_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 13, ISSUE 033 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 August 13, 2005 Abenaki temezowas/cuttr moon Klamath t-hopo/berries dried moon Eastern Cherokee nvda udatanvagisdi ulisdv/end of the fruit moon +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People s ch mA mL tL squee Lux -- Okanogan -- News from the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; Indian Trust ListServ, Frostys AmerIndian, NetRez, Native American Poetry and Chiapas95-English Mailing Lists; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "We live in a dominant society where humility is looked upon as a weakness." __ Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota and Olympic Gold Medalist - urging students to be humble +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 Sister! My half-side, Janet, makes the obvious - BIA bureaucracracy stifles tribal development - clear, even to the blind squirrels in Washington. ---- BIA bureaucracy stifles tribal development. After slaughter and slavery was replaced with a more "civilized" way of eliminating humanity "in the way," the US government dealt with indigenous nations in the Americas by presenting them with gotchas. The treaties looked good on paper -- the tribes just had to relinquish a little of their land, resources, children, tradition, and way of life, and the US would return prettier clothes, more effective tools, more educated children, and a better way of life. The tribes delivered -- but before they collected their reward, there was that "gotcha" that left the tribe and its people yet more destitute, and some bureaucrat walking away back to Washington jingling Indian money in his pockets. So it is we come to 2005, the Navajo nation, and our issue's first story. Already dealing with poisoned water and despoiled land from the "good deals" granted by the coal and uranium mine deals, now the Navajo have the rug pulled from under them yet again The U.S government helpfully granted about $1 million dollars to the Navajo nation in 2004 for capital development -- the catch being that if the money had to be spent in a designated amount of time. Enter the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has mandated just enough bureaucratic processes to ensure that those deadlines won't be met -- and the money goes jingling its way back to Washington. +/// Janet Smith owlstar@bellsouth.net /*/+ P. O. Box 672168 OwlStar Trading Post + / * Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. http://www.owlstar.com * + ---- Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) wotanging@bellsouth.net P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------- - Navajos lose nearly $1 Million - YELLOW BIRD: - Four Wells and Little Money Children hold Key to healing - Special Trustee - Tribal connections touts Trust improvements with King County Library - COBELL PLANTIFFS: - NA Youth Conference Swimmer ignoring 'Big Picture' teaches leadership - Mohegan allowed to restore - Native viewpoint on Fur Trade Tribal Burial Ground - Rocky View, Tsuu T'ina - Bill would protect Massacre Site ink Historic Water Deal - Burials at Sand Creek - Native Group to file $12B Lawsuit - Return of Wisconsin Oneidas against Ottawa - RED LAKE: Being 'REZ- ilient' - Sixth Declaration - Blackfeet Tribe of the Selva Lacandona to offer Tax Counter Proposal - Suit to stop Kitt Peak Project - Amskaapi-Piikuni dismissed to Blackfeet Plans discussion - Shirley proposes Bond issue - Tribes getting Land back to fund Detention after 90 Years - Navajo Nation President - Navajo TCDC certifies signs Peyote Bill into Law Indian Wells Land Use Plan - Police at Salt River fulfilled - Maryland's struggle - Native Prisoner to recognize its Tribes -- Access to Aboriginal Medicines - Kanienkehaka files - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Jurisdiction Question - Rustywire: the Deerhunter - Mohegan, Pequot Descendants - Lee Goins Poem: Poetic Justice can't get enrolled - Building on Native American Tradition - Editorial: Action needed - Preserving the Klamath Tongue on Kickapoo Water Crisis - BOOK: The Poetic Heart - HARJO: Elite Group of Mayan Women Writ Large wants control over Dead Indians - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Navajos lose nearly $1 Million" --------- Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005 08:42:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BUREAURACY STEALS FUNDS" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2005/august/080405lose.html Navajos lose nearly $1 million By Kathy Helms Dine' Bureau August 4, 2005 GALLUP - Nearly $1 million in grant money reverted to the state of New Mexico at the end of June. Of that amount, more than $700,000 should have gone to help Navajo Nation chapters in New Mexico with Capital Improvement Projects. The New Mexico Indian Affairs Department, state legislators, and Navajo Nation representatives, including Council Speaker Lawrence Morgan, met Wednesday at Gallup High School to discuss capital outlay issues. All agreed that getting any type of capital improvement project off the ground on the Navajo Nation is a cumbersome, time consuming process. After listening to both state and tribal perspectives regarding capital outlay and looking at flow charts depicting the process, Republican Sen. Rod Adair (District 33, Chaves, Lincoln counties) told the audience, "I have to say that some of the things today I've seen are not encouraging. "The messages I received today of these two pieces of paper here (flow charts), one for the Indian Affairs Department and one from the Navajo Nation, combined reference has been made to 42 steps for capital outlay, and that it takes about a year. One of them is three to four months alone. "Then we've seen where almost a million dollars is going back, being reverted and lost. This is not good," Adair said. "The message from this is we are a big bureaucracy and we're getting bigger, and we're more complex than anybody else. "Dollars are supposed to be provided to the people. I even heard here a proposal to use part of the money to make new positions in the Navajo Nation to expand the bureaucracy even bigger. It's almost a record already." He encouraged the tribe to seek outside help if needed to streamline the Navajo government machine. "The number of steps to get to capital outlay from the Legislature and back is probably six, not 42," Adair said. "Expanding the bureaucracy is not a solution. It reduces the enthusiasm and the incentive on the part of the legislators, because we want to see people get helped." But where the Navajo Nation is concerned, he said, "The message is almost, 'Don't give us any more money. It creates more headaches for us. It's just too hard to work with.' "Bureaucracy is strangling the effect of everything you're doing," Adair said, drawing a loud round of applause from the largely Navajo audience. Rebecca Martinez, Capital Outlay manager, said the total amount of grant money returned to the state amounted to $922,000. "It's not 100 percent Navajo Nation. I would say $747,000 of that is Navajo Nation funds," she said. The General Appropriations Act passed in 2004 allows tribal governments to submit invoices on projects that had expired 2004 and prior, Martinez said. "They had until June 30, 2005, to submit those invoices and still get reimbursed." Michelle Brown-Yazzie, deputy secretary for Indian Affairs, said one of the purposes of Wednesday's meeting was to try to find solutions to prevent future reversions. "A majority of the reversions from our department are attributed to Navajo Nation projects. But these dollars don't include the Department of Aging's project and the Department of Transportation's project. They have projects with the Navajo Nation as well," she said. Indian Affairs Secretary Benny Shendo Jr. came into office in June 2004. Since that time, he and his staff have reduced a purported backlog of $17 million in capital project funds by creating a Capital Outlay unit and "staffing it with classified employees vs. in the past it was staffed with exempt employees, which are politically appointed," Yazzie said. "In January, the backlog was down to $2.7 million. As of June 30, 2005, the backlog was zero," she said. Unfortunately, according to Shendo, "The reason it zeroed out was because the funds had reverted to the state. When it reverted, there was zero," he said. Yazzie said that Shendo and staff have worked very hard over the last few months to reduce the backlog. She also praised the efforts of the Navajo Nation's Capital Improvement Office and chapters such as Smith Lake, which also have helped. "All of us have our different perspectives in terms of how the process works," Shendo said. "This meeting was basically to pull everybody together ... sit down and move toward some resolution, if it means changing state laws, Navajo Nation laws, administrative functions ... to expedite the process." Yazzie said Indian Affairs also has been directed by Gov. Bill Richardson to address the matter. "This has been the biggest issue, not only just for the legislators but for the governor, and we were charged with addressing the issue," she said. Shendo added, "I want these funds to be expended at the community, quicker, for the purpose they were intended. It's really unfortunate when these things get up an administrative quagmire and they do without the basic needs, whether it's water, wastewater, infrastructure, lights, power lines, bathroom extensions things many of us take for granted every day." "When you see monies reverting and you know you've been to a community where they need the resources, my job is how do we find a way to get these projects done," Shendo said. Copyright c. 2005 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Four Wells and Little Money" --------- Date: Monday, August 01, 2005 9:04 AM From: Indian Trust ListServ [listadmin@list.indiantrust.com] Subj: Cobell v. Norton - A Navajo Complains of Four Wells and Little Money Mailing List: Indian Trust ListServ A Navajo Complains of Four Wells and Little Money WASHINGTON, July 29 -- The four oil wells on Mary Johnson's land in southern Utah have not stopped pumping oil in more than 50 years, the 80- year-old Navajo grandmother told a federal judge this week. That uninterrupted flow of oil from her family lands has left Johnson with one question. "How can there be no money?" she asked through a translator. That question goes to the heart of a nine-year-old class action lawsuit in which a group of Indians are challenging the federal government's management of their lands. The Indians have won the right to a full accounting of funds that the government was supposed to be safeguarding for them in individual trust accounts. But as Johnson's unanswered question revealed Thursday, the government's treatment of thousands of Native Americans remains the foundation of their lawsuit against the Interior Department for its acknowledged mismanagement of their trust lands and their accounts. Lawyers for the Indians brought Johnson from her home on the northern edge of the Navajo reservation to show how critical is the proper management of those accounts to the lives of thousands of Indians. At issue in a 58-day hearing has been the question of whether Interior officials took sufficient safeguards to protect the information about those accounts stored on its computers. For Mary Johnson, who lives in a small two-bed room house she and her husband built near Montezuma Creek, the Bureau of Indian Affairs is her lifeline. But the BIA, which is responsible the 100-year oil lease that Johnson's mother signed in the mid-1950s, never has helped the family, Mary Johnson told U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. First, BIA officials allowed her mother, who like her daughter does not speak English, to sign a lease she couldn't understand, Johnson said. Then they allowed a witness to the lease signing get 25 percent of the oil revenues, she said. Johnson said she depends on a government check for her oil money and a $570 check from Social Security and her late husband's railroad pension for her livelihood. The oil revenues are not much, she said but they recently jumped to about $600 a month. She credit the Indians lawsuit for the sudden surge in oil money. Previously, Johnson's oil money had been as little as $35 to $40 a month, she said and the BIA never offered any explanation for the changes. The wells have polluted the creeks running through her land, fouling the air and sickening the livestock, Johnson said. "This is the way it is, she said in a soft voice as she bemoaned what has happened to the land she loves. Keith Harper, a lawyer for the Indians, asked if the BIA would her listen to her complaints about how she and her family were being treated by the oil company. Her answer was simple and direct. "They don't help," she said. Two more Indians, one from Idaho and another from New Mexico, will testify Friday as the hearing into computer security concludes after 59 days of testimony. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To view the latest information concerning this case, go to www.indiantrust.com --------- "RE: Special Trustee touts Trust improvements" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 15:38:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SWIMMER: TRUST IMPROVEMENTS" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6816 Special Trustee touts trust improvements Swimmer says things have gotten much better in past decade WASHINGTON DC Native American Times August 4, 2005 Officials with the Department of the Interior say that they have taken massive steps to improve Indian trust accounts. A statement from Special Trustee for American Indians Ross Swimmer lists ways DOI has moved forward in rectifying problems with the accounts. "Changes underway are greatly improving services for trust account holders throughout Indian Country. Interior employees, with substantial help from tribal leaders and Congress, have worked hard to create and now implement a comprehensive blueprint for Indian Trust reform," Swimmer said. Swimmer cited the following things as proof of improvement: - Account holders can call a nationwide toll-free information center to get answers to their questions. Interior officials say employees at the Trust Beneficiary Call Center have answered more than 33,000 inquiries from beneficiaries this year. - More than $14.4 million has been distributed to individual Indian trust account holders who were previously on the "Whereabouts Unknown" list through collaborative efforts between the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST), BIA, and tribal governments. A number of the beneficiaries had more than $50,000 in their accounts; a few had more than $100,000. In the first half of this year 10,177 account holders whose whereabouts were previously unknown were located. - Millions of Indian Trust records have been safeguarded and protected for future use at the American Indian Records Repository, in Lenexa, Kansas. So far, 119,665 boxes containing almost 250 million pages of Indian records have been electronically indexed and stored at a state-of- the-art storage facility. The new repository, housed near Haskell University on the Missouri River, is already more than half-full of stacks 14 boxes high. - To date, the equivalent of 153,965 acres of land has been returned to Indian reservations through the Indian Lands Consolidation Office (ILCO) purchase programs to stem fractionation. These programs use appropriated funds to purchase highly fractionated interests and return the land to the tribe, therefore helping to restoring economic viability to the region. So far, ILCO has purchased 162,589 fractionated interests, and is managing acquisition programs for 18 reservations within seven BIA regions. - Tribal and individual trust beneficiaries now have OST Regional Trust Administrators and Fiduciary Trust Officers, experienced in fiduciary trust matters, available to them for all their trust needs. The new staff members are working at BIA and other offices throughout the country. This is the first time beneficiaries have had staff available to them that are specifically focused on trust asset assistance. - Land survey issues in Indian Country are being managed by new BLM Indian Lands Surveyors, hired specifically to support Indian Country needs. In partnership, OST, BIA and BLM have hired the first six of twelve cadastral surveyors to work directly with tribes and individuals. This is the first time that surveyors will be stationed in BIA regional offices to work with Indian Trust beneficiaries. - A new "lockbox" process has been implemented for the collection of trust payments. The new process (used by major financial institutions) has been introduced to the Concho and Anadarko pilot reform agencies in Oklahoma, and will greatly improve the efficiency of trust payment collections. - Account holders with trust assets in the pilot agency locations will begin receiving comprehensive statements. The improved account statements will include detailed information on land ownership, including location, encumbrances, and income. The DOI statement comes as Senators John McCain of Arizona and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota have proposed creating a settlement fund and revamping the Indian trust system. The senators have not placed an actual dollar amount on the settlement, but have said the $27.5 billion requested by plaintiffs in the Indian trust lawsuit is too high. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: COBELL PLANTIFFS: Swimmer ignoring 'Big Picture'" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 15:38:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COBELL PLANTIFFS: SWIMMER AND THE FACTS" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6825 Cobell plaintiffs: Swimmer is "ignoring the big picture" Letter to the Editor August 5, 2005 Editors Note: This letter is in response to a story detailing Special Trustee Charles Swimmer's assertion that the Department of Interior has taken great strides to improve the situation for Indian trust fund account holders (see related story). So, Ross Swimmer, the Special Trustee for American Indians, is once again telling Native Americans not to worry. (Aug. 4 article "Swimmer Touts Trust Improvements") The Bush administration is making marvelous improvements to the long-troubled Indian trust system run by the Interior Department, he says. Any improvements are long overdue and surely will be welcomed. Congress ordered a revamping of the trust system in 1994, 11 years ago. But Swimmer is ignoring the big picture and misleading trust beneficiaries in the process. Consider this. One of those "whereabouts unknown" accounts happened to belong to the husband of Elousie Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the Cobell vs. Norton lawsuit over trust accounts. You'd think after nearly 10 years in the courts, spending more than $100 million in taxpayer funds to fight Elousie Cobell, there would be someone in the Interior Department who would recognize the Cobell name. It shouldn't have taken a task force of federal workers to have discovered another Cobell. Swimmer ignores the fact that Interior still doesn't have basics such as an accounts receivable system. Imagine that. A financial institution that doesn't know when money is owed to its customers? Other examples abound. Interior still doesn't know the number of trust beneficiaries it serves. It doesn't know the value of the Indians' accounts or even the number of accounts the government is supposedly administering. In fact, its data is so bad that the judge overseeing the trust case has ordered it to advise account holders that Interior's data cannot be trusted. As for the records now stored in a new federal storage facility in Kansas, what about the thousands of other important records that he admits were destroyed? Many were left to rot in barns or so fouled by rodents that they were deemed unusable. If thing are so good and getting better, as Swimmer would have you believe, why did Interior's own Inspector General award the department an "F" within the last few weeks in protecting the security of the trust beneficiaries' sensitive and vital trust data in the department's computer systems? Swimmer's spin does not change the facts. Nor will it spin fix the broken trust. Fixing the problem must begin with an admission that there are severe problems that have not been addressed. As long as Swimmer and his ilk continue to play politics, the injustice of this broken trust will continue and Indians across this nation will continue to suffer the indignities of their forbearers. What is particularly worrisome to the Indian plaintiffs in the Cobell lawsuit is how Swimmer has perverted a position which Congress created to be a neutral and nonpolitical advocate for the nation's Indians. Swimmer is supposed to have only one interest: managing the trust for the benefit of Indian beneficiaries. Instead he has become an out-and-out apologist for an administration which has yet to learn the basics about serving as a faithful fiduciary and running a competent trust operation. Bill McAllister, spokesman Cobell Litigation Team Washington, DC Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Mohegan allowed to restore Tribal Burial Ground" --------- Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005 08:42:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DESECRATING MASONIC TEMPLE TO BE REMOVED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=3684630&nav=1VGmcyNR Mohegan tribe allowed to restore tribal burial ground August 5, 2005 NORWICH, CT. (AP) - A state agency has given the Mohegan tribe the green light to demolish the Norwich Masonic Temple and restore the tribal burial ground under it. The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism Wednesday unanimously granted the tribe's request to tear down the building. The tribe will quickly follow through on plans to demolish the building and restore the Royal Mohegan Burial Ground, tribal member Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel said. "It's a sigh of relief," Tantaquidgeon Zobel said. "This is a project that has been in the works literally centuries. The folks I took with us as a team felt very responsible for fulfilling the wishes of our ancestors." The tribe had tried to keep the site undeveloped since the last tribal burial there in 1876. After unsuccessful tribal lawsuits in the 1890s and 1930s to spare the 3.41-acre property from development, the tribe purchased the land from the City of Norwich in 1999 for slightly more than $1 million. Mohegan Chief Uncas is buried somewhere on the site, although the exact location is unknown. All Mohegan descendants had the option of being buried there in 1876 after the tribe's reservation ended in 1870. Copyright c. 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2001 - 2005 WorldNow and WFSB. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Bill would protect Massacre Site" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 08:53:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAND CREEK" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6803 Bill would protect massacre site Puts land in trust, Bush expected to sign measure DENVER CA August 2, 2005 A bill that would begin the process of holding land near the site of the Sand Creek Massacre in trust will likely be signed into law by President Bush. Cheyenne officials say the law protects the spirits of the tribe's ancestors. At Sand Creek on November 29, 1864, John Chivington led the Colorado Volunteers in a dawn attack on Black Kettle and his band. The Indians had been told they would be safe on the remote reservation and were not anticipating an attack. Two hundred Cheyenne men, women and children were slaughtered, and their corpses often grotesquely mutilated, in a massacre that shocked the nation. Since 1990, descendants of the massacre have sought surplus land and money as restitution. A bill sponsored by two Colorado Republicans would create the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in southeastern Colorado. The legislation moves the title on the land from the Concho-based Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes to the U.S. Park Service, the first step to putting the land in trust. Laird Cometsevah, a chief from the Southern Cheyenne tribe of Oklahoma, said the bill means the land would be protected. The bill's language states that: "The trust property shall be administered in perpetuity by the Secretary in accordance with the law generally applicable to property held in trust by the United States for the benefit of Indian tribes and in accordance with the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000... The trust property shall be used only for historic, religious, or cultural uses that are compatible with the use of the land as a national historic site." "That's one of the main concerns with our Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. We feel, and we have experienced on the site itself, the presence of spirits that are still there," Cometsevah told the Rocky Mountain News. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Burials at Sand Creek" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 15:38:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RETURNING THE DEAD" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_2918760 Burials at Sand Creek Memorial at site of 1864 massacre to receive remains of 7 Indian victims By Jim Hughes Denver Post Staff Writer August 7, 2005 Descendants of Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians killed by Colorado militiamen at Sand Creek in 1864 will return some of their ancestors' remains to the site, which will become a memorial under terms of a bill signed by President Bush last week. They know of the remains of seven people killed there and already have taken possession of three, said Steve Brady, a co-chairman of the Sand Creek Massacre Committee of the Northern Cheyenne tribe in Lame Deer, Mont. The remaining four sets of remains are yet to be collected. The remains first will be stored at Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site outside La Junta, Brady said. In time, they will be returned to the spot in Kiowa County where more than 150 unsuspecting Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women and children were attacked and killed on the morning of Nov. 29, 1864. They had set up camp there at the direction of a U.S. general. They flew an American flag and also a white flag signaling nonaggression. "We're dealing with the very people that were slaughtered there," Brady said. "Their body parts were taken." Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, a Republican from Fort Morgan, said she was glad to see her bill authorizing the National Park Service to take possession of the land - her first to become law - prevail. "It's very meaningful to me ... to commemorate this site," Musgrave said. "Maybe, in a way, it brings closure to a very tragic episode in our history. I think it's incumbent upon all of us to really acknowledge what happened historically, and not to try to gloss over those things. " At the University of Nebraska, museum officials say they are prepared to turn over a skull fragment that was collected from the massacre site near Eads and eventually donated to the university. "At the time of their choosing, (Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes) will send their officials to Lincoln for the ceremonial repatriation," said Priscilla Grew, director of the University of Nebraska State Museum. "Obviously, this is a very historically important site," Grew said. The Park Service has yet to receive the land, which was bought by the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma from an area rancher and is slated to be held in trust by the federal government. It is still unknown what will be built at the site, but the exact location of the massacre will not be developed - it is to be preserved for ceremonial uses of the tribes, according to the law. After a survey of the boundaries, Interior Secretary Gale Norton is expected to create the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, perhaps by January, Park Service spokeswoman Susan Garland said. Beyond serving an important historical role, the site also will provide an economic boost for Eads and the area, Musgrave said. The site is in her district. She said she plans to introduce a bill providing federal funds for a visitor center and interpretive programs. The law gives the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes influence over how the site is developed. "We want to maintain the integrity of the village site, the massacre site, to try to keep it as natural as possible," Brady said. Musgrave, tribal leaders and Park Service officials are scheduled to visit the area this week. Staff writer Jim Hughes can be reached at 303-820-1244 or jhughes@denverpost.com. Copyright c. 2005 The Denver Post or other copyright holders. --------- "RE: Return of Wisconsin Oneidas" --------- Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2005 08:36:30 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ONEIDA RETURNING TO ANCESTRAL HOME" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.uticaod.com/archive/2005/08/01/news/5771.html Longing for home; Return of Wisconsin Oneidas could cause tension The Oneida Nation's success and pending land-claim deals are luring displaced tribal members back to Central New York KRISTA J. KARCH Observer-Dispatch August 1, 2005 When Kathy Kuhl's mother left her Syracuse home, people shouted epithets at her. Kuhl and her nine siblings were belittled in public. Kuhl's eyes filled with tears when she remembers it. That was just life, the 53-year-old said. Life as an Oneida Indian in Syracuse. "I think there's still prejudice," Kuhl said, smoothing a length of sinewy leather inside the living history artisan's cabin at Fort Stanwix in Rome. "They think we're all on welfare." Kuhl paused to hold the leather - the beginnings of a beaded pouch - up to the sunlight streaming through the window. "My great-granddaughters will see this someday," she said. It's for that reason - for the future of the Oneida tribe -- Kuhl packed up her children and became the first family to move into the Oneida Indian Nation's Village of the White Pines in 1994. Now, the village, a housing complex near the Nation's 32-acre reservation in Madison County, is home to dozens of Oneidas who returned to the area to reclaim what they once had. Members of Oneida tribes across the country also are looking at land here, and working toward settlements of their own land claims with New York State. The largest Oneida tribe, centered in Wisconsin's Green Bay area, has pushed for a small block of land they say would be symbolic of their ancestral presence here, but the tribe has also begun to purchase acreage here. Oneida leaders in southern Ontario, Canada, say there is an on-going push to rejoin the New York Oneidas. The New York, Wisconsin and Canadian Oneidas have together claimed up to 280,000 acres in lawsuits that have stretched over more than three decades. It is the land of the People of the Standing Stone, as the Oneida are called, for the boulder placed at the entrance to each tribal village. The U.S. government's push westward forced them out of the region, and now, armed with wealth from gaming venues, they're working to return to their homeland. To all three Oneida tribes, that's the driving force behind the land claim: a chance to reclaim the culture of the Standing Stone where it belongs, in the ancestral lands. The legal fight for land and disagreement between which tribe is most deserving of a settlement, however, has marred the hope that has brought the tribe through generations of struggle, many Oneidas interviewed for this story said. Many of those local Oneidas believe some out-of-state Oneidas have legitimate interests here, but say most want a piece of the New York Oneida's new-found wealth. Kuhl, like many Oneidas, grew up near the Onondaga Indian Reservation south of Syracuse. Many Oneidas from farther away are regarded with suspicion. About 500 Oneidas live in Central New York outside the Nation's 17,000 acres, Nation spokesman Mark Emery said. Thousands more live around the United States and Canada. So far, about 100 Oneidas from outside the Syracuse-Utica region of Central New York have returned, Emery said. "They're coming back because of the resurgence of the Nation," Emery said. There are no specific numbers about returns to tribal homelands, but anecdotal evidence suggests the migrations are increasing, said Syracuse University's Center for Indigenous Law, Governance and Citizenship director Robert Odawi Porter. "It's been a general suspicion (about the return to tribal homelands)," he said. The population influx has brought a cultural resurgence, fueled by the success of the Nation's Turning Stone Resort and Casino. The money also brings new hope the Nation could settle its decades-old fight for Central New York land - land they say was violently stolen from them in generations past. "Probably 300 people have moved back," said Terri Hoffmeister, an Oneida Turtle Clan member. "Land is what it's all about." Fighting back For the first time in personal memory, many Oneidas say they can fight back - in a big way - against what they say is prejudice. For the first time, they can afford to. The Oneida Indian Nation took money it earned through its Turning Stone Resort and Casino straight to lawyers who work to regain land. It's been an up and down ride for more than 30 years, but the Nation's business ventures and land holdings continue to expand and harbor Oneidas such as Kuhl, who have longed to be among their own. Kuhl works for the Nation as a living history artist at Fort Stanwix, where she entertains throngs of visitors with her textile skills. The products she makes - clothing, knife sheaths, and bags - mirror the items Kuhl watched her own grandmother make when she was young. "We all came (back) for the same reason," Kuhl said. "To start over, to learn our heritage." The tribal wealth that can support a movement back toward ancestral Oneida land, however, can also be a deterrent to cultural authenticity, Odawi Porter said. "On one hand, are you at a point of cultural degradation?" he asked. "On the other hand, are you just satisfying economic needs? Does the pursuit of the resources of gaming in particular mean you're (culturally) doomed? I doubt we'll see the real answer for decades." It's an evolving experiment, he said. But success, whether culturally traditional or otherwise, breeds resentment. On the original 32-acre reservation in Madison County - a holding place for a rustic longhouse and a few trailer homes - and in the Nation's crisply landscaped Village of the White Pines a few miles away, many New York Oneidas are opposed to the return of tribal members from outside New York. The others, particularly the Wisconsin Oneidas, sold off their rights to New York State land years ago, New York Oneidas say, in a greedy episode that sparked years of poverty and chaos for Oneidas who chose to stay at their homeland. "They sold out on land and left," Hoffmeister said. "We stayed here and had to continually fight to keep our properties. If the (Turning Stone) casino hadn't happened, we wouldn't have heard anything from them." Lure of ancestral land While the New York Oneidas lived in poverty, the Wisconsin Oneidas never offered any help, said Kandice Watson, a lifelong reservation resident. During those dark years in the 1970s and 1980s, a trailer fire claimed lives as a conflict between the New York Oneidas and local towns forced firefighters to stand by. Arsons destroyed a Nation-owned bingo hall, and armed conflicts - among Indians and between the tribe and outsiders - were common. High school degrees were rare on the reservation, Watson said, and alcoholism was rampant. "I remember we were very, very poor," Watson said. "There was just a dirt road. And it seemed like the person with the biggest gun ran the show. It was scary to live there." Things changed, Watson said, when Ray Halbritter, an Oneida who lifted himself from the reservation to attend Harvard Law School, took the bingo hall arsonists to court. Halbritter is now Nation CEO and Representative. "We were going to start making something of ourselves," Hoffmeister said. Oneidas elsewhere in the country, however, say New York is their land, too. "We weren't rounded up by soldiers to leave New York, but the political pressures caused the removal," Wisconsin Oneida member Loretta Metoxen said. Many Wisconsin Oneidas say they don't plan to leave their cash-flush reservation, where the tribe enjoys its own school system among a host of other benefits, Wisconsin tribal historian Gordan McLester said. Visits to Oneida ancestral lands in New York are common, he said. A land claim settlement in New York and more education among Oneidas about their own roots there could spark a large-scale return. "New York is the homeland of all Oneidas," Metoxen said. "Whether we'll return to New York to live is a difficult question. We've been here for 175 years - that's seven generations. There are many of the younger folks who have no historical memory of New York. One hundred years ago, everybody knew about it." That ancient heritage is easily forgotten, even by New York Oneidas, who say the visits by Wisconsin Oneidas are actually covert spy operations. "Now that there's money involved, they come to see where we're going, what we're doing," Hoffmeister said. Thames presence Meanwhile, between 500 and 700 members of the Thames band of the Oneidas in Canada have returned to live in Central New York, Thames tribal leader Alfred Day said. "We have an ongoing desire to move back," he said. "Before politics entered, our people used to move throughout all three communities. It seems to me that now the most divisive factor in all this is money. They're confused about who should have it, how much they should have." Day said the Thames government has "cool" relationships with both the New York and Wisconsin Oneida governments, but that the tension doesn't filter down to tribal members. "With people in all three communities, there's ongoing dialogue," he said. Thames Oneidas are welcomed by New York Oneidas, Kuhl said, echoing a sentiment expressed by many Oneidas interviewed for this story. Even Keller George, Halbritter's right-hand man, is from the Canadian band. "They're not after a bite," she said. Many New York Oneidas believe the Thames Oneidas were pushed out, while the Wisconsin Oneidas left in search of a climate more hospitable to tribal business ventures, Kuhl said. Oneidas who return to New York should agree to live under Halbritter's government, which she says is an authentic leadership model that will secure traditional life for the future. "Eventually, this will be a cultural center for Oneidas," she said. "The only thing they couldn't take away from us 200 years ago was our pride, and that's what keeps us going." Copyright c. 2005 uticaOD.com/Observer-Dispatch. --------- "RE: RED LAKE: Being 'REZ- ilient'" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 15:38:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STUDENTS COME TOGETHER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/12323005.htm RED LAKE: Being 'REZ- ilient' Red Lake students come together for summit By Stephen J. Lee Herald Staff Writer August 7, 2005 BEMIDJI - Eldon Cloud will begin football practice Monday at Red Lake High School, his last season there as he enters his senior year. Well north of 6 feet, 4 inches tall, and 220 pounds, Cloud surely will play a big part on the team. "It's 12 to 4 o'clock every day," he said of summer practice sessions to be held under a helmet and a hot sun. But he seems to be looking forward to it. And he's playing an aptly large part in a widespread team effort to woo Red Lake youth back to school after the traumatic event that virtually ended their spring semester. On March 21, when gunshots rang out in his school, Cloud was walking to the library, he said. With dozens of schoolmates, he ran for cover. But that's about all he wants to say about that. Like many students at Red Lake, Cloud has little interest in talking to reporters about the shooting that left eight dead and seven other wounded in the school. On that March day that has defined Red Lake in the nation's consciousness, Jeff Weise, 16, shot his grandfather and a woman in their home, then went to school and shot seven people five fellow students, a teacher and a security guard before taking his own life. Red Lake High School, part of an independent state school district sited on the reservation, was out for three weeks. When it resumed half-day classes three weeks later, only 90 students, about a third of the total, showed up until summer vacation. Most students never returned and school leaders and parents in Red Lake and surrounding communities and schools worry that many won't come back Sept. 1 for a new year, either. Cloud has become a leader and mentor to younger students this summer, encouraging them to return to school, say teachers and administrators. 'REZiliency' The trauma isn't all gone. One of their classmates, Louis Jourdain, 16, remains in custody, facing a federal charge in connection with the shooting; sources have told reporters he's charged with conspiracy to commit murder for helping Weise plan the shootings. Jourdain's father, Floyd "Buck" Jourdain, is the chairman of the 10,000-member Red Lake tribe of Chippewa. He says his son is innocent and will be cleared. Last week, the tribal chairman danced in a circle with Red Lake students during three days of a "REZiliency" festival organized by the Red Lake Nation Youth Council. The festival was part of what he promised the day after the shooting: to direct more tribal resources toward finding healthy activities for young people. Jourdain promised to direct much of the hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations which poured into the tribe from around the world after the shooting toward youth activities. The festival had been planned long before the shooting but was given added urgency after the traumatic event. At the same time as the "REZiliency" festival was held in Red Lake last week, four school districts Kelliher, Blackduck, Red Lake and Bemidji teamed up to bring in motivational speakers to fire up students in Bemidji for a Youth Summit. Carol Aenne, who was acting superintendent at Red Lake schools for weeks after the shooting, now works as a consultant with the 21st Century program run by the Bemidji School District. John Buckanaga is the director. Using a $250,000 federal grant managed by the Minnesota education department, the 21st Century program organized youth leadership events geared to help heal the effects of the shooting. About $40,000 was spent on the Youth Summit, and it went well, said Buckanaga said, looking around at the milling youth. "They can get back to being kids," he said. Aenne said as many as 250 students from the Red Lake reservation dropped out of school the past year, before and after the shooting, in the four school districts. Bemidji schools, for example, have about 80 students from the Red Lake reservation in any given year. The Youth Summit brought in several speakers, including former Minnesota Viking star, Joey Browner, who is part Cherokee. He does a lot of work with American Indians in the state and wants to help with Red Lake youth, too, said Browner, who brought his young daughter to the summit. The star of the Youth Summit was Billy Mills, the South Dakota Oglala Lakota who captured the world's stage in 1964 in his come-from-behind victory in the 10,000 meter run to win the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. Mills, who lives in Sacramento, Calif., talked about the many ways he experienced, and overcame, oppression because of his Indianness, not only in South Dakota but in college in Kansas and at the Olympics. And even today. Three times in recent months, he's been called racist names, he said. Mills, in his insistent but mellifluous voice, urged the students to "go on a journey to the center of their soul," and to practice the four Native American virtues his father taught him: "Bravery, fortitude, generosity, wisdom." "Find your dreams, pursue your dreams," said Mills. He also urged the students to be warriors, strong but humble. "We live in a dominant society where humility is looked upon as a weakness," Mills said. Annie Stately, 15, said the talk inspired her. She was in the classroom in March that Weise entered and shot the teacher and several of her classmates. She's overcome her fears and is going back to school this month, she said. Many of her classmates didn't return to school after the shooting but she wants to see that change, Stately said. "Many, I hope," will come back, she said. The Youth Summit in Bemidji drew about 100 students in grades 1-12; two- thirds of them were from Red Lake, but it was for other school districts, too. Tina Wilson brought five youth from the Waubun, Minn., school district, members of the White Earth Chippewa tribe, to the Youth Summit. They already have stepped-up security in their school because of the Red Lake shooting, Wilson said. "The shooting affected a lot of kids, not just on the reservation," Wilson said. "But it had the biggest impact on the native community." So she brought her youth to the summit to help them learn to deal with controversy and prejudice, Wilson said. Because some parents and students are reluctant to go to Red Lake school, the area school districts need to work together, Buckanaga and Aenne said. Even the superintendent of the Red Lake School District, Stuart Desjarlait, took a few weeks leave after the shooting, citing stress. He's back on the job and said he's cooperating closely with nearby districts to make sure young people are in school, somewhere this fall. For example, one mother in Ponemah, Minn., on the Red Lake reservation, said last week she will send her young daughter to elementary school in Kelliher. "There is so much drugs and alcohol here," she said of the reservation. And the Red Lake schools don't challenge the students enough to succeed, said the mother, who asked that her name not be published. Last week's events seemed to make a difference, said Chris Jourdain, a counselor in the elementary and middle schools in Red Lake, who was an organizer of the REZiliency festival and a referee for the basketball games. "It was awesome," he said. "All the coordination that went into the front end and then when you see it come out in the end, that's doing what you want." Chris Jourdain, a cousin of the tribal chairman, said he sees lots of enthusiasm among students as the school year approaches. He hopes to organized a similar festival for the first few days of school to ease the students back into the building where the shooting happened. "The first day, or maybe the first week, it might be a little different, with the anxiety and stuff," Jourdain said. "But I think after that, we will get the kids back into the routine." Lee can be reached at 800 477-6572, ext. 237, or (701) 780-1237; e-mail him at slee@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2005 Grand Forks Herald/Grand Forks, ND. --------- "RE: Blackfeet Tribe to offer Tax Counter Proposal" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 08:32:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BLACKFEET TAX COUNTER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.goldentrianglenews.com//glacier_reporter/news/news1.txt Blackfeet Tribe to offer counter proposal to State of Montana's new tax agreement. By John McGill, Glacier Reporter Editor August 3, 2005 It was a substantial carrot the team of eight representatives from Montana Governor Schweitzer's Department of Revenue offered the Blackfeet Tribe Thursday, July 28, at the Bureau of Indian Affairs building in Browning. Presented as a first draft of a proposed agreement, Anna Whiting-Sorrell and others noted the new agreement forgives all the back taxes, fees and penalties owed Glacier and Pondera counties. All together the sum approaches $900,000-money the counties would forgive and forget. But it came with a big sticking point. The Blackfeet Tribe would have only five years to transfer their parcels of patent fee land back into trust status, and whatever parcels remained would be subject to being taxed, retroactively back to whatever date the proposed agreement might be signed. As the agency most directly involved with such land transfers, the Bureau would become the de facto guarantor of the deal, a job Superintendent Ross Denny said his agency could not do. "There's a lot of government issues here, county, tribal and state," opened Blackfeet Interim Chair Pat Thomas. "I hope we can work together to resolve an issue that's pressing and weighs heavy on our elderly people. They ask me, 'Are you moving forward?' It weighs heavily on their minds, and that's the reason I've pushed and will continue to push to resolve it." The meeting included Glacier County Commissioners Ray Salois, John Ray and Michael DesRosier, as well as Blackfeet Agency reps, Tribal Councilmen Jim and Jay St. Goddard and Hugh Monroe. Several state officials, including Indian Affairs Coordinator Reno Charette and a host of people from the Department of Revenue were also on hand. But it was Tribal Attorney Terryl Matt and Land Department Director Mark Magee who presented the bulk of the Blackfeet case, after having read and judged the proposed draft forwarded to them earlier by the state. For their part, Anna Whiting-Sorrell, the Governor's Policy Advisor for Families, explained the draft, assisted largely by Deanne Sandholm of the Governor's Office of Budget and Planning. Both Magee and Matt complained that the state had collaborated only with the counties in developing the draft, saying many of the difficulties could have been ironed out in those discussions instead of waiting until last week. Magee pointed out the state had the opportunity to raise the issue in 1992 when Yakima County vs. Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Nation was decided, one of the two pivotal cases upon which the state has based its claim. Instead the they waited until 1998 to notify the Tribe. "These discussions could have started in 1992, but it's put us in jeopardy for six years." Tribal Treasurer Joe Gervais pointed out while the issue remains unresolved, neither tax nor Impact Aid money is reaching the schools. "This is strictly a contractual issue," informed Matt. Whether or not the Supreme Court decided in 1992 and 1996 (the other case being Cass County of Minnesota vs. Leech Lake Band of Chippewa), both Glacier and Pondera counties, as well as the state of Montana, signed an agreement in 1987, responding to a lawsuit filed by the Blackfeet that challenged the counties' right to collect property taxes on the Tribe's patent fee land. The case was dismissed without prejudice, with the counties and state all pledging not to assess nor to collect taxes on the land. "If we litigate, we must look at the intent of the parties at the signing," Matt said. "We must consider the 1987 status of the law." Matt stated two cases were decided before the agreement was signed, that permitted Native Americans to avoid paying tobacco and income taxes when they were living on the reservation. She added the cases having been dismissed without prejudice means they cannot be revisited, and that the decision cannot be changed without an act of Congress. "When the agreement was signed, the state settled the issue," she said. "We have a stronger position in court." The proposed draft's opening statement, said Matt, was unacceptable in saying the agreement is "void and unenforceable," since that is the crux of the Tribe's conflict with the state. Magee added the Tribe has held off filing a court injunction for seven months, waiting for the state to make its presentation. "We believe it's over and done," said Matt, "and we will take this to court." The reason for the delay, said Whiting-Sorrell, was that Governor Brian Schweitzer wanted the team to present a complete package to all the parties, which took time to develop, and they were there to listen to the Tribe's response and make whatever changes would be needed. Councilman Hugh Monroe was the first to point out that the plan's major weakness was in the time allowed to convert the Blackfeet fee land into trust. "You can't get this into trust that easy," he said. Whiting-Sorrell initially defended the five-year timeline called for in the draft, saying, "I think the draft reflects real timelines." But speaker after speaker disagreed with that assessment. "Five years?" asked Chairman Thomas. "The government moves very slow. We all know you can't get things done quick with the BIA. We're not setting ourselves up to fail here. It should be 15 to 20 years, not five." The Chairman added the Tribe has a lawsuit against the Bureau, and that that could create a conflict of interest as well. "I know. I've traded land. It takes a very long time. Five years is really pushing things, and I don't believe we can get it done in five years," Thomas said. Deputy Superintendent Cliff Hall added that the transfer of individual tracts of land could also be hung up in appeals, which either the county or the state could file. "When it's going into trust," said Superintendent Ross Denny, "we must go to the state and the counties, and any one of them could appeal it. We're not a party to this agreement," Denny emphasized, "but we're indispensable to it because you're asking for a guarantee, and we can't give you that...We will support the Tribe in all we can, but Joe [Gervais] is right, and so is the Chairman. We can't guarantee anything." After consulting in private, Whiting-Sorrell returned with a revised proposal, beginning with a promise the state and counties would not appeal any transfer of land from fee to trust. Next, she thanked the Bureau reps for their help and said, "The state is ready to work with the Tribe and the BIA for a realistic timeframe...We don't want this effort to fail." Finally, she offered to invite BIA Director Keith Beartusk to meet with Governor Schweitzer and the Blackfeet Tribe to lobby for a new staff person whose job would be to expedite the transfer of land to trust. While the new offers were welcome, Magee said the real picture is even more complex since any decisions made by the Bureau concerning turning fee land to trust must also make it past the Department of Justice before the process is complete. Whiting-Sorrell pointed out that six government entities must coordinate in order to make things work out. Superintendent Denny added the Agency could work effectively to make the transfers happen as quickly as possible, but only if all the parties agreed about what they wanted. When the meeting adjourned, Chairman Thomas pledged to have a written counterproposal sent to the Governor's office as soon as possible, followed by another meeting. Copyright c. 2005 Golden Triangle Newspapers. --------- "RE: Amskaapi-Piikuni to Blackfeet Plans discussion" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 08:32:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AMSKAAPI-PIIKUNI GOVERNMENT PLANS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.goldentrianglenews.com//glacier_reporter/news/news2.txt Amskaapi-piikuni to plans discussion on Blackfeet tribal government procedures. By John McGill, Glacier Reporter Editor August 3, 2005 Speaking for the group Amskaapi-piikuni, Al Reevis announced Tuesday the group's intention to meet with tribal elders to discuss ramifications of documents and evidence he's received from the U.S. Solicitor General's Office. "We need to look at the situation we're in," he said. Noting selections from the 25 CFR, Reevis said he's discovered not only the federal regulations but also the tribal constitution require any resolutions made by the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council be submitted to the Blackfeet Superintendent for his approval within 10 days of the resolution having been made. Then the superintendent is required to approve the resolution, said Reevis, or the resolution is to be considered vetoed. None of these procedures have been followed, said Reevis, and he believes that brings into question the validity of all tribal resolutions not made without following the rules in 25 CFR. Reevis also questions a resolution made in 1977-78 stating a member who leaves the reservation for a length of time must live a full year on the reservation when he returns before he may stand for tribal election. Reevis said a contradictory resolution was passed in 1956 which said a member living off reservation is still to be considered a resident. Finally, Reevis noted in 25 CFR that tribal judges' appointments must also be submitted to the agency superintendent for approval, a procedure he says has not been followed. The meeting with elders Reevis plans is to be followed by a larger, public meeting, with a time and place to be announced. For more information, call Al Reevis at 338-3431 or Donald Little Dog at 226-4169. Copyright c. 2005 Golden Triangle Newspapers. --------- "RE: Tribes getting Land back after 90 Years" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 08:53:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LA PAZ LANDS RETURNED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/articles/0803indian-land.html Tribes getting land back after 90 years Billy House Republic Washington Bureau August 3, 2005 WASHINGTON - More than 15,000 acres off Interstate 10 in western Arizona that were taken from the Colorado River Indian Tribes' reservation 90 years ago are being returned under a bill President Bush signed into law on Tuesday. The nearly 25-square-mile parcel about 175 miles west of Phoenix near Quartzsite and the California-Arizona line is known as the La Paz lands. It was removed from the reservation by President Woodrow Wilson amid tribal disputes with miners and cattlemen. Bush offered no comment in signing the bill, sponsored by Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. advertisement The Colorado River Reservation lies along the Colorado River in western Arizona and eastern California. Members are from the Navajo, Chemeheuvi, Hopi and Mohave tribes. The 15,375 acres being returned will combine with the tribes' other 270,000 acres to comprise the reservation's southeastern boundary. "We've been working for decades to have these lands returned to our people because we believe it is the fair and right thing for the federal government to do," said Tribal Chairman Daniel Eddy Jr. in a statement. The new law, which removes control of the land from the Bureau of Land Management, was passed last week by the Senate on a voice vote. The House passed it in April. The legislation prohibits use of the land for gaming. In an interview on Tuesday, tribal Attorney General Eric Shepard said one of the tribes' goals is to develop the property to best benefit the 3,600 tribal members. As of now, he said, there are no specific plans. "This has been completely about righting the historic wrong," Shepard said. "There has not been a lot of long-term planning. This has not been about long-term development." La Paz County and Quartzsite officials said they were happy for the tribe despite some initial concerns that returning the tract to the reservation would undercut hopes for potential development of I-10 near Ehrenberg as a gateway to California. "I think it's a great thing. I'm very happy for them," said Gene Fisher, chairman of the La Paz County Board of Supervisors, who has been supportive of the land return throughout. "It'll have no negative impact on the county. In fact, it can only have a positive impact if they decide to do some development of the tract. That could mean jobs." As for whether the return to the tribes may represent a loss to the county of potential tax revenue, Fisher noted the land wasn't generating revenue "while in the federal government's hands anyhow." Quartzsite town manager and town lawyer Dan Field added: "It's no longer the cowboys and Indians stuff out here. It's now governmental entities trying to work together. I'm happy for them. It was a hard thing (to get accomplished) and a tough road." He said that, although he has been told the tribes are not yet thinking about developing the land, "it'd be nice if they did." For one thing, he said, the town and tribe could "be partners" in finding ways to bring more water into the area, especially if the tribe does plan to develop it. Shepard praised Grijalva's determination to get the bill passed and specifically singled out Arizona GOP Rep. Rick Renzi's efforts in aiding Grijalva. He said support from both Arizona senators, Republicans John McCain and Jon Kyl also was key. The bill also was co-sponsored in the House by Democratic Rep. Ed Pastor and GOP Reps. J.D. Hayworth, Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe. Grijalva's success in getting it passed is historically noteworthy. Former GOP Sen. Barry Goldwater introduced similar legislation in 1980 and 1981, but that bill did not pass. Grijalva's bill, first introduced in 2003, was the first attempt at a legislative remedy since Goldwater's. Grijalva, like Shepard, emphasized Tuesday that the bill simply restores to the tribes what belongs to them. "This concludes what has been a historical injustice that for many years a lot of people have tried to correct," Grijalva said. He said he is happy to have played a role in the restoration to the tribe of part of the tribes' ancestral homeland. The La Paz lands in dispute were part of the southern area of the reservation in 1876 by order of President Ulysses S. Grant, according to the bill. But Wilson ordered that section removed in 1915 after assertions there had been a boundary survey error and amid frequent conflicts between the tribes and miners and cattlemen. Since then, however, historical evidence compiled by the Interior Department showed there never was a boundary error. In a hearing in the House on the bill last year, a Bush representative said the administration supported the return of the land to the tribe though it had some concerns. The final legislation passed took into account some of those concerns. Grijalva said the bill contains a requirement that existing rights of way, be they railroad or other state or federal rights, will be maintained. In addition, two parcels totaling 840 acres of Arizona state trust land that were created within the La Paz lands along I-10 are not included in the transfer back to the tribe. The state will continue to have access along the interstate highway. The legislation also requires tribal recognition of all remaining mining claims and utility easements. Reach the reporter at billy.house@arizonarepublic .com or at 1-(202)-906-8136. Copyright c. 2005 azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Navajo TCDC certifies Indian Wells Land Use Plan" --------- Date: Thursday, August 04, 2005 10:50 AM From: Karen Francis [karenfrancis@navajo.org] Subj: TCDC certifies Indian Wells land use plan Contact: Karen Francis, Public Information Officer Navajo Nation Council Office of the Speaker (928) 871-7160 karenfrancis@navajo.org www.navajonationcouncil.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: Wednesday, August 3, 2005 TCDC CERTIFIES INDIAN WELLS LAND USE PLAN The Transportation and Community Development Committee continues to certify the community-based land use plans for Chapters from across the Navajo Nation. The most recent certification occurred at the Indian Wells Chapter house on August 2, 2005. The committee passed the Indian Wells land use plan by a vote of 6 in favor and none opposed. Willie Begay (Chilchinbeto/Kayenta) made the motion to consider the legislation and Sampson Begay (Low Mountain/Jeddito/Steamboat) made the second. Indian Wells Council delegate Lee Jack, Sr. sponsored the legislation to the committee. His co-presenters included Chapter President LaVerne Benally, Chapter Vice President James Turquaoise, Chapter Secretary/Treasurer Mary Ann Begay and members of the community land-based planning committee. The CLUP committee included community members Sadie C. Lister, Buddy Scott, Alfred Clark, Freddie E. Scott, Richard Begay, Jr., Kee Greymountain, Peterson Begay, Redwing Nez, Irene Thomas, Mary Ann Begay, Lee Jack, Sr., Tina Samm, Doretta Pringle and Ben Tsosie. The CLUP committee was established in January 1999. It presented a draft plan for public review in December 2000. The plan was finalized in June 2001, according to the community-based land use plan. When asked by committee member Johnny Naize (Tselani-Cottonwood/Nazlini) why the plan sat idle since 2001, Council delegate Jack said that the CLUP committee did not continue to meet after the plan was finalized. When the new Chapter administration took office in January, they began to move to attain first land use plan certification, and are now working on attaining governance-certification. The vision statement for the community states: "The people of Indian Wells wish to create organization within the use of land by preserving our way of life, culture and traditional values, ensuring wise use of resources, and preserving the uniqueness of our community." The plan further lists 15 goals with itemized objectives to further the vision of the Indian Wells Chapter community, including promoting and encouraging cultural and traditional values, promoting industry and businesses that are culturally appropriate, encouraging planned community- style housing, designing and preserving water resources and creating recreational facilities, to name a few. Delegate Jack noted that most of the money from the Chapter government is spent on grazing issues with very little applied to economic development. "The committee here would like to see more economic development," he said One of the goals addressed in the plan is to provide educational facilities within the community and region. Jack said that one of the major challenges in the community was the lack of facilities. Students must be bused out to neighboring schools. Jack added that the building of an elementary school at the Chapter two years ago has allowed for students to stay in the area, rather than facing the options of long daily bus rides or attending boarding school. "In the future we would like to build a junior high and a high school as well," Jack said noting that the biggest obstacle was lack of funding for capital improvements. Chapter President Benally said that the Chapter officials are working vigorously to attain governance-certification with monthly meetings to work on action plans. "We are working on our five management system. We have our timeframes outlined and we make sure we meet our goals," Benally said. "Daily contact between the Chapter's community services coordinator and the Chapter President made this happen." Chapter Secretary/Treasurer Mary Ann Begay added that the Chapter officials do not only attend Chapter and planning meetings, but work throughout the week and on weekends to accomplish their identified goals. "The $500 really helps Chapter officials to step up to the leadership role," Begay said. Chapter officials normally make $250 per Chapter meeting, but a supplemental appropriation allows them to make $500 per Chapter meeting during the Fiscal Year 2005. Alfred Clark, former Chapter President, said, "I think our job as a planning committee is to share our dream with everybody. Some people do not see hope. With a plan like this, we can begin to see things. I told the committe that when you talk to people, they have to see the excitement in you. Then they have to be able to see the dream too." The Chapter officials and delegate Jack commended community elder Sadie Lister for getting the CLUP committee back together and rallying support for getting the plan certified. The Transportation and Community Development Committee certified the plan with an amendment from Naize that requires the Chapter to update the plan within one year and adds language that the plan is not intended to delineate Chapter boundaries. Chairperson Mark Maryboy (Aneth/Mexican Water) commended the CLUP committee and Chapter officials for the presentation. "It shows that you put a lot of time and effort into this document," Maryboy said. Following the presentation of the land use plan certification, the people of Indian Wells presented framed certificates of appreciation to the Committee members. The Transportation and Community Development is next scheduled to consider the land use plans for Huerfano Chapter, San Juan Chapter and Nenahnezad Chapter on Friday, August 5. At the Huerfano Chapter house starting at 10 a.m., delegate Danny Simpson is sponsoring the legislation to certify Huerfano's land use plan and delegate George Arthur is sponsoring the San Juan Chapter's plan. In the afternoon, the committee will head to Nenahnezad for that community-based land use certification, also sponsored by Arthur. To date, 21 out of 110 Chapters have attained certification for their community-based land use plans. --------- "RE: Maryland's struggle to recognize its Tribes" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 08:53:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PISCATAWAY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6806 Maryland's struggle to recognize its Native American tribes Native American Times guest commentary BALTIMORE MD Jeffrey Ian Ross, Ph.D. August 2, 2005 According to state figures, almost 25,000 Native Americans live in Maryland. Over the past decade, two Maryland tribes (the Piscataway Conoy and Piscataway Indian Nation) have struggled to obtain both state and federal recognition. Most of the public doesn't think twice about this sort of thing. For them, an Indian is an Indian is an Indian. Although recognition may appear to be a relatively simple and uncontroversial process, it's not. True, many Native Americans scoff at the idea of recognition. They argue that they don't need any conquering entity to legitimize them. But obtaining state recognition would give tribes a number of benefits. including improved access to education and healthcare - two issues which have been sorely needed on native reservations. Achieving federal recognition would allow native peoples criminal justice, economic, trust, and welfare benefits, along with additional educational and health perks. One of the most important advantages, however, is the right to have casinos on their reservations or land. And in Maryland, this means legal slot machines. In order for a tribe to gain state recognition, it must prove that it has been an organized group back to 1790, a requirement that is modeled after those for federal recognition by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Fair enough. Although the majority of American Indians who live in Maryland are Piscataway, in 1978, after the death of Turkey Tayac, an important Piscataway leader, the tribe broke into three groups: the PiscatawayConoy Confederacy and Subtribes, the Maryland Indian Heritage Society, and the Piscataway Indian Nation. And these three groups have bickered ever since. In 1996, the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs - the state agency established to monitor state-Native American relations - officially recommended that then-Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening extend official state recognition to the Piscataway Conoy. Glendening, who was opposed to gambling in Maryland, felt that recognition would open the door to casinos in this state. Glendening had good reason, as the Piscataway Conoy had received financial backing from developers with questionable motivations. Likewise, in September 2003, Gov. Robert Ehrlich denied the Piscataway Conoy 'Conoy' petition. The governor, this time backed up with academic research, said, "The group failed to prove its descendance from the ancient Piscataway tribe." Many Piscataway, although recognizing the Piscataway Conoy's attempt to bring slots to Maryland, claim that the commission (which makes the recommendation) does not represent the interests of Native Americans in Maryland. Why? Most of the commissioners are not Native Americans. In March 2005 a bill was tabled in the Maryland legislature that would allow the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs to formally recognize the Piscataway Conoy, and remove the governor from the approval process. In the end, a sane and open debate needs to be achieved over recognition. Moreover, recognition should not be the path for the introduction of casinos or slots on to Indian land or reservations nor in the state of Maryland. - - Jeffrey Ian Ross is an associate professor in the Division of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Social Policy and a fellow in the Center for Comparative and International Law, at the University of Baltimore. His co-edited book, Native Americans and the Criminal Justice System, will be published this fall with Paradigm Publishers. His Web site is www.jeffreyianross.com. This piece originally appeared in the Maryland Daily Record. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Kanienkehaka files Jurisdiction Question" --------- Date: Monday, August 01, 2005 12:38 PM From: frostyca2000 [frosty@ipermitmail.com] Subj: PRESS RELEASE - "THE END IS NEAR" - "OR IS IT?" KANIENKEHAKA/MOHAWK NATION FILES JURISDICTION QUESTION Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian PRESS RELEASE - "THE END IS NEAR" - "OR IS IT?" KANIENKEHAKA/MOHAWK NATION FILES JURISDICTION QUESTION IN THE U.S. SUPREME COURT AND THE ONTARIO COURT OF APPEAL MNN. July 26, 2005. Since November 2004, a small dedicated group designated by the Kanien'ke:haka/Mohawk Nation has been placing a critical constitutional jurisdiction question before every level of the court system operating in North America, in both the United States and Canada. They reminded the courts of the precedents decided by the highest courts of both countries from 1763 until 1897. Constitutions remain the law unless and until they are amended. Judges cannot amend the constitutional law once declared the first time. Jurisdiction. The constitutions of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois, United States and Canada each divide jurisdiction into a `national' and a `local' level. Treaty making is national. The three seats of national constitutional government are located at Onondaga, Washington and Ottawa respectively. For example, Onondaga can not make a treaty with New York State or the Provinces of Ontario or Quebec. Washington and Ottawa can not make treaties with the federal Indian law municipal-level Mohawk tribal/band councils. Nation-to-Nation. The relationships between Kanien'ke:haka and other Nations both indigenous and non-indigenous is based on an equal Nation-to-Nation basis. The indigenous peoples' national constitutional sovereignty was confirmed in the United States in 1789 by Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution, and, in Canada in1867 by Sections 91(24), 109 and 132 of the Canadian Constitution Our national territory can only be surrendered by treaty. A treaty can only be valid if it is contracted between the national constitutional government of the sovereign indigenous people, on one side, and the national constitutional government of either the U.S. or Canada. This can only be authorized by the sovereign people as a whole and confirmed by all Confederacy nations at a Grand Council at Onondaga. Land cannot be sold. There is no treaty surrendering the territory of the Five Nations of the Iroquois and their Friends and Allies. The Haudenosaunee/Iroquois constitution, the Kaienereh;ko:wa/`Great Law of Peace', does not allow for the sale of its national territory, unless there is a constitutional amendment, called "adding to the rafters". This never happened. What are `tribes' and `bands'. The Province of Ontario, the State of New York, the local or municipal level "Indian" governments called "Tribes" in the USA and "First Nations" in Canada are not national constitutional governments. They can not cede the national interest. Every so-called treaty involving an outright surrender of Kanien'ke:haka/Mohawk territory has been made with the phony "Tribal" or "First Nation"/band governments set up by the federal governments of the U.S. and Canada. These were invented after 1871 to create the illusion of indigenous consent. Court troopers. The Federal, State and Provincial governments and their courts have responded to our constitutional question by delaying. Both courts have their soldiers known as "Clerks". They sit on the front line and stop our question from reaching the Supreme Court Justices, who must look at the constitutions impartially. There is no appeal from the Clerk's decision, creating the "perfect crime". Since 1871 no constitutional question has made it past these conniving colluding clerks. In 2005, the US Court of Appeals in New York invented the `Catch-22'. Failure to get it past the Clerks signifies laches. A `delay' in bringing an action, which then extinguishes the cause of action retroactively. These courts have not been able to come up with any constitutional legislation and precedents to prove us wrong. We are still a constitutional government. All they have is unconstitutional federal law, bureaucratic obstruction and judicial chicanery. This is how they commit genocide to steal our land. The genocide of the Indigenous people keeps grinding on. The rule of law sits on the sidelines, benched by the non-indigenous legal system. All that matters to them is to get the land. Fallen Claims. Since November 2004, three major Indian land claims that were started over 20 years ago have fallen - St. Regis, Cayuga and Oneida. The residue Onondaga claim will soon fall too. We are filing a Petition to address the constitutional law in Canadian St. Regis v. New York State. In Canada we have filed a Notice of Appeal to uphold the constitutional law in Pierre George v. Sidney B. Linden. It is now up to them to uphold the rule of law. If they don't obey their own laws, then we will have exhausted domestic and national remedies in both countries. Mens rea and actus reus - guilty mind, guilty act. Shame! Shame! McCurn, J. of the New York State Court of Appeals refused to address the Indigenous constitutional question. He held: "This Court has determined sua sponte [spontaneously, without the thieving local governments explaining anything] it lacks jurisdiction over this appeal because a final order has not been issued by the district court as contemplated by 28 U.S.C. 1291. Therefore, it is ORDERED that the appeal be DISMISSED". McCurn J. made two errors of law. He made a "final" order dismissing our constitutional question on the ground of federal law alone, to suppress constitutional law. This is to deliberately commit genocide against a constitutionally protected, indigenous nation. Both mens rea (the criminally guilty mind) and the actus reus (the criminally guilty act) are needed to take the case to the International Criminal Court. He gave us both. Wanted for Genocide - Big Bad Bev! Chief Justice Beverly McLaughlin of the Supreme Court of Canada decided on July 20, 2005 in the R. v. Marshall; R. v. Bernard (2005 SCC 43 at 107) that: "The Court's task in evaluating a claim for an aboriginal right is to examine the pre-sovereignty aboriginal practice and translate that practice, as faithfully and objectively as it can, into a modern legal right". [Abrogating the Constitution Act, 1867]. She said that Aboriginal rights are a function of `common law'. In other words, she can re-write it at will. She and the other judges only need to `feeel' what is reasonable for modern times. Common judge-made law cannot amend or repeal the constitution and precedents. She intentionally breaches the constitution and targets the real Indigenous people for genocide. This decision negates the rule of law doctrine of stare decisis, that first precedents govern, not recent ones. In the Anglo-American legal tradition once the constitution has been interpreted by the first court on the scene, that interpretation is written in stone. ONLY the sovereign people may modify and ONLY by formal constitutional amendment. The constitution has not been amended. Bev's decision is the same as those in New York State in the Oneida and Cayuga cases. Federal Indian law fraudulently was applied. Law and neutrality. USSC Justice Clarence Thomas broke ranks with the Judiciary in Lara v. USA on April 19, 2004. He said that there is NO proof of any constitutional extinguishment or surrender of indigenous constitutional sovereignty. He added that federal Indian law is "schizophrenic" and will continue to "haunt" unless the courts face the constitutional question. The question has to be looked at neutrally. The federal government constituted court is sitting as a party and as a judge, across from the "Indian" tribal council they created! If we can't get these last two North American courts [U.S. Supreme Court and Ontario Court of Apeal] to address the law, we will have to go to the international court system. We have legal standing to appeal by way of petition for certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court because of Rule 12(h) (3) of the Federal Court Rules. This was not available to our ancestors. Our Original Action should go before the judiciary. The Court can either permit us to defend ourselves under the rule of law to stop unconstitutional genocide, or they can refuse to consider the issue. In Canada Pierre George has brought the same constitutional question under the Public Inquiries Act. Locus standi, legal standing to speak for court purposes, is needed to stop genocide. The courts deny legal standing to constitutional Indians in favor of their obedient Federal Law Indians. To them constitutional Indians don't exist. The two court cases are attached. Please send your views to us or to the Supreme Court of Canada, the United States Supreme Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal. Be ready! They'll treat you like a ghost and pretend you don't exist. Show them you're alive and screaming. What the courts did and are still doing to us is genocide. Our ancestors tried to get the constitutional question heard at the League of Nations, the United Nations and other places where they thought someone would listen to us. If they refuse to listen to us again, our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will go on fighting. We are leaving our footsteps to make it easier for them. So forget the laches! Time never runs out on the momentum of the Kaienere'ko:wa. - United States Supreme Court (Kanienkehaka Kaienerekowa Kanonsesne v Canadian St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians v State of New York, 2005) gpoaccess@gpo.gov - Supreme Court of Canada ( R v Bernard, 2005 SCC 43) reception@scc-csc.gc.ca - Ontario Court of Appeal (Pierre George v Sidney B. Linden under Public Inquiries Act, July 21, 2005) access_defence@jus.gov.on.ca ---- Kahentinetha Horn, MNN Mohawk Nation News Comments: kahntineta@hotmail.com youmadethebearmad@yahoo.com Website: www.mnnmohawknationnews.com Contact: Katenies at 518-358-6012 and Hawi at 518-236-7100 --------- "RE: Mohegan, Pequot Descendants can't get enrolled" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2005 08:37:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MOHEGAN, PEQUOT ROLLS" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.theday.com/eng/re.aspx?re=463dd8e3-5335-4f01-80c4-d436e22e1440 They're Mohegan And Pequot Descendants, But Without The Perks By KAREN FLORIN Day Staff Writer, Casinos/Gambling August 1, 2005 Brentt Smith Sr. and his relatives discovered a few years ago that they could trace their lineage to Jerusha Baker, a Mohegan Indian who was born in 1813. The information did them no good when it came to enrolling in the tribe that owns Mohegan Sun, however. The Mohegans voted to close enrollment three years ago, limiting new membership, essentially, to newborn children of tribal members. Anyone who wasn't enrolled as of May 11, 2001, or does not have a lineal ancestor on the May 11, 2002, tribal roll is out of luck. Smith said he was told, "You're Mohegan, but you don't meet the criteria," and that he would qualify if his great, great, great grandmother (Baker) was alive. Smith, 41, of Waterford, has worked as a weight estimator at Electric Boat for 20 years. He said he doesn't care if he ever gets a nickel of profit from Mohegan Sun, but he would like it if his sons, Brentt Jr. and Logan, could take advantage of their heritage. "I want my kids' college taken care of," he said. In addition to paying casino dividends to adult members, the tribe pays for their children's education and provides them with a trust fund. Smith said he told a Mohegan Tribal member, "My kids deserve it as much as yours do.' '' The Mohegans, with about 1,640 members, and the Mashantucket Pequots, with 800-plus, have drastically limited their enrollment in recent years. Tribes submit genealogy information and enrollment lists to the Bureau of Indian Affairs during the federal acknowledgment process, but have full authority over membership once they receive recognition. Tribal elders, who oversee enrollment, regularly turn away people like Smith. "Just because you find out that you may be a descendant of a Mohegan certainly does not mean you are eligible to be enrolled as an actual member of the tribe," said Charles F. Bunnell, the Mohegans' chief of staff for external and governmental affairs. Smith said he called Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and was told there was nothing Blumenthal could do because the Mohegans are a sovereign nation. Smith said he grew up in Montville and attended high school with people who now belong to the tribe. "The ones I knew ... never knew they were Mohegan," he said. "Once the casino was opened they jumped to the forefront." Smith said his grandfather, Fred Robbins, used to tell family members they were Mohegan Indians after having a few drinks. Nobody paid much attention, Smith said, but an uncle who finally decided to research their heritage proved the grandfather right. Smith said his family's exclusion from the tribe is "all about money." "It's really sad," he said. "To me, they should be looking for us. They know who is Mohegan out there." Across the river, members of the Symonds family have gathered at the Mashantucket Pequot reservation three times in recent months to protest their exclusion from the tribe that owns Foxwoods Resort Casino. The Symondses, who number anywhere from 250 to 500, document their presence on the Mashantucket reservation from the 1700s to 1858. The Mashantuckets had enrolled descendants of those who were listed on the 1900 or 1910 federal census of reservation citizens. Agnes Price, a Symonds family representative, said additional protests are planned for Aug. 20 and Sept. 17. The family thinks its efforts have been noticed and is hoping the tribe takes action at its annual meeting in November. "That's where they would amend their constitution," she said. The Mashantuckets have stated that there are Indians around the world who claim Pequot heritage but do not meet the criteria for enrollment. Tribal Chairman Michael J. Thomas said this spring that he had met with Symonds family members several times in the past and that their membership petition was reviewed following those meetings. k.florin@theday.com Copyright c. 1998-2005 The Day Publishing Co. --------- "RE: Editorial: Action needed on Kickapoo Water Crisis" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2005 08:37:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KICKAPOO WATER CRISIS" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.stjoenews-press.com/print.asp?ArticleID=67900 Kickapoo look for allies August 2, 2005 The Kickapoo tribe wants the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Division of Water Resources office to postpone issuing permits for water storage structures in Brown and Nemaha counties that would impact the tribe. The request is part of a crusade to get a stable water source for the tribe, a crusade that began more than two decades ago. It remains at a standoff with the Nemaha-Brown Watershed Joint District No. 7 over land rights in the Delaware River valley. Tribal Chairman Steve Cadue is confident the request is on firm legal footing. He must be used to the typically bureaucratic response to the tribe's request by now. Agriculture department spokeswoman Lisa Taylor delivered the company line. "We're looking at what current law allows and the experience of other states," Ms. Taylor said. "It gets fairly complicated." The tribe has petitioned for the state's support in the past in the tribe's battle for a Plum Creek Reservoir to serve residents of the reservation. It also is pressing the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs to join the tribe's crusade for water. Tribal leaders are patient, even determined, because they have no other choice. The tribe last hauled water during drought conditions in 2003. It began mandatory conservation procedures last October as it braces for renewed drought conditions. After more than 20 years of this battle, it is time for the state of Kansas or the Bureau of Indian Affairs, or both, to take this showdown to arbitration, where an independent authority can break this logjam. Copyright c. 2005 St. Joseph News-Press - NPG Newspapers Inc. --------- "RE: HARJO: Elite Group wants control over Dead Indians" --------- Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005 08:42:23 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HARJO: PROTECTING OUR DEAD" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411353 Harjo: How many dead Indians will satisfy feds and scientists? by: Suzan Shown Harjo / Indian Country Today August 4, 2005 The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is fighting an uphill battle to defend its 1990 national repatriation law and to clean up the mess created by activist judges who overrode congressional intent in 2004 and wrote their own law. The committee is attempting to fix the problem by making a small change to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act's definition of "Native American." First proposed in the committee's public hearing on July 14, 2004, the amendment would add "or was" to the definition, so the term "Native American" would mean of, or relating to, a tribe, people, or culture that is or was indigenous to any geographic area that is now located within U.S. boundaries. Federal and federally funded scientists have held up the amendment for over a year. These are the same scientists, including plaintiffs in the "Kennewick Man" case, who fought to keep repatriation agreements from being enacted and have been trying to dismantle them since NAGPRA was signed into law. Their present goal is to play for time to get Interior Department regulations that would extend the Kennewick decision beyond the Ancient One, who was the only person at issue in the litigation, and would lock up hundreds of thousands of Native human remains indefinitely for unspecified "studies." The problem arose when judges in the "Kennewick Man" case simply declared that the Ancient One could not be buried by his cultural descendants because he was not a "Native American" under NAGPRA. By declaring that he did not meet the NAGPRA definition, the judges were able to sidestep the very law that Congress wrote to protect the Native dead, known and unknown, and their relatives. Their decision meant that federal and federally funded scientists could drill more holes in the Ancient One, but this is an elaborate charade in the name of scientific discovery about who populated this hemisphere when. In fact, the tests were concluded many years ago, demonstrating that the Ancient One is related to Native people here and is not from France or other foreign places, as the scientists have suggested to judges, bureaucrats, congressional staffers and reporters. Interior is bowing to the "Kennewick" decision as the law of the land, even though none of the other judicial circuits have misread repatriation law in the same way. This paves the way for regulations that the scientists want to protect their "studies" on the myriad dead Indians they view as their property. The Indian committee held another oversight hearing July 28. Interior opposed the amendment because it "would broaden the scope of what remains would be covered under NAGPRA from the Court's decision ... that the remains must have a significant relationship to a presently existing tribe, people, or culture in order to be considered 'Native American."' Interior's views on this important Native American human rights law were presented by a deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, Paul Hoffman, who testified: "We believe that NAGPRA should protect the sensibilities of currently existing tribes, cultures, and people while balancing the need to learn about past cultures and customs. In the situation where remains are not significantly related to any existing tribe, people, or culture they should be available for appropriate scientific analysis. The proposed legislation would shift away from this balance." The balance to which the Interior official referred was a balance struck by Congress in developing public policy on this issue. Congress considered the human, civil and religious rights of Native Americans, living and dead, and the scurrilous ways - most of them in the name of science, art and "civilization" - that hundreds of thousands of Native people and property ended up in public institutions and collections, and the nightmares modern Native people encounter when interacting with those entities. Congress also considered the interests of museums, scientists, researchers, art marketers and traffickers in human remains in using dead Native people and living sacred and cultural items for their "studies," displays and profits. The repatriation laws were the result of Native American negotiations with various entities and congressional considerations of the views. Congress struck a balance in the public interest. Now, a tiny, elite and exclusive group wants to own and control greater and greater numbers of dead Indians and does not mind overturning and discarding public policy, American Indian rights and federal laws in order to get their way. Organizations representing scientists who were part of the agreements reached and balances struck in NAGPRA presented careful testimony for the July 28 hearing about supporting the amendment, but opposing the process and wanting more time. One, representing the physical scientists who opposed any recognition of Native American human rights in NAGPRA, bluntly stated that Congress should not act until Interior has published its regulations. A statement supporting the amendment was offered for the hearing record by Armand Minthorn, who is a relative of the Ancient One, chair of the cultural resources committee and a trustee of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon. Minthorn testified that the Umatilla Tribes support the amendment "so that all tribal ancestors are protected under the law, not merely those determined by agencies, museums and scientists to be related to existing tribes." He stated that they lost their nine-year "painful battle to return these ancestral remains to the ground" on a "technicality [which] creates a loop-hole that eclipses the law and must be corrected." Minthorn also decried Interior's decision to pay "Kennewick" case attorneys' fees out of NAGPRA grant monies: "Adding final insult to injury, to take the money away from tribes and museums who implement NAGPRA to pay the attorneys fees to those who sought to and succeeded in eviscerating the law is beyond the pale. Tribes and museums need those grants to pursue repatriations of ancestors long-denied their rightful home in the earth." The positions of Interior and the scientists in this matter are reminiscent of the days when the United States would make treaties, then break their promises because they wanted even more land. Interior once cleared Indian title and territory for westward expansion. Today, as public and private developers want more Indian lands for gold mines, oil pumps, border fences and shopping malls, Interior is in the business of clearing Indian claims to burial grounds by declaring that the people buried there are not Native Americans. No amount of bodies or acres will satisfy the feds or scientists who are opposing the NAGPRA recalibration. It is time for Congress to stop this sacrilege and indecency, and to let Native people rest in peace. ---- Suzan Shown Harjo, Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, is president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C. and a columnist for Indian Country Today. Copyright c. 1998-2005 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Children hold Key to healing" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 15:38:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: CHILDREN HOLD KEY" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/columnists/dorreen_yellow_bird/ DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Children hold key to healing August 6, 2005 One of the most significant events in my life is the summer ceremony of healing in South Dakota. This year, the significance for me was the focus on our children and the recent suicides in Indian country. The suicide rate among 15- to 24-year-old American Indians is three times higher than the national average. What once was called Dakota Territory - the Plains in northern South Dakota on the Standing Rock reservation - appear, as I would imagine, the same as when the Indian people lived there many years ago, before the coming of the white man. When you look across the land, it is as if the smooth, rounded hills were melted by the hot sun. Indian grass and little blue stem is thick and tall. Because this year's heavy rain follows several scorching hot, rainless years, tall spears of deep blue lead plant, purple coneflowers, silver sage and bright yellow sunflowers spouted like bouquets in the hands of a suitor. When I am traveling to the ceremony, as I did two weeks ago, I become more aware of the land as each mile draws me closer to the camp. It is as if I am stepping into the arms of the land. When you leave the rolling plains, the land drops down a steep embankment into a valley probably forged by an ancient river eons ago. The Grand River, just barely a creek now, winds toward the Missouri River and empties. Near the mouth of river is one of the sites that Lewis and Clark visited on their Corps of Discovery journey while making their way to the West Coast some 200 years ago. They stopped at the three Sahnish (Arikara) villages on the river. It is this place along the Grand, in the valley where the summer healing ceremony begins, where I would spend the next six days. That day before the ceremony was hot. It topped 106 degrees, we learned the following day. If you can smell heat, then it burned our noses that afternoon. Someone in the camp guessed you could cook an egg in the shade. That evening, we sat under the cool of our camps that surrounded the central ceremonial grounds and listened to beetles and crickets compete in a symphony of sound. I sat, with my head back on my new Sam's Club red folding chair, looking into the cloudless sky. As I looked into the sky, I was amazed as thousands of dragonflies swarming just a few feet above us. The mosquito count was down. Miraculously, the night cooled so much that we had to use extra blankets in our camps, and at dawn, we began the ceremony. The evening before the ceremony always leaves me nervous and anxious for the beginning of the ceremony the next day. Of the lessons taught during the ceremony, I remember most the words of one of our spiritual leaders, Jesse Taken Alive, who talked about our children - about the suicides. He is a man who dedicates his life to the Native way. He spends the year before the ceremony preparing. Sometimes, when he speaks, he doesn't remember what he has said. It is voice and thoughts of the Creator, he told us. During the day for the children's healing, Take Alive told us this: Look into the eyes of the children. Even if it's for a fraction of a second, they will provide us with a wealth of love and information from the spirit world. They bring to us knowledge that we can share that will help us create family. Look at into their eyes at their level - remember, we were once children, he said. It is important that the children interpret our actions as security and love. From that, they will know they always can return home spiritually or literally - that they have a place to go and someone to be with. We adults should understand that the children can lead us with their innocence and their connection to the Creator and the spirit world. They will lead us - not only the adults in this world, but spiritually, they will take us to places where it's going to be best and healthiest for our families. Those were the words he remembered after two weeks after ceremony. That night, once the ceremony was completed, the wind picked up. We could see zigzags of lightning on the horizon of the hills around us. If it rained that night, it was only a few drops, but the wind took its toll. My tent was blown down, and there were branches and other things scattered about the next morning. The wind, my grandmother once told me, is the backwash from the spirits. As I looked at the red horizon the next morning, I thought there must have been many spirits here this year - the year we prayed for the safety of our children. ---- 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: Tribal connections with King Co. Library" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 08:32:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MUCKLESHOOT EDUCATION VISION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattletimes.nwsource.com//2002419263_libed04.html?syndication=rss Editorial Tribal connections with King Co. library August 4, 2005 A Muckleshoot tribal vision for education from childhood through college could benefit rapidly growing South King County. The tribe and the King County Library System want to build a library on Muckleshoot land that would serve surrounding communities such as Auburn and Enumclaw. The library would help fulfill the educational missions of both groups and also connect the tribe to its neighbors. For the Muckleshoots, the library would relieve the pressure of an ever-growing education system, which has seen the Muckleshoot Tribal College grow from 60 students in 2002 to 425 this year. The current library on the reservation is just more than 1,000 square feet and was built in the 1970s. The tribe envisions a portion of the library dedicated to their traditions and other American Indians. Library users would get an idea about the place where the library is located and the people who live there. In an age in which information can be found at the stroke of a computer key, a library that differentiates itself becomes more vital and enriches the experience for library users. The only hitch is money. The library bond passed by voters last year has only enough funds for a 5,000-square-foot library. Another 1,000 square feet was added after the Muckleshoots said they would donate the land to King County Libraries for $1 a year. Now the two sides are working to secure additional funds through grants for another 4,000 square feet. The Muckleshoots and the library system should move this project forward. The populations of South King County and the Muckleshoot Tribe are both growing. A large library with added capacity would be able to absorb that growth and provide a cultural bridge between the tribe and surrounding communities. Copyright c. 2005 The Seattle Times Company --------- "RE: NA Youth Conference teaches leadership" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 08:32:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YOUTH CONFERENCE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic//0804nativestudents04.html Native American youth conference teaches leadership Carol Sowers The Arizona Republic August 4, 2005 Seventeen-year-old Candis Frank of Belcourt, N.D., had never been on a train or a plane until she arrived this week in Scottsdale, a city she calls "really awesome." Candis, who is a member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa tribe, is one of 24 Native American students from 11 tribes around the country attending a high-octane, weeklong conference designed to strengthen tribes by teaching youths the complex art of leadership. The third annual seminar, "Nation Building for Native Youth" is the creation of Paradise Valley's Nick Lowery, a former record-setting kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs.Lowery has used his platform as a professional athlete to develop an wide array of youth programs. He was appointed by former presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to advise them on issues that affect youths, such as drug use. advertisement After Lowery ignited a 14-year NFL campaign to raise $1 million to fight cerebral palsy, he said it struck him that disabilities are not just physical. "Disabilities can be a youth's environment," he said, referring to high rates of suicide, alcoholism and poverty that stalk many Native American youths. Such problems, Lowery says, destroys the confidence youths need to aspire to leadership positions, whether it be in their tribe or in state legislatures or Congress. Antoinette Jojola, 16, an Isleta-San Felipe Pueblo from New Mexico, is a veteran of such conferences. "I have learned to speak in front of people," she said. "It made me want to empower myself and lead my people in the right direction." That is the point of the conference, says Joseph Thomas Flies-Away, of the Hualapai Tribe near Peach Springs. Flies-Away, a conference speaker, is a tribal judge who hears cases on many reservations. The brother of Joni Ramos, president of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community, Flies-Away comes from an educated family. But because he lost three uncles to suicide, he says he understands the pain of many Native American youths. He told the students not to become victims of their circumstances. "We come from strong and powerful people," he said in an interview, "and we know we can do things." Candis, who knows little of big-city life, said she plans to remain in Belcourt and become a nurse. Inspired by what she heard at the conference, she said one day she will help her "tribe do things a little bit better." Jose Castro, 15, of the Gila River Indian Community south of Phoenix, is a veteran of such conferences. "I have learned," he said, "to step up and stand up for what I believe." The conference will run through Friday. Reach the reporter at carol.sowers@arizonarepublic.com. Copyright c. 2005 azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Native viewpoint on Fur Trade" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2005 08:53:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ROLE OF METIS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/~107&cat=59&id=468534&more= Native viewpoint on fur trade August 2, 2005 By andrea miller Advocate staff A national historic site is recruiting Metis and aboriginal people to help tell the story of fur trading posts in the Rocky Mountain House area. As part of a pilot project this summer and next, the Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site has entered a partnership with the Metis Nation of Alberta. Project co-ordinator Brenda Holder, a Metis from Canmore, is bringing in local Metis and aboriginal volunteers to share their history, demonstrate craft making and play games. A traditional trappers tent, made of canvas and supported by wood, has been set up to house some of the activities. "The Metis and aboriginal people were a big part of the fur trade. We were pretty much involved in all aspects," said Holder. Metis people often worked at the trading posts and became trappers and guides. They provided a long list of skills to the fur trade. They shared their knowledge of tracking animals by identifying their tracks, migratory habits and food sources. The Metis, who often spoke English and an aboriginal language, also acted as translators. Holder and two summer students recently began offering the Metis and aboriginal program. One of Holder's presentations includes showing plaster cast animal tracks, and discussing the animals and how to track them. Tea, as traditionally made by the Metis and aboriginal people with wild mint, willow bark and other natural ingredients, is brewed over a fire and offered to visitors. "It's so nice to have the Metis tell their own story," said Shelley Bird, senior interpreter at the park. "It allows the park to offer more activities." The Metis Nation is also working with Parks Canada to improve service at the Riverside Campground and Day Use area. Metis staff will provide security and compliance checks on behalf of Parks Canada. The program is expected to create work for Metis youth and lay a foundation for a future campground host program, according to Parks Canada. Parks Canada's cost for the Metis program was not available Monday. The historic site, five km west of Rocky Mountain House on Hwy 11A, shows a history of voyageurs, explorers, missionaries and the trade with nine aboriginal groups from 1799 to 1875. The park also pays homage to David Thompson, who began mapping the Central Alberta region in 1799. Flood damage to the national park has now been repaired. Copyright c. 2005 Red Deer Advocate. --------- "RE: Rocky View, Tsuu T'ina ink Historic Water Deal" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 08:32:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TSUU T'INA WATER AGREEMNENT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.cochranetimes.com/story.php?id=176350 Rocky View, Tsuu T'ina ink historic water deal Rapid growth throughout the area, but city and Calgary Regional Partnership not at signing Doug McIntyre August 3, 2005 Cochrane Times - With an eye to future development and environmental protection, the MD of Rocky View and the Tsuu T'ina First Nations struck an historic agreement last week to initiate a pilot project for a regional water system. Both signatories to the memorandum of understanding hailed the initiative as an example of cooperation between jurisdictions; and, more importantly, as a major first step to meeting skyrocketing water demands along the Hwy 8 corridor. "The area is blooming. The key is control and planning," said Larry Crane, Tsuu T'ina administrator, during a press conference last Wednesday on the reserve. "We have the need for new housing developments and it requires more water than can be provided by wells. It's the type of win-win partnership that the Calgary Regional Partnership was designed to foster." Conspicuous by their absence, however, were any representatives from the namesake of the latter initiative. A joint press release by both signatories said they "can not speak for Calgary," adding that the city's proposed Pine Creek treatment plant includes plans to research wastewater reclamation and new technology. "We've always heard interest from the city (in a region-wide water system), but no action," said MD Reeve Al Schule after the signing. "Although we talk regional, they seem to be more interested in supplying within their own boundaries." However, the proposed utility could be hooked up to the city as part of a regional solution in the future. The arrangement between the MD and Tsuu T'ina was "a natural fit," said Rocky View CAO Ray Clark, mainly due to population growth in both jurisdictions; particularly in the MD, where demand for residential lots far outstrips supply. "The private sector was strategic in bringing the parties together and the initial enthusiasm from (Tsuu T'ina Chief Sanford Big Plume) was the prime factor in making it happen," said Clark. The two jurisdictions have jointly applied to the province for a withdrawal license from the Elbow River for a projected full build-out of 4,500 development units. The MD and the Tsuu T'ina would together own the utility or contract it to an operator, with rates set by the Alberta Energy Utilities Board. The proposed system is based on wastewater reclamation, a method employed to improve discharge water quality and to protect wetlands and aquifers. The project would entail the construction of two treatment plants from five-to-ten acres in size and two reservoirs to store raw and reclaimed water. A price tag hasn't been determined, with engineering consultant Bill Berzins saying the project is still in its infancy. "Once we have an idea of (the Elbow River's) capacity, then we'll do the preliminary engineering to determine the size of the treatment works and the size of the water supply," he said. "It's more about environmental feasibility right now. When we do the engineering, that's when we'll work on the economic feasibility." The Tsuu T'ina Nation is formulating its own long-term development plan in the meantime and plans to work with the MD on an area structure plan for the Hwy 8 corridor. "This is what the MD has been trying to do for a few years, to come up with a regional system," said Schule, hinting that the initiative could "potentially solve" ongoing water problems in the hamlet of Bragg Creek. Copyright c. Cochrane, AB Times 2005. --------- "RE: Native Group to file $12B Lawsuit against Ottawa" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2005 08:32:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AFN SUES OTTAWA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/~mb_residential-20050803&ref=rss Native group to file $12B lawsuit against Ottawa CBC News August 3, 2005 The head of the Assembly of First Nations is about to launch a $12- billion class-action lawsuit against the federal government over residential schools. AFN national Chief Phil Fontaine made the announcement in Toronto Wednesday afternoon. Fontaine, who personally attended residential school in Manitoba, said the group hopes the legal action will ensure all survivors of residential school abuse are represented. "We felt that we had to do this. This is an important issue - far too important to be left up to the uncertainties that we currently face in the process," he said. "We believe that this action will ensure that our place at the table will be secure. We will have certainty that, at the end of this process, that any settlement that's concluded will be done so with our consent." Fontaine said the lawsuit does not affect an agreement the AFN signed with the federal government in May for compensation and a resolution process. Fontaine says the suit is being filed in Ontario on Thursday. Copyright c. CBC 2005. --------- "RE: Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona" --------- Date: Friday, July 29, 2005 11:40 PM From: Chiapas95-english [owner-chiapas95-english@eco.utexas.edu] Subj: Response to the Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona Mailing List: Chiapas95-en This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . From: Mexico Solidarity Network We write to US civil society in response to the Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona, released by the Zapatistas in early July to the world. The Sixth Declaration outlines the Zapatista vision of themselves and their movement, their understanding of the present condition of Mexico and the world, and their strategic plan of action (the complete declaration is reproduced below in English and Spanish). Near the end of the Declaration, the Zapatistas request a response from civil society: We are telling those men and women who are of good heart and intent, who are in agreement with our word, and who are not afraid, or who are afraid but who have it under control, to state publicly whether they are in agreement with the ideas we are presenting, and in that way we will see once and for all who and how and where and when this new step in the struggle will happen. The Mexico Solidarity Network offers this response from the United States. We encourage people of good will to read the statement, to discuss the statement, to make changes, or to propose a new statement if you find this one irreparable. We suggest that this process be carried out during the months of July and August. If you are in agreement with the statement as it stands, we encourage you to sign your name or the name of your organization. Please send your suggestions and/or signatures to msn@mexicosolidarity. org. We propose to deliver the statement to the Zapatistas the second week of August, and we invite you to join in the delivery. To: Children, seniors, women and men of the Zapatista National Liberation Army From: Members of civil society in the United States Who we are: We are workers and unemployed, we are immigrants (the vast majority) and indigenous, we are people of many races and ethnic groups, we are citizens and undocumented, we are gay, straight, bi, and trans-gender, we live on both sides of prison walls, we are urban and rural, and some of us have no place to call home, we are youth, seniors and all ages between. We are not the ruling class. We are not the Democrats or the Republicans. We are not the transnational corporations. We are members of civil society living in the United States. And we are fed up with living in a country that kills and exploits our neighbors in other countries as well as workers and immigrants in our own country How we see the world: We struggle against the transnational corporations that exploit workers, especially women, in sweatshops in every corner of