_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 13, ISSUE 025 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 June 18, 2005 Zuni ik'ohbu yachunne/turning moon Mvskogee kvco-hvsee/blackberry moon Anishnaabe ode'imini-giizis/strawberry moon Cree sagipukawipizun/moon when the leaves come out +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; News and Information, Frostys AmerIndian, NDNAIM, Sovereign Nations and Native American Poetry Mailing Lists; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "Part of the Native American struggle, even in the city here, has to do with history." "The expectations put on them are not based on Native culture, they're based on mainstream culture ... so children that don't fit into that, they're not going to make it." __ Marilyn Lonehill Meier, Native Parent Committee Member, Sioux Falls School District +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Many of our children are falling by the wayside in school. In South Dakota, which boasts one of the highest student graduation rates in the United States, precious few Native students make that diploma walk. Many reservation schools are antiquated relics that are literally falling apart, are overcrowded and under-staffed. Add to that the curriculum based on culture, knowledge and methods based on dominant (mainstream) society standards, and you have a recipe for disaster. This can only be described as cultural genocide. Nations that have scratched their way out of the poverty barrel and can actually invest in the minds of the youth are making appropriate and refreshing choices. Schools are being built on the reservations that reflect those tribes' culture and history. The students are taught history from the Native perspective. Required subjects include language - OUR language(s). Unfortunately, there remain hundreds of schools on less wealthy reservations that must still rely on funding - and guidelines, including subject matter - from the federal government. That funding, woefully inadequate as it has been, now faces even greater cuts as the Bush administration seeks to funnel even more dollars into its war efforts in the mid-east. So much for yet another lie - "no child left behind." 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 ----------- - OST audits fare no better - GIAGO: Commodity Cheese under Ross Swimmer goes good with any whine - Interior's flawed Internet testing - Cultural Tie revealed gets in the way of Graduation - Interior's endless charade - Navajo dictionary at UNM on Indian Trust - Science Study of Navajo Astronomy - Senate Bill restores funding - Native American food for Indian Programs goes Haute Cuisine - Apology, and much needed - Chiefs debate future assistance, in order of First Nations University - Kansas Tax Case threatens balance - Whitebird appointed - Michigan, Tribes gird Treaty Relations Commissioner for Inland-Rights Battle - UN Joint Declaration - Indian Housing funds - Miramichi Fishermen may go to War effort plan legal action - Pascua Yaquis get Housing boost - Federal Judge rules - Mohawk Students protest to halt CBM Project ban of Philosophy - Appeals court to rehear - Tribes want Money for Schools Tribal Jurisdiction Case - Improve Native graduation rates - Oglala Sioux Tribe - Si Tanka University seeks asks for Public-Safety funding to prevent loss of Aid - Native Prisoner - Tribe: See you in Court -- Brule due for release - Reservation optimistic requests pen pals about Motel Project - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Tribute of a Tribe - Rustywire: - The new Chief Leschi Canoe Indians & Environmentalists - Tribes OK Port Pier - Lee Goins Poem: Mother Nature - YELLOW BIRD: - Into the West: Tale of two Families Tribes must challenge Diabetes - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: OST audits fare no better under Ross Swimmer" --------- Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2005 08:52:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OST UNDER SWIMMER STILL A FAILURE" http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/008610.asp OST audits fare no better under Ross Swimmer June 7, 2005 Months before former Interior Department official Tom Slonaker left his job as head of the Office of Special Trustee, his request to assume more authority over trust reform was rejected by Secretary Gale Norton. In a strongly worded letter, Norton said Slonaker's handling of the trust fund didn't inspire confidence among Bush administration officials. "Frankly, your performance to date does not justify an expansion of your responsibilities," she wrote on April 17, 2002. "Instead you should be focusing your efforts on strengthening your execution of tasks already assigned to you." The letter blamed Slonaker for a host of failures in efforts to fix the broken system. Among other problems, Norton said an independent review of OST's handling of the trust fund found discrepancies in tribal and individual Indian trust accounts. "I expect you to improve your performance in working with the rest of our departmental team to serve trust beneficiaries," she concluded. On the other hand, Norton expressed a lot of hope in Ross Swimmer, who at the time was running an amorphous entity called the Office of Indian Trust Transition that had been given greater authority over key trust reform projects. "I am confident that Mr. Swimmer is very qualified to undertake these duties, and I don't want to interrupt the progress that is being made," she wrote. Just a few months later in August, Slonaker was ousted after he told a Congressional committee that an historical accounting of billions of Indian trust fund would be impossible. "I was asked to leave," the former official said in an interview with Indianz.Com at the time. The White House ended up turning to its confidence man and nominated Swimmer to head the OST over the objections of many tribal leaders who recalled his tenure as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs during the Reagan administration as a particularly divisive one. After a delayed confirmation, Swimmer was sworn into office on April 17, 2003, a year after the Slonaker letter. Yet in spite of Norton's glowing words, Swimmer hasn't addressed some of the key concerns raised in the letter. For the past two years under Swimmer's direction, a top accounting firm has found that OST continues to suffer from the same problems for which Slonaker was chastised. The lack of progress might have gone unnoticed except for the Interior Department's own Inspector General. In his latest semi-annual report to Congress, Earl E. Devaney said KPMG, one of the Big Four accounting firms, issued a "qualified opinion" on OST's handling of the trust fund for 2003 and 2004 -- the years Swimmer has been in control. A qualified opinion means KPMG can't vouch for the accuracy of the financial data or that OST's management doesn't conform with accounting standards. "According to KPMG's report, inadequacies in certain DOI trust-related systems and processes, disagreements with trustees on account balances, and legal claims against the U.S. government made it impracticable for the auditors to extend auditing procedures to determine the fairness of trust fund balances," Devaney noted. "The report also identified material weaknesses related to OST's reliance on processing trust transactions at BIA and unresolved financial reporting issues from current and prior periods. KPMG also identified a reportable condition pertaining to internal controls over information technology systems." Devaney notes that problems didn't originate with Swimmer. "This is the ninth consecutive time that the statements have been audited under OIG oversight and have received a qualified opinion," the semi-annual report states. Then again, they didn't start with Slonaker either. As far back as 1996, when the OST started to operate, accounting firms have found that the trust fund is plagued with inaccuracies. Among the long-standing issues: * OST's reported balances of tribal and individual accounts differs from those reported by the Department of Treasury. * OST has reported negative balances in individual trust accounts. * OST has failed to distribute millions -- the total was $5.7 million in 2004 -- to individual account holders. Some tribal leaders say the amount contained in these "special deposit accounts" is actually more than what OST has disclosed. * OST still can't find nearly 49,000 individual Indians who are owed a total of $73.9 million, up from $67 million during Slonaker's tenure. Despite the repeated problems, Swimmer has not been criticized, at least publicly, by his boss. Instead, Norton has suggested more than once that the trust fund wouldn't be such a problem today had Indian Country gone along with suggestions he made during the Reagan administration. "Ross Swimmer proposed some changes when he was assistant secretary that, had they been adopted, we would not be in the mess we are in today," Norton told a packed House hearing in February 2002. Tribal leaders in the audience responded with loud boos and groans and today, many continue to question Swimmer's leadership. Trust reform, according to Charles Colombe, the president of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, "is not happening." "It's like 'Indian money,'" he said at a conference last October. "Or 'Russian intelligence.'" Since the start of the Bush administration, OST's budget has grown by more than 50 percent and it has taken over many trust programs previously managed by the BIA, whose budget keeps getting cut by the White House. That has tribal leaders worried not only about the fate of the agency but on the future of trust reform. "We don't know who the boss is," said Colombe, who has spent decades dealing with trust issues in his state and the Great Plains, where a large number of Indian trust accounts originate. "Is it BIA or is it OST?" Copyright C. 2000-2005 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Interior's flawed Internet testing revealed" --------- Date: Friday, June 10, 2005 8:28 AM From: Bill McAllister [bmcallister@cox.net] Subj: INTERIOR'S FLAWED INTERNET TESTING REVEALED From the Cobell Litigation Team: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WASHINGTON, May 10 - A senior Interior Department computer manager has acknowledged that he gave confidential information to the lower-level managers that may have undermined critical security testing of the department's computers. Roger Mahach, the Interior official, maintained that he did no wrong by alerting the department's bureaus of the Internet address that testers would be using the probe the security of the government's computers. Lawyers in a class-action lawsuit brought by a group of American Indians charged that Mahach's E-mail message in early 2003 broke confidentity rules and easily allowed the bureaus to block the testers. That seemingly showed that Interior had good computer security, said attorney William Dorris, representing the Indians. But in reality it only masked what a computer consultant warned Mahach was "a false sense of security," according to an E-mail message introduced in a federal court hearing here Thursday. Dorris said that Mahach's alert may also account for how Interior officials misled the federal courts about a computer system that was in fact seriously flawed and open to hackers, Dorris said. The issue of Interior's computer security is a critical one for the more than 500,000 Native Americans who had trust accounts managed by the department. If the government's computers were insecure, the Indians' lawyers say there is no way that the government can vouch for the accuracy of the balances shown in those accounts. Mahach, a senior computer manager who now works for the Interior Department's inspector general, cried as he ended his testimony Thursday. He said some of the other computer managers in the department were incompetent and not committed to the importance of security issues. "This was different for me," he said. "There was a chain of pain and people were afraid," he said of the managers. "They didn't want to be a part of the team." "Most of the people looked at this as a job," he told U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. "It's not a job. There is too much too this." When one consultant bluntly warned Mahach that the computer manager of a major Interior bureau was way over her head, Mahach fired back: "Welcome to My Hell," according to another E-mail. A Justice Department lawyer attempted to cut short Mahach testimony, claiming it was irrevelent to the question of Interior current computer security, but Lamberth allowed him to remain on the witness stand. Lamberth added a warning for Interior Secretary Gale Norton. "Mrs. Norton may be worried - and she should be," he said, noting that she is a defendant in the lawsuit. The Indians' suit was filed in 1996. It demands that the government provide individual Indian trust account beneficiaries with a full accounting of what has happened to funds the government supposedly was holding for them. Studies have shown the trust account program was mismanaged from its inception in 1887 and that billions of dollars owed the Indians may not have been properly handled. The Indians have already won the right to a full accounting. A major question before Lamberth is how to provide that accounting in the face of Interior's lax computer security and the massive losses of trust records. The hearing is expected to continue for several weeks as Lamberth continues to hear details of the Interior computer program. The Indians want him to order any computer with trust data disconnected from the Internet and to disconnect other computers that hold trust records. --------- "RE: Interior's endless charade on Indian Trust" --------- Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 21:38:52 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIANZ.COM EDITORIAL: INDIAN TRUST CHARADE" http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/008694.asp Editorial: Interior's endless charade on Indian trust June 10, 2005 What happens when Indian people want to know why they aren't getting the most for the use of their land? They are repeatedly told there is no mismanagement, that there is no retaliation, that the law doesn't work that way, or even worse, they are ignored altogether. Now what if a non-Indian family, armed with expensive lawyers and lobbyists, wants the best price for their oil and gas rights? The Interior Department bends over backwards to make sure they get a sweetheart deal and a photo opportunity at the White House. It sounds implausible but that's what exactly what happened in the case of the powerful Collier family and their mineral rights in the Florida Everglades. In an explosive 51-page report, Interior Inspector General Earl E. Devaney found that senior political appointees, aided by a couple of government attorneys, were all too willing to concoct their own law even it meant offering $120 million for drilling rights that were worth far, far less. Not only was the offer about $80 million more than amounts suggested by more experienced career employees, it is possible that the Colliers had already been paid for them, a private appraisal foundation concluded. But the Interior folks in charge of the deal didn't care, all they wanted to do was "close the deal," in the words of one of the solicitors involved. And despite the fact that President George W. Bush's brother is governor of Florida, and that the people of Florida oppose drilling in the Everglades, Devaney said that politics didn't play a role in the lopsided deal. No, this "charade" spanned Republican and Democrat administrations, the report concluded. "If the department's appraisers had been allowed to perform their job at the outset, if senior department officials had listened as well to their own employees as they did to [the Colliers], and if the department's legal advisors had spent the same level of effort on a thorough, comprehensive analysis as they seemingly did to obscure and secrete the issue of value, this long, sophisticated charade, which has consumed incalculable hours of time and money on both sides, might have been avoided altogether," the report, released on Wednesday, stated. Harsh words but sadly, that's the state of affairs over at the Interior Department, the so-called trustee for Indian Country. For if political appointees and their attorneys applied as much gusto to resolving the Indian trust debacle as they did to this charade, Indian people would be a lot richer. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen any time soon. The Bush administration won't agree to settle the Cobell lawsuit for the billions it is worth because, in the famous last words of former deputy secretary J. Steven Griles, that would be like paying individual Indians twice. We can't have that now can we? That would be wrong. Luckily, Devaney can bring some clarity to the situation just as he did with the Everglades fiasco. His investigators have looked into the underpayment of Navajo allottees who received far less for use of their land than their non-Indian counterparts. The Office of Inspector General has interviewed some key people -- including a former senior Interior official named Kevin Gambrell who was among the first to raise the issue before being fired -- but has not issued a report. Devaney is probably the only one who can get some answers because if you ask Special Trustee Ross Swimmer, he'll tell you Indian landowners hasn't received the highest amount for the use of their land because ... well, because! And yet he still would to charge them fees for all those "trust" services. Only until someone steps in will we learn the true extent of the oldest charade in the United States -- the fleecing of Indian people. Copyright c. 2000-2005 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Senate Bill restores funding for Indian Programs" --------- Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2005 08:29:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BUDGET RESTORATION" http://www.indianz.com/News/2005/008662.asp Senate bill restores funding for Indian programs June 9, 2005 Joining their counterparts in the House, Senate appropriators this week approved a $26.3 billion Interior budget bill that restores President Bush's cuts to Indian programs. Back in February, White House reduced the Bureau of Indian Affairs by more than $100 million while boosting the Office of Special Trustee by nearly the same amount. Since then, lawmakers of both parties have rejected Bush's priorities as out of touch with the needs of Indian Country. "We have circumstances on the reservation that are desperate," Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said after the budget was released. With that in mind, the Senate Appropriations Committee finalized its version of the Interior Department's 2006 budget bill on Tuesday. Initial numbers show increases in the BIA budget while the OST request has been pared down. According to the committee, the BIA will be funded with $2.27 billion in 2006. While this figure is $26.3 million below the 2005 enacted level, it is $81.9 million higher than the White House request. Of the BIA budget, the bill restores money to tribal colleges, tribal priority allocations and school replacement and improvement. Each of these programs had been cut by the Bush administration. As for the OST, the committee stripped the White House's request by nearly $78 million to arrive at $226.1 million. The reduction limits the amount being spent on historical accounting projects for individual Indians and tribal governments. The figures for the Indian Health Service are even more positive. The committee is seeking $3.224 billion for IHS, or $83.3 million above the 2005 enacted level. Increases include an additional $118.1 million for clinical services, $26.7 million for contract health care and $17.0 for facilities construction, which had been cut by $86 million by the White House. The Senate version of the bill still needs to pass the full Senate before being reconciled with the one passed by the House last month. Like the Senate, the House restored money to the BIA, cut funds for the OST and added money to the IHS but there are some differences that will have to be worked out. Regardless of the outcome, tribes will still fare better once the final version is passed. This is the third year in a row that Congress has beefed up Indian programs in what appears to be increasing frustration with the White House. The frustration is shared by tribal leaders who say their views are being ignored by the executive branch. "They bring us in and we talk about the budget and really nothing happens," Ed Thomas, the president of the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Tribes of Alaska, said at a hearing last month. That could change under provisions adopted by the House last month. The bill calls for a major overhaul in the way the BIA and the OST budgets are developed in hopes of ensuring that tribes are adequately consulted. The goal, according to the report accompanying the House bill, is to provide "full transparency" for tribal priority allocation (TPA) funds that tribes use for their daily operations and to "clearly" show how funds for the central and regional offices of the BIA are being used. To make the process more open, the BIA is being directed to create a comprehensive website that contains all the relevant budget information. OST, whose budget has exploded since the start of the Bush administration, would be included in the site as well. Fiscal year 2006 starts in October. In the past two years, Congress has never passed a budget on time, leading to the development of huge "omnibus" bills that contain funding for hundreds of federal agencies, including the BIA. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported the following highlights with regard to Indian programs: Bureau of Indian Affairs - $2.27 billion ($26.3 million below FY05, $81.9 million over the budget request) * Funds Tribally Controlled Community Colleges at a total of ($13 million over the request level) * Restores cuts of $6.4 million to Welfare Assistance and $8.8 million to Johnson-O'Malley Education Grants * Funds Law Enforcement at $189.9 million ($12.2 million over the enacted level) * Funds Replacement School Construction at $58.5 million ($15 million over the request level), Education Facilities Improvement and Repair at $138.4 million ($10 million over the request), and creates a $10 million program to repair and rehabilitate existing Indian irrigation systems. Office of the Special Trustee - $226.1 million * Includes $34.5 million to reduce fractionation. * Includes $58 million for historical accounting activities. Indian Health Service - $3.224 billion ($83.3 million over FY05) * Includes $118.1 million increase Clinical Services * Includes $26.7 million increase for Contract Health Care * Includes $17.0 million increase over the request for facilities construction Copyright c. 2000-2005 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Apology, and much needed assistance, in order" --------- Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2005 08:52:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WE'RE STLL WAITING" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.freep.com/voices/editorials/eapology6e_20050606.htm AMERICAN INDIANS: Apology, and much needed assistance, in order June 6, 2005 The atrocities inflicted on the indigenous people living in this land when European settlers arrived are well known. Finally, Congress is considering bills to create an official national apology to Native Americans. It will take more than an apology to assist them, especially those on reservations in impoverished conditions. Heartfelt repentance should be combined with increased funding for Native American programs. While gambling casinos have brought a measure of prosperity to some tribes, Native Americans as a whole have long ranked at or near the bottom of nearly every social, health and economic indicator, according to U.S. Census data. They are more likely than whites to die from a host of illnesses and they have the highest prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in the world. About 30% of the 538,300 Native Americans on reservations live in poverty. An apology would join two others the government has officially offered. Congress in 1993 apologized to native Hawaiians for overthrowing their kingdom. And in 1998, Japanese Americans received an apology for their forced detention during World War II. African Americans have yet to receive a much deserved apology for the horrors of slavery, after a bill introduced in 2000 failed. The nation's crimes against Native Americans were numerous, and a resolution from Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., outlines many of them. It calls on the United States to acknowledge "the broken treaties and many of the more ill-conceived federal policies that followed, such as extermination, termination, forced removal and relocation, the outlawing of traditional religions and destruction of sacred places." The bill seeks forgiveness for massacres, including the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado, where up to 200 Native Americans perished, and the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota, which killed roughly 350 Native Americans. But being sorry isn't enough. If the government cares about the citizens that predated this country's creation, it must address the conditions in which too many of them now live. Copyright C. 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Kansas Tax Case threatens balance" --------- Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 17:38:24 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KANSAS TAX BATTLE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411057 Kansas tax case threatens balance by: Jim Adams / Indian Country Today Analysis June 10, 2005 WASHINGTON - Here's the next danger that an unpredictable U.S. Supreme Court holds for Indian country, a "bright line" that could become an economic noose. A major case involving a tribal gas station in Kansas could change the rules for states' attempts to tax Indian economies. At present, federal courts apply a "balancing test," weighing the sovereign interests of state, federal and tribal governments in each particular case. But the test worked too well for one tribe fending off an aggressive Kansas Department of Revenue. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation persuaded the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to strike down the state tax on motor fuel headed to its one gas station, the "Nation Station," even though the state collected it from a non-Indian distributor off the reservation. Circuit Judge Monroe G. McKay ruled that the nation and the federal government had a strong interest in fostering tribal economic development and self-reliance, but Kansas had only "a general interest in raising revenue." Kansas officials found this judgment hard to take. Since the state changed its motor fuel tax in 1995 to go after reservation sales, the Revenue Department has sued not only the four federally recognized tribes in Kansas but also the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska and its motor fuel wholesaler, HCI Distribution. The state even seized HCI tank trucks and brought criminal charges against Winnebago Tribal Chairman John Blackhawk and Lance Morgan, head of its economic development arm Ho-Chunk, Inc., until a federal judge made it back off. Now the current head of the Kansas Revenue Department, Stephen S. Richards, is asking the Supreme Court to drop the "balancing test." His allies, an association of state tax collectors and a coalition of state attorneys general, are asking for a "bright line" rule that will keep tribal tax immunity back on the reservation. A "friend of the court" brief filed last November by the Multistate Tax Commission puts it with admirable clarity. (The commission is administrator of a compact among 44 states designed to preserve, and extend, their taxing authority.) In two of three tax situations, wrote commission General Counsel Frank Katz, the Supreme Court has laid down "bright line" rules based on geography. When Indians deal with Indians on their sovereign lands, states have no taxing authority (unless Congress expressly grants it). When Indians go off the reservation, states can tax them (unless Congress pre-empts it). But the third case, wrote Katz, "raises more difficult issues" when non- Indians deal with Indians on the reservation. This is the grey area that gave rise to the "balancing test." Even worse, in Katz's view, the 10th Circuit Court has now taken it off the reservation, to a case in which the state tax is at least one step away from having an impact on the tribal economy. Extending the balancing test, he warned, "will cause great uncertainty and turmoil," impairing state tax administration and rousing bad blood between states and tribes. He reinforced his point with what a judge once called "a parade of imaginary horribles." What if tribal casinos demanded state sales tax exemptions for all their purchases? (At present, we don't know of any that do. In fact, many brag about how much they do pay in taxes.) What if tribes challenge state regulation as well as taxation? The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation v. Stephen S. Richards, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Revenue case, he concluded, gave the court a chance to reinforce its "two pillars of certainty" by invoking the territorial limit on sovereignty. There is some potential in their approach, but certainly not in the way Katz or Richards envisage. Tribes could probably live with a "bright line" limit to tax sovereignty based on their reservation boundaries as long as it covered their entire economies, including non-Indians. The grey area of which Katz complained arose when the Supreme Court backed away from the guiding principle of sovereignty, deriding it as a "platonic notion" and demoting it to a backdrop for its "particularized inquiry" into competing interests. But there are many practical advantages to restoring tribal tax sovereignty. For starters, it would simplify tax administration and restore amity between state and tribal governments. This is the reason New York state Gov. George Pataki suspended his attempt to tax reservation sales in 1997, a decision later ratified by the state courts. The economic benefits are enormous. In the aftermath of Pataki's decision, reservation economies boomed. Thousands of jobs have sprung up, directly and indirectly - and not primarily from casinos, either. (Until the opening of the Seneca casinos in the last two years, only the Oneida Indian Nation's Turning Stone Resort and Casino and non-gaming enterprises, including this newspaper, provided significant cash flow.) The Oneidas and Senecas are now the engines of growth in their regions, both noted for long stagnation. Far from increasing the burden on state finances, this growth has reduced its social costs. Unemployed and welfare-dependent families have been given a chance at productive work, personal esteem and autonomy: and they all pay taxes in one form or another. This growth is just the result predicted by supply-side economics, the dominant federal economic policy of the last 25 years. In fact, Pataki attempted to duplicate it, with less success, by providing tax breaks in Empire Zones directed at corporations. Sadly, he has abandoned his principles under pressure from a political backlash generated by the Indian success. This same backlash is now seeking its day in the Supreme Court. Indian country will have a chance to rebut it. Tribal briefs in the Richards case are due July 14. One hopes the court will seek a "bright line" version of sovereignty that will foster tribal economic growth and self-determination, not strangle it. Copyright c. 1998-2005 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Michigan, Tribes gird for Inland-Rights Battle" --------- Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 17:38:24 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="1836 RIGHTS TREATY" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.michiganoutdoornews.com/~view2723=1&S=566&P=1110454&PubID=14017 State, tribes gird for inland-rights battle By Marty Kovarik Correspondent June 10, 2005 Marquette, Mich. - The Michigan Attorney General's Office, with assistance from the DNR, will step into federal court in February 2006. Their goal, along with that of tribal attorneys, will be to help a judge interpret how the 1836 treaty affects Native American inland hunting and fishing rights in Michigan. According to Jim Ekdahl, the DNR's statewide coordinator for Native American issues, the five tribes affected by the 1836 treaty believe they have the right to fish and hunt inland areas outside the jurisdiction of state law. Copyright c. 2005 Michigan Outdoor News. --------- "RE: Indian Housing funds may go to War effort" --------- Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2005 08:29:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BULLETS, NOT HOMES" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2005/june/060805funds.html Indian housing funds may go to war effort By Pamela G. Dempsey Dine' Bureau June 8, 2005 WINDOW ROCK - Next year's federal housing dollars are up for grabs but the efforts of Native American tribes to get a piece of the pie may go unnoticed by congressional leaders. While Congress may make "polite statements" to those Native American leaders lobbying for more funding, Chester Carl, chief executive officer of Navajo Housing Authority, said that congressional appropriations will most likely boost war budgets. "The truth is, we don't have the voting power," Carl said. In a position paper to the Navajo Nation Government Services Committee, Navajo Housing Authority reported that the Navajo Nation could lose $14 million in Native American federal housing grants if President George Bush's 2006 budget is implemented. "That is nearly $14 million in lost opportunity for some of the nation's poorest and most neglected citizens in a program that was already under- funded," the report stated. While federal appropriations for the upcoming budget year have been sorted, Carl said the housing end of it is just getting underway. Federal policies, such as the Housing and Urban Development's decision to use the 2000 Census Multi-Race American Indian and Alaska Native data to distribute Indian Housing Block Grants, draw money away from those tribes with the most need, the report stated. Instead, Navajo Housing Authority is advocating the use of verified enrolled tribal membership. "The Navajo Nation, which in the 2000 Census count has over 180,000 tribal enrolled members, has already lost over $10 million due to this policy decision that has been redirected to core urban areas like Chicago, IL., Portland, OR; and the state of Oklahoma," the report stated. But money isn't the only contributing factor to tribal housing needs. "Money is a big part of it," Carl said, "but there are other vehicles not conducive to housing." Tribal dependency on federal government funds, prioritizing housing needs, and the multiple red-tape steps from start to finish in buying or building a home on tribal trust lands are all contributing factors, Carl said. Navajo Housing Authority reports that each year 2,000 Navajos join the housing markets and estimate that the current housing need on the Navajo Nation is more than 20,000 units. "We're taking every piece and working on it," Carl said. - To contact reporter Pam Dempsey call (505) 879-1707 or email pamelagdempsey@msn.com Copyright c. 2005 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Pascua Yaquis get Housing boost" --------- Date: Monday, June 06, 2005 11:11 PM From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" AkimelOodham@EarthLink.net Subj: Pascua Yaquis get housing boost (Fwd) Mailing List: News and Information http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/metro/77570.php Pascua Yaquis get housing boost By Mary Vandeveire The Arizona Daily Star May 31, 2005 Off-reservation, low-income housing is needed by Yaqui tribal members. 40% The number of Pascua Yaqui families on the reservation that live below the federal poverty line - $17,029 for a family of four when the 2000 Census was taken. $7m The local property tax exemption provided by the new law in federal funding for the project. $139,900 The currently listed price for a home in the Old Pascua Yaqui community - an amount that is out of the reach of many tribal members. 40 The number of single-family homes the Las Flores project is using the NAHASDA program to create, as well as an apartment complex for elders. Rising home values are putting the squeeze on affordable options for many people, including members of the Pascua Yaqui tribe of Arizona. A new state law is expected to ease some of that problem. Because the Pascua Yaqui tribe's reservation, 15 miles southwest of Downtown Tucson, is just two square miles in area, many members of the tribe live off the reservation, often in historic Pascua Yaqui communities. These include Old Pascua, in Tucson east of Interstate 10 near Grant Road. But living in Tucson and Arizona isn't the bargain it used to be, and the trend has extended to Old Pascua. A home in the community is currently listed with a selling price of $139,900 - an amount that is out of the reach of many tribal members. The tribe has low high school graduation rates. "When you take that and translate it into earning power, it's not good," said Rebecca Tapia, services supervisor at the community center in Old Pascua. More than 40 percent of Pascua Yaqui families on the reservation lived below the federal poverty line - $17,029 for a family of four - when the 2000 Census was taken. Tapia said a bill that was passed into law this session in the Arizona Legislature will help tribal members. The Pascua Yaquis spearheaded House Bill 2441, which gives a property tax exemption to off-reservation, low-income housing owned by tribes. Tucson Democratic state Reps. Phil Lopes and Tom Prezelski were primary sponsors of the bill, along with Democrat Rep. Albert Tom, who represents District 2 in the northwestern part of the state. The tribe expects to break ground this summer on Las Flores de Guadalupe, a housing development in the Pascua Yaqui town of Guadalupe in southern Maricopa County. The local property tax exemption provided by the new law was a requirement to receive $7 million in federal funding for the project. "We have communities outside the reservation and housing is a hot topic," said Herminia Frias, Pascua Yaqui chairwoman. "We don't have enough people in homes. For us, providing housing opportunities for our members is very important." Properties covered by the new law are limited to those owned and operated by an Indian tribe or a tribally designated housing authority. The property must provide low-income rental housing for tribe members. The property also must be built using tribal money or through a federal financial assistance program, the Native American Housing and Self-Determination Act. The Las Flores project is using the NAHASDA program to create 40 single-family homes, as well as an apartment complex for elders. If there's money remaining, the tribe plans to construct one or two more five-plexes, said Robert Gillon, interim attorney general for the tribe. The new law will mean the loss of properties from the tax rolls that fund school districts. Rates for local property taxpayers may increase to make up for any loss from the absence of the NAHASDA properties, said Michael Hunter, vice president of Arizona Tax Research Association. He said the amount of increase would depend on the specific property and specific school district. Gillon said the Guadalupe project may eventually convert to a plan that will allow tribal members to buy their homes, putting the improved property back on the tax rolls. The tribe will consider low-income housing developments for Old Pascua and other Pascua Yaqui communities if more NAHASDA funds become available, Gillon said. The property tax exemption will be good for Arizona's tribal members, said Tom Willsey, real estate broker and owner of Professional Associates Realty. Willsey noted Friday that a sale was pending on the $139,900, two-bedroom home in Old Pascua, after 15 days on the market. "They deserve it," Willsey said of the property tax exemption for tribes. "It's hard for them to buy a place. They're priced out of the market here." Tapia agreed. "We are always in need of housing. This housing market is only going to go up and make it more difficult for our people to get housing," Tapia said. "This is a very good thing. It's an incentive for our tribe to make more housing available." Contact reporter Mary Vandeveire at mvandeveire@azstarnet.com or 1-602-271-0623. Copyright c. 1999-2005 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star and its wire services and suppliers. --------- "RE: Mohawk Students protest ban of Philosophy" --------- Date: Monday, June 06, 2005 1:22 PM From: frostyca2000 [frostyca2000@yahoo.com] Subj: FEAR OF THANKSGIVING! WHO AND WHY? MOHAWK STUDENTS PROTEST BAN OF PHILOSOPHY. Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian FEAR OF THANKSGIVING! WHO AND WHY? MOHAWK STUDENTS PROTEST BAN OF PHILOSOPHY. School authorities are calling it a religion MNN. May 25, 2005. Wampum 7 of the Kaienerekowa/Great Law of Peace, the Constitution of the Kanienkehaka/Mohawk, provides that the "ohenton kariwatek:wen", the opening thanksgiving, shall be recited at every gathering of the people. It means "the words that come before every matter". Every day we give thanks to all Creation that helps human life. We thank the Kasatstenera:kowa sa'oiera, the great natural power, for producing these. The "ohenton kariwatekwen" is a philosophy, not a religion. It is a form of consensus making that starts before any meeting or activity. The addresser is responded to by the addressees with "henh" meaning "Yes, it's true". We place ourselves within an interdependent system of relationships of all elements of the natural world which are all alive and equal, not above or beneath anything. We thank the earth, water, animals, people and Creation. The natural world is our family and we respect all our relatives. An elder explained, "Creation is perfect with all forces and facilities necessary to help the people". The natural world is the perfect reality. Our constitution, the Great Law of Peace, is based on this reality. Once that consensus is agreed upon, we realize that there are things greater than our conceptions or grievances. We do not pray or ask for things because the natural world has provided everything that we need to live. We are taught to face reality and to give thanks. That is why we must take care of the environment and our relationships for our future generations. We do not accept that we are a minority on our own homeland. The Europeans invaded and occupy our territory. They have become the majority. According to international law we have a right to learn our languages and history and teach them to our chidlren. We must also teach the majority about our history from our own perspective. As American schools are on Onkwehonwe/Indigenous land, we have an obligation to teach them the "ohenton kariwatekwen". The United States thinks it's above international law. The judges refuse to respect it and school principles do the same. Americans instead are trying to extinguish those elements that are contrary to their hierarchical ideology in which they co-modify every living thing and put a dollar value on it. The whole story is told in one brilliant scene. On Monday, May 23rd, Glen Bellinger, superintendent of Salmon River Central School, Fort Covington, New York State, suspended some Mohawk students. Around 60 % of the students in this non-native school are Mohawks from nearby Akwesasne. For the past three years the Mohawk students have recited the "ohenton kariwatekwen" over the school loudspeaker. Suddenly it was decided to interpret this philosophy as a prayer, which, they say, violates the constitutional separation of church and state. The students retorted that they are pledging allegiance to the circle of life while the non-natives are pledging allegiance to the U.S. Government and the flag. We Mohawks have our own constitution and government. Giving thanks to the natural world goes back thousands of years. Pledging allegiance to the flag is recent. It was not part of the original U.S. Constitution. The practice was added in the late 1800's. The school authorities refused to allow the Mohawk youth to use the public address system. They told them to go into the gym and say their "prayer". The youth went there and completed the "ohenton karewatekwen". Most went off to their classes. About 40 remained in the gym. The authorities turned the lights off and left the students in complete darkness. Parents and Great Law Longhouse people arrived. After discussions, ten students would not budge. They could not compromise the "ohenton kariwatekwen" and were suspended. There is nothing more metaphorical than what they did to these young people. What does this act of turning the lights off mean? Instead of celebrating their brave action, the school authorities feared the intelligence of the Mohawk youth. They cannot understand how a social order can be maintained when humans are treated equally. This is a political movement of consequence linked to this concept of equality. The establishment in maintaining their global mono culture must have similarity of language, belief and ideology across the globe, controlled from the top. The opening address says it all. It defines who we are and where we are. Their hysterical reaction did not quiet the youth. The youth were trying to remind them about the perfect reality of the natural world which has a momentum of its own. To shut down the lights in the gym and to try to cast the children into darkness cannot stop the natural world. It is a weak action by those who live in darkness, the darkness of their minds and souls. They are trying to put out the flame, the voice of these young people. But they can't. Why were the colonizers afraid? In their confusion they tried to control the light inside the children who were defending the way of life, the culture and the language. The newcomers to our land have been trying to kill our fire, our voice, ever since they arrived. They sense it is glowing in our children today who are the progenitors of our nation. Our children are not in the dark. The Indigenous people have seen it coming for a long time, that all humans must make the journey back to nature. Our children are starting the journey. The actions of the children frightens them. They are reacting by attacking the "ohenton karwatekwen". They think if they stop the children they can continue to try to control the environment and the world. As an elder said, "Our people keep wanting to send our kids to white schools. We have to create our own schools instead of mimicking the outsiders who have abused us and our children". Education has always been used as a weapon, as a tool of indoctrination of people into their foreign culture. Today they cannot force Christian religion and doctrines down our throats. But they will try with any kind of excuse. The pattern is shifting to what is real. Everything will be played out. Those who have been raised on the "ohenton kariwatekwen" will be able to see the big picture. On Thursday, May 26th, 150 students protested in the school gym. Five of the 6th grade students were suspended. (For comments and updates call 518-358-6012) Kahentinetha Horn MNN Mohawk Nation News Kahntineta@hotmail.com --------- "RE: Tribes want Money for Schools" --------- Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2005 08:29:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EDUCATION FUNDING" http://www.rapidcityjournal.com//news/state/state02.txt Tribes want money for schools By Chet Brokaw, Associated Press Writer June 9, 2005 STEPHAN - The three-story brick dormitory at the Crow Creek Sioux tribe's high school is a blackened hulk, gutted recently in a fire. The gymnasium has been locked up for more than a year after being declared unsafe. And a state inspection recommended a year ago that the high school building no longer be used. Tribal officials say the entire campus should have been rebuilt years ago. "Our children need to be educated, and if we have deteriorating, burned and condemned buildings to educate them in, I guess it just makes us feel helpless," Crystal Kirkie, a member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribal Council, said. Nationwide, Indian tribes are frustrated by what they say are inadequate federal funding and long delays in replacing aging buildings at the 184 schools supported by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. About 48,000 students attend BIA day schools and boarding schools on or near 63 Indian reservations in 23 states. The BIA directly operates about a third of those schools; the rest are run by tribes with BIA funding. The federal government not only takes a long time to replace schools but also fails to maintain them, Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, said. "Children can't get good educations and a fair start for the future if they're continually being put in these areas where they have to worry about their safety on a day-to-day basis or shift them from room to room depending on leakage or something else," Johnson said. The Bush administration has said the situation has improved in recent years. In 2001, 35 percent of BIA schools were in good or fair condition, with the rest in poor condition. But spending planned through next year will leave 65 percent in good or fair shape, the administratoin said. "In the last few years, there has been a lot of money put into school construction," BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling said. In addition, the BIA has improved its procedures to try to accelerate the replacement of schools, Darling said. The BIA, which has a school construction budget this year of about $260 million, reported that funding was approved for 34 replacement schools between 2001 and 2004 and that nine of those projects have been completed and opened. In South Dakota, the Crow Creek Sioux have sought federal funding for more than three decades to rebuild the middle school and high school in Stephan, which serve about 420 students and are more than 40 years old. But the campus is ninth on the BIA's priority list of 14 schools to be replaced, which means it may be three or four years before it is rebuilt - a project estimated to cost as much as $40 million. The tribe's top priority now is to find $2.5 million to build a temporary dormitory and kitchen before fall classes start at the school, which is situated in rolling pasture land east of the Missouri River in impoverished Buffalo County and educates not only local youngsters but also some from more distant locations. The blaze April 24 raced through the dormitory on a Sunday afternoon when most students were away. Seven staff members and students were treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was ruled accidental. "Maybe this is God's way of telling the Department of Interior they need a new school," Kirkie said. The more than 200 students who were living in the dorm managed to find temporary living quarters to finish the school year. And students from other schools donated prom dresses to help younger students who lost theirs in the blaze. But the BIA has agreed to provide less than half of the money needed to erect a temporary dormitory and has yet to come through with the promised $900,000 that would let the tribe allow a company to start making the modular dorm units for use in the fall, superintendent Scott Raue said. The tribe has moved the start of fall classes back three weeks to Sept. 6 to allow more time for construction of temporary living quarters. "I'm running out of time," Raue said Wednesday. "We're just about to the end of what we can do unless we get some miracle. I just have to keep praying." Copyright c. 2005 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Improve Native graduation rates" --------- Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2005 08:32:14 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EDUCATION GAP" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.argusleader.com//OPINION01/506080331/1052 Improve graduation rates Programs designed to reduce educational struggles for Native Americans working June 8, 2005 South Dakota has one of the highest high school graduation rates in the nation, with 96 percent of students statewide earning diplomas in 2003- 2004. Despite this success, few of the state's Native American students earn high school diplomas - something the Sioux Falls School District is working to change. This year, Native American students were the largest minority group in the Sioux Falls School District, with 1,644 students enrolled in grades kindergarten through high school. However, more Native American students dropped out than any other minority group. In fact, only 13 Native American seniors (one-third) graduated. The other two thirds (21 of 34) dropped out, transferred or did not complete coursework for graduation. Perhaps the worst part is that this is an improvement over previous years. Many factors contribute to this: - Many Native American students are part of low income families who cannot afford outside assistance, such as private tutoring services. - Many Native American students come from single-parent households, making it a struggle for these parents to find the time to assist children with homework and to communicate with school officials. - Many Native American students are raised by their grandparents or other elders. It may be difficult for grandparents to assist with tasks such as advanced-level homework. - Records indicate Native American students transfer more frequently, which makes it difficult for the students to establish an educational support-system within a school district. - Native American students are often more shy than their peers, in part because of their cultural upbringing. It is often difficult for Native American students to ask for and receive help from teachers. Because of cultural differences, it often is difficult for many Native American students and parents to know how to communicate with teachers, counselors and other school staff members in mainstream settings. To help increase Native American student graduation rates, Pam Homan, superintendent for the Sioux Falls School District, says the district is working to expand its Indian education program. "We know that we have work to do," she said. One of the most important parts of planned expansions is the Native American Connections classes, started in 2002 with one teacher at Lincoln High School. The program now is in all high schools and two middle schools, and in 2005-06, it will be offered to an additional 40 students at Edison, Memorial and Patrick Henry schools. Connections uses cultural methods to advance Native American education, such as having American Indian speakers visit classrooms and having students read books by Native American authors. Bruce Rekstad, Washington High School Connections teacher, said the program not only employs teaching methods that serve students but families. "We are advocates for them (the families) in the school," he said. "I can talk to the teacher. I can talk to the counselor." In addition, Rekstad said that next year, the district will try encouraging parents to privately meet with teachers instead of having them attend traditional parent-teacher conferences in intimidating large, school gyms. Another important part of the district's efforts is a Title VII Indian Education parent committee, which advises the district about things such as textbooks and cultural issues. Marilyn Lonehill Meier, a parent committee member, thinks many of the problems Native Americans face come from cultural differences. "Part of the Native American struggle, even in the city here, has to do with history," Meier said. "The expectations put on them are not based on Native culture, they're based on mainstream culture ... so children that don't fit into that, they're not going to make it." Problems with Native American graduation rates are not isolated. The Rapid City School District, which has the largest Native American student population (2,300 students) in the state, employs personnel who make home visits and has added programs such as transition rooms, where students spend half of each day receiving one-on-one help and then attend integrated classes. They also have a number of alternative schools and recovery centers, which help students who drop out of school make up missed credits. These are good programs, and we need to continue to expand them and explore new solutions. It is too important a problem to ignore. Copyright c. 2005 Argus Leader. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Si Tanka University seeks to prevent loss of Aid" --------- Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2005 08:29:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SI TANKA WANTS PROTECTION FROM DEPT/EDU" http://www.indianz.com/ http://www.yankton.net/stories/060905/news_20050609038.shtml Si Tanka University Asks Judge To Prevent Loss Of Student Aid By: By CHET BROKAW Associated Press Writer June 9, 2005 PIERRE - Financially ailing Si Tanka University has asked a federal judge to prevent the U.S. Education Department from revoking the school's ability to take part in student financial aid programs. The university filed for bankruptcy protection in April under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code amid persistent financial troubles. Classes at its Huron campus ended prematurely this spring. School officials have said they hope the bankruptcy reorganization filing will isolate the financial trouble to the now-closed Huron campus. Si Tanka also has a campus in Eagle Butte. Si Tanka defaulted on $6.6 million in loans and faces a $2 million federal tax lien. According to court documents, the U.S. Education Department informed the university on April 25 that it was revoking the school's rights to take part in a number of student loan and grant programs. The revocation was based on the university's filing in bankruptcy court, the documents said. A bankruptcy judge denied the university's request for a preliminary order preventing the revocation of the schools' ability to take part in the student financial aid programs. Si Tanka then asked U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann to overturn the bankruptcy judge and restore the financial aid programs. The request to the federal judge is pending. Participation in the student financial aid programs is essential for the university's attempt to reorganize and get a fresh start, according to the school's request for a court order. The Eagle Butte campus has 92 students enrolled in two summer sessions, according to documents filed in court. "It was uncontested that a majority of students would be unable to attend Debtor's campus without the federal programs," the university's request said. The university argues that a federal law prohibits the Education Department from cutting it off from student financial aid because of the bankruptcy filing. However, federal officials have asked the judge to deny the university's request. Other provisions of federal law exclude bankrupt schools from participating in federal student loan and grant programs, the government argues. The school was chartered by the tribe in 1978 as Cheyenne River Community College. To qualify for more money, it incorporated under South Dakota's state laws. The university was operating under the state charter in 2001 when it bought Huron University and merged to become Si Tanka University. Copyright c. 2005 Yankton Press & Dakotan. --------- "RE: Tribe: See you in Court" --------- Date: Friday, June 10, 2005 12:34 PM From: MJ LaBurt [MJLaBurt@aol.com] Subj: Tribe: See you in court - Vow to fight move to use wastewater on sacred site Mailing List: Sovereign Nations Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6585 Tribe: See you in court Vow to fight move to use wastewater on sacred site Sam Lewin June 10, 2005 Tribes in the Southwest are vowing not to give up the fight as a federal agency authorizes the use of ?reclaimed? water on a sacred site. Reclaimed water means wastewater. The Arizona Snowlbowl, a wealthy ski lodge with thousands of rooms, has received permission to pump the water in order to manufacture artificial snow. The lodge is located in the San Francisco Peaks, an extinct volcano formed more than 3 million years ago. Tribes regard the peaks as sacred, and unsuccessfully lobbied the U.S. Forest Service to reject the plan. "This project authorizes ski area improvements, including snowmaking using reclaimed water"the study and decision documents acknowledge significant tribal concerns for the spiritual values and religious beliefs and practices associated with the San Francisco Peaks. This decision does not preclude the continued use of the San Francisco Peaks for religious beliefs and practices, and does not violate First Amendment rights," United State Department of Agriculture spokesman Jim Payne said in a statement. Tribal leaders were quick to condemn the decision. "To Native Americans, desecrating the San Francisco Peaks with wastewater is like flushing the Koran down the toilet," Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr., said. "The federal government is ignoring the pleas and wishes of the Native people. We see other people go to war for their way of life, their essence. Here, though, the federal government is ignoring the pleas and wishes of the Native people." The leader of the Hopi Tribe called the move an "offensive snub," and vowed to pursue the case in federal court. "I am disappointed but not at all surprised at this latest decision of the Forest Service to uphold the desecration of Nuvatukyaovi (the San Francisco Peaks). It became evident early on in the process that federal authorities were ignoring the deeply felt concerns of the Hopi Tribe and all native nations. It is our duty and obligation to protect and preserve the spiritual integrity of Nuvatukyaovi and we will never give up in our efforts to do so," Chairman Wayne Taylor said. "Our place of worship is under attack. For the Hopi Tribe, and many other Native peoples who have a great affinity for the peaks, our overwhelming concern is not about access, but in preserving our place of worship, which for the Hopis is directly tied to our way of life. The peaks are not just mountains, they are a fundamental and integral part of our religious beliefs and activities," said Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office. In addition to that argument, tribal officials protest that artificial snowmaking will have a significant adverse effect on the overall environment of the mountain and watershed, a move that could ultimately affect the condition of an historic property currently in the process of being nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. Local environmental groups tried to prevent the pumping. "We have been anticipating this decision due to the climate that exists under the Bush Administration, which has consistently brutalized Native peoples and the Environment. We oppose the expansion for environmental and human health reasons which are at the core of the degradation of respect the Forest Service and Snowbowl have for a site that is as sacred to Native Americans as Jerusalem is to the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths," said Jim McCarthy, chairman of the Sierra Club Plateau Group. The Hopis and Navajos are not the only ones that consider the San Francisco Peaks to have religious significance. The Zuni, Tewa, Haulapai, Havasupai, Yavapai-Apache, Yavapai-Prescott, Tonto Apache, White Mountain Apache, San Carlos Apache, San Juan Southern Pauite, Fort Mcdowell Mohave Apache, and Acoma also maintain a spiritual connection to the site. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Reservation optimistic about Motel Project" --------- Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2005 08:32:14 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MEDICINE ROOT MOTEL AND CAMPGROUND" http://www.rapidcityjournal.com//business/news960.txt High hopes: Reservation optimistic about motel project By Dan Daly, Journal Staff Writer June 8, 2005 KYLE - A blustery breeze didn't cool the spirits of those who gathered on a recent morning near Kyle for a ground-blessing ceremony at the future site of the Medicine Root Motel and Campground. Dozens turned out to watch as John Around Him conducted the ceremony. He carefully dug a small hole in the ground, placed a small amount of tobacco in the hole and offered a prayer for the success of the new reservation business venture. Entrepreneurs Kathy Stover and Rusty Puckett plan to turn the site into a motel, campground, RV park and cabin complex. It is one of the first businesses of its kind to open on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Small-scale tourism has been around for years on the reservation. Bed- and-breakfast inns, campgrounds and home-based lodging ventures have flourished, mostly attracting European tourists who have a keen interest in Lakota culture and the picturesque countryside. Some businesses are quite big. In fact, the Badlands Ranch Resort overlooking the White River on the north edge of the Pine Ridge reservation compares in size and amenities to many of the big private campgrounds in the Black Hills. But the Medicine Root will be the first year-around motel that caters to tourists and business travelers alike. Puckett and Stover have chosen a site along Bureau of Indian Affairs Road 2 six miles west of Kyle. The motel will be across the road from Oglala Lakota College. The site is backed by Three-Mile Creek. Puckett and Stover will build their campground along the creek. Later, they hope to add a recreational vehicle park, modern cabins and other tourist amenities. "We've been thinking about doing this for 15 years," Puckett said during an interview shortly before the ground-blessing ceremony at the site. In fact, his father had planned to build a motel at Rockyford near the Badlands National Park's White River Visitor Center. The motel will have 19 units - six kitchenettes and 13 regular rooms. Puckett and Stover bought a Rapid City motel building, the Stables Motel at Omaha and La Crosse streets, and they are having it moved to the site near Kyle. Stover believes there will be strong demand for this type of lodging on the Pine Ridge reservation. In fact, she said, Medicine Root has already been taking inquiries about room bookings. They hope nearby Oglala Lakota College will be a source of bookings. The college has a number of visiting instructors and speakers. And a number of staff members commute from as far as Rapid City. To many of the ceremony's speakers, who work in economic development on the Pine Ridge reservation, the Medicine Root Motel and Campground is much more than a motel. "This is the beginning of the creation of an economy on this reservation," Harvey White Woman of Wawo'kiye Business Institute said. If a private sector business community can flourish on the reservation, dollars will circulate through the community longer, officials said. That in turn will create jobs, stimulate more activity and give reservation residents greater power over their lives. "Until we are in control of our finances, we'll never truly be sovereign," said Karlene Hunter of The Lakota Fund, a reservation-based economic development group. First National Bank in Gordon, Neb., provided private financing for the project. "I'm real confident that this will be a success," banker Will Isham of First National in Gordon., said. "I foresee in five years there's going to be a stoplight at this intersection and a lot of commerce going on." Isham noted that First National has had a banking relationship with the Oglala Sioux Tribe for about 35 years. He said the bank looks forward to a continued relationship with the tribe, at least until the tribe can establish its own bank. Other speakers at the ceremony talked about the long, sometimes difficult process of building a tradition of entrepreneurship. "After 20 years, I feel like we really can get this started," said Elsie Meeks, the first director of The Lakota Fund, which began in 1985. Meeks now heads First Nations Oweesta Corp., based in Rapid City. As if to emphasize the tourism potential of the Medicine Root Motel, a trio of visitors from Oregon and California was among the people in the audience at the recent ground-blessing ceremony. Sue and Louis Polanco of Springfield, Ore., and their friend Charlotte Dompier of Sacramento, Calif., were in Rapid City visiting the Polancos' daughter when they read a newspaper item about the upcoming ground- blessing ceremony. They decided to take a day trip and see it for themselves, Sue Polanco said. "Next time you come, we'll have a room for you - and I'm sure we'll leave the light on," White Woman told the trio. For more information about the Medicine Root project, call 441-4290. Copyright c. 2005 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Tribute of a Tribe" --------- Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2005 08:32:14 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KIS-'AM-XAY" http://www.yakima-herald.com/?storyid=283486880118420 Tribute of a tribe By PHILIP FEROLITO YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC June 8, 2005 On a grassy knoll just west of Satus is the grave of Kis-'am-xay, a woman many say once saved the Yakama Nation. There's no headstone, no flowers, just a few old bottles and a swell of dirt pierced by a weathered board about the size of a 2-by-6. Although there's nothing indicating who Kis-'am-xay (pronounced Ki-sum- hi) was or what she did, her memory lives in the hearts of many Yakamas including granddaughter Delores George. Kis-'am-xay, named Annie Billy by the white man, was 5 years old when she watched her elders sign the Treaty of 1855 in Walla Walla. A century later, at the age of about 105, she was called on to testify before members of Congress who were considering a request to break up the reservation. She was a warrior, a medicine woman and the tribe's historian. "She was a grandmother to us all," said Tribal Council Chairman Jerry Meninick. With the Yakama treaty turning 150 years old on Thursday, Kis-'am-xay's story shouldn't be overlooked, said George. "She saved this tribe from termination and its resources," the 65-year- old George said. "She was never gifted anything and never asked for anything." On a recent afternoon, a light breeze swept across the Smohalla Cemetery as George walked through golden-brown wild grass to find her grandmother's grave. Clad in a traditional ceremonial wing dress, beaded moccasins and a dome hat woven from bear grass and that once belonged to Kis-'am-xay, George seemed to slip back a half-century in describing how the tribe faced termination. It was the early 1950s, and at the request of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, some members of Congress sought to sever ties between the government and tribes. They began asking tribes to sell off all of their reservation land and in return offered job relocation opportunities. Some Yakamas willing to let go of their traditions wanted to sell. "They were saying, 'Awe, let's sell this land,'" recalled George, who was 14 at the time. "'We need money for shoes, food.'" In southern Oregon, the policy resulted in the legal termination of the Klamath Falls tribe after many members sold land while others were relocated for job training. Since, the tribe has regained its federal recognition. Nationally, 61 federally recognized tribes were terminated between 1954 and 1962. Then - as now - Yakama tribal officials maintained that losing the reservation would undermine everything the treaty stands for. Tribal leaders began calling on Kis-'am-xay, the only living witness to the treaty's signing. Although blind, the frail, wrinkled elder could still give vivid accounts of the tribe's oral history and sacred teachings. But George recalls it was a chore getting the little old woman - stubbornly set in traditional ways and only speaking Yakama - to talk to outsiders. Tribal leaders visited repeatedly trying to get her to testify before the congressmen. "She'd pull a blanket over her head and wouldn't talk," George said. "She'd say, 'That's too much pressure on me. I'm afraid I'm going to say something wrong and we'll lose everything.'" After a half dozen tribal council visits, plus arguments from her daughter, Elsie Pistolhead, Kis-'am-xay was persuaded to talk. But only on one condition: "They're coming here or I'm not going to speak." On a winter day in 1954, a fleet of large black cars flooded the front of Pistolhead's little two-bedroom home in Satus near the Yakima River. Men wearing suits and carrying briefcases gathered in the living room. "They looked out of place in our home," George recalls. Tulle mats were put over the windows to simulate a traditional longhouse and Kis-'am-xay requested prayer songs before talking. "She said, 'I'm going to speak from my heart, and I can't speak until I give thanks to the Creator through Washat songs and prayer,'" George recalls.Drums began to thunder after the late Watson Totus, a Yakama religious leader, started the ceremony with the ringing of a bell. After seven songs, Kis-'am-xay began speaking through a translator about the Grandfather Sky, Father Sun and Mother Earth. She told them of her traditional teachings about creation. "She spoke on everything: territories, treaty signers, food, religion," George said. "Everything concerning our culture she spoke on." Especially about the tribe's desire to keep its culture alive for future generations. Kis-'am-xay often spoke of the unborn, "those yet to come," George said. "She'd say, 'The children are laughing, I can hear them. They are coming and we have to have something for them.'" Meninick said her words confirmed tribal members were still living by traditional practices and belief. And while her speech may have lacked formal legalistic language, it delivered a powerful moral testimony that made the federal officials realize that dissolving the Yakama Nation would be a crime, Meninick said. As a result, legislation that would have broken up the Yakama Reservation was not drafted. Kis-'am-xay's insight wasn't something taken lightly by the tribe. She was considered part of the last generation of the great medicine people that could see into the future and heal the sick, said George's cousin, Mavis Kindness. "There are not any more of those kinds of people," said Kindness, who used to help George take care of Kis-'am-xay. "There are some who profess to possess those gifts, but no." Just as Kis-'am-xay carried many teachings and sacred healing songs, her story has become a staple in the tribe's oral history, tribal elders say. Stories of her warriorship and healing ability are still told today. One tells how as a young woman she died and went to the heavens, but was told by the Creator that she still had work to do, said Kindness. "Her journey did not stop there," she said. "She was taken and shown heaven, hell and between. She saw gamblers, gossipers and recognized them and they weren't even dead yet." Kis-'am-xay was given a set of healing songs and after awaking began her work as a healer, Kindness said. She'd administer the ill for days, even weeks, and the healing spirit would often lift her frail little body while performing healing ceremonies, said Kindness. "When she went under that spirit, when she was doing her healing work, it took three men to hold her," she recalls. "It was really something to watch." Other stories tell of the battles she fought against other tribes. She carried the shrapnel of a shot suffered during a battle with the Paiutes, said Tribal Councilman and World War II veteran Louis Cloud. "She was a real warrior," he said. "She'd sneak into the (enemy) camps and steal their ammunition." George believes Kis-'am-xay's testimony was a duty she had to fulfill. She died six years later at about 110 years old. Her mostly unmarked grave, however, doesn't mean she's forgotten. Tribal graves traditionally weren't marked with headstones or anything that might keep them from making their journey into the spirit world, George said. "She'd always say 'Don't bury me in a cement grave because when resurrection comes, I won't be able to get out of the grave.'" But times have changed and it would be nice to see something marking the significance of Kis-'am-xay's life, George said. "That would be my bottom line, to honor my grandmother with something," she said. Reporter Phil Ferolito can be reached at 837-6111 or by e-mail at pferolito@yakima-herald.com. Copyright c. 1998-2004 Yakima Herald-Republic, Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: The new Chief Leschi Canoe" --------- Date: Tuesday, June 07, 2005 1:04 AM From: MJ LaBurt Subj: The new Chief Leschi Canoe Mailing List: Sovereign Nations Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411041 The new Chief Leschi canoe. By Betsy Fradd Today correspondent June 7, 2005 PUTAKKUP, Wash. - It's been a dream for some; a longing for others. For the students at Chief Leschi, having their own canoe is now a reality. Thanks to a dedicated group of teachers and administrators, the canoe, called Spirit of the Wolf Protects, will be an integral part of the teachings at the elementary, middle and high schools. Culture Coordinator Peggy McCloud said the new 34-foot, cedar-stripped canoe will bring connection to students and help keep their minds, bodies and spirits strong. "We can continue our ancestral teaching with this beautiful canoe. So many of our songs are about the water and mountains. The students can deepen their understanding of their heritage and who they really are," she remarked. Capt. Connie McCloud began the Puyallup Canoe Family 11 years ago to offset destructive behavior on the rise in her community. She knows the canoe will bring healing and strength. "The canoe families offer students a way to learn about our ancestors, who were positive people and doing good things. They'll learn about their relationship to the water, to each other and how to treat each other respectfully," she said. She wanted to show young people the healthy side of their culture and encourage children to be proud of who they are. "There's a lot of grieving, hardship, drug and alcohol abuse that our children are confronted with," said Connie McCloud. "Being a part of a canoe family offers a chance to celebrate with others their true spirit and identity. It brings back their culture, language, dance, and develops leadership. They learn to work together to accomplish the journey," she added. Being in a canoe family requires commitment. The Puyallup Canoe Family meets weekly and has alternate sessions on physical health, traditional teachings, family communication and substance abuse prevention. In fact, people who become part of a canoe family, either as paddlers or support crew, agree to be drug-, alcohol-, tobacco- and violence-free. Additional meetings take place on the water, where they practice paddling, learn cold-water rescue and attend classes in first aid and CPR. Fifteen-year-old Oscar Salu-skin has been on three canoe journeys and is glad Chief Leschi is getting its own canoe. "It's fun to go out paddling. You get to meet a lot of new people, travel on the water to different coastal tribes and make new friends," said the sophomore. He appreciates learning how the tides affect how fast the group must paddle. "Each canoe has its own personality ... its own spirit. It brings us through good and bad times, and we learn from that," Saluskin said. Lead Puyallup Canoe Family skipper Clinton McCloud is responsible for each person on the canoe. He said it's important for pullers to have a clear mind and focus. Out on the water they sing traditional songs, have fun and enjoy being peaceful. "I want to make my pullers happy," he said. "I try to joke around and make them laugh. When there's positive energy, the canoe just flies." Lolli Arabia said being a part of the Puyallup Canoe Family has taught her to be more patient and get over her fear of water. "I'm more in touch with my spirit," said the 14-year-old. "I've learned a lot about myself, and to just keep going when things seem hard and not to give up." Empowering students is one of the many exciting aspects of the canoe, said Superintendent Ray Lorton. He thinks having the hands-on learning experience for the children from more than 60 tribes at the school will bring many rewards. "The major benefit will be the inspiration it will bring for our students to learn more about the historical value of the canoe and its spiritual meaning," he remarked. Knowing that he was carving it for the kids was a major inspiration to Theron Parker. As the lead canoe builder, Parker, along with his assistant Dwight Tevuk, honored the canoe many times through songs, silent prayer and spoken words during the months-long carving process. Parker, Makah, has been carving for more than 30 years and has built 14 canoes. "It's all about the young people. It's about teaching them," said Parker. He said the purpose of the canoe is to "bring all nations together." Asked about his involvement in carving the canoe for Chief Leschi, Parker replied, "It's been the greatest honor ever." Copyright c. 1998-2005 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Tribes OK Port Pier" --------- Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2005 08:32:14 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PORT OF EVERETT/TRIBES STRIKE DEAL" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/06/08/100loc_pier001.cfm Tribes OK port pier The Port of Everett will pay four Indian tribes $2 million so a Boeing dock can be built in a salmon area. By Mike Benbow Herald Writer June 8, 2005 The Port of Everett will pay four Northwest Indian tribes more than $2 million for letting the port build a new pier for Boeing Co. jet parts on the tribes' traditional fishing grounds. The payments, intended mostly for enhancing fisheries projects, will go to the Tulalip Tribes, the Swinomish Tribe, the Suquamish Tribe and the Lummi Tribe. "We feel really good about it," port executive director John Mohr said of the agreement. It means the port will be able to seek a builder and begin constructing the $20 million project this fall. The Tulalips, the major tribal government involved in the negotiations, approved the deal on Friday. It includes a $575,000 payment for fisheries improvements, another payment of $80,000 for design and construction of a monument commemorating the Point Elliott Treaty, and a promise to create a conservation area on 50 acres of tidal mud flats. Mohr said the Tulalips' payment was similar to those agreed to by the other tribes. In addition to the tribal payments, the new conservation zone is important because it involves tidal lands that had been intended for a new marina. "When we originally began to acquire that property, it was thought of as the next marina site," Mohr said. "We were going to replicate the current marina in a bigger way. We've agreed not to do that." Efforts to reach tribal officials by telephone Tuesday were not successful, but they said earlier they didn't want to hold up the Boeing project while negotiating over its impact on their fishing rights. Although not in the Tulalip agreement, the port has also promised to pay for an eelgrass enhancement project in the area and spend $800,000 to redevelop the beach. Both projects would aid salmon. The Tulalips had earlier asked officials to transfer a portion of sales tax proceeds from businesses at the tribes' Quil Ceda Village from Snohomish County to the tribe, but that issue was not part of the final agreement. The tribal deals, when added to other agreements for neighborhood residents and for some project changes, boost the original cost by nearly 33 percent. The pier was originally estimated to cost $15.5 million. It was offered to Boeing by the state if Boeing agreed to build the 787 Dreamliner in Washington. The Legislature agreed to pay $15.5 million, so the port will likely put a fee on cargo sent by Boeing and other pier users to pay the $5 million in additional costs. "It becomes part of the total project cost," Mohr said of the tribal agreements. "There will be a surcharge on the use of the facility, on the cargo crossing the dock. We'll come up with a reasonable amortization schedule." The rail-barge pier, which the port wants to complete by early 2006, will receive jet parts shipped from overseas, and place them on rail cars for quick trips to Boeing's Everett production plant. Copyright c. 2005 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, Wash. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Tribes must challenge Diabetes" --------- Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 17:38:24 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: DIABETES" http://www.grandforks.com//dorreen_yellow_bird/11869348.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Tribes must challenge diabetes June 11, 2005 At the age of 48, Pearl Howard was told she had Type II diabetes. Over the next 34 years, my aunt battled the disease bravely. At first, her treatment was just pills; then, a shot. Today it's a tray full of pills, bottles of medicine and shots twice a day. There were times over the years when her medication didn't work. In fact, there were times when some of her medications actually damaged her organs. At 82, diabetes has her firmly in its clutches, and she struggles each day for life. Unfortunately, my aunt isn't unusual. American Indian people don't ask each other if they have diabetes; they ask, "When were you diagnosed?" This epidemiclike disease is the focus of Indian Health Service clinics on many reservations - clinics that often have kidney dialysis rooms for an increasing number of patients. The kidneys are one of the organs diabetes attacks. There also are a large number of people who are amputees as a result of the disease. My doctor watches me for this disease because, he told me, I am at risk, too. I am overweight, an Indian woman and an elder - all characteristics that can lead to the disease. Diabetes was brought to my attention a few days ago during a lunch with Dr. Gerald Combs, a scientist and director of the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center. He is working on a project to bring young Indian students to UND for an eight-week internship. The collaboration is meant to whet their interest in the fields of nutrition and dietetics - the "grow-our-own-dietitians-and-nutritionists" concept. I was pleased that Combs was interested in diabetes prevention, since it affects so many of my relatives. Diabetes definitely is related to what we eat. Researchers tie the change in foods and lifestyles of American Indians to the increased rate of diabetes. I know there has been a change in our lifestyle. So, I wondered, what is the nutritional value of prairie plants and wild fruit such as chokecherries, juneberries, wild plums, buffalo berries or prairie turnip plants? I suspect that like blueberries, these wild fruits and plants have a high nutritional value. These are questions that Combs is asking, too. Exercise also helps alleviate the symptoms of diabetes. During our lunch, I told Combs about the weight-loss contest started on the Fort Berthold, N. D., reservation. On April 1, Tex Hall, tribal chairman for the Three Affiliated Tribes, and some of the tribal health staff extended a challenge to tribes and Indians to see who could lose the most weight. Fifty teams of five people each signed up; their collective weight was 27 tons. The prize for the team that loses the most weight is $800, and there also is a traveling trophy. How are the 50 teams doing? Alton Spotted Horse, the project director, said so far they have lost a total of 3,350 pounds. Yikes, that is a lot of fat! Not only is that a hefty weight loss, Spotted Horse said, but also individuals have reduced cholesterol and blood-sugar levels and generally feel good. Spotted Horse said he watched his aunt, who was diabetic, disappear piece by piece until there was nothing left. "I look at this disease as an enemy who came into the village," he said. The Three Affiliated tribe's challenge was accepted by Standing Rock Nation in Fort Yates, N.D., the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in Belcourt, N.D., and the Sisseton Wahpeton tribe in Sisseton, S.D. I don't have any data of their progress, but I do know Valentino White, tribal chairman of the Spirit Lake tribe, and his staff put together 17 teams of five members each. They didn't give me their total weight, but they did seem committed to the contest. Toni Young, who is working on the project at the Cankdeska Cikana tribal college, said they started the project by surveying college faculty, staff and students about their health. Young still is putting together the final figures of the survey, but said it already is evident there are too many staff and faculty who have diabetes. The number of students is high, too, she said, and that surprised her. They are young people. Diabetes not only limits what you can eat but also damages your heart, liver, kidneys, eyes and, slowly, the rest of your body. The tribes that are making the war on diabetes fun are to be commended. Indian people are exercising and learning about healthy diets in spite of themselves. The Grand Forks Human Nutrition Center is taking diabetes prevention to another level by helping us understand the disease. That is good thinking and can't help but provide Indian people with other weapons in this fight. ---- 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: GIAGO: Commodity Cheese goes good with any whine" --------- Date: Mon, 6 Jun 2005 08:52:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: RETIRED MILITARY BASES" http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6554 Commodity cheese goes good with any whine Notes from Indian Country Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji) 6/6/2005 Copyright c. 2005 Native American Journalists Foundation, Inc. I wonder if the good citizens of Clovis, NM and Rapid City, SD would like a little cheese with their whine? I haven't heard such whining since Russell Means lost the election for president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe last year to a woman, Cecilia Fire Thunder. In fact, he's still whining. Since the Base Realignment and Closure Commission announced it would close the Airforce bases at Clovis and Rapid City the people of both cities have been whining with increasing volume. It's all right for the federal government to cut the budget as long as it is not in their back yard, they are screaming. I suppose financial responsibility is a good thing as long as it is not your ox that is getting gored. Ironically, South Dakota and New Mexico went red in this last election. Of course, South Dakota has nearly always been red, but New Mexico is a late comer to magenta. The general feeling was that since they supported the Republican majority their little bases would be untouchable. Wrong! John "Long John" Thune (R-SD) made it one of the cornerstones of his campaign against the incumbent, Tom Daschle (D-SD), that with his clout with President Bush and the Republican Congress, he would be the best bet to keep Ellsworth AFB off of the closure list. Wrong again. South Dakota's Republican Governor Mike Rounds has added his whine to the songfest, as has New Mexico's Democratic Governor Bill Richardson. In fact on May 21 the entire New Mexico congressional delegation and the Governor converged upon Clovis to assure it citizens that they would go down with the ship before allowing the base there to be closed. And would you believe that the congressional delegations from both states are trying to introduce legislation to stall the closing or to prevent it entirely? They are not alone. States from Maine to California have joined the chorus of whiners. Rapid City is located in Pennington County and it was this county that led the charge against Tom Daschle. Ironically, the air force base is also located in Pennington County. Now which county in South Dakota will lose the most when the base closes? You guessed it, Pennington County. In New Mexico I suppose the city commissioners of Clovis can vote to have Jemez Pueblo officials open their off-reservation casino there because it is running into all sorts of obstacles trying to open it in Anthony. Indian tribes have a legitimate right to lay claim to federal installations when they are closed. Think about it, citizens of Clovis. The base could turn into a real moneymaker and job provider. Several tribal leaders in South Dakota are preparing a proposal to submit to the federal government that would lay claim to Ellsworth AFB after it closes. Dr. Art Zimiga, an Oglala Lakota, and several other prominent Indian business men and women are putting together a package to give to Oglala Sioux Tribal Attorney Mario Gonzalez who is working on a plan for the Oglala Sioux Tribe to claim Ellsworth. It's going to be a very interesting time watching the maneuvering, the elbowing and the hand wringing that everyone involved brings to the table. And the winner is? We won't know until we see what "clout" Sen. Thune and Sen. Pete Dominici (R-NM) bring to the fight. The way it was supposed to be set up is that the decision made by BRAC would not and could not be challenged by the self-serving politicians. But, politicians, being the way they are, can get around just about anything, except themselves at times. After all, when the last round of base closings took place a few years ago, Sen. Daschle kept Ellsworth AFB off of the list. He definitely had the ear of the people that counted. Now that he is out to pasture, he can only watch in sorrow and helplessness. In the meantime, while this Keystone Kops scenario is played out, the newly elected president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Cecilia Fire Thunder, finds herself at odds with some members of the tribal council and some members of the community. They are talking about impeachment. It should be noted here that most of the disaffected are the same people who ran up the debt that Cecilia is now accused of mismanaging. Ms. Fire Thunder is also accused of disrespect to some elders. Heck, I'm an elder and like the late Rodney Dangerfield, I too "get no respect." It comes with the territory, but we should not make it grounds for impeaching the president. There are some elders who deserve no respect and many who are respected do support Cecelia. After all, she's only been in office six months. Give the poor lady a break. There are times we elders should leave the decision making in the hands of the people we elected. Anyhow, if Ms. Cecilia "Watch that Temper" Fire Thunder is going to have a say in what happens to Ellsworth AFB, it is best that she be allowed to get on with her job. I have often written that we (Oglala) are often our own worst enemy. I suppose the same can be said of many Indian tribes at this stage in our history. In the case of BRAC and Cecilia, I hope people just stop whining and let the federal and tribal governments get on with their jobs. By the way, a little commodity cheese goes real good with any whine. (Tim Giago is the former editor and publisher of The Lakota Times, Indian Country Today and the Lakota, Dakota and Pueblo Journals). He can be reached at giagobooks@iw.net Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Cultural Tie gets in the way of Graduation" --------- Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 08:49:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BOLO NOT A TIE" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.washingtonpost.com//2005/06/09/AR2005060901664.html Cultural Tie Gets in the Way Of Graduation Md. Boy Wearing Bolo Is Denied a Diploma By Ann E. Marimow Washington Post Staff Writer June 10, 2005 Thomas Benya wore a braided bolo tie under his purple graduation gown this week as a subtle tribute to his Native American heritage. Administrators at his Charles County school decided the string tie was too skinny. They denied him his diploma, at least temporarily, as punishment. The bolo, common in contemporary American Indian culture, is not considered a tie by his public school in Pomfret. If Benya wants the diploma, he will have to schedule a conference with the administrators. What his parents say they want is an apology from Maurice J. McDonough High School for embarrassing their son and failing to respect the Cherokee background of his father's ancestors. "The schools in Charles County are asking him to ignore his heritage," Marsha Benya said as she turned to face her 17-year-old son. "I want you to be proud of it." "I am proud of it," he said, sitting in her real estate office in Waldorf, where he plans to work this summer before enrolling at the College of Southern Maryland. The high school is sticking to its policy. The dress code is mandatory for seniors who choose to participate in the graduation ceremony. And Benya was told during a dress rehearsal Tuesday that his black bolo with a silver and onyx clasp the size of a silver dollar was "not acceptable." "We have many students with many different cultural heritages, and there are many times to display that," said school district spokeswoman Katie O'Malley-Simpson. "But graduation is a time when we have a formal, uniform celebration. If kids are going to participate, they need to respect the rules." Controversies over student attire at graduation are perennial, and school districts try to avoid confusion by sending letters to parents and seniors months in advance. In Prince George's County, for example, graduating seniors are told "they are not to wear any kind of additional accents," said schools spokesman John White. "We set the standard to make sure all our ceremonies are formal and respectful," he said. In March, Benya's high school sent a letter to parents and seniors explaining that "adherence to the dress code is mandatory," with the word mandatory in bold and underlined. For girls: white dresses or skirts with white blouses. For boys: dark dress pants with white dress shirts and ties. That left Benya's classmates free to wear bright orange, red and striped ties under their gowns at the ceremony Wednesday at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro. One senior girl wore a headscarf and long pants for religious reasons. "The First Amendment protects religion, and we do everything possible to honor that," O'Malley-Simpson said. "There is nothing that requires us to follow everyone's different cultures." Thomas Benya says the bolo tie he wore to graduation for Charles County's McDonough High School reflects his heritage. (By Mark Gail -- The Washington Post) The courts have ruled that students have limited rights to express themselves at school as long as their behavior is not disruptive. A 1969 Supreme Court case, Tinker v. Des Moines, sided with students who wanted to wear black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. David Rocah, a staff lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, said there are limits to those rights. Carrying political placards or wearing a clown suit to graduation would presumably be disruptive. The question, he said, is whether a bolo tie under a gown is disruptive. "There's nothing wrong with wanting graduation to be a formal occasion," he said, "but the idea that everyone should look the same -- they're not all the same." Rocah called the school's interpretation a "narrow and cramped view of personal autonomy." Benya grew up hearing stories about his paternal grandmother's father and grandfather, who lived in dismal conditions on a Cherokee reservation in Oklahoma. He attends powwows and has worn an heirloom turquoise and silver bracelet for as long as he can remember. He favors black clothes and prefers working backstage with lights and sound to performing in plays. He said he wasn't looking to cause a scene. "It's my way of relating back to my past and showing who I am," he said. Copyright c. 2005 The Washington Post Company. --------- "RE: Navajo dictionary at UNM" --------- Date: Tuesday, June 07, 2005 1:00 AM From: MJ LaBurt Subj: Navajo dictionary at UNM Mailing List: Sovereign Nations Mailing List: NDNAIM http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411036 Navajo dictionary at UNM by: Staff Reports / Indian Country Today June 7, 2005 GALLUP, N.M. - The late Alyse Neundorf, a University of New Mexico - Gallup associate professor of Navajo who died in January 2004, wanted to preserve her heritage and language. To that end, she taught the "Dine' Bisaad" language to children, college students and adults. Neindorf obtained her Ph.D. in linguistics at UNM in 1987. Her dissertation was titled "Bilingualism: A bridge to power for interpreters and readers in the Navajo tribal council." Neundorf joined the faculty of UNM-Gallup in 1996. She was born in Lukachukai, Ariz., and was a member of the Two Joining Rivers Clan and a former Miss Navajo. Navajo is a creative language, in which metaphor, simile and personification are used regularly and multiple versions of one-word function to mean the same thing. This duplicity is likely the result of Navajo contact with other cultures: for instance, the Spanish. "Languages grow with the people," Neundorf wrote. "If the people do not make new terms, the language becomes less able to deal with new situations, and sometimes borrowed terms take over instead." To Neundorf, Navajo was a "good, healthy language" that should be used to describe anything and everything in the world within human understanding. Borrowed words, she believed, should be kept to a minimum and the descriptive nature of Navajo preserved. In her posthumously published "A Navajo/English Bilingual Dictionary" (University of New Mexico Press), Neundorf offers 1,500 noun entries and 300 verbs and adjectives to add to readers' knowledge of Navajo and to children learning to read and write in bilingual classrooms. Words selected are terms used in and around school settings. "Most of our knowledge depends on our ability to internalize and understand our world through language," Neundorf believed. "I hope with the aid of this dictionary, the Navajo students will verbally describe and discover the world in which they live, so they will be able to transfer this knowledge to any situation they may encounter." A joint endeavor between Neundorf, the Ramah Navajo School Board, Inc. and the University of New Mexico Press, "A Navajo/English Bilingual Dictionary" is divided into two main parts for each letter of the Navajo alphabet and features words for place names, numbers, body movements and parts, and kinship. Illustrations for commonly used words and an index in English are included. This dictionary will help Dine' speakers and beginners try some new words. Neundorf, after consulting Navajo language scholars and tribal elders, added new words to the dictionary that explain a new concept or were developed to accommodate Navajo contact with other cultures and modernization. In this way, Neundorf's life legacy to nurture the Navajo language persists. Copyright c. 1998 - 2005 Indian Country Today. --------- "RE: Science Study of Navajo Astronomy" --------- Date: Thursday, June 09, 2005 10:56 AM From: Karen Francis [karenfrancis@navajo.org] Subj: Science Study of Navajo Astronomy "The Science Study of Navajo Astronomy," an educational outreach program for 5th grade-level youth, will be held June 13-28, 2005 at Navajo Elementary School in Navajo, New Mexico. See the attached flier for more information. Karen Francis Public Information Officer Office of the Speaker (928) 871-6384 karenfrancis@navajo.org "THE SCIENCE STUDY OF NAVAJO ASTRONOMY" JUNE 13 - 28, 2005 NAVAJO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 123 Cedar, Navajo, NM 87328 - - - - - - - - TEXT VERSION of FLIER - - - - - - - PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: "The Science Study of Navajo Astronomy" is an educational outreach program being held on the Navajo Reservation. The program focuses on Navajo Astronomy as it relates to the Navajo term "Father Sky." Navajo students and their families will explore career options and space science from Western and Navajo perspectives. Programs for 5th grade-level youth run from 8:30-11:30 at Navajo Elementary School, a 100% Navajo enrolled public school. Students will produce a personal journal of project activities and notes, and give oral presentations. This introduction to space science will continue during the next school year with activities tied to Navajo astronomy that are sacred to do in the winter months. PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS include: "Making Wall Charts: Charting the Four Navajo Seasons and the Navajo Constellations" "ABOVE & BEYOND: 100 Years of Women In Aviation" A Special Presentation Film Screening about the history of flight by Artreach-International Telescopes: How to Use Them and What to Look For, Dr. Kinglesmith, New Mexico Tech. Special Event for students and parents: A Star Party Evening! "Journey to Mars: A 3D Exploration" A Multimedia Presentation of NASA Imagery by Artreach-International PROGAM ACTIVITIES and LESSON PLANS include: Using Telescopes Light Spectrums Making a Telescope Stars, Colors, & Temperatures Making Wall Charts Online Star Wheels Navajo Constellation Stories Stars, Galaxies, & Planets Constellation Stories from Other Tribes Electromagnetic Fields Planet Cards Guest Speakers including: Dr. Kinglesmith, Astronomer, New Mexico Tech Dr. Sheri Klug, Lead, Mars Outreach Program, Arizona State University. Dr. Barbara Laval, Manager for NASA/UCLA Center for Astrobiology and Director of Education and Public Outreach Dr. Diane Taylor, NASA/UCLA Center for Astrobiology. For More Information Contact: Gloria Begay Alice Carron, CEO Indian Education Coordinator www.ArtreachStudios.com Gallup McKinley Schools www.Artreach-International.com/star gbegay@gmcs.k12.nm.us artreachstudios@hotmail.com SPECIAL THANKS TO THE MANY CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDING: Johns Hopkins University Center for Astrophysical Sciences, The Origins Education Forum at Space Telescopes Science Institute, New Mexico Tech, NASA Outreach Discovery and New Frontiers Program, NASA Kepler Mission, NASA White Sands Education Outreach, NASA/UCLA Center for Astrobiology Education and Public Outreach, NASA Astrobiology Institute, NASA Explorer Institute, Navajo Nation Museum, Navajo Elementary School, Navajo Nation Office of the Speaker and Office of the President, Gloria Begay, Navajo Elementary School Teachers Ms. Anderson and Ms. Tsosie and Principal Gloria Thompson --------- "RE: Native American food goes Haute Cuisine" --------- Date: Thursday, June 09, 2005 2:26 AM From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" AkimelOodham@EarthLink.net Subj: Native American food goes haute cuisine (Fwd) Mailing List: News and Information http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/09/30/native.cuisine.ap/ Native American food goes haute cuisine WASHINGTON (AP) - Bison carpaccio and caribou bruschetta are not typical of American Indian home cooking. But chef and Cree Indian Arnold Olson is preparing more than just meals. Olson is trying to transform tribal foods into haute cuisine, cooking traditional ingredients but in the grand European manner. "For me to add European style into dishes is a must," Olson said. "I really believe in the future of aboriginal foods." For Olson, the future is in dishes such as thin-cut bison tenderloin rolled in lemon, orange and lime zest - the basis for his carpaccio - and seared caribou with ice wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, served on little wedges of baked bread, the basis for the bruschetta. Olson, a caterer in Ottawa, the Canadian capital, brought his skills to the country's embassy in Washington to help it celebrate the opening last week of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of the American Indian. Canadian artifacts and art works are among the museum's displays. Other cooks also are experimenting with the new cuisine. The museum's cafe specializes in Indian-style food and faces the same challenges as Olson. That means keeping the menu true to its roots while still familiar enough to entice non-Indians. Even finding a name for the cuisine is a challenge. When people think of Indian food, it's curry that might first come to mind. Olson calls his dishes aboriginal; the museum refers to its menu as native. Identifying a style also is a quandary. Indians historically prepared what was available locally, so the potential variety of dishes ranges from roast moose to tamales. In addition, ingredients that were new to European settlers - corn and potatoes, for instance - have become part of the American culinary standard. People have to be reminded the foods are Indian, said Richard Hetzler, executive chef at the museum cafe. "People think of tamales as Mexican," Hetzler said. "They think of Latin American food when they are truly products that Indians used to make." Culinary tinkering At Tillicum Village, a Northwest Indian-themed dinner theater on a Puget Sound island near downtown Seattle, cooks bake salmon on stakes of cedar over fires of alder wood, a cooking style "thousands of years old," said Mark Hewitt, the company's president. But this does not make the meal a copy of the traditional Northwestern Indian diet any more than Tillicum Village's Indian dance pageant, complete with sound track, is a ritual. Small red new potatoes substitute for wild potatoes that the Indians would have eaten, Hewitt said. The dinner also includes rice, "which doesn't have anything to do with anything," but which especially pleases tourists from Asia, he said. Olson tackles the identity problem by working with ingredients familiar to Indians in Canada. The museum cafe's response is to divide its offerings, food court-style, into five geographic regions; for example, juniper cured salmon for the Northwest and bison burgers for the Plains. The chefs also look for themes, such as smoked meat. "The defining thing would be smoke flavor," Olson said. "Things had to be smoked to preserve things over the winter months, so everything was always smoke flavor." To bring Indian foods into the mainstream, changes typically have to be made in the recipes. For instance, Canadian Indian food is bland, using only a little salt and pepper, Olson said. He digs into the European spice cabinet for his flavorings. There is another consequence to the culinary tinkering that opens the cooking to the mainstream. The results may look strange to the people on whom the dishes are based. "There's a lot of comments, especially (from) people who come from the reservations, it's like you're copying the white people," Olson said. Nonetheless, he believes the techniques are worth copying. He still remembers a restaurant meal in 1972, when he was 10 years old, during a family visit to a small town in Manitoba, Canada, at the end of a 60-mile (100-kilometer) drive from his village. "That was the first time I had my cheeseburger," Olson said. "It was delicious." Copyright c. 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/09/30/native.cuisine.ap --------- "RE: Chiefs debate future of First Nations University" --------- Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 08:49:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FN UNIVERSITY FLAP" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=fsin-fnuc050609 Chiefs debate future of First Nations University CBC News June 9, 2005 NORTH BATTLEFORD - Saskatchewan's Indian chiefs are looking for answers on what's next for controversy-plagued First Nations University of Canada. Chiefs are raising concerns about how the suspensions of three top officials and subsequent firing of a university vice-president have been handled over the last few months. Gary Merasty, the grand chief of the Prince Albert Grand Council says the situation has turned ugly and everyone stands to lose because of it. He's one of chiefs worried about the damage the controversy has caused to the students and the university's reputation. "We want to ensure that the integrity, the credibility and the pride that we have in our institutions is first and foremost," Merasty said. "Those institutions represent our future." Merasty said FSIN now has to focus on ensuring the future of the university. He called for establishment of a task force comprised of industry experts to look at how FNUC should move forward. FSIN Vice-Chief Morley Watson, the chair of FNUC's board of directors, insists that he and his board of directors for the university have not breeched any act that governs the FSIN or the university. The chiefs worked Wednesday night to draft a formal proposal for an FNUC task force. It's expected it will be read at Thursday's sitting of the assembly. Copyright c. 2005 CBC. --------- "RE: Whitebird appointed Treaty Relations Commissioner" --------- Date: Wed, 8 Jun 2005 08:32:14 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHITEBIRD NAMED TREATY RELATIONS COMMISSIONER" http://www.firstperspective.ca/story_2005_06_01_whitebird.html Whitebird Appointed Treaty Relations Commissioner But objectives of organization questioned. By Len Kruzenga June 1, 2005 As possibly the worst-kept secret in Indian Country, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Dennis Whitebird announced he was resigning to accept the position as head of the Manitoba Treaty Relations Commission, first announced two years ago by then Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault. Ottawa insiders told the First Perspective as early as last November that Whitebird had the inside track on the job and it was well known that INAC and other governmental officials had been in discussions with Whitebird. The new commission was created to operate as an independent and impartial body to promote public education on the history and role of the treaty relationship between First Nations and Canadians in the province and specific treaty issues and has a mandate to engage in public education activities to improve understanding of the treaty relationship and treaty- related issues, provide facilitation services for discussing treaty issues, and conduct independent research. When Nault announced the deal in November of 2003 he said that the "establishment of the Treaty Relations Commission in Manitoba will provide a forum for discussion and education on historical treaties and treaty issues." To which Whitebird responded, "It is important for the Canadian people to understand the fundamental role of treaties and the contribution of First Nations people in the development of Canada. "Our leadership sees the Treaty Relations Commission in Manitoba as a significant step to respecting the sacred treaties between the First Nations and the Crown. It marks the beginning of implementing the treaty relationship and appreciation of First Nations oral history and understanding of the spirit and intent of the treaties." Opinions by First Nations people on the streets of Winnipeg to news of the appointment were mixed. "I think it's great that we have an organization to outreach to other Canadians and educate them about our treaties and Dennis has a good record on defending our rights," said north-end resident Kevin Spence. "The AMC has really become irrelevant so I think this was a good step for him. But others aren't so sure. "Dennis was very passive as Grand Chief in any kind of outreach or initiative aimed at taking our message directly to other Canadians. So his appointment is a surprise really cause I'd think you have to show some qualifications for the job or prior commitment to the type of things the commission is supposed to do," said Amanda Henry. "Dennis hardly has the type of dynamic personality, I think, that will appeal to the non- aboriginal population he's supposed to educate. While Whitebird has a reasonably high political profile in the province , one federal government source says the appointment was "not necessarily made on the basis of selecting the best qualified candidate but the most suitable for the job, and noted that a number of "highly qualified" First Nations applicants had expressed an interest in the post." But for others the entire process of the appointment and the rationale behind the commission itself are suspect. "This is the equivalent of a patronage appointment made by the liberals and the mandate of the commission is so completely vague that all it really has to do to justify itself is conduct a couple of community meetings perhaps, visit a school and advocate on behalf of First Nations for the government to respect the treaties and that's it," said Rick Laliberte. "It's so loosy goosey once again and obviously intended to placate First Nations but will it have any real impact on bridging understanding between aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians? I doubt it." It's a concern expressed by others as well. "Who's going to measure its effectiveness or if it's actually doing anything," said Suzanne Keepness. "I mean he (Whitebird) headed an organization that spent over $35 million on the FAI with nothing to show for it after ten years. That's not a track record that inspires confidence. Laliberte s