_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 13, ISSUE 034 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 20, 2005 Anishnaabe miini-giizis/berry moon Mohawk seskehko:wa/moon of freshness Mvskogee hiyo-rakko/big harvest moon Western Cherokee galohni/end of the fruit or drying up 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; Frostys AmerIndian, Indigenous Peoples Literature, Native American Poetry, NAPN and Iron Natives Mailing Lists; UUCP email IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Elder Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + ======================== "With us the circle stands for the togetherness of people who sit with one another around a fire, relatives and friends united in peace, while the Pipe passes from hand to hand. Once all the families in the villages were in turn circles within a larger circle, part of the larger hoop of the nation. The nation was only part of the universe, in itself circular... circles within circles, within circles, with no beginning and no end. "To us this is beautiful and fitting; symbol and reality at the same time, expressing the harmony of nature and life. Our circle is timeless, flowing; it is new life emerging from death - life winning out over death." __Tahca Ushte (John Fire Lame Deer), Minneconjou Lakota +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! One of the biggest stories in the dominant press shouldn't have been news at all. The NCAA ruled last week that the use of American Indian mascots and logos deemed ethnically or racially 'hostile' or 'abusive' will be banned from all postseason tournaments. The fact it was necessary to invoke these sanctions in 2005 is just absurd. Of course, the "not me" cry babies are already out in force. "Don't take my/our pet Indian away!" can be heard throughout the "land of the greed and home of the bigot." ---- The University of Utah is still deciding what to do with its "Utes" nickname in light of the new NCAA policy on Indian mascots. President Michael Young said the school doesn't want to change its name. He said the Ute Tribe has given its permission to use the "Utes" mascot. (The Salt Lake Tribune) ---- Florida State University President T.K. Wetherell said the school will ask the NCAA to amend its policy to allow the "Seminoles" nickname. Wetherell has previously said the school will challenge the policy in court. But the NCAA said individual institutions can appeal the decision. FSU wants the policy to recognize that the Seminole Tribe of Florida supports the name. The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, however, opposes it. (The Palm Beach Post ) ---- The University of North Dakota's Ralph Engelstad Arena will have to cover up thousands of Indian head logos in order to comply with the NCAA's new policy on Indian mascots. The arena plans to follow UND's lead in complying with the policy. But the arena's contract prohibits UND from making changes without the arena's consent. The $100 million arena was a donation from Ralph Engelstad, a wealthy UND alumnus. He was an adamant supporter of the "Fighting Sioux" nickname and logo and said he wouldn't finance the arena if the name was eliminated. In addition to the thousands of Indian head logos, Engelstad placed a statue of a Sioux warrior on a horse in front of the arena. The statue is said to represent Lakota spiritual leader Sitting Bull. All of the Sioux tribes in the Plains have passed resolutions against the nickname. David Gipp, president of United Tribes Technical College, said UND needs to be punished for using the name against tribal wishes. (Indianz.com) ---- To the alumni of the above schools and fifteen others, especially the University of Illinois, your names do offend, they are racist and you need to get over it. Spend some time lamenting hunger in the world, or pointless wars. Your bigotry is unwarranted and your weak excuses to maintain these racist names is more than tiresome. It's insulting. You are supposedly institutions of higher learning. Use your brains in intelligent, rational ways - not taking a stance in the name of prejudice. 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 ----------- - HARJO: NCAA learning - TRAHANT: Some Stories what it's like to be Indian count more than others - Native American: FSU is wrong - YELLOW BIRD: Snakes, - HAROLD FRAZIER: Chokecherries-Summer in a Jar Smoke and Mirrors - Has Democracy paid a visit - CNO Constitution approval to your Band Office stuck in BIA - Mohawks want US/Canada - South Dakota appeals to obey own Constitutions Voting-rights Case - More Reserves - Bill targets tribes' won't end Aboriginal Poverty Environment Rules - Are the Chiefs - Bill introduced to getting squeezed out? recognize MOWA Band of Choctaw - AFN wants Aboriginal Problems - Schaghticoke Tribe alleges on Premiers' agenda deceit by Foes - Premiers sign onto AFN Plan - American Indian for Aboriginal People tribute at Cemetery challenged - Indigenous Peoples - Navajos recipients of Face Violence, Loss of Land Water Protection Award - Nebraska State Patrol - Picuris Pueblo to help police Reservations regains Ancestral Tribal Lands - Tribal Police Officers - US Tribe foregoes riches could patrol White Clay from Sacred Lake - Native Prisoner - For Tribes, -- Request for business diversifying pays Redress of Grievances - Wausau Leaders endorse - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days American Indian Center - History: Carlisle Indian School - Master Weaver, Storyteller - Rustywire: shares her Way of Life Eshkee and the Towering House - HURST: Indian Women - Lee Goins Poem: The Blessing of No still feel Genocide - Project seeks to preserve dying Languages --------- "RE: HARJO: NCAA learning what it's like to be Indian" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:56:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HARJO: NCAA LEARNING" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411390 Harjo: The NCAA is learning what it's like to be Indian by: Suzan Shown Harjo / Indian Country Today August 11, 2005 The NCAA is learning what it's like to be mocked, cartooned, lampooned and vilified - in short, what it's like to be Indian in the world of sports. After only days of this treatment, the NCAA should appreciate even more keenly the importance of their decision to the health, safety and emotional well-being of Native and non-Native students, who are and should be their first concern. The NCAA decided that their teams can represent themselves as they will at home, but they need to be on their best behavior in public. It's a mature decision that provides an instruction about what is and is not appropriate, fitting and proper for good sports and champions. It's the rough equivalent of the civil rights movement sending the message that the N-word is not acceptable in polite society. Is this PC? Yes, as someone said long ago, it's Plain Courtesy. Some NCAA schools had the decency to voluntarily drop their "Indian" references before the decision was forced on them. Others are squealing like stuck pigs and calling the NCAA decision-makers every name in every book, and then some. Schools that have appropriated specific tribal names and symbols are pushing their Indians out front to say how proud they are to be mascots and how well their schools treat them, and to accuse the NCAA of making an anti-Indian decision. Actually, the decision is pro-Indian - the human being, not the mascot - but a lot of folks just can't tell the difference. Most of the commentators on this issue lump "Indian" sports references in with the bears, tigers, banana slugs, geoducks and leprechauns. They don't seem to notice that they are species hopping from humans to creatures and mythical beings, and that only the "Indians" are based on living people. A few of the pundits feel they have to point out that the "Indian" sports references aren't real, as if the NCAA and Native people thought they were. And, they come up with the ever-popular question: don't you have more important things to do for American Indians? No one who's ever asked that question is doing anything to help Native people. Here's my question to everyone who's in a dither about the NCAA's decision: don't you have anything better to do than hang on to these toys of racism? Some Native people are cutting deals with schools that haven't given them more than a handful of scholarships in decades and haven't bothered to ask before now if it's OK to use their names, heroes and symbols. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign would likely try to bargain with the local Native nations, if there were any left in the state. The excuse from the Native deal-makers in Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma and Utah is this: if we give them what they want for sports, they'll leave our casinos and land alone. Non-Native deal-makers are turning this into a states' rights issue, daring the NCAA to come into their state schools and upset their fine Indian citizens. (Any Native people who object to being mascotted or tokenized are subjected to the standard anti-Indian name-calling and slurs.) Florida State University and the state politicians are so desperate for tribal political cover that the Seminoles should demand that the school change its name to Florida Seminole University. It wouldn't even have to change its initials. While they're at it, FSU could call its team the "Floridians" and use St. Augustine as its mascot. There is dignity and respect in a school's name, but a mascot is not dignified or respected. It is shameful that the mighty Osceola is portrayed as a mascot. He is represented with fakey "war paint," which he never wore; on an Appaloosa horse, which he never rode; with a Plains Indian war lance, which he never used; acting the fool, which he never was; and performing for non-Indians - which he never, ever did. FSU may well get its way. They've twisted arms and gained support from the Florida and Oklahoma Seminole governmental leaders, who now have the hard job of explaining to the Seminole people why their nationhood is to be diminished and their children to be raised as mascots. You can bet that FSU would not dare to approach other countries or people of other races to be their new team name or mascot. Imagine the reaction to renaming the team "Cuba" or "Cubans." Would the Utah "Mormons" be embraced warmly by the actual Mormon people? Happily, there is a growing consensus about most of the "Indian" names - "Redskins," "Savages" and other slurs have to go. The generic names are no longer acceptable if they have a "Native" context. Former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell called the NCAA's decision "a major step forward" and "a positive, important decision." Campbell, who is Cheyenne, said, "A lot of people need help understanding that it's wrong to use any derogatory name for a sports team. When I explain to African-Americans that it would be like a team called the 'Washington Darkies,' they understand. When I ask Hispanics how they would feel about a team called the 'Spics,' they understand." Campbell served in the House from 1987 to 1993 and then in the Senate until this year. "One way I explained this problem to colleagues in Congress was through legislation," he said. "I introduced a bill that would have prevented the 'Washington Redskins' from using federal property [the RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.]. So Jack Kent Cooke [the team's owner] picked up and moved to Virginia before we could get it passed." Campbell's bill had solid co-sponsors, including civil rights luminary Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and employed the same approach and stadium that were used by the Kennedy Administration in 1962, when it forced desegregation by withholding approval of the federal lease renewal. The Washington football club was the last in the NFL to allow African- Americans to play on its team. "The NCAA decision, coupled with the recent decision in the case about the Washington team's name, is very significant," said Walter R. Echo-Hawk, who is an attorney for the Indian friends of the court in the lawsuit, Harjo et al. v. Pro Football, Inc. (This writer is, ahem, that Harjo.) Echo-Hawk, who is Pawnee and a senior attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, represents the National Congress of American Indians, National Indian Education Association, National Indian Youth Council and the Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism in the case. "These two decisions," said Echo-Hawk, "could mark a turning point in this longstanding campaign to end this form of racism." The NCAA can take comfort in knowing that the major national Native organizations applaud their decision. Unfortunately, the NCAA also knows how it is to be booed and hissed by loud, mean fanatics. Welcome to our world, where courage is not only prized, but essential in order to maintain a position of honor. --- 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: Native American: FSU is wrong" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:56:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FSU AND JEB BUSH WRONG" http://www.sun-sentinel.com/aug14,0,2945883.story?coll=tf-seminoles Native American: FSU is wrong By Daryll Davis Special to the Sentinel August 14, 2005 Jeb Bush and the people of Florida need some help understanding the issue behind the recent NCAA decision against Native Ameri- can-themed mascots. For the past several days, I've read the reactions of not only the Orlando Sentinel columnists, but also the readership, as the NCAA has been ridiculed and people on the side of the Native Americans in this issue decried as whiners. Let's cover the basics: This continent used to be red from sea to shining sea. In the past 500 years, Native Americans were subjected to an American holocaust and nearly wiped out as a distinct race of people. In the United States, Native Americans have been reduced to 1.5 percent of the general population. One of the basic and generally understood human rights is that a distinct people should have the right to dictate how they are represented and portrayed. Initially vilified and denounced as less than human by the media in an effort to support the government's policy of extermination in Colonial times, the image of Native Americans would later be romanticized after the perceived threat that Native Americans posed to this country's new immigrants eased. With the explosion of modern media behind the introduction of films and later television, the image of Native Americans was taken from us. Natives were not asked or consulted when movie and television portrayals represented to the world what our people were like. The end result is institutionalized racism that has resulted in other races and cultures manipulating and exploiting Natives as they please. Other minorities have had much more political and financial clout than the Native community. In the past couple of decades, those groups have been successful in reclaiming their sense of self and identity as a people. They pushed social and political reforms to get the general population to recognize their basic human right to dictate how they should be represented and portrayed. In many instances, institutional racism for other races has all but disappeared. In these modern times, Native Americans are a forgotten minority. No one takes us seriously anymore, but we're serious when we address the issues that face our culture. While the NCAA decision seems to have fallen from the sky for those people who have supported Florida State University over the years, the work by the National Congress of American Indians and the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media have been pushing this very issue for decades. Complicating this issue, and lending credence to the position of many folks in this state, is the support of the Seminole Nation and their elected chief for Florida State University. I can understand their side of the issue, but then again, the people of this state also have to realize that this tribal leader does not speak for all Native Americans, and this man's opinion is definitely in the minority in Indian country. Please, let it be understood in no uncertain terms that Native Americans want to end institutionalized racism for their people. They want the same dignities and respect now afforded other cultures that have also struggled against racism. Putting some guy on horseback in a multicolored outfit and having him do a little spear-chucking is a demeaning and insulting depiction. Fortunately, the NCAA has no respect for this kind of tradition. ---- Daryll Davis of Lake Mary is a member of the Cayuga Nation, one of the six tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy, based in New York. Copyright c. 2005, Orlando Sentinel. Copyright c. 2005 Sun-Sentinel Co. & South Florida Interactive, Inc. --------- "RE: HAROLD FRAZIER: Smoke and Mirrors" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:50:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HAROLD FRAZIER: TRUST LIES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6840 Smoke and Mirrors Guest commentary Harold Frazier August 9, 2005 I read the Rapid City Journal article about the opening of the Office of the Special Trustee (OST) for American Indians in Rapid City, SD with keen interest. The article states that the office will provide services to Indian beneficiaries, including information about their trust assets. Is this more smoke and mirrors designed to mislead Indian people? Let me explain what this Office of Special Trustee means and why tribes across this United States objected to the Department of the Interior's reorganization that led to the OST Office in Rapid City. As with any bureaucratic undertaking, the opening of the Rapid City office did not just happen overnight, but is part of an ongoing reorganization within Interior. As a result of Cobell V. Norton, a nine-year-old claim brought by Indians against the Department of the Interior for mismanaging their trust accounts, the department has been in the process of reorganizing the BIA for over three years now. Not only did the DOI fail to consult with tribes on this reorganization, but also walked away from the table when tribes refused to acquiesce to its terms. Despite tribal opposition from across the United States the reorganization continued. Cobell Judge Royce C. Lamberth recently wrote, "After all these years, our government still treats Native American Indians as if they were somehow less than deserving of the respect that should be afforded to everyone in a society where all people are supposed to be equal." How true! Rather than listen to tribes and use the funds available to provide tribes with the actual assistance they need at the local level, the department has developed a vast new bureaucracy called Office of Special Trustee (OST) that is a top-heavy organizational structure. DOI has assigned many of the services formerly provided by the BIA to the newly created bureaucracy. Unlike the BIA, there is no Indian Preference in hiring for positions within the OST. Serious computer security problems still plague the Department, even though Acting Assistant Secretary Mr. Cason testified to "bulletproof" computer security at Interior. These problems have existed for over 20 years and there is no way the department can assure Indian beneficiaries that their account balances are accurate. The Rapid City Trust Office is within OST, not BIA. Tribes objected to this fragmentation of services and insisted that the services be at the agency level, where the People can get answers to questions such as realty, probate, appraisals, lease compliance, resource management planning and IIM account management. Local BIA agency offices have been reduced to mere shells of what they used to be, leaving the Agency Superintendent with little decision-making power and authority. In the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 (15 Stat.635), Articles V and IX guarantee that the United States will provide services at the local level to our people and reimburse the tribes for any services lost. It was clearly understood by the Indian signers of that treaty that necessary assistance would be provided to the signatory tribes by a local agent (or superintendent in the modern era) and that sufficient resources would be made available to the agent to allow him to discharge the duties assigned to him. Now, this new Office of Special Trustee will dominate over the regional and local agencies and circumvent the vested rights under the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty and other treaties, the cornerstone of our relationship with the United States. The promises made in these treaties must be upheld, and taking away the superintendents' authority at the local level is a violation of the department's legal obligations toward our tribes. It was bad enough that our people in the communities had to travel into the agency for assistance; now they will have to travel still further away for help. Agency Superintendents will be prevented from providing meaningful assistance at the local level creating a division of authority, resources and manpower. It was 35 years ago on July 8, 1970 that the Self-Determination Policy was proposed. This policy called for tribes to take over the operation of federal programs free from the stifling controls of the federal bureaucracy. The Republican solution under President Nixon was for a smaller role for Government, that Indian tribes be given the right to locally control and operate the federal programs that had been run for their supposed benefit by federal bureaucrats in Washington. In other words, under P.L.-638, central control by the federal government would be replaced by local control by tribes. Are we witnessing a new policy era of return to Central Control and the overturning the Self-Determination Policy? Or is this more "smoke and mirrors" to convince Judge Lamberth and politicians that Interior is doing something no matter how much money is spent, what the tribes recommend or what is best for Indian people? We in the Great Plains have a very high stake in however Cobell is resolved and how reforms are implemented at the central, regional and local levels. As of July 2001, the Great Plains Tribes held 27 % of the Individual Indian Money Accounts (over 67,000 accounts in total) more than any other region in the country. Since allotment began in 1887, over 2.6 million land transactions have been recorded in our region alone, as we hold 33 % of the nation's trust allotments and tribal tracts (approximately 58,000 tracts). Consequently, as large land-based and direct service tribes, the Great Plains Tribes will be hit hardest. After meetings and discussions, the Great Plains Tribes presented an alternative plan in which a majority of trust functions would remain at the agency level and to fund more positions at the local level instead of a top-heavy bureaucracy. This plan was not acknowledged by Interior. On March 18, 2004 the tribes of the Great Plains passed a resolution opposing any trust officers on the reservation, calling upon Congress for a halt to the reorganization and directing the DOI to reprogram funding for the trust officers to the local Reservations where there is a greater need for services. The National Congress of American Indians called for a halt to the reorganization as well. Thanks to Senators Daschle and Johnson, who listened to tribes, on June 16, 2004, S. 2523 was introduced to "Exempt the Great Plains Region and the Rocky Mountain Region from Trust Reform Reorganization." S. 2523 was never passed, however, limited funding to implement the Great Plains proposal was allocated during the FY-05 appropriations process. This funding is nowhere near the level necessary to make the proposal operational beyond FY-05-06. Meanwhile, Interior continues to increase services to OST at the expense of the BIA. The Department has proposed severe cuts for Tribal Programs over objections from Tribes nation-wide. Tribes advocated against the reductions and Congress restored some of these cuts, but this pattern of budget reductions in Interior indicates that life as we know it, is changing for Indian people. Life will become more difficult for tribal governments and Indian people. Some changes are the following: - Budget Reductions continue in BIA Agency and Area Offices which directly relate to local Reservation Programs. - BIA Regional Offices and local Agencies are weakened by transferring administrative functions and resources to Central Office. - Power is built up at Central Office at the expense of BIA field operations and detrimental to Tribal Government - Reorganization continues without Tribal participation and acceptance - BIA's ability to carry out trust responsibilities is severely reduced by budget cuts such as Community Fire Protection cuts, TPA Executive Direction and Administrative Services cut, School Operations (ISEP & Early Childhood) cuts, Education line offices cuts, and Water rights negotiation/litigation cuts. - Central Office increases include $8.0 Million for probate backlog reduction and $8.0 Million for a four-year contract with Chickasaw Nation Industries (CNI) - Trust restructuring Initiative by Ross Swimmer has been increased by $1. 2 Million for Deputy Regional Directors for Trust and $1.6 Million for Land Titles and Records Offices. - $2.3 M. cut from Law enforcement going to Central Office for administrative services. The line authority over law enforcement is being dismantled in the `trust restructuring' - Interior proposed a cut of $89.5 M (-34%) for school construction. The House Committee on Appropriations rejected the cut and has proposed to restore $52.0 M to education construction including $32.0 M for school construction; $1.0 M for employee housing and $19.0 M for facilities improvement and repair, and directed the Bureau to proceed with construction of Schools on the priority list. - The Senate also recommended adding $10.0 M. for facilities improvement and repair and questioned $200.0 M. in an unobligated balance in School Construction. - The OST is organizationally separate from the BIA within the Department of Interior. Since FY 1996 trust programs and funding have been transferred from BIA to OST, creating a huge bureaucracy at the expense of BIA. - In the FY 2006 budget, the Special Trustee for Americans Indians, Mr. Ross Swimmer, proposed to transfer the funds ($1.9 M.) for attorney decision makers from TPA probate to the Office of Special Trustee. - The OST had requested an increase of $77.8 M. for historical accounting. The House and the Senate both rejected the increase and maintained the funding for historical accounting at the FY 2005 level of $57.2 M. Now, the DOI has opened an office for the OST in Rapid City, SD to house their ever-increasing number of trust officers, bureaucrats whose usefulness has yet to be determined. In fact, to date, Cheyenne River has refused to accept trust officers onto the reservation, because these positions are secondary to the immediate need for local level staff and increased support to carry out land management operations. Again, big government is trying to tell us everything is going to be fine and this Rapid City Office will fix everything. But, the fact is, it is just more "smoke and mirrors" with the intent to deprive (steal) our own funds from us. Smoke and Mirrors. Harold Frazier is the chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: CNO Constitution approval stuck in BIA" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:56:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MORE BIA OBSTRUCTION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.cherokee.org/Phoenix/2005/PhoenixPage.asp?ID=1697 Constitution approval stuck in BIA By Gregg Simmons Staff Writer August 2005 TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - More than two years after the May 2003 election when Cherokee Nation citizens voted to eliminate the federal approval clause from the 1976 constitution, the amendment has yet to be approved. The new constitution was sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs regional director's office in Muskogee, Okla., for approval after the election. CN Executive Officer Melanie Knight said the tribe received a letter in June from the BIA stating a decision would be forthcoming. Principal Chief Chad Smith then met with Jim Cason, the acting assistant secretary of the BIA, on June 29 to discuss the constitution. Knight said the BIA solicitor has done some analysis on the constitution and Cason is discussing this analysis with the solicitor's office. "Some amendments are approved at the regional director level, which would be Muskogee for us, and some amendments are approved at the central office level of the BIA," Knight said. "It is not approved by the solicitor's office but typically both the regional and central office will consult with the solicitor's office before making their decision. It was one of those types of amendments that she didn't have the delegation to approve. So she made a recommendation for approval, backed up that recommendation and sent it on to the central office. It's been sitting in the central office ever since. "Cherokee Nation is organized under inherent governmental authority not IRA (Indian Reform Act) or OIWA (Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act). So under IRA or OIWA the bureau has a strict timeline in which they have to approve those constitutional amendments. In fact, if they don't make a decision in that period of time it is deemed as approval." Knight said other tribes have received approval of similar amendments due to the IRA or OIWA timelines. "The Creeks had an identical amendment they sent to the bureau the same year we did. The bureau let the 90 days lapse and then sent them a letter approving their amendment." If the BIA certifies the amendment vote, the 1999 Constitution would automatically go into effect. Some of the changes include creating the office of speaker that would chair Tribal Council meetings and be third in line of succession to the head of government after the principal chief and deputy chief. In addition, it would add two at-large councilors to the Tribal Council, provide term limits and set staggered council terms, establish a voting process for Cherokee voters residing outside CN jurisdiction, provide a delegate to the U.S. Congress and create the office of attorney general. The new constitution would also create district courts in the tribe's judicial system as well as renaming the Judicial Appeals Tribunal as the Supreme Court and increasing its members from three to five. Gregg Simmons, (918) 456-0671, ext. 2351 gregg-simmons@cherokee.org Copyright c. 1998-2005. Cherokee Nation. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: South Dakota appeals Voting-rights Case" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005 08:31:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SOUTH DAKOTA UNWILLING TO ACCEPT DECISION" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.rapidcityjournal.com//2005/08/09/news/local/news05.txt State appeals voting-rights case By Celeste Calvitto, Journal Staff Writer August 9, 2005 PIERRE - The state of South Dakota is appealing a ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court in a voting-rights case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. A three-judge federal panel last month ordered the state to submit a voter redistricting law passed by the South Dakota Legislature, HB1265, to the U.S. Justice Department for review under "pre-clearance" provisions in Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The state law was passed in the wake of a lawsuit by the ACLU involving the drawing of boundaries for electoral districts in Charles Mix County. The ACLU's lawsuit, filed in January, claimed that the voting strength of American Indians was diluted by the way the districts were drawn. Under HB1265, counties can redraw county commission districts at times other than immediately after the 10-year census if they believe they don't comply with provisions of state or federal law. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires some jurisdictions to show the Department of Justice that a voting change does not have a discriminatory purpose or effect on minority voters. "It is our position that neither the state of South Dakota nor Charles Mix County are covered jurisdictions," Sherri Sundem Wald, South Dakota assistant attorney general, said Monday. Sundem Wald said that any legislation pertaining to Todd and Shannon counties would be subjected to pre-clearance because they contain a majority of American Indian voters. "We recognize that," she said. "There is no dispute there." But Charles Mix County does not fit that profile, she said. Bryan Sells, a lawyer with the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said: "Every South Dakotan deserves an equal right to vote. It is sad to see the state of South Dakota spend its scare resources once again to deprive its citizens of the important protections in the Voting Rights Act. "It is ironic that the appeal coincides with the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law 40 years ago Saturday." Both Sells and Sundem Wald said that the court would likely deal with the case through a summary disposition based on briefs rather than oral arguments. "In the overwhelming majority of this kind of appeal, the Supreme Court puts it stamp of approval," Sells said. "From our point of view, that's good. In any event, we are confident will we win on appeal." Contact Celeste Calvitto at 394-8438 or celeste.calvitto@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2005 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Bill targets tribes' Environment Rules" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:50:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ATTEMPT TO CIRCUMVENT TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.newsok.com/xml/rss/1574870/ Bill targets tribes' environment rules By Anthony Thornton The Oklahoman August 10, 2005 A last-minute "rider" on a $286 billion highway and mass transit bill would prohibit Oklahoma's American Indian tribes from regulating the environment on their land. The provision apparently responds to a state agency's lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, which had authorized one of Oklahoma's 38 federally recognized tribes to set its own water standards. Critics attributed the rider's origin to Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa. But the senator could not be reached Monday. The language of the provision drew the ire of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. Along with several Oklahoma tribes, McCain complained his committee wasn't consulted about the provision. A spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Quality said the agency is pleased with the provision, but didn't request it. Tribes expressed disappointment, with one lawyer calling it a "grave blow" to tribal sovereignty. It is the second rider on the 1,752-page bill to address Indian issues specific to Oklahoma. Another one seriously hampers a tribe's effort to build a casino in Oklahoma City's Bricktown area. The environmental rider gives the state jurisdiction over Indian country and veto power over tribal requests to exercise similar authority. Tribal attorneys said they didn't learn of the provision until after the massive transportation bill passed the House and Senate on July 29. President Bush has said he will sign it. Inhofe was the Senate's lead conference committee negotiator on the highway bill and chairs its Environment and Public Works Committee. A spokesman for that committee said the language protects the state against multiple and contradictory environmental standards. Environmental Quality spokeswoman Monty Elder referred questions about the provision's origin to Inhofe's office. Whoever suggested the provision "knew this thing was going to pass," said Charles Tripp, attorney for the Pawnee Nation. "Nobody was going to be seen as voting against highways. Nobody in their right mind was going to vote against it," Tripp said. Last November, the EPA granted "treatment-as-state" status to the Pawnee Nation for water programs. The designation allows the tribe to determine its own standards for water flowing through trust land it owns in Pawnee County, which could include parts of the Arkansas River. Almost two dozen other Oklahoma tribes have applied to the EPA for similar status. State officials including Environment Secretary Miles Tolbert have said that could open the state to a patchwork regulatory system. Theoretically, each tribe could establish water standards either more restrictive or more lenient than the state's, Elder said. In March, the Department of Environmental Quality sued the EPA over the Pawnees' status. The legislation's effect on that federal lawsuit was unclear Monday. A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Cheyenne, whose district includes the Pawnees' land base, said Lucas' office was unaware of the transportation bill provision. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, was in China on congressional business Monday, and Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, was on his honeymoon. If successful, the rider "could be used as a model to chip away at sovereign tribal rights throughout the United States," Oklahoma City attorney William Norman wrote in an Aug. 4 letter to tribal clients. Tripp said the Pawnee Nation and several other tribes have been drafting an agreement for one universal water standard similar to the state's. He said the state's concern has more to do with enforcement than with differing water pollution requirements. "The state wants to be the ones to enforce, because they don't want everybody in the state to know what a poor job of enforcement they've done for all these years," Tripp said. He said the state has protected oil and gas producers by letting environmental violations slide, something tribes would be unwilling to do. Bill Holbrook, spokesman for the committee Inhofe chairs, said if the EPA continues putting tribes on equal regulatory footing with the state, companies could end up being regulated by the state as well as one or more tribes. Tripp suspects scare tactics were used to pass the provision in conference committee. "Why would other senators care about what's going on in Oklahoma? There's really only one reason: Whoever sponsored this rider told them, 'Hey, this is going to happen in your state next,'" he said. "But it's already happened in other states. And those other states have had no real jurisdictional issues and no problems." Contributing: Chris Casteel in the Washington Bureau Copyright c. 2005 The Oklahoman/News 9 - Produced by NewsOK.com. --------- "RE: Bill introduced to recognize MOWA Band of Choctaw" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005 08:31:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MOWA CHOCTAW RECOGNOTION BILL" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=6830 Bill introduced to recognize MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians Members applaud move by Alabama WASHINGTON DC Native American Times August 8, 2005 An Alabama lawmaker has introduced legislation to recognize the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians of Alabama. The move by Republican Jo Bonner would give what members of the tribe have sought for years, including trust land and increased access to services. "This time we are confident that our prayers will be answered and that the fraud perpetrated against us will be fully brought to light in the nation's capitol. With an average yearly family income of $6,350, according to year 2000 census figures, federal recognition has never been viewed as a want, but specifically as a need. Basic access to social programs such as IHS funded health care are in dire need," said Cedric Sunray, a member of the tribe teaching American Indian Studies at Bacone College in Muscogee. "High rates of diabetes and a rare disease known as Marinesco-Sjogren Syndrome (a form of muscular dystrophy) are working against our general health. We truly believe with all of our strength that bill HR3526 Federal Recognition of the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians, will pass through all levels of government and reverse the discrimination, that for so long, has plagued our small tribal nation in southwestern Alabama." In the tribe's petition for recognition, Dr. Kenneth York, Ph.D., wrote: "It is my belief that as a member of the [Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians] that members of the MOWA Band are descendants of the Great Choctaw Nation which was disbanded by the U.S. Government during the Indian Removal Period. It is my professional opinion that the MOWA Band has provided documentation regarding the history, culture, and ancestral relationship as well, if not better, as any tribal petition in recent years." The MOWA have already achieved state recognition. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Schaghticoke Tribe alleges deceit by Foes" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:50:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANTI-RECOGNITION TRICKS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.courant.com//hc-tribe0810.artaug10,0,988815.story?&track=rss Tribe Alleges Deceit By Foes Schaghticokes Say Citizens, Officials Violated Court Order August 10, 2005 By RICK GREEN, Courant Staff Writer The Schaghticoke Indians say a Washington lobbying firm with close ties to the White House is the "crucial link" behind a "surreptitious" campaign that scuttled their hard- won federal recognition. The Kent-based tribe, which won federal recognition in 2004 only to see it overturned this past May, is trying to show that a conspiracy of its opponents - wealthy Kent residents and local and state elected officials - violated a court order and worked behind the scenes to sink the Schaghticokes. Critical to this was the role played by Barbour Griffith & Rogers Inc., a Republican lobbying firm hired by a local citizens group, Town Action to Save Kent. "Barbour Griffith & Rogers is the crucial link in the chain of possible deceit," the Schaghticokes say in court papers filed in U.S. District Court in Washington. The conflict is the latest in a high-stakes contest unfolding in courtrooms and government offices in Washington and Connecticut: The Schaghticokes are fighting for federal recognition, while their opponents fear the tribe will open a casino. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs is giving a final review to the Schaghticoke case and will issue a ruling on federal recognition by Oct. 12. Taking aim at Barbour Griffith and TASK, the Schaghticokes say in documents filed in federal court in Washington that their opponents sought to disobey an order of "no contact" with the Interior Department, first issued in 2001. U.S. District Judge Peter Dorsey issued the order to prevent outside groups from trying to improperly influence the highly charged and politicized Schaghticoke bid for recognition. "TASK retained Barbour Griffith & Rogers to provide lobbying services in Washington. ... Shortly after these lobbyists went to work the Interior Board of Indian Appeals vacated the Department of Interior's Final Determination to acknowledge [the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation] as an Indian tribe," Schaghticoke lawyers say in the new court papers. The Schaghticokes are trying to subpoena TASK leaders and lobbyists from Barbour Griffith for depositions to see if they "directly or through surrogates ... made improper agency contacts." Pointing out that Attorney General Richard Blumenthal had been cited previously by Dorsey for his lobbying of Interior Secretary Gale Norton, the tribe suggests that this behavior has continued as opponents colluded to try to overturn the Schaghticoke recognition. TASK and Barbour Griffith are fighting the subpoena from the Schaghticokes, which seeks e-mails, financial records and "all communication" regarding the tribe, contact with state and federal officials and "strategy or plans of action designed or intended to affect or influence or to attempt to affect or influence any decision" by the Interior Department. Bradley Blakeman of Barbour Griffith and TASK president Ken Cooper have submitted sworn affidavits saying they never contacted the Interior Department regarding the Schaghticokes. Specifically, the Schaghticokes want to know whether Barbour Griffith "asked officials related to U.S. Senators or representatives to contact the Department of Interior. ... [B]ecause it is regarded as a `well- connected' lobbying firm, these are precisely the type of contacts to which Barbour Griffith & Rogers may have reached out." "They are grasping at straws," said Francis J. Collins, a lawyer for TASK. "They are trying to show that somehow one of the parties, whether it be the state or the town, was trying to circumvent that [Dorsey] order. There's nothing further from the truth." Schaghticoke Chief Richard Velky said the tribe has watched as its opponents worked closely with Barbour Griffith and with elected leaders in Connecticut and Washington. While the tribe has repeatedly faced investigation by federal authorities, he said its opponents aren't willing to share information about their own activities. "Clearly they are hiding something," Velky said. He also said the tribe doesn't understand why Kent resident Francelia C. Johnson, an amateur genealogist, won't agree to undergo questioning from Schaghticoke lawyers about what she knows about local Indian history - perhaps because she is concealing town records. Johnson, represented by Kent town attorney Jeffrey B. Sienkiewicz, is fighting a subpoena from the tribe. "Why do we have to go through this here?" Velky asked. "The town officials and the state attorney general should be stepping in" to help the tribe uncover information it has a right to, he said. Blumenthal said the Schaghticokes "are trying to create an illusion. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors." He said the state, which has aggressively opposed the federal recognition of the Schaghticokes, has had little to do with TASK or the tribe's other opponents in Kent. "We have been very careful about avoiding any formal or informal activities with or through TASK," he said. Collins said a January meeting at the Fife'n Drum restaurant in Kent, where Schaghticoke opponents and local elected officials met with Blakeman, was merely a chance to meet the lobbyists hired by TASK. The Schaghticokes "are trying to say that whatever went on at that meeting was part of a conspiracy," Collins said. State Sen. Andrew Roraback, R-Torrington, who was deposed by the Schaghticokes two weeks ago, said the Fife'n Drum gathering was little more than "a dog and pony show" where TASK was showing off the lobbying firm it hired. "This issue looms as the single largest issue confronting the 15 communities I represent in northwest Connecticut," Roraback said, referring to the Schaghticokes' quest for federal recognition and the tribe's goal of opening a gambling casino. "Litchfield County is rightfully on pins and needles because the potential consequences are pretty dire." Copyright c. 2005 by The Hartford Courant. --------- "RE: American Indian tribute at Cemetery challenged" --------- Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 08:54:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SPIRIT HOUSE FOR DAUGHTER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-1/112368510195200.xml&coll=6 American Indian tribute at cemetery challenged By Theresa D. Mcclellan The Grand Rapids Press August 10, 2005 CLYDE TOWNSHIP - In the tiny Pearl Cemetery, tributes of flowers, statues and stones memorialize those buried there. A statue of a praying Virgin Mary adorns one grave, and small American flags fly over the resting place of a World War II veteran nearby. A pastel flag pressed into the ground there reads: "The ones we love are never really gone. They live on in memory and spirit." It's this recognition of the spirit the Clyde Township Board plans to consider at its meeting tonight, when it may decide whether an American Indian practice of placing a "spirit house" on a grave site violates township rules. At issue is the grave of 6-year-old Rhiannon Jaesche, who died Christmas Eve after a bread truck crossed the center line on M-89 and struck the pickup in which she was riding. The first-grader's parents, who are divorced, decided to bury her in Pearl Cemetery, in western Allegan County. Rhiannon's mother, Sharon Jaesche, who is Ojibway, said she received verbal approval from the cemetery sexton to place a "spirit house" on her daughter's grave, in the tradition of her ancestors. She said she explained the cedar structure resembles an oversized birdhouse with a circular opening for one's spirit, and a ledge on which to place traditional offerings, such as tobacco. "It is like a home for her spirit to come and go," said Jaesche, a longtime Allegan County resident who said she was raised with the traditions of her grandmother, who lives on a Wisconsin reservation where spirit houses atop grave sites are common. Jaesche said she placed the spirit house on her daughter's grave in May and, on July 4, found a note on the tribute saying it had to be removed by July 15. She brought the issue to the Township Board last month, and it tabled discussion until tonight's meeting. Township Supervisor Tommie Giles said he did not know what the township ordinance states on the issue, and that he turned the matter over to legal counsel in Kalamazoo. Attorney Ken Sparks declined to comment. "There's no story here. I don't know what the legal counsel will say. It may be tabled again," Giles said. Township and cemetery officials have refused to return calls to their homes and township offices. Sharon Detz, a spokeswoman for a statewide tribal alliance who was notified of the situation by Jaesche, believes the township will allow the spirit house if it understands its significance and federal law. "Non-natives are not aware of the laws, but Congress passed a Freedom of Religion law in 1978. Everyone is supposed to be allowed their own spirituality. The cemetery board OK'd it when she first asked, until people complained to say it looked like a dog house," said Detz of Grand Rapids, a member of the Michigan Aa-Nish-Naa-Bek Cultural Preservation Repatriation Alliance. It's a troubling issue for Jaesche, who said her daughter was learning the Indian ways. Rhiannon mastered the Jingo dress dance and wanted to be a fancy shawl dancer. Jaesche said she would not remove her daughter's spirit house, even if ordered to. She plans to be buried next to her little girl and wants a spirit house atop her grave. "If they want it removed, they will have to do that," she said. "Once it's placed, I'd hate to say it's anything like bad medicine, but it's not a good thing." Copyright c. 2005 Grand Rapids Press. Used with permission. Copyright c. 2005 MLive.com. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Navajos recipients of Water Protection Award" --------- Date: Monday, August 08, 2005 10:52 PM From: Karen Francis [karenfrancis@navajo.org] Subj: Navajos recipients of water protection award 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: Monday, August 8, 2005 NAVAJOS RECIPIENTS OF WATER PROTECTION AWARD Three receive award for role in banning of uranium mining on Navajo Nation The New Mexico Environmental Law Center awarded Council delegate and Resources Committee Chairperson George Arthur (Burnham/Nenahnezad/San Juan) with its Karl Souder Water Protection Award during an awards ceremony on Sunday, August 7, 2005 in Santa Fe, N.M. Arthur received the award for his crucial role in the banning of uranium mining on the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation Council approved the Dine' Natural Resources Protection Act sponsored by Arthur, which bans the mining of uranium, during its 2005 spring session in April. Also receiving awards for the same purpose were Lynnea K. Smith of the Eastern Navajo Dine' Against Uranium Mining and Esther Yazzie-Lewis, the president of Southwest Research Center board. Ms. Yazzie-Lewis accepted the award on behalf of the late Harris Arthur. Presenting the award was Emily Souder, the 13-year old daughter of the late Karl Souder for whom the award is named. Douglas Meiklejohn, the director of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, said that the enactment of the Dine' Natural Resources Act by the Council was one of the most significant developments in the state pertaining to protection of water and the environment. Meiklejohn commended Arthur for having the dedication and perseverance to see that the law was passed, especially in the face of powerful opposition. "He consistently told us that he would get this done, and he did," Meiklejohn said. In accepting the award, Arthur said, "I'm very honored and humbled to be in your presence, especially to be given recognition that is to be shared by many, not the least of which are my colleagues on the Resources Committee and the Navajo Nation Council. "We feel it is wrong to threaten either an individual or a society so that one may gain for one's self. I believe in economic development and that there is a place for it. However, there is a choice to be made - whether we make a dollar or survive for generations to come. We decided it was more important to have generations and generations after us," Arthur continued. Speaking about the Eastern Navajo Dine' Against Uranium Mining, he said, "They stood up for what they believed in when strong forces were opposing them." Arthur thanked Eric Jantz from the New Mexico Environmental Law Center and Frank Seanez from the Navajo Nation Office of Legislative Counsel for providing guidance in the drafting of the legislation. Also in attendance from the Navajo Nation Council at the awards ceremony were Resources Committee members Norman John II (Twin Lakes) and Harry Goldtooth. Meiklejohn said that the center has been involved in the 10-year struggle to prevent uranium mining around the Navajo community of Crownpoint, N.M., with the Eastern Navajo Dine' Against Uranium Mining and the Navajo Nation. Jantz, a lawyer with the center, was one of two agents that presented the Dine' Natural Resources Act to the Council along with Arthur. The other agent chosen by Arthur was then 21-year old Lynnea Smith, also one of the three recipients of the award. Meiklejohn noted that Smith has been involved in the effort to prevent uranium mining at Crownpoint since she was a junior in high school. Smith acknowledged that the struggle to prevent uranium mining is ongoing. "We are still committed to fight on a daily basis. Just because you pass a piece of legislation does not mean the battle is over," she said. Esther Yazzie-Lewis paid tribute to Harris Arthur, the late brother of George Arthur, in accepting the award on his behalf. "There are a lot of unsung heroes and I think Harris received this award in a very special way. I believe there is a time and a place for everything and time presented to us Harris Arthur. He stepped forward to tell us to be patient and to fight one more fight and he made it happen," Yazzie-Lewis said. Don Hancock, the recipient of the center's Griff Salisbury Environmental Protection Award, also acknowledged the tremendous job done by the Navajo Nation when he accepted his award. "It takes many people to make the kind of accomplishment happen that the Dine' have done. We have a lot of resources in this state that many people want to use or exploit," Hancock said. Hancock further remembered the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, which happened on August 6, 1945. "You realize the central role that New Mexico has played in the world and will continue to play in the future," he said. --------- "RE: Picuris Pueblo regains Ancestral Tribal Lands" --------- Date: Monday, August 08, 2005 10:10 PM From: Glenn Welker [ghwelker3@comcast.net] Subj: Picuris Pueblo Regains Ancestral Tribal Lands! Mailing List: indigenous_peoples_literature@yahoogroups.com Picuris Pueblo Regains Ancestral Tribal Lands! By Mark Schiller Picuris Pueblo has won another great environmental and spiritual victory by reacquiring the land where their potters' aboriginal micaceous clay pit is located. The original clay pit had been decimated by mica mining operations on ancestral tribal lands that were erroneously incorporated into the public domain by the federal government, then patented by mining companies under the notorious 1872 federal mining law. The Pueblo claimed the mining operations not only destroyed their clay pit but were poisoning the water and air and posing a public safety hazard because of eighteen wheelers that sped from the mining site on U.S. Hill, east of the Pueblo, through the small communities of the Rio Pueblo/Rio Embudo watershed carrying raw ore to the company's milling operation in Velarde. Moreover, during the battle to regain the land former Tribal Governor Gerald Nailor explained that loss of the clay pit was eroding the pueblo's cultural identity and was as significant as loss of their language. The 537 acre tract, which includes 195 patented acres and 342 acres of unpatented mining claims, was transferred to the Pueblo under an agreement with Oglebay Norton Specialty Minerals, the mine's last operator. The agreement stipulates that the Pueblo dismiss all claims against the company in exchange for the patented and unpatented lands. The Pueblo hopes to protect the entire tract by eventually incorporating it as a trust. The agreement also stipulates that the Pueblo is now responsible for reclamation of the property. While the agreement with Oglebay Norton severs that company from the Pueblo's legal suit, the Pueblo continues to seek compensation for damages from previous owners Franklin Industries and Preston Capital Corp. Simeon Herskovitz, of the Western Environmental Law Center, told La Jicarita News that Pueblo Governor Richard Mermejo and other tribal members who have worked on this issue have expressed a desire to restore the site as completely as possible. The Pueblo, which received foundation funding to underwrite the legal battle for the land, will continue to receive financial support to address the reclamation. The Pueblo will be working with Jim Kuipers, a mining reclamation expert from Montana, to develop a reclamation plan that not only addresses state standards but Pueblo environmental, spiritual and aesthetic concerns. This is not the first time Picuris Pueblo has stood up to mining interests in their watershed. In the mid and late 1990s the Pueblo spearheaded a coalition of community and environmental groups that successfully opposed Summo Minerals attempt to mine copper in the Copper Hill area west of the Pueblo. The coalition was not only successful in forcing the mining company to abandon its claims but was also able to persuade the Bureau of Land Management, which manages that area, to withdraw the Copper Hill Site from further mineral entry, thereby protecting it from any future claims. --------- "RE: US Tribe foregoes riches from Sacred Lake" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:50:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PYRAMID LAKE PAIUTE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3372228a2180,00.html Poor US tribe foregoes riches from sacred lake 9 August 2005 NIXON: Visitors to the eastern shore of Pyramid Lake 56km northeast of Reno, Nevada, can scan an area framed by a desert mountain backdrop and not see a hint of mankind. The American Indians overseeing the lake say such serenity along 200km of lake coastline 1200m above sea level is the result of the tribe's traditional respect for nature. Others suggest the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, which suffers 44 per cent unemployment, should allow at least some development so it can share in the prosperity that regions such as Lake Tahoe in northern California enjoy. The clash matches economic opportunity cost against tradition, with the sovereign tribe having the final word. "The historical aspect of the lake has always been to keep it as it is," Norman Harry, chairman of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribes' Reservation, said in an interview. "The lake is sacred to the people and always will be. "Over the last four decades we've seen what happened in Lake Tahoe." That commercialised lake attracts so many visitors that it generates $US1.8 billion ($NZ2.6 billion) annually, of which 80 per cent is linked to tourism, according to Duane Wallace, chief executive of the South Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce. A tiny handful of outsiders operate businesses near Pyramid Lake, with some saying the tribe should open more to tourism. "The business sense is very lacking here on the reservation," said Thomas Bobella, a German-born businessman. He leases 1.6ha with a modest marina, gas station and recreational vehicle park in Sutcliffe, the only inhabited area on the lake's western side. "They are economically shooting themselves seemingly without any justification for it," said Bobella, who criticises the tribe for their poor boat launching areas. "One of the very discouraging points to Pyramid Lake. . . is the fantastically bad reputation that this lake has and that is primarily due to the governmental administrations and their approach toward tourism." Tribal chairman Harry said a dispute over the year-old marina lease motivated such remarks. Fred Crosby, who owns the only lodging in Sutcliffe, a 10-unit facility, says tensions still simmer between the tribe and the descendants of settlers who battled at the 1860 Battle of Pyramid Lake. Fighting that killed about 240 people resulted after settlers kidnapped two young Indian women. Such sentiment raises suspicion when it comes to outside commerce on the reservation. "There's kind of a gap between the Indians and non-Indians," said Crosby, 58, who has lived in Sutcliffe for 48 years. "There is an anti-white sentiment on the reservation." The lightly salinated Pyramid Lake derives its name from a small triangular rock island rising from the waters fed by the Truckee River. The larger Anaho Island nearby provides a dramatic backdrop to flocks of pelicans, sea gulls and herons. Most access roads are dirt or sand. The unspoiled arid landscape fit in easily as a biblical backdrop to the 1965 film The Greatest Story Ever Told about the life of Jesus. By local standards, Sutcliffe is a hub of activity. About 220 tribal members live there, and hundreds of outsiders pass through on weekends to swim, go boating or fish trout, a privilege for which they pay modest access fees. Asked about his tribe's future plans, Chairman Harry pointed on a map away from the lake to other areas of a 189,000ha reservation home to 1600 members. "When we look at economic development, we have to look at other resources," he said at his office in Nixon. "There are other areas we can look at that can accomplish the same thing." He wants to open a hotel and casino complex on tribal lands on Nevada's main I-80 highway linking California to the east, and says land nearby would be good for light industry. Harry also wants to sell pipeline rights across the reservation and sees potential in developing geothermal energy in another corner of the sparsely populated reservation. Tourism firms have shown interest in Pyramid Lake for decades, and Harry's predecessor as tribal leader, Bonnie Akaka-Smith, solicited development proposals last year. She declined to discuss her ideas, saying she did not want to express dissent as she still worked for the tribe in the tax department. Nothing came of her idea, but the tribe has shown past flexibility towards the sacred lake, such as during World War 2, when it let the US military test torpedoes there, Some believe economic pressures could one day prompt the tribe to allow a new barrage of tourism. Dennis Conrad, a casino marketing consultant, is modestly optimistic that the tribe will one day develop attractive resort facilities on or near the lake. A rival consultant, Richard Wells, was more pessimistic, saying that the far more developed Tahoe would long overshadow Pyramid Lake. Copyright Stuff.co.nz 2005. --------- "RE: For Tribes, business diversifying pays" --------- Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005 08:54:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBES DIVERSIFYING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-08-10-winnebago-tribe_x.htm For Native American tribes, business diversifying pays By Tom Kenworthy, USA TODAY August 10, 2005 WINNEBAGO, Neb. - The future of the Winnebago Indian tribe is emerging on a 40-acre site carved from a former cornfield. This development, called Ho-Chunk Village, will include 110 housing units, a retail district and an arts center when completed in about four years. Ho-Chunk Village is the most visible sign of an economic transformation underway on this reservation of 1,500 Winnebago Indians in northeast Nebraska. The change began a decade ago, when Lance Morgan, 36, a tribal member educated at Harvard Law School, returned and established a corporation that now employs 400 people and generated $94 million in revenue last year. This type of economic progress is becoming more common among the 562 federally recognized Indian tribes as they invest in businesses as diverse as wind energy and luxury golf resorts and rely less on income from gambling. "Tribes are starting to make it on their own," says Jonathan Taylor, an economist who co-wrote a Harvard University study this year that tracked economic gains in Indian country during the 1990s. Gaming money leveraged The Winnebago corporation, called Ho-Chunk Inc. after a traditional tribal name, began in 1994 with $9 million in seed money from the tribe's lone casino. A short time later, competition from riverboat gambling in Iowa caused the tribe's annual gambling revenue to plummet 80%, Morgan says. Ho-Chunk brought economic diversification to the tribe. Its businesses include construction, modular housing, office products, computer networking and hardware sales, marketing, grocery and gasoline sales, wholesale tobacco products and native crafts. Most of the profit earned by Ho-Chunk goes back into its businesses, though in recent years 10%-20% has gone to the tribal government, which owns the corporation. Tobacco and gasoline sales account for about half the corporation's revenue. Morgan says that share is steadily declining because the goal is to "shift away from those controversial businesses." Selling gas and cigarettes can be lucrative for tribes, because as sovereign powers they can set their own tax rates in lieu of state taxes. Ho-Chunk's growth has had a dramatic impact on reservation life, says Vincent Bass, 53, a former tribal council member. "Native Americans have had this handout mentality," he says. "Now we are breaking away from that. ... With employment comes quality of life, education and self-esteem. I see people working who've never worked in their life." Ho-Chunk "puts Winnebago tribal people to work," says David Redhorn, 37, a tribal member who switched from a railroad job that often kept him far from home to being head stocker at a grocery store begun by the corporation. Redhorn bought one of the first houses built in Ho-Chunk Village. He received $20,000 in grants to help with the $137,000 purchase in November. All tribe members can get grants of $15,000 from Ho-Chunk's non-profit arm if they complete a 40-hour home-buying course. Low-income members can receive an additional $5,000. Redhorn had been sharing a two-bedroom house with his wife's sister and her family - as many as 11 people. Now Redhorn, his wife and their three children still at home have a three-bedroom house with a full basement and two-car garage. In the garage: a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am, bought through Ho- Chunk's used-car company, Rez Cars. The 1990s brought significant gains in the median household income and lower poverty rates in Indian country. But even amid the successes, poverty, public assistance and unemployment rates remain well above U.S. averages. "I don't think anybody can be complacent and say, 'Hey, we've licked this tribal poverty thing.' But there's been some significant improvement," says Stephen Cornell of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona. He says a key factor is that tribes are increasingly adept at governing themselves. Instead of having most aspects of reservation life controlled by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, tribes now run their own governments, police forces, courts and economic development and housing agencies. Golf courses, wind power Tribal gambling operations, authorized by Congress in 1988, draw in nearly $17 billion a year for about 200 tribes. That money has spurred the growth of other businesses. "There's an enormous amount of plowing gaming revenues back into housing, economic diversification and so on," Harvard's Taylor says. Some examples: * Tribes in the Southwest have taken advantage of the region's success as a tourist destination. The Gila River Indian Community outside Phoenix has built three 18-hole golf courses and a 500-room resort managed by Sheraton. * In the northern Plains, wind power is increasingly attractive to tribes long locked in poverty. The Rosebud Sioux in South Dakota completed a 750- kilowatt wind turbine in 2003 that produces power for about 250 homes. In the works: a 30-megawatt wind farm that would spread 15 turbines over 800 acres and produce power for about 9,000 homes. * There are now 20 Indian-controlled banks - most formed in the past decade - that control $1.5 billion in assets and helped stimulate "the creation of a middle class in Indian country just in my lifetime," says J. D. Colbert, president of the North American Native Bankers Association. * Another funding source has been the rapid growth in community development financial institutions that use foundation grants and investors. A pioneer in this field is the Lakota Fund on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Founded 19 years ago, it has loaned $3 million to tribal members, helping create 1,600 jobs and finance 500 businesses. Elsie Meeks, a Lakota fund founder who now runs First Nations Oweesta Corp., says: "Our communities are going to start looking more like other communities, providing businesses and services and employment for our families." Copyright c. 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. --------- "RE: Wausau Leaders endorse American Indian Center" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:50:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WAUSAU PLANS BIG INDIAN CENTER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhlocal/303003028987263.shtml City leaders endorse American Indian center By Rick LaFrombois Wausau Daily Herald rlafromb@wdhprint.com August 10, 2005 The City Council unanimously endorsed the concept of an American Indian cultural and educational center in downtown Wausau on Tuesday. A group of civic leaders proposed the idea to the Daily Herald's Editorial Board in July. They say the center would be a major draw for Wausau. The council encouraged organizers to study the feasibility of the American Indian center. The organizers, who include former Mayor Linda Lawrence and Mark Craig, general manager of a development company, did not ask the city for monetary support and none was offered. The idea has garnered the support of the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council - a consortium of 10 federally recognized tribes in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Ray DePerry, president of the Inter-Tribal Council, spoke to the council at its meeting on Tuesday. "We were very impressed with the people we met to hear about this dream, to hear about this vision about what one could possibly do with this Federal Building," DePerry said. "Our non-Indian neighbors generally don't come knocking on our doors regarding joint ventures." The cultural and educational center could further diversify the community and help increase education and tolerance of American Indian culture, Craig has said. The downtown Federal Building could house the center under the plan, which is in its infancy. The city still awaits the deed to the historic building, which it has purchased for $1 in order to control its future use. The originators of the plan say that private dollars of up to $100,000 will be sought this fall. The money will be used to conduct a feasibility study with an eye toward developing a master plan by fall of next year. Funds then will be sought to develop the center, which organizers hope to open in the summer of 2008. Each tribe will have a representative on a steering committee that will drive the creation of the center, which would be operated by the tribes and would not cost taxpayers a dime, Craig said. The city would receive a payment in lieu of taxes for use of the Federal Building, which it would lease for use as an interactive center. Under terms of the lease, the building could not be used as a casino. Wausau Mayor Jim Tipple embraced the idea early on. He attended an Inter-Tribal Council meeting in July with Craig, Lawrence and Mike Morrissey, the city's community development director, to voice his support of the plan. Patty Loew, an associate professor who teaches American Indian issues at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, has said there is a need for a public American Indian cultural center in the state. Wausau, the gateway to the Northwoods, would be an excellent location, she said. Most Wisconsin tribes have cultural centers, but few, if any, provide convenient access to the public, she said. Many tribes came and went from Marathon County hundreds and thousands of years ago, but none claim it as their geographical origin, according to the Marathon County Historical Society. Jon Greendeer, a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation has said his tribe considered Wausau and the Wisconsin River Valley sacred ground for hunting, fishing and farming. Most burial mounds found in and around the city are those of the Ho-Chunk. Chippewa and Menominee Indians also called the Wausau area home at one time or another, Loew said. It's likely that many other tribes crossed its paths. There are about 50 American Indian or Alaskan Native persons living in Lincoln and Marathon counties and 49,000 in the state, according to 2000 U.S. Census Bureau data. Copyright c. 2004 Wausau Daily Herald. --------- "RE: Master Weaver, Storyteller shares her Way of Life" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:34:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WEAVER SHARES HER STORY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050808/NEWS01/835/1006 Master weaver, storyteller shares her way of life BY LISA PEMBERTON THE OLYMPIAN August 8, 2005 She dreams of remodeling her garage someday so that it will resemble a cedar longhouse - the perfect spot for storytelling, drum-making and teaching. But for now, Harvest Moon is operating the newly opened Weave Walker Studio out of the cozy, brightly painted living room of her two-story childhood home near Cooper Point Road in Thurston County. The Quinault master weaver and traditional storyteller had her first class at the studio Wednesday. "My philosophy is if I can do it, anybody can do it," said Moon, 48, who has been weaving for 28 years. "I was all thumbs when it came to knitting and crocheting." She studied under several prominent Northwest tribal basket makers, including her uncle, Richard Cultee of Skokomish and fellow Quinault tribe member Hazel Underwood. Her life story of being adopted by non-American-Indian parents yet learning and carrying on the traditions of her people, is the subject of the 30-minute independent film "Completing the Circle," which premiered earlier this summer at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. She expects to find out in the next few weeks whether the film, which was produced by Tama Takahashi during a seven-year period, will air in an American Indian Film Festival in November. Moon began teaching the craft about a decade ago in schools, libraries and museums and at special events, such as the monthly Howl-ins at Wolf Haven in Tenino. This summer, she is teaching basic weaving lessons at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, where patrons are invited to help build a community-made friendship basket. At her studio, Moon offers classes in traditional cedar and twine baskets, headbands and cedar hats, cattail dolls and mats and restoration for antique baskets. Her classes are designed for beginning and advanced weavers, children and adults. Fees range from $35 to $55, depending on age and class length. Special arrangements can be made for Scouts and other groups. Moon said her willingness to teach anybody how to create traditional Northwest cedar baskets is considered controversial in certain circles. Sharing culture Some people believe it's wrong to share tribal techniques and designs with non-Indians, she said. Still, others have been supportive of her efforts. When she began weaving in the 1970s, Moon said, she could count the number of Quinault tribal weavers on one hand. "Basket-weaving was like the spotted owl," she said. "Some tribes said, 'Let's stop that tradition.' ... It's the weaver's hands, may they be brown, may they be white, may they be yellow." Moon said most of her lessons are based on ones she learned from her worn and yellowing hardback edition of "Cedar: Tree of Life to the Northwest Coast Indians" by Hilary Stewart. "I learned from a book that you can get in a library," she said. "All of my techniques are in a book - they're not high-held traditions." Now, there's a new generation of tribal weavers. It's still a small number - Moon estimates there are about 25 Quinault weavers - but it's growing, and the opportunities for people to make a living at it are increasing, too. "When I first started selling baskets 20 years ago, nobody bought them - they wanted the antiques, the old baskets," she said. "The new generation, they're actually making a living out of it." Moon, whose ancestry also includes the Hoh River tribe on the Olympic Peninsula, was adopted as a baby and raised in Olympia. She attended Garfield and L.P. Brown elementary schools, Jefferson Middle School and Olympia High School. Her 30-year high school reunion is in a few weeks. Moon was born Stephanie Cultee, which she learned when her adoption records were opened at age 18. Her adoptive parents gave her the name Dorothy Brozina. At age 15, she took the name Harvest Moon, which is an English version of the Salish name her great-grandfather had given her, which means "light shining forth in the midst of darkness." During her inaugural class of four students at the studio last week, Moon explained the importance of baskets and cedar materials for coastal tribes. "The cedar tree is known as the long life maker," she said. "It's considered an elder. It gave us clothes, our longhouses, our canoes." Indian Christmas Moon explained that the best time to harvest cambium - the smooth, almost leather-like material that forms between the outer bark trunk of a cedar tree - is when the salmonberries flower, which usually is in May and June. For Moon, the steps in harvesting and processing materials are just as fun and just as important as weaving. "I call it my Indian Christmas when I'm harvesting my materials," she said with a laugh. After creating a base for her basket using a checkerboard-like design, Jenn Kamrar, 21, of Olympia wrapped raffia and saltwater sweet grass around the cambium to help build her small square basket, known as a "tourist basket." "Now don't be surprised if you get halfway around and forget - all of my students do," Moon said. Her instructional style is informal and light-hearted. She said people who are in a bad mood or are stressed out should not weave until their mood improves. Kamrar, a student at The Evergreen State College, worked on two baskets during the class. She plans to give one to her dad for a birthday present. "It's a lot of fun," she said while tugging and pulling at some raffia. "It's not hard, but it requires thought." Grant Marriott, 29, of Olympia who also is an Evergreen student, described the class as inspiring. "To me, it's neat to go out into the wilderness and collect the materials and create something that's functional and beautiful," he said. Moon, who has four sons, said she enjoys weaving because of its gifts: She was able to make a living by selling baskets at museums and gift shops, and she had made many friends through her artwork. But one of the best perks, she said, is that she's always learning. There's always going to be a new technique, pattern or tool that makes life easier. "It's just an infinite," she said. "There's never, ever going to be a day when I wake up and say, 'OK, I know all of the tricks.' " Copyright c. 2005 The Olympian. --------- "RE: HURST: Indian Women still feel Genocide" --------- Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 08:55:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HURST: INDIAN WOMEN/GENOCIDE" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.rapidcityjournal.com//2005/08/14/news/opinion/opin084.txt Sam Hurst: Indian women still feel genocide By Sam Hurst, Journal columnist August 14, 2005 No one likes to talk about the genocide. It was so long ago. What does it have to do with us? That's the way a century washes over the horror. Those who conduct the slaughter will always tell you, "We had to do it." There's always a good reason. Land. Buffalo hides. Manifest destiny. God made us do it. Then the passage of time rubs off the rough edges. By the third and fourth generation, no one remembers. No one is taught. About a decade ago, my sister developed an interest in genealogy and for Christmas the family received a report on the Hursts of Tennessee, by way of the Shenandoah Valley, by way of Sherwood Forest. There, staring me in the face, across the centuries, was a photograph of John Hurst, black as charcoal, one of several family slaves. Of course! How could it be otherwise? That was the culture, the economy of the South. Every Southerner is complicit. We have just forgotten ... willfully, arrogantly, forgotten. In the 12 years I have lived in South Dakota, I have met dozens of people who proudly boast that they are fourth-generation homesteaders. But no one has ever admitted to me that their families participated in the genocide. "What does it have to do with us?" I am haunted by a passage in a little book, "The Badlands Fox," by Margaret Lemley Warren. She wrote about the adventures of her father, Pete, who ranched along the Cheyenne River at the end of the 19th century. He told her stories of the early days. "We went over and stirred them (Indians) up and a lot of our fellows laid in at the head of a gulch ... and they chased us down Corral Draw ... Riley Miller was a dead shot, and he just killed them Indians as fast as he could shoot ... We killed about seventy-five of them. Riley Miller and Frank Lockhart went back there and got some packhorses and brought out seven loads of guns, shirts, war bonnets, ghost shirts and things. Riley took 'em to Chicago and started a museum. He made a barrel of money out of it." I am haunted by this passage because my ranch stares across the Cheyenne River at Corral Draw. There are a hundred ways that the terror of the genocide continues to ripple through our lives, but none is more explosive than the cruel, hard fact that we beat and rape Indian women as if they were utterly without value. Consider these numbers: -- Fifty percent of Indian women in America will be beaten in their lifetime. That is twice the percentage of white and black and hispanic women. I find this statistic impossible to believe. I talk to a counselor at the Sacred Circle resource center in Rapid City. "Could this possibly be true at Pine Ridge, or Rosebud, or North Rapid?" She shrugs. "Statistics are hard to gather on the reservations. Women are taught to keep their mouths shut. But I was beaten, and I don't know hardly any women who haven't been." -- Indian women are raped at twice the rate of all other races. -- Seventy percent of the violence against Indian women is committed by non-Indian spouses or boyfriends or acquaintances. -- One in four pregnant Indian women is beaten. -- Two-thirds of all Indian boys between 11 and 20 arrested for murder, killed the man assaulting their mother. Is the problem poverty? Yes. Is the problem alcohol and drug abuse? Yes. Lousy law enforcement? Yes. A lack of shelters and court protections for native women? Yes. Is the problem a deeply ingrained sexism in American culture that blames the victims? Yes. But at its root, the problem is that 500 years of genocide and colonization have made Indian women invisible. The reservations are isolated, and we easily drift into a dismissive disinterest, as if this is a problem in Bangladesh, or Botswana - far, far away. It's their problem. That's why it is so important to remember the genocide. It matters ... today, right now, to all of us. Next month Congress will vote to re-authorize the Violence Against Women Act, and for the first time (thanks largely to the work of South Dakota Indian women), the law will create a tribal division within the Justice Department to manage programs for Native women, increase funding for shelters, an inter-tribal sex offender registry, a protection order registry, better training for law enforcement and expand counseling for men. But make no mistake. There is no silver bullet solution to the problem. Ask a woman who has worked in the movement against violence and she will tell you that the best place to start is for the whole community to adopt a zero tolerance for violence against women. Women are sacred. There is no excuse for hitting a woman, not one, not ever. We will begin to make headway when the men in our community enforce this code with each other ... before the police are called. I have a more simple way of looking at the problem. When every woman in the community, every woman, is my daughter and sister, when the violence against them is violence against me, we will begin to put the legacy of the genocide behind us. Sam Hurst is a Rapid City filmmaker. Write to samhurst@aol.com. Copyright c. 2005 The Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: TRAHANT: Some Stories count more than others" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005 08:34:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRAHANT: CREATION IS `IN' IF YOU ARE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/235480_trahant07.html Some stories count more than others By MARK TRAHANT SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR August 7, 2005 How do you believe the world was created? Well, I love these stories, the creation stories, and I have heard many told. The world was created with the help of a turtle, a coyote or a raven. People were formed from dust, crawled out from under the earth or dropped from the heavens above. The world was formed in an instant, seven days or millions of years. The explanations of who we are and how we came to be vary from clan to clan, from language to language, from people to people. President Bush last week told reporters from Texas that the notion of "intelligent design" should be taught side by side with the theory of evolution. Education, he said, is all about exposing people to ideas. But Bush's side-by-side comparison divides the world into only two camps. There's science and the Judeo-Christian tradition incorporated into what they're calling "intelligent design." It's too simple to claim this division is only about science versus religion because there are too many variations. Is it all science, even all evolution theory, that's in question? Or just parts? And, at the other end of the spectrum, is it all religion? Or just the creation stories from the literal truth of the Bible? To be blunt: Do we as a country value only Christian stories? There are practical applications to these questions. Congress enacted the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990. This law gave specific rights to lineal descendants, Native Americans and Native Hawaiians to human remains, sacred objects buried next to those remains and other culturally significant material. The reason for the law was gruesome science: Army doctors collected Indian "specimens" shortly after battles and the bodies were sent to museums for study. We even had a president - Thomas Jefferson - who participated in grave robbing. All told, the federal government, museums and other educational institutions had amassed between 100,000 and 200,000 American Indian remains for study. The 1990 law was the country concluding that its past behavior was immoral. "In the past 15 years, museums and federal agencies have announced their willingness to repatriate the remains of 31,093 individuals," Paul Hoffman, deputy assistant secretary of the Interior Department, said at a Senate hearing last week. "Another 111,000 human remains were listed as 'culturally unidentifiable.' " That brings us to the skeletal remains found near Kennewick. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that there must be a "significant relationship" to an existing tribe and the relationship must go "beyond features common to all humanity." That ruling led Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to sponsor legislation that would clarify in law the assumption that the human remains were ancient tribal people (unless it was proven not to be the case). "If you pass the proposed amendment, you will forever block the study of ancient people who have no relationship to living Amerindians," according to testimony of Paula Barran and Alan Schneider of the Portland-based, "Friends of America's Past." "Please do not steal the past. It belongs to the scholars of today and the scholars of tomorrow, and to all people everywhere," Barran and Schneider said. That's it. This is the essence, the legend that scholars own the past. It belongs to them. This time the Bush administration sided with the scientists - tribal creation stories aren't equal with the ones from the Bible. But in a funny way: The science-versus-religion argument takes on a new dimension in this particular case because science has its own theology, a fundamental, literal interpretation of the world. The scientists and lawyers who argue for complete control over ancient human remains assume that tribal people have nothing to add to scientific discourse. Remember the 111,000 "unidentifiable" human remains? Those unknown American Indian dead likely could be identified if museums, scientists and tribes would work together, said Walter Echo-Hawk of the Native American Rights Fund. "However, that opportunity may never arise if those dead are excluded from consultation ... " because the law does not directly apply to them. Without McCain's proposed amendment, museums would be free to make "unilateral determinations" about a culturally unidentifiable human remain. It's important to remember that the record of science is awful. I remember interviewing a Northern Cheyenne historian some years ago who told me about walking into a museum warehouse looking for a sacred object from his clan. He described what it was like when he realized that he was surrounded by thousands of boxes of human remains, people buried in a government warehouse. His relatives were there, too. The repatriation of ancestoral remains is not about science versus religion to me. It's about respect for living people who have the right to determine that their relations are treated with human dignity. But respect remains an illusion when even now the government and museums warehouse tens of thousands of human remains. How do you believe the world was created? Your answer might not matter, because in America some stories count more than others. Mark Trahant is editor of the editorial page. E-mail: marktrahant@seattlepi.com. Copyright c. 1996-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Snakes,Chokecherries-Summer in a Jar" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 08:47:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: SUMMER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.grandforks.com//columnists/dorreen_yellow_bird/ DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: On snakes, chokecherries and 'summer in a jar' August 9, 2005 Summer is the season for wild berries - juneberries, chokecherries, plums, buffalo berries and, now that I've moved to the eastern part of the state, blueberries. But chokecherries are one of my favorites. You can always tell a chokecherry picker by their tell-tale brown teeth. It is best not to smile too widely because people will think you haven't brushed. Driving home from Fordville, N.D., where Bob and Roselynn Miller had invited us to pick chokecherries on their farm, I turned to my sister and smiled. She laughed at my brown teeth. She picked and didn't eat; I ate, then picked. It is one of the downsides of harvesting this wonderful berry, but I live with it. I just use plenty of toothpaste. "Remember when we were younger, we didn't seem to mind walking around with brown teeth?" I asked my sister. "We kids didn't care if people stared at our chokecherry smiles." My sister, Liz, is 10 years younger than me. How our worlds have changed, I told her. You are a woman who is a former tribal college president and just completing your doctorate, but also the same girl who went chokecherry picking in bib overalls and spent the next few days with chokecherry dye on your teeth. And usually scratching poison ivy, too. For, as I remembered the days in Minot when "us kids" went berry picking for our mother, I recalled that my sister had a problem with poison ivy. She had terrible allergies to this noxious plant. She would turn into a scratching, oozing, swelling and Calamine-covered child who looked and walked like a mummy. Liz remembered those days with fear. It wasn't until she got older that she outgrew the insidious allergy. Yet, as we walked toward the trees near the buffalo wallow on the Millers' farm, I could tell she was hesitant and looked carefully before she stepped close to the trees. Bob Miller took us to a small pond surrounded by some big, leafy ash trees. In the tall grass, there were big indentations called "buffalo wallows," where, when the prairie was young and untouched, the buffalo would wallow like African elephants after having found a sharp rock on which to scratch their enormous wool coats. I was walking ahead with Bob. My sister spotted some nettle, a plant that inspires somewhat the same reaction in her as poison ivy, and she wouldn't take another step. As I mentioned, she is OK with these plants now. But she still remembers and stays clear. I, too, am from the western part of the state, and you can tell: We don't go into tall grass in isolated areas without making noise. We're listening and watching for snakes. The Badlands and Missouri River areas are rattlesnake country, and you do not want to step into their strike. There are no rattlesnakes in this area, I was told. But like my sister, I still look and listen when I walk in the woods. When we lived in Minot, my mother would send us up to the hills that surround the city. She always hoped we would make it home with our metal syrup pails filled with enough chokecherries so that she could make jelly or syrup. Syrup was her goal. My mother was the original recycler and conservationist. There were so many in our family that she had to "make do" with everything. Getting chokecherries meant she would have syrup for pancakes in the winter. What a picky person I was as a child and teen, I told my sister. I didn't like to eat the chokecherry syrup; I wanted the store-bought maple syrup. Today when I can berries, I try to make sure that I also make syrup for pancakes and special occasions. (I loved the taste; it's summer in a jar.) Last year, I was very careful to keep the pectin and cooking-time light, as is needed for syrup. But when I opened the jars a few weeks ago, they'd turned to jelly - so, no syrup. Canning can be an experience in surprises. Sometimes things turn out wonderful; and sometimes, you get unexpected results. My mother, aunts and grandmother canned. Unlike me, they canned almost everything - corn, peas, beets, prairie chicken, venison, tomatoes - everything. I am not good with the pressure cooker and a little leery of foods (such as meats and corn) that need special attention. So, I don't try anything that might breed salmonella. My family has come to expect jellies, jams, salsa and pickles from me, just like they looked to elders for those foods. And I, in turn, like canning because it is a way of sharing food with and expressing love for them. ---- 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: Has Democracy paid a visit to your Band Office" --------- Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 08:55:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WASTASECOOT: LACK OF REDRESS OF ISSUES ON RESERVES" http://www.firstperspective.ca/editorial.html Editorial Has democracy paid a visit to your band office lately? By James Wastasecoot August 15, 2005 Increasingly we are seeing violent episodes in band offices across the country. This may or may not surprise residents of First Nation communities, but Canadians in general are stupefied at this and wonder why Indians can't get their act together and govern themselves like everybody else. After all Canadians don't expect to see violence occurring within their municipal, provincial or federal government offices. Canadians are endowed with rules and protection of citizens' rights that assures them of an orderly process when it comes to governance. What is happening to First Nations that makes us different? Shouldn't all citizens have redress and accountability in respect of their governance institutions? What it all boils down to is that when a Canadian citizen has a concern or an issue, he or she is presented with a multitude of institutional avenues for redress and due process. A Canadian who wants information about the latest budget on a matter of concern merely has to file an "access to information" request to obtain the information. Canadians can call their MP or MLA and get answers to their questions. Institutions such as the "official opposition" and the Auditor General exist whose primary function is to scrutinize government decisions and spending on behalf of citizens. Finally, Canadians have a free and independent media to ferret out problems which may lie hidden in the mass of reports produced by governments whether it be gun registration, government media contracts or corporate improprieties. Citizens forums abound funded by private citizens or business groups where civil society and policy issues are discussed and debated. Canadians are the beneficiaries of a thousand year old tradition of stable democracy, that they've fashioned to suit their needs and that assures them of peace, order and good government. The key is that there are checks and balances in the power structure and almost everyone knows what the rules are. "Indians" on the other hand, enjoy none of these safeguards and rules in respect of their governance on reserve. The Indian Act is pretty much irrelevant insofar as governance is concerned. Presently, efforts are focused on replacing it with legislation that is now before parliament. Federally funded negotiations are also ongoing in eighty or so locations across the country that hold promise of clarifying "self-government." In the current state of limbo there are no effective rules of governance. The rules are based on the whim of whoever is in charge in the band office. Depending on the leadership, folks can experience fair democratic governance or, they may experience repression under a dictatorial regime. In the latter case, of which there are many out there, any citizen who files an information request is likely to be tagged a trouble maker and then targeted for special treatment by the chief and his or her supporters. The individual and his family may be denied services or experience intimidation at the hand of their leaders. There is not a lot an individual can do. A lot of these matters are referred to the courts where a judge ends up ruling on symptoms rather than addressing the heart of the problem. Grand Chiefs, who used to count for something in terms of leadership in our community, are powerless to intervene and assist their so called constituents for fear they may offend a chief. It is after all the chiefs who elect them. Grand Chiefs in recent times have dismissed the violence as alcohol and drug-related. That's not good enough. So the grassroots are left to deal with the problem of governance and reforming it, on their own. They are fed up trying to deal with a flawed system that they see is deficient from all angles and are proceeding to solve it in what they see is the only means they have at their disposal. What to do? Grand Chiefs and Elders, who are not short in their numbers and words when it comes to ceremonials, should be owning up to this problem and not merely dismissing it as a drug and alcohol issue. Surely they have a role to play in what they're supposed to be good at: leadership in governance. Our governance institutes, of which there are now a few in universities across this country, should be stepping in and addressing the critical governance issues. There are now literally thousands of highly educated folks out there who could also be helping to reshape governance in our community. When are we going to hear from them? James Wastasecoot is publisher of the Drum Copyright c. 2005 First Perspective, Taiga Communications Inc. --------- "RE: Mohawks want US/Canada to obey own Constitutions" --------- Date: Thursday, August 11, 2005 7:44 AM From: frostyca2000 [frosty@ipermitmail.com] Subj: USSC 05-165: IT'S CONSTITUTIONAL, NOT POLITICAL!!! MOHAWKS WANT U.S. AND CANADA TO OBEY THEIR OWN CONSTITUTIONS Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian USSC 05-165: IT'S CONSTITUTIONAL, NOT POLITICAL!!! MOHAWKS WANT U.S. AND CANADA TO OBEY THEIR OWN CONSTITUTIONS MNN. August 10, 2005. Some people are afraid that by bringing this case into Canadian and American "top" courts we will be subjected to the shortcomings of these colonial legal systems. They ask, "Are you actually happy that one black man, six white men (maybe seven) and one white woman (maybe 2), most of whom have a history of downsizing native rights, are the people who will be deciding the rights of Kanien'keha:ka people?" Free from politics. We took this case to U.S. and Canadian Supreme Courts to bring it into a forum of neutral formal discussion, free from politics. We want to confront the false American and Canadian assumption that that we have no rights except what they give us. This is totally false. Decisions made outside constitutions. Keeping the Indigenous constitutional jurisdiction question out of these two "top" courts does not solve the problem. Decisions are being made outside the constitution by incoherent federal laws of both the United States and Canada leading to genocide. Unless those two courts bring the constitution into the equation, our sovereignty and possessions will continue to be eroded. Illegal federal legislation violates their constitutions and ours. Courts of both countries have to look at their constitutions so as to maintain the rule of law. In so doing they have no choice but to respect our sovereignty and return our possessions. Narrow question of law. The U.S. and Canadian constitutions set out some basic values these countries have agreed to accept - that their constitutions are subject to the rule of law. Our case has been restricted to a very narrow question of law. Political questions are irrelevant in our Constitutional question: Is your constitution in force and effect? If so, why aren't you obeying it? The "political" issue of our sovereignty is not arguable because the ignored constitutional law confirms its existence. There has been no constitutional amendments. Law can never be "created" by a judge. The law must exist before the adjudication. Otherwise, it is political lobbying by a judge to create law. This is beyond the judge's power. The judge can only recognize a previously created statute, precedent or unwritten customary law which has always existed. Judges do not have jurisdiction to repeal or amend existing constitutional law. That is what the phrase "rule of law" means. The law rules, not the political feelings of the judges. Housecleaning needed. We are inviting Americans and Canadians to clean their constitutional houses. It is time for them to get rid of their colonial cobwebs. They can sweep their old federal extermination laws and policies into the dustbin. They can tear down their moldy old strategies and rotting genocide laws and chuck them into the demolition dumpster. It's time for the original constitutional relationship forged between the Indigenous people and the settlers to re-emerge. The two sovereign peoples will relate to each other on a constitution-to-constitution basis. USSC Justice Clarence Thomas' point. The law as it is written has to rule without political considerations. Politics belongs to another arena, the legislative branches of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous societies. This is the debate about the appointing Thomas as the Chief Justice. Why would Indians want a conservative kind of judge like him to be more powerful? They always say, "Never mind the political questions. Let's look at the law"... Pierre George and Iokerononh file in Canada. Kanion'ke:haka and Pierre George today, August 10, 2005, are filing 05- 165 in the Supreme Court of Canada. Both Supreme Courts are on notice of the law summarized by Iokenononh, in his affidavit to the Supreme Court of Canada: "The Great Lakes/St. Lawrence/Hudson River Drainage Basin of Northeastern North America is subject to the ... Kaianereh'ko:wa... the Kaianereh'ko:wa governs except ...those tracts which ... have been repealed by treaty with the Longhouse government nation constituted by the Kaianereh'ko:wa. No such constitutional-valid treaty has been established. ... since 1871 in the U.S. and 1876 in Canada the federal, state and provincial courts knowingly and intentionally have applied federal, state and provincial law as if it were the government law rather than the Kaianere'ko;wa. All previous attempts ... to defend against the consequent genocide were suppressed by the combined chicanery of the non-indigenous legal establishment and the puppet "Indian" governments unconstitutionally constituted by it for the purpose of making and implementing treasonable and fraudulent treaties. The actus reus and mens rea - guilty act and guilty mind - was established by the Chief Justice of Canada in R. v. Marshall; R. v. Bernard, 2005 SCC 43 p. 48, 107. 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. The fact of the genocide attributed to that cause is true." Please read 05-165 "In the Supreme Court of the United States In re Kanonion'ke:haka Kaianereh'ko:wa Kanon'ses:neh as a `Non-party", The Canadian St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians as "Plaintiffs", vs. The State of New York as "Defendants"". No self-defeat here. We want your comments and your insights. We need to put our minds together to enter a new age of cooperation, understanding and respect. If we undermine ourselves now, we are beat before we start. Kahentinetha Horn MNN Mohawk Nation News Comments Kahntineta@hotmail.com Contact: Katenies 518-358-6012; Hawi 518-236-7100. --------- "RE: More Reserves won't end Aboriginal Poverty" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:56:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ADDING RESERVES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=815 More reserves won't end aboriginal poverty By: Tanis Fiss August 12, 2005 For more than 100 years the Indian Act and Indian reserves have segregated native Canadians from the Canadian economy and society. Study after study illustrates the failure of the system; yet, the federal government has decided to expand the segregation. On Aug. 5, the federal government announced the creation of 10 new reserves in Manitoba. The new reserve lands were set apart under the Manitoba Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement and affected four native bands - Buffalo Point, God's Lake, Rolling River and Wuskwi Sipihk. Why new reserves in 2005? Between 1871 and 1923, Canada concluded 11 Victorian Treaties, more commonly referred to as the "numbered" treaties, which cover the Prairie provinces, most of Ontario, the Northwest Territories and northeastern British Columbia. The purpose of these treaties was to open up the land for settlement, trade and agriculture. In addition, they sought to ensure peace and goodwill between native Canadians, settlers and the Crown. As these treaties were signed, the government began to establish reserves. The sizes of the reserves were based on population figures. Unfortunately, some individuals were missed. Treaty Land Entitlements (TLE) were created to negotiate shortfalls with native Canadians. The 10 newly created reserves is a partial fulfillment of the Manitoba Treaty Land Entitlements. It is a partial fulfillment because most packages consist of land and money. Last week's announcement only included land. Indian Affairs Minister Andy Scott stated, "The newly established reserve lands provide the First Nations with additional economic resources on which to explore community development opportunities and to improve the quality of life for First Nations members." Laudable goals but will the new reserves really provide these opportunities? Only time will tell. The populations of Indian reserves are small. Of 629 Indian bands, 75 per cent consist of less than 1,000 registered Indians and have an average on-reserve band population of less than 650. Moreover, as a result of the federal government's decision to restrict most of Indian Affairs' programs to on-reserve natives, many natives live in virtual isolation in reserve communities which have no real economic base and, in a number of instances, a disintegrating social fabric. No matter how uneconomic the community, the federal government has seen it as a duty to sustain them. Furthermore, Indian reserve land is treated differently than other private property. This treatment of native Canadians under the Indian Act is unfair and is the reason why many people in native communities live in poverty. The land which comprises an Indian reserve is held in trust by the Crown and is controlled collectively by the native band council. It is both patronizing and demeaning to native Canadians for the federal government to continue to hold title in its name to the Indian reserves in Canada. It is the community members that should have ownership and control of the reserve lands thus allowing the individual community members to ultimately decide whether their long-term interests are to be achieved through the collectivist ownership of land, by private ownership of land, or by the sale of reserve lands. It is very important native Canadians enter the mainstream of Canada's economy. Expanding existing reserves and creating new reserves will only hinder the ability of native communities to truly integrate with the larger economy. ---- Tanis Fiss is the director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's Centre for Aboriginal Policy Change, which is based in Calgary. Copyright c. 2005 The Brandon Sun. --------- "RE: Are the Chiefs getting squeezed out?" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005 08:31:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IS AFN NATIONAL CHIEF BYPASSING GRAND CHIEFS" http://www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/topnews-Aug-2005.html#anchor4582905 Are the chiefs getting squeezed out? By Paul Barnsley, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Yellowknife August 2005 Are the national chief and his executive members removing the chiefs from the Assembly of First Nations' decision-making processes? Driftpile First Nation (Alberta) Chief Rose Laboucan and Six Nations of the Grand River (Ontario) proxy Melba Thomas left no doubt about how they felt as the AFN's annual general assembly drew to a close on July 7 in Yellowknife. Both were severely critical of the way co-chairs Luc Laine and Stephen Kakfwi had conducted the meeting. "I'm not understanding the process today," said Thomas. "We talk about caring for each other, respect, but what I'm seeing here today is very little time, respect and consideration for people to express their views and comments... That's of great concern." Thomas made the comments after Kakfwi refused to consider a question of quorum that might disallow a vote on the organization's audited financial statements, and after Laine allowed a motion to lump 20 resolutions into one to make up time. "As the grand chief of the Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council, I oppose the undemocratic process that's being utilized here today," said Laboucan, frustrated by the lack of time made available for the chiefs to participate. "What's the point of being a leader? I'm going to go home and lead my people. That's where I belong," she said. Chief Sharon Stinson Henry of Mnjikaning (Rama) First Nation urged the national executive to address the recurring problem of giving short shrift to resolutions. "We always run out of time when it comes to the real business," she said. "I would recommend that the AFN put timeframes on presentations or next time it'll be the same thing." Thomas made the most of her address to the assembly by taking a few shots at the national chief and executive concerning the recently negotiated political accord between the AFN and the federal government. "While I'm here, I'd like to talk about the accord a little bit. It mentions 'the parties.' 'The parties' means the AFN. The AFN means Phil Fontaine and his staff. It mentions 'directed by the chiefs in assembly.' There's concern there, too. If the assembly does not meet very often, how do the chiefs direct the Assembly of First Nations?" Melba Thomas asked. "Another concern I have is inherent right. What that means is to make decisions concerning land and the right to political structures for making decisions. How can we do that if we are giving our responsibilities to one organization rather than seeking responsibility for ourselves and our people in our home communities? "And there's concerns further about all resolutions involving funding. The funding is being funneled away from First Nations. Six Nations of the Grand River will not allow any other people or organizations to speak for our community without our consent. Further, the opinion of myself is that the structure of the AFN and the government of Canada accord appears to be transformative change from a white father to a brown father." Fontaine responded from the head table to the "delegate from Six Nations." "The political accord that was signed on May 31 is not binding. It only applies to those First Nations who have consented. It will not be imposed or forced on any single First Nation. That determination will be left up to each First Nation government," he said. "The other bit of information that I want to highlight once more is that this is not the last meeting that we're going to have. There are a whole number of meetings that we will have over the next year. We're going to be extremely busy. You will have many more opportunities to discuss those issues that we talked about here." He told the chiefs they would be heard on the referred issues. "The resolutions will be debated by the executive and the problematic ones will be dealt with at the next [chiefs] meeting," Fontaine said. "We are not closing off discussion or debate on any single issue. So I want to assure the chiefs of this assembly that we will continue our work. We will carry on with the mandate that you have given us. I wish to remind you that this is not the first time that we've ever referred resolutions such as we did here this afternoon. "There've been many, many situations in the past where we've been forced by time restraints to do as we did. We carry on. We took the decision that needed to be taken. We made good decisions. No one suffered as a result. We will do everything within our means to ensure that no one will be worse off as a consequence of this important decision that we took this afternoon." The national chief was reached for further comment in Winnipeg on July 11. He said he and his executive were not in any way trying to exclude the chiefs. "That's the last thing we would ever want to do," he said. "We want to make certain that the chiefs have every opportunity to debate all of the issues that come before the assembly. We've tried to introduce efficiencies into the organization so that we can actually accomplish that." Copyright c. 2005 Windspeaker, AMMSA, Aboriginal Multi-Media Society. --------- "RE: AFN wants Aboriginal Problems on Premiers' agenda" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 08:47:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AFN MEETS PREMIERS" http://www.rlnn.com/ArtAug05/AFNProblemsPremiersAgenda.html AFN wants aboriginal problems on premiers' agenda CBC News August 10, 2005 The Assembly of First Nations is providing the country's premiers with its 10-year plan on how to address housing, education and economic problems in its communities. Grand Chief Phil Fontaine says the plan will improve the life of aboriginals across the country and he wants the support of the premiers, who are in Alberta for their annual conference. "We want to be absolutely certain that they're on side," he said. "That's why this meeting is so very important. We're looking to the first ministers' meeting as an important point for us in terms of creating this transformative change that we want to see and, as I say, we don't want to come to the first ministers' meeting with this unresolved." The premiers are meeting in Banff starting Wednesday, and will meet with Fontaine and other First Nations leaders in Calgary Tuesday. The premiers will then meet with Prime Minister Paul Martin in the fall for the first ministers conference. Fontaine says too many people in First Nations communities live in Third World conditions, with no jobs, inadequate housing and poor educational opportunities. "We believe that we can do the job within 10 years," he said. "We've set out our plan and it's a 10-year plan and it gives federal, provincial and First Nations governments the kind of room that is needed to address these major issues." Copyright c. 2005 Red Lake Net News. --------- "RE: Premiers sign onto AFN Plan for Aboriginal People" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 08:47:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PREMIERS MEET WITH ABORIGINAL COUNCILS" http://north.cbc.ca/servlet/View?filename=premier-plan-10082005&ref=rss Premiers sign onto AFN plan for aboriginal people CBC News August 10, 2005 The premiers of the northern territories joined with their southern counterparts Tuesday in a drive to try to close the poverty gap between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in 10 years. The premiers were in Calgary for talks with the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the Assembly of First Nations, and the Me'tis National Council. Phil Fontaine, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, put forward the 10-year plan during the meeting. The deal, which was first presented to Ottawa in June, will address issues like housing, education, health as well as the economic gap between First Nation communities and the rest of the country. N.W.T. premier Joe Handley, Yukon's Dennis Fentie and Nunavut premier Paul Okalik agreed a decade-long timetable to correct historical inequities which continue to be a burden on the aboriginal community is reasonable. "If you look at life expectancy it's eight years shorter for aboriginals than non-aboriginals," says Handley. "We still have only about 30,000 people in post-secondary education. It's a small number. If you look at unemployment in small communities it's as high as 70 or 80 per cent. With the non-aboriginal population is almost zero... probably six per cent." Fentie was short on the details on how and when the plan will be implemented. But he did say it's a new idea and one that will help first nations. "I think we're very encouraged with the outcome today, the tone and the discussions were very positive, there's a willingness across the country with the premiers to really go forward and work on this issue on a national level in partnership with the aboriginal leadership and with the federal government," he says. Handley says a steering committee will come up with a strategy to close the gap. He says the 10-year target will add political pressure to get things done. Okalik's spokesperson, Bill Clay, said the premier would not comment until the end of the week when the meetings are over. No money has been committed to the deal, but aboriginal leaders say they're pleased with the commitment from the premiers. Fontaine said he's encouraged by the outcome of the meeting. "We're very pleased with the tone, and the substance of the meeting and the commitment we heard from the premiers," said Fontaine. The premiers move on to Banff for the rest of this week for the annual meeting of provincial and territorial premiers. The premiers will then meet with Prime Minister Paul Martin in the fall for a first ministers conference. Copyright c. CBC 2005. --------- "RE: Indigenous Peoples Face Violence, Loss of Land" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005 08:47:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AMERICA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://english.epochtimes.com/news/5-8-10/31125.html Indigenous Peoples Face Violence, Loss of Land By Aure'lien Girard, Beth Lambert, and Sarah Cook Epoch Times Staff August 10, 2005 An indigenous child belonging to the Yekuana tribe of eastern Venezuela during the commemorations for International Day of the World's Indigenous People (AFP/Getty Images) In Brazil, a Guarani Indian was beaten by armed men at a cattle breeder- s market a few weeks ago. The attack occurred just hours after he and his tribe regained possession of the lands from which they had been exiled thirty years before. This is not an isolated incident. August 9 commemorates the eleventh International Day of the World-s Indigenous People. According to rights groups, however, while more attention is being paid to this issue, tribes like the Guarani Indians continue to suffer grave abuses. According to the United Nations (UN), indigenous and aboriginal populations are still present all over the world. Such peoples and homelands include the Mayas of Guatemala, the Inuits and Aleutians of the Polar regions, and the Maori of New Zealand. In a resolution passed in December 1994, the UN General Assembly established a day in their honor to be celebrated every year during the Decade of the World-s Indigenous People (1995-2004). With the end of the decade imminent and many abuses still continuing, the UN proclaimed a second decade in December 2004, simultaneously extending the day of recognition. According to Survival International, a non-profit organization that supports the rights of tribal peoples worldwide, despite such symbolic measures, violations against indigenous peoples have not decreased. Threatened Peoples The biggest problem facing indigenous people is the loss of their land. Although their land ownership rights are recognized in international law, often their lands are invaded, by settlers, businesses or developers. Once they are evicted from their land, indigenous tribes face problems such as disease and homelessness. In extreme cases, the competition over land results in indigenous people being beaten, imprisoned, tortured or even killed as they are forced to leave their territory. For example, in Brazil, two Truka Indians were killed by a "death squad," and an elderly Guanjajara leader was assassinated by soybean farm hands who had invaded Indian lands. In the African country of Botswana, several Bushmen tribes were expelled from the Kalahari reserve by the local government. As a result, they are no longer authorized to hunt in the area, despite their dependence on their catches to feed their families. When seven Gana and Gwi Bushmen returned to their land to look for food, they were caught and tortured by Plant and Animal Department officials for having hunted illegally. "They hit us hard. I thought they wanted to kill us," says one of the victims, Letshwao Nagayame. "The officials... hit me and kicked me repeatedly while a man crushed my fingers on the ground." Despite such incidents, considering the progress Survival has made in protecting indigenous people-s rights, there is reason to believe that a bright future is possible. The organization has, for instance, persuaded governments to recognize tribal land ownership in Colombia, and forced companies to pull out of harmful projects on tribal land in Siberia. More generally, they have helped achieve better recognition of tribal peoples- situations and their rights around the world. Copyright c. 2000 - 2005 Epoch Times International. --------- "RE: Nebraska State Patrol to help police Reservations" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:56:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSS-DEPUTIZATION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=4&id=25357 Nebraska State Patrol Will Help Police Reservations KEVIN O'HANLON Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP ) - The state of Nebraska has signed an agreement to help police on the Omaha and Winnebago Indian reservations in Thurston County. The cross-deputization agreements were announced Friday by Gov. Dave Heineman and Attorney Jon General Bruning. "I know there is significant resistance to this change in Thurston County, but my first responsibility as governor is public safety," Heineman said. "After consulting with the attorney general, the Nebraska State Patrol and hearing from residents, it is clear that these agreements are the best way for our state to protect all the residents of Thurston County." The agreements, including the renewal of one with the Winnebago Tribe that has operated successfully since 1986, will allow deputized members of the State Patrol to arrest lawbreakers - regardless of race or location. It also will allow deputized tribal officers to arrest people on the reservations, which encompass almost the entire county. Bruning said many crimes are going unpunished in Thurston County because of complex jurisdictional issues make it unclear who has the authority to enforce the law. Copyright c. 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2005 All rights reserved. - Cygnus Interactive, a Division of Cygnus Business Media. --------- "RE: Tribal Police Officers could patrol White Clay" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:50:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHITECLAY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/12346993.htm Tribal police officers could patrol village Beer sales big thing in Nebraska town By Carson Walker Associated Press Writer August 10, 2005 WHITECLAY, Neb. - Political leaders usually try to woo economic development to rural places like this dusty village on the Nebraska-South Dakota line. But the main business here is beer. Lots of it. Thousands of cans each week, millions of cans a year. And most of it is sold to people from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where alcohol is banned and the alcoholism-related mortality rate is one of the nation's highest. The reservation is just 200 feet from Whiteclay, population 12. Tribal law enforcement: That supply and demand has prompted Nebraska's attorney general to turn over control of law enforcement in Whiteclay to the reservation's Oglala Sioux Tribe, a sovereign nation by treaty. The patrols have not started, but Nebraska and tribal leaders plan to sign the agreement Aug. 30. Then, tribal officers from a South Dakota American Indian reservation will be deputized and have the legal right to enforce Nebraska state law. "The issue is not so much the border. The issue is there is a massive alcohol problem in the area," Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said. "The facts are that liquor stores licensed by the state of Nebraska sell the alcohol to the people that have the problem." The state takes in more than $300,000 a year in sales and excise tax revenue from Whiteclay. Most of it flows through three stores in Whiteclay, one of which is co- owned by Dan Brehmer. Cases of Milwaukee's Best and Hurricane beer are stacked to the ceiling in a corner of his State Line Liquor. It offers those and other brands from a row of glass-front coolers lining the walls behind the counter. The store also offers cigarettes, snacks, soft drinks, ice and bait for anglers. Brehmer said it doesn't bother him that tribal officers patrol Whiteclay's streets, but he thinks the job should remain with in-state officers. "It's Nebraska. It's not South Dakota," he said.The thirst for beer is evident. Within minutes on one summer day, one man tried to trade a used VCR and another peddled an electric screwdriver still in the package. "They'll sell you anything," said Brehmer, who politely refused the offers. Removing loiterers from the street would cure most of the crime problem, Brehmer said. "That's why there's fights." Suppliers: But if law enforcement effort is beefed up, suppliers also could be on the receiving end of the law. Bruning's office said common alcohol offenses in Whiteclay include open container-public consumption, selling to intoxicated persons, sale for resale (bootlegging onto the reservation), sale of alcohol on credit, sale to minors, public intoxication, trespassing, assault and theft. "There aren't just the laws that target the individual," said U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D. "This is a program to also crack down on the businesses that are clearly exploiting a situation that Nebraska officials are embarrassed about as well."Cecelia Fire Thunder, Oglala Sioux Tribe president, said more patrols are a first step toward ending alcohol abuse. "This cross deputization is about the legal question to make sure the laws are enforced," she said. "You start out with a little piece. That will expand to another piece. Pretty soon we'll be able to deal with all of the challenges that Whiteclay presents." Copyright c. 2005 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2005 American American News. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 21:08:51 -0700 From: Janet Smith [owlstar@bellsouth.net] Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - Subj: Prisoners request Assistance ( USP Allenwood,PA) From: Brigitte Thimiakis Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 00:18:52 +0300 Mailing List: Iron Natives I have been asked to forward this request to prison support lists. Please reply directly to NAPN, thank you, Brigitte From: Native American Prisoner Network (NAPN) Request for Redress of Grievances From:_______________________________ This request for a resolution concerns the conditions of Confinement in The Special Housing Unit (SHU) at U.S.P. Allenwood. Specifically it is my contention that the following conditions fall markedly below "The Evolving Standards of Decency that Mark the Progress of a Maturing Society." Trop vs. Dulles 356 U.S. 86, 101 (1958) 1 - Triple Bunking 2 - Inadequate Ventilation 3 - Lack of cleaning supplies 4 - Inadequate Laundry Service 5 - Inadequate Emergency Response (i.e., panic button) 6 - Inadequate Telephone Access 7 - Inadequate Law Library and Legal Assistance 8 - Life Threatening Hygiene Practice 9 - Retaliatory Conduct The above numbered topics relate to the Administrative Detention Section of the SHU, here at U.S.P. Allenwood and the conditions of confinement therein. I. Triple Bunking It cannot be claimed by a reasonable and cautious individual that placing three grown men in a cell which contains approximately 48 square feet of usable floor space is acceptable by the standards of a civilized society. This equates to 16 square feet of floor space per man. Every serious study on this subject has concluded that each prisoner must have to himself, at the very least, 40 square feet of usable floor space. See, e.g., American Public Health Assn./Standards for health services in correctional institutions 62 (1976) "(A minimum of 60 square feet)"; Commission on Accreditations for Corrections, Manual fo Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions 27 (1977) (60 square feet); U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Standards for Prisons and Jails 17(1980) ("60 Square Feet); National Counsel on Crime and Delinquency, Model Act for Protection of Rights of Prisoners, 18 crime and delinquency 4.10 (1972) ("not less than fifty square feet of floor space") Ruiz V. Estelle, 679 F 2d 1115 (5th Cir. 1982). ("Although there are no constitutional mandated minimums for space requirements per inmate, 40 square feet would be the minimum recommended"). Most of the studies referenced above recommended even more space for the inmates who spend more than 10 hours a day in a cell. With the allotted space in three men's cells, serious mental, emotional and physical deterioration is unavoidable. The cramped quarters lead to tension, which leads to violence (both reported and unreported): In addition, this fact could be supported by examining the Incidents of Violence in the SHU versus Incidents of Violence in General Population. It is asserted that per capita rate of violence is much higher in the over crowded SHU. And since these conditions breed violence, staff cannot maintain their duty to "Protect Inmates From Violence at The Hands of Other Inmates," e.g. Purvis vs. Ponte, 929 F2d.822 (1st Cir 1991). Furthermore, the excessive time confined to bunk (three people obviously cannot simultaneously occupy such limited floor space) leads to physical deterioration, and monotony of constantly feeling crowded leads to what is often severe mental and emotional distress. In addition, because there is only one desk combined with a seat, one inmate must eat his meals while sitting on the stoop of the shower, while others eat sitting on the toilet (inmates cannot sit up vertically because the triple bunks are too close together) This cell arrangement, especially concerning eating is completely unsanitary in light of the present circumstances of not being provided with adequate cleaning supplies, as discussed. Infra. Even if we were provided with adequate cleaning supplies, it would still be unsanitary to eat while sitting on the toilet or shower with your food tray sitting on the floor, while other prisoners are walking over it or requesting to use the toilet while you're eating. This is clearly inhumane. II. Ventilation The stale dust, mold, airborne bacteria and viruses as well as stale air which is recirculated without introducing fresh air, filtering or maintaining filters, creates a substantial and serious health threat. Furthermore, combined with the above stated air quality in the SHU, the volume of exchanged air is deficient. The air, lack thereof, is causing me headaches, sinus problems and poses a serious risk of respiratory disease due to the poor quality of the air in the SHU. The American Correctional Association (ACA) calls for a circulation of at least ten cubic feet of outside or recirculated filtered air per minute, per human occupant. ACA standard 2-4130 (supp. 1988) This standard is clearly not being met here. Furthermore, the propriety of pumping recirculated air into the cells is contingent upon the filters being well maintained. This is not the case at U.S.P. Allenwood, especially in the SHU. So not only in the airflow inadequate the quality fo the air poses a significant health risk. Moreover the lack of ventilation, coupled with triple or even double bunking, increases the likelihood of disease. Also, a psychological awareness of odors caused by bacteria circulated through the ventilation system cause me great concern for my health. See, e.g., Tillery vs. 6Ownems 719 F supp.1256,1271 (W.D. Pa. 1989) III. Lack of Cleaning Supplies In the most propitious of circumstances we, prisoners of SHU, are provided with one cup of liquid disinfectant per week. We often go weeks at a time without even that We are never provided with brooms, mops, toilet brushes, scouring pads, cleaning rags or detergents. See, e.g., Sweet vs. South Carolina Dept. Of Corrections, 519 F2D. 854 (1975) (Inmates must be furnished materials for personal hygiene and cell cleaning). The dirty walls, floors, showers and commodes in the SHU provide breeding places for vectors and encourage the growth of disease causing microorganisms. Sanitation is one of the basic human needs guaranteed by the Eight Amendment. See, e.g., Union County Jail Inmates vs. DiBuono, 713 F2D. 984 N.19 (Citing Rhodes. 452 U.S. at 348). IV. Inadequate Laundry Service This represents one of the most appalling conditions in the SHU. Inmates spend anywhere from one day to several years in the SHU and have almost never had socks, boxers, tee-shirts, towels or sheets laundered and disinfected with bleach. Apparently, we are expected to handwash these laundry items (which never thoroughly cleans or disinfects clothes and sheets), yet we are forbidden from hanging clothes to dry (which promotes mold and mildew). Prisoners in the SHU have a far better chance of receiving a Presidential Pardon that they do of receiving adequate laundry services. V. Inadequate Emergency Response The title of this section is a bit of a misnomer, as it indicates there is any response from staff to an inmate pressing his panic button. SHU staff simply does not respond to the Emergency Panic Button when activated by SHU prisoners, presumably due to being desensitized due to false alarms of just plain laziness. There have been several instances of death and brutal prisoner upon prisoner assaults, medical and psychological emergencies that could have been mitigated, avoided or diffused if it had not been for U.S.P. Allenwood staff's lackadaisical attitude toward The Emergency Response Button. I would suggest that an intercom system be installed to assist SHU staff to ascertain the Authenticity of Emergencies. VI. Inadequate Telephone Access It is a prisoner's fundamental right to adequate, effective and meaningful access to the court to challenge violations of constitutional rights. See, e.g., Bounds vs. Smith, 430 U.S. 817.52 Led 2d. 72, 97 s.ct 1491 (1977) Such actions by U.S.P. Allenwood staff's failure to provide postage for indigent prisoners to mail legal correspondence and a failure to provide legal assistance or adequate law library material effectively obstructs and bars court access to prisoners in violation of Bounds, supra. There is no trained legal assistance for prisoners at U.S.P. Allenwood. The SHU law library as well as the main law library lack the essential research tools, and as such is insufficient to conduct meaningful legal research. See, e.g., Strickler vs. Waters, 989 F2d. 1375 (4th cir. 1993)... stating "Fundamental right of access to the court obligates prison authorities to assist prisoners in preparation and filing of meaningful court papers by providing adequate law libraries or adequate trained legal assistance." SHU prisoners must request case law by mail from the main law library at U.S.P. Allenwood for case law not available in the SHU library, such as federal supplement, digest and reporter case law. But since the main law library and the SHU libraries do not have necessary descriptive word indexes for the above mentioned case law volumes, nor do they contain a table of the cases, therefore leaving prisoners unable to conduct any semblance of meaningful research. See, e.g., NAMI vs. Fauver, 82 F3d.at 68 stating "In order for prisoners to obtain access for specific materials, prisoners must submit written requests; however prisoners cannot effectively do so because they lack access to the very materials that would advise then which materials to request." In addition, we are never provided with envelopes. VIII. Life Threatening Hygiene Practice The life threatening hygiene practice here at U.S.P. Allenwood may have claimed unknown numbers of lives . . . The staff pass one pair of toe nail clippers and one pair of fingernail clippers from inmate to inmate without any sterilization technique, killing all diseases such as Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and AIDS; all passed from blood to blood. At any given time the clippers we are forced to use will have dried blood on them. All these blood diseases are passed in this manner. . . There are numbers of inmates with all the disease listed above, one such inmate has AIDS and requested different toe nail clippers so as not to put any other inmate at risk of being infected with the disease AIDS, he was told by SHU staff to use what he was given. It is a bad feeling not knowing if your life has been lost because of U.S.P. Allenwood's life threatening hygiene practice. IX. Retaliatory Conduct In today's world of social awareness it is indeed disheartening to note that prison officials often respond to inmates grievances not by attempting to resolve the complaint but rather by attempting to silence te voice of dissent. This is accomplished in a myriad of ways, including but certainly not limited to, transferring the complaining inmate, threatening transfer, placing him in segregation for bogus investigations or interfering with his mail. Another favorite of the administration is to put the inmate in segregation, put him in for a transfer, unless the inmate has maintained clear conduct for one year, will be denied by the region, thus enabling the administration to keep the inmate in segregation for a year "Pending transfer." These are not naked accusations nor hypothetical scenarios. This type of conduct can be verified by any number of inmates at U.S.P. Allenwood. In fact affidavits from inmates detailing retaliatory statements by staff, such and "you wanted to file, so now you're getting transferred," for a reviewing authority. This section is designed to encourage U.S.P. Allenwood officials from employing further measures for retaliation against the inmates who seek redress fo their grievances. Conclusion It is axiomatic that prison living conditions which seriously deprive inmates of "basic human needs," of the "minimal civilized measure of life' s necessities." Constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. See e.g.Rhodes vs. Chapman 454 U.S. 337, 347 (1981) The conditions above, both individually and collectively, clearly fall into this category. Moreover, it is especially disingenuous for the Bureau of Prison officials to claim that placement in Administrative Segregation is not punitive in nature. Aside from the atrocious condition noted above, inmates in Administrative detention have severely limited access to phone calls, commissary, recreation and rehabilitative programs. In addition, inmates in Administrative detention are confined in their cells for all but five hours (at the most) per week. That is 163 hours per week in a dirty, crowded, cramped, airless, germ infested concrete box. And apparently the Administration thought this was too good, for they covered the outside of the windows to prevent inmates from seeing outside. This in itself seems cruel and unusual. Never mind that inmates in Administrative detention haven't been found guilty of violating any prison rules or regulation. Perhaps the reader will find me to be captious and of a nitpicking nature. If so I invite you to take yourself and two people you barely know, put on dirty clothes, lock yourselves in a small, filthy bathroom with poor ventilation and eat some barely edible food while sitting on the toilet. This is the content and substance of any existence. In closing it is important to remember that a society is judged by how well it treats its prisoners. Clearly we can do better. The following are the contacts for this situation Warden Troy Williamson P.O. Box 3500 USP White Deer, Pa. 17887 Phone: 570- 547-0963 Fax: 570- 547-9201 E-mail address: ALP/EXECASSISTANT@BOP.GOV2 NORTHEAST REGIONAL OFFICE FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS 2ND & CHESNUT ST., 7TH FLR PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106 Phone: 215-521-7301 Federal Bureau of Prisons 320 First St., NW Washington, DC 20534 (202) 307-3223. Please send copies of letters, or write ups of calls, and copies of any responses to: Raymond McKettrick 07245-045 USP P.O.Box 3000 White Deer, Pa 17887 -- Native American Prisoner Network (NAPN) http://www.napn.us admin@napn.us ========== [This message may be forwarded under the condition that it is not altered in any way] ================= --------- "RE: Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days" --------- Date: Monday, 15 August 2005 04:08 am From: Debbie Sanders Subj: Book of Days A HAWAI`I BOOK OF DAYS, week of August 14-20 AUKAKE August Mahoe Mua 14 The fullness of each day is made up of both light, malamalama, and shadow, ke aka. 15 Tiny lights bob in the darkness as paper boats carry them out to sea on the evening tide -- we are one with our past. 16 The gecko sings inside my home, blessing it. 17 The bird of paradise flower erupts with bright color amidst the green coolness of the ferns. 18 Arise with joy to greet the day! 19 Accept what cannot be easily explained. 20 Sculpting molten lava is an act of devotion only a few artists can perform. (c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue (With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream) --------- "RE: History: Carlisle Indian School" --------- Date: Tuesday, June 28, 2005 11:10 PM From: Barbara Landis Subj: June 24, 1892 INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle Indian School Newspaper. [Editorial Note: These reprints are being included in this newsletter so that you might know the mind of those who ran institutions like Carlisle.] THE INDIAN HELPER ~%^%~ A WEEKLY LETTER FROM THE Indian Industrial School, Carlisle, Pa. =============================================== VOL. VII. FRIDAY, June 24, 1892 NUMBER 41 ================================================ POEM BY ONE OF OUR LITTLE COUNTRY BOYS. ----------- It was on the second of April When we boarded our special train Bound for our different country homes, All summer for to reign. And a happier load of farmers, You would hardly care to see If it was not so with some of them It surely was with me. We bade our friends and all goodbye And moved slowly out of the gate And those who wanted to go were left For next Spring they would wait. We moved out from the station, Carlisle fading fast from sight While we looked back with wishful eyes But felt we were doing right. I always loved the country, And in the country I'll now live Until September comes around Then away to school I'll give. SIX. --------------- BEER MAKING IDIOTS OF INDIANS. ---- The *Cherokee Telephone* pictures a sad state of affairs in the Indian Territory. The editor of the Temperance Column says: "Hop tea, jamaica ginger, and other intoxicants, sold on the high ways and in the by-ways of Tahlequah, are fast turning our men into brutes and our boys into idiots. But some say it will bring money into our town treasury. Suppose Old Satan, himself, personally, was to come to the borders of our town, and want to come in and destroy it, and our Town Council could prevent his coming in, would they say, 'O, he can't and must not come in free, but if he pays a license,' (that will help to fill up our treasury.) would they let him in to devour us? We hardly think they would. But the high-license advocates of Tahlequah lead us to believe they might be persuaded to permit such a calamity to befall our people. Must the Athens of the Indian Territory - where our boys and girls from all over our country come to learn morality, Christianity, and to be educated to a higher and nobler plane, be polluted with these joints? God forbid." ==================== A GENUINE FOOL. ------ A great writer has said: If the world contains a genuine foolish young man (and of course he meant a woman, too) who throws away his [unintelligible]. Money lost may be recovered. Health lost may be restored. Friendship lost may be regained. Even character lost may be redeemed. But time lost, NEVER. Few men go wrong while they are busy at work Many a young man, to do him justice, is hard working and faithful during the regular working hours, but as soon as hat is on and he turns his steps towards his quarters he begins to be lazy, and then the *devil* comes in. The worst thing you can do of an evening is to do nothing. ===================== REASONS FOR DIVIDING UP THE INDIAN LANDS OF THE FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES. ------ The *Minco Minstrel,* of the Indian Territory says: If the Indian Territory were divided up equally between its rightful owners there would not be so many big pastures and twenty-five thousand acre farms held by white men, ,but a great many more Indians would have good homes. And these facts are the only reasons why the country is not divided up. ================================================================ (p. 2) The Indian Helper. ----------------------------- PRINTED EVERY FRIDAY, -AT THE- INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, CARLISLE, PA. BY INDIAN BOYS. --> THE INDIAN HELPER is PRINTED by Indian boys, but EDITED by The-Man-on-the-band-stand, who is NOT an Indian. ----------------------------- Price: - 10 cents a year. ============================== Address INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle, Pa. Miss M. Burgess, Manager. ============================== Entered in the P.O. at Carlisle as second class mail matter. ============================== The INDIAN HELPER is paid for in advance, so do not hesitate to take the paper from the Post Office, for fear a bill will be presented. ============================= Hampton graduated 37 of her students this year. ---------- The lazy man aims at nothing and generally hits it. ---------- The Indian School at Ft. Mojave, A.T, is called the Herbert Welsh Institute. ---------- We see by a letter to the Muscogee *Phoenix,* Ind. Ter., that Miss Alice Robertson is on her way to Alaska. ---------- Constant Bread is again heard from. He is still at work at his home agency, the San Carlos, of Arizona. ---------- Farm boys, do not call your employers "Boss." It is not respectful. Say, "Mr. So-and-so," or "My employer." ---------- The W.C.T.U. department of the *Holly Springs South,* Miss., has complimented the HELPER by taking extracts from our columns. ---------- Yes, it sometimes goes against the grain to take the trouble to say "Thanks you," for a little favor, but even looking at it from a selfish point of view it always PAYS, it ALWAYS pays. ---------- Bucks County farmers employ over 200 of the Indian boys and girls graduated from the Carlisle School - [Phila. *Record.* Graduated? No, but sturdy boys and girls *bound* for that point. ---------- We have a pleasant word from Rosa Bourassa, who is at her Michigan home. She is well, but says the place is quite dull, and that she sometimes longs for her Carlisle associates and occupations. ---------- Rev. A.J.McLeod, Principal of the Indian Industrial School at Regina, N.W.T., in renewing his subscriptions for our school papers says, "Our school is an infant compared with Carlisle. We have only 91 as yet." Our friend can take courage in the thought that a school of ninety-one may produce fruit fine in variety and rich in quality. The closing exhibition for the year was held on Wednesday evening, attended by the usual amount of enjoyment. Most of the speaking was good and singing fair. The opening piece and closing march by the band were satisfactory, but before our band can hope to win applause for the National Airs, a new piece played Wednesday evening for the first, they must devote hours and hours of practice. There are two or three discordant horns of late, which we hope will get toned down before very long. --------- Edwin Schanandore very nearly received a serious injury on Wednesday evening by jumping from a rapidly moving train. He had gotten on in town to ride as far as the Junction with his friend William Baird who was starting for his home in Wisconsin. The train not stopping at the Junction, Edwin thought he must stop at any rate, and jumped at the peril of his life. With the exception of a lame shoulder he received no injury, but rolled nearly under the cars. It was a narrow escape. --------- Miss Masa Dogura and Miss Fugi Tsukamoto of Tokyo, Japan, were guests of Miss Nana Pratt on Friday and Saturday. At evening prayers in the girls' quarters Miss Tsukamoto read and made a few remarks, basing them upon the girls reply of "No Indian" when the roll was called. She said it inspired her to hear them declare that they meant to put away all native habits which hold them back from reaching the highest civilization. --------- Secretary Noble has approved the lease made to the cattle men by the Kiowa and Comanche Indians fro five years at 6 cents per acre per annum. These Indians will realize over $48,000 a year from this lease, which will be paid to them in the next month. This amount, together with $60,000, which is now being paid on a back lease will give the Indians $108,000 - [*Indian Arrow.* --------- A kind report from a lady with whom one of our girls is living: "Many thanks for my dear _______. I do feel that you have been very kind to me in sending me such a dear girl. I wish some of the doubters of the Indian question could see her. If they did not change their minds they simply *would not.* I have not one wish that she should be anything different from what she is." --------- In the face of a little rain yesterday morning Miss Luckenbach and niece, Miss Maxwell, who is visiting her, and Mrs. Hamilton, Miss Sage, Mr. Goodyear and several pupils wen to the Lutheran picnic held at Pine Grove. We know they had a good time in spite of the early dampness, although there were no reports before going to press. --------- Joe Big Wolf, Theodore Kahakome, Roy Blind and Mark White Shield started for their homes in Indian Territory Monday night. -----Capt. Pratt has forbidden the boys bathing in the water at the cave. -G.McD. --------- Next week we shall have to print Esther Clark's account of a little picnic she and several other girls have attended in the country. ================================================== (p. 3) Oh, those midges! How they do pester one! Don and Herbert are in the South Mountain rusticating. James B. Given has returned from the Lehigh University. -M.G. What could be truer than the Metzger Class Motto, this year, "If I rest, I rust." Miss noble is having charge of the dining room during Miss Caryl's absence. Nellie Robertson has gone to her old home in the country at Oak Lane. - L.H. The farm has produced peas for an all-around mess several times already. Mr. J.B. Martin, of Silver Creek, N.Y., was an interested visitor of the school on Wednesday. The Misses Mary and Anna Culbertson of Lewistown, were among the callers at the printing office this week. Miss Botsford has moved into the room occupied by Miss Ely as an office before the new office building was erected. The small boys are making their fortunes down at the lower farm by picking potato bugs at 10 cents a quart. -L.C. Miss Caryl is off for a vacation of a week or ten days. she will visit Washington, and possibly New York and Cape May. LOST - Two tennis balls belonging to the boys of the large boys' quarters. The finder of the same will confer a great favor on the owners by sending them tot he printing office. The second nine beat the first at ball one evening this week very much to the mortification of the latter who are hoping to win the championship of the world in Indian playing. Miss Shaffner has started a millinery department in the girls' quarters. The girls cut the crowns down of the old hats, sew the straw and then trim them with new blue and brown ribbon. -B.P. Mr. Harrison, who was a fellow passenger with Capt. and Mrs. Pratt on the steamer going to and coming from Japan at the time of their memorable trip, was a visitor at the school yesterday. The whatsoever Circle did splendidly with their ice-cream sales on Friday and Saturday evening. They sold fourteen gallons in all, clearing something over ten dollars, besides having a jolly time. Miss Richenda was sufficiently recovered from the mumps to attend her Metzger class picnic, on Friday. They were caught in the severest storm that has passed over this section this year, and had to flee to a barn for shelter. Jennie Dubray has gone to her home in South Dakota, to visit her sister Lizzie. - L.H. - Jennie has bright prospects before her and although we shall miss her genial, happy face and pleasant association, yet we wish for her the happiest future possible. The sudden death, on Wednesday evening of Rev. Mr. Mapes, Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle, was a great shock to his many friends at the school as well as to the community at large. HE was greatly beloved by all who knew him. William Baird has gone to his home in Wisconsin for a visit of two weeks. Miss Leah Myers, whom we all remember as little Leah who used to come out from town to visit her uncle Mr. Gould, is one of the graduates of the town High School, this year. Miss Shaffner had the pleasure of a day's visit on Wednesday from her sister, Mrs. Critchey and babies, also a younger sister. The girls thought that Ralph was "just the baby for the money." The "sore-eye company" is getting better, many being out of quarantine. They were made happy the other evening, through contributions of a number who felt sorry for them, by a nice treat of strawberry ice-cream. Remember, a little laziness of the back bone and continual rounding of the shoulders invites consumption. It is easy to sit erect after becoming accustomed to it and ONLY LAZY people sit with round shoulders. The Man-on-the-band-stand wants to go to school in Miss Hamilton's room because she teaches by object lessons and when she want to teach "strawberry festival" she just *has* one out under the trees, to the delight of her pupils. A large delegation of colored Masons and their ladies visited the school on Monday. One of the young men said in our office, he had been to St. Louis and all around but "Carlisle was the boominest town he ever struck." Capt Pratt has gone to Denver, to attend an Indian meeting and to visit his daughter, Mrs. Stevick, whose husband, Mr. Guy Stevick, is somewhat ill. On the way out he sill probably spend Sunday in Topeka and address a meeting there, Sunday evening. The wind in Friday's storm led the chairs on the upper balcony of the office building a dance, the large iron swinger being master of ceremonies. With the exception of a few branches of trees broken off, there was no serious damage done to property at the school. Three of the least girls were brave enough the other evening to hold battle with an enormous rat. They heard him coming up the hall, chased him into their room, closed the door and with croquet mallet, old broom and stick worried the offensive creature until he succumbed. Miss Fisher reports Washington as exceedingly warm at the time of her visit last week, but she had a very satisfactory time in visiting schools and has returned with some new ideas, she says, but at th same time is not discouraged with the progress we are making as compared with the work of white schools of the capitol city. Joe Big wolf, who went home on Monday evening, was an excellent case hand in the printing office,. He was also one of the best on the baseball team. Ever ready and willing both at work and play, and full of wit and humor, he will be greatly missed by all who came in contact with him. It is to be hoped that Joe will soon grow strong and come back to complete the Carlisle course of study. =================================================== (p. 4) THE BEST GAME OF THE SEASON SO FAR. --------- To use the baseball phraseology the game our boys put up at Chambersburg last Saturday was the best they have played so far, and Chambersburg *Daily Spirit* says: "The game was one of the best that has been played here this season. The Indians play a first class game of ball, besides taking a huge interest in the game and enlivening it all through by funny exclamations. Cornelius, the catcher, especially amused the crowd by his shouting, whenever a Chambersburger took a strike, Oh, we having good fun. They could not hit Pittinger, however, for more than one hit." In fielding and team work, an observer who is a good judge says, our boys excelled their opponents, but thought their inability to hit Pittinger safe and through a little wildness in the beginning they lost the game. The game throughout was characterized by sharp fielding on both sides and was decidedly interesting. After the sixth inning the game was called on account of rain, much to the disappointment of our boys who were just beginning to solve Pittinger's delivery, and had hopes of yet pulling out a victory. Silas outpitched Pittenger and with good support would have shut the Chambersburgers out. The Chambersburg team is semi-professional and the strongest club in the valley. They have lost but one game this season. The features of the game on Saturday were fine running catches by Lufkins, Toprock, Baptiste and Cornelius, on the part of the Indians and Rollins' throwing to bases, on the part of Chambersburg Team. SCORE BY INNINGS. Chambersburg .............. 2 0 0 0 0 1 - 3 Indians ................... 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 ------------------------- PUNISHMENT. "Punishment is lame, but it comes," says an old proverb. And this is only a popular rendering of one side of the Divine declaration, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall be also reap." Punishment is a God-arranged result of man's determined misdoing; and he who does wrong will be sure to find, sooner or later, that cause and effect have as close relation in the moral world as in the world of matter. -*Sunday School Times.* ================ Enigma. I am made of 11 letters. My 6, 5, 5, 4 is used by carpenters. My 2, 3, 8 is a part of the body. My 8, 3, 1 supplies some houses with water. My 7, 8, 10, 10, 1 is useful in the household. My 8, 9, 3, 4 is found in country. My 6, 2, 7 is made by an insect. My 6, 9, 8, 11 is what laborers do. My whole is where one of the Indian girls has gone for the summer. M.M.W. and S.A. -------------- Anagrams. Change each one of the following sentences into one word: 1. I (c) noble men perish. 2. A chap met Lily. 3. Come it sharp. 4. A cent sir. 5. Best in prayer. ------------ ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S ENIGMA: Systematic. =================================================== STANDING OFFER. Premiums will be forwarded free to persons sending subscriptions for the INDIAN HELPER, as follows: 1. For one subscription and a 2-cent stamp extra, a printed copy of the Pueblo photo advertised below in paragraph 5. 2. For two subscriptions and a 1-cent stamp extra, the printed copy of Apache contrast, the original photo of which, composing two groups, on separate cards (8x10), may be had by sending 30 subscriptions and 5 cents extra. (This is the most popular photograph we have ever had taken, as it shows such a decided contrast between a group of Apaches as they arrived and the same pupils four months later.) 3. For five subscriptions and a 1-cent stamp extra, a group of the 17 Indian printer boys. Name and tribe of each given. Or, pretty faced pappoose in Indian cradle. Or, Richard Davis and family. 4. For seven subscriptions and a 2-cent stamp extra, a boudoir combination showing all our prominent buildings. 5. For ten subscriptions and a 2-cent stamp extra, two photographs, one showing a group of Pueblos as they arrived in their Indian dress and another of the same pupils three years after, showing marked and interesting contrast. Or, a contrast of a Navajo boy as he arrived and a few years after. 6. For fifteen subscriptions and 5-cents extra, a group of the whole school (9x14), faces show distinctly. Or, 8x10 photo of prominent Sioux chiefs. Or, 8x10 photo of Indian baseball club. Or, 8x10 photo of graduating classes, choice of '89, '90, '91. Or, 8x10 photo of buildings. 7. For forty subscriptions and 7-cents extra, a copy of "Stiya, a returned Carlisle Indian girl at home." Without accompanying extra for postage, premiums will not be sent. ================================================= Transcribed from the original by Barbara Landis-- http://www.carlisleindianschool.org There is a discussion page and blog linked among the menu options on the web pages. ================================================== Barbara C. Landis Carlisle Indian School Research Pages http://www.epix.net/~landis Tel: 717.418.2158 (cell) --------- "RE: Rustywire: Eshkee and the Towering House" --------- Date: Tue, 20 May 2005, 11:33:53 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RUSTYWIRE: ESHKEE" http://www.rustywire.com/grow/eshkee.html Eshkee and the Towering House by Johnny Rustywire It was long time ago at a time when the world was new and old at the same time. It was at the turn of the last century before children were sent to boarding schools. It was 1900. A young boy, an Indian boy played in some old ruins not far from his home. Eshkee, Where are you, Eshkee, come and eat with us. He heard his mother call out to him from a distance, a place in the trees downhill far below. His 10-year-old body stood up and looked out the adobe portal, a small opening in wall of the ruins where he could see the whole valley below. It looked east to the distant mesas. I wonder if they had kids like me, and if they played here: he thought to himself. His mother called to him again and he dropped himself to the earth floor below keeping the pottery shard he held in this hand and ran down the narrow trail to the edge of the woods where a small spring led to a pond next to where their camp was. It was summer and everything was green. They were living at their sheep camp, up high on the mountain, there were pinon pines, Douglas firs and Blue Spruce and further up Aspen trees with their white bark. The trees were tall and strong. The leaves rustled in the wind. He often played there in the ruins and watched the clouds float by. He thought about the people who live in those old ruins. He sat up there on the hill, they were made of earth and old cedar logs. Shima(Mom), tell me about the Towering House? he said. Don t play up there, you can get hurt, there is nothing there. We don t bother those places; there are bad spirits that roam around those places. We never bother them. Those they call devil spirits live there. His headband was crooked and his long hair was sticking out, she fixed it for him and told him to go to the pond to wash himself. He ran to the pond, there are small scrub oak trees, and some ferns by the water s edge, the plants were thick through there so it was hard to see. The one thing he knew it was green and he liked to stay around there. He ran to the water s edge and looked at himself in the still water. He could see he looked like his father, who was down off the mountain helping with a ceremony. Eshkee was left in charge of the sheep and he taken them out earlier in the morning, real early and brought them back in, he would take them again in a little bit to go down to Where Lightning Struck a Giant Tree,the ridge as it was called and took all afternoon to go there and then come back. As he looked at himself, he heard a noise, some twigs and branches breaking. Someone was running to the pond from the other side. He stood up and looked through the thick brush wondering who it could be. Just then a little Indian girl his age, came running out. She was dressed in the old time Indian style of dress, with high leggings, and a woven dress. He hair was long and she looked to be his age. She stopped running seeing him standing there. She looked at him. She looked like she was a Keesahnee, one of the Anasazi, the ancient ones. She was his age. He was going to say who are you but then she was gone just like that running back the way she had come. Eshkee went to eat and found his mother had made blue cornmeal bread cooked in the ashes of the fire and she had beaten some dried deer meat to make it soft for them to eat. He sat down and watched as she gave him his food. Is there someone living around us over that way, he pointed toward the mountain, beyond the ruins to the next ridgeline. There is nothing but forest up there. His mother said, No one is staying up that way, because there isn't any water for them up there. She looked at him curiously and said, Why, did you see something up there? He sat there and thought about it and thought I have to find out what is going one before I say anything about that girl. She is not one of us; she is one of the Towering House People he thought. He knew they lived far from this place. He had never been to their country but he had heard his mother and father talk about them from time to time. As time went on he would hear noises in the brush, and as he got older he learned to listen for the sound of broken branches, and slowly he tracked the sound. He found that there were stray billy goats wondering around, small ones and when these were near, he would move very quietly and found he could catch a glimpse of the little girl. She tended the goats. The hillside was steep and thick with scrub oak, and he would follow her for a little bit and then she would walk into the forest and be gone. He could never track her beyond there. She seemed to disappear when he came to the place called Dark Canyon. He didn't mention this to his parents, since he expected they would say something about those Keesahnee living somewhere around there, but they said nothing. One morning, early near sunrise he took the sheep out and sat on a large rock to watch the sun come up. The sheep liked to eat the early morning dew on the plants, and if he were a sheep it would be a treat for him to be taken out that early. He heard some singing, a girl's voice it was, coming from high above him where there were large rocks and a place where you could see the sunrise through the trees. He knew the place. He listened as it came through the air as the sun broke Dawn. The earth, trees and sky were pink and gold. The air was fresh. He followed the sound of it, and as he got near, it ended. He thought about the song he had heard, and it was not like any he had ever heard before. He thought about Dawn Boy, and the stories his father had told him about the Sun making it s way from the East to the West, and how this was done every day without fail. He had heard his father, grandfather and his whole family at one time or another talk about Hozhoji, the blessing of a new dawn, about finding the Beautyway as they went throughout the day. He had heard his father sing countless times before, and yet this song was different. He listened each morning and he could hear it. TAAAAHH HHOOOOOOOOO! TAAAAHHHH HHEEYYYY TAAAAHH HHOOOOOOOOO! TAAAAHHHH HHEEYYYY! AAAAHHHHYYAAHH! AAWWAAAAYYYYY! AAAAHHHHYYAAHH! AAWWAAAAYYYYY! The sound of it carried on the wind and it echoed in the distant hills and canyons. It seemed to make everything peaceful and good. It lifted him as he heard its echoes and wondered about the one singing it each morning. The song went on and as dawn became day if faded it s echo going faint in the canyon walls and forest. Day after day he heard it and went to find the one who sang it. He resolved to find her, and waited in the high place before the early light of dawn. He sat wedged in the large red sandstone rocks and found that they were warm from the long hot days, falling asleep from it s warmth as he waited for dawn to come. He awoke when he heard her voice just a stone throw away. He could see her form as she kneeled down facing the East and it seemed offered a prayer. He thought about how she did it. Her hair was long and black, and she dressed in a shawl, the colors different from that of his own people. He thought about why he had not said anything to anyone about her, and the song she sang, but felt it was something he was not ready to talk about with the people he knew. He sat wedged in the rocks as she watched the early morning light move silently with a soft grace all it's own chasing the darkness away and bringing it s fingers of pink and gold light to all that was around. He watched her as she sang from her kneeling position, looking into the dawn and thought who is she and where does she come from. TAAAAHH HHOOOOOOOOO! TAAAAHHHH HHEEYYYY TAAAAHH HHOOOOOOOOO! TAAAAHHHH HHEEYYYY! AAAAAYYYYYEEEEEE! TAAAAHH HHOOOOOOOOO! TAAAAHHHH HHEEYYYY HHHHYYAAHH! AAHH YAAHH WWAAAAYYYYY! AAAAHHHHYYAAHH! AAWWAAAAYYYYY! TAAAAHHHH YYAAAHHHHEEEYYYY TAAAAHH HHOOOOOOOOO! TAAAAHHHH HHEEYYYY TAAAAHH HHOOOOOOOOO! TAAAAHHHH HHEEYYYY! When she finished, he was going to surprise her, but found he could not make himself do it. He watched her as she slowly got up and walked to the forests edge making the sound of a blue jay, calling to one in the nearby tree and he called back. He stood there a while and then left to tend the sheep. It so happened his mother sent him down the mountain to help with a Sing for the Edge of the Water People, and so he found himself building a shade house. As he worked, he liked the rhythm of what he was doing and soon found he was singing quietly to himself. The Singer was from far off, a place way to the East, a place called Where the Coyotes Cut Through the Mountain; three days ride away from the Edge of the Water People. He was an old man with silver white hair, a face wrinkled from the sun. He was carrying an assortment of deerskin wrappings. These Eshkee knew contained the things of a medicine man. He knew that this man at a time when he was young had run down a deer and smothered it with his bare hands, so that no wound would be made in the deerskin, that the feathers, sticks and other items were old. Eshkee made himself busy to stay out of the way of this man from so far off. Eshkee was working when he heard the Singer come up to him and say, Shi'Nali', I hear you singing a song, a tiny one under your breath. I am wondering where did you learn to sing this song? Eshkee didn't know what he was saying. He looked at him and didn't say anything at all, he just returned to work. The Singer came up to him and said, When I was young, just a young boy, Tall Singer, my grandfather s father sang that song from a long time ago. It was lost in the wind to me; I had forgotten the sound of it from so long ago. Now I hear it and it reminded me of when I was small and sat at the fire of Tall Singer and heard him sing that song. Where did you learn it? Eshkee walked inside the shade house and the old Singer followed him, they walked through the other side a little ways away. Eshkee was shy to talk about it, he said he had heard the song coming from the Towering House up on the mountain, and had seen a girl not from around there make her way to the high rocks and sing at dawn. He had first seen her when he was a child and now he was a young man and did not know her name or where she came from. The old Singer moved his hands through his hair, looking at the young man. He said in our way, we come from four original clans, that is where we come from way back in the days when the Holy Beings were with us. One of those was the Towering House Clan, it is from these people that we come from in our way of being related to one another. The people of the Towering House are no more, they are gone, they went away and no one has seen any of them. Did this girl talk to you? Did she give anything to you? Eshkee said no. The old Singer asked Eshkee for his medicine bundle. No one ever asks another for their medicine bundle it is considered a sacred thing, it is a little of what places, experiences, happiness and troubled times we mark our lives with. What it contains is very personal and not talked about in the way people talk about things with one another. Eshkee presented his to the old Singer. In the bundle there was a pottery shard, and it was the one Eshkee had carried from the time he was little boy, it was from the ruins he played in as a boy. The old man took the pottery shard and Eshkee into the ceremonial area and unrolled his deerskin bag, the one without any mark used for his medicines. There in the midst of all this was a small pottery bowl used for healing. It was chipped and a piece was gone. The old Singer put the pottery shard to it and it went into it easily. The old Singer studied it for a bit and gave Eshkee something else for it from his bundle. He told him to put it near where the Towering House Ruins was. In the stillness of night, in the quiet at the end of the day, Eshkee would sing the song and at dawn still hear it quietly, the echo still resounds through the canyons and valleys of this land. where those that walked the earth have left a trace of themselves in the wind. It is there in the quiet of early morning just before first light. The girl from the Towering House sings her song. Copyright c. 1999, Johnny Rustywire, all rights reserved. --------- "RE: Lee Goins Poem: The Blessing of No" --------- Date: Thursday, May 19, 2005 8:12 PM From: cherokee2proud [cherokee2proud@yahoo.com] Subj: The Blessing of No Mailing List: N. A. Poetry The Blessing of No I asked Creator to remove my feelings of self-importance. Creator said, "No." "It is not for me to remove this feeling you dislike. It is your job to make it go away." I asked Creator to grant me tolerance. Creator said, "No" "Tolerance wells up from disrespect. Tolerance isn't granted, it is earned." I asked Creator to fill me with cheer. Creator again said, "No" "I give you blessings, finding that which brings you cheer, is up to you." I asked Creator to free me from anguish. Creator said, "No." "Anguish draws you apart from worldly pleasures and brings you closer to me." I asked Creator to make my Spirit grow. Creator said, "No." "You must grow on your own, but I will trim you to make you fruitful." I asked for all things that might allow me to more enjoy life. Creator said, "No." "I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things." I asked Creator to teach me to love others, as He loves me. Creator said, "Ahhhhhhh, finally you understand!!!!" Lee Goins Copyright c. 1994. --------- "RE: Project seeks to preserve dying Languages" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 08:50:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAVING TONGUES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5201821,00.html Project Seeks to Preserve Dying Languages By CARL HARTMAN Associated Press Writer August 10, 2005 WASHINGTON (AP) - Every two weeks or so the last elderly man or woman with full command of a particular language dies. At that rate, as many as 2,500 native tongues will disappear forever by 2100. David W. Lightfoot is helping spearhead a government initiative to preserve some of these dying languages, believing each is a window into the human mind that can benefit the world at large. "If we are going to lose half the world's languages that endangers our capacity to understand the genetic basis of language," said Lightfoot, who heads the directorate of Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences at the National Science Foundation. The foundation recently joined the National Endowment for the Humanities in the effort to preserve languages. The project has awarded $4.4 million to 26 institutions and 13 individual scholars to investigate the status of 70 languages that are believed to be endangered and to help preserve them. The project is now asking researchers to apply for additional grants, with the expectation that at least $2 million a year will be available. Some experts say there are up to 10,000 different languages left in the world; others put the estimate thousands lower depending on how many are characterized as dialects of another language. Languages aren't just words, linguists say, but a people's way of looking at the world. Lightfoot gives the example of Guguyimadjir, spoken by people in the Australian state of Queensland. They have no words for "left" or "right" but orient themselves and their world by the points of the compass - unlike most of us, who see things in relation to ourselves rather than to the world as a whole. People in Brazil's Amazon rain forest who speak Piratapuyo say "The cake ate John" where English speakers would say "John ate the cake" - in other words, they put the object of a verb first and the subject last. Such peculiarities feed research on how the human mind works, how it perceives relations in space, how children learn complex languages so quickly and easily, Lightfoot said. These types of research will be aided by one method of saving languages: by recording their speech, analyzing their grammar, and preserving them digitally. Other researchers are interested in a broader range of knowledge that is more difficult to save. To do so requires encouraging younger people to learn their language from their elders, preserving not only the words themselves but unwritten traditions, arts, religion and more. For example, plants used by traditional healers around the world have led to the discovery of new medicines, including aspirin. Some small and declining tribe in Africa or in Papua New Guinea - a country where there are 820 languages among fewer than 5.5 million people, by one count - may know something about a plant that could help treat cancer or Alzheimer's. For decades children in American Indian schools were discouraged from speaking tribal tongues and punished when they did. That policy has long been abandoned, but generations were lost to many languages. Anthony Woodbury, who heads the linguistic faculty of the University of Texas at Austin, suggests that if the motivation is strong enough, even a virtually dead language can be revived. He points to Hebrew, a language learned for centuries only in its ancient written form. A modern version is now a vital part of life in Israel. Another example: Irish has survived with political support. At a conference sponsored by the two federal agencies, the NSF described how technology helps. Scholars used to embalm a little-known language in a single book, available in a few research libraries. Now data, including the actual sounds, will be widely and cheaply available on the Internet, standardized so it can be compared with data on other languages. Susan Penfield runs a project at the University of Arizona on two disappearing Indian languages along the Colorado River, where she has been working for over 30 years. One is Chemehuevi, a tongue related to the one spoken by the ancient Aztecs in Mexico and Central America. She knows only five fluent speakers and told the conference she was especially proud of one, Johnny Hill Jr., who at 51 is comparatively young and also has a good command of English. She told of training him and other fluent speakers in collecting data on the language, exploring aspects that have not yet been preserved and recording material digitally. As Wade Davis, an anthropologist who roams the world as an explorer-in- -residence at the National Geographic Society, wrote: "Every language is an old-growth forest of the mind, a watershed of thought, an ecosystem of spiritual possibilities." Starbucks liked the statement so much that the company is printing it on coffee cups, becoming another voice that is making the case for saving dying languages. Guardian Unlimited c. Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005. --------- "RE: Upcoming Events" --------- Date: Mon August 15, 2005 13:22:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith (gars@speakeasy.org) Subj: Upcoming Events =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= EVENTS ARE FEATURED IN ODD NUMBERED ISSUES ONLY =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= ------------------------------------------------------------------------- --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//- Notice of Copyright Clearance by Contributors: The following have granted permission for their original articles to be reposted in order to help mend the Sacred Hoop: Gary Smith, Frosty Deere, Kahentinetha Horn, Glenn Welker, Indian Trust ListServ, Karen Francis, Public Information Officer - Navajo Nation Council Office of the Speaker, Janet Smith, Lee Goins, Johnny Rustywire, Debbie Sanders, Barbara Landis --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//- _ __ __ _ / | / /___ _/ /_(_) __ __ / |/ / __ \ __/ / | / / _ \ / /| / /_/ / /_/ /| |/ / __/ /_/ |_/\__,_/\__/_/ |___/\___/ ______ _ / ____/____ ___ __________(_)___ ____ _____ / / / ___/ __ \/ ___/ ___/ / __ \/ __ \/ ___/ / /___/ / / /_/ /__ /__ / / / / / /_/ /__ / \____/_/ \____/____/____/_/_/ /_/\__, /____/ Volume 13, Issue 034 /____/ August 20, 2005 Native Crossings (c) is a separately emailed suppliment to Wotanging Ikche (c) Native American News (c) dedicated to the memory of those in Indian Country who have begun their spirit journeys It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org <================<<<< >>>>================> 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. <================<<<< >>>>================> 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. <================<<<< >>>>================> --------- "RE: Pfc. Seferino J. Reyna" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:56:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SEFERINO J. REYNA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=local&story_id=081205a1_reyna Bomb kills O'odham soldier in Iraq Twenty-year-old was father of two and the first member of the Tohono O'odham Nation to die in the Iraq War. CLAUDINE LoMONACO Tucson Citizen August 12, 2005 Pfc. Seferino J. Reyna with his wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Savannah. Reyna was killed in a roadside bombing attack near Taji, Iraq, on Sunday. The Tohono O'odham Nation has lost one of its young men to the war in Iraq. Twenty-year-old Army Pfc. Seferino J. Reyna became the first Tohono O'odham to die in the war when a bomb exploded Sunday near his vehicle near Taji, Iraq. He was a combat engineer with Company A, 70th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, based at Fort Riley, Kan. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and their two children, 4-year-old Savannah and 1-year-old Aquilino. Reyna was one of at least 16 Tohono O'odham serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the nation's Veterans Affairs Office. "It's shocking," said Kevin Lopez, a Tohono O'odham and recent graduate of Hasan Preparatory & Leadership School in Tucson. "It just hits so close to home now." As of last week, 20 American Indian and Alaskan native soldiers had died in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the Department of Defense. Reyna was the 53rd soldier with Arizona ties to die in Iraq. "This is a tragic loss for the Reyna family and the entire Tohono O'odham Nation mourns the passing of Seferino," nation Chairwoman Vivian Juan Saunders said in a news release. The Tohono O'odham Nation occupies 2.8 million acres south and west of Tucson with an enrollment of nearly 26,000 tribal members, about 11,400 of whom live on the reservation. Reyna was a registered member of the Tohono O'odham's San Lucy District near Casa Grande, but grew up in Maricopa and Kingman. He enlisted in the Army in August 2002. That fall, he and his wife enrolled in Pass Alternative High School in Kingman. "They both worked very hard," said school director Sandy McCoy. Both were top students, she said. "They were motivated to be together and make a good life for themselves." Reyna graduated within a couple of months and cared for their daughter, Savannah, while his wife earned her diploma. "He was a very kind and loving person," McCoy said. Reyna was stationed at Fort Riley in May 2004. He left for Iraq in February 2005. "We're all grieving for Jennifer," McCoy said. "We know how much she loved him and how hard it is going to be for her to have to face the days to come." The school has posted a memorial to Reyna on its Web site at www.kusd.org/pass/2005_2006/seferino/seferino.htm Citizen staff writers Brad Branan and Eric Sagara contributed to this article. Copyright c. 2005 Tucson Citizen, All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Gwendolyn Lucy O'Soup-Crane" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:56:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GWENDOLYN LUCY O'SOUP CRANE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=female-chief050812&ref=rss Wake held for Canada's first elected female chief CBC News August 12, 2005 Canada's first elected female First Nations chief has passed away. Gwendolyn Lucy O'Soup-Crane, 75, became chief of the Key First Nation in eastern Saskatchewan in the mid-1950s when she was 24 years old. Son Dennis Crane said his mother fought hard for adequate housing, education and employment for First Nations people. "She always felt that it was through education that native people, and specifically her children, were going to gain some degree of equality in Canadian society," he said. He says his mother had a strong Anglican faith and in the past few years, she was working to have the provincial and federal governments recognize the Anglican church on her reserve as a historic site. A wake for O'Soup-Crane on Key First Nation is being held today. The funeral will be Saturday. The Key reserve is about 15 kilometres south of Norquay. Copyright c. CBC 2005. --------- "RE: Daryl Jack" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:56:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DARYL JACK" http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/08/13/news/briefs/briefs02.txt Fort Hall man dies in hospital after crash August 13, 2005 POCATELLO - A fatal crash Monday morning involving a Fort Hall family claimed another life Wednesday. Daryl Jack, a well-known dancer in the powwow circle, passed away at St. James Health Care in Butte, Mont., after suffering severe injuries in the accident. The crash also claimed the life of his 4-year-old daughter, Maliah. Daryl's wife, Willow, and her sister, Lela Abrahamson, are recovering from the accident in St. James hospital. They are in stable condition. Jack's son, Nakeezaka, was released from the hospital, sustaining only cuts and bruises from the accident. The crash occurred at about 7:35 a.m. on Monday when Daryl and Willow Jack's pickup truck clipped a diesel fuel truck's trailer on I-15 just north of Butte, Mont., on their way home from a powwow in Rocky Boy, Montana. The vehicle rolled and all the passengers, except the couple's son, Nakeezaka, were ejected from the vehicle. Montana State Trooper Kurt Sager, who is investigating the crash, said none of the passengers were wearing seat belts. Sager said the crash is still under investigation, however speeding is thought to have played a role. A relief fund has been created to help the family with their medical bills. Money can be sent to Pocatello Railroad Federal Credit Union, account number 713873, or to the Jacks, P.O. Box 208, Fort Hall, Idaho 83203. - Elizabeth Ziegler Copyright C. 2005 Pocatello Idaho State Journal. --------- "RE: Princess Guadalupe "Amisha" Moreno" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005 18:56:22 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PRINCESS GUADALUPE MORENO" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3713741 Baby swept away in flood is found August 12, 2005 SELLS, Ariz. The body of a baby swept away in a flood on the Tohono O'odham (toh-HO'-noh OH'-tuhm) nation has been found. A tiny shoe poking out of the mud led to the end of the heartbreaking nine-day search. Tribal police dug through dirt and debris around the shoe until they found the body of year-old Princess Guadalupe "Amisha" Moreno yesterday afternoon. Authorities say Princess was swept away by a torrent of water August second as her family struggled to escape from their car in a flooded wash near Sells. The body was found four miles away. Yesterday, tribal officials thanked the hundreds of volunteers on and off the nation that helped with the search. Copyright c. 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2003-2005 WorldNow and KVOA. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Raymond Nakai" --------- Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 18:45:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RAYMOND NAKAI" http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/breaking/081505nakai_obit.php Former Navajo Nation tribal chairman dies at age 86 The Associated Press August 15, 2005 WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. - Former Navajo Nation Tribal Chairman Raymond Nakai was remembered Monday as the first modern Navajo leader, a champion of civil and religious rights and the man who ushered in economic development initiatives for the sprawling Indian reservation. Nakai died Sunday of pneumonia. He was 86. "He's one of the backbones to Navajo economic development," said David Clark, president of Azee Bee Nahagha of the Dine Nation and the first president of the Native American Church of Navajoland. "He advocated for the civil rights of the Navajo. He wanted to have a constitution established. That was his platform during the time he was campaigning." Nakai, who was born in Lukachukai, Ariz., was chairman of the tribe from 1964 to 1971. The tribe was headed by a chairman before the president's office was created. Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. on Monday ordered flags on the reservation to be flown at half staff through Aug. 21 to honor Nakai, who also served as a tribal councilman. "With his leadership, our evolving nation has continued to grow," Shirley said. "I know he has left the world we live in but his influences will long be remembered." Tribal officials and historians said Nakai served at a time of great transition. In 1968, he played a vital role as chairman in the establishment of Navajo Community College - now called Dine College - as the first tribally controlled college in the nation. That same year, he presided over the Centennial of the Navajo Treaty of 1868, which freed 8,000 Navajos from captivity at Fort Sumner, N.M., and established a Navajo reservation. And in 1969, the Navajo Tribal Council passed a resolution to refer to the tribe as the Navajo Nation. This was to remind Navajos and non-Navajo alike that Navajos were distinct, said Peter Iverson, a professor at Arizona State University. "Nakai said that it was asserting that we are both a part of the United States and we are apart from the United States," Iverson said. "In the long run, Chairman Nakai is somebody, I think, who will be seen as a more significant leader. He was an important person and important to recognize and remember." Navajo Nation Council Speaker Lawrence Morgan offered his condolences to Nakai's family and thanked them for the sacrifice they made for him to fulfill his duties as a tribal official. "The spirit of leadership that he shared with the Navajo people will always be felt," Morgan said. "As we work toward the betterment of our people and nation, we will always remember his effort and the efforts of all our past leaders." Nakai is survived by his wife Ella M. Nakai; their children Raymond Carlos Nakai of Tucson, Ariz., Ursula Nakai of Albuquerque, Michael Nakai of Window Rock, Richard Nakai of Lukachukai, and Laurinda of Flagstaff, Ariz.; three sisters and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Services will be Thursday morning at St. Isabel Catholic Church in Lukachukai. Burial will follow at the Lukachukai Community Cemetery. Copyright c. 2005 Tucson Citizen, All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Crossings" --------- Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005 08:34:11 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSSINGS" August 11, 2005 N.L. Hunt Lumberton N.L. Hunt, 65, of 4292 Pine Log Road, died Aug. 8, 2005, at Duke University Medical Center in Durham. The funeral will be 3 p.m. Thursday at God's Temple, the Revs. Magalene Locklear and Tony Lee officiating. Burial will follow at Lumbee Memorial Gardens. Hunt was born in Robeson County on April 25, 1940. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Josephine Hunt. Surviving are his wife, Effie Locklear Hunt of Lumberton; a daughter, Lisa Haggins of Lumberton; two sons, Timothy Ray Hunt and N.L. Hunt Jr., both of Lumberton; two stepsons, Ian Locklear of Raleigh and Sean Locklear of Seattle, Wash.; his parents, Boston and Thelma Hunt of Pembroke; seven sisters, Alice Faye Oxendine and Juanita Graham, both of Pembroke, Pamela Arnette and Erma Neal Strickland, both of Lumberton, Lee Verchus Locklear of Maxton, Janice Faye Rogers of Rowland and Bernice Oxendine of Fairmont; six brothers, Ronnie Lee Hunt of Pembroke, Henry Ray Hunt of Lumberton, Randy Hunt of Red Springs, Donald Hunt of Lumberton, Jovis Hunt of Fairmont and Thomas Hunt of Florida; 10 grandchildren; and 36 nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 tonight at Revels Funeral Home in Lumberton. August 12, 2005 Mary Jane Hunt Morgan Lumberton Mary Jane Hunt Morgan, 82, of 275 Delton's Road, died Aug. 9, 2005, at Southeastern Regional Medical Center. The funeral will be 2 p.m. Friday at Smyrna Baptist Church, the Revs. Chris Jones, Carl Pevia and Charles Locklear officiating. Burial will follow at Robeson Memorial Park. She was preceded in death by her parents, French and Lum Hunt; and her husband, Delton Morgan. Surviving are two sons, Roger Morgan of Lumberton and Kenneth Morgan of Bonno Beach, S.C.; three daughters, Rose Lashley, Alice Deal and Joann Bell, all of Lumberton; a half-brother, Floyd Hunt of Maxton; 14 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 tonight at Floyd Mortuary & Crematory Inc. in Lumberton. Copyright c. 2005 The Robesonian, Lumberton, NC. -=-=-=- August 10, 2005 Christine Locklear RAEFORD - Mrs. Christine Locklear, 83, of 1206 N. Fulton St., formerly of Maxton, died Monday, Aug. 8, 2005, in Autumn Care of Raeford. Services: Funeral, 4 p.m. Thursday in Sycamore Hill Holiness Church. Burial in church cemetery. Thompson's Funeral Home of Pembroke. Visitation: 7 to 9 tonight at the church. Survived by: Daughter, Susan; son, Robert; sisters, Evelyn Burnett, Lizzie Lowery and Fannie; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Copyright c. 2005 The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. -=-=-=- August 9, 2005 Tyler Jude White Tyler Jude White, 10, of Ponemah, died on Sunday, July 31, 2005, at St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth. A funeral will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Ponemah Community Center in Ponemah. A visitation will begin this morning at the Ponemah Community Center in Ponemah. Blaine "Bean" Lee White, I Blaine "Bean" Lee White, I, 25, of Redby, Minnesota died, Sunday, August 7, 2005 at Redlake Indian Hospital in Redlake, Minnesota. Cease Family Funeral Home of Blackduck assisted the family with arrangements. Traditional Indian services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Thursday, August 11, 2005 at the Redby Community Center in Redby, Minnesota with Spiritual leader Steve Jackson officiating. A wake will begin on Wednesday at 3:00 P.M. the Redby Community Center and will continue until the services. Burial will be at the Family Burial Grounds in Ponemah, Minnesota. Active casketbearers will be Ira Schoenborn, George Schoenborn, Mark Sigana, Orville White Sr., Randy Atkinson, and Ralph White. Honorary Casketbearers will be Ron Kingbrid, Jon Parker, Sr., Frank Strong, Jr., Darren Strong, Harlan Kingbird, and Robert Parker, Jr. He was born on November 1, 1979 at Redlake, Minnesota the son of Allen Kingbird and Peggy (White) Kingbird. He attended Redlake High School and Flandreau Boarding School. He worked at the Redby Store and as a chef at numerous Casinos. He liked listening to music, talking on the phone and visiting with family and friends. He loved spending time with his two children whom he had raised with his mother, Peggy K.B. and father, Allen Kingbird since both were babies. He is survived by his parents Allen and Peggy Kingbird; his children, Blaine White, II., and Tia Andrea White both of Redby; special friend Tristin Stillday of Ponemah; grandmother, Carol White of Bemidji; grandfather, Calvin Kingbird of Ponemah; brothers, Roy (Carlene) White of Redlake, Christopher (Debbie) White of Redby, and Jonathan (Linda) Kingbird of Warroad; one niece and two nephews. He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Ralph White; grandmother, Cecelia Kingbird; one uncle and one aunt. Amber Lynn Bowen Amber Lynn Bowen (Zhaa gaana shi wiikwe), 17 of Redby, MN died Sunday, August 7, 2005 at the Red Lake Hospital in Red Lake, MN Funeral services will be 10:00 am Friday, August 12, 2005 at the Ponemah Elementary School in Ponemah with Tom Stillday officiating. A wake will begin Wednesday afternoon at the Ponemah Elementary School in Ponemah and continue until the time of service on Friday. Interment will be at Fox Point Cemetery in Redby, MN under the direction of the Cease Family Funeral Home of Bemidji. She was born April 21, 1988 in Bemidji, MN the daughter of Anita Gibbs and David Murray Bowen. She grew up mainly in the Battle River area on the Red Lake Reservation. She attended Ponemah Elementary and Red Lake High School. She was very active in cultural ceremonies. She really enjoyed spending time with her friends and talking on the phone with them. She enjoyed swimming. She also enjoyed visiting with the elders at the elder home. She was always happy and loving and joking. This was evident in her interactions with everybody she met. She is survived by her mother: Anita Gibbs of Redby; Father: David Bowen of Minneapolis; Brother: David E. Bowen, Jr. of Redby; 3 1/2 brothers: John Bowen, Leroy Bowen and David Murray Bowen all of Mpls. 1/2 sister: Nelly Bowen of Minneapolis; Grandmothers: Anna C. Gibbs of Ponemah; Beverly J. Bowen of Racine, Wisconsin; Special friend: Jerry J. Graves of Red Lake She was preceded in death by her grandfathers Robert Gibbs, Jr. and Leroy Bowen, Sr. Honorary Casketbearers will be Estilita Charwood, Letesha LaFave, Dena White, Avis White, Patty Stomberg, LaBria Gibbs, Darlene Jones and Elsie Johnson. Active Casketbearers will be Leslie Gibbs, Arthur W. Tainter, Jerry J. Graves, Michael Greenleaf, Patrick DeFoe and Robert Spears. August 11, 2005 Donald Louis Savage Donald Louis Savage, Indian name, Dibikih BiiMosay Mukwa, 64, of Park Rapids, formerly of Cass Lake, died on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005, at his home in Park Rapids. A memorial service will begin at noon on Saturday at the Jones-Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids, with a time of sharing followed by a traditional Native American prayer service led by Mike Swan. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday at the funeral home. Following the service a luncheon will be held at the Menahga VFW in Menahga. Copyright c. 2005 Red Lake Net News. -=-=-=- August 12, 2005 Dibikih BiiMosay Mukwa Donald Louis Savage Dibikih BiiMosay Mukwa Donald Louis Savage, 64, of Park Rapids, Minn. passed away suddenly on Aug. 9, 2005 at his home in Park Rapids. Don was born Jan. 12, 1941 in Minneapolis, Minn. to Celia Houle and Henry 'Toddy' Sheehy. He was raised by his mother and father, Gene Savage. He attended elementary school in Grand Marais, Minn. and high school in Duluth, Minn. Don enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. and served in Vietnam. He was honorably discharged in March of 1964. He moved back to Minnesota where he worked in many different professions such as a newscaster for a local Duluth television station, a photographer and a teacher. He also worked for the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Nu Ply in Bemidji and in the gaming industry. He met Karol Kay Kivi in 1976 and they were married in 1983. They raised their family in Cass Lake , Minn. Don was an accomplished golfer and played whenever possible. He was a big sports fan for the Cass Lake Panthers and the Minnesota Twins. He was a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Ojibwe and the Menahga VFW. He will be remembered for many, many things, such as his love for his family and friends, his sense of humor, his great golf game, and his ability to always find the positive in life. He was preceded in death by his parents, Celia, Gene, and Toddy, his sister, Cathy, his grandson, Tyler, and his special uncle, Henry Houle. Don is survived by his loving wife, Karol, of Park Rapids, Minn.; his son Billy (Lisa) Savage of Naples, Fla.; and three daughters, Shawna (Rob) Premo of Cass Lake; Dannell (Chad) Kettelhut and Darci Savage both of Cloquet, Minn. His grandchildren, Cailee, Jessie, Caylyn, Derek, Bryce, Devon, Clayton, Trey, Alexis, Gage, Tayden, and Fhenix remember him for his teasing, his teaching them golf, how great he always smelled, 'The Claw', and his big hugs. He is also survived by his foster sister and brother, Marguerite Diver and Ed Crawford, and his half sisters and brothers, Loretta Martineau, Geraldine 'Beannie' Savage, Dick Sheehy and Dennis Sheehy as well as numerous relatives, extended family and good friends. MEMORIAL SERVICE: Noon with a time of sharing followed by a traditional Native American Prayer Service led by Mike Swan on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2005 at the Jones-Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday at the funeral home. Honorary casketbearers will be: Tadd Usher, Ron Litzau, Roger Paurus, Gary Eidem, Jeff Zeller, Mike Miller, Eric Castrin, Tom Paquette, Dapper Danielson., Mark Thorson, and John Rock. Following the service a luncheon will be held at the Menahga VFW in Menahga. Copyright c. 2005 Duluth News Tribune. -=-=-=- August 10, 2005 Amber Lynn Bowen Amber Lynn Bowen (Zhaa gaana shi wiikwe), 17, of Redby, died on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005, at Red Lake Hospital in Red Lake. A funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday at the Ponemah Elementary School in Ponemah with Tom Stillday officiating. A wake will begin this afternoon at the Ponemah Elementary School in Ponemah and continue until the time of service on Friday. Burial will be in Fox Point Cemetery in Redby. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Bemidji assisted the family with arrangements. Blaine Lee White Sr. Blaine "Bean" Lee White Sr., 25, of Redby, died on Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005, at Red Lake Indian Hospital in Red Lake. Traditional Indian services will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday at the Redby Community Center in Redby with Spiritual Leader Steve Jackson officiating. A wake will begin at 3 p.m. today at the Redby Community Center and will continue until the time of service on Thursday. Burial will be in Family Burial Grounds in Ponemah. The Cease Family Funeral Home of Blackduck assisted the family with arrangements. August 11, 2005 Donald Louis Savage Donald Louis Savage, Indian name, Dibikih BiiMosay Mukwa, 64, of Park Rapids, formerly of Cass Lake, died on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005, at his home in Park Rapids. A memorial service will begin at noon on Saturday at the Jones-Pearson Funeral Home in Park Rapids, with a time of sharing followed by a traditional Native American prayer service led by Mike Swan. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday at the funeral home. Following the service a luncheon will be held at the Menahga VFW in Menahga. Copyright c. 2005 The Pioneer/Bemidji, MN. -=-=-=- August 11, 2005 Estrelita Pearl Holy "Wanbli Waste Win" Estrelita Pearl Holy-Hoffman, 50 of Pierre, SD, entered the Spirit World on Friday, July 22, 2005 at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls. Services were held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, July 29, at the Red Scaffold Gym with Fr .Brian Lane, Deacons Ted Knife, Sr. and Harold Condon officiating. Burial was in the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Red Scaffold. Wake services were 7:00 p.m. Thursday at the Red Scaffold Gym. Traditional services were led by Romanas Bear Stops and Vernelle Sitting Crow. The drum group was Willow Creek of Red Scaffold. Estrelita Pearl Holy was born on October 27, 1954 at Bridger, SD to Mabel Kills First Holy and Roy Afraid of Lightning "Circle Bear". Estrelita was named by Eva Bond, a teacher at Bridger. Her name in Spanish translates to Little Star. Estrelita was delivered by her grandmother, Sara Blue Hair Holy. She attended school in Bridger, St Joseph's Indian School, Eagle Butte and Nisland. She lived her young life in Bridger, Rapid City, Red Scaffold, Cherry Creek, Porcupine (Pine Ridge Reservation), Faith, Sweet Grass, Sask. Canada and lastly in Pierre, SD. She was married to John Hoffman, Sr. of Faith. She enjoyed attending Pow Wows, caring for her grandchildren enjoyed traveling, especially to Canada, and visiting friends and relatives. Estrelita is survived by two children: Tracy Cortier and Christopher Tyler. She raised her beloved grandchildren: Janell and Jacob Mexican. Brothers and sisters: Veda Catches, Violet Catches, Freida Condon, Carlos Mexican, Roletta Pretty Weasel, Alvina Circle Bear, Ronald Afraid of Lightning, Charlene Afraid of Lightning, Linda Dickerson, Anita Afraid of Lightning. Uncle Martin "Takola" Holy, Hunka son: Danny Rabbit, Hunka daughters: Michelle His Law and Gwen Rabbit. Grandchildren: Christian, Janell, and Jacob Mexican Keanna Tiger and special friend, Vern Neshiem and several other relatives., Preceding her into the Spirit World were grandparents, Sara and Leon Blue Hair, mother: Mabel Holy Mexican, brother: Marvin W. Holy (High Hawk), daughter: Tracy Cortier, step-father: Charles Mexican and husband, John Hoffman. Copyright c. 2005 Missouri Dakota Publishing, Inc. & The Eagle Butte News. -=-=-=- Teton Times, The LEGAL Newspaper of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Spirit World July 20-27, 2005 Catherine Fern Young Bear, 68 IGNACIO, Colo., - Mass of Christian Burial for Fern Young Bear, 68 of Ignacio, Colorado, was held July 20 at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Fort Yates, N.D. Fr. Bill Cosgrove will officiated. Burial was at St. Elizabeth's Cemetery, Cannonball under the direction of Kesling Funeral Home of Mobridge. Fern passed away at her home in Colorado on July 14, 2005. Catherine Fern Young Bear was born Jan. 14, 1937 at Cannon Ball, N.D. to Frank Young Bear and Imelda Mentz. She grew up with her mother in Cannon Ball. Fern then moved to California & attended Sonoma State University where she earned a Masters Degree in Counseling and Art Therapy. Fern is survived by her husband Haines McNoise of Ignacio, CO. She was preceded in death by her parents, 2 brothers and 3 sisters. Casketbearers were Brother George, Gary Kidder, John Buckley, Elliott Ward, Gabe Chavez, Aaron Conroy. Aldena Ursula Lorane High Bear, 77 Pahin Sa Win "Red Haired Woman' EAGLE BUTTE - Funeral .for Aldena High Bear age 77 of Eagle Butte, SD will be at All Saints Catholic Church in Eagle Butte, SD at 10:00 AM, MT on Tuesday, July 26, 2005. Fr. Brian Lane will be officiating. Burial will be in the Episcopal Cemetery in LaPlant, SD at 1:00 PM, MT under the direction of Oster Funeral Home of Mobridge, SD. Traditional services by Richard "Bucky" Means. There will be a Rosary Service held at the church, starting at 7:00 PM, MT on Monday. Family and friends will gather at the 4 mile junction at 5:00 PM, MT on Monday. Aldena passed away on July 20, 2005 at her residence in Eagle Butte, SD. Aldena Ursula Lorane High Bear was born on July 6, 1928 in Laplant, SD to William and Rose (White Eyes) Garreau. She grew up north of Ridgeview, SD at Cotton Wood Creek and she attended school in Laplant. In July of 1945 she married Joseph Paul High Bear and themade their home on a ranch 5 miles North of Laplant. In 1973 she and Joe moved to Eagle Butte, SD where she has since resided. While living in Eagle Butte, SD she worked at the Tribal Laundromat and then at the Walter Miner Law Enforcement Center, where she worked as the head cook. She enjoyed going to the Grand River Casino. She is survived by three daughters Johanna High Bear of Laplant, SD, Robert and Janice Mandan of Iron Lightning, SD and James and Donna Petersen of Ridgeview, SD; One son Donavon and Diane Pretty Weasel of Eagle Butte, SD; Special life long friend Doris Ward of Cherry Creek, SD; Special sister-in-law Eleanor Garreau of Timber Lake, SD; Special family Mr. and Mrs. Tony Rivers family of Rapid City; Special brother-in-law Paul High Bear Jr. of Rapid City, SD; Special grandson George "Chipper" Cudmore and granddaughter Joey Lynn Pretty Weasel. She was preceded in death by parents, her husband, one son Arnold Cloud Eagle, one son-in-law Kenneth Spotted Bear, one grand daughter Shannon Jo and numerous brothers and sisters. Casketbearers will be her grandsons: Garrett High Bear, Caleb High Bear, Kenny Spotted Bear, Lyman Pretty Weasel, Vandon Pretty Weasel, Devlon Pretty Weasel, Pierre Pretty Weasel II, Charles Garreau, Clyde Mandan, Joe Garreau, Marty Anderson, Jim Anderson, Terry Anderson, Gary Cudmore, Chuck LeCompte, Marvin LeCompte, Hank LeCompte, Kevin Keckler, Galen Means, Cecil Means II. Shawn Means I, Shawn Means II, Bucky Means, Winston Means, Dillon Means, JC Means, Michael Todd Petersen, Luke Petersen, Roland Garreau, Arnold Cloud Eagle Jr., Benny Lawrence, RJ Lawrence, Alex Chasing Hawk, William Chasing Hawk, Bucky Chasing Hawk, Wacey Ward, Tater Ward II, DeLaine Peterson, Daniel Peterson, Daniel Marshalek and Christopher Marshalek. Honorary casketbearers will be Rocky and Arlene Black Bird, late Bella White Eyes family, late Pauline Pretty Weasel family, late Charlie Garreau family, late Gilbert Garreau family, late Sylvester Garreau d family, late Alex Garreau family, late Serphine Garreau family, late Caroline Garreau Collins family, late Delaine White Eyes family, Walter Woods family, Vivian Traversie family, Delilah Charger, Winona Charger, Ruby T. Marshall, Edith Traversie family, Ruby Garreau Marshall, Eagle Hunter, Delphine Red Fox family, Richard Red Elk family, Mona and Roger Lawrence family, Arliss and Bob Keckler family, Deloris Millers family, Belva Franks, Sharon White Eagle, Mary Buffalo family, Paulette Heideman family, late Louie White Eyes family, late Paul Blue Earth High Bear family, Nelson Garfield, Theresa Lablanc, Blue Coat girls family, late Amos Claymore family, Fr. Yvonne Sheehea, Fr. John Pennington, Dani Dean, Aldora Black Eagle family, the West Winds Health Care, Walter Miner Law Enforcement past and present, and all friends and relatives. Special music will be provided by Sisters In Harmony. Pianist will be Mary White Bull. Drum group will be Screaming Eagles. Favorite hymn was "Will There Be Any Stars In My Crown". Theresa Hanley, 87 "Oyughpe Win" Brings Down Woman MANDAN, N.D. - Funeral for Theresa Hanley, 87 formerly of Wakpala, were held July 22, 2005 at the Community Center in Wakpala. Rev. Joel Cornelius will be officiating. Burial will be in the St. Bede's Catholic Church Cemetery in Wakpala, under the direction of Oster Funeral Home of Mobridge. Theresa passed away on July 18, 2005, at MedCenter One in Bismarck, North Dakota. Theresa Hanley was born on May 10, 1918 in Wakpala, SD to John Cadotte, Sr. and Henrietta "Hattie" McLean. She grew up in Wakpala and attended school there and at the Chamberlain Boarding School. In 1938 she married Wilmer "Bud" Joseph Hanley, Sr. and they made their home on a ranch located East of Wakpala. In 1957 Bud passed away and she moved into Wakpala, where she lived until 1982 at which time she moved to Ft. Yates, ND. In August of 2002 she moved to Mandan, ND where she has since resided. She is survived by three daughters: Cleo Hanley Coates of Mandan, ND, Helen Julia Hanley of Bismarck, ND and Joan E. Rousseau of Promise, SD; Two sons: Francis "Pierre" Hanley of Hayes, Montana and Richard L. Hanley, Sr. of Rural Solen, ND; Twenty six grandchildren, and nineteen great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, five sons David, Daniel, Robert, Winston, and Wilmer, Jr., three brothers and two sisters. Casketbearers will be Richard Hanley, Jr., Jody Honeyman, Wilmer Honeyman, AJ Rousseau, Sean Marshall, and Chance Comeau. Honorary casketbearers will be all of her friends and family. Special music will be provided by Rev. Joel Cornelius, Sean Marshall, Gabe Upshaw, Lloyd Thompson, Ashley Jacobo, and Ted Eagle. Richard Weyaus, 22 Onamia, MN - Richard Weyaus, Jr., 22 year old resident of Onamia, MN passed away on Saturday, July 23, 2005 at the Saint Cloud Hospital in Saint Cloud, MN. Funeral services will be held at 10 AM on Wednesday, July 27, 2005 at the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Community Center on the Mille Lacs Reservation with Lee Staples officiating. Burial will be in Vineland Cemetery on the reservation. Friends may call starting at 4 PM on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 at the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Community Center. Arrangements are with the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Onamia. Richard Weyaus, Jr., is survived by his father, Richard Weyaus, Sr., of Little Eagle, SD; mother, Juanita Weyaus of Onamia, MN; brothers, Chad Weyaus, Bradley Weyaus, Sr., Jeremy Boyd all of Onamia, MN Gordon Weyaus of Bismark, ND, Jamie Short of Garrison, MN; sisters, Ursula Weyaus of Little Eagle, SD & Stephanie Boyd of Onamia, MN; many aunts, uncles, cousins & friends. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, John Weyaus, Violet Weyaus, Daniel Boyd, Sr., & Daisy Boyd. JayCee Elden Landeis, Infant JayCee Elden Landeis, Fort Yates, North Dakota, was born and died, Tuesday, July 19, 2005, in a Minneapolis hospital. Graveside Services will be held at 9:00 AM, Saturday, July 23, 2005, in St. Philomenia Church Cemetery, Selfridge, North Dakota, with Fr. William Cosgrove, officiating. JayCee was born to Melinda Landeis and Merrill Elk. He is survived by his parents; one sister, Santee Elk and one brother, DeAndre Elk, all of Fort Yates; aunts, Sheena Landeis, Kentucky, Sherri Elk, Corinne and Kenny Alkire, all of Fort Yates, Brenda and Edmond Fast Horse, Cannon Ball uncles, Dustin and Joy Landeis, Bismarck, Ernie Elk, Fort Yates, Robert and Arlene Cordova, Cannon Ball, Mitchel Elk, Fort Yates; grandparents, Mildred Iszler, Tillie Landeis, Annie Thunder Hawk, Melissa White Bull and family, Jessie Hinsley and family. JayCee was preceded in death by his great-grandparents, Elden Iszler, Pete Landeis, John and Melda Elk, Wallace Thunder Hawk, Aunt Baby Ann, and special cousin, Tristin Tuntland. Arrangements are being made by Perry Funeral Home, Mandan, North Dakota. In Loving Memory of Billie Jean Left Hand On July 27, 1988 our granddaughter, Billie Jean Left Hand was born! She was premature and had to fight for her life from the start. We watched her grow up to be a very beautiful young lady! We all lived life to the fullest! We laughed, we cried, we shared and experienced many things with all of the family. Billie Jean had many dreams an we did our best to help her to accomplish them. We lost Billie Jean to suicide on Dec. 30, 2004 because of the silent cries we didn't hear. Her loss has left a big void in all her family members and friends. We cherish and keep her happy moments alive! We all miss her big beautiful smile! Rest in peace Billie Jean, we all love and miss you. All our love, Grandpa Darnell & Grandma Mary Billie Jean Left Hand Copyright c. 2005 Teton Times, McLaughlin, SD. -=-=-=- August 15, 2005 Jacquelyn Rouse, Wagner Jacquelyn Rouse, 65, Wagner, died Friday, Aug. 12, 2005, at Good Samaritan Center, Wagner. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at the Yankton Sioux Tribe Gymnasium, Lake Andes. Burial will be in St. Phillip's Episcopal Cemetery, Lake Andes. Wake services will begin today at the gym in Lake Andes. Crosby-Jaeger Funeral Home, Wagner, is handling arrangements. Copyright c. 2005 The Daily Republic/Mitchell, South Dakota. -=-=-=- August 9, 2005 Ernest Afraid of Bear Sr. LOGAN, Utah - Ernest Afraid of Bear Sr., "Wambli Ota," 80, Logan and formerly of South Dakota, died Friday, Aug. 5, 2005. Survivors include five children, Loretta Cook, Fontanelle Ernest Afraid of Bear Jr., Michael Getty, Anita Grace Afraid of Bear and Travis Ramon; 25 grandchildren; and 43 great-grandchildren. A traditional all-night wake and service will begin at 10:30 a.m. today at Tom and Loretta Cook's home in Slim Butte, S.D. Native American church funeral service will begin at sundown Wednesday, Aug. 10, and continue all night at the Beatrice Weasel Bear residence fireplaces in Slim Butte, with Burnette Iron Shell and Chester Stone Man in charge. Burial with full military honors will be at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. Kinkade Funeral Chapel of Sturgis is in charge of arrangements. Earl J. Cottier ALLEN - Earl J. Cottier, 91, Allen, died Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005, in Allen. Survivors include his wife, Ruby Whirlwind Horse, Allen; one stepson, Wayne Whirlwind Horse, Knoxville, Iowa; two daughters, Phyllis Falk, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Arlene Birks, Bakersfield, Calif.; two stepdaughters, Theresa Whirlwind Horse and Mary Jealous of Him, both of Allen; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Wake services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, at the Earl Cottier home in Allen. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at the Earl Cottier home. Scattering of cremains will be at a later date. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. August 10, 2005 Harlan P. Garnette Sr. KYLE - Harlan P. Garnette Sr., 52, Kyle, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005, at Gordon Memorial Hospital in Gordon, Neb. Survivors include two sons, Stacy Garnette and Harlan Garnette Jr., both of Allen; one daughter, Ramona Garnette, Allen; one brother, Carl Garnette, Gordon; six sisters, Ramona Ashmore, Salt Lake City, Charlotte Conroy, Wanblee, Alice Camargo, Scottsbluff, Neb., Jackie Hernandez, Texhoma, Okla. , Phyllis Little Moon, Wounded Knee, and Elvira Mosqueda, Fort Morgan, Colo.; and four grandchildren. Wake services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, at Our Lady of Sorrows Church Hall in Kyle. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 12, at the church hall, with the Rev. Paul Steinmetz officiating. Burial will be at St. Stephen's Catholic Cemetery in Kyle. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. August 11, 2005 John Wayne Apple MANDERSON - John Wayne Apple, 21, Manderson, died Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005, near Pine Ridge. Survivors include his fiancee, Doris Romero, Manderson; one son, Bryan Apple, Manderson; one daughter, Alaura Apple, Manderson; his parents, Garfield Apple and Betty Little Dog, Manderson; three brothers, Eldwin Steele and Garfield Steele, both of Manderson, and Paul Apple, Rapid City; and three sisters, Willene Kills Enemy and Candy Apple, both of Manderson, and Brandi Apple, Pine Ridge. A two-night wake service will begin at 3 p.m. today at Wounded Knee District School in Manderson. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at the school, with Mike Carlow Jr. officiating. Burial will be at St. Agnes Catholic Cemetery in Manderson. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Earl J. Cordier ALLEN - Earl J. Cordier, 91, Allen, died Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005, in Allen. Survivors include his wife, Ruby Whirlwind Horse, Allen; one stepson, Wayne Whirlwind Horse, Knoxville, Iowa; two daughters, Phyllis Falk, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Arlene Birks, Bakersfield, Calif.; two stepdaughters, Theresa Whirlwind Horse and Mary Jealous of Him, both of Allen; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Wake services were Wednesday, Aug. 10, at the Earl Cordier home in Allen. Services will be at 10 a.m. today at the Earl Cordier residence. Scattering of cremains will be at a later date. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Jesse Ketah-Black Crow FEDERAL WAY, Wash. - Jesse Ketah-Black Crow, 29, Federal Way, Washington, died Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at Franciscan Hospice House in Tacoma, Washington after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Survivors include his mother Anne Black Crow, a sister Morgan Black Crow, and three brothers Joe Black Crow, Jarrod Black Crow and Justin Black Crow, all of Federal Way, Washington, and sisters Celia Farley of Rapid City, Carmen Gray of Atlanta, Georgia, Angela Richards and Connie Lawrence of Arlington, Texas, and Susan Spotted Bear and Alicia Bassett of Las Vegas, Nevada, and brothers David Black Crow of Rapid City and Allen Black Crow of San Diego, California. He was preceded in death by his father Milo M. Black Crow, four brothers Garry, Aaron, Austin and Milo J., and a sister Debra. Memorial services will be at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, August 11, 2005 at the Wanblee CAP Office in Wanblee, SD, with the Rev. Jeff Siscoe officiating, assisted by Shelly Siscoe. Buster A. Pumpkin Seed OGLALA - Buster A. Pumpkin Seed, 62, Oglala, died Monday, Aug. 8, 2005, in Clinton, Okla. Survivors include two sons, Steve Tyon, Pine Ridge, and Stanley Pumpkin Seed, Charlotte, N.C.; three brothers, Patrick Pumpkin Seed, Wounded Knee, and Bluch Fire Thunder and Merle Black Feather, both of Pine Ridge; and three sisters, Lucille Black Feather, Madeline Black Feather and JoAnn Black Feather, all of Pine Ridge. A one-night wake service will begin at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, at Brother Rene Church Hall in Oglala. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at the church hall. Burial will be at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Cemetery in Oglala. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. August 12, 2005 Barbara A. Adams WOUNDED KNEE - Barbara A. Adams, 61, Wounded Knee, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005, at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Survivors include three sons, Melvin Adams, Klamath, Calif., Theodore Adams, Browning, Mont., and James Adams, Memphis, Tenn.; her mother, Margaret Black Weasel, Wounded Knee; four brothers, Clayton Graham and Michael Graham, both of Wounded Knee, Clement Black Weasel, Rapid City, and Marvin Black Weasel, Browning; four sisters, Theodora Weatherwax, Browning, Ramona Black Weasel, Wanblee, Rosie Black Weasel, Seattle, and Joann Black Weasel, Rapid City; and six grandchildren. A two-night wake service will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wounded Knee. Services will be at 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15, at the church. Burial will be at Means Family Cemetery in Wounded Knee. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. August 14, 2005 Ruth Margaret Long PINE RIDGE - Ruth Margaret Long was born in Pine Ridge, SD on October 8, 1925 to Hobert Janis and Ethel Hobbs. Ruth was the third of six children. Ruth, or Tootsie as she was known to be called, grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and excelled in several sports which included basketball, bowling and softball. Ruth was a great softball player and was one of two Native American women to be chosen to play with the Nebraska women's all star traveling team. Ruth made many friends during her days on the traveling team. Ruth's love of bowling lead to her winning tournaments in St. Louis, Mo. And Kansas City, Mo. Ruth married Lloyd Goings on August 17, 1945 and born of this marriage were one daughter Imogene and three sons, Hobert, Dennis and Lloyd. Ruth lost her husband Lloyd and later met and married Albert Long and had five children, Gaylene, Lynelle, Jack, John and Albert. Ruth worked at the Pine Ridge School for nearly nineteen years in various positions and was the sponsor of one of the first high school drill teams in Indian country. She took her drill team to competitions around the area and attended a large gathering at the University of Colorado in the early eighties. Ruth coached the Pine Ridge Village softball team and played competitively until her early fifties where an eye injury forced her to retire. Ruth stressed to her players and lived by the rule that any one player was just as good as anyone else, regardless of age or race, or color of skin. Ruth is survived by three daughters, Gaylene Stump of Williston, ND, Nellie Long and Imogene Goings of Pine Ridge and five sons, Albert Long of Fort Yates, ND, John Long of Aberdeen, SD, Lloyd Goings of Whitewood, SD, Dennis Goings of Phoenix, AZ, and Jack Long of Pine Ridge, SD. Ruth is also survived by twenty four grandchildren, and twenty great-grandchildren. Ruth was preceded in death by her mother and father, both husbands, her son Hobert Goings, grandson Dallas Howard III, three sisters and one brother. Ruth passed away at home with her family at her side. A one-night wake service will begin at 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15, at Billy Mills Hall in Pine Ridge. Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Billy Mills Hall, with the Rev. Steve Sanford officiating. Burial will be at Holy Rosary Catholic Cemetery in Pine Ridge. Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2005 The Rapid City Journal. -=-=-=- June 2005 * Cherokee Phoenix August 2005 Duane Fitts Funeral services for Duane Fitts, 74, of Andrews, Texas, were 10:00 AM Saturday, July 2, 2005 at the First Baptist Church in Andrews with Dr. H.A. Hanks of Andrews officiating. Burial will follow in the Andrews Old Cemetery under the direction of McNett Funeral Home in Andrews. He died Tuesday, June 28, 2005 at Hospice Midland Inpatient Unit in Midland. He was born January 16, 1931 in Stilwell, Oklahoma to Clement Bernis Fitts and Clara Jane Paden. He attended Bacone Indian School in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he was on the boxing team, was a Golden Glove, and boxed at nationals in 1943. He served in the U.S. Army and Army Air Force for 7 years during WWII and Berlin Airlift. He married Alma Grace Fitts on April 2, 1956 in Andrews. He moved to Big Lake in 1956 from Levelland and then to Andrews in 1958. He has owned and operated Fitts Electrical Construction, Inc. in Andrews since 1966. He served on the Andrews City Council from 1976-1979. He supported and volunteered at the Boys Club Boxing and Mustang Boxing Club in Andrews. He sponsored the Cherokee Nation "Trail Of Tears" bicycle ride from North Carolina to Oklahoma in 1986. He was a member of the Andrews Masonic Lodge #1024. He was a registered citizen of the Cherokee Nation and was a Methodist. He was preceded in death by his parents; and brother: Bill Fitts in 1993. He is survived by his wife: Alma Grace Fitts of Andrews; 1 son: Stephen Duane Fitts of Manchester, England; 2 daughters: Lana Carol Browning of Aurora, Colorado and Glora Elizabeth Crutcher of Andrews; 9 grandchildren; and 5 great grandchildren. To register, send condolences, or view the obituary; go to www.mcnettfuneralhome. com. Andrew (Andy) Coleman Sellers, 63 Funeral Services for Andrew (Andy) Sellers, 63, of Tahlequah were Wednesday, June 15, at the Cedar Tree Tabernacle in Briggs, Okla.. Rev. Clayton Sellers officiated. Dicky Sellers, John Sellers, Shawn Crittenden, Ron Hamby, Danny Decker, and Jerry Knight served as pall bearers. Honorary pall bearers were Jerry Sellers, Danny Green, and Percy Sellers. Interment followed in the Cedar Tree Cemetery under the care of Green Country Funeral Home. Andy was born on June 29, 1941, the son of P.M. "Red" and Mary Groundhog Sellers in Tahlequah. The Lord called him home on June 12, 2005, from Tulsa, OK. A life long resident of Cherokee County, Andy was a 1959 graduate of Tahlequah High School and served 2 1/2 years in the U.S. Army. He was a board member of the Adair County Indian Credit Association. Following 20 years of service to the Tahlequah Police Department Andy retired as a lieutenant. Also during those 20 years, he maintained a second job working for Sooner TV in Tahlequah. He then served two terms, eight years, as Cherokee County Sheriff. Family was important to Andy. He and his family sang gospel for many years. He loved to sing with family and friends. The last seven years he traveled and sang gospel with the group "The Rubber Band." Andy enjoyed sports including boxing, motorcycle riding, and fitness and weight lifting to mention a few. Predeceasing Andy are his parents, a son Darrell Wayne "Rusty" Sellers, and a stepson Stephen Burrough. Cherishing his memory are his wife Rita of the home; two daughters Jolene Owens and Bud of Dewey, and Andrea of the home; three sons Scott Sellers and wife Gloria of Bartlesville, Mike Sellers and wife Carolyn of Welling, and David Jones and wife Brandy of Bartlesville; stepchildren David Burrough and wife Jennifer, and Renae Chidester and Robert all of Pryor; two sisters Mary Jo Hare and husb. Jerry of Tahlequah, and Betty Sellers of Welling; four brothers Percy and wife Dorris, Jerry and wife Faye, John and wife Pam, and Dicky and wife Glenda all of Tahlequah; 14 grandchildren, three great grandsons; nieces, nephews, and a host of other family members, friends and loved ones. In Memoriam Aaron Allen Jr., 74 March 5, 1931, Spavinaw, Okla. - July 9, 2005, Pryor, Okla. Carpenter Elmer Ewing Foster Feb. 28, 1902, Craig County, Okla. - 1984, Seattle, Wash. Kitty Lorene Gregory Foster, 85 June 8, 1909, Nowata, Okla. - 1995 Betty Fae Haikey, 74 Sept. 23, 1930, Mayes County, Okla. - June 28, 2005, Langley, Okla. Homemaker Herman Henry Haikey, 83 Nov. 19, 1921, Broken Arrow, Okla. - July 17, 2005, Tulsa, Okla. Retired school bus driver James E. McClure, 89 Oct. 18, 1916, Bluejacket, Okla.- April 12, 2005, Las Vegas, Nev. Retired Maj. USAF Wayne McCoy, 70 March 31, 1934, Sallisaw, Okla. - Oct. 13, 2004, Eureka, Calif. Truck driver Ruby Pearl Snell, 88 June 29, 2005, Kansas, Okla. Assembly line worker Nellie Tucker, 90 Nov. 6, 1914, Chewey, Okla.- June 28, 2005, Oaks, Okla. Homemaker This listing is complimentary to Cherokee Nation citizens. Copyright c. 2005 Cherokee Phoenix. -=-=-=- August 12, 2005 Sherman Baldridge TAHLEQUAH - Sherman Lynn Baldridge, son of Willie and Ellen Christine (Wilson) Baldridge, was born Dec. 8, 1959, in Roswell, N.M., and departed this life on Aug. 8, 2005, in Sallisaw, at the age of 45 years. Sherman was employed by Greenleaf Nursery and attended Bethel Baptist Church in Tahlequah. Spending time with his family was important to him, as well as his hobbies: Fishing, walking and playing Bingo. He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Cullen Baldridge and Clarence Baldridge; and one sister, Daria Kay Baldridge. He is survived by three daughters, Ada Baldridge, Lizzie (Baldridge) Hallum and husband, Brian, and Tamissa Baldridge, all of Eufaula; two sons, Damian and Dakota Baldridge and their mother, Sherry Degase, of Tahlequah; two stepdaughters, Shawna Degase of Tahlequah and Sandra Degase of Texas; five brothers, Calvin Eugene Baldridge and wife, Carolyn, John Ronald Baldridge, James Donald Baldridge, all of Flute Springs, Billy Clark Baldridge and wife, Diana, of Vian and Micah Baldridge of Fayetteville, Ark; four sisters, Bernice Roach and husband, Ira, of Tahlequah, and Karla Stopp and husband, Luther, Vivian Johnson and husband, Leonard, and Norma Baldridge and husband, J.D., all of Stilwell; 12 grandchildren, many nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Services were held 2 p.m., Friday, Aug. 12, 2005, at First Indian Baptist Church of Marble City with Brother Billy George Pettit and Brother Jim Sanders officiating. Interment followed at Peters Cemetery under the direction of Hart Funeral Home. Hart Funeral Home, P.O. Box 348, Stilwell, (918) 696-6996 Ada Lee Vann TAHLEQUAH - Ada Lee Vann, affectionately known as Mama Ada, was born Feb. 16, 1910, in Muskogee County, to Wallace and Elizabeth (Sheppard) McNack, and passed from this life Aug. 9, 2005, at the age of 95 years. She grew up around Four Mile Branch and moved to Tahlequah when she was 16 years old. She attended school at Fort Gibson and married Wallace Ross. Ada later married Curtis Vann. She had a love for cooking and a few of her special dishes were chicken and dumplings, peach cobblers, wild onions and game. Ada prepared her special dishes for numerous church suppers, women's meetings and grieving families. She enjoyed a life long relationship with God. Mama Ada was the oldest member and church mother at Antioch Baptist for 79 years. Ada was dedicated to her church, teaching the children, serving as treasurer, ministering in the community and attending services when health permitted. She was also a member of the American Legion Women's Group and the Eastern Star. She is preceded in death by her first husband, Wallace Ross; second husband, Curtis Vann; parents, Wallace and Elizabeth McNack; one son, Thomas Gene Ross; two sisters and two brothers. Ada is survived by one son, Donald Ross and wife, Lois M.; ten grandchildren; three-great grandchildren; and a host of extended family and friends. Visitation will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday, Aug. 11-12; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 13; and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 15-16. The family requests donations be made to Antioch Baptist Church and the Alzheimer's Foundation. Flower girls will be the Antioch Baptist Mission Sisters. Casketbearers will be Sammy Gandy, Maurice Sheppard, Joe Wilson, Danny K. Wilson, Matthew Anderson and Leon Riggs. Honorary casketbearers include Anthony Ross, James Ross, Harold Cooper and the American Legion Post #135. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Aug. 17, 2005, in the Reed-Culver Chapel, with Anthony King and Walter Brown officiating. Burial will follow in the Ft. Gibson National Cemetery, under the direction of Reed-Culver Funeral Home. Reed-Culver Funeral Home, 117 W. Delaware, 456-2551. Copyright c. 2005 Tahlequah Daily Press. -=-=-=- August 10, 2005 Atwater William Onco ELGIN - Funeral for Atwater William Onco, 81, Elgin, will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Hunting Horse United Methodist Church, Lawton, with the Rev. Margaret Battiest and the Rev. Duke Poorbuffalo officiating. Prayer service will be from 7-9 p.m. Thursday at Comanche Nation Funeral Home, Lawton. Mr. Onco died Monday, Aug. 8, 2005, at his home. Burial with military honors will be at 1 p.m. at Fort Sill National Cemetery, Elgin. He was born Nov. 15, 1923, to Robert and Fannie Maunkee Atau Onco. He attended grade school at Union 59 and graduated from Hobart High School in 1942. He served in the military during World War II and the Korean War as a sergeant first class. He married Lucille Redbird in 1948 in Hobart. He retired from civil service at Tinker Air Force Base. He was a member of the Kiowa Tribe and Hunting Horse United Methodist Church. He was a co- writer of the Kiowa Constitution. He belonged to the Kiowa Black Leggings, Kiowa Gourd Clan and the Kiowa Tia Piah Society. He was master of ceremonies at many powwows. He was a Christian. Survivors include three sons: Eddie Onco, Elgin; Bobby Onco, Long Island, NY; and Bryan Onco, Lawton; two daughters: Karen Koon, Del City; and Frances Bradley, Midwest City; nine grandchildren; and eight great- grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife; his parents; two sisters: Carol Frame and Helen Kauahquo; and three brothers: Fred Onco, Holly Onco and Curtis Onco. August 13, 2005 William R. Poafpybitty APACHE - Funeral for William R. Poafpybitty, 75, Apache, will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Comanche Nation Community Center, Apache, with the Rev. Wilfred Niedo officiating. An all-night prayer service will start at 7 p.m. Sunday at the community center. Mr. Poafpybitty died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005. Burial will be at Poafpybitty Family Cemetery under direction of Comanche Nation Funeral Home. He was born March 3, 1930, to Will Poafpybitty and Ida Sloat Poafpybitty. He was raised on the family farm at David Springs northwest of Porter Hill. He graduated from Lawton High School in 1948 and attended Cameron University and Oklahoma A&M College for several years before being drafted into the Korean War in October 1951. He served in the Army and was stationed in Hokkaido, Japan, where he was assigned to border patrol. He served in the Army for two years, and the Army Reserve for six years, receiving the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. He married Laura Tyndall on Sept. 30, 1951, in Blair, Neb. He graduated from Santa Monica City College in 1959. He was employed as a student assistant in the biology department, and also worked at Douglas Aircraft, Fort Sill, preparing maps, drawings and designs. He was a Comanche Nation social worker and a founding member of the Comanche Little Ponies Society. He was a self-taught artist, a sculptor and a poet. Survivors include his wife, of the home; four daughters; Michelle Harrington, Williamette Poafpybitty, Laura Poafpybitty and April Poafpybitty; two sons: William Poafpybitty Jr. and Ernest David Poafpybitty; 19 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; and a son, Richard Poafpybitty. Copyright c. 2005 The Lawton Constitution. -=-=-=- August 9, 2005 Ramsey Hulbutta A wake service for longtime Wewoka resident Ramsey Hulbutta is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tonight at Sand Creek Eufaula Baptist Church. Church services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at Sand Creek Eufaula Baptist Church. Interment will be held at Tebe Cemetery with Rev. Houston Tiger officiating and assisted by Rev. John Copeland. Services are under the direction of Stout-Phillips Funeral Home in Wewoka. Hulbutta, 67, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005 at his residence. He was born June 7, 1938 in Wewoka to Johnson Hulbutta and Sarah Tiger. He attended Justice School. He married Mary Tebe June 19, 1966 at the Sand Creek Eufaula Church, where he has been a member since Aug. 16, 2001. Hulbutta was a retired commercial painter. His parents, sisters, Nancy Bear and Samaria Grass and brothers, Roman Raymond and Johnny Hulbutta preceded him in death. Surviving is his wife of the home; three sons, Hal Hulbutta of Wewoka, Howard Hulbutta of El Reno and Johnson Hulbutta of Wewoka; nine grandchildren; four siblings, Nelsie Yargee of Shawnee, Ronnie Hulbutta and Paul Hulbutta, both of Wewoka and Jimpsey Hulbutta of Oklahoma City. The Seminole Producer/Copyright c. 1999-2005 Arizona Newspapers Assn. -=-=-=- August 9, 2005 Posey Roger Dee Hogback June 15,1913 - Aug. 5, 2005 Posey Roger Dee, 92, of Hogback, went home to his Heavenly Father Aug. 5, 2005. He was born June 15, 1913, in Red Mesa, Utah. Posey was of the Bitter Water Clan (To'dachinii) and born for the Folding Arms Clan (Bita' hnii'). Mr. Dee served as a Navajo Nation Police Officer in the mid-1950s, along with the Montezuma County Sheriff's Department in Cortez, Colo. He retired from the Utah International Navajo Mine Company as a security officer. He was a lifelong rancher and farmer within the Four Corners area. He is survived by his loving wife, Mae Jean Dee and family; Raymond Charley and family, Christine Charley and family, Ronney R. Dee and family, Anna J. Dee and family; Phillip and Anita Hayes, Walter and Rita D. Belin and family, Lawrence and Nora Gilmore and family, Gloria J. Dee and family, Philbert L. Dee and family, Lorin N. Dee and family, and Ronda L. Dee; 32 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and numerous friends and relatives. He ventured most of his retired time with the love of his life, Mae, and his special grandchildren, April T. Singer, Reichell Salt, Drew Benjamin and James Dee. Posey loved all his grandchildren and great-grandchildren dearly. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. today, Tuesday, Aug. 9, at the Kirtland LDS Church, CR 6100, with Bishop Herbert Clah Jr. officiating. Interment will be in the Greenlawn Cemetery on Dustin Avenue in Farmington. Pallbearers are his grandsons: Rayburn Charley Sr., Aaron A. Charley, Ryan N. Dee, Sean S. Hayes, Lance R. Gilmore and Drew T. Benjamin. Honorary pallbearers are: Ronney R. Dee, Philbert L. Dee, Lorin N. Dee, Raymond Charley, Quannah M. Gilmore, Xavier Franklin, and all immediate family members and relatives. At the request of the family, all florals may be sent to Cope Mortuary. Mr. Posey R. Dee is in the care of Cope Mortuary at 404 W. Arrington St. in Farmington, (505) 327-5142. Amelia E. Lewis Hogback Feb. 2, 1935 - Aug. 7, 2005 Amelia E. Lewis, 70, of Hogback, died Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005, in Hogback. She was born Feb. 2, 1935, in Crownpoint, to Mae and John Charles. Her clan was Water-Flow-Together, born for Bitter Water. Services will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10 in Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Shiprock. Amelia is in the care of Brewer, Lee & Larkin Funeral Home, 103 E. Ute St. in Farmington, (505) 325-8688. August 10, 2005 Raymond Raynell Atcitty Jr. Fruitland Oct. 5, 1957 - Aug. 6, 2005 Raymond Raynell Atcitty Jr., 47, of Fruitland, died Saturday, Aug. 6, 2005, in Albuquerque. He was born Oct. 5, 1957, in Farmington. Services for Raymond are pending with Brewer, Lee & Larkin Funeral Home & Crematory, 103 E. Ute St. in Farmington, (505) 325-8688. Oscar S. Begaye Sr. Shiprock Feb. 3, 1950 - Aug. 8, 2005 Oscar S. Begaye Sr., 54, of Sanostee, died Monday, Aug. 8, 2005, in Sanostee. Mr. Begaye was born Feb. 3, 1950, in Sanostee. Funeral services are pending with Brewer, Lee & Larkin Funeral Home of Shiprock, (505) 368-4607. August 12, 2005 William George Red Valley, Ariz. Feb. 7, 1927 - Aug. 6, 2005 William George, 78, of Red Valley, Ariz., went to his heavenly home Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2005, while at UNM Hospital in Albuquerque. He was born Feb. 7, 1927, in Red Valley, Ariz. He is of the Tabaaha (Edgewater) Clan and born for the Todichinii (Bitter Water) Clan. His parents are the late Allen George and the late Hastiin Nez Bitsi. William was a respected and well-known medicine man. He served in the 1st Marine Division during World War II in the South Pacific, Guadalcanal, Saipan, Okinawa and China. He was recognized and honored as a Navajo Code Talker with a Congressional Medal of Honor. William worked as a uranium miner for 16 years at Cove/Oak Springs and Shiprock. He worked within the facility management for the BIA in Teec Nos Pos, Kaibeto and Shiprock for 30 years. He was a rancher, farmer, herbalist and a wise teacher (traditional) for young and old. He enjoyed the outdoors, fishing, hunting and sports. He was a caring and generous man. William and his siblings donated acres of land for the soon to be established Red Valley High School. He conducted blessings and dedication for new schools, businesses and various community facilities. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Henry George. Mr. George is survived by two brothers, Johnny George and Morris George; six sisters Barbara Benally, Lena Nakai, Nyla George, Grace George and Ida Walters, and half-sister Helen Etsitty. From his first marriage with Myrtle George, three sons, Samuel George, Herman George and Manuel George; six daughters, Velma James, Loretta Johnson, Peggy Phillips, Helena George, Alfreda George and LaVonna George; 18 grandchildren and five great- grandchildren. Mr. George is survived by his second wife, Mary Dee George; her son, John Nelson Dee Jr.; four daughters, Jacqueline D. Begay, Jennifer D. Laughter, Janelle Dee, the late Janine Franklin; 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Bethel Christian Reformed Church in Shiprock. Burial will follow at the Red Valley Community Cemetery. Thank you, Daddy and Chei, for giving us a legacy of wisdom, strength, courage, knowledge and love. You will be missed dearly by all. Mr. George is in the care of Brewer, Lee & Larkin Funeral Home of Shiprock, (505) 368-4607. August 13, 2005 Leroy A. Tsinajinnie Flagstaff, Ariz. July 7, 1946 - Aug. 10, 2005 Leroy A. Tsinajinnie 59, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005, at Flagstaff Medical Center. He was born July 7, 1946, in Winslow, Ariz., to Alva and Charity Tsinajinnie. Services will be at 10 a.m. today, Saturday, Aug. 13, at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4165 Lake Mary Road, Flagstaff, Ariz., with visitation from 8:45 to 9:45. Interment will be at Citizens Cemetery immediately following. Arrangements are with Flagstaff Mortuary, (928) 774-1467. Condolences may be sent to the family at http://www.flagstaffmortuary.com. August 15, 2005 Jean Rose Pioche Upper Fruitland Oct. 20, 1941-Aug. 12, 2005 Jean Rose Pioche, 63, of Upper Fruitland, passed away Friday, Aug. 12, 2005, in Farmington. Jean was born Oct. 20, 1941, in Besti, to Joe and Lilly Billy. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home in Farmington. Interment will follow at Greenlawn Cemetery. Jean is in the care of Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home, 103 E. Ute St., Farmington, 325-8688 or online at www.brewerleelarkin.com. Luke Leon John Window Rock Fed. 24, 1942 - Aug. 12, 2005 Luke Leon John, 63, of Window Rock, Ariz., passed from this life Friday, Aug. 12, 2005, in Fort Defiance, Ariz. He was born Feb. 24, 1942, at Tsaile, Ariz. Funeral services are pending. Luke is in the care of Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home of Shiprock, 505-368-4607. Copyright c. 2005 Farmington Daily Times, a Gannett Co., Inc. newspaper. -=-=-=- August 9, 2005 Frances Bennett TWIN BUTTES - Funeral services for Frances Bennett, 51, will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 10 at the First United Methodist Church, Shiprock. Pastor Evelyn J. Yazzie will officiate. Burial will follow in the Shiprock community cemetery. Bennett died Aug. 5 in Twin Buttes. She was born May 25, 1954 in Cove, Ariz. into the Edgewater People Clan for the Salt People Clan. Bennett graduated from Wingate High School. She worked at Wingate Elementary School. Survivors include her sons, Charles Bennett, Christopher Bennett, Derrick Bennett all of Gallup; daughter, Heather Bowie of Gallup; mother, Delores P. Yazzie; brothers, Gilbert Yazzie of Crownpoint, Peter Yazzie Jr. , Nelson Yazzie both of Cove, Norman Yazzie of Shiprock; sisters, Evelyn J. Yazzie of Cove, Marilyn Tenerio of Bernalillo, Marjorie Smith of Grants, Mary Jean Jacobs of Winfield, Kas.; and four grandchildren. Bennett was preceded in death by her father, Peter Yazzie. Pallbearers will be Gilbert Yazzie, Peter Yazzie Jr., Christopher Bennett, Norman Yazzie, Nelson Yazzie and Larry Smith Jr. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. August 11, 2005 Dennison Cadman Sr. PINEDALE - Funeral services for Dennison Cadman Sr., 85, will be at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 12 at Cope Memorial Chapel. Dennis Garner will officiate. Burial will follow in the Gallup City Cemetery. Cadman Sr. was born Dec. 23, 1919 in Twin Lakes into the Towering House People Clan for the Red Running into the Water People Clan. Survivors include his son, Dennison Cadman Jr. of Gallup; daughters, Joann Miller, Johanna Livingston, both of Pinedale; sisters, Juanita Dale of Gallup, Alice Smith of China Springs; 16 grandchildren, six great- grandchildren, and 12 great-great grandchildren. Cadman Sr. was preceded in death by his son, Johanson; daughters, Sadie and Pearl. Pallbearers will be Dallison Cadman, Herman Billy, Fredarick Miller, Bobby Nez, Wilmer Curley and Harvey Billy. The family will receive relatives and friends at the Pinedale Chapter House following burial services. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Travis Tsosie PINON - Funeral services for Travis Tsosie, 35, will be at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 12 at the Pinon Catholic Church. Burial will be on a family plot in Pinon. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services. Tsosie died Aug. 8 in Sterling, Colo. He was born May 3, 1970 in Keams Canyon into the Coyote Pass People Clan for the Near the Water People Clan. Tsosie graduated from Winslow High School, attended Kicking Job Corps and trucking school in California. At the time of his death he was employed with Union Pacific Railroad. He was a member of the Native American Church. Tsosie enjoyed singing at powwows, tending to his livestock, traveling and meeting people. Survivors include his mother, Marie E. Williams of Pinon; brothers, Jarvis Tsosie, Elvis Tsosie, both of Pinon; sisters, Laverne Schieuholz of Tempe, Ariz., Elvira Gonzales of Henderson, Nev., Eugenia Williams, and Marissa Mike, both of Pinon. Tsosie was preceded in death by his father, Kee Tsosie; maternal grandparents, Robert and Martha Elthis; and paternal grandparents. Pallbearers will be Jarvis Tsosie, Elvis Tsosie, Clarence Tsosie, Leon Claw, Wes Bizahaloni and Robert Johnson. August 12, 2005 Leander Halwood CHINLE - Funeral services for Leander Halwood, 34, will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13 at the family home in Chinle. Zander Tsosie will officiate. Burial will follow. Halwood was born Dec. 25, 1970 in Ganado into the Bitter Water People Clan for the Salt People Clan. Halwood attended Holbrook Mission School, Many Farms Boarding School and Chinle High School. He enjoyed wood carving/burning and playing Christian songs. Survivors include his wife, Pamela Halwood; sons, Yonathan James Kee Halwood, Evander James Kee Halwood, Heavyn James Kee Halwood; daughter, Shoanyah Lynn Halwood; mother, Patsy Halwood; grandparents, Charley and Louise Begay; and one grandchild. Halwood was preceded in death by his father, Bennie James Halwood. Pallbearers will be Reginald K. Teller, Shoanyah L. Halwood, Clarence Mitchell Sr., Matthew Dixon, Yonathan J.K. Halwood and Salvador J. Fernando. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. William George SHIPROCK - Services for William George, 78, will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Bethel Christian Reformed Church. The Rev. Bobby Boyd will officiate. Burial will follow in the Red Valley Community Cemetery. George died Aug. 9 in Albuquerque. He was born Feb. 7, 1927 in Red Valley, Ariz., into the Edge Water People Clan for the Bitter Water People Clan. George went to Red Rock Day School and San Juan Camp School. He worked as a uranium miner for 16 years and worked with Facility Managment for the BIA for 30 years. He served in the 1st Marine Divsion during WWII in the South Pacific, Guadalcanal and Saipan, Okinawa and China. He was a Navajo Code Talker and received a Congressional Medal of Honor. He was a rancher, farmer, herbalist and enjoyed the outdoors, fishing, hunting and sports. He and his family donated land to be used for the Red Valley High School. As a medicine man he conducted blessings for new businesses, schools and facilities. Survivors include his wife, Mary E. George; sons, Samuel, Herman, Manuel George and one stepson, John Nelson Dee Jr.; saughters, Velma James, Loretta Johnson, Peggy Phillips, Helena George, Alfreda George, LaVonna George and stepdaughters, Jacqueline d. Begay, Jennifer D. Laughter, Janelle Dee; brothers, Johnny George, Morris George; sisters, Helen Etcitty, Barbara Benally, Lena Nakai, Nyla George, Grace George and Ida Walters; 18 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Jimmy Allen George, Nathaniel William George, Rodney Phillips, Bobby James Jr., Xavier Franklin and Matthew Atcitty. The family will receive relatives and friends at Ida Walters' residence in Red Valley. August 13, 2005 Frank Draper Sr. CHINLE - Services for Frank Draper Sr., 80 will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 16 at the North Rim Bible Church, Del Muerto, Ariz. Rev. Jimmie Draper will officiate. Draper died Aug. 9 in Scottsdale. He was born Nov. 24, 1924 in Mexican Springs, N.M. Draper attended Chinle Boarding School, Ganado Mission High School and Shiprock Boarding School. He learned metalsmithing. He served as an aircraft repairman on the U.S.S. Bunker Hill Aircraft carrier. He received a Purple Heart for wounds received during the invasion of Okinawa in 1945. Survivors include his children Christy Draper, Lowell Draper, Lloyd Draper, Frank Draper Jr. and John Draper; 10 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Marilene Draper, second wife, Evelyn Draper; sons, Wilford Draper, Alvin Draper; parents Sally Red House Draper and Phillip Draper and grandparents Gilbay and Bah Draper Pallbearers will be the Draper boys. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Joseph Smith GALLUP - Services for Joseph Leon Smith, 68, will be at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 16 at the First United Methodist Church in Gallup. Rev. Layloni Drake will officiate. Burial will take place at the Santa Fe National Cemetery in Santa Fe. Visitation will be at Rollie Mortuary Palm Chapel from 2-5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 14. Smith died Aug. 10 in Gallup. He was born June 28, 1937 in Winnebago, Neb. Smith was a member of the Winnebago tribe of Nebraska. He served 20 years in the Air Force and then attended Physician Assistant training and went to work for IHS in Pine Ridge, S.D. He also worked for IHS in Kyle, S. .D., Colville, Sash., and Winnebago, Neb. He also worked for the Omaha tribe before retiring and moving to Gallup in 1994. Smith enjoyed collecting coins and bears, watching the Chicago Bears on TV and PBR rodeo. Survivors include his wife Cindy Smith of Gallup; sons, Eric Joseph Smith and Jason Carey Smith, both of Gallup. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lute Smith and Susan Smith; sisters, Audrey Knutson and Phoebe Rave and one brother, LaFlesche Joseph Smith. Pallbearers will be Amanda Paulsen, Bill H. Paulsen, Kate Paulsen, Thane Eric Paulsen, Eric Joseph Smith and Jason Carey Smith. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Kidney Foundation of N.M., P.O.Box 14238, Albuquerque, NM 87191-4328 or monetary donations are accepted by the family for the purchase of an ice machine for RMCH dialysis unit. Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Marie Joe ROCKY POINT, N.M. - Services for Marie Joe, 80, will be at 1 p.m., Monday, Aug. 15 at Cope Memorial Chapel in Gallup. Burial will follow in the Gallup City Cemetery. Joe died Aug. 8 in Denver, Colo. She was born Oct. 25, 1925 in Vanderwagen into the Salt People Clan for the Black Streak People Clan. Joe enjoyed weaving, making her own clothes and tending to her livestock. Survivors include her sons, Charlie Joe of Spencer Valley, N.M., Kee Joe of tooele, Utah; brothers, Billy Johnson of Tooele, Utah, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Steve Joe, Isaac Joe, Roland Scott, Charley Joe, Johnny Yazzie and Keith Joe. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Rose Kinleecheeney MEXICAN SPRINGS, N.M. - Services for Rose Thomas Kinleecheeney, 78, will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, Aug. 15 at Cope Memorial Chapel. Rev. Roy Begay will officiate. Burial will follow on family land in Mexican springs. Kinleecheeney died Aug. 9 in Gallup. She was born May 8, 1928 in Fort Defiance into the Folded Arms People clan for the Bitter Water People clan. Kinleecheeney attended Albuquerque Indian School. Survivors include her husband, Henry Kinleecheeney of Mexican Springs; sons, James Scott Wilson Jr., of Mexican Springs; daughter, Priscilla Kinleecheeney of Mexican Springs; sisters, Ruth Thomas and Betty Bitsie, both of Mexican Springs; 43 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. Kinleecheeney was preceded in death by her brothers, John T. Begay, James Thomas, John Thomas, Francis Begay, John T. Bowman, Manuel Begay, John Long Thomas, Arthur Thomas, Jasper Thomas, Curtis Thomas; sister, Fannie Becenti and her father, Tom Thomas. Pallbearers will be Art Thomas, Jr., Owen Benally, Roland Begay, Wilfred Becenti, Edward Bitsie and Tom Begay. The family will receive friends and relatives at the Mexican Springs Chapter House after services. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. August 15, 2005 Etta Y. Arviso IYANBITO - Funeral services for Etta Y. Arviso, 83, will be at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at the First Assembly of God, Gallup. Pastor David J. Toppen will officiate. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park. Visitation will be held today, Aug. 15 from 3-4 p.m. at Cope Memorial. Arviso died Aug. 11 in Albuquerque. She was born Oct. 25, 1921 in Iyanbito into the Clamp Tree People Clan for the Forest People Clan. Arviso was a member of the Iyanbito community. She was employed with Elite Laundry and El Capitan Motel. Survivors include her sons, Paddy Ray King of Los Lunas, Albert Arviso of St. Michaels, Jon Arviso of Gallup, Steven Arviso of Iyanbito; daughters, Angie K. Bowman of Fort Defiance, Anna Mae Begay of Window Rock, Nellie Arviso of Gamerco, Lu Yazzie of Dallas, Texas, Ellen Natoni of Fort Wingate; sisters, Idah King of Iyanbito, Anita Emerson of Rehoboth; 50 grandchildren, 59 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Arviso was preceded in death by her husbands, Henry J. Arviso and George King; mother, Marie Murphy King; son, Gene A. King, Sr.; daughter, Ruth King; brothers, Irwin John King, Sr., Bob J. King; three grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Norman Bowman Jr., Nathan Tsosie, Leslie Begay III, Cody Arviso, Ryan Natoni and Rodney King. The family will receive relatives and friends at the Gallup Community Service Center. Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Olson Agoodie PINON - Graveside services for Olson Agoodie, 30, will be at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at a family cemetery, 2 mi. S.W. of Pinon Bashas. Thomas Dick will officiate. Agoodie was born Sept. 25, 1974 in Fort Defiance into the Coyote Pass People Clan for the Red Running into Water People Clan. Agoodie was an auto mechanic. He enjoyed riding horses and helping people. Survivors include his son, Ralston Clark; father, John Agoodie; mother, Mary Agoodie; brothers, Alfred L. Begay, Lloyd Agoodie, Andy Agoodie, Leon Agoodie, Larson Agoodie, Henry Agoodie, Nixon Agoodie, Gary Agoodie; sisters, Martina Agoodie, Norma Agoodie and Tina Agoodie. Agoodie was preceded in death by his brothers, Russell Begay, Emery Agoodie and sister, Annie Begay. Pallbearers will be Gary Agoodie, Lloyd Agoodie, Nixon Agoodie, Larson Agoodie, Thomas Begay and Ray Yazzie, Jr. Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements. Luke John WINDOW ROCK - Funeral services for Luke Leon John, 63, are pending and will be announced at a later date. John died Aug. 12 in Fort Defiance. He was born Feb. 24, 1942 in Tsaile into the Reed People Clan for the Near the Water People Clan. The family will meet this evening at the John's residence (NHA Housing #11) at 5 p.m. Copyright c. 2005 the Gallup Independent. -=-=-=- August 13, 2005 James Benally Sr. James Benally Sr. died Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005, in Flagstaff. He was 74. Mr. Benally was born Jan. 31, 1931, in Dennehotso, Ariz., of the Mud Clan and born for the Towering House Clan. He is survived by his wife, Ruby Benally; five daughters; and three sons. Services will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. (MST) at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Winslow. The family requests to have relatives meet at the Benally residence in Leupp for donation meetings at 6 p.m. (MST). Arrangements are by Scott Greer's Mortuary of Winslow. Leroy Tsinajinnie Leroy A. Tsinajinnie, 59, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2005, at Flagstaff Medical Center. He was born July 7, 1946, in Winslow to Alva and Charity Tsinajinnie. He married Stella on Jan. 31, 1967, in Oakland, Calif. Mr. Tsinajinnie graduated from Flagstaff High School in 1966, attended Northern Arizona University and graduated in 1977 with a bachelor of science in elementary education. His graduate studies were done at the University of New Mexico in educational administration. He served as a police officer and did work with the U.S. Marshal's Office. He taught Navajo, government and economics at Rock Point Community High School. He has recorded music with his daughter on the Canyon Records Label. His hobbies included singing, leather craft, auto mechanics and calligraphy. He strongly advocated for indigenous cultural education to produce assertive native youth. He has lived in Leupp, Flagstaff, Nazlini, Rock Point, Kayenta and Oakland, Calif. Mr. Tsinajinnie is survived by his wife Stella M. Tsinajinnie; son Derrick L. Tsinajinnie; daughters Delphine Tsinajinnie and Vangie Tsinajinnie; brother Leo Tsinajinnie; and sisters Victoria Tsinajinnie, Maxine Tsinajinnie and Susie Desheenie. He was preceded in death by his parents Alva and Charity Tsinajinnie. Services will be Saturday Aug. 13, at 10 a.m., at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 4165 Lake Mary Road. Visitation will be from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. Internment will be at Citizens Cemetery immediately following. Arrangements are being handled by Flagstaff Mortuary. Please send condolences to the family at http://www.flagstaffmortuary.com. Copyright c. 2000-2005 Arizona Daily Sun. -=-=-=- August 9, 2005 Katy Kozie, 40 Katy Kozie, 40, of Peridot died July 31, 2005, in Peridot. Born in San Carlos, she was a self-employed basket weaver. She is survived by two sons, Travis Hooke and Jeremy Hooke of Peridot; two daughters, Sylvia Hooke and Mai-Lin Steele of Peridot; her mother, Evalena Henry Kozie of Peridot; eight siblings, Loren Kozie of Mesa, Anderson "Tiny" Grimes of Bylas, and Lorena Kozie, Lorenda Thompson, Larry Kozie Jr., Ronnie L. Crowe, Kristi Patterson and Terry Kozie Sr., all of Peridot; and five grandchildren. Funeral service was conducted Aug. 7 at San Carlos Miracle Church. Interment was in Chinatown Cemetery. Arrangements were under the direction of Lamont Mortuary of Globe. Carol Jean Noland, 42, Carol Jean Noland, 42, died Aug. 2, 2005, at her residence in San Carlos. She was a homemaker who was born in San Carlos. Survivors include four daughters, Brenda Goode, Valerie Alden, Kara Sue Alden and Victoria Alden, all of San Carlos; three sons, Kinley Goode Jr. of Phoenix, and Zachariah Goode and Boyd Alden of San Carlos; her father, Leonard Noland of San Carlos; two sisters, Debra McKinley of Phoenix and Trinita Noland of San Carlos; two brothers, Douglas Noland and Terry Noland of San Carlos; and two grandchildren. Funeral mass was celebrated Aug. 8 at St. Charles Catholic Church. Interment was in Holy Ground Cemetery in San Carlos. Lamont Mortuary of Globe was in charge of arrangements. Copyright c. 2005 Arizona Silver Belt/Apache Moccasin. -=-=-=- August 10, 2005 Harold Callahan Chaipos, Jr. Harold Chaipos, Jr., 60, passed away at his home on the Rincon Indian Reservation on August 4, 2005. He was born on July 7, 1945 in Fort Yuma Indian Hospital and attended San Pasqual High School and Haskall Jr. College in Lawrence, Kansas. Harold was a retired mechanic and was a loving father and grandfather. He was an accomplished musician playing different styles of music throughout his career. His Blues guitar style is well known. Harold is survived by his wife, Carol Chaipos, of Rincon, Calif.; sons, Owen Chaipos, of Rincon, Calif., Robert Chaipos, of San Pasqual, Calif., Christopher Chaipos, of Rincon Reservation, Calif., and Thomas Chaipos, of Rincon Reservation, Calif.; daughters, Roberta Chaipos, of Rincon, Calif., and Candice Chaipos, of Rincon Reservation, Calif.; brothers, Amick Chaipos and Wayne Chaipos, Sr., of Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Reservation; sisters, Eileen Chaipos and Andera Waters, of Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Reservation. He is also survived by his 6 grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Harold was preceded in death by his father, Harold Chaipos, Sr.; mother, Susie Roberta Chaipos; and sisters, Cheral Sharon Chaipos and Suzanne Faith Chaipos. Visitation will be held at the Chaipos Residence, in Rincon Indian Reservation, California, on Thursday, August 11, 2005 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. with rosary taking place at 7 p.m. Tribal Ceremonial Rites will be held at Ft. Yuma Indian Reservation Quechan Big House, in Winterhaven, California on Friday, August 12, 2005 at 1 p.m. Cremation will be on August 13, 2005 at 6 a.m. Harold's final resting place will be Ft. Yuma Quechan Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Tuukat Sass, Joe Nejo, John Osuna, David Waters, Dewayne Waters, Wayne Chaipos, Jr. Honorary pallbearers are Amick Chaipos, Wayne Chaipos Sr., William Thomas, Charles White Jr., Vincent Havier, Robert Johnson. Copyright c. 2005 The Yuma Sun, Sun Freedom Newspapers of Southwestern Arizona. -=-=-=- August 9, 2005 Wylee R Wilkerson, age 32 1973 ~ 2005 Wylee R Wilkerson, age 32, of Roosevelt, passed away unexpectedly August 5, 2005, near his home. He was born June 27, 1973, in Roosevelt, to Rodney F. Wilkerson and Mari J. Cuch. Wylee loved fishing, hunting, scuba diving, and cooking on the bar-b-que. He loved his little girl and spending time with his nieces. He was an artist at teasing and would make everyone laugh. He was a fun loving guy who had a big heart and really cared about everyone. Wylee loved his family and would do anything for them. He was very loved and will be greatly missed. He is survived by his daughter, Alexia Ann Wilkerson, Gillette, WY; parents, Mari (Joe) Myers, Salt Lake City; sister, Laury Tapia, Roosevelt; grandmother, Helen Wilkerson, Roosevelt; nieces, Alexandra and Adriana, and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by his father, Rod Wilkerson, grandfathers, Floyd Wilkerson and Jason Cuch, and grandmother, Josephine Cuch. He will be taken to his sister Laury's home (749 South 200 East) on Monday at 5:00 p.m. where friends and family may call. Also there will be a viewing on Tuesday at 10:00 -10:45 a.m. at the church Funeral Mass held 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, August 9, 2005, at St. Helen's Catholic Church. . He will be buried in the Roosevelt Memorial Park under the direction of the Hullinger Mortuary followed by a luncheon at the Catholic Church. Copyright c. 2005 Uintah Basin Standard/Roosevelt, UT. -=-=-=- August 9, 2005 Elveda Lydia Harney Henry Elveda Lydia Harney Henry of Owyhee, passed away Thursday, Aug. 4, 2005, in Boise, Idaho, at St. Lukes Hospital of natural causes at the age of 81. Lydia Henry, the daughter of Bert and Lucille Harney, was born on March 7, 1924, in Owyhee. Lydia had three brothers and six sisters: Pricilla Nicholes, Kenneth Harney Sr., Clara Jones, Avelita Jones, Ross Harney, Charlene Taylor, Adrianna Harney and Linda H. Thomas. Lydia attended Swayne Elementary School in Owyhee. Upon finishing eighth grade, she attended high school at the Sherman Institute, an Indian boarding school located in Riverside, Calif., where she graduated. Upon graduating, she moved back to Owyhee to assist in raising her younger sisters and brothers after the death of her mother. She also worked at the clubhouse as a cook, a boarding house for workers. The old clubhouse is now the Tribal Court House. She also worked at the old Riddle Ranches and Boise area ranches. After several years of working as a cook, she moved to San Francisco where she met and married Colton Henry on March 27, 1961. While living in the Bay Area, she became a certified nursing assistant and worked as such for numerous years. She also helped raise her nieces and nephew Sally Garrity, Peter Ross Garrity and Sherri Gumren Ysit, and great-niece Evette Garrity. Lydia moved back to the Duck Valley Indian Reservation the early 1980s. She was very active in the local Full Gospel Church and the Duck Valley Senior Citizen Program. She was an avid seamstress and liked to cook. She enjoyed making clothes and quilts and crocheted and knitted. Lydia always made consistent donations to the Red Cross, Easter Seals and the veteran programs to feed the poor. Lydia was preceded in death by her mother and father, Lucille and Bert Harney; her husband, Colton Henry; brothers, Larry, Ross and Kenneth Harney; and sisters, Pricilla Nicholes, Avelita Jones and Charlene Taylor. Lydia is survived by her sisters, Clara Jones, Adrianna Harney and Linda H. Jones, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. She is fondly and lovingly remembered as Aunt Lydia, Aunt Henry and Miss Hen. Services will take place at the Owyhee Human Development Center in downtown Owyhee at 11 a.m. MST on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005, with burial services to take place at the Old Cemetery immediately following the services. Copyright c. 2005 Elko Daily/Elko, NV. -=-=-=- August 10, 2005 Tara Tufti Warm Springs resident Tara Loree Tufti died Aug. 1, 2005, at a residence in Warm Springs in an incident that is being investigated as a homicide. (See story on Page 1) Tara was born Dec. 13, 1990, in Madras to parents Thurman Tufti and Tina Fuller. She was a lifetime resident of Warm Springs and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. She was a student at Jefferson County Middle School. Survivors include her parents Thurman Tufti and Tina Fuller of Warm Springs; her brother, Vernon Squiemphen of Warm Springs; and sisters, Jasmine and Lacie Tufti, both of Warm Springs. A dressing ceremony was held Aug. 4, at Simnasho Longhouse, followed by overnight services. Final disposition was at her home on Sidwalter Flat Road Aug. 5, at sunrise. Arrangements were under the direction of Bel-Air Colonial Funeral Home in Madras. Copyright c. 2001-2005 Madras Pioneer, Eagle Newspapers Inc./Madras, OR. -=-=-=- July 28, 2005 VaShawn Redwoman VaShawn Redwoman, 29, of Fort Hall passed away on Sunday, July 24, 2005 at his home in Fort Hall. VaShawn was born on August 15, 1975 in Pocatello, Idaho to Cleary Perry and Velma Pongah Redwoman. He was raised and lived his entire life in Fort Hall. He attended Sho-Ban schools and also attended Chemawa Indian School in Salem, Oregon. He married Inez Wenee on December 12, 2000 in Fort Hall, Idaho. They were later divorced. VaShawn enjoyed playing football and basketball while he was in school. He also liked to work on cars, fishing, hunting, and spending time with his children, nieces and nephews. He is survived by his mother Velma Pongah Redwoman; a special friend Claudina Coby; his children, Thurston Elijah Cleary Redwoman, Abreanna Cora Evan Redwoman; a step-son Ethan Moses PlentyWounds; his ex-wife Inez Wenee Redwoman; his younger years companion Bobette PlentyWounds; a brother Ueland Redwoman; four sisters Perri Michelle (Jared Tarness) Redwoman, Ursula Rae, Joann and June Galloway; uncles, Lyle "Coke" Pongah Sr., Elwin "Jug" Pongah, Dietz "Dunnie" Pongah Jr., Gerald Redwoman, Larry Redwoman, Phillip Redwoman; aunts, Lorena "Chumpley" Pongah, Leona "Bear" P. Jim, Theora "Thopie" Galloway, Cleo Anna Redwoman, Deloris Redwoman, Rosella Pongah; nephews Daniel James Tarness, Arlin Eugene Redwoman, Ueliyas Glenn Perry Redwoman, and Cohl Edmund Everett Redwoman; nieces, Amanda Florine Moss and Latreece Faye Tarness; along with numerous aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his father Cleary Perry Redwoman; his maternal grandparents, Dietz Pongah Sr. and Florine Marsh Pongah; paternal grandparents Eugene Redwoman and Cora HorseRhodes; and one nephew Joshua Shane Apodaca. VaShawn was taken to his home on East Sheepskin Road on Tuesday, July 26, 2005 at 10 a.m. and remained there until the time of burial. A traditional prayer service was on Tuesday, July 26 at 6 p.m. at the residence. Traditional burial services are Thursday, July 28 at 11 a.m. at the Sand Hill Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Hawker Funeral Home. Copyright c. 2005 Sho-Ban News. All rights reserved. -=-=-=- August 10, 2005 Llewellyn Henry "Lew" Smoker Chade' Waste' (Good Hawk) FRAZER - Llewellyn Henry (Lew) Smoker, also known as "Oodles," 47, left this world on Aug. 8, 2005, at Northeast Montana Health Services after a long courageous fight with cancer. Lew was born March 25, 1958, in Poplar to Allyn Henry and Pauline Roberts Smoker. He attended schools in Frazer until he enlisted in the Marine Corp in 1978. While home on leave, he met Niki Goerss. They were married on Sept. 19, 1981, and together they returned to his home base in Yuma, Ariz. After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corp in 1983, Lew returned home to Frazer and his numerous family members and friends here on the Fort Peck Reservation. Lew worked for the Tribal Fencing Program, BIA road department for a short time, and then spent nine years at A&S Tribal Industries. He also worked with the CHR program, and the last 10 years he spent being a dedicated worker for Lita Atkinson at the Fort Peck Tribal Transportation Department. No matter where he worked, he was always a very responsible and reliable worker, even though he never missed a chance to tease with all those who knew and loved him. Together with his wife Niki, they had six children and accepted many more into their home. He was an avid sports fan and encouraged all children to participate and do the best that they could. He had a love for the game of basketball and has always been a Bearcub fan. He also enjoyed watching his children run cross-country and followed them to every meet, but his main love was powwows. He had spent the last seven years going to powwows anywhere and everywhere. As long as there was music and dancing, you could always find Lew. He always had a kind word and a smile for everyone he met and he would never turn anyone away from his camp. Always inviting someone over to camp to share a meal and visit. He made many friends while on the powwow trail and enjoyed visiting with each and every one of them. Lew enjoyed hunting, fishing, yard work and gardening. He especially enjoyed having a good barbecue with his family. Lew always knew how to cook good steaks and ribs and never minded sharing with whomever would show up. He always took pride in his yard and would spend hours weeding and digging dandelions. He always wanted a nice lawn where he could watch his grandchildren play and not have to worry about them getting hurt by rocks or sharp weeds. He had a tremendous love for life and looked forward to each and every day. Lew would always tell his children to be thankful for the day because the Creator gave it to you. Never take your days for granted because you never know if you will have another one. Lew was a strong believer in our Native ways and the Creator. He would start his day with morning prayers and a smudge from the flat sage, believing that the smoke from the smudge carries your prayers up to Wakan Tanga. He wasn't a selfish man, he would always pray for others and never prayed for himself. He always asked for the Creator to grant us another day and no matter what the weather was or how it looked outside, he would always say that it was a beautiful day because the Creator gave us another one to wake up to. Lew had a tremendous love for the community in which he lived. He spent the past 11 years on the Frazer School Board, looking out for the best interest of the children and always tried to make wise decisions when it came to the academic and financial status of the school. Lew was preceded in death by his parents, Allyn and Pauline Smoker; his son, John Paul Sr.; his daughter, Susan May; two brothers, Loren Charles and Allen Henry (Jr.), and three sisters, Ella Mae, Sylvia and Natalie. He is survived by his wife Niki of 23 years; three daughters, Jamie, Pauline and Gina; one son, Julian, all of Frazer; four adopted daughters, Sharon Jackson, Chelsea White Hawk, Alisha Corpron, all of Frazer, and Ashley Corpron of Wolf Point. Also surviving are two brothers, Phillip (Rosalie) Smoker of Frazer and Gary (Ardis) Robinson of Wolf Point; sister, Adeline (Robert) White of Frazer; nine grandchildren, Koree Lynn, Kylee Jaye, John Paul Jr., Julia Marie, Malaki James, Justine May, Llewellyn John Henry, Jami Lyne, Kacee Rae; and numerous uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins and relatives. Llewellyn Henry Smoker was the best husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend that anyone could have ever asked for. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. Lew wanted to leave one final message to all those who smoke, "Please don't smoke around your children, I believe that I was a victim of secondhand smoke. This was not something that I brought on myself because I was not a smoker. So give your child a fighting chance, don't smoke around them!" In the end you will be thankful that you didn't. "Semper Fi" Wake services will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the Frazer Community Hall. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday at the Frazer High School Gymnasium. Interment will be at St. Joseph Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at csmc@nemontel.net or www. stevensonandsons.com. Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel has been entrusted with arrangements. Copyright c. 2005 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. -=-=-=- Golden Triangle On-Line Obituaries The following obituaries appeared in the Cut Bank Pioneer Press, Shelby Promoter, Valierian or Glacier Reporter this week. August 10, 2005 Alden Ray Kicking Woman Alden Ray Kicking Woman, 43, a laborer from Browning, passed away Sunday at Blackfeet Community Hospital due to a lengthy illness. A wake was held at the Old Eagle Shields Center where rosary was recited Wednesday. Funeral mass is 11 a.m. Thursday at the Little Flower Catholic Church with burial to follow in the Kicking Woman Cemetery at Starr School. Whitted Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements. He is survived by his daughter, Lacy Ray Kicking Woman of Lapway, Idaho; sisters, Burdella Ahenakew and Clorece Kicking Woman both of Browning; brothers, Robert Ahenakew and Myron Kicking Woman of Browning, and Donald Kicking Woman Jr. of Great Falls. Ruby Rutherford Butterfly Ruby Rutherford Butterfly, 63, a homemaker, died of natural causes at the Blackfeet Care Center in Browning on Aug. 1, 2005. Funeral Services were held on Monday at the Heart Butte Community Center with Reverend Richard Stewart officiating. Burial followed in St. Anne's Cemetery. Pondera Funeral Home handled the arrangements. Ruby was born on Sept. 28, 1941 in Browning to James and Rose Rutherford. She was raised in Heart Butte and later moved to the Boarding School with family where she met her beloved husband, Henry. She and Henry shared two years of life together before getting married on Nov. 29, 1960. Ruby and Henry were married in Browning. They made their home in Heart Butte and in 1980 moved to Browning. Ruby was a very loving and caring person. Her biggest joy in life was spending time with her grandchildren and she was active in all the sporting activities. She especially loved to go to basketball games, although her physical condition sometimes kept her home from going to games, she would listen to the games on the radio. She was a big fan of the Heart Butte Warriors basketball team. Tournaments were especially exciting and regardless of the traveling distance she made sure Henry got her there. Besides spending time with her grandchildren she also treasured the times she was able to spend with brothers and sisters. She looked forward to summertime, when her sisters, Marisha and Melvina, would visit. She was there in times of need when it came to family until in her later years when her physical condition kept her home. She then communicated with them by phone. She looked forward to Indian Days as she liked to camp and take part in some of the festivities. She enjoyed family gatherings whether it was a holiday or a picnic. In her younger days she enjoyed fishing, a family trait that was handed down from her father Jim "Buckskin" Rutherford. She was also an exceptional cook, something her mother, Rose, had taught when she was young. Ruby was a member of the Assembly of God Church and was active in the church. When ever possible she attended church activities some of which brought her all the way to California. When her condition didn't allow her to travel anymore she would listen to her favorite gospel music and watch TBN on the television. She also enjoyed listening to Indian music. If Ruby had a legacy in life it would be love. She loved her husband, Henry, very much, and together they shared 47 wonderful years. She loved her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren with only the love that a mother and grandmother holds. She had the most precious love for her mother and father and shared unending love with her siblings. Among the many nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends she had, she had love for all. Ruby is survived by her husband, Henry Butterfly of Browning; sons, Burt (Helen) Butterfly of Heart Butte and Daryl (Angela) Butterfly of Browning; daughters, Lynnel (Glen) Aimsback of Heart Butte, Karen Butterfly and Rachel (Tyrone) Whitegrass, Jr. both of Browning; 16 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren; brothers, Joseph Rutherford and Melvin (Geri) Rutherford both of Browning; sisters, Marisha (Curtis) Ball of Oregon, Melvina (Melvin) Geffre of South Dakota. Ruby is preceded in death by her parents; brother, Richard Rutherford Sr; sisters, Juanita Morgan and Baby Jane Rutherford; twin brother and sister, Lawrence and Florence Rutherford; and grandsons, Steven Butterfly and Henry Gabriel Whitegrass. Copyright c. 2005 Golden Triangle Newspapers. -=-=-=- August 10, 2005 Alden Ray Kicking Woman BROWNING - Alden Ray Kicking Woman, 43, a laborer, died after a long illness Sunday at a Browning hospital. A wake is in progress at Old Eagle Shields Center, with a rosary at 7 this evening. Funeral Mass is 11 a.m. Thursday at Little Flower Catholic Church, with burial in the Kicking Woman Cemetery at Starr School. Whitted Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Survivors include a daughter, Lacy Ray Kicking Woman of Lapway, Idaho; sisters Burdella Ahenakew and Clorece Kicking Woman of Browning; and brothers Robert Ahenakew and Myron Kicking Woman of Browning and Donald Kicking Woman Jr. of Great Falls. Llewellyn H. 'Lew' Smoker FRAZER - Llewellyn Henry "Lew" Smoker, 47, a Marine Corps veteran who had worked for the Fort Peck Tribal Transportation Department for the past 10 years, died of cancer Monday at a Poplar hospital. Wake services begin at 3:30 p.m. today at Frazer Community Hall. His funeral is 10 a.m. Thursday at the Frazer High School gym, with burial in St. Joseph Cemetery. Clayton Stevenson Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Survivors include his wife of 23 years, Niki Smoker of Frazer; daughters Jamie, Pauline and Gina Smoker, all of Frazer; a son, Julian Smoker of Frazer; adopted daughters Sharon Jackson, Chelsea White Hawk and Alisha Corpron, all of Frazer, and Ashley Corpron of Wolf Point; brothers Phillip Smoker of Frazer and Gary Robinson of Wolf Point; a sister, Adeline White of Frazer; and nine grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, John Paul Sr.; and a daughter, Susan May. Copyright c. 2005 Great Falls Tribune, a division of Lee Enterprises. -=-=-=- August 11, 2005 Eric Stevens, 2 Mountain Village Mountain Village resident Eric Tyler Stevens, 2, died Aug. 8, 2005, at Alaska Native Medical Center. A visitation was Wednesday at Evergreen Memorial Chapel. A service will be Saturday in Mountain Village. Burial will take place at Mountain Village Cemetery. Eric was born Oct. 27, 2002, in Mountain Village. His father wrote: "Eric had a life that was short by man's standards, but in the eyes of God, this life was cut short, for this world was too harsh and cold for him, and he is with the Lord." Eric is survived by his father and mother, Eugene and Nita Stevens; sisters, Kara, Shannon and Naomi Stevens; and brother, Eugene Stevens II; and all of Mountain Village. August 12, 2005 Nina Orloff, 88 Anchorage Anchorage resident Nina Orloff, 88, died Aug. 5, 2005, at Alaska Native Medical Center of natural causes. A service will be at 1:30 p.m. today at Witzleben's Bragaw Chapel, followed by a burial at Anchorage Memorial Park at 3 p.m. Pallbearers will be Jeff Wilson, Nels Wilson Jr., Jimmy Wilson, Clifford Johnson, Lee Johnson and Russell Johnson. Mrs. Orloff was born Jan. 27, 1917, in Kodiak. She lived in Nelson Lagoon for almost all of her life and became an Anchorage resident a few years ago. She enjoyed reading magazines and newspapers to keep up on current events, and crocheting many afghans for family and friends. "Nina was a warm and loving person who was caring, generous and very forgiving," her family said. "She loved to shop and pick up special gifts for her family." Mrs. Orloff is survived by her husband, Alex Orloff; son, Arthur Johnson; daughters, Donna Wilson and Sandy Johnson; and grandchildren, Arla Johnson, Teresa Seybert, Art Johnson Jr., Dennis, Butch, Clifford, Lee, John and Russell Johnson, Virginia McCormick, Nels Wilson Jr., Jeff, Bryan and Jimmy Wilson. Memorial tributes may be made at www.mem.com. Arrangements are with Witzleben Family Funeral Homes. August 13, 2005 Delores Scott, 46 Nome Nome resident Delores Amelia "Auktweena" Scott, 46, died Aug. 9, 2005, of natural causes at Alaska Native Medical Center. Visitation and a funeral will be today at Shishmaref Lutheran Church with burial afterward in Shishmaref. A memorial service will be Monday at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Nome. Ms. Scott was born Aug. 26, 1958, in Nome to Anna and Earl Scott. She graduated from Nome Beltz High School on May 25, 1978. She was a homemaker who enjoyed berry picking, camping, being around her friends, going out to eat, playing bingo and traveling to visit her children. Her family wrote: "Delores was a loving, caring and proud mother of her children's accomplishments. ... Delores communicated with family and friends all over the state and would let them know she loved them. She also had a wonderful sense of humor and always had a beautiful smile for everyone. She always had a happy-go-lucky attitude for life. She loved the serenity prayer." Ms. Scott is survived by her son, Kyle Scott of Anchorage; daughter, DeAnna Schuldt of Sitka; sister and brothers-in-law, Iva and Ernie Ailak of Nome, and Gladys and Bill Hendricks of Anchorage; and her granddaughter, Kierra Scott. She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Helen Pootoogooluk, Darlene and Jeanett Scott; and brothers, Norman, Raymond and John Scott. Memorial donations may be made for her children at Wells Fargo in the name of Kyle Scott; account 3562546238. Arrangements are with Evergreen Memorial Chapel. Copyright c. 2005 The Anchorage Daily News. -=-=-=- August 13, 2005 Nicholai V. Andre Nicholai V. Andre, 70, died Monday, Aug. 8, 2005, in Fairbanks. Nick was born April 20, 1935, in Holikachuk to Lizzie (Savage) and Felix Andre. He was raised in Holy Cross by his uncle and aunt, Pius Sr. and Ellen Savage, after the deaths of his parents and maternal grandparents. In the late 1950s, he joined the Marines and trained at Fort Ord, Calif. He served two years in Okinawa, Japan. After receiving an honorable discharge, Nick traveled to Washington, California and other states, working his way by doing construction and other jobs. In the late 1960s, Nick returned to Alaska and made Fairbanks his home. He worked as a heavy equipment operator on the North Slope and for Doyon Ltd. In his younger years at Holy Cross, Nick enjoyed hunting, fishing and trapping. He cared for his young cousins, looking after them and helping his aunt and uncle. Nick had great respect for his aunt Ellen. Even though he had health problems himself, he traveled to Anchorage to spend her last days with her in October 2004. The time he spent there meant a great deal to her and her family. Nick was a kind, gentle and loving person. He shared whatever he had with others who were in need. As an elder, he participated in elder conferences in Fairbanks and villages throughout the Yukon. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Tina Stickman; nephew, Michael Stickman; niece, Anna Stickman; aunt and uncle, Pius Sr. and Ellen Savage of Holy Cross; and brother, Andy Andre of Fairbanks. He is survived by his brother, Morgan "Joe" Andre of Allakaket; nephews, Steve Stickman and James Stickman, both of Fairbanks and Joey Stickman of Nulato; stepsisters, Annie Lou Williams of Kalskag and Marie Demientieff of McGrath; and numerous cousins in Alaska including the Savage and Demientieff families of Holy Cross, Kalskag, Anchorage and Fairbanks. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Chapel of Chimes. The funeral will begin at noon officiated by Deacon Bob Barnard of Immaculate Conception Church. Nick will be laid to rest at Birch Hill Cemetery. A potluck reception will begin at 4:30 p.m., at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in the parish hall. Memorial donations may be sent to your favorite charity or the American Heart Association. Arrangements were by Chapel of Chimes Funeral Home. August 15, 2005 Josephine VanReenan Josephine Sophia Patterson VanReenan, 65, died Aug. 10, 2005, at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. Josephine was born in Egegik on May 8, 1940, and raised by her grandmother, Katie Tretikoff, and later raised by foster parents Vera and Trefon Angason Sr. She married Ralph VanReenan, a veteran of World War II and a linedriver for the Teamsters union, and together they shared a remarkable and enduring romance that lasted almost three decades until his death in 1987. In that time they created and raised a family of seven children and five grandchildren. The years following Ralph's death saw the births of two more grandchildren as well as the births of four great-grandchildren, all of whom Josephine cherished dearly. Josephine, a full-blooded Aleut and, thankfully, the failed product of the church's cultural bleaching in the 1940s, was ever private and stringent in sharing the details of a painful childhood. She was, however, blessed with an infectious love of which no one who entered her life was immune. She loved people and, more importantly, she loved life in all its glory and hardships, fighting until the very end to hang on. She will be remembered and loved for her courage and triumph in the face of lifelong adversity and for the indelible love she brought to all who were privileged to know her. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph; daughter, Pamela; and son, James. Josephine is survived by her foster mother, Vera, and her foster sister, Mary Jane; her children, Bruno, Kenneth, Floyd, Robert, Kathy, Karen and Rebecca; her sons-in-law, Richard and Randy; her grandchildren, Christine, Billy James, Rachel, Christopher, Ryan, Breanna Shay and Kimberly; her great-grandchildren, Kindra, Deantai, Jesse and Kia May; and many more family members and friends. A funeral will be held at 1 p.m., Monday, Aug. 15, at Chapel of Chimes. She will then be laid to rest at Northern Lights Memorial Park. A potlatch will begin at 4 p.m., Monday, at David Salmon Tribal Hall. Arrangements were by Chapel of Chimes Funeral Home. Copyright c. 1999-2005 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Inc. -=-=-=- August 7, 2005 Percy Keewatin, of Grassy Narrows Percy Keewatin, a resident of Grassy Narrows First Nations, passed away Sunday, August 7, 2005 at his residence. Percy was born May 7, 1964 in Grassy Narrows where he lived all of his life. He was predeceased by his parents, George Keewatin and Mary Fisher, and his sisters Edna Pahpasay, Agnes Keewatin, Florence Keewatin and Julia Keewatin. Percy will be lovingly missed by his sister Irene Keewatin, brothers John Keewatin, Eddy Keewatin and Eric Keewatin, also many nieces, nephews and cousins. Wake Services will begin on Wednesday, August 10, 2005 at the Agnes Building at Grassy Narrows First Nations. Traditional Funeral Services will be held on Friday, August 12, 2005 with interment to follow at Grassy Narrows First Nations, and all are welcome to pay their last respects to Percy. Brown Funeral Home and Cremation Centre entrusted with arrangements. Traditional Funeral Services Friday, August 12, 2005, Grassy Narrows First Nations. Copyright c. 2005 Kenora Daily Miner and News. -=-=-=- August 10, 2005 Ronald Alan La Plante LA PLANTE - Ronald Alan La Plante, passed away on Monday, August 8, 2005 at the age of 45 years. Ronald is predeceased by his mother Pearl McNab and step-father Henry La Plante, sisters Loretta, Rema and nephew Herbert. He is survived by his father Michael LaPlante, Kawacatoose First Nation, step mother Marjorie La Plante, Regina, Sask, brother Wayne of Ont., Glen (Emily) Vancouver B.C., Bryan, Warren, Lloyd, of the Yukon, sisters, Karen of Ontario, Celesta (Mark), of Edmonton, Alberta, step-sister Mary of Regina, Sask., step- brother, Jockie, Kawacatoose First Nation and numerous nieces and nephews. Ronald will be missed by his friends Orville, Ian and Ethel. A Visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 10, 2005, from 1:00 P.M. 2:00 P.M in the Chapel of Lee Funeral Home, the Wake will follow at 4:00 P. M. at the Kawacatoose Band Hall, Kawacatoose First Nation. The Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, August 11, 2005 at 2:00 P.M. in the Kawacatoose Band Hall. Burial to follow in the Kawacatoose Cemetery. Arrangements are in the care of Lee Funeral Home 757-8645. August 12, 2005 Gwen Crane CRANE, GWEN - It is with great sadness that the Crane family of Key First Nation Saskatchewan, announce the passing of their mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother and sister Gwen Crane. Born on Key First Nation in 1930, Gwen exemplified hard work and determination early, and throughout her lifetime. At the age of 24, Gwen became Saskatchewan's first female chief. She was elected under the present electoral system, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations recently acknowledged this distinction. At a recent Chief's Gathering in Swift Current, the F.S.I.N. honored Gwen and affirmed that not only was she Saskatchewan's first female chief, she was Canada's first female (elected) chief. Gwen fought through many obstacles in her lifetime; experiencing injustices and intolerance against her people and her gender. Gwen's voice always resonated with reason, justice and authority. She set the bar high for many to follow with her leadership style. She always maintained that hard work and education would secure equality for First Nation people in Saskatchewan and Canada. Gwen was an active member of the Anglican Church of Canada for several decades. She was very proud of her faith and served dutifully. Gwen was born Gwendolyn Lucy O'Soup. She married Clifford Crane of Key First Nation following his service in World War II. Children include; Terry (2) of Arcola, Dennis (5) of Yellowknife NWT, Garda (5) of Edmonton AB, Gilda (3) of Thunder Bay ONT, Trent (3) of Port Coquitlam BC, Brenda (2) of Montreal QC, Joy (4) of London ONT, Karen (1) of Tuktoyaktuk NWT, Cliff (5) of Yorkton. Notable grandchildren and greatgranchildren include Cheryl Crane of Vancouver BC and Devon O'Soup of Key First Nation. Surviving brother and sisters include; Raymond Brass of Mikado, Frances Crowfoot of Siksika First Nation and Geraldine Wardman of Edmonton AB. Anglican/Traditional Wake Services to begin Thursday, August 11, 2005 at 4pm. Funeral Services to begin Saturday, August 13, 2005 at 10am. The Wake and Funeral Services will be held at Key First Nation's Saulteauxplex. Pallbearers include; Burton O'Soup, Carey O'Soup, Daniel O'Soup, David Thompson, Max Dokuchie, Tyler Crane, Shaun Crane, Rainy Crane, Cassius Crane, Michael Crane. Our family would like to extend our deepest appreciation for care provide to Gwen from all the staff at Regina's General Hospital. In addition, we would like to thank all the people who phoned, wrote, sent cards, visited and prayed for our mother. She is near and dear to all. Meegwetch! H.Gilbert Mcleod MCLEOD - On Wednesday, August 10, 2005, H. Gilbert McLeod, Peepeekisis First Nation, Balcarres, Sask., died peacefully with his family by his side at the age of 87 years. The funeral service will be held at the Pesakastew School, Peepeekisis First Nation on Saturday, August 13, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. with Alfred McLeod officiating. Interment in the McLeod Family Cemetery. Predeceased by his parents. Henry and Eliza McLeod, siblings, Albert, Alice, Harriett, Edith and Ken, children, Raymond and David, son-in-law, Steve Bellegarde and granddaughter, Deneil McLeod. Gilbert is survived by his loving wife of 59 years, Dorothy, sisters, Florence Desnomie and Gladys Fisher, children, (Special Daughter) Hazel Bitternose, Bernice (Leonard), Alfred (Yvonne), Terry (Tina), Eydie (William), Dean (Veronica), Donald, Noreen(Richard), Martine (Howard), numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. H. Gilbert McLeod was born on Monday, May 6th, 1918 at the File Hills Hospital on Peepeekisis Reserve. He was an Aboriginal Veteran of World War 11. He served from April 1941 to June 1945 in England, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. His military rank was Bombardier with the 6th Canadian Field Regiment, 91st Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery. Some of his occupations included: carpenter, farmer, miner, mailman and Economic Development Officer for Indian Affairs. He retired in 1983. He leaves a legacy of faith, love of our Lord, Jesus Christ and devotion to family. Arrangements entrusted to Tubman Cremation and Funeral Services 1-800-667-8962. August 15, 2005 Christopher Dubois CHRISTOPHER STANLEY DUBOIS Dec. 9, 1966_Aug. 10, 2005 Peishanaquod Beloved father, grandfather, husband, son, brother, uncle, nephew, made his journey to the Spirit world to be with the Creator. He leaves behind his wife Doreen, his children Michael, Melody and Riel, step children Peter and Rachel, his parents Maxine and Richard, siblings Alison (Earl), Simone (Dennis) McLeod, Richard TONY, Lloyd (Karen), Cliff (Lisa) and Melodie. He also leaves his four grandchildren, fifteen nieces, eleven nephews and nephew Rick's two children, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends as well as many fellow artists in the art community. Chris was born in Bienfait, Saskatchewan, the fifth of seven children and grew up in Sk. and Mb. He was always a very spiritual and gentle soul who followed the Sacred teachings. He was a devoted father who loved his children very much. An independent and loving person, Chris will take with him the great amount of love he held for his Dor, Mahkwa, his Bird and his children, and that love will sustain him on his journey. Chris was a very gifted individual and influenced many people to pursue artistic careers. He was an extremely talented artist and his artwork reflected his outlook on life as well as the joy and pain of others. He sold his artwork all across Canada and very much loved to explain the meanings behind each painting. Chris was always happy and quick to laugh. He saw humor and irony in every day life and shared this with his family and friends. Chris loved camping and fishing and he especially loved the Rocky Mountains and the Qu'Appelle Valley he grew up in. He will continue to live in the hearts and memories of those that loved and knew him. You have come home one last time and we are all here to welcome you, to bring you back to our hearts. Wake services will be held at the residence of Richard DuBois, Pasqua First Nation, starting Sunday afternoon, (August 14, 2005) at 4:00 p.m. The Burial will take place at the Asham Beach Cemetery, Pasqua First Nation, Wednesday, August 17, 2005 at 1:00 p.m. Arrangements entrusted to Tubman Cremation and Funeral Services 1-800-667-8962. Copyright c. 2000-2005 Regina Leader Post Group Inc. -=-=-=- August 11, 2005 Ashley Scott Calling Last It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of ASHLEY SCOTT CALLING LAST, also known as "Magoo" on Monday, August 1st, 2005 at the age of 27. He is survived by his loving wife - Celina Heavy Runner; his children - Raven, Anthony, and Amber Calling Last; his siblings - Jeremiah, Crystal (Dave), and Woodrow (Tina) Calling Last, Terry and Kyle Hind Bull, Vernon "Todd" Calling Last, and Adrian (Kerri) Crazy Bull; as well as his father - Oliver Shouting. He was predeceased by his mother - Catherine Calling Last and stepfather - Albert Hind Bull. Ashley was a very caring father, he enjoyed spending time with his children, especially going for walks with his son Anthony. His children were everything to him. Ashley received his schooling at Standoff Elementary, Kainai High School, Red Crow College and Moses Lake Life Skills. In his younger days Ashley enjoyed mountain biking, drawing and other various sports. In 1993 he participated in a karate class instructed at the Moses Lake Gymn. Some of his highlights were running in the Blackfoot Cultural Run, where he had the chance to run from the Head- Smashed-In Buffalo Jump to the U.S. border. He also participated in the Sacred Eagle Staff Run. Ashley was looking forward to running with brother Adrian Jr. in the Four Directions run to Lake St. Anne in 2006. He also had the opportunity to travel to Ontario with brother-in-law Dave, children, nieces and nephews in the summer of 2004. Ashley was a loving person, not meaning to hurt anyone. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. The Wake Service will be held on Wednesday, August 10th, 2005 at the Moses Lake Recreation Centre, Blood Reserve, from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, August 11th, 2005 at the Moses Lake Recreation Centre, Blood Reserve at 2:00 p.m. Interment in the Blood Band Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Salmon Funeral Home, Cardston, AB 653-3844. August 12, 2005 Misty Nicole Jade Medicine Crane "Misti Gurli" "Smiles, tears, giggles n laughs, Late night calls n cute photographs, I'll be there for you, till the day of my death, Best gurlies forever till my very last breath"-Misty God called for his angel to come back to heaven on August 5, 2005 at the age of 17 years old. MISTY NICOLE JADE MEDICINE CRANE (Misti Gurli) was born June 13, 1988 at the Lethbridge Regional Hospital, to her loving mother Judy Medicine Crane. Judy was very proud of her beautiful "Misty". Everywhere she would go she would dress Misty in her beautiful frilly dresses and show her off to everyone she met. She will be sadly missed by her mother Judy, her dad Lenny, her biological father Darryl Good Striker, her brother Skylar, her sisters Mackenzie, Shawny, and Shaquerri, her Grandmother Annie Mae Good Striker, her special nephew Bradley, special friend Drayton Many Bears, her special sister `Liss, Brittany, and Kelly and brothers Brett, Emmitt and Tyler. Her special aunties Dorothy, Gabrielle (Jasper), Doreen (Tom), Lorna (Kirk), Valerie Good Striker, Theresa Hohne. Her special uncles Max, James (Ruby), Rodney (Lorelei), Clinton (Cynthia), Ron Good Striker. Her special cousins Jamie, Josh, Jacob, Logan, Terri, Adam, Kyle, Kathy, Jasper Jr., Dwight, Gregory, Megan, Kirk Jr., Kirsty, Chandler, her loving Godparents Clinton Medicine Crane and Shelley Faye Crop Eared Wolf and numerous relatives and friends. She was predeceased by her Grandparents Tom and Catherine (Prairie Chicken) Medicine Crane, Jim Good Striker, her Uncles Herman, Thomas, Bernard, her cousin Michael and her brother Bradley Craig. Misty attended Red Crow Day Care, kindergarten at Saiypoyi Elementary, In Grade 1 -4 she attended W. A Day, Grade 5 at Our lady of Assumption, Grade 6 at St. Mary's Elementary, Grades 7-9 at St. Francis Jr. High, Grade 10 & 11 at Catholic Central High School. Misty excelled in school, in which she was to graduate from high school in June 2006. She enjoyed reading and loved to write poetry, she wrote poems for all the people that she loved, she spent hours at the Lethbridge public library. Everywhere Misty went she left a piece of her heart with others, her fun loving, eccentric and outgoing attitude always made her the center of attention. She had friends of all ages, because she was "MISTY'. Misty earned many certificates too numerous to mention. She was a very bright beautiful young woman who was ecstatic about everything she did. Misty successfully graduated from Niitsitapi Dreams Modeling School, and continued modeling after she completed the course. Misty continued to strive for her goals and dreams, and became a positive leader. She was very proud to be apart of the Crazy Horse Youth Council, in which they held a youth conference in Lethbridge. She had the opportunity to attend and represent the youth at the Urban Aboriginal Strategy Community Conference in Winnipeg, MB, as well, Banff youth conference in Banff, AB. Misty was an Altar server for 3 years and made her search in 2004. She loved to play basketball, watch movies, enjoyed spending time with Family and friends, and loved to meet new people. She had a beautiful smile, a delightful laugh and exquisite, outgoing personality that would lighten anyone's day. Misty wanted to become an actress and a doctor. She was very helpful, and would do what she could when called upon. Misty was a charming, and beautiful young women that will be greatly missed by all those who loved her and came into contact with her. The Wake Service will be held at the Kainai Sports Centre, Blood Reserve on Thursday, August 11th, 2005 from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be held at the Kainai Sports Centre, Blood Reserve on Friday, August 12th, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. Interment in the Blood Band Cemetery, and reception to follow, Kainai Sports Centre. August 13, 2005 George Franklin Crow Chief (Kiaayi'saahkomaapi) GEORGE FRANKLIN CROW CHIEF (Kiaayi'saahkomaapi) passed away suddenly at his parents home on the Blood Reserve on Thursday, August 4th, 2005 at the age of 42 years. Franklin was born in Cardston, Alberta on October 29, 1962. He attended school in Standoff, St. Mary's High School, and Red Crow Community College. He was currently attending a Life Skills program in Standoff. Franklin was born with a heart problem, but in defiance of his illness, he worked and gave a helping hand to his relatives. He enjoyed tending horses, and various carpentry work. Franklin's passions were playing ground hockey, horseback riding, and had a beautiful talent in art painting. He acquired his painting skills from his late grandfather, Percy Plain Woman. Left to cherish his memory are his four beautiful daughters, Ashley, Samantha, Tiffany, and Suzanne Crow Chief; his parents, Rose Marie Crow Chief and George Plain Woman; five brothers and one sister - Elliot, Kenneth, Edwin, Kevin, Rodney (Shirley), and Rhea (David); aunties, Georgina, Ida, Corina (Donald), and Eva Hind Bull; uncles, Gordon Plain Woman, Leroy Hunt, Sam Rider, William (Carma), Patrick, Duane (Wilma) Crow Chief; numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, great aunts and uncles, relatives and friends. He was predeceased by his grandparents, Percy Plain Woman and Paula Black Horse, Wallace Crow Chief, and Mary Crow Chief; one brother Dean Thomas Crow Chief; aunties Alice Williams, Theresa Chief Body, May Bottle, Gail Crow Chief, Nellie Plain Woman, and Alfreda Crow Chief; cousin Tasha Crow Chief; uncles Bernard Plain Woman, Louis Crow Chief, and Isaac Crow Chief. He will be greatly missed for his kindness, gentleness, thoughtfulness and his generosity. The family would like to apologize if anyone was overlooked. The Wake Service will be held on Friday, August 12th at the Old Elementary School Gym, Standoff, Blood Reserve from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, August 13th at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Blood Reserve at 11:00 a.m. Interment in St. Catherine's Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Salmon Funeral Home, Cardston, AB 653-3844. Copyright c. 2005 Alberta Newspaper Group, Inc./Lethbridge Herald.