_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 13, ISSUE 014 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 April 2, 2005 Kiowa aiden p'a/leaf moon Algonquin Suquanni kesos/moon when they set Indian corn Anishnaabe Iskigamizige-giizis(oog)/broken snowshoe 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; 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "The Creator gave stewardship to indigenous peoples to protect and manage the Earth's resources, including all things natural, cultural, spiritual and sacred. Indigenous people are prayerful people who live in harmony with the Earth; and indigenous wealth is not found in monetary values, but in the gift of life from the Earths' natural resources." __ Preamble to The Treaty of Indigenous Nations of the Western Hemisphere +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! You had to be living on the far side of the moon to not be aware of the horror and tragedy that feel on the Red Lake Nation this past week. Sadly, the tragedy just got worse. Read the lead story "Tribal Chairman defends Son's Innocence" and pray for Chairman Jourdain, the People of Red Lake and especially the children. -=-=-=- My half-side, Janet, read the article about Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, "Hey America, want 1.3 Million Sq. Miles of Land?" inviting dialogue regarding the concept of true international sovereignty for the Treaty Nations. After chewing on some of the implications Janet offers these thoughts for consideration. ---- I found this today when I was looking for news for my web site. I was absolutely intrigued. On the one hand, it's one hell of a bargain for everybody concerned if the US could be trusted to honor treaties made with sovereign nations. It very well could pave the way for increased sovereignty by "dependent" nations inside the US borders, too. Sadly, the US government cannot be trusted. The BIA has proven that repeatedly. I think the Roseau River Anishinabe may be looking at the wrong US Indians for inspiration. The casino-rich Indians are indeed doing well, but that happened in spite of official obstruction, footdragging, and undermining by the US, state, and city government administrations and legislatures. Connecticut provides a fine example. They did well because they and their investors were willing to sink huge amounts of money into lawyers, researchers, and yes, lobbyists to get past official obstruction. The US tribal experience with oil (which is what the Canadian tribes have to offer) and other fuel resources are another story altogether. There was a lot of oil found in Indian Country (aka Oklahoma). Name one tribe that got rich (excepting Osage, and they as a nation did not get rich. Individual Osage landowners made a ton of money initially, but even that was short-lived, thanks to a quickly-enacted law that was expressly designed to make sure Osage oil money filtered through non-Indian hands (and most of the money stuck to the non-Indian hand-filter). Are the Navajo and Hopi rich thanks to the uranium and coal mined on their lands? Hardly. They are among the most impoverished of Indian nations. Navajo who worked in the uranium mines are sick and dying--and still waiting for reimbursement ordered by the courts because the U.S. government encouraged them to expose themselves to uranium, knowing full well what it would do to them. They're in the desert -- and the water resources they do have are being pumped out to slurry coal. Do the tribes in the Dakotas receive fair reimbursement for the grazing permits the BIA manages on their land? They say no, but they can't be sure -- because the land-owners never get to see the bids or the paperwork -- they just get a BIA-printed statement. So should the US be interested in dealing with a Canadian tribe as a sovereign nation? Well, let's see -- these folks are a lot closer to the US than the middle east, so oil transport would be easier and safer. They seem to be one hell of a lot friendlier. They don't seem to be trying to soak us -- just interested in making a decent life for themselves. They probably won't require an armed invasion every 10 years to keep down the latest religious fanatic or dictator. Seems like a deal to me -- it's even a good deal for the US if everybody operates honestly and honorably. Should the Roseau River Anishinabe sign on with the US? Only if they can hire the services of the Mashantucket Pequot's legal team to run the paperwork through a fine-toothed comb, and make sure ANY agreement is legally enforcible in both US and world courts. They need expert management to watch for a corporate knife in the back from the contractors, because I promise you that Halliburton will be first in line. They do have the expertise. But they're experts in a lot of things, including achieving clout in the US government. And the tribe will need a good PR team, too. Because experience has shown that there is very little that a US government bureaucrat likes less than an Indian who can actually make a living without some official holding their hands (while another one is picking their pockets). +/// Janet Smith owlstar@bellsouth.net /*/+ P. O. Box 672168 OwlStar Trading Post + / * Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. http://www.owlstar.com * + ---- Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) wotanging@bellsouth.net P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------- - Tribal Chairman - Teenager's Death defends Son's Innocence brings Youth to Reservation - Red Lake reels after Rampage - New Law allows BLM - Indian Country reacts to sell Wild Horses to Indians to deadly Rez Shooting - American Indian Banks turn profit - Statement on Red Lake - Apache Author wins Chippewa Nation Tragedy prestigious Book Award - YELLOW BIRD: - Elders help USFS In Red Lake, Healing begins make over Book on Tlingit Food - YELLOW BIRD: - Native Hawaiian housing on Kauai Many share the Pain, Healing - BENGE: Oaxacan Immigrants - A Nation on his Shoulders face great challenges - Proposed Treaty - GIAGO: A stroke of the Pen could protect Nations to end Indian Gaming - CHIEF LEAFORD BEARSKIN: - GARDNER: A Sorry State of Affairs My Indian World - BENGE: The Illini - CHIEF JIM GRAY: should put away their 'Chief' Today's BIA budget and You - St. Regis Mohawk accord OK'd - Utes' influence - Court rules for Deh Cho in Politics rising in Pipeline Case - Duwamish take issue - Hey America, with History Bill want 1.3 Million Sq. Miles of Land - Tribes demand Respect for Peaks - Residential School Fire - Tohono O'odham Nation evokes mixed feelings sues over Telescope Project - First Nation banishes - Bill seeks Recognition suspected Gang Members for Virginia Tribes - Study of Montana - House approves Hunting changes Prisoner disparities requested on Reservations - Native Prisoner - Business brisk at -- No Religeous items Mariposa's new Indian Clinic at Victorville - Chasco -- High Court to weigh Prisoners' - Students fight to Religious Rights save D-Q TRIBAL COLLEGE - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Huron Campus mostly - Rustywire: Navajo Police left out of Si Tanka Bailout - Spiritdove Poem: SuShawna --------- "RE: Tribal Chairman defends Son's Innocence" --------- Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2005 08:51:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHAIRMAN'S SON ARRESTED" http://www.startribune.com/stories/156/5318401.html Tribal chairman defends son's innocence in wake of arrest Howie Padilla, David Chanen and Terry Collins, Star Tribune March 29, 2005 Red Lake Tribal Chairman Floyd "Buck" Jourdain today came to the defense of his teenage son, who was charged Monday with conspiracy in connection with the shootings at Red Lake on March 21 that killed 10 people. Jourdain's statement was handed out at tribal headquarters late this morning. "Last week I spoke on behalf of the Red Lake Nation as its leader and a saddened member of this community. Today, I speak as a father," Jourdain said in his statement. "As many of you are aware, my son, Louis, has been charged in association with the shootings that occurred here last week. "My heart is heavy as a result of the tragic events that unfolded here at our nation. But it is with optimism that I state my son, Louis', innocence. "He is a good boy with a good heart who never harmed anyone in his entire life. I know my son, and he is incapable of committing such an act." Floyd and Louis Jourdain Jourdain went on to say that he's confident the investigation will show that gunman Jeff Weise, 16, acted alone in the shootings. Weise took his own life. Jourdain, who was elected tribal chairman last August, is spending time with his family and will not be making further public comment, said Holly Cook, a tribal member who is serving as a liaison to the news media. The younger Jourdain was arrested without incident Sunday on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. No other arrests are imminent, the source said. U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said that juvenile proceedings have begun for the suspect in federal court, but he wouldn't comment on what role the younger Jourdain might have played in the shootings and refused Monday to confirm who had been arrested. Last Tuesday, FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Tabman said authorities believed that Weise was acting alone, and that the motive was unknown. Funeral services for Weise, 16, were held Monday afternoon. Federal authorities and witnesses say Weise killed his grandfather, a tribal police officer, and his grandfather's companion March 21 at their home. Weise then took his grandfather's weapons to the high school, where he killed a security guard, a teacher and five students before turning the gun on himself. As news of the arrest spread Monday afternoon, reaction on the reservation ranged from shock to the hope that everybody involved in the killings will be brought to justice. Victoria Brun, sister of Derrick Brun, the school security guard who was killed, said she had been told that authorities were given evidence on Saturday that more than one person might be involved. That theory may be backed up by comments from a student who said Monday that he was in the school library with Louis Jourdain at the time of the shootings. The student said that as soon as they heard gunfire and even before they saw Weise's face, Jourdain was identifying the shooter as "Jeff." Others involved? Heffelfinger said he couldn't "confirm or deny" that the shootings by Weise were part of a larger attack planned on the high school. He added that the investigation is ongoing in Red Lake and the Twin Cities. Victoria Brun was told that authorities discovered an online conversation between Weise's girlfriend and another person about the shooting. When asked if residents of Red Lake should have been concerned about their safety if another person connected to the shooting had been on the loose for a week, Heffelfinger said all the agencies involved in the investigation have responsibility for public safety on Red Lake. "I won't comment on any facts that relate to arrest ... nor comment on facts developed during the investigation since March 21," Heffelfinger said Monday. "We have a very active and ongoing investigation, and it would be speculation for me to say what is going to come out." He said the timing of the arrest announcement had nothing to do with any events in and around Red Lake, which included funerals for three of the shooting victims and for Weise. Brun's funeral was held in Red Lake followed by burial in Bemidji. Services for schoolteacher Neva Rogers were held in Bemidji and for ninth- grader Alicia Spike in Redby. The final two funerals are scheduled for Wednesday and Saturday. Gov. Tim Pawlenty and his aides observed a moment of silence in his office about 2 p.m., then he emerged to speak briefly to reporters. Calling the shootings "a very terrible event," Pawlenty said: "We don't get to pick which tragedies visit us in life ... but we do get to pick how to respond. And this community is responding with love and support and encouragement." Money and offers of assistance or help with counseling is pouring in to the Red Lake Reservation from all over the nation, Pawlenty said. "We can be proud of a very generous response." Principal 'befuddled' News of Louis Jourdain's arrest came between the funerals in Red Lake for Brun and Weise, which were held at the same church. Easter lilies were placed on tables in the rear of the church and platters of food were taken to the kitchen for the Weise funeral. Before the casket was brought into the church, reporters and a photographer were asked by the Rev. Pat Sullivan to leave via a back door because the family requested that no media be present. Red Lake High School Principal Chris Dunshee said he learned about Monday's arrest from reporters. He was planning to meet with other school administrators today to discuss reopening the high school, which is currently scheduled for the middle of April, and then he planned to drive to Fargo to see two students who are still hospitalized there. Now he's not sure what will happen next. "I'm as befuddled as everyone else," Dunshee said. "Right now I'm trying to react to it as it comes." Some of the victim's relatives, such as the mother of Dewayne Lewis, declined to comment on the arrest. A family member of another victim was afraid to talk about it because "someone might come by and shoot at the house." A member of the Red Lake Tribal Council, Donald (Dudie) May, said in a brief telephone interview Monday night that he didn't feel like answering questions "right now." "I've just returned from the cemetery and I'm just beginning to hear about what's happening," May said. "I'm just not going to say anything more." As tribal chairman, Floyd Jourdain is the chief executive of the Red Lake band and leads an elected government of 11 officials. Jourdain, 40, was elected last year in a special election that was scheduled after the previously elected chairman, Butch Brun, died in 2003. At a news conference last Thursday, Jourdain said the shootings were a wake-up call to the community. "We need to pay more attention to our young people and what they're saying and what they're doing," he said. "And that's universal. That crosses cultural lines." Tonya Lussier, the older sister of victim Chase Lussier, said Monday that she was shocked when she learned about the younger Jourdain's arrest -- and is concerned that there could be more people involved. "I hope they catch everybody who was involved and knew what was going on," she said. Said Victoria Brun: "I won't feel safe. These kids won't feel safe. This community won't feel safe until they're all brought in custody." Staff writers Jill Burcum, Doug Grow, Dane Smith and Richard Meryhew contributed to this report. The writers can be reached at statenews@startribune.com. StarTribune Copyright c. 2005 Star Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Red Lake reels after Rampage" --------- Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 08:50:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCHOOL SHOOTING" http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/11199096.htm Red Lake reels after rampage MASSACRE: Ten on Minnesota reservation dead in nation's worst school shooting since Columbine BY JOSHUA FREED ASSOCIATED PRESS March 22, 2005 BEMIDJI, Minn. - A high school student went on a shooting rampage on an American Indian reservation Monday, killing his grandparents at their home and seven people at his school, grinning and waving as he fired, authorities and witnesses said. The gunman exchanged shots with police before apparently shooting himself. It was the nation's worst school shooting since the Columbine massacre in 1999. Students pleaded with the gunman to stop shooting, witnesses said. "You could hear a girl saying, 'No, Jeff, quit, quit. Leave me alone. What are you doing?' " Sondra Hegstrom told the Pioneer of Bemidji, using the name of the suspected shooter. Before the shootings at Red Lake High School, the suspect's grandparents were shot in their home and died later. There was no immediate indication of the gunman's motive. FBI spokesman Paul McCabe said the shooter first killed a school security officer near the school entrance. At some point, he exchanged gunfire with Red Lake police in a hallway, then retreated to a classroom, where he was believed to have shot himself, McCabe said. Six students, including the gunman, were killed at the school, along with a teacher and a security guard, McCabe said. Fourteen to 15 other students were injured, McCabe said. Some were being cared for in Bemidji, about 20 miles south of Red Lake. Authorities closed the reservation while they investigate the shootings. Hegstrom described the gunman grinning and waving at a student his gun was pointed at, then swiveling to shoot someone else. "I looked him in the eye and ran in the room, and that's when I hid," she told the Pioneer. McCabe declined to talk about a possible connection between the suspect and the couple killed at the home, but Red Lake Fire Director Roman Stately said they were the grandparents of the shooter. He identified the shooter's grandfather as Daryl Lussier, a longtime officer with the Red Lake Police Department, and said Lussier's guns may have been used in the shootings. Stately said the shooter had two handguns and a shotgun. "After he shot a security guard, he walked down the hallway shooting and went into a classroom where he shot a teacher and more students," Stately told KARE-TV of Minneapolis. Students and a teacher, Diane Schwanz, said the shooter tried to break down a door to get into her classroom. "I just got on the floor and called the cops," Schwanz told the Pioneer. "I was still just half-believing it." Ashley Morrison, another student, had taken refuge in Schwanz's classroom. With the shooter banging on the door, she dialed her mother on her cell phone. Her mother, Wendy Morrison, said she could hear gunshots on the line. "Mom, he's trying to get in here and I'm scared," Ashley Morrison told her mother. All of the dead students were found in one room. One of them was a boy believed to be the shooter, McCabe said. He would not comment on reports that the boy shot himself and said it was too early to speculate on a motive. The school was evacuated after the shootings and locked down for investigation, McCabe said. "It will probably take us throughout the night to really put the whole picture together," he said. Two people were being treated at MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, where two extra neurosurgeons were called in. Three others were being treated at the hospital in Bemidji, but their injuries weren't thought to be life- threatening. It wasn't immediately clear where the other wounded were being handled. Phone calls to a reservation hospital rang busy throughout the evening. Outside the hospital in Bemidji, Martha Thunder shivered in a blue sweat shirt while smoking a cigarette. Her son Cody, 15, a sophomore, was being treated inside for a gunshot wound to the hip. She called him one of the lucky ones. Thunder said her son told her what he saw. "He heard gunshots and the teacher said, 'No that's the janitor doing something.' And the next thing he knew, the kid walked in there and pointed the gun right at him." The shooter fired twice. The first bullet struck a clock on the wall behind Cody, who ducked. The second bullet hit him in the hip, she said. "I'm just afraid of tonight, because I just know he's going to wake with nightmares," she said. Thunder said her son knew the shooter from school, but she refused to give the name of the boy she thought shot her son. It was the nation's worst school shooting since two students at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 23 before killing themselves April 20, 1999. The last apparent fatal school shootings involving a student also happened in Minnesota in September 2003, when two students were killed at Rocori High School in Cold Spring. Classmate John Jason McLaughlin, who was 15 at the time of the shooting, awaits trial in the case. That shooting was the first major incident reported since 2001. Red Lake High School, on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in far northern Minnesota, has about 300 students, according to its Web site. The reservation is about 240 miles north of the Twin Cities. It is home to the Red Lake Chippewa Tribe, one of the poorest in the state. According to the 2000 census, 5,162 people lived on the reservation, almost all of them American Indians. Copyright c. 2005 Duluth News Tribune. --------- "RE: Indian Country reacts to deadly Rez Shooting" --------- Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 08:40:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RED LAKE SCHOOL SHOOTING" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://64.62.196.98/News/2005/007191.asp Indian Country reacts to deadly reservation shooting March 23, 2005 Tribal nations across the country sent their support to the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota on Tuesday after a deadly tragedy that left 10 dead and more than a dozen injured in the worst incident of school-related violence since Columbine. Tex Hall, the president of the National Congress of American Indians and chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, said he watched "in disbelief" as the tragedy unfolded late Monday. He urged tribes to provide economic aid, prayers and support, especially the youth, to the remote Ojibwe community in Red Lake. "I know I speak for all of Indian Country when I say that our hearts are heavy with the news of this loss," Hall said. "As we wait for further details, I want to say to the families and friends of all students and teachers that we grieve with you, we pray with you -- and we will do anything we can to help you through this sudden and painful tragedy." Harold Frazier, the chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, said the incident shows that reservations are not shielded from the type of school-related violence that has occurred elsewhere. "We are reminded of the fragility of life and the significance of our young," he said. "We share in your mourning and know as Indian people we are not immune to such disastrous events that happen nation-wide." Lawrence T. Morgan, the speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, agreed with that assessment. He said tribes need to work harder to address problems facing Native youth today. "It is also a reminder that we need to offer assistance to our Native youth in any way possible to avoid these types of tragedies from repeating anywhere else," Morgan said yesterday. Ernie Stevens Jr., the chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, announced that its member tribes are contributing $25,000 to the Red Lake Nation Memorial Fund to assist the victims and families of Monday's shooting. "We are saddened by this tragedy, the pain and loss of which has been felt throughout Indian Country," he said. The outpouring of support came as the Red Lake Nation was still in shock from what Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr. called "one of the darkest and most painful occurrences in the history of our tribe." The reservation, normally closed to outsiders, teemed with activity -- media and police included -- but all the schools were closed as was the tribe's casino. Jourdain ordered all Red Lake and U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff until further notice. Tribal, local, state and federal authorities continue to try and piece together the events on Monday afternoon. The FBI has indicated they know of no motive behind the deadly spree. The shooter was identified as Jeff Weise, age 16. He turned the gun on himself after killing nine others, including his grandfather, and five fellow students at the Red Lake High School. The FBI does not have a motive for the killings but believes Weise acted alone. The tragedy began when he short his grandfather, Daryl "Dash" Lussier, 58, a veteran tribal police officer, and his grandfather's girlfriend, Michelle Sigana, 32, at their home on the reservation. Weise then went to the school, where he shot and killed teacher Neva Winnecoup-Rogers, 62, and Derrick Brun, 28, a security guard. The five students killed were identified as: Dwayne Lewis, 15; Chase Lussier, 15; Alicia Spike, 15; Thurlene Stillday, 15; and Chanelle Rosebear, 15. Five victims remain hospitalized with two in critical condition. Steven Cobenais, 15, took a gunshot wound to the side of his head. Jeffrey May, 15, was shot in the face and has suffered paralysis on his left side. Both are being treated at MeritCare in Fargo, North Dakota. Other hospitalized victims were identified as: Ryan Augunash, 15; Lance Crowe, 15; and Cody Thunder, 15. They are being treated at a hospital in nearby Bemidji. Donations for the victims and their families can be sent to: Red Lake Nation Memorial Fund P.O. Box 574 Red Lake, Minnesota 56671 Copyright c. 2000-2005 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Statement on Red Lake Chippewa Nation Tragedy" --------- Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 1:12 PM From: Karen Francis [karenfrancis@navajo.org] Subj: Statement on Red Lake Chippewa Nation tragedy Contact: Karen Francis, Public Information Officer Navajo Nation Council Office of the Speaker (928) 871-7160 karenfrancis@navajo.org www.navajonationcouncil.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council Lawrence T. Morgan issued the following statement: As the Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, I extend my deepest sympathy and my heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Council to the Red Lake Chippewa Nation for the tragic events resulting in the loss of lives yesterday in Minnesota. I further ask the media and members of the public to not rush to judgment in these types of situations as we do not yet have all the facts. The truth is we may never know exactly what happened on that tragic day. Instead, I ask that we concentrate on the lives that have been impacted. Certainly this is a time of mourning for the families and their communities. We should pay our respects to the affected families and friends of the victims and offer prayers to restore harmony to the Red Lake Chippewa Nation. This is a reminder that Native American tribes are not immune to the events that happen nation-wide. It is also a reminder that we need to offer assistance to our Native youth in any way possible to avoid these types of tragedies from repeating anywhere else. If you know of youth who may be in trouble or show or express signs of distress, then seek out help for them. It is up to us - as clan relatives and community members - to address the problems of our youth. It is difficult to comprehend how much impact this type of incident has on the lives of the community members. It is our responsibility to learn from such events to prevent possible, similar occurrences; or we can continue to downplay the soaring echoes of our youth in their cry for help. We can see these occurrences as a cry for help and focus on rehabilitation. To all those affected, I offer our prayers with greatest respect and deepest sorrow. May the Holy People bestow their blessings on your Nation during this difficult time. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: In Red Lake, Healing begins" --------- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:32:25 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: RED LAKE" http://www.grandforks.com/mld//columnists/dorreen_yellow_bird/11215239.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: In Red Lake, healing begins March 24, 2005 In the long history of the Red Lake Nation, March 21 will go down as one of the worst of all days. It is a day when the lives of nine people - four teens - ended before they could step into tomorrow. Nine were gunned down, one took his life and seven are recovering today from gunshot wounds perpetrated by one of their own - a young, teenage student, Jeff Weise. When I arrived Monday at Red Lake, it was dusk. The serenity and calm of this Chippewa nation was broken by the red and blue lights spinning atop ambulances and police cars. Marked cars cruised the length of Highway 89, which runs through the tribal headquarters and community of the Red Lake Nation. The entrance gate to the reservation, the main highway coming into Red Lake, also was ablaze with bright orange flares and highway patrol squad cars. The polished badges and serious faces of the police officers made us realize there was big trouble on the reservation. It is a community in pain. From the highway at Red Lake, I could see the new Indian Health hospital - a hotel-like structure with a covered drive-up, like many motels. Big, white balls of light lit the hospital parking lot. Many people were milling around. I could see people crowded against the windows of the hospital, many with tears on their faces. This is a community of about 5,000 residents. In Indian country, it means many of these people are related in some way to each other. And when there is trouble or someone is hurt in Indian country, we all come together to support that person and their family. Where I'm from, on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota, it's common to find 20 or 30 people in the hospital lobby and waiting rooms, prepared to stay with the injured person until he or she is well. Apparently that's common at Red Lake, too. At the hospital, I could see groups of young people in the parking lot and standing on the sidewalks, holding each other, crying softly and whispering in low voices among themselves. The anguish was deep and visible. Then I heard a crying and wailing so loud that the sound crawled up my spine. It was an older woman being supported by two young women. She was wailing like I've heard Native elders do when the pain is so deep and the sound comes from the depth of their soul. I brushed away tears and swallowed hard. When I returned the next morning, I saw a bald eagle perched on the top branch of an evergreen tree. Its head was crooked, as if it was watching the goings-on below. Earlier that day, a Pipe ceremony was held in the emergency parking lot of the hospital in Bemidji, where some of the injured were being treated. During that ceremony, an eagle circled high overhead, one of our reporters said. Reports from St. Paul said three eagles flew in a circle above a Pipe ceremony at the state Capitol, too. The Eagle Grandfathers have come to help with the healing, I thought. The spiritual leaders are calling them. I talked to friends I've met in inipi or sweat ceremonies and one of my Sundance brothers. They told me that far beyond all the media glare, the spiritual leaders of the tribe were taking action. They were holding inipis and Pipe ceremonies that evening and would continue as long as necessary. They would go to the school and wipe it clean, a teacher of Indian culture said. It was a traumatic and awful day, so the terror and killing will need to be taken care of, he said. It will need to be cleaned with smudge and prayer so that the community can start with a clean slate. It would be like a "wiping of the tears" ceremony, he told me. Before I left Bemidji, where I stayed during my visit to Red Lake, I talked with some people about those who passed away. The gut-wrenching hurt you feel when someone dear to you passes away was multiplied 10 times over, I could see. I lost my mother in December, but I sensed that the pain of their loss was so many times worse. And I knew the hurt and deep sadness I felt that day - Dec. 13 - was awful. As I turned my car toward home late Tuesday night, I knew the Red Lake people are strong. They have lost so much over the centuries and have survived. And, as some of the spiritual leaders said, this, too, they will survive. The healing at the behest of the spiritual leaders and the community has begun. ---- 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: YELLOW BIRD: Many share the Pain, Healing" --------- Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 19:26:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: RED LAKE PAIN" http://www.grandforks.com//dorreen_yellow_bird/11234894.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Many share the pain, healing March 26, 2005 After five days of working on the shootings on the Red Lake reservation, I began to feel the awfulness of that fateful day building up in me. I told the inipi (sweat) leader Thursday night that I felt like I had inhaled some of the terror, anguish and sorrow. The nausea in the pit of my stomach was beginning to grow. I needed cleansing. During these past five days, I heard many stories of the shootings at Red Lake. I was on site for two days and for three more days involved in stories coming in nationwide. Our daily fare has been the Red Lake shootings. Some of the stories were secondhand - told by a nephew to his uncle, perhaps - but they were so vivid and heartbreaking I almost could see the tears running down the face of the tribe. I wanted everyone to hear some of these stories because they indicate the strength and bravery of some of these young people, security officers and the English teacher. These people indeed are warriors. But because what I heard was not from a first-person source, the names and the details must wait until they can be confirmed. Yet, the overall stories are enough to haunt my days and nights. For example, on the basis of several accounts, I believe that some of these young people were willing to take a bullet for a friend. One tried to wrestle an out-of-control Jeff Weiss, the 16-year-old boy who went on the rampage, to the ground and was shot for his trouble. Another young man tried to protect a female friend. There is a gentleness about the Red Lake people. Some already have forgiven Weiss. Others have expressed the wish that had they been more aware, perhaps they would have seen the signs or could have helped him. So, my dreams are painted with those stories and accounts of the life and death situations in Red Lake High School. Thursday, the moon was so full that it lit the fields and roadsides as I drove into the country for an inipi. I needed to clear my mind. I was pleased when the inipi leader sang the eagle song that night. I had seen the eagles converging on the area in the days that followed the shootings. I also was pleased that the young men and women in the inipi prayed hard for the Red Lake Nation people - some of those in the inipi had relatives at Red Lake, so they cried and prayer hard for them. These are difficult times. For me, as an outsider to the reservation but as someone who has covered the Red Lake people many times in the past seven years, it is hard to see so much death. But I know that for the people at Red Lake, it must be 100 times worse. They should know, however, that there are people from many reservations, especially in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, who are praying in ceremony for them. They should know that there are people throughout the nation and even the world who have opened their hearts, who feel their pain and who are praying, too. Healing and peace will come again. ---- Dorreen Yellow Bird's column appears Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2005 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: A Nation on his Shoulders" --------- Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 19:26:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RED LAKE CHAIRMAN FLOYD JOURDAIN" http://www.grandforks.com//special_packages/red_lake/11240956.htm A nation on his shoulders High school shooting makes a heavy burden for Red Lake Nation Chairman Floyd Jourdain By Dorreen Yellow Bird Herald Staff Write March 27, 2005 FARGO - In a matter of hours Monday, Floyd "Buck" Jourdain Jr., tribal chairman of the Red Lake Chippewa Nation, was thrown into the national spotlight. When the tragic school shooting that took the lives of six teens and four adults became public, the media dove into the school shootings without realizing the difference between sovereign tribal nations and the rest of the states. The tragedy that put the Red Lake Band on worldwide screens also set the catastrophe squarely on the shoulders of Jourdain. He was 40 years old when elected chairman and the youngest person to assume the chairman position. He was sworn in only seven months before the incident. Suddenly, Jourdain said, the Red Lake community was looking to him for answers and support. Jourdain isn't alone. He said he has a council who have been tireless in supporting the community. They are a hands-on group. They have gathered donations for the people, provided support and helped with the needs of the people. He said he followed the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colo., several years ago, never thinking that same kind of tragedy would visit his home reservation. "It broke my heart," he said, "to see how the high school was bombarded day-after-day by the media." He didn't want that to happen to Red Lake, so he and the tribal council implemented restrictions on the media. "It wasn't good to see three young women on the front page crying," he said, referring to images that ran in newspapers nationwide the day after. On the media Those young women were in pain, and that isn't a public event, Jourdain said. The press took offense at the restrictions, but they need to remember, he said, there is an investigation going on. The tribe must provide for the needs of the survivors. Families also are carrying out traditions and can't be disturbed. "We consider ourselves a unique nation and the survivors have special needs," he said. Jourdain said key areas of the reservation had no-nonsense security officers guarding them. The media, with their huge saucers pointed skyward, were restricted to the parking lot of the Red Lake Police Department - the very department that lost Daryl Lussier, Weise's grandfather and one of their sergeants. The media that didn't take the restrictions seriously found, to their chagrin, cameras and equipment confiscated. They questioned the tribe about their rights as press, but, Jourdain said, when you enter another country, you live in accordance with their rules and policies and respect their law. He asked: Why, then, does the media feel they can go and do whatever they want on the Red Lake reservation? "It is rare that the media comes to the reservation to visit," he said. Jourdain wasn't impressed with some of the questions the media asked. They didn't do their homework, he said. One reporter asked what sage was used for. Another asked if a body needed to be buried in 24 hours. Another reporter asked why the FBI was involved in the shootings. And there were questions about the sovereignty of the Red Lake Nation. They only come when there is an incident and now that there is a tragedy, they want full access, he said. It troubles Jourdain that the interest of the media seems to be about the angst, hurt and carnage of the Red Lake people. The perspective of the media has been focused on the negative, Jourdain said, the appalling negative perspective that perpetuates the state of despair and violence on reservations that Red Lake reads and hears most of the time. That, he said, is not telling the clear truth, either. Next steps Now the tribe is preparing for the days and years ahead, Jourdain said. "We are planning what is next for the Red Lake people, but the concentration remains on the tragic events of March 21." Throughout the days following the shootings, the tribe has come together for strength. They met, a few nights ago, at the Humanities Center in Red Lake. Thirty pipe carriers and traditional drummers came to the center. There were groups from many tribes around the region. Representatives and spiritual leaders from Canada also came. The tribe wants to reach out for the families at home and pray in the traditional way, Jourdain said. Jourdain sees Indian country as a place with problems. Planning for the future has only begun. Jourdain said he and the tribal council want to help the Red Lake people, and all native people, for that matter, make a connection by taking part in traditional activities such as powwows, where all generations sing, dance, pray, eat and have a good time together. There's an overwhelming message in the shootings, he said. "This is a wake-up call for Indian country. We need to pay attention to our children. We need to respect and love one another and we need to find ways to connect better. We need to pay attention to those in the community who are hurting instead of getting lost in our own individuality." ---- Yellow Bird is a Herald columnist and an Arikara member of the Three Affiliated Tribes, North Dakota. Reach her at (701) 780-1228, (800) 477-6572, ext. 228; or dyellowbird@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2005 Grand Forks Herald. --------- "RE: Proposed Treaty could protect Nations" --------- Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 08:50:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TREATY TO PROTECT TRIBAL RESOURCES" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410573 Proposed treaty could protect nations by: Redwing Cloud March 21, 2005 Suggests formation of United League of Indigenous Nations OLYMPIA, Wash. - A new proposal seeks to solve problems common to American Indians and Pacific Rim indigenous nations. The 'Treaty of Indigenous Nations of the Western Hemisphere' is being designed to stop cultural property theft, re-establish ancient trade agreements and co- manage environmental protections for tribal homelands. "Those are the goals," said Alan Parker, coordinator and former staff director to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, "to enable us to protect our cultural property by unification of nations, thus strengthening the role of American Indians and Pacific Rim Natives around the principle of all peoples respecting indigenous law." The Umatilla Tribes of Oregon presented this proposal, which would create a United League of Indigenous Nations, last June to the National Congress of American Indians, after Maori professor Graham Smith of New Zealand suggested the enactment of an Indigenous Nations Treaty. Native scholars and traditional leaders realized that something needed to be done to protect their cultural property. The National Congress of American Indians immediately recognized the importance of such an agreement and established a Special Committee of Indigenous Nations Relationships. Delegates were appointed to meet with Native representatives from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A draft treaty was written and submitted for consideration. The following preamble to the treaty relates the essence of its intent: "The Creator gave stewardship to indigenous peoples to protect and manage the Earth's resources, including all things natural, cultural, spiritual and sacred. Indigenous people are prayerful people who live in harmony with the Earth; and indigenous wealth is not found in monetary values, but in the gift of life from the Earths' natural resources. "We the Indian nations, tribes, First Nations, indigenous nations, and indigenous peoples of North America and the Pacific Rim that are signatory to this treaty, in mutual recognition of our inherent sovereign powers, hereby re-establish political, social and economic relations, and cooperative control of all natural resources considered essential to the cultural, spiritual and religious rights of our peoples." Principles were then drawn up and circulated for discussion. "Other indigenous peoples of the world are interested in how American Indians have found a way to work together through the NCAI to represent their interest as a group through credentialing," said Parker in his Feb. 27 presentation to the NCAI in Washington, D.C. "Tribal delegates present their credentials to the NCAI committee in the form of a resolution that identifies them as the tribe's representative and able to make decisions on behalf of the tribe. The credentialing process is seen as a possible model for the Maori people so that not just anyone could claim to be a representative. There is interest on an international level as well. There is protocol among nations called international diplomacy that dictates how nations deal with each other. This treaty would be indigenous international diplomacy," said Parker. The NCAI decided that the next step should be a full discussion on the treaty at its mid-year conference, June 13 - 15 at the Oneida Indian Nation's homeland in Wisconsin. Copyright c. 1998-2005 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: CHIEF LEAFORD BEARSKIN: My Indian World" --------- Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 08:40:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHIEF BEARSKIN: WYANDOTTE NATION" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6195 Chief Leaford Bearskin: My Indian World My Indian World March 22, 2005 Commentary: I have been Chief of the Wyandotte Nation for 23 years. These opinions are my own. They are not influenced by anyone or anything except my observations of the American Indian world. Our Indian world has never been a pleasant place to be. Our past, present, and future appear to be a never changing picture. We cannot change the past and the present seems to be following along the same pathway. The future cannot be left alone to stumble along without direction. The best way to handle our future is to take over the leadership of our world ourselves. Strong leaders are needed, planned objectives should be established, and down-to-earth good hard work needs to be the order of the day. One of my first observations is that the majority of Indian tribes are small. Many of them do not possess the capability to compete with the rest of the world for contracts, small or large business ventures. Some Chiefs operate their tribes out of their homes. They do not have attorneys, grant writers, or secretaries to assist them. These facts should be made known to Congressmen, the Secretary of Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Services, State governments, and community governments. All policies and procedures developed for American Indians should take this into consideration. We all don't have casinos or huge contracts with the federal government. We barely exist with scarce assistance from the federal government. Our unemployment status is far above the norm. Our health statistics are deplorable. I was taught by the United States Air Force that one of the best incentives for success is proper planning for obtaining any major objective. I believe that the Secretary of the Interior, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Indian Health Service should have a long-range plan for fixing the problems of our Indian world. To my knowledge there has never been any planning accomplished to even find out what our problems really are. I have always heard that our world has numerous problems, but I have never heard any of the above-named agencies define those problems. You cannot fix anything if you don't know what you are attempting to fix. I believe that a long-range plan should be developed that defines the source of our problems and then adopt a 25 or a 50-year-plan for solving those problems. This should be accomplished by the Secretary of Interior, BIA, IHS and tribal leaders. In my opinion we still have the same problems we had some 200 years ago when our lands were taken from us and we were placed behind barbed wire. It is also my opinion that most of those in power don't care or give a damn! Are there solutions to our problems? I believe there are. I believe that our biggest problem is that we are our own worst enemy. In 1983 when I was elected Chief, I heard other tribal leaders complain about our worst problem was that we don't get together to fight for our people. I have heard this for 23 years. We are still saying the same thing. Unity is paramount to success. If there are 600 tribes in the United States, there should be 600 tribal leaders speaking in unison. There should be a communication system developed to keep us all updated on our efforts. It should be directed upstairs and downstairs. Governors and Attorney Generals should be included. Many of our States have large numbers of Indians in their populations. In those States we have two powerful weapons at our disposal. Those two weapons are the pen and the vote. The pen can be used to publicize our efforts and to advise the powers that be of our objectives as well as our wants and needs. The pen can tell our side of the story. The other power is the most potent weapon that now exists - the power of the vote. Every adult American Indian must not only be registered to vote - they must vote! In those areas where our votes count we should be electing our people to public offices. This includes local governments, state governments, and the Congress of the United States. It is my opinion that candidates get elected because most people don't vote. If people who do vote have a well- organized vote-getting effort, their candidate can be elected. Our own elected officials can represent us better than anyone else. We can have our own people helping run counties, states, and congress. Let's elect American Indians to these offices. This brings another important thought to mind. We have several Congressmen in Washington, D.C. that have been our friends over the years. These Congressmen are reaching an age when they are likely looking to retirement in the not too distant future. When that happens, our friends in Congress will be practically nil. We need to start immediately to be prepared to replace them with people of our own choice. There are other things that should be looked at and corrected. We need to clean up our own act. There are some people among us that create situations that gives us all a bad reputation...embezzlers, crooks, thieves, etc. We need to take care of these types ourselves. We cannot be successful with people of that nature on board. It is my opinion that every person in the United States who holds an elected position should be a role model for children -- Presidents, Congressmen, State officials, County officials. Others who should be role models for the children are movie actors and actresses, professional football, baseball, and basketball players, Hollywood directors and writers--especially those folks; teachers, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, and all tribal leaders. Myriads of others could and should be included. There are many tribes that have become successful in gaming, contractual economic projects, etc. who set a fine example for all the rest of us. If those folks have any surplus money, it could be spent on upgrading our laws that govern our Indian world. It would be the greatest assistance they could provide to all Indians. Can all this be accomplished? I believe it can. Dedication, sacrifice, teamwork, proper planning, and hard work are essential. The time frame must start today. The handwriting is on the wall. All the above are the writings of an old man. I am proud of my ancestry. I am proud of my Wyandotte Nation. I am proud to be an American. You might say, I am the proudest Chief in the Indian World. P.S. There really is a Great Spirit. Leaford Bearskin is the Chief of Wyandotte Nation. He is also a Lt. Col. USAF (Ret) Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: CHIEF JIM GRAY: Today's BIA budget and You" --------- Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 08:36:52 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHIEF GRAY: BIA BUDGET" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6210 Chief Jim Gray: Today's BIA budget and you Native American Times guest commentary Jim Gray March 24, 2005 For the past few years, Indian country has taken a beating on the BIA budget. With permanent tax cuts being considered by Congress, more federal spending on the recent wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and the war against terror, it appears domestic spending will suffer hits for some time to come. Which includes Indian country. As co-chairman of the BIA Budget Advisory Council with National Congress of American Indians President Tex Hall, I have become more familiar with a few terms in trying to understand the vast complexity of the BIA's current $2.2 billion dollar budget. Aside from the fact that last year it was a $2.3 billion dollar budget. First: OST, the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians, a relatively new creation of Congress that administers the fiduciary trust responsibility of Indian and tribal money matters. Second is the all too familiar BIA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which was recently reorganized to carry out the trust responsibility to Indians and tribes in all programmatic and resource responsibilities. Third is Cobell v. Norton: the class action lawsuit filed by the Native American Rights Fund in 1996 on behalf of over 500,000 Individual Indian Monies (IIM) account holders. This suit seeks an accounting of all transactions of the funds that have gone into IIM accounts since the Federal Government began to exercise responsibility over Indian people and their land as a trustee, and to fix the trust funds system. Fourth is the BIA-Tribal Budget Advisory Council. This is a group of over 24 tribes representing the BIA's 12 regions have met with the central office of the BIA on numerous occasions in an effort to develop funding priorities in the administration's effort to seek tribal input into the budget. Fifth is the Performance Assessment Rating Tool, also known as PART, is the name given to the evaluation tool created by the President to gauge whether federal agencies and federal programs are accomplishing their objectives and living up to their mission statements. On it's face, this seems like a healthy management tool to assist the Office of Management and Budget in allocating scarce dollars to reward successful programs and to withhold money from programs that are not succeeding anyway. Unfortunately, the already badly under funded programs of the BIA do not fare well under this program, and some of them are being cut even more drastically. The PART program takes no notice whatsoever of need, but identifies the programs that clearly are meeting their stated goals. I could go on with other acronyms and organizations but what you see here are a lot of divergent interests coming to play in a complicated battle over money. With the release of the President's budget request for 2006, (which starts in October,'05), the BIA Central office financial duties has been busy pulling more Indian program money toward Washington, centralizing operations and establishing budget priorities for the Bureau. In recent months the Administration has unveiled its new "Fiduciary Trust Model" (FTM), which is to guide the BIA's trust reform efforts into the 21st century. BIA Central Office functions have been reengineered by a group of key BIA staffers, and a couple of tribal representatives funded by a separate grant to the United South and Eastern Tribes (USET). This group has contributed to the drafting of the FTM that has been rolled out across the BIA's 12 regions in the past year. This costs money... lots of money. In light of national priorities, there are simply few dollars available to fund tribal programs and tribal input has been limited to just a few individuals. The recent reorganization of the BIA along with the FTM has created a new BIA and OST. At this juncture, here is what we know... - The Central office has swept unspent dollars from the 12 BIA regions into central offices functions that once operated under two year budget cycles and moving them to other central office priorities. Until very recently these BIA regional budget priorities have been operating under a two-year budget cycle, so unspent balances from one fiscal year to the next are not entirely unexpected. According to the recently released green books that go into greater detail behind the budget justifications, BIA Central office functions have taken an increase from 4.0% to 6.4% in the past three years, while regional operations as a percent have declined from 1.5% to .2% during the same time period. Tribal Priority Allocation (TPA) which fund basic tribal services, such as social services, adult vocational training, child welfare natural resource management, and contract support. TPA gives tribes the opportunity to further Indian self- determination by establishing their own priorities and moving fe deral funds among programs. TPA has remained steady at 1.3 % of the budget, but in real dollars they have also declined from $25,189,000 to $24,588,000. - In response to the Cobell case, Central office has been shifting these funds towards other functions that deal with Judge Lamberth's decisions in mandating the Administration to direct the Department of Interior to do a full accounting of all transactions. - In light of lower PART scores in many BIA programs, the OMB is recommending that the President cut these programs because it appears that the BIA has done a poor job of administering them. Regardless of how underfunded these programs were to begin with, budgets like the backlog in tribal courts have suffered under the PART review because they now have to operate with even less money. - Through self-governance contracting and compacts with the BIA, tribes across the country have are administrating over 50% of the BIA's budget in recent years. Yet as contractors, tribes who are the beneficiaries of these programs are nowhere at the table when it comes to drafting the strategic plan of the BIA and the mission statements and objectives that serve Native communities. - There are many new faces in key OST and other BIA Central Office operations. Unfortunately, there are few if any getting hired under the Indian preference hiring policy. For example, in fiscal year '04, 93.5% were American Indian or Alaska Native; in '05 the ratio is down to 80%. This is an organization of more than 8,000 employees. As you can see, the Administration has framed the debate for the national BIA-Tribal budget Advisory council meeting set for March 29 and 30th in Washington. There is very little tribes can do to reverse a trend that has been set in motion years ago. Suffice it to say, that this is not your Daddy's BIA, which isn't necessarily a bad thing--but what has been lost is the unwritten sense of obligation that once existed from this federal agency towards the tribes and Indian people. Instead in recent years, the BIA has claimed to operate under an official policy of encouraging tribes to move toward an era of self-determination and support for tribal sovereignty. Sadly however, I believe it's time tribes and Indian people suspect the real government policy towards Indian country is one of litigation defense strategy, limited liability and grudging acceptance of its trust responsibility. What's the acronym for that? **** Jim Gray is the Chief of the Osage Nation and co-chairman of the BIA-Tribal Budget Advisory Council. Editors Note: Due to the recent tragedy in Red Lake, the BIA's Tribal Budget Advisory Council meeting has been postponed until April. --------- "RE: Utes' influence in Politics rising" --------- Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 08:46:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="UTE POLITICAL POWER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://durangoherald.com/news&article_path=/news/05/news050327_2.htm Utes' influence in politics rising By George Lurie Herald Denver Bureau Chief March 27, 2005 DENVER - They called themselves "the dwellers of the turquoise sky." For centuries - before the arrival of the white man and modern times - Colorado was theirs. But after they were forcibly relocated to reservations around 1900, the Ute Indians lived for decades in relative obscurity. Then, in the early 1990s, casino gambling, booming energy markets and savvy investing catapulted them back into prominence. Today, as the Utes' power and influence continue to expand, the tribes must decide how big a role they want to play in shaping 21st century Colorado. The Southern Utes, already one of the country's richest Indian tribes, control about 1 percent of the United States' natural gas supply; the Ute Mountain Utes operate one of the biggest casino-hotel resorts in the state and have become the single-largest employer in Montezuma County. No longer relegated to hardscrabble lives on remote reservations, the Utes have become major players and are commanding an increasing amount of respect around the region. Colorado Gov. Bill Owens held a lengthy private meeting with top Ute leaders earlier this month, and tribal leaders are expected to play a key role at the historic Indian gambling summit the governor will host in Denver this week. State Rep. Mark Cloer, R-Colorado Springs, skipped a key debate on the House floor to attend the most recent Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs meeting, held at the University of Denver on March 17. "The Utes have become increasingly key players and deserve to be treated as valuable partners by the state," Cloer said. At the same meeting, Southern Ute Chairman Clement Frost, who has served on the Tribal Council for more than two decades, acknowledged that times are changing on the reservation. "I've spent a long time working on behalf of my people and am very proud of where we are as a tribe today," said Frost, 63, who heads a seven- member council that is growing increasingly younger with each election. "We're changing a lot in our leadership and (that affects) our relations with the state," Frost said. "Sometimes, it's difficult working with the younger tribal members. The way we live now, things have to go quicker than in the past. Hopefully, everything will work out." Southern Ute Executive Officer Everett Burch, Frost's right-hand man in Ignacio, said of the tribe's relationship with the state: "Right now, it's is pretty good. But we would like to work with the governor and with the state Legislature more closely on issues pertaining to the tribe." Peter Ortego, general counsel to the Ute Mountain Utes, concurs. "I would characterize our overall relationship with the state as excellent," Ortego said. Another indicator of the Utes' increasing prominence was evident earlier this year when, for the first time since the early 1980s, a tribal member was appointed to a top-level state job. Ernest House Jr., 24, a member of the Ute Mountain tribe who has worked in Lt. Gov. Jane Norton's office for two years, was named executive secretary of the state's Indian affairs commission. House's father, Ernest Sr., has been a member of the Ute Mountain Tribal Council for 22 years. His great-grandfather, Jack House, was the tribe's last traditional chief and is memorialized, along with Southern Ute Chief Ouray, in stained-glass portraits under the Capitol's gold dome. "Ernest is one of the brightest young stars on the scene today," said Norton, who acknowledged that youth is an increasingly key component in the makeup of both Ute tribal councils today. Southern Ute Vice Chairman Melvin Baker is in his early 40s. Newly elected council member Matthew Box is 36. Ute Mountain Chairman Selwyn Whiteskunk and Vice Chairman Manuel Hart are 41 and 43, respectively. Whiteskunk is one of a dozen Ute officials scheduled to attend the upcoming gambling summit, where a number of western state governors, congressmen and representatives from more than two dozens tribes will convene to hear more about the burgeoning national impact of off- reservation Indian gambling. Whiteskunk said the Utes "want to learn more" about a proposal by the Cheyenne-Arapaho tribes of Oklahoma, who want to settle a century-old land claim against Colorado by building a Las Vegas-style casino resort near Denver International Airport, a project that Owens adamantly opposes. The Utes have yet to take a position on the Cheyenne-Arapaho proposal, nor have they expressed any formal interest in expanding their gambling operations - on or off the reservation. But as tribal councils on both reservations grow younger - and bolder - that could change. Asked if he was disappointed by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's last- minute cancellation of a scheduled meeting with tribal leaders at the recent Indian affairs commission meeting, Southern Ute councilman Jimmy Newton Jr., 28, said: "Not at all. It's no big deal. I'd rather talk about the new Boys and Girls Club we're starting in Ignacio or the drum group I'm working with at the high school, where teenagers are learning positive ways to deal with the stress and negative influences in their lives." Newton, the youngest member of the Southern Ute Tribal Council, met Owens for the first time last week. "He gave us his full attention and seemed interested in what we had to say," Newton said. "The governor seemed like a pretty cool guy." Reach Herald Denver Bureau Chief George Lurie at georgel@durangoherald.com. Copyright c. 2005 the Durango Herald. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Duwamish take issue with History Bill" --------- Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 19:26:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EXCLUDED FROM LAND=EXCLUDED FROM PAST" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/217551_history25.html?source=rss Duwamish take issue with history bill Landless tribes say proposal excludes them By LEWIS KAMB SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER March 25, 2005 The idea came out of a tribal education summit two years ago: It was high time to make Native American history a requirement in Washington's public schools. For too long, tribal leaders from across Washington told state Rep. John McCoy, non-Indian students and their families have held misconceptions about their Indian neighbors. An honest airing about tribal culture and history -- the kind written and taught by Natives themselves -- could help change that, they said. And so, for the past two sessions, McCoy -- a Democrat from Tulalip and the state's lone Native American lawmaker -- has floated the idea in the Legislature. This session, McCoy's proposal seems poised to become state law. The bill -- HB1495S -- has passed by the House with overwhelming support. Today, it is scheduled for a public hearing in a Senate education committee. "It looks like it has a good chance," McCoy said this week. But just when it seems on the verge of approval, the proposal is being assailed by a seemingly unlikely opponent: fellow Native Americans. Members of the Duwamish Tribe this week publicly opposed the measure. In an official statement sent to McCoy and others, Duwamish Tribal Chairwoman Cecile Hansen lambasted the bill as "further genocide -- pure and simple." In its current form, the bill specifically tasks public schools to work with tribes with reservations in their respective school districts when creating a tribal history curriculum. But the Duwamish -- and at least six other tribes in Washington -- are not recognized by the federal government. Those tribes have no reservations, and neither do at least three others in this state that are federally recognized. And so, under the bill's language, Hansen fears the history of her tribe -- one of two to which Sealth, namesake to the state's largest city, served as anointed chief -- would not be taught in public schools -- and perhaps, eventually be written out of existence. "How can you exclude the history of the tribe who gives its name to Seattle?" Hansen asked. "But that's exactly what this bill does. It excludes the history of all landless tribes." Clearing up 'misconceptions' A tribal history requirement in Washington's schools is long overdue, said Denny Hurtado, Indian education program director for the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. "Part of the reason there's racial problems in schools and communities is because people don't know our real histories," said Hurtado, a Skokomish Indian. "There's a lot of misconceptions and stereotypes based on inaccurate history. So this (bill) is a big deal." Although state law already says any state history and government course required for high school graduation "is encouraged to include" information about tribal culture, history and government, there is no requirement to do so. McCoy's proposal would change that; amending the law to say such courses needed for graduation "shall" include such information. But in its original form, the bill was much stronger. It also required school districts to collaborate with local tribes to develop and implement a tribal history curricula. That rankled some lawmakers and education officials, who noted the state generally doesn't mandate what local school districts should or shouldn't teach. Some also feared that, with scores on the WASL exam soon to start counting for student graduation requirements, the law would pile on new learning requirements at the worst time. In order to fly, the bill had to be amended. A new version replaced language stating a school district "must" collaborate with local tribes to "is encouraged to." It also gave the state school directors association leeway in organizing meetings with tribes to develop curriculum plans, as well as granted more say over when individual school districts needed to include tribal history to their coursework. "It's watered down, big time," Hurtado said. "Some tribal leaders weren't too happy." But, in order to win lawmakers' support, McCoy says, "changes had to be made." Still, it's what hasn't changed that has Hansen and her tribe ticked off Seeking recognition For more than 25 years, the Duwamish has sought federal acknowledgement -- the status that can bring with it federal money for social, government and health programs, and a chance for a reservation. In early 2000, the tribe -- as well as fellow longtime petitioners, the Chinook Indian Nation of southwest Washington -- finally received recognition from the federal Interior Department, only to see it quickly revoked after a change in presidential administrations. "They should be recognized," Hurtado said. "It's not their fault that they're not." Still, Hansen fears the history and culture of her people would be excluded from public instruction under the bill. That's because it specifically states, "(a) school district is encouraged to include in its curriculum information about the history, culture and government of any tribe whose reservation lands, in whole or in part, are within the boundaries of the school district." In 1855, Sealth -- the anointed chief of the Suquamish and Duwamish tribes -- signed the Treaty of Point Elliott, in which the Duwamish ceded the land where Seattle now stands in exchange for a reservation and other guarantees. But the Duwamish never got its reservation -- nor is it among the 29 tribes now federally recognized. By including such language, Hansen said, the bill "discriminates against Native American tribes lacking a reservation." Hansen has made her opinion widely known, sending e-mails to McCoy and others, and asking citizens to contact their state lawmakers to oppose the bill. "She was rather put out with me," said McCoy, who traces part of his heritage to the Duwamish. "But the history of the Duwamish is going to get covered." McCoy said he has encouraged Hansen to work with the Muckleshoot tribe - -- a blend of several traditional tribes that includes some members of Duwamish heritage -- should the time ultimately come to create a tribal history curriculum for public schools. Such suggestions make Hansen angry. The Muckleshoot, she said, has long been a rival of her tribe. Having that tribe in control of what should or should not be taught about Duwamish history is preposterous, she said. "I don't know what planet John McCoy is living on," Hansen says. "If any tribe opposes the Duwamish, it's the Muckleshoot." (A Muckleshoot member referred to by tribal representatives for this story could not be reached for comment.) Other tribal leaders said they understand Hansen's concerns. But such details can always be worked out later, they said. "The most important thing right now is to get the legislation into law," said Craig Bill, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs. And even a diluted version of the measure that doesn't please everyone is better than none at all, Hurtado said. "At least it's something. Once it gets passed, we can always go back and amend it." P-I reporter Lewis Kamb can be reached at 206-448-8336 or lewiskamb@seattlepi.com Copyright c. 1996-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. --------- "RE: Tribes demand Respect for Peaks" --------- Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 08:36:52 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FIGHTING FOREST SERVICE DECISION" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2005/mar/032405peaks.html Tribes demand respect for peaks Ask U.S. government to reverse recent Forest Service decision By Kathy Helms Dine' Bureau March 25, 2005 CROWNPOINT - Navajo, Hopi and surrounding tribes are asking the U.S. government to stop persecuting them and start respecting their First Amendment guarantee to Freedom of Religion by reversing a recent Forest Service decision affecting one of the Four Sacred Mountains, Dook'o'osliid, the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff. On March 8, Coconino National Forest Supervisor Nora Rasure authorized the use of reclaimed wastewater from the City of Flagstaff to make artificial snow at the Arizona Snowbowl located on the Peaks. The Snowbowl consists of 777 acres of national forest lands and operates under a special use permit issued by the forest service. This decision left the tribes, the Navajo Nation in particular, feeling very much disrespected. As a result, members of the Navajo Nation Council's Resources Committee and Lloyd Thompson of Dine' Medicine Men's Association tried Tuesday at a committee meeting in Crownpoint to craft get-tough legislation the federal government will better understand regarding their opposition to the forest service decision. Strong words Rather than reaffirming language included in a 1998 Council resolution approved when Kelsey Begaye was Speaker, the committee approved amended wording proposed by Resources Vice Chairperson LaVern Wagner, Pueblo Pintado/Torreon/Whitehorse Lake. Wagner recommended changing the title of the legislation from "Affirming the Navajo Nation Opposition ..." to state: "The Navajo Nation Strongly Opposes Desecration of Dook'o'osliid (San Francisco Peaks)." At her recommendation the committee also modified a second part of the resolution authorizing the Navajo Nation President, Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, Resources Committee and the Washington Office to advocate with the federal government against desecration of the peaks. The committee inserted language recommending working with three agencies in particular U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Interior, and U.S. Forest Service in addition to the already named State of Arizona and City of Flagstaff, in an attempt to be heard. Delegate Nelson Begaye, Lukachukai/Tsaile/Wheatfields, addressed the committee. "I would thank my sister, the Honorable Wagner for that language, because if we just reaffirm the resolution that's there, 'Now therefore be it resolved that the Navajo Nation Council respectfully urges ...'." "I think we're beyond 'respectfully urging' the United States Congress," he said. Begaye also questioned whether the legislation has "enough teeth" to stop the Snowbowl expansion. Sponsor Amos Johnson of Black Mesa asked the committee "for all your wisdom and minds to help me with this legislation. If the word 'reaffirming' is not strong enough, let's say 'strongly oppose.' I'm asking for your wise choice of words." Begaye suggested that Thompson, as a member of the medicine men's association "might have the right language. ... I really don't like 'reaffirming'," Begaye said. Resources Chairman George Arthur, battling a case of laryngitis, mustered enough voice to tell Begaye: "You are right that this legislation should be in a manner that there is no direct misunderstanding on how the Navajo people feel about the development that's being initiated in Dook'o'osliid. "I did not hear Navajo Nation leadership taking a public stand or a strong stand against this initiative. I have only read what is in the news media with comments being made from Navajo Nation leadership," Arthur said. Thompson said the tribes' 45-day appeal period is under way. "Within 45 days another resolution is coming. We try to stay away from the legal sovereignty. We try to use our traditional sovereignty. The white people never understand us," he said. After his presentation, Thompson elaborated further, saying the peaks have not been the only sacred mountain under attack. The medicine men also opposed uranium mining on the west side of Mount Taylor back around 1980. Strong medicine "The white people, they seem like they don't understand, really, because they've never been around the reservation and grew up with the ceremonial way of life. That's the reason why they don't understand. What it says in there (Snowbowl decision), Nora Rasure says economics is No. 1. That's money," Thompson said. The white people talk about God creating people, he said. "He created different races, like us Indians. The Great Spirit gave us our language. He gave us a ceremony to pray for ourselves, to pray for our people. He even let us, sort of like 'own' this world, the Universe. That's why we have Four Directions. "The Navajo pray with this mountain. Seems like this mountain is themselves. ... That's the reason why I say, 'How would you like it if people keep hitting you like this'?" He smacked his fist into his hand. "That is what is happening to us. It is beating us, putting scars on us. ... Way back in 1978 they started. Way back in 1940 they started. Way back in 1830 when Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, then they started hunting us down like we're not human, we're like animals," Thompson said. Now, the federal government once again is in a dispute with the Indians, but next Tuesday, the affected tribes will gather at the museum in Flagstaff, in the shadow of the peaks, to discuss the next course of action. Thompson said the medicine men contacted environmental specialists in California and were told there are 22 ingredients used to clean up the wastewater. "But from the medicine man's point of view, there are human remains in there. "You know those driver's licenses that say, 'Donor'? Those people when they get killed, these interns that want to be doctors, they take them to the hospital and they practice on them. And all that blood goes in there (wastewater). People that have to amputate their arms and legs, that goes in there. And birth. It all goes in there. Monthly from the woman goes in there," he said. To Native Americans, dousing this wastewater on their house of worship is not only a sacrilege, but eventual cultural suicide. Traditional medicine man Johnson Dennison, said, "The Navajo Blessing Way Ceremony says before anyone came, there was a Goddess, Changing Woman, who instructed to find Four Sacred Mountains." One of those, Dook'o'osliid, is in the west and is the color of twilight. "It should be kept pure and clean. If one is not respecting it, there will be consequences," Dennison said. - To contact reporter Kathy Helms: call (928) 729-2331; fax (928) 729-2446; e-mail, khelms@frontiernet.net Copyright c. 2005 Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Tohono O'odham Nation sues over Telescope Project" --------- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:32:25 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KITT PEAK" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0324kittpeak.html Tribe fights Kitt Peak project Susan Carroll Republic Tucson Bureau March 24, 2005 TUCSON - The Tohono O'odham Nation on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to halt a $13 million telescope construction project atop Kitt Peak as leaders threatened to break a lease signed decades ago allowing scientific observations on the tribe's sacred mountain. The complaint in U.S. District Court in Tucson asserts that the National Science Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution violated federal law by starting construction last September on a cluster of four telescopes, dubbed VERITAS, designed to detect high-energy particles from sources such as black holes and exploding stars. "Since the announcement of plans to construct a new array of telescopes and related buildings, the Nation has asserted that further building would destroy the spiritual nature of the site," the lawsuit states. "Not only were its objections ignored, but the federal government violated numerous provisions of federal law in order to commence construction without formally considering the Nation's position." advertisement Curt Suplee, a National Science Foundation spokesman, said Wednesday that officials at the Virginia-based agency had not received a copy of the complaint from the court and could not comment on the lawsuit. VERITAS spokesman Trevor C. Weekes also declined to comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that the National Science Foundation, which has leased land atop Kitt Peak since 1958, ignored concerns by tribal members that the project "would destroy the spiritual nature of the site" and seeks to stop construction during an investigation into whether the government violated historic preservation or environmental policy laws. The site selected for VERITAS, or Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System, is located on Kitt Peak, known as Iolkam to members of the Tohono O'odham Nation and revered as one of the tribe's sacred sites for spiritual ceremonies, according to the complaint. Kitt Peak National Observatory, about 60 miles southwest of Tucson, also is home to more than 20 other telescopes. "The nation has always maintained that this mountain is of cultural significance to our people," said Vivian Juan-Saunders, the nation's chairwoman. "We want a role in decision making, and we have a right to decision making. I'm appalled that certain federal laws are not being abided by a federal entity." The lawsuit states that the Smithsonian Institution subleased the land from the National Science Foundation in 2003, but accuses the government of failing to properly seek approval from the tribe or public comments. A previous site selected for VERITAS in the Santa Rita Mountains eventually was rejected because of its proximity to a Native American sweat lodge, according to the court records. The Tohono O'odham's lawsuit alleges that the National Science Foundation failed to send draft reports to tribal leaders assessing the potential cultural and environmental impact, which prevented the nation from identifying Kitt Peak as a sacred site eligible for historic property protections. Tribal leaders twice denied the National Science Foundation's requests to lease land on Kitt Peak before signing a perpetual lease in 1958, the lawsuit states. Juan-Saunders said tribal leaders were drawn into that agreement by "the promise of revenue and employment" during an era when the federal government was systematically taking away land and certain rights from tribes across the country. "Today we're in an era of self-governance and self-determination, where the Tohono O'odham Nation is concerned that our rights are being violated, " she said, adding that the tribe will seek to break the 47-year-old lease if leaders are not satisfied that cultural and spiritual sites are adequately protected. Reach the reporter at susan.carroll@arizonarepublic.com or 1-(520)-207-6007. Copyright c. 2005, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Bill seeks Recognition for Virginia Tribes" --------- Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 08:50:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VIRGINIA RECOGNITION REINTRODUCED" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410576 Reintroduced bill seeks recognition for Virginia tribes by: Bobbie Whitehead / Indian Country Today March 21, 2005 WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., has once again introduced a bill that, if passed by Congress, would give six of Virginia's Indian tribes federal recognition. Allen on March 1 introduced Senate bill 480, also known as the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act. A companion bill for the U.S. House of Representatives, sponsored by Reps. Jim Moran, D-Va., and Jo Ann Davis, R-Va., most likely will be introduced by the end of March, said Kenneth Branham, Monacan Indian Nation chief. "It's basically the same bill - nothing's changed since it was first introduced in the last session of Congress," Branham said. The Senate bill, first introduced in 2003, would grant the six tribes federal recognition and place land in trust for the tribes. The tribes that would receive federal recognition include the Nansemond, the Rappahannock, the Upper Mattaponi, the Chickahominy and the Eastern Chickahominy Indian tribes, along with the Monacan Indian Nation. Opponents to the bill have argued it would allow the tribes to operate casinos in the state. The bill, however, includes a provision that prohibits the tribes from utilizing the federal Indian gaming act, according to Allen's office. None of the state's Indian tribes have expressed an interesting in operating casinos, Branham said. Instead, the tribes want to be recognized as Indians to qualify for educational scholarships, reclaim ancestral remains, qualify for low-interest business loans and have access to health benefits available to federally recognized tribes, he said. "I do look for the bill to move, and I'm pretty confident it will pass in the Senate this time," Branham said. "If it passes the Senate this year, then we can concentrate on the House next year. We've been doing it for a little over five years now, and I would like to see it pass this time." Copyright c. 1998-2005 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: House approves Hunting changes on Reservations" --------- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:32:25 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ND REZ HUNTING REGS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/11209620.htm House approves hunting changes on Indian reservations DALE WETZEL Associated Press March 23, 2005 BISMARCK, N.D. - A new state law will end some hunters' obligation to buy a state hunting license to hunt on tribal land on North Dakota's American Indian reservations. Supporters say the change will help foster better tribal-state relationships. "All we're asking is to respect somebody else's license," said Rep. Rod Froelich, D-Selfridge, whose district includes the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation. "We do it for Montana, we do it for South Dakota, we do it for Minnesota, we do it for Colorado." The North Dakota House voted 58-33 on Tuesday to approve the change. It has already been endorsed by the Senate, and the bill now heads to Gov. John Hoeven's desk for his review. It affects non-Indian hunters who are hunting on tribal land, within the boundaries of one of North Dakota's five reservations. Some land within reservation boundaries is not Indian-owned, and state hunting rules would still prevail on that property. Indian hunters who hunt on tribal land only need a tribal hunting license. The legislation specifies that non-Indian hunters, who are hunting on tribal land within a reservation, also need only a tribal license. Previously, the state Game and Fish Department has also required non- Indian hunters to obtain a state license as well when hunting on tribal land. The change will allow non-Indian hunters to transport game off the reservation, with only a tribal license. The change has been the subject of protracted negotiations between lawmakers and tribal officials in both the House and Senate. Rep. Jon Nelson, R-Wolford, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said the panel spent more time on the bill than it has on any other during the 2005 Legislature. Rep. Todd Porter, R-Mandan, the committee's vice chairman, opposed the change, saying it would result in confusion among sportsmen about the rules on hunting on Indian reservation land. It will hamper attempts to synchronize hunting seasons, bag limits and possession limits for game, Porter said. "If the state loses concurrent game management powers, important and careful, considered state game management tools ... are lost," Porter said. Froelich said the bill "doesn't take anything away from the state. It doesn't take anything away from the tribes. It says, 'Here, we're going to work together for a change.' ... We need to pass this bill and show the tribes we're willing to sit down and work with them." Said Rep. Mike Norland, R-Williston: "They're going to manage their resource, and I think we should have the respect for those sovereign nations to let them do that." ---- The bill is SB2041. Copyright c. 2005 Aberdeen American News. --------- "RE: Business brisk at Mariposa's new Indian Clinic" --------- Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 08:46:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MARIPOSA HEALTH CLINIC" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.modbee.com/local/story/10204162p-11019229c.html Business brisk at Mariposa's new Indian clinic By CAROL REITER MERCED SUN-STAR March 27, 2005 MARIPOSA - Two centuries ago, the Mewuk Indians used native plants and tribal healers to take care of aches and pains. Now, a clinic has opened to make sure their health care is state of the art. Mariposa Indian Health Clinic opened across from John C. Fremont Hospital earlier this month, and a steady stream of patients has kept doctors busy. Susie Johnson, assistant clinic manager, said medical and dental services are available for anyone who has insurance coverage the clinic accepts. The clinic is under the auspices of Mariposa, Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne Health Board Inc., which operates facilities in the four counties, and focuses services on American Indians. Steve Riggio, executive director of MACT, said the group's clinics receive funding from the Indian Health Service, a federal agency. Health care for local American Indians is conducted in an atmosphere that respects and supports their traditions, values and beliefs, Riggio said. Providers try to create a nonclinic atmosphere, he added. "We want people to be able to walk in and sit down and talk and spend time here, whether they have an appointment or not," Riggio said. The board serves 3,000 to 4,000 American Indians in the four counties, Riggio said. Mewuks are still the prevalent tribe, but members of other tribes travel to the clinics as well. Tne way to reach out to American Indians is to staff the clinics with as many members of tribes as possible. Johnson is Mewuk, as is the medical office manager, Frannie Gann. The health care providers are not tribe members, but other staff are, Johnson said. One of the biggest problems facing patients of the clinic is diabetes, Johnson said. The clinic focuses on helping diabetics understand and control the disease. "I see about six out of 10 of our patients coming in with diabetes," Johnson said. She said she believes the disease is so rampant because American Indians, like everyone else, weren't designed to eat supersized meals and play video games. "A long time ago, we stored food in the spring and ate it through the winter," she said. "We didn't have the fats that we do now." Gann added that before the Mariposa area was settled by people other than American Indians, people walked everywhere. "It was a totally different type of lifestyle," she said. Johnson focuses on nutrition and preventive care for diabetics and screens her patients for pre-diabetes, hoping to stop the disease before it gets a foothold. The clinic is trying to start an exercise facility to help people get and stay healthy. The clinic also offers dental services - it's the only dental facility that accepts Medi-Cal in Mariposa County, Johnson said. Staffed by two dentists, with a third on the way, the clinic provides all types of dentistry, including oral surgery. Although the clinic has only been open for four days, changes are on the way. Staff members are excited about a piece of landscaping being moved to the site: an American Indian grinding rock still at the town's old clinic. The rock will be placed near the future home of an herb garden and a healing area - a plan aimed at honoring and comforting American Indian patients. "We have people coming from as far away as Turlock and Los Banos," Johnson said. "They come here because it's an Indian clinic, and they feel at home." Copyright c. 2005 The Modesto Bee, The McClatchy Company. --------- "RE: Chasco" --------- Date: Sat, 12 Mar 2005 12:13:21 -0500 From: "princess obriot" Subj: Chasco article How does the Chasco chicken get to the other side? Why they cut across the circle, of course. Every year, when spring is still just a hopeful idea in the northern states, folks in Suncoast Florida are kicking off one of its first seasonal festival openers in New Port Richey Florida. That's one of those tiny dots approx 32 miles north of Tampa, smack dab on the coastal front, in case your looking for it on a map. Most every small town has a fair or festival of some sort, and New Port Richey is no different in that respect, but only in that. You see this particular festival, called the Chasco Fiasco by some locals, has put New Port Richey on the map of controversy. "At 6 o'clock, around the hour of sunset, the pageant proper was staged, and this was quite as interesting as anticipated. Queen Chasco, in the gorgeous dress of the ruler of her tribe, and attended by a numerous retinue, approached the landing at the Indian Village, with a fleet of stately canoes, and to the wild enthusiastic whoops of the assembled Calusas. In the centre of the village, shaded by high and stately palms, the throne had been erected on a dais and under a canopy of rich tropical foliage. Here Chasco took her seat, to bear the renunciation of all his rights and privileges as ruler of the tribe of Chief Mucoshee in her royal favor, and here she was crowned queen. The ceremony was both impressive and picturesque. The old chief's renunciation and words of instruction and advice to his fair follower were listened to with rapt attention. The departure of the abdicated chieftain was dignified and seemed to give rise to a feeling of sympathy and regret among the spectators. Then Queen Chasco instructed her couriers to go to every quarter to proclaim the tidings of the change of dynasty, and the appointment of Prince Pithla ruler of the city and guardian of the queen's seal. Thus ended a ceremony which next year will be repeated with even greater pomp and rite.--" St' Petersburg times 1922. If you come across their web page or a brochure, it'll read, "The Story of Chasco - Since 1922, Chasco Fiesta has honored the romantic legend intertwining the lives of a Spanish boy and girl, a priest, and the Calusa Indian tribe who captured them after defeating a Spanish expedition. According to the story, the boy and girl were later wed as Queen Chasco and her consort Pithla. Today, Florida's Native American heritage is revered, as evidenced by this annual event honoring all Native American tribes. Experience Chasco Fiesta!" But in later years, many Native Americans and supportive activitists began to speak out against the pageant play that was anything but flattering to Native Americans. In fact, it was downright insulting. Children who performed the play were taught the Indians they depicted should be called 'heathens' and re-enacted cannibalism and human sacrifice these Indians supposedly performed. As if that were not enough, locals had come to know the pageant as a representation of a true historical past. In fact, there is no historical value to this 'Chasco story' at all, but pure false fantasy based on a script written by Gerben M. DeVries. AIM moved in, making its strongest appearance in 2001. In 2002 it was decided the pageant would not continue, but not for the reasons AIM or other activists would like to have won, but based on parent's concern for the safety of children that would be future pageant actors. Indians were once more made out to be the threatening bad guys in this. Nonetheless, the Chasco story would not be told again. So we could all sit back and enjoy the the rest of the event now,right? Guess not... Theres still an issue of a float to reckon with. Darn that float. 2005: As if this year would be any different from any previous year. It does seem the complaint is getting old and rusty. The local paper seems road-worn on the subject, and lacking in fresh material. Even I, as the resident Native in town, found little motivation to report on this year's event as I have previously. From my view, I was glad to see the Chasco pageant removed, but saw little importance in bickering over something trivial as a parade float. I have in the past spoke out as a non-supporter of AIM and their relentlessness over such a petty thing, but with what my eyes beheld this year,I'm wondering if maybe we should all just drop it all and walk away? Deny the Fiasco players anyacknowledgement of relevancy to our heritage or culture. Just leave them to what has become a circus of tiaras, pony beads and feather boas. Perhaps our protests should not be aimed at a float or the whole of the Chasco feista, but to our own who sold us out. Indian people who value the coin over traditions and dignity. I'm walking down along the sidewalk heading towards the powwow. My daughter, my daughter, spots our favorite carnival ride set up where the road splits, the left leading to the carnival, the right will take us to the powwow circle. Residental houses line the right side of the street and once we pass the pool party yard with the live jazz band we can finally hear the drums. Ah the drums, I love them. They fill my heart and every blood cell in my body. You know what I'm talking about. Before we even reach the circle my head is bouncing. I glance down at my daughters feet that have already broken out into a crow stomp, one of few steps you can do and still walk through a crowd at the same time. (ha-ha) Seven, maybe eight men traddional dancers are just finishing as we manage a spot near the arbor where we can watch. I wish we hadn't. Small things, little things start to catch my attention and tug at me. The MC invites all the dancers in for a round of intertribals, the last of such before breaking for dinner. A pleasant looking blonde woman inb her fifties in an exceptional buckskin dress dances around the circle's perimeter with a quick step not intended for buckskin. I watch further with amusement, I know that step, it belongs to the Northern straight dance. Now as one of very few women who have earned the right to wear bustles, I'm not likely to scoff at a woman who dances in a man's moccasins, but perhaps she should don them instead of a women's dress first. Yes? No? Maybe? But she isn't what has me bothered. As I watched her feet, I spotted a Coca Cola bottle inside the circle. I looked around and saw there were quite a few pieces of trash inside the circle but that's not all there was inside the ring. Onlookers, those who had come to watch just as I had, were seated comfortably on the bales of hay that lined the circle, with their feet inside the circle. The Intertribal ended, and that seemed to signal some unseen crosswalk sign or something, because several people suddenly stepped into the circle only for the purpose of crossing over to the other side. One fellow even brought his dog through. My daughter started tugging at me for a bite to eat, so we stepped away and headed for the food vendors. Good ol' greazy Indian fry food, makes the taste buds 'hum' right away and the gut churn over later. (worth every grumble) The emcee calls for a veterans dance, so my daughter and I step back up to the circle to make our respects, but as they make their way in from the east they all just step to the edges for a moment rather than circle around, then walked back out in a break to the south. The drum song ends and those still in the circle just hop over the hay bales, making haste for the food lines. I'd seen enough and was in need for some prayer tobacco, so we wandered off to peruse the booths and find some tobacco. Folks acted as if they had never heard of it. I felt like I was speaking a foreign language, "You know? TOE-BAHH-KOE do you have any?" And its not like there weren't enough vendors to ask. Just the right number of vendors are set up each year, many regulars year after year. And with a good strong crowd, vendors usually go home happy. Oh sure I know many of you sing the "We're not it for the money" tune, but lets face it, its nicer to return with a jingle or two in the pocket then not. But would you know out of twenty or so booths, not one single tent had tobacco? Well okay one guy had two small baggies of long leaf which would have been nice but you could see the damn mold growing on it and he wanted three bucks for it... PASS. By this time, I just wanted to get out before I came across one of the princesses strutting around in a tiara or something of the like. I was glad we had run out of time and needed to head out, but as the sidewalk lead us away from the familiar sounds of drums and singers my heart became sad. Six years ago my daughter and I moved down here from Atlanta, Georgia. And for all the love I have for Florida, its wetlands, the ocean, my daughter's school and the fixer upper home we now have, I miss most our friends and family, our intertribal community, our tradional powwows, our people. But after what I saw today I will not give in to such alowly expression of our heritage just to fill the loss. Although it has little relevance in this any more - for you rubberneckers, the following Florida AIM web page contains the Chasco story as it was originally written. http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/aimfl/script.html --------- "RE: Students fight to save D-Q TRIBAL COLLEGE" --------- Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2005 19:26:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CALIFORNIA'S ONLY TRIBAL COLLEGE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.news10.net/storyfull1.asp?id=9905 Students Fight to Save California's Only Tribal College D-Q University closed its doors nearly two months ago, but that isn't stopping about 20 students from doing whatever it takes, even ignoring eviction notices, to save their school. The students are living in dorm rooms without heat, and are running out of food. An armed guard blocks the school's entrance, and allows only people on a list on and off campus. Despite the obstacles, the students say they possess the same determination as the original protesters responsible for the school's founding. In 1971, following weeks of protests by Native Americans, the federal government provided the university's founders with the title to the land of a former U.S. Army communication relay station. This was able to happen under the provisions of federal surplus property laws. Now, 30 years later, students hope their protests will keep the school open. However, the students face an uphill battle. In the last year, enrollment at the school has dropped, it has lost its accreditation, and it has fallen on hard times financially. Despite the challenges, D-Q University President Victor Gabriel hopes the school will reopen later this year. The student protesters blame Gabriel and school adminstrators for the school's closure, and have joined forces with the original founders and are seeking Gabriel's resignation. The group has also vowed to go to court to gain control of the school. D-Q University is the first and only university outside a reservation that is operated by Native Americans. KXTV News10 is a Gannett Company, Copyright c. 2005 Gannett Co., Inc. --------- "RE: Huron Campus mostly left out of Si Tanka Bailout" --------- Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2005 08:46:54 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SI TANKA PLAN" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/11238398.htm Huron campus mostly left out of Si Tanka bailout Associated Press March 26, 2005 HURON, S.D. - The Cheyenne River Sioux tribal council has approved a $400,000 loan for Si Tanka University, but the money will go mostly to pay salaries and expenses at the school's Eagle Butte campus. That offers little help to students and faculty at the Huron campus, where employees have not received paychecks since Feb. 15. Huron students waiting for scholarship money got some relief Friday when the school doled out between $100 and $200 in assistance. Amanda Raynor said she was supposed to get about $850. "We appreciate the money, it's not that we don't, but it's just not enough and it's not the money that we're owed," Raynor said. The Internal Revenue Service has also stepped in. Si Tanka University faces foreclosure litigation after it defaulted on $6.6 million in loans and has been hit by a $2 million federal tax lien. Tribal Chairman Harold Frazier said that prompted the IRS to block the $400,000 loan, and officials are trying to get the hold lifted based on student hardship. "It is levied on Si Tanka and not the tribe, so we're trying to assist them any way we can to file an appeal to get the levy lifted," Frazier said. Si Tanka University in Eagle Butte bought Huron University in 2001, which set the course for the current financial problems. The purchase made the percentage of American Indian students at Si Tanka fall below 50 percent. So last summer, the Bureau of Indian Affairs said the school no longer qualified for about $1.4 million in federal tribal college funding. School administrators lobbied the BIA to have the funding restored but were turned down. The council, in Thursday's resolution, distinguished between the classification of the Huron campus as a state charter and the Eagle Butte campus as a tribal charter. Native American students are an overwhelming majority on the Eagle Butte campus, and the move signals a split aimed at getting that federal money restored to Eagle Butte. The partial payouts and staff health insurance premiums through March 31 were the only money approved for the Huron campus in the council's 14-0 resolution Thursday. The $400,000 represents partial repayment of a Jan. 2 loan from the Huron campus to the Eagle Butte campus. Si Tanka President Francine Hall earlier said the loan was $1.2 million. The loan also imposes tighter control by the council, requiring the university to: _ Present invoices to the tribal treasurer before any money is disbursed _ Provide weekly financial reports to council members _ Present to the council by April 1 comprehensive budgets and revenue reports for the remainder of the spring semester, any summer session and the 2005-06 academic year Closure of Si Tanka would mean 191 lost jobs and educational opportunities for 775 students, according to the school and the tribe. ---- Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com Copyright c. 2005 Aberdeen American News. --------- "RE: Teenager's Death brings Youth to Reservation" --------- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:32:25 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAKOTA TEEN'S VISION" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.argusleader.com//503240334/1001 Vision inspires youths Hopes of girl drowned by cousin in 2001 create cultural bridge from S.D. town to Ohio ROBERT MORAST rmorast@argusleader.com March 24, 2005 LITTLE EAGLE - Weeks before she was found dead, Lakota Rose Madison had a vision of a bridge connecting her home town of Little Eagle to Dayton, Ohio. Madison was 17 years old and trying to distance herself from the chemical addictions and depression that plagued many of her peers on the Standing Rock Reservation. In the vision, she told friends and family, a bridge delivered troubled and curious reservation youths to a Dayton safe house. She hoped the vision would lead to a real cultural exchange that would bring young people she met during a youth conference in Ohio to the reservation. The beginning of the vision was realized Saturday when a group of about 30 people arrived in Little Eagle. They came from the University of Dayton and other parts of Ohio as well as Pennsylvania. A few were Madison's friends, people she bonded with during her trip to Dayton. Others were sympathetic followers to the youth sobriety movement that started in her name after she was found beaten and drowned in the Grand River in June 2001. All came to help. "We're just here trying to achieve what she hasn't because of her death," said Anita Lukey, a Cincinnati native and freshman at the University of Dayton. Sleeping and gathering in the village's community gym, the visitors came to lay a figurative foundation for a safe house on Standing Rock and spread the news that a Lakota Rose peace house will be dedicated at the end of April in Dubois, Pa. Tuesday night, they joined with locals for a ceremony handing out the Lakota Rose sobriety bracelets to youths and adults willing to make a three-year sobriety pledge. More than 8,000 bracelets have been given out across the nation, but this was the first time they had reached Madison's home. Maybe more important, the visitors came to engage the Little Eagle youths in a discussion of cultural differences and similarities. "This is what she wanted, people to come and talk to the youth," said Josephine Madison, Lakota Rose's mother. "Sitting here, thinking about this, I feel bad. I'm wishing she was here to see all this." Josephine Madison speaks with a somber, reflective tone. Aside from dealing with memories of a murdered daughter, she said a family member had just been killed in an automobile accident. And she lamented the fact that teen suicides are a disturbing trend on this reservation straddling the border of North Dakota. "Something like this to happen in this community, this is what we need," Josephine Madison said as she watched the Dayton students interact with Little Eagle children. Lakota Rose's story first was told in the Argus Leader almost a year ago. Just as the visitors from Dayton are a sign of hope, reminders of this area's inertia are present. "It's really hard ... to try and do something," Josephine Madison said. "(People) get you down. They say stuff, try to hurt your feelings. But this is really good. Hopefully, good things come from it." Party and fatal conflict along the Little Grand Lakota Rose Madison had her bags packed and was waiting for Mary Ann Angel, a friend from Dayton, to pick her up and take her to Ohio, where she would spend the summer and they could begin work on the "bridge." But days before Angel arrived in Little Eagle, Madison attended a party with friends at "the tree," a popular hangout along the banks of the Grand River south of town. When she left home, it was the last time her family would see her alive. At the party, Madison and the others started drinking. An altercation developed and ended with Madison's cousin, O'Neil Iron Cloud, drowning her in the river. Three days later, her body was found downstream. Iron Cloud later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is serving a nine- year sentence. Madison's death, coupled with her attempts to become sober and reach out to the youths of her community, made her a hopeful martyr of youth sobriety. Spreading of bracelets to help realize a dream Thanks to the involvement of the Colorado-based agency White Buffalo, the Lakota Rose sobriety bracelet movement has spread nationally. But Angel said the bracelets are only part of a three-tier initiative trying to follow through with Madison's dreams. Led by Angel, the group from the University of Dayton is intent on returning to Little Eagle next year to begin constructing a peace place in memory of Lakota Rose. Angel says a peace place is similar to a safe house but not bound by the same legal restrictions. "That's what my young people want to negotiate," Angel said. "We don't want to go to a place or a community or organization and say, 'You should have a peace place.' They need to initiate it. If the young people and the elders say they want us to be here, we will collaborate." At this point, it's only talk. There also are discussions of having student exchange programs between the University of Dayton and Standing Rock's Sitting Bull College. "We're open to students coming here and learning about the land, the culture," said Linda Jones, an ethnobotanist at Sitting Bull College. "We have a land base that is large and very open to students for research. And you have an area that is very different and would be good for research." "This means bringing communities together," Angel said. "We really focus on bridging marginalized and oppressed indigenous communities." Reaching out from Ohio for cultural harmony In Little Eagle, that process involved the construction of a mural by area children depicting reservation life. The mural will be taken to Ohio and included in an international festival. When they were interacting with the youths, the Dayton students experienced Lakota traditions such as participating in a sweat lodge ceremony and learning traditional dancing. Others spent time in story circles that shared cultural tales among white, Native American and Latino people. Led by Alicia Pag1/3n, a multicultural arts educator from Dayton, the story circles brought the Little Eagle youths and their visitors together by sharing their cultural similarities. One young boy listened to Pag1/3n tell the story of a Mexican maiden, then opened up about his life in Little Eagle saying he enjoyed reading books but didn't like it when his older cousin beat him. During a story circle session, Tasha Kills Crow, a 17-year-old Little Eagle woman, told the group about Lakota traditions and customs, such as why the eagle is a sacred bird. She said she thinks the bridging of Little Eagle and Dayton will bring hope back to her home. "I think it will change people's lives around here," Kills Crow said. "There's a lot of hating going on, and it will bring the people back together so we can talk about the culture." Reach reporter Robert Morast at 331-2313. Copyright c. 2005 Argus Leader. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: New Law allows BLM to sell Wild Horses to Indians" --------- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:32:25 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BLM HORSE SALES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3115144&nav=8faOXogX New law allows BLM to sell wild horses to American Indians BISMARCK, N.D. March 24, 2005 The federal Bureau of Land Management says it's selling wild horses to American Indian tribes for the first time. The BLM has sold 141 horses to the Rosebud Sioux in South Dakota and 120 horses to the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota. More sales are planned in the next several weeks, bringing the total to more than 500 horses. BLM director Kathleen Clarke says the sale is under legislation recently passed by Congress. It directs the BLM to sell wild horses and burros that are older than ten years, or have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption at least three times. The BLM says there are 37,000 wild horses and burros roaming the public lands it manages in ten Western states, about 9,000 more than the rangeland can sustain. Copyright c. 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2001 - 2005 WorldNow and KRNV-4. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: American Indian Banks turn profit" --------- Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 08:40:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVE BANKS RETURN HIGHER THAN NATIONAL" http://www.newsok.com/print.php?article=1452917 American Indian banks turn profit March 23, 2005 Profits at American Indian- owned banks last year exceeded those of their peer group, according to figures recently released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. American Indian-owned banks posted an average return on equity of 11.3 percent last year, compared with 8.5 percent by all U.S. banks under $100 million in assets, according to the FDIC. At year's end, there were 19 American Indian- owned banks in the nation, with 11 of these banks in Oklahoma. All 19 of those banks were profitable last year, said J.D. Colbert, president of the North American Native Bankers Association. Copyright c. 2005 The Oklahoman|News 9, Produced by NewsOK.Com. --------- "RE: Apache Author wins prestigious Book Award" --------- Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 08:50:13 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRUE 'LIFE ON THE REZ' BOOK" http://www.wmicentral.com/14189751&BRD=2264&PAG=461&dept_id=505965&rfi=6 Apache author wins prestigious book award By: Jo Baeza, The Independent March 22, 2005 WHITERIVER - Eva Tulene Watt, 92, is the first Native American to win the Evans Biography Award for her book, "Don't Let the Sun Step Over You: A White Mountain Apache Family Life, 1860-1975; University of Arizona Press; 2004." Established in 1983, the $10,000 Evans Award recognizes outstanding research and writing of a biography or history with content relating to the region of the West that was influenced by Mormon institutions. The award is given by the Mountain West Center for Regional Studies at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. The Center was established in 1986 to advance the understanding of the Mountain West. Watt and her family plan to attend the April 22 awards ceremo