_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 15, ISSUE 001 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 January 6, 2007 Hopi paamuya/joyful moon Assiniboine wicogandu/center moon Algonquin squochee kesos/moon when Sun has not strength to thaw Cree gishepapiwatekimumpizun/moon when the old fellow spreads the bush +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + =================== Along the U.S.-Mexico border, the body count continues to pile up daily. Meanwhile, the Minutemen patrol the U.S.-Mexico border and shameless politicians find it easy to denounce illegal immigration as the cause of all the nation's problems - including linking it with "the war on terror." Amidst all the clatter, the only views not being heard are the ones that matter most. Thus here, we bring you a truly historic column, featuring the views of those that have come before us to these lands: American Indians: "The immigration issues are many and are so very complex; however, we cannot have a productive dialogue about anything when we begin the conversation, thinking it is "us against them" or when the "truth" is only half true or we only use rhetoric to back our claims. We can't resolve any of these complex issues if we label our neighbor as an "immigrant" and not as a relative, friend or human being." __ Nadine Tafoya, friend and colleague Mescalero Apache-Salt River Pima-Maricopa +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 Let's say I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box. I'd like to believe I'm not the dullest, either, but that is beside the point. I do, however, understand basic right from wrong, and I've been thinking that some things are just too obvious for bright people like Interior Secretaries. If I stole your wallet off the desk in your workplace while I was serving as the building security, and I got caught - I would consider myself fortunate (and you stupid) if the worst punishment I received was to have to return your wallet and contents to you, the rightful owner. I realize this is simplistic, but so is the issue. I took what was yours, and now restitution is in order. Furthermore, I got caught red handed, and I can't even dispute the fact that I am a thief. That is the precisely the situation in the protracted Indian Trust Case. The United States Department of Interior took the trust money they were supposedly keeping secure for Indian account holders, they got caught in the act, and should now have to restore those stolen funds - at the very least. The Department of Interior has thrown up one delay after another, one smokescreen after another. Yet, in the final analysis, they stole our money and everyone knows it. We'd like to have it back. Thank you very much. Case closed. You may send copies of this to anyone you please, including new Secretary of the Interior, Kempthorne and new presiding Judge, Robertson. 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: - Some State Names . DoI Trust Theft - JODI RAVE: - Judge gets different plans Cobell and team see progress to resolve Trust Case - HARJO: Realistic New Year's - Confusion rules resolutions for others over Federal budgeting Process - NEWCOMB: All our Relations - Protecting Sovereignty - GIAGO: Recognize an Indian Hero among '06 Tribal Issues in the New Year - Meth use is an epidemic - Land Theft at Six Nations in Osage Nation - Chief: Frustrations - Oklahoma centennial upsets Indians could mount in 2007 - Fargo Indian Center is closing - Feds announce Funds for NAIG - Blackfeet claim - Ruling on Night Hunting entitlement to Water will have a ripple effect - Tribe prospers under financier, - Government helps but at a price Alberta Metis Group - Pueblo Council elects new Leaders - Likelihood of abuse - Homeless Hero gets home varies by Ethnicity to Navajo Reservation - Hopeful signs for Global Justice - Code Talker Holiday created - The Talking Way - Criticism of Team's Name - Native Justice heats up Dartmouth Game -- Determined Heroine and - Legislators say her fall from Grace Indian Education Act worth study - Rustywire: Long Ribbon of Road - Grants help preserve - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days fading Native Languages - Lee Goins Poem: The Darkness - Tribal Leaders in training - Red Eagle CD Release learn Dances, Languages - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Judge gets different plans to resolve Trust Case" --------- Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2006 08:43:20 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JUDGE ROBERTSON TAKES TRUST CASE" http://www.indiantrust.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.ViewDetail &PressRelease_id=172&Month=12&Year=2006 NEW JUDGE GETS SHARPLY DIFFERENT PLANS FOR RESOLVING INDIAN TRUST CASE December 21, 2006 WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 - Newly assigned U.S. District Judge James Robertson held his first status conference this week on the federal government's gross mismanagement and misappropriation of the multi-billion dollar Indian Trust. The judge was presented with sharply divided opinions on how to proceed with the 10-1/2-year-old class action lawsuit, given that the government's liability was determined by the U.S. Court of Appeals in February 2001. Lawyers for the Indian plaintiffs urged Judge Robertson Wednesday to take notice of the Court of Appeals' instruction that the case be expeditiously and fairly resolved. They urged that the case be set for trial this summer on the accounting and remedies phase of the landmark, multi-billion dollar proceedings. "It's time for final judgment," argued attorney Dennis M. Gingold, citing specific instructions of both appeals court and the chief judge of the district court that the case be resolved without further delay. Notwithstanding those instructions, a Justice Department lawyer insisted that the judge do nothing. Attorney Robert Kirschman said, "It is not appropriate to hold a trial." Further, in response to a series of questions from the bench, Kirschman refused to provide the Court with any date for trial. "I cannot give you a date," he told the judge. Judge Robertson, nonetheless, promised "that is not my intent to dawdle with this case." Elouise Cobell, a member of the Blackfeet Nation from Browning, Mont., and the lead named plaintiff, expressed optimism after the hearing. "Judge Robertson has made clear that he wants to proceed expeditiously and that is the only way we will get relief from this 119- year nightmare" she said. "The additional delays the government now seeks are absurd and will only exacerbate the problems for all beneficiaries," Gingold said. Judge Robertson said he would hold a second status conference in January. At that time, Robertson said he will delve into the case in greater detail and move the case forward. Copyright c. 2006 Blackfeet Reservation Development Fund, Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Confusion rules over Federal budgeting Process" --------- Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:16:05 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FEDERAL BUDGET PROCESS" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414280 Confusion rules over federal budgeting process by: Jerry Reynolds / Indian Country Today Analysis December 29, 2006 WASHINGTON - The virtue of conventional continuing resolutions on the federal budget is their elegant simplicity: federal programs all know what they get in the way of set funding, namely the lowest funding level from the House of Representatives-approved proposed budget, the Senate-approved proposed budget or the budget enacted by Congress in the most recent fiscal year (at present, FY 2006). Neither lobbyists, special interests, the reactions of rank-and-file congressional members nor, for the most part, the White House can change the amounts. But the years '06 and '07 are going to be unconventional ones in the chronicle of government budgeting. Not to mince words about it, the federal budget process has tanked. In response, Congress has quite possibly saddled itself and the nation with the worst of two approaches: flat funding of all federal programs at FY '06 levels until Feb. 15, followed by more of the same until October (when FY '08 commences) except for those programs to which special adjustments are made. The special adjustments are likely to make for the most detailed continuing resolution on the federal budget for next year since Congress, incapable of resolving its differences over federal spending, began to rely on them in 1994. The specter of special adjustments, of course, opens the door all over again to high-stakes lobbying from every direction, though next year's Democratic leadership team on the budget has stated in strong terms that they contemplate only "limited adjustments." It appears that health care, education and Veterans Administration programs will get a preference. Other programs, undetermined at this writing, may receive additional funding as necessary to maintain operations. On top of all that, the focus on '06 funding levels, in effect, places a moratorium on "earmarks," at least until Congress can pass legislation that reforms lobbying practices. Earmarks are the special spending provisions that congressional members can insert, anonymously and without debate, into appropriations bills; in almost all cases, they favor projects in a lawmaker's home state or constituency. They are fully constitutional, in that the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. And they are popular with lawmakers and the general public for obvious reasons. But they have ballooned beyond the limits of ethical restraint, from a few hundred in the 1970s to half a thousand in the 1980s, thousands by the '90s and more than 15,000 now. The argument is made that by and large, the earmarks system worked well enough, assuming American taxpayers were prepared to foot the draw on the federal treasury. But three occurrences have fed a determination in the new Congress to reform. The Nov. 7 elections suggest voters have had enough of a Congress that can't police itself; the Jack Abramoff lobbying debacle highlighted the corruption inherent in a system that wreathes congressional members in fig leaves as their constituents feed at troughs of gold; and the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" proposed to duplicate the work of a 10-minute ferry service ride by connecting the fewer than 50 inhabitants of Gravina Island off southeast Alaska to Ketchikan, but at a cost of $223 million in federal pork-barrel funding - only one of 6,371 earmarks in the Transportation Equity Act, according to online news site Salon. The earmarks moratorium is bound to cancel and despoil planned projects throughout the country, including many that touch Native people in Indian country, Alaska and Hawaii. It would be the instinct of any reporter to forewarn of the impending damage before it can be done; but that won't be possible for a while yet. Faced with constituent hostility and fury within its own chambers, Congress is now in a stalemate over the definition of an earmark. Is an earmark an appropriation no one will go down in "the well" (the area on the House floor, between the rostrum and member seats, where House members hold forth from podiums) to defend? Are such earmarks really in the same category as appropriations that have to be defended in the first place only because someone keeps coming up with an indefensible reason for zeroing out its budget, year after year, as for instance in the case of United Tribes Technical College? As these words are written, Congress ponders the very definition of an earmark, with no very clear idea of what it may be. On the other hand, it seems clear enough that any savings to the budget from the trimming of earmarks will be plowed, in large part, right back into the overall budget, where it will likely rescue education and Veterans Affairs programs undermined by the decision to fund most federal programs at '06 levels until Oct. 1. For the record, the budget morass facing the Democrat-majority Congress in '07 is a direct result of decisions by the Republican-majority Congress of '06 not to be bothered with budgetary debate on nine of 11 domestic spending bills. Only defense and homeland security bills were finalized. Most domestic spending bills, including many that affect Indian country, will be funded at '06 levels if the announced plan holds up. But given the current distress in Congress over the definition of an earmark, even budget experts are wary of stating the probable losses. The National American Indian Housing Council, for one, has stated that it will have to curtail programs if it is limited to its '06 budget. One of a few certainties at present is that it won't be alone. Budget forecast clears to partly cloudy The outlook for the national budget is never altogether clear, as federal bureaucrats and program personnel discover every year. But it has seldom been as cloudy as now, and the few gleams emanating from Capitol Hill have brought more clarity than comfort. For it's increasingly likely that the new Democratic majority in Congress means it - domestic spending will not rise with its ascendancy. Education, veterans and children's health, and homeland security programs are apt to realize priority increases in funding. But otherwise, Democratic leadership on the major budget committees in Congress has gotten behind an agenda that calls for reducing the (official) $248 billion budget deficit without curtailing war costs projected at $170 billion for the 2007 fiscal year (if there is a fiscal year 2007). And Republicans have already signaled that they will disparage as "tax-and- spend" policy any Democratic initiative to increase income tax revenues to the federal treasury. So with only 20 percent of the federal budget available for discretionary spending on domestic programs, some of them Indian-specific programs, the arithmetic is pretty much ineluctable. If the Democrats stick with it, all but a few domestic programs appear destined for a flat- lined budget at 2006 levels. Earmarks are the wild card. Democrats surprised much of Washington with their insistence that earmarks, the project funding congressional members smuggle into the budget for the benefit of their constituents, will be frozen until the laws on lobbying can be reformed. It's still unclear whether Congress will agree on the definition of earmarks, much less on whether the earmarking system needs an overhaul. Constituents may force their hand. As Capitol Hill gathers momentum for action on earmarks, media have offered more and more accounts of ordinary citizens and state officials who disapprove of earmarks, defying all conventional wisdom. If the moratorium on earmarks holds, Congress can be expected to spend out the savings again; but as of now, Congress itself can't begin to tell anyone how. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Protecting Sovereignty among '06 Tribal Issues" --------- Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2006 11:12:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PROTECTING SOVEREIGNTY" http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=070101_Ne_A13_Prote50322 Protecting sovereignty among '06 tribal issues By S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer January 1, 2007 Court battles and new constitutions are also mentioned as important issues. Safeguarding sovereignty was among the issues that American Indian tribes faced in 2006. "We, as tribes, are always in situations where our sovereignty is questioned, we have to defend it or it will fall by the wayside," Osage Principal Chief Jim Gray said. For Gray, establishing a new government structure was the strongest statement that the Osages made in 2006. In March, voters chose a new form of tribal government. By May, a new constitution was signed. "We exercised our tribal sovereignty by choosing our own form of government and signing our own constitution," Gray said, sitting in his Pawhuska office. The Osages also spent time in federal court in 2006 to protest state emergency tax-stamp rules. They won a federal court decision that said royalties accounts had been mismanaged by government. All of the tribe's court battles are a fight for preserving Osage sovereignty, Gray said. "Justice is slow, but we still hold to all our positions," he said. At the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Chief A.D. Ellis called the year "long" but gratifying. He said the year's highlight was the tribe's securing its housing authority from the state. Acquiring it through state legislation took three years, he said. Saddled with state housing rules since it was created decades ago, the tribe's housing authority now places supervision ultimately under the chief's office, he said. "I think we should know better what our citizens want," he said. "We exercised our sovereign rights by taking control of our housing authority." Tobacco-related issues were a sore spot for the Creeks in 2006, Ellis said. The Creeks stalled out in tobacco compact negotiations with the state over terms that they believe would place them at a disadvantage against other smoke shops. They joined the Osages and Cherokees, who also went into arbitration with the state over their tobacco compact woes in 2006. "I am disappointed we didn't pass a tobacco compact; I presented a good compact to our national council last week that I think gives us a fair advantage over nontribal stores," Ellis said. In Miami, the Peoria Tribe busily tended to a blossoming gaming venture. The 2,700-member tribe opened its Buffalo Run Casino two years ago and announced plans this year for a $10 million hotel addition at the site. Peoria Chief John Froman said that as a result, he is closely watching proposed changes to federal definitions of Class II games. Changes in bingo definitions are questionable because of game availability and rapidly changing technologies, he said. "I guess I urge Indian people to stay abreast of politics, even on a national level, because it affects our existence in some way," he said. "Tribes need to get and keep up to speed." In Tahlequah, Cherokee Chief Chad Smith said the tribal court's decision to put a new constitution into effect without federal approval marked a major accomplishment for the year. As a result, the tribe added council seats and several new Cabinet appointments. "The new constitution will have long-range effects on the Cherokee Nation," Smith said. "It was absolutely the biggest accomplishment we had this year." Smith said tobacco compact language frustrated tribal leaders and distracted them from other interests that they hope to address in the coming year. At the crest of 2007, Choctaw Chief Greg Pyle said the new year is "shiny and new and full of sparkle." He wants to develop new clinics and schools and put new emphasis on the tribe's Choctaw Language Program. Pyle is hoping 2007 will see congressional Medals of Honor bestowed upon wartime code talkers of the Choctaw and Comanche tribes. Gray said he sees local tribes expanding further in 2007, both politically and economically. But he said he's not lulled into complacency by the growth. "You know, the success of tribes in the last dozen years has created an Indian middle class, where there wasn't one before," he said. "But there's still a lot to do." S.E. Ruckman 581-8462 se.ruckman@tulsaworld.com Copyright c. 2007 World Publishing Co. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Meth use is an epidemic in Osage Nation" --------- Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 08:32:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="METH" http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/ stories/DN-oktribes_25tex.ART.State.Edition1.3e24506.html Meth use is an epidemic in Osage Nation, tribal leaders say Officials target drug linked to number of problems on reservation By CHRISTINA GOOD VOICE Associated Press December 25, 2006 OKLAHOMA CITY - In the rural areas of the Osage Nation reservation, tribal officials say a silent epidemic is spreading, causing domestic abuse, child abuse, child neglect and an overall decline in the quality of life for some Osages. Methamphetamine use is on the rise, and tribal leaders passed an anti- meth bill last month that would set minimum penalties for the use, possession and distribution of meth. The bill is a starting point in the Osage Nation's battle against the "methamphetamine epidemic," Osage Congresswoman Debbie Littleton said. She said she has seen firsthand the effects of the drug on family members and, "it didn't seem like there was anything being done about it." About 69.2 percent of the open Indian child welfare cases in the tribe are related to methamphetamine, said Lee Collins, director of social services for the Osage Nation. The tribe, which occupies Osage County in northeastern Oklahoma, has about 3,200 members living on its reservation. Ms. Collins said the 2004 Oklahoma law that restricted access to products containing pseudoephedrine, a key meth ingredient, helped to bring down usage numbers on the reservation, but the trend has reversed as meth trafficking in the area has increased. Hard addiction to kick Even those who seek treatment for their addiction usually don't last and wind up back in the system, Ms. Collins said. "I've worked with families [involved with meth], and in the past 11 years I've seen one mother get off meth and stay off," she said. Other problems that go hand-in-hand with methamphetamine use are child neglect and abuse. "People who have used meth don't supervise their children. They party, sleep, and their children are subject to things such as sexual abuse by strangers the parents have let stay at their homes," Ms. Collins said. If all of Oklahoma's tribes would work together in applying for grants, they might be more successful in getting the funds to create two-year treatment programs, Ms. Collins said. Right now the Osage Nation only has a 28-day treatment program that Ms. Collins said is insufficient for any meth addict. She said a true addict would need at least a two-year program to stay clean. "It's not just tribes - it's all of society," she said. Other tribes' actions Other tribes like the Cherokee Nation and the Choctaw Nation are working to get meth prevention grants to aid in their fight to keep the drug out. The Cherokee Nation has received a $350,000 methamphetamine prevention grant that will be used to educate the community - particularly the 16- to 20-year-olds - about the drug. B.J. Boyd, deputy director of Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health, said the tribe wants to help communities develop their own drug prevention plans and programs. The Choctaw Nation is seeking funding for a meth prevention grant. Gary Nunley, director of behavioral health for the Choctaw Nation, said the grant would help with prevention, treatment and recovery. The tribe has a 30-day treatment facility, and 45 percent of those who enter the program have said meth is their drug of choice, Mr. Nunley said. The Chi Hullo Li (We Care for You) center is a six-month facility for mothers who are seeking treatment but don't want to be separated from their children. "Meth is highly addictive. It takes a toll on the whole body and results in a loss of job, family and finances," Mr. Nunley said. "It's a real serious problem." He agreed that Indian tribes should work together on the issue to find a solution. "We should be partnering more formally with other tribes across the country to see if we can't identify a solution and the practices that work," he said. Copyright c. 2006 WFAA-TV. --------- "RE: Oklahoma centennial upsets Indians" --------- Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 08:57:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NO MENTION OF THEFT OF INDIAN LANDS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/ stories/DN-okbitter_26tex.ART.State.Edition1.3e21cd7.html Oklahoma centennial upsets Indians Customary telling of the state's history, they say, leaves out the taking of their land Associated Press December 26, 2006 'The birth of Oklahoma was the destruction of my tribe,' said Ponca Nation Tribal Chairman Dan Jones. He wants the state's centennial celebration to reflect the fact that Oklahoma was at one time Indian Territory. TULSA, Okla. - As the state prepares to mark its 100th birthday next year with parades, fireworks and festivals, the grand celebration is also opening old wounds for some American Indians. Tribal leaders and academics say the centennial isn't a time for celebration because in 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state through the dismantling of tribal territories. Those lands once were guaranteed to American Indian nations by the U.S. government but the promises were brushed aside as Western expansion caught fire. Years earlier, tribes were removed from their ancestral lands in the Southeast and relocated to what is now Oklahoma. The most egregious of these relocations occurred with the 1,000-mile Cherokee Trail of Tears. Children re-enact homesteading land runs on school playgrounds without learning about what happened to make those events possible, as if the tribes disappeared in some sort of vacuum at the time of statehood, scholars say. "[It's] part of the triumphal narrative of American history, that Western progress and the Manifest Destiny doctrine was alive and well," said Clara Sue Kidwell, professor and director of the Native American Studies Program at the University of Oklahoma. "It's the triumph of human beings over the land ... so little is taught about the native peoples of the land and the opening of Indian territory to white settlement." Full history sought Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith recently wrote an editorial for two local newspapers reminding Oklahomans to remember all the state's history. He said reflecting on the entire past gives the state and the tribes an opportunity to build a stronger Oklahoma for the next 100 years. "We should remind the general public that there were 39 governments here in place before the state of Oklahoma was established," he said. The Cherokee Nation, which occupies 14 counties in northeastern Oklahoma, is the largest tribe in Oklahoma and the second largest in the U.S. Oklahoma's smaller Indian governments also say the centennial is not something to celebrate. "The birth of Oklahoma was the destruction of my tribe," said Ponca Nation Tribal Chairman Dan Jones. "I think the celebration has to include some kind of acknowledgment by the state that it wasn't all great for everyone that lived in the region called 'Oklahoma' - it was Indian Territory." Teaching that full account might be difficult in a state created amid a pioneering, "Go West" spirit during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Bill Corbett, history professor at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, the tribal capital for the Cherokee Nation, said teaching kids how Oklahoma became a state at the expense of American Indian governments and land holdings is complicated. "If these ideas of the Indian perspective were to be imparted to elementary schoolchildren, it has to be done in a very basic way," said Mr. Corbett, who teaches a course on the history of the Five Civilized Tribes. Overcoming insecurity? Ms. Kidwell, who is affiliated with the Choctaw and Chippewa tribes, said Oklahomans have a kind of "built-in inferiority complex" because of the Dust Bowl and the perception of "Okies," so it becomes important through the centennial to show off how far their state has come. "It's something that Oklahomans seem to feel like they have to make up for; this great celebration becomes part of that, a chance to glorify our state and our accomplishments," she said. J. Blake Wade, executive director of the Oklahoma Centennial Commission, said organizers hope American Indians understand that next year's event is "not trying to change history." "We understand why they feel the way they feel," Mr. Wade said. He agreed with the scholars that more needs to be done to present a fuller picture of Oklahoma statehood. The curriculum "should be looked at and changed to read the way it historically was," he said. Meanwhile, at least one tribal leader said the centennial should be celebrated. "The Chickasaw Nation is excited about the Oklahoma centennial celebration," said Chickasaw Nation Gov. Bill Anoatubby. "Oklahoma has experienced an incredible first century. We have seen remarkable progress, and it is important that we embrace the success of our past as we look forward to the opportunities in our future." The Chickasaw Nation is one of the sponsors of Oklahoma's centennial, and Mr. Anoatubby said the tribe chose to do so because all Oklahomans should contribute something to the state. Copyright c. 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2006 The Dallas Morning News Co. --------- "RE: Fargo Indian Center is closing" --------- Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 08:57:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CENTER CLOSING" http://www.kxnet.com/getArticle.asp?s=rss&ArticleId=79779 Fargo center offering services to lowincome Indians is closing Associated Press December 26, 2006 FARGO, N.D. (AP) Fargo's Native American Programs center is closing its doors Friday, due to a lack of money. The program offers health care and other services to low-income and homeless American Indians. Board members say United Way discontinued funding because of poor facilities and a lack of help from local governments. Board member Gus Claymore says the program always has been scraping to hang on. United Way President Scott Crane says services were limited and it was not much more than a drop-in center. He said United Way plans to invest in other programs to benefit American Indians. Area leaders are looking at the long-term need for a larger urban Indian center. Copyright c. 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2006 KXNet.com - KXMB Channel 12, Bismark-Mandan, ND. --------- "RE: Blackfeet claim entitlement to Water " --------- Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2006 11:12:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BLACKFEET WATER CLAIM" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414284 Blackfeet claim entitlement to 'substantial allocation' of water by: The Associated Press January 1, 2007 GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) - Leaders of the Blackfeet Tribe told state and federal officials here that their reservation deserves much more water from the St. Mary and Milk rivers than it is getting now. The tribe is in water-rights talks with the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission to determine how much water from the St. Mary and Milk rivers, along with other drainages, will be allocated to the tribe - and how much will be left over for other users. A public negotiation session was held Dec. 20 in Great Falls. Water from the two rivers, which form in the mountains west of the reservation and flow through it, currently is being diverted to thousands of farmers and residents along the Montana Hi-Line. Tribal officials aren't proposing to stop the distribution. But they argue they deserve more - what one called a "substantial allocation" - than they're getting. "It's our water," Tribal Chairman Earl Old Person said. The outcome of the negotiations will affect thousands of residents on the reservation and those living downstream across north-central Montana. "We're trying to quantify a limited resource," said Doug Oellermann with the BIA, who moderated the four-hour session Dec. 20. In Montana, seven Indian reservations, including the Blackfeet, and federal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, have claimed so-called federal reserved water rights - a right to use water that's implied in an act of Congress, a treaty or an executive order establishing a tribal or federal reservation. The amount of water to which a reservation is entitled depends on the purpose for which the land was reserved. The nine-member Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission, formed in 1979 by the Montana Legislature, negotiates water compacts with these entities. The agency sunsets in 2009, so there's added incentive to negotiate settlements to avoid a courtroom, Oellermann said. Chris Tweeten, chairman of the commission, said he's confident an agreement can be reached that is "beneficial to everybody." Negotiations have been off and on for years, Tweeten said, but a few events have made an agreement more urgent. First, representatives are hoping a deal can be struck in time to submit to the 2007 Legislature when it convenes in January. Congress must also approve an agreement. In addition, it's important to settle the water rights now because a coalition of parties that rely on the St. Mary's Canal is seeking funding from Congress for major repairs to the canal. The federally run canal facility diverts water from the St. Mary's River to the Milk River, which in turn feeds 14,000 residents and 100,000 acres of cropland. "It's been a long time coming and we're hoping we can bring this to a conclusion," Tweeten said. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Tribe prospers under financier, but at a price" --------- Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 08:57:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NORTHERN UTE FINANCIER" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_4901322 Northern Ute Indians Tribe prospers under financier, but at a price Although Jurrius has pumped up the tribal coffers, some say he is controlling and secretive By Christopher Smart The Salt Lake Tribune December 26, 2006 FORT DUCHESNE - Some see him as a messiah, come to set the Northern Ute Indians free from poverty institutionalized at the hands of the federal government. Others say he is just a snake-oil merchant - the latest in a long line of white men enriching themselves at the tribe's expense. John Jurrius is a well-dressed and articulate Texan who at 45 has amassed a fortune. He earned his chops during two decades in the oil business, but he likes to call himself an investment banker. It's a combination that makes him a formidable businessman. He brought to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in eastern Utah a no- nonsense approach: for every $10 million he would make for the tribe, he'd keep $1 million. He also required a salary of $62,500 per month for himself and four staffers. "I told them I wasn't here to save them. I was here to make money," Jurrius said in a recent interview. "The [tribal] elders gasped when I said that. But one elder stood up and said, 'You're the first [white] man to tell us the truth.' " Jurrius is as controversial as he is dynamic. He spent a number of years with the Southern Ute Tribe in southwest Colorado before he was invited to leave in 2000. After five years with the Northern Utes, his contract is up this month. Its renewal is tied to a pledge to increase by four-fold dividends paid out to tribal members. That has his critics crying foul: He's buying his own contract extension, they claim. In any case, Jurrius has an impressive track record. Longtime Southern Ute finance director Bob Zahradnik, a non-Indian, said Jurrius helped lead the Ignacio, Colo.-based tribe into a new era of prosperity. During the Jurrius years, the assets of the 1,300-member Southern Utes grew from less than $200 million to what now is creeping up on $2 billion. "It's the most successful plan in Indian country," Zahradnik said. "The tribe's credit rating is better than that of Denmark or Japan." But some Southern Utes claim that Jurrius went beyond financial adviser to political power broker. "He became involved in tribal decisions," said Sage Remington, a full- blooded Southern Ute. "He was arrogant and viewed the tribal people as merely a conduit." Because the Southern Utes sit on huge deposits of coal and natural gas, Remington believes the tribe could have succeeded without Jurrius. "He made a lot of money for the tribe," Remington conceded. "But he made a lot forhimself, too - millions and millions." Success and secrecy: From the vantage point of the Northern Utes, encamped in the hardscrabble Uinta Basin, the Colorado scenario looked more than a little inviting. To Maxine Natchees, the chairwoman of the tribe's governing Business Committee, Jurrius appeared as the man who could at last lead her people out of poverty. Although the Northern Utes are believed to own vast deposits of oil and natural gas, they had only recovered minimal royalty payments over 40 years of energy exploration in the Uinta Basin. Jurrius set up shop at tribal headquarters in Fort Duchesne in January 2001 and unpacked the model he built in southwest Colorado. It includes a "membership fund" based on royalties and low-risk investments that would underwrite all tribal services: health, education, social services and retirement. In addition, it outlines a "venture fund" that seeks to build profits aggressively through a mix of investments in things such as real estate and technology. It sets the stage for any number of future tribal business ventures. To put the plan on what Jurrius calls a "firm financial footing," he launched a new and comprehensive inventory of all the tribe's mineral holdings. He renegotiated royalties with exploration firms on Ute gas and oil fields to get a bigger share of the pie. And he guided the creation of Ute Energy, so the tribe can participate directly in profits from new wells drilled on its land. Not least, Jurrius helped the tribe free up $190 million in water settlement monies that the federal government had held in trust. "The future of the [Northern] Ute Tribe is now very bright," Natchees said. "I'm very confident we're going to get there." The financial plan was put before the tribe for a vote. Once approved, it became something akin to law. But complaints like those that dogged Jurrius in southwest Colorado - that he is secretive, heavy handed and meddling in tribal politics - soon followed. Luke Duncan and Ron Wopsock, two Business Committee members who were not swayed by the charismatic Texan, found themselves outflanked by a voting majority of four on the six-member council. Frustrated by a lack of detailed investment information, the pair filed suit in September 2003 against the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is charged with tribal oversight. Natchees branded their action "dereliction of duty." Duncan and Wopsock were soon stripped of their positions by the four other board members. Although the chairwoman denies it, some believe Jurrius engineered the coup. Duncan and Wopsock have been replaced on the Business Committee, but the issue of whether the men, elected by popular vote, were legally removed remains to be decided by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. For his part, Duncan maintains that no one outside of Jurrius' inner circle knows exactly where the tribe's money is. And there is no independent audit to back up his assertions. "John Jurrius says this and that. But where is the paperwork? Has anyone verified it? No." Despite Jurrius' pledge that the books are open, Irene Cuch, who now sits on the Business Committee, says she, too, is often overwhelmed and befuddled by information provided via PowerPoint on the tribe's finances. "There has to be better accountability," she said. "There needs to be an independent audit. It's just a good practice." Three-prong proposal: Of prime concern for critics is the $190 million in water settlement money paid out for failed promises of the Central Utah Project. Most of it, Jurrius said, is invested in low-risk bonds with, among others, Bear Stearns, a New York City-based banking and securities brokerage. The government was making less than 1 percent per year on the settlement money, but now it's making 3 percent to 6 percent, Jurrius explained. "The first goal of this tribe was to say [to the federal government], wait a minute. They want to give their money to a professional money manager," he said of the brokerage firm. "Why would you give away $8 million a year [in unrealized investment earnings]? That's destruction of capital." At least $11 million of the water settlement money was invested in a shopping mall in Cheyenne, Wyo. The deal eventually netted the tribe $4 million in profit. But it spooked some tribal members, who feared the water money could be lost on risky business ventures. After she began poking around for details on the mall deal, Mary Carol Jenkins lost her job at the tribe's laundry. She's not the only one. Sandy Hansen worked as a staff attorney for the Ute Tribe for a decade. When she sought an independent evaluation of a mineral lease renegotiated by Jurrius, she found herself out of work. "He convinced the Business Committee that I was not trustworthy," Hansen said. Others have lost jobs, too. And Jenkins contends that fear has gripped the tribe. "Right now, nobody wants to ruffle his feathers - they have everybody scared," Jenkins said. "The Business Committee is in the pocket of John Jurrius. There is no one to tell them they can't do what they're doing." An additional $84 million of water settlement money remains in federal trust. Earlier this month, the Business Committee took the first step toward securing it for investment in the tribe's financial plan. But the measure must be approved by a simple majority of the 3,200-member tribe. The referendum will include three provisions: Obtaining the funds from the federal government; increasing monthly payments to tribal members from $200 to $800 per month; and extending Jurrius' contract for 24 months. The triple-pronged legislation appears like a trick to renew Jurrius' contract, said Curtis Cesspooch, a longtime tribal leader and former Business Committee member. "They are trying to buy the people off by giving them a bigger dividend, " he contended. "Those things should be separate ordinances, voted on separately." Oil-well speed bump: Jurrius says he needs more time to get the Northern Utes to financial security. He sets a benchmark for the Membership Fund at $550 million. The interest from it would underwrite all the tribe's governmental functions. In the past five years, Jurrius says, he has brought that fund from $1 million to $76.9 million. But there's a bugaboo that's hindering growth: Utah crude oil at room temperature is a dark, waxy substance that is difficult to refine. Recently, Salt Lake City refineries set their sights on the more profitable Canadian sweet crude and put limits on how much of eastern Utah's black wax they would accept. Not only does that limit the tribe's short-term revenues, but exploration companies are reducing by half the number of wells they will sink on Ute lands next year. "It's devastating to the tribe," said Jurrius. "But we're not done." Jurrius is studying alternatives, like trucking Ute black wax to the mothballed EcoDomaine oil refinery in Green River. He's also considering building the tribe its own $250 million refinery with a 15,000-barrel-per- day capacity. Ute Energy and the prospect of a Ute refinery, not to mention the venture fund, represent a dramatic shift for the Indian community, which historically has functioned more like a socialist society than a capitalist one. "It's change, and it's hard," Jurrius said. "When you take a race of people who have had their future in trust and that trustee [federal government] has taken so much of their land and their future, it's hard." The sometimes spasmodic transformation from passive socialists to active capitalists is the cause for most of the unrest on the reservation, Jurrius explained. But once the tribe is in control of its own financial independence and its own destiny, much of that anxiety will disappear. "My commitment to the tribe is that I'll stay until I'm finished." csmart@sltrib.com --- * Tribune reporter BOB MIMS contributed to this story. Copyright c. 2006, The Salt Lake Tribune. --------- "RE: Pueblo Council elects new Leaders" --------- Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:16:05 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PUEBLO COUNCIL" http://www.krqe.com/expanded.asp?RECORD_KEY[News]=ID&ID%5BNews%5D=18954 Pueblo council elects new leaders Source: AP December 29, 2006 ALBUQUERQUE - The All Indian Pueblo Council has elected new leaders that will guide the tribal advocacy organization over the next four years. Joe Garcia, governor of Ohkay Owingeh pueblo and president of the National Congress of American Indians, will serve as chairman of the council. Former Zia Pueblo Gov. Amadeo Shije was elected vice chairman. He has been chairman for the past six years. The council also chose former San Ildefonso Gov. John Gonzales to serve as secretary-treasurer. The council represents New Mexico's 19 pueblo governors. Copyright c. 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2006 KRQE News 13. Albuquerque, NM. --------- "RE: Homeless Hero gets home to Navajo Reservation" --------- Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2006 11:12:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="" http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8480 Homeless North Las Vegas hero gets home to Navajo reservation SHIPROCK NM By PAUL HARASIM December 28, 2006 (AP) - Inside the First Wash Christian Church, where thin wooden walls only soften the howl and slow the chill of a fierce wind, the preacher's booming baritone raises biblical chapter and verse in English and Navajo. The strength found by Stanford Washburn and other homeless men to lift a 5,000-pound Cadillac off a young girl in North Las Vegas is "evidence of the supernatural, of the hand of God," Pastor William Douglas Lee says. It is days before Christmas. Washburn, warmed a bit by a pot-bellied stove in the room, listens as one parishioner after another acknowledges his heroism of Nov. 25. "We've been praying for Stanford," says church secretary Cecelia Bidtah, who invited him to the service. "He's been gone for years, but we always prayed for him. He's had a rough life because of the alcohol. Maybe now what he has done has changed that behavior." What Washburn did was help save the life of a 9-year-old child he didn't know. Robyn Rubio is alive today, healing at University Medical Center in Las Vegas from a broken pelvis and other injuries, because Washburn and several other transients did the seemingly impossible. The girl's condition has been upgraded in recent weeks from critical to good. She was struck by a Cadillac when she broke away from an adult relative and darted into Las Vegas Boulevard in a working-class North Las Vegas neighborhood about 4 miles north of the glittery Las Vegas Strip. The one-eyed Washburn was with at least three other homeless men drinking nearby. He saw the vehicle strike the girl and drag her underneath for nearly 50 yards. The men ran toward the girl. Washburn yelled to lift the car. The men dropped cans of malt liquor and hoisted the vehicle off the child's body. Washburn believes the other transients, who ran away as police approached, may have had warrants out for their arrest. Police said the 66-year-old woman driving the car was not at fault in the crash. Clasping his hands in prayer in the Shiprock church, Washburn wears a sweatshirt, three coats, two pairs of pants, two pairs of socks and black shoes. He wore most of the same clothes while living in a vacant desert lot strewn with old clothes, dead rats, plastic bags, cigarette butts, beer cans and wine bottles. The 48-year-old Navajo, a self-described drunk with three grown children and a 2-year-old grandson named Ra Shawn, returned to the Navajo Nation after an anonymous benefactor read about his role saving the little girl's life. The man, in Florida, contacted North Las Vegas police and offered to pay Washburn's way home to his family in New Mexico for the holidays. The trip took almost 20 hours by bus, Washburn says. It was not easy. "I had the worst hangover of my life, and Greyhound lost my luggage," he says. "That man sent me $250 for a bus ticket, clothes, food and a motel room, and I ended up with fewer clothes than I originally had." Meeting relatives at the bus station, Washburn learned that three family members had died - including a 26-year-old nephew who he says either jumped or fell from an 80-foot cliff. Still, Washburn seemed reasonably content in church. He says, and his two grown daughters agreed, that he has not touched alcohol since he arrived in New Mexico on Dec. 8. Washburn also has a grown son, who, like him, is a transient. While his daughters work, he cares for his grandson, who often tries to peek beneath the patch over Washburn's right eye. Sometimes he says he lost the eye from a firecracker. Other times he says he was hit in the eye with a stick. "I don't want to embarrass my daughters or mother or frighten my grandson by drinking," Washburn says. He sits in daughter Shonia's apartment in Farmington, N.M., a city of 40,000 people about 40 miles east of Shiprock. Colorado's rugged San Juan Mountains and the desert highlands of Arizona and Utah are nearby. Washburn's other daughter, Cherylene, says her dad had sweats and chills since he stopped drinking. "It hasn't been easy," she says. "But he knows that if he drinks in front of us, he can no longer stay with the family. We have to worry about little Ra Shawn. My father obviously cares about his grandson." Washburn's return has been largely positive, but it has strained the budgets of his daughters, who live together. Shonia Washburn, Ra Shawn's mother, works as a money counter in a casino. Cherylene works as a laborer. They bought Washburn clothes to replace the ones lost on the bus trip, then found it hard to pay the phone bill. Whether Stanford Washburn will remain sober when he leaves New Mexico is unknown. "I'm going to go back to Las Vegas to check on the little Rubio girl in about a month," he says. "And I can't say whether I won't drink or not. I can't make any promises. I often get depressed, and the alcohol helps me get through it." Carefully listening to her son, Elise Washburn, who speaks Navajo, begins to talk. Washburn's sister Daisy translates. "I am very proud of my son for helping that little girl," the mother says. "We have prayed for that little girl every day since we found out about what happened. I want her to have a long life." Washburn's mother says she worried considerably since Washburn hit the road more than 20 years ago. But she says she believes his wandering spirit must be satisfied. He is known as "chief" on the streets around Las Vegas, and "Fred" on the reservation. He generally supports himself through day labor jobs and sleeps outside. Every couple of years he might call relatives. After stretches sometimes as long as seven years he returns to the reservation. Some family members, including aunt Ruth Nez, don't understand why a man with Job Corps training as a mechanic and who worked as a truck driver and handyman on the reservation hitchhikes all over the West and ends up homeless. An uncle, Roger Shaggy, worries that one day his nephew will be attacked. "There are evil people out there," he says. "Stanford is a good man who would never hurt anyone." Washburn's arrests largely have been for public intoxication. He says he also was caught driving while intoxicated. North Las Vegas police Sgt. Brad Walch became involved in Washburn's welfare after the girl was injured. Walch helped Washburn buy clothes, and tried to keep Washburn sober before his bus trip to New Mexico. "He's always trying to help people," Walch says. "He really is a good man." Washburn admits he is a man of contradictions. He says religion means nothing to him, then goes to a prayer meeting. He becomes depressed because he lives outside and doesn't have a good job, then he says he doesn't want to be tied to one place or work a long time at one job. "I know it can sound strange," he says. As the service nears an end at First Wash Christian Church, parishioner Margaret Whalawitsa shares her thoughts about Washburn and the Navajo culture. "No matter where our young men go when they leave here, the Navajos know that in our culture we all care for them," Whalawitsa says. "We care and they can feel it. Stanford felt that we wanted him to do what was right in his heart. And he did it for that little girl." Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Code Talker Holiday created" --------- Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 08:57:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL CREATES CODE TALKER HOLIDAY" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/dec/122606kh_cdtlkrholiday.html Code Talker holiday created By Kathy Helms Dine' Bureau December 26, 2006 WINDOW ROCK - The Navajo Nation Council voted 56-0 Friday to establish Aug. 14 as Navajo Nation Code Talkers Day and a Navajo Nation holiday. Delegate Larry Anderson of Fort Defiance, sponsor of the legislation, told council, "In all the war histories of the United States, no other language other than English was used, except in World War II, when the United States for the first time in its military history used the Navajo people, and used Navajo words to win the war." Anderson said the Navajo recruit developed the initial Navajo code using Navajo words. "The Japanese were unable to understand and unable to decipher the Navajo code. Even the United States military personnel were unable to understand and to decipher the Navajo code," he said. "The Navajo code was dispatched by the Navajo and received by Navajo and translated by Navajo." The use of Navajo Code Talkers had an unprecedented and significant function in United States military history, Anderson said. So significant, in fact, it was declared top secret. "Bear in mind that before the use of the Navajo Code Talkers the United States did use other military codes, but enemies were able to break those codes," he said. It is estimated that between 375 and 420 Navajos served as code talkers. The program was highly classified throughout the war and remained so until 1968, when, 23 years after the end of World War II, the U.S. Department of Defense declassified it. The first Navajo code consisted of 211 words, most of which had been given new, distinct military meanings. For example, "fighter plane" was called "da-he-tih-hi," which means "hummingbird" in Navajo. A "dive bomber" was called "gini," which means "chicken hawk." In 2001, 56 years after the end of World War II, Anderson said, the United States recognized the Navajo Code Talker as America's war hero and awarded congressional gold medals to the original Navajo code talkers. Four of the original 29 code talkers attended the July 26, 2001, ceremony in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. President George W. Bush hailed the code talkers as men "who, in a desperate hour, gave their country a service only they could give." Copyright c. 2006 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Criticism of Team's Name heats up Dartmouth Game" --------- Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:16:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="UND TEAM NAME" http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/12/29/ criticism_of_teams_name_heats_up_dartmouth_game/ Criticism of team's name heats up Dartmouth game Sioux imagery is 'offensive,' says AD By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff December 29, 2006 Dartmouth College's men's ice hockey team will face off tonight against the University of North Dakota's powerhouse Fighting Sioux, but the main drama is unfolding far from the ice. Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts Debate about whether the Fighting Sioux name is offensive has sparked angst and recriminations from Hanover to Grand Forks, with even North Dakota's governor, a Dartmouth alumnus, weighing in. Josie Harper, Dartmouth's athletic director, wrote a letter to the student newspaper, The Dartmouth, last month about the game, saying: "I must offer a sincere apology to the Native American community and the Dartmouth community as a whole for an event that will understandably offend and hurt people within our community." Dartmouth, in Hanover, N.H., has decided to set up a committee that will consider whether the school should refuse to compete against teams that use Native American nicknames and mascots. The university jettisoned its Indian mascot in the 1970s, while the University of North Dakota staunchly defends its Sioux name. After the National Collegiate Athletic Association last year banned schools that use "hostile or abusive" Native American imagery from hosting postseason championship games, the state of North Dakota sued the NCAA on behalf of the university. The case is still in the courts. North Dakota's elaborate hockey rink, decked in thousands of Native American images, was built with a $100 million donation from an alumnus who threatened to halt his gift if the school abandoned the Fighting Sioux name. Harper called the University of North Dakota's use of a Native American symbol "offensive and wrong." Her letter came as the campus was gripped by controversy over several incidents that were deemed racist toward Native Americans. It provoked a stern response from the University of North Dakota's president, Charles E. Kupchella . "I must. . .. express my great displeasure and dismay at what has appeared to many here to have been an attempt. . . to deflect your problems onto the University of North Dakota," he wrote to Dartmouth President James Wright Nov. 30. "To call what we do here as wrong, in some blanket way, is outrageous. [For Harper] to have placed herself above the majority of Indian people and above the Spirit Lake Nation is nothing short of patronizing." Kupchella wrote that the Fighting Sioux image is a respectful one designed by an American Indian artist and cited a poll that found that support for the university among American Indians would not change if the school altered its nickname. North Dakota Governor John Hoeven , who graduated from Dartmouth in 1979, also criticized Harper's remarks to local press. Wright responded to Kupchella in a letter dated Dec. 4, assuring him that the hockey team "will be most welcome here for the holiday tournament. . . We respect the current team and its historic excellence." No protests are planned for tonight's game, according to Michael Hanitchak , director of Dartmouth's Native American Program, although he said some students wanted Dartmouth to cancel the game. Wright has described tonight's game as problematic, writing in an e-mail to students last month, "We clearly must be more thoughtful in our decision-making on such events." Wright also apologized to Native American students for recent events many students deemed racist, including students distributing T-shirts depicting the Dartmouth Indian, fraternity pledges allegedly disrupting a Native American drumming circle, and the rowing team hosting a Cowboys and Indians party. In 2001, 33 schools used Native American mascots or images, but there were 18 in 2005, according to NCAA spokesman Bob Williams, and fewer still last year. Several universities, including the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin, decline to compete against teams with Native American symbols, Williams said. Marcella Bombardieri is at bombardieri@globe.com. Copyright c. 2006 Globe Newspaper Company. --------- "RE: Legislators say Indian Education Act worth study" --------- Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 08:32:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ACT COULD HELP RESOLVE RACIAL ISSUES" http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2006/12/26/ news/south_dakota/52f5d9c9f4cae37d8625725000124fd0.txt Legislators say Indian Education Act worth study December 26, 2006 PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A proposed Indian Education Act outlined by South Dakota's education secretary last week could help the state resolve some "deep-rooted" racial issues, according to an American Indian education official. Keith Moore, head of the state Office of Indian Education, called the proposal for the 2007 Legislature a symbolic gesture, but said it can go beyond the classroom to alter perceptions and relationships in the state. "The hope is that it will improve state-tribal relations and, also, impact student achievement and graduation rates," Moore said. Gov. Mike Rounds created Moore's office and an Indian education advisory group during his first term. The proposed law would put that office in law, and that would ensure stability across future administrations, said Education Secretary Rick Melmer. Melmer said there's a need "to implement a law to support educational efforts with Indian students and to raise the expectations that all students will learn about Native American culture." The act would require new teachers to receive cultural training, and instructors would incorporate elements of Indian culture, language and traditions into existing school curriculum. State Rep. Ed McLaughlin, R-Rapid City, said he wants to know more about how the act might affect courses and school districts' budgets. "I'll admit I don't know all the details, and it sounds like a worthy goal," McLaughlin said. "But most things, if they're going to be effective, have a cost tied to them. We'll need to talk about that." Any proposals that promote education and "bring down any barriers between people" are worth talking about, said state Rep. Tim Rave, R- Baltic. "Any time we get education about someone else's culture, we develop more understanding and have an opportunity to improve relations," Rave said. "I'll need to see details and exactly what the act would involve, but it's worth study." Copyright c. 2006 Sioux City Journal. --------- "RE: Grants help preserve fading Native Languages" --------- Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2006 08:57:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAVING NATIVE TONGUES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=21726 AMERICAN INDIAN ISSUES: Grants help preserve fading native languages Associated Press December 26, 2006 FORT TOTTEN, N.D. - With soup and conversation in a college gym, members of the Spirit Lake tribe are trying to keep their language alive. People gather in the tribal college gym every other Tuesday for conversational Dakota language instruction. "To do it in a nonclassroom, nonthreatening setting, just to get people talking," said Cynthia Lindquist, president of Candeska Cikana or "Little Hoop" Tribal College. Spirit Lake, on the southern shore of Devils Lake, has perhaps 120 fluent native speakers - most of them elderly - on a reservation with a population of about 4,435. "We're losing these native speakers," Lindquist said. So are many other tribes. No known fluent speakers of Arikara remain, and just one fluent Mandan speaker is known to survive on North Dakota's Fort Berthold Reservation. Recent legislation Congress has passed legislation to establish tribal "language nests" for young children, as well as language restoration programs and language instruction materials. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who is in line to be chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said he pushed for the legislation because it is part of retaining Indian culture. Native language programs on some reservations have shown benefits beyond language, he said. "The kids who are participating in these programs also have better academic performance," Dorgan said. The legislation makes funding available for multiyear grants to three tribes, schools or other organizations to preserve native language, Dorgan said. Linguists said more than 300 native languages once were spoken in North America. That number has dwindled to about 175, and one estimate predicts the number of viable native languages could drop to 20 by 2050. The Dakota language is spoken by 20,355 in the U.S. and Canada, according to figures compiled by Ethnologue, a language database. An estimated 6,000 Lakota speakers, a very similar dialect, also remain. A renaissance of traditional cultures has spread through many tribes in recent years, which has helped American Indians reconnect with their heritage, Lindquist said. That, in turn, helped boost self-esteem and combat alcohol and drug abuse, among other problems, she said. Copyright c. 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2006 Grand Forks Herald, Forum Communications Co. Fargo, ND 58102 - All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tribal Leaders in training learn Dances,Languages" --------- Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 08:16:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ALASKA NATIVE CULTURE PRESERVATION" http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/8526259p-8420001c.html Tribal leaders in training learn dances, languages NATIVE: Despite modern pressures, youths connect to ancestral knowledge. By RACHEL D'ORO The Associated Press December 29, 2006 Debra Dommek sees herself as a tribal elder in training. Never mind that her cheeks glow with the dewy rose of youth. The old soul in the Anchorage teen shines through when she talks about the traditions of indigenous Alaskans, including her people, Inupiat Eskimos. At 18, she believes it's her responsibility to preserve their songs and dances, art and stories. "This is who I am, who my children will be," Dommek said. "Sometimes I feel pressure taking on such a position, but somebody's got to do it." Across the state other Alaska Natives are heeding the same call. For some it's a counterblow to the grip of technology that has made life so much easier but led to cultural erosion in even the most isolated communities. Elders say this is especially true among young people swayed by the faraway media glitz so absent in Alaska's utilitarian villages. That disconnect is blamed in part for chronic problems in Native society - alcoholism, suicide, domestic violence, high dropout rates. But Alaska Natives, who represent 11 distinct cultures and 20 languages, are fighting back with culture camps and rural student exchanges. Villages have resurrected dances and festivals banned a century ago by missionaries. Schools have launched Native language immersion programs. And yes, sometimes preservation efforts involve technology. Even science is recognizing the value of ancestral knowledge passed on to later generations of Natives, said Patricia Cochran, executive director of the Alaska Native Science Commission. The nonprofit organization brings conventional scientists together with Native partners in studies requiring historical and environmental perspectives on multiple topics, including climate change, pollution and subsistence foods. "There's a reason we've been able to survive in the harshest of conditions, in the strangest of times," Cochran said. "It's because of our resilience and our adaptability - and that's the strength that our communities have to go back to." STRENGTH THROUGH ARTS For Dommek, returning to her roots meant learning ancient arts, particularly dance, in an after-school program run by the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage. Dommek is part Dutch and German but felt a need to connect with her Inupiat side. "We have so many strengths," she said. "Thinking of all the things we are, I get really excited, especially about dancing." On a recent afternoon, Dommek and other dancers entertained center visitors, the young women waving fans made of caribou fur while the men chanted and beat on wide, flat drums. In a modern twist, the drums were covered with a synthetic skin of fabric instead of the usual walrus stomach lining. Through the heritage center, Dommek also narrated a short film called "Asveq, the Whale Hunt," documenting the creation of a dance by Yup'ik and Inupiat high school students. The dance merges Yup'ik Eskimo lyrics with Inupiat dance styles. Scenes of teens embracing their traditions against an urban backdrop are woven throughout the eight-minute clip, which has been shown at numerous film festivals. "The big city can be daunting," said longtime program manager Steven Alvarez, who is of Apache and Athabascan decent. "Some of the kids are from villages, and this is a refuge for them. It fills them with pride of culture, self esteem, a sense of place - and that can help academic performance." PRIDE WITH PRESERVATION Some 550 miles to the west, the Nunivak Island village of Mekoryuk reclaimed its own ancient dances and songs that disappeared in 1936 after being outlawed in the Cup'ig Eskimo community by missionaries. The Mekoryuk dancers initially followed recordings made by tribal council member Howard Amos of an elder who remembered the traditional festivals once celebrated there. The elder has since died. "It has given the community a lot of pride that they are Cup'ig people," said Amos, who runs a nonprofit heritage-preservation center. "I feel a lot more like an Eskimo than I ever did." Along with dances, there's been a cultural renaissance in the community of 200. Early elementary grade students attend Cup'ig immersion classes as part of a village effort to preserve the dwindling Native language. Once a month the village school has culture week, offering lessons in dancing, Native arts and crafts, mask making, ivory and wood carving, beading and drum making. Junior high and high school students take winter survival camping trips with seasoned hunters like Amos, shooting and butchering reindeer and musk oxen for their meals. "They love it," Amos said. "It's a first for some of them." Other students around the state also are experiencing Native life through a federally funded program that links village schools and students with their big-city counterparts. In its seventh year, the Rose Urban Rural Exchange pairs village and city classrooms to share a cultural curriculum. The program culminates with selected students and teachers visiting each others' communities for a week. Participating students, who stay with host families, can be any ethnicity, although village students are virtually always Native. Sometimes urban students come from a cultural mix, such as 17-year-old Michelle Kanosh, who is Filipino, German and Irish and Southeast Alaska Tlingit. Kanosh was among a contingent from Wasilla that paid a visit last spring to Savoonga, a Siberian Yupik village of 700 on St. Lawrence Island. Kanosh learned Native dances and beading, sampled chunks of bowhead whale and ate Eskimo ice cream, a dessert often made with shortening, berries and sugar. She was given the Yupik name of Piitsiighaav, which means daisy. Even though she experienced a Native culture different from Tlingit, Kanosh said she felt a deep connection with Savoonga residents and even went back to visit in July. Before the trip, she had worried about being rejected. "Now I see a lot of them as family and great friends," she said. Rural Alaska is crumbling. Winds and water continually wear away at scores of Native communities. Every year whole chunks of land simply float away. And this vast place is eroding in other ways too. Dwindling funds have nudged some small governments to the brink of extinction. They couldn't afford to pay their workers or keep up with the skyrocketing cost of fuel. Native languages are fading. Youngsters in even the most remote villages weigh their lives against the hype and glamour blasting from their TVs and computers. But Alaska's most remote residents - many of them indigenous peoples - are looking for new solutions. And they are clinging to past traditions for their survival and a measure of independence from Western civilization. Copyright c. 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2006 The Anchorage Daily News. --------- "RE: Some State Names" --------- Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:16:05 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIAN NAME ORIGINS" http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20061230/LIFESTYLE/612300320 Several of our states carry American Indian names. What do they mean? In some cases the names were translated into French or other native languages before English-speakers got hold of them, and may be only related in sound to what the native place names actually were. Some examples are: Hawaii (originally hawaiki or owhyhee), meaning "homeland;" Iowa (originally ouaouia), meaning "one who puts to sleep;" Michigan (originally micigama), meaning "great water" (though it was defined in 1672 as "a clearing"); Mississippi, Chippewa words "mici," meaning "great" and "zibi," meaning "river," first written by the French as "Michi Sepe"); and Oklahoma, a Choctaw word meaning "red man"coined by the Rev. Allen Wright. Source: New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. Stonesong Press, New York, 2003 Copyright c. 2006 The Daily Times. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Cobell and team see progress" --------- Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2006 08:32:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: COBELL AND TEAM SEE PROGRESS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/12/26/jodirave/rave38.txt Cobell and team see progress despite lawsuit setbacks By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian December 26, 2006 The year 2006 was marked by "huge disappointments" in the 10-year litigation battle by half a million Native landowners who are suing the U.S. Department of Interior for mismanaging Indian lands and resources. But the suit's lead plaintiff, Elouise Cobell of Browning, sees promise in the year ahead. To begin, the case was dealt a blow in July when the Court of Appeals for the D.C. District Court removed U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth from the Cobell vs. Interior Department suit. The action came after government attorneys objected to Lamberth's "sweeping moral condemnation" of Interior officials. "He had been a mainstay and saw the error of the government's ways and tried to hold them accountable," said Bill McAllister, a spokesman for the Cobell litigation team. "His removal from the case was a huge disappointment. A second disappointment was the failure of Congress to pass legislation that would have resolved the case." The Cobell class-action suit was filed on behalf of Native landowners in 1996. Since then, the case has been before three Interior secretaries and two presidential administrations. It may be pushed to a third administration if not settled within the next year. The suit seeks an historical accounting of money earned by Natives from oil and gas royalties and land and timber leases that have been managed by the Interior Department since 1887. Natives aren't the only ones with questions about lucrative oil and gas royalty payments. An Interior inspector general report released in December thrashes Interior's Minerals Management Services Bureau for failing to collect royalty payments from multibillion-dollar companies that pump oil and gas from public lands and coastal waters. The report says mineral bureau officials rely too heavily on oil company statements rather than actual records. Additionally, the bureau was criticized for its incomplete and often inaccurate data collection process, making it difficult to pursue underpayments, likely ending in uncollected royalties. The lack of accountability could cost the government an estimated $10 billion over the next five years. Lawyers for Native landowners argue Indians have been short-changed more than $100 billion in the last 100 years. Proposed legislation calls for a government settlement payment to the Indians of no more than $8 billion. Last September, a House subcommittee on energy and resources asked Earl Devaney, the Interior's inspector general, to provide testimony concerning the Interior Department's "institutional culture of managerial irresponsibility and lack of accountability." Devaney responded: "Simply stated, short of a crime, anything goes at the highest levels of the Department of Interior. Ethics failures on the part of senior department officials ... have been routinely dismissed with a promise of `not to do it again.' " But Devaney and Cobell see promise in the year ahead. "Secretary (Dirk) Kempthorne has essentially inherited the culture at Interior," Devaney told the subcommittee. "He has already signaled ... his intentions to create and sustain a culture of ethics and accountability during his tenure. I am hopeful the culture that I describe in my testimony today will soon become a thing of the past." Cobell, who is a community development expert from Montana's Blackfeet Nation, expressed optimism in the judicial system and Lamberth's replacement, Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. "His past history is he's moved forward expeditiously and has a reputation for fairness." Robertson called for the first hearing under his tenure with Cobell on Dec. 20. Meanwhile, Cobell lawyers vow to take the case of Lamberth's removal to the U.S. Supreme Court. A petition is expected to be filed with the court before year's end. "We are still fighting over Judge Lamberth," said McAllister. "We don't think it was a proper action. It's unprecedented for someone who's sat on a case for 10 years to be removed. And to be removed for comments that were fully supported by the record of the case over the 10 years. Appointees got a little concerned because he had some strong words to say about the government's handling of the case and their attitude toward Indians." In one opinion, Lamberth called the Department of Interior a "dinosaur - the morally and culturally oblivious hand-me-down of a disgracefully racist and imperialist government that should have been buried a century ago, the last pathetic outpost of the indifference and anglocentrism we thought we had left behind." He also described the department's tenure as trustee for Natives as one featured by "scandals, deception, dirty tricks and outright villainy - the end of which is nowhere in sight." Government attorneys argued he should be removed from the Cobell case for being too morally opinionated. "We do not ask this court for moral vindication: that is not its role. But it is precisely because moral judgments, untethered to legal rulings, do not form a proper part of the case, that reassignment is necessary." So far, the government has spent more than $100 million trying to fix and provide a historical accounting of the Indian trust funds. Earlier this year, it appeared that Sen. John McCain, R- Arizona, then- chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, would settle the Cobell suit through a legislative settlement package. But a last-minute intervention by the Bush administration prevented the bill's advancement in July. In October, the government proposed a sweeping change to the bill that would end the Interior Department's historical and controversial responsibility for managing Indian trust lands. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is expected to pick up the bill again under the leadership of Sen. Bryon Dorgan, D-N.D. "I think one of the bright points is Senator Dorgan is very interested in moving forward with new legislation that will address the issues of the case," said Cobell. "I had a meeting with him about a month ago, which was very rewarding." -- Reporter Jodi Rave can be reached at 800-366-7186 or at jodi.rave@lee.net Copyright c. 2006 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: HARJO: Realistic New Year's resolutions for others" --------- Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:16:05 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HARJO: NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414273 Harjo: Realistic New Year's resolutions for others by: Suzan Shown Harjo / Indian Country Today December 29, 2006 In the past few years, I've made five to 10 resolutions on each New Year's Day and kept all of them. Impossible, you say? Not only is it possible, but I am now going to branch out and make New Year's resolutions for other people. Read on for my wish list of 2007 resolutions for others. But first, here's my secret to keeping my own: make realistic, modest resolutions. For example, rather than vowing to lose all the weight I need to, I resolve to add specific healthy foods to my life and to drop some that are less healthy for me. Over the years, frybread and steaks have been replaced by whole grains, edamame and soy products. At some point, all the things that aren't good for me will be eliminated and I'll be fit, if not trim (I think ''fit 'n' trim'' was a slogan for a weight-loss drink that helped me gain 10 pounds about a dozen diets ago, but that's enough sharing). In the spirit of resolute commitment to realistic goals, here are some 2007 resolutions that won't force others to crash diet - just to do a few healthy things for Native peoples. All are priorities; put them in the order that suits you. 110th Congress and White House: Resolved, to establish legislation to combat climate change, cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean energy. Alaska Native people and polar bears in a shrinking ice world are running out of time for action, and the rest of us may not be far behind. If California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger can turn greenish and sign the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32, 2006), what's stopping everyone else? 110th Congress: Resolved, to enact emergency legislation reauthorizing the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Indian people of all ages need this law, but Native elders and children are bearing the brunt of continued inaction. Office of Management and Budget and Department of Justice: Resolved, to stop threatening to veto the health-care law's reauthorization. Indian people need prevention services and treatment now. It's true that some people who are sick will only get sicker and costs may escalate as conditions worsen. It's also true that funerals cost less than long-term care. But has the cost/benefit analysis of reauthorization really come to this? White House and 110th Congress: Resolved, to provide increased training and financial assistance to tribal and federal responders to situations involving abuse of Indian elders and children, domestic violence and youth suicide attempts; the meth crisis in Indian country; and desecrations of ceremonial grounds and ancestors. 110th Congress, White House and Interior Department: Resolved, to develop protections for traditional sacred places in consultation with Native peoples and to enact a cause of action for Native nations to defend sacred places in court. The issue was used as a political trade bead in the 109th Congress with only token participation of Native peoples. Native sacred places and peoples deserve better than that. 110th Congress and the departments of Justice, Interior and Treasury: Resolved, to address the merits of the Indian trust funds case and either 1) enact a just settlement of the lawsuit or 2) let the litigation run its course. News editors and reporters: Resolved, to cover stories about all Native peoples. In the rush to follow the Indian money, most Indian stories are being missed. How about starting with stories about Native peoples who have no money and who exist in suffocating poverty? Even with the stunning success of tribal gaming in certain states, tribal people still are the most economically impoverished people in the country. News editors and reporters: Resolved, to cover the anti-Indian hate groups that are organized nationwide to undermine Native American treaties, laws and rights. Led by John Birchers, these groups are working hard to bring down the legal, constitutional, orderly activities of tribal governments and to keep Native peoples from owning and controlling Native property. They've been given a pass by most in the news industry, and even a boost by some. News editors and reporters: Resolved, to cover stories about threats to Native ceremonial and burial grounds and about environmental emergencies affecting Native peoples, lands and waters. News editors and reporters: Resolved, to find out who's manufacturing myths about Native peoples and why, particularly in politics and the entertainment and advertising industries, but even (and maybe especially) in the news industry itself. 110th Congress: Resolved, to enact the two-word (''or was'') amendment to the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act's definition of Native American. This will help to restore the respect for Native peoples' human rights that Congress intended when it enacted NAGPRA in 1990. Labor Department and 110th Congress: Resolved, to continue funding the Indian work force programs through the Labor Department. If moved to Interior, the urban Indian employment programs are less likely to be funded and tribal funding could be decreased. Decades of federal relocation efforts have diminished jobs on reservations and moved Indian people to cities where discrimination in employment is greater. A move now would be a further setback. Labor Department: Resolved, to respect the advice of the Native American Employment and Training Council and to reinstate the Division of Indian and Native American Programs. Native programs in Labor have helped improve the overall Native employment picture. Tinkering with them will only exacerbate the problems. White House: Resolved, to enforce the executive order on federal agencies' tribal consultation; to develop consultative standards; and to develop an executive order on Indian preference in federal Indian service entities governmentwide. House of Representatives: Resolved, to establish a House Committee on Indian Affairs. Both House and Senate committees existed for 150 years before they were abolished in 1946. Indian matters were relegated to Public Lands subcommittees, taking a backseat to developers and special interests, then subsumed by the House Resources Committee. The Senate re- established its committee structure for Indian affairs in 1977. It's time for the House to catch up. --- Suzan Shown Harjo, Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee, is president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C., and a columnist for Indian Country Today. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: NEWCOMB: All our Relations" --------- Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:16:05 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEWCOMB: BIG FOOT MEMORIAL RIDE" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414272 Newcomb: All our relations by: Steven Newcomb / Indigenous Law Institute December 29, 2006 Dec. 29 marked the 20th anniversary of the initial Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride. The ride was organized to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre, in honor of the hundreds of Oglala and Hunkpapa ancestors murdered by the 7th U.S. Cavalry on Dec. 29, 1890. Each year, from 1886 to 1990, members of the Oglala Lakota Nation and their supporters rode hundreds of miles on horseback through the winter snow and freezing winds of the Great Plains. The ride has been repeated annually ever since those years of preparation that culminated in the centennial commemoration. The horseback riders retraced the journey taken by Chief Big Foot and his community from what is now Fort Yates, N.D., through the Badlands, and then to Wounded Knee Creek. It was on a bitterly cold day in December 1890 that U.S. soldiers used Hotchkiss guns (an early machine gun) to slaughter Big Foot and other members of his community. The next day, the U.S. solders threw the bodies of the slain women, children and men into a mass grave and buried them. Birgil Kills Straight, who lives in the town of Kyle on the Pine Ridge Reservation, was one of the original Oglala Lakota organizers of the memorial ride, along with Alex White Plume and Eugenio White Hawk. Kills Straight, who is currently the director of the Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Authority, has described to me on several occasions how one year during the ride, the temperature dipped down to 40 degrees below zero, with a wind chill of 80 below. The ride was no ordinary human feat. It took tremendous strength and courage. The ceremonial ride was a powerful way for the people to mourn their fallen ancestors. This was necessary because the U.S. Army had control of the victims' bodies after the massacre, and this meant that the people were never able to conduct a Wiping of the Tears ceremony for their relatives. The memorial ride was a way of beginning to mend the Sacred Hoop of the Oceti Sakowin, or the Seven Council Fires of the Great Teton Nation. The Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride was a great feat of spiritual strength and liberation. It was a powerful reminder to all oppressed nations and peoples throughout the world that there are spiritual resources available to us if we keep ourselves centered, maintain our ceremonial ways and do not give in to despair. I consider the memorial ride to have been an integral part of the global indigenous peoples' movement toward cultural restoration and healing. It was undertaken in a prayerful manner, in keeping with the first indigenous value: "Respect the Earth as our mother, and have a sacred regard for all living things." One lesson of the Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride is that our Native ancestors had incredibly strong powers of body, mind and spirit that enabled them to discern and live in keeping with the laws of nature in a spirit of truth and beauty. Through our ceremonies and our restorative abilities, we can regain the health and strength that is our sacred birthright. When Kills Straight first began to dedicate his life to the ceremonial traditions of the Oglala Lakota people in the early 1980s, he worked with such eminent Oglala medicine people as Curtis Kills Ree, Fools Crow and Peter Catches Sr. in an effort to help revitalize the Sun Dance, the inipi (purification) lodge and the vision quest. At that time, not many Oglala people were still carrying on their ceremonial traditions. This was partly because for nearly a century after the Wounded Knee Massacre, Catholic and other Christian churches and organizations proselytized to the Lakota people, attempting to convince them that their own spiritual traditions were wrong or evil. Such destructive missionary work was further intensified through the boarding schools in which Indian children were forced to be isolated away from the nurturance of their own families. They were forced to undergo a vicious socialization process that was intended to, in the infamous words of Col. Pratt, "Kill the Indian, save the man." In the boarding schools, Indian children were taught self-hate and to be ashamed of their own ceremonial traditions. I have personally met Indian elders who, when they were children, were forced to put their tongue on dry ice so that the top layer of skin was peeled off their tongue for the "crime" of speaking their own indigenous language. Others were forced to kneel for long periods of time with bare legs on pieces of sharp broken tile until their knees bled. Still others were beaten viciously with leather straps and burned with cigarettes. Sexual abuse was common. An unknown number of children died of diseases. They died without any member of their family there to comfort them at their deathbed. That is the worst kind of loneliness. This kind of intergenerational trauma is what the Chief Big Foot Memorial Ride was intended to start addressing and healing. The ancestral spirits who inspired the ride knew that the people would have to be strong and spiritually centered to recover from the wounds inflicted by generations of colonization. Fortunately, we - as indigenous nations and peoples - also have a powerful healing tradition of intergenerational knowledge and wisdom that goes back thousands of years, or, as expressed in terms of our respective oral traditions, back to the beginning of time. Since the 100th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1990, the ride has been repeated each year as a truly amazing expression of that knowledge and wisdom. --- Steven Newcomb is the Indigenous Law Research coordinator of Kumeyaay Community College and the Sycuan Education Department, co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute, and a columnist for Indian Country Today. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: GIAGO: Recognize an Indian Hero in the New Year" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2006 08:10:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: RECOGNIZE AN INDIAN HERO" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/017477.asp Tim Giago: Recognize an Indian hero in the new year January 2, 2007 I come from a world that is, for the most part, out of sight and out of mind for the average American. We (the Indian people living on the nine Indian reservations in South Dakota) are usually featured in the mainstream media during times of controversy (Wounded Knee takeover in 1973) or when an aspiring journalist covers the consequences of extreme poverty (NBC News and Washington Post series in early 1980s on poverty on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota). The Pine Ridge Reservation was prominent in the news in the early 1980s because it is located in a county, Shannon, which was proclaimed "The Poorest County in America" by the 1980 U. S. Census Bureau. I was born, raised, and educated on an Indian reservation where the people oftentimes see the world through the wrong end of the telescope. It is a place where the people do not necessarily see George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson or Teddy Roosevelt (the four faces on Mount Rushmore) as heroes. On the 50th Anniversary of the carving of Mount Rushmore, I was featured in People Magazine because I called Mount Rushmore "The Shrine of Hypocrisy." In the article I outlined some of the atrocities against the Indian people perpetrated by the four presidents carved on the mountain. In fact, the month of December not only was the month of the Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890, it was also the month when 38 Sioux warriors were hanged in Minnesota in the largest mass hanging in this Nation's history, by order of President Abraham Lincoln. In the first Gulf War, when the massed coalition forces looked out at the dark desert lands just prior to their assault on Iraq, they called that vast unknown land "Indian country." When someone commits a social or political blunder they are "off the reservation." Or when one wants to tell a lie but not be accused of being a liar, he puts a hand behind his back, with fingers crossed, and says, "Honest Injun." And worse yet, African Americans who cringe at the public use of the "N" word are just as guilty and as adamant as whites in using the "R" word (Redskin) although that word is as offensive to Native Americans as the "N" word is to African Americans. I suppose it all depends upon whose ox is gored. I have my own heroes. They are Indian people that will, in all probability, never be honored in mainstream America. They are people I have admired and emulated in deed and cause. And as we move into the New Year of 2007, I want to mention their names if for no other reason than it may be the only time they are nationally acclaimed. Rupert Costo (Cahuilla) was my mentor. He was the publisher of the Indian Historian Press in San Francisco until his death in 1987. Peter MacDonald served four terms as president of the Navajo Nation. Although he was charged and convicted of taking bribes in his later years as president, he still holds a special place in my heart for taking on the large corporations that were raping the lands of the Navajo for uranium and coal. He told his people, "We are not an Indian reservation; we are the Navajo Nation." Lionel Bordeaux (Sicangu) for his role in bringing higher education to the Rosebud Reservation (Sinte Gleska University), Tom Short Bull for doing the same for the Oglala Lakota, (Oglala Lakota College), Dr. Dean Chavers (Lumbee) for his many years of fighting for the educational freedom of Indian students, Wilma Mankiller (Cherokee) and Cecilia Fire Thunder (Oglala Lakota), two women that rose to the highest posts on their reservations, Principle Chief and President, and who fought tooth and nail to advance the rights of Indian women, Charlene Teters (Spokane) for taking on the task of removing the Indian people as mascots for America's fun and games, Oren Lyons (Onondaga) for bringing a national spiritualism to Indian country, Vine Deloria, Jr., (Hunkpapa) for the books "Custer Died for Your Sins" and "God is Red," Tom Bee (Dakota) for the spirited protest songs his group "Exit" brought to America, Gwen Shunatona (Otoe), for her role in Indian education, Pa Haska (Oglala Lakota) fo r greeting tourists at Mount Rushmore until his death as an unofficial ambassador of the Lakota Nation, Charles Trimble (Oglala Lakota) for serving as a role model for Indian journalists for many years, Mary Kim Titla (Apache) for starting the online magazine "Indian Youth Magazine" and throwing away her role as a much honored television journalist to accomplish this feat, and to Enos Poor Bear (Oglala Lakota) for creating the flag that serves the Oglala Lakota Nation (Pine Ridge) and for giving me my Lakota name, Nanwica Kciji (Stands up for Them), in a religious ceremony many years ago. There are so many more high achievers in Indian country that I did not mention here but they are people I will write about in the years to come. In this modern day of online news, people, and events, perhaps you will take the time to "Google" the people I have mentioned in this New Year's column and become their friends. We lost that great author and professor Vine Deloria, Jr., last year, but his works can be found at harmon@clearlightbooks.com. I wish all of my readers the very best of the New Year. --- 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. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in the class of 1990 - 1991. Clear Light Books of Santa Fe, NM (harmon@clearlightbooks.com) published his latest book, "Children Left Behind." Copyright c. 2000-2006 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Land Theft at Six Nations" --------- Date: Tuesday, December 26, 2006 03:32 pm From: frostyca2000 Subj: No doubt about it! Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian No doubt about it! This partial update is regarding the land theft at Six Nations known as the "Plank Road". It is expertly researched and put out by the Six Nations/Haudenosaunee Negotiating Team. Posted by MNN Mohawk Nation News www.mohawknationnews.com Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road Update (Caledonia Ontario ? Six Nations of the Grand River Territory) December 6, 2006 Overview On June 18, 1987, Six Nations submitted the documentation to the Government of Canada verifying Six Nations' ownership in the Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road Lands. No response was received from Canada until 19 years later on November 03, 2006 as presented by the Department of Justice and only than as a result of the February 2006 Douglas Creek Land Reclamation. Previously, every documented land claim put forward by Six Nations and counter researched by Canada was validated in Six Nations favor. The stumbling block in resolving these claims has been an acceptable process for Six Nations many complex and unique issues. Canada's Specific Claims Policy "Outstanding Business" is policy based on the extinguishment of treaty rights and has been recognized by Canada and First Nations across Canada as a failure. Canada and the Assembly of First Nations attempted to revamp Canada's failed Claims Policy between 1991-1993 and 1996-2002. Ontario's present negotiator Jane Stewart when Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs for Canada had both the mandate to address and resolve Six Nations June 18, 1987 Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road submission and establish a truly Independent Claims Tribunal to resolve Land Claims across Canada. She failed on both accounts. Following the OKA crises of 1990, Canada attempted to address the failures of its Claims Policy and established the Indian Claims Commission (ICC) in 1991 as an alternative to litigation and to promote "in good faith" negotiations. Frustrated by the ICC's inability to move forward land claim settlements, all the Commissioners of the Indian Claims Commission tendered their resignations on June 27, 1996. Canada's present Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs; Jim Prentice was the Chairman of the Indian Claims Commission and also resigned. Canada's Specific Claims Policy "Outstanding Business" and the Indian Claims Commission continue to be used by Canada as its ineffective means to address land claims across Canada. SUMMARY OF DOCUMENTATION AND ORAL EVIDENCE On October 25, 1784 the Haldimand Treaty secured for the Six Nations Indians a metes and bounds tract of lands within Six Nations Beaver Hunting Grounds, 6 miles deep on each side of the Grand River beginning at Lake Erie and extending in that proportion to the head of the said river, which them and their posterity are to enjoy forever. Legal Land Alienations The Crown had legislated explicate instructions for the legal alienation of Indian Lands beginning in December 9, 1761; October 7, 1763; December 7, 1763; Royal Instructions of 1768; January 3, 1775; August 23, 1786; September 16, 1791; December 24, 1794 and May 1, 1812. The legislated requirements for the lawful surrender to sell the Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road Lands have been acknowledged by Canada as having not been followed. Notice to Trespassers and Squatters The Crown had Legislation requiring that it protect Six Nations Lands from Trespass and Injury. The Crown attempted to fulfill its Lawful Duty to The Six Nations by issuing Public Notices in February 1, 1812 specific to Haldimand County forbidding White People from settling on Indian Land; November 20,1835 notifying settlers on the Hamilton and Port Dover Plank Road to apply for leases or face ejection and on January 22, 1844 notifying that all persons on Six Nations lands between the Townships of Brantford and Dunn are to remove themselves as well as those on the North side of the River or be prosecuted with the utmost rigor of the law. The Grand River Navigation Company In 1832 Legislation was passed by the Crown to incorporate the Grand River Navigation Company (GRNCo.) to make the Grand River Navigable from the feeder of the Welland Canal at Dunnville to Brantford and up river as far as Galt. The promoters of the GRNCo. decided that by making the Grand River navigable with locks, dams, milling sites and other improvements it would render the passage of rafts, boats and other crafts beneficial for the surrounding neighbors, access the most generous amount of timber for export and "eventually swindle the Indians out of their lands". As early as 1829, upon hearing of the proposal to dam the Grand River, Six Nations protested against such scheme. Protests continued by Six Nations against the works of the GRNCo. through out the life of the Company; but to no avail. When approached to make loans to the GRNCo.the Lieutenant Governor proposed raising monies from the sales and leasing of Six Nations lands. In 1834 the Executive Council later approved transferring Six Nations Monies held in London England to be used by the GRNCo. and in other investments to create today's Canada. In 1838 the Government with the sanction of the Executive Council pledged the proceeds from the sale of all Six Nations lands to pay for the works of the GRNCo. It than became imperative for the Indian agents to secure the sale of Six Nations lands by any means to raise money to support the Grand River Navigation Company. Even with reports to the Indian Agents of hardship and starvation among families on Six Nations, Six Nations would have no say in the matter of their monies or lands being used by the GRNCo. In 1907 A.G. Chisolm agreed to act on behalf of Six Nations and commence legal proceedings against the Crown for monies invested by the Crown in the Grand River Navigation Company. In 1927 Canada passed Legislation barring Indians from independently hiring lawyers to proceed with the prosecution of any legal proceedings against the Crown. Leasing. The concept of leasing the lands to White People for specific periods of time to one plow depth was an acceptable practice by Six Nations to get their lands cleared for their future use and for Six Nations to regain possession of the lands when the lease period ended. Government officials acknowledged that if we were to lease the lands it "would render the Six Nations of Indians the wealthiest proprietors in the Province." The Crown further acknowledged that as relates to the lands along the Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road "Six Nations Indians will not surrender to us in perpetuity and as we want the land it is surely better that we should get it as we can by leasing, than not to get it at all". On January 16, 1835 the Chiefs agreed that if it was necessary that both sides of the Road (Hamilton/Port Dover) should be settled they will permit a half mile on each side of that road to be leased to the whites for their Benefit. Six Nations conditions would not allow a Town Site to be established at the river crossing (Caledonia) no taverns or the sale of spirits are to be allowed and the rents will be increased every seven years for 21 years. Despite constant pressures from Indian Agents whom had close friends and business associates interested in the works of the GRNCo. and Indian Agents dismissed from office for stealing Six Nations monies, the Six Nations were finally able to get a response from the Executive Council of Upper Canada in 1843 assuring the Six Nations that the Government had no wish to take any portion of their lands against their free wishes. The Squatters "Our white brethren look upon us not as the original possessors but intruders on a Soil which was granted to us" is how the Six Nations expressed their concerns in a January 9, 1844 petition to the Government. Upon formal government inquiries it was concluded that inducements were promised the squatters on Six Nations lands by many senior Government Officials (one being Sir John Colborne the Lieutenant Governor whom was investing Six Nations monies without their consent in the GRNCo.) to "go on with your improvements you shall be protected". The Supt. General of Indian Affairs reported receiving communications from White Persons Squatting on the Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road that inducements were promoted by Lieutenant Governor Colborne and other Government Officials to locate them there with the promise that the Indians would be made to surrender the lands to them. The White People were flagrantly breaking the law with the assistance and support of Government Officials to the point that they, the squatters were dictating the terms, conditions and amount they were going to pay for the Six Nations lands they were squatting on. The Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road "An Act to authorize the construction of a Road from Hamilton, in the Gore District to Port Dover in the London District" was passed on March 6, 1834. In fact construction of the road commenced before it was even legislated as the Six Nations questioned the authority of cutting the road through our lands at an Indian Council on February 4, 1834. It was further pointed out that even though Sir John Colborne had promised to Six Nations that the road would not proceed; it did anyway. Regardless of Six Nations wishes, the Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road (Highway 6) exists today and no payment has ever made to Six Nations for the road as stipulated by the Legislation Incorporating the Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road. Conclusions - There is no surrender document meeting the legal requirements for the lands identified as the Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road Lands to be lawfully sold nor does Canada have such document registered in its Indian Lands Registry. However, if there is such a document (which we deny) evidence shows it would have been by the Crowns inducement and against the free wishes of the Six Nations Indians. - The Crown was systematically inducing the sale of Six Nations lands without lawful surrenders and misappropriated land payments into the works of the Grand River Navigation Company (and other Government expenditures) against the constant protests of the Six Nations of the Grand River Indians. - The Crown breached its Lawful Fiduciary to protect Six Nations Lands against Trespass and Injury and instead promoted and protected the Non-Natives whom were breaking the law. - Six Nations never authorized the building of the Hamilton/Port Dover Plank Road across our lands nor have we ever been compensated for it being built. In Peace and Friendship Phil Monture Six Nations/Haudenosaunee Negotiating Team phil@nativelands.info --------- "RE: Chief: Frustrations could mount in 2007" --------- Date: Thursday, December 28, 2006 04:55 pm From: frostyca2000 Subj: Chief: Aboriginal frustrations could mount in 2007 Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Chief: Aboriginal frustrations could mount in 2007 Canadian Press December 27, 2006 CHINTA PUXLEY - Canada should brace for more dramatic displays of aboriginal defiance in 2007, warn native leaders who say the First Nations frustrations that boiled over in a small Ontario town this year may well be a tipping point for decades of simmering aboriginal anger. It was in the bedroom community of Caledonia, Ont., which borders the massive Six Nations reserve in southwestern Ontario, where that anger seeped quietly into a nondescript, half-finished housing development on land the protesters claimed as their own. Two months later, that simmering cauldron boiled over as police tried to evict the protesters. They succeeded only in fanning the flames of rebellion: reinforcements descended en masse from the neighbouring reserve, the most populous in Canada. Since then, the Caledonia dispute has become a lightning rod for deep- seated aboriginal resentment over everything from residential schools to the deplorable living conditions on reserves like Pikangikum and Kashechewan, aboriginal observers say. There are 1,000 outstanding land claims across Canada, and "any one of them could trigger the same reaction," said Ontario regional chief Angus Toulouse. "That's the unfortunate thing - we're going to see much more of that. There is a sense nationally and regionally that there is this frustration." Aboriginals have lost their land over the years, Toulouse said, making it more difficult for them to earn a living and mount a credible campaign to regain the land through official channels. For those still camped out in Caledonia, there is more at stake than the deed to a former housing development. When a dozen people walked on to the half-finished Douglas Creek Estates subdivision in the early hours of Feb. 28 and hung a banner proclaiming it Six Nations land, they were reclaiming stolen pride, said Janie Jamieson, a spokesperson for the protesters. "At some point, any reasonable person would say, 'Enough is enough,"' Jamieson said. "At some point, we have no choice but to stand up and defend ourselves, because nobody else is going to do that for us." Aborginals were only granted the right to vote and leave their reserves within the last 50 years, Jamieson said. Many are living in Third World conditions without adequate housing or clean water, and suffer higher rates of diabetes and other health problems, she said. "All around us, you see prosperity," Jamieson said. "When you look into our own communities . . . everything is hanging on by a thread. It's a very fragile time for us right now. We are in a do-or-die situation now." Like many aboriginals in Canada, Chief Don Maracle's community has been keeping a close eye on Caledonia. The Tyendinaga Mohawks are locked in a similar battle with the federal government over plans for a 140-home subdivision in the eastern Ontario town of Deseronto. Their negotiations are at an impasse, he said, leaving many feeling ready to take a more aggressive stand. "All First Nations people are frustrated over incursion into traditional lands," Maracle said. "There are going to be more protests. First Nations people are becoming more and more aware of how serious the injustices that our nation has suffered over the years. People want it redressed." Proof positive came in November, when a group of Mohawks who were putting up a roadside sign declaring the land as their own mounted an impromptu blockade when a small convoy of military vehicles drove up, apparently on their way to a nearby Canadian Forces base. The standoff dissolved after a few hours without injury. But Maracle said aboriginals are being confined to "small, postage-stamp-sized reserves" while their population swells, and something has to change. "Part of our future includes a bigger land base for our communities," he said. But that goal often pits aboriginal communities against those with whom they have peacefully co-existed for years. Haldimand County Mayor Marie Trainer said the town of Caledonia has been ripped apart by the ongoing dispute. Residents and Six Nations protesters have clashed violently several times during the occupation; at the height of the tensions, the town's main road was blocked for weeks. There are non-stop police patrols in town, and some locals have complained of harassment from aboriginals. "The Caledonia people did nothing wrong to deserve all of this harassment, this disruption in their lives," Trainer said. "A lot of these people will never be the same. They're on tranquillizers, heart medication - some of them are in counselling." After the media attention dies down and the dispute is eventually resolved, the two sides are going to have to get along, she added. "After everyone goes back to Ottawa and Toronto, we're still going to be living side-by-side. We have for 200 years. We're going to have to resolve that slowly." Provincial and federal politics While aboriginal land claims are primarily a federal responsibility, many are calling on the province to show leadership in this area. David Ramsay, Ontario's minister responsible for aboriginal affairs, said he knows aboriginals are frustrated. Ottawa could go a long way to quelling that frustration by acting on outstanding land claims, he said. Along the Grand River in Caledonia, Ramsay said there are 29 outstanding claims in 26 years and only one has been resolved. "That's not a very good track record," he said. "I don't know of any other business that could survive if that's how it delivered service to its customers." "We're really failing here," Ramsay added. "There is no doubt about it." But Ramsay said it's not for the province to address these failings. It's up to the federal government to put more money into the land claims process so disputes can be resolved faster, he said. "This is an urgent matter because there is widespread frustruation right across this country," he said. "Aboriginal people have been denied the final resolution of these long-time, outstanding claims. They have to be resolved." A spokesperson for Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said he wasn't available for comment. ---- Observers say the aboriginal anger in Caledonia, Ont., could spread next year across Canada, where there are more than 1,000 unresolved land-claim disputes. Here's a look at some of the largest in Ontario alone: Algonquin - Formally submitted in 1983, the claim covers a territory of 36,000 square kilometres that includes most of Algonquin Provincial Park, as well as the Canadian military base in Petawawa and the National Capital Region, including Parliament Hill. Fort William First Nation Boundary - The claim disputes the reserve's boundaries which were drawn up in 1853. Formally submitted in 1985, the claim covers portions of land just outside the town of Thunder Bay. Pays Plat and Michipicoten First Nation - Both the Pays Plat First Nation and Michipicoten First Nation have been negotiating to expand their existing reserves on Lake Superior since 1991 and 2000 respectively. Six Nations - Since February, Six Nations protesters have occupied a former housing development in the southwestern Ontario town of Caledonia. They say the land was taken illegally from them over 200 years ago and they are currently negotiating with the federal and provincial governments. Temagami - The claim was sparked after a 1991 Supreme Court ruling regarding land around Lake Temagami. Ontario has been negotiating with the Temagami First Nation ever since. Tyendinaga Mohawk - The eastern Ontario town of Deseronto is the site of a planned 140-home subdivision but the Mohawks say the land is theirs. They formally filed a claim in 1995 and are currently negotiating with the federal government. Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation - The Ojibway Nation has been formally negotiating since 2004, seeking compensation from the flooding of its shoreline reserve lands in 1897 which cost the aboriginals 2,318 acres. Copyright c. 2006 CTV Inc. --------- "RE: Feds announce Funds for NAIG" --------- Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2006 08:10:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAIG FUNDING" http://www.ammsa.com/windspeaker/articles/2006/wind-dec-06-2.html Feds announce funds for NAIG By Sam Laskaris Windspeaker Contributor DUNCAN, B.C. December 2006 The federal government is doing its share to ensure the 2008 North American Indigenous Games are a success. Canada's Minister for Sport Michael Chong announced on Nov. 3 the government is pledging $3.5 million to the event. This support represents slightly more than one-third of the anticipated $10 million that will be required to run the games that will be held in British Columbia's