_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 14, ISSUE 049 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 December 9, 2006 Pomo stalpkel-da/moon leaves yellow and fall Blackfeet misa'miko'komiaato's/long night moon Anishnaabe manidoo-gizisoons/small spirits moon Lakota Tahekapsun Wi/moon when buck break off horns +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; www.indiancountrytoday.com; Mailing Lists: Frostys AmerIndian and Chiapas95 En; 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 come from a society of anger. There are a lot of people who have never resolved their anger and it comes out. You have to take care of that, you have to pray and ask for guidance and help so you will never use the power to hurt anyone." "Colonization is the taking away of identities, it's the breaking away of the rules to live by as a people, and that's what colonization did." "For those of us who can live and function in this world and speak the language and the songs and go to ceremonies, we are bicultural and we can function and it's up to us to share this information to our relatives." __ Cecilia Fire Thunder, Oglala Lakota +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters Initially, I planned to ignore the lead story about barking dogs maquerading as Christian crusaders, and their intent to disrupt the funeral honoring National Guard Cpl. Nathan Goodiron on the Fort Berthold Reservation. My position was it gave press to misdirected cowards. Without that media coverage they have no audience. An elder pointed out I had a higher calling, and that is to honor a warrior who gave his life for his people. He has been honored with the name Young Eagle by his nation for his valor and bravery. In addition, I should honor the Fort Berthold Reservation for its courage in denying these running dogs access to their warrior and his family, who only wish to mourn and honor him in peace. My elder is, of course, right. I am grateful for this guidance. =========================================== - Warrior Moccasins Project seeks out your help Date: Sunday, September 24, 2006 02:10 pm From: Sherry Subj: Warrior Moccasins Project seeks out your help! Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Warrior Moccasin Project seeks out experienced beaders, moccasin makers and names for a pair of moccasins for their service in the military. Those interested in donationg Deer Hides, please email me so i can give you the name and address of where to ship it to. Deer hides CAN be donated to this project. To do so, you must first salt the hides with medium grade salt which can be purchased at any farm supply store. After salting the hide(s) ship them to the address i will give you following the laws as specified BY YOUR STATE. A copy of the possession tag which was issued by the game warden must be included for each hide being shipped. Any monetary donation to this project is also greatly appreciated. Each cost of the pair of moccasins is $32.00 (includes shipping/handling charge). Those serving in harms way and those who have returned state side are encouraged to get in touch with my via email. If you know of a native military troop member who you want to honor, please get a hold of me through my email. Thank you :) =========================================== Again, this winter this editorial section will feature groups or individuals who are helping those in need, primarily on reservations and especially those who aid children and elders. Urban help will not be excluded. I have lived in the Cedar-Riverside area of Minneapolis and been a guest in Lakota Housing in Rapid City and in Shiprock. The need to eat and be warm does not end because a person has left the rez. PLEASE forward contact information for all you know who help those less able to do so make it through the harsh winter months. ----- UPDATED REQUEST!!! Date: Sunday, November 05, 2006 10:58 am From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: Update: HYS 2006 Toys & Clothing Request [Please forward to anyone who can help!] UPDATE: Winter & Christmas 2006 "Honor Your Spirit, Protect The Children" Toys & Clothing Request Winter has started and the weather is already very cold in Montana. Please think of the children there who need warm clothes in Lame Deer, on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. We would like to thank each and everyone who has already sent boxes! Thank you so much for making a difference in their lives, and also helping the parents or relatives who do their best to take care of them. We are happy to say that there is no more need for shoes, as a lot of shoes have been received :) But there is still a need for new and good quality warm clothes, for babies and children of all ages up to about 12 years old, as well as Christmas toys. During Montana winters, the temperature can drop to 30 or 40 degrees below zero so warm winter clothing and blankets can be lifesaving. These items will be distributed right away. The toys will be distributed during the Christmas give away. The boxes can be sent to them directly on the reservation, where all items are distributed by trusted Northern Cheyenne contacts who make sure that the children with the greatest needs are taken care of first. Here is a list of things that can be sent in support of these children: - WARM CLOTHES for children of all ages from babies to pre- teens (for example knitted clothes, pants, jeans, coats, warm T-shirts, socks, gloves, hats, scarves) - warm blankets - TOYS for Christmas Other items that would also be appreciated: grooming supplies (toothpaste, tooth brushes, soaps and shampoos, combs, hair brushes, hair barrettes, rubber bands, etc), pampers diapers or pull-ups. Please make sure that the items sent are safe, new or as good as new, and sensitive to the culture of the children and their People. When sending a box, it would be appreciated if you could send us a short email with your name or location, type of items sent, approximate weight and shipping date, so that we can help our contacts by keeping a list of what is sent to them. Our aim and priority is to always make sure that everything reaches the reservation, for the children of families unable to make ends meet due to the high unemployment rate, the difficult conditions and the extreme poverty on the reservation. These children need all the help and encouragement they can get, so if you can help, please contact us for more information. Contact Info: Dodie Finstead, USA dodie_finstead@yahoo.com Dominique Larrede, France d.larrede@wanadoo.fr Brigitte Thimiakis, Europe thimiakischool@the.forthnet.gr Thank you for reading our request. Respectfully, "Honor Your Spirit, Protect The Children" "Your help makes a huge difference for those who have never received help. Your donations provide hope and encouragement to those who have never known these qualities. Your concern and solidarity can improve the lives of many children, elders, families, on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. There is still a lot to do but all together you can help us make these dreams come true. Thank you for being a part of this project and supporting it." Respectfully, Manuel Redwoman, Northern Cheyenne/Lakota/Arapaho To learn more about the HYS projects, please visit: http://www.geocities.com/honoryourspirit/home Our heartfelt thanks to everyone for your support ! <>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o<>o ==[This message may be forwarded under the condition that it is not altered in any way] == ---- http://www.devilslakejournal.com/articles/2006/10/20/news/news01.txt "Stuff a Truck" help for the holidays begins By Crystal Martodam Journal Staff Writer October 20, 2006 Load 'em up and move up, it's that time of year again for the "Stuff A Truck" food drive to fill the local food pantry at the Dakota Prairie Community Action Agency in Devils Lake. Dakota Prairie disperses food according to need and not income. For example the loss of a house in a fire or some other tragic accident that leaves a family or individuals in need of emergency food supplies. This year the food drive will begin on Oct. 23 and run until Nov. 12. This will be the fourth annual "Stuff A Truck" event. Dave Burstad, assistant manager at Leevers County Market said that there will be very large bins set up at the front of the store with the "Stuff A Truck" logo on them. Any non-perishable food items can be placed in these bins for donation. Cash donations are welcome also. There will be paper trucks that can be purchased, your name can be placed on the truck or it can be left blank. The trucks will then be hung on the walls in the store. Brustad also commented that items will be tagged in the store. "Many times people are unsure of what the pantry is lacking," he said. "This will help make it easier for those who wish to contribute." There will also be pre-bagged groceries than can be purchased for $10 and then placed in the bins. These bags are non-perishable food items that have been pre-bagged by Dakota Prairie with needed items. For every bag bought Leevers will also be donating between $1.75 and $2 per bag. "The bag has a value of $12 rather than $10," Brustad said. Last year there was approximately $1,500 worth of groceries collected. "We try to make it bigger and better every year, so we are hoping for more this year," Brustad said. This is the seventh year that the Stuff a Truck Program has been running. It began at that time in the Country Markets in Minnesota donating to the local food pantries. "This is not designed as an advertising entity, it is designed to help the community," Brustad said. People can also make direct cash donations to the Dakota Prairie Agency. "It is such a fun program we look foreword to every year." Brustad said. The local food pantry run through the Dakota Prairie Community Action Agency is an emergency pantry. It is there to help people in need. There are other services available at the DPCAA that can provide aid to an individuals situation such as providing money management services and services that can help an individual receive services from government programs that may be available to them because of income. For more information contact them at (701) 662-6500. Street Address: Dakota Prairie Community Action Agency 1219 College Drive Devils Lake, ND 58301 USA Mailing Address: Dakota Prairie Community Action Agency P. O. Box 698 Devils Lake, Nd 58301 Contact Name Phone 701-662-6500 FAX 701-662-6511 Copyright c. 2006 Devils Lake Journal, a GateHouse Media paper. ---- Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 11:24:06 -0600 From: "NDN@NDNnews.com" Subj: Children's Village needs your HELP! Please forward to your groups and lists! Thank you, Tamra Children's Village a foster care home located on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota is in need of disposable diapers. They currently have four little ones in diapers, ages 11/2, 2, 3, and 4. Also, toiletries are needed. If you can, and would like to help, you can mail diapers directly to: Children's Village c/o Louis and Melvina Winters 100 Main Street P. O. Box 1034 Pine Ridge, SD 57770 For the past few years, we have decided that in lieu of a giveaway at our pow wow, we would put the money toward purchasing propane for Children's Village. We also hold a blanket dance to help in this need. If anyone is interested in helping too, you can send a check to Midwest SOARRING and mark it as propane fund to designate your donation. Both Midwest SOARRING Foundation and Children's Village are nonprofit, 501c3 and donations are tax deductible. If you have any further questions, please contact Janet at 773-585-1744. Thanks so much for any help you can give. Janet Sevilla www.midwestsoarring.org Tamra www.NDNnews.com www.protectsacredsites.org "Providing news and information about Native American Issues & Causes" "Helping to make a difference for our people in Indian Country, one day at a time. What will you do today to help make a difference?" "Life is a learning place. Existence is forever. Challenges are only challenges because life has given you an opportunity to grow in an area of your fear or weakness." Leonard Peltier, Sept. 2006 ---- Date: Friday, October 27, 2006 03:27 pm From: Del \Abe\ Jones Subj: A couple notes for/about our Military and Vets please pass along to people who may be interested -----Original Message----- From: jesuandirenel@frontiernet.net To: almclwest@aol.com Sent: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 9:47 AM We are getting ready to pack Thanksgiving and Christmas "We care packages" for the troops and we need addresses. Would you please help us get the word out to other detachments that we need addresses. Maybe we can share list and exchange whatever names are available. All we want is names of troops all services and we are looking for names of women serving and the aux. makes up special packages for the women serving based on feedback from women serving in theatre... Marine J. Marrero jesuandirenel@frontiernet.net FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE American Legion offers way to thank veterans, troops on Veterans Day INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 11, 2006) - With thousands of troops deployed overseas, The American Legion has launched a free, easy way to thank them for their service on the eve of Veterans Day, Nov. 11. The electronic greeting cards are also ideal to thank all veterans, of all generations, who have served in the U.S. armed forces. "In today's computer age, what better way to say 'thank you' to a veteran or a servicemember either here at home or serving thousands of miles away than a musical greeting card with your personalized message that will reach them almost instantaneously," said Paul A. Morin, national commander of The American Legion. Anyone who has an e-mail address can receive the special cards. Creating the card is quick and easy at The American Legion's website, www. legion.org (click on Veterans Day E-greeting cards). "As our troops continue to serve in harms way, as countless thousands before them did in other wars, a message of support and thanks means more to a veteran than you realize," Morin said. "Please take a few moments to use this free service and brighten the day of one or more of America's veterans." The American Legion site offers e-mail cards representing each military service along with the service song that plays when the card is opened. Each card provides plenty of space to compose a personal message. Cards may be sent now through Nov. 12, 2006. Greeting cards may be sent direct to active duty service men and women if their military e-mail addresses are known. The 2.7 million-member American Legion is the nation's largest wartime veterans organization....# ---- 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 ----------- Editorial Section: - GIAGO: Mainstream media . Honoring a Warrior lacking in accuracy . Warrior Mocassins - YELLOW BIRD: . Winter Help Fighting must go; change name - N.D. Tribe - JODI: Writer panned by Educators barring church protesters for Stereotypes - N.D. lays to rest - EDITORIAL: Some fair questions `one of its very finest' - Quebec 'Nation' - Back payments raises Native Indians' ire disputed by Government - Feds announce funds for NAIG - Panel pushes for Tribal Rights - Close the gap on Native Health, - Settlement should not be left Doer urges Ottawa to the Fossil Record - Natives say Land Deal - Billy Frank, Hank Adams left them out speak on Native Rights - Border Goons - UN delays Declaration who pick on Native Women on the Rights of Indigenous - Sacred cave lost, Casino gained - Uranium summit to begin Thursday - The treaty process - Quileute Tribe holds beach access needs incentives as leverage - Atenco police violence - Hobart Officials, criticized by U.N. Oneida Tribe exchange words - Zapatista leader vows - Keweenaw Bay fee land not Taxable to help Nuevo Laredo colonia - Dry Creek Band seeks - In Defense of Mother Earth return of 17,000 Acres and Indig Autonomy - Native American? The tribe says no - Tribal court limits extraditions - Tribal heads hold summit - Family believes - Turning the tide of despair Red Lake boys were abducted - Woman claims abuse by BIA Officers - Native Prisoner - Recovering Alcoholic -- Lummi work program returns to Rez with Gifts - Rustywire: - Dartmouth apologizes Winter Boarding School Nite to Native American Students - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - New Congress will likely - Del "Abe" Jones Poems: stymie push to drill ANWR Day of Infamy - Cecelia Fire Thunder - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: N.D. Tribe barring church protesters" --------- Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2006 10:51:16 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FORT BERTHOLD PROTECTS MOURNERS FROM FANATICS" http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/APWires/headlines/D8LONC180.html N.D. tribe barring church protesters By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press Writer December 2, 2006 BISMARCK, N.D. - A church group that protests at military funerals around the country will be barred from services for an American Indian soldier on a reservation, tribal officials say. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., planned to demonstrate at National Guard Cpl. Nathan Goodiron's funeral on Saturday at the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. Church members say the deaths of soldiers are punishment from God for the country's tolerance of homosexuals. Tribal leaders passed a resolution Friday that prohibits the group from protesting on the reservation, said Marcus Wells Jr., chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes. "We will not tolerate any harassment that is intended to provoke ill feelings and violence," he said. Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of the Rev. Fred Phelps Sr., pastor of Westboro Baptist, said her group planned to protest outside the reservation "on public rights of way." "We don't get into anyone's private area," said Phelps-Roper, the church's attorney and its spokeswoman. "We don't go on private land." Goodiron, 25, of Mandaree, known on the reservation as Young Eagle, was killed Thanksgiving Day in Afghanistan when a grenade struck his vehicle while he was on patrol. He was a member of the 1st Battalion of the North Dakota National Guard's 188th Air Defense Artillery. Tribal officials said he was the first member of the Three Affiliated Tribes to be killed in the war on terror. American and tribal flags are being flown at half staff on the reservation to honor Goodiron. "We recognize and respect the right to free speech and the public's right to assemble, but we want everyone to know that the Three Affiliated Tribes, as a sovereign tribal government, has the right to regulate any person or persons who harass and show disrespectful conduct towards our members, within our boundaries," Wells said in a statement. Wells said tribal police would prevent the protesters from coming on the reservation. Copyright c. 2006 the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2006 Seattle Times. --------- "RE: N.D. lays to rest `one of its very finest'" --------- Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 08:36:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATHAN GOODIRON BEGINS SPIRIT JOURNEY" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.minotdailynews.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=7248 N.D. lays to rest `one of its very finest' By JILL SCHRAMM, Staff Writer jschramm@minotdailynews.com MANDAREE - Military comrades and the Fort Berthold community paid their final respects to a fallen soldier Saturday. Family and friends filled the school gymnasium for the funeral of Army National Guard Cpl. Nathan Goodiron. Gov. John Hoeven called Goodiron a "true warrior and a true North Dakota hero." "He didn't set out to be a hero but his principles and his character made him one," Hoeven said. "A hero is an ordinary person who does extraordinary things in extraordinary circumstances. A hero is someone who leaves family and friends and the comfort of home in a quest for higher principles - principles such as liberty and justice." Goodiron lived up to his Hidatsa name, Young Eagle, in watching out for others, Hoeven said. "We will never forget you. We will honor your sacrifices," he said. North Dakota Army National Guard Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk presented the family with the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, the highest honors of the various awards earned by Goodiron. A parade of military officials, soldiers and veterans paid tribute as they, one by one, presented their salutes. The area's combat veterans served as pallbearers. Among the musical tributes were the performance of the Lakota Flag Song and Honor Song. Hoeven presented the family with a flag flown over the State Capitol and Congressman Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., brought a flag that had been flown over the national Capitol. Goodiron, 25, is survived by his wife, Eileen, a son, two stepchildren, parents Paul and Harriet Goodiron of Mandaree, and a brother and grandmothers. He was killed Thanksgiving Day when a rocket-propelled grenade struck the vehicle he was driving while on patrol with the 1st Battalion, 188th Air Defense Artillery in Afghanistan. Goodiron, a student at Minot State University, was a 1999 graduate of Mandaree High School and had attended Fort Berthold Community College. He had worked for a time as a technical assistant for the Three Affiliated Tribes. He had been active in cultural activities and powwows. Tyler Goldade of Alaska, a college friend who gave the eulogy, remembered Goodiron for his magnetic personality, sense of humor and honesty. He talked about Goodiron's last hours in sharing a Thanksgiving meal with his fellow soldiers and sharing his thankfulness for family and friends. He also mentioned his own special memory of two years ago when Goodiron joined him in reading Rick Warren's "The Purpose Driven Life." Goodiron read ahead and called him to let him know that he'd found the book's best page, the page that led him to ask Jesus into his heart. The Rev. Stephen Krantz spoke of Goodiron's compassion for others and love for life. "Nathan touched so many people's lives in a most positive way," he said. Even in Afghanistan, he said, "Nathan was carrying out the orders that seek to bring peace to a troubled land. ... American soldiers and soldiers from other countries are their kindest benefactors. They come in the spirit of giving of themselves." Goodrion was the third North Dakota Army National Guard soldier to die in Afghanistan. A fourth death has since occurred. Pomeroy, who was visiting Afghanistan on Thanksgiving, took the news of Goodiron's death to the country's president, who was moved to get the parents' address to send his condolences. "There will be no doubt that Nathan Goodiron carried the values of his family and the patriotic spirit of this community into the fight in Afghanistan," Pomeroy said. "There can be no doubt that North Dakota has lost one of its very finest." Copyright c. 2006 Minot Daily News. --------- "RE: Back payments disputed by Government" --------- Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2006 08:21:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="US BACK PEDALS ON OIL/GAS ROYALTIES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.newsok.com/article/2977002/ Back payments disputed November 26, 2006 PAWHUSKA - The federal government and the Osage Nation in Pawhuska differ by at least $2 million on the amount the tribe is owed in back payments because of the government's mismanagement of tribal oil and gas assets. In filings last week with the U.S. Court of Claims in Washington, the tribe said it should receive at least $3.2 million, an amount that would include interest and late fees from mineral leases that date to the mid- 1970s. The government said the amount should be between $191,698 and $1.2 million, depending on how damages and interest are calculated. Copyright c. 2006 News 9/The Oklahoman, Produced by NewsOK.com. --------- "RE: Panel pushes for Tribal Rights" --------- Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:29:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/ base/news-7/1164708352132890.xml&coll=1 Panel pushes for tribal rights By Mike McAndrew Staff writer November 28, 2006 When people opposed to Native American tribal sovereignty ask "Aren't we all just Americans?" Scott Lyons has an answer. "Not exactly," according to Lyons. Lyons, a Syracuse University assistant professor and director of the Center for Indigenous Studies at St. John Fisher College, said the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court recognized Native American tribes as sovereign governments. Lyons, a member of the Ojibwe tribe, was one of three panelists to tackle the issue of sovereignty Monday night at Syracuse Stage in the final lectures of a yearlong series focusing on the Onondaga Nation and its land claim suit against New York state. He said few people object when Native American nations exert sovereignty by creating programs to teach their own languages. But when native governments assert economic sovereignty - by running casinos and filing land claims - friction often occurs, Lyons noted. In the Syracuse area, the Onondaga Nation land rights action and sovereignty claims have caused less angst than other tribes' claims in other areas of the state, said Richard Loder, director of SU's Native American Studies program. He said that's because the Onondaga are using the suit to try to force the state to clean up the environment and they've invited their non-native neighbors to join in that effort. Also on the panel was Tonya Gonnella Frichner, an Onondaga Nation member and founder of the American Indian Law Alliance. Frichner has been part of a 21-year effort to get the United Nations to adopt a nonbinding declaration supporting the rights of indigenous people throughout the world. She said leaders of the Haudenosaunee - a confederacy of six Indian nations in New York - realized decades ago that they had to take their sovereignty battles to the international community and not rely on U.S. politicians and courts. Today, a U.N. committee might vote to postpone consideration of the declaration. Frichner said that would be a serious setback and could kill efforts to get the declaration approved by the U.N. General Assembly. She said the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have been leading the opposition to the declaration. About 150 people attended the two-hour program, which was sponsored by SU, the State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry and Neighbors of the Onondaga Nation, a citizens group. The Onondaga Nation filed a land claim suit against New York in March 2005, seeking title to a 40-mile-wide swath stretching from the Thousand Islands to Pennsylvania. New York has asked a federal judge to dismiss the case, contending the Onondaga waited too long to sue. Mike McAndrew can be reached at 470-3016 or mmcandrew@ syracuse.com Copyright c. 2006 The Post-Standard. Used with permission. Copyright c. 2006 syracuse.com. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Settlement should not be left to the Fossil Record" --------- Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 08:33:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRUST FUNDS" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414110 Trust funds settlement should not be left to the fossil record by: Editors Report / Indian Country Today December 1, 2006 The Individual Indian Money trust remains a troubled realm, and it is likely to stay that way well into the next Congress. Indian country was right to reject the case settlement concepts offered by the administration. But as spelled out by the next Senate Committee on Indian Affairs chairman, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., failure to resolve the IIM litigation "overhangs everything else" in federal Indian affairs, on the funding front above all. That overhang, 10 years in the making, isn't likely to get any less severe under a Democratic Congress over the next couple of years. Another leading figure on the issue, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has stated outright that he will not vote for a bill to settle the IIM litigation if it does not also settle as many subsidiary trust claims as may be possible. He wants a "whole" settlement, in contrast to an IIM-only settlement that would be considered "partial." As a Republican of high stock right now and a probable presidential candidate in 2008, McCain's views will take many lawmakers along with him. So for now, any hope of an IIM-only, "partial" settlement is out. So is any hope of the huge settlement described as fair by the IIM plaintiff class. Remember, the litigation itself is only about an accounting. When the frail pages of the lawsuit are found among other fossils many centuries from now, they may show that a court has "settled" the mismanaged accounts for a larger sum than the government will agree to, left to its own devices. But the government can litigate for decades yet at a cost still light-years from the settlement figure(s) the plaintiffs have initiated. The starting figure of $176 billion, though never actually sought, was off-putting; $27.5 billion proved another non-starter; $13 billion also struck the administration as unrealistic; $8 billion to $9 billion, considered a reasonable "rough justice" number by the SCIA, might have been reachable two years or so ago, but now the administration considers a much lower figure justice enough. Nonetheless, according to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, it is willing to invest "billions" in a kind of omnibus bill on trust claims. The key verb is not "to settle" or "to reimburse" but "to invest," and in the short term there is no getting around it. Indian country should engage with the administration's case settlement concepts, then, and come forward with an improved set of proposals based on them. It's a steep order, but the case settlement concepts do provide some footholds. For starters: The administration foresees "voluntary and involuntary" mechanisms for consolidating fractionated lands. Given the history here, the concept of an involuntary taking of land to be consolidated is troublesome, to say the least. But assuming economic use is the goal of consolidation, there is no other way. Land tracts with hundreds of owners cannot be managed for profit, period. Consolidation that requires consent from all owners is impossible for many reasons. Tribes should be able to propose sensible limits on involuntary consolidation mechanisms that don't also torpedo the purposes of consolidation. The administration foresees a "beneficiary managed trust" that would grow the trust estate. This was dangerous at the time of the Dawes Severalty Act, a century and some years ago, but nowadays it simply isn't a new concept. In fact, it's a solid, tested concept that can help prosperity along by goading individuals and tribes toward the aggressive management of their own resources. After a 10-year period for technical assistance as financed in the law itself, individuals would manage their own lease property, with payments going direct to individuals instead of being lightened along the way by the government. The original trust funds reform law of 1994 foresaw every bit of that. But the government would still fulfill vital residual roles, maintaining the land as inalienably tribal land, in trust and tax-exempt, as well as probating estates, correcting errors in the accounts, transferring titles and keeping title records. A proposal like this should not be rejected with outrage, but e mbraced with care. Again, tribes can certainly offer proposals for the longer-term protection of their more vulnerable members. Tribes have especially reviled the idea of limits on federal liability, should IIM beneficiaries choose to manage their own lands. But already, the U.S. Supreme Court has established limits on federal liability in cases where statutory language does not assign liability. Tribes should be willing to propose strictly limited statutory language that assigns certain modified federal liabilities, but without going so far as to convince McCain and company that the settlement is therefore "partial." Tribes also seem to despise the idea of an alteration in the trust relationship. But Elouise Cobell, lead plaintiff in the IIM case, suggests the same and then some every time she declares the IIM trust should be taken from Interior and placed in receivership. This could never be done because no bank could responsibly take on the liabilities, but if it were done it would profoundly alter the trust relationship. So let's alter it already, not through receivership but by participating and directing. It really is too important to be left to lawyers and individuals. Finally, tribes have objected to the idea that tribal claims should be included in any settlement that approaches the $8 billion range. But the guessing here is that if tribes genuinely got behind a "whole" settlement at some realistic cost, providing their own serious counterproposals with a minimum of posturing, billions more might be found. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Billy Frank, Hank Adams speak on Native Rights" --------- Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 08:33:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ELDERS SPEAK OUT FOR NATIVE RIGHTS" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20061130/NEWS/611300327/1001 Tribal elders urge young people to fight for native rights The two men also push to protect the environment BETH CASPER Statesman Journal November 30, 2006 Native American activists Billy Frank Jr. and Hank Adams blazed the trail for establishing Indian fishing rights and protecting natural resources. But the pair said more work is needed and urged young people to continue to fight for native rights and a way of life that doesn't damage the environment. The two spoke to more than 150 people Wednesday night at Willamette University. Frank and Adams spoke as part of the university's Indian Country Conversations. The tribal elders were leaders in the movement to protect treaty-guaranteed fishing rights. Frank was arrested more than 50 times during acts of civil disobedience in the Northwest to defend his community's right to fish. Adams was a "strategist," finding legal and political ways to protect Indian rights. The struggles continue, Frank and Adams said. "We are still allowing permits to pollute," said Frank. "We haven't stopped the bleeding." Salmon are a casualty of the pollution and habitat degradation, the elders said. The decline is devastating to native peoples. "From the time you are born, you are eating salmon," Frank said. "You eat salmon all year round. The salmon is in your bloodstream. Ceremonies are all about the salmon. We talk to the salmon." Native Americans have always wanted to keep the salmon population healthy. "Salmon are so important to all of our people," he said. "Salmon is our life. ... When the river smells of salmon, you know that is a healthy watershed." bcasper@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6994 Copyright c. 2006 StatesmanJournal.com All rights reserved. --------- "RE: UN delays Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 08:41:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DECLARATION OF INDIGENOUS RIGHTS SIDE-TRACKED" http://www.firstperspective.ca/fp_combo_template.php?path=20061129un UN delays Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by Joseph Quesnel November 29, 2006 A procedural motion passed on Tuesday at the United Nations could indefinitely delay consideration of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, said Aboriginal leaders recently. The motion, passed in the United Nations third committee, has already been condemned by the Assembly of First Nations, which has sent delegates to New York to ensure the declaration's smooth passage. "First Nations are deeply disappointed and seriously concerned about the potential impact of today's vote at the United Nations affecting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples," said National Chief Phil Fontaine, in a news release yesterday. Already, these same groups are criticizing what they see as behind-the- scenes deal making over the declaration by those states opposed to to its ratification, including Canada. "This non-action was engineered through the political maneuvering of the African Union, aided by Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. Canada should be called upon to account for its role in this action, particularly as a member of the Human Rights Council," said Grand Chief Ed John, an AFN representative who is in New York supporting the agreement. At a press conference last week, officials with the Manitoba-based Southern Chiefs' Organization alleged that Canadian representatives were enticing African delegates to support the delaying tactic with offers of "expedited contracts." Phil Fontaine added that he felt it was a double standard for the Canadian government to be supporting a recent motion recognizing the Quebecois as a nation, while working to ensure other countries support their opposition to this declaration which recognizes Aboriginal rights to national self-determination. Copyright c. 2006 First Perspective/Manitoba Drum. --------- "RE: Uranium summit to begin Thursday" --------- Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 08:19:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COALITION SEEKS TO STOP URANIUM POISONING" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/nov/112806kh_urnmsummit.html Uranium summit to begin Thursday By Kathy Helms Dine' Bureau November 28, 2006 WINDOW ROCK - Representatives from Native communities in 14 countries will unite this week in the Navajo Nation's capital to map strategy and organize resistance to new uranium mining. The Indigenous World Uranium Summit begins at 8 a.m. Thursday with opening ceremonies at the Navajo Nation Museum and a traditional blessing by Dr. David Begay, Navajo educator and medicine man. Hazel James of Dineh Bidziil Coalition, principal organizer of the summit, will follow with announcements and the introduction of Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr., who will deliver the welcoming address. Past uranium mining has had disastrous consequences on the people, land and the environment, according to Robert Tohe of Sierra Club. "This gathering will have an international focus with delegates from communities worldwide affected by the nuclear fuel cycle," he said. Those delegates arriving for the summit will be given a tour of former uranium mine sites near Church Rock, including the United Nuclear Corp. abandoned uranium mill and tailings disposal facility, now a Superfund site. The summit continue through Saturday, winding up with a special concert at 7 p.m. Tohe said goals of the summit include: - Organize resistance to current and new uranium mining in Native communities; - Support enforcement of the Din Natural Resources Protection Act of 2005; - Stop nuclear waste dumping on Native lands; - Develop national and international collaborations on the nuclear fuel cycle; - Promote sustainable development and renewable energy for Native peoples. President Shirley said, "Every day, the Navajo Nation loses more of ourelders and medicine people who were uranium workers to cancers, respiratory illnesses and other diseases resulting from radiation and uranium exposure. "With them, our Nation loses their knowledge, wisdom, songs, stories and ceremonies needed to keep our culture strong. "Every day, radiation exposure compensation is denied to the survivors of these brave men and women and to the victims and families of above- ground nuclear blasts. "Every day, our scientists work with community members to investigate the effects of uranium mining on our lands, waters and the health of the Navajo people. "Still, we have few answers about the causes of the mysterious illnesses that were not seen before uranium mining began in the 1940s," Shirley said. During the conference, Phil Harrison of the Navajo Uranium Radiation Victims Committee, and Southwest Research and Information Center will be given special recognition for their tireless struggles to bring recognition to the Navajo people and their sufferings related to the uranium legacy. In a recent meeting at Sky City, SRIC's Chris Shuey told those attending the Southwest Uranium Caucus of the Western Mining Action Network that it is tough to go around Navajo and find anything "sustainable" from the Cold War-era uranium mining. "What is sustainable are the waste sites, the health problems, the economic dislocation. Half of my work is spent dealing with environmental and health assessments for people affected by the old mining." Shuey said the former mine operators "have used every method they can think of to extract themselves from their moral, legal and ethical obligations." "It makes absolutely no sense to start a new boom with the same empty promises that were made in the 1950s, '60s and '70s here now with what we know and we know much more than we knew then," Shuey said. Sara Keeney, Western Mining Action Network coordinator, said the organization is made up of community activists, indigenous people and other parties interested in mining issues in the United States and Canada. Keeney said the group was contacted this year by individuals in the region who asked them to bring together people in the Southwest to talk about existing and persisting mining issues, as well as the "so-called new uranium boom." Bob Shimek, mining project coordinator for the Indigenous Environmental Network, located in Benidji, Minn., works with tribes and indigenous communities from Mexico to Alaska "and just about every point in between." When communities have questions related to a mining project such as whether it might be a good thing, "we then step into the picture and help them sort out the issues related to whatever the project proposal is, whether its cleaning up abandoned mines of which there are thousands throughout the whole West all the way to new mining proposals." Tribes and community groups have concerns about where new mining projects are going, Shimek said, but their biggest concern is, "At the end of the day, what are we left with?" "We know that answer, but many times our voice isn't heard. The industry comes in, does its thing for 15 or 20 years, and then they're out and we're left with the contamination," Shimek said. "We're left with the death, the destruction, all these different things. We can't let that be forgotten as we look at the challenges of the new uranium boom going on here in the Southwest." For more information on the Indigenous World Uranium Summit, contact Robert Tohe, (928) 606-9420, or visit http://www.sric.org/uraniumsummit/index.html Copyright c. 2006 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Quileute Tribe holds beach access as leverage" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 08:41:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAND BATTLE CONTINUES FOR QUILEUTE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/ 20061129-0251-triballanddispute.html Quileute Tribe holds beach access as leverage for more land in negotiation with National Park Service By Rachel La Corte ASSOCIATED PRESS November 29, 2006 LA PUSH, Wash. - The small Quileute Indian reservation sits on a shoreline of storm-tossed driftwood and pebble beaches, with dramatic views of rock formations rising out of the Pacific Ocean. But the same ocean that crashes daily on these beaches is at the center of a long-simmering boundary battle between the tribe and the National Park Service. The tribe has closed public access to one beach, and threatens to close another if members don't get additional land on higher ground, fearing the sea will sweep away the tribe's lower village. The tribe has offered a land swap - it will hand over eight acres of disputed land at Rialto Beach and reopen access to Second Beach if the park cedes - or buys for the tribe - enough land to more than double the size of the reservation. "We don't have anything against the public," said James Jaime, the tribe's executive director. "It was the only way to get the federal government's attention." The reservation is bounded on one side by the ocean and three sides by Olympic National Park. The tribe wants to move its school, senior center, tribal offices and some housing to higher ground as well as expand its reservation to build more housing developments. "Our primary concern is the health, safety and welfare of not only the tribal members, but the entire community," said Jaime. Tribal leaders originally sought 1,200 acres, but are now asking for about 800 acres to add to their one square mile reservation - 309 acres of park lands, and another 480 acres of private land that it wants the National Park Service to purchase for them. The Quileute reservation was established in 1889 at the mouth of the Quillayute River; Olympic National Park has bordered the reservation since 1953. The tribe and the park have been debating the boundary at Rialto Beach for decades. The tribe argues that it owns most of Rialto Beach, but the park has built a parking lot and a restroom at the edge of the beach and both sides are disputing eight acres of land there. The dispute came to a head last year after a tribal member was cited for collecting firewood near the disputed boundary. While charges were ultimately dropped, Jaime said that the tribe needed to take action. To get the government's attention, the tribe closed off access to one of the most beautiful sections of Washington state's Pacific shore, Second Beach, in October 2005. The beach is public, but the parking lot and access to the trail to the beach is on tribal ground. Olympic National Park Superintendent Bill Laitner said that the park wants to make sure the tribe can move people out of the danger zone. Of the more than 700 members of the tribe, 350 live on the reservation - 250 in the flood zone. "We feel that is of utmost importance," he said. "We believe we can do that. We don't believe we can solve all of the tribes' problems for all time." After several meetings, the two sides remain at an impasse, and the tribe said that it's ready to raise the ante. The park service has offered 274 acres of park land. "If there are no improvements to this offer and we do not resolve this issue, Rialto Beach will be closed next year," Jaime said. Laitner said that while closing the beach would be inconvenient for park visitors, it would also be "devastating to the local economy" of the tribe. "I don't think the tribe wants that," he said. In October, the Quileute Tribe had a reservation-wide tsunami drill with a complete evacuation of the lower village, getting everyone to high ground in nine minutes - the amount of time tribal leaders have determined is necessary to prevent loss of life. The last time a tsunami hit the area was 1964. "What I fear the most is at 3 o'clock in the morning, when we are all sleeping and not prepared," Jaime said. "Our exercises, our drills, they're structured, they're choreographed. It's the real event that's going to be unpredictable." Any change in the boundary would have to be approved by Congress, but Rep. Norm Dicks said he worries that if the tribe doesn't accept the current offer, they may end up with nothing. "We're all concerned about the safety of the tribe and the possibility of a tsunami," he said. The tribe has "to realize that they are running a risk by not accepting this offer." Copyright c. 2006 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. --------- "RE: Hobart Officials, Oneida Tribe exchange words" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 08:41:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOBART OFFICIALS TESTY OVER ONEIDA LAND PURCHASE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20061129/APC0101/611290687/1003/APC01 Hobart officials, Oneida Tribe exchange words about land purchase By Patti Zarling Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers November 29, 2006 HOBART - The village's relationship with the Oneida Tribe of Indians likely took a turn for the worse Tuesday, as village leaders called a recent tribal land purchase "deceitful" and "counterproductive." Hobart officials say the site's odd shape, much of it too narrow to be developed, indicates the tribe wants to thwart village growth, and called the purchase a "spite strip." Not so, argue Oneida leaders, who say the tribe bought the L-shaped land because that's all the seller made available. Oneida Tribal Chairman Gerald Danforth on Tuesday called the village's reaction to the sale "a sad state of affairs." "It hurts pretty bad," said Danforth, in reaction to a press release issued by Hobart earlier Tuesday. "We're not about calling names. The relations between the Oneidas and Hobart are at the very least strained." The release slams the tribe for paying developer Tom Juza nearly $3.5 million for a 17.4-acre chunk of land that wraps around a section land south of State 29-32 and immediately east of Forest Road. Village officials claim the sale was made to block its long-range plans to extend sewer, water and roadways to other property located in northern Hobart. The press release indicates the Village Board plans to begin condemnation proceedings that will include the right-of-way corridors through those properties. "I can see why people might get that impression based on the map," Danforth said. "What the map doesn't show is there's a triangle-shaped parcel of land, maybe twice as big as that one, an area known as 'Golden Park pond,' which the tribe also wants to buy. Juza said this is what's for sale." As part of the deal, the tribe did ask Juza for the right-of-first- refusal to buy the additional property, Danforth said. The tribe has made no secret about its desire to buy back as much of the original Oneida reservation as possible, said tribal spokeswoman Bobbi Webster. The entire village of Hobart lies within the original reservation's boundaries. But village officials questioned the tribe's motives for buying the odd strip of land. In the press release, Village President Rich Heidel said, "What has occurred is deceitful and counterproductive - but not surprising. The Oneidas and Tom Juza have both grossly underestimated the will and ability of the Hobart community to do what it must in order to ensure its future for both tribal and non-tribal residents alike. Our Village Board is united in its determination to accomplish what we had originally planned to do." Village officials were under the impression Juza intended to create a development called Fern Gully Estates in that area. Village Administrator Joe Helfenberger, in the statement, said Juza attended an Oct. 17 Village Board meeting in which the board voted to authorize bidding for the water and sewer extension services to that development. Heidel did not immediately return a phone call Tuesday. Patti Zarling writes for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Copyright c. 2006 Appleton Post-Crescent. --------- "RE: Keweenaw Bay fee land not Taxable" --------- Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 08:33:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COURT RULES FOR TRIBE" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414110 Keweenaw Bay fee land not taxable by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today December 1, 2006 BARAGA, Mich. - The state of Michigan cannot tax fee land owned by the tribe or individuals on the L'Anse Reservation, home to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the Michigan State Tax Commission's attempt to review a decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals that denied the state the right to collect property taxes assessed on reservation property. This final step in the legal process affirms the treaty rights and sovereignty of Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. Earlier the district court ruled against the state, which sent the issue to the court of appeals. The ultimate ruling is that no taxes can be collected on any land, and in this case fee land within the boundaries of the L'Anse Reservation. This Supreme Court denial to hear the case ends the legal battle over property taxation on the L'Anse Reservation. "The Supreme Court's decision confirms the community's long-held position that the 1854 treaty [of La Pointe], as well as general principles of tribal sovereignty, absolutely prevents the state from imposing property taxes on our reservation lands, regardless of title by which they are held," said Keweenaw Bay Community President Susan LaFernier. Keweenaw Bay tribal members reside on the L'Anse Indian Reservation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The tribe and state have exchanged legal arguments in court since the 1980s on property tax, starting in state court and finally moving on to federal court in 2003. This case centered around the 1854 treaty with the Chippewa at La Pointe, which created the L'Anse and other reservations. The district court and a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the 1854 treaty that guaranteed no tribal member could be removed from the land; the courts further ruled that within that treaty, language precludes involuntary alienation of Indian-owned lands within the reservation by tax sales or otherwise. As the treaty is interpreted, the taxation of fee or any land, whether tribally or individually owned, on the reservation is prohibited. Trust land is automatically nontaxable, but this case dealt with fee land only. "Our tribe is gratified and thankful that we can assure our future generations will be afforded the rights that our ancestors intended over 150 years ago," LaFernier said. The 1854 Treaty of La Pointe has been affirmed as a living, viable document that the ancestors were very diligent in writing to protect future generations. Article 11 of the treaty prevented the encroachment of federal statutes that allotted some of the land to the tribal members and the tribes, then opened the rest for settlement. There was no congressional statute enacted that made the lands either alienable or taxable. Attorneys who represented the tribe said that the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to review the case was based on the fact that the case did not have nationwide implications. "This was all about what the treaty provided and not subject to congressional action," said Mary Streitz, attorney with the Dorsey and Whitney LLP law firm of Minneapolis. "Whether there is another treaty out there that is still in effect, I would doubt it, but there might be," she said. "This decision is about what this treaty provided." In this case, the Dawes, or General Allotment Act, and subsequently the Burke Act, do not apply. The Burke Act ended the allotment era and allowed for the taxation of land previously allotted, which caused some lands to be taken over by non-Indian settlers for payment of back taxes. The 1854 Treaty at La Pointe did not fall victim to congressional statutes as did most other treaties. Article 11 of the treaty protected the taking of land. Before tribal leaders start researching their treaties or try to take states to task over taxation of property that is in fee, the chances of this case setting a precedent and being used as case law in other cases is remote. Attorneys said the likely scenario is that the Supreme Court denied certiorari because the case was not a national issue. For the past few decades, the tribe has paid taxes on tribal fee land and has agreed to pay the taxes assessed to tribal members for land individually owned. That practice will end. The Keweenaw Bay Community pays the surrounding communities 2 percent of the net winning revenues from the casino. But as of now the tax payment, which was estimated to be in the ballpark of $200,000 per year, will cease to be paid. La Fernier said the tribe will pay for essential services to the communities, as has always been the tribe's practice. The surrounding communities have been supportive of the Keweenaw Bay Community in the fight against the state. The surrounding communities may lose some revenues from this court decision. "I guess the communities will lose, it's a consequence of the state fighting it," Streitz said. "The local governments were not unhappy with the arrangement that had been struck; they wished the state hadn't gotten involved. They [the tribe and communities] worked out their differences," Streitz said. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Dry Creek Band seeks return of 17,000 Acres" --------- Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 08:33:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="POMO SEEK RETURN OF LAND" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ article?AID=/20061129/NEWS/611290302/1033/NEWS01 Pomos seek Lake Sonoma land Return of 17,000 acres for housing, commerce sought By TOBIAS YOUNG THE PRESS DEMOCRAT December 1, 2006 The Dry Creek Band of Pomo Indians wants the federal government to return 17,000 acres around Lake Sonoma and Warm Springs Dam for tribal housing and commerce, saying it was wrongfully taken more than a century ago. The tribe made the request in a letter to the regional commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saying the tribe's 1,000 members want to build their community on the land and help operate lake facilities. The Corps of Engineers, which owns the land, has formed a task force to consider the request, said Mike Dillabough, chief of the operations and readiness division for the San Francisco district. Dillabough said it could take several years to resolve the issue and that transferring the land would require an act of Congress. "This is not something that would be dismissed or granted right away," he said. "We have to do a great deal of research into this, and we'll do it very seriously." The Sept. 13 letter said the tribe would use the federal land for a number of uses. No privately owned land is being sought, tribal officials said. "Tribal members need to be able to build their own community, complete with housing, round houses for ceremonies, schools, businesses, community centers, cultural centers and medical facilities," Tribal Chairman Harvey Hopkins said in the letter. "This is a great opportunity for the United States and the tribe to look to the future and begin to address the needs of our youth and our tribe," the letter said. "It is definitely a win-win situation." The tribe doesn't have specifics proposals for the land. But tribal spokesman Dave Hyams said plans would not include a casino and the tribe is not seeking the lake's water. The land around Lake Sonoma is too remote for a casino, Hyams said, and the tribe is interested in other uses. "There would be no need for that," he said of a casino. "The tribe is looking for a homeland for its cultural identity and institutions." The Dry Creek Pomos operate River Rock Casino near Geyserville and have acquired land south of Petaluma. Although the tribe filed paperwork with the federal government that would clear the way for a casino on the land near Petaluma, tribal officials say they plan to use it for agriculture. In addition to seeking ownership of the land surrounding Lake Sonoma, Hyams said the tribe is interested in jointly operating the lake's visitor center, campgrounds, concessions and other facilities with the corps, and perhaps improving the facilities. There is precedent for the request, Hyams said. He pointed to tribes in Alaska, Montana, Washington, South Dakota and North Dakota that have obtained or are attempting to obtain historic lands. Hyams said more than 60 federal properties, wildlife refuges or parks may qualify for management by Indian tribes nationwide under the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1994. In Montana, the Salish and Kootenai tribes took over joint management of an 18,000-acre national bison wildlife refuge two years ago and last week asked for complete management. In South Dakota, the federal government may return more than 1 million acres that were confiscated during World War II for training grounds, bombing ranges, internment camps and air strips, according to the publication Indian Country Today. In North Dakota, the corps has backed away from plans to transfer 36,000 acres around Lake Sakakawea to the Three Affiliated Tribes, including camping sites and boat ramps, but is still considering handing over 24,000 acres. The proposal is opposed by state officials, who said it is not in the best interests of the public. Some citizens objected to increased fees for the park before that land was excluded from the proposal. Both Dillabough and a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesman said a final decision about returning the land around Lake Sonoma would have to be made by Congress and affirmed by the president. The tribe said the Bureau of Indian Affairs supports the idea of returning the Lake Sonoma land, but bureau officials reached Tuesday were unaware of the proposal. Carmen Facio, realty officer for the bureau's Pacific Region, said it's possible the agency would support such a proposal, but she couldn't say without knowing more details. Warm Springs Dam, which helps provide drinking water and flood control for the region, was completed in 1983. About 500,000 visitors go to the lake annually for boating, fishing, camping, hiking and some limited hunting of pigs and turkeys, said Perry Crowley, the park manager. The budget for the facility in 2006 is $5.825million, with 30 percent attributed to environmental stewardship, including protecting endangered fish populations; 25 percent attributed to flood damage reduction operations; and 45 percent attributed to recreation, Crowley said. The park brings in about $100,000 in revenue annually, he said. Hyams said the tribe is looking to open negotiations with the corps to discuss possibilities for transferring the land into federal trust for the tribe. The tribe has been allowed access to the land by the federal government and prior landowners for burials and gathering sedge, a plant that grows along the creeks that is used in traditional basket weaving, Hyams said. "This isn't completely out of the blue, in other words," he said. "There is precedent for it nationally." Copyright c. 2006 The Press Democrat. --------- "RE: Native American? The tribe says no" --------- Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 08:19:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EXPULSIONS AND ENROLLMENT DENIALS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-28-tribes-cover_x.htm Native American? The tribe says no By Emily Bazar, USA TODAY November 28, 2006 Native American tribes are facing allegations of greed and racism as they purge members from their rolls and deny the applications of others. The expulsions have sent tremors through Indian country. Thousands of Native Americans have lost their cultural identities and access to tribal benefits, such as medical care, housing and education. Certain gaming tribes divide casino profits among members, in some cases thousands of dollars a month per person. Those expelled lose their cut. Tribal officials say they're protecting legitimate members by making sure everyone in the tribe is qualified. As sovereign nations, tribes have the final say in who can - and cannot - join. Each tribe determines what degree of Indian blood is necessary for membership, a requirement that varies among the 561 federally recognized tribes. In California, at least 2,000 Native Americans have been taken off the rolls of their tribes since 1999, says Laura Wass, executive director of the Many Lightnings American Indian Legacy Center, an education and advocacy group in Fresno. Disenrollments have surged with the rise of Indian casinos, she says. Thousands of Native Americans elsewhere have lost, or may lose, their tribal status. An upcoming vote at the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma could deny citizenship to more than 1,000 of the tribe's 260,000 members. "The motive varies from tribe to tribe," says Daniel Littlefield, director of the Sequoyah Research Center at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, an archive for contemporary Native American issues. "I would say money is at the bottom of a lot of it." Mary Chapman of Fresno was disenrolled from the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians last month, along with 20 members of her family. About 250 members of the tribe have been disenrolled this year, Wass says, and about 400 others have received letters questioning their status. The 1,200-member tribe, which opened a casino in Coarsegold, Calif., in 2003, expelled Chapman because she didn't meet the eligibility criteria in the tribe's constitution, a complex set of categories based on ancestry, according to a disenrollment letter sent to her by the tribe. Mark Levitan, attorney for the tribe, wouldn't discuss numbers. There is a moratorium on enrollment until the tribe completes an audit of every member's eligibility, he says, and tribal leaders "are a government that's responsible for following their own laws." 'Just kicked to the curb' Chapman, 69, says she traces her Chukchansi lineage to her great-great- grandmother. She blames the tribe's move on casino-related greed, which Levitan disputes. He says the tribe does not yet distribute casino profits to members and has to show it is meeting the needs of the tribe before it can do so. "As far as they're concerned, I'm a non-Indian," Chapman says tearfully. "I feel totally displaced, totally homeless. Just kicked to the curb." She feels helpless, she says, because there's nothing she can do: "There's no way to fight it." State and federal courts do not have jurisdiction over Native American membership disputes, says Kevin Gover, law professor at Arizona State University and former assistant secretary of the Interior for Indian affairs. "Congress has not given individual Indians the right to sue their tribes, " he says. Gover does not believe disenrollments are up because of gaming but says casino profits raise the stakes. He thinks expulsions are most often related to feuding families that form political factions. "The majority family will throw the others out," he says. "It's clannish and unworthy of institutions that claim to be nations." Yvette Champlain told The Providence Journal that she and dozens of her relatives were kicked out of the Narragansett Indian Tribe in Rhode Island this year because she questioned how the tribe spent $1 million it received from Harrah's Entertainment, which had been planning a casino with the tribe. "They don't want real accountability," she told the newspaper. The casino plan was rejected by Rhode Island voters this month. Tribal councilman Randy Noka declined to discuss the specifics of Champlain's case but says her allegations are false. Members must be able to document that they're descendants of Narragansetts listed on a tribal roll from the 1880s, Noka says. The tribe has about 2,500 people enrolled. "It has nothing to do with personalities or politics," he says. "Tribes have a responsibility to look out for their members. No one would expect to recognize someone that isn't a member of their family as a family member. "You don't want anybody who may be looking to benefit from opportunities, who don't deserve them, to take away from someone who truly is a member," Noka says. "If someone does have a definite interest in trying to prove themselves to be a member, and can prove it, they deserve every benefit other tribal members receive." At the Cherokee Nation, a membership dispute centers on the Cherokee Freedmen, who are descendants of former slaves owned by Cherokees or, in some cases, descendants of free blacks who lived with the Cherokees. After the Civil War, the Cherokees, who had sided with the Confederacy, signed a treaty with the American government granting freedmen and their descendants tribal citizenship. The tribe, which ratified a new constitution in 1976, has denied freedmen citizenship for much of the past three decades. The tribe's highest court ruled in March that freedmen could obtain citizenship. Since then, more than 1,500 have enrolled, tribe spokesman Mike Miller says. The dispute didn't end there. After Cherokee citizens circulated a referendum petition, Chief Chad Smith called a special election for February 2007 to consider changing the constitution. The proposed amendment would limit citizenship to those of Indian ancestry, based on membership rolls from the early 20th century. Those whose ancestors were freedmen would not be eligible. Marilyn Vann's membership hangs in the balance. "I've always considered myself a Cherokee Native American with African blood," says Vann, who says she is Cherokee, Chickasaw and black, and that being listed as a freedman means her Indian ancestry is ignored. Vann, a petroleum engineer in Oklahoma City, says she was shocked when her citizenship application was rejected in 2001. She reapplied after the court's ruling in March and is now a citizen. She wanted to join so she could vote and "have a voice in the affairs of the tribe," she says. "I did not come to my tribe to get something." The Cherokees do not pay gaming profits to members. The money funds the government, social services and job creation. Vann believes the tribe fears the freedmen's voting power. Littlefield's assessment is more blunt: "It's racism." Just action or greed? Some recently disenrolled members of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians in California cite greed. John Gomez Jr., 38, helped found the American Indian Rights and Resources Organization last year to address civil rights issues. Gomez and about 130 adults in his family were disenrolled from the tribe in 2004. Another family of about 90 adults was kicked out earlier this year. "Both were large families that opposed the leadership," he says. The Pechanga Indians run a lucrative casino in Temecula, Calif., and split the profits among tribe members. Each member of Gomez's family used to get about $15,000 a month, he says. Once they were disenrolled, the payments stopped and the money went to remaining tribe members. In an e-mailed statement, Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro says courts have consistently upheld tribes' sole responsibility for determining their citizenship. He noted that a state court this month dismissed a suit brought by disenrolled members. His tribe has 1,370 members. The allegation of casino-related greed "is ridiculous, irresponsible and simply distorts the facts," he says. "This is about determining who is a rightful citizen and who was enrolled under false pretenses." Michael Madariaga lost his membership this year. The tribe had hired John Johnson, curator of anthropology at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, to trace the family's lineage. Johnson determined that Madariaga's family can be traced to one of the original members of the tribe. "They did disregard my findings," Johnson says. Madariaga, 43, and his family lost access to tribal benefits, including the monthly casino payout and meals for the elderly, he says. He lost his job at the casino. The children had to leave the reservation school. Madariaga's 89-year-old grandfather, Lawrence, has prostate cancer. After his health insurance was cut off, he didn't take his medications for a few months, Madariaga says. Now, he's dipping into his retirement to pay for them. 'Took a lot out of' grandparents Madariaga describes his grandfather as an integral member of the tribe who helped upgrade the water system and bring electricity and phones to tribe members. "He designed and helped build the health clinic," he says of his grandfather. Madariaga says disenrollment "took a lot out of" his grandfather and grandmother, Sophia, 86. "The anger, the stress, that's not good at their age and for their health," he says. "When they were cut off from the health benefits, they were very stressed." But the hardest part hasn't been losing benefits and casino payouts, Madariaga says. "What matters is taking away our heritage," he says. "It's like taking your family and wiping them out of history." Copyright c. 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. --------- "RE: Tribal heads hold summit" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 08:41:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIAN COUNTRY BUSINESS SUMMIT" http://www.in-forum.com/articles/rss.cfm?id=147864 Tribal heads hold summit By Melinda Rogers, The Forum November 30, 2006 MAHNOMEN, Minn. - Peter White thought it would be easy to start up a janitorial supply store last year. The former tribal chairman of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwa had connections with the American Indian community. He thought tribal sovereignty laws, designed to help American Indians become more self- sufficient, would benefit him as an entrepreneur. But attracting customers to his Fridley, Minn.-based Eagle Clan Enterprises Inc. is more difficult than anticipated. "It seems to me that none of the tribes around here want to get out and buy from Indian business owners," said White, who struggles to compete with big-name companies to grab new business. "How is an Indian business owner supposed to compete with conglomerates?" The question was one of several posed Wednesday at the first Northern Minnesota Economic Development Summit and Trade Show at Mahnomen's Shooting Star Casino. About 400 people - including economic development specialists, business owners and tribal officials from the White Earth, Leech Lake and Red Lake reservations - gathered to discuss a common goal for the region's American Indian population: developing economic opportunities to create healthier and more prosperous communities through partnering with neighboring tribes. Magnifying the visibility of American Indian-owned businesses is essential to establishing the community as an economic force, several panelists said during the summit's opening sessions. Particularly in northern Minnesota - which is expected to see more job growth than other parts of the state - American Indians have the potential to boost the number of minority-owned companies, said Anthony Schaffhauser, a regional analyst and economist for the Minnesota Workforce Center's Bemidji office. The region's tribes need to invest in work-force development to create a pool of skilled laborers for a growing job market resulting from more retirement-age baby boomers moving to northern Minnesota, Schaffhauser said. Minnesota touts the 13th-largest American Indian consumer market in the U.S., according to the Minneapolis-based Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce. American Indian tribes across the state are also the 10th- largest employer in Minnesota and pay more than $100 million in state and federal taxes, the organization's research shows. An example is the Red River Valley's White Earth Indian Reservation, where tribal government employs 1,750 people and spends $17.5 million annually in local communities within a 60-mile radius of the reservation, Tribal Health Coordinator Monte Fox said. The tribe is Minnesota's largest with 19,400 members and is the third- largest American Indian tribe in the United States. When it opened the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen in 1991, economic development soared when the area saw a 75 percent increase in median household income, a 66.6 percent increase in per capita income and a 27 percent boost in labor- force participation. While gaming has traditionally been big business for the state's Indian reservations, tribes are now grappling with how to broaden their economies. Gaming as the key economic factor on reservations is a trend that's changing, said Jackson Huntley, a University of Minnesota-Duluth professor in leadership training and facilitator of the summit. "They're realizing they can't succeed with gaming alone," he said. "Therefore, they have to diversity. Why can't that diversification take place cooperatively between the three tribes?" American Indians also need to change the way they look at themselves as part of the business world, said Dave Anderson, a Choctaw/Chippewa American Indian and founder of the national Famous Dave's BBQ Shack chain with headquarters in Minnesota. During a passionate motivational speech, Anderson encouraged American Indians to better educate themselves and their children on how to navigate their financial destinies. "Our elders would be in shock if they found out we were teaching our kids how to make moccasins and not how to look at computers to look at our family's investment portfolio," he said. Anderson encouraged American Indians to own homes and invest wisely to foster greater economic development on reservations. The summit's participants will learn more strategies for improving business development at the event's conclusion today. In addition to Anderson, former U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell and National Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernie Stevens will speak on issues including government business development programs, business opportunities for tribes and individuals, accessing capital, and leveraging federal and private sector resources. Readers can reach Forum reporter Melinda Rogers at (701) 241-5524 Copyright c, 2006 Forum Communications Co. Fargo, ND 58102 All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Turning the tide of despair" --------- Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2006 08:21:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SUICIDE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer? pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1164496213697& call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467 Turning the tide of despair Suicide | In September, Travis James Kelly, 24, hanged himself. Now, role models like Tania Cameron are trying to find solutions to this curse of the reserve. MARIE WADDEN ATKINSON FELLOW November 26, 2006 Travis James Kelly was a leader of drum songs. His voice rose and fell in time with his drumstick, resonating with an energy that came from deep within. His tenor voice sang ancient Anishnawbe songs that vibrated with the heartbeat pounding of his drumstick. His audience, seated in a circle around him, raised their hands in thanks and bowed their heads in reverence at the end of each stirring performance. In September 2006, 24-year-old Travis James (T.J.) Kelly, the transcendent singer of the Whitefish Bay First Nation in northwestern Ontario, hanged himself. His sons Tyrick and Avery and their mother, Misty Blackhawk, cannot make sense of his death. They do know it is the most common cause of death for young Aboriginal men in Canada. The loss of their ceremonial drummer and singer is a big blow to the staff at the Kenora Chiefs' Advisory (KCA) on addictions and mental health, whose job is to prevent suicide. The other members of the KCA drum group, who performed with Kelly at powwows in Canada and the United States, were overcome with grief and could not play at his funeral. Suicide has become such a serious problem that the 14 reserves around Kenora and the 49 reserves north of and surrounding Thunder Bay have declared a state of emergency. At the same time Kelly killed himself, a 16-year-old on a neighbouring reserve killed his girlfriend and then himself. No one knows for sure how many Aboriginals are dying from suicide each year because there is no central agency keeping track. The coroners in many provinces do not tabulate suicide by ethnic origin. More than a decade ago, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples estimated the rate to be five or six times higher than the Canadian average. It recommended the creation of a co-ordinated national strategy on Aboriginal suicide that would keep track of the number of deaths, conduct research into the causes and fast track solutions. The recommendation has not been followed. The Royal Commission felt the issue was so urgent it released an interim report on suicide before the main report was released in 1996. Six years ago, the Canadian Institute of Child Health estimated that First Nations men between the ages of 15 to 24 kill themselves at the rate of 126 per 100,000, compared to 24 per 100,000 in the general population. The rate among Inuit is believed to be even higher, but again, no one is keeping an accurate count. Measure it this way: It's rare to find an Aboriginal person in this country who has not lost a close friend or relative to suicide. In the absence of a coordinated strategy, Aboriginal people across the country are trying to find solutions on their own. In 2001, Tania Cameron, a 26-year-old from the Dalles reserve near Kenora who was program manager of KCA's Aboriginal Healing and Wellness, set out to do something about the glaring shortage of mental health and addiction services for the communities around Kenora. She successfully negotiated a deal with Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to create the KCA mental health and addiction advisory. It enabled her to hire Dr. Ozzie Seunath, who now leads a team of six mental health and addictions workers for the 14 reserves around Kenora, which have a combined population of about 14,000. Seunath, an immigrant from the Caribbean, will never forget his first day on the job three years ago. There'd been a suicide on one reserve, followed by another, then another "I thought, I don't know how to stop this," he says. "We were rushing in there, making sure the friends and family members are looked after because when one suicide happened it was often followed by others and this used to scare the heck out of us." Seunath has learned enough to now confidently identify one of the reasons young Aboriginal men take their lives. "What is there for young people to do in terms of defining economic and individual independence?" he asks. "What is there for young people to look forward to in terms of training and so on? Without that direction and hope for the future, it's easy to sink into `that's all there is.'" In Whitefish Bay, population 700, Kelly is the 10th young suicide in less than two years. People say he had a difficult relationship with the mother of his children. "The young adults put so much emotional energy into their relationships," Seunath says, "that if they break up, life seems pretty worthless. It's like the worst blow that will ever hit them. But if life had more opportunity, more hope for them and support, then they would see a break- up as a barrier to overcome rather than something to succumb to." Seunath compares it to his experience as the descendant of slaves growing sugar cane in the Caribbean. He says while his people suffered poverty, there were enough of them to maintain the cultural and spiritual beliefs that sustain emotional resiliency. That's not the case for many of his clients. "The native people had more denial and suppression of their cultural practices and identity," he says. "Because of residential schools, they haven't learned parenting and their traditional ways, so it is very difficult for them to pass on that kind of learning." Whitefish Bay, where Kelly lived, is a place of great natural beauty, about six kilometres off the highway connecting Kenora to Sioux Narrows. Pelicans with bright orange beaks lounge on the lake near the reserve. There are no shabby houses. There are tidy lawns, flower pots hanging from door frames, and dads pushing their children in strollers. This spring, an elder and some children designed and mounted a large, handmade billboard near the entrance to the reserve. In bold letters it said: "Bootleggers, We Know Who You Are. Stop Selling Alcohol." In defiance of the sign, a group of men huddle behind the band council building, drinking beer. A drunk approaches a visitor, beer in hand, his face scratched. The women's shelter, surrounded by a high fence protected by security cameras, speaks of the violence alcohol is fuelling. "People don't get up and say I'm going to become a drunk," Seunath says. The problem is a lack of hope and direction. It leads to `Give it up. Let's just do what feels good at the moment.'" Part of the solution, he says, is more opportunity for employment and better role models. Tania Cameron is just such a role model. Now 31, an elected councillor on her reserve and the busy mother of two, Cameron organized Kenora's first Suicide Prevention Day in September 2005. It was held on the Kenora waterfront, but didn't attract many non-Aboriginals. A lot of people came in from the reserves. "There was this large circle of tee lights, reflecting off the water." Cameron says. "It just breaks your heart to think of them as so many peoples' lives. Their lights were blown out, you know. I try to place my mind where these kids were. It was a place of no hope." The efforts to combat suicide have come on several fronts, including the entertainment world. Aboriginal actors Tom Jackson and Tina Keeper, who starred in the Canadian series North of 60, changed career paths radically after one of the young people on the show took his life 10 years ago. Mervin Good Eagle, 19, played the part of Joey Smallboat on the show that introduced Canadians to life on a fictional First Nations reserve. Keeper quit acting, became a Liberal Member of Parliament and today continues to lobby for the kind of co-ordinated national strategy on Aboriginal issues recommended by a 1994 Royal Commission. Jackson, who's also a singer, spends several months a year travelling across northern Canada on his Dreamcatcher Tour, performing and facilitating workshops on suicide prevention. Jackson's workshops are designed to get people thinking about what creates stress in their communities and what they can do to relieve it. "When you get those answers, you hand the solutions back to the community because through this exercise they determine what needs to be done. Fifty people in a room who are committed to making change now know collectively what balloon to pull down to get the resources they need. It empowers them," he says. Copyright c. 2006 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Woman claims abuse by BIA Officers" --------- Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:29:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ABUSE CLAIMS TO BE HEARD" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/nov/112706jch_mtngasslt.html Meeting to focus on assault Woman claims abuse by BIA officers By John Christian Hopkins Dine' Bureau November 27, 2006 BLACK MESA - A meeting is scheduled for tonight in Tuba City regarding the Bennett Freeze compact and the apparent assault of an 84-year-old Navajo woman at the hands of Bureau of Indian Affairs police officers. "It's a real delicate issue regarding human rights," said Clarence Raphael, who helped bring Rena Babbitt Lane off the mountain after the November incident. Lane, a fierce foe of forced relocation, lives in a remote region of Black Mesa, without electricity or running water. She can't speak, read or write English. On Nov. 4 three BIA federal rangers raided Lane's home in anticipation of a law that would force her removal from her land. "As a Navajo who respects his elders and his people I must say it's time we punished these lowlifes, those born with no morals, those who wish to demean our mothers and who dare to do such a thing to an old woman, home alone," said Chester A. Begay. Police shouldn't be able to hide behind their badges while accosting the elderly and breaking the law themselves, Begay said. It would be an outrage, he said, if "we allow these jackals to harm an old woman." The public should be made aware of this atrocity and the rangers identified as Sgt. Richard Honeyumptewa, Officer Albert Goldtooth and Officer Derrick Begay be held accountable, Raphael said. But not everyone is out for blood. Sara Hayes urges caution. "I'm not doubting what happened to Rena Babbitt Lane I know, for a fact, it did," said Hayes. But she worries that someone may be using this issue for political purposes. The forced reloaction bill has been stalled before a Congressional committee since June, with small chance of it coming up for a vote before the new Congress is sworn in, she said. The story "raised my suspicions," Hayes said. According to sources, the three heavily armed agents " ... broke into (Lane's) home, dragged her from her bed, threw her around, shook her cane at her, threw her cane on the roof of her home ... " and forced her to stay in one of their vehicles while they searched her home and her son's without search warrants. During the altercation, Lane with a history of heart problems suffered a heart attack. On Nov. 15, the Western Navajo Agency on Aging representing 18 chapters unanimously passed resolutions in support of Lane and calling for hearings on elderly abuse in the region. John Christian Hopkins can be reached at hopkins1960@hotmail.com or by calling 505-371-5443. Copyright c. 2006 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Recovering Alcoholic returns to Rez with Gifts" --------- Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2006 08:33:48 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIFTS FROM RECOVERED ALCOHOLIC" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/nov/113006bd_recalcgifts.html Recovering alcoholic returns to rez with gifts By Bill Donovan Staff writer November 30, 2006 GALLUP - Those living in the central part of the Navajo Reservation have probably heard Tom Gantt's story of despair and rebirth many times. They may have heard him talk of the time he was heading down to a river in Missouri some 12 years ago preparing to drown himself after a lifetime of being a drunk. Then just as he was getting ready to enter the water, he saw an open Bible along the shore and decided to read a little before he went to meet God. Since then, thousands of Navajo families have received clothing, a Bible or toys during his numerous visits here. Gantt is back on the Navajo Reservation in his truck papered with cartoon characters after an absence of more than two years, bringing a truckload of donations from the people in Missouri and Arkansas to pass out to families on the Navajo Reservation. But this time he came with something extra 14 brand new washing machines that he will be giving away between now and Tuesday. On Wednesday night he was in Chinle staying with Benson and Mildred Kee, who run the Present the Truth Ministries, making preparations for several days of speaking at various churches in the central portion of the reservation. With the help of Eddie Tsosie, a recovering alcoholic and a veteran, he's planning to speak at these churches about the joys of staying sober and off of drugs, a mission he has undertaken ever since that day he decided not to drown himself and to give his life to helping others. This is his first trip to Navajoland in more than two years. For almost a decade he made two or three trips here a year, many with members of his family, passing out clothing, Bibles and toys and making friends. But two years ago, he said he decided it was time to stay at home for awhile and take care of personal matters after his home had burned down and he started a new life selling steel buildings. But during all that time, he kept in contact with people here and also people around his home in Missouri who kept contributing merchandise and money to help the Navajo people. Then, when a woman in Missouri decided to use part of the money she received from selling off her property to buy the 14 washing machines, he decided it was time to pay the reservation another visit. The washing machines are not on his truck it's not big enough to hold them and everything else. But they are at Lowe's in Farmington and Gantt said he is prepared to give them away in the next few days. He's already given one to the senior citizen center in Chinle. He's also preparing to give one or more away at various church meetings he will be attending between Friday and Tuesday. "We're going to have a drawing at each of the services," he said, "and each family that attends will get one ticket." He stressed that tickets will only be given out to families that show up before the services begin. His schedule is as follows: - Friday Community Bible Church in Blue Gap, 7 p.m. - Saturday United Full Gospel Church in Blue Gap, 7 p.m. - Sunday Amazing Grace Church in Lukachukai, 11. a.m. - Sunday United Methodist Church in Many Farms, 7 p.m. - Monday Del Muerto Presbyterian Church in Del Muerto near Canyon De Chelly, 6 p.m. - Tuesday Jordan River's Church in Wheatfields, 6 p.m. Along the way, he will also be stopping and delivering the other items he has brought to families in those areas. And more than likely, he said, he will have what people are needing. For example, he said, on Tuesday he was meeting with a local pastor in Lukachukai who mentioned that his youngest son had always wanted to play a guitar and Gantt pulled out a guitar that some family in Missouri had donated. When he leaves here next week, his plans are to go to southern New Mexico on his way back home and do some speaking there. He's planning on coming back in the spring, but until then he said his thoughts will continue to be with the people on the Navajo Reservation. Copyright c. 2006 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Dartmouth apologizes to Native American Students" --------- Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:29:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DARTMOUTH PRESIDENT APOLOGIZES" http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/RH/20061125/NEWS/611250328/1003/NEWS02 Dartmouth apologizes to Native American students By MARCELLA BOMBARDIERI The Boston Globe November 25, 2006 The president of Dartmouth College has apologized to Native American students for a series of incidents on campus that many of those students viewed as racist. In an e-mail message sent to the student body Monday, President James Wright delved into the school's troubled history with Native Americans, and also exhorted students to do more to make the university a welcoming and respectful place. "They are members of this community ... they are your classmates and your friends," Wright wrote of Native American students. "And they deserve more and better than to be abstracted as symbols and playthings." The Native American Council, a group made up of mostly faculty and staff, with a few students, took out an advertisement in the student newspaper Monday detailing a string of incidents this fall that they described as racist. On Columbus Day, fraternity pledges allegedly disrupted a Native American drumming circle, according to the ad. Earlier this month, the Crew team held a party with a "Cowboys and Indians" theme. Team captains later apologized in a letter in the student paper, The Dartmouth. Informally, Dartmouth had an Indian mascot until the 1970s, when the board of trustees decided to discontinue its use. However, some students and alumni have continued to use the symbol, and that has heightened tensions. The Dartmouth Review, a conservative independent student newspaper, gave away T-shirts with the Indian symbol to incoming freshmen, according to a student writing on the newspaper's blog. At Homecoming, at least one Dartmouth student sold T-shirts depicting Holy Cross's mascot performing a sex act on a "Dartmouth Indian," the university said. The Dartmouth development office sent to alumni a calendar that included a photograph of an alumnus who held a cane that featured a carved Indian head. Dartmouth has apologized and said the development staff did not notice the cane in the picture. The ad taken out by the Native American Council also expressed concern about a dining hall mural painted in the 1930s that caricatured Dartmouth's founding. It shows one Native American holding a book upside down and another lapping rum from the ground. The mural has been covered for years and is set to be removed during renovations, but will be preserved by Dartmouth's Hood Museum of Art. Dartmouth's 1769 charter created a college "for the education and instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land ... and also of English Youth and any others." Officials says the mission was quickly lost, however, and only 19 Native Americans graduated from the college over the next 200 years. In 1970, Dartmouth renewed that original commitment to Native American students and set out to recruit them. There are now about 150 Native American students, or 3 percent of the student body - a much higher percentage than at most elite private universities. The school also has a dedicated office to work with those students, and a Native American studies program. But especially this fall, several Native American students said they are not feeling welcome. "I really feel like the college does not care enough about Native students," said Samuel Kohn, a sophomore who is from Montana and a member of the Crow tribe. Kohn praised Wright's letter and his decision to meet with a group of Native American students last week, but said the president's comments were long overdue and didn't go far enough. In his letter, Wright affirmed students' right to free speech. Kohn responded that free speech was important, but that the school should prohibit demeaning speech, "so people know what line not to cross." In a telephone interview, Wright said he was still considering other ways to address these problems, such as speaking in greater depth at freshman orientation about Dartmouth's history with Native Americans. Some students are describing his efforts as pandering. Joe Malchow, a junior, wondered on his blog, dartblog.com, whether Wright was really defending free speech, or whether he was "making a weak-kneed concession to a political interest group while trying to insulate his office from criticisms from everyone else." Copyright c. 2006 Times Argus, Barre, VT. --------- "RE: New Congress will likely stymie push to drill ANWR" --------- Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:29:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANWR" http://ap.juneauempire.com/pstories/state/ak/20061126/124017934.shtml New Congress will likely stymie push to drill ANWR The Associated Press November 28, 2006 FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will likely face heavy opposition in the newly Democrat-controlled Congress, that is, if it's even considered at all. "It's not a death blow," said Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, of his party's losses in both the House and the Senate. "It's a question of whether the votes are there. Right now, they're not there." With Democrats in charge, oil drilling in the refuge, which Stevens has championed for decades, will not be seriously considered for at least the next two years, according to congressional observers. "Nobody got elected in this Congress because they wanted to drill more," said Anna Aurilio, legislative director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. National environmental groups noted that drilling in ANWR has been effectively stopped. Some drilling supporters, like California Republican Rep. Richard Pombo, the House Resources Committee chairman, were defeated. Mike Daulton, the National Audubon Society's conservation policy director, said however, that his group and others will be working to protect the Teshekpuk Lake area in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Some say that the Democratic majority, however, won't be able to pass an ANWR wilderness protection bill, just as the Republican majority proved too slim to open the refuge to drilling. "The procedural protections that were available to people that opposed ANWR development are now available to the people that support ANWR development," said John Katz, director of Gov. Frank Murkowski's office in Washington, D.C. Democrats opposed to drilling have relied heavily on those procedural protections. Although Republicans controlled Congress and the executive office during the past six years, ANWR leasing legislation languished in part because Democratic senators mounted a successful filibuster and Republicans couldn't round up the 60 votes needed to overcome it. Katz said that the state should not give up on pushing for drilling and, for now, could at least keep the issue alive through what he called a "low-level education campaign." "We want members of Congress to be educated about the importance of ANWR in the nation's domestic energy policy," Katz said. "Second, we want to have a counterpoise to any effort by the environmental community to propose statutory wilderness for ANWR." Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said he plans to introduce an ANWR leasing bill next year, as he always does. He acknowledged, however, that it likely wouldn't go far. Information from: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com Copyright c. 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Cecelia Fire Thunder" --------- Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2006 08:21:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CECILIA FIRE THUNDER" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414072 Cecelia Fire Thunder by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today November 27, 2006 Editors' note: Cecelia Fire Thunder was impeached earlier this year as president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe with six months remaining on her two- year term. She ran for re-election but finished third in the tribe's Oct. 3 primary election. Current President Alex White Plume was removed from the ballot because of legal issues discovered by the election board. Fire Thunder spoke to Indian Country Today just before the election about her future plans and the problems she encountered as president. These stories are a portion of her lengthy interview, which was conducted on Nov. 3. Ousted leader talks about change for the Oglala Sioux Tribe RAPID CITY, S.D. - Former Oglala Sioux Tribal President Cecelia Fire Thunder was impeached earlier this year and removed from office, ran for re-election and ended up third in the tribe's Oct. 3 primary election, and by a fluke of fate ended up on the general ballot only to lose again. She was removed from office six months short of a full two-year term, as she argues, illegally because the tribal council followed none of the laws of the tribe and violated the U.S. Constitution in the process. What happened to her should not happen to any other sitting president or an elected official, she said, so changes in the tribal constitution are necessary to protect elected officials; there should also be a definitive separation of powers. "The Oglala Sioux Tribal Council violated my rights under the constitution and I think they are not paying attention to that; hopefully at some point down the road they will realize their error and never do it again to another person." Fire Thunder stressed that the tribal council interfered with a tribal court decision to put her back in office after she was impeached; therefore, she claims, the tribal council has assumed too much power. "It's one thing to have power, but to use it judiciously, in a respectful manner, to use it to help. In the past 10 years the power of the council has been used to hurt, to destroy and to demolish within the confines of the reservation," she said. Why the tribal council did not follow the legal protocol during Fire Thunder's impeachment and removal is not a mystery to her: "I don't think they knew what they were doing. In the heat of the moment, it was emotional. They didn't know what they were doing, you could tell," she said. The fact that she is a woman also played a major factor in her continued criticism while in office, she claims. Fire Thunder had her feet to the fire after she mentioned that a women's health clinic would be located on the Pine Ridge Reservation and that the clinic could perform abortions. That statement was in response to the state of South Dakota's nearly complete ban on abortion having passed the state Legislature and signed into law. She was removed by the tribal council, as it was stated at the hearing, because she advocated abortion, and for not consulting with the tribal council. Fire Thunder will not sit idle; there is much work yet to be done for the Oglala Sioux Tribe. She plans to work with a group on Pine Ridge to change the constitution to develop a legal separation of powers so that the tribal council can not interfere with the tribal court. The tribal court, according to Fire Thunder, has been the victim of tribal council interference and she, along with a group on Pine Ridge, advocates for a definitive separation of powers. "We need to strengthen the court and ... keep the council out of the day-to-day business of the court. "The role of the court is to interpret the law; it's as simple as that. Now, if it doesn't go your way, well, quit breaking the law," Fire Thunder said. The courts need credibility so that investors will have more confidence in their investments, which will be protected within the court system, she said. "As long as the courts are in chaos and easy to manipulate, no one wants to invest on the Pine Ridge Reservation," she said. "And to that end when you look at it, there is absolutely no development, nothing going on." While Fire Thunder was president, the tribal council passed a resolution to change the council terms to staggered four-year terms; however, a secretarial election was never scheduled to affirm that resolution. The tribal council also failed to deal with the results of a 1997 secretarial election that mandated a new code of ethics be written, Fire Thunder said. Fire Thunder emphasizes that under her abbreviated term in office, she managed to remove a short-term $19 million debt that plagued the tribe, borrowed enough low-interest money to begin construction on a new casino and hotel, and oversaw a special investigation into the tribal finances. The Head Start program was moved from tribal control to the Oglala Lakota College and a Federal Housing Administration loan payment was changed to reflect the market value of the lease land on which it was based so the tribe will have an extra $500,000 per year. "Former tribal presidents on the reservation told me, 'Man, for a person who was under so much fire, you did a lot,"' she said. "My reasons for running for president is because I wanted to help, I didn't want to get rich. I'm already famous, I was famous before I became the president - now I'm even more famous," Fire Thunder said. Once a leader, always a leader RAPID CITY, S.D. - A tribal president may be removed from office, but the instinct to be a leader will remain. Cecelia Fire Thunder was impeached as the president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe earlier in the year for what she had said, but she claims that she was standing by her principles. She had advocated a women's health clinic that could possibly perform abortions on the Pine Ridge Reservation. "I stood by what I believed in. People go through their whole lives and have never been tested; I was tested for the whole year and a half I was in there - God, they were constantly at me," Fire Thunder said. Fire Thunder, a nurse, has worked in women's health for most of her professional life. She has been instrumental in establishing programs based on traditional American Indian cultural values that are designed for healing. She has established a network of friends across the country that stood by her when she was impeached, and her connections to national organizations and congressional leaders are still intact. She said that she intends to use that network to accomplish unfinished projects. "I was told once you are a tribal leader, you are always a tribal leader. Once you have been elected and chosen by your people you will always be a tribal leader, so you put 'former president' before your name," she said. Now the former president is busy with a speaking tour and meeting with other tribal leaders and organizations to help instigate positive changes in Indian country. In 1994 Fire Thunder and a host of others developed a language for healing that includes the mind, body, heart and spirit for people to own, she said. They will tweak that curriculum, she said. Health and women's issues are still high on Fire Thunder's agenda. She travels across the country as a guest speaker on women's health. She is also determined to establish a telemedicine program on her reservation and nationally. Such a program would help isolated areas to diagnose quicker and earlier and send X-rays to other places for diagnosis. Oppression and colonization is a plague on Indian country, and for more than 20 years Fire Thunder has studied and worked to discover the effects of and possible cure for a dysfunctional society that is the result of colonization. "If you really believe in Lakota and define what Wolakota is, it is not what we do today. It's about compassion, it's about love, it's all the things we are not doing," she said. She said an elder told her that people were behaving differently and it made her heart hurt. "In fact, she said if you are really practicing, you don't say it, you do it." Fire Thunder speaks passionately and directly when the subject of colonization is introduced. "We come from a society of anger. There are a lot of people who have never resolved their anger and it comes out. You have to take care of that, you have to pray and ask for guidance and help so you will never use the power to hurt anyone," she said. "Colonization is the taking away of identities, it's the breaking away of the rules to live by as a people, and that's what colonization did. "For those of us who can live and function in this world and speak the language and the songs and go to ceremonies, we are bicultural and we can function and it's up to us to share this information to our relatives," she said. "A lot of the problems on Pine Ridge are about colonized thinking and colonized behavior; the anger, the resentments, the jealousy, the lack of trust." But times are changing and decolonization efforts are under way with healing curriculum, but the major responsibility, Fire Thunder reminds people, is to do the homework. "Because if you do your personal work and you walk it, that's better teaching than talking it," she said. Tribal law enforcement is critically underfunded, and Fire Thunder has a plan to raise $300,000 to collect data to present to congressional committees to prove additional funding is necessary. Fire Thunder has the renewed support of tribal officials across the country to continue her efforts to raise the money for a survey that will collect data on the needs of law enforcement. There are 201 tribes that have tribal or BIA law enforcement that operate with an inadequate budget. "I got the tribes to pass a resolution in Washington, D.C., to conduct this survey. The BIA law enforcement budget is stagnant, there is no infusion of new dollars and the needs are growing by leaps and bounds. "I have a good working relationship with organizations. I've been around the block a lot longer before I became tribal president," Fire Thunder said. Today tribal leaders e-mail and call Fire Thunder to give her support and to maintain a working friendship. "Tribal attorneys at [the National Congress of American Indians] pulled me into a corner and said, 'You know, you were the first president ever removed for standing by her principles. Everyone else was removed for embezzlement or corruption,"' she said. "The bottom line is, I like politics, and if done in a good way [politics] can accomplish great things," she said. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: GIAGO: Mainstream media lacking in accuracy" --------- Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2006 08:29:53 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: MAINSTREAM MEDIA" http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/017076.asp Tim Giago: Mainstream media lacking in accuracy November 27, 2006 Accuracy in the media has almost become a simile for inaccuracy. What is one editor's version of accuracy can easily be another's version of inaccuracy. It usually comes down to whose ox is about to be gored. One would think that with all of its vast resources, a television show such as The Oprah Winfrey Show would be steeped in accuracy. I was on Oprah's show in 1992 to talk about the use of Indians as mascots and I found her to be a very warm, understanding and compassionate person. So the inaccuracies I saw on her much publicized Oprah and Gayle's Big Adventure I will attribute to her overzealous and badly informed producers. With much fanfare Oprah and Gayle showed up on the Navajo Nation. Some Navajo reported that her advance entourage urged the Navajo leadership to stage a "pow wow" for Oprah and Gayle. Well, the Navajo people are not too keen on pow wows and holding them is not a part of their culture. But, as a part of the footage of Oprah's visit, footage of a pow wow was also a part of her show. Never mind that the pow wow participants were attired in the clothing of the Plains Indians and were dancing the dance of the Plains. In reconstructing the infamous Long Walk of the Navajo to their incarceration at Fort Sumner, Oprah's narrator told of how many Navajo died on that long march. But, of course, the narrative would not be as effective without actual photos. The producers of the show dug up some pictures of Indians lying dead in a field. Unfortunately the photos were actually photos of the dead Lakota men, women and children at the Massacre at Wounded Knee. I suppose the producers figured that images of any dead Indian would suffice because after all, who would know the difference. Many of us Lakota immediately knew the difference because those photos of the dead at Wounded Knee are burned into our minds. It is an event that we commemorate annually. The History Channel can be infamous for its one-sided version of history. Let me give you two examples of how it applies one set of rules for all occasions. That set of rules is inevitably the one as seen through the eyes of the white producer. A recent History Channel show covered how forensics was used to search out the true story of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, or as the Lakota call it, The Battle of the Greasy Grass. You see, we even have a different name for the same battle. In studying the bones of the soldiers recovered at the battlefield, the forensic experts talked about the horrific way in which the soldiers died. There was evidence of knife marks on the skulls leading to the conclusion that the soldiers were scalped. Knife marks in the pubic area suggested the soldiers had been castrated. And on and on. Well, this evidence of how they died is probably accurate, but it is unfair in one respect: What would a similar forensic investigation of the Indian bones of the victims at Wounded Knee or Sand Creek show? How did those Indian men, women and children die? I believe it would show that they also died in a terrible fashion, victims of vicious disfigurement whose body parts were taken as ghastly souvenirs by the rabid soldiers. But even a kind of happy show about how American cuisine developed can overlook a portion of history as regards the Indian people. The History Channel did a very good show on the history of hotdogs, hamburgers and pizza. When it talked about pizza it talked about the importance of tomatoes in preparing a proper American pizza. They could have talked about the origin of tomatoes because, after all, tomatoes are a product of the American Indian, one that was unknown in Europe before it was discovered in early America. Perhaps if they do a show on the taco they will include the fact that the corn tortilla and jalapeno peppers were also indigenous to Native Americans. So, as I said at the beginning, accuracy in the media is oftentimes calculated in degrees of perception. What is seen as accuracy by one race of people may not be seen in the same way by another race. For example, as an American of Indian heritage you might be alarmed to learn that your heroes are not necessarily my heroes. In this day of mass communications I am often appalled at the use of inaccurate material in the media in general. Too often press releases are pulled off the Internet and inserted into the newspapers, broadcast on the radio or viewed on television simply because it is about Indians. I suggest the editor check the article for accuracy also. An Associated Press story of several years ago would lend credence to this observation. The story goes that a boy from the Rosebud Reservation, a boy who was half Sioux and half Jew, was living in Israel where he was about to have his bar mitzvah and completing this plus additional training, he would return to South Dakota and become chief of all the Sioux. Can you believe this story appeared in newspapers all over America? Of course it was untrue and a simple phone call by any editor to Rosebud would have debunked it, but no one bothered to do that. The story was funny and an eye-catcher and that was enough for AP to pick it up and run it nationally and probably internationally. Accuracy is a word with many interpretations, but when it is boiled down to its most common denominator, it is a word that should be incorporated into all aspects of the media. As Rob Armstrong, my retired friend from CBS Radio was fond of saying, "If your mother says she loves you, check it out." --- McClatchy News Service in Washington, DC distributes Tim Giago's weekly column. He can be reached at P.O. Box 9244, Rapid City, SD 57709 or at najournalists@rushmore.com. Giago was also the founder and former editor and publisher of the Lakota Times and Indian Country Today newspapers and the founder and first president of the Native American Journalists Association. Clear Light Books of Santa Fe, NM (harmon@clearlightbooks.com) published his latest book, "Children Left Behind." Copyright c. 2000-20