_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 14, ISSUE 026 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, WOTANGING IKCHE - Lakota - Common News Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2006 nanews.org Aboriginal/AmerIndian Perspective about the First Nations of Turtle Island July 1, 2006 Hopi Kelmuya/fledgling raptor moon Passamaquoddy Accihte/ripening moon Zuni Dayamcho yachunne/moon when limbs of are trees broken by fruit Algonquin Matterllawaw Kesos/moon squash are ripe, beans begin to be edible +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; Chiapas95-En, Frostys AmerIndian and Native American Poetry Mailing Lists; 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 Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + =================== "The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man's heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his youth close to its softening influence." __ Chief Luther Standing Bear, Oglala +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Several times over the past fourteen years this newsletter has been distributed I have cautioned readers to be very careful about taking to heart things they read and hear about our people and our nations from sources other than elders of those nations. The mainstream media, for the most part, has a source and agenda that, at best, has little or no connection to native people, and at worst, is actively interested in demeaning native people. The internet has some valuable information and some pure garbage. Unless you have a sure way to filter the truth from these sources take small doses with a great deal of suspicion. The only sure filter I know of is elders. This weekend I was witness to a classic example of what can happen if you cannot be 100% sure of your source. The source in question was a book acquired at a state park located on a former tribal ground. It was soon quite evident the book was full of errors that reduced the importance of tribal contributions and shifted credit for those contributions to the dominant society. A speaker used that source book as a basis for sharing information about the culture with the audience. As chance would have it, elders from that tribe were present, and much offended by this spread of wrong information about their people. This particular incident turned out as well as it possibly could - the elders were willing to get past the unintended insult and use the situation as an opportunity for education. Clearly had those elders not been present, or if they had simply turned their backs and left - hundreds of people would have been "taught," at an Indian event, a history that was factually incorrect and that reduced a great Indian Nation to a society in need of European "civilization" in order to govern their own lives. As the elders explained, the only way to appropriately share Indian tradition or stories, is by learning them in the old ways - by word of mouth from a traditional person who then gives permission for them to be repeated. This is how the truth of our People has been protected for centuries, and how we can go on protecting it. 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 ----------- - Soldiers welcomed - YELLOW BIRD: by Navajo Nation Honor Riders Sun shines on Sacred Ceremony - HARPER: Swimmer needs - JODI RAVE: Stories teach to face trust failures how to treat the Earth - Hoeven adamant about - Atenco's agony: stopping Land Transfer Mexico's other campaign - Mohave Facility won't be reopened - Canada wants delay - Expansion of Alaska to key Aboriginal UN Treaty Native no-bid deal debate - Mining scars run deep - Tribes, government - Nisga'a enter deal in $226 million dispute to study Offshore Oil - Cherokee Tribes - Ottawa plans talks meet at Mother Town on Property Rights on Reserves - Secluded Reservation - CN seeks injunction promotes healthy Lifestyles over Indian blockades - Hopi: Bill divides 2 Tribes - A matter of Jurisdiction, Justice - Rare Disease - Red Lake teen stalks Oklahoma Choctaw sentenced for threats - VA to expand coverage - Extradition politically for Traditional Ceremonies motivated: Graham - Petition seeks - Native Prisoner to outlaw abortion at Pine Ridge -- Sheriff closes Jail - Virginia tribes -- Whiteclay Protest press for recognition measure -- Native ADA to be hired - Halting Sexual Violence - Rustywire: For the Love should lead Agenda of an Indian Woman - GEORGE JOE: Battle lines - Lee Goins Poem: drawn over Farmington Silent Conversations - YELLOW BIRD: - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Meth new threat in Indian Country - Truth: False claims on Tribal Ties - JODI RAVE: Ulali carries on - Tribal Leaders tackle issues, singing Tradition praise Warriors - GIAGO: Bill Gates should look - Aboriginal Solidarity Day in his own backyard draws Crowds - Meet the Dream Keepers --------- "RE: Soldiers welcomed by Navajo Nation Honor Riders" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:06:37 -0600 From: Karen Francis Subj: Soldiers welcomed by Navajo Nation Honor Riders Contact: Karen Francis, Public Information Officer Navajo Nation Council Office of the Speaker (928) 871-7160 karenfrancis@navajo.org www.navajonationcouncil.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: Monday, June 26, 2006 SOLDIERS WELCOMED BY NAVAJO NATION HONOR RIDERS Two soldiers were greeted with a surprise motorcycle escort from the Navajo Nation Honor Riders and a welcome home celebration in their honor at the Cornfields Chapter on Sunday, June 25, 2006. About 20 bikers gathered at the Navajo Nation Veterans Memorial Park in Window Rock Sunday afternoon. From there, they rode to Ganado, Ariz., where they met the soldiers and provided escort for them to the Cornfields Chapter House. Pfc.Crystalyn R Deswood and Staff Sergeant Marcelle Williams were presented with plaques expressing appreciation on behalf of the Navajo Nation Council by Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan, who was part of the motorcycle escort. Deswood and Williams were also presented with certificates of appreciation from the local veteran's organization. "It's very surprising that this many people showed up," Debra Begay, mother of Crystalyn, said. She thanked the bikers for supporting all veterans and military personnel. Betty Williams, mother of Marcelle, said, "I didn't realize how many people care. We still need your prayers - each and every one of you." Council delegate Orlanda Smith-Hodge expressed her appreciation to the bikers saying, "It really touches your heart when you have people from other communities that are so dedicate to our veterans and military people." She noted that Sanostee Council delegate Jerry Bodie joined the celebration. Also riding with the group, in memory of their son, were the parents of the late Sgt. Clifton Yazzie. Marcelle, who had driven in from North Carolina, introduced his family to the audience. He also thanked Crystalyn for her support while they were serving. "This really just threw me off," he said. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you." Crystalyn, who is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, thanked everyone for their prayers and said those serving appreciated the support. --------- "RE: HARPER: Swimmer needs to face trust failures" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:49:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HARPER: SWIMMER NEEDS TO BE FORTHRIGHT" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413202 Harper: Swimmer needs to face trust reform failures by: Kieth Harper June 23, 2006 In 1994, Congress was so frustrated by the U.S. Interior Department's inability to fix the long-troubled Indian rust programs that it created an Office of Special Trustee to untangle the mess. The idea was simple enough: Place an executive with proven business experience in charge of the programs. Congress made that person a presidential appointee accountable for the cleanup. The first two trustees were good fits, but they proved so candid about the huge problems that Interior secretaries in both the Clinton and Bush administrations finally pushed them out of office. That's not likely to happen again any time soon. Why? Ross Swimmer, the current trustee, has refused to be an independent voice of reform like his predecessors. He is content to be a shill for the administration. The way Swimmer, a former head of the BIA in the Reagan administration, sees his job, he is not a neutral overseer nor an advocate for Indian landowners, as the 1994 American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act requires. He is instead a cheerleader, a loyal Bush partisan who will not tolerate criticism of Bush's programs and will defend in knee-jerk fashion the most indefensible government misconduct. Never mind that Interior, both under Swimmer as BIA head and more recently in the federal courts, has acknowledged massive malfeasance in its handling of Indian trust funds. Forget that the courts have called Interior's trust activities an "egregious breach of trust," unconscionable" and "odious." If any Indian dares question what the government says is in his trust account, Swimmer is there to challenge him. The special trustee did that recently, telling Indian Country Today that Tex Hall, chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes - the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation - was all wrong in his account of an elderly woman who desperately sought money for a motorized wheelchair from her trust account [See "Interior calls Hall on accuracy of trust account" by Jerry Reynolds, Vol. 25, Iss. 47]. Swimmer said flatly that the unnamed woman, who has since died, had only $13 in her account. No wheelchair for you, said Swimmer. That was it. No qualification about the sketchy and incomplete records that his predecessors as Special Trustee said makes any such claim of account accuracy impossible. No, Swimmer simply ignores the facts that have been demonstrated time and again by report after report - from the Government Accounting Office, the Interior's own Inspector General, the Office of Management and Budget, Comptroller General committees from both the House and Senate, and the government's own auditors - not to mention the admissions by the most senior Interior officials in administration after administration - showing fraud, corruption, trust record destruction and mismanagement pervading the Indian trust. Swimmer nevertheless presumes that all of the hopelessly unreliable information he has is completely and wholly reliable, even though he is charged by law to hold the government accountable. More recently, he has attacked an unnamed Navajo woman who says she has pumping oil wells on her land and little to show for the BIA-negotiated leases. It's simply that there are others now holding title to the land, says Swimmer. If that woman is Mary Johnson who testified in the Cobell v. Norton lawsuit last summer, Swimmer should state the whole story - that U. S. lawyers did not challenge a word of her testimony. Moreover, Swimmer fails to explain why his office has allowed an oil and gas company to use a pipeline across Johnson's land for the last five years without a lease and without paying her a dime. This is despite repeated attempts by Johnson and her family to have the issue addressed by the Office of Special Trustee. Of course, Swimmer's loyalties are not with the Indians he is charged with serving, but the very oil companies on which he is supposed to enforce the law. The result - what one would expect and what has been the experience of Indians for too long - abuse. Now Swimmer adds insult to injury by suggesting that Johnson doesn't own much. Not true. He is either lying or ignorant. What Swimmer has done with these two smears, one on a dead woman and the other on an elderly Navajo, is to say that no Indian should dare challenge the government's handling of their money. If you do, we're going to smack you down, just as we have done since this trust was established in 1887. This is not simply the ranting of a public official who is wrong, but one who has no understanding whatsoever of the role of a trustee. Nor does he seem to comprehend how his own people have been (and continue to be) wronged by the government that pays his salary. In this way, he has utterly failed in the position that he is charged with serving. Swimmer now has the opportunity to do the right thing. He can still stand up and tell the truth. He can tell you that his own experts placed government liability in 2002 at between $10 billion to $40 billion. He can admit that trust information is by and large inaccurate, as his "data cleanup" project has demonstrated with unmistakable clarity. He can concede that Interior is failing in its most fundamental and essential trust reform efforts and that still today they don't have basic things like an accounts receivable system. Or he can continue to obfuscate and unconscionably delay the resolution of this case and continue to spread untruths in the press. This latter course, however, is a precarious one, because no longer will Indian people sit idly by as we are abused by this broken trust system and this cabal of bureaucrats. We will make sure the truth comes out and ensure that those who have hidden it and obstructed the litigation process will be held accountable for their misdeeds. Keith Harper is a lawyer for the Native American Rights Fund in Washington and a member of the Cobell litigation team. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Hoeven adamant about stopping Land Transfer" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2006 08:52:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="N.DAK TO FIGHT THREE AFFILIATED TRIBES LAND TRANSFER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/local/116978.txt Hoeven adamant about stopping land transfer By LAUREN DONOVABy LAUREN DONOVAN June 27, 2006 North Dakota's governor said the state would likely go to court to prevent the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from transferring 24,000 acres of land it no longer needs around Lake Sakakawea to the Three Affiliated Tribes. Gov. John Hoeven said the plan isn't fair and could create a confusing map of go and no-go areas around the lake Hoeven made his comments Monday at the first in a week-long series of public hearings the corps is holding on its draft plan to transfer the land to be held in trust for the reservation. The transfer would be the most significant change in the land's status since it was acquired by the corps back in the '40s for construction of Garrison Dam and the permanent flood of Lake Sakakawea. Hoeven said the transfer isn't fair because the majority of land taken inside the reservation boundaries was privately owned, by both tribal and non-tribal members, not by the tribal government. He also said the land, which is above 1,854 feet elevation and no longer needed to operate the dam, is now open for public hunting and fishing and he objected to taking it out of the public domain at the same time the state is working to provide more free hunting. The governor said he's talked to the Attorney General about the state's options to block the transfer, if it comes to that. The corps will decide whether to go forward with the draft plan in final form. The corps said it would not transfer another 12,000 acres inside the reservation boundary that is leased for recreation sites and for wildlife management areas. About 45 people attended the hearing, far fewer than when the plan was originally opened to public discussion a year ago. Tribal chairman Tex Hall made the formal request in 2004, saying it was part of the tribe's longstanding quest to get back land it gave up for the dam. Paul Danks, who heads up natural resources for the tribes, said he was surprised by the governor's continued resistance, but said he couldn't comment further. Danks said the tribe's position is that it is pleased that the corps intends to transfer 24,000 acres of grazing land and that it will continue to request the 12,000 acres that were left off the table. "We think it's great, we're a little disappointed that we didn't get the full 36,000. We will make a request for the remainder,"Danks said.. Todd Hall, a tribal member, said tribal people are also citizens of North Dakota and that issues like access could be worked out. He said he would "pray" that Hoeven changes his position, since a transfer would return the land to local control. Dale Frink, state water engineer, said the transfer could complicate water permits from Lake Sakakawea, by adding another level of government to the process. McLean County State's Attorney Ladd Erickson has taken a lead legal role on the matter. He said the only way to legally identify land in North Dakota is by the township grid system, or by meets and bounds. Erickson said the land would have to be surveyed and platted at the time of transfer, rather than described by a simple elevation line, so that counties would know precisely where reservation boundaries begin for taxation purposes. Erickson also said the transfer is being done under a 1984 Fort Berthold MIneral Restoration Act, which was intended to transfer mineral ownership to the tribes, not land ownership. Terry Fleck, who represented a statewide Lake Sakakawea friends' group, said it would be easier to agree to the transfer if people knew how the tribe planned to manage the land and had a plan for long-term development. "When 24,000 acres of land changes hands and is managed differently, it changes the face of North Dakota and it changes it forever," Fleck said. The hearings continue today at 10 a.m. in Dickinson and at 5 p.m. in Hazen. Copyright c. 2006 Bismarck Tribune, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Mohave Facility won't be reopened" --------- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:49:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MOHAVE POWER PLANT MOTHBALLED" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-edison20jun20,1,2684650.story Mohave Facility Won't Be Reopened Edison says it can't find a profitable way to operate the heavily polluting power plant. By Marc Lifsher, Times Staff Writer June 20, 2006 After months of negotiations with two Indian tribes and the world's largest coal company, Southern California Edison Co. said Monday that it couldn't find a profitable way to reopen its heavily polluting Mohave power plant on the California-Nevada border. Edison mothballed the giant coal-fueled generating station Jan. 1, a deadline imposed by a settlement in an environmental lawsuit that required the installation of about $1 billion of pollution-control equipment. Since then, the Rosemead-based utility and its minority partners, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, have been working to cut deals that would reopen the plant - even as recently as Friday. Edison needed to secure coal to operate the facility and water to push pulverized coal through a 270-mile pipeline from a mine in northeastern Arizona to the plant's Laughlin, Nev., location. "It's simply not feasible to move forward at this time," Edison Senior Vice President Richard Rosenblum said. Edison, a subsidiary of Edison International, told more than 200 workers at the power plant Monday that they would be laid off. Edison abandoned plans to revive the Mohave plant for a combination of reasons, including the possibility that California would begin capping emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, Rosenblum said. Another factor was the 2026 expiration of contracts with Nevada for Colorado River water to cool Mohave's turbines, he said. Edison's 56% share of Mohave's 1,580 megawatts provided low-cost electricity to about 7% of the utility's 13 million customers. However, the company said Mohave's loss shouldn't threaten Southland electricity supplies because Edison recently began operating a new natural-gas-fired power plant in Redlands. Edison hasn't decided whether to decommission or sell the Mohave plant, Rosenblum said. Edison's announcement that it wouldn't push to reopen Mohave "caught us by surprise ... and is not good news for the Navajo Nation," tribal spokesman George Hardeen said. The California utility had given no indication of its change of stance during negotiations with the tribes Friday, Hardeen said. The co-owners of the coal, the 250,000-member Navajo Nation and the 7, 000-member Hopi tribe, are expected to lose hundreds of high-paying mining jobs and about $40 million in annual royalty payments and other revenue from the mine's operator, Peabody Energy Corp. But environmentalists said they weren't surprised that Edison gave up efforts to retrofit a plant that was one of the West's dirtiest. Mohave spewed an average of 2,000 tons of soot a year in 2002 and 2003, obscuring views of the Grand Canyon, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mohave also annually released an average of 19,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 40,000 tons of sulfur dioxides during the same period, the agency said. "We were doubtful that Edison would be able to keep the plant open," said Roger Clark of the Grand Canyon Trust in Flagstaff, Ariz., which sued Mohave under the federal Clean Air Act in 1999, along with the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Assn. Clark said he hoped that Edison and other utilities would invest in wind and solar power projects to provide California ratepayers with clean energy and compensate the Navajo and Hopi tribes for lost jobs and tax revenue. Shuttering Mohave is a step toward meeting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from forecasted levels by 2020, said Bernadette Del Chiaro, a statehouse lobbyist for Environment California, a group backing a bill that would set caps on carbon dioxide pollution. "When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging," she said. According to a survey released by Environment California on Monday, carbon dioxide emissions in the United States nearly doubled between 1960 and 2001, with volume increasing dramatically in the 1990s. California's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions should make Mohave unattractive to potential buyers, said Rob Smith of the Sierra Club. "The new owners would have the same problems as the current owners," Smith said. "Edison has had a hard time saying that Mohave is a bad idea, but everyone else says that we have to move on." Copyright c. 2006 Los Angeles Times. --------- "RE: Expansion of Alaska Native no-bid deal debate" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:49:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVE PREFERANCE CHALLENGED" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~3337552,00.html Expansion of Alaska Native no-bid deals sparks debate By SAM BISHOP News-Miner Washington Bureau June 26, 2006 WASHINGTON - While Alaska Native corporations from southern and far northern Alaska have dominated the move into federal contracting during the past decade, several Native firms from Interior Alaska have a growing share of the work just as some members of Congress are questioning the rules under which they participate as minority-owned businesses. Doyon Ltd., the regional corporation for the Interior, has some work at Fort Wainwright under the minority business contracting rules, but is ramping up its Outside efforts. Meanwhile, a few village corporations from the middle Yukon region are already doing millions of dollars a year in such business with the federal government across the nation. The federal contracting rules that have fueled this boom, by offering unique opportunities to Native American firms, are under attack in Congress, though. The growth of Alaska Native corporation contracting has drawn criticism from other firms that also receive federal bidding preferences through the Small Business Administration's 8(a) program due to their ownership by disadvantaged racial minorities. The complaints sparked a Government Accountability Office investigation and, last week, a hearing by the House Government Reform Committee. The most successful Interior Native 8(a) corporation in federal contracting appears to be Khotol Services Corp., a subsidiary of Gana- A'Yoo. Gana-A'Yoo formed in 1978 from the merger of the Galena, Kaltag, Nulato and Koyukuk village corporations and has about 1,150 shareholders. Calls to Khotol's office in Seattle went unanswered Friday, but its Web site said the company was formed in 1997 and now has 400 employees. Its projected 2005 revenues were $14 million. Khotol operates and maintains a variety of state and federal facilities in Galena, handles custodial work at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks, provides food and housekeeping to the Coast Guard in Kodiak and maintains the grounds, roads, railroad and runway at Fort Richardson near Anchorage. Outside Alaska, it provides custodial services at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. It provides food and housekeeping for Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, for the Navy in Washington state and at Indian Head, Md., and for the Coast Guard in Houston. Another successful Interior 8(a) company is Northern Taiga Ventures Inc., a subsidiary of the Rampart village corporation, Baan o yeel kon Corp. Kevin Krauklis, who runs the company in Fairbanks, said it averaged about $10 million in revenue during the past three years. The money helped return about $700 in dividends to Rampart's 195 shareholders in the past two years, he said. It has also funded an internship program. The company's business is mostly in the Washington, D.C., area. Half is construction. Another 35 percent is professional services to places such as the Air Force's surgeon general, the National Cancer Institute and the Army, he said. The remaining15 percent is in janitorial and landscaping work for the Navy, Marines and General Services Administration, he said. Allen Todd, Doyon's general counsel, said the corporation is doing construction work on Fort Wainwright under an 8(a) contract in a joint venture with American Mechanical, which is also owned by a Doyon shareholder. Unlike other Native corporations, though, Doyon hasn't secured much work Outside. The SBA lists three Doyon subsidiaries as 8(a) qualified, and the company has an office in Washington, D.C. "We've been working to get them into more 8(a) work," Todd said. Critics in Congress are trying to reduce the opportunities that it and other companies might have in the future, though. All Native American tribal and Alaska Native private corporations, under rules secured by Alaska's congressional delegation years ago, are defined by law as small, disadvantaged businesses. Such companies also are exempted from caps on the size of sole-source contracts - either $3 million or $5 million depending on the type of work - by which the government must abide when negotiating with other minority businesses. Alaska Native corporations also are exempt from limits on the number of 8(a) subsidiaries they can have, as long as each business is in a different line of work. While the rules apply to all Native American companies, Alaska's Native corporations have been the primary beneficiaries. Alaska Native firms earned $1.1 billion in 2004, representing 13 percent of the federal government's 8(a) awards that year, according to the GAO report issued in April. Seventy-seven percent of the money from the six largest federal contracting agencies came in sole-source awards. At last week's hearing, the only member of Congress to defend this record was Alaska's Republican Rep. Don Young. Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va. and chairman of the committee, repeatedly insisted that the practice of giving Native corporations large sole-source contracts undermines the government's ability to get the best deal for taxpayers. "We just don't get the same value" when competitive bidding is bypassed, he said. "Our question is, 'Should we revisit the rules?'" Young and representatives from several Alaska Native corporations said no. The government is getting good deals through negotiated contracts, they said, and the benefits are flowing, as Congress intended, to often impoverished Alaska Native corporate shareholders. "If the agencies come back and say 'We're not getting the services,' then let's look at it," Young said. But that's not the case, he said. The GAO report found no serious concerns about the quality of Alaska Native corporation work, he said. Rep. Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., said quality wasn't the issue that provoked the hearing. "The issue is the fairness to the other small businesses," he said. Harry Alvord, president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, said federal contracting is "booming." "However, if you take away ANC volume from the 8(a) contract awards, you will find that the 8(a) program has been decreasing steadily," he said. The decline amounts to about $2 billion, he said. "There's a direct correlation" between the growth of Alaska Native contracting and the decline of opportunities for other minorities, he said. Ann Sullivan, representing Women Impacting Public Policy, said that's because federal contracting officers find it easier to meet minority participation goals with large, sole-source contracts given to Native corporations. Davis, the Virginia congressman, agreed. "We drive these contracting officers to do a certain percentage" of business with minorities, he told Alaska Native corporation witnesses. "Basically, because it's so easy to give the contracts to you, they deny them to other people." Frank Ramos, director of small business programs for the Defense Department, defended his agency's Alaska Native corporation 8(a) contracts by noting that they total about the same as those held by other minority groups such as African-Americans and Hispanics. Alford, with the black Chamber, scoffed at the comparison. There are 40 million African-Americans in the country, while Alaska Natives number about 125,000, he said. "And they're on par?" he asked. Chris McNeil, president of Sealaska, the Southeast Alaska regional corporation, took issue with the assumptions behind Alford's comparison. "It would be the same if those (non-Native) owners distributed the benefits to those 40 million people," he said. Instead, traditional 8(a) companies create profits for just a few people, he said. Alaska Native corporations distribute their earnings widely, he said, and that's why additional opportunities were necessary. The income from a subsidiary might be distributed to hundreds, thousands and even tens of thousands of shareholders. "We have 14,000-plus shareholders," said Doyon's Todd in an interview on Friday. "For us to benefit our shareholders, we have to make money on a larger scale." "Unlike other small businesses, (Native corporations) did not simply represent a family or a partnership, but were supposed to be engines of economic growth for an entire community," said Charles Totemoff, president of Chenega Corp., in testimony Wednesday. That difference is actually the key problem, Alford agreed. Congress has created a very successful development program for a relatively small, specific minority community but has allowed its funding to come at the expense of a business development program that is intended for all minorities, Alford said. "We are different animals, we don't belong in the same corral," Alford said. "It's a cancer to us and we're not going to get along with it," he said. Totemoff said the 8(a) program has "been around a long time" and no one objected when Native corporations picked up a few maintenance contracts. "Now that we've grown, gained expertise and are actually succeeding in getting federal contracts in substantive areas, people don't want to see Natives at the table," Totemoff said. In fact, Alaska Natives secure a tiny fraction of the government's sole- sourced contract dollars, others noted. The "vast majority" of sole-source contracts go to very large companies (mostly defense contractors), observed Bart Garber of Tyonek Native Corp., a village corporation based across Cook Inlet from Anchorage. Garber's observation appeared to touch a sore spot for Davis, who snapped, "I don't need a lecture from you" on the subject. "This committee has jumped all over sole-source contracts," Davis said. Davis also denied Totemoff's claims of prejudice. "I want you at the table," he said. "I just don't want you to have your own table." Washington, D.C., reporter Sam Bishop can be reached at (202) 662-8721 or sbishop@newsminer.com. Copyright c. 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc. & Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Inc. --------- "RE: Tribes, government in $226 million dispute" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:49:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAND GRAB" http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/articles/index.cfm?id=15560§ion=News Tribes, government in $226 million dispute Seth Tupper The Daily Republic June 23, 2006 American Indians in South Dakota and federal bureaucrats in Washington are locked in a $226 million dispute over a decades-old land grab. The squabble is rooted in the federal government's taking of Indian lands for Missouri River dam projects. Tribes along the river in North and South Dakota were compensated for their losses, but the Crow Creek and Lower Brule tribes say the government used the wrong methodology. The two tribes and their three congressional representatives are now asking for more money - $78 million for Crow Creek, and $148 million for Lower Brule. The money would be added to federal trust funds created for the tribes during the 1990s. Copyright c. 2006 The Daily Republic/Mitchell, South Dakota. --------- "RE: Cherokee Tribes meet at Mother Town" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:49:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="KITUWAH MEETING" http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=7951 Tribes meet at "mother town" "This is the place where the people we call Cherokee began" Sam Lewin June 23, 2006 In what both tribes are calling an "historical" event, councilors with the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma and the Eastern Band of Cherokees in North Carolina are meeting on traditional land. The entire UKB council traveled from Oklahoma to Kituwah, a Smoky Mountains locale situated between the Western North Carolina communities of Bryson and Cherokee. Kituwah has deep cultural significance, and is sometimes referred to as the "mother town." "Kituwah Mound itself is said to be the place where God came to give laws to humans," said UKB chief George Wickliffe. "It is also the birthplace of the Kituwah people, a place from which smoke from an eternal fire emerged through a hollow cedar trunk. It is where God told us, `From this day forward, you are Kituwah.'" "This is the place where the people we call Cherokee began," said Tom Belt, a Cherokee historian that has studied the mound. "They were directed by God to come here, and the very first sacred fire was given to the people here. This place wasn't just a town-this was like the Vatican. This was the holiest of holies." In 1823, many Cherokee were removed from the area, and the mound was auctioned off to non-Indians. In 1996 the Eastern Band of Cherokees-following the prodding of Indian activists like Belt-purchased several hundred acres in the area with the hope of preserving the mound. The mound- 170 feet in diameter and standing five feet-is nestled about nine miles from the Eastern Band's current reservation, home to about 12,000 tribal members. In addition to its meaning for the Cherokee, the mound is also an archeologist's treasure trove. Experts believe the area has been populated for at least 10,000 years. Researchers seeking to learn more have also determined that Kituwah was the location of a ceremonial house containing a constantly burning flame, and that the house was rebuilt every 20 years. By studying the black rings left after each construction, officials speculate the home was first built in the 15th century. But strict archeology misses the point, tribal leaders say. "It should be noted that no amount of archaeological research can adequately address the broader significance of Kituwah as a manifest symbol of Cherokee identity and the ethos known as the Keetoowah Way," the Eastern Cherokee said in a statement. "Such understanding of the deeper meanings of Kituwah must come from the people themselves." You can reach Sam Lewin at sam@okit.com Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Secluded Reservation promotes healthy Lifestyles" --------- Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 08:37:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ALAMO RESERVATION" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=7940 Secluded reservation community promotes healthy lifestyles "We're rich in our Indian culture" ALAMO NM Rick Abasta June 22, 2006 Secluded in the mountains of the Cibola National Forest is the Alamo Indian Reservation. The nearest gas station is 30 miles away, in the town of Magdalena. For the residents of Alamo, isolation is a way of life. For this segment of the Navajo population, their status as a satellite community of the reservation usually means having to wait for the same opportunities afforded larger communities. On June 16, their wait for a new community center finally ended. Alamo Navajo School Board Inc. celebrated the new opening of a $2.4 million facility funded through the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act funding, Indian Housing Services and the State of New Mexico. ANSB received $884,000 in funding from the FY '02 NAHASDA funding, while the remaining $1.5 million in funding came from the State of New Mexico and HIS. In the center of town, a new structure rises from the desert floor, a combination of concrete, steel and postmodern design that would have caught the eye of Frank Lloyd Wright. The Alamo Community Wellness Center is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, while offering an amenity of activities: weights, aerobics, basketball, tabletop games and even a rock-climbing wall. Of course, the crown jewel of the new facility is the gymnasium, complete with bleachers and a stage for community social gatherings. Before the grand opening celebration began, people toured the new facility and enjoyed refreshments in the lobby of the wellness center. Over 100 people attended the event, including Navajo Nation Vice President Frank Dayish Jr. Serving as masters of ceremony, Manuel Guerro and Jackson Pino shared a brief history of the Alamo community. "Thank you. This community definitely needed this kind of facility," Pino said. "It's a dream, a wish come true. I've never seen anything like this before in Alamo." Previously, a stone hogan served as the community wellness center. Navajo singer/songwriter Socie Saltwater opened the program with traditional Navajo songs and an acoustic number she wrote for her grandparents. Saltwater's stirring cover of "Proud Mary" from Ike and Tina Turner got the crowd charged up before the guest speakers took stage. "I'm real happy you all got this new wellness center. Workout and be happy," Saltwater told the crowd before leaving stage. Michael Hawkes, executive director of the Navajo Alamo School Board, said the community of Alamo was rich in cultural diversity. "This is going to be the main gathering point for the community, for all cultures to come together and be healthy," Hawkes said. George Willard was the architect who designed the spacious facility, while Sam Wadsworth Construction was contracted to build the center. Sam Wadsworth Construction is a Native American enterprise and a significant achievement in the eyes of Navajo Nation Vice President Frank Dayish Jr. "I was real happy to hear that we had a Navajo contractor building this project," Dayish said. "We have Navajo people building a Navajo community, that's pride and ownership. "Let's take New Mexico and the Navajo Nation forward. Thank you to the leaders here and the Navajo Housing Authority. They've done an excellent job," he added. Also in attendance was U.S. Representative for the State of New Mexico, Don Tripp. "I've seen a lot of health facilities across the state and this is the best I've seen," Tripp said. "The people came together and spoke about their needs in the community." He recalled breaking ground in Alamo in 2004, to begin construction of the facility. Dave Becenti, quality inspector for the NHA Grants Management Dept., said the new wellness center was a significant achievement and symbol of NAHASDA funding. However, the new facility was not the end of construction activities in Alamo, he added. "We should have the new teacher and staff housing start construction in August," Becenti said. We completed 11 scattered sites in Alamo last year from FY '02 funding and we're going to start on 15 more scattered sites in Aug. for FY '06 funding. "The Navajo Housing Authority is working with the Alamo community and we will continue to work with you," he said. The teacher and staff housing is funded by NAHASDA in the amount of $2.2 million for 20 new units. Becenti said ANSB is awaiting FY '06 release of funds from NHA, which should be available in Aug. "The Alamo community needs good, quality teachers and an incentive for them to stay," Becenti said. Native America Calling talk show host Patty Talahongva was the keynote speaker, sharing statistics and health related information broadcast over the air through the years. "Your community is poor, with a 60 percent unemployment rate, according to the U.S. Census 2000," Talahongva said. "But take a look around and see all of your culture here, the language and art. "We need to change our perspective and see that we're rich in our Indian culture," she added. Healthy lifestyles mean more than just staying active, Talahongva said. "Our Native men have such a hard time going out and getting help," she said. "It's usually up to the wife and mother to get them into the hospital for the check up. "Men, get out there and get your prostate checked this summer," Talahongva encouraged. She spoke of the relationship of holistic wellness, binding the spiritual, mental, physical and emotional health together for a balanced lifestyle. "Right now, inhalants and meth are ravaging Indian Country. Did you know 8th - 12th grade students on meth are dying of heart attacks? Every time we do a show on meth, our phone lines light up," Talahongva said. Education is the answer, she said, and the self-awareness that comes with a healthy lifestyle. "What did our ancestors eat? What did they fight for," Talahongva questioned. "They fought so we could survive. Are we surviving?" About the author: Rick Abasta is the Public Information Officer for the Navajo Housing Authority. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Hopi: Bill divides 2 Tribes" --------- Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 08:37:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HPL BILL" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/jun/062206bldvds.html Hopi: Bill divides 2 tribes Sidney says completion of relocation process is 'long past' overdue By Kathy Helms Staff Writer June 22, 2006 WINDOW ROCK - Hopi Tribal Chairman Ivan Sidney on Tuesday told the U.S. House Committee on Resources that the Hopi Tribe is opposed to amending the Navajo-Hopi Settlement Act and urged the committee to reconsider moving forward with a bill that would pit Hopi and Navajo against each other. "The Hopi Tribe opposes the draft House bill," introduced by U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., Sidney said. "It is completely contrary to the interest of the Hopi Tribe to reopen old wounds with the Navajo and rehash the question of who suffered what as a result of the land dispute. "It is long past time to put all of this behind us and allow both tribes to go on with their full attention focused on the business of providing secure and economically viable homelands for our respective people," he said. The Hopi Tribe is supportive of Senate Bill 1003, the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Amendments of 2005 sponsored by U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, according to the chairman. The Hopi Tribe previously testified in support of S. 1003 when it was before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, urging timely closure of the Office of Navajo-Hopi Indian Relocation and an end to the Hopi-Navajo land dispute. "The Hopi Tribe supports the committee's efforts through S. 1003 to bring to a close a difficult chapter in the long struggle of the Hopi Tribe to protect its reservation from encroachment and to regain full jurisdictional control over Hopi lands," Sidney said. "The current reservation is but a small part of the Hopi's aboriginal lands and only slightly more than 60 percent of the land originally set aside for the Hopi by President (Chester) Arthur almost 125 years ago. "Through a long history of action and inaction by the United States, the Hopi Tribe lost 40 percent of its reservation approximately 911,000 acres to the Navajo Nation," which occupies more than 17 million acres and completely surrounds the much smaller Hopi Reservation, he said. Controlling rights For more than 100 years, the Hopi Tribe has worked to prevent the loss of its lands to the Navajo Nation and to preserve the Hopis' right to control its lands against intrusion, the chairman said. Beginning in 1958, Congress enacted a series of laws intended to lead to a final resolution of the disputes between the Hopi and Navajo over the lands of the 1882 Hopi Reservation. The Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974 authorized litigation between the two tribes to determine their respective rights in the 1882 reservation. The lawsuit resulted in a partition of the reservation into lands held exclusively by the Hopi and lands held exclusively by the Navajo. The 1974 act also provided for the relocation of Hopi and Navajo individuals residing on that part of the reservation partitioned to the tribe of which the individual was not a member, Sidney said. "Since 1974, the Hopi have waited patiently for the relocation process to be completed and for the restoration of our full jurisdictional authority over the Hopi Reservation. We are still waiting. Perhaps we have been too patient and too accommodating. "All members of the Hopi Tribe who were required to relocate off Navajo Partitioned Land completed the relocation process many years ago. However, more than 30 years following passage of the 1974 act, we are still waiting for completion of Navajo relocation off Hopi land," Sidney said. While the Hopi Tribe supports timely completion of the relocation obligations of the United States and eventual closure of ONHIR, it believes that the objectives of S.1003 must be accomplished in ways that do not prejudice the rights and interests of the tribe under federal law. In 1995, the United States entered into a settlement agreement with the Hopi Tribe under which the feds committed to complete the relocation process by Feb. 1, 2000. Congress approved the agreement by enacting the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 1996. "That commitment has not yet been fulfilled," Sidney said, adding that S. 1003 should not become the means for further weakening of the commitment. The Hopi Tribe said termination of the Office of Relocation is the ultimate goal, but that that goal should not become a substitute for the United States to meet its obligations. Black hole "The Hopi Tribe does not want to see an incomplete relocation obligation pushed off onto an already overburdened and underfunded Bureau of Indian Affairs," the chairman said. "Funding shortages produce staff shortages, and the result is that some work is unavoidably shifted to the very lowest priority and may in fact never be completed. "Given the Hopi Tribe's interests in obtaining full jurisdiction over all of its reservation lands, we would not want to see the work of completing relocation drop into some black hole within the Interior Department," Sidney said. Another issue is whether the Bureau of Indian Affairs is suited to carry out relocation responsibilities that might have an adverse effect on either tribe. "Will the BIA be willing to step into a situation that it might view as a conflict of interest and perhaps a breach of the federal trust responsibility it has to both tribes?" Sidney asked. He also questioned whether BIA could adequately carry out any responsibilities remaining after 2008, the deadline for the Office of Relocation to complete its work. Chairman Sidney said the relocation issue can be fully resolved "only to the extent that all Navajos potentially qualifying for relocation benefits have an opportunity to apply for those benefits. "Making the certification deadlines unreasonably short only opens up the possibility of legal challenges and delays by those who believe their circumstances were not fairly considered." He urged adequate funding to carry out the relocation obligations within the Sept. 30, 2008 deadline. Plans for HPL "There are six planned communities on Hopi Partitioned Land," Sidney said. He asked that the Office of Relocation continue to have discretion to use a portion of the annual funding allocation to address the unique burdens imposed on the Hopi and Navajo people. "For example, when a homesite on Hopi land is vacated because of relocation, that homesite must be dismantled. In addition, all of these homesites are associated with open solid waste dumpsites that must be cleaned up," he said. In past years, the tribe has contracted with ONHIR to cover the cost of dismantling and cleanup of the site. He asked that the funding continue to be made available. The chairman said the communities planned for HPL to provide opportunities for Hopi people to build new homes, to accommodate a growing population and to move out onto Hopi Partitioned Lands, which make up the bulk of the Hopi homeland. "One of these communities, Spider Mound, is now in the development phase. Hopi people are living at Spider Mound and need infrastructure improvements" which could be made available through ONHIR funding, he said. Copyright c. 2006 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Rare Disease stalks Oklahoma Choctaw" --------- Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 08:44:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCLERODERMA" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=7938 Rare Disease stalks Oklahoma Choctaw Indians Did you know June is National Scleroderma Month? TULSA OK By Louis Gray June 20, 2006 Native Americans rank high in so many negative socio-economic indicators it's hard to keep up with all of the challenges Indian people face each day. But for the Oklahoma Choctaw Indians of Southeastern section of the state they face a disease which seems to have them earmarked for unthinkable suffering. Scleroderma is a disease which can in some cases cause a thickening, hardening or tightening of the skin, blood vessels and some times internal organs. The disease is chronic or in other words it can last a long and painful time. Oklahoma Choctaws suffer this terrible malady at the very highest rates of any ethnic class in the world. It is horrible disease which some say turns the afflicted "into stone." There have been plenty of studies conducted in conjunction with Choctaw tribal hospitals, but at this point there is no cure. This is disturbing because sufferers can have ulcers or sores on their fingers, loss of hair over affected areas of their body, change in skin color, swelling/puffiness in fingers/toes, skin appears shiny, usually skin creases disappear, poor blood flow to extremities and digestive heart, lung and kidney problems. It is slow, painful and up to now has no way to stem its terrible symptoms. Among sufferers it is known that their body produced too much of a protein called collagen. Researches theorize that excess collagen is deposited causing thickening and hardening. As you can imagine the Choctaw know all too well how painful this disease can be to the afflicted and their families. But, they are not idle participants in the research and study of the disease which strikes them hardest and more often. One study in combining modern day genetic marker research and centuries- old tribal records purports to have identified a chromosomal site associated with Scleroderma in Oklahoma Choctaws. The study was coordinated by the national Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Specialized Center of Research in Scleroderma at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center say genetic ties to five families dating back to the 1800's who are thought to be founders of the disease. The study claims the problem at least is tied more to families than the Choctaw people as a whole. The newly formed Choctaw Scleroderma Foundation was created to serves as a resource to American Indian communities battling this terrible disease. They are joining the respected Harvard medical School to create a best practices model for private healthcare in Native American communities. They also are a resource on similar diseases like Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Vasculitis, Wegner's Disease and Kawasaki Disease which all afflict Indian people in dramatically high numbers. The Choctaw Scleroderma Foundation was created as an Oklahoma 501 (c) 3 non-profit group in May of 2006 to help sufferers and their families to know they are not a lone. Aimee Angle-Zahn, Taloa Gibson and Alicia Seyler are the founding members of this noble and needed organization. Seyler and Gibson's Grandmother died from a form of Scleroderma. They know what we all know; we need to do all we can before Scleroderma takes one more loved one. If we own this disease we must all support research conducted by groups like the Choctaw Scleroderma Foundation to search of a cure and in the near term how to alleviate suffering. For more information about this organization, please call or write to the foundation at The Choctaw Scleroderma Foundation attention: Alicia Seyler, Rural Route Box 437 Eagletown, OK 74734. You can reach them at choctawscleroderma@gmail.com. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: VA to expand coverage for Traditional Ceremonies" --------- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:49:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO HEALERS TO BE PAID" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/jun/061906vatrdcrm.html VA to expand coverage for traditional ceremonies Dine' Bureau June 19, 2006 WINDOW ROCK - Navajo veterans who seek care from traditional healers had those services expanded this week. In a ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park, Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. and Dr. Paul West, acting director of the Carl T. Hayden Veterans Administration Medical Center, signed an agreement to add the traditional Lifeway or Inaji Ceremony to a dozen ceremonies for which the VA now pays. President Shirley expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Navajo Nation, its veterans and their families for having the federal government again recognize the value traditional Navajo healing ceremonies play in the life of Navajos and Navajo veterans. "There is a way of treating the mind, spirit, our physical being in our own way of life and it needs to be recognized, and I'm glad the U.S. government is recognizing that," the president said. "The Navajo Nation is truth. We've been truth since time immemorial; since America, we've been here. The medicine that we have, our way of life, the culture, our herbs, it's all truth. It works. We've been treating ourselves with our way of life." West said Navajos have fought in every American war, placing themselves in harm's way to protect their way of life and that of all Americans. He said he was honored and humbled to be part of Thursday's ceremony on the sacred ground of the Veterans Park before the holy Window Rock. "Ten years ago we didn't recognize the impact your healing ceremonies had on your people," he said. "We recognize that today and we're trying to forward that." Medicine man Thomas Morris Jr. chanted a blessing and passed a pipe with mountain smoke prior to the signing ceremony sponsored by the Department of Navajo Veterans Affairs. The Navajo Nation and Carl T. Hayden Medical Center first agreed to have the VA pay for traditional ceremonies through reimbursement in 1998. Twelve ceremonies were authorized. A Navajo Veterans Health Needs Survey conducted in 1992-93, found that returning Navajo veterans used traditional ceremonies for recovery more than anything else. Many of them reported that traditional forms of healing are a necessary part of their recovery; however, many lacked the financial resources to pay for the ceremonies. Shirley said Navajos have used traditional healing ceremonies and herbs since long before the United States was established, and will continue to do so. He said the Navajo population continues to grow and that the culture is still viable to its people. The President said the Navajo Nation has lost seven soldiers in the Iraq war, but Navajos have fought in every war and will continue to do their part. "We've been all over the world being a part of the United States government in trying to spread freedom, in trying to spread peace; so we've been helping to win wars. All the more reason why there's a recognition by the U.S. government that the Navajo Nation, the Din people, is truth," Shirley said. "We appreciate them standing here with us, helping us in the way that we need help. We're losing some of our soldiers because white medicine isn't working. We need to bring in our own people, bring in our own herbs, our own way of treating the mind, spirit, the heart, and I really appreciate the U.S. government, through the Carl T. Hayden Center Medical Center, for recognizing that." Shirley said Navajo veterans now can receive counseling for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Chinle and Fort Defiance. The Hopi Tribe announced last week that it now provides PTSD treatment to Navajos eligible for treatment at its Keams Canyon facility. Shirley also said the Navajo Nation hopes to see legislation passed to help Navajo veterans obtain a national cemetery. "We want to have our veterans buried with dignity just as they do in Washington at Arlington Cemetery," he said. "Our veterans are no different. We helped to win wars. We've sacrificed so that the United States will be . .. truth in the world. So that freedom will be truth not only for people living in the United States but all over the world." Morris said he was glad to see the agreement expanded. "It's just like what they say, 'When you break it, fix it.' We've been broken. Now fix us. It's a good thing we're signing that agreement with you here so vets can be in holistic health again." Ceremonies already paid by the VA include: Enemy Way, Smoke Ceremony, Protection Prayer, Night Way, Blessing Way, Crystal Gazing, Hand Trembling, Star Gazing, Shooting Way, Evil Way, Flint Way, and Monster Way. For more information, call Window Rock Central Administration (928) 871-6413. Copyright c. 2006 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Petition seeks to outlaw abortion at Pine Ridge" --------- Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 08:42:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OST ANTI-ABORTION PETITION" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/06/22/news/local/news10.txt Reservation petition drive set By Jomay Steen, Journal Staff Writer June 22, 2006 WOUNDED KNEE - An Illinois group has volunteered to help organize a petition drive banning abortions on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. According to a news release, Lakota Native American Outreach of Wheaton, Ill., will host a petition rally Friday through Sunday, June 23-25, at Wounded Knee. Its goal is to have the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council place an issue on the next election ballot seeking to amend the tribe's constitution to ban abortion, Bill Bielecki of Lakota Native American Outreach said in the release. Earlier this year, OST President Cecelia Fire Thunder proposed a clinic in response to South Dakota's new abortion ban, which has since been referred to a statewide vote in November. Fire Thunder said the new state law might not apply to a clinic on the reservation. She also suggested that women from throughout the state could use it. Last month, the tribal council suspended Fire Thunder, pending an impeachment hearing, for proposing an abortion clinic on the reservation and for allegedly raising money for the clinic. It also issued a gag order on the embattled president. The council also voted to ban abortions on the reservation. Bielecki's group will partner with other anti-abortion organizations in its effort to put the issue to a vote, the news release said. Eileen Janis of Pine Ridge, a former council representative and a clinic opponent, said someone at Wounded Knee had loaned the group land to camp. "They had contacts in Oglala from prior years; they heard the news and wanted to do a petition drive," Janis said. She said she has not met Bielecki and is not in contact with the group but has seen drafts of the proposed constitutional amendment and initiated amendment petition. They both were well-written, Janis said. "They are helping out in any way that they can," Janis said. Contact Jomay Steen at 394-8418 or jomay.steen@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2006 Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: Virginia tribes press for recognition measure" --------- Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 08:42:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VIRGINIA TRIBES: RECOGNITION" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite ?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&%09s= 1045855935264&c=MGArticle&cid=1149188661279&path=!news!politics Indian chief cites 'paper genocide' Tribes say destruction of records has held up quest for sovereignty BY PETER HARDIN TIMES-DISPATCH WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT June 22, 2006 WASHINGTON -- Six Virginia Indian tribes, asking Congress to grant them sovereign status, yesterday recounted a history of "paper genocide" at the hands of the state. "The state systematically worked to destroy us" in the 20th century, testified Chief Stephen R. Adkins of the Chickahominy Tribe at a Senate hearing. "I call it paper genocide." Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, seemed sympathetic to at least part of the tribes' plea. The Virginia tribes want to skirt a lengthy administrative route to sovereignty. They are hindered, they say, because zealous state officials destroyed vital records or reclassified Indian people as "colored" many years ago. There's overwhelming evidence of substantial destruction, or corruption, of official records, McCain, R-Ariz., agreed at one point during a hearing on the bill. He prefers that tribes go through the administrative route, yet he recognizes there may be extenuating circumstances justifying congressional action in some cases, McCain said at another point. He said he expected to hold another committee meeting to vote on the bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia. McCain did not say whether he would support it. A U.S. Department of Interior official questioned the Virginia tribes' bid, and his testimony collided with that of a prominent anthropologist from Virginia. R. Lee Fleming, director of the Office of Federal Acknowledgment, said he was concerned by evidentiary gaps in what the Virginia bill states about the tribes' histories. But Helen C. Rountree, a professor emerita from Old Dominion University, shot back that her extensive research showed the Virginia tribes meet the federal criteria for recognition. "The people are authentic," Rountree said. Since the first bill to gain sovereign status for Virginia tribes was introduced in 2000 by Rep. James P. Moran, D-8th, some foes have raised the specter of casino gambling in Virginia as a concern. Backers of the bill say the tribes do not intend to operate casinos. Moreover, the bill would not allow it unless the state goes along, the backers said, and Allen said he did not foresee the tribes having gaming operations. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., a co-sponsor of Allen's bill, also attended the hearing in support of the tribes' bid for sovereignty. Tribes covered by the bill are the Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, the Monacan Indian Nation, the Nansemond, the Upper Mattaponi and the Rappahannock. Contact staff writer Peter Hardin at phardin@mediageneral.com or (202) 662-7669. Copyright c. 2006 Richmond Times Dispatch. --------- "RE: Halting Sexual Violence should lead Agenda" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:49:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ICT INTERVIEW WITH CECILIA FIRE THUNDER" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?feature=yes&id=1096413210 Fire Thunder: Halting sexual violence should lead political agenda by: Kara Briggs / Today correspondent June 26, 2006 Editors' Note: Cecelia Fire Thunder was interviewed in the Rapid City, S.D., office of the First People's Fund on June 16 by Indian Country Today "Healthwise" columnist Kara Briggs and ICT senior editor Jose Barreiro. Mohawk midwife Katsi Cook, Mohawk Bear Clan Mother Louise McDonald and Lori Lea Pourier, of the First People's Fund in Rapid City, also participated in the discussion. RAPID CITY, S.D. - Cecelia Fire Thunder, the elected though currently suspended chairman of the Oglala Sioux Nation, believes that stopping sexual violence, domestic assault and incest - and caring for its victims - needs to rise to the top of the political agenda on the Pine Ridge reservation. Fire Thunder got in trouble with her tribal council and some on the reservation this spring when she announced that abortions could be provided on the reservation under federal law even if a proposed state ban was enacted by voters next November. "I got really angry about a bunch of white guys in the state Legislature making decisions about my body, again," the 59-year-old nurse and first female chairman of the Oglala Sioux told Indian Country Today in June. She spoke to ICT in defiance of a tribal council order that she not speak to the media. When she took her stand for legal abortion this spring, a flurry of outside feminist and Christian Right opinions obscured the story of a group of Oglala women, including Fire Thunder, who are incorporating the Sacred Choices Wellness Center in Kyle. Fire Thunder was suspended by the council in late May when outside dollars to support the center started arriving by mail at tribal headquarters. The council says Fire Thunder solicited these donations, while her supporters say she didn't. On the same day as her suspension, the council voted to ban abortions on Pine Ridge. A group of tribal women who are organizing Fire Thunder's proposed Sacred Choices Wellness Center as a private, nonprofit organization met and agreed to honor the tribe's abortion ban. Still, Fire Thunder faces an impeachment hearing on June 29. She plans to fight for her office. "The abortion issue," she said, "is the key that opens the padlock to sexual deviancy that is occurring on the Pine Ridge reservation." Sexual deviancy is what Fire Thunder calls rape and incest: crimes that are rarely adjudicated on the reservation. The epidemic nature of the abuse is noticed in drug and alcohol treatment programs where, Fire Thunder said, 87 percent of women will disclose that they were sexually abused, many as children. The ultimate end of domestic assault is rape, what Fire Thunder calls the "ultimate subjugation." Most women on the Pine Ridge reservation, she said, know someone who has been raped. And the stories pour out as women across the reservation start to talk: stories about children bearing male relatives' babies. Rape victims in particular, Fire Thunder said, need to have the option to terminate the resulting pregnancy. "Having sex with a female member of your family was something that we banished for, speaking traditionally," she said. Lakota tradition - not the influence of little white churches that dot the countryside - is at the heart of conversations in communities and families across Pine Ridge. Some, including Fire Thunder, say that historically Lakota women knew how to perform abortions and caringly send that spirit back where it came from. Others disagree, including language and culture teacher Philomine Lakota, who said she can't find a word in Lakota for the purposeful termination of pregnancy. For 15 years Lakota has held womanhood ceremonies for about 10 young teenage girls a year in the hope of preventing unplanned pregnancies and encouraging healthy families. She wishes that someone like Fire Thunder would raise money to support these ceremonies and expand them so more young women could be reached. Near the town of Oglala, community elders have drafted a petition which, in part, reads, "As members of the Oglala Sioux tribe, we are vehemently against the murder of innocent babies any circumstances." As preparations for a Sun Dance began, an Oglala woman said that there should be a tribal election about legal abortion - but only the women should be allowed to vote. Many of the quiet majority of women who elected Fire Thunder would speak out, said Lori Lea Pourier, of the First People's Fund in Rapid City, but they don't want to get involved in the shrill tone that politics around abortion has taken. Norma Rendon, who works in a domestic violence shelter run by the nonprofit Canleska Inc., spoke scornfully of the men, including some tribal council members who have been quoted in the local newspapers, for talking about women's business. "I may not be for abortion," Rendon said. "I had six children. I raised all six by myself without any kind of financial or emotional support. But I can't make that choice for other women." Former tribal council member Deb Rooks-Cook, whose father was once tribal chairman, remembered calling on the council to take a stand against sexual violence 20 years ago. But he told her not to expect any response. She remembered him saying, "You're talking to the perpetrators." Two years ago, Rooks-Cook was part of the two-thirds majority who voted for Fire Thunder. She supported her because she believed that a woman could solve the tribe's financial and organizational problems. She said Fire Thunder, like other politicians, has gotten waylaid by other issues. But Fire Thunder said the clinic was always going to be run by other tribal women from the Kyle area, not by the tribe. The group recently met to discuss their future. Sacred Choices board member Emma Featherman Sam said that the newly incorporated organization would honor the tribe's abortion ban. The group also renamed itself the Sacred Choices Wellness Center, which would allow the board to open a gymnasium and offer a wider range of medical care than only gynecological care. Fire Thunder said she is spending time in prayer and seeking guidance in anticipation of her June 30 impeachment hearing. She acknowledged that her term has been tumultuous, though other leaders say there are people who would criticize Fire Thunder for issues as innocuous as the color of shoes she might wear on a given day. Soon after her election in November 2004, she was suspended after the tribe was forced to relinquish management of its Head Start Program because of its mismanagement during the previous administration. She was again suspended when she secured a $38 million loan from the Shakopee Mdewakanton, which operates Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, Minn. More than $18 million of the loan was used to pay part of the debt inherited from the past administration, Fire Thunder said. Twenty million dollars went toward new construction at the tribe's casino in the hope of bringing in more revenue. Fire Thunder said she was inspired to speak out against South Dakota's abortion ban by Tex Hall, the former National Congress of the American Indian president, who in 1999 brought the organization's first resolution against domestic violence. Fire Thunder remembered tears filling her eyes as Hall, in his customary cowboy hat and boots, expressed outrage over the abuse of women and children. She was left with the belief that national Indian leaders must acknowledge abuse if communities are going to end it. More than that, she talks about the need for recognition of "women's sovereignty," which is the right of women to make decisions for their own bodies. "We're in the middle of a quiet revolution," Fire Thunder said. "And it's awful painful." Kara Briggs is senior fellow for the American Indian Policy and Media Initiative at Buffalo State College. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: GEORGE JOE: Battle lines drawn over Farmington" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:49:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO BOYCOTT OF FARMINGTON" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://journals.aol.com/georgerjoe/Postyourviews/entries/122 Farmington, N.M.: Battle lines being drawn By George Joe REZ BIZ magazine Okay, now that the Navajo Nation Council has thrown some gas on a small, smoldering fire in Farmington, N.M., by considering boycotting the border town, according to the Gallup Independent (No Oprah! story), the stakes get a little higher. This week promises to be an interesting one in the Four Corners. We should know by early this week, however, which way the wind will blow on this one. If the communities around Farmington (Shiprock, Kirtland, etc.) even care, than we should see some big meetings taking place. And I'm not talking about just 20-30 people - it should be in the hundreds. And not a chapter meeting either where they typically get large crowds in the first place. Large crowds will give us an indication of which way this will all go. Will it just be more rhetoric with politicians grandstanding about how they're gonna' fix this and that when this has the makings of a Rodney King-like-situation? First, there's Farmington's long-standing reputation in the native community. It's not that good, despite a recent civil rights report saying things have gotten better. And the talk for years among natives about being mistreated, watched, tailed for miles by police, and sometimes being roughed up by police. I've heard these stories first hand. Second, the recent events in the community, which occurred nearly all at once: a possible hate crime beating of a Navajo, a cop shoots a Navajo kid four times, and then the possible roughing up of a reporter. The roughing up of the reporter is what did it here. With Rodney King you had the video recording which gave credibility to the long-standing rumors about police brutality in Los Angeles. Here you have a reporter, who recounts her mistreatment by Farmington police and than being subjected to racially insensitive words. Thus, giving the rumors the credibility it needs. In other words, people are thinking: "It's true." Realizing the stakes at hand, I'm sure the Farmington cops came out in full force last week to try and squash the reporter's version of events. They drove out to Window Rock and met with the Navajo paper so as to refute the column she wrote on the incident. And one day after the Navajo Times publishes - with several stories on Farmington including their denial - the Navajo Council calls a special meeting and suggests a boycott. Chillie Yazzie, the president of Shiprock Chapter, had it right, he said it's the same story in nearly all the bordertowns around Navajo. Yep, it's quite true. Keep in mind that the Navajo Council's public consideration of boycotting Farmington is not to be taken lightly. It is equivalent to war. Rather than sending troops to a small country, the U.S. always attempts diplomatic measures, such as an economic boycott. I hope the Council does not back down on this. The bordertowns all around the Navajo Nation need to know that it is the Navajos that build their cities, their recreation areas, libraries, and roads with the taxes we pay. Yet, we hardly get anything back in return - they keep most of the tax dollars for themselves. This is why Navajos and other natives must buy from one another and keep our hard earned money on the Rez. We must create our own economy rather than driving into bordertowns and subject ourselves to intolerance. www.REZ-BIZ.com www.myspace.com/rezbiz --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Meth new threat in Indian Country" --------- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:49:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: METH" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/columnists/14857640.htm New threat hits reservations: Meth Dorreen Yellow Bird June 20, 2006 Methamphetamine wasn't prevalent on the reservation when I was at the age of experimentation; it was alcohol then. It wasn't until the 1960s that the drug also known as "speed" came to America in full force. So I was surprised to learn that this relatively new drug has caused so many more problems for our young people on reservations. The drums are sounding the alarm, and it is coming from many directions, but it was the National Congress of American Indians' "Call for Action to combat the ever-increasing problem of methamphetamine use and drug trafficking in Indian communities" that struck a chord. After all, this organization is the largest national Indian organization in the country and represents most tribes. "Methamphetamine is killing our people and devastating our communities," said Joe Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians. Reservation communities are making efforts to educate tribal members, seek out dealers and users and curtail or rid Indian communities of this life-threatening menace, yet the number of users is increasing. At first, this national edict seemed far away from North Dakota and our local reservations. But like a baby crocodile, meth now has grown into an eight-foot monster with killer teeth that are gnawing away at fiber of our young people. Meth use quadrupled between 1993 to 2003. The use of it has surpassed any other illicit drug except marijuana. In 1998, five labs were discovered in North Dakota; in 2000, 46 labs were discovered - 22 of them in rural areas. The National American Indian Housing Council says that meth labs are destroying houses in reservations communities. The manufacture and use of this highly poisonous drug contaminates whole houses. Some 2 percent of the Indian population is using methamphetamine, according to the housing council. When I was home near White Shield, N.D., over the weekend, the issue wriggled into my everyday family conversations. If you live in a place where you know your community, as is especially true of reservations, you easily can identify outsiders. They are as alien as someone walking down the street with green skin and antennas. Even if you don't know the person, there are things about them that lets you know they aren't typical North Dakotans or from the reservation. I suppose that's true when Native people go into big cities: We are easy to identify as outsiders. As I pulled up at a gas station in one of the reservation convenience stores this weekend, I saw a car full of men whom I knew were outsiders. The family in the car with me discussed the newcomers. They weren't from our community, we knew, and we wondered what they were up to. Sure, they could be fishermen or just passing through. Lake Sakakawea is running well with northern pike and walleye, I hear. But, we are alert to drug trafficking in our rural reservation. We know reservations are considered a hot spot for drug trafficking, because we have limited funds to pay more law enforcement officers. Since my growing awareness to meth, I'm looking suspiciously at people who have traits such as bad teeth, erratic behavior, weight loss and so on. It is hard to distinguish because some of those traits can happen without the use of drugs. We had a gathering of our family this weekend. We discussed a lot of issues, but we realize that questions about drug and alcohol use among our young people are important. We also know that finding solutions isn't going to be easy. The tribal council and health care officials need to get behind the effort; but most important, it also is our responsibility as members of this community to pay attention to our young people. ---- Dorreen Yellow Bird's column appears Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2006 Grand Forks Herald/Grand Forks, ND. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Ulali carries on singing Tradition" --------- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 08:49:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: ULALI" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/06/18/news/state/75-indian.txt Indian singing group harnesses spirit By JODI RAVE Missoulian June 20, 2006 The Ulali singers coo crisp, clean, a capella harmonies where single words seem destined to live in a world of timeless melodies, where songs evoke beauty and emotion. "What I admire most is the soul," said Michelle St. John, a Toronto- based actor and singer. "They're instantly recognizable even if it's just an opening note. They're so distinctive. There's this magic that happens. "I still get goose bumps even after all these years," said St. John, who has performed and recorded with the group. "They're masters at what they do." For nearly 20 years, Pura Fe, Soni Moreno and Jennifer Kreisberg have developed the sounds of Ulali (pronounced you-la-lee). The group was born from Pura Fe, a Tuscarora who started a singing group through the American Indian Community House in New York. The once rock-jazz fusion group developed the sound it has today after Pura Fe decided to do a show without the entire band. She took the performance down to a single drum and only a few voices. She asked Moreno, who is Apache and Mayan, to be a part of that show. When Pura Fe's younger cousin, Kreisberg, joined the duo a few years later, Ulali was born. Today, the group borrows traditional and contemporary sounds from tribes throughout the Western Hemisphere. "Their work is brilliant," said St. John. "It's their arrangements. The way they use their voices. The way they construct their songs. The notes they choose tap into an emotional plane. "I go, 'Oww! I feel that right here.' I'm a bit of a geeky fan." But St. John isn't alone with the accolades. Ulali's creative a capella harmonies have made them favored performers around the country. They've shared performance bills with world-class artists, including Sting, Jackson Browne, the B-52's, Bonnie Raitt, Mary Chapin Carpenter and the Neville Brothers. Ulali, which means the sound of the wood thrush, had several songs featured on the movie soundtrack "Smoke Signals," which garnered top Sundance Film Festival awards, including an Audience Choice Award and Filmmaker's Trophy. The women made their national television debut when performing with Robbie Robertson, formerly of The Band, on the "Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Ulali women write and sing songs of love, politics and broken hearts, words written to reflect each of their female beings. "I believe sometimes, it's not just us singing," Moreno said. "There's a lot of spirit behind it. We all walk with our ancestors." Some of those ancestors were singers, too. Kreisberg and Pura Fe -- first cousins through their mothers -- come from a family where the last four generations consisted of seven singing sisters. Kreisberg recently wrote "The Deer Song," a commemoration to her Deer Clan people and the women's voices before her. The song will be featured on the group's upcoming live album. "Our nation, the Tuscarora Nation, we've lost a lot, but the one thing we haven't lost is the singing," Kreisberg said. "Everybody, just about everybody sings. It's like the whole community sings." Ulali embodies that spirit, which continues to grow and change. Fans can expect new artistic development from each woman. Pura Fe marked that change when she decided about a year ago to begin a solo career singing the blues. It's a natural path, given traditional music in the Southeast. "You hear what you think is the blues," said Pura Fe. But what you're hearing, she said, is a blending of African American and Indian culture. Pura Fe said the legendary folk, world-blues singer Taj Mahal put it best: "When you listen to blues and rock guitars, nowhere in Africa do you hear that kind of sound. It is truly a Native expression." Her recent blues debut earned her the title of best female artist of the year during this year's annual Native American Music Awards. Pura Fe will join the group as her schedule permits. An audience in Missoula will be treated to a performance of all three when they play Wednesday at the University of Montana. Fans can expect to see Atahua Papa, a Maori woman from New York, become a regular group member in Pura Fe's absence. The women plan to maintain Ulali's signature sound. "When you cook a dish, like the mole sauce, you use three different kinds of chiles," Moreno said. "If you leave one out, the flavor changes a bit, but it's still the essence of it." Jodi Rave can be reached at 406-523-5299 or at jodi.rave@lee.net. Copyright c. The Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: GIAGO: Bill Gates should look in his own backyard" --------- Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006 08:44:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: NOTE TO WELL INTENTIONED LIBERALS" http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/014570.asp Notes from Indian Country: Bill Gates should look in his own backyard Posted by request of Tim Giago, Nanwica Kciji. Copyright c. 2006 Native American Journalists Foundation, Inc. June 21, 2006 Since graduation time is here for Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and at the other thirty colleges located on Indian reservations across western America, I wanted to know; what happens next? I called Tom Short Bull, the president of OLC to find out. Short Bull is very proud of the accomplishments of the Indian colleges and well he should be. As I have said so often, the Indian colleges are one of the best-kept secrets in America. They were developed from the hearts and minds of the Indian people. If any critic is looking for an Indian success story in America they need look no further than the Indian colleges. But in spite of their unequivocal success, they are one of the most under funded college systems in America. White liberals with good intentions, have told me on innumerable occasions, that the only way Indians will ever pull themselves up out of poverty is to get an education. When I tell these folks about the many success stories of the Indian owned colleges they are usually aghast because they didn't know such a higher educational system existed on Indian reservations. Short Bull takes pride in the many RN's now working in the Indian hospitals across America that got their degrees from the Indian colleges. He is extremely happy about the many elementary and high school teachers now working in the reservation schools thanks to gaining their degrees at the Indian colleges. The colleges fulfilled the two most basic needs in Indian country first; health and education. They next took on the challenges of bringing businesses and jobs. Marilyn Kockrow is the Department Chair/Program Coordinator of the Applied Science & Technology Department of Oglala Lakota College. She has been charged with the responsibility of finding ways and means to creating entrepreneurs on the reservation. She said, "One of the first things we need to do in order to be successful is to find ways to bring houses here. If we are to build businesses we need to be able to find homes for the business builders." Kockrow knows there must be a business code enacted in order to protect prospective business owners and the acquisition of land to build upon must be made much easier by the tribal government. She said, "One thing that discourages people wanting to open businesses here is the difficulties they face in trying to find land or even a building. There is plenty of land but much of it is held in trust or is a part of a fractionated heirship." The next and probably the biggest problem in securing a loan is that funds through the tribe or the Bureau of Indian Affairs are non-existent. An Indian cannot walk into a bank in one of the towns bordering the reservation (there is no bank on the Pine Ridge Reservation) and secure a loan. If that Indian owns land it is held in trust by the federal government and cannot be used as collateral. And funds for economic development allocated to the BIA have been cut so dramatically that the coffers are nearly empty. Organizations such as the Lakota Fund have limited resources. They often give small loans, but they are not in a position to extend large loans. If a person wanted to open an auto repair shop it would take somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000 to $100,000 to get the doors open. If all one has is a dream and nothing else, the dream usually ends at the loan department of a local bank. U. S. senators and congressmen have known for years that economic development is key to the survival, the revival and the success of Indian nations. I'm not even going to get into casinos here because out here in Indian country the casinos are barely surviving and are not making enough in profits to set up a pool of money for business loans. Getting a loan through the Small Business Administration is about as difficult as getting the winning ticket in the lottery. South Dakota has been setting aside tax money for budding entrepreneurs called The Redi- Fund. My former newspaper labeled it The Whitey-Fund because 99 percent of the loans it made went to white people. Tom Short Bull and Marilyn Kockrow have grand and attainable goals for the college and its efforts to train businessmen and women and to assist them in securing the funds to build businesses on the reservation. All they lack is the money. Kockrow said, "Last year we managed to get $40,000 from the Kellogg Fund and other sources and we are trying to raise that to $70,000 next year." That is just a drop in the bucket for the college that hopes to make a difference. It is also a slap in the face to these dedicated people. Short Bull said, "88 percent of our graduates stay on the reservation to work." How many college communities in America can make that same claim? While the Bill Gates' of this country are tooling around the world handing out money to poor people of other nations, I get very angry that they do not take a look in their own back yard. Why don't they visit Pine Ridge and have a "sit-down" with Short Bull and Kockrow and talk to the many Indian students just itching to open their own businesses? If Gates and other billionaires want to meet people so dedicated to a cause that they place it above all else, at times even above their own health, they need to meet Tom Short Bull and Marilyn Kockrow and then they might learn a little bit about the true nature of the American Indian. Until they do, they will never know the meaning of the word "dedication." --- Tim Giago is the president of the Native American Journalists Foundation, Inc., and the publisher of Indian Education Today Magazine. He can be reached at najournalists@rushmore.com or by writing him at 2050 W. Main St. Suite 5, Rapid City, SD. He was also the founder and former publisher of the Lakota Times and Indian Country Today newspapers. Copyright c. 2000-2006 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Sun shines on Sacred Ceremony" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:49:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: CEREMONY" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/columnists/14894387.htm DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Sun shines on sacred ceremony June 24, 2006 Something important happened for the Sahnish (Arikara) people in White Shield, N.D., on Tuesday and Wednesday. I will try to talk about it without violating the confidentiality of this important ceremony, yet I tell this story so those American Indians who couldn't attend will know something important and historic happened. After spending the weekend at home in White Shield, I turned around Tuesday and drove back to the reservation again. This time, it was for a ceremony for the Sahnish Sacred Bundles and their Keepers. My sister and I stopped at my brother's and dropped off our "stuff," then hurried out into the country, where a sweat lodge was prepared for cleansing the people for the ceremony. When we arrived, several keepers sat waiting for the fire to heat the rocks. It was good to sit among them and listen to their talk. There were times when no one spoke, and the bird songs were so loud it was as if the birds were sitting on our shoulders, singing at top volume. I heard the calls of a nighthawk and sharptail grouse in mix. We sat in the middle of newly cut prairie grass that brought the powerful fragrance of the little sweet grass spirits, and it was intoxicating. When the men finished their sweat, we women attended to our cleansing. It was after 11 that night when we finished, yet the sunset held on. We still could see the glowing outline the prairie horizon. The next day, the wind came. It was so strong that people carrying in their goods and food were tossed, and sometimes a kettle cover would fly off and roll noisily across the parking lot. Women had to hold onto their dresses to keep them from flying over their head. Wind, my grandmother told me, is the spirits. Yes, I thought, they are here. We could see by the dancing, whirling wind. As I carried food into the old hall in White Shield, the wind tangled my short hair into the latest styles. This day of the Summer Solstice is a historic day -- a day when Sahnish Sacred Bundles came together for the first time in many years; the last time it had happened was so long ago that few could remember the exact date. Indian people have been through tremendous change and chaos. Hundreds of years ago, when many nations of Indians lived on this land, we were powerful because we were held in the hand of the Creator. Our lives changed as non-Indians moved into our land. There were days followed by years filled with tremendous transition and tragedy. Aside from the wars, the diseases that crept into our villages probably were the most destructive. Indians were able to handle diseases that they were accustomed to, but new and more deadly diseases came too fast for the medicine people to find a cure, and Indians were consumed by the millions. In all the turmoil and struggle during those troubled times, each band of the larger Sahnish nation had their Sacred Bundles for guidance -- the "crucifix," the sacraments of the people. Some say there were 13 bundles; other say there were only 12. These 12 or 13 bands made up the larger nation. In all this turmoil, the people were maintained by the prayers of our leaders and the power of the Sacred Bundles. One of the keepers told the people that day, "Among the destruction and turbulence, the Bundles remained in tact. No war or disease destroyed them." The Keepers said the Bundles belong to the people; they provide a place and care for them. In the past 50 years, however, five of the Bundles were lost. Blame assimilation and the forced influence of boarding schools and churches, the elders say. Some people were convinced by outsiders that the culture and beliefs of the people were useless. Even today, some scoff at the Bundles that carried us through until today.This Sacred Bundles ceremony was done so that our lives may be better, so that our children will know and understand the gifts that the Creator gave them, so that the children will know how to take care of the Bundles and so that we will learn once again about these most sacred items of the Sahnish. That night after the ceremony, my brother and I sat on the patio, where we could see Lake Sakakawea gently swaying and moving. It was after midnight, yet we still could see the faint light of the sun as it spanned the width of the horizon on this the longest day of the year - the day the Sacred Bundles were brought to the people once again. ---- Dorreen Yellow Bird's column appears Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2006 Grand Forks Herald/Grand Forks, ND. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Stories teach how to treat the Earth" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2006 09:49:51 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: EARTH KEEPING" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/06/25/jodirave/rave%2016.txt Stories teach how to treat the earth By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian June 25, 2006 ARLEE - Storytelling is an art. And two men who have mastered this genre recently arrived in Montana - a Mohawk elder from New York and young Yup'ik from Alaska. Although they've never met, they shared the same message with two different groups. By chance, I was fortunate enough to hear both. Tom Porter was invited to speak to youths at a cultural camp on the Flathead Reservation last week. I met a friend for coffee Saturday and then we drove to the tipi encampment on a mountain near South Valley Creek. It had rained before we arrived. But the sun was shining. A morning chill hung in the air - as did the smoke from a burning fire. The air smelled clean. Porter would tell us later the Thunder Beings give us fresh air. They clean it with flaming arrows. My only plan was to enjoy a green mountain morning. I also looked forward to being around others feeling good about being indigenous - a culture camp can do that to you. It's a setting that can strengthen relationships, spirituality and build a sense of community. Most of the tipi-dwellers had been camped for nearly a week. On this final day, no one seemed in a hurry to leave. The group was waiting to hear the Mohawk elder. Porter and I met before he talked. I asked what he planned to say. He said he usually didn't think too much about what he would say when invited to speak. The words, he said, would come from the heart. Even though I didn't know what he would say, I asked him if I could jot down some notes while he talked. He said OK. About an hour later, he stood in a circle surrounded by youths and adults. In the tradition of true orators, the Mohawk elder painted pictures with words. We watched rivers flow on command by the Creator so humans could have fresh water. We visited the Thunder Beings, little men about 2 feet tall who pound a giant drum to give us rain. We heard birds singing morning songs of thanks and greeting Grandfather Sun. We felt the wind cover Mother Earth with winter snow, so she could rest. The Mohawks call this a thanksgiving prayer. They do it frequently to give thanks to our mother, the earth, she who feeds all humans, trees, animals, birds, rivers and the sky. The story expresses an appreciation of how all these beings are interdependent. When Porter finished, he sat near me. I gave him strawberries. Strawberries are good medicine, he said. He ate them. I reminded him I took notes. He nodded his head, OK. Can the notes be used in a newspaper story? It's OK, he said. I felt he shared a sacred story. I asked: Why is it OK for me to write this? People need to hear it, he said. When I went back to work Monday, I attended an education conference at the University of Montana. I've learned to appreciate the unexpected. But little did I expect to meet a second world-class Native storyteller in less than 48 hours. Conference organizers invited Jack Dalton from Alaska. He shared many stories, including a creation story from the Yup'iks. He told how Raven created the world and human beings. The humans were told to take only what they needed from the earth - and to keep the rivers and streams clean. But the humans became careless. So Raven punished them. The humans thought they outsmarted Raven. They became greedy. Again, they took more than they needed. With a heavy heart, Raven punished them more severely a second time because the second time was no accident. Raven brought death to the people. People can wonder if we're near the end of our third chance, Dalton said. Or they can talk about what it means to be a human being who knows how to live upon the earth, he said. When Raven walked slowly away from the humans the second time, the people knew they had to do something to change their ways. The elders convened. They agreed: We must share the story of what happened here. We must give it to the next generation. And that generation must pass it on to the next. Jodi Rave reports on Native issues for Lee Enterprises. She can be reached at (406) 523-5299 or at jodi.rave@lee.net Copyright c. 2006 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Atenco's agony: Mexico's other campaign" --------- Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 01:47 pm From: Chiapas95-english Subj: OpenDemoc,Atenco's Agony,Jun 13 Mailing List: Chiapas95-En This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:26:49 +0000 From: "Sylvia Romo" Subj: OpenDemoc,Atenco's Agony,Jun 13 Atenco's agony: Mexico's other campaign Yadira Hidalgo 13 - 6 - 2006 A violent assault by Mexican police on the flower-sellers, residents and campaigners in the town of San Salvador de Atenco reveals the true face of state power, argues Yadira Hidalgo. ------------------------------------------ The Mexican town of San Salvador de Atenco has a history of fierce struggles. In 2002, early in the term of President Vicente Fox, its people opposed and eventually stopped the construction of an airport on their lands, resisting in the process the combined weight of the Mexican state and its big-business supporters. The townspeople's defence against great odds cost them several deaths, but the defeat they inflicted on the Fox government has not been forgotten on either side. Now, a new struggle at Atenco highlights the realities of power in Mexico in a period when the country's leaders seek to present a peaceful, democratic face to the world ahead of the presidential and legislative elections of 2 July 2006. Many inhabitants of the valley of Texcoco on the eastern edge of Mexico City come to San Salvador de Atenco to sell their products, especially flowers, in the area around the traditional municipal market. A tradition that is generations old may be coming to an end, for the government plans to raze the area around the market and replace it with a modern shopping complex. In pursuit of this plan, municipal leader Nazario Gutie'rrez of the Partido de la Revolucio'n Democra'tica (Party of the Democratic Revolution / PRD) - Mexico's main centre-left party - had several local vendors ejected from the market at the beginning of April. This led to opposition from the vendors, which led Gutie'rrez to deploy a detachment of local police on the pavements around them. The flower-sellers resisted this action too, and entered into negotiations with the authorities in an attempt to preserve their custom of selling in the market. The agreement they arrived at permitted them to continue their activities from 3 May 2006 without being bothered by the authorities. At 7am that morning, the flower-growers arrived to set up their stalls, but met a detachment of police apparently sent to impede their access. The police soon entered the market area and started dragging the vendors away from the area. The flower-growers were not alone, however. They had asked members of the Frente del Pueblo en Defensa de La Tierra (Front of People in Defence of the Land / FPDT) - the group that had opposed the construction of the airport on their land - to witness the installation of their stalls. After the police action had started, the FPDT defended the vendors. It was an unequal struggle: 400 local police equipped with shields, helmets and teargas canisters against eighty civilians armed with machetes, sticks, and stones. A policeman interviewed soon after was told that he had received orders to "beat anything that moves". Videos taken at the scene showed the police doing just that; even local dogs and cars received blows from police batons. The police quickly were reinforced by state and federal police. For their part, the flower-growers were backed by local people sympathetic to the FPDT. Another video, shown repeatedly on national television, filmed the beating of a captured police officer. During the confrontation, a 14-year-old boy died from the impact of a police bullet fired at close range. The EZLN: a media lynching The Front of the People in Defence of the Land is one of the organisations aligned with the "other campaign", led by subcomandante Marcos of the Zapata National Liberation Army (EZLN), or "Zapatistas"). Marcos has been travelling the country since 1 January 2006 with the objective of creating links among civic organisations, and to elaborate a national plan of social struggle for the country. Before the Atenco events, the "other campaign" had been largely ignored by Mexico's principal communications media. But Atenco gave the television duopoly of TV Azteca and Televisa, as well as the major newspapers and radio networks, reason to blame the EZLN for inciting violence in Atenco; they exploited the fact that Marcos had visited the town a week earlier, and that he had later been escorted into Mexico City by members of the FPDT. In the days following the repression at Atenco, commentators and journalists heaped vehement abuse on the land campaigners. The incessant coverage of the beating of one policeman was in marked contrast to the refusal - except in La Jornada newspaper to show the faces and bodies of local people broken by police batons and bathed in blood. Marcos compared the media's management of this situation with the coverage of the infamous slaughter of students in Tlatelolco Square in 1968: "Then, the government said that the army had been attacked, and it took a long time for people to ask what the army was doing at a student meeting in the first place, and now the communications media have not thought to ask what the police was doing there in San Salvador de Atenco." A question of solidarity Once the Atenco repression had became public, "Delegate Zero" (Marcos's official identity within the "other campaign"), called on the campaign's supporters to demonstrate peaceful support for the people of the town. He also announced that the EZLN had declared a "red alert" because of the situation: this entailed closing the Caracoles (autonomous Zapatista communities) in the southern state of Chiapas, and suspending the activities of the "other campaign" until further notice. Meanwhile, Marcos declared that he would remain in Mexico City until the demands of the people of Atenco are met: unconditional liberty for those arrested and the evacuation of the police and security forces from the town. For its part, the alternative media published a list of 217 people arrested and sixty-nine missing after the Atenco confrontations. This list includes people from institutions as diverse as the National Autonomous University of Mexico, human-rights groups and other NGOs, and the dissident media. It also features five foreign human-rights workers and journalists who were detained and expelled: two Spanish citizens, two Chileans, and a German; all were deported to their countries of origin through obscure legal procedures, but only after reportedly being subjected to psychological and physical abuse by Mexican police. Three of this group - Mari'a Sostres and Cristina Valls (from Spain) and Valentina Palma (from Chile) confirmed rumors that many women arrested at Atenco had been sexually assaulted. At the time of writing, Mexico's national commission on human rights has received more than 150 complaints related to the incidents of 3-4 May 2006 at San Salvador de Atenco. Seven of these are accusations of rape, and another sixteen involve accusations of other types of sexual abuse. The gravity of the post-Atenco situation has led "Delegate Zero" to break his media blackout and grant interviews to the national media, including with La Jornada and the television chain Televisa. There, he has emphasised the civil and peaceful nature of the "other campaign", and argues that violence - including the assassination of a campaign supporter at San Blas, Oaxaca - is a product of the current political system. The repression, jailing, and even death of "non-conformists", Marcos declares, only achieves the destabilisation of the country during the pre-electoral period. The violence at Atenco and elsewhere in Mexico augurs ill for Mexican democracy, and for the possibility of dialogue with the country's social movements that is one necessary component of progress towards a more just, equitable and peaceful society. This article was translated by Robert P Kruger -- To subscribe to this list send a message containing the words subscribe chiapas95 (or chiapas95-lite, or chiapas95-english, or chiapas95-espanol) to majordomo@eco.utexas.edu. Previous messages are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html or gopher to Texas, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Economics, Mailing Lists. --------- "RE: Canada wants delay to key Aboriginal UN Treaty" --------- Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 02:31 pm From: frostyca2000 Subj: Canada wants delay to key aboriginal UN treaty Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Canada wants delay to key aboriginal UN treaty By David Ljunggren Reuters June 19, 2006 OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada said on Monday it wanted the United Nations to delay a vote on a key draft treaty enshrining the rights of indigenous peoples, a document which has already taken 20 years to put together. Political opponents accused Canada's Conservative government of trying to sabotage the treaty, which is supposed to be adopted soon by the U.N's new Human Rights Council in Geneva. But Ottawa, which said the treaty could wreck talks on granting its native Indians control of land and resources, said it wanted two more years of discussions. "We think the text that has been put forward at this point is not one that satisfactorily addresses a number of issues in Canada," said federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice. Separately, officials said Canada would vote against the document unless major changes were made. The draft treaty is opposed by the United States, Australia and New Zealand, which like Canada have significant aboriginal populations. Canada has about 1.3 million native Indians, or about 4.4 percent of the overall population. Many live in poverty and suffer from ill health and high levels of unemployment. Some aboriginal activists complain about what they say is centuries of ill-treatment and racism at the hands of the majority population and want more control over the resources on their lands, some of which are home to rich mineral deposits. The government has opened land claims talks with some aboriginal bands on handing over rights to exploit resources but the negotiations generally proceed very slowly. Angus Toulouse of the Assembly of First Nations, which groups many of Canada's aboriginal groups, said the treaty would boost the "economic, political and resource rights of Canada's first nations." But Prentice -- without giving details -- said the draft document was inconsistent with both Canada's charter of human rights and its constitution. "Frankly, it's entirely inconsistent with all of the land claims policies that the government of Canada has been using for the past generation. So clearly it requires more work," he told reporters. A coalition of opposition parties, human rights activists and native groups accused Ottawa of trying to sabotage the treaty and said Canadian diplomats in Geneva were trying to have the document pulled off the council's agenda. "Canadian leadership on this issue is rapidly disappearing ... governments have had more than 20 years already. We do not need more delays and dithering from the Canadian government," said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International's Canadian wing. The Conservatives -- who won power in late January -- are already under pressure for killing off a C$5 billion ($4.5 billion) deal struck last November between the previous Liberal government and aboriginal leaders. The deal would have pumped more money into health, education and social services. ($1=$1.12 Canadian) --------- "RE: Mining scars run deep" --------- Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 08:37:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MINES AND MINING COMPANY LIES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar /Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1150753811270 &call_page=TS_Ontario&call_pageid=968256289824&call_pagepath=News/Ontario Mining scars run deep A tiny mining company and an impoverished First Nations battle over exploration in Ontario's north The outcome in court could have far-reaching effects on devlopment plans, writes Peter Gorrie Court to draw line between aboriginal and development rights Jun. 20, 2006. 01:00 AM PETER GORRIE ENVIRONMENT WRITER KITCHENUYMAYKOOSIB INNINUWUG, Ont. - The bright green scar in the forest is a beacon to the pilot and six passengers crammed inside a Beaver floatplane as it carves a steep, low turn over Little Trout Lake. A clearing, perhaps the size of two suburban lots, has been cut out of what seems an endless expanse of virgin jack pine and black spruce. The plane lands and coasts to a sagging dock. The visitors, swatting mosquitoes and blackflies, venture into a junkyard of rusted tools, oil drums and nails; rickety tables and benches; lumps of pale blue foam and bits of plastic and lumber. At weathering wooden racks, they finger a few of thousands of inch-thick rock cylinders, stacked in neat, numbered rows. These are cores - the product of tough days of deep drilling for evidence of minerals. Nearby, trails, marked with fluorescent orange ribbons, crisscross the soggy, moss-floored bush. This is a mining exploration camp - abandoned, at least temporarily. Nearly 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, it's far beyond roads and was still chilly while the GTA sweated through a recent heat wave. It's the unlikely centre of a legal battle that could change the way Ontario's far north is developed. Across this vast, little-visited region, a young generation of aboriginal people - unimpeded, they say, by the fears that hobble their elders - is challenging the way forests, minerals and hydro resources are exploited. In a far-off echo of the Caledonia dispute, nine scattered, impoverished First Nations have declared a development moratorium on lands they claim as traditional territories. On a lumbering aircraft like the Beaver, the scruffy camp is 20 minutes - across large, cold Big Trout Lake - from a First Nation called Kitchenuymaykoosib Inninuwug, or KI. KI objected to what was going on at the camp. That led to the crucial court challenge. It begins Thursday in Thunder Bay. Under a 1929 treaty, KI was given a reserve of about 8,800 hectares. Six years ago, it claimed close to 51,000 more. The exploration camp is in that area. Nickel giant Inco Ltd. once worked here: It left behind the drill cores. Early this year, Inco sold its mining leases to an Aurora-based company called Platinex Inc. for $300,000 in cash and shares. Platinex hopes to discover platinum, a precious metal far more expensive than gold, that's in hot demand for electronic gear and devices to cut emissions from cars. According to court documents, until last fall Platinex believed it had community consent to conduct exploration drilling. Even after receiving an Aug. 30 letter that stated KI opposed the work, it still hoped for agreement. It figured the community was split and the divisions could be reconciled. But over the winter, all but a couple of voting-age residents signed an anti-development petition. "Whoever was for mining is now against it," says Eddie McKay, who runs the water treatment plant and collected the signatures. In February, a drill crew contracted by Platinex arrived, with the province's approval. Community members crossed the then-frozen lake to protest. They describe encounters with drillers as peaceful and friendly. After a week, the crew hurriedly departed. Last month, Platinex, alleging violence and intimidation, sued KI for $10 billion and a ban on protests. KI sued back, demanding $10 million and an injunction against exploration. All of this - apart from the headline-grabbing size of Platinex's claim - promised a routine local legal tussle. After all, these are not mighty combatants. KI is poor. Platinex is, like any junior exploration company, on the financial edge: President and CEO James Trusler stated in a pre-trial session it would go bankrupt without quick approval of its exploration plan. But KI has elevated the case into one with wide implications. First, it argues, when the Ontario government gave Platinex the go-ahead to drill, it ignored a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that provinces must "consult with and accommodate" First Nations before approving developments on land that has been claimed. It also wants the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to declare the provincial Mining Act - which, under "free entry," lets prospectors seek mineral riches almost wherever they please - violates Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since free entry doesn't apply to reserves, KI would be home free if its land claim was accepted. But claim