the front of the school and dorm buildings. But Byers said the fence might be continued around the rear of a new $12 million dorm that will be built this summer. He said he was given no say in the matter after he was told the fence is needed to protect the school from visitors to an adjoining Indian Health Service center. The clinic provides medical services to the students, but also to any American Indian people in the area. There is one entrance to the campus and visitors must pass the school to reach the clinic. Harding noted that the fence also partitions the school and dorms from the athletic fields and a sweat lodge. Copyright c. 2005 Albany Democrat-Herald, Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Barbed Wire removed at Tribal School" --------- Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:16:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA TAKES WIRE DOWN AFTER OUTRAGE" http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/10944858.htm?1c Barbed wire removed at tribal school The Associated Press February 20, 2005 PORTLAND, Ore. - Barbed wire has been removed from the top of an 8-foot- high fence being built around an American Indian school after protests by students and tribal members. They said it felt like an attempt "to keep the animals from escaping." The fence, which construction crews began setting up last week, was ordered by the federal government to improve campus safety and define the grounds at the Chemawa Indian School, a boarding school that serves tribes across the country. Larry Byers, the school supervisor, said he was not told about the barbed wire before the crews arrived. It was removed Friday before weekend celebrations of the school's 125th anniversary. Nedra Darling, a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokeswoman in Washington, said the barbed wire originally was meant to be temporary. After construction on the fence began, student leaders hastily gathered 250 signatures Wednesday night and presented them to the school advisory board Thursday. The board unanimously approved a resolution protesting the fence. "They're not fencing the problems out. They're destroying the morale of the students by fencing them in," said board member David Harding, a tribal judge on the Coeur d'Alene reservation in Idaho and a Turtle Mountain Chippewa. Scott Arnoux, a Blackfoot tribe member from Browning, Mont., told the Statesman Journal of Salem that the fence sends the wrong message to students. "They're going to think it's a disciplinary school," Arnoux said. Copyright c. 2005 Kansas City Star. --------- "RE: Wally World at it again" --------- Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 16:43:15 EST From: Dinehwolf@aol.com Subj: Wally World at it again Mailing List: NDNAIM This month Walmart is commemorating Black History month by honoring the Buffalo Soldiers who, as we know, did the dirty work for the White guys by murdering Indians in more than 200 massacres. I am asking all of you to pass the word to everyone you know to call 1-800-WALMART and tell them to pull this offensive ad they are televising in their stores. It's an ad for a program that commemorates the Buffalo Soldiers and in it a Black guy even talks about how they were tough like the buffalo whom the enemy revered, with the enemy being the Indians they slaughtered. Basically, they're just setting off one race against another with faulty history. So get the word out. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Attn: Customer Service 702 S.W. 8th Street Bentonville, AR 72716 1-800-925-6278 Wal-Mart Stores www.walmartstores.com/wmstore/wmstores/Container.jsp?template=OnlineForm.jsp --------- "RE: DoI won't accept claims of Trust Mismanagement" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:25:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DoI DENIAL COMPLEX" http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/006583.asp Bush official won't accept claims of trust mismanagement February 17, 2005 More than four years after taking over the White House, the Bush administration still has no proposal to resolve the Indian trust debacle, a senior official said on Wednesday. Interior Department officials have repeatedly said trust reform is one of their top priorities. But associate deputy secretary Jim Cason testified that the administration doesn't have a plan to settle the Cobell v. Norton trust fund lawsuit and doesn't know whether a costly accounting that is taking funds away from other Indian programs will be successful. "We haven't determined a specific solution to this," Cason told the House Resources Committee. Cason also cast doubt on Interior's claims of progress in meeting its fiduciary obligations to Individual Indian Money (IIM) account holders. The department has spent $2.9 billion in the last decade to develop computer systems, improve information technology and reorganize the Bureau of Indian Affairs and expand the Office of Special Trustee "We've been at this for nine years," Cason testified. "Indian beneficiaries still don't have anything different than they did nine years ago," he said, referring to period statements they receive in the mail. Still, Cason dismissed allegations of trust fund mismanagement as merely Indian lore handed down from generation to generation. "We don't know that it's ever been a huge mismanagement," he said. And he adamantly refuted the notion that 500,000 IIM beneficiaries are owed billions for the handling of their funds. He said the department's ongoing accounting of the trust hasn't uncovered any major errors. He only mentioned in passing that the project so far has mostly tackled judgment and per capita accounts and not the oil, gas, grazing, timber and leasing accounts at issue in the Cobell case. "The errors we have found are few and infrequent," Cason argued. A settlement of Cobell would be "in the relatively low millions," he added, reiterating a statement he made before the committee in July 2003. Members of the committee, led by Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California), said they were frustrated with the slow pace of trust reform and the acrimonious litigation still underway in court. "It's embarrassing that the first Americans are the last in line when it comes to speedy justice," Pombo said. Democrats and Republicans alike questioned the high cost of the initiative and whether it would resolve any of the issues of the Cobell case or of the larger trust reform debate. "This money does not belong to the American taxpayers," said Rep. Eni Faleomavaega (D-American Samoa). "It belongs to the American Indians." Pombo discouraged members from trying to "negotiate" a settlement to Cobell during the hearing. Keith Harper, a Native American Rights Fund attorney handling the case, said the plaintiffs proposed a specific number to the administration but wouldn't disclose it, citing confidentiality pledges. Harper, however, said Interior never responded to the plaintiffs' proposals to resolve information technology, accounting and reform issues. He said a model was proposed to replace the administration's $335 million project that is estimated to take a total of five years. "We don't believe that an accounting is possible," Harper told the lawmakers. "Spending a dime is a waste of a dime." Harper also said the plaintiffs are still participating in the mediation process that was set up by the House Resources Committee and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. The talks began last spring but have not produced a substantive resolution. Despite Cason's rejection of a billion-dollar settlement, the mediators at one time reported that the administration could provide "upwards of $10-15 billion" to settle the accounting and other aspects raised by the government, according to Harper's written testimony. Pombo hopes the committee can develop a legislative solution to the case, which Harper said the plaintiffs would support as long as its fair and respects the principles of trust law. Cason said that "any other options" are on the table. "I think this is the place where the problem needs to be solved," he said. Over at the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, new chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) said yesterday that "we intend to give this Cobell issue a stab." "If it doesn't work out, we'll move on." "The Cobell issue impacts everything else that you do," he told Cason, who appeared before the committee to testify on the fiscal year 2006 budget, "We have got to get this resolved," he said. Copyright c. 2000-2005 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Judge blasts BIA for delays in Recognition Case" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 08:55:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MASHPEE WAMPANOAG" http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/006536.asp Judge blasts BIA for delays in recognition case February 15, 2005 A federal judge accused the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Monday of mismanaging the federal recognition process but said his options for bringing the agency in line were limited. At a lengthy hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge James Robertson questioned why the BIA's Office of Federal Acknowledgment is taking so long to rule on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's petition for recognition. The Massachusetts tribe has been on the "ready" list for consideration for nine years, having filed its initial application in 1975. "The people involved in making the decisions at the BIA have completely lost track of the whole concept of deadlines," Robertson said. Silvia Sepulveda-Hambor, a Department of Justice lawyer who is representing the BIA, tried to show that progress has been made. She said the agency is implementing a strategic plan to streamline the process and that the Mashpees are now second in line for review. "That's exciting," Robertson responded. "Stand back." Robert E. Jordan, an attorney for the tribe, painted a picture of indifference at the BIA that has caused harm to the health and well-being of tribal members, more than two dozen of whom attended yesterday's hearing. "A lot of the people in the tribe are no longer with us," he told the court. "A lot of the people here," he added, "are old and sick." He said the BIA's failure to make a decision has hurt the tribe's attempts to repatriate ancestors and artifacts, develop affordable housing and ensure children stay within the tribe in adoption and child welfare cases. Jordan said the "mindset" of the OFA staff leads them to ignore the BIA's regulations that call for decisions to be made in a timely fashion. "They don't even think of it as a deadline," he said. "They see it as a minimum." Throughout the proceeding, Robertson was sympathetic to the tribe's cause. When Sepulveda-Hambor said the harms posed to tribal members were "speculative" he suggested the court hold an evidentiary hearing. "Are you really going to dispute that?" he asked. "If we have that hearing, we are going to let it all hang out," he added. But Robertson discarded the notion of blowing the case into the open in light of a ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on the matter. In a unanimous August 2003 decision, the court blocked Robertson from imposing a timeline on the BIA that would require the agency to finalize the Mashpee petition ahead of others in the "ready" list. Sepulveda-Hambor repeatedly hammered on this point, saying the regulations provide no strict deadlines on the process. "There is no statutory for this court to interpret," she argued. "There is no statutory framework. That is extremely, extremely important." But when she suggested that the court must defer to the BIA's expertise, Robertson was not pleased. "I don't think I have to defer to the management expertise of the BIA," he said. "As far as I can tell, there is no management expertise there." Sepulveda-Hambor said the already bogged-down process would become even more unwieldy if the court intervenes. "It would be replaced by a very ad- hoc system," she told the judge. "It would be the petitioner that has financing that gets moved." Robertson agreed the D.C. Circuit's decision made it clear that any decision "that vaulted the Mashpee over any other tribe [in the list] would be quite difficult to sustain." "But the court of appeals did not foreclose unreasonable delay," he added, "and what we do about it." Robertson speculated that he could order the BIA to finalize a decision on the Mashpee by a certain date without upsetting the others ahead in the list. "If it means the cases ahead of it move faster, then that's what it means," he said. Robertson ordered the BIA to provide an update on the federal recognition workload within 10 days. He didn't know when he would make a decision but said, "I don't think it will take me nine years" to do it. The Mashpee Tribe would benefit under H.R.512, a bill to force the BIA to decide on a handful of pending recognition petitions. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California), the chairman of the House Resources Committee, sponsored the bill, and held a hearing on it last week. "I don't care how busy the [Interior] Department is," he said after a BIA official objected to the bill. "At some point over the last 20 or 30 years, there should have been enough time to move forward on these." Massachusetts currently has just one federally-recognized tribe, the Aquinnah of Gay Head. The Mashpees are recognized by the state. Copyright c. 2000-2004 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Iraq Vets face worse conditions on Rez" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:40:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20050215/pl_usnw/~ After Rebuilding Iraq, American Indians Face Worse Conditions Back Home; Indian Housing Leader Testifies to Congress on Budget Cuts February 15, 2005 To: Assignment Desk and Daybook Editor Contact: Adam McMullin, 202-454-0931, Jane DeMarines, 202-454-0911 or jdemarines@naihc.net, Ross Bell, 202-789-1754, 800-284-9165 or 703-402-6384, all of the National American Indian Housing Council News Advisory: WHAT: More American Indians have proportionately served in the military than any other ethnic group, but does the government honor their commitment when they return? Two American Indian Veterans, who fought and helped rebuild Iraq (news - web sites), will discuss returning to the reservation and conditions like or worse than Iraq. National American Indian Housing Council chairman, Chester Carl, following testimony to Senate Indian Affairs Committee, will discuss budget cuts affecting Indian housing. When: Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2005, 11:45 a.m. (Immediately following hearing) Where: Russell Senate Office Building, Senate Indian Affairs Committee Hearing Room number 485 (Constitution Avenue between 1st and 2nd Streets, NW) Who: -- Gerald Dupris, Iraq War veteran, (3rd generation veteran), member of Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe -- Julius Tulley, Iraq War veteran, member of Navajo Nation -- Chester Carl, NAIHC Chairman and Navajo Housing Authority CEO -- Gary Gordon, NAIHC executive director In addition: Rep. Rick Renzi (news, bio, voting record) (R-Ariz.) will speak at Wyndham Hotel, 1400 M St. NW at 1 p.m. (lunch provided) Fast Facts: -- 12 percent of American Indians lack plumbing, compared with 1 percent of the general population. -- About 11 percent of Native families also lack kitchen facilities, compared with 1 percent of U.S. population. -- Nearly 15 percent of Native families live in overcrowded conditions, compared with less than 6 percent of the general U.S. population. (Data is from U.S. Census) The Senate hearing will be broadcast live on the internet at http://indian.senate.gov. ------ NAIHC assists tribes and tribal housing entities in reaching their goals of providing culturally relevant, decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing for Native people in Indian communities and Alaska Native villages. http://www.usnewswire.com/ Copyright c. 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770. --------- "RE: Native Americans back from Iraq decry Cutback" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:25:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VETS DECRY CUTBACK" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30683-2005Feb16.html?sub=AR Native Americans Back From Iraq Decry Cutback By Darryl Fears Washington Post Staff Writer February 17, 2005 Saying that conditions in Indian country are worse than conditions in Iraq, two Native American war veterans spoke out yesterday against the Bush administration's plan to cut millions of dollars from a fund that helps build houses on reservations. Former Army specialist Gerald Dupris, 22, described his mother's neighborhood inside the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte, S.D., as "a lot worse than what I left in the military in Iraq." Dupris said lawmakers reviewing the president's budget "should realize that a lot of Native veterans return home to worse than what they left. They should realize what we've done for this country, and give back to the Native reservation." Native Americans represent less than 1 percent of the population, yet they make up about 1.6 percent of the armed forces, according to Defense Department statistics. Pfc. Lori Piestewa, 23, a Hopi Indian who served with the 507th Maintenance Company in Iraq, was the first female U.S. soldier to die in combat. Between 2002 and 2004, the housing appropriations for Native Americans and Native Hawaiians hovered at about $650 million. But last year, budget cutters started chipping money away. In fiscal 2005, the administration asked for $647 million and Congress approved $25 million less than that. For fiscal 2006, President Bush has asked for $582 million, alarming Native American housing advocates. "The president's preaching fiscal responsibility, and in the same breath he's asking for $82 billion for Iraq," said Chester Carl, chief executive officer of the Navajo Housing Authority in Window Rock, Ariz. Indians "are over there sacrificing their lives to improve the lives of our enemy, yet they come back to conditions that are worse. There are no jobs, there's no housing." Carl is also chairman of the National American Indian Housing Council, which sponsored the news conference with Dupris and another Native American soldier, Staff Sgt. Julius Tulley. The Bush administration painted a more positive picture. During testimony yesterday before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Michael Liu, assistant secretary for public and Indian housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said: "Tribes are taking advantage of new opportunities to improve the housing conditions of the Native American families residing on Indian reservations." Liu acknowledged that the fiscal 2006 budget "is tight," but he said that it "also recognizes the low-income housing needs in Native American communities." The budget increases the budget authority for a loan- guarantee program, and HUD will work to leverage federal dollars with private investments for both rental housing and homeownership, Liu said. But that good news is not apparent on the ground, said Tulley, who served in Baghdad with a reserve engineering battalion. During his first days in Iraq, Tulley said other soldiers griped about living in tents, hauling drinking water, eating tasteless food rations and not being able to shower, watch television or access the Internet. But "it didn't take long" for Navajos to adapt to that life, said Tulley, 41, of Blue Gap, Ariz., the heart of Navajo country. "We were used to it. I thought, 'What are you complaining about?' . . . What they missed, it was nothing to us." Blue Gap is "where you see a lot of poverty," he said. "I'm not here to bash my commander in chief," Tulley said. "Nor am I here to speak out against the military. I'm here to say that I've gone to war. I put my life on the line. My brothers put their lives on the line. I want to say, 'Look, I've done my part. My family's done their part. Now I want something in return.' " Copyright c. 1996-2005 The Washington Post Company. --------- "RE: Developer accused of damaging Tribal Sites" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 08:55:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARCHAEOLOGICAL DEVASTATION" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/dailystar/61430.php State suit says developer bladed protected plants, ancient ruins By Mary Vandeveire ARIZONA DAILY STAR February 15, 2005 PHOENIX - Arizona is suing a developer, accusing him of wreaking ecological and archaeological devastation while trying to create a new city with 67,000 homes - La Osa Ranch, northwest of Marana. The lawsuit, filed Monday by Attorney General Terry Goddard, accuses Scottsdale developer George Johnson and his companies of breaking state laws by: * Illegally blading state and private land. * Destroying Hohokam sites dating back to A.D. 750. * Killing more than 40,000 protected native plants, including saguaro and ironwood, on state trust lands. * Causing an epidemic that killed 21 rare desert bighorn sheep. "I think it's unprecedented that someone has taken on that kind of wanton destruction in the state of Arizona," said Goddard, a Democrat. The suit, filed on behalf of five state agencies, seeks financial penalties of up to $25,000 per day for some of the alleged violations, which occurred in 2003 at La Osa Ranch. Johnson later sold the private property. The Attorney General's Office would not give an estimated total amount of penalties sought in the suit, but said the cost is expected to hit Johnson hard. "It can't be an acceptable cost of doing business," Goddard said of the alleged infractions, which state officials previously estimated caused $9 million in damage. The value of the damage was based on how much it would cost to excavate the site, state museum curator John Madsen said in a 2004 report. State officials misunderstand the facts, countered Lee Stein, a Fennemore Craig attorney who is representing Johnson's real estate company, Johnson International. "We'll have to sort that out in court," Stein said. Tohono O'odham Nation Chairwoman Vivian Juan-Saunders said the tribe had been waiting for the Attorney General's Office to act and may seek separate recourse against Johnson. She said he damaged Hohokam sites in the Los Robles Archaeological District, which she called home of O'odham ancestors. Johnson's companies cleared 2,000 acres of land, according to the lawsuit, resulting in damage to seven major Hohokam archaeological sites dating from A.D. 750 to 1250. "It was a tremendous loss of history and culture to the state," Juan- Saunders said. "We're very pleased to see the course of action today." The Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity also cheered the lawsuit. "It's good to see that the AG's office is paying attention to the concerns of the public," said Daniel Patterson, desert ecologist at the center. Agencies bringing the lawsuit are the Department of Environmental Quality, the State Land Department, the Game and Fish Commission, the Department of Agriculture and the Board of Regents on behalf of the Arizona State Museum. Johnson's development plans were scrapped when Pinal County denied his companies the necessary permits. But before that happened, Johnson's companies bladed 2,000 acres of private land and about 270 acres of state trust land, according to the lawsuit. The land is in and near the Ironwood Forest National Monument. Johnson's companies acquired La Osa Ranch in February 2003 and the adjacent King Ranch in May 2003. Violations occurred on these properties and state trust land from March through December 2003, according to the lawsuit. In addition, the lawsuit accuses Johnson of causing the deaths of 21 desert bighorn sheep and the infection of 49 others. Johnson let thousands of goats onto the habitat of the desert bighorn sheep, according to the lawsuit, breaking a state law that prohibits the grazing of goats within nine miles of desert sheep habitat. The goats can transfer diseases to the sheep and in this case blinded the animals so that they were literally walking off cliffs to their deaths or were easy prey for mountain lions, Arizona Game and Fish officials said. Unlawfully killing bighorn sheep is subject to a minimum fine of $750 per animal under state law. Game and Fish spent $70,000 treating infected sheep. The lawsuit also accuses Johnson's companies of violating the state's clean water laws by failing to secure required permits and discharging pollutants into tributaries of the Santa Cruz River at La Osa Ranch; and of the Little Colorado River and the South Fork of the Little Colorado River in other Arizona counties on other projects. The Attorney General's Office would not confirm or deny if there is an ongoing criminal investigation into Johnson's actions, said office spokeswoman Andrea Esquer. Contact reporter Mary Vandeveire at 1-602-271-0623 or mvandeveire@azstarnet.com. Copyright c. 1999-2005 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star and its wire services. --------- "RE: American Indian activists oppose TVA Land Swap" --------- Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 11:58 PM From: Dale M. [MailDale@webtv.net] Subj: Fwd: American Indian activists oppose TVA land swap - - - - - - -- - - - - - - Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 5:28 AM From: John Hedgecoth [john_h@earthlink.net] Subj: American Indian activists oppose TVA land swap http://www.wate.com/global/story.asp?s=2945472&ClientType=Printable American Indian activists oppose TVA land swap February 14, 2005 CHATTANOOGA (AP) - American Indian activists contend swapping Tennessee Valley Authority land to a developer for an island in Marion County is a bad deal, regardless of the island's history. Archaeologist Lawrence Alexander says he thinks his research on privately owned Burns Island will show it is as rich in heritage as Moccasin Bend. Chattanooga developer John "Thunder" Thornton is paying for Alexander's research. He has proposed exchanging 220-acre Burns Island and two other properties for 576 acres of TVA -owned riverfront land adjacent to Little Cedar Mountain. Thornton wants to build a resort and residential development between Interstate 24 and Nickajack Dam. A TVA official has said the utility's board is tentatively scheduled to decide on Thornton's proposal in May. A Shawnee American Indian from Ringgold, Georgia, Becky Gregory says the island may be rich in history, but that doesn't justify developing land next to the Little Cedar Mountain ridgetop. Thornton contends protecting Burns Island is a fair tradeoff. Copyright c. 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2000 - 2005 WorldNow and WATE. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Pawlenty talks of using Tribes to import Drugs" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:40:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ON REZ - OFF SHORE" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/10919683.htm Pawlenty talks of using tribes to import drugs 'This would be kind of a doomsday scenario where the FDA and others try to shut us down' By Frederic J. Frommer Associated Press February 16, 2005 WASHINGTON - Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday he has talked with some northern Minnesota tribes about acting as wholesale purchasers of drugs from Canada, in the event the federal government tries to shut down the state's drug importation program. Pawlenty, in town to testify at a hearing on importing drugs from other countries, told reporters he has discussed the possibility of tribes using their sovereign status "to become wholesale purchasers and distributors of prescription medicines. "This would be kind of a doomsday scenario where the FDA and others try to shut us down," he said. "Tribal communities may be beyond the reach of the FDA or others." He stressed that the discussions, which happened about a month ago, were preliminary and haven't progressed much since then. Maine has proposed a similar program, in which that state would designate the Penobscot Indian Nation as a wholesale distributor of drugs from Canada. Pawlenty said he was concerned that the state's program, which helps residents buy cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, could be suffocated if the drug industry reduces availability in Canada. He said he was also worried that Canada might impose a new requirement that a person see a doctor in Canada before getting Canadian drugs. To make up any lost drug supplies, Pawlenty said he may send Human Services Commissioner Kevin Goodno to Europe to explore buying drugs there. Pawlenty's newest idea on using tribes for drugs comes as the governor is proposing that the state partner with three northern Minnesota Indian tribes on a casino. The deal would divert hundreds of millions of dollars to the ailing state budget while also allowing the White Earth, Red Lake and Leech Lake tribes to tap the lucrative Twin Cities gambling market. A spokesman for White Earth, Gary Padrta, said the tribe has hired a company to do a feasibility study on importing drug imports from Canada, but he said that's all he knew about it. The chairman of Red Lake, Floyd Jourdain Jr., said his tribe has had conversations with Canadian tribes about buying prescription drugs, but none with Canada. Leech Lake officials did not return phone messages left Wednesday. Copyright c. 2005 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: Editorial: Pawlenty's Drug Option turns Heads" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 09:11:52 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FARGO EDITORIAL: TRIBAL DRUG IMPORTATION GOOD IDEA" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.in-forum.com/articles/printer.cfm?id=83566 Forum editorial: Pawlenty's drug option turns heads The Forum February 18, 2005 All praise to Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty who has become the nation's leading governor when it comes to resisting the Bush administration's prescription drug policies. Specifically, the Republican governor has drawn a line regarding importation of drugs from Canada, a practice, he says, which has saved Minnesotans and others millions of dollars. He's right about the savings. He's also right in dismissing Bush administration claims that importing cheaper drugs from Canada is unsafe. The administration's position makes no sense since the Canadian drugs not only are tested by Canadian authorities, but most of the pharmaceuticals are the same formulations sold in the United States. Indeed, they are made by the same companies and even sold in the same packages. Pawlenty made his drug line a little thicker this week when he suggested that as a last resort he might negotiate with American Indian tribes in order to continue drug importation from Canada if the Bush administration tries to shut down Minnesota's program that directs customers to Canadian pharmacies. The tribes would function as wholesalers under his last-ditch option. They could do so because they have sovereign nation status. The tribal proposal is preliminary, the governor said. But it is a viable option. Maine has proposed a similar arrangement with a tribe there. The maneuvering by Pawlenty and other governors has grabbed the attention of at least one major drug company. While in Washington this week, the governor was joined in lobbying to preserve importation from Canada by, of all people, a vice president of Pfizer. "The industry is making a historic mistake in opposing importation," said Peter Rost. Rost is right. Concern about rising drug costs (prices for common drugs are up substantially since the November election) is evolving into consumer anger. The anger cuts across party lines. The drug industry's natural allies, business-friendly Republicans, are hearing from their constituents and responding in ways that should make drug companies nervous. Governors like Pawlenty are trying to manage medical assistance budgets that are under increasing stress from drug prices. Pawlenty's consistency on the drug importation issue sends a message to the drug industry (Pfizer gets it) and to the Bush administration that importation must be an element in getting drug costs under control. The governor's flirtation with the tribal drug wholesaler option might be just enough for the Bush administration to get the message, too. Forum editorials represent the opinion of Forum management and the newspaper's Editorial Board. Copyright c. 2005 Forum Communications Co. Fargo, ND 58102. --------- "RE: Sacred status of Black Hills discussed" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:25:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SACRED BLACK HILLS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/02/17/news/local/top/news02.txt Sacred status of Black Hills discussed By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer February 17, 2005 CRAZY HORSE - For many American Indian tribes, the Black Hills exists for a larger purpose than scenic beauty. Rosebud Sioux Tribe Council representative Russell Eagle Bear, District 11-Norris, acknowledged that tourism and forestry are important to the Black Hills but said the Hills are more than industry. "There's a group of people who view the Black Hills as sacred. It is sacred as a whole," Eagle Bear said Wednesday during the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Consultation and Listening Session at Crazy Horse Memorial near Custer. Fifteen years ago, Eagle Bear and friends went to Harney Peak to pray and acknowledge the Thunder Beings. Even for that ceremony, practiced for generations by the Lakota, the U.S. Forest Service required them to get a permit. As they began their prayers at Harney Peak, a sheriff's patrol car slowly drove to their site. "It was really intimidating, and those were the kinds of fears that we had to work through," Eagle Bear said. But those days may be changing. "I look forward to listening closely and gaining understanding for the issues," Mark Boche, U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region director, said. In his opening remarks Wednesday, Boche said the Forest Service has a mandate to support Indian sovereignty's government-to-government relationship. But he wanted a better relationship to develop so that the tribes and the Forest Service would work together to meet forest needs, make all Forest Service programs available to tribes and to work with the tribes through collaboration, communication and cooperation. "We stand to benefit from their knowledge," Boche said. Rosebud Sioux Tribe president Charles Colombe said some of the benefits would be creating employment opportunities and making the forest healthier, but there is a great deal of mistrust and suspicion among tribes and his people, too. "They don't believe the relationship is real," he said. Colombe presides over the one of the poorest counties in the nation. His tribe has a high academic drop-out rate, high unemployment rate, high birth rate, substandard housing, inadequate police protection and poor health care. All those circumstances would change if Rosebud and the other Lakota tribes accepted the $700 million settlement held in trust for the sale of the Black Hills, Colombe said. "We haven't taken one dime. There's a message in that," he said. Colombe said that his tribe and other tribes, too, learned to distrust the federal government because it didn't uphold its side of tribal treaties of 1851 and 1868 - a distrust that is taught in the homes of Indian families throughout South Dakota. "We kept our part of the treaty. We gave up ownership of the land. ... I'm saying this because it has to be said," Colombe said. Dorothy FireCloud, acting deputy forest supervisor for Black Hills National Forest, said the Forest Service has taken steps to ensure that tribal relations were being addressed. At the Forest Service Tribal Relations Implementation Team Report given at Wednesday's meeting, FireCloud said it would be good to get the tribes back into the Hills. Through their stewardship, research and management, the tribes and Forest Service would both benefit from the new relationship. "We're going to see a significant difference in the health of the Hills," she said. Tim Mentz of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe said that Wednesday's discussion was encouraging. "One of the elders says our youth have to come back into the Black Hills," Mentz said. Mentz said that the best way to get the tribes involved would be to involve children. Every successful activity that involved the tribe and its entire community was youth-driven, he said. Not only should youths attend summer camps, fire suppression programs or Forest Service internships, but they also should be able to be chosen by medicine men and have the freedom to go into the Black Hills, stand on a hill and observe their Lakota traditions. "To build trust, get the youth back in the Hills," he said. Tribes and Forest Service personnel from seven states are attending the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Consultation and Listening Session, which continues today. Dave McKee, historic preservation officer and tribal liaison for the Black Hills National Forest, will begin discussions of a Tribal Leaders Advisory Council at 8:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. A tribal elder will open the final day with prayer at 8 a.m. Sacred Sites Policy Listening Sessions begin at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2005 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Order blocking Gas Tax on Reservations to stand" --------- Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 21:07:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NORTH DAKOTA LOSSES TAX FIGHT - AGAIN" http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/006610.asp Order blocking gas tax on reservations to stand February 18, 2005 A lawsuit claiming the state of North Dakota owes Indian consumers more than $2 million a year for an illegal gas tax is moving forward. Four tribal members sued the state in August 2003 to bar the collection of the tax. They said it violated federal law and 19th-century treaties signed by the Three Affiliated Tribes and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. A year ago last month, a state judge agreed. Northwest District Judge Gary A. Holum issued an injunction permanently barring the state from collecting the tax, saying it was not authorized by federal law. "Because Congress has not instructed otherwise," Holum wrote in a 21- page opinion, "the court finds that North Dakota's motor fuels tax, as applied to Native American reservation residents who purchase fuel on reservation land, is illegal." But before the plaintiffs got a chance to seek a decision on the amount owed to Indian consumers, state attorneys appealed the case. They asked the North Dakota Supreme Court to sanction the tax under the Hayden- Cartwright Act, an obscure 1936 federal law that has been used by other states to justify gas taxes on reservations. The effort failed on Wednesday when the court dismissed the appeal. In a unanimous decision, the judges said the appeal was premature because a final judgment on the refund, and a possible class action applying to all Indian consumers in the state, has not been entered. The decision does not mean the plaintiffs will prevail on either the refund or class action point. But in an important footnote, the judges noted that every state and federal court that has confronted the Hayden- Cartwright Act has rejected it as a basis for reservation taxation. "The district court's ruling that the Hayden-Cartwright Act does not authorize imposition of the state motor vehicle fuels tax on Indian reservations is in accord with every federal and state court decision that has addressed the issue," they wrote. That's how Indian consumers in nearby South Dakota were awarded refunds for an illegal gas tax. Courts in Idaho and Kansas also struck down taxes on tribal gasoline sales after states cited the Hayden-Cartwright Act. In North Dakota, as many as 7,000 tribal members are affected, according to attorney Vance Gillette. He estimates they paid over $2 million a year to the state before the tax was shut down. The tax is 21 cents per gallon. Members of the Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara), the Turtle Mountain Chippewa and the Spirit Lake Nation should be eligible for refunds. Tribal members who buy fuel at the Sisseton-Wahpeton Tribe's casino on the North Dakota portion of its reservation are also impacted. Gillette previously said members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe who buy fuel on the North Dakota portion of its reservation won't be included because the tribe has a tax agreement with the state. The plaintiffs are Joan Mann and Ken Danks, Three Affiliated members who own businesses on their reservation, and Tracy Wilkie and Christa Monette, Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribal members. In his January 2004 ruling, Holum dismissed all but Danks from the suit on procedural grounds. The plaintiffs asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider but the judges said the issue was premature. Copyright c. 2000-2005 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Tribe backs out of proposed Airplane Deal" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:40:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO REJECT DEAL" http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/10923814.htm Tribe backs out of proposed airplane deal Associated Press February 17, 2005 ALBUQUERQUE - The Navajo Nation has nixed a proposal to invest $34 million in a Georgia aircraft company that is developing a cargo airplane. The tribe's Economic Development Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to back out of investing in Utilicraft Aerospace Corp., based in Lawrenceville, Ga. Research determined the investment appeared too risky because of the length of time required before the Navajo Nation would see a financial return, the tribe said. The research also showed the partnership would require too much of a financial commitment at a time when the Navajo Nation faces declining budgets, the tribe said. "It was a good-faith effort on behalf of the Navajo Nation," Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. said. "But there was an understanding with the company that this had to go through the Navajo Nation Council, and the first step in that process is the Economic Development Committee, and they've made their decision." The committee said it acted on information provided by the tribe's justice department, its deputy attorney general and its legislative counsel. The committee previously agreed to invest an initial $1.25 million in the company, but no money changed hands. Utilicraft's twin-engine airplane has yet to be tested. The company plans to build an assembly factory at the Double Eagle II Airport on Albuquerque's west side and had proposed building component factories on tribal land. Darby Boland, Utilicraft vice president and general manager, said the company will move forward with plans to build its factory in Albuquerque and would welcome further interaction with the Navajos. "Basically, the whole intent of President Shirley is steered toward creating jobs. We want to help him do that," Boland said. A preliminary review of the deal commissioned by the New Mexico Finance Authority at the tribe's request raised concerns about the proposal, including the chief executive officer's severance package and the viability of two companies identified as Utilicraft customers. New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rick Homans in a December 2004 letter to the director of the tribe's economic development division urged the tribe to proceed carefully on what he called a risky investment. Copyright c. 2005 Tallahassee Democrat. --------- "RE: Bills to require Local Tribal History be taught" --------- Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:54:57 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBAL HISTORY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gtconnect.com/articles/2005/02/15/news/the_west/tuewst02.txt Bills would require local tribal history be taught in schools By KELLY KEARSLEY Associated Press writer February 14, 2005 OLYMPIA, Wash. - Going to school in Eastern Washington, Martina Whelshula said the history of her own American Indian tribe - the Arrow Lakes Nation on the Colville Reservation - was only mentioned once. A pair of bills making their way through the Legislature would change that, requiring that local tribal history be taught in state schools. The Senate committee on early learning, K-12 and higher education heard testimony on the issue Monday. The House Education Committee was expected to vote on the House bill Tuesday. "To be able to bring that into the state's learning environment would be one step in creating a more whole society, and for the first time take a real big step in allowing native children to feel whole," Whelshula, who's now an instructor at Gonzaga University, said in a phone interview. Students graduating from Washington high schools have taken at least a half-credit of state history and government. Those courses are encouraged to provide information about American Indians. The proposed laws would require school districts to teach the culture, history and government of federally recognized American Indian tribes in grades where state history or government is taught. The bills provide that districts with tribal reservations within their boundaries or within a 100-mile radius must teach information about those tribes. Washington state has 29 federally recognized tribes and another seven that are not federally recognized. Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, is sponsoring the House bill. The cost of implementing the instruction shouldn't hinder the bill, he testified Monday before the Senate committee. Districts already have to regularly update their offerings, and this could be part of that process. The schools and tribes would collaborate to create the curriculum, he added. The money is the only thing that worried Lucinda Young, the lobbyist for the Washington Education Association, which represents public school employees. "As critical as this is, I'd hate to see a school district identify that they couldn't fund this," Young said. Supporters at the hearing said teaching tribal history is as important to native students as their nonnative peers. RoseMary Kelly, 15, said her parents were being taught the history of her Nooksack Indian Tribe all the time by other relatives. But she feel like she's losing her culture. "I'd feel a lot better going to school learning about myself rather than somebody else's history," she told the committee. Teaching tribal history can also help dispel stereotypes and correct historical misunderstandings, like that of Chief Leschi, supporters of the bill said. A historical court hearing last year exonerated the Nisqually Tribe leader in the death of a white militia soldier. Chief Leschi was hanged for murder in 1858. The "Historical Court of Justice," led by state Supreme Court Justice Gerry Alexander, determined that Leschi should never have been charged with the crime of murder because he acted as a lawful combatant during a time of war. Jeniva Klement, 14, from Nisqually Middle School in Lacey, testified that she has several American Indian friends. She is not American Indian. "It's important for others to learn about Native American history," she said. "My friends know a lot about my history, and I don't know much about theirs." Copyright c. 2005 Corvallis Gazette-Times --------- "RE: Catawba tribe strives to save Pottery Tradition" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:25:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CATAWBA POTTERY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/~/local/10920643.htm Catawba tribe strives to save its tradition of making pottery By Tamara Ford The Associated Press February 17, 2005 CATAWBA INDIAN RESERVATION - Using an old smooth rock, Florence Wade sat calmly at her living room table refining the rough, scratchy surface of a bird she had made from clay. "I never know what I am going to make," said Wade, an 82-year-old Catawba American Indian who makes the tribe's traditional pottery as well as clay sculptures of animals. The craft is one of Wade's passions. But she's afraid the art that she has mastered will someday be lost because of a lack of interest among younger members of the tribe. "I hope this culture never dies," Wade said. "This culture is dear to my heart." The Catawba Cultural Center on the reservation is one venue used to promote the pottery and other aspects of the tribe's culture. It offers pottery demonstrations to visiting students and Catawbas as well as a shop that sells pottery and other items. But a lack of funding forced the cultural center to cut back its hours. Wade still demonstrates pottery making. She was 10 years old when she learned the craft, more than 500 years old, from her grandmother. At 12, Wade was making water jugs and pitchers. She did less with clay as she got older and had to raise her three children alone after the death of her husband. When her youngest child finished high school, Wade found time again to mold and sculpt clay. Wade has made many types of pottery, including peace pipes, vases, canteens and turtles. The art dates to pre-Columbian times, before 1492. The pottery is handmade from clay collected from the nearby Catawba River. The oldest, most experienced tribal potters are known as master potters. Wade lets the fresh clay dry in the sun. After several steps, she uses a screen to remove particles and roots. The clay goes through other processes before it is ready to be molded. Wade uses her skilled hands and several tools, including a 7-by-9-inch board, a piece of an old deer antler, a rock, an old barloe knife and a corncob. When she is finished molding the clay, it is heated in her kitchen oven, then fired outside. No glazes are used. The pottery gets its smooth finish from the rock's rub. Wade's daughter, Frieda Shrake, 55, was younger than the fourth-graders who visit the reservation when her mother began teaching her how to rub the pottery to make it smooth. But that was as close as she got to making pottery. Two years ago, Shrake signed up to take a pottery class for Catawbas at the cultural center. She learned how to make vases and water jugs from other Catawbas. When she has time, Shrake sits at the table with her mother listening, watching and molding the clay. Pottery making continues to live on through Wade's other family members, including her 90-year-old niece, Evelyn George, a 2004 recipient of the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award of the state Arts Commission. The award recognizes four S.C. residents who help preserve traditional arts. Copyright c. 2005 MyrtleBeachOnline.Com --------- "RE: GIAGO: Diabetes: an Epidemic in Indian Country" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 08:55:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TIM GIAGO: DIABETES" http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=5995 Diabetes has become an epidemic in Indian country Notes from Indian Country Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji) 2/14/2005 February 14, 2005 Copyright c. Native American Journalists Foundation, Inc. As the saying goes, "We are what we eat." This becomes immediately apparent to anyone who is diabetic and who monitors his or her blood sugar on a daily basis. If one sets aside common sense and indulges in a meal high in sugar and starch the next reading on the diabetic meter will be sky high for blood sugar content. In the history of America no people have gone through such an extreme and dramatic change in diet than the American Indian. From a people that had for centuries existed on a diet high in protein and low in fats, the change brought about by the invasion of the Europeans can almost be counted as immediate on an historic scale. For thousands of years the Indian was a hunter and gatherer. Both activities required a large amount of physical exercise. He subsisted on berries, roots and other plants plus a diet rich in deer, elk, and buffalo meat. A severe drought in the 1200s brought about some dramatic changes, but for the most part, game and plant life was plentiful and there were few famines over the centuries. When the white man arrived in the 15th and 16th centuries he brought with him diseases unknown to the Indian, diseases that decimated entire tribes. Early explorers have reported coming upon Indian villages wherein thousands of bodies were strewn about with few or no survivors alive to bury them. Along with the diseases, the newcomers had an insatiable hunger for furs. By setting up trading posts in the East, the settlers established a market for the furs. By trading goods in exchange for the furs they created a market that flourished as long as fur was in demand. In order to compete, many Indian tribes established territories where they hunted and trapped the fur bearing animals into near extinction and in the process greatly diminished their food supply thus becoming ever more dependent upon the trade goods of the newcomers. In the Northern Plains the relatively new government of the United States soon realized that in order to diminish and eventually destroy the Indian population their greatest source of food had to be eliminated. The slaughter of the North American bison began. Once again many Indian hunters became traders and contributed to the destruction of their own food source. With their hunting grounds decimated and their warriors defeated, Indians were herded on to reservations where they became nearly totally dependent upon the United States government for survival. The government then began shipping herds of longhorn cattle from Texas to Dakota Territory and to other reservations. Unfortunately, since the people had been reduced to near starving conditions, the cattle that arrived were for almost immediate consumption. The federal government did not plan ahead and allow the Indian people to develop their own herds thus eliminating the middleman. This no doubt was done deliberately so that the Indian people would not find a food source that would make them semi-independent. Along with the beef brought to the reservations from Texas came other foodstuffs high in starch and sugars, ingredients heretofore not a regular part of the diet of the Indian people. As a matter of fact the Lakota name for the white man, wasicu, came about because of the salt pork introduced by the government to the Indian people. The Lakota found the salt pork distasteful and when the wagons with provisions arrived, they would leave the salt pork on the wagons while taking the other goods. They noticed that the white Indian agents and traders would come and take the pork. They called them wasicu, or "takers of the fat." The United States Department of Agriculture then brought its food commodity program to the reservations. The USDA foodstuffs have changed dramatically over the past 10 years, but in the beginning it became apparent that healthy nutrition was not a keen part of the menu. From Arizona to the Dakotas the Indian people began to ingest the USDA commodities or face starvation. While church groups were working on the minds of the children at Indian mission boarding schools and do-gooders were shipping truckloads of used and tattered clothing, the Indian people were committing a slow suicide by consuming food their ancestors would not have touched. Bootleggers were selling cheap wine and alcohol that was nearly pure sugar. And, unfortunately, too many Indians steeped in poverty and without hope, drowned themselves in this poison in order to forget, or to have a few moments of bliss. Obesity in children as young as three and four years old has become commonplace. Visit any school on the reservation today and you will see far, far too many children badly overweight. What the white man could not do with guns, the Indian people are doing to themselves with food. Even the teenagers joke about it. When they see another teen greatly overweight the say they have a "commod bod." This has become a part of the language. The offshoot of this, of course, is that diabetes has become an epidemic in Indian country. Some Indian reservations have a staggering 50 percent of their population afflicted by this disease. As a result the Indian people are dying at an ever-increasing younger age. It is said that before the white man arrived the Indian could expect to live 90 to 100 years. Now we are lucky if we make it to 50. Most health care givers in Indian country are faced with an extreme shortage of funds. They barely operate on what little funds they have and yet they expect that these meager monies will be diminished in the upcoming federal budget cuts. Yes, we are what we eat, but who would have thought 100 years ago that it would be what the Indian people ate that would set the stage for their own destruction. Tim Giago is the President of the Native American Journalists Foundation, Inc. and he can be reached at giagobooks@iw.net Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: A question worth revisiting" --------- Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:16:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: MASCOT QUESTION" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/columnists/10940334.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: A question worth revisiting February 19, 2005 Three cheers for the National Collegiate Athletic Association for asking the question, "Why do schools such as UND continue to use American Indian nicknames and logos?" The NCAA survey should bring the issue of the moniker and logo to the top of the university agenda once again. That needs to happen. In the time I have lived in Grand Forks, I've found that many of those who support the nickname seem like good and honest people. They tell me they think using "Fighting Sioux" is a way of honoring American Indians and the Sioux. Some Indian and Sioux people do feel the name is an honor. But many of us do not. And there are those who don't care to be involved in the issue. When I first arrived here some nine years ago, I liked the name. Part of my ancestry is Lakota and Dakota. I worked at UND at the time, and wearing a shirt that said "Fighting Sioux" made me smile a little then. But as time passed, the name seemed to grow horns, and I wasn't smiling anymore. The humor and good feeling were washed away by the tears of the youngsters who asked why they were the object of derogatory fun making. Little children don't understand they are being honored when they are called names by cranks. Older students understand and think back to what their parents told them they endured during those years when the gap between Indian and non-Indian people was long and wide.I discovered that those who were supporters of athletics seem to feel something was being taken away for which they had a personal stake. At first, I thought it was just the fact that their "Fighting Sioux" jackets would have to be put in the back of their closets, and they'd have to spend another $300 for a new jacket. Yet, I found it to be more than that. It was their memories and how their lives were tangled up with the athletes and the team. The team's winning became their winning. Some became acquainted with lifelong friends or met their future wives or husbands at these games. If the nickname changed, those are the memories they would have to set aside, they think. On the other hand, the memories that the name and logo evoke are different for many Indian people. Memories are like puzzle pieces of our past and define who we are. The Lakota and Dakota - the Sioux tribes - from this area have some awful memories that tell them something different. When they defended themselves, they were punished severely - and in ways that violated all legal norms. One example is the 1862 Dakota Uprising, after which 38 Dakota were hanged in the biggest mass execution in U.S. history. I asked people on the reservation and tribal councils what they thought about the issue. Most councils have sent in resolutions asking that the name be changed, but there are many people who really didn't think about the issue one way or the other. Why? Because few of them had heard anything derogatory about Indian people because they didn't come to the campus. I met a young woman from Standing Rock who called me one day and said she now understood why I objected to the use of the name. And it wasn't particularly for her own well-being but that of her son. In a local restaurant, a group of fans were talking loudly about an upcoming game and Indian people, she said. She was astounded at their remarks, but it wasn't until her son looked up at her and said, "Mom, what is wrong with me?" that she jumped sides. There is no need to repeat the offensive behavior that has happened on campus and in the city under the umbrella of the name "Fighting Sioux." But there is far more than should be tolerated by any institution of learning. Finally, one of my friends who is non-Indian told me that if American Indian students or potential students would boycott the university, that would say something. Then, he'd know they were seriously offended. I reminded him that our representatives - the leaders of our tribes, the tribal councils on the reservations in North Dakota - have said, "Don't use the name." They represent about 550,000 Native people on the North Dakota reservations. The NCAA should find there is a problem and at least make their concern known to the rest of the nation. We should change the name. 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/Grand Forks, ND. --------- "RE: MORGAN: Collective Cultural Guilt" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:25:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MORGAN: CULTURAL BARRIERS" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410376 Morgan: Collective cultural guilt February 17, 2005 by: Lance Morgan / Ho-Chunk, Inc. I recently lectured students at Harvard University about tribal economic issues. While I was there I also gave a speech to a delegation of government leaders from Pakistan. Interestingly, the students in the class and the leaders from Pakistan asked practically the same kind of questions. They both wanted to know if our corporate and economic development would hurt our distinct tribal culture. These people all had stereotypical images of Indians. Although they liked our economic progress, they were concerned that we weren't going to fit their idealized image of Indians. I run Ho-Chunk, Inc., a 10-year-old tribal development corporation. When we first started Ho-Chunk, Inc., we had discussions about being "too corporate" or "too white" or losing our cultural identity. I used to spend lots of time balancing this issue, but to be honest I have decided that it really is a non-issue. It occurs to me that we are stereotyping ourselves. We have an image of ourselves rooted in a culture based on an economic reality from a long-distant past. The vast majority of Indians are not living in the woods, hunting or growing their food and making their own clothes. Rather than worry about being culturally appropriate, we should be focusing on our inner core values as a people. How we make a living shouldn't define us - that is the white world. What should define us is how we view ourselves, how we view the world, how we treat each other, and how we treat our families. To me, being Indian isn't about hunting and gathering. It is about something far more important. There is no playbook on how to be a modern Indian in a corporate world, so we at Ho-Chunk, Inc. decided a few years ago to stop feeling guilty and to simply self-validate ourselves. Ho-Chunk, Inc. is owned by a tribe, has a board made up entirely of tribal members and is run by Indians. We decided that we wouldn't be doing it if it weren't okay. This self- validation is far easier to live under than constantly worrying or feeling strangely guilty about our own progress. Cultural change isn't a new concept. Culture has always followed economics. When Neanderthals hunted animals for a living, their religion and culture were based on animal spirits. When Mayans developed farming, their culture and religion revolved around farming. They developed a calendar to know when to plant their crops. They might have gotten a little carried away with the human sacrifice thing, but to each his own. What we think of as traditional American Indian culture was also a product of the economic realities of 150 years ago. If you were going to be a hunter and gatherer, you sure better know an awful lot about nature and how to coexist in such an environment for the long term. This nature-oriented coexistence is the stage we were at when we had contact with the "white man." Our contact with them immediately changed our economic reality. We become traders supplying furs. The quest for more furs caused a number of Indian wars and resulted in several tribes having to move west. The arrival of the horse created an entire new economic environment for the Plains tribes and a new culture begin to emerge. Horses became valuable. The more you had, the better. My point is simple: culture is whatever it is right now. It is a living, breathing system that is constantly evolving and changing. What drives the evolution of culture is our internal human desire to lead a better life and provide for our families. I don't think anyone should feel bad about being successful. White people don't. We didn't used to. Individual wealth was respected and something to be shared with all of the members of the tribe. I bet if I were a Sioux 150 years ago, I would be bragging about how many horses I have and somebody would be jealous and probably try and steal them. (Just like the "mean" Pawnee were trying to do in "Dances with Wolves".) Even our modern traditional activities are based largely on economics. Would we really be making all this beadwork and art if we couldn't sell it? Would our modern pow wow system be the same if not for all the prize money? The answer is no. These activities are a form of pride and culture, but they also are a way to make a living. Unfortunately some of us can't dance, can't sing and can't paint. I wonder if this idealized notion of ourselves developed because the life we were forced to lead by the "system" was so horrible. We didn't want to view ourselves as poor and unable to provide for ourselves and for our families, so we turned to the image based on past pride. This image was fed by the movies and popular mythology. My mother has a theory that alcoholism hit our male population so badly because the "system" took away our men's pride and their opportunity to succeed and provide for their families. I think that our battle with alcoholism does center on pride and economics. If we can provide opportunities for our people to take on a traditional function (provide for families) in a modern context (a good job), then we have a much better chance of dealing with our social problems. We need to stop stereotyping ourselves. No one really wants to go back to the way we lived in the old days, but our self-image is so wrapped up in who we were that it is hard to balance it with who we are now. Even worse, we often use culture and perceived cultural purity as a weapon to hurt each other and halt progress. I have witnessed several good projects or ideas killed by someone attacking the idea or person on cultural grounds. This form of attack is very effective because we are so used to worrying about culture and our desire to hang on to it that it often gets in the way of helping improve our lives today. It also is a way to hurt people, especially young educated Indians who are vulnerable to this type of attack because they are constantly reminded that they have somehow changed. I have always been proud to be a member of the Winnebago Tribe. It has always made me feel special. This strange internal pressure we place on ourselves to be a stereotyped figure from the past is not necessary. Being Indian is about our inner values, our spirituality, how we treat each other and how we view the world. It is not about whether the meat on your table was bought at the store or killed while on a hunt. I do believe that the answers to our modern problems lie in the wisdom and traditional values of the past, but I believe our true challenge is to hang on to those values while weaving them into our modern life. I asked a friend and mentor of mine, "Famous" Dave Anderson, what he thought of this issue and he said it best: "Our culture has always just been about survival." Copyright c. 1998 - 2005 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Native American Sorority offers support" --------- Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 21:07:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NOT YOUR USUAL GREEK LETTER SORORITY" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6033 Native American sorority offers support, friendship First ever at University of Oklahoma NORMAN OK Christina Good Voice February 18, 2005 The first Native American sorority at the University of Oklahoma is stepping out and showing everyone across campus what Native sisterhood is all about. In the process, the ladies of Gamma Delta Pi are giving new meaning to the word "sorority." Gamma Delta Pi is not cut from the same mold as other sororities, said Star Oosahwe, co-chair of the sorority's White Council, which is responsible for social, university, Greek and academic affairs. "Although we have Greek letters and are considered a sorority, we are very different from the typical white and black sororities," Oosahwe said. "It's because of the nature of our culture, and we have a lot of girls. ... We are a women's society and a support group. "We attribute that to our founders because they built it that way, and we try to keep that going," she added. According to Gamma Delta Pi's Web site, the founders created the sisterhood "based solely on the ideals, culture, tradition, and legacy of American Indian women." The five founders were Jennifer Nez-Blanchard, Navajo; Sedelta Oosahwee, Cherokee/Mandan/Arikara/Hidatsa; Joyce Shield, Comanche/Osage/Chippewa- Cree; Robin Williams, Kiowa/Apache/Nez Perce/Assinaboine Sioux/Umatilla; and Shema Yearby, Seminole/Creek/Mississippi Choctaw. Founded in August 2001, the sorority has 20 active members who belong to Native tribes nationwide, including Navajo, Pueblo, Mandan/Arikara/Hidatsa, Kiowa, Muscogee (Creek), Coushatta Creek, Kickapoo, Sac & Fox, Absentee Shawnee, Caddo, Cheyenne/Arapaho, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Ponca and Comanche. Support System "The biggest benefit of the sorority is the support from all the other girls, especially for girls who come to OU without a support system or not a lot of friends," said Star Oosahwe, 29, a graduate student who is a member of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians. In addition to providing a support system, the sorority is a place to find others with common interests or just a similar sense of humor. "It makes it an easier transition for girls coming here from reservations," said senior Katrina Foley, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) tribe who serves as co-chair of the White Council. "We offer them a familyness and the comfort of being around Natives. We offer them the opportunity to meet other Natives and help to keep them in good academic standing." Foley said what she likes most about the sorority is the opportunity to create friendships with women from other places. Besides university events and activities, the sorority sponsors several fundraisers throughout the academic year, including an all-Indian basketball tournament in the spring and Native-style buffets. Gamma Delta Pi's annual basketball tournament has gained so much publicity over the last two years that it has become one of the largest basketball tournaments in the state. Traditional Food The Native-style buffet gives Native students and non-Natives a taste of what the sorority members eat back home, with a menu consisting of grape dumplings, corn soup, frybread, lamb and hominy and red chili stew. The buffets usually attract a strong turnout of people who support the organization, Foley said. Gamma Delta Pi donates part of proceeds from the fundraisers to its chosen charity - Mikaela's Miracle, an organization geared toward raising awareness of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. "We're about community service to our Indian, OU and Norman communities," Foley said. Oosahwe said she thinks that people view the sorority as a group of engaged American Indian women who are "doing something" on campus. "This is important because I think we set a precedence on campus that we are here," she said. "Our sisterhood represents the future of American Indian students." Christina Good Voice, Muscogee, attends the University of Oklahoma in Norman. She is a 2001 graduate of the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute. This story originally was published by reznet (www.reznetnews.org), the online newspaper by Native American college students. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Olmecs called Mother of Indian Civilizations" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:25:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OLMEC INFLUENCE UNILATERAL" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32926-2005Feb17.html Pottery Presented as Evidence Of Olmec Culture's Influence By Guy Gugliotta Washington Post Staff Writer February 18, 2005 Scientists presented new evidence yesterday that the fabled Olmec, sculptors of ancient Mexico's colossal stone heads, were the region's first dominant civilization, a "mother culture" that served as the hub of lesser settlements. For decades, a debate has raged between scholars favoring the mother- culture hypothesis and those who argue that the Olmec were just one of several "sister" cultures that developed simultaneously. George Washington University's Jeffrey P. Blomster, leader of the team that examined pottery samples from Mexico and Central America, said at a news conference that chemical analysis of the clays and potsherds suggested that while other ancient settlements made pottery with symbols and designs in the "Olmec style," only the early Olmec themselves - at San Lorenzo near Mexico's Gulf Coast - exported their pottery. Local pottery did not have the prestige, Blomster said: "Higher-status houses [at other sites] had more access to the Olmec pottery. The difference was in having the real thing or a knockoff." The new research appeared in this week's edition of the journal Science and drew cries of foul from sister-culture proponents. Blomster's research team "has demonstrated that pots were traded," said archaeologist David C. Grove, a professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. "They did not demonstrate that trade sent Olmec religious and political ideas" around the region as well. The University of Michigan's Kent V. Flannery, a leading sister-culture proponent, suggested in an e-mail that the Blomster team had sampled only pottery that looked as if it might have come from San Lorenzo. "It is simply not true that nobody else's ceramics show up in San Lorenzo." The Olmec arose more than 3,000 years ago near the present-day Mexican Gulf states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Known for spectacular sculpted basalt stone heads as much as 11 feet tall, the Olmec are regarded as the first Middle Americans to develop the region's monumental architecture. Besides the key Olmec settlements at San Lorenzo and La Venta, evidence of "Olmec-style" imagery and design is reflected in pottery at other contemporary sites. At a famous meeting of Olmec scholars in 1942, Mexican archaeologists suggested the Olmec were a "mother culture" whose ideas, religion and iconography were adopted and imitated by surrounding peoples. Later, however, other scholars described this view as overly simplistic. They said the surrounding cultures were as sophisticated as the Olmec, and as "sister cultures" had developed similar pottery styles and iconography from what Grove described as a regional "root style of unknown origin." Blomster and co-researchers - Hector Neff of California State University at Long Beach and Michael D. Glascock of the University of Missouri - did elemental analysis of 725 pottery and clay samples from San Lorenzo and six other sites prominent during the "late formative" Olmec period - between 1,500 B.C. and 900 B.C. The analysis showed that all seven sites had Olmec-style pottery made from local clays, and all seven also had pottery made at San Lorenzo. But San Lorenzo had nothing from any of the other sites, and the other sites had nothing from one another - only from themselves and San Lorenzo. Blomster described the results as a "really striking" demonstration that the Olmec in San Lorenzo "had something to offer that was of great interest." "The Gulf Coast Olmec created and synthesized their symbolism and disseminated it," he said. Grove, however, said that the study proved nothing and committed the sin of granting primacy to the Olmec when the evidence does not exist. "If the Olmec were so influential," he said in a telephone interview, "why didn't the sites they allegedly 'influenced' also borrow monument-making?" Precisely, countered Blomster, because only the San Lorenzo Olmec had the sophistication and organization to handle multi-ton building projects: "The elites can control massive amounts of labor. Other sites didn't have that kind of social differentiation." Copyright c. 2005 The Washington Post Company. --------- "RE: Akwesasne to Kahnawake: Make your own Claim" --------- Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2005 1:22 PM From: frostyca2000 [frostyca2000@yahoo.com] Subj: Akwesasne to Kahnawake: Make Your Own Claim Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Akwesasne to Kahnawake: Make Your Own Claim By: Jordan Standup Eastern Door 14-4 February 11, 2005 The long-awaited response from Akwesasne about its New York land claim arrived this week and basically told the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake to make its own land claim and that it was not entitled to any part of the recent settlement with New York. Dated January 28, and before the signing of the settlement with New York, the letter to the MCK responds to the MCK's statement in November that Kahnawake was a party to the Seven Nations and was entitled to 50 percent of any settlement. The response states, in part, "In our view, Kahnawake is not entitled to share in, nor impede, Akwesasne's settlement. Instead, Kahnawake may be entitled to its own distinct settlement with New York, which it could pursue separately." The letter reminds Kahnawake that it was involved with the process at one time but withdrew. "With respects to other claims and rights, we believe a clear agreement between us would be helpful. It would pick up where our ancestors left off. It would recognize and declare geographic boundaries for jurisdiction, responsibilities and claims." Akwesasne says that Kahnawake has not invited them to be part of the Seigneury claim, nor has Akwesasne claimed that it has a right to do so. In regards to the Akwesasne claim, "We have been careful to avoid affecting any other community's rights or claims. We will take care to state that clearly and plainly in any settlement agreement." The letter was signed by Angie Barnes, Grand Chief of Akwesasne. The MCK had no comment to make at this time. Copywrite c. 2005 Eastern Door, Kahnawake Mohawk Territory. --------- "RE: Petition demands Natuashish Council must resign" --------- Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:54:57 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INNU POLITICAL UPHEAVAL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://stjohns.cbc.ca//View?filename=nf-natuashish-band-20050215 Natuashish council must resign: petition CBC News February 15, 2005 ST. JOHN'S - Residents of Natuashish have circulated a petition demanding a new band council, in the wake of allegations of misspending and inappropriate activities. Luke Rich, a former member of the Innu community's healing team and the spokesperson for the group, says the petition has been sent to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. The petition calls for the chief and band council to resign by Friday. About 63 per cent of eligible voters have signed the petition, which was sent to federal officials Monday. Rich says the petition is based on a number of complaints, from allegations of bootlegging and drug dealing to questions of financial propriety, including blank band council cheques being removed from the office. It follows a CBC News investigation which reported a number of problems, including management of royalties from Voisey's Bay Nickel and whether members of the band council were contributing to addictions in the Innu village. Rich says "it has been the custom" of Innu in the community to terminate the term of office of a band council through a petition. "This has been done before, years back," says Rich. "And when you have 183 people signing this, and that's the majority of the eligible voters, I think it makes it very legal." The group, though, has not heard from the band council, nor from chief Simon Pokue. "I think they would be smart to pay attention to this," Rich says. The group is holding a meeting Feb. 21 to set a date for new elections. Copyright c. 2005 CBC. --------- "RE: Task Force to study Metis Rights defeated" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 08:40:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="METIS RIGHTS TABLED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.southpeacenews.com/newsdesk/volume43/050216/news3.html Task force to study Metis rights defeated Tina Kennedy South Peace News February 16, 2005 A motion to support a task force to investigate and make recommendations on a Me'tis Harvest Agreement was shot down in a split vote between five M.D. of Big Lakes councillors, Feb. 9. The regular meeting commenced with only enough to meet quorum regulations, in this case five councillors: Deputy Reeve David Marx, Sunset House councillor, Randy Ehman, Joussard councillor, Myler Savill, Reeve Ken Killeen, and Gilwood/Triangle councillor Ken Melynk. When Ehman motioned to support a letter from Lakeland County and ask the province for a task force, councillors were hesitant to support it. "It's going to polarize Me'tis and non-Me'tis communities. It's a highly emotional issue right now," says Savill, one of three who opposed the motion. Lakeland County's reeve, Peter Kirylchuk, circulated a letter to other municipalities asking for support. "Lakeland County Council has requested that the minister (Pearl Calahasen, minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development) form a task force and continue to hold forums, in order to gather and share information and recommendations on this issue," writes Kirychuk. In December, 2004, the Alberta government put its stamp of approval on an interim harvesting agreement to recognize the Supreme Court of Canada's decision that Me'tis people have an aboriginal right to fish and hunt. Calahasen, in past interviews, acknowledged that once decisions came from the Supreme Court it was the responsibility of government to ensure their policies reflected them. Kirychuk writes that Calahasen recently attended a meeting in Lac La Biche to explain the interim agreement and where her ministry stands. "Madame Minister, by coming to our community you have initiated the start of an excellent forum. Perhaps these forums should be continued with a task force commissioned by your ministry. The task force could have open and frank discussions with stakeholders and community members. This task force would gather and share accurate information and then provide recommendations," writes Kirylchuk in a letter to Calahasen dated Jan. 18. Ehman says Big Lakes should support that effort and do so by writing a letter. When a vote was taken, only two hands rose to support it, from Killeen and Ehman. Neither Marx nor Savill supported it. Killeen turned to Melnyk and asked if he supported it. "I'm undecided," says Melnyk. Killeen then turned to CAO John Eriksson and asked if an undecided vote was to be counted in support of the motion. That's when Marx told Killeen that he had not asked for votes opposed to the motion. Killeen asked for the remainder of the vote and Melynk, along with Marx and Savill, opposed. Melnyk later said it was too important an issue to make a quick decision on. "I wasn't really prepared for that one and didn't really have time to think about it too much." Copyright c. 1999-2003 South Peace News. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Jurisdiction debate persists despite Pact" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 08:55:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IDAHO POLICE JURISDICTION ISSUES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/02/14/news/local/news09.txt Jurisdiction debate persists despite interagency pact Debbie Bryce - Journal Writer February 14, 2005 POCATELLO - Pocatello attorney Paul Echohawk said while a new agreement among city, county and tribal law enforcement agencies outlines protocol to enhance joint law enforcement operations on the reservation is a step in the right direction, it does not resolve the ongoing jurisdiction controversy. Echohawk said the agreement is the first of its kind. Bingham, Bannock and Power counties and the cities of Pocatello and Blackfoot are expected to endorse the plan. But, he said the issue of concurrent jurisdiction will not be as easy to resolve. Echohawk said federal policies regarding American Indian tribes in the 1950s, including Public Law 280, were based on a theory of assimilation and termination. "Public law 280 essentially told states to pass laws and take whatever jurisdiction they wanted," he said. "It said the way to help people is to make them like everyone else and let the state take care of them." According to Idaho State Code, Public Law 280 gives the state concurrent or shared jurisdiction with tribal authorities over compulsory school attendance, juvenile delinquency and youth rehabilitation, mental illness, child abuse and neglect, public assistance, domestic relations and motor vehicle operation on all roads maintained by the county or state. Echohawk said state programs on reservations are not adequately funded or supervised, but Public Law 280 limits tribal funding. He added that the law is in conflict with the state's Constitution which declares the people of Idaho will forever disclaim all right and title to Indian land and it will remain under the absolute jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. The 1960s brought about reform of government policies regarding Indian tribes and a move toward self-governance and economic self-sufficiency. "Experience proved that assimilation and termination were failed policies," Echohawk said. The majority of states that claimed shared jurisdiction returned authority to Indian tribes, but Idaho still claims concurrent jurisdiction on Indian reservations in the state, he said. Retrocession of jurisdiction on the Fort Hall reservation in Idaho was considered in 1999. Echohawk's father, former Idaho Attorney General Larry Echohawk, introduced legislation passed by the Senate State Affairs Committee and the Senate. However, former state Sen. Evan Frasure asked for reconsideration of the bill. "I initially voted for the bill, and after it was passed my phone started ringing," Frasure said. He said state police officials voiced concerns about repealing Public Law 280 without an agreement in place to outline law enforcement protocol on the reservation. Interstate 15 cuts through the Fort Hall reservation in Power, Bannock and Bingham counties. "It is a complicated issue, but my concern was law enforcement," Frasure said. Echohawk said local law enforcement supported repealing Public Law 280 at that time. Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen testified before the Senate in favor of repealing the law, but he has since reversed his position. "I testified that self-determination should be the right of everyone," he said Nielsen said he now realizes there is more at stake than self- determination and governance. "As long as judges can be hired and fired by the council - as long as there is no recourse for non-Indians to sue and no due process and since the tribe is not bound by the U.S. Constitution, dissolving Public law 280 would be a step backwards for the state and the tribe," he said. Echohawk said repealing the outdated law would not affect county or state jurisdiction in cases involving non-Indians. "The state does not meet its responsibility according to Public Law 280 and the tribe is caught in the middle" he said. "States would no longer be responsible for dedicating resources on the reservation." Echohawk said dissolving the law would allow tribal authorities to contract funding to improve all services on the reservation including law enforcement. Currently the imposition of Public law 280 restricts federal funding for these services. The Shoshone-Bannock Tribe is the largest in the state with more than 4, 800 tribal members, he said. Tribal members own more than 95 percent of land located within reservation boundaries. Echohawk said the Shoshone-Bannock tribal government is also the largest in Idaho with its own department of law enforcement and court system. "Repealing Public Law 280 would allow tribes to govern themselves," he said. "I would argue that is the policy of Idahoans and the Idaho constitution." Debbie Bryce is a reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at 239-3132 or by e-mail at dbryce@journalnet.com. Copyright c. 2005 Pocatello Idaho State Journal. --------- "RE: New Mexico Supreme Court takes on Jurisdiction" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 08:55:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEW MEXICO POLICE JURISDICTION ISSUES" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/10518.html Court aims to clairify pueblos' jurisdiction Marissa Stone | The New Mexican February 15, 2005 After Matthew Gutierrez allegedly stabbed his brother-in-law, J.C. Garcia, near Garcia's home in Pojoaque three years ago, the crime was never prosecuted because of confusion over tribal and non-tribal jurisdiction. On Monday, the state Supreme Court began to untangle this confusion as pueblo and state attorneys argued over who should be responsible for enforcing the law. The justices heard arguments but made no decision, and attorneys in the case said it could be a while before a ruling is issued. In August 2002, Gutierrez, a member of Pojoaque Pueblo, allegedly stabbed Garcia five times during a family dispute, according to family members. Garcia, now 30 -- who was in critical condition after the stabbing -- survived the alleged attack. "As for us being protected, there's no law -- there's no tribal jurisdiction, no county jurisdiction," said Ben Garcia, J.C. Garcia's father, after the court heard arguments in the case. "Where I live, there's no law." The Garcia's live in Pojoaque in Santa Fe County -- outside the pueblo's boundaries. Gutierrez is charged with aggravated battery, causing serious bodily harm, child abuse and assault on a family member Gutierrez, who declined to comment, referred questions to Pojoaque Gov. George Rivera. "He hasn't had his day in court," Rivera said. The criminal aspect of the Pojoaque case has not been addressed. Instead it has been heard in state District Court, and the state Court of Appeals as attorneys argued jurisdictional issues. The Supreme Court heard the Pojoaque case along with a Taos case Monday because both involved the question of whether or not the private lands within a pueblo grant remain Indian Country. The Taos case involves the state indictment in June 2001 of Del Romero of Taos Pueblo on charges of aggravated battery against another member of his tribe. The alleged battery occurred at the Pueblo Allegre Mall in the Town of Taos, which is outside the exterior boundaries of Taos Pueblo but within the original pueblo grant. District Judge Peggy Nelson threw out the state's charges against Romero, saying the crime was committed within the original exterior boundaries of the Taos Pueblo Land Grant. The state appealed its case to the state Court of Appeals, which reversed Nelson's ruling. The Court of Appeals ruled that the crime was not committed in Indian Country. Romero then requested that the case be heard in state Supreme Court. In the Pojoaque case, the state prosecuted Gutierrez on the alleged stabbing, but state District Judge Michael Vigil ruled the case fell under tribal jurisdiction. The state appealed the ruling, and the state Court of Appeals ruled the state could hear the case. The state Supreme Court granted a request to hear the case. Attorneys for the pueblos tried Monday to show that all land within the original boundaries of a pueblo grant -- whether or not it is private property -- falls under the jurisdiction of the tribe. Under that designation, the tribe has the right to prosecute crimes involving tribal members but not crimes involving non-Indians. "There's no question this land was designated as Indian Country by Congress and by several court decisions," said Laurel Knowles, appellate public defender who handled the Romero case. Land patented to non-Indians does not determine the jurisdiction status of those lands, she said. "Pueblo grants were recognized as Indian Country as early as 1851." Attorney Richard Hughes, who argued on behalf of the pueblos Monday, said that private lands and rights of way within pueblo grants should be considered Indian Country. The Pueblo Lands Act of 1924 helped establish titles for non-Indians who lived within the grant, said Pojoaque attorney Frank Demolli, also a judge at various pueblos. The act addresses property concerns, not jurisdiction issues, Hughes said. About 70,000 acres within pueblo boundaries in New Mexico were transferred to private owners under the 1924 law. Margaret McLean, assistant attorney general for the state and the Garcias, argued that the Pueblo Lands Act "extinguished" private claims within the original boundaries of the pueblo. In the act, the word extinguished means land in the pueblo grant is no longer under federal or Indian control, she said. McLean also cited a 2000 case in the court of U.S. District Judge C. LeRoy Hansen in her argument. The case involved a Santa Clara tribal member accused of a criminal sexual contact against a female in Espanola. Hansen ruled that the crime, which was committed in Espanola -- which was part of the original Santa Clara Grant -- was not Indian Country because it occurred on privately owned land. The case set a precedent and was used for the Matthew Gutierrez case, Demolli said. Police officers who responded to the alleged stabbing "called the Bureau of Indian Affairs tribal police because it appeared to be a felony," he said. The BIA in turn called New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias, but he told the BIA he could not prosecute the case because of the 2000 ruling, Demolli said. Since the ruling, about four cases -- including the Pojoaque and Taos cases -- have faced a "jurisdictional void," Demolli said. Legislation before the U.S. Senate aims to clarify the confusion. The bill would remove the possibility of so-called "prosecution-free zones" and a "no man's land" in New Mexico's pueblos. The bill, which would amend the Indian Pueblo Lands Act, clarifies whether a crime would be tried in federal, state or tribal court. Tribal governors had a say in the bill, Gov. Rivera said. It's important that pueblos remain within tribal and federal jurisdiction as in the Pueblo Lands Act, Gov. Rivera said. "We never have prosecuted non-Indians, and we don't want to. Our intent is to keep the jurisdiction within the boundary of the pueblo. We don't want for there to be a prosecution-free zone." As for Ben Garcia, his "emotional roller coaster" continues, he said. "My father (Elizario Garcia) taught me to never quit." New Mexican reporter Shannon Shaw contributed to this report. Copyright c. 2004 Santa Fe New Mexican. --------- "RE: Six Nations unites in taxation protest" --------- Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 10:54 AM From: frostyca2000 [frostyca2000@yahoo.com] Subj: Six Nations unites in taxation protest Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Six Nations unites in taxation protest Susan Gamble February 12, 2005 Local News - There may finally be an issue that unites the various factions on Six Nations: a cry against government taxation. Elected councillors and confederacy supporters, conventional businessmen and smoke shop owners who sell contraband cigarettes spoke with one voice at a community meeting Friday and said no to taxes. "We have to, as a sovereign people, make a stand against taxation," Chief Coun. David General told the crowd. Precipitated by the recent police raids on two Highway 54 smoke shops, the meeting brought a roomful of about 75 smoke shop owners, family members and employees before an almost complete band council to talk about how to prevent more RCMP raids. Delmar Jacobs, a smoke shop owner who spoke for the People Against Taxation, asked the council what could be done about the "recent terrorist action" by the RCMP. Officers armed with warrants emptied two shops of illegal tobacco and cash from their tills. The total taken, said the RCMP, was 15 cases of tobacco plus 203 cartons of cigarettes and about $10,000 in cash. The tobacco -- on which duty and excise taxes had not been paid -- is considered contraband. No products from the reserve's own manufacturer -- Grand River Enterprises -- were taken. GRE pays millions of dollars in taxes each year and some smoke shop owners are blaming the firm for instigating these raids. Those at the meeting wanted to know if the band council -- or the police commission -- had known of the raids in advance. They hadn't, said General. "We've been in contact with the Six Nations Police to make sure that doesn't happen again," he told those at the meeting. And the council agreed to quickly draft a letter to the Canada Revenue Agency and those responsible for collecting excise taxes asking them to hold off on any further police raids on smoke shops until the council can draft an official resolution on the situation. The letter will be copied to the RCMP, Attorney General's office, and other Iroquoian communities. Then council will work on an official statement "with teeth," said General. The anti-taxes' community group pushed for the council to make a `No tax on Six Nations' statement but General admitted that some taxes are already entrenched. "Six Nations made a stand in the early '90s, but has that stopped tax from coming in this territory?" asked General. "The reality is we pay income tax and investment tax so now how do we make a different statement?" Natives have been nervously watching the government ease ever closer to native tax issues. The Indian Act was changed in 1988 to allow First Nations to tax their own lands. The government has fought against native tax shelters, where reserve-based businesses hired out off-reserve workers to companies, believing they didn't have to pay income tax. It has pushed to ensure natives collect tax from non-natives buying gas on the reserve. Recently, the government raised the issue of taxing grant money given to aboriginal students by their bands because, it said, the funds weren't protected by a treaty agreement. "The federal government has been planning all along to impose taxes on us," said Coun. Chris Martin. "We have to fight them and take steps." Most of the councillors advocated a strong no-tax stance from council and some want to recruit Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine to come and speak about the issue. "How are we going to keep the invading people out in the meantime?" asked Jacobs. "What can we do if they come back?" asked a woman who had been working in a smoke shop when it was raided. "We can't call the police." No one offered any answers. There are approximately 60 smoke shops on Six Nations, ranging from a room in a regular house to a roadside trailer or shack. Collectively, the shops employ 400 to 500 people. According to the RCMP, charges are still pending in the Jan. 27 raids. --------- "RE: Two slain, three charged with Homicide" --------- Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:54:57 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DOUBLE MURDER" http://www.leaderadvertiser.com/articles/2005/02/10/news/news01.txt Two slain, three charged with homicide February 10, 2005 By Ethan Smith Leader Staff Three men have been charged with deliberate homicide after law enforcement officials found two bodies at a residence south of Ronan last Thursday, Feb. 3, and robbery appears to be the motive. Jeremiah Green, 19, Troy McDonald, 19, and Glen Gardipee, 29, were arraigned late last week and are currently being held without bond at the Lake County detention center, all charged in the deaths of Catherine Madplume, 20, and Gerald Joseph Sirucek, 20. Members of the Lake County Sheriff's department and Tribal police arrived at 3692 Eagle Pass Trail last Thursday afternoon at about 1 p.m., after reportedly receiving information from Green that two people had been killed there. According to Lake County Undersheriff Michael Sargeant, Green arrived at the Tribal detention center earlier that morning, complaining of being harassed. Tribal officers led him into a room to take a statement regarding the harassment when Green came forth with some startling information, Sargeant said. "The took him in to fill out a simple report, and the next thing they know, he blurts out that there are two bodies there at the residence," Sargeant said. Lake County Sheriff's deputies met Tribal police in Pablo to discuss the situation, obtained a warrant, and proceeded together to Eagle Pass Trail, located between St. Ignatius and Ronan. There they found the bodies of Madplume and Sirucek behind a trailer located behind the main residence, Sargeant said. They most likely died from multiple gun shot wounds, although knife wounds were evident and a knife was recovered at the scene, Sargeant said. The bodies were taken to the state crime lab for autopsies. Inside the main house, law enforcement officials found McDonald and Gardipee asleep. According to Sargeant, all three of the men had been drinking heavily the night before with Sirucek. "There was a large quantity of alcohol involved before the event (murders) took place. They had been drinking heavily all night," he said. Initial interviews with the suspects indicate that they believed Sirucek had "come into some money," Sargeant said. "We received information that they planned to rob Gerald (Sirucek). Sometime during the course of the evening, their plans changed," Sargeant said. He said they recovered $193 off of one of the suspects, who told them it came from Sirucek. It appears Madplume happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, Sargeant said. "We're still investigating how far in advance they might have planned the robbery, and how late in the night the murders came into it. We're being told they were killed at 4 a.m.," said Sargeant. "Catherine (Madplume) was not the intended target." Sargeant said Green's story differs slightly from the other two, but all three have said they were involved in the situation. "His (Green's) version is a little different from the other two, but yes, to various degrees, they've all given us stories as to how it all happened," he said. The victims and suspects are all from the Ronan and Pablo areas, and all knew each other, Sargeant said. All five were Tribal members. The residence is reportedly owned by a family member of McDonald's who was out of town at the time. Green reportedly managed to leave the house Thursday morning under the guise of getting something to eat, Sargeant said. He then went to the Tribal police office, where he allegedly told officers what had taken place. Copyright c. 2002 Lake Country Leader Advertiser/Polson, MT. --------- "RE: Cibola Center goes after Navajo Nation Inmates" --------- Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:54:57 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CCDC SEEKS TO HOUSE INMATES OF CLOSING FACILITY" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2005/feb/021505cibola.html Cibola detention center goes after Navajo Nation inmates By Jim Tiffin Staff Writer February 15, 2005 GRANTS - Cibola County is going after Navajo Nation inmates. Cibola County Detention Center (CCDC) Administrator Rick Lucero told the board of commissioners Monday night the Tuba City, Ariz., detention facility is closing, and the Navajo Nation has 60 inmates that could be transferred to Cibola County. There are currently 68 vacant beds available at CCDC for non-county inmates. "As you know commissioners, we are looking everywhere and at everybody for inmates to rent out our beds in the detention center," County Manager David Ulibarri said. A Navajo Nation contract was presented to the commission but needed several changes before the county could present a proposal to the Nation to take its inmates. The contract needed the CCDC's policies, a $50 fee for each day for each prisoner and should include the Nation's policies on civil rights, Indian Health Service and Indian services, Commissioner Chair Bennie Cohoe said. "You also need to make arrangements to make sure the county will be paid, " he said. Cohoe is a member of the Navajo Nation, a former tribal delegate and chapter house president. A motion to submit the contract to the Nation on Feb. 23 as a proposal with changes and amendments was approved unanimously with Cohoe, commissioners Fred Scott, Dr. Jane Pitts and Elmer Chavez voting yes. Commissioner Frank Emerson was not present. All county offices will be closed on Feb. 21 in celebration of President's Day. The commission will next meet at 5 p.m., in the county complex at 515 W. High St., on March 14. - To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call 287-2197 or e-mail: jtiffin@blackmesa-isp.net. Copyright c. 2005 Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: County wants to restore Tribal Police authority" --------- Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:16:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ST. REGIS MOHAWK" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.wrgb.com/news/regional/regional.asp?selection=article_28910 Officials want to restore authority to tribal police February 18, 2005 (Malone, NY - AP) - Officials in a northern New York county want to restore certain powers to Mohawk tribal police - five years after that authority was taken away after a dispute over a roadblock. Franklin County officials say state Senator Betty Little of Queensbury will again introduce legislation to restore the authority that gives American Indian officers the authority to arrest non-Indians. The tribal police on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation on the Canadian border used to have full policing powers under the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. But the sheriff rescinded those powers after Mohawk police officers blocked a road in March 2000. County officials say restoring the Mohawk police authority to arrest non-Indians will help other law enforcement agencies that patrol along the northern border. The Mohawk's Tribal Council and the US Department of Homeland Security support the legislation. Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2004 WRGB-TV6. --------- "RE: Vancouver Man faces extradition to U.S." --------- Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:16:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JUHN GRAHAM" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/news/story.html?id=102a21f0-ce29-47f8-8ff8-40cd3d3434db Vancouver man faces extradition to U.S. for 30-year-old murder Camille Bains Canadian Press February 20, 2005 VANCOUVER (CP) - A family's anguish over a 30-year-old unsolved murder, an alleged FBI coverup and one man's fight against extradition to the United States are at the centre of a case that takes a pivotal twist Monday before a B.C. Supreme Court judge. The U.S. wants John Graham, 49, extradited to face first-degree murder charges in the death of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, a fellow activist in the American Indian Movement. The body of Aquash, a Mi'kmaq from Nova Scotia, was discovered at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota on Feb. 24, 1976. She had been shot in the back of the head. Graham has maintained that he had nothing to do with Aquash's murder and that he's been framed by the FBI because of his political involvement. But Aquash's daughter, Denise Maloney Pictou, wants Graham returned to the U.S. for a trial that will hopefully answer the many questions that have haunted her family for so many years. "The tragedy is that a Canadian native woman was murdered on American soil and we're still dealing with it . . . in 2005," Maloney Pictou said in an interview from Halifax. Graham was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1, 2003, and has been out on bail to prepare for his extradition hearing, which wrapped up Feb. 2. On Monday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge will decide whether Graham should be committed for extradition to stand trial for Aquash's murder. It's up to the federal justice minister to decide if Graham will be surrendered to the U.S. The case has raised many questions, including why it took American authorities almost three decades to lay charges against Graham. Terry LaLiberte, Graham's lawyer, said the U.S. just didn't have the evidence to extradite his client. "They tried several times to get indictments and could not get them," LaLiberte said. "There could be five or six grand juries that decided they didn't have enough evidence to indict and then all of a sudden, allegedly, they got new witnesses that decided to talk." LaLiberte argued during the extradition hearing that the evidence the U. S. certified against his client was "full of holes." One alleged witness was dead for nine months when he was said to be available to testify and another man denied making the statements attributed to him, LaLiberte told B.C. Supreme Court. But Maloney Pictou said it took so long to charge Graham because witnesses were reluctant to accuse their own people and wouldn't turn to the authorities they'd historically fought against for their native rights. "When you're dealing with individuals who've spent all of their lives protesting the government and protesting authoritative representation, who are they going to go to?" Aquash had contacted her family in Nova Scotia to say she was troubled about the impoverished conditions at the P