Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews14.034 From: gars@speakeasy.org (Gary Night Owl) To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Message-ID: _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 14, ISSUE 034 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 August 26, 2006 Mohawk seskehko:wa/moon of freshness Mvskogee hiyo-rakko/big harvest moon Kiowa aidenguak'o p'a/yellow leaves moon Assiniboine capasapsaba/black cherries moon +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People s ch mA mL tL squee Lux -- Okanogan -- News from the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; Frostys AmerIndian, NY Transfer News Collective, Chiapas95-En and NetRez-L Mailing Lists; UUCP Mail IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + =================== "We are told that your religion was given to you by your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us, their children. We worship in that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all favors we receive; to love each other and be united. We never quarrel about religion, because it is a matter which concerns each man and the Great Spirit. Brother, we do not wish to destroy your religion or take it from you; we only want to enjoy our own." __ Chief Red Jacket (Sagoyewatha), Seneca +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 Sisters! There are a couple of good efforts under way to establish a Native American presence on U.S. television. When, not if, when that dream comes to fruition, I hope those who guide and shape it will borrow direction from Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) in Canada and include talks with chiefs, showcase native talent and culture, and actively promote saving our native tongues. It's this last issue that burns strongest in my heart. As a Dakota noted on a recent APTN program (I am paraphrasing), Creator gave the Dakota that culture and that language. It is an insult to that gift of language to not speak it. A Blackfoot grandmother on that same program was shown describing uses of native plants to children in the Blackfoot language. Those things that have purpose and meaning, the places and healing plants that lived there are described in the language of the Blackfoot... in a way that places the People there at the center of it all. Those things may be described in another language but it cannot be felt and spoken of as it can in your own tongue. The single point we must all carry is that without your language you have only a parody of your culture, I wish those who hope to bring Native programming to the U.S. television market good success and good vision. I wish for the rest of us that the ongoing efforts by the many tribes to keep our ways and our languages alive are not too little, too late. 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 ----------- - Indigenous in Americas - Venezuela passes just say 'no' to Papal Bull 35 Indigenous Rights Laws - Giving is a tradition - Supreme Court with the Dakota may accept Atenco case - Editorial: - Another Atenco leader arrested Justice for Indian Account Holders - First Cross-border meeting - O'odham protest of La Otra Supporters Military Home Invasions - Indigenous Law presented in Mexico - Lower Elwha get Land - In Mexico, to rebury their Ancestors Indigenous Culture in Jeopardy - Garcia pushes for changes - High hopes for for American Indians National Grand Chief - Education: - New Relationship Trust We're playing a catch-up Game seeks Feedback - Tribe looks at - Housing crisis Wind Farm Development outweighs Sovereignty in Nunavut - Census update provides - Chippewas of Nawash look at Indian Country fighting Development - Delaware Tribe hopes - Canada Natives a quarter for Recognition in a Year of new HIV/AIDS Cases - Deal reportedly near - Winnipeg Land purchase on Hopi-Navajo dispute ushers in Urban Reserve - Chapter members ask for hearing - Karuk Tribe finds on Freeze Deal arson investigation lacking - N.Y. to Court: end Land Claim - Dozens arrested - Code Talker 'true American hero' in Methamphetamine Drug Bust - HARJO: Ross Swimmer still - Native Prisoner taking care of Indians -- Eddie Hatcher - JODI RAVE: Cultural revival -- Kill an Indian - on the Reservation Go to Jail (for 30 Days) - W. RON ALLEN: - History: Carlisle Indian School Tribes create Jobs and Taxes - Rustywire: Can We Go - YELLOW BIRD: Grandchild's smile - John Berry Poem: Work-a-day makes aging worthwhile - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Out of the Frying Pan --------- "RE: Indigenous in Americas just say 'no' to Papal Bull" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 08:29:08 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RESCIND THESE LIES" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413472 Indigenous in Americas just say 'no' to Papal Bull by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today Summit: Doctrine of Discovery was 'political fiction' August 14, 2006 PHOENIX - Indigenous in the Americas are demanding that the "doctrines of discovery," the papal bulls that led to the seizure of American Indian homelands, be rescinded. At the Summit of Indigenous Nations on Bear Butte in South Dakota, delegations of indigenous nations and nongovernmental organizations passed a strongly worded resolution condemning the historical use of the doctrine of discovery as an instrument of genocide. Tupac Enrique Acosta, coordinator at Tonatierra in Phoenix, said the effort at Bear Butte continues the indigenous battle to halt genocide of indigenous peoples and seizures of their homelands in the Americas. Tonatierra was among the organizations at the Summit of Indigenous Nations taking action to rescind the doctrines of discovery: Papal Bull Inter Caetera of 1493 and the 1496 Royal Charter of the Church of England. "The Indigenous Nations have resolved, here at the base of Mato Paha [Bear Butte], that the Pope of the Catholic Church and the Queen of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury rescind these doctrines of discovery for having served to justify and pave the way for the illegal dispossession of aboriginal land title and the subjugation of non- Christian peoples to the present day," according to the summit's statement. Forty delegations of indigenous spiritual and political leaders, as well as NGOs, signed the resolution. "These papal bulls have been the basis for the extinguishment of aboriginal land title and the subjugation of indigenous peoples of Abya Yala [North and South America]. The implementation of the papal bulls evolved in the United States through the Supreme Court decision of Johnson v. M'Intosh [1823] which established the precedent for the denial of aboriginal title to American Indian lands in the United States," according to the summit. "It has been resolved by 23 Nations and NGO's and 100 individual signatories that the 'Doctrine of Discovery' is a legal and political fiction in violation of the rights of indigenous peoples and intellectual act of oppression which continues to serve to suppress and repress the indigenous peoples in the Western Hemisphere." From Ecuador at the Bear Butte gathering was Santiago Delacruz, vice president of CONAIE (Confederacion de Nacionalidades Indigenas del Ecuador/Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador). CONAIE is a formation of 28 indigenous nationalities and Pueblos of Ecuador. "We have come from the southern part of this continent Abya Yala which we share with you all as indigenous nations of this hemisphere on a mission to strengthen and re-establish our ancestral ties as a continental confederation of nations and pueblos," he said. Delacruz offered support for rescinding the papal bulls and support from the south for the protection of Bear Butte. "It is with great concern that we have come to be informed of the threatened desecration of the Sacred Mato Paha, also known as Bear Butte, where we now gathered in summit as indigenous nations. "This sacred area must not be allowed to be destroyed or desecrated by the proposed construction projects of 'biker bars' and the like," Delacruz said. Enrique pointed out that the current demand that the papal bulls be eliminated represents a longtime global effort. In May, at the United Nations in New York, the Continental Proclamation Abya Yala was presented at the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The proclamation was ratified at the Continental Summit of Indigenous Peoples in Quito, Ecuador, in 2004, and in Mar de Plata, Argentina, in 2005. The proclamation stated, "That the Papal Bull Inter Caetera of Pope Alexander VI is hereby annulled, as well as whatever Doctrine of Discovery proceeding from which that pretends to deform the relationship of Harmony, Justice, and Peace of we the Indigenous Peoples of Humanity in its entirety." And earlier, at the United Nations in Geneva on Aug. 1, 1991, indigenous delegates discussing the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, convened by the Working Group on Indigenous People, also issued a statement to then-Pope John Paul II, chief of the Vatican. The 1991 declaration stated, "We demand from the Vatican state a denunciation of the unilateral treaty of Pope Alexander VI (Tordesillas) as being contrary to the Universal Human Rights of Peoples. "Whereas the year 1993 completes 500 years of a supposed spiritual conquest without clear rectification of this universal injustice, allowing the nation-states that have benefited from the inheritance of Pope Alejandro VI to continue programmes of genocide and ethnocide, denying the indigenous people the recuperation of a harmony based on reciprocal human respect, we demand that the Papal Bull of May 3, 4, 1493 Inter Cetera be annulled." In Bear Butte in August, signatories on the declaration to rescind the papal bulls included a cross-section of indigenous and non-indigenous organizations and nations, including the Western Shoshone Defense Project, American Indian Law Alliance, American Indian Movement, Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council by Chief Oliver Red Cloud and Oglala Delegate Floyd Hand, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, Bring Back the Way: Owe Aku and Tonatierra. The Summit of Indigenous Nations was called in response to the development of several new biker venues located within five miles of the base of Bear Butte, near the Black Hills Mountains. "Bear Butte is a sacred place of worship for over 30 Native American Nations across the Great Plains. The Native American Nations involved are asking for a minimum five-acre buffer zone of protection from commercial development around the sacred mountain," according to the summit. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Giving is a tradition with the Dakota" --------- Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 15:08:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PHILANTHROPY - DAKOTA GIVING" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?feature=yes&id=1096413499 Philanthropy - Giving is a tradition with the Dakota by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today August 18, 2006 Editors' note: This is the first of several articles that will focus on the philanthropy of tribes that are in a position to make serious contributions to Indian country for the benefit of all people. This series is intended to point out that tribes in a position to help others do, and that the benefits are far-reaching. This is not intended to be a public relations series for any tribe or organization: it is strictly informational. Subsequent articles will provide details of how some organizations and tribes have been helped. PRIOR LAKE, Minn. - Many indigenous nations across the country have the spirit of sharing embedded within the culture and that giving is still part of everyday life for many people. Now, something new has been added to the star quilts and horses and beadwork and tobacco and sage gifts: money - and lots of it. Everything being relative, it's all the same, a gift to honor or a gift among friends or family for a special event. The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has taken that tradition to a new level, and in the past few years has given away more than $70 million. The list of tribes and people who have been helped is long. History helps the Mdewakanton remember how life was for their ancestors. They lived in a plush region along the Minnesota River, where game was prevalent and the land was rich with food. It was a wealthy group of people in the 18th and early-19th centuries. That all changed with the westward movement, and with corrupt government agents and traders who would not give the Dakota people credit for food and provisions. A war broke out, and many settlers and Dakota were killed in what is known as the Dakota Conflict of 1862. It ended with 39 Dakota warriors hanged in the largest mass execution in this nation's history, authorized by President Abraham Lincoln. Then came removal to the barren land along the Missouri in South Dakota at the Crow Creek reservation. After many died, some returned to Minnesota to form the community now known as Shakopee, named after Chief Shakopee or Little Six. The SMSC received federal recognition as a community in 1969, starting with some 32 acres of land. Now the community owns 2,200 acres and that figure is growing. In 1982, with the advent of bingo and, soon after, Mega-Bucks bingo, the transition from an impoverished people to a comfortable lifestyle began. Now Mystic Lake Casino is considered one of the premiere American Indian- owned casinos in the nation. It would have been easy to squirrel away the profits, but for the Shakopee community, following Dakota tradition means giving - and that was more important. The SMSC philanthropy budget is directly tied to the community's overall revenue budget, figures that are not made public. Bill Rudnicki, community executive director, said that in 2001 the community gave away $6 million; in 2004, $10.2 million; and in 2005, $15.7 million. Up until 2005, $56 million had been donated in all. Now, 2006 is adding up to be another banner year for recipients. "We are happy to be in a position to help others. It is in the nature of the Dakota to help others in need," said Glynn Crooks, vice chairman of the business council. "We are happy to do it. If they want to thank us, fine, but it is our culture to want to help people. Our thanks is when they [the recipients] can make their dreams a reality," Crooks said. The SMSC business council is not skimpy about dollar figures: $4.1 million was given to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe; millions given to the Upper Sioux Community in Minnesota, $1 million for the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Boys and Girls Club; the Santee Sioux of Nebraska was supported financially to improve economic development for that small reservation; and the Yankton Sioux Tribe in South Dakota just broke ground for a new community center with a $1 million advance from Shakopee and another $1 million to come next year. Dialysis centers were opened on the Yankton and Pine Ridge reservations as a direct result of SMSC generosity. Economic development on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Reservation in South Dakota would be only a dream without help from their relatives in Minnesota. And on the Pine Ridge Reservation, a new hotel and casino is under construction and at the same time, some immediate debt was paid from a $38 million loan. That loan would not have been possible through commercial banking institutions. Victims of domestic violence on Pine Ridge will soon have a new shelter, thanks to $500,000 in startup funds from the SMSC. The Minneapolis American Indian Center also received startup funds for a capital campaign to remodel the much-needed building to provide better and additional services to that large community. Not all requests are approved. Crooks said they received a request from someone to help with travel expenses to attend a beauty pageant and another to pay for a basketball team to travel to Australia. Local communities are not exempt. The SMSC bought construction bonds from the city of Belle Plaine for $14.7 million at a low interest rate so that construction on a very dangerous stretch of highway in Scott County, where the Shakopee Community is located, can begin early. The community also bought 11 acres of land for $1.4 million to build a road - and not because they needed to, Rudnicki said. The city of Prior Lake, where Mystic Lake Casino is located, is a major beneficiary of the SMSC's generosity. A new fire station was built, new equipment purchased and emergency medical technicians now assist in emergency and fire calls to the surrounding communities with state-of-the art equipment. It does not all happen without criticism. Some members of local county boards complain that the SMSC does not do enough. With all the help the SMSC provides in the Twin Cities area, image is still a problem. Crooks said that most media outlets in the area do not chose to print stories about the good that the community does, but when negative issues emerge the media is available. The SMSC receives up to 225 requests for financial assistance a week. Crooks said there have been no discussions between tribes that are in the same position as Shakopee to form a coalition of philanthropy. The SMSC belongs to a coalition in Minnesota. "They are glad that we do this so they don't have to," Crooks said. Rudnicki referred to the Shakopee position as "the gold standard" of philanthropy. The SMSC is listed in the top 20 organizations in Minnesota for giving. SMSC funding goes deep In 2005, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community awarded more than $15 million to various organizations. The following is a breakdown of where that money went. * Tribes - $11.3 million * Education - $1.5 million * American Indian organizations - $1.5 million * Pow wow - $107,500 * Holiday giving - $171,230 * Health care initiatives/events - $736,200 Organizations: * Minnesota American Indian Center - $250,000 * Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce - $30,000 * National Congress of American Indians - $100,000 grant * National Indian Gaming Association - $100,000 grant * Ain Dah Yung (St. Paul, Minn.) emergency shelter - $186,500 total * A further breakdown by organization and tribes: * Bois Forte Band of Chippewa for Wellness Center - $1 million donation * Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe for new bingo hall - $1 million grant * Bennett County School District (Martin, S.D.) for activity center - $250,000 donation * Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe for economic development - $350,000 grant * Lower Sioux Indian Community for youth center - $1 million grant * Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Nations for downpayment program on homes - $750,000 grant * Ponca Tribe of Nebraska for economic development - $1 million grant * Santee Sioux Tribe for community improvement - $1 million grant * Yankton Sioux Tribe for upgrades on casino - $1 million grant Many other contributions exist, but remain too numerous for to include in this space. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Editorial: Justice for Indian Account Holders" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 08:56:27 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JUSTICE DENIED" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/ opinions/articles/0817thur1-17.html Pay up and heal this rift August 17, 2006 Justice for thousands of Native Americans is teetering in the balance this month. Congress is close to a landmark settlement, legislation introduced by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would resolve the federal government's massive mismanagement of royalties collected on tribal lands. It would end a decade-old lawsuit by American Indians seeking billions of dollars that the government collected on their behalf but failed to distribute properly. Now a last-minute balk by the Bush administration is jeopardizing the bill. The bill was about to be marked up in committee earlier this month, moving forward as Congress adjourned for its summer recess. Suddenly Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales insisted that details still needed to be worked out. McCain, chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, had to postpone consideration of the bill, SB 1439, until Congress returns after Labor Day. In the meantime, Interior and Justice Department staff are supposed to be working with the plaintiffs, tribal organizations and the committee to iron out any disagreements. Kempthorne told McCain that he's committed to finding a settlement solution. He needs to make sure it happens. The federal government acts as a trustee for tribal land, managing oil, gas, timber and other leases and then distributing the proceeds to individual landowners. For more than a century, the government has bungled the job of handling the Indian trust. A lawsuit filed in 1996, named for the lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell, claims that more than $100 billion was never paid out. Estimates of how many American Indians are owed money range from 300,000 to 500,000. The government has dragged this case out through Democratic and Republican administrations, through Interior secretaries appointed by both Presidents Clinton and Bush. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, despite repeated rulings in the government's favor on legal points, has strong words to describe the Interior Department's abysmal track record in this case. "Malfeasance." "Recalcitrance." "Hopelessly inept management." Millions of dollars have gone into mostly fruitless efforts to reconstruct records that were lost, incomplete or never even kept. Millions of dollars have gone into a new computer system so vulnerable that a hacker showed that it could be broken into within minutes. Two points are glaringly clear: * The government owes a lot of money to a lot of people. * No one will ever know how much money is due and how much was distributed but never recorded. Continued legal wrangling would be an unconscionable waste of time and money. McCain has floated a figure of $8 billion to settle the case. While the plaintiffs were seeking far more, the sum is a substantial chunk of money, and a reasonable settlement. The bill includes a solution to the fragmentation of Indian-owned land, which is one of the roots of the financial debacle. Over the years, as property was inherited, the ownership was split up into tiny shares that yield virtually no income but create monumental record-keeping problems. Owners who agree to sell fractional interests, as small as 1/20th or 1/200th of a parcel, would receive an incentive payment above fair market value. "Justice delayed, is justice denied," said British politician William Gladstone. All sides should focus in the next few weeks on finding common ground for a settlement in the Indian trust case. This should be the last delay. Justice should not be denied any longer. Copyright c. 2006, azcentral.com. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: O'odham protest Military Home Invasions" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 08:41.50 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BORDER PATROL INVADING HOMES" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?feature=yes&id=1096413502 O'odham protest military home invasions August 18, 2006 by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today August 18, 2006 GU-VO DISTRICT, Tohono O'odham Nation, Ariz. - As the National Guard sets up observation posts on Tohono O'odham tribal land on the border, O'odham say homes are being invaded by U.S. Border Patrol agents and their peace of life has been destroyed. "There is an invasion of our communities. You would not think this is America: it is a whole different world," said Ofelia Rivas, founder of the O'odham Voice against the Wall, an O'odham human rights advocacy organization. Rivas said O'odham living on the border live in fear of the ongoing home invasions and the resulting retaliation if they speak out against the Border Patrol or National Guard troops now preparing camps in their backyards. "The armed guards invaded the small village of Ali Jegk on the Tohono O'odham reservation. The community is under siege day and night by unmonitored heavily armed border patrols and other agents," Rivas told Indian Country Today. Ali Jegk, adjacent to the international border on tribal land, is 136 miles southwest of Tucson and borders the Organ Pipe National Monument. Rivas described a recent incident in which a young O'odham man and his family were threatened with pepper spray if they did not get out of their vehicle. The family, including an infant, was traveling to the funeral of their father and uncle. "They were told to abandon their vehicle and walk more than 25 miles to their community. The young man was taken into custody under bogus charges. An encounter with the tribal police and the Border Patrol forced the release of the young man," Rivas said. Currently, O'odham elderly, who normally sleep outside their adobe homes in summer because of the heat, now have to sleep indoors. "They are forced to sleep in their homes at night because the Border Patrol is out there walking around and shining their spotlights on them. There is no peace at all," Rivas said. Rivas said that recently, Border Patrol agents climbed on top of their patrol units and watched O'odham elderly gathering saguaro fruits during the traditional cactus fruit harvest. "They feel like they are under a microscope." Gustavo Soto, spokesman for the Tucson Sector of the Border Patrol, told ICT that the agency takes these allegations seriously. "There are a lot of allegations against our agency doing inappropriate activities," Soto said. However, he said the Border Patrol is monitored by the Office of the Inspector General and Office of Personnel Responsibility. There are also internal special investigation teams, he said. Soto said he was not familiar with specific allegations coming from the Ali Jegk community, but that the Border Patrol encourages O'odham to make formal complaints to the agency. He said each formal complaint is investigated and a Border Patrol community representative is assigned to follow up. Tohono O'odham Chairman Vivian Juan-Saunders said she was not aware of complaints of Border Patrol agents in the Ali Jegk community. Juan- -Saunders said she asked Gu-Vo District leaders if they had received reports of allegations from the community and none had been received. "Until community members bring these issues to the attention of either the community, district council, Legislative Council Domestic Affairs Committee, the Legislative Council or to my attention, we can't address these issues," Juan-Saunders said. Juan-Saunders said, however, the Tohono O'odham Nation receives complaints from both sides concerning the Border Patrol, including O'odham who question where border agents are when illegal entrants invade O'odham homes. Juan-Saunders said the nation encourages O'odham to file complaints when their rights are violated. She also said the nation has informed the Border Patrol of the tribe's sovereign status. "They need to respect the rights of the nation as well," Juan-Saunders told ICT. However, Rivas said O'odham families are harassed and spotlighted in their homes at night. Rivas said a family of eight was awakened at 4:45 a.m. by armed Border Patrol agents who stated that footprints from the border led to their home. The family consists of a grandmother, two daughters and five grandchildren. The O'odham children were questioned if they were from Mexico. "The young mother was spotlighted in her bed while she was nursing her infant. This is the third invasion of their home in the past two months. In this home invasion, the invaders did not identify themselves. The family is constantly under watch; the Border Patrol constantly drives by their yard, spotlighting and watch from the roadside." Rivas said another young family with two small children was awaked by four heavily armed Border Patrol agents at their door. The family was accused of harboring undocumented Mexicans and possibly hiding drugs. Two agents went through out the house while two other agents guarded the entrance to the home. In another incident, an O'odham man in his 50s and his brother were stopped while traveling from his community along the border. "He was threatened; they said they would smash his windshield if he didn't open his window completely. He was accused of being a drug trafficker. "After they were released, the U.S. Border Patrol agents were yelling the stereotypical 'Indian war yells,"' Rivas said. Rivas said one Ajo Sector Border Patrol agent stated to an O'odham man, "You Indians think you have sovereign powers; we are the authority here. We have more authority then the tribal police." Soto, given a copy of the allegations in the Ali Jegk community, said it would be necessary for the Border Patrol to have the names and information on each incident in order to investigate. He said it is important for O'odham to write down the license plate numbers of the Border Patrol agents allegedly carrying out inappropriate activities so specific agents could be investigated. The number to report abuses is (877) USBPHELP, and the help line is available around the clock, he said. "We immediately take these matters very seriously," Soto said, pointing out that spotlighting into homes is one offense that is investigated when reported. Rivas, however, pointed out that O'odham who do complain and make their names public become targeted and victimized by agents, especially in the isolated area of Ali Jegk. "There is absolutely nothing out there to protect them, there is no one advocating for them," Rivas said. Responding to ongoing criticisms of the Border Patrol by indigenous at the border, Soto said Border Patrol agents receive cultural sensitivity training during their initial training at the Border Patrol Academy. Then, agents receive annual cultural sensitivity trainings in individual sectors, including the Tucson, Ajo and Casa Grande Border Patrol sectors in southern Arizona. Rivas and other indigenous border rights activists said the cultural sensitivity training that Border Patrol agents receive is obviously not enough. Jose Matus, Yaqui and director of the Indigenous Alliance Without Borders, said that when he recently crossed the border in Arizona, a Border Patrol agent told him that he had never heard of the Yaqui people. Soto said the cultural sensitivity training focuses on "American Indians" and is not specific for individual tribes. He said the cultural sensitivity training is multi-faceted and includes Irish-Americans and various ethnic groups. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Lower Elwha get Land to rebury their Ancestors" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 08:29:08 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LOWER ELWHA GET BURIAL LAND" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/ 2003199362_portangeles15m.html Lower Elwha get land to rebury their ancestors By Lynda V. Mapes Seattle Times staff reporter August 15, 2006 PORT ANGELES - Three years after state construction crews accidentally unearthed an ancient tribal village, an agreement signed Monday gives the Lower Elwha Klallam people land to rebury their ancestors. The state Department of Transportation mistakenly disturbed the village of Tse-whit-zen and human remains when it started construction in August 2003 on a dry-dock project at the Port Angeles waterfront. The department stopped the project, needed to repair the Hood Canal bridge, at the request of the tribe in December 2004, after spending about $90 million. On Monday, singers in traditional regalia sang an ancient song passed down from the ancestors of the village of Tse-whit-zen as the governor, tribal and city leaders officially agreed to transfer 11 acres of the waterfront to the tribe for reburial of more than 335 intact skeletons. Tribal Chairwoman Frances Charles says the tribe would like to begin reburial as soon as possible. "This has been a long journey for all of us, and we will not rest until our ancestors are back in the ground." The remains await reburial in handmade cedar boxes, in temporary storage on the Lower Elwha reservation. Gov. Christine Gregoire acknowledged that for many the agreement marked a commemoration more than celebration. "I wish we could say this is a tremendously joyous occasion but for many it is mainly a relief," Gregoire said. "I respect that. But hopefully we will see at least one thing in common, and that is that this is the end of a long and painful experience, and the beginning of a cultural renaissance." Generations of tribal members turned out for the ceremony, seated alongside city and port officials. And for the first time anyone at Lower Elwha could remember at an official city event, their tribal flag was on the stage, along with the others. All sides declared hope for a better future. "It is going to take a lot of building of relationships and trust, because of the history," said tribal member Arlene Wheeler, cultural liaison for the tribe. "I don't think anything is going to happen overnight. But hopefully this is a new beginning for us, and all the generations to come." Agreement details It took a professional mediator to help produce the agreement, which settles lawsuits filed over the project by the state and tribe. The agreement now goes to a judge for approval. According to the agreement: * The state will remove a concrete pad poured for the dry dock and steel sheet piles. Portions of some 2,000 truckloads of material mistakenly containing artifacts and human remains will be returned to the site. (The state has since found a different site for the bridge-repair project.) * The tribe also receives $2.5 million and land leased from the state for a possible curation facility for more than 10,000 artifacts removed from the site. * The governor committed to seek $15 million from the state Legislature for economic development for the city and Port of Port Angeles, to help replace the jobs and economic opportunity lost when the dry-dock project was terminated. * The port, which also receives some land from the state, plans to use its property for log-yard storage and to construct a commercial barge berth. No excavation of the property is expected, and existing permits provided for the dry dock will be used. Gift of totem pole Plans for the cemetery are still taking shape, Charles said. The area may be grassed over, and the Lummi people have promised the gift of a totem pole to mark the spot. Interpretative signs also will tell the story of the village and cemetery so it is not forgotten. Some tribal members felt a new serenity after the agreement was signed. "The ancestors are happy!" Tribal member Linda Laungayan sent in a text message to Wheeler after the ceremony. "I saw them dancing, rejoicing, crying, hugging and gathering to celebrate. It's a great day. Let's not forget their joy that they get to rest in peace now." Lynda Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com Copyright c. 2006 The Seattle Times Company. --------- "RE: Garcia pushes for changes for American Indians" --------- Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 08:37:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JOE GARCIA: NCAI" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/47788.html Pueblo leader pushes for changes for American Indians By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN | Associated Press August 12, 2006 ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Joe Garcia can't help but take a quick glance down at his watch. As the leader of the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C., every minute is spent talking with tribal officials from across the country, meeting with lawmakers and representatives of the federal government and working his way through airport screening areas as he travels coast to coast. In one pocket is his cell phone. The other pocket holds pens for jotting down notes and his Treo, just another electronic lifeline that lets him answer dozens of e-mails. "I'm a firm believer that if you manage your time, then you can do 80 percent more than what you're already doing," said Garcia, 53, who took a break to talk to The Associated Press after a meeting Friday at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. Garcia, also the governor of northern New Mexico's Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, believes he has an important mission as the leader of the nation's largest advocacy group for American Indians. He considers NCAI as the watchdog for Indian Country. The group, which represents about 275 tribes, monitors federal policy and coordinates efforts to educate lawmakers about the impacts their decisions have on Indian communities. Garcia has testified many times before congressional committees. More than 10 years ago, Garcia was still fresh to tribal government at Ohkay Owingeh and didn't know much about NCAI. He attended the group's annual meeting in San Diego and ended up leaving as an area representative. "That took me to the next level of my passion," he said, referring to his desire to help his people. "I realized then it's not just my pueblo and not just the pueblos (in New Mexico) that are in dire need. It's the entire Indian Country that is in dire need. "Whatever I could do to help, that is basically my passion." Because of the work of Garcia and other Indian leaders, relationships with Congress and the White House have improved in recent years. He said Indians are taking a proactive approach in sharing their concerns and needs with the federal government. Aside from trying to secure adequate funding for health care, education and public safety, Garcia said he's pressuring federal officials as they consider changes to the Telecommunications Act, which he said failed to mention Indian Country when it was revised in 1996. While cities across the nation are reaping the benefits of wireless networks and fiber optics, many Indian communities remain without electricity, running water and basic telephone service. "There is a digital divide. And the closer you are to a remote area, the more it reinforces your perspective," Garcia said. "If you're at the White House or in Washington, D.C., you don't see any of that. There is no digital divide." The divide exists in Indian Country because people don't acknowledge it, he said, and if changes are going to be made to the federal law, Indian communities need to be addressed. "We've got to be ahead of it," he said. "Otherwise, it's the old system where we react and we react." Garcia, retired from an electronics position at Los Alamos National Laboratory, also said Indian communities need to use technology to their advantage and create a foundation for their young ones. "You've got to promote it," he said. "You can't just leave it to chance." Copyright c. 2006, Santa Fe New Mexican, All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Education: We're playing a catch-up Game" --------- Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2006 15:08:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MONTANA INDIAN EDUCATION" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/ 2006/08/20/news/state/25-indians.txt 'We're playing a catch-up game' Poplar educators working to bring students up to speed By LORNA THACKERAY Of The Gazette Staff August 20, 2006. POPLAR - Diane Knutson, Poplar Middle School principal, tells her students that "vocabulary is power." Without an ample supply of words, ideas can't be discussed. Complex concepts can't be explained, she said. Vocabulary is among the first casualties of poverty, and poverty runs rampant on the Fort Peck Reservation. When children enter the school system, they are already behind, and educators struggle every day to find new and better ways to bridge the achievement gap. "You have to look at where students are when they come in," said Ivan Small, superintendent of schools at Poplar. "When you get into a situation like ours, the number of vocabulary words is smaller than with middle- class kids." The volume of words spoken in households each week is tied closely to family income, said Elementary School Principal Charles Cook. The disparity in word count between poor families and wealthy families is staggering. "Extrapolate the difference over a few years, and that's millions of words," Knutson said. "We're playing a catch-up game." Poverty rumbles over the treeless swath of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation as thick as the massive buffalo herds that once covered the Northern Plains. It hasn't proven as easy to drive to the brink of extinction. Generations of deprivation grind hope and expectations to powder as dry as prairie dust, and it hangs in dark clouds over schools on Montana Indian reservations. "The differences in our children can be categorized as poverty. Race is not the issue," said Steven Holt, who has taught music at Poplar High School for the past 17 years. "Long-term goals for students here can be very abstract. The goals are shorter-term." Families are worried about survival, not self-actualization, curriculum director Mike Birrer said. The concentration of poverty on the reservation compounds the problem, he said. "If these children were scattered across the state, we probably would not see an Indian achievement gap," Birrer said. "These are bright kids. These are smart kids." Often parents don't harbor high expectations for their children or have the education themselves to encourage the next generation break the cycle. Hopelessness and despair, hallmarks of poverty, are fruitful ground for alcohol and drug abuse, for child neglect and child abuse. Children bring the imprints of their lives to school with them. "Breaking the cycle is our biggest challenge," Small said. The bulk of the 2-million-acre Fort Peck Indian Reservation lies in Roosevelt County. According to U.S. Census figures from 1999, 32.4 percent of the population lives in poverty, the highest rate by far of all the counties in the state. Those closest are also home to Indian reservations - Big Horn County at 29.2 percent, Blaine County at 28.1 percent and Glacier County at 27.3 percent. Native Americans make up 55.8 percent of Roosevelt County's population and somewhere around 95 percent of the 900 students in Poplar schools. The picture doesn't have to be as bleak as it sounds. Small and his staff are working on strategies to fill in education gaps from the day a child walks into a school. Teachers strive to get each child up to speed by the third grade. If children aren't caught up by then, it's much more difficult to move them forward, Cook said. "We encourage the teachers to drench them in language," said Cook, who recently obtained his doctorate. "Each child spends 16 or 17 minutes a day on a computer listening to poems and rhymes, listening to language." Then they spend 90 minutes each day working at their own level. The school encourages children to read at least 20 minutes at home four nights a week. Children in kindergarten take home simple reading books to master, and books are used as prizes for games and rewards for achievement - all ways of getting books into households where reading material may be a luxury. Language saturation continues through every grade. In middle school, students are exposed to literature aimed at getting them excited about reading, Principal Knutson said. "Every teacher teaches reading every day," she said. The high school uses reading programs similar to those implemented in Billings to help students who have trouble with language skills. The curriculum includes 90 minutes of reading and reading activities every day, Birrer said. Although Poplar schools still fall far below the state average in standardized testing, the schools are making big strides, especially in reading. It's most evident in the elementary grades. Fourth-graders who took the MontCAS test in 2005 showed a 13 percentage point increase over 2004 in the number of students who scored at or above a proficient reading level. The score of 31 percent still remained well below the state average of 75 percent. Gains were smaller in the middle school, where the increase for eighth- graders was just 3 points. But the high school increased the number of sophomores who are proficient readers by more than one-third, from 32 percent in 2004 to 44 percent in 2005. The state average for 10th-grade reading proficiency is 67 percent. MontCAS are tests given statewide to measure compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Math presents other problems. Tests showed slower improvement at the fourth- and eighth-grade levels, and a nine-point drop for Poplar's 10th- graders. At all levels, the percentage of math-proficient students was significantly below state averages. "We're having trouble making AYP," conceded High School Principal Julanne Gauger, referring to the adequate yearly progress as measured for No Child Left Behind. "We want test scores to go up. We want our students to learn more." No Child Left Behind stretches the school system, and that's a good thing, she said. Gauger said she believes scores this fall will reflect real progress in students' math and reading abilities. "We're hoping to achieve AYP shortly," she said. "It's a challenge, but one I think the school is equipped to meet." To help meet those challenges, Poplar schools have decided that no class - kindergarten through high school - will have more than 15 students. The district is also well supplied with computers. Small's wife, Lucille, also an educator, operates an alternative school under a grant for dropout prevention that helps catch students who don't thrive in regular classrooms. A psychologist from Indian Health Service comes once a week to talk with teachers about ways to help students and then sees students by appointment at the school. Teachers and principals monitor test scores and meet frequently to discuss what needs to be done better and find ways to do it, Small said. One of the crucial elements for the educational community, in the Poplar School District and in the tribes, is convincing parents that education is important. Educators say they want parents to believe in higher goals for their children and to become active in attaining them. "The school has done a lot to raise expectations, and we're working on higher and higher expectations," said Small, the superintendent. Teachers talk about colleges and careers with students, he said. The Cats and the Griz have adherents among students and teachers, so the biggest universities in the state get covered. Fort Peck Community College works closely with Poplar schools to provide classes for advanced high school students and a springboard for graduates who want to obtain degrees from other colleges and universities. "There are a lot of opportunities for a child to be successful here and get through school," Small said. Most of them do. Five years ago, the dropout rate was 24 percent, Small said. In 2005-06, it was 7 percent. Copyright c. 2006 The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Tribe looks at Wind Farm Development" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 08:41.50 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SISSETON-WAHPETON WIND FARM" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/08/21/news/local/119486.txt Tribe looks at wind farm development August 21, 2006 AGENCY VILLAGE, S.D. (AP) - The Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate is moving forward with plans to develop a wind farm on tribal trust lands in northeast South Dakota. The tribe has hired the engineering and consulting firm Black and Veatch of Overland Park, Kan., to help develop the project. Three company representatives explained the plans at a community meeting Thursday. Interim tribal chairman Jerry Flute said he would like to see the project focus on producing electricity for local use. "For my part as chairman, I'd rather see us place the priority on providing low-cost energy to tribal members rather than selling the power to a major power company just to buy it back," he said. "Initially, this project was looked at as an economic development project, but I'd like to see us change the mix a little bit and reprioritize how we view the development of wind energy." Flute said most tribal homes are heated with electricity and rates have skyrocketed in recent years. "People are bringing in ridiculously high electric bills. These are often on fixed or low incomes, and they can't pay their bills," he said. "They have to start making hard choices; whether they buy diapers for the baby or pay the power company. The choice is always going to be take care of the baby, and the electric bill then ends up with the tribe." Flute also expressed concern about the high electricity bills incurred by the tribe's three casinos. "If we keep what we produce locally here, that would be my recommendation," he said. "If there is any surplus, then we can consider selling it to a power company." Black and Veatch team leader Ryan Jacobson said three towers will be installed to collect information on wind speed and direction. The tribe has already received a $50,000 grant to begin the feasibility study and has requested $250,000 more in support. A second set of grants has been sought worth nearly $1.5 million to help with development and construction costs. Copyright c. 2006 Bismarck Tribune, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Census update provides look at Indian Country" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:55:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CENSUS" http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/015470.asp Census Bureau update provides look at Indian Country August 16, 2006 The United States is home to nearly 2.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday, with Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux and Ojibwe the most prominent tribal affiliations. Overall, Native Americans are only about 0.8 percent of the total population. But their ranks grew by nearly 10 percent in just one year, according to the 2005 American Community Survey, And when mixed-raced Native Americans come into the picture, the number jumps to 4.2 million, representing an increase of nearly 4 percent from 2004. According to the data, Cherokee is the most popular tribal affiliation, with 310,000 people claiming ancestry. Navajo came in second with 294,000 people, followed by Sioux with 120,000 and Ojibwe with 115,000. These four tribes alone made up nearly 43 percent of the overall American Indian population, although the data may differ from the official tribal enrollment figures. Except for the four tribes, no other tribal affiliation in the lower 48 states broke the 100,000 mark, although Choctaws came close 88,000, followed by Pueblos with 75,000. Among Alaska Natives, Eskimo was the most frequently reported, with 52,000 claiming ancestry. Athabascan and Tlingit-Haida were nearly tied for second, with about 16,000 each. The state percentage rankings remained largely the same, based on figures released after the 2000 Census. Alaska was first with a Native population of 14.2 percent, followed by New Mexico with 9.6 percent South Dakota (8.4 percent); Oklahoma (7.4 percent) and Montana (6.0) rounded out the top five. All five states were in the same position following the 2000 count. But there was a notable change further below, with North Carolina and Oregon cracking the top 10 for the first time, each with 1.3 percent. They bumped Nevada, with 1.2 percent, down one position to number 11. There also was a shift in terms of actual population. California has been home to the largest number of American Indians and Alaska Natives since the 2000 Census. According to the 2005 data, though, Arizona now has more Native Americans than any other state. And coming in second was Oklahoma, pushing California to the number three slot, although not by much. Going by gender, the balance is tipped slightly in favor of Native women, who made up 51 percent of the Native population, compared to 49 percent for Native men. Part of the reason for the difference could be attributed to the longevity of Native women. According to the data, there are more Native women 55 and older than Native men. Based on educational level, an equal number of Native men and women over the age of 25 completed high school. But more Native women obtained a bachelor's degree than men, although more Native men went onto graduate school than Native women. Veterans continue to represent a significant part of the Native population. About 19 percent of all Native males have served in the military, according to the data. The American Community Survey was conducted for areas with populations of 65,000 or more. Officials say it helps communities plan for the future without waiting for the full Census count every decade. "The data are vital for the planning, implementation and evaluation of policies ranging from building new schools and roads to establishing initiatives that drive economic development," said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. To view the data, visit the Census Bureau site and look for the American Community Survey link. It will allow you to create custom tables and maps. Copyright c. 2000-2006 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Delaware Tribe hopes for Recognition in a Year" --------- Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 08:37:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DELAWARE RECOGNITION" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.tulsaworld.com/newsStory.asp?ID=060816_Ne_A14_Delaw62392 Delawares closer to federal recognition By S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer August 16, 2006 Cherokee Nation councilors vote to back the tribe's regaining its federal status. TAHLEQUAH - The Delaware Tribe of Indians moved one step closer to reclaiming its federal status after Cherokee Nation councilors voted Monday to support the tribe's recognition. The Bartlesville-based tribe lost its federal recognition in 2005 after losing a 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision to the Cherokee Nation over treaty provisions. With the Cherokee tribal resolution's approval, a memorandum of understanding will be forwarded to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, officials said. The Cherokee resolution authorizes Chief Chad Smith to advocate for the legislation's support. The 17-member Cherokee council's approval was key for the Delawares, said the tribe's chief, Jerry Douglas, who added that he hopes to get federal recognition within a year. "Everyone told me that the Cherokee Nation and the Delaware needed to come to an agreement because our Oklahoma (congressional) delegation would view it favorably," he said. The 10,000-member Delaware Tribe is seeking the sponsorship of a congressional bill that would return its federal recognition. Douglas said his group has House sponsorship from U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., and is hoping for Senate sponsorship from Oklahoma Republicans Tom Coburn or Jim Inhofe. In a memorandum to Cherokee tribal councilors before the vote, tribal Secretary of State Melanie Knight said the core of the agreement is federal recognition for the Delawares while preserving the Cherokee Nation's sovereign territory. "Although negotiations . . . have been attempted over the years, none have been as fruitful as these," she said. The deal would allow the Delawares to seek to put land into trust outside of the Cherokees' 14-county jurisdiction. It also provides that the Delaware Tribe run social service programs for its members, although some funds will go through the Cherokee Nation for distribution, a draft of the memorandum of understanding states. Wayne Stull, the Delaware Tribe's economic development board member, said a majority of the tribe's members supports the agreement, although some want to bring it before a vote. "We have to get our federal recognition back; if we don't, we will just be a glorified Indian club," he said. S.E. Ruckman 581-8462 se.ruckman@tulsaworld.com --------- "RE: Deal reportedly near on Hopi-Navajo dispute" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 08:56:27 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHECKERBOARD SETTLEMENT NEAR" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/aug/081706nhlnds.html Land settlement in sight Navajo, Hopi negotiating teams reach agreement on language in the proposed compact By Kathy Helms and John Cristian Hopkins Dine' Bureau August 17, 2006 WINDOW ROCK - Since 1958, the Navajo and Hopi tribes have been involved in litigation over various aspects of the Navajo-Hopi land dispute. A proposed intergovernmental compact would settle a lawsuit authorized by Congress in 1974. In the lawsuit known as "the 1934 Reservation Litigation," the Hopi Tribe asserts that millions of acres of Navajo land are Hopi shrines or religious use areas and should be awarded to the Hopi. It also argues that Navajo families living in those areas should be relocated. Over the last four years, Navajo and Hopi negotiating teams working through a mediator have reached agreement on language in the proposed compact which would put an end to the 1934 litigation. The compact must be approved by both tribal councils and then signed off on by U.S. District Court Judge Earl Carroll and the Secretary of the Interior. According to a Legislative Summary Sheet presented to Public Safety Committee by Delegate Duane Tsiniginie (Bodaway-Gap/Cameron/Coppermine), the compact would put "an immediate end" to the 1934 litigation and the Bennett Freeze. Delegate Raymond Maxx, a member of the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission, asked the Transportation and Community Development Committee to approve the proposed pact. All sides have "a perfect desire to resolve the Navajo- Hopi land dispute," Maxx said. No Navajos will be relocated when the Bennett Freeze is lifted, said Navajo Attorney General Louis Denetsosie. In all, 20 of the 110 Navajo chapters are at least partially affected by the freeze; they range from Mexican Hat to Leupp, Denetsosie said. "In the compact there will be no fences and no Navajos are moved," Maxx said. "We will get together as neighbors." TCDC member Edward V. Jim Sr. wasn't sure if the council should be talking about this pact. "The Hopi are stubborn people," Jim said. Instead of the Navajo agreeing to Hopi settlement, it should be the reverse, he said. Among the pros of the compact highlighted in the summary: * The Hopi Tribe would not receive any Navajo land other than the area in and around Moenkopi already awarded by the courts, and any risk that Navajo families might be forced to relocate from 1934 Reservation lands would be eliminated; * There would not be any additional lawsuit about money claims relating to the 1934 Reservation; * Navajo people will be free to go onto Hopi land (District 6, Hopi Partitioned Land, and the Moenkopi area) without a permit for traditional Navajo religious practices, including the taking of materials needed for traditional religious practices; * The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will conduct an ongoing study of golden eagles on and around Navajo and Hopi land, and the number of eaglets the Hopis may take from Navajo land and elsewhere will be controlled by the federal government based upon the results of that scientific study. Presently, there is no scientific evidence to govern Hopi gathering practices. Cons of the proposed compact: * The Hopi people will be allowed to come onto Navajoland without a permit for traditional Hopi religious practices, including the taking of eaglets for religious purposes; * The Navajo Nation may not allow new construction near certain specific active eagle nests on Navajoland, none of which are located near current Navajo structures. The compact also makes provisions for a joint committee of Navajo and Hopi biologists to investigate ways to protect the golden eagle population on lands controlled by both tribes for the benefit of future generations. Any disputes under the compact will be resolved by communication between Navajo and Hopi leaders, or by arbitration if necessary, but such disputes will not be decided by federal or state courts. According to Article 7 of the compact, all funds held by the Department of Interior and/or the Bureau of Indian Affairs as payment by third parties for easements, rights-of-way, or other interests within the area known as the Bennett Freeze, from July 8, 1966, to the effective date, will be distributed in equal shares to the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe. The compact also states in Article 7 that restrictions on development contained in 25 USC, Sections 640d-9(f), commonly known as the Bennett Freeze, "are of no further force and effect," and directs that confidential exhibits A, C and D are to be filed under seal. Copyright c. 2006 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Chapter members ask for hearing on Freeze Deal" --------- Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 08:56:27 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BENNETT FREEZE" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/aug/081706frzhrng.html By Kathy Helms Dine' Bureau August 17, 2006 WINDOW ROCK - Members of Tuba City Chapter finally will have an opportunity at a public hearing Friday to learn details of a proposed intergovernmental compact between the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe regarding the Bennett Freeze. Delegate Duane Tsinigine (Bodaway-Gap/Cameron/Coppermine) and Attorney General Louis Denetsosie presented legislation on the compact Tuesday to the Public Safety Committee, which passed it after considerable debate. Denetsosie and Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Chairman Roman Bitsuie then spent two hours on KTNN Radio Tuesday evening discussing the history of the Bennett Freeze and denying reports that the compact had been negotiated in secret. Several residents have filed a complaint in Tuba City District Court on behalf of residents directly affected by the Bennett Freeze, asking for a permanent injunction against passage of the intergovernmental compact, alleging they have been denied due process. "The homesteaders that are directly affected were never informed of the development of the compact at any time prior to the call for a resolution to be voted upon in the chapter houses, and held the compact as secret, confidential, not for publication, never to be revealed upon seal. "Without sharing the contents of the compact, the Navajo Nation officials are misleading and manipulating the people to support a resolution to lift the freeze they said was in their best interest." However, the court says it will not act on the plaintiffs' request until they refile the document because they failed to give a 30-day notice to Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. and the attorney general, as outlined in the Navajo Nation Code. Shirley, Denetsosie, Speaker Lawrence T. Morgan, and Bitsuie all are named as defendants in the suit. In addressing the Public Safety Committee, Tsinigine said, "I live right in the middle of the Bennett Freeze. I used to see my grandparents, aunts and uncles go to the Interior and Hopi Tribe to approve construction. "I noticed that when I was about 10 years old. To this day, we're still doing that. That is not a good feeling; that is not a good subconscious feeling. It retards your emotional development and your mentality in living with these type of conditions." Tsinigine said he believes there has been a tremendous amount of attainment on the settlement compact. "In 1994 it was mentioned that only 64,000 (acres) was to be given to the Hopi Tribe. That was at Moenkopi and Pasture Canyon. They wanted 800 million acres and that was toward Bodaway/Gap, most of it. That 800 million acres was denied. They were only given 64,000 acres." He said he liked language in the compact's Article 7 which mentions "quieting title" and dismissing any and all claims asserted by the tribes "with prejudice, meaning it will never come before the courts again." "Navajos will keep their land. Hopis will keep theirs," he said. "When we go to practicing our religious rights on the Hopi Reservation, we can go in there without them spying on us. There's also some fencing around hogans and somewhere at Star Mountain. If this settlement compact is approved, they will have to tear down those fences." He said the compact also provides that when the Hopi come onto Navajoland for religious purposes, "we will not spy on them either, for we respect their story of origin and their traditional way of life." But, he added, "If we are going to have 20 or more people, we will just give notice to the Hopi Tribe, and vice versa, that 20 will be coming. Just notice. No license, no permits will be involved because we will respect each other's traditional religion." Confidentially speaking Denetsosie cautioned that the compact is marked confidential and is protected under the Navajo Nation Privacy Act and that any disclosure of the compact is punishable by law. Public Safety Committee Vice Chairman Pete Ken Atcitty (Shiprock) questioned how they were presenting the information to the public if it was confidential and argued that if the information has been presented to the public, it is no longer confidential. Committee member Ben Curley also questioned how the presentations were made to the chapters if the information is confidential. Tsinigine said they went to five chapters Bodaway/Gap, Cameron, Coppermine, Tonalea, Red Lake, and Bird Springs. "We explained to them word for word what was in the compact and we translated in Navajo. When we did the map, we showed it to the people because there was no media there," he said. The generic map basically differentiates Navajo and Hopi-controlled lands in the affected area without pinpointing locations. Confidential maps can be shown only to elected leaders and employees of the Navajo and Hopi tribes "having responsibility for performance and/or enforcement of this compact." Denetsosie said several exhibits in the compact must remain confidential. Those involve a map showing the location of the Hopi Salt Trail, Hopi eagle-gathering areas, a five-page list of existing eagle nests on Navajoland, and a two-page list of springs, located on both Navajo and Hopi lands. "That is proprietary information. They have asked us not to reveal that. If we reveal that information then the compact is gone. We won't have a compact. Those are all the Hopi sacred places. All that information is protected by the Navajo Nation Privacy Act," Denetsosie said. "We did not show that to the membership of the tribe." Committee member Harry Brown said that back in the 1880's when the land was set aside, "it was set aside for Navajo and Moqui." But, he argued, "There is no such tribe today." "If the Hopi were there in 1882 when Kit Carson rounded the Navajo up, there were no Hopis rounded up. I guess that says that the Hopi were not there," Brown said. In addition to the 62,000 acres set aside for Hopi, Denetsosie said the District Court of Arizona in 1992 also designated land shared by the San Juan Southern Paiutes. "The judge determined that there is an area of concurrent use but said he had no jurisdiction to create a reservation for them, so that just sits right there. "He determined that there was about 40,000 acres of concurrent use of land by the Navajos and San Juan Southern Paiutes, but he did not establish a reservation for the Paiutes," Brown said. Challenging chapters Tsinigine said that of the chapters affected by the freeze, only Tuba City and Coalmine Canyon chapter support are questionable. He said legislation was presented to the Resources Committee last Wednesday at Coalmine Chapter, where the committee approved it. Residents of Coalmine Chapter have yet to be presented the proposed compact. Referring to the lawsuit filed in Tuba City court, Tsinigine said, "The majority of people that live in the Bennett Freeze area, residents of the chapter, they support this and they want this lifted as soon as possible. "What is causing chaos is people that don't live in the Bennett Freeze, that never lived in the Bennett Freeze, they're the ones that are questioning the validity of the document. So we need to listen to the people that actually live in those freeze areas," he said. Public Safety Committee Chairperson Hope MacDonald-LoneTree (Tuba City/Coalmine) took exception to Tsinigine's comments. "Just as a correction, I understand from looking at the attachment to this summary, there are two of those people that are listed here that I know of that live in the Bennett Freeze area," she said. Atcitty added that the language in the compact does not specifically state that the Bennett Freeze would be lifted and that there also was no specific language pertaining to rehabilitation funding. MacDonald-LoneTree agreed, saying that though Denetsosie and Tsinigine said the freeze would be lifted as soon as the document is signed, it still has to be approved by Congress. "And there's no assurance in the document that there will be funding available to meet some of the needs." Tsinigine countered, "They don't want funding, they just want it lifted. Funding goes along with all of this, but right now we're in a human issue and we need this lifted. "We can ask the chapters to get infrastructure and housing and water without going through the tribe to approve it further and then going to the Hopi and Interior. We want to get rid of all of that. It's a gross feeling. Funding's going to come, but right now we want this lifted as a human issue," he said. Copyright c. 2006 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: N.Y. to Court: end Land Claim" --------- Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 08:37:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ONONDAGA LAND CLAIM" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/ base/news-6/1155718727202510.xml&coll=1 N.Y. to court: End land claim Outcomes of Cayuga, Oneida cases cited. Onondagas' lawyer: This suit's different. By John O'Brien Staff writer August 16, 2006 The Onondaga Nation waited too long to file its land claim against New York, and any taking of property now would be too disruptive to residents and the government, state lawyers ar- gued in court papers filed Tuesday. Lawyers for the state submitted a 28-page motion to U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn, asking him to dismiss the Onondagas' lawsuit based partly on those arguments. Assistant Attorney General David Roberts cited a ruling last year by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissing a similar land claim by the Cayuga Nation because that tribe waited too long to file. Roberts cited the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear arguments in the Cayugas' claim, along with a previous decision by that court in a claim brought by the Oneidas against the city of Sherrill over a tax dispute. "The (Onondaga) Nation's lawsuit is the same type of disruptive, possessory action that the 2nd Circuit held could not be countenanced after a delay of two centuries," Roberts wrote. He could not be reached for comment. The Onondagas sued New York state last year, seeking to regain 4,000 square miles they say were taken under illegal treaties two centuries ago. The same arguments that doomed the Oneidas' and Cayugas' claim apply to the Onondagas, Roberts wrote. A lawyer for the Onondagas, Joseph Heath, said their lawsuit is different. The Onondagas did not name individual landowners and are not seeking to immediately take possession of land, he said. The main objective is to clean the land, air and water, he said. "Our lawsuit is one of healing, not disruption," Heath said. He said the Onondagas' suit has met with favorable reaction from the public, unlike the Cayugas' and Oneidas' lawsuits. The Onondagas must file a response by Oct. 15. Lawyers are scheduled for an appearance before Kahn on Dec. 1. Heath disputed the state's claim that the Onondagas waited more than 200 years to make their claim. From the time of the first taking of land in the 1700s, the Onondagas sought to have it overturned, he said. It wasn't until 1974 that Indian nations could bring their land claims to federal court, he said. Roberts said in court papers there's no proof that the Onondagas "strongly and persistently protested" the taking of their land. The Onondagas make no assertion that they made any previous attempts to take their case to court, he said. The Onondagas didn't go to court for 200 years because they tried to resolve their grievance between governments, Heath said. "For them to think about going to court of another government is an act that's against their sovereignty," he said. The Onondagas have six historians doing research that is likely to be heard as evidence in a hearing in federal court, Heath said. Unlike the appellate court rulings on the Cayugas' and Oneidas' claims, the Onondagas' claim is at the trial court level, meaning a hearing on the facts will be likely, Heath said. The burden would be on the state to prove the Onondagas didn't protest the land takings, he said. The state would also have to show it was harmed by any delay, Heath said. "All they've done is be able to collect taxes for all this time," he said. "There's no harm." John O'Brien can be reached at jobrien@syracuse.com or at 470-2187. Copyright c. 2006 The Post-Standard. Used with permission. --------- "RE: Code Talker 'true American hero'" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 08:55:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAKOTA CODE TALKER" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/08/17/news/top/news01.txt Code talker 'true American hero' By Kevin Woster, Journal Staff Writer August 17, 2006 RAPID CITY - After the song and drumbeats faded and the political speeches were finished Wednesday, Lakota code talker Clarence Wolf Guts sat with head bowed in front of the TV cameras and said he would do it all again. The war, that is. "As old as I am, if I had to do it again, I'd give it a good try," the 82-year-old Pine Ridge native said in a whisper, leaning against his cane. Wolf Guts, who now lives at the South Dakota veterans home in Hot Springs, gave it more than a good try with his Army service during World War II. He helped develop a communications code based on the Lakota language and transmitted critical messages to commanders in the field. That service by Wolf Guts was lost to the public for most of his life. Only in recent years have he and other code talkers been recognized for their service. Wolf Guts, the last known living Lakota code talker, received his most recent honor Wednesday from Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Dean presented Wolf Guts with a plaque from the South Dakota Democratic Party, saying he was a "true American hero" who reflected the proud tradition of American Indian service in the United States military. "I think one of the things maybe people may not know is the extraordinary number of Native Americans in the armed service of the United States," Dean said. "In fact, Native Americans have the highest percentage of participation of any ethnic group in the entire country in defending America." That service often comes with a profound price, Dean said. "We might also add that Native Americans have had a disproportionate number of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan," he said. Indian people gathered around Wolf Guts during an honoring song by Jenny Ghost Bear, B.J. Brave Heart and Luke Bell of the Cante Tinza Lakota drum group of Rapid City. As their drumbeat and chants filled the lobby of the hotel, other American Indians joined Dean in a circular honoring march around Wolf Guts. Dean said he was moved by the ceremony and honored to have the opportunity to recognize an American Indian war hero. "This is actually one of the most meaningful things I've ever done as the Democratic chair," he said. "Clarence Wolf Guts is a true American hero for what he did." Dean received a matching plaque from South Dakota State Democratic Party chairwoman Judy Olson Duhamel, who invited Dean to South Dakota as part of a DNC outreach to Democrats in all 50 states. Dean also met with tribal leaders, toured Sioux San Hospital and took questions from reporters briefly after the ceremony. In response to a reporter, Dean said the Democratic Party is trying to give Indians a greater role in the party through a candidate training and recruitment program aimed at producing candidates for public office at all levels. As a medical doctor, the former Vermont governor said he is particularly committed to improving health care for American Indians. That could start with better funding for the Indian Health Service, he said. "I believe that the Indian Health Service has not been properly funded," he said. "I believe that every American ought to have a decent health-care system." Dean also said the federal government must settle a lawsuit over mismanagement of tribal trust funds. A proposal pushed by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., to settle the suit for $8 billion is more than reasonable considering how badly tribal trusts were abused, Dean said. Dean was challenged by Duane Martin, speaking on behalf of Strong Heart Society for civil rights, for having closed meetings with tribal leaders rather than meeting with Indian people in public. Martin said tribal leaders do not represent a majority of tribal members and have failed to meet their needs. Dean said his goal is to do what he could to help see that more tribal needs are met. "Hopefully, meeting with elected tribal leaders is a step in the right direction," he said. Dean said he believed that his meetings with tribal officials would be fruitful. And he said he would take his plaque from the ceremony back to his home in Vermont as a personal keepsake to remind him of an exceptional man. "Clarence Wolf Guts, you have continued the extraordinary tradition of your people in defending America, and we appreciate that deeply," Dean said. Wolf Guts said he appreciated Dean's words of support for him and for American Indians and their needs. "It's good to hear him talk about helping us," he said. "He's doing all right." As for his personal war experience, Wolf Guts said, he was simply doing what his comrades did. "We did what we could to be free," he said. Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2006 Rapid City Journal. --------- "RE: HARJO: Ross Swimmer still taking care of Indians" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 08:41.50 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HARJO: SWIMMER ACCORDING TO SWIMMER VS TRUTH" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413505 Trustee 'taking care of' Indians by: Suzan Shown Harjo / Indian Country Today August 18, 2006 Indian trust is well-managed by U.S." That statement is: a) The punch line of a shaggy BIA joke; b) The first line of the Interior Department's request to Congress for money to take care of Indians; c) The losing proposition in any tribal debate in any week of any year; or d) The title of an opinion piece written by Interior Special Trustee Ross Swimmer for the July 28 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The correct answer is the last option, although none of the other choices would be wrong. Swimmer is still on the job, taking care of Indians, most notably of late as the mastermind behind the strategy of fighting legal efforts to force a federal accounting of missing billions of Indian trust monies. He is best remembered for his stint as Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs in the 1980s. Indian leaders and Congress stopped his plans to hand over Indian education to the states and Indian trust monies to private banks, but he succeeded at slashing the Indian programs and worsening the lives of Indian people. In his prosy "Indian trust well-managed by U.S.," he touts a toll-free trust funds question line, modern storage, account reconciliations, statements and audits. Among their accomplishments, says Swimmer, is that the staff "is focusing on reducing backlogs of probate and land appraisals." I don't know if our family's case is typical, but my mother died in 2003 and work on her probate did not begin for more than three years and is not concluded. Swimmer cites only one "serious problem" in Indian country: "Trust land 'fractionation' that, because of early probate codes results in small parcels of trust land that are owned by hundreds or even thousands of people, and minuscule trust payments to individual account holders." As a multi-millionaire with large land-holdings, he may be out of touch with the majority of Indian people, who live in poverty and who cling to even the smallest bit of land. Swimmer is advocating that Congress take away such "minuscule" amounts of land and give them to the tribes. It's a "solution" he's pushed in the past, which resulted in the Supreme Court ruling an earlier act as an unconstitutional taking of private property. He can't resist taking a shot at Elouise Cobell and the other Native people whose court case has forced those minimal improvements: "I realize the Cobell litigation is what dominates the news, but I think it is more important to the Indian trust beneficiary to know that Interior takes its job of trustee delegate very seriously." Ah, yes. It is much more important for Indian people to perceive that the trustee delegate is on the job than for the trustee to actually live up to the trust. The white men on the Supreme Court who invented the federal Indian trust doctrine in the 1830s seemed to believe in a benevolent national government that would protect Indian peoples from the states' citizenry. The high court made up new law, saying the Indian tribes' "relationship to the United States resembles that of a ward to his guardian." "They look to our government for protection; rely on its kindness and its power; appeal to it for relief of its wants; and address the president as their great father." It is accurate that Indian leaders called President George Washington what the Americans called him, father of the country, and gave a similar form of address to him and to subsequent presidents. It is also accurate that, in addition to calling Washington "Great White Father," Iroquois leaders called him and later presidents "Destroyer of Towns." Washington explained the first U.S. Indian law - the first of the trade and intercourse acts - to the Seneca Nation, promising that the 1790 law was the general government's protection of Indian land fraud by the states or citizens. The justices' instant concern in the 1830s was over the avaricious citizens of Georgia who were stealing and swarming over Cherokee lands in order to dig for gold. State officials quickly legalized and encouraged the miners' tactics and purported to strip Cherokee Nation of their land titles. Cherokee leaders didn't bother asking the executive branch for help because Andrew Jackson was president. Jackson had won the presidency - and offices representing Tennessee before that - in large part because of his reputation as a ruthless Indian-fighter. While in Congress, he and his former battlefield cohorts took over control of the Indian affairs committees of the Senate and House, in effect mounting a successful military coup over the conduct of congressional Indian policy. Together they crafted the Indian Removal Act, which he signed into law the year after becoming president. In his first State of the Union speech, Jackson asked Congress to pass the removal legislation to promote states' rights and "preserve this much-injured race." Jackson said the "emigration" should be voluntary, "for it would be as cruel as unjust to compel the aborigines to abandon the graves of their fathers and seek a home in a distant land. But they should be distinctly informed that if they remain within the limits of the States they must be subject to their laws [and] will ere long become merged in the mass of our population." But it was not voluntary. The removal treaties and marches of dozens of Indian tribes from their homelands were coerced and forced at bayonet point. Telling Congress that this happened only to the Cherokees, Swimmer advocates for Trail of Tears theme parks as money-makers for Cherokee Nation. Even when he's doing what he likely thinks is a good thing for his own people, it is at the expense of other Native nations. As a trustee delegate, he's less of what Washington and the Supreme Court envisioned and more of a Jacksonian trustee, cloaking actions against the intended trust beneficiaries in words that sound like good stewardship. The week before Swimmer's opinion piece appeared, the Interior Inspector General released a report, faulting BIA employees in the 2003 death of 16- year-old Cindy Gilbert Sohappy at the Chemawa Indian School. The report found that education and security personnel failed "to maintain a safe environment at the detention facility" and that the "historical pattern of inaction and disregard for human health and safety" contributed to her death from acute alcohol poisoning. Swimmer did not mention the report or the student in his opinion piece in the newspaper in her Pacific Northwest homeland. I guess it's more important for people to think well of the trustee delegate than for the news to be dominated by Indian people who have been failed by the trust. Cindy Gilbert Sohappy: taken care of by the trustee from cradle to grave. --- Suzan Shown Harjo, Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, is president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C., and a columnist for Indian Country Today. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Cultural revival on the Reservation" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 08:41.50 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: REVIVAL OF SOCIETY" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.billingsgazette.net/ articles/2006/08/20/news/state/60-notebook.txt Reporter's Notebook: Revival of Black Mouth Society shows value of culture By Jodi Rave Reporters Notebook August 20, 2006 MANDAREE, N.D. - Gerald "Tex" Fox held a microphone in his hand as he introduced members of the Hidatsa Black Mouth Society. It had been more than a half-century since anyone had seen a member of this once revered and prestigious society. But in recent months, Mandaree community members decided to revive the society that had all but faded into history books. "We know it doesn't have the full power it had years ago," Fox said. "But we're going to work with the community. They're not here for show. They'll be doing security of the camp as a whole." Fox spoke to citizens of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, who had gathered deep in the heart of the Mandaree community on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. On this day, the people listened to him as they sat under a tree-branch- covered arbor near a newly constructed earth lodge. The two-day encampment marked the community's commemoration of the day Sacagawea returned to the Hidatsa homelands 200 years ago this August. On Thursday, tribal citizens from all parts of the reservation began participating in a four-day national signature event, which ends today. The Three Affiliated Tribes - or Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation - is one of the few tribes in the country selected nationally to host an event commemorating the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark expedition. The tribes have used the occasion to celebrate the life of Sacagawea, or Bird Woman, who left the Hidatsa earth lodge villages to help lead Lewis and Clark to the Pacific Ocean. She returned to the Hidatsa in August 1806. As I sat with the Mandaree community members, I enjoyed the feeling of being back home on the Fort Berthold Reservation. It's not something I've felt in more than three years since my mother died. I leaned back in my chair and looked at the waters of Lake Sakakawea. I've always enjoyed summer days on the lake. My family camped near its shores for as long as I can remember. But the lake sometimes makes me sad, too. I think of all the families - 90 percent of the three tribes - that had to relocate after the federal government chose to flood our ancestral homelands in the 1950s to make way for the Pick Sloan project and the Garrison Dam. That's how we ended up with Lake Sakakawea, now one of the largest man- made lakes in the United States. A lot of our sacred sites lie submerged under Lake Sakakawea. Our communities were broken up and separated. And without those sacred sites and societal structures, a lot of our ceremonies faded. The last member of the Hidatsa Black Mouth Society died in the 1950s, leaving the society inactive since. The Mandan still have a few members of the Black Mouth Society. The Hidatsa historically bought the rites to the Black Mouth, or police society, from the Mandan. The newly revived Hidatsa society expects to take on a visible role in community events on the reservation. So far, 13 men have been asked to be part of the society. Others will be actively recruited. "Although I wanted to see this society, I didn't dream this up myself," said Fox, who was asked to organize the group because he has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement. Fox introduced the new members to the Mandaree community. And now that society leaders have been chosen, he will step aside. But he told the community gathered under the arbor that the men who agreed to be part of the group were prepared to face criticism for reviving the traditional police society. The gathering in Mandaree marked the first official duties of the resurrected society. As I sat under the arbor, I wasn't surprised to hear Fox warn of criticism. I've often heard others criticize someone who is trying to practice traditional ways. They are usually accused of not doing something right. But if others don't take the lead, then those traditions, cultural beliefs and societal practices will be forever submerged. The three tribes' signature event created an opportunity for the Hidatsa to look back at how our life used to be when our societies were in working order. At the same time, the tribes have probably been criticized by other American Indians for participating in Lewis and Clark events as part of the bicentennial. Many American Indians argue that Lewis and Clark represented the beginning of the end. But those people tend to have a limited view of the world. When Lewis and Clark arrived among the Mandan and Hidatsa, there was already a president of the United States. Jodi Rave can be reached at 406-523-5299 or jodi.rave@lee.net. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: W. RON ALLEN: Tribes create Jobs and Taxes" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 08:29:08 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="W. RON ALLEN: TRIBES CREATE JOBS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/281198_tribes15.html Tribes create jobs and taxes By W. RON ALLEN GUEST COLUMNIST August 15, 2006 Washington's 29 tribal governments are creating new economic opportunities on Indian reservations and in nearby communities, and are generating tens of millions of dollars in local and state taxes, according to a leading national economist who has just completed a major, two-year- long profile of the state's Indian economy. Tribal governments "are building, buying, selling, hiring and investing like never before," reports Jonathan Taylor, an independent economic consultant based in Cambridge, Mass. Tribes employ thousands of Washingtonians - mostly non-Indian - in casinos, non-gaming enterprises and governments, according to Taylor. They buy millions of dollars worth of goods and services from hundreds of private businesses in communities near them and around the state. Those purchases and wages - in turn - produce millions of dollars in new business for local companies, and taxes for state and local governments. About 90 cents of every dollar of payroll and purchasing is spent at private businesses off the reservations, supporting non-Indian jobs and producing taxes for local and state governments in Washington. The total value-added, multiplier effect of tribal government and enterprise spending within Washington exceeds about $2.2 billion a year. Taylor calculates that sum yields an estimated $141 million in state and local taxes in Washington. Because tribal enterprises, including casinos, are operated by tribal governments all net income remains with those governments, instead of going to private investors, and is re-invested on the reservation and in nearby communities. Tribal governments use the money to pay for critical services such as health care, education, housing, public safety, environmental protection and economic development. Tribal government investment is increasing dramatically as income increases from gaming operations and other tribal enterprises. For example, the Kalispel Tribe increased spending on natural resource management to $3.5 million by 2004 and now invests more than $1 million a year in education. The members of my tribe, the Jamestown S'Klallam, also are making investments in our community: When the health care clinic in Sequim faced closure, our tribe stepped in with a plan to take over ownership and keep it open. In 2004, the clinic served more than 6,000 patients, most of them non-tribal members. We joined together with local, state and federal government agencies - and local property owners - to invest more than $6 million in a plan to restore Jimmycomelately Creek, once an important spawning stream for endangered chum salmon. Bigger tribes are making even larger investments. The Tulalip Tribe's Quil Ceda Village - a major regional shopping center - supports more than 2,500 jobs, most of them held by non-Indians. It generates $26 million a year in taxes for local and state governments. A $75 million hotel is under construction. This year, the Tulalip Tribe gave $2.3 million to local charities and law enforcement groups. Washington's tribes have come a long way, and we are proud of our progress and of our contribution to Washington's economy and tax base. But we still have a long way to go. Personal income earned by Indians still remains less than 60 percent of the all-races average in Washington, and the income of Indians living on reservations is even lower - less than half the average. For generations, there were few opportunities for employment on reservations. Because reservation land is held by the federal government in trust for tribes, it was difficult or impossible to attract private investment for economic development. Tribal government gaming is the first economic development tool that has been successful on Indian reservations across Washington and revenue from it is being to finance other investments. Revenue from tribal government enterprises are being re-invested locally - providing new business for private companies, generating new tax revenue for local and state government, and helping to create more vibrant communities, especially in rural areas of the state where it is needed the most. --- W. Ron Allen is chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe and president of the Washington Indian Gaming Association. Copyright c. 1996-2006 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Grandchild's smile/aging worthwhile" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 08:29:08 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: AGING WITH LOVE" http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/columnists/ dorreen_yellow_bird/15275276.htm Grandchild's smile makes aging worthwhile Column by Dorreen Yellow Bird August 15, 2006 A recent "Ask Amy" advice column featured a letter from a writer who said she was an attractive 44-year women, but ashamed and embarrassed to admit to being a grandmother - a grandmother of twin boys at that. She thought her younger colleagues would look at her as a "has been" if they found out. "Has been" are not such bad words. After all, those words mean you "have been" there and done that, and you KNOW what's in store for those unsuspecting younger women or men and can smile at some of the prospects. And, in my world, being a grandmother means having all these wonderful grandchildren whom you can enjoy and indulge to your heart's content. That is the grand prize the Creator gives grandmothers. Most of the time, you aren't constrained by politics or decorum, meaning you are allowed and expected to present - to the family - your point of view, no matter how different it is. You don't have to compete any longer with younger women in dress or style; old is a developed style. Most important, it's a requirement that you perfect a good sense of humor by the time you're an elder. To laugh at the jokes and goings-on of said grandchildren is essential, but it also is absolutely essential to be able to laugh at yourself. You will need to laugh at yourself because the older you get, the funnier you will be, even if it's unintentional - I know this is true. Some older women have united and turned aging into a club. While at Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, Minn., this weekend, I encountered women from the Red Hat Society. They are women past age 55 who've decided to greet middle age with "verve, humor and elan," they told me. "Silliness is the comic relief of life," they say. A poem led them to the society's name: "When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me." I don't have a red hat, nor do I belong to that society. But I like the idea; maybe it could be red cotton dresses and purple hats for the reservation. I don't know. My aunt and mother didn't know about such a society, but as they grew older, they loved purple and probably would have worn a red hat, too. These two women were in the middle of a large and growing family. Everyone knew them. Surprisingly, many young people - usually with their children in tow - would come up to one of them, plant a hug and kiss, present their child and tell the youngster to hug the great-great grandmas. Usually, the grandmothers would look at the young mothers and say, "And who are you?" We would be standing nearby, and that always would bring a smile or light laugh. The young people knew the grandmothers because they were the center of our family group, but the grandmothers probably hadn't seen the young women since they were teenagers in blue jeans and with long hair, or since they'd been in diapers. Don't be fooled; growing old can be the pits. There can be aching knees and stiff joints. If you're diabetic, you're a slave to a syringe and diet. You forget names and faces and the older you get, the more you recall of the past and the less of today. My mother and aunt's memories were of the family and those still were important when they passed away. I thought and smiled about an incident here at work when I read that "Ask Amy" column: I once spent the day at work with my jeans on backward. I called my sister on the way out the door that day and told her. As weight shifts and you grow in the middle, these jeans actually fit better this way, I told her. She laughed so hard I had to hang up, and she was still laughing. I think she would make a good candidate for the Red Hat Society. The 44-year-old attractive grandmother is looking in the wrong direction for meaning and the essence of life. Look down, I'd tell her; it's in the eyes of your grandsons. Aging, as the Red Hat society says, is seeing the humor or silliness all around you, and dancing (if you can) your way to the next phase of life. ---- Dorreen Yellow Bird's column appears Tuesday and Saturday. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2006 Grand Forks Herald/Grand Forks, ND. --------- "RE: Venezuela passes 35 Indigenous Rights Laws" --------- Date: Thursday, August 17, 2006 04:59 am From: Carol Subj: Venezuela National Assembly Passes 35 Laws to Protect Indigenous Rights Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba http://www.radiohc.cu Venezuela National Assembly Passes 35 Laws to Protect Indigenous Rights Caracas, August 15 (RHC) - The Venezuelan parliament has passed at least 35 laws supporting the country's indigenous groups. According to statistics, there are some 36 ethnic groups in Venezuela. National Assembly (AN) deputy, Noheli Pocaterra told the press that legislators would continue fighting for indigenous rights because "big companies are taking their lands without permission, and for them land is sacred." In the latest survey, made in 2001, only half a million of 25 million inhabitants declared themselves to be indigenous. However, it is difficult to know exactly how many indigenous inhabitants are living in Venezuela. Some specialists say that the number is far higher than 6000 people divided into 36 ethnic groups. Pocaterra, herself a Wayuu indian, argues that indigenous communities have been relegated by big businesses taking their lands without permission or prior warning. The lawmaker states although laws have been passed in Parliament defending indigenous groups, there are still several important laws that need to be passed. ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr --------- "RE: Supreme Court may accept Atenco case" --------- Date: Thursday, August 17, 2006 09:21 pm From: Chiapas95-english Subj: En;Universal,Supreme Court May accept Atenco case,Aug 17 Mailing List: Chiapas95-En This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:22:13 +0200 From: "Dana Aldea" Supreme Court may accept Atenco case BY CARLOS AVILE'Z AND SILVIA OTERO/EL UNIVERSAL El Universal August 17, 2006 The Supreme Court on Tuesday took the unusual action of conditionally accepting a request to investigate alleged human rights violations. Typically such a case must originate with a petition from the president, Congress, the Mexico City mayor, a governor or the court itself. Chief Justice Mariano Azuela announced he has agreed to investigate a case related to the violent clash involving police and residents of San Salvador Atenco in May, but with certain conditions. The case was filed by Barbara Zamora, a lawyer representing the People's Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT), an activist organization based in San Salvador Atenco. Azuela granted the FPDT 10 days to submit evidence proving their rights were violated during the police action that occurred in the early hours of May 4. This marks only the fourth time ever - and second time this year - the Supreme Court has exercised this mechanism since it was granted such investigative powers in 1917. -- To subscribe to this list send a message containing the words subscribe chiapas95 (or chiapas95-lite, or chiapas95-english, or chiapas95-espanol) to majordomo@eco.utexas.edu. Previous messages are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html or gopher to Texas, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Economics, Mailing Lists. --------- "RE: Another Atenco leader arrested" --------- Date: Thursday, August 17, 2006 09:23 pm From: Chiapas95-english Subj: Jornada, Another Atenco leader arrested, Aug 17 Mailing List: Chiapas95-En This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:14:45 +0200 Subject: Jornada, Another Atenco leader arrested, Aug 17 Another Atenco leader arrested Javier Salinas Cesareo, La Jornada. Thursday, August 17th 2006 http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/08/17/021n2pol.php San Salvador Atenco, Mexico, August 16. A group of judicial and state police elements, burst this Wednesday afternoon into the office of the ejido delegation of San Salvador Atenco, aside the protest occupation maintained by the Popular Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT), and arrested the first delegate Ricardo Lo'pez Espinosa, who in the last days has been one of the most active members of the organization. The authorities informed that the detention had been carried out in accordance with an arrest order issued by the judge of first criminal court with seat in the Molino de Flores prison, Alberto Contreras Jua'rez, under the penal case 171/06. The penal case refers to the incidents from June 5th, 2006, when a group of Atenco residents expelled five elements of the State Security Agency (ASE), whom they accused of performing provocative acts. On this day, the ASE initiated the preliminary inquiry TEX/I/1562/06, against delegate Ricardo Lo'pez, who is charged with causing damage to the windshield of patrol car 07825. He was accused by the state police officers Esteban Volar Ponce and Amador Perez Aguirre, as well as three other elements. Lo'pez Espinosa had acted as first delegate when receiving Subcomandante Marcos and the march of "solidarity with Atenco" on May 5th, 2006. -- To subscribe to this list send a message containing the words subscribe chiapas95 (or chiapas95-lite, or chiapas95-english, or chiapas95-espanol) to majordomo@eco.utexas.edu. Previous messages are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html or gopher to Texas, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Economics, Mailing Lists. --------- "RE: First Cross-border meeting of La Otra Supporters" --------- Date: Friday, August 18, 2006 09:22 pm From: Chiapas95-english Subj: En;NN,,Aug 13 First Cross-border meeting of La Otra supporters Mailing List: Chiapas95-En This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . The Other Campaign Is On the Move Up North, Too Adherents Announce the First Cross-Border Meeting to Support the Struggles of Southern, Central and Northern Mexico By Margarita Salazar The Other Journalism with the Other Campaign on the Other Side August 13, 2006 This report appears on the internet at http://www.narconews.com/Issue42/article1996.html LOS ANGELES: From the heart of the most surprising of contrasts, news of the revolt led by the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca (APPO) reaches us all the way here up north. In the midst of barricades and the taste of tlayudas with tasajo and "water chiles," amidst the smell of sweat from the noble and working Oaxacan people -my people, I think, with a feeling that goes beyond regionalism- amidst cries of brave women who for a moment put on hold their existence as the embodiment of tenderness, while taking over the media media that since up to this point having only transmitted the word of the all-powerful government... "Anything can happen in Mexico," I tell myself while my fingers fly over the keyboard of a borrowed computer. "I don't know why," I write to a friend, "but what is happening in our country resembles so much what Ricardo Flores Mago'n described on the eve of the Revolution." Oaxaca, my root, my essence. The piece of Mexico that is me finds itself amazed by itself. History turns in a spiral, and the Zapatista snail shell (caracol) makes itself present once again. 2010 is just around the corner, and the Sixth Delegation of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), or rather, Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos, is concentrated in the heart of Mexico to participate in the fight for the release of the men and women political prisoners from Atenco. Meanwhile, in the northern part of the country, steps in the march on the road of the Other Campaign don't stop. In mid-July, commissioned delegates of the Other Campaign from Ensenada, Tijuana, Mexicali, and San Quintin, from the state of Baja California, as well Mexicans from Los Angeles and San Diego, on the Other Side, gathered in Ensenada in order to reach accords in step with the Other Campaign. Among the agreements is the proposal to the EZLN that the Sixth Delegation continue forward through the 11 states it has yet to travel to. If it be necessary that Subcomandante Marcos continue in the central part of the country, then they propose that the leadership of EZLN name a "sub-commission" that would continue the trip through the states of San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Durango, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Sonora, and Baja California North and South. Also sought after is a way that the Campaign could get to the "Other Side." Toward these ends, the First Cross-border Meeting of the Other Campaign will take place -in the city of Tijuana, on the 15th and 16th of September- for the release of all political prisoners of Mexico, including those of Atenco; in support of the popular rebellion of Oaxaca and the struggle of the farm workers of South Central L.A., (whose crops were destroyed by a real estate developer); in protest of the racist aggressions of those involved in the Minuteman Project against the migrant community on the Other Side; and generally, in protest of the anti-immigrant politics of the U.S. government, which every day threaten more directly the civil and human rights of undocumented workers. At the same time, also discussed was the importance of continuing to utilize all the information media accessible in order to spread the word on the struggle in Mexico through community media, free radio, signs, flyers and all kinds of popular information. Speaking of this work, an idea is being considered to set up "Information Stations" in neighborhoods and other communities where the public can become informed about the overall situation in Mexico. At the same time, in Southern California, there have been concerts, photography exhibits, and documentaries that show Mexico in struggle. Also, with such great interest in participating among the "intergalactic" youth, the Other Campaign on the Other Side (L.A.) named a commission that will be responsible for facilitating this for "other" friends in other parts of the world. With that in mind, for anyone interested, the following contacts are at your disposal: zeztala@gmail.com and the telephone number (310) 424- 7646. You can only leave a message at this phone number; everyone who calls must leave a phone number or email address where they can be contacted. Just like in Southern and Central Mexico, Mexicans up North are hustling, too, to transform the country from below. -- To subscribe to this list send a message containing the words subscribe chiapas95 (or chiapas95-lite, or chiapas95-english, or chiapas95-espanol) to majordomo@eco.utexas.edu. Previous messages are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html or gopher to Texas, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Economics, Mailing Lists. --------- "RE: Indigenous Law presented in Mexico" --------- Date: Thursday, August 17, 2006 04:59 am From: Carol Subj: Indigenous Law Presented in Mexico Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit sent by Milt Shapiro (mexnews) mexidata.info - Aug 14, 2006 EDITED TRANSLATION FROM REFORMA, AUGUST 10, 2006, MEXICO CITY) Indigenous Law Presented in Mexico By Mayolo Lopez Huehuetlan, San Luis Potosi - As of June 1, approximately 55,000 Huastec, Pame and Tinek indigenous groups from San Luis Potosi will be able to benefit from the Law of Administration of Indigenous and Community Justice, the first of its kind in Mexico. During the ceremony for the presentation of the law, President Vicente Fox stated that no one should fear the recognition of indigenous rights, while Xochitl Galvez declared in an interview that the efforts of Sub-Commander Marcos are reflected in the new law. In the words of the Commissioner for Indigenous Peoples, the law permits "the true exercise of the autonomy of communities by acknowledging the full value of the determinations of their traditional authorities." "Like any other citizen," she explained, indigenous people will be able to submit denunciations to legal organizations and be entitled to respect for their cultural diversity, bearing in mind their habits and customs, with the support of an interpreter and a defense attorney familiar with their language and culture. She hailed the fact that, "Recognition of the application of normative systems in the regulation and solution of conflicts within their communities is extremely important, because it accepts the validity and effectiveness of the application of their habits and customs." The law will grant full validity to the determinations of indigenous authorities and no external institution will be able to intervene in the decisions made. Galvez considered that the law "is the reflection of what was discussed in the San Andres Larrainzar Agreements: the recognition of other forms of administering justice." During her speech, Maria Elena Sanchez Guzman, president of the Supreme Court of Justice in San Luis Potosi, explained that the advantage of the law is that indigenous peoples and communities will be subjects of public law with legal status, autonomy, authorities and normative systems. "The determinations of the indigenous authorities," she pointed out, "will be able to be reviewed and confirmed or otherwise by the state courts through a simple, summary system when the plaintiffs allege violations of individual guarantees or human rights." Among other propositions, the new law: - Acknowledges the existence and validity of indigenous justice, known as habits and customs. - Grants auxiliary judges jurisdiction and authority. - Will guarantee training and supervision by the state Supreme Court of Justice. - Ensures that the application of justice will be devoid of formality and brief. ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr --------- "RE: In Mexico, Indigenous Culture in Jeopardy" --------- Date: Thursday, August 17, 2006 04:59 am From: Carol Subj: In Mexico, Indigenous Culture in Jeopardy Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Mark Abley has written a fascinating and highly readable book, "Spoken Here," which documents the forces endangering hundreds of languages around the world, from Yuchi to Manx, the often heroic efforts being made to save them, and just what is lost when those efforts fail. --- Radio Havana Cuba http://www.radiohc.cu Mexico's Indigenous Culture in Jeopardy Mexico, August 15 (RHC-PL)-Just a few people older than 70 can speak any of the 14 indigenous languages that make up Mexico's cultural diversity say experts. Research Director of the National Indigenous Languages Institute (INALI), Fidencio Briceno, warned that the dialects would disappear if that trend continues. He referred to the "Ayapaenco" language only spoken by two elderly people in the locality of Tabasco and to "Aguacateco" spoken by less than 80 people. Migration hampers the teaching of the languages to the younger generations despite the programs encouraged by INALI to stem the trend. Similarly, the expert attributed the threats of serious extinction of the "Maya" or the "Nahuatl" dialects, spoken by hundreds of people, to the exodus of indigenous inhabitants seeking better economic opportunties. At present, the 62 indigenous languages existing in Mexico are at risk of disappearing, a danger the Institute is committed to preventing stated the official. ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr --------- "RE: High hopes for National Grand Chief" --------- Date: Monday, August 14, 2006 02:34 pm From: frostyca2000 Subj: High hopes for national Grand Chief Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian High hopes for national Grand Chief Written by Mark Douglas August 14, 2006 The Chief of Saugeen First Nation has a very positive response to the re-election of national Grand Chief, Phil Fontaine. Saugeen Chief, Randall Kahgee Jr., says Fontaine will do a great job and will be a benefit in terms of what he can do over the next few years. Kahgee says there are a number of national-scale issues he'd like to see Fontaine working on, in particular, restructuring relationships between the Crown and First Nations. That includes consultation processes, and accomodation of First Nation rights and interests, Kahgee says. Also, reconciliation of sovereignty issues between the Crown and First Nations, though Kahgee says that needs to happen on a case-by- case basis. Kahgee says there are no particular issues for Saugeen First Nation that Fontaine needs to pay particular attention to -- adding the Grand Chief is always there if his help is needed. Kahgee says he's worked with Fontaine before, during land claim negotiations in the Northw