_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 14, ISSUE 030 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 29, 2006 Western Cherokee Kuyegwona/ripe corn moon Anishnaabe Aabita-niibino-giizis/raspberry moon Cree Opaskwuwipizun/moon when ducks begin to molt Potawatomi We'shkitdaminkese/moon of the young corn +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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 Mailing List; UUCP Mail IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + =================== "Bear Butte will outlast humanity. We didn't pick this mountain; we learned from its energy. __ Rosalie Little Thunder, Lakota "It is important to our elders what is happening to our nation. We are of an age where we don't know how long we will be here fighting for our rights." __ Marie Randall, 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! If Tribal Nations intend to maintain any degree of sovereignty, Native citizens of those Nations must continue to be vigilant in the protection of those rights. Thoughout the course of history since contact there has been one erosion of right after another as the occupation forces continue their oppression of the original citizens of Turtle Island. In the United States alone, the pattern is consistent and the course undeniable. - Shortly after the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Constitution gave Congress "plenary" power over all tribes. - Andrew Jackson, despite having his life saved in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend by Cherokee Chief Gulkalaski (Junaluska), signed into law the Removal Act (1831) that dashed all treaties and guarantees of permanent residence in the homelands of many Eastern Tribes. - The Dawes Act (1887) was much more than a census tool. It was an attempt to force assimilation by mandating boarding schools like Carlisle for all Indian children. - 1953 should always be marked as a dark year on any Indian calendar. It signaled the congressional resolution known as termination. The intent was to end all subsistance to Indian Nations and disolve those nations as political and governing entities. In fact many reservations were broken up under this policy. - A fundamental principle of government is that Governments do not tax other Governments, yet the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 permits that very action by State Governments over Tribal Governments within their geographical boundaries that attempt to provide income for their citizens through casinos and other gaming venues. A sovereign government is not required to commit all lands it wishes to be part of its territory to the management of another government, then stand by as that government openly "loses" resources it is purportedly holding as trustee. And a sovereign government does not then have recourse only to the courts of the country stealing its property and resources for redress. What the very abbreviated timeline above verifies is that none of our rights may ever be taken for granted. Each has been fought for, and each has been attacked by the dominant society. ... and the war is far from over. 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 ----------- - JODI RAVE: New Documentary - WHITE FACE: Indigenous peoples examines dwindling Indian Land still lack human rights - Creek Nation - DOUGHERTY: sponsors Tribal Summit Havasupai without Power for Weeks - Pilgrimage to - TRAHANT: U.S. should act Pocahontas' Burial Place like a Trustee - Congress reauthorizes - GIAGO: Traveling the road Voting Rights Act to 'Cultural Suicide' - Lumbees: BIA not an option - JODI RAVE: Gathering honors - Judge halts costly lives of Warrior Women BIA Education Plan in Dakotas - HARJO: Good People being taken out - Reservation Fuel Tax refund plan by Snakes in DC has few takers - MIKE GRAHAM: Ann Coulter, - Nations gather GOPs against Indians to protect Sacred Site - JODI RAVE: Basketball player - Fire Thunder reinstated rebounds from mistakes and removed once more - Torture/Harassment - Mdewakanton Land Trust of Prisoners in Chiapas put on hold - Subcomandante Insurgente - Tohono O'odham Nation Marcos in Atenco ready to close illegal Road - Government prevents Marcos' - Northern Cheyenne Radio Appearance to vote on mining - Rail blockade called off - No Otter Creek mining soon - First Nation wants more - Riders retrace route Law Enforcement on Reserve of Nez Perce flight - Native Prisoner - Tulalips claim Beach rights -- Navajo Safety Committee lobbies - Tulalip Tribes share wealth for Public Safety, Jail - Blackfeet, Corps see - Rustywire: Where Do I Stand historic fight differently - Del "Abe" Jones Poem: - Lacrosse a life force A Pequot Legend for many American Indians - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Project seeks Truth - KILI back on air about Indian Graves after two Months of Silence - Native Tribal Leaders - Native American Cable Station worry about Road access in development --------- "RE: New Documentary examines dwindling Indian Land" --------- Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2006 20:30:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: DWINDLING LAND HOLDINGS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/07/23/news/state/60-documentary.txt New documentary examines dwindling Indian land holdings By JODI RAVE Missoulian July 22, 2006 A new documentary focuses on the loss of tribal lands through 120 years of federal policy and how the land loss affects American Indians today. The 78-minute film, "American Indian Homelands: Matters of Truth, Honor and Dignity Immemorial," is narrated by ABC newsman Sam Donaldson. The film was viewed by American Indians and non-Indians before its release, drawing mixed reaction. "The Indian focus groups that we showed it to absolutely loved it and thought every Indian should see it," said Cris Stainbrook, president of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation in Little Canada, Minn. "They thought it should be longer. "The non-Indian groups got a lot out of it. But their first question every time was, 'Is this for real? Are these really facts behind this?' It's hard for people to understand how you can have an 80- acre piece of ground with thousands of owners." The film helps answer questions about the difficulties of economic development on tribal lands held in trust by the Department of the Interior. "All you have to do is look at the structure of Indian land ownership on reservations and you get a real quick hit on why it's so difficult," Stainbrook said. "American Indian Homelands" reports a two-part story, effectively recounting the recent history of Indian lands. The film reveals the voices of those affected by the land loss and of those trying to clean up messy land deals that linger today. In June 1996, Elouise Cobell, a banker from the Blackfeet Nation of Montana, filed the largest class-action suit ever brought against the federal government. She sued the interior department on behalf of 500,000 landowners who didn't receive just compensation for leases and mineral royalties earned on their holdings. "American Indian Homelands" helps clarify some myths. A lot of people, Stainbrook said, have a "longstanding belief that every Indian gets a government check." "Well, that was their money coming back to them from the Department of the Treasury for land leases," he added. The Cobell lawsuit has its roots in the Dawes Act of 1867, a federal land policy that broke up tribal land masses by creating individual landowners. Ultimately, the act led to the loss of 137 million acres of tribal land by 1934. The Burke Act is also included among the acts of Congress that devastated tribal land holdings. The act was intended to protect land holdings for 25 years after land was allotted to individuals. But the act was more effective in taxing Indian land and taking it away. Often, the land was secretly taxed. Indians would find out they had an unprotected land title, which was then seized for taxes. The "Homelands" film explores how the Dawes and Burke acts have led to problems associated with such terms as trust status and undivided interests. "All those pieces that are so foreign to non-Indians," Stainbrook said. "When they see this stuff, a lot of people think you're not telling the truth." In June, the film's writer and director, Barry ZeVan, received an international Telly Award, a coveted prize among production companies for outstanding documentary-making. "Homelands" has aired in metropolitan markets, such as Minneapolis, and airtime dates have been scheduled in San Francisco and Albuquerque, N.M. A contract has been signed to nationally distribute the video to retail outlets around the country. The film is also becoming a part of curriculum and reference libraries, including at the University of Minnesota, Dartmouth College and Ball State University in Indiana. "Everybody who cares anything about American history, not just Native American history, has got to see this film," ZeVan said. "It will open a lot of people's eyes and let people realize all these Machiavellian actions that have been taken against Native Americans." Others interviewed in the film reflect similar thoughts. "It's probably the saddest chapter in our long history, and the exploitation of Native Americans continues today," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Tom Daschle, a former Democratic senator from South Dakota, said: "Our treatment of Native Americans is a national tragedy. Unfortunately, it's not a tragedy with an end. A lot of that tragedy continues today. It's a tragedy that has meant embarrassment to this country, but far more importantly, a painful experience for Americans who deserve better." Added Tim Coulter, director of the Indian Law Resource Center in Helena: "The federal government can take Indian land at will without compensation. The United States can't do that to anyone else except Indians." Jodi Rave covers American Indian issues. Contact her at jodi.rave@lee.net or 406-523-5299. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Creek Nation sponsors Tribal Summit" --------- Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 08:37:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MVSCOGEE SPONSORED SUMMIT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.channeloklahoma.com/news/9522869/detail.html?rss=okl&psp=news Creek Nation Sponsors Tribal Summit July 15, 2006 OKLAHOMA CITY - The Muscogee (Creek) Nation will sponsor a tribal summit with hopes of encouraging American Indians to vote in this year's election. The summit will be held Tuesday at the tribe's headquarters north of Okmulgee. Most of the candidates in the governor's race have agreed to either attend or send a representative, said George Tiger, the speaker of the nation's National Council. Other candidates in both state and congressional races also have been invited to speak at the summit, which should draw representatives from about 20 tribes. Tiger said that although American Indians have usually supported Democratic candidates in the past, that might be changing, as 10 of the 13 Indians in the state Legislature are Republican. Copyright c. 2006 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Pilgrimage to Pocahontas' Burial Place" --------- Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 08:37:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JAMESTOWN ANNIVERSARY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ chi-0607160293jul16,1,4668891.story?track=rss U.S. Indians in pilgrimage to Pocahontas' burial place Visit to England anticipates observances of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the oldest British settlement in the New World Associated Press July 16, 2006 GRAVESEND, England - American Indians from Virginia have traveled to the burial place of Pocahontas as part of celebrations marking next year's 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the oldest English settlement in the New World. A delegation of 50 people solemnly filed into St. George's Church in the southeastern English town of Gravesend, where Pocahontas is buried. It was a private ceremony to honor the princess who acted as an ambassador between British settlers and her Algonquin kinsmen in the early 17th Century. "We're here to acknowledge the fact that the people of England have protected the remains of Pocahontas-they have honored her memory, and I think they've just done due diligence," said Chief Stephen Adkins of the Chickahominy tribe. The moment was tinged with sadness for Adkins, who noted that when the first English settlers landed in 1607, there were 35 to 40 Virginia woodland tribes. "There are now eight," he said. The visit was part of a series of events on both sides of the Atlantic to mark the anniversary of Jamestown's settlement in 1607. The Virginia Indians said they reveled in the chance to do the journey in reverse-from the New World to the Old-and to show off their culture. Amid blustery summer winds, spectators lined the manicured hedges of an Elizabethan manor at the town's Cobham Hall to watch as nine men from the delegation-most swathed in fringed buckskin tunics, turkey feather bustles and deer hide pelts-circled a drum, pounding in unison and singing the names of the tribes. The rest of the delegation of men, women and teenagers formed pairs, marching and dancing around a fountain in the garden to the beat. The ritual was a colorful focal point of a welcome ceremony. The tribesmen presented local representatives with gifts from their home state including a traditional Pamonkey clay pot and a large bundle of dried tobacco leaves, the cash crop of Virginia that attracted English investors. "It is tradition that when you go to visit an elder or a dignitary, you respect them by bringing tobacco, one of the four sacred herbs," said Kevin Smith, a member of the Nansemond tribe. "It is only fitting that since we have been welcomed by this country, that we respect and honor them in the same way." Members of the delegation also enjoyed traditional English summertime food. Rappahannock tribesman Jacob Fortune-Deuber, 15, sat in one of the manor's libraries in a rigid 17th Century Windsor chair in his full feather-and-deerskin regalia, eating strawberries and cream out of a silver bowl. The delegation from Virginia will spend a week touring England and discussing Indian history and culture as part of the 18-month Jamestown 2007 commemoration. "It is difficult to underestimate the importance of the Jamestown anniversary in the history of the United States, and its impact on England," English county official Alex King said in a statement. "The Pocahontas story is known worldwide, and is an important part of Gravesend's history." Historians have gleaned little factual information about Pocahontas, but the princess was best known for keeping peace between her kinsmen and British settlers, said William Rasmussen, a curator at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond. "Everyone loves the great story that she loved John Smith, but she was just a child when they got there-she was only 12 or 13," Rasmussen said. "We only know about a half-dozen facts about her, but we do know she was a good person-she wanted to bring the two peoples together. She had noble motives." English travelers arriving in 1607 Virginia were greeted by the Powhatan Nation, a coalition of coastal Virginia tribes headed by the powerful Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas' father. Pocahontas and Englishman John Rolfe married in 1614 after Pocahontas converted to Christianity. The marriage helped ease tense relations between the English and the Algonquins, and in 1616 Pocahontas traveled to England with her husband to help support the New World settlement. She became ill and died the next year at the age of 22. Jennifer Rosinski can be reached at jrosinski@globe.com. Copyright c. 2006, Chicago Tribune. --------- "RE: Congress reauthorizes Voting Rights Act" --------- Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 12:25:58 -0600 From: Karen Francis Subj: Congress reauthorizes Voting Rights Act 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: Friday, July 21, 2006 CONGRESS REAUTHORIZES VOTING RIGHTS ACT Navajo Nation officials were pleased to hear that advocacy efforts to reauthorize the federal Voting Rights Act had finally paid off when the U.S. Senate voted 98-0 to reauthorize the act with no amendments on July 20, 2006. The bills H.R. 9 and S. 2703 were introduced to Congress on May 2, 2006. The House had sent the bill to the Senate with a vote of 390-33 on July 13, 2006. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill 18-0 on July 19, which brought the bill to the Senate floor yesterday. The Office of the Speaker, as directed by the Intergovernmental Relations Committee, took the lead within the Navajo Nation to advocate for the reauthorization with site visits to area high schools and senior citizens centers. "The Intergovernmental Relations Committee, by resolution IGRAP-23-06, supported the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act and three key provisions, including preserving the minority language assistance program, continuing the pre-clearance requirement for states that have historically oppressed certain voters and to maintain the service of federal examiners and observers," Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan explained. "I want to commend Congress for putting this important legislation on the fast trac. This shows the Congress' commitment for preserving and strengthening voter rights," Speaker Morgan said. Speaker Morgan noted that in precincts where large segments of the population do not understand English, citizens need interpreters and explanations of materials to vote. He added that pre-clearance requirements ensure that unnecessary restrictions on voting are not imposed on citizens by requiring state and local jurisdictions to submit all proposed changes in election laws to the U.S. Department of Justice for review and approval. The speaker added that the presence of federal observers is very important in areas that have a documented history of intimidating voters. "But is the Act enough? That's an important question considering Arizona's new law that requires identification at the polls. Our work concerning Congressional redistricting in the state of Arizona leaves the Navajo Nation in a convoluted representative district," the speaker said. Leila Help-Tulley, staff assistant with the Speaker's office, made visits to educate Navajo students and senior citizens on the importance of renewing the federal Act. Joining her for several visits was Marcus Tulley from the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors. Help-Tulley visited schools at Monument Valley in both Arizona and Utah; Gallup, New Mexico; Window Rock, Arizona; Ritchfield, Utah; and South Sevier, Utah, collecting a total of 2,169 signatures from high school students. Letters were sent to the each of the Congressmen in both the House and the Senate representing the respective areas. Help-Tulley also visited senior citizens to advocate on the reauthorization at Pinon, Arizona; Sanostee, New Mexico; Two Grey Hills, New Mexico; Tuba City, Arizona; Bodaway/Gap, Arizona; Baca, New Mexico and at the Chinle Navajo Area Agency on Aging meeting where people from Chapters throughout the entire Central Navajo Agency were represented. A total of 1,996 signatures were collected and sent to Congress. "What was interesting is that some of our elderly were unable to sign their name, but they wanted to make sure that their voice was heard and they left their thumbprint," Help-Tulley said. "They were eager to make a difference for future generations." All in all, 4,165 signatures were sent to Congressional representatives advocating for the Voting Rights Act reauthorization. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is considered one of the most important pieces of legislation regarding civil rights in America. The Act was enacted by Congress to address serious national concerns over voting rights of all people. Generally, the law was passed to make it illegal for states and local governments to discriminate against people based on race and ethnicity in conducting elections. "I would like to thank our Congressional representatives who voted to renew the Voting Rights Act with no amendments. Most of all, I would like to thank and commend our students and elderly who, through their advocacy, ensured that our rights as voters are protected for another 25 years," Speaker Morgan said, noting that it is anticipated that President George W. Bush will sign the bill into law. "While there were attempts to shorten the renewal period from 25 years to 10 years and to remove the minority language assistance provisions in the House, those attempts were unsuccessful and the provisions that we prefer remained in the bill." --------- "RE: Lumbees: BIA not an option" --------- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 08:57:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LUMBEE SAY CONGRESS IS ONLY PATH" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.robesonian.com/articles/2006/07/17/news/news/story02.txt Lumbees: BIA not an option By Mark Locklear - Staff writer July 17, 2006 PEMBROKE - The Lumbee tribe has tried for a half century to get federal recognition and all the benefits that are attached by going through Congress. But some say the tribe should go through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a longer and more tedious process, but one, if begun long ago, might have already yielded a result. Last week, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who seats on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, raised the BIA question as Lumbees made their case on Capitol Hill for the third time in three years. BIA officials have also argued that the Lumbees should go through the administrative process for recognition rather than rely on Congress. Arlinda Locklear, the tribe's attorney for federal recognition, says the BIA process is too lengthy, arbitrary and allows biased information to be entered into the record. "In my mind the BIA is determined that the Lumbees shall not be federally recognized," Locklear said. "They have opposed us for 100 years. I think the process is completely broken." Other tribes that are opposed to federal recognition for the Lumbees, including the Eastern Band of the Cherokees, say Lumbees are bypassing the BIA because they know they can't meet the bureau's muster. A tribe petitioning for recognition through the BIA must show that it is descended from a historic tribe and is a distinct community that has continuously existed since the federal government first acknowledged a political relationship with all Indian tribes. Tribal Chief Jimmy Goins said the Lumbees meet those requirements. Goins said the U.S. Department of Interior sent anthropologists to Robeson County in 1913, 1914 and 1933 and they concluded that Lumbees are an American Indian tribe. The BIA is part of the Interior Department. Goins said the real blockade in the BIA process is a provision in a 1956 act that allowed North Carolina to recognize Lumbees, but said the Lumbees could never earn federal benefits or apply through the official federal process. Locklear said the Tiwa Indians of Texas were subject to similar legislation in 1968, but Congress granted full recognition to the Tiwas in 1987. She adds that the Lumbee tribe is the only American Indian tribe in the country that is recognized but denied benefits. "That is not fair to put us through that process," Locklear said. "No tribe has ever been put in this legal limbo and then had to go through the BIA process." Goins agrees. "It is very discriminatory that we would be held to a different standard than any other tribe," he said. Tribal officials are hoping for a vote in the Senate Committee of Indian Affairs sometime this month. If the bill escapes the committee, it would then go to the full Senate for a vote. It would eventually have to be approved by the House and then signed by the president. Lumbee leaders left the hearing in Washington, D.C., last week optimistic. "I hope and pray that the truth will prevail finally for the Lumbee people," Goins said. "I call on Congress to do the right thing and give our Lumbee people justice." If approved, the Lumbees, the nation's ninth largest tribe, would receive as much as $100 million a year in federal money for heath care, education and economic development. But that could also be part of the problem. The Lumbee tribe, 50,000- strong, would take a large slice of federal dollars away from other tribes, which helps explains the opposition from the Cherokees. Copyright c. 2006 Robesonian. --------- "RE: Judge halts costly BIA Education Plan in Dakotas" --------- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 08:57:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA EDUCATION RESTRUCTURING HALTED" http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/014994.asp Judge halts costly BIA education plan in Dakotas July 18, 2006 A federal judge on Friday ordered the Bush administration to halt its restructuring of Indian education programs in North Dakota and South Dakota. In a 28-page decision, U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier said the administration failed to adequately consult tribes and tribal schools in the two states. So the pending changes at the Office of Indian Education Programs must be stopped before the tribes suffer "irreparable harm," the decision stated. Issuing the preliminary injunction, Schreier wrote that "federal law and BIA policy requires meaningful consultation before taking action that affects Indian schools. If the restructuring occurs without meaningful consultation, plaintiffs will lose a procedural right guaranteed by federal law and BIA policy." The ruling only affects the seven tribes and four tribal schools that filed the lawsuit. It doesn't appear to impact the education restructuring that is taking place across Indian Country. "We just got the document," said BIA spokesperson Nedra Darling. "We're going a review it and we're working with the Justice Department." Other tribes and schools, however, could try to stop the changes in their regions. Under a plan finalized earlier this year, the administration is closing some reservation offices, firing some longtime employees and taking nearly $5 million from Indian education programs to pay for the bureaucratic shuffle. Interior Department officials say the restructuring is necessary because American Indian and Alaska Native students are falling behind. "Right now, as an overall matter, two-thirds of our schools are failing to meet standards," associate deputy secretary Jim Cason said at a Senate hearing in May. But tribal leaders who filed the lawsuit say the closure of reservation offices and the cost of the effort will hurt Indian students in the long run. "This restructuring plan comes at a time when BIA schools and tribal schools are experiencing severe budget constraints and the lack of funds to provide basic services to children," said Harold Frazier, the chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. The Great Plains tribes are among the most affected by the OIEP changes. Although the region is home to the second largest concentration of Native students and 44 percent of high school students attend BIA schools, the plans calls for closing six education offices and relocating them to urban areas far from the reservation. In the decision, Schreier said the tribes proved the restructuring was approved without adequate consultation. She cited a lack of information the BIA presented about the source of the money being used to pay for the plan. "There is evidence in the record that indicates that plaintiffs were unable to meaningfully comment on the potential impact of the proposed restructuring on the tribes and tribal schools because the BIA did not inform the tribes that the money for the restructuring would be reprogrammed from the Indian School Equalization Program (ISEP) funds and the Early Childhood Development funds." Ed Parisian, the acting director of the OIEP, testified in court that the Bush administration received Congressional approval to take $1.5 million from ISEP, a program that helps at-risk students who may be underperforming, and is waiting on approval to take $3.2 million from the early childhood program that former Interior Secretary Gale Norton has called a success. "Parisian conceded that the tribes were never informed that OIEP would be requesting the reprogramming of ISEP funds to pay for the restructuring," the decision stated. In testimony, Parisian also acknowledged one of the driving factors behind the lawsuit. He agreed that BIA schools are being asked to meet the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act without receiving additional federal funds. Yet Schreier said there was little she could do to stop the reprogramming of BIA funds. But she said none of the $4.7 million in question can be used to pay for the restructuring in North and South Dakota. And she agreed that closing the reservation offices and moving them to urban areas violates Interior's rural preference policy. One of the new offices was to be located in Rapid City, South Dakota, whose population was apparently not taken into account during the development of the plan. During the hearing in May, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota), the vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, expressed concerns about the plan. Besides closing some of the offices, the BIA is creating new bureaucratic positions whose pay will be higher than education staff on reservations. "I'm a little bit perplexed when I hear that what we need to fix this system is more senior executive management staffing," Dorgan said. Since the ruling was issued as a preliminary injunction, the Department of Justice can take it to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes North Dakota and South Dakota. Copyright c. 2000-2006 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Reservation Fuel Tax refund plan has few takers" --------- Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2006 20:30:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FUEL TAX REFUND" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/15106689.htm Reservation fuel tax refund plan has few takers DALE WETZEL Associated Press July 23, 2006 BISMARCK, N.D. - Few American Indian fuel buyers used a new law that allowed them to request refunds of North Dakota's motor fuels tax, probably because of the program's strict documentation requirements, officials say. Tribal chairmen have suggested alternatives, and a legislative interim committee on tribal-state relations is exploring the issue. The panel's chairman is Sen. Bob Stenehjem, R-Bismarck, the Senate majority leader. Under the law, most North Dakota Indian customers who buy fuel on their tribe's reservation may get a refund of the state's 23-cents-a-gallon motor fuels tax. The policy does not apply when gasoline or diesel fuel is bought off the reservation, or if an Indian customer buys fuel on another tribe's reservation. Standing Rock Sioux tribal members are not eligible, because most state fuel tax revenue collected on the Standing Rock reservation already goes to the tribe, as part of a state-tribal agreement that took effect in January 1999. The accord brought the tribe $273,118 in fuel tax revenue during North Dakota's last state budget year. The deadline for Indian customers to request refunds on fuel they bought last year passed June 30. Last week, the Tax Department had processed 98 claims, said Kevin Schatz, an agency supervisor. Sixty-five claims, totaling $13,492 in refunds, had been paid. The smallest refund was $5.47, while the largest was $1,855. Some claims still must be processed, Schatz said. Others that were initially denied may be paid later if the customer can submit more documentation, he said. Cory Fong, the state tax commissioner, said the volume of claims can be attributed in part to the newness of the refund program. "We really have very little to compare it against," he said. "This is a start, so it's hard for me to say whether it's a small number or a large number." Last year, the Legislature approved a law giving Indian customers the right to ask for state tax refunds for fuel they bought last year. It was a response to a lawsuit against the Tax Department over state fuel tax collections on North Dakota's Indian reservations. In April, a state district judge ruled Indian customers could request tax refunds, with interest, going back to 1999, if they could present adequate documentation to the Tax Department. Schatz said Friday the agency has received only a few refund requests for taxes paid before 2005. The refund procedure is similar to one already followed by agricultural and industrial customers who buy fuel for tractors, heavy equipment and other vehicles used off the road. Farmers and ranchers account for the biggest refund demand; through June, the Tax Department paid 7,229 agricultural claims, totaling more than $1.35 million. One major sticking point for Indian refund claims is a requirement that applications certify that receipts list the state fuel tax as a separate amount. When motorists anywhere in North Dakota fill up, their receipts - whether provided by the station, or at the pump itself - typically do not list the state tax separately. As a result, customers have to obtain letters from gas stations where they buy fuel, attesting that the tax is included in the pump price. Ron His Horse Is Thunder, chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux, has suggested that Indian customers should be able to obtain refunds at the pump if they display a tribal identification card. His Horse Is Thunder has also suggested that any Indian customer at a reservation gas station should be eligible for a refund, whether or not they are a tribal member. That change would allow a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, for example, to get a fuel tax refund for gasoline bought on the Fort Berthold reservation. Fong said the Tax Department would be willing to consider changes in how the refund is administered. However, the procedure has worked well for agricultural and industrial customers, he said. "We have to take that into consideration too, if we are going to make changes because of this new category ... whether or not it will be appropriate to also make changes to the refund process for other users," he said. However, farm and industrial fuel customers often buy fuel in bulk, while Indian customers must keep track of a number of small transactions, Fong said. "That's part of the question, because clearly, industrial users and ag producers, they're buying the bulk of their fuel in a different way than an individual," Fong said. "Certainly we have to look at that to determine whether a change is in order." Copyright c. 2006 Grand Forks Herald/Grand Forks, ND. --------- "RE: Nations gather to protect Sacred Site" --------- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 08:57:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BEAR BUTTE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413330 Nations gather to protect sacred site by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today July 17, 2006 STURGIS, S.D. - Hundreds of people, both American Indian and non-Indian supporters, gathered recently at the Bear Butte to seek guidance and pray for answers to help stop the growth of entertainment venues that cater to bikers by the thousands who drink alcohol in an atmosphere of loud music and louder drag pipes. Bear Butte is sacred as a location to pray and seek visions; a sacred mountain where more than 30 American Indian nations have considered a place to communicate with the Creator. On July 4, people from many nations gathered and set up tents, campers and tipis with the intent to stay at the base of the mountain until Aug 4. While there, the leaders expect to work out their strategy to stop the growth of biker bars, campgrounds, entertainment venues and in general bring a halt to the increased activity within the earshot and sight of those who pray on the Mato Paha, the Lakota word for Bear Butte. The Cheyenne call the mountain Noahvose. Nearly surrounding Bear Butte, located in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota - which are also considered sacred - are campgrounds that also provide beer and a place to party, concert venues and drag racing parks. Within the shadow of the mountain is The Full Throttle Saloon, which is billed as the world's largest biker bar. To the north of Bear Butte, construction is now under way on what may become the world's largest biker bar, The County Line. Owner Jay Allen, who also owns the Broken Spoke Saloon just to the west of the new campground, boasts that future development will create a 30,000-seat amphitheater for world-class entertainment. Allen has been undaunted by all attempts on the part of American Indian groups to stop the expansion of campgrounds and bars in the area. "The commission operates like it's about money, not people," said Bruce Ellison, Rapid City attorney who filed a lawsuit on behalf of some Meade County residents. "If the court grants the right to vote, it will shut down the beer license for Jay Allen." Fighting the commission's decision in court carries a lot of weight. Thomas Van Norman, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe attorney and tribal member, has filed lawsuits on behalf of the tribe. "They are not accustomed to fighting in court," he said. "We need to connect people once again with He Sapa [Black Hills]. We need to educate church groups and put pressure on Meade County," Van Norman said. He said that people who wish to have the malt beverage and liquor licenses have not been fully truthful in what was said to the commission. Support is coming from ranchers who reside in Meade County to put a stop to the expansion of biker bars, which cater to the some 600,000 bikers that invade the Black Hills each year for two weeks. "People in Meade County have a lot of power. People come in and say that now they have the power to hold their leaders accountable. "Bear Butte will outlast humanity. We didn't pick this mountain; we learned from its energy," said Rosalie Little Thunder, Lakota and president of the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center. Chief Oliver Red Cloud, Oglala, said he believed the ancestors are at the mountain. "They tell me they are here. Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, Gall, they fight for us." The elders have fought for the peoples' rights for many years and are now turning the job over to the younger generations. "It is important to our elders what is happening to our nation. We are of an age where we don't know how long we will be here fighting for our rights," said Marie Randall, Oglala elder. Many of the young people said they would take up the mantle and work to retain the culture, language and traditions and that their efforts would start at Bear Butte with the Gathering of Nations. The Cheyenne revere Bear Butte as the location where the people received their sacred medicine bundle. Bernard Red Cherries, Cheyenne Chief from the Elk Society, said he was the grandson of Chief Little Wolf who came to Bear Butte on his way home after removal. "We are not as tough as our ancestors were. We have to stand up for our traditional ways. "When we allow these people any certain degree [or give an inch], they want more," Red Cherries said. People will come in and out of camp over the month of July. On its first night, there were 200 people in camp and it is expected that the numbers will grow larger as rally time nears, according to Debra White Plume, one of the organizers of the Gathering of Nations. "We want to keep this place holy," White Plume said. Each day those gathered will pray, conduct pipe ceremonies, pray in sweat lodges and work out what they must do to preserve the sacredness of the mountain. The gathering is being held between the mountain and the campground. Rex Allen Smith, author of the novel "Moon of Popping Trees" and a supporter of the sacredness of the mountain, said, "We are standing between heaven and hell." The 66th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will take place Aug. 7 - 13. Bikers begin arriving a week before the official rally days and linger for some time after it is officially over. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Fire Thunder reinstated and removed once more" --------- Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2006 20:30:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CECILIA FIRE THUNDER OUT AGAIN" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413374 Fire Thunder reinstated and removed once more by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today July 21, 2006 PINE RIDGE, S.D. - Oglala Sioux Tribal President Cecelia Fire Thunder was reinstated as tribal president by Oglala Sioux Tribal Judge Lisa Adams on July 17, but the judge rescinded her decision the next day. Fire Thunder filed a complaint in tribal court asking for an injunction against the tribal council for removing her from office, as she argues, illegally. At a July 18 press conference, Fire Thunder said she was fighting her impeachment because the people who elected her were important and deserved her fight to retain her seat as president. Fire Thunder asked that she be reinstated until such time as a formal and lawful impeachment can be brought against her. That hearing is scheduled for July 28 and the change in Adams' decision does not change that date. The tribal council impeached Fire Thunder from her presidency on June 29 after a hearing that Fire Thunder said violated her civil rights. The strongest and most determined of Fire Thunder's adversaries, Councilman Will Peters, was present at the press conference called by Fire Thunder. Peters said he and other council members had Adams rescind her order because, as he said, it is not legal procedure to file an injunction against the tribal council. Fire Thunder's attorney, Robert Grey Eagle, said that the rule referred to temporary restraining orders and not permanent restraining orders. The request for an injunction filed by Fire Thunder asked for a permanent restraining order. Tribal council members who voted against Fire Thunder claimed the justification for her removal was centered on a proposed women's health clinic that her detractors claim was an abortion clinic. In the complaint, Fire Thunder stated that her civil rights were violated because she was not given an evidence from the council so she could prepare her case, she was not allowed an attorney and the council vote was improper and not according to the tribal constitution. She stated in her complaint that a two-thirds majority of the council, not of the quorum, was needed to remove her. The council impeached her on a nine to four vote with 13 council members recorded as present. The council has 18 members, which Fire Thunder claims requires that 12 votes are needed to meet the two-thirds vote requirement. She also claims that the council removed her from office on June 29 and a complaint, as is required by the tribal constitution, was not filed until three days later. The complaint, according to tribal law, is required to be filed first. The complaint also stated: "That your Plaintiff's removal was allegedly based upon her actions as a private person and not as an elected President in violation of the OST Constitution. "That your Plaintiff's removal from office was purportedly based upon her expression of free speech on a issue that she had the right to express her opinion on under the Indian Civil Rights Act and the OST Constitution and insofar as her removal was based upon her exercise of free speech it was unconstitutional and in violation of the Indian Civil Rights Act." Peters and Councilman Garfield Steele, who filed the original complaint against Fire Thunder, argued at the June 29 hearing that the tribal council should have been informed of Fire Thunder's decision to start a women's clinic and that she needed council approval to do so. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Mdewakanton Land Trust put on hold" --------- Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:39:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIA WITHDRAWS SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON LAND TRUST APPROVAL" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/07/18/land_trust/ Mdewakanton land trust put on hold by Elizabeth Stawicki, Minnesota Public Radio July 18, 2006 The Bureau of Indian Affairs office in Washington, D.C. has withdrawn its approval to put hundreds of acres in a tax-exempt trust for a local Indian tribe. On July 7, the BIA, through its regional office at Ft. Snelling, approved the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux's request to put more than 750 acres of tribal land in trust - and consequently take it off local property tax rolls. The federal government's review of the tribe's request has dragged on for more than six years. St. Paul, Minn. - BIA Director W. Patrick Ragsdale sent a letter to its Minneapolis office saying approval for the land trust was premature. In the letter, Ragsdale said it was his understanding that he would have an opportunity to review the decision before it was issued. He asked the regional office to express his apologies for the premature decision. The regional office then sent a letter to the tribe, saying the regional office and the director extend apologies for any inconveniences or confusion this may have caused. The regional office directed MPR's calls to its main office in Washington. BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling says the July 7 approval was a mistake. "The regional office somehow didn't make it through the circuit back to headquarters for Mr. Ragsdale to have the opportunity to review the package," said Darling. "At this point, he's asking for the opportunity to fulfill his end of the process by requesting a withdrawal so he can review it." Willie Hardacker, a spokesman for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, said the tribe was surprised by the BIA's action but confident it will prevail. "The voluminous record supports the decision taking the land into trust, and we believe the decision will be the decision that ultimately is issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs," Hardacker said. The land at issue is 753 acres in the southwestern Minneapolis suburbs of Shakopee and Prior Lake. Scott County officials oppose the land trust, because they say they'd lose nearly $3 million a year in property tax revenues. Scott County Administrator David Unmacht says last Friday's initial announcement caught county officials off guard, because they were to meet with authorities in Washington next Wednesday. "So we were naturally surprised by the regional office's decision," Unmacht said. "And in our communication to confirm our meeting with the officials in Washington, and our conversations that have ensued, the result is that this letter was issued July 14." July 14 was the date of BIA Director Ragsdale's letter rescinding the approval. An expert on American Indian Law says the BIA's change does not forecast its final decision on the case. Nevertheless, University of Arizona Law Professor Kevin Gover says the tribe has a right to complain. "This is an unfortunate circumstance, where they've been told one thing and then it all changes for them," Gover said. "On the other hand, I don't think it tells us anything about the final outcome is going to be. The fact that it's now on the director's desk, and the director is directly involved, means there's going to be a decision soon." BIA Director Ragsdale said in his letter that his office will issue a final decision after he's had an opportunity to review the case record. Copyright c. 2006 Minnesota Public Radio. --------- "RE: Tohono O'odham Nation ready to close illegal Road" --------- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 08:57:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COLEMAN ROAD" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/news/138328 72 face O'odham cutoff of road home By Erica Meltzer arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona July 18, 2006 It's just a mile of dirt road, cutting across tribal land to a wildcat subdivision. But Coleman Road is the only access that 72 property owners at Hayhook Ranch have to their land, and the Tohono O'odham Nation plans to close the illegal road on Sept. 1. That deadline was issued three years ago, but with six weeks left until the deadline, county officials say they are a year to two years away from finishing the five-mile alternate road, which also will be dirt. Tohono O'odham tribal officials don't want to extend the deadline, and residents say they're stuck in a dilemma. "The property owners are in a unique position," said Shel Coudray, a retired engineer who has become a spokesman for the neighbors. "We want it done. The nation wants it done. But someone else is doing the work." Coudray is in a better position than some. He doesn't live on his land. The owners at Hayhook Ranch include ranchers and recluses, professors and land speculators. Perhaps the most famous figure is Ed Keeylocko, whose Cowtown Keeylocko ranch has hosted raves and other events in the past. Thirty-four families live at Hayhook Ranch full time, and they say they'll do what it takes to get to their houses. "I have nowhere else to go," said Gary Clemons, who works in facilities at the University of Arizona. "I have no family in town. This is my only home. "What would you do, if someone stopped you four blocks from your house and told you you couldn't go home?" he asked. Clemons said he knew there were issues with Coleman Road when he moved to Hayhook in the 1980s, but he was told it wouldn't be closed. Southwest Properties divided the former ranch, 30 miles west of Tucson in the shadow of the Coyote Mountains, into 40-acre parcels in the 1960s and applied to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a right of way for Coleman Road. The developer didn't get it, but that didn't stop houses from going in. "People need to understand this has been going on for a long time," said Vivian Juan-Saunders, chairwoman of the Tohono O'odham Tribe. "In my opinion, and the opinion of the nation, they've had plenty of time to find another route." In 1975, a U.S. field solicitor found that the road was illegal, and in 1981, the Tribal Council officially declared using the road to be trespassing, Juan-Saunders said. She said some of the residents have been cooperative, but others have been hostile toward tribal members. There have been problems with dumping and fences being cut. Susan Kaster bought a horse ranch in Hayhook six years ago. She said she's always tried to be respectful, and she blames illegal immigrants for the trash. "It's unfair and unjust to say the problems come from us," she said. A tribal court issued an injunction against the property owners in March 2003, and notices of trespass were mailed in April. After discussions with the county and the neighbors about how long construction of a new road would take, a deadline was set: Sept. 1, 2006. "It's just a matter of trespass," Juan-Saunders said. "If the roles were reversed, and we were accused of trespassing, they wouldn't be so patient of us." The neighbors formed an improvement district - an agreement to tax themselves to pay for a new road - after they received the notice of trespass. The county found a new route that traces the borders of the reservation and the King Anvil Ranch, to the east of Hayhook. But the county doesn't have the right of way necessary to cross state trust land and the ranch. The King Anvil Ranch's owners want more for their land than the county is offering, and the issue could end up in court. In addition, there are Pima pineapple cacti, archaeological artifacts and a flood plain in the path of the proposed road. That means the county needs clearance from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State Historic Preservation Office before work can begin. Also, the estimated cost of the road is $2.1 million, but the property values there will support financing of only $1.2 million. Because the U.S. Border Patrol sometimes uses Coleman Road, the county is looking for federal funds to make up the difference. Deputy County Administrator John Bernal and Supervisor Sharon Bronson said it is unlikely the residents will be left with no access. If the Tohono O'odham don't agree to an extension, the county could blade a rough road along the identified route. "It's not ideal for the residents, but it's better than being shut out of their homes," Bernal said. But the county still would need permission to go on private property to put in that road, Bernal said. Residents say they're grateful to the county for doing the work but frustrated because they didn't know until a few months ago that the deadline wouldn't be met. "They've done no real work - just paperwork. They have a stack of documents like this," said Clemons, holding his hand about a foot off the table. Bronson said she's trying to help the neighbors communicate with the tribe. "We hope we'll be able to show them we've made good-faith efforts," she said. "We've run into these challenges that we have no control over." When asked if the O'odham would consider extending the deadline, Juan-Saunders would say only this: "They were notified in 2003." Contact reporter Erica Meltzer at 807-7790 or emeltzer@azstarnet.com. Copyright c. 2006 Arizona Daily Star. --------- "RE: Northern Cheyenne to vote on mining" --------- Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:39:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBE WEIGHING COST TO GAINS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.montanaforum.com/modules.php?op=modload&name= News&file=article&sid=5712&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 Tribe to vote on mining Gazette News Services July 18, 2006 HELENA - Northern Cheyenne tribal members will vote this November on whether they favor development of tribally owned coal, the tribe's president said Monday. Eugene Little Coyote, appearing before the state Land Board in Helena, said a "significant number" of tribal members petitioned the tribal government to consider developing the tribe's 1 billion-plus tons of coal reserves. In response to the petition, a referendum on coal development will be on the ballot this November during tribal elections, he said. Little Coyote emphasized that by placing the referendum on the ballot, the tribal government is not supporting coal development, but rather merely asking tribal members their opinion. Little Coyote also invited state officials to talk to the tribe about plans for developing the Otter Creek coal tracts, and how a related agreement with the tribe would be enacted should that development occur. The state negotiated the agreement with the tribe several years ago, in exchange for a promise from the tribe not to legally challenge transfer of Otter Creek coal tracts from federal to state ownership in 2002. The coal tracts lie just east of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The agreement says anyone who mines Otter Creek coal or proposes building power plants in the valley must offer job training and job opportunities for Northern Cheyenne tribal members, protect Cheyenne cultural sites and resources, offer contract opportunities for Indian- -owned businesses, and have a strict environmental monitoring program. It also says the state Land Board agrees to support state improvement of local roads, cooperative law-enforcement agreements between the tribe and state and local authorities, and federal legislation that could provide millions of dollars to the tribe to improve "public services and facilities" on the reservation. The purpose of the agreement is to allow the tribe a "net positive stake" in any Otter Creek development, Little Coyote said. "We want a net positive stake in this as it moves forward to help us move toward economic independence," he said. Copyright c. 2006 Billings Gazette. Copyright c. 2006 Montana Forum. --------- "RE: No Otter Creek mining soon" --------- Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:39:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ISSUES FACE OPENING MINES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.montanaforum.com/modules.php?op=modload&name= News&file=article&sid=5716&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 No Otter Creek mining soon, says landowner By MIKE DENNISON Lee State Bureau July 18, 2006 HELENA - The head of the nation's largest private owner of coal reserves offered a sober assessment Monday of the Otter Creek coal tracts in southeast Montana, saying many pieces must fall into place before they can be mined. Chuck Kerr, president of Great Northern Properties, also said his company is not ready to offer its Otter Creek coal for lease -- a lease that must be coordinated with the state, which owns alternating tracts in the area. Still, Kerr said Great Northern wants to develop the site and believes it could happen in the coming years if the state, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and private developers work together. "In our opinion, Otter Creek does need to be developed," he told the state Land Board. "We think it is an absolutely wonderful resource. "It is the best coal reserve in the Powder River Basin, bar none -- but it does have its challenges." Kerr appeared before the Land Board along with several others to discuss the Otter Creek coal tracts, which have become something of a political football. Some Republican Party leaders in Montana have criticized Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer for not moving more aggressively to develop the 1.2 billion tons of Otter Creek coal. The state owns half of the coal and must be involved if the property is to become a mine. Great Northern, which owns 20 billion tons of coal reserves nationwide, has the other half of Otter Creek coal. The tracts lie just east of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Schweitzer has answered his Republican critics by saying it is premature to attempt to lease the coal, and that putting it on the market now could result in a poor price or a sale to those who might want to delay development, such as competing coal mine operators in Wyoming. Kerr agreed with Schweitzer Monday, saying much more information is needed before a lease can be considered. If coal is to be mined at Otter Creek, a railroad must be built to ship the coal to Midwestern markets, other infrastructure is needed at the remote area, financing must be secured, and markets must be found for the low-sodium coal, Kerr said. He said these and other factors must be examined before a lease can be prepared. "We're really concerned that it's going to be too expensive to get all this done," Kerr said. "The path for us is one of information-gathering, but I think it needs to be done very quickly." With oil and natural gas prices at historic highs, coal looks relatively cheap as a fuel, and coal developers want to take advantage of that opportunity, he said. He said another option could be "swaps" of coal ownership, where the state trades its Otter Creek interests to acquire other federal coal that is near Great Northern development sites that don't have the same geographical problems as Otter Creek. Kerr spoke in support of the proposed Tongue River Railroad, a line that would run south from Miles City to near the Montana-Wyoming border. A branch line from the railroad could serve a mine at Otter Creek. While the line could enable coal mines in northern Wyoming to ship more coal northward and compete with Montana mines, Kerr said he doesn't think that's a big concern. It's possible that Wyoming interests could help finance the line, he said. Yet state Rep. Jim Keane, D-Butte, appeared Monday at the Land Board to promote a different railroad, which would originate at Otter Creek and go south, linking up with tracks that serve Midwestern markets. The Otter Creek railroad would cost one-third of the Tongue River Railroad, faces less opposition and wouldn't create the chance of Wyoming mines taking away business from Montana coal mines, he said. "The Tongue River railroad does nothing for Montana," said Keane, the business agent for the Operating Engineers Union Local 400, which represents Montana coal miners. "It's a transportation corridor for Wyoming coal." Keane declined to reveal who's behind the proposed railroad. He suggested the state might want to consider helping issue part of the debt to finance the project. "If you're going to build something up there (at Otter Creek), you can't build anything without a railroad," he said. Copyright c. 2006 Montana Forum. --------- "RE: Riders retrace route of Nez Perce flight" --------- Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 08:27:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEZ PERCE RIDERS REMEMBER CHIEF JOSEPH " http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/07/21/news/state/60-flight.txt Riders retrace route of Nez Perce flight By The Associated Press July 21, 2006 KOOSKIA, Idaho - In 1877, Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce Tribe on a 1, 300-mile trek from Wallowa Lake, Ore., to where he surrendered when the U. S. Army caught up with them at Bear Paw Battlefield in Eastern Montana. This year, more than 200 riders on appaloosa horses are retracing a 100- mile portion of the trail the Nez Perce followed as part of the annual Chief Joseph Trail Ride. "The ride is in honor of the Nez Perce and their horse," said Pat Roberts of Dayton, Wash. The Nez Perce - about 750 men, women and children - and about 1,500 horses made the long journey in 1877 in hopes of finding peace in Canada, according to the Nez Perce Trail Foundation Web site. The Nez Perce are closely associated with appaloosas. The annual ride - now in its 42nd year - is put on by members of the Appaloosa Horse Club, and each person taking part must ride an appaloosa. Each year the club covers a different 100-mile portion of the trail, taking 13 years to complete the entire circuit. This year, riders began at Stites, Idaho, on Sunday and will end their trip today in the Mussellshell area of Montana, getting an idea of what the Nez Perce experienced more than a century ago. "When you're out there crawling up a hillside in this incredible landscape, you begin to understand," said Joy Corpolongo of Jay, Okla., a 23-year trail veteran. "It really, really makes you feel humble - the hardships they went through. It's an absolute honor to be out here," Roberts said. In the evenings, historians talk about the 1877 journey. Afterward, a hoe-down is held. "We just dance our socks off," Corpolongo said. "One year, I was dancing with a 65-year-old man, and he was going like you wouldn't believe. He said, 'Lady, if I don't dance, there's no way I'll be able to get on my horse in the morning.'" Copyright c. 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Tulalips claim Beach rights" --------- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 08:57:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LOST BULKHEADS IMPACTED BY TRIBAL ECO POLICY" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/07/17/100loc_a1beaches001.cfm Tulalips claim beach rights A homeowner on tribal land watched his bulkhead wash away in a storm. To repair it, he must now lease the land from the Tulalips. By Krista J. Kapralos Herald Writer July 17, 2006 TULALIP - Grady Watson knew the storm in February would be costly. Waves were crashing six feet above the eight-foot tall bulkhead that protected the cliff beneath his home. He wasn't ready for what he found the next morning: tires, hundreds of them, scattered across two miles of Hermosa Beach, the narrow stretch of sand that curves below a bluff just north of Tulalip Bay. "All the tires were used as fill behind the bulkhead," Watson said. "The waves wiped out all 40 feet of the bulkhead, and that's when the tires went crazy." Now, the unprotected cliff face is rapidly eroding. In the few months since the storm, the water has carved out shallow caves on the side of the cliff. To save his home, which sits on property he leases from a Tulalip tribal member, Watson must build a new bulkhead. But according to policies approved by tribal officials, Watson may have to lease not only the land beneath his home, but also the land beneath the bulkhead. "This is the first storm that's destroyed anything since the new tribal regulation, so it's a prototype case," Watson said. Tribal officials say the tribes own the beaches in and around Tulalip Bay, up to the mean high water mark. Development along the shoreline has damaged the ecosystem, according to tribal documents. The new shoreline management policies prohibit non-tribal residents from building or repairing docks and other structures without permits from the tribes. The tribes reserved the right to collect rent for land currently being used for private docks or bulkheads. Many non-tribal residents who own private land on the reservation say their property extends well beyond the mean high water mark. "Our property descriptions show that our lots extend 140 feet beyond what's on the uplands," said Cindy Pancerzewski, a non-tribal homeowner who owns a business that assists in the application of shoreline permits throughout the region. Pancerzewski said she encourages her clients who live on the reservation to keep their developments off the land the tribes claim, at least for now. "I don't believe anybody wants to be in the position of being the first one to have to go through the court system to show that their property extends past that point," she said. Property owners whose docks and bulkheads were damaged in February's storm have had little choice but to stand by and watch the structures crumble. The tribes plan to sweep through the reservation's shoreline to clean up what's left of old docks, both those damaged in storms and those simply abandoned, before summer's end, said Danny Simpson, tribal Natural and Cultural Resources executive director. "Most of these docks have been there for 40, 50 years," Simpson said. "Some are unusable and beyond repair." The tribes' first priority is to clean up the 500-odd tires that escaped from the bulkhead below Watson's home. Officials expect the job to cost $10,000 or more to remove and dispose of the old tires. The bulkhead was there when Watson moved to Hermosa Beach 16 years ago. He said he has applied for a permit to build a new bulkhead for the area just beneath his home, and expects to have to pay both for the new construction and also to lease the land the bulkhead will sit on. Costs for supplies alone could be near $8,000, he said. "The tribes are very reasonable," he said. "Where else is someone who doesn't have a million dollars going to be able to live on this kind of property?" Watson said he's trying to convince his neighbors, who also lease their land, to invest in bulkheads. Continued erosion anywhere on the bluff could affect the entire point, he said. "Without bulkheads, this entire point would just go away very quickly," he said. Copyright c. 2006 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, Wash. --------- "RE: Tulalip Tribes share wealth" --------- Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 08:37:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TULALIP GIVE MUCH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/07/15/100loc_a1tulalip001.cfm Tulalip Tribes share wealth $2.2 million handed out to 150 groups By Krista J. Kapralos Herald Writer July 15, 2006 TULALIP - The Tulalip Tribes announced $2.2 million in gifts to 150 local organizations Friday in a ceremony that featured traditional songs and dances and a salmon dinner for the grant recipients. Since the tribes began giving 14 years ago, more than $22 million has been distributed to organizations around the region. "I never had any idea that we'd be able to do this," tribal Chairman Stan Jones Sr. said. The tribes opened a small bingo hall in 1983, when tribal members were struggling with overwhelming poverty. In 1992, the tribes built a casino off I-5. Nine years later, a second casino opened that was three times the size of the first. Last year, rows of retailers at the Seattle Premium Outlets began to draw thousands of shoppers within walking distance of the casino. And crews are poised to break ground at a four-star hotel near the casino later this year. As the tribes' wealth has grown, they began to give back to the area residents who made a success out of Quil Ceda Village, home to the casino and the outlet mall. "We've always been here," Quil Ceda Village General Manager John McCoy said. "You came to join us, and nobody is going anywhere. We need to work and play together." The tribes gave nearly $300,000 in 1993, the first year of the tribes' charity program. The grants have increased steadily over the years, and broke $1 million in 2002. This year, grants ranging from $500 to more than $160,000 were awarded to a range of local groups, including the Imagine Children's Museum, the American Red Cross' Snohomish County chapter and a host of fire and police departments that serve portions of the Tulalip Reservation. The tribes have made gifts averaging about $10,000 each year to the local American Red Cross, said Chuck Morrison, Snohomish County Chapter director. The group will receive a $100,000 grant from the tribes later this year to double the number of emergency shelter start-up kits placed strategically around the county. "Our major disaster will most likely be an earthquake, and I mean, Katrina-scale," Morrison said. "The kits consist of cots, sleeping mats, blankets, pillows, everything you need to make people comfortable, warm, secure and nourish them in the hours after a major disaster." The tribes gave $100,000 to the chapter after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and again after Hurricane Katrina, Morrison said. Both gifts were transferred to national American Red Cross officials. The Sauk-Suiattle and Stillaguamish tribes received grants of more than $2,500 each. The Tulalip Tribes salmon parade, cultural department, grounds maintenance and other departments received grants of more than $10,000 each. Copyright c. 2006 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, Wash. --------- "RE: Blackfeet, Corps see historic fight differently" --------- Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 08:37:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FIGHT BETWEEN LEWIS/CLARK & BLACKFEET RECALLED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ article?AID=/20060716/NEWS01/607160302 Blackfeet, Corps see historic fight differently By ERIC NEWHOUSE Tribune Projects Editor July 16, 2006 BROWNING - Two centuries ago, the Lewis and Clark expedition returned from the Pacific Ocean through Montana, where Capt. Meriwether Lewis had his fateful encounter with warriors of the Blackfeet Tribe. What seemed like a fairly straightforward affair is fraught with dispute. Two written accounts and a number of oral histories offer varying interpretations of the skirmish. A symposium here July 26-29 undoubtedly will add new conjecture about the fight in which two Indians - or perhaps only one - were killed. Such debate isn't uncommon to the Lewis and Clark story. The explorers' journals sometimes offered little detail or left room for interpretation. And their experiences were understandably viewed differently by the Indians they encountered. The Native American symposium begins a day after the National Signature Event in Billings honors the expedition's bicentennial with a re-enactment of Capt. William Clark signing his name on Pompey's Pillar. Bud Clark, the captain's great-great-great-grandson, is re-enacting the signing. While Clark ventured along the Yellowstone River, Lewis headed north and met with the Blackfeet. The symposium focuses on that leg of the journey. "We plan to have some of our elders speak about the oral histories of the encounter," said George Heavy Runner, the tribal planner who's putting the symposium together. It will provide a new perspective on the expedition, he said. For example, some Blackfeet consider Lewis a horse thief for taking four of their best horses after the skirmish on July 27, 1806, said Heavy Runner. "But we also have to honor Lewis and Clark for their contributions to history," said tribal historian Curly Bear Wagner. "They weren't bad people - they were just doing what they had to do. "And we can't blame all the unfortunate things that happened afterward on them either," Wagner said, standing on the site where Lewis may - or may not - have encountered the Blackfeet. "That westward expansion would have happened one way or another," he said. According to Lewis... Lewis wrote the first account of exploring north along the Marias River with three enlisted men and encountering eight Blackfeet braves. The two parties camped together, he wrote, but the morning of July 27, the Indians tried to steal their weapons and horses. Pvt. Reuben Field stabbed one Indian with a knife, killing him, and Lewis shot another "through the belly." The wounded Indian got a shot off that ruffled Lewis' hair. "He fell to his knees and on his wright elbow from which position he partly raised himself up and fired at me, and turning himself about crawled in behind a rock which was a few feet from him," Lewis wrote. "He overshot me, being bearheaded I felt the wind of his bullet very distinctly. Not having my shotpouch I could not reload my peice and as there were two of them behind good shelters from me I did not think it prudent to rush on them," he added. Although the Indian was alive when Lewis left, he wrote in an Oct. 14, 1806 letter from Cahokia, Ill., that "we ... killed two of them." According to Wolf Calf ... In 1895, a 102-year-old Blackfeet chief named Wolf Calf said he had been present at the fight as a 13-year-old horse tender. The account was related to Olin Wheeler by anthropologist George Bird Grinnell. Published in 1904, it stated: "The white men killed the first Indian with their big knives. He said that one of the men - their chief - chased another Indian and shot him with his pistol, killing him." Some historians argue that the last two words were a conclusion on Wheeler's part, not something Wolf Calf actually said. In his DVD "Two Worlds at Two-Medicine," Wagner cut the death toll to one. "We followed the Wolf Calf account, which said that one boy was stabbed to death by a knife, but that the other was merely wounded - shot in the stomach, but not killed," Wagner said. Wagner said the wounded Indian has been identified as Calf Looking, a name that remains alive in the tribe today. "Calf Looking was grazed by the bullet, but he survived," Wagner said. "He was taken back to camp, according to the stories I've heard." Glacier County Attorney Larry Epstein, who helped identify the official Lewis fight site four decades ago, is inclined to agree with that version. He said the state medical examiner assured him that if the boy was able to raise himself up and fire back after being hit by a .54 caliber ball, which is about the size of a quarter, "nothing very vital was hit." However, the oral history handed down in Wolf Calf's family specifies two teenagers were killed. "What came down through our family is that one boy was stabbed in the back running away and the other was shot as he rode away," said Craig Falcon, great-great-great-grandson of Wolf Calf. "The others got away, raced back to camp and told the story of what had happened, but by the time the warriors assembled, Lewis had already hightailed it out of there," said Falcon, who is administrator of the Blackfeet Tribal Court. Fur trader accounts Historian John C. Jackson of Olympia, Wash., agrees with the single- fatality theory. Jackson cites an account by Hudson's Bay agent James Bird, who apparently spoke with Indians at the Edmonton House on the North Saskatchewan River a few months after the encounter. "The closing evidence is the story the Pikuni told when they showed up at Edmonton House, which is that only one guy died," Jackson said. On Dec. 23, 1806, Bird wrote: "A party of Americans were seen last summer where the Missoury enters the rocky Mountains & tis reported by the Muddy or Missoury River Indians that four of them set off with an intention to come here but that they kiled one and the rest returned." Jackson concedes the statement is ambiguous, but argues that "the phrase 'they kiled one' can only refer to the killing of one of the Piegans by the Americans." A conflicting account is attributed to Maj. Alexander Culbertson in 1833 and reported by James H. Bradley in the 1870s. "In the evening a number of Piegans came into the camp and were kindly received, but during the night a part of the Indians ran off with some of Capt. Lewis' horses, when the rest were detained by him as hostages," wrote Bradley. "The next morning, one of the hostages, watching an opportunity, seized a horse, mounted him and dashed away, when he was fired on by a soldier and killed," he quoted Culbertson as telling him. Jackson said that account sounded "a little inventive" when compared to the journal. But he said the accounts agreed on one fact. "Only one Indian died. And that has to be the person knifed by Reuben Field. The nameless young man who took Lewis' bullet in the gut survived," Jackson said. However, a Blackfeet Web site, trailtribes.org, identifies the dead Indian boy in the Wolf Calf account as Calf-Standing-on-a-Sidehill and the Indian killed in the Culbertson account as He-that-Looks-at-the-Calf. Versions abound A few years ago, the Blackfeet Community College solicited oral histories as part of its Native American Scholars Program. Tribal elder G.G. Kipp said he had been told that Lewis ran into a group of young boys from the Skunk Band who were herding horses back to camp from a previous foray. "They stayed with them and gambled with them," he said, but in the morning, the white men refused to part with the equipment they had lost. "That was it," Kipp said. "That's when they were killed." Wagner doubts that account. "They didn't have any drums or sticks or stuff to gamble with," he explained. "You'll hear lots of things out there." There were also suggestions that the fleet Indian boys won foot or horse races with the explorers that evening. "Those guys (Lewis and his men) had been on the road for a couple of years at that point," Wagner said. "It just doesn't make sense to me that they were going to be having horse races after a hard day in the saddle already." Earl Old Person, 77-year-old chief of the Blackfeet Tribe, said he had heard few tribal stories about the "buckskin men," as the Blackfeet called them. "The elders never really did talk about it, except that it was the only encounter we had," Old Person said. "We really weren't too involved with them except that they came into our area and left again." Heavy Runner maintained the story wasn't particularly noteworthy in Blackfeet history. He said stealing horses demonstrated bravery, and death was all too common in the warrior society. "So it's not etched in our oral history as anything particularly significant," he said. Wagner notes the Blackfeet were trading with French fur trappers since 1754, so white men weren't that much of a novelty. Heavy Runner plans to broaden the symposium to include other Blackfeet history, as well as things such as traditional Indian games. "We're not going to sit there for three days and lament everything," he said. Copyright c. 2006 The Great Falls Tribune. --------- "RE: Lacrosse a life force for many American Indians" --------- Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 15:50:26 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LACROSSE" http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/187072/ Lacrosse a life force for many American Indians BRANDON MEACHUM - The DENVER POST July 21, 2006 LITTLETON, Colo. -- When an American Indian boy of the Iroquois tribe is born, he will go through a ritual to point him in the right direction in life. He will be told who his mother and father are, what clan he is a part of and will be informed of his duties as he grows into a man. Then he will be introduced to lacrosse, a sport invented and cherished by American Indians. At the recent North American Indigenous Games in Colorado, the athletes followed the path of their ancestors by playing an ancient spiritual game. "This sport is like walking or eating to us; it is a big part of life," Team Ontario assistant coach Bruce Longboat said. Lacrosse is known as the first sport in North America. It was the sport American Indians were playing when Europeans first came to the continent. Its history dates back even further -- forever, in the American Indian culture. "In our belief system, our people played before there was even a world here," New York coach Vince Schiffert said. "It was played by the people in sky world, the people that created our Earth. That was one of the things that the people from sky world sent down here. It is a sacred game. It is also a medicine game to help people, to heal people. It is to help communities, to help them stay in a good frame of mind." It is also meant for athletes to showcase their speed, strength and aggression, but in a positive way. At the Indigenous Games, lacrosse was played by young boys whose relatives learned the game at an early age. Their fathers, uncles, cousins and grandfathers have played the sport before them. "It has been in our families for generations. We still play the young versus the old sometimes," said Bruce's nephew, Ely Longboat, 19. "I love it. It just feels good that we are all native and playing together." Lacrosse was used by Indians long ago to get the men of the tribe ready for war. They would play on huge swaths of land, sometimes with goals that were miles apart, to condition for battle. Games could feature hundreds of players at a time, with trees or rocks marked for the goals and deerskin used for the ball. In those long ago days, Indians also might use lacrosse to settle disputes between tribes in matches that could last for days. While Indians are still involved in the sport, its popularity has soared into the mainstream, from the youth level to collegiate competition and professional indoor and outdoor leagues throughout the United States. To the indigenous people, lacrosse is the sport that most reflects their heritage. "It's in our blood," 18-year-old Tom Turner of Littleton said. "We are closer to the game than everyone else. It feels like we are more at home. It means a lot more to play this sport." The teams in the Games earlier this month played against other Indian nations to see who would be awarded the gold -- Ontario won the 15- to 16- year-old midget division, while New York took gold in the 17- to 19-year- -old juvenile division. In the end, though, they were playing for a higher power. "We play for the creator's enjoyment," Bruce Longboat said. "We cherish this game and we love this game. Basically, it is life." Copyright c. 2006 Provo Daily Herald and Lee Enterprises --------- "RE: Project seeks Truth about Indian Graves" --------- Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 08:37:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LEGEND OR FACT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/16/project_seeks_truth_about_indian_graves/ Project seeks truth about Indian graves By Jennifer Rosinski, Globe Correspondent July 16, 2006 Southborough hopes to answer a centuries-old question: Is there a mass grave of Native Americans in the town's Old Burial Ground? To put the legend about the cemetery off Common Street to the test, the town is depending on a device that looks like a lawn mover but is equipped with ground - penetrating radar. "The rumor is that it was an Indian burial ground before Southborough and apparently a number of Indians who died from influenza are buried in the southeast corner," said David Falconi , president of the town's Historical Society and a member of its Historical Commission, which is paying for the project. "We would love to honor them and let people know that they are here." The Nipmuck tribe inhabited what became Southborough and had a burial ground there, according to "Fences of Stone," a town history by resident Nick Noble that was published in 1990. A map showing the town from 1720 to 1800 depicts the cemetery as a burial site used by the Nipmucks in the 1600s. The burial site and a Nipmuck village are bisected on the map by the Old Nipmuck Indian Trail, which is now Route 85. If the survey discovers unrecorded remains more than 100 years old, archeologists with the Massachusetts Historical Commission would investigate the site, commission spokesman Brian McNiff said. "If they determine it's a Native American site , the Commission of Indian Affairs would be notified," McNiff said. "They would monitor the investigation." He said it was premature to speculate what further action would be taken. The town's Historical Commission voted this month to award Russell Kempton, with the New England Geophysical surveying company, almost $3,000 to do the examination, Falconi said. The commission will tap its fiscal 2006 and 2007 budgets to pay for the work, which has not been scheduled. Besides aiding historical research, New England Geophysical uses its ground-penetrating radar equipment to locate underground utility lines and hazardous waste tanks. The radar sends a pulse of high-frequency electromagnetic energy as far as 80 feet into the ground. The pulse is reflected back and shown on a screen attached to the device, according to a description on the company's web site. The graves would appear in the form of different colored waves. "We're not seeing bodies," Falconi said. "The radar is seeing that the ground has been disturbed and the way the ground has settled." Local historians hope the radar will help them accurately count the number of Southborough residents buried at the cemetery. There are 319 stone markers, but town records show 819 definite burials and 307 possible burials. "Where are the other 500-800 people buried? This should be able to tell us," Falconi said. "We've done everything we can above ground; the stones have been inventoried and mapped. This will give us a much better record of what's there." One possible reason for the large number of unmarked graves is the Hurricane of 1938, which uprooted several trees from the cemetery and destroyed dozens of stone markers, Falconi said. Squeezed by the Great Depression, the town lacked the money at the time to replace the destroyed markers. The 3-acre graveyard between the Pilgrim Church and the library was turned into the town's official burying ground just months after Southborough separated from Marlborough and incorporated as its own town in 1727, according to a history of the burial ground compiled by the Historical Society. The next year, Margaret Newton was recorded as the first Southborough resident to be buried there; the earliest stone marker dates to 1730. By 1842, all of the plots were either used or reserved, and the Southborough Rural Cemetery was opened south on Route 85. The last internment in the Old Burial Ground was in 1895. The Historical Society will provide Kempton with a 1970s map of the burial ground, Falconi said. Volunteers from the Historical Society will add to the map when new graves are found and metal stakes will be pounded into the ground just beneath the surface to serve as a permanent marker, he said. "We have been fantasizing about this for years," said Falconi, who proposed the survey to the commission. "I'm really excited about it." Boston.com Copyright c. 2006 The New York Times Company. --------- "RE: Native Tribal Leaders worry about Road access" --------- Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 10:08:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ROAD WILL OPEN PATH TO CYLTURAL TREASURES" http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/071606/sta_20060716013.shtml Native tribal leaders worry about road access to cultural landmarks Petroglyphs, burial sites in Berners Bay a treasure for many By ELIZABETH BLUEMINK JUNEAU EMPIRE July 16, 2006 Rosa Miller, tribal leader of Juneau's Auk Kwaan, faces an uphill battle in keeping development far away from her tribe's culturally significant spots in Berners Bay. Miller, still spry in her 80s, protests the type of projects in Berners Bay that other Natives in the business world have supported. "For years, my mother told me to bite my tongue. Then, she told me to go ahead. I became vocal after that," Miller explained last week. For example, Miller has advocated against timber, road and mine development in the hotly contested bay 45 miles northwest of downtown Juneau. "I've been battling for years to protect Berners Bay," Miller said. As the state awaits its final permissions to build the Juneau access project through Berners Bay - linking Juneau by pavement to a new ferry terminal at the Katzehin River - Miller is once again worried about the Auk Kwaan's cultural sites. Miller recently rode by boat with U.S. Forest Service staff to look at one sacred tribal area in Berners Bay. "That was the site of our three medicine men," Miller said last week. "Only certain people can go near a medicine man's burial site," she said. But several times since the 1970s, items have been taken from the shamans' graves. Their bones have been disturbed, then reburied by their Native descendants, according to archaeological accounts and legal affidavits. Not far away, in a more accessible location along the beach fringe, are petroglyphs - carvings etched in rock. A beaten trail - taken by many Juneau boaters who visit Berners Bay - leads to one particularly large and well-known rock bearing numerous petroglyphs. These petroglyphs also have significance to the Auk Kwaan. "They show ownership," Miller said. "We object to the road ... . Enough of our burial sites have been desecrated. When is it going to stop?" Miller said. "It's my understanding that we are avoiding all culturally sensitive (areas)," responded Mary Siroky, a special assistant to the state Transportation and Public Facilities commissioner. State transportation officials plan to route the Juneau access road 50 feet - or in some cases much greater distances - from the intertidal zone, she said. "The cultural sites are all in the intertidal area," Siroky asserted. But expanded road access clearly poses new challenges in guarding the bay's cultural resources, others say. "It's pretty hard when the road system is going close to the site. You keep your fingers crossed that nothing is going to happen," said Steven Henrikson, curator of collections for the Alaska State Museum in Juneau. Siroky said the positive side of access to Berners Bay is the new opportunity for people who don't have a boat to see its highlights. "As trails get built, you force them away from the culturally sensitive areas," Siroky said, adding, "If you make access easy, that's where people will go." The road, however, will skirt areas near the shaman burials and the petroglyphs. This story will not discuss the location of shaman burial sites. The petroglyph site - which is accessible by trail from the Berners Bay beach fringe - is relatively close to the highway. It is within 1,000 feet of the road's centerline, said Judith Bittner, the state's historic preservation officer. Yet the Berners Bay petroglyphs have been designated as outside the state's official "area of potential effect" for the Juneau access project. In other words, it is not on land that will be directly disturbed by the road, according to Bittner. Though state and federal officials do not locate the rocks or the burial places on maps - to shield them from vandalism - these places are also well-known to the U.S. Forest Service. "This is a known site ... known (to archaeologists) for over 20 years," said Juneau Ranger District archeologist Myra Gilliam. Indeed, historical accounts of Auk Kwaan village sites in Berners Bay were recorded on paper in the 1940s. The stories have lived on for centuries, through oral history, among the Auk Kwaan. The Auk Kwaan left their villages in the outlying areas of Juneau to work in the developing gold mines. But Berners Bay was "the biggest" place for picking berries for the local Natives, said one Native man, David Wallace, one of 88 interviewed in Southeast Alaska in the 1940s by a research team made up of a University of California, Los Angeles anthropologist and the chief counsel to the Office of Indian Affairs. The researchers, Walter Goldschmidt and Theodore Haas, went on to publish a seminal study titled "Possessory Rights of the Natives of Southeast Alaska." "The smokehouses are still there, but they are all broken down now. There used to be a village at Berners Bay at two places, one up between the Berners and Lace Rivers and one down near the mouth of the Lace River. These were where the native people stayed year round," according to the Goldschmidt and Haas' interview with David Wallace. Other Natives have claimed up to five villages in Berners Bay. The bay was considered a dividing line between the Haines and the Auk Kwaan Natives, according to another Native man, Jake Cropley, interviewed by Goldschmidt and Haas. "We are the original settlers here," Miller said. Elizabeth Bluemink can be reached at elizabeth.bluemink@juneauempire.com. Copyright c. 1997-2006 Juneau Empire/Morris Communications Corporation. --------- "RE: Indigenous peoples still lack human rights" --------- Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2006 08:27:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHITE FACE: 350 MILLION INDIGENOUS DENIED HUMAN RIGHTS" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413369 White Face: Indigenous peoples still lack human rights by: Charmaine White Face July 21, 2006 On June 29, an announcement was made that the United Nations Human Rights Council had passed the Declaration on the Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Those of us who have been attending the debates for many years did not immediately jump for joy. Instead, we wanted to know which declaration was approved: the original sub-commission text or the chair's text. Sadly, it was the chair's text. Even the words used to proclaim the declaration did not proclaim a declaration. Preambular Paragraph 19 found on page 20 of the 80-page document states: "Solemnly proclaims the following United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a standard of achievement to be pursued in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect." It is this phrase - "to be pursued" - that tells us we must still continue to seek, or "pursue," our human rights. This phrase was inserted by the chair of the Working Group on the Draft Declaration, Luis Chavez from Peru, and did NOT have consensus from the working group at any of the meetings. The same Preambular Paragraph 19, the one that DID have consensus from many indigenous peoples and nation-state diplomats during the creation of the declaration, the one originally stated in the sub-commission text, read: "Solemnly proclaims the following United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples." This is the correct way to proclaim a declaration and was approved by two, yes two, U.N. bodies: the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, which is now the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. These two bodies passed what came to be known as the Sub-Commission Text 12 years ago, in 1994. That was after 10 years, which began in 1984, of working with hundreds of indigenous peoples to write the declaration as a draft that would include actual human rights! After 22 years of working on finally establishing human rights for indigenous peoples, since we were forgotten or deliberately excluded from the so-called Universal Declaration on Human Rights that was approved at the United Nations in 1949, the new U.N. Human Rights Council should have looked at the history of their own committees rather than hastily accept the words of one man, Luis Chavez. In essence, he has struck down all the work of 22 years by the two committees, by indigenous delegates and by representatives of the nation-states who really believed the U.N. system could work. One man, Chavez, has denied human rights to the 350 million indigenous peoples of the world. This danger was foreseen two years ago when six indigenous representatives held a hunger strike/prayer fast in the meeting room at the United Nations in Geneva because Chavez had said he was only going to submit his "chair's text" to the Commission on Human Rights. The hunger strike/prayer fast was successful in ensuring that the sub-commission text would also be submitted. Instead of making a decision, even though encouraged to at that time by several members of the commission, the work on the draft was extended for another year, making it 11 years of debates instead of 10: and then the commission was abolished. This left the decision to the HRC. If this most recent action by the HRC is any indication of the kinds of decisions that are going to be made, which disregard decades of work and recommendations by their own committees, then where can indigenous nations and peoples go with human rights violations? It is true that Russia and Canada (speaking also for the United States, Australia and New Zealand) voted against the adoption of this declaration. Their reasons for going against this declaration and ours are totally different. Yet in this one instance, we do agree that this declaration should not have been adopted. It gives false hope to the most marginalized peoples and nations of the world. What can be done? Complaints can be filed with the HRC and with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour. Will they do anything? I don't know, but they must be made aware that not all indigenous peoples are content to stand by any longer without any real human rights. Voices must be loudly raised before this so-called declaration is taken to the U. N. General Assembly for approval in September. Indigenous peoples and, hopefully, anyone concerned that human rights are available to all peoples must speak up to stop this travesty. No human rights are available for indigenous nations and peoples at this time. No human rights for indigenous nations and peoples will be available in the future if this most recent "declaration" is universally accepted. This is a mockery of human rights that must not be allowed to continue. -- Charmaine White Face, whose Lakota name is Zumila Wobaga, is Oglala Tetuwan Oceti Sakowin (Oglala Lakota from the Great Sioux Nation). She is a grandmother, writer and spokesman for the Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council. White Face may be reached at bhdefenders@msn.com. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: DOUGHERTY: Havasupai without Power for Weeks" --------- Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 08:39:28 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DOUGHERTY: HAVASUPAI IGNORED IN POWERLESS MONTH OF MISERY" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2006-07-20/news/dougherty.html No Power for the Powerless Nobody in government's raising hell about the poverty-stricken Havasupai's struggle to survive without electricity during the summer's wrath By John Dougherty July 20, 2006 Try getting through one summer day of 100-degree-plus weather in Phoenix with no electricity. It would be beyond miserable and quickly become a matter of life and death. Last summer more than two dozen homeless people fell dead on the streets of Phoenix during a July heat wave. For most of us, 24 hours without power in the summer would be an ordeal we would never forget. Now imagine going with no electricity for nearly a month during summer's full bake. If this happened, I'm certain the governor would declare a state of emergency, the National Guard would be mobilized, evacuations would be ordered and curfews would be enforced in an attempt to prevent looting, violence and general mayhem. There's no doubt that most of the Valley's three million residents would pack up and flee if power was cut to their homes for 30 of the hottest days of summer. Of course, this is very unlikely to occur in Phoenix save terrorists blowing up the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station or Edward Abbey's ghost monkey-wrenching the Hoover and Glen Canyon dams on the Colorado River. But this dreadful scenario of a powerless month is not a fantasy in Arizona. It is happening right now on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, one of the state's most beautiful and remote locations that attracts more than 30,000 visitors a year to its spectacular waterfalls. The temperatures do not get as hot on the Havasupai Reservation as they do in the Valley of the Sun, but they come close. The fact that the entire reservation has gone without power for weeks on end this summer should be major news - it should be attracting the attention of Governor Janet Napolitano, the Legislature and even Congress. But it isn't. That's because the people struggling without electricity are politically powerless. The Havasupai - tucked away in a remote corner of Arizona where the 19th century is far more relevant than the 21st - are among the poorest members of our society. The bottom line: No one with significant political and economic power - from Napolitano on down the line - is raising hell about the fact that the Havasupai are struggling to survive without electricity for weeks at a time in the middle of summer's wrath. There is little outpouring of support to help these Americans, who also are Native Americans, living deep in the heart of the Grand Canyon. The response to the crisis so far has been a couple of portable generators sent by Coconino County and a few propane grills donated by a home improvement store. Far more is needed, and needed now. Last week, I hiked down the dusty, rocky and brutally steep eight-mile dirt trail to Supai, the Havasupai's only village, to get a firsthand account of the blackout's impact on the community. No cars roam the sun-drenched trails of this tiny hamlet, home to about 640 Havasupai. This is a place where horsepower is measured one animal at a time. And there are plenty of horses in this village that is the most isolated Indian community in the lower 48 states. Mail is delivered each day in packs strapped to the back of horses that navigate the tricky canyon walls. It was surreal to wander into the powerless village only to run into actor Nicolas Cage and a Hollywood production company making a film. The production company swarmed the village as helicopters ferried generators, equipment and personnel in and out of the community. Local residents sat on benches watching as some of their family members were used as extras for the film about a schoolteacher who goes to work in an Indian community. The movie crew was in and out in a couple of days, but the extras and their families were not so lucky. Supai has been without power for more than 30 days, since June 8, when lightning struck a power pole perched on the side of a steep canyon wall. It took nearly 20 days for power to be restored as temperatures in the desert village soared above 100 degrees. No sooner had the power come back on than it was knocked out again by monsoon storms. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs dispatched emergency work crews that finally restored electricity on July 11. The cost to repair damages to the power line exceeded $400,000. At first glance, it would appear the Havasupai are simply the unlucky victims of natural forces. But this is not the case. The tribe is catching fallout from a nasty struggle between the federal government and an electric utility company. For more than a decade, Mohave Electric Power Cooperative and the BIA have been battling over which should provide electricity to the Havasupai. The struggle has been ugly and acrimonious. Mohave Electric is seeking to abandon a 70-mile power line that runs north from U.S. 66 to the edge of the Grand Canyon and turn it over to the BIA, the Havasupai and their neighbors, the Hualapai. But the federal government and the tribes do not want to assume ownership of the line. The BIA and Mohave Electric have been locked in a legal tussle for years over the issue. The BIA, meanwhile, is responsible for operating the power line that connects with Mohave Electric's line at the edge of the canyon and runs to the village of Supai, thousands of feet below the rim. The BIA line also is decrepit and needs an overhaul. The Havasupai are the big losers in this turf war between the BIA and Mohave Electric. Neither the utility nor the BIA has been providing routine maintenance along the 70-mile distribution line. Copyright c. Phoenix New Times Village Voice Media. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: TRAHANT: U.S. should act like a Trustee" --------- Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 10:08:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRAHANT: TRUST CASE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/277602_trahant16.html U.S. should act like a trustee By MARK TRAHANT P-I EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR July 16, 2006 How good is the United States at keeping its word? That simple question is the premise behind a complicated lawsuit that has been moving slowly through the courts for a decade. "In the latter part of the nineteenth century, the United States took title to Indian lands as trustee for individual Indians, thereby assuming a fiduciary obligation to hundreds of thousands of Indians," wrote judges for the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. But what if the trustee has no idea how the assets of a trust have been managed for, say, two centuries? Or on top of that the trustee lost records, failed to balance accounts or converted assets to government use? The answer would be clear if this were normal trust litigation - the trustee would be on the hook for everything. But this case involves the United States and nothing is clear. The suit filed by Elouise Cobell, from Montana's Blackfeet Nation, claims the federal government mismanaged oil, gas, timber and other royalties beginning in the 1880s. The litigation involves some 500,000 people - and the claims could total tens of billions of dollars. (A note of disclosure: I am a member of Idaho's Shoshone-Bannock Tribe, but not a direct beneficiary of the litigation.) Last week a three-judge panel from the appeals court removed the judge from the case, saying he could no longer be objective. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, has made his contempt for the government's actions pretty clear. "At times, it seems that the parties, particularly (the Department of the) Interior, lose sight of what this case is really about," Lamberth wrote in an opinion. "What remains is the raw, shocking, humiliating truth at the bottom: After all these years, our government still treats Native American Indians as if they were less deserving of the respect that should be afforded to everyone in a society where all people are supposed to be equal." The judge's rulings hinted at an outcome for this case, including receivership. "The government as a whole may be inherently incapable of serving as an adequate fiduciary because of some structural flaw," the judge wrote. "It may be that the opacity of the cause renders the Indian trust problem insoluable." But does getting rid of Lamberth change the case? The court of appeals' ruling suggests the answer is no. Writing for the appeals court, Circuit Judge David Tatel said it is understandable that the judge was frustrated, but the ruling "presents an opportunity for a fresh start." The court also said: "We ourselves have referred to 'malfeasance,' 'recalcitrance,' 'unconscionable delay,' 'intransigence' and 'hopelessly inept management.'" It's pretty hard to see "hopelessly inept management" as a legal victory. That's why Congress ought to pay attention - both to the harsh language and the notion of a fresh start. "We close with a warning to the parties, the federal government has failed time and again to discharge its fiduciary duties," Tatel wrote. "Yet today ... no remedy is in sight, this case continues to consume vast amounts of judicial resources and growing hostility between the parties distracts from the serious issues in the case." In this case relief, or better, justice, could come quicker from Congress than the courts. "After nearly 10 years of litigation, there are hopeful signs that Congress finally will act to resolve our dispute over the handling of our trust accounts," Cobell wrote on the plaintiffs' Web site. "The path ahead for legislation may be long and tortuous. But so, too, has been the path of our litigation." The Cobell case is one of the more complicated issues tried in the federal system: The docket sheet has some 3,000 entries and different aspects of the case have been appealed nine times in six years. And still the substantive issues remain years away. The short answer is a settlement would save tax dollars in the end. But those reasons are not nearly as important as this one: It's time for the United States to keep its word. That's what a trustee is supposed to do. Mark Trahant is editor of the editorial page. E-mail: marktrahant@seattlepi.com. Copyright c. 1996-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. --------- "RE: GIAGO: Traveling the road to 'Cultural Suicide'" --------- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 08:57:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: CULTURAL SUICIDE" http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8004 Notes from Indian Country Traveling the road to "cultural suicide" Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji) Copyright c. 2006 Native American Journalists Foundation, Inc. July 17, 2006 To govern is to exercise authority, control, influence and objectivity. One of the most important elements of governance should be restraint. Too many tribal governments do all of the above, with the exception of restraint and objectivity, excessively. On any given day one has only to go to Indianz.com, probably the best Indian online media source, and read the daily screw ups of tribal leadership and governance. On any Indian reservation in America, and probably in Canada where they are called reserves, the weeks leading up to an election, finds the Native politicians smiling, shaking hands, waving at prospective voters, and just being gracious and hospitable to all. Several weeks after they are elected their entire demeanor changes, and not for the good I might add. Let me just say here that I am generalizing because to every rule there is an exception. But since I have been the editor of major Indian newspapers for more than 30 years I believe I have heard it all. Letter after letter from tribal members from as far away as California or as near as Nebraska, had driven home to me the discontent so many Indians have with their elected leadership. Oh, it is without a doubt, the nature of the beast to have political dissent on most Indian reservations. For every ruling party there is a party of discontent. For nearly every elected tribal leader there is a challenger. But that does not explain the ongoing rumble of anger I have heard across the political spectrum of Indian country. In the 1970s the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota was torn apart by those opposed to the leadership of Tribal Chairman Dick Wilson. It didn't just end in rhetoric, but instead settled into a near bloody war between the factions. Somewhere in the argument there should have been a middle ground, but in the heat of political dissent and propaganda, none could be found. After the turmoil and the waning interest by the national media had taken hold, many members of the opposition, the American Indian Movement, left the reservation and went back to wherever it was they came from while those who supported Chairman Wilson remained to clean up the mess. AIM had the ear of the media and the propaganda machine to go with it. Even to this day you will see movies and documentaries that tell only their side of the argument. For the most part there is no separation of powers on most Indian reservations. I have seen tribal councils have their election board members jailed because they dared to disagree with the dictates of the council. When an elected tribal council can arbitrarily suspend a sitting president without a hearing, things have gone totally awry. Such was the case of Cecilia Fire Thunder, the first woman, and the duly elected president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Fire Thunder, who is legally deaf, was in Iowa for treatment of her hearing loss when the tribal council suspended her. She was effectively denied her equal rights and protections under the Constitution of the United States, but not in the eyes of the tribal council and in their reckoning, not under the auspices of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Constitution. Fire Thunder was then impeached for "recommending" the construction of a Planned Parenthood Clinic on the reservation in lieu of a law passed by the South Dakota State Legislature that would have banned all abortions in the state, not even making an exception for rape and incest. Fire Thunder thought that this was wrong and since she is a former nurse, she immediately considered ways and means to prevent pregnancy, not to end it, and in her mind, a Planned Parenthood Clinic would be the answer. In other words, she was impeached for her thoughts and not for her actions. This backward tribal council was engulfed in the political propaganda spewed by the rightwing legislators in state government that besmirched the reputation of the employees of Planned Parenthood and shouted religious obscenities in an effort to destroy it. And for the most part, most of the shouting was done by white males, that is until the Indian males and Christian females of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council joined the chorus. But the tribal council of the Pine Ridge Reservation is not alone in its inadequacies. I have heard from readers in Arizona, Oklahoma, Iowa, California, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota condemning the actions of tribal councils ruling Indian reservations located in those states. As long as the people of the Indian nations continue to elect uneducated dummies to serve as their governing bodies there will always be drastic problems in Indian country. As long as those politicians with the largest families of voting age are elected, not because of their qualifications but because of their family support, unqualified leaders will continue to rule. America became a nation 230 years ago and tribal governments came into vogue 72 years ago. Authority, control and influence appear to be the factors predominant in both cultures. Restraint and objectivity have been pushed to the rear of the bus. As tribal governments move further in the direction of the mainstream, traditional systems of restraint, fair play, cultural separation, and the loss of inherent rights have been shoved aside in the name of so-called progress. And as we move into the age of "casino mentality," the situation will worsen. In the end we will have sold our very souls for money and power. I am afraid that the Indian Nations are on the road to "cultural suicide." --- 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 publisher of the Lakota Times and Indian Country Today newspapers. Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Gathering honors lives of Warrior Women" --------- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2006 08:57:19 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: INDIAN WOMEN EMPOWERMENT GATHERING" http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/07/18/jodirave/rave8.txt Gathering honors lives of Native warrior women Jodi Rave July 16, 2006 CHANDLER, Ariz. - Sue Masten and Veronica Homer united with a group of women to fulfill a vision - to celebrate the lives of grandmothers, aunties, sisters, wives and warrior women leaders of today. Masten and Homer, co-presidents of WEWIN, Women Empowering Women of Indian Nations, led a three-day conference last week to honor women working for their communities. The event attracted 160 national and grassroots leaders to the Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa on the Gila River Reservation. Masten and Homer - past presidents of the National Congress of American Indians, the country's largest and oldest advocacy group for tribes - know what it's like to put your heart into a leadership role. It's not always an easy place to be. "We all face the negative energy that comes to sidetrack our work at hand," said Masten. For those reasons, she and nine others founded WEWIN in 2004. Wilma Mankiller, also a founder, joined the women at the conference. As the first woman to lead the Cherokee Nation, one of the country's largest tribes, Mankiller emerged as a respected national leader. As a keynote speaker, the former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation encouraged women to remain positive. She said participation in tribal ceremonies helped her persevere through the trials and tribulations of leadership. The gathering also attracted leaders like Geri Small, a WEWIN founder and the first woman to l