_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 14, ISSUE 003 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 January 21, 2006 Western Cherokee unolvtana/cold moon Kiowa kaguat p'a san/little bud moon Anishnaabe Gichi-Manidoo-giizis/Great Spirit moon Blackfeet aisstoyiimsstaa/causes cold weather moon Mvskogee rv'fo cusee/moon of winter's younger brother +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; Native American Poetry Mailing List; UUCP Mail 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 Quotes: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + =================== "We are here now, have been here for thousands of years, and will always be here. We have fooled them all." __George Horse Capture, A'aninin (Gros Ventre) +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! The Lovely Janet has been reading BLOGs. One, in particular, made her most unhappy. As you can read in the article, "Native Americans jump to Elouise Cobell's defense", Janet was not the only Indian to take issue with the writer's lack of knowledge. --- This note caught my eye, mostly because it clearly shows how little the average citizen understands federal moneyjuggling, especially where Native Americans are concerned. The average Joe appears to get lost in all those billion and millions the politicians toss about -- and this Joe is really worked up about an attempted Indian raid on American tax dollars. He suggests enterprising white folks ought to set up a Hummer dealership off the rez. I kinda hope this guy tries it, before he runs the numbers. He's outraged that Indians are asking for either a comprehensive accounting of federal trust monies for the past hundred years, or failing that, a settlement. The figure of $13 billion is tossed out as a possible settlement outcome -- and he's mad about that! Now here comes the corker. He says the Indians have been raking in a "not minor income" over the years. He even gives the figures -- $71 million annually for 10 million acres of Indian land and 225,000 Indian trustees. Here's a little third grade math about the "not minor income. By the author's own figures, 71 million paid to Indians for the use of their own 10 million acres divided by 225,000 Indians comes to $315 each annually ($7 an acre annually -- I'd like to get a contract to use land for that price). IF the plaintiffs are, in fact, awarded $13 billion -- that comes to a one-time payment of a little over $57,000. Trust payments were never paid out of US tax money. It's money ranchers, mining, natural gas companies and oil corporations paid, or should have paid to the DOI for the use of Indian land. $7 an acre annually for oil wells, right-of-ways for gas lines, coal mines, grazing, forestry, etc... seems a bit inadequate, now doesn't it? Either the DOI "lost" the money by allocating it to other budgets than the rightful owners' accounts, granted woefully low sweetheart contracts, or it was, to put it frankly -- embezzled. Or all the above. The feds put Indian land into "trust" ostensibly because Indians were too savage to manage their own affairs competently. Well, they've kept this fiction up, and somebody's been pocketing the change. The DOI claims it's "impossble" to adequately keep up with Indian accounts. Hmmm...should we then wonder about the "possibility" of keeping up with tax liabilities or Social Security for something like 50 times as many non-Indian people? As has been said before -- it is Indian land, being used by private and corporate interests under the DOI's oversight, and it's time to pony up. This isn't about welfare. It's about rent. Elouise Cobell is a true heroine and we're darned lucky she got tired of being told "we can't" and stood up and said "you must." If you're an entrepreneur, consider how this can work in your favor. A Hummer dealership near the reservation? +/// Janet Smith owlstar@bellsouth.net /*/+ P. O. Box 672168 OwlStar Trading Post + / * Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. http://www.owlstar.com * + ---- Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) wotanging@bellsouth.net P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------- - Native Americans - Future of Sioux Indian Museum jump to Elouise Cobell's defense in doubt - Judge: Snowbowl can make Snow - Indians Continue - Navajo Nation to appeal Peaks Case to rebuild after Katrina - Iraq Vet learns - YELLOW BIRD: limits of Job Security Make peace with wayward Moose - Delegates want - Brazil to probe Army to strengthen Job Protections training of Amazon Indians - Windfall isn't always a Blessing - Community gets Cultural funding - Drilling OK'd in Alaska Habitat - "Matter of Weeks" - Quileute ups Second Beach offer for some till first payment - D.C. Specialist finds - OPINION: AFN endorsement Mashpee recognition likely of Liberals an insult - Tribal Nation files Appeal - Programs to prevent - Makah welcome Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Homeland Security training - Aboriginal vote split - Governor: Fed obligations not met could aid NDP in N.W.T. - Supreme Court denies - Tory statement Voting Rights Case worries Aboriginal Leaders - Groups demand Plant-Closure Funds - Northern reserves - Tribe seeks land N.J. sold in 1801 fear for Ice Roads - Powhatans distressed by Proposal - Feds urged to act now for Reserves - Tribe in Nevada says - QITSUALIK: Of the many Railroads stole its Land - Judge upholds - Challenge to Lake Okeechobee Tribal Court Authority water pumping - Report finds - Groups ask for stricter Tribal Court dysfunctional Water Pollution Rules - Fight over $25 fine - Tribes weigh ends in Supreme Court Values against Opportunities - Supreme Court - Hoopa Tribe seeks won't rule on Indian Law Cases help from Congress - Native Prisoner - Feds question -- Action request for Navajo Miwok's Tribal Legitimacy -- Death Row Appeal Rejected - Bringing back Buffalo Robes - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days strengthen Families - Rustywire: Yiniihbah, It Begins - Elder: Proper respect missing - Lee Goins Poem: Whisper In The Wind in Buffalo kill - Indian Portraits - Program guides Indians tell of a People displaced through Medical School - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Native Americans jump to Elouise Cobell's defense" --------- Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 08:43:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BLOG TAKEN TO TASK FOR GROSS INACCURACIES" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=7434 Native Americans jump to Elouise Cobell's defense Blast writer for criticizing trust fund settlement proposal Sam Lewin January 10, 2006 Don't mess with Elouise Cobell. A Pennsylvania writer found that out the hard way. A posting on the website PhillyBurbs.com takes the Blackfeet elder to task for her proposal to solve the long-running controversy trust fund lawsuit. The writer warns readers that their "pockets are about to be picked" by Cobell and her supporters. He also complains that the Indian trust lawsuit led to a shutdown of the Bureau of Indain Affairs website. Reaction came fast and furious. In the hours after the diatribe was posted a series of responses came in, almost all of them highly critical. "I am a member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe in South Dakota and I take great offense in the way you make us... sound. We not only had our lands stolen away but our spirits also. Why don't you come and visit and stay awhile. We welcome all. We are not rich or even comfortable but we would welcome you. We do have jobs (what ever is available) and pay taxes," wrote Victoria Burnett. "This note caught my eye, mostly because it clearly shows how little the average citizen understands federal money juggling, especially where Native Americans are concerned. The average Joe appears to get lost in all those billion and millions the politicians toss about - and this Joe is really worked up about an attempted Indian raid on American tax dollars," wrote Janet Smith. "Personal biased opinion without fact, without research, without merit," is how Kevin Leecy summed up the article. The trust fund was started after the breakup of Indian reservations in the 1880's. Indians were allotted beneficial ownership of the lands with the government acting as trustee. That meant it was the government's sole responsibility to keep track of all process from land, mineral or oil sales. A class action lawsuit sought to determine how much money remained in those accounts and reform the way federal officials keep track of the money. The court case, brought by Cobell on behalf of Indian trust fund holders, has dragged on since the Clinton presidency. Many observers believe a settlement is the only possible solution at this point, although terms remain to be negotiated. You can reach Sam Lewin at sam@okit.com Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Judge: Snowbowl can make Snow" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:49:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TOILET BOWL GETS OK" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0112drought12-snowbowl.html [Editorial Comment: If Catholics were told they would have to accept reclaimed water in their Baptismal Fonts, instead of Indians protesting desecration of a Sacred Mountain you can be sure the decision would have been different!] Judge: Snowbowl can make snow Mark Shaffer Republic Flagstaff Bureau January 12, 2006 FLAGSTAFF - A federal judge on Wednesday ruled in favor of Arizona Snowbowl making artificial snow for skiing on the San Francisco Peaks, a major setback to Native American tribes that had hoped to increase their religious practices on public land. In his ruling, Judge Paul Rosenblatt noted that using treated wastewater in snowmaking did not present a "substantial burden" on Native American cultures. Many tribes in northern and central Arizona consider the Peaks to be the home of their religious deities. Rosenblatt reinforced in his decision the federal policy of multiple uses of public lands. The judge also concluded that there was no way to make the snow in a way that would be less harmful to Native religions. Using groundwater had been roundly criticized since it is at a premium. Howard Shanker, a Valley attorney who represented tribes and environmental groups in the case, did not return calls to his office Wednesday. Shanker has previously indicated that he would appeal the decision if it went against his clients, who had based their case on the 1993 federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Snowbowl General Manager J.R. Murray said he anticipates work beginning soon on a nearly 15-mile pipeline. The treated wastewater will be frozen and sprayed on the slopes during ski season. Copyright c. 2006, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Navajo Nation to appeal Peaks Case" --------- Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:15:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO TO APPEAL TOILET BOWL RULING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.daily-times.com/601130312/1001 Navajo Nation to appeal Peaks case Judge rules against tribe By Ryan Hall The Daily Times January 13, 2006 FARMINGTON - The Arizona Snowbowl ski resort can begin expansion and use 1.5 million gallons of reclaimed wastewater to make artificial snow following a Wednesday decision by Federal District Judge Paul Rosenblatt, according to a release by the office of Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. "To Native people, there are no compromises to saving self. When our ceremonies go, and when our herbs go, there are no compromises left to be made," Shirley said in the statement released Wednesday night. "This hurts all native people to see our ways of life done away with for money. There are plenty of other ways to make money besides putting filthy water on a sacred place." The decision supports an earlier ruling by the U.S. Forestry Service that the results of an environmental impact study show the project will not harm the San Francisco Peaks (Dook'o'sliid in Navajo), a sacred mountain to the Dine' and at least 13 other tribes. Several of those tribes filed the suit in response to the decision to use reclaimed wastewater, citing alleged violations of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. In the 62-page decision, Rosenblatt disagreed with that claim. "The Court concludes that the record shows that the Forest Service conducted a reasonable scientific analysis of the environmental impacts of the proposed snowmaking based on the best available scientific evidence," he wrote. The decision allows for the Snowbowl to immediately begin clearing trees and preparing for expansion. George Hardeen, communications director for Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr., who testified in the trial, said Shirley directed the Nation's attorney to file an injunction motion and a motion of appeal with the district court. If the motions are denied, the case will move to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. "I'd like to see all the tribes appeal it," noted Navajo Nation Council Delegate LoRenzo Bates of Upper Fruitland. "Obviously the federal government has taken the money that could be made over the beliefs of Native Americans. Given the attitude of the federal government towards Native Americans, it's not surprising." The decision handed down by Rosenblatt also noted that wildlife and plants that hold religious significance for the Navajo people exist on areas of the San Francisco Peaks not occupied by Snowbowl. "It's a slap in the face for the Navajo Nation. The only people that originate from this land mean nothing to the federal government," said Navajo Nation Council Delegate Wallace Charley of Shiprock. "Philosophically, physically, how would you feel if someone is destroying your beliefs, your prayers, your life? That's exactly what I feel is being done to me." Charley noted Navajo philosophy is "really hard to understand," but likened the "desecration" of the sacred mountain to damaging the Statue of Liberty. He added Rosenblatt is "a judge who has no shred of understanding what the mountain means to us." Rosenblatt's decision noted that after hearing testimony regarding the importance of the mountain to the Navajo people as well as testimony on the ski resort's proposed uses, that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) did not protect the tribe's interest in this case. "The Court finds as a matter of fact and concludes as a matter of law that the Forest Service's decision to authorize upgrades to an existing ski area is not a violation of RFRA," Rosenblatt wrote. Hardeen said Thursday that Shirley was disappointed with the decision and his first call that morning was to the attorney with directions to begin the appeal process. "He's deeply saddened that the Native's perspective about the San Francisco Peaks is being missed," Hardeen said. "It's still perplexing. A big shock, big shock, but clearly the law and the intent of the law was on the side of the tribes," Hardeen stated. He added Shirley planned to try to meet with the other tribes involved in the suit to discuss the decision and any future plan of action. Bates, who participated in a motorcycle ride to the site of the trial in Prescott, Ariz. when the trial began, said the decision hurts but won't affect the beliefs of the Navajo people. "Despite all of that, the beliefs of the tribes will continue on, they will not diminish in any way. We will overcome this, I don't know how, but we will, we have to," Bates said. When asked if he might participate in another honor motorcycle run to a different site if the case is appealed, Bates said he believed he could also speak for the other riders. "It's not that I might, I will," he said, adding he expected to be joined by those who participated before. Copyright c. 2005 Farmington Daily Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper. --------- "RE: Iraq Vet learns limits of Job Security" --------- Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:15:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IRAQ VET GETS SCREWED BY SYSTEM" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.thenavajotimes.com/ Iraq vet learns limits of job security By Marley Shebala Navajo Times January 12, 2006 STANDING ROCK, N.M. - Strange, confusing and shameful are words used to describe the situation of a Navajo veteran who survived Iraq only to lose his civilian job, despite federal and tribal protections aimed at preventing such problems. Army National Guardsman Jason Joe, 26, returned from Iraq in March and planned to resume his life as a husband, father and Navajo Nation firefighter. It didn't work out that way. "It is strange that during the Navajo Nation year of the veteran, the nation would allow one of its Iraq veterans to lose his job at the Navajo Fire & Rescue Department," said Elaine Notah, a family assistance specialist for the New Mexico National Guard Center in Santa Fe. Speaker Lawrence Morgan (Iyanbito/Pinedale) calls Joe's situation "confusing." "I don't see why his employer would not accept him back," Morgan said. Freda Joe has an even stronger word for it. She calls the treatment of her son, Jason, by Navajo governmenmt authorities - including the veterans affairs and president's offices - "shameful." These facts are undisputed: * Joe, a Standing Rock resident, joined the fire department three years ago. He was assigned to the Window Rock district at the time he was deployed to Iraq in December 2003. Joe served as a driver and gunner with a transportation unit based near Baghdad. In April 2005, he returned home to his wife Christine, 26, and two daughters, Chenoa, 8, and Ashleigh, 4. * Joe resumed his firefighter job three weeks later. On Oct. 15, he was fired. Joe believes his termination violates the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. USERA, which Congress passed in 1994, protects the jobs, health insurance, and pension benefits of National Guard members, veterans, and other military personnel. His supervisor, Fire Supervisor Larry Chee, did not respond to repeated calls for comment from the Navajo Times. However, Fire Capt. Jacob Brock of the Tuba City District said Joe was fired for refusing a transfer and not reporting for work in Tuba City. Civilian, military duties conflict (sub) But Joe, who says he has never received formal notice of his termination, said Chee always saw his military and civilian positions as being in conflict. From the time he returned from Iraq, Joe contends that his supervisors ignored his rights as a returning veteran. The problems began when he decided to take some time off before returning to work. "I was gone for so long," Joe said. "I wanted to spend time with my family, visit relatives." He said he thought the Navajo government honored the federal reemployment law so he decided to take the maximum leave offered under USERA. Joe pointed to his copy of the law, which says service people returning from more than 180 days of duty have up to 90 days to return to work. He said he followed USERA by immediately notifying the fire department that he had returned from Iraq, and that he would return to work after 90 days. But after 30 days, Joe said, his plans to spend time with his family and friends were cut short when Chee threatened to fire him if he didn't immediately report for work. According to Notah, who primarily advocates for Iraq veterans, Joe and his mother first contacted her in July and reported that his employer seemed unable or unwilling to understand the law. Joe said he tried without success to explain the federal reemployment law to Chee. In September, the National Guard called Joe up to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans. He was gone for two weeks. He says Chee again threatened to fire him and docked his pay 80 hours for the time he was gone on the Katrina mission. Offer to resign (sub) As Joe recounts events, Chee then reassigned him from Window Rock to Tuba City and threatened to fire him if he didn't take the transfer. Joe refused it anyway, noting that his wife - also a Guard member - was already in transit to Iraq and his reassignment to Tuba City would leave their daughters without either parent nearby. According to Joe, Chee suggested he resign his firefighter job. In an Oct. 14 letter, Joe informed Chee that he was not taking the offer to resign, and said his problems at work were connected to his military duties. "It is apparent that the primary reason for the continuing problems is due to my National Guard duties," Joe stated. "These problems began since my employment there and even jeopardized my standing in the National Guard at one time. "As I have informed you, my wife is presently in Ft. Bliss, Texas preparing for deployment to Iraq," he stated to Chee. "I provided to you my written explanation - twice, per your requests, my reasons for not wanting to go to Tuba City. "The primary reason being my two daughters," Joe continued. "I am extremely concerned for their emotional security since their mother will now be doing her tour of combat duty with the National Guard. The following day Joe was fired. He filed a grievance protesting his termination Oct. 26. On Dec. 29, after some gentle but firm prodding from his mother, and a realization that the Navajo government was not going to help him and other Iraq veterans facing similar circumstances, Joe decided to go public with his problems. Joe recalled that even before his deployment to Iraq, Chee told him to choose between his firefighting job and the National Guard. Brock denied the charge and added that Chee and he often told Joe they were proud of his involvement in the National Guard. Brock claimed that he and Chee did not learn about the reemployment law until after they fired Joe. Nevertheless, Brock maintains that Joe was terminated for not coming to work, and not because of his military responsibilities. He also emphasized that Chee told Joe the assignment to Tuba City was temporary and was intended to help him readjust to civilian life. He declined to comment further, citing the pending personnel grievance filed by Joe. No help from vets office (sub) Joe said that during his employment troubles, he went to Navajo Veterans Affairs Director Leo Chischilly to talk to him about the federal armed services reemployment law. He said Chischilly told him the Navajo Nation does not honor the federal reemployment law and did not offer any other help. By mid-summer, Freda Joe was so concerned that she decided to appeal directly to the Navajo Nation Council. In a July 12 letter to the council, Freda recounted all the efforts made to resolve problems between her son and his employer informally. Notah, from the National Guard in Santa Fe, contacted the President Joe Shirley Jr.'s office, the veterans' office, personnel department, and Office of Navajo Labor Relations. "Ultimately, we were informed that it was their decision and the veterans office that the Navajo Nation does not recognize this federal law because of its sovereignty," Freda Joe wrote to the council. The president's office staffer assigned to handle Jason Joe's case, T.C. Tso, did not respond to repeated requests for comment from the Navajo Times. Not an isolated case (sub) Notah says that she has discovered Joe's predicament may not be an isolated case. After extensive research and many phone calls, she found out that tribes and pueblos are not bound by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. "They may choose to follow the law or have their own policy regarding this issue," Notah stated in a June 14 letter. "The U.S. Supreme Court in various rulings has advised judges that when dealing with the issue of tribal sovereignty, `tread lightly.' "This is an issue that apparently was overlooked by those who drafted the USERA law," she added. "I believe that tribal governments, given their strong military history, will support their soldiers." She recommended a nationwide consensus among tribes regarding reemployment policies for military personnel. On Jan. 4, Chischilly denied to the Navajo Times that he ever told Jason that the Navajo government didn't honor USERA. Chischilly pointed to a section of the Navajo government's personnel policies titled "Military Leave." According to the policy, a regular status employee who is ordered into active service shall be granted military leave without pay and shall be entitled to return to the same or equivalent position. Omer Begay Jr., chairman of the Human Services Committee, said, "This is another clear-cut case of a supervisor not reading the personnel policies and procedures. "This gentleman will win if it goes to the labor commission," Begay added. The Human Services Committee has oversight authority for the Division of Human Resources, which includes the veterans office and personnel department. Begay said the Navajo personnel manual was amended several years ago to include portions of the federal military reemployment law. He added that harassment is also covered under personnel policies that require a supervisor to work "harmoniously" with his or her employees. Joe is caring for his children and attending classes at the University of New Mexico-Gallup while awaiting the outcome of his grievance. His wife Christine was deployed to Iraq Nov. 13. Copyright c. 2005 Navajo Times Publishing Company Incorporated. --------- "RE: Delegates want to strengthen Job Protections" --------- Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:15:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAVING JOBS - SAVING FACE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.thenavajotimes.com/ Delegates want to strengthen job protections By Marley Shebala Navajo Times January 12, 2006 WINDOW ROCK - The Navajo Nation Council's Human Services Committee voted unanimously Monday to craft amendments to employment laws that will protect veterans and military personnel returning from combat duty. Committee members said changes are needed because the federal reemployment law does not appear to protect tribal members as it does the non-Indian military. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 protects the jobs, health insurance, and pension benefits of National Guard members, veterans and other military personnel. However, USERA does not always apply in Indian Country because tribal sovereignty takes precedence and tribal protections may not be as strong. Leo Chischilly, Navajo Veterans Affairs Office director, told the committee he does not think Navajos returning from Iraq are having employment and reemployment problems. Committee Chairman Omer Begay Jr., however, disputed Chischilly's characterization and said he is aware of an Iraq veteran losing his job. Begay recounted the story of Jason Joe, a returning Army National Guardsman who experienced recurrent job conflicts due to his military responsibilities and eventually was fired. Committee member Larry Anderson (Fort Defiance) said Joe's situation shows that Navajo government supervisors don't fully understand employment laws regarding veterans, the National Guard, and reservists. And tribal regulations are lacking, in some cases. Anderson noted that reservists are not included in the Navajo government personnel manual. Committee members commented that current employment policies related to the military are vague and even contradictory. Chischilly reported to the committee that he had asked his agency offices to gather recommendations from veterans concerning employment issues, but had not received any comments. Nationally, many veterans of the Iraq war say they have been unable to reenter their old lives and careers. In response, the U.S. Department of Labor and the attorney aeneral launched a media campaign to draw public attention to the issue. At a Dec. 16 press conference in Washington, Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao announced the "first-ever" regulations implementing the 1994 law. Key rules include: * Eligible returning service members must be "promptly reemployed" in an appropriate position, which, in most cases, is within two weeks of reporting back to work. * Returning service members must be returned back to the same seniority, status, and pay they would have attained if they had remained continuously employed. * Timetables and procedures are spelled out for service members reporting back to work. * Reinstatement rights also cover disabled veterans, who are entitled to be reemployed in the appropriate positions they would have attained but for military service. * Protections cover health and pension plan benefits during service and upon return from service. The Human Resources Committee voted to meet in March to work on the Navajo government's laws governing employment for military personnel. Copyright c. 2005 Navajo Times Publishing Company Incorporated. --------- "RE: Windfall isn't always a Blessing" --------- Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:15:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CASH PART OF TERMINATION POLICY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://159.54.226.83//20060115/COLUMN0804/601150301/1064 Windfall isn't always a blessing U.S. government's cash given to Native Americans was 'termination policy' DAN HAYS January 15, 2006 Sometimes it takes a work of fiction to get at the truth and reveal the facts. "Truth" and "fact," though, while they have meanings in common, are not the same thing. The fact is that in 1961 the United States government offered each resident of the Klamath Indian Reservation in Southern Oregon $43,000 for giving up their million-acre reservation and ending their enrollment as a Native American tribe. The truth behind those facts is that the payout was part of an ongoing "termination policy" by which the federal government hoped to reduce the number of enrolled tribal members and regain land that once was thought useless enough to give to Indians, but now looked much more attractive. The payout destroyed lives. That's the backdrop to Rick Steber's novel "Buy the Chief a Cadillac." The novel illuminates the truth behind the facts. Steber is suited to tell this tale. He was raised on the Klamath Indian Reservation and witnessed what the payout did to people. "I had friends and acquaintances who took the government termination payout," he has written. "Nearly all were killed violently: dying at wild parties, wrecking cars, or slowly drinking themselves to death." Steber, who lives in the Ococho Mountains near Prineville in central Oregon, founded a small company to publish and distribute his books - 27 so far. The majority of those books are non-fiction. But Steber chose to tell the Klamath story as fiction. In 2005, he published it himself, as usual and then lightning struck twice. First, "Buy the Chief a Cadillac" won the Spur Award, the top honor given by the Western Writers of America. Then a major publisher picked up the self-published volume and has issued it nationwide as a handsome trade paperback. "Buy the Chief a Cadillac" focuses on three brothers and those who love them. Each reacts to the payout in a different way. Truth is very much behind everything Steber does here. In his "Foreword," he is careful to let us know that what we about to read is fiction, though it is based on fact. "There is no town named Chewaucan. There is no U.S. West Bank." Then he adds: "And there are no such things as greed, indulgence, tyranny, social injustice or racial prejudice." The truth is a thorny issue. Steber, however, doesn't back off from the thorns. His novel is relentless in its ability to burrow into the inner lives of its characters, to endear them, with all their flaws, to readers. And then it lets them walk their own paths while readers watch in sorrow, joy and sometimes horror. The prose Steber uses here is simple and evocative: "Inside on the table was an overflowing ashtray, a pencil that had been sharpened with a pocketknife and a book lying open. One of Lefty's lasting true pleasures had been reading two-bit westerns. The kind where there was a bad guy, a pretty girl and the hero always won. But those days were over, the print no longer held still, letters squirmed and wiggled without respect to words and lines and paragraphs. This upset Lefty more than anything, except maybe power saws." In a way, that paragraph might be seen as a metaphor for the book itself. Those who thought the story of the destruction of Native American culture ended in the 19th century will learn otherwise as they read this book. "Buy the Chief a Cadillac" is one of the most honest novels to come along in while. There is no guile in it. Only truth. And those facts. Copyright c. 2006 StatesmanJournal.com All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Drilling OK'd in Alaska Habitat" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:49:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DoI RUBBER STAMPS ALASKA DRILLING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.miami.com//13607704.htm?source=rss&channel=mercurynews_nation Drilling OK'd in Alaska habitat By Janet Wilson Los Angeles Times January 12, 2006 The U.S. Department of Interior on Wednesday approved oil and gas drilling on Alaska land considered such sensitive wildlife habitat that it first was protected by former Interior Secretary James Watt under President Reagan, and by four Interior secretaries since. The decision - decried by American Indian, hunting and environmental groups - comes weeks after the U.S. Senate rejected drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, 110 miles to the east. U.S. Bureau of Land Management staff said the decision was made after three years of study and in response to requests by Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force. The plan will open up more than 500,000 acres in and around Teshekpuk Lake on Alaska's oil-rich North Slope. BLM officials estimate the Northeast National Petroleum Reserve might contain as many as 2 billion barrels of what is deemed "economically recoverable" oil. The area is a critical stop for molting geese on the Pacific flyway, with as many as 90,000 birds resting in flat wetlands in the summer. As many as 46,000 caribou also use areas near the lake for calving and migration paths. While many Alaskans welcome drilling as an economic boon, some native leaders in the state blasted the decision Wednesday. "There are a lot of frustrated people in our community right now," said Dora Nukapigak, who lives in the small Inupiat Eskimo village of Nuiqsut, where many people depend on caribou as an important food source. "It's a very sensitive area. It seems like regardless of what we say or do with BLM, they'll do what they're going to do anyway, and that's drill." A maximum of 2,100 acres total in seven different zones can be disturbed permanently on the surface, and a three-year study will be conducted of molting geese, BLM staff said. Copyright c. 2006 San Jose Mercury News. --------- "RE: Quileute ups Second Beach offer" --------- Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:15:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ESCAPE EROSION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/sited/story/html/227722 Quileute ups Second Beach offer in search for higher ground by VANESSA RENEE CASAVANT January 15, 2006 LAPUSH - Quileute representatives have sweetened the tribe's offer in an effort to acquire higher ground currently within Olympic National Park. The tribe is now offering that it will give up claims to Rialto Beach and promising permanent access to Second Beach if the park offers them enough land to meet their needs. Although the tribe has previously offered to give up claims to Rialto Beach, which provides access to the breakwater, the promise to keep access to Second Beach open is a new negotiating issue. Paul Seiwell, the tribe's legal representative, said the park has yet to make a firm offer on a potential land swap. The Second Beach amendment was included in a press release issued by the tribe on Friday regarding its tsunami drill. The two sites are popular tourist destinations and offer some of the most spectacular views on the Washington coast. No comment from park On Friday, Olympic National Parks spokeswoman Barb Maynes said negotiations between the park and Quileute tribe are ongoing. Calls to park Superintendent Bill Laitner on Saturday for reaction to the tribe's Second Beach offer were not immediately returned. If the national park accepts the tribe's newest offer, it could end a more than 50-year dispute over the northern boundary of the reservation at Rialto Beach, and provide higher land for the tribe to move the center of its village out of a tsunami zone. The tribe proposed in its original land swap offer to give up claim to Rialto Beach for higher ground about a year ago after witnessing the devastation caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Copyright c. 2006 Kenai Peninsula Daily News, Horvitz Newspapers, Inc. --------- "RE: D.C. Specialist finds Mashpee recognition likely" --------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 08:57:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MASHPEE RECOGNITION" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/dspecialist13.htm D.C. specialist finds recognition likely By SEAN GONSALVES STAFF WRITER January 13, 2006 A former examiner of federal recognition petitions for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who later worked as a private consultant for the Mashpee Wampanoag says the tribe's petition is one of the strongest he has seen. "The Mashpee petition, as it stands now, is extremely well-documented. I think they'll pass with flying colors," Steve Austin said in an interview from his Washington, D.C., office on Wednesday. "In the 13 years that I've been working on this issue, I've looked at negative and positive cases. And, for an East Coast tribe, Mashpee has a strong case, probably better than the Mohegan and Aquinnah petitions," he said, referring to two tribes that already have won federal recognition. Austin, an anthropologist who was a BIA researcher from 1993 to 1999, was hired by the tribe as a private consultant in 2000. He conducted interviews of tribe members, inquiring about their family backgrounds, cultural traditions, their involvement in tribal politics and traditional spiritual practices. He then wrote a report about his findings, which is included, along with the audiotaped interviews, in the tribe's voluminous petition now under review with the BIA. Besides a well-documented history going back to the 1600s, Austin said, the Mashpee tribe has a "strong political structure." As evidence, he cited two opposing factions within the tribe - "you might call it, traditional religionists versus those not involved in traditional religious activities." Those differences came to public light recently when it was reported that several tribal officers decided to hire the lobbying firm of the now indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, hoping to kick-start the bureaucratic BIA review process. Austin said such disagreements are a key piece of evidence for BIA researchers. "In my experience, when there is an absence of that kind of factionalism, usually it's a very weak case. If you go in and they all say the same thing and everyone is all lovey-dovey, it doesn't look like an Indian tribe. We used to say if there's no conflict, there's probably no tribe." What he found in Mashpee's case, he said, is "they might not like each other some times but they come together for tribal business. That's the sign of a real tribal entity." Though Austin said he would be surprised if the Mashpee petition didn't pass the BIA's muster, he's skeptical the agency will be able to meet the March 31 deadline for a preliminary finding. The final determination isn't scheduled to be reached until April 2007 after a 180-day public comment period. "The court-agreement might speed them along but I would be very surprised if they actually meet that (March 31) date because there's so much to do," he said, noting that during his tenure it typically took at least five months after a field visit to analyze all of the necessary information. "The fact that (a BIA anthropologist) is there now suggests they are very early in the process. ... And the preliminary finding is usually 200 to 500 pages long. It's very detailed and that doesn't happen overnight." Sean Gonsalves can be reached at sgonsalves@capecodonline.com. Copyright c. 2006 Cape Cod Times. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tribal Nation files Appeal" --------- Date: Fri, 13 Jan 2006 08:57:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCHAGHTICOKE SUE FOR RECOGNITION" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.courant.com/~coll=hc-headlines-local Tribal Nation Files Appeal Schaghticokes Say Evidence Ignored By RICK GREEN, Courant Staff Writer January 13, 2006 In a long-shot bid to restore their federal recognition, the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation Thursday filed suit in federal court, charging that the state's top political leaders interfered to manipulate their defeat. "The attorney general and other Connecticut political leaders worked in concert with Washington, D.C., lobbyists to infect the process," said Richard L. Velky, chief of the Kent-based Schaghticoke Tribal Nation. "We are asking the court to change the decision back to the original decision of January 2004." Following an aggressive campaign led by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Gov. M. Jodi Rell, members of the state's congressional delegation and a Kent-based citizens group, the Department of the Interior in October reversed the 2004 ruling and denied federal recognition to the Schaghticokes. The tribe has had a state-recognized reservation in Kent since the 1700s. In its latest ruling, the Interior Department rejected the Schaghticokes because the tribe failed to prove it had a viable, intact community with its own government for decades-long stretches in the 19th and 20th centuries. Tribal leaders say new evidence was ignored. "Why was it done to the Schaghticokes? My reasoning is they just wanted to keep us down," Velky said. The tribe has sought to build a casino in Bridgeport and much of the opposition to them centered on the tribe's desire to expand gambling in the state. Federally recognized tribes may operate casinos in states where gambling is legal. In the new court papers, the Schaghticokes "offer nothing specific, no facts, no evidence to substantiate their plainly unfounded and futile claims," Blumenthal said. The Schaghticokes are "nowhere close" to meeting federal standards for a tribe, he said. "There is no evidence or fact to support them. Simply to say it again and again and again doesn't make it so or even make it credible," Blumenthal said. Calls to members of the state's congressional delegation were not immediately returned Thursday evening. Judd Everhart, a spokesman for Rell, said she has long called for reform of the tribal recognition process. He denied that she acted behind the scenes to undermine the tribe. "She has never spoken with Secretary [of the Interior Gale A.] Norton or any Bureau of Indian Affairs officials about the merits of the Schaghticoke case," Everhart said. In a 32-page filing in U.S. District Court in New Haven, the Schaghticokes contend the Interior Department's ruling was altered because of "heavily weighted political influence" from elected officials, lobbyists and a citizens' group, the Town Action to Save Kent. They say political pressure forced the department to reconsider its ruling, change recognition criteria, and reject the tribe. This pressure, the Schaghticokes contend, included letters from the state's congressional delegation to the Interior Department; a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-5th District, seeking to overturn the recognition; lobbying by the politically connected Washington firm of Barbour Griffith & Rogers; and an unusual Senate hearing in which Rell and others excoriated the tribe before U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. "Everything that was done has to be taken in the context of the incredible pressure that came on [the tribe]," said Eric W. Wiechmann, a lawyer for the Schaghticokes. "Whatever money that is behind the tribe pales in comparison with the powers that were going against them." "We are saying just look at what happened and explain it. We want a federal judge to look at the record," Wiechmann said. Specifically, the tribe asked the court to reinstate the federal recognition or at least to turn the matter over to a magistrate judge to make a determination. The tribe faces a difficult challenge because the courts are generally reluctant to overturn an administrative ruling such as a tribal recognition. A recent decision by a federal judge declaring that the Shinnecocks, of Long Island, are a tribe has given the Schaghticokes hope, however. In other action Thursday, the Eastern Pequot tribe, which also was stripped of its federal recognition this past October, filed an appeal before the federal Interior Board of Indian Appeals. Tribal Chairman Marcia Flowers said the denial was "very, very unfair" and "unprecedented." Copyright c. 2006 Hartford Courant. --------- "RE: Makah welcome Homeland Security training" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:49:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NO PROBLEM WITH TRAINING NEAR NEAH BAY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/sited/story/html/227443 Makah welcome homeland security training near Neah Bay by JEFF CHEW January 12, 2006 NEAH BAY - While Security Services Northwest has been maligned as a bad neighbor on Discovery Bay, Makah tribal leaders are welcoming the company's training gunfire with open arms on Neah Bay. "We don't have a problem with it," said Makah Tribal Chairman Ben Johnson Jr. "We do hear it, but it's not that annoying ... It would make very little impact out here." Johnson and Makah tribal assets manager Alice Langebartel confirmed Wednesday that Joe D'Amico, Security Services founder and president, has been training military servicemen and women at the tribe's gun range near the Koitlah Point dump site. Koitlah Point overlooks the western bluffs of Neah Bay. Johnson said that he saw the company's presence, along with the military personnel it trains, as an honor for the tribe, which has produced many war veterans and heroes over the years. He said he only knew that the U.S. Department of Defense and other military personnel were being trained there. Langebartel said she met Wednesday with D'Amico and Johnson saw D'Amico in Neah Bay on Sunday. "He was out here (Wednesday) discussing the gun range and what they need," Langebartel said. D'Amico has already struck two short-term gun-range use agreements approved by the Makah Tribal Council, she said - the first on Sept. 16, 2005, and the second effective Jan. 1. Copyright c 2006 Kenai Peninsula Daily News, Horvitz Newspapers, Inc. --------- "RE: Governor: Fed obligations not met" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:49:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FEDS CUTTING EVERYTHING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.com//2006/01/11/build/wyoming/98-obligations.inc Governor: Fed obligations not met January 11, 2006 ETHETE - The federal government is not living up to its obligation to help the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes, Gov. Dave Freudenthal says. "At the federal level, everything is getting cut," he told Arapaho leaders. Employment on the Wind River Indian Reservation is around 50 percent. Yet Freudenthal said Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funding is being cut and basic health services are in short supply on the reservation. Richard Brannan, chairman of the Arapaho Business Council, said his biggest concern is the lack of funding and employees for the tribe's child protective services. The tribe has been managing its own child welfare program since a 2004 dispute over a state child welfare contract that would have allowed the state to sue the tribe. "It's gotten to the point where the tribe just may have to hand it back to the state," Brannan said. Freudenthal said the state is prepared to respect the tribes' sovereignty. He said a task force may be needed to address child services on the reservation. Copyright c. 2006 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Supreme Court denies Voting Rights Case" --------- Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 17:15:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SOUTH DAKOTA LOSES APPEAL" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?feature=yes&id=1096412286 Supreme Court denies voting rights case by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today January 13, 2006 PIERRE, S.D. - The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from the state of South Dakota on a Voting Rights Act violation. The state, subject to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which requires pre-clearance for changes to voting laws, asked the high court to accept their appeal to review that section and possibly limit its scope. "They tried to do an end run around Section 5," said Bryon Sells, attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project. The state is required to ask the U.S. Justice Department for pre- clearance in two counties, Todd and Shannon, which are located on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations respectively. The voting rights of American Indians are in the balance in these two counties. Any change in voting regulations that would cover all counties in the state is also subject to Section 5. "We are extremely pleased that the Supreme Court upheld South Dakota's obligation to comply with the Voting Rights Act and protect the rights of minority voters. "We hope the South Dakota Legislature has finally gotten the message that it cannot trample on the voting rights of Native Americans with impunity," Sells said. A lawsuit filed by the ACLU against Charles Mix County, home to the Yankton Sioux Tribe, accused the county of diluting voting districts. No American Indian has ever served on a county board or city council. Charles Mix County officials then asked the Legislature for help. The intent was to circumvent the lawsuit and redistrict in an off year. They county asked for a bill that could allow emergency redistricting in any year with the approval of the governor and attorney general. The Legislature passed House Bill 1265 to honor the Charles Mix County redistricting request and the governor signed it two days later. The bill was not submitted for pre-clearance by the Justice Department. The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of Yankton tribal plaintiffs and a federal three-judge panel ruled that South Dakota was in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The state then appealed. "We thought that ruling was subject to question. Our view was, you only have to pre clear with Shannon and Todd counties," said Larry Long, South Dakota attorney general. "In effect, [section 5] applied across the board that a statute can't be implemented in any county until pre cleared, we don't agree," Long said. He said the controversy over Section 5 and South Dakota will arise again. In the written ruling of July 2005 the three judges argued that the state had been in violation of some 700 voting or election changes in past decades without ever seeking pre clearance. Since then, Secretary of State Chris Nelson said that most of those laws have been submitted and received pre-clearance. HB 1265 was submitted to the Justice Department while the state's appeal was in progress and did finally receive pre-clearance. At the same time U. .S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol ruled against Charles Mix County, which meant the county was in violation of the Voting Rights Act and must redraw the district lines to better accommodate the American Indian voting block. At the present time, Charles Mix County is working on redistricting plans that would comply with plans drawn by the ACLU, Sells said. As required by the constitution, district lines must be redrawn after each census, taken every 10 years. Charles Mix County did not redraw the district lines ?after the 2000 census. It is required to redraw a district line if a district is more than 10 percent out of compliance. In Charles Mix County there was a 19 percent deviation in population of the districts. The original complaint stated that the county had used procedures in the past that offer the opportunity for discrimination against American Indian voters. County officials, at the time, said that the lines were kept the same in good faith and not out of any act of racism. The ACLU's proposal would create a district that has a majority population of American Indians, which would give them a chance to elect a preferred candidate. In the last general election an American Indian candidate ran for county commission and lost by a little more than 60 votes. "The actions of the South Dakota Legislature to silence the voice of Native American voters have been shameful. We are pleased that the Supreme Court has put this matter to rest, but we are saddened that state officials would rather file costly appeals than obey the law and protect the rights of all South Dakota citizens," said Jennifer Ring, executive director of the ACLU of the Dakotas. Copyright c. 1998-2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Groups demand Plant-Closure Funds" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:49:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MOHAVE SHUTDOWN" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/contact_us/copyright/ Groups demand plant-closure funds for renewable energy By TERENCE CHEA Associated Press January 12, 2006 SAN FRANCISCO - Tribal leaders and environmental groups Wednesday asked California energy regulators to take sale proceeds from the closure of a Nevada power plant and reinvest them in renewable energy projects. Leaders of the Navajo and Hopi tribes in Arizona, along with representatives of the San Francisco-based Sierra Club and other environmental groups, filed the petition with the California Public Utilities Commission. On Dec. 1, operators of the Mohave Generating Station near Laughlin, Nev. closed the 1,580-megawatt power plant rather than install pollution control equipment estimated to cost $1.1 billion. The station, about 100 miles south of Las Vegas, used coal from Black Mesa Mine in Arizona and served electricity customers in California. The station's owners, including Southern California Edison, were expected to receive tens of millions of dollars from the sale of pollution credits that allowed the release of 53,000 tons of sulfur dioxide. The tribes and environmental groups want those proceeds to be invested in energy projects that will help tribal communities affected by the plant's closure. About 200 mostly Navajo coal mine workers lost their jobs when the plant was shut down, according to the Just Transition Coalition, which filed the petition. The groups seek funding from Southern California Edison's sale of about $40 million per year in pollution credits to be used to clean up contamination, create jobs and develop renewable energy sources for the region. "This is a way to bring about renewable energy such as wind and solar and a stronger economy for people who really need it," said Andy Bessler, southwest representative for the Sierra Club. On Wednesday, PUC President Michael Peevey received the petition, and the commission would evaluate it, said PUC spokesman Susan Carothers. Southern California Edison, which owns 56 percent of the station, was evaluating the proposal and would not comment on it, said spokesman Gloria Quinn. In 1999, environmental groups won a consent degree that required the plant, which was blamed for contaminating the region's air, to upgrade its pollution controls or close by Jan. 1 this year. Copyright c. 2006 Knight Ridder. --------- "RE: Tribe seeks land N.J. sold in 1801" --------- Date: Mon, 9 Jan 2006 18:51:42 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LENAPE SUE TO RECLAIM STOLEN LAND" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/new_jersey/13573473.htm Tribe seeks land N.J. sold in 1801 By Troy GrahamInquirer Staff Writer January 8, 2006 Two centuries later, a band of Native Americans want back the land they say the state of New Jersey sold out from under them in 1801. In a federal lawsuit filed last month in Camden, they demanded that everyone now living on the former Brotherton Reservation be evicted. The only problem: The 3,044-acre reservation now makes up about 85 percent of Shamong Township, Burlington County. Since no one wants to bulldoze a community of 6,500 people, the tribe is offering a compromise. Instead, it will accept two 1,500-acre plots of state land - one in Bergen County and one in Burlington County. On each site, the Unalachtigo Band of the Nanticoke-Lenni Lenape Nation proposes building casinos with 45,000 slot machines, then sharing the revenue with the state and other tribes. "Some people tell us there's no way in the world we'll get it," said Brent Thomas, the tribal chairman. "I have to be cautiously optimistic; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get up in the morning." Thomas, who used to publish an art investors' guide, has devoted himself full-time to tribal government since 1998, when the Unalachtigo Band was reorganized with the express purpose of pursuing Indian gambling, now a $19 billion industry. Relying on some of the nation's earliest laws, Thomas and his 108-member band, many of whom live in poverty in and around Bridgeton, Cumberland County, are chasing billions of dollars of development in an industry full of heavyweight players. Despite the odds against the band, Thomas sees gambling as the best way to maintain the tribe, salvage the remnants of its culture, and provide for elders living in squalor. "We can't sit idly by while people in our community are dying," he said. "We can help ourselves if they would just get out of our way." Thomas likes to take visitors to the windswept spot on the Delaware River where his ancestors crossed into New Jersey in 1634, fleeing war with the Susquehanna. The council fire - the seat of tribal government for the Lenape people - was situated in nearby Fairton, where Thomas was raised. It's now a golf course. But, like many Native Americans in the region, Thomas didn't grow up with a strong sense of his heritage. His older relatives recall a time when they were encouraged to hide their ethnicity, fearing the government would force them to move out West. "The hardest thing in our community is to be open about your identity," he said. Then, in the late 1990s, Thomas made a business trip to the museum at the Foxwoods casino, run by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, in Connecticut. "I go up there for a meeting with these guys, and they look like me," he said. "To see the living standards, the health care, the housing, of course we want it... . Not because we want it, but because we need it." With the coming explosion of Pennsylvania slot machines in 2007, Thomas hopes New Jersey won't be able to take a pass on the allure of Indian gambling. "For New Jersey to regain its prominence, it needs the next wave of gaming, which is what we offer," he said. And when people ask how a small tribe, struggling to pay for basic necessities, is going to build a gambling empire, Thomas points across the river. "The state of Pennsylvania isn't investing a dime, and look at the development they're getting," he said. But not everyone agrees that gambling is the best way for tribes to flourish. A larger, 2,500-member tribe of Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, who have established a cultural center and make appearances at local schools, adamantly opposes gambling. In fact, this tribe's laws ban any business that "profits from the promotion of vice." "We are absolutely, 100 percent separate from the Unalachtigo Band," said the Rev. John Norwood, a Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape tribal member. "Our goal has never been gaming, nor is it to seize property and throw people off the land." Mark Gould, the chief, said casinos have been a divisive force in many gaming tribes. "We are a very spirituality-based tribe," he said. "We have been a very poor tribe all our lives, but if we're going to keep the families together, we have to follow the spiritual line." He said Thomas' pursuit of gambling had injured "every Native American in New Jersey," and had made his tribe's efforts to win grants and work with local governments more difficult. "We're very insulted when people believe that just because you're Indian, you want a casino," Norwood said. Under a 1758 treaty, the Brotherton Reservation was to be held in trust for the Lenape Indians. When New Jersey sold the land in 1801, the state violated the treaty and a 1790 law that gave the federal government authority over Indian land transactions, the lawsuit alleges. In 1996, the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma - descendants of the inhabitants of the Brotherton Reservation - began investigating a claim to the land. U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton (R., N.J.) took the matter seriously enough to introduce legislation in 1999 that would have retroactively ratified the Brotherton sale. The bill never passed. The Unalachtigo entered the fray by suing the state in 2001. Last year, a state appellate court ruled that the case must be heard in federal court. Nonetheless, the three-judge panel offered the opinion that, under New Jersey law, the sale of the reservation would have been valid. "There is no question here that the Lenni Lenape not only assented to the sale of their land, but requested it, and... received full value," the court said. Thomas said that was not correct. He argues that the land was actually sold by members of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Nation, not the Lenape for whom the land was to be reserved. "They tried to lump us all in together, and you can't do that," he said. Either way, the journey from a land claim to a Foxwoods-scale operation could be arduous. Blake Watson, an Indian-law expert at the University of Dayton School of Law in Ohio, said some courts have begun to rule that Indian land claims are too old, even though there is no statute of limitations. Even if the Lenape won state land - in court or through a settlement - that doesn't mean they can open casinos. Tribes that want gambling have to be federally recognized, Watson said. The Lenapes are not. Thomas argued - and Watson agreed - that the process is so badly broken that it could take more than 20 years to become recognized. Thomas points to two other options: A U.S. District Court judge in New York recently recognized the Shinnecock Nation as legitimate even though that tribe had not gone through the recognition bureaucracy. It's still unclear, however, whether the Shinnecocks can now have gaming, Watson said. And, the Pequots won federal recognition through an act of Congress - the only tribe to do so. "The odds of winning these land claims are increasingly problematic. They've got a lot of hurdles," Watson said. "It's possible for them to win a land claim and still not get gaming." To Thomas, the issue of proving the tribe's legitimacy should be moot. But, just in case, he has an affidavit from a University of Pennsylvania archaeologist tracing the tribe's lineage back to the Brotherton Reservation. "Everyone knows who we are," Thomas said. "The question is: What does the state want us to be?" Thomas paused before answering his own question. "Quiet." --- Contact staff writer Troy Graham at 856-779-3893 or tgraham@phillynews.com. Copyright c. 2006 Philadelphia Enquirer. --------- "RE: Powhatans distressed by Proposal" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:49:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FORMER BROTHERTON RESERVATION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/112-01112006-596067.html Powhatans distressed by proposal By DANIELLE CAMILLI Burlington County Times January 11, 2006 WESTAMPTON - The Powhatan Renape Nation wants nothing more than to preserve the land of the Rankokus Indian Reservation as it stands today. They cherish the old trees and the mighty Rancocas that runs through it. The tribe could never imagine the neon lights of a modern-day casino replacing the serene land in Rancocas State Park that they have called home for almost 25 years. "There are so many people who most definitely are in love with this place," tribe Chairman Michael Adams said last night. "It would devastate a lot of people if we ever lost use of the land." Adams, who lives in Clayton, Gloucester County, said he has fielded many calls over the past few days as word has circulated among the tribe members that the Unalachtigo Band of the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape Nation has submitted a proposal to claim the state park as part of a settlement should it win a federal court case filed last month. "They want to know where we will be in the morning," he said of his 1,000 members. The Unalachtigo Band filed the suit last month in U.S. District Court in Camden against Burlington County and several county officials. It asks the court to order the removal of all non-Indians living on the 3,044 acres that once made up the Brotherton Reservation in Shamong and for the return of the land to the tribe. The reservation land was sold by the state in 1801, an action the lawsuit contends was illegal. As part of the suit, the band offered a settlement that would not require the removal of some 2,100 residences in Shamong. Rather, it proposed that the state give them up to 1,500 acres elsewhere in Burlington County and an additional 1,500 acres in Bergen County. The county acreage includes the 1,252-acre Rancocas State Park, where the 350-acre Rankokus Indian Reservation is located. The proposal also includes the 750-acre Alpine Scout Camp in Bergen County. "To the best of my knowledge, no one has contacted us about any of this," Adams said. "It would have been nice to be contacted, especially since we are both native and they are talking about building on the reservation." Furthermore, Adams, a member of the New Jersey Department of State's Commission on American Indian Affairs, said that none of the state- recognized Indian groups support gaming. "We are not interested in any gambling," he said. "A lot of harm has been done to nations because of it. Yes, it can bring some good, but it can also hurt the traditions of our culture and the people." Unalachtigo Band Chairman James Brent Thomas Sr. said earlier this week that gaming is an important economic tool to secure the future of his 108- member tribe, who need better housing and access to medical care. Adams said the Powhatans help members through various social programs and apply for state funding and grants to offset the costs. "I'm somewhat taken back that there has been no dialogue with us since they are talking about our back yard and, really, our home," he said. "The Powhatan are all of the same heart and mind - we want to preserve the land the way it is." Adams said the Powhatan hope to renew their lease on the land for another 25 years when their contract with the state expires in 2008. The nation does not pay for the land, but is charged with its upkeep. He worries that the lawsuit could impact those negotiations. Adams is also concerned that the community will think it is the Powhatans who want to bring a large-scale entertainment district to the park lands. Under the Unalachtigo Band's plan, the reservation would have to be relocated. However, the band has earmarked millions of dollars for revenue-sharing with other tribes, Thomas said Monday. Thomas said those funds would "provide (the Powhatans) an opportunity and the ability to acquire and develop a permanent home for their people." Copyright c. 2006 Copyright Calkins Media, Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tribe in Nevada says Railroads stole its Land" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:49:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RAILROAD CHECKERBOARD LANDS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.lvrj.com American Indian tribe in Nevada says railroads stole its land January 11, 2006 An American Indian tribe is suing the railroad and seven other landholders - claiming the companies stole vast tracts of land in violation of an 1860s treaty with the US government. The civil lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Reno on behalf of the Western Shoshone National Council, chief Raymond Yowell and six national council members in Nevada. It seeks a declaration that the Western Shoshone nation holds title to land, minerals and water in so-called "checkerboard" lands the government granted to the railroad in the 19th century. And it asks the federal district court to award past and future damages - while calling for the companies to return monies and things of value obtained from the lands. Defendants include the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railroad Company, Newmont Gold Company, Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Glamis Gold, Nevada Land Resource Company, Sierra Pacific Power Company and Idaho Power Company. Copyright c. 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2006 Las Vegas Review-Journal. --------- "RE: Challenge to Lake Okeechobee water pumping" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:54:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIAL OPENS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-19lakeo,0,2903502.story?coll=sfla-news-sfla Trial opens in challenge to Lake Okeechobee water pumping By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press January 9, 2006 MIAMI - Trial began Monday in a federal lawsuit filed by environmental groups and an Indian tribe challenging the decades-old practice by state water managers of pumping billions of gallons of contaminated water into Lake Okeechobee. The lawsuit contends that the South Florida Water Management District should be forced to get federal permits for the pumping under the federal Clean Water Act, which could force the district to cleanse the polluted water or divert it elsewhere. "Lake Okeechobee is a drinking water supply and ecological treasure," said David Guest, who is representing the Florida Wildlife Federation in the lawsuit. "These pumping operations are ruining the water supply and threatening to kill the lake with pollution." Since the 1970s, the water district has pumped water from nearby sugar- growing lands into the lake for flood control and to boost lake water supply during drought. The discharge is contaminated with agricultural chemicals and runoff from nearby towns, contributing to the poor quality of water in the 730-square-mile lake. The water district, joined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Sugar Corp., argues that the Clean Water Act does not apply because the pumping involves moving water from one location to another with state approval. No pollutants or contaminants are added and protections are in place for drinking water, they say. "Congress never intended to have this layer of permitting on state transfers of water," said Scott Glazier, litigation manager for the water district. "These groups are trying to misapply the program." A ruling that the Clean Water Act does apply could affect water management throughout the country, especially in the West, Glazier said. It could mean that water pumps would be considered the same as other sources of pollution, such as industry. The other plaintiffs in the case are the Fishermen Against the Destruction of the Environment and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, which considers the Everglades south of the lake its traditional home. The trial before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonago is expected to last about three weeks. Gov. Jeb Bush in October announced a $200 million cleanup plan for the lake, in part to reduce the discharges of huge amounts of poor-quality water into the fragile St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries downstream. The Everglades is in the midst of an $8 billion restoration plan that is the largest of its kind ever attempted worldwide. If the lawsuit is successful, water managers say that could cause delays in these restoration plans and diverted precious government money and resources away from them. "We think these are very serious consequences," Glazier said. Environmentalists, however, say the polluted water contributes to toxic algae blooms in the lake that kill fish and could be linked to tests showing the presence of cancer-causing compounds in drinking water in the town of South Bay. "Lake Okeechobee is dying as a result of fertilizer pollution and urban runoff," said Manley Fuller, president of the Florida Wildlife Federation. "There are other ways to deal with agricultural wastewater but Florida only has one Lake Okeechobee." Copyright c. 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel. --------- "RE: Groups ask for stricter Water Pollution Rules" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 08:49:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MINE POLLUTION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.greatfallstribune.com//20060112/NEWS01/601120311/1002 Groups ask for stricter water pollution rules By SONJA LEE Tribune Staff Writer January 12, 2006 Tougher rules for treating polluted water at Montana mines will protect the state's natural resources and its taxpayers, according to about 30 people who spoke to a state board Wednesday on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. The Montana Environmental Information Center and the Fort Belknap Indian Community, the tribal council for the Fort Belknap Reservation, are requesting the tougher regulation. They petitioned the Montana Board of Environmental Review to amend the rules for issuing new mine permits under Montana's Metal Mine Reclamation Act. The proposed change would require water contamination at former mine sites to be cleaned up by the time reclamation work is finished. Creating water pollution that requires centuries of treatment, as is the case at about five former mines in Montana, wouldn't be an option. At a similar hearing in Boulder Tuesday, representatives and supporters of the mining industry said the rule would hurt the state's economy. But Wednesday's meeting at Fort Belknap was dominated by supporters of the new regulation. The Board of Environmental Review opted to extend the comment period on the proposal through March 17. The board won't vote on the rule change until June, said Jeff Barber, MEIC reclamation program director. MEIC also will add a clause to the proposal making it clear that existing operations and expansions at current mines would not have to comply. The rule is specifically designed to only apply to new operations. Based on that clause, the state Department of Environmental Quality will revisit its economic analysis of the proposal, Barber said. The original analysis showed that the new rule could cost Montana anywhere from $47 million to $138 million in wages each year. During the Wednesday hearing, many speakers said the former Zortman- Landusky gold mine, which borders the south end of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, is an example of why stricter rules are needed. Water treatment there will continue for the next 100 years. "We say perpetual water treatment at Zortman-Landusky," said Fort Belknap Reservation Tribal Chairwoman Julia Doney. "Why doesn't the state of Montana save itself some money?" The bond the Pegasus Gold Corp. posted to mine at Zortman-Landusky can't cover all of the work needed to reclaim the mountain. This year the Legislature approved a new permanent state trust fund to supplement bonds and cover the cost of long-term water treatment at the site after 2017. The Fort Belknap Indian tribes have pending lawsuits seeking a more extensive cleanup. The tribe continues to raise concerns about polluted mine water flowing onto the reservation. Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, sponsored the bill to create the permanent state trust fund for water treatment at the site. He said he supports the proposed rule. "I think the testimony today showed that we need to prevent this from happening again in the future," he said Wednesday. Catherine Halver, who is vice president of the Island Mountain Protectors group that was founded to fight environmental damage at the mines, said the rule is needed. Halver lives about 15 miles from the old gold mines. "We need a change," she said. "We have to have clean water." Copyright c. 2006 The Great Falls Tribune. --------- "RE: Tribes weigh Values against Opportunities" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:54:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MINE INCOME VS CULTURAL VALUES" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/2002728638_goldside09m.html?syndication=rss Tribes weigh values against opportunities By Lynda V. Mapes Seattle Times staff reporter January 9, 2006 HEE-HEE STONE MONUMENT, Okanogan County - Reaching to the four directions with an eagle feather fan, Jake Atkins offers a prayer for this spot, long held sacred. The Hee-Hee Stone southwest of Buckhorn Mountain was traditionally regarded as lucky by Indian people, who for generations would leave something precious when passing by: a lock of hair, a prayer, tobacco. Miners, figuring the stone must mark a mother lode, dynamited it in 1905, leaving only fragments. Today, a wooden monument marks the spot. Mining has long been a source of controversy for the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. These days, it poses another dilemma. While the tribe opposes plans to mine gold on nearby Buckhorn Mountain, some tribal leaders say the Colville could strike it rich by reviving a proposed mine in the heart of what's left of its reservation. The Colville lost the entire northern half of their reservation in 1891 after gold was discovered there. The U.S. government took back 1.5 million acres of their reservation, paying $1 an acre. The Colville tribe helped stop the so-called Crown Jewel open-pit mine proposal on Buckhorn in the late 1990s. Many members remain opposed to a new proposal for an underground mine. "Our stance has not changed," said Harvey Moses Jr., tribal chairman. "In the minds of the majority of the Colville Confederated Tribes, it is just a disaster waiting to happen." The Colville confederation is composed of a dozen bands that retain hunting and fishing rights as well as some water rights in the north half. Opposition to the Crown Jewel project was so strong the tribe enacted a moratorium on mining within its reservation in 1995. "Do we want to poke holes in Mother Earth until she dies? Or deface her?" said Atkins, a member of the San Poil band, whose ancestors refused to sign the deal selling the north half. "We have lost so much. With this mining, we will only lose more." But the tribe's resolve may be tested. The tribe owns one of the world's largest deposits of molybdenum on Mount Tolman, rising near Keller, Ferry County, on the reservation. Moly, as it's called, is used primarily in cast iron, steel and super alloys to enhance performance. Prices for moly today are at near record highs, and that has awakened interest on the reservation in mining Mount Tolman. "Potentially, it's major for us," said D.R. Michel, natural-resources committee chair for the Colville Tribal Business Council, who supports lifting the moratorium. The tribe initiated a plan to mine the deposit more than 20 years ago, and did extensive test drilling. But the price for moly crashed, killing the venture in 1982. A consultant's report recently presented to the council predicted revenues from tens to hundreds of millions per year to the tribe, depending on moly prices and the deal arranged with a development partner. The mine as previously envisioned would have created 450 full-time jobs just to operate the mine over an estimated 60-year life. The mine would have covered 3,650 acres, including an 800-acre open pit and about 2,600 acres of waste rock and tailings. The Colville expect to put the question of breaking the moratorium to a referendum vote March 18. To some, the tribe's very identity is at stake. Many tribal members still go to the mountains, including Buckhorn, to hunt deer, gather plants for medicines and subsistence use, and to pray. Tribal-council member Deb Louie said he will oppose the mine even if the tribe votes to lift the moratorium. "It goes against all the concepts of the people," Louie said. "The oneness with the land, that we are caretakers of the land, of being here to provide a place for the animals, to whom we are very close. That is the teachings that are handed down. And you have to show respect for them." Copyright c. 2006 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: Hoopa Tribe seeks help from Congress" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:54:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOOPA, YUROK DEADLOCK" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/20060109/NEWS/601090327/1033/NEWS01 Tribe seeks help from Congress Hoopas, Yuroks in deadlock over $70 million trust fund By MIKE GENIELLA THE PRESS DEMOCRAT January 9, 2006 Two the North Coast's biggest Indian tribes remain locked in a dispute that has festered for nearly two decades over a $70 million federal trust fund. After two years of mediation talks that failed to bring a resolution between the Hoopa and Yurok tribes, Hoopa tribal leaders are embarking on a public campaign to enlist Congress to decide the outcome. "About one-half of our 2,500-member tribe lives below the poverty level. We need the promised money for basic human services," said Hoopa tribal chairman Clifford Marshall. The Hoopas live on a timber-rich, 98,000-acre reservation about 50 miles east of Eureka in Humboldt County. The Yuroks, the largest tribe in the state with 5,000 members, occupy a reservation running one mile on each side of the Klamath River and extending for 47 miles inland from the Klamath's mouth at the Pacific Ocean to the northern boundary of the inland Hoopa reservation. The deadlock revolves around Yurok leaders' refusal to accept anything but an equal share of the trust fund money. As a result, the Hoopa tribe wants the state's top lawmakers, including Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, to introduce legislation to force the Yuroks to either reach an agreement, or lose the chance of receiving any of the money. Aide Matt Gerien said Thompson has been meeting regularly with representatives from both tribes over the past two years. But there are no plans for Thompson to introduce any legislation. "There's no basis for it yet," Gerien said. Acres divided The money dispute dates to 1988, when Congress agreed to legislation that ended decades of conflicts between the Hoopas and Yuroks over ancestral lands. Then, former Rep. Doug Bosco succeeded in getting President Reagan to sign the Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act, which divided 150,000 acres of tribal ancestral lands into two separate reservations. It gave the Yuroks federal recognition they had sought since 1891. To gain acceptance from both tribes for Bosco's bill, the federal government offered to divide up the trust fund. The money was largely income from private logging contracts on Hoopa lands, overseen by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. Part of the trust was distributed, but the two tribes have fought over a final payment ever since. In 1988, the disputed money totaled $35 million, but with interest payments, the amount has grown to $70 million. Legal challenge filed Since the cut timber was on their reservation, Hoopa tribal leaders contend the money is all theirs. Yurok leaders argue that before the Hoopa reservation was split, the two tribes shared in the income. The Yuroks refused to accept any of the money and launched a 13-year legal challenge, which ended in 2001 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their case. Lawmakers since have told both tribes that they will not consider any new legislation to resolve the issue until they agree on a distribution formula. The Hoopas contend it's futile to wait any longer. "The 1988 Hoopa-Yurok Settlement Act did not enjoy a consensus among tribal members, but Congress courageously enacted correct public policy then," said Hoopa tribal chairman Marshal. Yurok tribal representatives could not be reached for comment on the Hoopa's latest push. "Bitter" fight Bosco said Thursday that at the time the federal agreement was reached, the expectation was that money would be released to both tribes within two years. "We had finally resolved the reservation issues, but we had no idea a fight over the trust money would be so bitter and take so long," said Bosco. Bosco said the stalemate is a "real shame." "I didn't then and still don't have any vested interest in either tribe," said Bosco. "I just know the dire circumstances under which members of both tribes live. It would be a big boost for all of them." Copyright c. 2005 The Press Democrat. --------- "RE: Feds question Miwok's Tribal Legitimacy" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:54:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANOTHER TRIBE HIT'S BIA ROADBLOCKS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.gilroydispatch.com/news/contentview.asp?c=176484 Feds Question Miwok's Tribal Legitimacy By Luke Roney January 9, 2006 Hollister - The California Valley Miwok Tribe's lack of a federally- approved tribal constitution and questions about its tribal leadership have federal Indian authorities questioning the legitimacy of the tribe that tried unsuccessfully to build a casino and hotel in Hollister. "The federal government and state government are questioning the tribal leadership and legitimacy," said Tom Saggau, who represents the investors who were going to provide financial backing for a casino in Hollister and then in Los Banos before pulling out of the project in November because of the concerns. Since then, talks about building a casino in Los Banos have been on hold. An attorney representing the tribe says, however, that the Miwoks don't need a constitution and the Bureau of Indian Affairs is just trying to keep them from acquiring land and building a casino. "The tribe has chosen not to organize under the requirements of the Indian Reorganization Act and therefore is not required to have a constitution approved by the BIA," Phil Thompson, an attorney for the Miwoks wrote in an e-mail. "There are upwards of 50 tribes nationwide who have chosen not to organize under IRA. The government is attempting to manufacture some fiction that we have to follow those requirements and our hope is that the federal judge does not buy into their nonsense." Troy Burdick, BIA superintendent for the Central California Agency, declined to comment on the issue because it is an ongoing legal matter. "It's all part of the litigation," he said. In 2004, the tribe was interested in Hollister as the home for a casino and a hotel that investors said would bring 2,000 jobs to the area. But in May, after opposition from San Benito County Supervisors, local law enforcement and many residents, tribal representatives announced that they would give up on Hollister and head east to the city of Los Banos. Los Banos Mayor Michael Amabile said discussions between his city and the tribe were progressing well until the Miwoks hit a snag in late November when their financial backers - a Santa Clara County-based group called Game Won - pulled out of the deal because of the tribe's ongoing legal fight with the BIA. Saggau said that the investors were concerned because the Miwoks don't have a federally approved tribal constitution, precluding the tribe from being able to enter into an agreement to build a casino. "Until a constitution is approved, they can't cut a deal," he said. Based in Stockton, the landless California Valley Miwok Tribe has five members - Yakima Dixie, Silvia Burley, Burley's two daughters and her granddaughter. Dixie has a criminal history and did time in prison for the second-degree murder of a relative, and weapons charges. Burley claims to be the tribal chairwoman, but Dixie - the tribe's only official member until 1998, when he let Burley and her daughters in - claims Burley forged his signature on a 1999 document that relinquished his chairmanship to her. In 2002, the Miwoks filed a lawsuit against the federal government to get land in California, according to Thompson. The tribe previously had land in Calaveras County, but the government took it in 1967, he said. Around the time that they filed the lawsuit, the BIA told the Miwoks that they must take other tribeless Indians into their tribe in order for Burley to be recognized as the tribe's leader, Thompson said. The Miwoks made an effort to do that last year when they advertised in three California newspapers that they were accepting applications for tribal membership. They received three responses and are reviewing the applications, according to Thompson. The BIA was not satisfied, he said, adding that he thinks the agency wants to perpetuate the legal fight so the tribe cannot get land and build a casino. "They don't want it satisfied. They want the issue to continue to be contentious," he said. "I personally think the fear is if the tribe gets land, it will get a casino." Thompson says the BIA has consistently backed Dixie's claim as the tribe's leader to keep the legal fight going and keep the Miwoks from getting a casino. "The BIA has used Yakima (Dixie) as a straw man to attack," he said. Despite the legal trouble, Thompson said the tribe is pushing forward with plans to build a casino in Los Banos. Amabile said that he will likely meet with the tribe later this month to discuss the possibility. Thompson said he doesn't think getting new investors will be a problem. "New investors are looking for us," he said. "We're not actually searching, but they're finding us." Building a casino near Hollister had become a particularly divisive issue among county residents and officials, sparking several heated community meetings, the formation of anti-casino organization Casinos Represent A Poor Solution and strong opposition from Sheriff Curtis Hill. There were casino supporters, however, who said the project would bring much-needed jobs to the city. Steve Merrell, who was chairman of the anti-casino group CRAPs, said he's not at all surprised about the Miwok's legal troubles. "We knew about these problems. It was one of the real concerns we always had when we talked to the local leadership," he said. The casino would have sat on more than 200 acres off Highway 156 near the Hollister Municipal Airport. Investors hoped to eventually add a hotel, restaurants and several entertainment venues to the project, which could have been similar in size to Yolo County's 66,000-square-foot, 2,000-slot machine Cache Creek casino. In February, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to send a resolution opposing the casino to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The San Juan Bautista City Council and Hollister Downtown Association quickly followed the board's decision and passed similar resolutions. Concerns that a casino was the wrong kind of development for Hollister, and the belief the tribe was "reservation shopping" out of their indigenous area were some of the chief reasons for opposition cited in the resolutions. Copyright c. 2006 Gilroy Dispatch. --------- "RE: Bringing back Buffalo Robes strengthen Families" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:54:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JICARILLA REINTRODUCE BISON" http://www.daily-times.com//article?AID=/20060109/NEWS01/601090304 Bringing back the bison Buffalo robes strengthen families By Erny Zah The Daily Times January 9, 2006 DULCE - Seven-year-old Tyler Fernandez rode on the bed of a pickup truck and greeted a nearby American bison. "Hello, buffalo," he said while waving to the 3-year-old bull. "I don't know your name, but hello." Fernandez rode with some of the staff from the Jicarilla Cultural Affairs Office to feed a herd of bison owned by the Jicarilla Apache Nation, of which Fernandez is a member. Though Fernandez didn't know the name of the bull he greeted, it did have one, Spirit. Spirit received his name from a contest held with local students in 2003. "He's everybody's pet," said Lorene Willis, director of the cultural affairs office. "He was the baby that we kept and started (the herd with)." As it is for other Native Americans across the country, the bison is a symbol of cultural belief, integrity and identification for the Jicarilla Apaches. The resurgence of the bison's cultural value started with Spirit just more than three years ago, when he was brought to the Jicarillas. Now, he is one of two bulls in a herd of 13 bison. The herd consists of seven cows, two bulls and four calves. Bryan Vigil, 52, a heritage specialist for the cultural affairs office, said his motivation for trying to get a bison herd for the tribe came from an elder's story. "I never seen her cry all her life," said Vigil. He was talking about the late Belle Wells, an Apache elder. Vigil said se began to cry when she started talking about the loss of the buffalo through excessive hunting and poaching. "You don't do that," Vigil said as she recalled her words, "It's like wiping out a whole tribe." She also asked Vigil to "bring back the buffalo." Since those words, Vigil and the cultural affairs office has made attempts to revitalize the buffalo as well as attempting to give the opportunity for every Jicarilla household to own a buffalo robe - a tanned buffalo hide with the hair still intact. The robe is used in ceremonies, rites and dances, but the hide also has important family value. "We want a hide in each house," Vigil said. "The robe keeps a family together." To help a Jicarilla family acquire a robe, the cultural affairs office has made use of area buffalo ranches, particularly one ranch near Alamosa, Colo. Willis said the cultural affairs office would get untanned hides after the ranch would send buffalo to slaughter. But last year, the ranch they dealt with changed management and is no longer making hides available to the tribe, Vigil said. Now the office is looking at other ranches and methods to help the office with its goal of making sure every home has a buffalo robe, Willis said, adding the herd used to be corralled behind the building where the cultural affairs office is. "The community hated seeing them corralled up in there," Willis said. The community wanted the bison to be free to roam, so somebody opened the gate to let them out, she said. Only Spirit stayed behind, while two bison heifers left the corral to run around town. One had her leg tied up in a fence while the other ran across the street, where she was hit by a car and sustained a broken hip, Willis said. As a result, the cultural affairs office shot the heifer, butchered her, and gave to the meat to community members. "They belong to the community," Willis said about the small herd. After that incident, Willis said it was the community that rallied to secure funding from the tribal council to build a new area for the bison to roam. Currently, the herd lives on a converted air strip within the city limits of Dulce. The herd has 19 acres, surrounded by a 7-foot-high fence. Every day, the herd eats about eight bales of hay over a span of two feedings, Vigil said. "We pray to the buffalo before we feed them because they give us everything, if you believe in them," said Vernell Vigil, one of the people who tends to the herd. The cultural affairs office received a $5,000 bison feasibility grant last year from the Intertribal Bison Cooperative. The cooperative is a non-profit organization that helps tribes reestablish buffalo herds. Willis said the cultural affairs office is waiting for the completion of the study to determine just how far her office will go with the herd and to see "what the community thinks about it." So far, they are looking at expanding the herd's current land base by adding plot or making a new fenced plot near Mundo Ranch, which is about 12 miles south of Dulce, Bryan Vigil said. In the herd, Spirit is the only named bison, and that is for good reason. "When you name something, you keep it," Willis said about Spirit and his name in correlation to Jicarilla customs. "We didn't name the others. We didn't even name his mother; we ate her," she said. The cultural affairs office plans to keep Spirit, but they want to use the other bull to help raise money for the office and to make way for Spirit being the only bull in the small herd. The other unnamed bull is currently on the block as a "trophy hunt," Willis said. The hunt for the 7-to-9-year-old bull is priced at $5,000 and has been marketed since the summer. The bull was given to the tribe. Willis added that anyone interested in buying the bull without the hunt may be able to negotiate a deal. But the hunt isn't taken lightly, Bryan Vigil said. "In the future, the buffalo is going to keep us alive," he said. That statement is rooted in cultural teachings that say the Jicarillas are going to endure hardship in the future and it is the buffalo that is going to sustain the tribe. And he hopes the herd will grow. "The elders said the place is going to be full like ants," he said about the number of bison he envisions seeing. "So we tell the kids we have a future." Copyright c. 2005 Farmington Daily Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper. --------- "RE: Elder: Proper respect missing in Buffalo kill" --------- Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2006 08:43:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KILLED BISON NOT HONORED" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=7439 Elder: Proper respect missing in buffalo kill Montana hunt still stirring controversy Sam Lewin January 10, 2006 A Native American environmentalist says it was wrong for a fellow tribal member to kill a bull bison during a state-sanctioned hunt in Montana. The hunt was given the go-ahead to prevent diseases, but animal-rights groups say the move amounts to wholesale slaughter. The Buffalo Field Campaign has documented the kills. One of the founders of the group is Rosalie Little Thunder, a Lakota elder. Sioux culture holds great respect for the buffalo. State officials issued bison hunt permits to eight Montana Indian tribes to assist their diabetes programs. Montana's Indian bison hunt legislation, section 87-2-731 of Montana Code Allocated 2005, Allocation of Wild Buffalo Licenses to Tribes for Traditional Purposes, states: "Wild buffalo taken pursuant to the special licenses issued under subsection (1) must be harvested by tribal members in accordance with the traditional ceremonies of each tribe." A member of the Little Shell Tribe killed the bison near the town of Gardiner. Scott Frazier, a Crow and Santee Elder, said proper respect was not shown. "How can we, as Native people exhibit prayer so it is understood by those watching? With this hunt the Native people have been forced [by the state] to expose their most holy relationship," Frazier said. "How many other people have their religion treated this way? With this rudeness Native people have the chance to show people how to honor life as well as death, and the relationship to the buffalo." Montana officials allowed the bison hunt to prevent the spread of disease. Many of the 4,200-strong herd suffers from brucellosis, a bacterial disease that can be transferred from animals to humans through eating contaminated products or even by simple contact. If the disease reached further levels, Montana could lose its status as a brucellosis- free state, meaning possible disaster for area ranchers. You can reach Sam Lewin at sam@okit.com Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Program guides Indians through Medical School" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:54:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AMERICAN INDIAN MENTORING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/contact_us/copyright/ Program guides American Indian students through medical school STEVE KUCHERA Duluth News Tribune January 9, 2006 DULUTH, Minn. - American Indians die at a rate nearly 50 percent higher than the national average for people their age, according to the U.S. Indian Health Service. There are many reasons for the deaths - accidents, suicides, chronic diseases, poverty and a lack of adequate and culturally sensitive medical care. "Having well-trained Indian doctors go back to their communities can make a real difference," said Indian Health Service spokesman Leo Nolan. The University of Minnesota's Center of American Indian and Minority Health is working to make that difference. The center recruits American Indian students and helps them through the university's medical schools in Duluth and Minneapolis. "I came here for this medical school. It is known for its commitment to American Indian health, and that's the direction I was going in," said first-year medical student Jean Howell. Howell, a member of the Cherokee Nation, is originally from California and plans to become a family practice doctor in an American Indian community. While a doctor doesn't have to be an American Indian to relate to Indian patients, it is helpful, center Director Dr. Joy Dorscher said. In July 2003, Ben Muneta - then president of the Association of American Indian Physicians - told a U.S. Senate committee that minority patients seeing a white doctor are less confident that they will receive adequate care than are white patients. Such mistrust may cause some Indians to avoid doctors. "As soon as I started, people wanted to see me just because I am native," said Dr. Arne Vainio, who works at Min-O-Aya-Win Human Services Center on the Fond du Lac Reservation. "We understand each other. I grew up without electricity and indoor plumbing a lot of the time. I understand what poverty is and how it is to have things stacked against you." A Mille Lacs Band member, Vainio grew up near Cook. He worked in a sawmill and a body shop, as a bartender and a construction worker before becoming a paramedic with the Virginia Fire Department. It was that job that made him interested in medical school. He received his doctorate in medicine in 1994 and did his residency with the Seattle Indian Health Board. He's been at Min-O-Aya-Win since 1997. Vainio believes there is a need for more Indian doctors. "They are very, very underrepresented," he said. American Indians make up 2.8 percent of the U.S. population, according to the 2000 census. But only 0.3 percent of students in the nation's medical schools in 2000 were American Indians. In the early 1970s, the university's medical schools began programs to encourage American Indians to enter medicine. The school established the Center of American Indian and Minority Health in 1987 to coordinate and lead its efforts. The center is one of three Native American Centers of Excellence in the nation, supported in part by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Minnesota center begins its recruiting efforts in middle school with programs designed to keep students interested in education and attract them to scientific fields. "Not long ago, minorities were told not to bother because they couldn't do things like this," said UMD social work instructor and Leech Lake enrollee John Day. "We're telling them early they can do this." UMD's Department of Social Work and the Center of American Indian and Minority Health work together on some issues, including giving social workers experience in medical settings. Dr. Kathleen Annette, the Bemidji area director for the Indian Health Service, took part in some of the first Indian-directed programs done by the University of Minnesota medical school in the early 1970s - first as a high school student, later as an undergraduate and medical student at UMD. "The program was really a magnet for both undergraduate and graduate programs," she said. "Students go through these programs and they bond. A support system develops so there is support to succeed in science and in math and in medicine - whatever program you're going through." After piquing the interests of students in middle and high school and in college, the center helps prospective medical students with study programs and workshops to prepare for admission to medical school. To help American Indian students through medical school, the center provides academic counseling, guidance from American Indian doctors and volunteer opportunities. "We provide academic support, but the issues are very seldom academic," Dorscher said. "They are something else. Sometimes it is the fear of losing who they are." The center helped Dorscher, a Turtle Mountain enrollee, learn more about her culture when she was a medical student in the early 1990s. Her mother had kept Dorscher away from traditional ways. "The center gave me the opportunity to explore those things," she said. "I found that extremely helpful. Culture is an asset, not a deficit." An advisory board of American Indian elders and professionals helps guide the center's activities. Fourth-year medical student Erik Brodt, an Anishinaabe from Cadott, said the center is like a family. "I think all of us have had moments where we need lots of support and then other moments where we are called upon to support other people," he said. "The support the center provided me really made medical school a much more enjoyable experience than the torment many people associate with medical school." Brodt would like to practice medicine at a tribal clinic in northern Minnesota. The center's approach seems to work. The school graduated 16 American Indians during the 1970s and again during the 1980s. It graduated 70 during the 1990s. So far this decade, 37 Indians have either graduated or are attending the school. Another six have already enrolled for next year. The Association of American Medical Colleges reports that the American Indian medical school ranks second in the nation for American Indian graduates, although it ranks 19th for the total number of graduates. "We're really trying to get more Indian physicians into rural areas," Annette said. "UMD's strength has always been its ability to encourage students to go on into rural practice. And many of us come from reservations, so it is a natural fit." The number of American Indian graduates is only one measure of the center's success. Increasingly, medical schools are moving away from producing doctors well versed in primary care and treating chronic illnesses to producing doctors trained in high-tech, hospital-based medical care, said Dr. Craig Vanderwagen, the Indian Health Service's chief medical officer. Vanderwagen, who is white, grew up on the Zuni Reservation in New Mexico and remembers being proud of mastering skills such as inserting an arterial line. But after graduation, he found such skills of little use in Indian Country. He needed to know more about such things as prenatal care, delivering babies and dealing with chronic diseases. "(The Indian Health Service) wants to create public servants with skills to improve Indian health," he said. "The Indian programs in North Dakota and Minnesota have been much more focused on what I think are the right skill for serving Indian communities." Copyright c. 2006 Knight Ridder. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Future of Sioux Indian Museum in doubt" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 08:54:17 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANOTHER VALUABLE TRIBAL MUSEUM MAY CEASE TO BE" http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/01/10/news/top/news01.txt Future of Sioux Indian Museum in doubt By Andrea J. Cook, Journal Staff Writer January 10, 2006 RAPID CITY - Losing the Sioux Indian Museum's collection of Indian photos, artifacts and contemporary art to the public market or burying it in Washington, D.C., would be a sin that only the Pope's mother could absolve, according to Brother Simon, the curator of collections at Red Cloud Heritage Center near Pine Ridge. "The museum has been undersold and under-appreciated for a long time," Simon said. The museum has a fantastic collection of early contemporary American Indian art, he said. It has sculpture, beadwork, quill work and paintings. The collection also contains two famous winter count drawings on buffalo hides, Simon said. "It is a collection that has been gathered over the last 30 to 40 years," Simon said. It's a good overall collection that museums in larger cities would welcome, he said. The Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Bureau of Indian Affairs plans to stop funding the Sioux Indian Museum, housed in The Journey Museum, and American Indian museums in Browning, Mont., and Anadarko, Okla., in October 2007. The Sioux Indian Museum traces its origins to photographer and trader John Anderson, who began photographing Indian life on Rosebud Indian Reservation in the late 1880s. He brought his collection of photos and artifacts to Rapid City in 1939, and they were displayed in the museum at Halley Park. The BIA bought the collection in 1941. The BIA transferred the operation of the three museums to the Arts and Crafts Board in 1954 when it was facing budget problems, according to Paulette Montileaux, curator of the Sioux Indian Museum. The museum collections are owned by the Department of Interior. The Sioux Indian Museum has an annual budget of about $140,000 to $150,000, Montileaux said. The budget sustains a staff of two, provides an operating and collection-maintenance budget and supports special exhibitions, she said. The Journey Museum receives $1,000 per month to house the collection. Montileaux, The Journey's director Ray Summers and Rapid City officials were notified in August that President Bush's budget for Fiscal Year 2008 calls for the elimination of the funds for the three museums. About 45 percent of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board's $1 million budget is used to fund the three museums. Withdrawing support for the museums would free up $450,000 that could go toward fighting a national problem of counterfeiting Indian arts and crafts, according to Scott Cameron of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. "Frankly, we haven't done a very good job of trying to slow down or stop that counterfeiting activity," Cameron said. Cameron said it's estimated that each year, $200 million worth of artifacts are taken out of the pockets of legitimate Indian artists by counterfeiters. With federal budgets growing tighter, the only way to pursue counterfeiters is by freeing up money to put investigators in the field, he said. "We're very sincere in wanting to keep the collections in the community," Cameron said. That's why the communities were notified last summer that the funding will disappear, he said. "In the big scheme of things, the amount to fund these museums is a drop in the bucket," Mayor Jim Shaw said, adding that he would like to see the federal funding preserved, but if not, solutions will have to be found locally and regionally to keep the collection here. "It would be a tragedy to lose this collection for Rapid City, the Black Hills and all of Western South Dakota," he said. In the case of the Sioux museum, Cameron said, it seems "obvious to think about a scenario that might involve The Journey. "But we haven't gotten a specific proposal," Cameron said. At initial meetings with tribal leaders, nobody stepped forward and offered to assume responsibility for the collection, Cameron said. Simon said it would be difficult to find another home for the collection in South Dakota. Tribal leaders from the nine tribes in South Dakota have called for the federal government to continue funding the museums, Summers said. "Once we kind of gauge who our supporters are, then we will formulate a plan to see if there's a way to convince the federal government to continue the funding," Summers said. "We'll have to make sure our options are open." If the federal funding is lost, then alternate support for the collection would have to be found, he said. The potential loss of the Sioux Indian Museum collection should be a hot topic of conversation at the South Dakota Tourism Conference next week, Simon said. "I hope that they would be talking about how to keep a wonderful collection like this in the state and in the Black Hills," he said. The Journey is a major Rapid City attraction, Summers said. Attendance at the museum was up 19 percent from the previous year with more than 30,000 visitors. Montileaux said that many American Indian artists and craftsmen also rely upon the museum to do research. The Sioux Indian Museum's collection is too valuable and important to be shipped to Washington, D.C., to the Museum of the American Indian, Shaw said. "It's definitely a fine facility, but very few people will have a chance to see it," Shaw said. "To have it stay in our community is of the utmost importance." Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2006 Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Indians Continue to rebuild after Katrina" --------- Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2006 14:35:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RECOVERING FROM KATRINA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://news.pacificnews.org/article_id=92f3c295cb5faf19b5f45ed9bf36b9ce American Indians Continue to Rebuild After Katrina News Report, Amanda Robert, New America Media January 8, 2006 POINT-AUX-CHENES, La. - When the Isle de Jean Charles Indians did not receive any immediate aid from the federal government after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita swept their island, experience had already taught them what they needed to do. They took matters into their own hands and initiated their own cleanup process. They removed ruined mattresses, refrigerators and stoves and started to rebuild their lives once again. Mary Dardar, a disabled Biloxi-Chitimacha woman who lives alone on the island, has been through all of this before. The wooden bridge across the bayou to her home is still rippled from Hurricane Lili's passing in 2002, and a cluster of deserted houses surrounds her small home. "There are camps around but whoever was living there relocated after Lili because it was too damaged to be livable," said Dardar. "It's my home, it's going to take a lot more than that to run me off." Hurricanes Katrina and Rita dumped 40 inches of water into Dardar's house, caving in her bathroom ceiling and destroying personal items, clothes and appliances. She said that she lost everything from the ceiling down and will make the repairs on her own. "I have to strip my whole house up - walls, insulation," said Dardar. "It's a slow process and not something you can do overnight. It takes time, especially when you are living in it." Fifty-four-year old Andrew Chaisson Jr. has also lived on the island all of his life. A blue tarp covers where his roof was before and the wooden skeleton is all that remains on the left side where tan siding used to be. But that's not the worst of the damage. "In my house, I had almost 44 inches of water. That's almost four feet," said Chaisson. "We had to spray for mold and all that, but I can't work on it every day. I work on oyster fishing, sometimes all day and night." Like Dardar and some of the other island Indians, Chaisson is continuing to live in his moldy home. After the hurricanes, five houses on the island needed to be completely torn down and rebuilt. Most of the others have been seriously damaged and require renovations. "A lot of us are tired of living in the condition that we live in," said Dardar. "It makes you sick." Three months after Hurricane Rita struck, FEMA trailers had still not been delivered to the island. A FEMA representative in Baton Rouge said that according to her records, four trailers had been delivered to Point- aux-Chenes, but as of early December, Chief Albert Naquin of the Isle de Jean Charles band of the Biloxi-Chitimacha Indians said that none had shown up. Instead, non-profit organizations have stepped in to aid the Indians. Mennonite Disaster Services is one organization that is helping the Indians rebuild their community. Right after Hurricane Katrina, Mennonites Fred and Sue Kathler opened up a volunteer project location, working out of Live Oak Baptist Church in Point-aux-Chenes. They have gutted homes, repaired roofs and removed the lower part of the interior walls of flooded homes. "We take out the bottom, let it dry, clean the insulation and let that dry," said Fred Kathler, as he demonstrated with recently cleaned panels in the church. "We then spray for mold, let it dry, then put the panel back." Since October, the Kathlers have overseen 66 volunteers and have started 24 clean-up projects in the area. "We have groups from all over," said Sue Kathler. "The generosity of people and their time is marvelous because we are never at a lack for volunteers." The Mennonites' goal is to give Island residents saf